Thursday, February 17, 2011

God made green

i'm going through a study on the book of isaiah and am consistently reminded of God's mighty power and love--the same God that can move mountains, part seas, bring rulers to ruin, and breathe life and death into people also loves his people enough to carry, shepherd, and protect them.

as a reminder of his incomprehensible power, i planted seeds in my kitchen. this project started a few weeks ago with a seed kit, a mixing bowl, and my gardening tools (a fork and spoon). the dirt-mixing, seed-sowing, daily-watering business all went according to the plan. but the seeds didn't sprout. admittedly, i felt defeated and frustrated after two weeks of watching my non-sprouting seeds stare blankly at me as i made my coffee each morning. i planted THREE mini plants and i couldn't get them to grow. (fail.) i began to wonder if this was a sign that i'm bad soil. so i worried, then re-read the directions and discovered that i hadn't actually followed them. (that deserves a fail too.)

the good news is that God doesn't make human error. instead he uses human error to remind us that we're not in control. and if we were, well, there would certainly be NO herbs and spices thanks to me. taking care of God's creation--in the form of parsley, basil, and cilantro--continues to remind me how far from in control i really am. heck, God could easily make my whole apartment into one huge herb and i could be the tiny bug living on it. or he could eliminate them altogether and leave us with flavor-less food. whatever he decides to do, the point is that i'm grateful to have a heavenly father who cares for me in a far greater, deeper, wider, and more eternal way than i care for my seeds.


















p.s. the cilantro started to sprout this week.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

sick days and sips

below zero temperatures, weekly snow storms, and sick days mean lots of good books and. ..
T E A !











and more tea. ..















and more tea. ..

and more tea. ..