Homemaking Outdoor Happiness!!

The sun doesn't always shine where we live. It has a habit of staying behind the clouds more than some areas of the country. A couple of summers ago my flowers stopped blooming because it rained and stayed cloudy so much. This summer looks promising. Promising more sunny days than cloudy. 

Today is the third day that I have been outside. Monday and Tuesday was drizzly rain but nothing daunting....I went outside for about half an hour trying to dig the stubborn sod where I will plant my hydrangeas. The ground around our house is rocky and hard with a somewhat clayish soil. I suppose once I get my hydrangeas into the ground it will be all worth the while. For now, the ground sure reminds me of my stubborness and sinfulness, each little rock representing the clutter of sin in my life. You know, those sins we don't mean to do. The unintentional unkindnesses or slights we do...that we feel awful about when we realize our husband or children have reacted because our spirit was wrong. Maybe you don't have those problems like I do??

Today, the sun is brightly shining. It is a good thing because I intend to clip the grass and weeds around the house. The WHOLE house!! Our weed-wacker is broken for the second year in a row, and I have lessons to learn through doing this garden task. First of all, should you feel sorry for me (awwww that's sweet) but DON'T!! I am thoroughly enjoying it except for the extremely tired feeling...so I occasionally take a bloggie-break :-) I can't help but see all the weeds and unruly grass which has grown back....already this spring!! Just like the rocks, the weeds remind me of sin and bitterness that spring up and choke out the beauty God intended to bring to my life. 

I was thankful that the weed-wacker was broken as one of the boys would have done the job instead of me. To squat as I manually snipped the weeds with the scissor clippers was invigorating and actually uplifting. We tend to have various machines to be our servants giving women today much more free time than my grandmother who was married in 1910!! That is why it is important to work out (but that is another blog post, lol.) To be outside in the fresh air, working hard today as I listened to Kevin Inufuku sing, raised my thoughts to my Creator and Lord while tending to my beautiful plants. I cannot possibly express the depth of love for God that I felt as I worked...I could have resented that my husband didn't repair the wacker, after all, it was broken last summer too!! It was exhilarating to be lifted above my problems which had me in their grip just yesterday. The problems are the same but my focus has shifted to Jesus.

Don't just read my post and smile and agree. Don't just surf the blogs if it is the middle of the day. Spend time with your children. Be diligent in homeschooling them (if you are a homeschooler), get up and clean your house...do what the blogs you read suggest. Learn and do!! Do something invigorating and you will find it easier to be patient with your children and your difficulties of life will become dim.  Reward yourself with a break if you have done what you should be doing first; don't sit at your laptop all morning procrastinating your duties. 

Have you found yourself in the mully-grubs?? Have you found that getting outside and doing some yard or garden work elevates your spirit emotionally and spiritually as you are physically active in the fresh air?? Share what you have done to bless your home outside and how it helped to draw you to the Lord and balance you out.

~Judith~

Nothing is more restful in my 'Haven of Rest' than to be surrounded by lush green woods!!

Link Ups:

Hearts 4 Home

Women Living Well