Home; A peaceful place to be...

Not many people can say that about home...that's its peaceful. But I woke up this morning and the weather is finally breaking... I went out on our back upper deck and it was such a peaceful time. It wasn't quiet mind you, but peaceful. You could hear the rippling waters of the creek in our backyard. The chirpping of the birds and in the faint distance you could hear children making their way up the road to get the bus for school...but even though it wasn't silent it was peaceful. I had to take pictures, so on the days it gets a lil nuts, I will remember mornings like this and what mama says.."Trouble don't last always".

Alot of people ask me...oh my GOD I bet your house is loud all the time..and the answer is 93.4% of the time yes, the house is loud. The TV's are going, the computer is going. The kids are talking, laughing & screaming. The washer machine is humming the dryer is flipping. Cars are coming in and out of the driveway and doors are opening and closing constantly. The dishwasher is swishing and we have a revolving door of visitors that add tremendously to the volume level. But on a rare occasion-like this morning it wasn't loud at all. There was quiet...which has a new definition for me-The absence of chaos or unnecessary noise.

It was also peaceful. But peace is different from quiet...thus the term "PEACE & QUIET'. Peace is an inner decision and quiet is controlled by circumstances and volume. I had peace this morning, not because everything is perfect-Its not. It was not because we don't have issues to face or obstacles to overcome-We do. But for that moment I decided not to let all of that to forefront. I will have to eventually go back and get it (the issues, the obstacles etc..) and face them but for that moment I sat in my chair and chose peace....and it was an excellent choice.

Acres of Diamonds

Before "Who moved my cheese" or the "The Travelers Gift" their was a great book written in back in 1915 called Acres of Diamonds. Its author Russell Conwell was a union soldier in the civil war. He later became a baptist minister. He later became known for a speech that he gave more than 6000 times which later became Acres of Diamonds. The title of the speech speaks to the parable that was given at the beginning about a young man who desired great wealth. His goal was to find diamonds. So, he soldall of his belongings including a productive farm to pay for his "diamond journey". He left his family behind searching all over the world for this jewel. Eventually he spent all he had and was left with nothing. He became distraught and desperate and threw himself into the sea ending his life.

Later, we find that the new farm owner finds a odd looking rock that flows in the shallow stream on the property. Of course, we discover that it is a diamond. So if the young man had just stayed home, and took the time to see what of value he already had, he could have gotten unimaginable wealth without ever leaving home. Instead he lost his property, his time, his family and ultimately his life.

I shared that to say that sometimes the things we seek aren't "out there" somewhere...sometimes the wealth you seek, the love you seek, the wisdom you seek, the honor you seek, the value you seek..is right there in your house. Its with your family, husband, children, wife your loved ones, your parents or sibilings. Its in your garden. Its shows up when you take the time to cook a meal or clean your windows. It stops by when you work on your car or fix a leaky toliet. It sits next to you when you check homework or check for a fever.

During this hectic, busy time for me I had the opportunity to reevaluate what is and is not important and who has the right to decide that. I cut off some things that I no longer enjoy to exchange for somethings I need to get done with those that matter most-My husband & The Superfamily. I am finally aimed at legacy building, organizing my home, and focused attention on strengthening the dreams and drive of those around me. I'm sure to find a diamond or two in there somewhere..

Oh yeah ...I forgot to tell you

John has agreed to have a garden this year. We were going to do it last year, but we had alot going on and really weren't ready for it. To start things off...Jordan (the girl) is going to grow tomatoes. She wants to start them indoors, so I may find her one of those topsy turvy things to transplant it in later.

As for me...I am going to start with growing my own herbs indoors. I really dislike "canned" spices and seasonings. Unfortunately, they add unnecessary preservatives to everything! Another thing that I found out is that many canned spices have added "salt" for consistancy. Salt is an absolute NO-NO in our house. First of all, because there are 5 black men that live and eat there. To all of my non African-American friends and family members...The elderly and African Americans males are highly more susceptible to high blood pressure due to excess salt than others. Sodium is important for our body to function, but when you get too much, the kidneys work harder to protect you by passing it into the urine. Then when that gets to be too much it passes into your blood...which causes the rise in pressure. And most importantly, my brother in law is a cardiologist specializing in hypertension. So, if his brother and nephews OD'd on salt, it would be bad for his business :-).

So anyway...I said that to say that as busy parents I know that many of us don't feel we have time to slow down enough to care about what we feed out families, as long as they eat. But that isn't true. YOU have to care. You have to watch. You have to monitor. You have to observe. YOU have to make the choices that they don't pay attention to. They think fast food 6 days a week, a slosh of butter here...a 1/2 cup of sugar here....douse this with salt here...and it makes no never mind. That is not true and its a sutble way that the enemy uses to get us sickly, slow, overweight and spending resources at the doctor's office instead of in the kingdom.

Am I telling you to grow all your food..and never ever use salt again?...ummm no. I am saying PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Plan your meals. Plan what you CAN do to ensure fresher food for your family. Grow a vegetable or two. Quit buying everything in a can or a bag. Go to a farmers market to get fresh fruits and veggies. Stop adding everything the recipe book says to your food. If its says butter, find a substitute. If it says salt, don't. If its says sugar, try a natural sweetner, like honey instead. If you need to use basil, parsley, etc...try growing your own...dry it out and you can't imagine the taste difference in your soups, stews, chili's etc..also the satisfaction you get for knowing that you cared for and nutured these things for your family with your own hands.

I am so excited that we are starting this garden this year. I 'm looking to plant tomatoes, broccoli, greens, carrots, onions, watermelon and herbs. I am not sure what John wants to plant yet, probably weird stuff like squash :-). I just hope and pray that we can enjoy the food before the deer, racoons, chipmunks and squirrels get to it :-). I'll post pictures and let you know how its coming.