The waiting game….garden style

Things are really growing in our garden these days.  One thing I’m glad we didn’t have to wait too long on was to see the beautiful Zinnias blooming!  We’ve been enjoying lettuce, peas, basil and parsley, but are in the waiting game on much of everything else.  It’s actually kind of a nice spot to be before the storm of harvesting comes.

Even though our tomatoes were hit with blight this year (a fungus that is in the soil and almost inevitably will infect your plant!!), we see lots of tomatoes and have been assured that if we stay on top of picking the blighty leaves, our tomatoes should be largely unaffected - we hope so!

Onions are doing their thing….growing, growing, and now they’re in the process of dying back…a necessarily step in the process before they are ready to pull.  I just LOVE the blossoms at the top of the onion stalks.  They give such texture to the layout of the garden.

We planted green beans this year for the first time!  I’m excited to see so many beautiful blossoms.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year though, it’s that I need to not be so scared to plant stuff in the spring….a few of our crops are a week or so behind because we were a little gun-shy.  This includes our pumpkins….they are growing great…but no blossoms yet!  Hoping they catch up soon.

Ahhhh Dill.  We are thankful it really took off this year because Sam has been inspired to make pickles.  We are gearing up for our picklers to come in soon and busy ourselves with the pickling process. 

The difference company makes

I just got done sweeping & hand mopping the kitchen floor and deep cleaning the kitchen sinks and counters….and it took me twenty mintues. Super Women you say?!  Nope.  Not in the slightest.  It’s just that I’ve discovered a new way of thinking when it comes to gettting house work done fast.  My problem is not so much procrastination these days, but distraction.  I start one thing, and move on to another room and start something new…only to get distracted by the urgent need in the next room, (yes, I’ve been known….just ask Sam….to let more than one pot boil over). 

So the other night we had some friends call up spontaneously to ask if we wanted to hang out.  We, being in the not-so-spontaneous-but-really-trying-to-be stage of life, said “YES!  Come on over!”  But there we were with a table full of supper food and dishes, sticky-handed children, toys strewn about, and crumbs filling the floors to boot.  Now I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking things like “No one expects a house to look perfect”, “You won’t be known for your clean house”, and “Your friends just want to spend time with you, not your house”.  Yes, yes, yes.  These are all true statements.  But ladies, (cause I know I’ve lost the male readers at this point), we’d be kidding ourselves if we all didn’t at least want a clean floor when guests come over! 

So, knowing our kid-less (key piece of information:) friends would soon be over, we hurried on to clear the table and clean up the ankle-biters.  I proceeded to sweep every floor I thought their poor feet would touch, and even managed to scrub the toilet, wipe down the sinks, change the hand towel, and get the supper dishes washed.  Whew.  During that process it dawned on me…..I need to be anticipating guests every day!  Hmmmmmm.  It’s amazing the difference it makes.  So, no.  I am not super woman, or mom/wife extraordinaire…..it’s just that now I expect you to be walking through our kitchen door at a moment’s notice.

Dish Crew…Pirate Style

This was taken several weeks ago when Sam was scheduled on dish crew at camp.  Most of you know that Sam’s main responsibility is maintaining and caring for the buildings at camp, however, at different times throughout the seasons he is scheduled to work other areas around camp as well.  Some of us at supper that night giggled over how he looked like a pirate with his bandana tied that way….he on the other hand, was quite confident in his attire:) 

In all seriousness though, we are blessed to be a part of an organization that sees all roles and areas of service equally, therefore each staff member is involved in areas other than their “expertise” at different times throughout the year, (other areas where one might be scheduled are accommodations [read: scrubbing toilets!], serving snacks in Main Street Cafe, running the tows or supervising on the ski hill, and greeting guests, among a variety of other areas).  This perspective demonstrates a heart of servant leadership, and communicates that no job is too menial or beneath anyone, but is an expression of love, unity and servant leadership. 

They’re Here!

...campers that is!  Today is the last day of what has been our first week of youth camp and adventure trips at Camp Forest Springs.  What an awesome privilege we have to serve these youth and be a part of loving them and pointing them to our awesome God! 

Here, Junior campers (ages 8-10) are meeting after the morning session with their counselor to discuss questions and topics relating to the main session. As we were out to camp this morning I could not help but pray for these fertile hearts to be softened toward their creator. 

During youth camps we simultaneously run adventure ministry trips (canoeing, kayaking, hiking, and rock-climbing).  This bus is the vehicle used to transport our adventure trip campers to and from their off-site locations.  What a unqiue experience the adventure trips are in taking campers out of the comforts and distractions of everyday life, and providing an opportunity for them to focus on their relationship with God.

The kids and I played at the playground for a few minutes before lunch.  Tava must be a magnet…...it wasn’t long before a whole group of little girls came oohhing and ahhing all over her.  They loved pushing her on the swing…though I’m not sure who was having more fun:)  We are grateful to be able to raise our kids in such a rich environment - rubbing shoulders with different kinds of people and being able to enjoy unique experiences.

As I stay at home and focus intently on taking care of our little munchkins, I am not deceived into thinking that my work is in vain or unimportant in the big picture of summer ministry.  Each one of us is called to be faithful in what God has given us to do.  I am asking God to help me do well whatever is before me.  I am praying the same for the summer & full-time staff at camp as well.  As you think of it over the next 6 weeks, please pray for our remaining youth camps, and over the course of the rest of the summer, for our adventure ministry trips.  We want to take a back seat to what God is doing, and be about what He wants.  We pray that all of our labor would be for His glory to be manifested in whatever way He sees best!

Berries

Went berry pickin’ this morning.  One of the best reasons to leave the house at 6:30am. 

Please share with me your favorite recipes for/ways to use strawberries!