A survey!

A is for Age. I am 26 ½.

B is for Burger of Choice. Red Robin’s Blue Ribbon Burger: making-me-drool description right from their website: “Juicy burger basted with a tangy steak sauce and topped with crumbled Bleu cheese. Served with onion straws, lettuce, tomatoes and zesty Chipotle mayo on an onion bun.” Oh yes!

C is for what car you drive. My baby is a 1997 Saturn SC2. It just rolled to 270,000 miles; it’s on its second engine; the Firefighter has to repair the head gasket tonight; and it looks so shiny and new still. I love that car!

D is for Dog’s name. We don’t have a dog. The Firefighter had one before we got married…then he had to go because he was wrecking the house. I’d be happy with a dog- maybe- someday- when we’re home more and have a much bigger house. For now I’m very happy with our kitty, Georgie. Who’s a girl. Major identity crisis we gave her, huh?

E is for essential item you use every day. My Maine Bureau of Highway Safety orange water bottle. It’s made in the USA- hurray!

F is for favorite tv show at the moment. We just got rid of our Dish Network, so we’re not watching TV any more. However, we’ve signed up for Netflicks, and have Season 1 of Alf to watch. Hurray for classic TV!

G is for favorite game. I am starting to love games more than ever before, as I’m the “activity coordinator” for the senior high youth group. Our classic is Pictionary, and favorite outdoor game is still Capture the Flag. Classic.

H is for hometown. Norway, Maine, USA

I is for instruments you play. The piano, both at home (though not as often as I should) and as the church pianist.

J is for favorite juice. Cranapple

K is for who you’d like to kiss. My niece!

L is for the last restaurant you ate at. It’s been forever…hmm…does Quiznos count? We ate there several weeks ago.

M is for your favorite Muppet. Miss Piggy rocks.

N is for number of piercings. 5; 2 holes on my right ear, 3 on my left. I’m sooo ready for some new earrings.

O is for overnight hospital stays. None actually.

P is for people you were with today. The Firefighter this morning and as we drove to work together, the people in my office, and tonight will be the senior high youth group.

Q is for what you do with your quiet time. Right now IN my quiet time I’m studying “No Other Gods” by Kelly Minter with my friend Melinda as part of the “summer siesta Bible study” that Beth Moore is hosting on her website, and “I Saw the LORD” by Anne Graham Lotz, which we started as a women’s Sunday School class study. I highly recommend both of those books to anyone. They correlate in so many lessons on many levels! What a challenge they both have been to me.

R is for biggest regret. Not fully comprehending what we were getting into when the Firefighter and I moved into his house; also known as “The Nichols’ Homestead”. We have lots of advice to give almost-newlyweds on what NOT to do when selecting where to live when you get married.

S is for status. Relationally: married. Personally: tired and ready for a break from everything.

T is for time you woke up today. 6:00 AM

U is for what you consider unique. A person who is willing make Jesus their whole life; He becomes their One and Only, and their life is a living example of Him. This should not be a unique person, as all Christians should live this way, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case.

V is for vegetable you love. Where to begin! Broccoli and string beans are my favorites. Followed so closely by zucchini, summer squash, and cauliflower. Oh and carrots.

W is for worst habit. Procrastinating!

X is for number of x-rays you’ve had. Zero. Do you know that when I was little I actually WANTED a broken bone?! I guess some kid at school must have had a really cool cast or something, and I thought I wanted one. Crazy, huh?

Y is for yummy food you ate today. So far today I’ve had toast with homemade strawberry jam on it, and a half a peanut butter and apple jelly sandwich. Time for some vegetables.

Z is for the zoo you’ve visited. I’ve been to the Grandby Zoo in Quebec; I remember the great huge elephants that we saw. That’s the only real zoo I’ve been to, I believe. I’ve been to the Gray Animal Farm, the New England Aquarium in Boston…and Sea World in Florida.

Grace

Last Thursday night, the Firefighter and I met my parents in Old Orchard Beach and went to a Sandi Patty concert together. It had been a hot day; I mean, HOTT day. So it it warrants 2 Ts. We're not really used to super hot heat up here in Maine; that day it was in the 90s, and making it even worse was the humidity- it was almost unbearable. The saving grace of that concert was that it was outside at the Salvation Army Old Orchard Beach Pavilion, which is an outside concert hall- and there was a breeze! As the sun went down it cooled off quite nicely, and it was an enjoyable summer evening.
As we made our way to our seats, I began to realize that the Firefighter and I were most definitely in the minority- by far, some of the youngest people there...and the concert hall was barely half full. Where was everyone? Hadn't other people been raised listening to Sandi Patty sing? Weren't they as excited as Mom and I were to hear her LIVE? What an occasion!
After what seemed an inordinately long opening act by the local town manager (who is a Christian- what a testimony for him to be playing in his own town!), the moment of truth finally had arrived. What would she look like? What will she talk about? Will she sing our favorite songs? Probably most importantly, what will she be wearing?
Ms Patty did not disappoint. Out she came, and she was wearing this long, silky, flowing black and white shirt with beautiful big flowers on it. Her hair was very chique, and her shoes. Oh my, her shoes. Let me just say that I was wishing for a camera during the entire concert, so I could photograph those beauties to show my sister. They were at least 4" heels, black and cream colored, and they just SHONE in the stagelights. Be still my heart.
Back to the concert.
Sandi Patty came out, and started right in with several songs, most of which I'd never heard. While I was listening to her, enjoying her beautiful, talented voice, my mind started wandering.
When I was growing up, Sandi Patty seemed like THE female Christian singer of her time. She was right up there with Steve Green. Mom had all her tapes, and we listened to them with the volume cranked. Then, she took a mighty tumble. A mighty public tumble. She had an affair with one of the people involved in her ministry. She fell from the spotlight of praise and appreciation for her oh-so-talented vocal abilities, and soon was in another spotlight- the one of revealed sin and glaring humanity. And judgment, I would dare say. She had fallen to the lowest point in a Christian "personality"'s ministry- one where she became an object of ridicule and disappointment.
I've read her book, Broken on The Back Row, and in it she discusses the personal pain, embarrassment, and shame for what she did. But she doesn't stop there. After several years of floundering, not knowing exactly which of the stones cast at her would be the one to finally crush her, she saw a glimmer of hope. She saw the forgiveness offered by the Savior she had previously so loudly proclaimed. And she listened to her own music. She sought forgiveness from Him, and then began the arduous journey of gaining other's forgiveness and trust again.
I was thinking all this as the background for the big question in my mind: how could she step on that stage that night, knowing full well that most in the audience knew her past? Knew what she'd done? Did she think, every night before going out to perform, about how the crowd would receive her? Were there more stone-throwers in the audience, waiting to attack at the slightest opportunity?
The conclusion I finally came to later, as we discussed it at Tim Horton's after the concert, was this. Yes, Sandi Patty did sin, and it was devestating to the career that had been built. She had been THE women's ministry singer of her time! And she threw it all away for personal pleasure. However, she was repentant of her fall. She has gradually made her way back into the public eye, singing about the grace that she has experienced first hand. She has apparently taken the lessons she learned through her fall and is now sharing them with others.
Now that's a ministry opportunity.
Saturday morning we were home, and as I puttered around the kitchen getting meals ready for the weekend, I had one of her classic CDs blaring from the stereo, and I was singing my little heart out along with her. Now that was a concert to behold! :)

If you're interested in listening to some of Sandi Patty's music, visit her website.

Sweet Thing

One of the things that we ALWAYS do while camping at Littlefield Beaches is go to their main office, where they have a big cooler full of icy cool treats. The Firefighter is especially partial to ice cream- I'd dare say that it's his favorite food of all time. Right beside Pepsi. But anyway.

This past weekend's camping trip was no different, and off we went Saturday night to raid the ice cream cooler in the office. My mom, sister and I perused the different "Littlefield Beaches" t-shirts, coozies, bracelets that were available, along with the standard camping equipment they were selling, then finally made our way to the ice cream cooler. While trying to pick out which ice cream the Firefighter would enjoy most (quite a task!), he suddenly appeared at my side.

"Look at this!" he exclaimed as he held a small object, wrapped in plastic, available for sale, up for me to see. I was trying to figure out what exactly it was that was being offered up for examination, when he impatiently said, "Read the label!". So I did. And guess what the label said? "My Garden Life".

He was so excited that he had found some random object that had the name of my blog written on it, and wasted no time in showing it to me.

That act of love, that intense desire to share a discovery with me knowing how excited I would be over it- that was more sweet than any ice cream that store will ever offer.

Kayaks and blinders

Can anyone else believe that July is almost half over already?! How is this possible? It seems like the Firefighter and I were just planting our vegetable garden- but that was over a month ago, as the weeds keep reminding me.
We really have enjoyed our summer so far though. We’ve been kayaking a few times, thanks to generous family members who have let us borrow their kayaks. Next summer I believe we’ll be buying our own so we can go as often as we’d like. Kayaking is so peaceful, so relaxing, and yet such a good workout. This past weekend we were camping at Littlefield Beaches, and the thing we were most looking forward to was kayaking. We borrowed the Firefighter’s nephew’s kayak, and rented one from the campground, and set out Saturday morning. After paddling for a while, I found this little cove that had a white birch tree hanging out over the edge of the water. It was so beautiful, with the tree casting a long, thin shadow over the calm, clear water. I sat there with my leg and hands dangling in the water, just soaking in the view: mountains surrounding the lake, the beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds, camps dotting the shoreline, and the only thing I could hear was the lapping of the water at the shore and the Firefighter paddling away. It was a perfect morning.
As I sat looking at the mountains, I thought of the often-used phrase, “How can anyone look at (insert natural setting) and not believe there’s a God?” For some reason that I’m trying to explain, that phrase has always made me a bit uncomfortable. If someone sets their mind that they believe there is no God, then no amount of natural surrounding is going to convince them otherwise. Doesn’t that seem right? They’ve set their mind against any proof that could be offered to prove His existence. Why would a pretty mountain sitting beside a lake change their mind?The only thing that would change their mind would be God removing the blinders that they’ve been so firmly holding over their physical and spiritual eyes. He would also have to remove the desire for that person to hang on so tightly to those blinders. Once He has removed those blinders, that person’s eyes and heart would be opened to what is so clear to those of us who have lost our blinders. That one would be able to see with clarity, as much clarity as any Christian can have in this present day, why it is that people say “How can anyone look at that and not believe there is a God?”.

Fabulous Fourth

We had such a fantastic Fourth of July weekend- I was so sad to see it end! Thursday night after work, the Firefighter and I got home and began packing for the long trip to the Williams family campground. OK fine; it’s only a 15-minute drive, but boy did we have a lot of stuff to pack! Finally around 7 o’clock the Jeep was loaded, and I mean LOADED, and we set off. As we were afraid of running out of dailylight, and of the fierce looking clouds overhead, we started setting up our home away from home as soon as we arrived.
Let me pause here to let everyone know that I was not raised to be a tent girl. I wasn’t really raised to be a camper, period, but in my teenage years my parents bought a camper, and suddenly camping became so much more fun. No wet tents, no wet clothes, no damp sleeping quarters, no sleeping on the ground- nice comfy beds, a refrigerator and stove to cook on, a nice table to eat at, a place to get in out of the weather and away from bugs…THAT was enjoyable camping.
Still being considered newlyweds (it’ll be 2 years in September), we decided to take the more economical approach to camping. Yup. We bought a tent. After much deliberation over the style, size, number of rooms included in the tent, we finally found one that the Firefighter agreed to and I loved. It’s 1 big room that can be divided into 2, with a screen room attached to the front- I lovingly call it our screen porch- and lots of windows, with a screen roof that gets a tarp put over it. Nice tent. We were excited to put it up.
Back to Thursday night. We get the tent out of the bag- and the Firefighter suddenly remembers that, although we remembered every other possible thing I thought we needed for the tent- including a card table, he forgot the directions. “Have no fear”, he said, “I was a boyscout, remember?”. Yes, oh how I remember. One small detail I’ve left out- before we left the house, the Firefighter said “OK. We’re going to be setting up our new tent for the first time. Regardless of how badly I seem to be doing, or how wrong you think I am, or how miserable of a time it become to set it up, your family will be all around us, so please just don’t say anything; let’s not fight during this time”. I liked the idea, but was it even remotely possible?Let me proudly clear my throat. Ahem. The Firefighter and I had no incident! When we got it almost up, we realized that the screen room opened directly into a big patch of tall grass right beside an out building. So, we pulled up the stakes and turned the tent. At this time the wind started gusting, and thankfully my dad, brother in law, and uncle quickly came over and helped us finish. What success! What teamwork! The icing on the tent, so to speak, was when I laid on our new air mattress that night- and woke up 8 hours later from a sound sleep, thanks to the cushiony mattress and lack of hard ground against my back. Complete success!
The rest of the weekend went just as well. Lots of sun was soaked up while visiting with family, playing ball, kayaking, strawberry picking, watching my cousin and uncle build a screen house for my grandparents, attending a double birthday party for the newest one year olds- my niece Madeline and my cousin’s son Landen. Last year Madeline arrived in our world on July 3, and Landen waited til July 4 to greet everyone- a true “firecracker baby”.
It was truly one of the best Fourth of July Rogers family campouts we’ve had. I love my family.

What's in a Name

It was tough to come up with a name for this blog, as I mentioned here. Some people use catchy phrases, some use their family name, some use great descriptive fanciful phrases...nothing that worked for me.

As I was thinking about this oh-so-difficult choice, I was also working out the layout of my new garden in another part of my brain (aren't brains awesome?). While doing this, I was also planning what to pack for the Firefighter and I as we went on our first-ever-together camping-in-a-tent adventure for the Rogers family July 4th campout.

Then it came to me.

Life is like a garden. There are many things going on around you all at once. Things are growing, some things are dying, some things need changing, some things are pretty good how they are, lots of things need a good amount of attention to keep growing well and be healthy, there's always discipline needing to be involved to weed out bad things...

So this is about life; the garden of life.

The Fourth and the Family

"You're a grand old flag".

I am proud to be an American. Despite all the liberals, the attempts to jeopardize our freedom with political correctness, despite all the negatives, I am so fortunate to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

One of my favorite parts of the Independence Day holiday weekend is our big Rogers family campout. For the last several years, my aunt (mom's sister) and uncle have opened their home, and field, to all the family to come and stay for the weekend. Their neatly manicured lawns transform into a busy campground, home to a few campers, and many tents. Most family- grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, babies, friends- converge on Palermo to celebrate our nation's birthday, and have a reunion of sorts.

As I get older, I am realizing how richly blessed I am to have such a big family that is together so often. On my mom's side of the family we have always had big get togethers, and birthday parties, and Christmas, and Thanksgiving, and just big events that we create to get together (see aboveJuly 4th weekend event). Through our growing up years, Mom and her sisters, and brother, kept all us cousins together, and as we grew through the fighting, the cliques, the drama, we suddenly found ourselves looking forward to these times of being together. There are 11 cousins in all; 3 boys, 8 girls, known now as the "Girl Cousins". Each one of us is a strong, independent woman, like our mothers :), but we have been shown how to remain a strong woman and still be a loving and nurturing wife, daughter, mother, friend. We're all adults now, and the Girl Cousins have decided to get together several times a year, just the Girl Cousins- no other family, to continue these relationships. I can't wait for this weekend when we'll be together and soak in the warmth of a loving, Godly family.

Happy Birthday, America. Thank you for my freedom.

I'm here!

Well, I've done it. I can't believe it actually, but it's true! I've started my own blog. I've been debating taking this step for a while now, but the obstacles just seemed too great. How do I start one? What do I name it? Who would ever even read it? And probably the biggest question- what do I write about? I don't lead a life full of adventure and intrigue; would anyone really care to hear about it?
Then I began to realize that some of the blogs I enjoy reading the most are ones that just feel real. I can relate to those people in some way, and that's why it makes for an enjoyable read.
Lately I've been carefully broaching the subject of blogs with my husband, the Firefighter. The first few times I mentioned that I'd read this or that on someone's blog, he kind of smiled and said "m-hmm", and went back to whatever he was doing. However, as he began to hear more frequently about what happened in the lives of people that I've read about, some people I know, some I don't, he began to look at me a little sideways as I recounted all that I'd learned. "How has she gotten so interested in the land of blog? Who is this woman that can't wait to read about these strangers' adventures?" And THEN came those words. Those words I never thought I'd hear. Those words that came as we were ending our day, waiting for that blanket of sleep to cover us. "Why don't you start your own blog?"
And here I am.