garden

I don’t know about y’all, but my most favorite part of summer is all the fresh fruits & vegetables. We had our little container garden on our back deck. It’s certainly, a do again. I like having the fresh cucumbers & tomatoes. And the fresh herbs have simply made our grilling out of this world. My uncle called me the other day & said,

“Do you want these purple hull peas, I just picked out of the garden?”

Why yes, I reckon I do. These are the peas that are grown in the same ground my grandparents had their garden. So, it kinda tugs at my heartstrings. These are also the same peas Miss Neenee told me about Sunday night,

“Mama, I was hungry, when we were at church. All I could think about was eating peas & cornbread, when we got home.”

I’m not saying we are properly raising our daughter, however, I just don’t know of anything else you could take away from that. Raising a proper Mississippian takes a little time and effort, and having a palate for southern cooking doesn’t hurt either. Because we LOVE to eat. And Miss Neenee does, too. Thank the Lord.

We had one of the people from Lads to Leaders come speak to us at church Sunday. If you are wondering what Lads to Leaders is, it’s the largest training tool the church has for our youth. However, I guess that’s not really right. Adults can participate, as well. But it’s mostly youth driven. Bro. Roy Johnson talked about doing all we can to keep our kids in church. He said statistics show that at a young age children make up their minds about the Lord, Bible, & church. And a lot of it has to do with who is responsible for their upbringing. I’m not talking about the parents that don’t take their kids to church. I’m talking about the parents that have the kids at church. Sometimes the ones who darken the door every service. Those kids, that decide,

”This is not for me.”

And by the time they get old enough for car keys, they are gone from the church. Or when they are finally old enough to move out, from mama & daddy’s house, that is all of their church going. Those kids, are the ones, that may have not seen mama & daddy love the church like they should have. Those are the ones, that may have always been present, but on the car ride home heard about how it was too cold in the auditorium or too hot. Or how long the preacher made the sermon, or did you see what kind of dress so & so had on? Or did you notice those kids running around, babies crying, or the BIG one- Mr. Brown that sits way up front in the church building, doesn’t speak to Mr. Smith who sits all the way in the back corner of the other side, because when he was little his grandfather & the other guy’s grandfather had a disagreement. We think. They don’t really know about what or who. But they can’t speak or look at each other, anyhow. Y’all. This really hit me hard, because I know all about this stuff. My Daddy was the preacher, when we were growing up. We heard everybody’s business. But you know what? My Daddy & Mama loved the church & taught us kids to love the church.

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up. Deuteronomy 11:19 (KJV)

That’s what I want to teach to my kids & grandkids. I want my family to go to heaven. However, I can’t expect my kids& grandkids to learn about the Lord, love the church, & want to be a part of something, that I don’t whole heartedly believe in. You have heard the old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Believe me that doesn’t work here. I just pray the Lord will see fit to help me be a good example to my kids, grandkids, & family. I don’t ever want to be the reason to make anyone stumble. Some may believe wealth & success comes from the world, jobs, what you own. I would think you should feel the richest & happiest in the world if your family were faithful Christians. Nothing beats that.

It’s August. As in August. Summer is on the downhill stretch. And if you ask me how many of my summer goals I met, well, not many. I don’t like to point fingers, but this thing called a broke foot didn’t help the cause much. Now, don’t start gettin’ all worried. I am fine. It’s just a ridiculous inconvenience. That’s all. I hope you have had a great summer, minus the broken bones. I have to be going now, because I should be washing clothes.

My people ready for summer.

Mr. Sweetie Pants ready for summer & looking all dapper for church.

When it gets to being the hot part of the year, y’all, I have so many things I think back on. Sipping red Kool-Aid on my Mama Boyce’s car porch ( as she referred to it). Playing outside in the yard. Catching lightning bugs. Eating too many strawberries out of my Papa Clyde’s strawberry patch. Swimming in the branch at my Mamaw & Papaw’s house. And going to the garden at both sets of my grandparents’ houses.

My Papaw & Mamaw Austin were very well versed in growing gardens. They worked so hard to make sure we had our freezers full for winter. I remember one steamy summer morning, I was about 7 years old. The daily plans included, going to the garden. My Papaw had already been to the barn, that morning, to milk the cow, feed the mule Kate, & other farmish related duties. When he got back to the house, he perhaps made mention that one of the barn cats had had kittens. Well, don’t you know that perked my ears up real quick. Then, y’all I started with the begging to go see them. Goodness Gracious why would they expect me to wait around whilst there were things at the barn that I needed to be looking at? Mamaw said it was time to go to the garden anyway, so off we went.

The barn was situated right beside the garden. So, once we made it down there, it didn’t take long until I had worried Mamaw down to a frazzle & she said I could go in the barn to search for the newly born kittens. However, she wanted me to wait for Papaw to go inside with me. Being the obedient & always minding child I was, I started to sneak off to the barn by myself. Papaw was just taking too long. I walked up through the dirt rows & when I about got to the end, I heard Mamaw holler. I turned around & looked & Papaw was beating the ground with his hoe. Right in the spot where I had been walking. Well, needless to say, he wasn’t just beating the ground for nothing. There was a black racer snake that was chasing me up the garden row. I didn’t even know it. My Papaw had come in & killed it to protect me. Even when I was being disobedient.

Now, does that not sound like the Lord? Even though we may be on a path He told us not to go on, He still watches over us. Even when we don’t deserve it. That’s called grace. The dictionary.com simply gives this definition of grace:

favor or goodwill.

The Lord takes care of us when we have done nothing whatsoever to deserve it. I have heard it called “unmerited favor”. That’s what the Lord does for us. He steps right in & protects His children whether we know it or not.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, NKJV

The Lord is really good at working behind the scenes. As a matter of fact that’s where He does some of His best work. So, today, if you feel like you are going through a hard time by yourself, you aren’t. The Lord is always there watching over us & keeping us from harm.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are safe. NKJV

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” NKJV

So, we have done our little version of a garden this year. It’s a container garden on our back deck. Because who doesn’t want fresh vegetables? I reckon we do.

We started out planting. This is the peppers.

This is just when we got finished planting. There are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, & herbs.

This was the cucumbers one day this week. These guys have grown right before our eyes! Don’t that beat all?

And what about these? We may be fancy gardeners, yet.

I am so glad you came by to visit with me today. Summer has come in full force here in northeast Mississippi. We are going to reach the high 90s this weekend. Along with that comes humidity & mosquitos! It will be so hot we won’t be able to let our kids go outside & play. Y’all, it will be hotter than blue blazes. There is no wonder there are so many Christians in the South. 🙂

Hope you have a blessed day. Until next time, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.