for every thing there is a season...

This week has had a lot of season changes.
For our church family, as we faced a sad, but necessary decision. For every thing there is a season...
For a friend, as she heard unwelcome words that sometimes love is a choice and any marriage is worth fighting for...a time to love, a time to heal, a time to cast away stones...
For a Christian acquaintance, who bid her 7-year-old daughter farewell...a time to die, a time to mourn...
For an old roommate who is grieving the loss of her triplets 13 years ago today...a time to be born, and a time to die...
For a Christian blog friend, receiving bad news with a 2nd opinion...A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...
For my garden...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.

For something I didn't plant this year, my voluntary watermelon vine did quite well. Better than the vine I DID plant last year, actually. The three smaller melons aren't ripe yet, but seeing the low temps coming the first of next week, everything in the garden got picked or mulched yesterday.

And I'm trying something new this year. Instead of waiting for all these green tomatoes to ripe/rot, I'm trying my hand at a pickle-dish called "Chow-chow". Growing up the older ladies would sometimes sell this at bake sales or give us a pint at Christmas, but I never knew until this year it was a way to use up last minute items from the garden (when there's not enough to put away but you don't want it to go to waste). We'll see how it turns out.

I'm finding the passage of Ecclesiastes 3 especially comforting these days. As the vibrant colors of summer give way to the decay of fall and the marvelous temperatures (and brighter night skies!), I'm amazed yet again at just how relevant (and timely) Scripture is to our lives. For EVERY thing...how cool is that?

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things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection: Szymbark , Poland This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity". Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick". Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...

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