Gardening in the house

His Highness and I are stepping up our gardening this year.  We started a small garden last year and successfully grew green peppers, banana peppers and the like.  This year we are branching out and planting other fruits and veggies such as greens, watermelons, crowder peas, lettuce and tomatoes.  

Our ground (zone 5) is hard and cold right now.  Our growing season is short comparatively.  Knowing this, it is wise to start your seeds in a planter..grow them inside to prepare them for outside.  You are limited by space in the house of course, but by starting small, you gain an advantage to have a bigger harvest than what you would have if you had waited until the ground was ready.

Step parenting or parenting in general is a major lesson of seed….time….and harvest.  If you wait until your children are “ready” to hear instruction from you or accept your advice or guidance, you have lost prime time in making a difference.  With stepchildren this is even more vital because in some cases, depending on the situation, or due to resentment or family structure you may not be revered as an authoritative voice in their life. BUT that does not preclude you from the lessons you can teach from afar, by example…seedlings.

There are things I do, or don’t do that “teach” all time.  The way I serve my husband, decorate my home, organize my day, plan in advance, what I wear, how I speak, my mistakes, my triumphs..  It may be “small” in that I am not sitting down having a one on one consultation on the do’s and do not’s…but my little actions can speak louder than words.  One day when the “ground is ready” my wisdom, insight, or perspective may be better received and a harvest greater than what would have been realized if my little seedlings had not been planted along the way. Seed...TIME....and Harvest..

Its half time...time to huddle up!

Our point of reference for "half time" drifts to a sports game...and halfway through the game all play stops, the team comes off the field and goes into the locker room. Most players change clothes, shoes, take a quick shower. Some may grab something to drink or eat to keep their energy up. But after all of the initial commotion stops..its time for the coach to speak. The coach goes over what went well, what went wrong and what the strategy the team will use to work toward victory.

Its July and a little more than half of the year has past. Summertime is finally here and the sunshine, cool breezes and holidays bring about looser schedules..lazy afternoons, and vacations. Nothing is wrong with any of that except that by the time you get your footing again the kids are back in school, its mid September and in three months the year will be over and very few of your 2010 goals have been met.

Every mid year I have learned to huddle up. I come off the field (take a few days off work..or plan a long weekend)..change clothes (no suits, pantyhose or pumps) nourish myself and then prepare to listen to the coach...for me that's God.

I go over my year plans/goals and update myself as to where I am with completing them. I see what I have done well...what I have done not so well and adjust where necessary. I make tasks sheets to give direction as to what I need to accomplish and then determine if there is more I can take on or if there is something I need to let go.

This process rejuvenates a sports team and it does wonders for an individual as well. I also use this time to review my daughters schedule and goals..and plan time off for my husband and I.

Don't let the rest of this year just happen to you. Its half time...and its time huddle up...take stock and plan out the rest of your year...Live on purpose.

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.