Seeds to plant, seeds to grow ~ the blessing of the seed.

A friend of mine wanted to know if she should continue her efforts to be a small business person. I told her that everything God gives us is a seed.

Everything we are blessed with on this earth requires constant attention to help it grow and stay strong, whether it is friendships, our bodies and minds, even the dollar we earn. We think that the seed we planted was the work we did to earn that dollar, but that's not entirely true. We have "seed money" which is then turned into an investment to give us even more return. We buy a property for a good price and a good monthly investment, and we find it appreciating in value enough to get a modest return when we sell the property. We buy food to give us and our neighbors sustenance by which we are able to create more opportunities for ourselves and our community.

We have the thoughts of better things germinating in our brains, watching and waiting for them to sprout into a complete idea. We are well. We have seeds.

There is not anything under the sun that has not been given to us in full glory. There is always something that works better with a little help, a little care, and a little watching over. If we think of the beginning of anything in its raw material state, it took an engineer to conceive it, a craftsman to build it, a care taker to maintain it, and because of all that, we have a community to build upon.

We have seeds to plant, and seeds to watch germinate, and the joy of the harvest. We have the joy of spring, when the seeds have been dormant for the winter. We have the kiss of warm breezes, when the smell of the flowers waft on the air.

What a blessing we have in seeds! God is good! Stay grounded in the truth, and May this wonderful season yield seeds that grow for you!

There's vision, and then there's MISSION

I am an avid follower of Dr. Thomas' blog, ChangingAging.org. Today he posted a call for more social networking revolving around Culture Change.

Most of you who know me, know that I am planning to build a community that includes as many of the tools and people and design as is necessary to make sure that people do not have to age away from the people they love, and need around them.

I plan to escape the winter snow of Nebraska in a couple of weeks, for sunny (? I can hope, this year) Alabama, and a Green House workshop. I am keeping at this project because I must. My heart is so full of the need, I don't want to see any more of the types of nursing homes that don't really want to consider themselves "home." They can call themselves "home" all they want... it doesn't make it without a true effort to restore the things their residents lose when they move in!

So, here it is...

Vision:

We affirm quality of life, in all stages of life. We will carry each other’s burden ~ together.

Mission:

We affirm quality of life, in all stages of life. We will carry each other’s burden ~ together. We believe quality of life includes these important goals for all our community members.

~ Maintaining a Healthy Spirit

~ Maintaining a Healthy Mind

~ Maintaining a Healthy Body

We will meet the challenges we face, knowing we can. Proper people, proper tools, and proper planning will make our community successful. To maintain a healthy spirit, we will recognize the value each community member brings to our community, sharing with each other the necessary tools for living and the necessary companionship to bless our hearts and souls. To maintain a healthy mind, we will ask each community member to actively engage in volunteerism, giving where we can to whom we can. We will engage each other in games and hobbies, enjoying each day to the fullest possible. To maintain a healthy body, we will ask each community member to make full use of the tools provided, sharing with one another the necessary community facilities for walking, stretching and strength. We will encourage and exhort each other in all these things.

Inspiration often comes from personal experience. I have two fond memories, both of whom passed away in 2009. My mother...












and my husband's aunt.


The memories of their smiles, their wisdom and their love for living will guide me well as I go forward!!