"Expect your every need to be met,

expect the answer to every problem, 

expect abundance on every level,

expect to grow spiritually."

-Eileen Caddy 

Start Quote

Be here.

Learn to labor.

Learn to wait. 

Learn to wait expectantly.

[An] important lesson the garden teaches is sowing and reaping, 

as well as seedtime and harvest. 

Whatever you sow, you will reap. 

If I plant lettuce, I will not harvest tomatoes.

If I sow only positive seeds in my subconscious

-thoughts of plenty and not of lack-

abundance will sprout in the garden.

As for seedtime and harvest, be forewarned.

The spiritual time continuum is not the same 

as time experienced on the earthly plane. 

A year for us is a second in the spiritual dimension...

[We have to sow and wait, then wait some more.]

This doesn't mean that the seeds have fallen on stony ground. 

I refuse to believe this, 

for I have worked the soil, 

dug the double ditch, 

added the compost, peat, sand, and lime. 

The soil is rich. 

Some crops...require an investment of years 

before there is a harvest.

If my harvest is to be a simply abundant lifestyle 

- rooted not in the world but in Spirit, 

I must be patient. 

End Quote

"You are not living by human laws but by divine laws.

Expect miracles and see them take place.

Hold ever before you the thought of prosperity and abundance, 

and know that doing so sets in motion forces 

that will bring it into being."

-Eilen Caddy  

Sometimes waiting is hard. 

Being patient? Even harder.

But is it worth it?

Heck yeah.

And let me tell you, it's so much better to wait with patience 

than to wait with anxiety or fear or drama or hatred etc etc..

***

Gratitude Journal

***

1) My parents are back in town! I've missed them. And so did the kids. They took the kids to the movies so I got a few hours on my own, and then they took Jacob for the weekend. Do you know how much easier it is to be with two kids than with three?

2) I did not have to make dinner. Pizza and friends, good stuff.

3) Making peach lemonade. Delicious.

4) Four Day Weekend! 

5) It's bed time. Peace out.

June 29th - Pruning

"More often than any of us would like to admit, 

life has a way of hitting us where it hurts most..."

Today Sarah talks about Gail Sheehy and her book Pathfinders, 

and how she coined the term "life accident", 

things that "we are powerless to predict or prevent."

Start Quote

Those individuals who will themselves 

to benefit from adversity become what Sheehy calls 

"pathfinders": real-life champions who, 

"by refusing to go under in the onslaught of a life accident," 

emerge victorious. 

Life accidents prune us back...

The task of pruning seems daunting, formidable...

I am also perplexed by the notion of 

cutting away what appears to be thriving 

in order to promote abundant blooming in the future. 

To my linear logic, this seems backward.

Yes, I understand intellectually 

that pruning strengthens rather than weakens, 

but that doesn't mean I have to like it. 

As I look at the roses, however, 

I realize that pruning is necessary for complete growth. 

 They are already in pain, what's a little more?

This is what it looks like after the pruning. 

It's very pitiful looking right now. 

Like I want to cry, and I bet it's crying too. 

I would have taken a picture during the day, but I didn't know I'd be needing it.

So, I have come to realize, 

is a certain amount of pain in our lives. 

Pain prunes the unessential 

emotions, ambitions, and illusions, 

teaching us the lessons we either

 consciously or unconsciously 

refuse to be taught by joy. 

Pain prunes the insignificant details 

that distract us from what is really important, 

sapping our days, energies, and spirits. 

When we don't prune in the garden, 

Nature does it for us through wind, ice, hail, fire, and flood. 

One way or another, 

the boughs will be shaped and strengthened. 

If we don't prune away the stress 

and plow under the useless in our lives, 

pain will do it for us. 

Make no mistake, 

I think pain is a wretched gardener. 

Her cuts stun and sting.

But after pruning, preferably voluntary, 

we're able to discern what's real, what's important, 

and what's essential for our happiness. 

Be of good cheer. 

Study your plants and study your lifestyle. 

When the right time arrives, 

go into the garden with sharp shears. 

Speak kindly. Pray softly. Prune back.

Now plow ahead.

End Quote 

If you don't prune, bad things happen.

I just saw a tree that wasn't pruned, 

and it had completely overgrown the walkway. 

It was growing sideways instead of up.

Don't grow sideways. 

It hurts, but you can do it.

Go ahead, cut what needs cutting.

***

Gratitude Journal

***

1) Days that are crazy. I'm so grateful that you can look back at the day and forget all the horrible things that happened and only remember the good things. The good things, my kid's smiles as they swam, and we got to see a lot of cool animals...and lots of cuddles at the end of the day.

2) Nothing bad happened. I got jinxed today. Someone complimented my kids saying what good listeners they are, and then they stopped being obedient. Jacob ran off when we were at the library. Not just anywhere, he ran through a crowd of people and right out the front door, and hid behind a pillar. I'm dragging the twins behind me, I get out the front door scared to death that he's in the middle of the street, and I still don't see him. I'm standing there completely stumped and the homeless guy sitting on the bench next to the library nods to his hiding place. I lost my crap. I'm so grateful that that was it, and that he wasn't dead out in the street because he ran in front of a car or snatched. I'm so grateful.

3) Jan Thomas Swim School. It was expensive, but it was so worth it. You should have seen them swimming today, they were so excited, and such good swimmers...but of course they still need a lot of work, it's not like they can go swimming on their own or anything, but they are confident, which is super awesome. But maybe too awesome. They kind of bombarded me...have you ever caught three kids jumping into the water at you at once? I've got skills, that I never want to use again.

4) My kids. Being a parent is so hard, but I love them so much.

 

5) BLTs...well, just the BT. I forgot that I didn't have lettuce. Still, so good.

June 28th - Repotting

Start Quote

Did you know that plants need to be repotted 

at least every two years?

This has not been a problem for me in the past, 

since plants rarely made it that long around here. 

But as I become a better caretaker of myself, 

I care better for everything.

However, even if the roots don't need more room to grow,

the old oil should be replaced because 

all the nutrients have been consumed...

[Gunilla Norris said] 

"I don't know when I myself am too pot-bound, 

lacking courage to be replanted, 

to take the shock of the new soil, 

to feel into the unknown and take root in it." 

We, too, need to consider repotting for growth. 

But when?

When we wilt even before the day begins...

But repotting doesn't mean we have to 

leave the marriage or quit the job.

[please don't just up and do that]

It just means we need something new. 

Why is it too late to go back to college 

if you do it one course at a time?

Maybe this is the summer to learn to speak French 

or start your own gift basket business?

Perhaps you can get the sewing machine fixed, 

try making blackberry cordial, or take up fencing. 

What's stopping you[?]...

As I work with my plants, I see that the roots are just stunted. 

Gently, with my fingers, I untangle them.

Leaf. Stem. Root.

Mind. Body. Soul...

I set the plant into a slightly larger pot. 

Not too large; we must not overwhelm but encourage.

So too, I must not take on the world 

but simply each task before me. 

End Quote

Of course, the last time I repotted, I killed the plant. 

Do your research first. 

Maybe it just needs some more light, more water, 

some plant food.

***

Gratitude Journal

***

1) The mountains. It's hard to sometimes to be patient with toddlers, and when you have three of them...So today we went up the hill. Something about the drive just calms me down. And the fresh air, the sounds, the pool, the lake, the frogs, the carefree playing, Nana and Grandma's house, my friend saying "wow" when we drove up to Grandma's house...my thoughts exactly. 

2) Good company. My friends, my kids friends, and spending the day with us. Not many people you can do that with.

3) Meal planning. I know I'm getting a BLT tomorrow, with tomatoes from my friend's garden. Yum.

4) Robbie. I can't be grateful for that man enough. 

5) Apricots. There is nothing better than picking fruit off of a tree and eating it. It is the most delicious thing ever.