So My Mind Went Blank.....

....on titles for this post, at least. I thought about calling it something very specific relating to the topic I am going to write on today, but then I remembered I would probably be adding in a ton of other random tidbits that won't fit under the title's caption very well. Oh, forget about the title, who cares? I'll stop yakking about nonsense and get to the heart of this post.

SOO...you're probably wondering WHAT in all creation this is about? Guess. Really. YES, really!  I want to see your responses about this. Ooh! Idea! I should have a caption contest!! :D

But before that...did I ever tell you I am a lumberjack sometimes? Ok, well, maybe that's a little overstated, but...hey...it's fun to be dramatic in what words you use. ;) So maybe I'm not working 9-5 in a lumber mill, or cutting down 90 ft.-tall pines. And my biceps are certainly not the size of Paul Bunyan's.

However, I did work a good bit out in the west-side garden. (We have several garden plots on property, this was just one of them) Florida has two main seasons for growing vegetables. Spring/early summer, and winter. The latter is our biggest, because the bugs aren't so terrible and the heat not so insanely oven-like.

I just love winter. Everything about it. Getting to wear hoodies, long sleeved shirts and jackets. Being able to wear my cowboy boots without people looking at me funny, because, well, I adore my cowboy boots, and wear them year-long. Even in 100 degree heat.

What else is there to love about the cooler season? I could go on and on...writing in my book, a cup of hot chocolate in hand next to the fireplace. Bonfires and roasting marshmellows. Night-time hide and seek with the boys. Going running, and feeling the epic combination of sweat and cold, evening breeze. Oh, I am looking forward to it.

 You are probably thinking, "oh, a snow picture! maybe it was from a freak snow storm in FL!" Guess again. This was in 'Bama two years ago on a visit to  some of our friends. FL don't get no snow here. :P

FL is practically 98% boiling hot and 2% mildly chilly, in comparison to other northern states. Last year, our winter was...puh...barely a winter, it was so mild. Our veggies were pretty enemic because of that factor. Cool-weather veggies need COOL WEATHER. Not 80 degree days in mid-January.

SO. I am hoping and hoping and hoping that 2012 will finish the year off with a nice, COLD winter.

Ok, so I took a bunny-trail there and lost my place. I was supposed to be telling you about my lumberjack career, wasn't I? ;) So as I was saying, the cool season for planting vegetables is here, and I've been working on getting the soil all tilled up and prepared for planting. Clay, as hard as it is to work with, broken down and worked, can actually produce good, rich soil. Ours is actually pretty nice right now and I think it's ready for the seeds. But what I worked on specifically yesterday, was the fence surrounding the west garden.

Random fact of the day: I put up both garden fences that are in existence today. All by myself. About two years ago. With a post-hole digger, shovel, axe and saw. Got 'er done decent enough. But, two years later, those same fences are falling apart and the chicken wire is all warped and mangled from weather and 4 brothers who try to jump over/climb/hit baseballs against it.

So it's time for a new means of keeping the dogs out. What means would this be? Take a look at this picture I snapped at Mount Vernon last week. 

As you can see, the concept is stacking wood in a strategic manner, sort of like Lincoln-Logs.

How the heck did this relate to my lumberjack comment? I will now explain. Obviously to have logs, one must either 1., go buy the wood, or 2., cut it yourself. I did number two there. Had some old trees in the woods that I chopped into logs and then stacked to form a fence. Quite a good bit of axing there, and today my arms are feeling it.  Got about a quarter of the whole thing done. It looks pretty good so far despite the mess surrounding the area...old chicken wire, old wood posts I had to pull up, tools, oh it's a fine mess right now.  Daddy's not too happy about it, either. :P

SO now you know about the lumberjack thing.

Gosh, I spent wayyy too long talking about that. The main thing I wanted to say today was...well. I'll just tell you right now.

Do you ever wonder if God truly forgives you when you mess up? I do, all the time. It's one of my most constant worries these days. I mess up...so often. Y'all know that, some, more than others. My family? They know it...well...I'll just leave it there. :P
So, I flunk and mess up quite often. What happens then? I go to God, (and, if it was a specific other person I wronged, them too) and ask forgiveness. And leave it there.

BUT....is that truly all I must do? It's been a struggle to believe this entirely, and not worry to death over it, but the answer...is yes. Leave it. Forget about it. Trust me, satan's going to make that last bit hard to do. I have been struggling with a particular sin lately, and he keeps reminding me about how I've flunked so bad in it. Get behind me, satan.

He tries to rub in my failures, like rubbing acid into a wound. And I must cast him out in the Name of Jesus, ignoring his spiteful words.

I must trust one-hundred-percent that God DOES forgive when He says He does. When I go to Him, begging His forgiveness. He forgives. I choose to accept that. That's all I can do, anyway.

At church today, I was only reminded all the more that He really does forgive. He is an awesome God, and incredibly merciful to His children. Aren't you just so in awe of that? What He does for us every day?

Even now, He is advocating for us in Heaven, even now, He is protecting and preserving us.

I will never ever be able to thank Him for all that He's done for me, entirely. There is no end to the praises and thanks He is worthy of receiving.

Hope y'all have had a blessed Sunday so far, I certainly have!

Con amor,