Urban Farming!

I guess we are not alone in our endeavor to grow more of what we eat! We were the first people we knew to take out our lawn and put in a garden. And yes, I have my eye on our front lawn. It is so wasteful to water and fertilize such a large space, when it could be providing food. I know that a lot of people think this is crazy, but I think it is sensible. I also know that the yard can be beautiful without lawn. I wouldn't row garden like the folks in the video, but what an awesome idea to include your neighbors! What a great way to build community, sharing something we all need and love...food. Can we make a living sharing our passion for gardening and growing your own food? We think we can, and we are about to give it a try!!

Isaiah 42:16

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

I will turn the darkness into light before them

and make the rough places smooth.

These are the things I will do;

I will not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16

God brought this verse to my attention this week, and it has been very comforting! The novelty of Brian's lay-off has certainly worn off now. Now it is the reality of following God into something new. I feel virtually blind as we look at all of the directions open to us(or should I say closed?). How do you pick? How do you know which way God wants you to go? Sometimes, in the past, God has spoken very clearly and the decision before us was whether or not we would obey. Brian's Africa trip has been like that. But what to do for work, for income? That seems to be another story. We have an idea, we have prayed, we don't feel God is saying "No!", and there is peace to take the next step. I guess in times like these you prayerfully take one step at a time, and continue to seek God's will; measuring each decision against God's word. I am thankful to be reminded by God's word that along these unfamiliar paths He will guide me. He won't let us get too far off track! He will also make rough places smooth. I understand that to mean that along the path we will encounter rough places...and at that point He will make it smooth. First, we have to experience the rough place to appreciate when the change to smooth is made. I also see that in the midst of our rough time right now, God is there, smoothing out the rough edges of our lives. Unfortunately, that means my character is being developed...and that isn't always easy or fun! But, the last part of the promise is that during all of this He is there and will never forsake me! Praise God!!

What is this?

I have been wanting to grow this since reading about growing it in either: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver or This Organic Life by Joan Dye Gussow.

So, I am so excited to finally have this in my garden. I planted it a while back and I thought it had died, but much to my surprise, here it is!! This is what I love about gardening, I am always amazed and surprised by what I can and cannot grow. I am not yet convinced that I will have a plentiful crop(I will have to wait a year or two!) I am, however, happy today in this moment to see this delicious vegetable growing in my garden. Brian asked after I took this picture if I was planning to keep them, because he was thinking of taking them out. Is he crazy? That is the difficulty of sharing a garden, sometimes we don't see eye to eye on what to plant. There is no discussion, they will stay!

Just in case you didn't figure it out....it's ASPARAGUS!!!