Morning has broken….and it’s a beautiful one. The lovely wild birds are singing and chatting, and the air is washed clean from lots of rain. It started yesterday at about 5 and continued on. Rich took me outside and kissed me in the cold rain drops, and we fell asleep last night to the sound of it.
I’ve given Sarah Joy her breakfast-Cream of Wheat with butter and real maple syrup. I’m sipping from the coffee Rich made for me before he left for work.
The sun is shining brightly.
I was so blessed by a news story this morning, on NBC. Did you see it? It was about a 12 year old boy who was rescued out of the ocean, after being under water for 20 minutes. He was on a church trip and they showed a picture of the group kneeling in the sand, praying, while the boy was missing and then pulled out of the water. God was glorified repeatedly during the news report. The little boy amazingly lived, and his parents are upbeat and faithful. Pray for him, as he continues to recover, and is a testimony to God’s power. His parents are a testimony of a living faith and hope in “whatever God does is okay with us.” I had tears in my eyes. So often God is seemingly absent from those news programs but the truth is, He is in every story, HE IS WORKING constantly, and mercifully. He CARES.
(see the chicken *partially hidden* in this photo?)
I haven’t planted a single solitary vegetable this season, even though we had a vegetable garden spot ready. It is now filled with self-sufficient weeds, waist high and proud of themselves.
My two youngest need so much attention that I’ve chosen children over gardening. Oh, but I have my dreams of course. They’re just on hold as I pour the majority of my time into my beautiful growing youngsters.
So I didn’t give my lack of gardening very much thought until one happy moment, when I discovered a row of cherry tomato plants healthily and stealthily growing in my flower bed.
And then I praised God for His encouraging surprise, a delightful gift just for me.
Directions to The Tomato Place: Behind the cosmos, behind the purple cone flowers, behind the hydrangeas, up against the porch foundation. A wonderful place to grow, unnoticed (at first)……
And I didn’t notice them at all until they were already blossomed! A whole row of them. Just in time for me to gently tie them up against the porch so they wouldn’t fall over. (ah ha, now I see!)
I think they must have grown from old tomatoes that we threw down there for the chickens.
Curious Bystanders:
What’s our Mama doing now?!
Thankful for:
tender, growing things.
the promises of God.
rain and sunshine.
love.
sarah’s bare feet.
seth’s sippy cup.
my family.
kisses in the rain.
hope.
a heart free from anxiety.
joy in motherhood.
time to blog.
and you.
Good to be Home 
This is a beautiful post. You have chosen well in choosing your children. Gardens can wait. Isn’t God good to give us little surprises like volunteer tomato plants?
Love the picture of Sarah looking through the rails. You are a wise mother in choosing children over a garden, and I think the volunteer tomato plant is God’s signature on that wisdom.
We too,have a”volunteer”tomato plant and several”volunteer”pumpkin plants.Yes,a delightful surprise from God!Blessings to you,as you Mother your children!
lovely post Shanda.i love, love how you delight in the little things….it speaks of a heart for Him.
first.. wonderful news and may everything bring glory to God! May everything demonstrate His glory and power! As for your tomatoes, what a sweet thing the Lord did for you. I do see that as something that He wanted to bless you with and to make you smile. how wonderful. Oh, how He loves us. 🙂 your pictures are adorable as always. love you
What a lovely surprise!! Your right to choose the children over gardening and how happy and well adjust they look in every photo!! Kisses in the rain…sounds very romantic!
Sweet surprise tomato bushes, and they look so healthy too! You are right in picking your little sweethearts to care for. Isn’t God good in giving us sweet presents to encourage us! I laughed at your description of the weeds being proud of themselves. I thought that yesterday when I was pulling some that were SO BIG AND GREEN AND STONGLY ROOTED! And my tender plants often must be encouraged. My surprise tomato just ripened it’s first tomato and it is one of those tiny yellow pear shape ones Romantic rain, kisses, and pitter pats on the roof!Wonderful news story, I will look that up. Last night at Bible study someone shared that the news reported that the militant groups in Somalia were split because of all the Christian aide coming in. One group refused aide, but the other split from them because they wanted to receive it. She said it was amazing to hear the news report and felt it was very God honoring.
Love this post. 🙂
Yes, God is in everything and working constantly. AND, He cares for Y.O.U., Shanda. He cares enough to give you tomatoes; the very thing you would have liked to have planted. I believe He sees your heart and has blessed you with tomatoes, because you made the right decision this summer – to grow your children!xo xo
Beautiful post hun! A wonderful tomato blessing amongst God’s bouquet of flowers for you. 🙂 Thanks for sharing the news story! I love hearing stories like that on the news! Praise God. Lifting the young boy in prayer as he heals.{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}
Even with everything going on I still have to come by and check on ya! I love it when tomatoes pop up out of the ground like that! such a nice surprise! And I am totally with you on the Garden on hold thing and the reason why 🙂 That was a wonderful story you mentioned about the little boy. I can imagine how his parents must have felt! Imagine if they didn’t believe..or have hope? It sure makes a huge difference!
I found the chicken!!! Do I get a prize?Oh, never mind. Reading your posts is prize enough 🙂 Those are some beautiful youngsters you’re growing. The picture of Sarah on the porch is wonderful and perfect and it made me smile! I liked your line about the weeds being proud of themselves… that is so typical of them. Thanks for the directions to the tomato plants. I found them without any trouble :)You are delightful {happy sigh}
Cherry tomatoes – yum! And that sweet little Sarah peeking through the porch rails! You’re a good mama!!
This is just a beautiful and lovely post! It’s really touched and inspired me.I’m thankful for you, too!
Love the last three pictures! So glad you had some time to take them, to blog them, and to list what you are thankful for (I noticed especially the heart free of anxiety : ).
I love the beauty of your simplicity and I would so very much love to live where we could sit and chat over a good cup of coffee! Oh how wonderful and nourishing that would be! Not only do I love the beauty of your simplicity but I love your heart and the love it holds for the Lord and your family! You are a very special person Shanda and the expressions of your heart shower everything real and refreshing! :o)Have a most blessed day in Jesus!Mendiwww.simpleandsurrendered.blogspot.com
hi shanda…….how funny about the tomatoes. i was just talking with a neighbor of mine the other day and the same thing happened in her garden!! and i love your “thankful for” list. perfect. and so sweet to find out in the end i was included! you and your blog would certainly find a place on my “thankful for” list!!
“Love!”