Grass Carrier Wasps

Ever seen a weird mush of straw in your sliding glass door between the screen and the glass? Ever opened your door to have a bunch of dead grasshoppers fall on your head?  Find a sticky white substance stuck to the tracts?  You might have a grass carrier wasp on your hand. The green grasshoppers are tree crickets. Just remove the nest and if it returns, remove it again. The best way to get rid of them is to fix any cracks/gaps in the doors. 

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/grass-carrying-wasp

Double Delight

B's mom has some awesome roses that smell like rose perfume! I stopped by a local nursery to see if they would have it because I remember putting a rose that looks like it in my cart one time before I chose the red and orange  bi-colored ones. I went back today and sure enough, I found the roses! They are called Double Delight.  They have a strong smell and it's amazing!  We planted it in the back yard, and I also bought another one that smells lighter but still pretty good (light pink). We planted those in the front.  I already have three different roses in the front yard so I wanted to make sure the one with the amazing smell went out in the back.  Everything I plant in the front seems to get sun damage because our home faces south.

Temporarily a photo from google images

This weekend was the Greek festival so we went with my friend Erin.  We had half off gyros and we also had greek french fries (just french fries covered in oregano and salt).  It was a hot day, but it was nice!  We also ate steak outside at B's parents' house because his grandparents came over.  This past weekend was our fifth year of dating :)

Remind Yourself of the Truth

I think robin eggs are beautiful, so after Easter I bought this marked-down Easter decoration.  I took a photo of it and left a lot of white space so that I could eventually write something in the space.

Sometimes I feel down because it's in my nature to think too hard about things and consequently get upset.  My personality falls under what is considered "Melancholic" in the four temperaments.  I took a personality test at church during a Spiritual Gifts class.  Melancholics in the Bible are Moses, Solomon, Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jonah, John the Baptist among others.  I'm sure we all have different people in the Bible we can relate to more.

In those moments the last thing I want to do is think pleasant thoughts, but that's the one thing I should be doing.  We should ponder God's truths and not Satan's lies... so this graphic is a reminder for you next time you need a lift.  It's hard to believe, but it's true...if you let it sink in, it's liberating, isn't it?

"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18

Self-Stuff

I want to share something I made inspired by something Beth Moore wrote in the devotional "Jesus."
According to Luke 9:23, we are to take up our cross daily and die to self if we want to be a disciple of Christ.  In one of my devotional readings, Beth Moore included a list of her "self-stuff" that she asks God to take away from her.  It's so interesting how pride can masquerade as self-loathing.  "Self-exaltation," started the list.  At first, I didn't even flinch as my eyes glided down the page until I read "self-loathing" and "self-sufficiency."  Immediately, I felt convicted.  "You mean self-loathing isn't being modest? Self-sufficiency is self-stuff too!" I had been assuming I was denying self by self-loathing and being prideful in my self-sufficiency.

My dear friend Ashley hid some candy for me on Easter and this candy cross was one of the contents of a golden egg.  I placed it on a rock below her flowering tree.

I also received a daily devotional from Telling the Truth (the Briscoes) in good timing that had a list of some common fleshly tendencies:

• Performance flesh: The hard worker. Well-adjusted, aggressive, outgoing, positive, motivated, driven, take charge kind of person. Their motto is “Just do it,” and they often run over others to get stuff done.
• Religious flesh: The “Good Christian.” Passive, nice, sweet, obedient, dutiful, pious, sanctimonious. With a motto of “What would Jesus do?”, they are often legalistic and judgmental because other people don’t match their own religious achievements.
• Superior flesh: The “snob,” outwardly proud, defensive, conceited, know-it-all. They look down on other people because they’re not as bright or as wise as they are. Their motto is, “Nobody does it better.”
• Comfort flesh: The laid-back easy-going person, cautious, indecisive, unmotivated, and avoids conflict like the plague. Their motto is, “That’s not my job, someone else will take care of it.”
• Victim flesh: Negative, complaining, defeated, self-pitying. Their motto is “the world hates me.” They are often unforgiving and blaming.
• Caretaker flesh: The enabler, rescuer, fixer. Often obsessive, nagging, overly responsible, overly protective. Their motto is, “Look at all I’ve done for you.” They long to be needed.
• Pleaser flesh: The nice guy. Compliant, submissive, compromising, self-neglecting. Has a hard time saying no and says yes to too much in order to feel accepted. Their motto is, “I did it for love.”
• Indulgent flesh: The compulsive person. Obsessive, easy addicted, insatiable, thrill seeker, pleasure seeker. Their motto is, “If it feels good, do it.”
• Hostile flesh: The abusive antisocial person. Angry, domineering, vengeful, quick tempered, hateful. Their motto is, “Do unto others before they do unto you.” Their desire is to dominate and control, often to protect themselves.

I must say I am bent toward performance flesh, indulgent flesh, and caretaker flesh.  That would be me in my natural without the Holy Spirit working in my heart.

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16

Wedding Weekend

A few weekends ago, we stood up in Sarah and James's wedding.  It was beautiful and I definitely cried during the ceremony.  Getting ready with everyone was a lot of fun.  I am excited to see how the pictures turned out.  Here are the only pictures I was able to take since the photographers pretty much followed them like a shadow!  God bless this marriage we were privileged to witness :)

To the Rescue

There are a lot of birds in my neighborhood.  My next door neighbor and I found a baby robin as well as a baby wren on the ground.  I don't have pictures of the baby wren because it was already dark out, but I have the baby robin pictures.  We tried to find where it fell from but the nest we found was empty.  I hope the babies are doing alright.  We haven't seen them around, so hopefully they grew and went on their merry way.

I think it's time for a nap.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful, I know that full well"

Psalm 139:14

Are you an empty nester?

Gardenholics Anonymous

Over the past couple of weeks I have been planting vegetables and buying flowers for the yard.  It's hard work but hopefully it will pay off!  I mostly planted perennials with the exception of marigolds and vegetables.

There are about ten peppers already starting to grow.  There are some strawberries turning pink, eggplants flowering, and lettuce abundant.

Greek Oregano.  The secret to Greek food...or so I am convinced.

 

Orange and Red Bi-Colored "About Face" around the lamp post

Baby Robin

We also bought a charcoal grill at Lowe's for $50 and had our very first cookout at the new house.  We cooked steak, shrimp, asparagus, potatoes, and corn.  It was interesting getting used to cooking on charcoal.  It was great to use my garden fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano for the spices!

On Saturday we went to Tractor Supply to buy more chicken supplies.  We also had brunch with Rebecca.  She brought her husky along and we fed her bacon.  She was such a sweet dog!

There are a lot of black squirrels here that eat all the food I put out for the birds.  This one wasn't very scared of us.

As Ben was checking on the chickens, he told me that they are begging him to come out of their fenced area.  Ben is pretty much a bird whisperer, so we let the chickens out.  They slowly started pecking around at the ground and found my azalea plant to munch on so it was time to let them back in.  For some reason, my "Go back!" didn't work, but Ben's clucking seemed to lead them back into the gate.

These two are inseparable.  My next door neighbor greets them in the morning with, "Good morning, girls!"
 

Double Rainbow

It was a really hot weekend, but it was beautiful.  I got to take a nap on Sunday, which I never do.  Driving around in the sun exhausted me.  I've been trying to deliberately have fun and rest.  I think I have a tendency to work too hard and I'm trying to enjoy life at a slower pace.