Of Foliage and Song

It's been a while since either of us posted. I can hardly believe it is almost April already. How fast time is flying by! I sometimes feel like I can hardly keep up with it.

I was quite excited last week when I realized that it is officially spring. Though you'd hardly guess it looking outside, seeing that there is still over a foot of snow on the ground. But real spring will come quicker than we may be ready for. And though everyone has bemoaned the cold weather and the snow, I am quite grateful for it, especially this year. I'm seeing it as the time of preparation that is very crucial this year.

This year. We will have a lot that will be going on this year. And it will be very exciting. We are starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I'm actually kind of surprised at how many people know what it is. But I know there is still many who don't.

To put it in a nutshell, we are going to be growing lots of produce and other things for our community (small as it is) as well as for family and friends, who purchase "shares", allotted portions of the harvest which will be available for them on a weekly basis. We will also be putting up our farm stand again, since many more people are interested in that. We have a large handful of people who have already committed to the CSA. Though it's not as many as were anticipated, we're thinking it's just the right amount of customers to start with for so new an endeavor.
God has been opening up the doors for this, and I am just so excited about it. Some local friends have joined with us in this venture and they too will be growing things for the CSA, and doing things my family doesn't yet feel confident enough doing, like starting seeds.

The garden this year is going to be immensely larger, so that in itself will be a new experience. I do pray that God will provide ways for me to be at home more, so that I can contribute additional help. Moving slowly in that direction, I've been trying to find ways in which I will be able to make a living from home, so that I won't have to continue going away for work. It's awfully tempting somedays to just want to quit (though I do enjoy my job), but I still have a baby grand piano to pay for, and until I find some other means, I must stick to it and trust God with my situation. He is, after all, the One who put me in this situation, and though I don't know what His purposes are, I know that He is faithful and He is infinitely good, and His plans are always perfect, more than we could know.

A few weeks ago, my family and I watched the Making Herbs Simple dvd we purchased from bulkherbstore.com. It was so neat, and quite inspiring. I've been learning lately how beneficial herbs are. It's so fascinating that God has created these plants with so many incredible uses, and most of which are growing in our backyard! Since there is still snow on the ground, and we don't have our own herbs yet, we've ordered some bulk herbs and have been drinking teas made from them lately.

Like bilberry, for instance. It is known to improve night vision, and not only that, but it is beneficial for people with diabetes and all sorts of other things.

Chamomile is another one that has been good for me so far. I haven't been sleeping well lately, having very restless night's sleep. And the chamomile is so soothing and relaxing, and it tastes really good, and it has helped me sleep better.

Plantain is a really cool one that has lots of uses, for everything from a bee sting to acne.

On the video, they showed how to identify and dry herbs, and make tinctures and poultices. My family and I learned a lot, and it all looks so easy. Now we just have to try out what we've learned. :)

I started taking piano lessons six years ago, and every May there is a yearly recital for the students of my instructor. This year, in addition to the regular recital, one of her students and I are going to do one all on our own. I guess it will be in the newspaper and everything. I am naturally quite shy, so I am struggling with terrible nerves every time I think about it and how soon it's coming, since it's going to be at the end of April. I have four pieces I am working on, and then we will have three duets. I usually dread the regular recital, but this year that will be a breeze compared to this big one. :)

I am praying that the Lord will somehow remove my nerves and that I will play for His glory alone. It's something I've had a hard time with over the years, not knowing how to handle applause or compliments for something I have not done on my own. I certainly would not be able to play any bit of the piano without God's help. And I definitely will not be able to do this recital without His help. So now I embark upon the surrendering process, as I learn to let go of my fears, and each and every song, and let Him use it for His glory and renown.

I was just reading in My Utmost for His Highest, and thought I'd share this...

"Did not our hearts burn within us?"

Luke 24:32

We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly

Jesus appears to us, the fires are kindled, we have wonderful

visions, then we have to learn to keep the secret of the burning

heart that will go through anything. It is the dull, bald, dreary

day, with commonplace duties and people, that kills the burning

heart unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus...

...We cannot stay on the mount of transfiguration, but we must

obey the light we received there, we must act it out. When God

gives a vision, transact business on that line, no matter what it

costs.

We cannot kindle when we will

The fire which in the heart resides,

The spirit bloweth and is still,

In mystery our soul abides;

But tasks in hours of insight will'd

Can be through hours of gloom fulfull'd.

That verse in Luke has always intrigued me greatly. After having spent time with Jesus, after He conquered death, and having not even recognized Him, the two disciples once they did recognize Him, were stirred.

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to

one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was

explaining the Scriptures to us?" v. 31-32

It gives such an incredible glimpse into who He is. He is powerful. He is captivating. He is unlike any other. He transformes lives.

In a way, it's kind of similar to how when He was in Mary's womb, the baby (John) within Elizabeth leaped for joy just at the sound of Mary's voice.

He's a beautiful mystery, our King; beyond our wildest dreams. We cannot comprehend Him, at least not now.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Psalm 139:6

Just as...

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love

him" 1 Corinthians 2:9

Another part of that section of Scripture in Luke that's so incredible to me, is how Jesus was explaining the Scriptures to them.

Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself

in all the Scriptures.

And then just a little bit later, He spoke again to them and the rest of the disciples...

"These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written

about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

I grew up just thinking that the Old Testament was merely a bunch of stories, incredible ones at that, but still just stories. Stories of God and His people. All that I knew of, of the connection between the old and the new testaments is that Jesus came to save His people from their sins. But that's it. If only I would have known that there is so much more.

These past few years I've really been learning just how much Jesus has to do with the Old Testament, and subsequently how much it has to do with us also. I've heard it said that Jesus is the key that unlocks the entire old testament. And how true that is.

I'd like to write about some of those things sometime, as they are incredibly exciting, but alas, I have run out of time, so that will have to be saved for another day.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!

He alone is worthy!

~Shalea