Do-Overs

I am thankful

~ for the most divine Stanley’s “Mother Clucker,” tender smoked turkey piled high on a buttery jalapeño cheddar sourdough bun, topped with a fried egg, candied bacon, guacamole, and spicy peppery barbecue sauce.

~ for Rodeo Day. My little first grade cowboy has been looking forward to Rodeo Day for no less than a month. Every day was another day on the countdown: “18 days until Rodeo Day,” “only 14 more sleeps until Rodeo Day!” “I can’t wait until bedtime, because then tomorrow is only one week until Rodeo Day!” It is all he has thought walked slept and dreamed about. We were blessed to be able to borrow all the different garb and gear to transform Sawyer the Warrior into Sawyer the Cowboy,

and I am delighted (and relieved) to report that the long awaited, highly lauded Rodeo Day lived up to the hype. Sawyer had a blast roping calves, milking cows, and scooping cow patties. He ended his epic day with a picnic on the open range and an ice cold Dr. Pepper of course!

~ that Little Sister got to have her tiny taste of Rodeo Day as well. sawyer had talked it up so big, she couldn’t help but get excited. She got all dolled up with her braids and vest, and when we made a quick stop at mama’s favorite place before arriving at the school (Goodwill of course) what do you think she found? BRAND NEW “COW BOOTS” JUST HER SIZE! Cardboard inserts still inside, never worn. She couldn’t have been more proud.

~ for such a fun day for the boys, going to the zoo with Colton and Brooke.

~ and that the girls and I had a lovely day together, celebrating Aunt Katherine and Baby Cousin-on-the-way, Russell! So fun to get all dressed up together to celebrate a baby!

~ for sweet mornings with Tatum K’s new favorite way to start the day: breakfast on the front steps “listening to da bids.”

~ for a new makeover project. I love a good find. I’m planning on re-doing one of our rooms, and I’ve been on the hunt for a small scale vintage dresser. I scored big with a Facebook Marketplace bargain, but it definitely needs WORK.

We picked it up this afternoon, and this is how far she has come after 4 hours and 3 coats of stripper.

The dresser to me is such a picture of the journey of a life. It started out one way, created for a purpose, intricately hand crafted, beautifully stained. Then it went through a season of change (a cultural change, style change, lifestyle change) with a coat of paint. Who knows how many layers of paint it went through as styles, tastes changed. Maybe it was repainted to cover wear, to cover chips, coffee rings. And now it looks like a piece of junk to a lot of people. But it’s EXACTLY what I’ve been searching for, and I’m excited to give it a do-over so it can be beautiful and useful again.

Don’t we all need a do-over sometimes?

We are on our THIRD do-over with our garden. We put in a new raised bed this spring, replacing an existing flowerbed to make better use of our backyard space. We hired out the project, and the contractor filled the bed with organic garden soil, ready to be planted. We have loved having a little garden every year, and were excited to plant our tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, and melons. That was over a month ago. And NOTHING has grown. The tomato plants look stunted and a funny color, and none of the other plants have grown at all.

Josh and I were shocked when we realized, “THERE AREN’T EVEN ANY WEEDS GROWING!” Something HAD to be wrong with the soil. So of course, we googled it. It sounded like a phosphorus deficiency, and the remedy is adding bone meal to the soil. So Josh dug up each plant carefully, generously sprinkled in bone meal, mixed up the soil, and replanted everything. We watered and watched. Nothing. So we called a friend who is a master gardener, who suggested that there was TOO MUCH organic material in our garden, causing the PH to be off, and to try adding LOTS of regular old bags of topsoil. So today, while I was in the driveway stripping down that dresser, Josh and the big boys toted bag after bag of top soil to the bag yard. Yet again, he uprooted every plant, replacing some with new, and salvaging others. Hopefully, third time’s the charm.

It would be a lot easier to just give up. Do-overs take time, they take patience, and they are USUALLY MESSY! But aren’t we all thankful that God is the absolute Master of the do-over? We’ve all messed up big enough, or enough times that it would be easier to give up. But our loving Father never does. His mercies are new every morning, and He stands at the ready for us to take advantage of a fresh start.

I have prayers that I’ve been praying that I don’t see the answer to. I’m praying for a do-over. God is not done. He is always working.

I have friends who are hurting, walking through hard, heartbreaking trials. I’m praying for a do-over. God is not done. He is always working.

I am not the person or the mama or the servant that I want to be. I’m praying for a do-over. God is not done. He is always working.

Where in your life do you need a do-over? Whatever looks hopeless, broken, dead, or too far gone…remind yourself, God is not done. He is always working.

Thanks for giving thanks with me.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

“But GOD ’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. GOD takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.” (Isaiah 30:18 MSG)