Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...

 ...we had to take reno break to get the guest room ready for family!

And so I had to hang up some stars.  

We had such a lovely visit doing almost nothing.    A good time was had by all....

 ....and the weekend before that, we went to Chatham on Father's Day.    And saw more family! 

Such a nice day.... 

...and there were 7 wild baby bunnies in front of the neighbor's house....in a hole in the lawn.   And the sweet neighbor lined the hole with shavings.   

What you can't see is that the momma bunny moved the babies the next day.   Good mom. 

On The Outside

There is more going on at our house than just the obvious changes inside...

I had a rare day at home yesterday.
These are just a few glimpses of things  I love. 
Often seen, often photographed. 
Same stuff, different year...







My little baby basil have hatched.  Sweeeeetest little things!
 

We went paddling on Saturday.  It was wet and wonderful.  And we met some great new people.   I like people.

Raindrops on lilies. 
I like perennials because they just go ahead and get started without you.  You can always count on them.
They just show up.

I have friends like that too.

Real Renos

Being in the midst of a renovation has been an interesting experience.  There are many surprises hiding underneath perfectly good drywall and work needs to be done to bring it back up to code.  Strange and fascinating wiring configurations lurk just beneath the surface.  It gets the job done....most of the time.   Isn't life just like that sometimes?

When we got down to the bare studs in the kitchen, I thought about how much more there is to a person than just their outward appearance, their facade.    Very often we are content to just be squared up from a distance and taken at face value.   Some days I'm pleased that this is all that others see of me, as I'm whizzing by.   Upon closer examination they might notice that there are some areas that have a pretty poor spackling job that was painted over.   Then there are the spots that just have a nice picture hanging over something entirely unsightly.  And you know you really should be working on repairing that instead of avoiding it, walking around it. Carrying it.  

This happens.  To all of us.

There is something really scary about surrendering these parts of our lives and being vulnerable before God. To wake up one day and realize that just because this is the way it is, doesn't mean it should be.  To surrender these places and allow Him to do the uncomfortable, painful,  healing work that needs to be done.  To admit that His Master-plan is better than anything we could choose on our own. If we can allow Him to do transformational work in us...He will remove the fascinating and strange band-aids we've added to our lives. If we can let go of the things that aren't really working,  He will take us back down to the bare studs.   He will give us a new heart.  A heart of flesh.  Renew a right Spirit within in us.  Turn our mourning into dancing. Bestow on us a crown of beauty and a garment of praise and bring us back up to code: His plan for our lives.  Imagine the "before" and "after" of a life changed and renewed.