A Hopping Good Time

Right after Jerry and I turned in to bed tonight, my oldest son, Carter, came to our door.  "Could you guys come help me?  There is a baby rabbit in my room and I am having trouble catching it."  

I need to pause here in the story to let you know that we do have baby bunnies right now, but they are not inside.  They are not big enough to hop and have not even opened their eyes yet.  So, while many of you might be thinking that this could be a normal announcement at the Custer house, this is a first!

We have caught many things in our funny farmhouse.  Mice are pretty normal around here.  We have found a couple of little snakes in the basement.  One time I was walking through the hall downstairs, and there was a great big toad just sitting there looking at me.  I yelled for the kids and they said, "Oh yeah, we found him in our window well and we were playing with him.  We just forgot to put him back!"

I guess the most plausible explanation for the little rabbit we found is that the cats probably brought him in to play with him.  He must have gotten away from them and was hiding out in the basement.  Either that, or there is a mother rabbit hiding out down there as well!  This is regular life here on the funny farm!  Never a dull moment - not even at bedtime.

Just so you know, we caught the bunny and placed him safely outside, away from the house.  Hopefully, he avoids the cats and finds his mother.  It was the best I could when catching a wild rabbit in my house at 10:30 on a Sunday evening.

A Real Cup of Encouragement

Jerry and I spent the day traveling from thing to thing.  From ball games to parking lot pig conversations to parties, we hit it all today.  And along the way, we enjoyed lots of family, friends, and even some new folks.  It was a delightful way to spend a Saturday!

At our last stop of the evening, as I sat on the back deck under the stars talking with the other guests, I was served "tea and ice cream sundaes" by the cutest waitresses ever, one of whom was wearing pink fairy wings.  The tea was light and airy, and the sundaes were visually delicious, especially with the pink play dough cherry on top!  It was a fun game and my friend and I were happy to play along, but when our servers came around again with an actual, edible dessert, we dove right in.  My conversational companion accepted the treat from the tray and remarked, "Oh please, especially since it is real!"

One of my favorite things is to offer encouragement to people who are feeling discouraged.  I have even sometimes offered it, like my winged waitress, in the form of some delectable treat (though I'd like to think mine were more edible.). But I am careful to offer more than just what is pretty and nice to look upon.  If my encouragement is only meant for show, and not based on truth, then it will not really be encouraging at all.

It is good and right for little girls to play dress up and tea party, but when we grow up, we must do more than that!  We need to make sure that the "Cup of Encouragement" that we offer is brimming full with the richness of truth and the warmth of Love that can only come from God.  As we serve up that kind of encouragement, those that we are serving will say, "Oh yes, especially since it is real!"

Life Lessons I Learned in the Garden

Lesson # 3 Setting Boundaries

I walked into my garden today to find one of my chickens digging up my freshly planted lettuce.  That was just the motivation I needed to finish painting the pickets for my garden fence.  I love my chickens, but they are wreaking havoc in my garden!  I am happy to say that these mess makers  are finally fenced out of my produce.

Since I will be speaking on relationships soon, I have been studying the Romans 12 passage that outlines how to do relationships God's way.  Verse 16 says, "Live in harmony with one another.”  So often, we have trouble living in harmony with others because we fail to have boundaries in place.  God never says that we should just open every part of our lives to each person we come in contact with, nor does He say we should be willing to let anyone trample over us.  

It is wise to set boundaries, even with the ones we love.  Just as my chickens are an important part of my life, many people are important to me.  But also like my chickens, I shouldn't let everyone free range in all parts of my life.  I have found this to be especially true with my students.  Though I consider them like my children, is not wise or appropriate for me to allow them open access to my personal life. My own children mean the world to me, but there are times and places that are reserved for just Jerry and I.  My husband and I are one, but even that relationship should not overshadow my time with God.

I found myself becoming angry with my chickens when they made a mess in my garden, but I realized that this wasn't fair since I had not set proper boundaries for them.  Without a fence in place, I couldn't expect my feathered friends to know what was acceptable to me.  Likewise, I can't expect the people in my life to know my boundaries if I do not make them clear.  

Boundaries help others to know and understand our expectations and limitations.  They are not just fences meant to exclude people, they are borders set to protect us and the people we love from trampling our tender growth and the vine that produces our fruit.

Now that my fence is in place, my chickens can wander around the yard, enjoying their freedom, but staying out of my garden!  Now, if I could just keep the birds out of my blackberries!

Progress

It really is exciting to see my plants coming up.  My sugar snap peas look really healthy, and I added some of the lettuce I grew from seeds in the milk cartons to those beds today as well.  I am covering everything with chicken wire until my fencing is complete, so I am limited in the beds I can use.

I also have lettuce and spinach growing in one of my small raised beds.  I keep this one covered by an old wire chicken tractor.  I also grew these from seed in the milk cartons.

Here are a few of the other successes.  Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onions, and some more loose leaf and romaine mix lettuce.  These will get planted once the fence is finished.

Our little Uriah has a hurt leg.  He caught it in some pallets while he was playing and had it stuck for a while before we found him.  We were happy to learn that it is only a sprain, and he is well on his way to recovery!

I spent some time this evening looking around Cornercopia and planning some things in my head.  I see flower beds that need redone, plants that need to be moved, things that need to be built.  But most of all, I see progress!  I am starting to see what this place might become.  Like Agnes always reminds me - Rome wasn't built in a day - neither was Cornercopia!  We sure are having fun building it though!

Along for the Ride

When I was a little girl, riding in the back seat of my parents' car, I never paid attention to where we were going or how we got there.  Even as I began to drive, I only learned the way if I was the one driving.  In college, my friends and I ventured to the town where my Grandparents had lived all my life, but I could not find my way there without calling for directions.  Everyone made fun of me because the route that I had traveled for years was still not familiar to me.

Recently, I attended an event that I would not have normally chosen to attend.  For some reason, I spontaneously accepted, and I found myself spending the evening with a young woman who was also surprised to find herself there.  After an hour in the car together and a chat over dinner, we both recognized the evening as a divine appointment.  With little in common other than our faith, neither of us would have likely sought conversation with the other, but what we discovered was a new friendship and an evening of encouragement.

Early in my spiritual life, I may have treated this occurrence just like riding with my parents.  With little thought to where I was going and how I got there, I would not have recognized the divine appointment.  But with spiritual maturity, I have learned the importance of recognizing God's leading in my life.  I no longer go along for the ride with no thought to he journey, but instead, I look for opportunities to join in on whatever God has place me in the midst of.

A Question

I have recently received some really good feedback on the "Linking Our Story With His Story" conference. A few people have also inquired about having me do the conference again for other churches. Since this is the vision I have had from the beginning, these requests have made me realize that I need to continue working in that direction.

I spent a good bit of time today revising the booklet that goes along with the conference.  I am planning to have it printed in full color as well.  I am also thinking about combining the booklet with the other information to make a full study.  

I am really looking forward to sitting down with my team next week and making plans about how to go forward!  In the meantime, I am writing new conference material on relationships from Romans 12 for the women's conference in Buckingham in June. I have been looking back over some of my previous writing on this topic and I am getting really excited. 

As I plan, I have a question for you:  When you attend a conference or seminar, do you prefer to just listen to lecture, or would you prefer some interaction/activity as well?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

The Search

I was very busy the other day, so when I needed the phone book from the other room, I sent one of the kids to get it for me.  “The phone book is on the third shelf down, on the bookshelf in the office,” I instructed.  It wasn’t but a moment later when he came back to report that he couldn’t find it.  “Are you sure,” I asked, puzzled.  “I am sure that I saw it there.  

“Nope,” he replied, “Couldn’t find it.”  I hopped up quickly to check for myself and, sure enough, there was the phone book, exactly as I had described.  “Oh,” he said sheepishly, “I didn’t see it”

 

Why is it that two people can look in the same place for the same thing, and one can see it while the other seems hopelessly blind?  Could it be that the success of the search depends upon the heart of the one searching?  Is it possible that motive can actually determine the outcome of a hunt?

 

Perhaps this is the very reason that many people can read the very same passage of Scripture, yet only a few come away with a valuable nugget of wisdom that changes the path of their lives.  Though the words were the same, those that read the passage with a heart that was truly searching for the wisdom, found a treasure that went unseen by others.