Look Back. Look Forward: June Tending

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lemon curd. cow turd

garden learning. compost turning

mango eating. watermelon seeding

candle lights. late nights.

language study. life with hubby

… That pretty much sums up the month of May. (Cow excretion will be explained in a blog post soon to come.)

I finished Volume 1 of my South Asia Quarantine Journal which ended up being 72 pages.

A good lesson I learned: No matter the circumstances, we can always rejoice in the Lord.

This month, I am especially grateful for: getting into gardening. I don’t feel like I have been sitting around bored desperate to fill my time but gardening has given me something to look forward to, tend to, and enjoy on a daily basis.

Verse of the Month

The other day, we had a spiritual retreat on the balcony for several hours. I read Ephesians several times and was challenged and convicted at the command in Ephesians 6:18 “Pray at all times in the spirit” and 5:20 “give thanks to God for EVERYTHING.”

Every time we find our mind wandering to worries or the future or what’s going on in the word, is our default to pray and then to give thanks for everything?

Speaking of prayer and how much there is to pray for, especially during these times, I recently downloaded the free app PrayerMate. It has really helped me in organizing my prayer life and helping me focus on different topics, categories, or people to intercede for each day.

Adventure of the Month

A highlight of the month was one Saturday morning adventure. This entailed a short hike in which we overflowed with gratitude for every step, every shade of green, every hint of life (including spider holes in the ground), and every little flower shouting “spring is here.” Since there was still curfew, meaning we needed to be home by 2:00 pm, we didn’t hike for long but still enjoyed every minute.

Favorite Foods or Recipes

Well… its mango season which is pretty much the best. It means mango everything; mango crepes, smoothies, dinners and mango lemon pie (which I haven’t made yet but sounds amazing). This is one of our favorite mango dinner dishes: Cherry Mango Curry by Pinch of Yum.

My go to healthy pick-me-up has been Kombucha Arnold Palmers. I wrote about that here.

Also, this 3 ingredient chocolate fudge from The Minimalist Baker is amazing, easy, and hits the spot for any chocolate fix.

Books I Read or Listened To

How to House Plant: A beginner’s Guide to Making and Keeping Plant Friends by Heather Rodino

This book provides basic information for how to grow lots of different plants as well as the basics about how to determine what plants will most likely thrive in your living space. I enjoyed it since I’m just getting into plants and gardening and don’t know a whole lot.

The Big Book of Kombucha: Brewing, Flavoring, and Enjoying the Health Benefits of Fermented Tea by Hannah Crum

Wow! Amazing. I learned a lot after reading this book and want to start a few new kombucha methods after reading it, such as a Scoby Hotel. I’d never heard of it before but it actually IS a thing and is a great idea for using and storing extra SCOBYs.

Creative Outlet

I had some turquoise string that I brought all the way from Target– like USA America Target. I know… you’re probably thinking, “why did she need to take that to Asia.” Number 1A: it’s a color I simply can’t get enough of and 2A: string has so many fun crafty uses. So this month, I pulled out the twine and tied the knot, actually ten knots to make this little plant holder. Here is the 5 minute DIY macrame plant holder video that helped me make it. Seriously so easy and so fun!

Revisiting my May Tending List

monthly

~~Invite a friend to do virtual workouts & speak truth~~ Yes. A sweet friend from South Asia and I have been doing the same workouts online together. So much fun!
continue cross-stitch… nope– once again I didn’t make much progress on this but it’s okay. I realized I’ve been drawn to lots of other creative outlets this month.
~~write instructions about how to make kombucha in the language I am learning~~ Yes! complete with icons next to each sentence. I still need to check it with a language helper to see if it actually make sense.
~~Plant basil and snapdragons & tend to their growth~~ okay, I planted them but the real question is, “did they grow?” ummm… no but that was before I asked for a bucket of good soil from my neighbor.
~~Plan how we want to celebrate our anniversary~~ I don’t know if this count but we kind of did. We have a lockdown and a non lockdown plan depending on what things are like 17 days from now.

weekly

~~Pray and sing worship songs with my husband~~ Yes.
~~Focus on learning the things in the language that I’ve been putting off~~ Yes.
~~Renew my mind with the Dwell app~~ Yes! We’ve been trying to listen to a Psalm every night and then pray it. We love the Dwell.
~~check on my national friends~~ Yes

daily

~~Enjoy the sunshine and #balconylife~~ I haven’t been as intentional about this as much and I think its effecting me.
~~Abide time journaling~~ yes. I’ve been Abide journaling in a different way and it’s really helping me stay focused and remember what I read.
~~work out~~ yes.

June Tending List