Being a creative right brain isn't something I chose, it's who I am..it's who God made me to be. For those of us born this way, it's like needing to breathe.

I have adjusted fairly well here in East Texas. It most definitely has it's challenges. Like not having a studio space to create. I usually handle it ok and just go to the garden...but it's gotten REALLY hot now...SO.... the other day I had a melt down. I cried out of sadness...because I've just got to create something! Frankly, I'm tired of doing it in the kitchen! wink wink!

Hubs is so good to me. He sat down and made up a list of all he needed to put an AC unit in his big garage workshop...it was already here and is massive in size...you can drive an RV into that thing! He picked all that up yesterday and will get started soon. This is why The Shepherd's Studio is taking so long...there's always something else needing to be done. But it's coming along. 

Now I can start to do some reupholstery projects on some furniture I want in my studio. (Yes, there is going to be a seating area for friends to gather to create with me! Or for Bible Studies or Home Group...whatever God wants to do with it...it's His.) I bought these great chairs from a friend. They have good bones and just need some TLC! And we brought an old sofa from Maryland that I just love so,  I'm going to use simple neutral linen.

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It's been WAY too long since I've taken time...mostly because I don't have a space to spread out. I have to get everything out an put it away (at least what I can find...many boxes still unpacked in the garage waiting for the move over to The Shepherd's Studio). 

Getting these girlies out of my head is necessary....they're screaming...LET ME OUT!

I did some of these for our daughter. She wanted them for our little EuEu's 1 year memory book. 

I get my inspiration from life around me, from creation and from other artist. I never "copy" another artist, but allow it to inspire my own creative juices. When you do steal...Steal Like An Artist...and ALWAYS give credit where due!

After all....There is nothing new under the sun! 

I have already sowed my Fall/Winter garden...aka Summer Part Dos in East Texas. I cut my sweet baby romaine lettuce today for lunch...and it was so good with cherry tomatoes, sweet onion, red pepper and some EVOO.

Living in a forest has it's ups and downs. The Up Side..we have no grass to cut! Rather...Hubs has no grass to cut. After cutting 5 acres of grass for 30 years, I told him I was retiring from that job...if we had grass in Texas, he would have to cut it. He pretty much made sure we did not have any grass!!!  We basically just have weeds that need cutting. He waits for a nice rain and then cuts...it helps cut down on the dust, especially when you have sand for soil.


The Down Side, there is very little sun around our house. I call it chasing the sun. The funny thing is, we only have sun on the North side of our house which happens to be where the driveway meets the garage pad. SO, when I had 0 pepper production well into 2 months or beautiful pepper plants, I dug them up and potted them in fabric pots and relocated them to the driveway. I had to do the same with the eggplant and the artichokes. All of which really want and need a lot of sun to produce fruit.

I'm finally getting my first eggplant. Between the chasing the sun and the flea beetles, it's been a long haul. I finally ordered some organic flea powder that did the job when we lived in Maryland and is working just as well here.

I must of planted my King of The Garden Limas over 3 months ago!!! FINALLY!!! My first lima! They've done a super bang up job just growing....now hopefully I'll get some beans.

When I planted the seeds I didn't realize they were climbers....I almost always plant bush beans. But not this time! I asked Hubs to put up 2 T-posts and I ran garden twine back and forth. If they put out in bean the way they've put out in foliage I'll be one happy gardener!

Next Spring we'll be able to start cutting and eating our asparagus!!! We love this stuff!

I planted my baby broccoli starts and constructed a hoop to keep the cabbage moth from eating them up. I bought a bolt of fabric netting at Walmart for less than $1/yard. So, for under $20 I got a bolt of fabric for a row cover. My only problem was I have a trail of cutter ants that are transporting across the garden at night (smugglers I'm sure)...instead of going around my fabric they chewed a path right through it...SO, I had to squish things in a bit to allow road frontage for the ants to travel. Hey, I think it's worth the effort....they've left my garden alone! Beats eminent domain!

More netting for bugs. I've had 0 success growing chard here. It comes up and looks like it's going to grow and then over night it disappears! Again...chasing the sun with pots (free from a local rancher!). I've been pretty happy with the production I can get from containers. I'm just having to adjust to the lack of space for any type of "mass" production...that's why I say...

"Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread!"

The Okra has done beautifully....but again....bloom already!!! Today it finally looks like it's got buds...just in time for me to leave on a week long trip back to Maryland to Nana sit little Eu! That's how it goes...always.

If I hadn't seeded a patch of Zinnias I don't think we'd of had 1 pollinator. I hope it's not a sign...I hope it's just a result of living in a forest. I've had to hand pollinate almost every squash, every tomato, every melon, every everything. I'm afraid though that I've heard others around the country complaining about the same thing. Folks if we kill off our honeybees we kill off our species. 

​But....Our times are in His Hands. 

I bought a Dwarf bareroot Pomegranate this winter and am shocked at how well it's done in a container. Although we live in Zone 8b and this bush will survive our winters in East Texas, I've chosen to keep it in a pot due to lack of sun and water. 

I am grateful for a second go round of blossoms! The first round didn't get pollinated. We have a severe deficit of pollinators here in our Piney Woods. When my little bush bloomed a second time, I hand pollinated each blossom and to my delight I've got multiple baby Pom Poms growing! 

I'm sure you know hand pollinating can take various forms, I just use my finger tips and dip from bud to bud. Works for me!

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In this season of life, I've had a flood of emotions: Joy, sadness, loneliness, friendship, exhaustion, energy, vitality, strength, sickness, health. They've been full swing, all over the board. I had expectations that were destroyed with a sledge hammer. 

SMASHED! CRUSHED! DEMOLISHED!

It wasn't until summer 2018, that I clearly heard the Holy Spirit reverberate with a loud but gentle voice:

IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!!!

​The first time I asked God "why have you left me alone in this dry and weary land", and He said..."It's not about you"...I must admit, I didn't get it. I know, I'm dense. It took a couple times of asking, WHY? before I got it!!!

IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!!!

Finally, it was like a lightbulb moment....and I said out loud....OH!!!! I GET IT!!! IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!!! IT'S ABOUT YOU DOING A WORK IN "THEM"...and whoever that prayer was about...God was working in "them". Of course through this, He's working in me too....but what He was doing wasn't about me. 

He has just called me to STAND...and when I've done everything…STAND.

If you've followed me over here from FB, WELCOME!!! That will be a whole other post...I had several reasons to cut loose.

Although I've blogged since 2006ish I have been mostly absent since our big move to Texas in August 2016. Probably because I couldn't find my computer. ;) There are still things that I have no clue of their whereabouts, but I'm hoping once the art studio is finished I might be able to better organize and locate things that went MIA.

Of course a big life change like we had involves A LOT transitions. A LOT! Throughout the entire process I've seen the hand of God. Life is funny....we are so busy looking forward, anticipating what's ahead, sometimes we forget to look back at the lessons we learned.  I've LEARNED A LOT!

I believe that everything happens for a purpose. Romans 8:28 "And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Imagine if my art studio was complete when I got here, I wouldn't of learned all that I did in gardening Zone 8b in East Texas. I probably wouldn't even have planted a garden or bought fruit trees. I know that the past two years were all for a purpose. I certainly wouldn't have met all the wonderful friends I've made from East Texas Plant Swap FB Group. 

God's taught me a lot of patience in the last two years. He's taught me about what's really important. He's carried me over many hurdles. I've never been very patient, and I'm not saying I've perfected it yet, but I've come along way baby! My art studio...The Shepherd's Studio, is coming along very slowly because Bob is doing the inside finishing work....and that's Okay....it really is, but it's going to be slower than if we paid for a contractor to do it. I've not once pushed him or manipulated him. He's had to come behind the contractor AND electrician AND plumber and fix things that weren't done properly...and that takes time. It just does. But he's making headway. Baby steps. 

Be sweet!
​Diane
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II Chronicles 15:15b
"They sought God EAGERLY, and he was found by them.
​So the Lord gave them rest on every side."

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it brought you to tears? And I don't mean something material....I mean, a relationship repaired, a loved one saved, a sick one healed.

In Sunday School we've been studying the power of a prayerful life. I can honestly say that for the last 20 years of my life, I've lived a prayerful life. I wish I could say that for the past 46 years of walking as a Jesus follower that I sought after Him with a prayerful life, but I did not. I'm not even sure I knew how. 

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

Every New Year I begin with a word or a phrase that I have been especially prayerful over. One that would shape my life in this New Year. A word that defines my life. 

This was my 2016 Vision Board. 2016 was a TOUGH year!!! But EVERY step was bathed in prayer. Bob and I didn't take one step that we hadn't prayed over.....we didn't want a life of regrets we wanted God's best. Oh, there were tears and some passionate feelings involved....hey what can I say, I'm a Strong Hearted Woman!

Looking at that Vision Board brings tears to my eyes....not one thing on it didn't come to pass. It hangs in our closet to remind me of God's faithfulness to us when we choose Him and His will above our own. 

This years 2018 board has been made very clear to me by God. I'm still gathering words and pictures from magazines....and my daughter smacks her head over my stacks of magazines. LOL! 

We've lived in Texas for 1 year now. We've adjusted well to retirement and being together 24/7/365...in fact, we love being together. We like one another's company....I'd choose to spend time with Bob over anyone else, hands down....well, except for maybe the 2 little guys in the photos. My heart explodes when I see them. No one could EVER of prepared me for being a Nana! 

I have spent 15 months asking God repeatedly....WHY here? Why this little poor rural area of East Texas??? WHY Grapeland Texas?

I'm starting to see it....I'm starting to understand my calling in "retirement".  For 46 years of walking with Jesus I have had a heart for the poor. It could be that He made that a part of me because my family went through some very very very difficult financial and personal times when I was in High School. But my heart aches for the poor and the homeless, the sick and the dying. I know what it is to live in poverty. I know what it is to have parents addicted to alcohol. I know what rage and abuse look like from a front row seat. BUT I also know that God does restore the years lost to the locust!!!

Grapeland Texas has moved up from being the poorest county in Texas to being 8th! 

I have no doubt that God uses all of our life experiences to form us and make us into His workmanship. 

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

​I'm sure that's why I had a heart to go to India twice and love on all those little orphan boys...I'd go back in a heart beat, but I truly don't believe God is calling me there. God was preparing me for the works He had prepared in advance for ME to do....right here in Grapeland Texas. Of course you'll never see my name in the papers or the headline news...God forbid that. I just want to make a difference, even if it's in the life of just in 1 child. I've started by volunteering once a week just listening to children at the Grapeland Elementary read. 

Our Sunday School teacher is the President of the School Board and he told us that the Texas prison system determines how many prisons to build by whether a child can read by the 3rd grade. I about broke into tears...my heart broke...I failed 3rd grade...I was one of those statistics! I told him right then and there that when they started up the reading program, I'd be there! There isn't a Tuesday that goes by that I don't sit there with those kids and say in my mind...will it be you. And I vow to not let it be on my watch.

I walk a couple miles about 4 days a week and I listen to Audible books....that way I can get more done! You know, multi-tasking! Two miles and 1 or 2 chapters! 

A few weeks ago I started a book I bought years ago....Own Your Life: Living with deep intention, bold faith, and generous love.  Yep, that about sums it up! That sums up what my heart has been telling me. 

My 2018 Vision Board will be Own Your Life or Intentionality...however that word has been way over used in the last few years...but it still applies. I have many things I'm praying about and all of them will go on the board. You'll see dining tables, you'll see children, you'll see art, you'll see gardens....God can and will use anything in our lives if we offer it to Him as a sweet sacrifice. Nothing is wasted with God. Nothing.

I am very excited to see how God chooses to use me in 2018 as I Own My Life!