When A Yard Becomes Holy Ground

When I visited my mom recently, I had church in her yard. Here are some of my meditations from the last several weeks and a few more pictures of her place.

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Sitting out here on the glider swing in Mom's yard was all the church I needed that morning. 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

Bird song and rustling leaves led the praise. 

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and 

let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Psalm 27:14 AMP

The same breeze strumming branches swirled sweet all around me, 

incense of wild rose, like the prayers of the saints.

...God has made me forget all my trouble..... God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

Genesis 41:51-52 NASB

My soul, hungry for that which satisfies forever, finds rich food to be slowly savored. 

...those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit 

set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

...the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

Romans 8:5-6 AMP

Solitude that could be lonely is my invitation to sit awhile with the Lover of my soul. 

Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.

Luke 1:78-79 NLT

My Maker. My Redeemer. The One Who carries me and saves me every day.

Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you!

I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

Isaiah 46:4 NASB

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence 

and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8-9 NASB

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I hope you have enjoyed getting a peek at my mom's place as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you. 

If you missed the other posts, you can find them here and here.

Stay tuned, because we have been hard at work in our own yard the last couple weeks and I have some fun stuff to show you as soon as I get the mess cleaned up. To give you a little hint, the brick pile is considerably smaller than it was before.

Mom's Spring Flowers

As promised, here is the first of two photo-driven posts

showing you the lovely views in and around my mom's yard.

This mound is the storm cellar.

The storm cellar is cleverly disguised with iris,....

...peonies, and ground cover.

Here's the broad view of the backyard.

Getting closer to the tree you find an old wash tub brimming with green stuff.

(Guess I should have asked it's name. Some kind of succulent, I think.)

The iron kitty watches over the bluebird house.

One of my favorite spots....

...the swing.

The garden arch supports some pretty clematis.

Oh, look. We have visitors from the neighboring farm.

Hello there, ladies.

A scrap piece of picket fence makes the perfect backdrop for peonies.

This lovely peach iris thrives out back, too.

Mom uses this old treadle sewing machine base as a potting table. 

She simply rested the grate on top.

On passed the swing and into the side yard brings us to another flower bed.

Not much was blooming here yet, except these roses.

Another rusty garden surprise rests here.

In front of the house is this long bed with more iris and peony.

One of my favorites!

This entire slope was lifeless until Mom dug out and terraced the space, 

moving rocks, and installing boards for a gentle staircase.

Here's the slope from the other side, looking toward the house.

Do you see another rusty treasure? My son, Silas, and his friend, Cameron,

dragged the milk can from the creek near our old house and gave it to her.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace 

because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope 

through the power of the Holy Spirit. --Romans 15:13 NLT

Kitty and I will see you again real soon.

My Mom's Famous Pink Room

When I need to run away from home, I go to my mom's.

When I go to my mom's, I get to sleep in the pink room.

Every time I tell my girlfriends about the pink room, they are jealous.

So, this post is for my girlfriends.

(Manly men, beware. This is a very pink post.)

The walls are pink. The floor is pink. The ceiling is...well, pink, of course.

Many of the beautiful things in the room are pink.

The comfy bed is covered with a quilt and the pillowcases....

 ...were embroidered by my grandma and edged with crochet by my mom.

Is there anything better than sleeping near an open window with a cool breeze blowing?

I have very happy dreams when I sleep in the pink room.

There is a lovely little corner for reading.

Here's a closer look at the shelves and the pink stuff on the shelf.

See the picture on the lower right with the two babies?

That's me and my brother, Ed. (Aren't we so cute?)

Above is my other brother, Paul.

This little treasure is a silhouette of my grandma, Betty. 

Kitty cozies up at the doorway.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of The Pink Room.

The Pink Room isn't the only lovely area at Mom's house.

Mom, who just so happens to be a Master Gardener, also has a beautiful yard.

Not only that, but because she lives in rural Missouri, there are many views that feed the soul.

I'm working on a couple more photo-driven posts to show you Mom's yard.

Much more beauty coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by A House and Yard.