God's handiwork

Waking early - I so appreciate my life here.

"I love you Lord & I lift my voice to worship you, O my soul - rejoice!"

Listening to the birds in the cool, gentle start to the morning, I never want to take it all for granted. Or heaven forbid, expect all these blessings as my "right". Life is fleeting. For some it is so hard. So fraught with persecution for loving God. May I be mindful of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer on the other side of the world. And to be thankful.

Always thankful.

our very first delivery

Our first order for Country Garden Snippets! Special delivery for a birthday gift to a friend's mutual friend. Cheery yellow and white was the order of the day.

pink posies

pretty posies in my favourite colour

sweet little raubritter roses

pink love-in-a mist with may

We have such a beautiful garden - full and overflowing with glorious old fashioned blowsy roses and fragrant favourites like sweet peas and orange blossom (philadelphus)

We are blessed! And it is a blessing to share - to cheer someone else's day with these sweet little offerings.

May these snippets of beauty touch your heart as a reminder of the abundant beauty right under our ....noses!

hemmed in safely

It's been a thinking kind of a day. Comes with being out in the garden so long! I've had my gloves on most of the time and they're wearing out. They have stiffened with so much dirt and have a couple of holes in them...but I LIKE them. ( Hey - they're pink after all) However, my fingers are sore. I think they actually make my hands ache more using them because they are sort of uncomfortable, even though they keep my hands safe from thistle prickles and other nasties.

It is easier to weed without them, but I am conscious I could do more harm without their protection - like touching a ghastly spider or ripping my fingers on a hidden thorny rose branch.

Sometimes we resent God's protection. It's uncomfortable or inconvenient when God hems us in a little...or declines to answer a prayer because He is protecting us from something unseen or unpredictable. How much worse are we if we throw off that mantle of trust in the protective limits He shields us with.

constructively destructive

There is something immensely satisfying about getting exceedingly grubby and then clean again at the end of a gardeny day. Today is the first day in a very long time that I have busied myself in the garden for more than an hour or two. I am sure my muscles will tell me tomorrow that I've overdone it, but I am "tired but happy". Very productive being constructively destructive! Wreaking havoc on weeds. Yes!

thought for the day

I've been thinking...all sorts of "parables" pop into my head while I am scrabbling about in the dirt. Maybe it's got something to do with being on my hands and knees - I often hear God's gentle whispers in the garden.

We have spent a lot of energy clearing the wild weeds, taming the bush and planting civilised plants in our little part of the world. But it doesn't take too long until the wild weeds creep back in. If left to itself, the bush would take over and swallow up everything we've worked so hard for. Unless I am vigilant, lantana and privet threaten to take over. The little seedlings pop up in unexpected places. Even in a spot "outside the fence" which has been cleared for a native garden, the lantana has really taken hold and you can hardly see where we've been only last year.

Our lives can be like that. If we are complacent, those little weeds grow and take root and become so tough they threaten to take over all the good God has done. Be on guard and keep your hoe handy.

Welcome to our pretty little spot. Come for a ramble around the garden to see what's unfolding in our neck of the woods.

I like the quote from Kindred Spirits (stitching ladies - Sally Korte and Alice Strebel) ....

'May the creations of our hands be clear reflections of our Creator.'