Thankful Thursdays - 3/12/15 - Museum Gardens

We are thankful for museum gardens.

Those gardens that look spectacular most of the year, that require no effort on our part but to simply enjoy them, those are ones to be thankful for today. Later in the year I'll be thankful for my own garden. Many museums have a variety of gardens to enjoy, and several let you visit the gardens at no charge.

When I read books about manor houses, I think of gardens I have seen at various museums to give my imagination wings. While our yard is too small for a large, showy garden, museum gardens are often large and lavish. The picture above is from a recent visit to the Indianapolis Museum of Art's gardens. It was just a moment in time that Arlene and I sat down to chat...and I asked her sister Emily to snap a photo. So rarely am I in a photo because I'm usually the one taking the pictures! I thought it would be nice to have a picture of me and my almost 15 year old baby-girl.

Museum gardens give us space to walk and imagine, they often have great subject matter to draw, paint, or photograph, and the larger ones give us plenty of exercise room as we walk from end to end. I've found that if you like the garden, you'll probably like the museum. Spring is just around the corner - why not scope out a local museum's gardens and watch life unfold? Perhaps its time for a little nature study, or a little art class. Or maybe, just maybe, you need the quiet solitude of the garden to regroup. Whatever your reasons, find a museum garden to call your own this year!

Bake

Thankful Thursdays 3/5/15 - A Winter's Night

I am thankful for a recent winter's night. The world was still, the moon was full, and I was in no rush to go anywhere. I sat and looked out the living room window at the clear sky, the quiet snow, and the moon through the trees. Looking at the pictures I took that night reminded me that we are to be thankful, all the time. Some days it's easier to be thankful than others, yet the Bible clearly commands us to give thanks. Find something to be thankful for. What ever you do, give thanks. If you are in a difficult situation and don't feel thankful, choose to be thankful that you are not there alone. God is there with you! Choose to sing a Psalm or a hymn, and ask God to help you be thankful. Someone needs to see that joy in you that can only come from Jesus!

How Easily We Forget

Do you ever feel like a character from a movie? Sometimes I feel like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. No, I'm not talking about the part where the flying monkeys are after her, I'm talking about the poppy fields. The part where Dorothy gets so sleepy she forgets her mission. 

How easily we forget our mission. How easily I forget that tying heart strings is more important than a clean house. How easily I forget that I should be putting my husband second only to God. How easily I forget that God puts people in my path because He wants me to tell them about Jesus.

If you've been feeling like Dorothy, and you've gotten so sleepy that you've forgotten your mission, its time to wake up! It's time to put God first again and keep Him there. It's time to see every interaction with others as a chance to shine the light of Jesus.

It's time to stop beating yourself up and instead extend some grace. It is often easier to forgive others than to forgive ourselves. We need the reminder that God has placed our sins as far away as the East is from the West. It is only the beginning of March, but I think a lot of us have forgotten the joy and peace of Christmas already. We have forgotten our wonder at the marvelous story of Jesus coming to earth as a baby to prepare a way for us. 
We somehow want to hurry our lives along to some future point, yet in doing so, we've forgotten that our days are ordained by God. We cannot give ourselves any more time on this earth than God has allotted to us.

May we choose to slow down and listen. God is speaking. The book of Isaiah reminds us in chapter 30, verse 21 about listening for His voice:  And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.  Are we listening? Am I listening? 

May I no longer count the seasons by the weather outside, but by the work God is doing inside my heart and mind. May each new season draw me closer to Him. May each passing season have me listening to His voice. My desire is that I would no longer be so quick to forget His Word and His plan. May I walk forward along God's path.

I do not want to be a forgetter, I want to be a rememberer. I want to remember all Christ has done, and continues to do. May I follow Christ's example of a life devoted to showing God's glory. 

This is the way, walk in it.

More than just a flower

When is a flower more than just a flower? Every single day. Sometimes we receive flowers from a friend or a loved one. That gift of flowers might be in celebration of a special event like a birthday or anniversary, or it might be a 'just because' gift. Sometimes we buy flowers at the store because we want to cheer ourselves, or brighten a room. There is a special joy in taking time to really look at a flower.

A flower is a masterpiece created by God. Whether the flower grew in your own yard, along the side of the road, or in a greenhouse, it is still a masterpiece. Flowers contain minute details and intense amounts of color. Whether they are 1/4" or 6" wide, flowers take time to grow and mature to be able to bloom.

Maybe we can learn something from the flowers that brighten our world.

People take time to grow and thrive. We are masterpieces created by God. We are his workmanship. We can brighten a room, or celebrate with others. 

Unfortunately, just like we can ignore flowers, we sometimes ignore people. Maybe we think they are too small to require our notice, or too showy. Maybe we think they need more care than we are willing to give. That is not what God wants from us or for us! God wants us to take the time to see and appreciate His workmanship, whether flowers or people. 

God has placed those people in your path for His purposes. Maybe those small people (like your children,) are there to teach you about patience and trust, maybe those showy people are there to teach you about joy. Take time to get to know the details about the people God has placed in your life. Ask Him to show you His hand at work maturing them. Ask God to help you grow.

If you are too busy to notice a flower, then you are too busy to notice a person. 

A flower is more than just a flower when God uses the flower to remind you to slow down. It matters not if it is a rose or a dandelion, stop and smell the flowers! See the amazing details God has placed in each and every flower. As you learn to slow down to appreciate a flower, you will learn to see the amazing details God has placed in each and every one of us.

Our days on this earth are numbered, fleeting actually, spend each one appreciating the beauty God has designed. Mark 8:36 is a daily lesson for us to learn - "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" Grasp not for the world, for it is fleeting. Grab hold of God, for He is eternal!

Koru Naturals - A Happy Crew Review

We have been blessed many times over the years to review products with The Schoolhouse Review Crew. Most of them are educational, either curriculum, games, or supplementary programs. Every once in a while we get one that is NOT for the girls to review, its just for me, the Mama. I call those happy reviews, ones I can keep for myself, or share if I think they would be good for everyone. Our recent shipment from Koru Naturals was one of those happy reviews. We have spent the past ten years or so trying to convert as many personal care products as possible in our house over to all-natural ones, so we are always on the lookout for new ones to try. We received two outstanding products from Koru Naturals, their Emu Oil, and a four-pack of tubes of their Pure Lanolin Lip Balm. I was really nice and shared. :) Kurt, Emily, and I all tried one of the lip balm tubes, and the girls and I shared the Emu Oil. Yes, that does leave one more lip balm... that one I'm not sharing.

The first thing we noticed about the lip balm (retail price $9.80 for a 4 pack) was how thick it is. I know, that shouldn't have surprised us, as we've used lanolin before. I guess we just didn't think about how it would be to put it on your lips as opposed to on your hand or arm. My recommendation is to use this as a dab it on lip product, instead of a swipe it on balm. If you swipe it, you could end up with a lot more than you need, and might be like the first time Kurt tried it... "mmm, I think my lips are stuck together"-LOL! These tubes (also available in pots if that's your preference,) are simply 100% pure anhydrous lanolin. That means no water, no perfume, no weird flavors. 

This is just the kind of lip balm we needed this winter. It has been particularly cold and dry the past two months, and these worked really well. Because the lip balm is just lanolin, it keeps the moisture you have inside your lips, and protects them from the wind. Kurt liked these because the lanolin stays on. You're not always reapplying like with other natural lip products. We received the box just over a month ago, and even after using this lip balm at least once a day, it seems like I've hardly used any at all. Emily wants to remind you that you could put it in your pocket to soften it up, but don't leave it there too long or it will get really soft and you'll end up applying too much. I was a little concerned that if I left it in my pocket, I might forget it. I don't think lanolin and laundry would mix well. Emily sometimes likes to use natural tinted lip balms, but they often dry out quickly, so she used this lanolin lip balm from Koru Naturals over the top of her tinted balm to seal in her lip's moisture. 

I also want to mention that this is the most portable form of lanolin I've come across. That is great news for people who might have fingertips or knuckles that tend to crack in the winter. Just toss it in your bag and take it along. Choosing the Pure Lanolin Lip Balm in pots would be a great gift idea, especially for new Moms, gardeners, or outdoorsmen.  Also, since they come in a four pack, you can share with your family without sacrificing your own tube. I am a fan of lanolin. In the summer when the girls are volunteering at the local living history park, I often go see the lambs in the barn. I love running my hands over their fleece and feeling how soft the lanolin makes them. If you've been around sheep, imagine this lip balm as the clean version of kissing a lamb on the head.

The second treasure in our box from Koru Naturals was a 2oz bottle of fully refined natural Emu Oil. Where has this been all my life?! I'm a huge user of natural oils for skincare. Usually I spend each winter slathering my dry face with coconut oil. Coconut oil works great as a moisturizer, but it leaves you feeling a bit greasy. Emu oil does an even better job of moisturizing my skin, without the greasy feeling. This Emu Oil (retail price $9.85 for 2 oz) looks milky white, has a very mild, almost unnoticeable, smell, and works tremendously! A little bit goes a long way... a really long way. Emily and I have used this every single day for the past month, and we've maybe used half an ounce. I've been using it once or twice a day on my face, and several times a day on the ends of my fingertips and around my cuticles. Usually in the winter I have to break out the lanolin and wear cotton gloves to bed every single night to keep my fingertips from splitting. This month I've been using the Emu oil about four times a day, skipping the lanolin, which, by the way, you should not use on your hands when you're using electronic devices like your phone or laptop, and have hardly ever needed to wear gloves to bed.

Arlene says the Emu Oil is magic. She had a couple spots on her scalp with some dandruff that wasn't going away even when using dandruff shampoo. I used just a few drops of the Emu Oil on those spots and by the next morning they were 80% gone. I like how well moisturized the Emu Oil makes my face feel. It only takes a few drops for my whole face. Since the weather has been super cold and dry, or cold and snowy all month, this came at a great time.

Emily has been using the Emu Oil on her psoriasis. She frequently gets small outbreaks on her arms, either near her elbow, or near the wrist. Using the emu oil twice a day has made as significant improvement in her skin. This refined Emu Oil retains the Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids. I think if you struggle with any type of dry skin you should give this a try. If you decide you want to use it as an all-over body moisturizer, you'll be glad to know it comes in various sizes, 2, 4, or 8 ounces.

Overall, we were quite impressed with the quality of both of the products we received. Koru Naturals has many more products, some of which were reviewed by other members of the Crew. Click on the banner below and join me in reading about Koolpurrie Restoring Balm, New Zealand Pure and Simple Lanolin Cream, and Manuka Oil and Honey Shampoo and Conditioner.


P.S. You can visit Koru Naturals on Pinterest 

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