How does your garden grow?

With peppers....


And Beans...


And More...


We planted a garden plot this year. We did it last year, but the location was not too conducive to anything but squash apparently. Tons of squash. So we moved the plot to the side of our garage and hope that it will spring eternal with tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and even a little squash again. So far all seem to be doing well, except the peppers. We're hoping they're late bloomers. Ellie and Josh helped with our little "flags" so we would remember what we planted as they began to grow. (My favorite is Ellie's "beanz".)

It was so fun to plant the garden with the kids. We first had to dig out the sod (whoa, tons of work!) and then get the soil ready. As we picked out rocks and added good topsoil, Josh and I talked about the Parable of the Sower. It was such an amazing time for us to talk and work and learn more about what it means to be ready for God's work in our own lives. As a teacher, those "teachable moments" are my bread and butter. I look for those times in my classroom where I can throw in another great lesson on using interesting words in our writing, or how we really do use math everyday.

And there, in the garden, I knew the Holy Spirit was working in this situation, because I'm pretty sure the words I said were not my own. Later, as I thought about our time digging and sowing, I felt so good about how the Lord gives us these daily situations to build that foundation for a life-long walk with God. Lord, I pray that my eyes may see these moments throughout their lives...