A Good Good Friday

This morning dawned bright and chilly, the last of a long streak of frost warnings. It would be a great day to plant the garden and weed the flower beds. But never mind that for now. Today is Good Friday, and our annual Cross Walk would not wait.

What is so significant about this Cross Walk is the participants. This is truly an ecumenical event for our city, with Christians from many denominations not only participating, but coming together to plan it. The walk begins at the local Methodist Church with worship and a gospel reading. Then its up the hill to the local Lutheran Church, on to the Baptist Church, and concluding at the Catholic Church. At each stop the pastor of that church reads the gospel and leads a prayer before the procession continues. Thank you to the Alleluia Community and the Pastor's Alliance for continuing this meaningful and inspirational tradition. It is good to recall the events surrounding our Savior's Passion, who willingly gave His life as ransom for our sins. Thank you, Jesus.

When afternoon rolled around, it was off to Lowe's to get tomato plants and other garden supplies. As they say in the South, Good Friday is garden planting day. It was a glorious day to be outside, and when all was said and done, we had a garden with tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, beets and spinach.

And, to top it off, I got an early Easter gift of Gerber daisies and red cedar chips. Thank you, Honey!

Bloom Where You're Planted

This morning I was greeted by a happy hibiscus plant,just bursting with beautiful blooms, and was immediately reminded of the old cliche, "Bloom where you are planted." This plant certainly took an ordinary corner of our house and turned it into something beautiful. Ask God how you can turn an ordinary situation into something beautiful for Him today, no matter what corner you find yourself in. Go ahead, bloom where you are planted! 

Autumn Wildflower Bouquets

Flowers are usually synonymous with springtime, so I was a bit hesitant to do this art project with my class last week. It just didn't seem to fit in with the fall leaf art project that first grade had up on their bulletin board, or kindergarten's pumpkin patch. I mean, flowers in autumn....could I pull it off?

The whole idea began five years ago as a Mother's Day craft. I was looking for a way for my students to create something for their mothers with sentimental value...something like a bouquet of fingerprint flowers. I used a green marker to draw the stems, and a piece of wallpaper cut out of a sample book donated by a local paint store for the vase. The craft itself was a huge success, but another craft became the favorite for Mother's Day. I didn't need two.











Then the idea hit me to move this craft to fit in with our plant chapter in science. Every fall we study plants; trees, wildflowers, garden flowers and their seeds, and many of these wildflowers are in bloom during the fall months. Queen Anne's lace, aster, chicory, black-eyed Susan, goldenrod, and mums are just a few examples.










Again, the craft was a success, but I usually only displayed them in my classroom before sending them home. Flowers in autumn? Not so sure.










This year I decided to take a chance and display the artwork in the hallway, and by the overwhelmingly positive response, it was the right decision.

Good job, class!
 

Morning Glory



Hibiscus....my favorite!

Look what was on my front porch this morning! Not only one, but two beautiful blooms.  No, it is not a morning glory per say, but it is glorious!!!