This is How Father Feeds the Birds in My Garden

 

I would have been sad to see the pomegranate in my garden last season had I not understood the ways of the Lord.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

 yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not more valuable than they?

(Matthew 6:26)

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

Yet no one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

(Matthew 10:29)

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Butterflies In The House

 In my homeschool blog, I posted about the butterflies we farmed. (If you are curious on the process of butterfly transformation, you should check this link.)

Most pupae are now hatched and we have butterflies in the house. We were excited to see the first one, then the next two. We saw 6 of them in 3 days. But now that the homeschoolers are familiar with the process, we let go of the pupae out of the box and place them in a safe spot in the garden.

 Our garden has now transformed into a real butterfly garden.

Our garden is very small yet there's so much excitement going there. 

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable,

butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  

And everyone deserves a little sunshine. 

~Jeffrey Glassberg

Thanksgiving

I'm thankful that we were able to go for a family picnic during the weekend. It was rather a spontaneous decision but it worked alright for all of us.

I'm thankful for marrying a family-man who does not only understand the value and importance of spending quality time with our children but also takes delight in it.

I'm thankful for my children who has learned to find contentment in simple things and appreciate the beauty of nature and respect it.

I'm thankful for public parks and places where we can enjoy relaxing time watching birds flying by and feeding fish in the lake.

I'm thankful that amid busyness and mounting concerns, I'm not only staying sane but also having peace within.

Only God can give me these things so my thanksgiving is for Him!

Sowing Seeds

Let me wrap my week up with a label "Sowing Seeds". That's basically what I was doing the whole week! Sowing seeds unsparingly in my garden and in the hearts of my homeschoolers and students.

I love sowing seeds because of the feeling of anticipation that goes with it. I enjoy watching the process of growth. As I do, I also cultivate my heart to be hopeful and patient. Well, the whole process of gardening makes my heart glad.

I don't know what is it in gardening that makes my heart fall in love with it. Perhaps because it runs in the blood. My great, great, great grandparents were created in the garden because their Maker knew so well that it would be the place where they are most satisfied and would be drawn closest to Himself.

If you look closely to the picture on the right, you'll notice that I was showing my students the different parts of a plant.  So even in my classroom, as I sow seeds of knowledge, the gardener in me is still at work!

I wonder what kind of men these boys in my class would become? So while I can, I sow seeds of knowledge and keep that hope in my heart that these knowledge will grow into wisdom once applied in their lives.


In my previous post, I shared about my visit to my friend's farm. They have mulberry trees bearing fruit which is delightful to butterflies and birds. So I brought home a few cuttings (twigs about 5 inches long) and planted them on a pot.




Here it is after 2 months of waiting! Yesterday, I transplanted 2 surviving cuttings into one big pot and put it on the side of our terrace.  I can already see a fruitful bush regularly visited by butterflies and birds.

Speaking of birds, I want to show you the new residents in my garden: Lemon and Lime, the seed-eaters. They're caged :( but they are placed under a pomegranate tree so at least it feels like a natural habitat for them. 

( This is my entry for Camera Critters and Mellow Yellow. )

Another residents are the living creatures in the nest on the sweet sop tree by the garden. You can imagine how thrilled we were when we first heard them chirped one early morning. Their parents would fly down and get food from my garden. I don't mind them eating the seeds I've sown. They're just seeds I can readily replace.What I'm more mindful of are the seeds sown in my children's heart.

I guess, aside from being a gardener and a teacher, I'm more of a mother farming in the hearts of my children.

Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.
-   E. B. White