Scripture Gardens Devotion

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic is of Austin with a very special gift... and invitation. Since it is Melia's Senior Prom this year, she did the asking and he did the accepting. It was a very cute way to extend the invitation. I liked it very much! Oh! And so did Austin.

The Gallery Pics are from my new MOST favorite place in the whole wide world... Yogurt Mountain. It's an amazing place. I'm not going to talk about it today because I'm saving details for Thursday's date post. (I'm probably the last person in the State of Alabama who has NOT been to Yogurt Mountain, but humor me.) I'm thinking of all kinds of entrepreneurial opportunities because of our visit there... Cheesecake Mountain, Rib Mountain (for Austin and friends), Pound Cake Mountain. The ideas are limitless! More on Thursday.

NOTE: The Focus on the Family review for the movie Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will not be out until January 21 or 22, but I found out Julie Andrews is also in the movie. I LOVE Julie Andrews. I don't necessarily support her like I do former WWF superstars, but I do consider it a plus she is in the movie, too. Stay tuned!

Monday Mayhem - This was quite possibly the most boring weekend ever had by the Faulkner Five (except for Sunday afternoon... which I will talk about Thursday).

Roxie had a basketball game Friday night (which they won). Austin and Melia came to the game and then went out to eat and watched a movie with her family. Josh had a friend over. A very easy Friday night.

Saturday everyone slept late which was much needed after our rigorous first week back at school after the long Christmas holidays. Or as I like to call it, the "two-days-back, one-day-off-for-Winter-Weather-Event-2010, and one-partial-day-back First Week Back at School." It was exhausting, I tell you. The rest of Saturday was spent watching football games, eating meals, etc., etc. I think the guys worked out. We did squeeze in a few games of Scrabble Slam and Scattergories before we headed off to bed, but in a very boring nutshell, that was our Saturday.

Sunday after church Roxie went shopping with a friend, and Mikie planned a little date which was a lot of fun, and then we returned home for another quiet evening. I tried to watch Chuck with Austin, but I don't really get the show. Is it supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be serious like 24? Is he a robot? Is he likable or just very annoying? I do not know the answers to any of these questions. Needless to say, I will not be adding it to my repertoire of 2010 shows.

I hope you and yours had a slightly more exciting weekend than we did, although no one was heard complaining in our house Friday, Saturday OR Sunday.

Tomorrow I have a Thought for the Day which may or may not last through Wednesday. It depends on how "wordy" I become.

Scripture Gardens Devotion

Look in your produce section of the grocery store for a sweet potato that has already started to sprout, even if the sprouts are no longer fresh. You'll need a glass jar and several wooden toothpicks, plus potting mix and a terra-cotta flower pot. (Let the kids paint the pots!)

Pierce the middle of the sweet potato with two toothpicks, one on each side, and suspend it over the jar. Fill the jar almost to the top with lukewarm water and set it on a bright windowsill. Make sure to point the root end of the potato face down. It will take seven to 14 days to sprout. Within a week or two your sweet potato will turn into a growing machine, churning out masses of ivy-like foliage at a prodigious rate.

When growth is about 6" to 8", it is time to transplant to a more permanent container. Fill the flowerpot about a third of the way up with potting soil, then place the potato on top of the soil and fill in around it. If at all possible, cover the potato completely with mix to discourage rotting. Water often enough to keep the mix lightly moist.

After you have transplanted your beautiful vine, take the opportunity for an after-dinner devotion. Place the vine in the middle of the table for a centerpiece. Use the verse, "I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in Me, and I in Him, he bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.

This was adapted form FamilyFun Magazine, February, 1999.

I like this devotion because it's a craft (the painting of the pot), a learning activity (the mini-garden) AND a devotion. Also, the kids will memorize this verse quickly and easily with the visual aid. It's a "threefer."

Have a fantastic Monday while you try desperately to stay warm. I will do the same. Tomorrow I have a simple, yet necessary recipe for your collection. Later in the week, I'm hoping to try The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti. That's the "plan." If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda