As we approach the eve of Jesus' death and resurrection, I am confronted with metaphorical and literal representations of death and resurrection from God through nature. I happen to be a master at sentencing poor plants to death, but somehow, they mostly end up resurrected and thriving just a few months later.
A sad, pathetic pile of leaves that used to be a sweet mint plant
With a light freeze that came through here a few days ago, many plants have taken a beating, or have died. However, somewhere in the roots, they still cling to life, and they will come back with a vengeance!
This sad thorny bush surely had kicked the bucket when I transplanted it, but here it is sprouting new leaves!
This strawberry plant came to me a brown ball of roots, no life to be seen!
This lemon tree lost all its leaves during an earlier frost!
These poor vegetables are going through shock after the late freeze this week
I've unintentionally killed this spearmint 3 or 4 times through 2 summers, yet somehow it's still hanging around!
This hard to see little twig was a $1 clearance bin find at the home improvement store (i think it's a bush)
The grass itself is awakening from its slumber as the temps come back up
It's an amazing testimony to the grace and power of God that these plants have survived the months and years of neglect and torture! However, it's just a glimpse of the grace and power that we are commemorating this weekend! Happy Easter everybody!
I tend to post a lot of progress reports and pictures of things, but I sometimes avoid mentioning the motivations behind why we have chosen to live a DIY lifestyle. Perhaps that is because I find it difficult to properly explain the "why." More likely it has to do with the phenomenon that Dave Ramsey highlights here:
By the way, I'm a HUUUUGE Dave Ramsey fan. I think that a bunch of people don't really understand him, but I find him to be so real and true to the principles that Lauren and I adhere to. However, it's hard to fight the good fight, it's hard to espouse the principles that are like a foreign language to most.
Here I am, though, writing a post about my motivations for buying a "fixer upper," for growing a food garden, for planting an orchard, and for not hiring out like our lives depend on it. Our lives DO depend on it!
One of the biggest turning points in my life was when I canceled cable for a year. It was hard to imagine life without TV, but there I was, 22 and TV-less. After a few weeks of emotional retching, a psychological withdrawal that I imagine was a toe in the water of what coming off a drug habit would feel like, I broke through and realized that TV was nothing but mindless cheap entertainment. As the weeks and months passed, I found an even more powerful truth, one that has affected me deeply to this day, one that I required to be shared by my now wife. When you break free from a life separated by 2 minute intervals of greed-pleading (commercials), you become content with what you have. It was the strangest thing. I could go days and weeks without spending money. I could adhere to the budget more closely. I could focus on what is truly important in life, not money, not stuff, not cars nor houses, but bringing a God-led giver's heart to my relationships, my activities, and my life.
What does this have to do with buying old stuff and doing a bunch of DIY things? EVERYTHING! Lauren and I have found it difficult to let go of the materialism and the temporary comfort of money and stuff, but it has been extraordinarily rewarding so far! When you buy for quality, when you do the work yourself, when you generally connect yourself to your consumption, you appreciate life more. I wrote earlier about how gardening promotes enjoyment of the simple things in life. This is absolutely true, and something that Lauren and I are working hard to leverage. Whether it's just sitting on the porch and having dinner together, making the next day's lunch together, hauling bags of dirt to the raised beds together, or tearing down a wall together, we are drawn to one another when we DIY, when we garden, and when we are frugal. I can't think of any better way to start a marriage off than to focus on what brings us together!
God has brought into focus a few core principles that we work to build into our lives: 1) Focus on Him, not on others; 2) Hard work can be a blessing; 3) Appearances are less important than substance; 4) Give abundantly; and 5) Be content with where you are. Frugal, DIY, natural, and personal living really helps us to hit all five principles on a regular basis.
