Beautiful Michigan Day

 Here's a list of my favorite birthday highlights from today:

• Great Church Service at Trinity
• David went to church with us, just like old times (in the same car!)
• Nice cards, notes & gifts from special people in my life
• Awesome lunch of gluten free pizza from Buddy's while everyone else enjoyed Hungry Howie's pizza.
• Phone conversation with my Mom
• Walk through the Lower Huron Metropark

Lower Huron MetroPark



Racing Leaves



This is the nature girl!  She filled up half her bucket with treasures from nature.



Love these trees against the beautiful Michigan blue sky

Time to head home

Celebration of Discipline: Meditation

I have been reading through the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, originally published in 1978.  What an awesome book.  I had also purchased Celebrating the Disciplines which is a journal workbook to accompany it.  I have read chapters on Meditation, Prayer, Fasting and Study. 
This book has helped me wade through the confusion of what is the difference between Eastern meditation and Christian meditation.  Eastern meditation is emptying the mind, detaching from the world and merging with the cosmic mind.  Christian meditation is an emptying of ourselves and filling up with the Lord.  We need to detach from the confusion around us so we can have a richer attachment to God.  And here's one of Richard Foster's awesome statements: "Meditation is the one thing that can sufficiently redirect our lives so that we can deal with human life successfully.  It brings greater perspective and balance into our world."  Here's my summary of what he says:  Meditation is a quiet time to empty ourselves and be filled with his peace.  It's a time to focus on the Lord and allow him to transform our hearts.  As a result our lives are impacted and we extend it naturally to others.  My obstacles to medication are interruptions, being in the same place each time (as Foster recommends in order to focus), finding a regular time, and quiet (or lack of it!).  Foster gives specific instructions on what to meditate on and how to do it.  He encourages the selecting of a Scripture passage for one week and focusing on that.  He says to take 1 event, a parable, a few verses or a word and allow it to take root. Use all senses and join the story if possible.  Don't study; receive.  In this, we will forget about "self".  He also instructs on how to release our needs to the Lord when we are just beginning to meditate, by placing our palms down (releasing) and stating or picturing what weighs on our minds or is a concern to us and then placing our palms up (receiving).   I like that Foster is so practical. 
One of the things I have learned to do is take the Scripture "Be still and know that I am God" from Psalm 46:10.  I state it like this:
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am
Be still and know that I
Be still and know
Be still
Be
I had never done this before and find it so refreshing! 
I want to end with a quote from a classic devotional book (which I started reading as a result of the chapter on Study this past week.  Foster gives recommendations on what to read) and what an amazing book it is.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
written in 401 AD and translated
(I got it for my Kindle for 0.99)
"Oh! that Thou wouldst enter into my heart, and inebriate it, that I may forget my ills, and embrace Thee, my sole good!"

Butternut Squash

I love butternut squash.  In the October 2009 issue of  Better Homes and Gardens, they had a recipe for Butternut Squash Bisque.  That was the beginning of my love for them.  It is so good and something I like to make each fall.  Here are the ingredients: butternut squash, butter, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, braeburn or gala apples, chicken broth, and apple juice. I am looking forward to making this sometime over the next week.

The October 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens has a section on recipes for Butternut Squash.  The one I am looking at making is Caramelized Squash Salad with Pistachios and Goat Cheese.  Ingredients are: butternut squash, orange juice, maple syrup, dijon mustard, ginger, salt, pepper, olive oil, mixed salad greens, pistachios, and goat cheese.

Both of these recipes are on their website:  www.bhg.com

Herb Garden

 

 

 

My Hubby made me this beautiful herb garden this past spring.  I have loved herbs since I was a new Mom in my 20's and attended a Mom's Morning out at a Mennonite Church with my dear friend, the Farming Queen.  So my Hubby asked for some wood at our workplace and was given this awesome old wood that was used for a sign many years ago.  He built the raised bed, loaded it with good soil, and filled it with cilantro, sage, chocolate mint, oregano, dill, and parsley.  Now that was a wonderful gift! I noticed this week that our resident rabbit had made a nice cozy hole next to the sage.  What a lucky rabbit.  Reminds me of Peter Rabbit.  I think I should name our rabbit Peter except this week "he" birthed 3 baby bunnies so let's call him Patty.

 

My Personal Retreat

Just wanted to make a brief note about my personal retreat this past weekend. It was a wonderful time to rest, read, think, pray, plan, eat, and I even took a little time to shop. I will blog more in the days to come. I went so I could write my goals for the next year...a first for me. I completed that task. And found it enjoyable dreaming about what books I'd like to read this year and lots more. I was too weary to walk more than once plus it was a bit rainy. But the place I went was a beautiful old house. 3 other women were there and we had the house to ourselves. Amazing that they entrusted this place to us for the weekend. Thank you Lord for this place and this time. It was much needed.

Green

I have so much enjoyed watching the trees become green again! But oddly enough this year I find the pink trees and forsythias (which I truly do love) rather annoying. Would you just green up already? I know that is just awful but I have had enough of cold weather. I luv the warm evenings and days...
Reporting back on my window plants. The daffodil lasted all of 1 1/2 weeks. It now sits in our garage all spent and ready to be planted. Bummer...that was way too short. I'm keeping an eye out for a pretty plant that will last more than 1 1/2 weeks. As for the herbs, they are going crazy and about ready to take the kitchen over. Of course I haven't thinned out the plants because plant murder is just not one of my things. There are 4 plants and the one that hasn't really grown much is the oregano. Must be a tough one to grow since of course I'm very skilled at this!
3 weeks til my retreat. Can't come soon enough. I dream about getting away all by myself and laying in bed listening to quietness in the morning. I do love the littlest one even though she screams "Mama" "Mama" "Mama" "Mama" "Mama". You know I was thinking about this tonight: is she trying to make me totally crazy? What's with having to repeat yourself 40 million times in a row? No wonder I'm so worn out. "Mama" isn't the only thing she repeats. Tonight it was "Juice" "Juice" "Juice". I recognize she wanted juice but did she have to say it a billion times? Persistent. That's what she is. She did get juice but I made her ask for it nicely. It was the cutest thing. She stood in the kitchen and I watched her calm her little self down and say "juice please" in the nicest voice. She made me proud.
My middle child has been hugely helpful with her and I've been enjoying having a bit more time with her this week.
Well, now that the littlest one is in bed, the 4 legged one is whining upstairs. Agghhh!!! does it just never end?
I'm going to go make sure she's not terrorizing our groceries and then plop myself down on the sofa. Enough for today.

Spring Time

I so much wanted to express myself on this blog but the fullness of life has put a nix on that one. So, I will have to lay aside those expectations of doing 52 pictures and Way back When-sday. And I'll plan on blogging when I blog.
This has been an amazing week for weather! It has been in the 60's here and sunshiney. We spent some time in the yard blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, and playing in the sandbox. We went to the park and I pushed the littlest Baum for a long time as I soaked in the sun, admired the blue sky and noted that there are buds on the trees! Hope. That is so refreshing after winter. After the gray and colorless days. I'm good with winter until the end of January. And this year was even worse because in February the littlest Baum got sick and passed it on to all of us. It's now Spring and we're in the last half of March. The littlest Baum has brought yet another cold home with her and passed it on to me. And Papa Baum continues to not feel well from the first sickness. One day at a time. It sure reminds me to lean into my LORD. He holds our breath. He created each of us. He is the Great Physician and I depend on him.
My favorite magazine is Better Homes & Gardens. A few weeks ago I was shopping at Value World (they have used clothing and everything else). I found a BH & G from March of last year. It cost me 25 cents. They had an idea to buy a bulb for my windowsill and some herbs along with an outdoorsy sculpture. I found small daffodils at the grocery store with happy yellow wrapping around the pot. Then I went to the dollar store and found a robin and put her on my windowsill next to the daffodils. I asked Papa Baum to look for some herbs at the Depot (as the littles Baum calls it) and he came home with a kit to pot 4 different herbs. You should see them! I do believe I planted way more than should have been planted. so now there are a billion chives, cilantro, oregano and parsley plants popping up and I don't know what to do with them. I am concerned if I remove 1/2 of them or 3/4 of them, that I will be considered a plant murderer. I wish this didn't bother me so much. Just thin them out and be done with it! Right now they are sitting in a darker spot on the counter. Once the leaves are bigger, I'll put them on the windowsill and in June will put them outside...maybe. Well, that is, if they make it that long.
And what I'm most excited about these days is another retreat. I went on a personal retreat last May and it was so nice. It was at a Catholic Retreat Center. This time I'm trying a new place. I will be making my own meals this time around. Last year I wrote my life mission statement.
This year I plan to pray and look at the next year. What goals do I want to accomplish in the next year in 7 areas of my life: Individual, Wife, Mother, Homemaker, Administrative, Family & Friends, and Ministry.
I love the Franklin Covey material. I've got an awesome planner that I bought for my 40th birthday. Then I read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and was so inspired to re-evaluate my life. I long for my life to matter and these habits are tools to help me live my life to the fullest. The author, Stephen Covey, is a Mormom, which I don't endorse but his principles are astounding. I am able to take them and apply them directly into my life. It took about 2 years to read the book because my goal was to implement what he taught in there. So much to learn and I'm just beginning. Thus the mission statement and the 7 areas of my life. Life makes so much more sense. We are all uniquely made and I believe I have strong Administrative gifts which is why Covey's stuff impacts me so much. We all need to find the best way to become who God intends us to be. It's not the same for all of us. God is our guide and I'm so grateful.
Well, this reminds me I'm going to go check out the retreat center on-line to see what the grounds are like. How many acres? I love walking and exploring.
Have a blessed day...