Thoughtful Thanksgiving.

The snow is falling and that means winter is soon approaching. The smell of wood fires streaming from old houses, car exhaust from heat blasting, and spicy smells of baked goods and drinks are all permeating the air.

Thanksgiving is always the first holiday of the season for feasting (on real food and not candy) that jump starts the eating frenzy. When I think back to holiday meals when I was younger they were a mixture of real, from scratch homemade foods, and fake, from the box foods. The turkey, real mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing, cranberry Jell-O, green bean casserole, white buns from scratch, olives, raw carrots, and a salad layered with bacon, cheese, peas, onions, and miracle whip.

That was Thanksgiving past.

Thanksgiving present is non-traditional. As my family has been growing up and life brings has brought me to different countries, brings new people into the picture, the tradition has changed. A few years ago I spent Thanksgiving with my mom in Texas and we went to a buffet restaurant and had really fake Thanksgiving foods. Three years ago I was in England for the holiday and two years ago I spent Thanksgiving in New Zealand. In England and New Zealand the foods were an English version of our traditional Thanksgiving foods. The Yorkshire pudding, stuffing with apricots, pumpkin pie with a top crust, and fair trade chocolate were a very successful rendition of familiar foods. They were a comforting touch of home while traveling abroad.

This year I am not sure what Thanksgiving Day will look like. I will not be at home with my immediate family but that doesn’t mean it will go without celebration. I have invited international students from school over to celebrate the North American Holiday. There will be a potluck of some traditional food and some non-traditional. I pray I can extend the same hospitality to people without family in the U.S. as I experienced when I was in foreign places with no family.

What I am reminded of this time of year is that although the traditions of the day may change the purpose needs to remain the same. Thanksgiving celebrates harvest and the coming together of two worlds… the new and the native. In the past it was Europe and Native American. In the present it is people from all over the world and the United States. As a citizen of the United States and the Kingdom of God I am delighted to extend a hand to those who are from foreign lands.

I just hope they like the food…

John 13:34-36 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Glimpse from the Garden

Pictured Rocks National Park, MI

As the cool air is upon us and my mind is consumed with thoughts of pumpkins and hot apple cider I feel an ode to the summer is past due. I am back into school with new( used) books, new classes, and with classes in a new Gold Leed building named SAGE (wisdom of nature and the nature of wisdom) that opened this fall. I am also in a new house, like a real house, with a mom named Betty, a dog named Gracie, and I share a room with my friend Lacey. I had a very busy summer that involved spending a lot of time outdoors in the garden, hiking, and biking. I was able to see friends get married, purchase a home, move to new cities and follow the Lord leading them in new directions. It was great, and emotional at times. Vulnerability.

I am drowning up to my ears with heaps of fresh produce from my two garden plots, one at UW-Oshkosh community gardens and the other from Marvins Garden at the Gardens of the Fox Cities, not to mention the abundance my parents send me home with from their garden when I visit. I am busy cooking up lots of delicious meals, including my favorite Eggplant Parmesan!

Here is a reflection piece I wrote for the Gardens of the Fox Cities newsletter:

The Shasta Daisies are done blooming and the Monarchs are sparsely to be seen, a contrast to the middle of June when I first stepped foot in the Gardens of the Fox Cities. The gardens have changed a lot in two months and feel as though I have grown and changed with them.

Walking into Marvins Garden for the first time felt as though I was entering a magical little garden land. When children started arriving and the Gardeners and Explorers classes got rolling the magical Marvins land began to transform. The foot tall Sunflowers from June are now towering ‘ginormous’ giants that hang their heads to keep watch. The newly installed shed became a hideout from the rain. Gatherings took place at the blue table, and a feast of pickles, salsa and pizza we made one week was food fit for a king or queen. We took adventures and explored new territory on the 38 acres of the Gardens of the Fox Cities, catching butterflies, watching birds and looking at flowers through a kaleidoscope. The year ended with a friendly competition during Ecology Olympics and all the kids in Marvins went home as Olympian champions. New surprises are peaking through the leaves each week; right now there is a green pumpkin the size of a basketball, ripe and ready tomatoes and squashes of all variety waiting to be harvested. Being a leader and watching the interaction between children and the outdoors was fun and encouraging to see their excitement. Personally, I learned a lot from Hannah about organization, curriculum planning, allowing kids to be kids outside, and the generation of exploration of senses in the garden!

During my two months here at the gardens I have enjoyed watching the phenology of the flowers and trees. I got a front row seat every Thursday, as the dryness of late summer kicked in, my routine was watering the gardens around the Schieg building, Witzke Blvd. and Capitol Drive. The whimsical pink Queen of the Prairie bloomed and faded as the large dinner plate Hibiscus took center stage. I learned a lot about the flowers and trees from Vicki and other volunteers who had much knowledge to share. I practiced my newly learned plant identifications and facts as visitors to the gardens would stop and ask questions.

I would not have spent my summer any other way. The fun, beauty, friendships, knowledge, peacefulness and sense of civic engagement that I engaged in at the Gardens of the Fox Cities has been a job experience I will cherish forever.

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." - Psalm 119:105

Blessings come in disguise.

After resolving to take a summer class after no potential jobs or internships in sight a last minute application to AmeriCorps (a program sort of like the PeaceCorps except for in the United States and offers shorter term employments with local community organizations) proved to be fruitful. I was offered a position with the Gardens of the Fox Cities in Appleton, WI (similar to Botanical Gardens) through AmeriCorps. This gave me the chance to drop my dreaded statistics course and instead I will get my hands dirty and face sweaty out in the sun! It will be a great opportunity to grow in so many ways including teaching (little kids… go figure), growing better at the names of flora and fauna, and learning about prairie restoration. Continually I am amazed at how great my Father is and how He cares deeply for those whom are called sons and daughters. Trusting always He is good and in control will remain a lifelong lesson… as my 23^rd year has approached I am reminded that I shall not fear because ‘Perfect Love casts out Fear’…. 1 John 4:18 …. but, more on that later….

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” Psalm 18:2

huh?

A couple weeks ago at church the Pastor started is message with a prompt. He opened telling us that the most talked about emotion in the Bible is Love. Makes sense. He questioned the congregation with "What do you think the second most talked about emotion is?" and prompted us to ask those around us. I asked my friends to the left and they thought maybe jealousy, my thoughts were either anger or sadness. So, I turn around and asked the elderly lady sitting behind me what she thought. She didn't know and asked me "what do you think?", excited to share I told her "sadness". Confident in my response. The Pastor called us back to attention. He gave the answer to the question... which was Regret. The sermon he preached was on Matthew 5: 38-48.. you know love your enemy, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you.Take home: don't regret tiffs you may have with others or yourself... instead resolve them. (Ask forgiveness... forgive)
At the end we took communion, sang a worship song, the Pastor prayed. A nice church service. Before we sang our last worship song the little lady from behind me gently grabs my arm and asks me " what was the first emotion the Pastor said at the beginning?", I told her " Love", she looks at me with a serious face and says " it makes sense then why you said sex." I looked at her processing what she said, half thinking this lady just said sex in church and then wondering what she must think about me for saying sex in church. I look at her seriously and say " Oh no, ma'am, I said Sadness." We both start smiling and then laughing, extremely amused by the whole miss-communication. The last worship song plays and at the end of service the lady and I exchange names and a genial agreement that we will not forget each other.

I left church that evening amused by how often we must say things that others interpret wrongly either because of bad hearing, words being taken out of context, or just too much background noise. I was glad the lady was not too prideful, fearful, or shy in this situation to clarify. She asked a context question that she had missed and by doing so found out she hadn't heard what I said either. In the end we formed a bond based on miss-communication and walked away a little more joyful for it.

Resolve. Clarify. Communicate.