HOSTA LA VISTA, BABY!

Posted by Lisa Lewis Koster - - 3 comments

I am pleased to announce that our hosta beds are, for the first time ever, ready for viewing.  Initially I wasn't too interested in hostas, but then again I didn't realize the number of varieties available - over 3,000 and counting!  Our "collection" is small at around 130, but they definitely add interest in our shady yard where not much else likes to grow. 
For you hosta lovers out there, I do have a few "mystery" plants.  Any suggestions on what they might be would be much appreciated! 


This bed built into our patio (hand-laid by yours truly) contains our miniature hostas. Along the back from the left we have our "tiara's" - "Diamond Tiara," "Grand Tiara," "Golden Tiara," and "Emerald Tiara." In the front row we have "Floridora," "Baby Bunting," "Gold Edger," and "Pilgrim."  That little one by itself in the middle is "Pandora's Box."


Not visible in the photo above, the smallest of our miniatures, "Blue Mouse Ears."



Looking out from the patio, there's "Rhino Hide" on the left and "Samurai" on the right.




We like to group our hostas in themed beds.  On the other side of the wishing well is our "Evening Bed," with "Abiqua Blue Crinkles," "Abiqua Moonbeam," "Moon River," and "Dream Queen" in the back row and "Dream Weaver" and "Twilight" in the front.

And here's our first mystery.  Since it's planted in the "Evening" bed, it could be that the name fits into that category.  On the other hand, it was one of my final purchases last fall and it may have just been put there temporarily to get it into the ground.  Unfortunately, the tag has disappeared - disposed of along with the multitudes of leaves more likely than not - so we have no idea of who this might be.


Looking back toward the patio, to the left of the stairs we have "June" and "August Moon"...


and to the right of the stairs is "September Sun."  "Carnival," center, will have to move when Bob's mom brings us a piece of her "Red October" later this summer.  On the right is "Sagae."


Continuing along the wall, next to "Sagae" we have "Fried Bananas" heading up our "Food Bed."  The tiny one next to it is "Peppermint Ice" who's expected to grow up to 16" tall.  The next one back is "Pineapple Upsidedown Cake," followed by "So Sweet," "Honey Bells" (next to the tree), "Hyacinthia," and the leaf just poking out from behind the tree is one of our bigger hostas, "Frances Williams."  Center front of this photo is "Lemon Lime" and to the right is one of my favorites - "Guacamole."


On the other side of the tree, next to "Guacamole" we have "Ice Cream" and behind that, "Spilt Milk."



My mother-in-law, who is the closest thing we have to a hosta expert, thinks that this is not really "Spilt Milk."  Any ideas who it may be?



Looking up toward the patio we have our "Patriotic" beds.  The lower bed (from left to right) is home to "Patriot" and "American Halo" (not visible), "Revolution," "Paul's Glory," "Minuteman," "Blue Cadet," "Salute" and "Liberty."

The upper bed contains "Blazing Saddles" and "Montana" (not visible), "Golden Meadows" - one of my favorites with its ruffled leaves - "Midwest Magic," "Color Glory" (for the most part hidden behind "Paul's Glory" in front), "Mama Mia," "Big Daddy," "Last Dance" and "Abba Dabba Do."



Here's our little "Dude" next to "Paul's Glory" taken a couple weeks ago.  Look how much it's grown in that short amount of time!



Beneath the "Food" bed we have our bed of "Riches."  "Guardian Angel" is in the front right corner, followed by "Earth Angel" (back), "Stained Glass" (front), and "Antioch" (back).
 


Again here's "Antioch" and the narrow-leaved "Praying Hands," followed by "Cathedral Windows" in the back and our next mystery guest on the right and below.


This hosta was deliberately planted here, but it's right between heavenly riches and earthly riches and I'm not sure which group it belongs to.




To the left of the Bleeding Heart we again see "Cathedral Windows" and our mystery plant, while to the right in the back row we have "Fortunie Altopicta," "Krossa Regal" and "Regal Splendor."  "Piedmont Gold," "Queen Josephine," and Emerald Tiara" complete the front row.



Here's a look at all the lower terraces.

Looking towards the other side of the house we have our "Water" bed headed up by "Sea Fire."  Going up along the right side of the photo we have "Pearl Lake," "Lakeside Kaleidoscope," and the one with the massive leaves in the back is "Titanic."  Going across the back along the rocks is "Lakeside Accolade" and "Lakeside Black Satin."  In the center, directly behind "Sea Fire" is a little "Island Charm."  Going back along the steps is "Lakeside Lollipop," "Yellow Splash Rim," "Maui Buttercups," "Fire Island" and "St. Elmo's Fire." 


Notice the red stems on "Fire Island."



Opposite the "Water Bed" we have "Moerheim" (back right), "Great Expectations" in front of a painted fern, with "Sum and Substance" in the foreground.


With Bob being a U of M fan, we had to have a "Blue" bed.  In the foreground is "Blue Angel," then "Wolverine."  Zig-zagging in and out beyond the Coral Bells we have "Big Blue," "Blue Shadows," "Blue Umbrellas" is the great big one and in front of that is "Blue Wedgewood."



Adjacent to "Blue Umbrellas" there is "Thunderbolt" (back right), "El Nino" (back left), and in the front, "Whirlwind."  We've tried "Dancing in the Rain" here a couple times, but so far we haven't had much luck keeping it alive.

"Venus" is at the corner of the house, with "Wide Brim" in front of it and "Brim Cup" to the right.  The single leaf on the right of that is "Captain Kirk" (I thought he should be near "Venus.")

The single leaf on the left is "Love Pat."  "Risky Business" is in the front, "Knockout" is center back, and "Striptease" is in the back right corner.  The small plant right front is "Stiletto."



"Diana Remembered" heads up our "Names" bed, followed by "Sharmon," "Alex Summers," "Allan P. McConnell," "Albo-Marginata," and "Inniswood."  Going up along the right side of this photo are "Alvatine Taylor," "Barbara Ann" and "Fragrant Bouquet."

Looking down the side of the house from the other end.


On one side of the front porch we have our "City Slicker" bed with "Pizzazz" and "Touch of Class" in the back and "Bright Lights," "City Lights," and "Cadillac" in the front.


The other side of the front porch is home to our "Winter" bed.  "Night Before Christmas" is on the left, "Christmas Tree" is in the center, and on the right is another favorite, "Ice Age Trail." 


Continuing from "Ice Age Trail" on the left is "Fire and Ice," "First Frost," and "Snowcap." 
Thanks for coming along on our Hosta Tour!  If you have any suggestions of who our mystery plants might be, please leave a comment!
Blessings,
Lisa



I've been known to link up with: Soli Deo Gloria, Inspire Me Monday, Titus 2sdays, Tell Me a Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Courtship Connection, Into the Beautiful, God Bumps & God Incidences, Word-Filled Wednesday, Winsome Wednesday, Simply Helping Him, Weekend Whatever, Spiritual Sundays, True Vine Challenge, Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday, The Beauty in His Grip, Playdates With God, Monday's Musings, Monday Montras, Thrive at Home, Knick of Time, Hope in Every Season, Funky Junk Interiors, Splashin' Glory
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RELEASING THE BALLAST

Posted by Lisa Lewis Koster - - 9 comments

I know many people love jigsaw puzzles, but I don't think I've enjoyed them since I grew beyond the ones with 25 pieces or less.  They've always seemed to be an exercise in futility to me.  After all the hours spent putting it together, it goes back into the box and looks exactly like it did if you hadn't done anything. 
I realize the same could be said of books; you spend the time reading them, close the cover and, apart from a few dog-ears, everything looks the same.  The difference is that after reading a book, I am not the same.  I am especially fond of the mental exercise of mysteries.  I've been a mystery lover since my childhood escapades with Nancy Drew.  Maybe that's why I love reading Scripture so much - there are always hidden "clues" that God reveals and puts together to help me see the bigger picture. 
There is one fifteen-year-old mystery I had been unable to solve.  I have been journaling since 1996 (and currently working on volume 23) and there's a 3 month gap back in the summer of 1998.  I know this was a very difficult time for me, when my health issues were at their worst.  Being a fairly new Christian, I thought if God had any mercy at all, he would just let me die.  I lost my mobility, I lost most of my friends, I lost everything that I had allowed to define me.  With all this going on, I wondered why the silence in my journal?  I had plenty to write about, and I certainly had the time... 

Current events have finally allowed me to solve this mystery.  For those of you who were wondering about my postings lately - specifically the lack thereof - I have been on what I can best describe as an involuntary hiatus.  I have spent the last several months working to get on top of the latest medical issues to crop up.  Most days have been spent totally exhausted (as in 3 hour naps and still ready for bed by 6:30 p.m.) with a splitting headache more often than not.  Thankfully my energy is returning steadily, and though I'm still having headaches the bad ones are not as frequent as they had been.

Now I know why there was a gap in my journaling.  It's the same reason there's another gap now.   As my pain and exhaustion increased and my abilities declined, I begin throwing the ballast of my life overboard in hopes of staying afloat.  The last things to go were journaling and blogging.


Back in 1998 I spent some of my time with God, but since I was new to it I didn't do much.  Since I believed my value was in my accomplishments, I needed to have something to show for my time. One of the few things I was able to do with my limitations was scrapbooking.  Not only was this something my family would appreciate, it was one of the few things I could "do." 

One of the many things I love about God is that no experience is ever wasted.  Besides solving the "Mystery of the Missing Journaling," this recent experience has shown me how much I've grown spiritually.  While there's nothing wrong with scrapbooking, that was ballast I had to cut loose several years ago.  Again unable to accomplish much that is visible, I've spent the last few months primarily spending time in God's presence.  Even on the bad headache days, I'd read the Scripture I could and go over the verses I'd memorized earlier. 

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. ~ Philippians 3:12

I don't have it all together by any means but it is encouraging to see, when I had to let go of most things in my life, that God is "My One Thing."



Songwriters: MULLINS, RICHARD

"Everybody I know says they need just one thing 
And what they really mean is that they need just one thing more 
And everybody seems to think they've got it coming 
Well I know that I don't deserve You 
Still I want to love and serve You more and more 
You're my one thing 
Save me from those things that might distract me 
Please take them away and purify my heart 
I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing 
'Cause what will I have when the world is gone 
If it isn't for the love that goes on and on with 

Chorus: My one thing 
You're my one thing 
And the pure in heart shall see God 
You're my one thing 
You're my one thing 
And the pure in heart shall see God 

Who have I in Heaven but You Jesus 
And what better could I hope to find down here on earth 
I could cross the most distant reaches 
Of this world but I'd just be wasting my time 
'Cause I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find 

Chorus

Every night and every day 
You hold on tight 
Or you drift away 
And you're left to live 
With the choices you make 
Oh Lord please give me the strength 
To watch and work and love and sing and pray 

'Cause who have I in Heaven but You Jesus 
And what better could I hope to find down here on earth
Well I could cross the most distant reaches 
Of this world but I'd just be wasting my time 
'Cause I'm certain already I'm sure I'd find 

Chorus

I've been known to link up with: Soli Deo Gloria, Inspire Me Monday, Titus 2sdays, Tell Me a Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Character Corner, Into the Beautiful, Tell His Story, Word-Filled Wednesday, Winsome Wednesday, Simply Helping Him, Weekend Whatever, Spiritual Sundays, True Vine Challenge, Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday, The Beauty in His Grip, Playdates With God, Monday's Musings, Monday Montras, Thrive at Home, Knick of Time, Hope in Every Season, Funky Junk Interiors, Prowess and Pearls
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RESURRECTION

Posted by Lisa Lewis Koster - - 7 comments

Many years ago, my husband Bob purchased a little cyclamen plant for me from a local grocery store.  Although the survival rate for my outdoor plants is much higher than indoor plants (which explains why there were none), prior experience had taught me that cyclamen and Michigan weather did not mix well.  Perhaps because there was only one to dote on, I was able to nurture my little indoor plant and enjoyed many seasons of its vibrant fuchsia blossoms. 

 At least, that is, until my cat destroyed it.  

 Utterly.

 Totally. 

 Completely.

 Destroyed.

I walked into my sun room (literally the only room in the house that gets any sun) and my heart sunk.  My beautiful little plant was reduced to a pot of soil with leaves and dirt strewn everywhere. With the culprit nowhere in sight (I must note that he did go on to live a long life and die of natural causes), I grabbed my broom and dustpan and got to work, mourning the loss of my poor little plant.

 Although I've always been quite organized, somehow I never got around to dumping out the remainder of soil in the pot.  I'm sure being in a room we rarely used for most of the year had something to do with it - out of sight, out of mind.  

 That is until one day, when something caught my eye.  

 Signs of life!

 My poor, brutalized, neglected, left-for-dead plant had some life in it after all!  

 There was a leaf...

 and then two...

 then three...
And then a bud...

 and another bud...

 and another!

This was truly the little plant that could!  Fast forward a few years, and my resurrected plant was once again thriving and enjoying the longest life a houseplant in my home has ever experienced.  Then in May 2012 Bob and I went on our fifth trip to do mission work in Kenya  and left our youngest son (24 at the time) to house sit while we were gone.  We kept our instructions to a minimum:  

 Keep the house standing

 Mow the lawn

 Keep the plant alive.

 Well, I'm pleased to announce that the house was still standing when we returned. As for my plant, we came home to this:


My heart sunk.  Evidently three weeks of 90 degree heat and no water has an adverse effect on plants - who knew?  Ugh!

Since this was the second time my plant had been "killed,"  I was sure this was it. Still, given its history, I held out hope and resumed watering my pot of dirt.

Once again, it was a long process, but over time a little leaf appeared, and then another...



 Nine months later, and just look at it now - a spot of brightness in this dreary span between winter and spring!

Imagine the despair those who loved Jesus felt when they witnessed Him beaten, crucified and pierced. They had believed in Him.  They gave up everything for Him. All their faith was in Him, and now He was gone.  It was over.  Their hopes for the future destroyed.

 Utterly.

Totally. 

Completely.

 Destroyed.

 Now what would they do?
Maybe you feel that way too.  

 Maybe you're dealing with the death of someone near and dear to you.

 Maybe you're facing your own mortality.

 Maybe your health has deteriorated to the point where they say there's no hope.

Maybe your dreams have been crushed. 

Maybe you feel like all the hopes for your future have been dashed.

Remember what the disciples learned over 2,000 years ago.   We belong to the ... God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  ~ Romans 4:17b

 Nothing is more insurmountable than death, yet God displayed His power over death when He raised Jesus from the dead on the third day.  If death is not insurmountable for God, do you think your issue is?

 Like the disciples, we tend to look at our situation based on our own understanding and reasoning.  But what difference would it make in our lives if we instead focused on God, His power and His love for us, the depth of which He displayed when He sacrificed His Son on our behalf?  

 What if we trusted in His plan and His timing rather than our own?  God is not finished with your story, not by a long shot.  Why not stop striving to make things happen on your own schedule, resume claiming the promises God made to you, and watch and see what He has in store!

Father, Thank you for the sacrifice of your Son so that those who believe can spend eternity with you; an eternity that begins the day we accept Him as our Lord and Savior!  Help us to stop living like those who have no hope and instead remember we belong to the God who gives life to the dead and calls things into being that were not.  

Lisa


I've been known to link up with: Soli Deo Gloria, Inspire Me Monday, Titus 2sdays, Tell Me a Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Courtship Connection, Into the Beautiful, Tell His Story, Word-Filled Wednesday, Winsome Wednesday, Simply Helping Him, Weekend Whatever, Spiritual Sundays, True Vine Challenge, Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday, The Beauty in His Grip, Playdates With God, Monday's Musings, Monday Montras, Thrive at Home, Knick of Time, Hope in Every Season, Funky Junk Interiors
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EMBRACING THE UNKNOWN

Posted by Lisa Lewis Koster - - 10 comments

My sisters and I came into the world just as color photos were becoming popular. As a result, our earliest pictures were in black and white while the later ones were in color.  Having seen "The Wizard of Oz," my young nephew assumed that all the photos realistically portrayed the world as it was, and one day asked his mom what it was like back when the world was black and white! 

©

The truth is we did grow up in a very black and white world, though it was figuratively rather than literally.  Both at home and in church the message we received was the same: it's either perfect or a failure; there was nothing in between.  
Believe me, this is not an easy life to live.  Obviously, nothing I did was perfect, which to me translated into "nothing you do is good enough, so that means you're not good enough."  

 I've been battling against perfectionism for many years now, but it's just been recently that God has been opening my eyes to see just how pervasive this has been in my life.  

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9
Devil's Tower, 1998
I definitely feel I have a lot to boast about when it comes to weakness.  As a young believer in 1997, I invited God to do whatever it took to get my attention.  Little did I know how difficult my attention was to get!  I had excruciating pain in my hip and could barely walk for the better part of a year.  Fast-forward fifteen years: by God's grace and a lot of hard work I am able to walk and have less pain, but it is still my constant companion.  

I mention this because one of the manifestations of my perfectionism was that I wouldn't even attempt anything if I wasn't confident I would be successful at it.  The way I saw it, I couldn't fail if I didn't even try.  Of course, this also meant I could be missing out on a lot.  

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to climb a rock wall at a retreat I was speaking at.  The old me would not have attempted this, not only because I'd never tried it before but also because I wasn't sure if my hip would be up to the challenge. To top it off, I'd be doing it in front of a group of observers.  In my book, the only thing worse than failing would be failing publicly.  

The new me, however, decided to take advantage of the opportunity to try something new.  Even though I felt there was a good chance of public failure (especially after watching the six-year-old in front of me scamper up a more difficult wall), at least I could say I tried.  And I'm beginning to understand that in some cases effort is more important than success.

After all this expectation of humility, imagine my surprise when I reached the top of the wall and rang that bell.  My moment of success, however, was not in the last step but in the first - trying something with no guarantee I'd be good at it.
  
Gull Lake, 2013
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 and sisters, 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

 Lord, I thank you for loving me enough to continue to reveal areas in my life that need work.  Without this gentle nudge I never would have attempted something new and experienced the success of the attempt.  Please help me continue to walk in humble obedience to You.
Lisa



I've been known to link up with: Soli Deo Gloria, Inspire Me Monday, Titus 2sdays, Tell Me a Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Courtship Connection, Into the Beautiful, Tell His Story, Word-Filled Wednesday, Winsome Wednesday, Simply Helping Him, Weekend Whatever, Spiritual Sundays, True Vine Challenge, Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday, The Beauty in His Grip, Playdates With God, Monday's Musings, Monday Montras, Thrive at Home, Knick of Time, Hope in Every Season, Funky Junk Interiors
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"NOTHING" TO EAT

Posted by Lisa Lewis Koster - - 2 comments




Late fall, we hung up a bird feeder in front of our living room window in anticipation of bird-watching this winter.  I thought my grandson, who loves anything that moves, would especially enjoy watching the birds come and go. A great idea in theory, but for some reason the birds haven't been flocking in for a free meal.  I thought maybe getting a foot of snow would bring them  in, but no luck.  I checked to see if the feeder was still filled with seed, and it was, but then I noticed all the big black seeds were gone while plenty of the other kinds of seeds remained. 


Seriously?  You don't want to eat my birdseed because there aren't any black ones? 

You'd rather forage for food under a foot of snow than eat anything other than a black seed?

Ugh!  Here I am, trying to be nice...
 
These birds remind me of the Israelites following Moses in the desert.  Every day God provided them with manna to eat, but they began to grumble  and whine because they didn't want manna.  They wanted something else.  God wasn't at all pleased with this grumbling attitude.  After all, He was providing for all of their needs every day; but rather than focusing on God's provision, the Israelites focused on all the things they didn't have.
 
Then I recognized myself.  (Can I just interject here - I hate it when that happens!  Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful that God brings these things to my attention, I had just hoped that at this point in my life there wouldn't be so much of it...) 

Maybe you recognize yourself too. 

How often do we say "There's nothing to eat" when our pantry contains more food than most people could ever dream of? 

How often do we grumble when we must remove certain foods from our diet rather than being grateful for those things we can have?

Why do we focus on what we want, rather than on what we know is good for us?

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ~ 2 Peter 1:3

Father, forgive us for our spirit of ingratitude.  Help us to focus not on what we don't or can't have, but instead keep our focus on the many ways You bless and provide for us each and every day.  When we're inclined to grumble, remind us that You have given us EVERYTHING we need and help us to put on an attitude of thanksgiving.

Lisa


I've been known to link up with: Soli Deo Gloria, Inspire Me Monday, Titus 2sdays, Tell Me a Story, Teach Me Tuesdays, Courtship Connection, Into the Beautiful, God Bumps & God Incidences, Word-Filled Wednesday, Winsome Wednesday, Simply Helping Him, Weekend Whatever, Spiritual Sundays, True Vine Challenge, Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday, The Beauty in His Grip, Playdates With God, Monday's Musings, Monday Montras, Thrive at Home, Knick of Time, Hope in Every Season, Funky Junk Interiors,
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