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Pinwheel Wreath | Tutorial and Decor

May 29, 2012 By Laura 19 Comments

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Is there anyone, who doesn’t love pinwheels? They are just so fun, so whimsical, and can give anyone that feeling of childhood joy as it spins, no matter how old we are. I am so smitten with pinwheels lately, that projects involving them just keep popping into my head! This idea of a pinwheel wreath, however, has been on my brain since last year! I wasn’t sure exactly how I would design it, but I figured it out as I went along, and the results just make me smile! Just like I knew it would.

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What do you think?

I found it fun and easy to make. They don’t spin, as this project was strictly decorative. But I’m already thinking about designing another one that works! For this pinwheel wreath however, I just wanted it to have a summer feel, with lots of pops of color, so I chose summer hues accordingly. But imagine all the different and fun color combinations that you could come up with!

Let me show you how easily I made this wreath.

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Supplies Needed:

**I got everything on this list at Michael’s Arts & Crafts**

a styrofoam wreath base
a pad of double-sided cardstock (called a Solid Mat Pad) -papers size 4.75 in x 6.75 in.
4 or less double-sided designer 12×12 in scrap papers you love (heavier stock)
eyelet brads
eyelet setting tool set (had in my toolbox)
a small hammer (had)
long pins (- with the ball on the end. I got metallic ones.)

Optionals:

wide ribbon of choice
scissors, or a Fiskar Trimmer! (Which I highly recommend as a constant craft tool I have!)

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Next I am going to show you how to fold paper for pinwheels. But to start, you need your pinwheel paper in squares – size depending on how big or small you want your pinwheels. (You may want to experiment to decide that.)

The multi-colored pad of 2-sided paper I bought was 4.75 in x 6.75 in. So the easiest and fastest thing for me to do was to take 2 inches off, and make them square, at 4.75 in x 4.75 in. So I had a little pile of those cut to size in no time (with my Fiskar Trimmer), and ready to fold.

As you may be able to tell in the above 3rd frame photo, I did not open the paper to make the second fold, the first time when I photographed this. But you should…..it’s easier and makes a nicer second fold. I also zoomed in, so don’t let sizes fool you. But looking at the 4th frame, I am sure you get the idea of how the folding needs to get done. It kind of looks like a little square kite!

Next, is the cutting that needs to be done on the creases. Now, you CAN just use scissors for this! Just be sure to note where you need to stop cutting. There are 4 cuts on each square, and none of them go all the way to the center. But for mostly all of my craft paper cutting, I use my awesome (older model) Fiskar Trimmer. In case you have one, or are going to get one for this craft, I have made some labeled photos with directions and tips here below, of exactly how you can cut them all quickly and easily. I hope they explain well for you.

So if you just study these photos above and read the notes, you’ll find that cutting the square papers can be done in a zip! That’s what I love about the Fiskar Trimmer…….it’s fast, and the cuts are straight and perfect. I use it a lot!

In this photo above, I’d like you to take note of the eyelet setter tool set, and the pins. I hope you are familiar with eyelet (brads) and the tools needed to set them? They are used a lot in scrap booking as well. In a nutshell….a tip makes a hole in the paper for the brad to be put in. The setter is used on the backside of the eyelet or brad, to ‘splay’ the metal open and hold it in the paper. You do this with a little hammer, and it’s fun! You’ll see how it looks finished in a moment.

Here I have my little squares of paper all cut. When folding a pinwheel, you need to bring every other corner to the center of the square. So I have numbered them to give you the visual of that. Also, you can now get a good look at how the cuts do not go all the way to the middle, and about where they should stop.

I could not take photos of every step of this process, because it takes a lot of tight holding with very busy hands, and I couldn’t hold a camera too! But if you need to see how eyelet brads are set step by step with the hammer method, you can check this video here. There are newer tool sets out on the market, that set eyelets or brads with a spring-action tool, and another method as well. You will see the options at the video link above, but the hammer method I use is demonstrated.

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Every other corner is brought to the middle, with the point quite passing the middle. Each corner overlaps the previous, and you really need to hold them all exactly in place. Then, taking your eyelet hole puncher, you tap out the hole with the hammer on the top of the setter. With 4 layers of paper here, you really need to hit it hard a few a couple of time! ALSO NOTE: Just like when using an ordinary paper punch, you don’t want to punch a hole off the edge of an of the papers. This can be tricky with 4 corners on top of each other! So be sure they are all in place before making the hole.

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The eyelet brad has been put into the hole, held in there carefully while flipping the pinwheel over, and the back of the eyelet has been hammered and ‘splayed’ (I like that word…lol) out, to hold the eyelet in place. Careful not to crush your pinwheel too much!

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What the finished eyelet looks like on the front.

Seriously easy as 1-2-3! (On repeat mode. ; )

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OHHHHhhhh….It’s about to get even more fun, now!

Taking your pins, and putting each one through the eyelet of each pinwheel, you can start pushing them into your styrofoam wreath! The pins can be easily put in and taken out, so you can really play and see what you think looks good to you. You’ll also get an idea of how many pinwheels you’ll need, and how many bigger pinwheels you’d like to use, if any. I added 3 larger pinwheels to my smaller ones. The larger ones were made with 12″x12″ 2-sided designer scrap papers.

Before you get all of your pinwheels put in and in place just how you’d like it, you may want to add ribbon to the inside and outside of your foam wreath. I think the ribbon just makes the whole wreath look more finished. There are different ways you can do that, such as wrapping and winding around the wreath. But I had beautiful turquoise wide ribbed ribbon that laid flat nicely all around the inside and outside, so I chose to do that.

To attach it, I used E6000 glue. Maybe not the best technique. But I squiggled it on, and spread it with some little ripped paper and let it get a tad tacky, before laying the ribbon down. I was concerned it would soil through, but spreading it out and letting it set really helped, and it worked. You may want to use hot glue, or just pin it all the way around. I was thinking….my metallic pins would have looked pretty cool. Like shiny studs.

With the ribbon glued all around the outside and inside perimeter of the circle, I looped another cut piece to hang the wreath from later, before pinning all of the pinwheels in place.

And that is the gist of how my pinwheel wreath was made! Now you can just enjoy several photos of the finished project!

Ahhh yes…..My husband used a flat head nail, and nailed right through the ribbon to hang the wreath. Then, I just glued a big cute button on the nail head! Love buttons! I think it adds such a cute element, and I also really dig the white stitching on my pretty ribbon too.

018_pinwheel-wreath-decor My summer-fun pinwheel wreath is hung in our sun room, as a fun and cheery welcome on the wall right in front of anyone who walks into our home through our front door. I not only love it, but our kids do too, of course! I hope you are inspired to do a project as fun as this one.

pinwheel-wreath-tutorial-decor Speaking of pinning, feel free to pin this collage to Pinterest, if you are on there! I will be! We also have added a new ‘P’interest social button in the header, and I’d love it if you’d like to follow me on there as well!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I invite you to leave me your thoughts or questions! Happy Summertime!

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Our Antique School Desks and Books

May 21, 2012 By Laura 20 Comments

Lately, I’ve been putting time into some things I can’t speak much of, yet. Well, I could. But there has been too many time in my life, when I have spoken too soon, about many things, that never really came to be, in the end. So I am finally starting to remember to keep my mouth shut about some things, until they are a little more certain! How about that, huh? I’m only in my 40’s. Anyway, just so you know, I’ve been more creatively productive than it has seemed lately. ; ) Doesn’t it bug you when people speak so vaguely? Me too. I’m sorry. I do hope to share more with you all, soon.

But today, I wanted to show you a couple of home treasures of ours, that I love. They are some old little school desks. If you like antiques, and/or you like old school things, you may find these pieces interesting.

This first school desk is one my husband, Michael, picked up at a yard sale he stopped at. He saw it, and knew I would love it. Because I not only love antiques, but love all things ‘old school days’ related! He paid $15 for it, and once he did, the seller told him it was made around 1932. It’s all solid wood, and pretty small, as it seems most school desks were back then. As you can see, I just have it set tucked in under a wall table.

Just inside the desk, are these two really old books.

This book, Twelve Ways to Build a Vocabulary, is by Archibald Hart, with a foreword by Johnson O’Connor. I came across it at a tag sale, on a table with a lot of other books, and bought it for $1.00! The kids and I love vocabulary, and this book is just interesting to read through. Printed in 1939, it has an old worn linen cover, fragile binding, and yellowed pages throughout.

This one, titled The Complete Home Handyman’s Guide, was Michael’s grandmother’s. I couldn’t tell you if she ever read it, but I did have the blessing of getting to know her in the years before she passed, so I can tell you this much; she was as good as any handyman around! She did all of the work of the greatest of handymen, and well into her 70’s! Michael said he grabbed this book out of a box of others his parents had. It was printed in 1948.

We have other wonderful old books in our home as well. Some more meaningful than others. But all of them make my nose tingle, when I flip through them. What’s up with that?

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Our second desk is a little more sentimental. Michael used this desk as a little boy. He tells me that it originally came from his aunt’s home, who had 5 girls. He recalls when he was little, that they had about 3 of these little desks, as well as teacher’s desk. They did not home school, but just used all of the school furniture in the playroom, to pretend with. At some point, one of them ended up coming to Michael’s family’s home, and he used it in his bedroom, while he was in early elementary school.

Through the years Michael and I were dating, Ido recall seeing it in his parent’s basement. It was of no interest to me at the time. When his parents sold their home and moved away, Michael took the desk, and it then sat in our own basement for years. Eventually, I fell in love with home schooling, all things from old schooling days, and antiques in general. When I remembered we had this old school desk of Michael’s in the basement, I couldn’t wait to bring it upstairs!

Although I have to admit, we truly have no room for it in our school room, and it is constantly in the way! It’s far too small for any of our kid’s to really use. And believe it or not, it’s heavy! Still, I love to see it. It’s charming, isn’t it?

Well, most of it. There is a reason I have only showed you the desk on this angle, so far.

Here, let me show you the other sides……

Can you believe this mess? Guess who did this? Michael! When he was little, and the desk was his in his bedroom, he put all of these stickers on it. He says they were the stickers he got in school from the teachers, and when he came home, he would put them on his desk.

I think for the years this desk was in the basements at his old home and ours, the stickers is all I saw when I looked at it. It’s pretty much baffling to me. I have always told my kids, “We only put stickers on paper! Never on walls or furniture!”. Guess Michael never got that memo. Even the kids were like, “DADDY did that? Oh my……gosh!”.

I told Michael, “Guess who’s cleaning them off? I don’t care if you’re 43 now.” ; ) Of course, they are still on there, so far. He’s not that afraid of me, much. But I haven’t really put my foot down yet either. In a way, I find it endearing to know he did all of this as a little boy. I bet he was so cute. And now we have the whole piece in our home, with 4 of his own little children. But then, did you really look at all of the stickers closely?…..

What-in-the . . . . . . Really? A teacher was passing these out in school? Lord have mercy. That’s a little disturbing. Don’t you think? I don’t even get it. What does it mean? I do know, that every time I look at it, I look for the woman’s arms. Where are her arms? Further disturbing. Yeah, he needs to clean these off. It would be nice cleaned up and refinished to it’s natural state anyway. Meanwhile, I keep this side turned to the wall.

Another feature about this desk, is that it’s on boards. I guess they used to screw the desks to the floor, so the kids weren’t moving them all over the place. Or something. I just tell mine to sit still. Anyway, this desk is so different than our other one we showed you, that is all wooden. Isn’t it?

I have no real year of this desk, but we can see on the base that it was made by Kenney Bros. and Wolkins, a manufacturer in Boston. I did some research online and looked at hundreds of photos of old desks, but never found any just like the two we have. Still, I don’t imagine they are anything that unique or valuable in worth. They are kind of special to us though, and that makes them worth something.

Could you tell us anything about the two desks we have here? Do you enjoy antiques, or love old school pieces too? I really do. I bet there are other home schoolers who do, too. If not, we hope you at least enjoyed seeing ours, today. Thanks so much for coming by, and visiting us.

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Boys’ Hardware Accessories

May 14, 2012 By Laura 24 Comments

It seems to be somewhat easier, to come up with crafty ideas for my girls. But the other equal half of my kiddos, are boys! I know they get just as excited when I am making something for them, too. So I try to see what cool ideas I can come up with, that they’ll dig.

Something recently got me thinking about hardware. Hardware is just cool, and definitely boyish! With all the various sizes and shapes that it comes in, for all kinds of building and fix-it projects, I got brainstorming what cool projects I could come up with for my boys. In this post, I’m sharing some hardware jewelry and belts I made for them.

I picked up a couple of adjustable belts at an army surplus store, and some suede string in a few different boyish colors, at the craft store. I also gathered some heavy duty sewing thread, a sturdy quilting needle, and of course, a variety of hardware!

I have to say, picking out the hardware was pretty darn fun! I went to the hardware store with all of my kids in tow, and we were there for a good while! I think we were making the store clerk a little nervous that we’d mix up the hardware in the 2 aisles of tiny organized drawers of hardware! But we didn’t. ; )

I knew I’d be getting some good ole hexagon bolt nuts and flat washers. But I was eager to see what other cool little shapes I could find as well. I thought the square nuts and star lock washers were very cool, so I got a bunch of them as well. Now, if your husband is handy as mine is, you may already have some of this kind of hardware at home. My husband did have a big tin of hardware, but they were really old and dirty. While it would have been great to recycle that, I wanted new and shiny pieces for these projects.

To make bracelets, choose a hardware element, and then figure out how much suede string length you’ll need to tie round one side of a boys wrist, and double that length, with a little extra for tying. Do the same with a piece for the other side of your hardware element. For a necklace, cut a single piece long enough for the desired length and tying. The above photo demonstrates how you can attach the suede string to the hardware: with your piece of string folded in half, feed your two loose end through the backside hole of your hardware, out of the front, and then bring those ends in between and through the loop on the opposite end. Pull and the loop will close onto the hardware, as seen.

Here are three finished bracelets, using a single piece of hardware. If you prefer, the end of the strands for any of the jewelry shown, could be finished with clasps, but we didn’t bother. We just tie them on. It adds to the casual feel! (Warning: You do need to tie them tightly though, or they tend to just come untied.)

Here is a necklace, using a flat washer and a square nut.
It’s fun to play around with the hardware, and seeing what combos you can come up with, for a different design or look.

This is the front view of another necklace, using a double strand of suede in 2 different colors, holding a hex-nut in the middle and square nut on each side.

This is a side view of the same necklace.

Now, for the tricked out adjustable belts! These take just a little more time and simple effort! But if you get the smiles from your boys that I did, it’s well worth it! Well, actually it’s only fair to admit that their big sister asked me if I’d like some help sewing the hardware these, and I happily said “yes!” So maybe you’ll have a helper too, but might I at least suggest that you at least use the help of a thimble! Pushing a needle through the material of these belts can result in some sore fingertips.

These first couple of steps that I explain next, are actually easy to do, and probably steps you’d figure on your own would be helpful to do first. But, I thought I’d just suggest them just in case. More than anything, they are most complicated for me to explain! So bare with me. (Or skip the directions if you don’t plan on needing them.) :

The first tip I have for you, is to get a waist measurement of the belt wearer, if you can. Or, you can just use the belt on the boy(s) to figure things out, which is what I did! These adjustable belts can be cut to length, so that is a wonderful thing. But because of the hardware elements you’ll be hand sewing on, you need to know where that buckle is going to be on the belt!

Here’s how I did it:
I simply slid the belts right through the loops of my boys pants that they had on, just sort of overlaying the excess of the belt over the buckle, to figure out how much of the belt you’ll be needing. Slide the buckle along the belt, and determine how much of the belt end would be fed through the buckle, when putting it on. By doing that, you’ll get an idea of where to lock the buckle into place, with the toothed lever underneath. Mark each side of the buckle with chalk. Then you can really feed the belt through the buckle, and mark off where the ‘tail’ of the belt is, that is coming out of the buckle, and which is actually the opposite end of the belt. You are marking it off with chalk, because you don’t want to sew any hardware on that area, or it will not fit through the buckle. (Think about it. 😉 So you’ll only want to be sewing elements on the area of that will actually be around their waste – not the piece that will be going through the buckle. (Am I over-explaining here? This is the longest paragraph in the whole post – I swear. 😉 Once you have the buckle in place on the belt, with the right amount of tail, you will see the excess of belt material that you can cut off. Be sure to cut the right end, that is already a rough end! It’s the end closest to where the buckle is. You do not want to cut off the sealed end with the metal piece!

Once the buckle area is chalked off, and the tail is marked off, you can make a couple of tick marks between belt loops if you’d like, so you generally where the are of belt will be showing. This is not necessary, but an added step if you want the hardware to show in just the right places, and not hiding under any loops. Then you can remove the belt off the pants, and cut off that excess material you won’t need. They come pretty long from the army surplus store, even at the shortest length. Them I took off the buckle for the time being, to be able to work with the belt easier. Next, I laid the belts flat on the table, and I figured out how spaced I wanted the hardware pieces, by just generally laying them out, and then measuring the estimated space. After marking where I wanted my first piece, I measured and made a tick mark about every 2 1/2 inches from there.

Here are a couple of finished belts. The hardware pieces are just quickly hand sewn on. I secured each each side of the hardware with 2 stitches, using the heavy duty thread. I also did one stitch in the center of the hole (of the hardware) just through the belt material, to take up some thread slack on the back side, while crossing over from one side of the piece of round hardware to the other. This allowed me to sew on a whole piece of hardware at a time, before finishing off the stitch and cutting the thread. (I started with long doubled thread, so that I could sew on and finish off a few pieces of hardware at a time, before really needing to re-thread a new strand of thread.)

I’m happy to say, my boys were thrilled with their new accessories! So much so, that they were happy to model for me, so they could show you how cool it looks sporting these hardware accessories. Take a look for yourself…..

Yup, this is Mama’s boys. And I love it! (Although their triplet sister, and big sister, are just as much my blessings!)

I think they’re looking cool (with or without accessories), and I think they know it. Rico Suave 1 and 2……no? ; ) lol.

012_boys-hardware-accessories They don’t normally tuck shirts in, but they’ve been wanting to, to show off their belts. Their Daddy tucks his shirts in, all lot of the time. I don’t get it, but I love him anyway. lol

013_boys-hardware-accessories So there you go: My boys sporting their cool new accessories, Designed by Mama! And yes, I did edit out all of their bumps, scrapes and bruises, acquired by all of the ways boys full of antics get them! But tell me what you think; Is wearing hardware possibly the new cool? Or do my boys just make it look good?

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A Glimpse Into This Mother’s (Typical) Day.

May 9, 2012 By Laura 6 Comments

It’s morning, and the coffee maker gurgles it’s last drips of piping hot fresh coffee into the pot. My boys race to the kitchen to be the one who gets to prepare my first cup of the day. It’s delivered to my hands, wherever I am, followed up with the first smile, kiss and hug of the day. As my girls sleepily descend down the stairs, they are collided by one brother or other, greeted with a hug of their own, the moment their foot hits the bottom of the staircase. I watch, as I sip my coffee, still waking up, happy to see they are happy to see each other, every morning. They pour cereal and milk in the kitchen, and chat too much all through breakfast, reliving many amusements that still make them all laugh again, for the millionth time.

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Everyone is washed and ready for the day. Our school day begins with prayer and Scripture discussion. In closing, the littles say the Lord’s Prayer, with hands held to form a circle of themselves, and following the great Amen, their 6 hands all collide in the middle and then reach up to the Heavens, in some triplet ritual of praise to God, that only they can fully understand.

We open our books and begin verbal reviews, and all of the lessons to be done. To teach them, fills my heart with such joy. Being able to watch them all understand and put their new knowledge to use, feels like a new gift to me, every day. They teach me so much in a day, too. Soon, the room is filled with nothing but the beautiful sound of many pencils at work, and thinking. My youngest daughter leans my direction repeatedly, peeking into my coffee cup, waiting to see the bottom, so she can get me a refill. The same sweet girl, who loves to help, and leaves me floral arrangements in shot glasses, all over the house. I smile inside, and remember I should probably eat breakfast, too.

Hours later, and it’s time for a late lunch. Another highlight of their day. Good gosh, do they love to eat. I overhear a discussion of their hopes and wonders, that there will still be food, and the need to eat, in Heaven. I giggle, and offer the notion that feasting is a form of great celebration, so I imagine there is much of that in Heaven. They all express various forms of great relief, and it amuses me again. I secretly hope there is wine at these feast celebrations, too.

Appointments, activities, workshops, practices or games… the day often holds something to get done or somewhere to be. If we separate, I’m always given proper good-byes; a kiss on the cheek with a beaming smile of excitement, an ‘I love you’ and a verbal promises to ‘see you later.’ Even my oldest never hesitates, despite all of the eyes and ears of her high school friends around. I am thankful that hasn’t changed, and I pray it never will.

The day wears on, and I get little done of my own, that I had intended. But the kids spend their energy well. Races are run, seeds are planted, and bugs are observed in containers, all too often forgotten, only to bake in the sun. Trees are climbed high enough to make my heart pound. I want to tell them to come down, before they fall and get injured. But I don’t. Instead, I say a silent prayer, and go take their photo, zooming in and shooting up from the ground.

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Little arms with grubby hands, randomly find me, wrapping tightly around my middle, and gifting me with surprise hugs that remind me of how good love feels, and the recurring wish that they could stay little forever.

Artwork, crafts and love notes, written and created just for me, are everywhere; hanging by clothes pins, pinned to bulletin boards, overflowing out of folders and boxes. The artistic gene and love of art, from both sides, passed on from generations before, lives on in them.

05_ I attempt to work on my laptop on the couch, throwing my feet up, while little fingers pound keys, and piano music fills the house, bouncing off the walls. It’s lovely, and distracting. It’s such a treat when any one of my kiddos prop my feet on their lap and read a book, while giving me a foot rub. They know how much I love those. Life is good.

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Their bellies are filled once again, and the littles wash and change for bed. It’s quiet time before sleep, and they read more books, taking turns to suddenly interrupt the silence, to share bits of what they are so amused by, from the pages of their books. It’s time to climb into their beds. But not before another round of hugs, kisses, and I love you’s – for me, their Daddy, and for each other.

I indulge in my nightly routine. A hot shower, pajamas, and my own winding down before sleep. My big girl and I often find ourselves hanging out on my bed. She with her books and notebooks, and I with my laptop, but neither of us getting much done. We’re too busy, having the best kinds of talks a mother and her teenage girl can have, or laughing so hard that we can’t catch a breath, as tears stream down our cheeks. She has such a lively and beautiful laugh. Michael appears in the doorway, wanting to know what he is missing out on. I let her stay up too late, until her chin quivers; a tell-tale sign she is way over tired. I tell her it’s really time for bed, and I see her think about protesting, but decides she is too tired to. She kisses me, and recites her 3 lines she has said to both Michael and I every night for so many years, it has become single run-on sentence: “Love you goodnight see you in the morning. ” I repeat it back to her, as she lumbers off and up the stairs.

This is such a beautiful, typical day for me as a mother. My children’s behavior and choices, are not always wonderful. But then, neither are mine. In between all of the expressions of love, thoughtfulness, busy-ness, and fits of laughter that each day can hold, are also disagreements and disgruntled moments that forget respect, responsibility, or efforts to strive to be like Jesus. Just as there are moments in every day, that I fail to the very best mother I can be, for them. But it’s the love between a mother and her children, that outshines the rest. Taking a moment to count our blessings, and thanking the good Lord for every one, reminds us of what a great thing we’ve got going, and we forget the rest. We have love, and we have joy, and there are no greater gifts, than family.

At the end of each day, I am exhausted. But I know after a little sleep, I’ll be ready to do it all over again the next day. I ponder all that needs to be done, and all that we’ll repeat, when the sun rises at dawn the next morning, once again, and I feel the little leap of happiness in my heart. I look forward to it. But first, I must sleep. I do for hours, until I wake somewhere in the few hours past midnight, for no reason at all. It is never so quiet, as it is when I am the only one awake. I revel in the moments (sometimes hours) of sheer silence, while I can. I take the opportunity to brainstorm, to plan, to dream, to relive memories, to ponder all of my blessings, and to pray. Sometimes, I waste it worrying. I re-evaluate once again, if I am honoring this blessed role God gave me well enough, as the mother of these children; where and how I might do better. I always want to. They deserve the best I can give. And I promised God I would. Every day that I am given to try again, is a gift.

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Mother’s Day is this weekend. It’s a wonderful and thoughtful day, honoring mothers of various means and generations, everywhere. My husband and kids always give me an extra special day, usually agreeing to antique shop hop with me, all day long. No matter what the day holds, it doesn’t really matter……

Because I know: Head to toe, and inside out, morning until night, 24/7 and 365 days a year, I AM BLESSED that these 4 beautiful children call me Mama. One day, one lifetime, will never be enough, to celebrate the immeasurable gratitude I feel, for that.

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On Faith, Gardening, and Digging Deep.

May 2, 2012 By Laura 9 Comments

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Our family really loves Sundays. It’s just a feel-good-family day, all the way around.

This past Sunday after Mass, we all came home, and changed into our old clothes, so that we could get working in our garden beds. Oh, the butterflies I get this time of year! It’s almost time for planting, so we needed to get all of the winter rye that we had growing in the beds, chopped down, and turned into the soil. There is much to do, to create soil rich enough to produce well for us.

cultivating-faith-gardening Whenever I’m working in the gardens, especially in the planting season, my thoughts most always turn to my faith in God. In my mind, there are many parallels, between the process of gardening, and one’s day to day faith.

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The Dirt on Gardening

With gardening, we put so much into all we hope for. We cultivate the soil, nourish it, and plant our tiny seeds or little starters, where they will receive the proper amount of light. We water them daily, if nature does not send us sufficient rain. We wait and keep watch daily, with great anticipation. Our eyes seek for a sprout. Some sign of growth. For the fruits of our labor, to reveal itself. Although we may enjoy all we put into our gardens along the way, the reward is the great surplus each plant provides for us, whether it be beauty or food, from the little seed we began with.

Cultivating Our Hearts

Isn’t that much like how our faith begins? At some point in our lives, a seed of faith in God, was planted within many of us. Whether we were aware of that exact moment happening, or not. For many of us, that may have been as babies, and nourished throughout our upbringing, from our parents. For others, it may have come much later in life. Perhaps it began with circumstances in life, or one’s own seeking for something they felt was missing. But for all of us, our spirituality can only grow and bloom, when we have given our time to cultivate that most important relationship in our lives. When we have turned to Him, in times of thanksgiving and praise, and in times of need and despair, as well. When we have spent time daily, in communion with our Savior, Jesus Christ – in thought, in prayer, in praise, in a way that keeps our heart open to Him.

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To Know God, is to Better Revel in Life

Our faith in God, and our relationship with Christ, we believe is what enables us to experience a more elevated state of joy in our days here on earth. Our eyes are open to the abundant blessings that rains down on us, and all around us. We know that all good things come to us, by the grace of His loving hand. Our hearts rejoice, for the love He shows us. Likewise, we have learned, we are wise to give thanksgiving, even for the most difficult trials and tribulations in our lives. Even they have great purpose, and bring forth blessings of their own. It is easy to question God, isn’t it? We want to know why, for each one of our sufferings. But we know deep down inside, God’s love for us is pure, and beyond measure. He is there to comfort us, He does only want what is best for us, and only He knows the big picture of ours lives.

God is good. God is always good!

Even on the Darkest of Days

Oh, we know friends, the devastation life can bring. Unexpected tragedies, life-threatening or terminal illnesses, lost lives of people we love, unemployment and financial hardships, betrayals and broken hearts….the list is endless. We know….it is touching the lives of people we know and love, all around us, too. Our family too, is not untouched by the hardships and disappointments of our own, that can roll in like the tide, leaving a mess on our seashore of life, that was so clean and beautiful yesterday. The memory of what was, leaves us longing, and we wonder if we appreciated it enough, while we had it. We wonder when the tide will ever come in again, to sweep the mess away.

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Inclement Elements

Despite the time and attention we have invested in our gardens, or our daily spirituality, there is always the threat of damaging elements, that can come along on any given day, to deal with for a time. In both the daily lives we live, as well as the weather, there are storms. They must be faced with courage. We must persevere. We must stand on the greatest asset we have, which is our faith, in the most difficult of times, and believe that God will help bring us through our trials, to the other side of the storm.

His love for us is filled with many promises, that are grace….

Sticky Note This

It is easy to forget, for we get wrapped up in this physical life. But we would be wise to remember, and take comfort in knowing, that ultimately, we are not meant for this world. The greatest gifts of all, a life free of any and suffering, are promised to us eternally, beyond our earthly days.

It is the mustard seed of faith, from within our hearts, that we know as truth, that always offers the light of hope.

“The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” – John 1:5

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Pass It On, to the Littles

By our side, our children learn about the complexities of life. From the day they are born, they experience all of the happiness, wonders, and beautiful gifts of life, as well as the realization that the world is not a perfect place, and that bad and sad things can happen, even to good people. And the value of our faith, through it all!

Parenting is our beautiful opportunity, to build up in them character to live a life pleasing to God! Thankfully, as homeschoolers, we have that ability to navigate when and how our children awake to the challenges of life, and realities of this world. I can tell you that there are many raw, honest, and deep discussions that take place, with our children. It’s a beautiful time of connection, between us all. But as a parent, to see the revelations unfold within them, is such a heart-wrenching honor. We cannot shield them from all of the hurts and truths that life can bring. Doesn’t a piece of every parent’s heart, want to? But no, it would be a great dis-service to them, to keep them ignorant to the harsh realities of life, for long.

What we can do, is arm them well, with the tools of our never-failing faith, and a strong faith in our God, who never leaves us.

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Expect a Mixed Forecast, But Take Heart

Life can bring the greatest moments of laughter and happiness. We cannot count the ways in which we have been blessed! Our days can be filled with such sunshine, contentment and peace. But when the dark storms of life circumstances descend upon us, our faith can feel diminished, to the size of a mustard seed. It can be very difficult to find solace in our faith, so small and buried.

But those are the times we need our faith, more than ever! If we have allowed ourselves to be filled with bitterness and anger, it can be difficult to bring ourselves to reach. To be humble enough, to express such a need, in the face of feeling abandoned. We must find the seed though, that we alone have neglected, shriveling again in the questioning of God’s love for us. Maybe we turn away from God in anger, confused, but He never leaves us alone. We must get back to the seed of our faith, and begin again. Because it holds all of the promises, and all of the strength from the graces of receiving the Sacraments, that we need to carry us through. So that peace and contentment can be ours again. In time, if we turn our face upwards to Him again, and open our hearts, we will see He was always at work within us, through the storm. God heals hearts. Let Him!

“You will grieve, but your grief will turn into joy.” John 16:20

Light Into Darkness, and Back Again

Maybe that is part of His plan all along…..to bring us to the point where we realize, we actually need Him. To make us seek His grace. He wants us to know the comfort of His love. He wants to help us see His face…..the Light, in the darkness. To truly know Him and need Him, so that we always walk beside Him, and realize that He only wants to lead us to something greater. Don’t we always appreciate the light shining on all that is beautiful, the most after we have experienced such darkness?

Are you experiencing darkness, in this period of your life? Are you resistant, or wrestling, to sense the great faith you had on better days?

Your hope and solace, is in the mustard seed, friend. Sometimes, when we have neglected all we have built up in faith, we must begin again. In doing so, God promises our gardens can not only flourish again, but bring forth more fruit than we ever dreamed for ourselves. His love for us, is that great. That is what He wants for us, and what we truly want, for ourselves.

So we must. dig. deeper.

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