The Makings of A Whimsical Garden

We've rented the home we are currently in almost two years now and we have had this side yard that measures about 12 feet by 40 feet. There has been nothing there since Google Earth took images, which we all know is quite up to date. NOT!

Many of you know that my oldest daughter is getting married in 2016 and she wants to have her engagement party at our home. So we decided since we plan on staying in our current rental for at least another 2 1/2 years, we might as well do something with the side yard.

Now I am sure some of you are questioning, why spend the money if it's not your home, and our reason is that while we are paying rent, why not really enjoy the space. As Christians, we always want to set excellent impressions on the people we interact with and it's always nicer to leave the home in better condition than when we first moved in.

We have an amazing covered patio that runs the width our home, almost, and this side yard would make for a fun project where we could extend the benefits of an additional outside living space. We've always wanted a fire pit but the only place we could use one might be if we added one to the side yard.

My husband and I, are pros now at laying concrete paving stones and decided on a perfect color, tan to match the dirt that is underneath it all. Plus it's such a neutral color, anything we add on top of it will match 100%. So that is where we decided to add 162 pavers to create a patio that isn't permanent, just in case the homeowners hate our vision.

My husband Steve decided that adding a little focal point of using 9 red pavers would be the ideal place for our temporary fire pit, one that will go with us whenever we decide to move. To add more dimension and to make use of a slanted dirt mound, we added wood planter boxes, that yes, are also temporary if the homeowner wants them removed. They are simply screwed together. We added quite the assortment of 6 different color hybrid tea roses to the planter for both color and fragrance.

For color we added some colorful Adirondack chairs in turquoise blue and corral, to compliment and draw others into the space for conversation or just a place to get away from it all.  We also added some lavender into pots and African daisies in colored pots. My daughter Kailee wanted Tulips so we added one in a colorful pot as a focal point on the patio. We are encouraging bees, butterflies and other pollinators into our space and are planting things that we know will draw them in. We refuse to use pesticides as we want natural predators to keep things neat and tidy.

We have added two apple trees into the remaining dirt space to create a barrier between our home and the house next door. It's two story and we always feel like they are looking down from their windows and it doesn't create the privacy you would want when sitting out there. We are currently looking for a lemon tree to complete the space.

I love gardens if you know me as a friend or family member and wanted to share what we are working on currently and would love ideas for what you think would look great there. I am creating a whimsical garden that people would really want to sit in and enjoy. Here is the space remaining that I could use your input on. Feel free to comment away or even share pictures. This is truly a labor of love to be working on this with my family. It's not easy and there are definitely a lot of blood, sweat and tears going into this project.

Disposable Relationships?

I love it when things that I see day in and day out suddenly have new meaning. God's once again blessed me in the quiet of my morning watering today and I have to share what He showed me. During a recent storm we had and knew was coming a few days in advance, my hubby and I knew the winds were expected to be around 55-70 mph so of course that meant taking our plants off our pot shelves so they wouldn't tip over. There are two morning glory plants we have been blessed to grow this year that we couldn't take down because they have wound their vines along our porch pillars. My hubby suggested in taking some velcro and securing them around the pots to the posts. Sounds great right?

Only problem with a great idea is when you don't implement it. Not sure where we got busy but that great idea never materialized and of course that evening as the winds picked up their speed. Things look pretty great. But evil happens in the darkness when we sleep and that is just what happened. When we woke up and opened our blinds from our bedroom that overlooked our back porch, my hubby said, one of the morning glories didn't make it.

Not understanding his point, I asked him to clarify his statement. He pointed out that one of the morning glories had blown off.

"I thought we were going to put velcro on that? Didn't you do it?"

"No, but it's too late now. I think it's gone."

When we rushed out back, (I  know for a plant right?) but if you understood my new admiration for this beauties, you'd get my point with the concern.

There hanging by the vines were the morning glory plants still wrapped around the post but the pot and the soil were on the ground.

Not sure how long that poor plant hung in there but the roots were void of all remaining soil and the poor thing looked so bad.

We immediately went into rescue mode and got a bag of soil and the pot and began trying to re-pot this plant and water it. We secured the plant's pot to the post and while the leaves hung limp from the post, no new blooms were present that day.

To understand the importance of morning glories blooms are that they only bloom in the morning and are gone by mid-day. So to not see it bloom at all was downright disheartening. We prayed for the best since this was our best plant out of the two.

After two days of waiting, my hubby said he thinks the poor thing isn't going to make it. It went through too much. I wanted to believe in miracles and asked God to restore my plant if it was according to His will. I know God can literally do anything, even bring that poor lifeless plant back from the dead.

So this morning while I am watering it, I notice the leaves are still drooping and browning. The poor thing looks so miserable. I wondered if it was worth continuing my efforts. It would be so much easier to simply grab more seeds and begin replanting before the frost is due in. Ready for the eye opener now?

When I glanced up, I noticed on the plant, that two blooms have opened. Are you as excited as I was? I mean here I was, considering simply scrapping the poor thing and putting it out of its misery when despite all appearances it was making a come back! Two blooms is something to get excited for! It means despite everything on the outside, it was slowly working its way back to being a healthy plant again.

See where this is going? God moment!!

God showed me that too often we look at the relationships in our life as being like that plant. Sometimes they are vital and thriving, beneficial even! Then at other times, they look like my poor plant, dying a slow death. Even despite all the best intentions to nurse it back to health, it looks easier to put it out of its misery and replant it. How easy relationships become disposable when they no longer serve our purpose. They might not look the way we want them too, they might not be producing anything that is nice to look at any longer, or even they aren't simply worth the extra effort they need to thrive and survive. We are simply to busy to invest the time to bring them back and restore them.

What about you? Are you doing the same thing in your own relationships? How invaluable have people become in your life when they no longer do what you want or need them to do? How far are you willing to go to heal them? Are they even worth it?

This could be the relationship you have with your spouse. Suddenly things don't look as vibrant as beautiful as it did when you married. Stress has eaten its way into the very leaves of your plant, causing them to shrivel up and die. Perhaps it no longer looks as beautiful as it did when it first started growing. Perhaps the leaves are yellowing and falling off, perhaps it isn't producing new blooms. But deep down inside, life still grows. As long as you are willing to try, God is able to make ALL things new again. He is the great restorer and redeemer of life. We aren't meant to go through this life alone, thus the reason for my plants vine to intertwine and enable it to grow stronger in order to move forward.

Even the tiniest of vines need help to grow and move forward.

Isn't it worth the time and effort to try and save it rather than simply taking the approach of most and simply throw in the towel, and find or grow a new plant?

People are the most valuable thing in our lives. They are worth it and need our time and energy in order to thrive again. They are simply waiting for you to take notice and not give up no matter how long it takes. Trust in God and believe and like me, soon you'll look up and see life growing again. I encourage you today, before it's too late, take some time and work on those relationships. Pray over them and trust God to make a positive change in them.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?Though one may be overpowered,  two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning." ~ Ecclesiastes 4: 9-13

There is simply a life within us all wanting to shine!

Asset or Liability?

I am dealing with aphids in my roses lately. I have tried all the various solutions from an organic perspective because I have pets that frequent my yard from time to time, to enjoy the sun. So I can't have pets harmed in the process to rid my beautiful roses from the pesky, green, bud suckers, known as aphids!

I have tried the soap and water solution, but it only leaves my buds ugly once they actually bud, almost like they have been burnt.

I have tried a science experiment with coffee grounds and so far it is helping although they aren't completely gone.

I have tried rinsing them off with a garden hose but they just seem to crawl right on back.

I have tried fertilizer that promises to rid my roses of aphids but I still see them every morning, having a great meal on me!

So what's a gardener to do??? Aphids, they are my roses liability. They aren't killing my plants just making the buds harder to form, and if I were a bee looking for some much needed pollen, I am not going any where need that ugly bud.

So I continue to search, and you know what I can across scattered like little red drops of paint in my lawn, while I was out watering??? You guessed it! Lady Bugs!

I think I found about 10 this morning, and each time, I found one, I would gently pick it up and place it on a rose bush, and let them have a free meal on me! Satisfaction!

I have read on the internet where you can purchase these in great quantities but how do you keep them from flying away? It has to do with the sun. They will stay in the dawn and just before a full sunset. Where they go after that? Who knows?

I saw it as a small sign this morning that God knew was troubling me. He knew for weeks now I was having issues with the aphids and quietly and gently offered me a solution, if only I were to look for it. Ladybugs!

The lady bugs are now the asset I was searching for. They don't harm my roses, they look beautiful and soon my roses will be aphid free!

We are like that as well in our walk with God. We read the Bible so we know how we are supposed to be living our lives but we don't always do it. We take a vacation. We may skip church, skip a time where we could have spent a few minutes with God, or instead of sharing the great news of salvation with someone, we simply walk away. We become a liability! We aren't doing what we know we should be doing and we feel guilty at the end of the day.

When we don't spend time with God, it's like telling our earth father, you know, not today dad. I know you were really looking to talking, or just hanging out, but I am kinda busy today. Maybe next weekend. God smiles and then waits. He waits to see when we will have time for Him. He waits like a parent whose kids have moved out and living on their own, waiting for a phone call, a letter or better yet an actual visit from us.

But as long as we don't need dad, or mom for that matter, we don't call. We don't write and we postpone that visit. However, the first sign of trouble that we can't handle on our own, where do we turn? Yup, that father we pushed off. Dad, I need to borrow some money or dad, can you help me move, or dad, can you bail me out of jail?

Sometimes though, dad doesn't always come through. Sometimes his heart gets hardened by our treatment of him. Those promises we made and never fulfilled. Those debts we have never repaid, and yet he sits there alone with his thoughts. The thought that maybe just this once if he helps, we will change. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't.

Thankfully our God, our Heavenly Father, is not like that. He sees every opportunity to reunite with us and help us in our time of need like the first time we ask. Even it's the 100th time. He never grows tired. He is our biggest asset though we can remain the biggest liability.

It's time we took inventory now that it's spring. Time for a little cleaning house. Is there a family member you made promises to and never found the time to fulfill them? A debt to be repaid, a kindness to be given. I think it's time that we stop becoming a liability for God's purpose for us being here, and start becoming the asset He sees in us everyday.

What will you choose?

Make A Big Deal Out of Your Life!

I love gardens! Ever since I can remember I have always loved hanging out in them. When I was a child about 9, my dad planted this huge vegetable garden in my backyard. He made a clubhouse for me out of cornstalks where I could just sit and hang out in the garden.

For some reason it gives me peace just sitting among God’s creations. To see the beauty and colors of the many flowers and how it attracts bird, bees and flitterbys! When we bought our first house, I had a great imagination for what kind of garden I wanted in my backyard. Half of it was landscaped and the rest remained dirt. I knew I wanted a place where I could find solace and serenity, a place for quiet time for me, but also a time to enjoy with the family.

So I began by planting roses, they had to be all different colors and extremely fragrant. The best I have found are Jackson and Perkins, which Lowe’s used to sell. Now for some reason they don’t. I have about 12 rose bushes. I told my hubby long ago before he bought me flowers to just buy a rose bush, that way; I can enjoy the beauty of the flowers all year long and not just the time that a dozen will last in a vase. They never do smell quite the same.

Then we added marigolds, and lavender to attract hummingbirds and flitterbys to our garden. Just this year we added a small vegetable garden with strawberries, chocolate mint, cilantro and soon again, tomatoes. Nothing tastes quite as good as a freshly grown tomato. We also have apple trees as well and I am searching for something that grows well in the shade. My hubby also added to fountains so we can enjoy the sound of water when the weather is nice on the patio. I guess I am creating my own heaven on earth for now, til I make it home to the real heaven at some point.

My garden is my sweetest spot in my home. Do you have a sweet spot? “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is. “ 1 Corinthians 12:7.

Too often as I pass through and read so many blogs, I find people questioning their own self worth lately. I began explaining it to my kids in the car while we went to pick up my daughter’s boyfriend from school. I told my daughters that for years I wondered what God’s purpose was in my life, since I was no longer contributing to our finances by not working any longer, and yet not doing anything besides being a mom, had also left me feeling empty for many years.

I always felt that God was calling me to a higher purpose. I told them I finally got peace about my current place in life, not only as a stay at home mom and wife, but what I believe God’s gift to me was. I honestly believe I am an “encourager”, someone who will hopefully make you feel better if you are doubting yourself. If you are down and out, I am hopefully a little bit of God’s sunlight to make your day a bit brighter.

I have always been that way, for as long as I can remember. I always wanted to be used in a bigger capacity but God has revealed that He is using me this way. Sometimes I am merely the stepping stone in someone’s life on the way to God. Sometimes, He may use me to lead someone to God, but I believe He uses me when the seed has been planted and people begin to doubt whether they are worthy enough. God is using my talents in the way. He also uses me when people are feeling low and discouraged. He uses me to make them feel better about themselves and to keep the enemy from sneaking in. I am happy with my gift and with God’s help I plan to use it everyday in every way to glorify Him!

So how do you know what God has called you to do? How can you find out if the light isn’t all that clear? When God gives you an assignment, He also gives you the skills. So study your skills, then to reveal your assignment.

What do you do best that others would struggle with, Your uncanny ability to organize the mess in your home. Your ability to nurture and help others. Your ability to be creative, to paint, to write, to take pictures. Heed that inner music. No one else hears it the way you do. Our Maker gives assignments to people, “to each according to each one’s unique ability. (Matthew 25:15). As he calls, he equips. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do? Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness.

You have one. A divine spark. “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.” 1 Corinthians 12:7. So each of us has something special to offer. Don’t worry about the skills you don’t have. Don’t covet strengths others do have. Just extract your uniqueness. “Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.” (2 Tim. 1:6). And do so to….make a big deal out of God…..every day of your life!

Marvelous Monday!

Well, what a weekend! I couldn't believe our good luck in having a super, beautiful blue sky day for a Resurrection Sunday. Lately here in the desert, we are often faced with high and heavy winds that last for 3-4 days while high or low pressure systems often blow through. We get very little rain but I can't beat the beautiful crystal clear blue skies most days. OK, we get them a lot. It's hardly ever we get some rain clouds.

The other day I decided to help my daughter with her science project involving coffee grinds as a cheap organic fertilizer and was noticing while out watering the fluffy, white popcorn clouds meandering through the blue sky. I took some time and noticed the shapes of an elephant and a turtle as they passed over head. I wondered if God was drawing using the blue sky as His art pad and the clouds and His pencil lines.

It is interesting what we miss but looking down all the time. God's miracles are all over the place everyday. I would encourage you this week to find the time to give three random acts of kindness to friends or strangers. It could be something as simple as a kind word, a smile that is returned or a small favor. I will use Thursday's blog to have you comment what you did, but most of all, how it made you feel?!!

I do owe a huge thank you to a few people that were kind enough to remember me when some blogging awards came out. Here they are in the order I got them. First the Spanish Dart Award!



Then the "His Light Shines Award"



and most recently, "I am a Fan of Your Site".



I owe these thanks to Sitka at "All Gods Creatures". His mom, Andrea writes a heart warming blog from a dogs perspective and how he would view things. Great inspiration and a dog after his mom's own heart. Check it out.

I also want to thank the time to pass these awards along to the following as well, in no particular order.

1. Samm's Inspirations, a blog from a 15 year old teenager girl that has been best friends with my daughter for 4 years. Her posts are an inspiration from her heart and if you get a chance, stop by and give her some encouragement. Love you Samm!

2. Dear Craisin, my 15 soon to be 16 year old daughter's first blog. She is really been blessed to be given a gift from God on how well she writes. We have even submitted some of her work to publishers and we are waiting to see what they have to say. I would hope she will continue to use these gifts to bring glory to God with His gift to her.

3. Heather at *Beautiful Self*. I found her joining my blog recently and honestly can't wait to see the wonderful things she posts daily! I honestly feel God's presence in opening her beautiful page every morning. Thanks Heather.

4. Lisa from Mommy Squared! Lisa shares her daily insights from being a super busy mom and still loving the Lord everyday! Thanks Lisa for constantly sharing your inspirations of both a mom and sister in Christ!

5. Laurie at Supernatural Living. Like Andrea at Arise 2 Write, she inspires me daily with her blog. I can't wait each day over my coffee to see how God will pour forth His word through her writings each day. Love you! I know you may have already received these but I wanted to thank you for your blog and lovely comments.

Many of you who read these may not understand the importance of commenting a bloggers blog, but it's so nice to read how our writings for the day have impacted you, made you think, or changed your day. Hope you join me in finding time to comment and follow the blogs listed above. We'd love to hear from you.

May God bless everyone who comes here and may He continue to inspire me daily to share His thoughts with you!

Got Coffee?

I found an interesting suggestion the other day that my hubby and I were off shopping for Easter candy. We stopped by Starbucks inside of Target and I noticed a sign that said if you ask for coffee grinds, they will gladly supply you with some. It struck me as odd since I couldn't figure out what you would use them for.

So a couple of days past by and I googled for what to do with coffee grounds and perhaps gardening since that was all I could think you could use them for. Well low and behold I found a ton of interesting information out. Seems like if you ask for them, Starbucks has about 50-100 pounds of coffee grinds to pass out. You place them around the base of your plants and they do a couple of things.

1. They increase the PH in your soil, especially if you have a clay-based soil like we have in the desert. Funny but it looks more like sand.

2. It repels pests from your plants along with broken egg shells. Yes I am planning on saving those and try adding them to my garden as well.

3. It helps promote worm growth. Worms in your garden equal amazing soil. You want worms, just in your garden however.

4. It helps your plants produce more blooms, fruits, veggies, shiny leaves and more growth.

5. Its cheaper than Miracle Grow and it's completely organic.

So my daughter and I are going to try it and she is going to document the results for her Science Project. I will keep you posted and let you know how it's going. You can also dilute the extra coffee you have left in the pot in the morning and water your plants with it.

So it dawned on me this morning with all the talk about gardening, that spring with all it's new life, blossoms and potential fruit just waiting to pop out, that it reminded me of Christ. This time of the year is so amazing that despite getting lost in marshmallow peeps and chocolate bunnies, that we lose sight of our amazing savior who pledged the ultimate sacrifice and gave us His life, so that we can have life, only more abundantly. Spring is the time for new life to begin and what a great way to celebrate Christ's resurrection, then everytime you notice a new bud on your flowers or a new piece of fruit growing on your trees or even new leaves beginning to burst on your trees, take a moment and remember Jesus. He is the ultimate Life and spring is just full of signs to remind us of His resurrection. Just look at my wonderful apple blossoms pictured above! Gotta love that smell!

May your garden's be full with life and color and take a moment to thank God for His gifts this Easter.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Gardening with God

Why do we look for weeds instead of flowers in our daily walk?

If you’re like me, I love to garden! I love spring for the benefits of great smelling lavender, roses and herbs. I have a couple of gardens in my backyard. I have a border of roses along my fence of all different colors. I prefer roses that have a long lasting smell and vibrant color. I also have incorporated lavender as well because the bees seem to prefer it. If you can attract the bees, your flowers will bloom like crazy. Plus an added benefit of the lavender is that our hummingbirds love it from the occasional sugar water we have out for them.

I also have two gardens that my kids each have. In one, I have a dwarf, granny smith apple tree and the apple blossoms in the spring are something unforgettable and beautiful. Caitlyn has some mini roses in her garden and a rose bush that produces some vibrant purple/pink flowers. Kailee on the other hand has mini roses and night blooming jasmine so that we have fragrance all day and night long. We also have some freesia plants that grow in containers alongside our spa. Love that tropical smell!

I also tried my first herb garden this year after trying to grow a raspberry plant for two years and saw no results. So we uprooted that, and now have strawberries, cilantro and chocolate mint growing. We had an early snowfall this year, which dumped some two feet of snow and killed our tomato and basil plants. So we will replant in the spring and try again. Gotta love growing your own produce. I really want to try to plant a lemon and orange tree if not for the blossoms but for the fruit as well. Plus think of all that freshly made orange juice and lemonade.

It is often too easy to become distracted by being ungrateful in our daily lives. Too often we spend our prayer lives asking for our own personal wants and needs, our adversities to be lifted, our trials to be eliminated or shortened, occasionally toss in the needs of a friend or love one and we forget to thank God. We forget when our prayers are answered to stop and say thanks to Him. We often pray with needs in mind but not thanksgiving for what we already have. Another beautiful day, filled with the breath of life, a healthy body, loving kids, warm homes, a car that starts when you turn the key. How come we take for granted this things and think we don’t need to thank God for them. Is it because we think we deserve it or because God just does it without being asked or is it that we simply take such things for granted?

“Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NCV).

I have to pass along a story from Sidney Connell I read recently. When her brand-new bicycle was stolen, she called her dad with the bad news. He expected his daughter to be upset. But Sidney wasn’t crying. She was honored. “Dad,” she boasted, “out of all the bikes they could have taken, they took mine.” Gratitude is always an option.

I believe we should make gratitude our default option and you may just find yourself giving thanks for the problems of life.

Management consultant Robert Updegraff wrote:

“You ought to be glad for the troubles on your job because they provide about half your income. If it were not for the things that go wrong, the difficult people with whom you deal, and the problems of your working day, someone could be found to handle your job for half of what you are being paid. So start looking for more troubles. Learn to handle them cheerfully and with good judgment, as opportunities rather than irritations, and you will find yourself getting ahead at a surprising rate. For there are plenty of big jobs waiting for people who are not afraid of troubles “.(Alan Loy McGinnis, “The Balanced Life: Achieving Success in Work and Love (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1997), 56-57.

As you can see as a gardener, sometimes, all I can do is find those irritating weeds that grow in my garden. You know the ones that despite how many weed killers or organic home treatments you try, so many inches of mulch, they just keep on coming back. We need to indwell a garden of grace. God’s love sprouts around us like lilacs and towers over us like Redwood pines, but we go on weed hunts. How many flowers do we miss in the process?

If you look long and hard enough you will always find something to complain about. So quit looking! Lift your eyes off the weeds and major in the grace of what God has to offer.