In the Garden

That title reminds me of my favorite part of the Sixpence song Kiss Me. She sings In the garden.... of looooooooove. Of course it makes me think of my wonderful and beautiful wife.

We're participating in a community garden at Shelby Farms. It's been interesting so far. I believe this is an unusual year. They plowed the area late due to rain. I'm told a couple of days later they made rows when it was to wet, which created large (fist to foot size) dirt clods. A couple of days later they ran a clod buster over everything, but it was to wet to be effective.

And then we got to till it all over again. Here are some pictures of that event:






Though it looks like Nehemiah is about to cutoff his sisters head, that was not the case. He would have gotten in trouble if he had.

Joi and the girls planted part of a few rows of corn on the north side of the garden. Ezra asked, "What kind of corn are we planting? Corn on the cob?" I treasure that question. Children are so precious. They bring such joy.

A Fun and Stressful Day

Wow. I took the day off to go camping. Due to my own malfeasance, that didn't happen. Instead, we went hiking. My fried David told me about Big Hill Pong State Park (thanks David). I've been planning to go take a peek for some time. My plan was to camp in the Pickwick State Park, and go to Shiloh for the Civil War reenactment. I figured we would stop by on the way back or something.

The day didn't exactly go the way I expected. I got a couple of phone calls from friends/co-workers. I was told that someone from my area was laid off, and several others that I work around. I asked one if I needed to call my boss to find out about myself. The day went on, and I got several other calls and text messages. I listened to a voice mail informing me that there were some in our group, but I was not one. That was a relief.

Now the fun part. We took a hike. Literally. I took all of the kids hiking. Joi stayed in the van and watched a movie and read a book. We were gone about two hours. I figure we probably went two miles there and back. Now I realize that doesn't sound like much, but... but... I had five kids with me. I carried (in a backpack), the youngest at one, and my two and four year old's walked the entire way. To add to that, this was around nap time (2:30 to 4:30). The first 200 feet was a descent, where we crossed the lake to ascend the other side. It was much milder on the other side, but that meant we had to climb the major hill before getting back to the van.

All in all, we had a great time. I am so thankful that my kids love trenching through the woods. There were so many leaves on the ground, no leaves in the trees, and they were being giggly, so we didn't get to converse much. It is still a lot of fun to just walk around in nature. I think if I could, I would live in the middle of the woods. I enjoy it so much.

So with that trip, I've decided that before long, I am going to take the older kids (not sure if that will stop at #2 or #3) backpacking. We'll hike through the woods to a shelter, and spend the night. We're going camping soon, but I still can't wait to do this.

Only in Memphis

Yep, last night is snowed the 2nd (but maybe 1st) biggest snow I have seen in my lifetime living in the Memphis area. After Tuesday, the temperature is supposed to be in the 70's and dip to the 60's by the end of the week. Where else can you get eight inches of snow and have 70's in the same week... I mean besides Colorado Springs... They cheat... they are in the desert and scrunched up against the Rocky Mountains.

The snow just came from nowhere. It had snowed about three to four inches when I put the kids to bed last night. Looking into the light, you could see the snow coming down, but not very much. I assumed it had played out. I was surfing the internet and got an email from our Pastor letting everyone know that church was canceled. I was very disappointed, as I didn't think it was that bad. Fifteen minutes later, a branch from my neighbors tree fell on my back porch. I went outside to evaluate the situation, when I discovered that it had not played out. In fact, it had snowed another fiver or so inches. We had played in a parking lot that night, but the snow was just wet and slushy. This morning we went back, and the snow was dry and powdery. It didn't matter much. We managed to sled down a good hill several times (I actually participated more than the kids did, and I am sore from it). The kids just wanted to tromp around in the field. Nehemiah just wanted to lay in the snow and rollover.

On the backside of a hill, there was a drift pile. It was well above my knee. That was a lot of fun for me as well as the kids. Nehemiah couldn't get into it. Andie said she felt like she was sitting down it was so high. It was a lot of fun. I am glad we made the little excursion. It was a memory that will last a lifetime I am sure. I think Joi has some pictures. I will post them if they are any good.

Encouragement

Wow, what a blessing I received this day. I made a comment on a picture in Facebook. It was a band that had a huge influence in My Love and I meeting and later marrying. One of the former band members commented on my wall. It was truly a blessing.

wow shane, I HAD NO IDEA yall met that way. That is so awesome, and even more awesome how all these years later yall are loving God together more and more. Your marriage is an example many could follow. I have alot of respect for both of you :)

This is a great encouragement. I look forward to one day being an encouragement to others by having 75+ years of marriage, and a 200+ great grandchildren.

This is an acknowledgment that we are doing what we have set out to do. I have a strong desire for family. I want to see husbands leading their wives and children in the ways of our Lord. I want to see wives nurturing their husbands and children. I want to see young adults learning to be adults while blessing those mentors. I desire to see children never knowing a day they didn't know of God's love for them.

There have been a lot of things that have led us to where we are. At a very high level, here are a few things that had a major influence on us. Some of these resources got us through a short period and prepared us for the future. Some I no longer hold dear, but they had an influence none the less.

D. James Kennedy - Books and sermons
The Pearls - No Greater Joy (magazine), To Train Up A Child (book)
Dennis Rainey - Family Life Today (radio show), Various FLT conferences
RC Sproul Jr - Several Books, Basement Tapes
Vodie Baucham - Sermons, Conferences, books
Ken Carpenter - Franklin Springs Media DVDs

I am sure there are others, but I think this is a good start. I think most of these are very relevant. I hope you will invest a little energy to search them out. I will be investing some to write more details regarding each of these resources.