choice
The weather being too wet to work outside, I went down to the shop to spiffy the place up a little. I spied a long bladed trenching shovel with a broken handle – we used to call this a ‘sharp shooter’. I found a handle that had been broken from something else and I set about modifying this handle to fit the shovel blade. Even with the several power tools I have, the best tool I had for the job was a hand planer. It did take a while to taper the wood of the handle to the size that would fit the shovel blade.
This was completed, the handle was tightly seated and a hole was drilled and a screw placed to hold it on. I then abandoned the shop and after several odds and ends, I crashed into bed. The next day was the first one with decent weather since we returned from Texas, so I took my newly handled shovel outside and put it to good use uprooting brambles and weeds from the garden soil.
After an hour or so I tired of this endeavor and went with the Spice and MIL to take her uncle and aunt to lunch – they were visiting for the afternoon from Walterboro, SC. We enjoyed this and when we got back I went back outside and involved myself in some pruning. First was the fig tree on the other end of the garden – a radical pruning of some of the frost-damaged limbs from last year.
Then my attention turned to the muscadine vines down the hill toward the pond. This is very time consuming because all the growth from last year has to be trimmed back to two or three buds on every limb. I have 7 vines and I completed one of those and started on another one. Some of the vine growth can be extreme – 10 to 20 feet long. The light faded to the point that I could barely see what I was cutting and I didn’t want to nick a finger, so I called it an evening.
Next morning was Sunday and even though MIL was staying with us and didn’t feel well enough to go to church, she encouraged us to go and we did so. The sermon was entitled “Do not be deceived” and it so much applies to our world today even though the main example of the message was Sampson – even the most brilliant of us can be deceived in a spiritual sense. We must know, believe and follow the truth to keep from believing and living a lie.
Back up to the worship service – when it started, my mind was cluttered with random thoughts, some not even close to the church building. The choruses had the effect of clearing my mind to think about where I was and why I came there. The songs usually go over and over in my mind for several days. This is a good thing because it keeps me more focused on what is important.
Backing up even further to the Sunday school class and the teacher made a statement from which I drew a mental picture that has stayed with me. The statement was something to the effect of – sometimes we live in the shadow of our misdeeds. In my mental photo, the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God are shining forth like the sun and the person was existing in the shadow or shade of their wrongdoing, not realizing that all they had to do to be rid of it was to step out into the light.
All three of these things involve our choice, we can have God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness if we choose to go to Him and ask. ec
This was completed, the handle was tightly seated and a hole was drilled and a screw placed to hold it on. I then abandoned the shop and after several odds and ends, I crashed into bed. The next day was the first one with decent weather since we returned from Texas, so I took my newly handled shovel outside and put it to good use uprooting brambles and weeds from the garden soil.
After an hour or so I tired of this endeavor and went with the Spice and MIL to take her uncle and aunt to lunch – they were visiting for the afternoon from Walterboro, SC. We enjoyed this and when we got back I went back outside and involved myself in some pruning. First was the fig tree on the other end of the garden – a radical pruning of some of the frost-damaged limbs from last year.
Then my attention turned to the muscadine vines down the hill toward the pond. This is very time consuming because all the growth from last year has to be trimmed back to two or three buds on every limb. I have 7 vines and I completed one of those and started on another one. Some of the vine growth can be extreme – 10 to 20 feet long. The light faded to the point that I could barely see what I was cutting and I didn’t want to nick a finger, so I called it an evening.
Next morning was Sunday and even though MIL was staying with us and didn’t feel well enough to go to church, she encouraged us to go and we did so. The sermon was entitled “Do not be deceived” and it so much applies to our world today even though the main example of the message was Sampson – even the most brilliant of us can be deceived in a spiritual sense. We must know, believe and follow the truth to keep from believing and living a lie.
Back up to the worship service – when it started, my mind was cluttered with random thoughts, some not even close to the church building. The choruses had the effect of clearing my mind to think about where I was and why I came there. The songs usually go over and over in my mind for several days. This is a good thing because it keeps me more focused on what is important.
Backing up even further to the Sunday school class and the teacher made a statement from which I drew a mental picture that has stayed with me. The statement was something to the effect of – sometimes we live in the shadow of our misdeeds. In my mental photo, the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God are shining forth like the sun and the person was existing in the shadow or shade of their wrongdoing, not realizing that all they had to do to be rid of it was to step out into the light.
All three of these things involve our choice, we can have God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness if we choose to go to Him and ask. ec
posted by mreddie | 11:49 PM
9 Comments:
Hi Mr Eddie ~~ Glad you have settled back at home and gradually getting into the jobs that need to be done.
Sorry you felt a bit under the weather the first day home, probably the result of the trip etc. Don't
over-do things. Take care, Regards, Merle.
So, garden work has begun for another year. I am impressed by anyone who can fabricate a shovel.
Welcome home! Your mention of muscadines made my mouth water and also reminds me that I need to remove the rest of the dead morning glory vines from the deck.
merle - It's good to be back out in the yard and garden again - although planting is over a month away. Somehow it is hard not to over-do things but I'm trying.
AC - This is the prep work before the real work. The shovel looks a bit homemade but works quite well.
brenda - A lot of folks don't know what muscadines are or have even tasted one - I agree, they are yummy. ec
Hi Again Mr. Eddie ~~ Thanks for your comments and I am glad you enjoyed the Make-Up test. Smart professor!!
Glad you enjoyed the jokes. Take care, Best Wishes, Merle.
Amen!
I love that you made a new handle for your shovel... and I always love it when you talk about gardening in February. We're under a foot of snow here and it's likely not to go away for another month! But most of all, my heart overflows with joy that you understand about walking into God's sunshine and really experiencing His JOY. Amen!!!
Trust you've recovered from the jet lag and general case of the blahs.
Sorry I've been absent - yet another computer disaster.
Excellent post, Mr. E.
May I take it a step further? We don’t even have to go to God and ask. God is the initiator of grace and all we need to do is accept.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
jayleigh - Our planting won't be for another month but I have to get the 'good soil' ready to accept the seed. As the OT mentions, the joy of the Lord is our strength also.
granny - Yes, I think I have 'all my ducks in a row' physically and am feeling much better. Sorry about the computer, they can be such a pain sometimes.
SSN - Yes, indeed! After rethinking, a better choice of words would be 'turn' rather than 'go'. In the sense that we must choose to turn from our self-sufficiency to His grace. Thanks! ec
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