Life in July - Daybook Entry

Outside my window...the sun is shining after days of rain.  I'm not complaining mind you, I've been praying for that rain.

I am wearing... jeans and polo shirt the color of an orange creamsicle.  Love that color!  My Asics running shoes- I hate wearing 
these all the time, but as much as I love my flip flops, my feet are rebelling.  Where are the cute summer shoes with good arch 
supports?  I need them.  

I am listening to...the washer and dryer, the "popping" sounds of lids on quarts of green beans recently pulled out of the canner.

I am thankful for... rainy days, food from the garden, black eye susans, long walks on my mountain and SC peaches.

Around the house...just trying to keep up with the basics as I'm spending a lot of time in the garden and kitchen.

I am loving...  traditions.  I picked peaches with Tara at "our favorite orchard" and we ate hamburgers at the little cafe where we

always stop on the way home.  It doesn't matter if it's only 10:30 in the morning, we still eat those fantastic hamburgers and fries.

This year we were joined by McKenna and had a wonderful time.  It's the little things, like picking peaches at an orchard, that

happens year after year that make the memories of a lifetime.  I'm also looking forward to our family reunion, another tradition

we've established that builds family unity and lots of memories.

I am hoping....to get the freezer and food storage rooms cleaned out in the next few weeks. I've got lots of food that needs to go

in both places.

I am reading.... Uncle Tom's Cabin.  I started this last month and am still working on it.  It's sad.  I knew it would be, but I'm glad

I'm reading it.  I'm also reading Sabbath .  Love this!  This morning I picked this book up again and started rereading it as my

"breakfast book".  I like to have something thought provoking and encouraging to read over breakfast, to take me into the day. 

This one fits the bill.  In my quest to read Children's Classics, I finished Pollyanna this week.  How wonderfully sweet and inspiring
this book is.  Written in a gentler time, it is a breath of fresh air.  I've caught myself being "glad" about everything lately.  If that 
makes no sense to you - you need to read the book.

I am creating...a pantry full of rows of canned fruits, jams and vegetables.  My husband tells me this is art.  

I am pondering... 

"Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop.  We do not stop when we are finished. We

do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages,

or get out this report that is due tomorrow.  We stop because it is time to stop.  Sabbath requires surrender.

If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop - because our work is never

done.  With every accomplishment there arises a new responsibility.  Every swept floor invites another

sweeping, every child bathed invites another bathing.  When all life moves in such cycles, what is ever

finished?  If we refuse rest until we are finished, we will never rest until we die.  Sabbath dissolves

the artificial urgency of our days, because it liberates us from the need to be finished."

Wayne Muller 

I'm mulling over  many thoughts about honoring a true Sabbath and how that might look in my life.  I know I need it desperately

and a person with my personality profile has a hard time stopping, because there's always something screaming to be done.  Could 

I really get off that "production treadmill" and receive the rest that the Lord is trying to give me?  Just one blessed day a week?  And 

is this a joke for a member of a lay church who sometimes works harder on Sunday than other day of the week?  Pondering, pondering.

I am learning... that bees don't wait until you have time to work with them and this is not a hobby for procrastinators.  Last night 

at 10:00, Mark was putting new supers on three of the hives, because the bees were getting crowded and making us nervous about 

swarming.  We have four strong hives and they are making honey like crazy.  That's a good thing, but it's hard to keep up with what

we should be doing. Don't ever let anyone tell you that beekeeping is a low maintenance hobby.  Totally, not true. 
I've also learned that running up hills can cause tendinosis in your Achille's tendon.  Once again, I've had to stop training for the 5K
and go back to walking.  I'm frustrated by this, but what can you do?  Gotta take care of the body.

From the kitchen... lots of garden meals.  Diners may be getting tired of having a report at each meal about how much of the 
food on their plate was grown by me.  Oh, well...hazards of eating at my house!  We've had squash in every way imaginable, 
warm green bean salad with cherry tomatoes and pancetta, dilled potato salad, BLT's, caprese salad, oven roasted beets, peach 
crumble, corn on the cob,and so forth.  The eating is good!

Living my faith by... enjoying scripture study as I read each primary lesson from Sunbeams to Valiants along with the Sharing 
Time message for each Sunday, so that I'm prepared when I walk into Primary (wherever it may be) to contribute.  In the past
month I've conducted two sharing times (one that I had prepared in advance for and one that I just chipped in and handled 
on the spur of the moment, because someone was sick and didn't show up.  I didn't even panic, because I had studied it during
the week.  See how good this works out!) and spoke in Sacrament meeting.  The gospel really is easy enough for a child to learn, 
but can stretch even the oldest adult if we are seeking ways to grow and learn.   For example, last week I studied passages that 
focused on reverence, how to show love to my family members by strengthening family relationships, remembering to show
gratitude to others for their acts of kindness to me, learning how to put on the whole armor of God against evil.  I read scriptures
in Exodus, Luke, Doctrine and Covenants,  Ephesians and Alma.  I challenged myself  each day by asking and seeking answers 
to such questions as:

*How can I show reverence each day?  In church?  In nature?  In my family?

*What can I do this week to build relationships in my family?  In my extended family?

*How many times can I use the word "thank you" this week?  How many ways can I show thankfulness?

*What are the evils I have to face each day?  What specific things can I do to put on my spiritual armor?

*What are things I've heard in the last General Conference that are words of warning?  What have I been taught

    that I should be doing, but am not?

I'm learning more than you can imagine working in Primary.  The things that come out of the mouth of babes will amaze you!

One of my favorite things... Mario Badescu facial products.  Just discovered these herbal cleansers, masks and moisturizers.  I
will be switching over as soon as I use up everything I have now.  Sorry, Clinique.

In the garden...so much squash, green beans, potatoes and basil.  I'm fighting a battle with my tomatoes.  If it's not blight that's 

getting them, it's animals.  I've had some heartbreaking moments as I've walked through and seen pecks and bites on every tomato 

that's almost ready to eat.   Animals are biting into my squashes too - lost my only hubbard to something.  It makes me mad enough
to cuss - but so far, I've bit my tongue. I've had plenty of blueberries to eat and freeze and the butternut squash is starting to ripen.  

Around the farm... gardening and trying to manage bees takes up most of the time. 

A few plans for the rest of the week... can green beans and pepperoncinis,  visit teach, vote in the runoff Primary, take photos
at youth conference, visit primary leaders and children in Murphy. 

A picture thought...