Thank You God For Your Creations

Cappuccino taking a curious sniff of the crisp morning air

The flood of these recent days has made me think a lot about God's powerful existence. God shows himself to people in thousands of different ways. He touches, molds, prepares, strengthens and opens hearts every day throughout the world. From miracles to destruction to the sun shining on us once again each and every morning, God continues to show himself to His people.

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal king. . . . But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with rain and brings out the wind from his store-houses. Jeremiah 10:10b,12,13. NIV

Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes & Mums in my homemade version of a "topsy turvy"

Dwarf Lemon Tree

One of the ways God speaks to my heart the most is through the beauty of His creations, the majesty and intricacy of the nature he has placed around us. Barron and I were blessed with the ownership of our very first home this past spring and one of the greatest joys I have experienced from this new home is the beauty of the outdoor space around us. Many hours this past summer was spent in the backyard and on the back porch, digging, potting, spreading, trimming, clipping and watering. The best part of it all is sitting back and enjoying the fruits of our labor. This past season we have been able to enjoy every bit of fresh basil, rosemary, mint, cilantro and juicy tomatoes. Right now we are patiently waiting on our lemons, jalapeno peppers and red bell peppers to ripen. Yum! Yum!

You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

How joyful and prosperous you will be! Psalms 128:2

White table grapes for my Barron. He loves them! We are hoping they will produce fruit by next year.

One of Barron's patients so graciously brought us clippings from her garden at the beginning of the summer. When I finally found time to plant them they were malnourished and looked like half-dead droopy little specimens. These tiny clippings have now grown into beautiful FIVE FEET TALL Cleome flowers and an EIGHT FOOT TALL Butterfly Vine!! Little did we know what a special gift these little sprigs of life would turn out to be. We think of Barron's thoughtful patient every time we step into the backyard and will every summer as our flowers come back to life. We'd love to share our treasured perennials with other perennial lovers. Let us know and we'll swap with you next year! I love to have flowers from different people throughout our yard, it makes a garden truly special.

If you look close you can see a glimpse of our goldfish named Ginger. Our 2 little koi, Butterfinger and Spike are enjoying their favorite pastime, which is playing hide and seek below the water hycienths and lotus leaves.

Our Humble Little Water Garden

Barron surprised me one weekend this summer with tickets to the Atlanta Tour of Koi Ponds. Following the tour we took a hold of our inspiration and built a small water garden in our own backyard. We made probably fifteen more trips to Home Depot than expected, dropped numerous heavy stone blocks on our fingers and toes, as well as tested the ties of our marital bond, but WE DID IT! In the future, we want to build a really big pond, but for now we are happy with our petite little pond with the relaxing sounds of its gurgling fountain. It is the perfect size for our little fishies, Ginger, the goldfish, and Butterfinger and Spike, our baby koi.

Everyday I thank God for His beautiful creations. It is amazing what He has blessed us with in the world around us. Even on a bad day I can look at His glory in the vibrant color of a flower or in the warmth of the sunshine and realize, "WOW!" what an awesome and powerful God we have.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20 NIV

Surrounded by the splendor of the outdoors is one of my most prized possessions, my late grandmother's wrought iron table, filled with irreplaceable memories of true love and homemade biscuits.

Our babies, Bruiser and Cappuccino love to sit on the couch in our keeping room and watch us gardening outside. It's so cute! This is my favorite place to sit in the mornings, to drink coffee and enjoy quiet moments while indulging in beautiful glimpses of the outdoors.