
Our house is built on a sloped lot. You walk in our front door at street level and the back door from our basement.
When we built the house, we knew we wanted some level ground for our children to play, so we had the builder terrace the backyard. Two level areas are connected by a bank too steep to mow.
Money was tight when we first moved in over 30 years ago. Our landscaping budget was nil, so the bank remained unimproved dirt while we tried to figure out what to plant and how to pay for it.
My father had connections, though. He made friends (of course) with a nearby farmer, who had surrounded his corn crib with a honeysuckle bed. Dad asked the farmer if he could have some of the honeysuckle, and the farmer told him to help himself.
One morning my father showed up at the door and handed me a trash bag. “For the dirt bank,” he said.
I looked inside the trash bag. It was filled with honeysuckle vines that had been pulled up by the roots.
Doubtful about the viability of the vines, I nevertheless planted them on the bank, watered them, and filled in the blank spaces with mulch.
I should have had more faith.
The honeysuckle quickly filled in the bare spots. The flowers that bloomed on the vines every June infused our yard with an intoxicatingly sweet smell, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.
It was my oldest son’s responsibility to weed the honeysuckle bank, much to his displeasure. He reminded me many times that honeysuckle is an invasive species and would out-compete anything else on the bank. I believe he also invoked child labor laws.
By the time he left home for college, he appeared to be correct (about the bank). The honeysuckle was thriving, and it did out-compete most of the weeds with minimal assistance.
In our warm, humid climate, however, succession happens at a rapid rate.
In recent years, the honeysuckle became covered with noxious kudzu, and Ailanthus trees started popping up at random spots in the bank. Other weeds soon found footholds and spread. The once-beautiful honeysuckle bank was a mess.
My husband wanted to rip out everything and completely re-landscape the bank, but I am stubborn.
I spent hours tearing out weeds and digging up Trees of Heaven. I filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with unwanted greenery. Eventually, the honeysuckle once again bloomed.
My victory was short-lived. The weeds returned.
I became even more determined to save the honeysuckle bank. The next time, I edged around the entire bank with a hand edger, ripped out all the weeds, and mulched the entire bank to prevent the weeds from returning.
Once again, the honeysuckle bank looked good.

One day last week, I examined the honeysuckle. Weeds were sprouting in one section. I will re-weed and re-mulch the entire bank next spring, but the day was warm and sunny, and I felt the need to get my hands dirty, so I got out the wheelbarrow and started pulling.
A month ago, my niece sent me a link to a song by Janelle Monae. One line keeps going through my head over and over again. I don’t believe it is an exaggeration to say that one line has literally transformed my life.
I keep my hands dirty, my mind clean.
Since the pandemic, little and not-so-little things have been subtracted from our lives.
My husband and I are both retired. We miss the traveling we used to do. We miss going out for a beer and wings on a rainy Sunday afternoon. We miss going to the gym, meeting our friends for dinner, visiting family, congregating with our running club.
Yes, we still have a lot to be grateful for, and we know it. But if I focus on the negatives, the loss, it clutters my mind.
I need to keep my mind clean by doing something positive, even something as small and insignificant as weeding the honeysuckle bank.
I have started using “I keep my hands dirty, my mind clean,” as my running mantra, to discourage negative thoughts of self-doubt from polluting my psyche. It works. So far, I have had four stress-free long runs in a row – my longest streak since March.
I also use it in matters of faith, when I need to be reminded to keep my mind clean and focused, rather than self-righteous and cocky.
The song that contains this line (Turntables) is about social justice. When Ms. Monae sings about getting her hands dirty, she is referring to the fight for racial equity, something much more consequential than weeding.
The two areas where this new mantra has helped me so far, running and faith, are significant to me.
I feel the need, like Ms. Monae, to get my hands dirty for a cause I am passionate about. One that will help others.
I don’t know what that cause is yet, but I am keeping my mind open, listening for God’s whisper to point me in one direction.
I must be prepared to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty so that when I hear the whisper, I can take immediate action.
In the meantime, I will expend my extra energy and time on the honeysuckle bank to clean my mind. It’s looking better already.
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. – James 2:17

You can find the places I link up here.
You also have clean hands and a pure heart. That’s great that you are keeping the honeysuckle cleared. My battle is with the wicked wisteria.
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Oooh…I battled with the wisteria for years. I finally won that battle.
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Good for you! Did you kill it?
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I did. It was starting to warp the railing of our deck.
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Winter came in time to stop our wicked wisteria from warping my mind.
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Nice! ONe of the few benefits of winter (in my opinion)! 🙂
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I am in harmony with your opinion. We’re enjoying a cold spell right now.
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Love this post, thank you! -C.D.
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Thank you, Carole!
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This is a nice motto, hands dirty and mind clean.
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Thank you. I loved it as soon as I heard it.
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You’re welcome 😉
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Laurie, I love this post for so many reasons. You made me pause and sit reflecting for a bit. I began volunteering with a non-profit ministry just about 6 years ago now. “I keep my hands dirty, my mind clean.” Amen! May God lead and direct you in the days ahead to the place of action He has already prepared for you.
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Thank you, Joanne. That is my prayer. Your volunteer work sounds wonderful!
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Dirty hands, clean mind . . . How I love that phrase, Laurie! In these days, it’s all too easy for negative thoughts to clutter our minds; we must not allow it to happen. I’m reminded of this from the Bible: “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.”
Blessings!
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Thank you, Martha. I loved it as soon as I heard it too. You are so right – it does remind me of that Psalm.
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This is so good!
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Thank you, Elizabeth.
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Good words to live by. Thanks for the post and good luck with the honeysuckle.
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Thanks, Denny. It’s pretty dormant now. I’ll tangle with it again this spring.
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Oh, I love this and is so helpful to read today. About the time I was semi getting over the loss of my husband, and thinking life has to get back to normal, and get out there and live what I had left, my heart problems and the pandemic hit about the same time. I have panic attacks since the 6th grade, but hadn’t had one in ages until the heart news. Anyway, I am finding ways to eliminate the stress of when I go out to the stores, etc and if the heart feels a bit off. I have read to do some yoga, but I love this, keep my mind clean. I’ll add that to my focus points. Thanks for a much needed read post today. Have a great week ahead.
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Oh, Peabea, I cannot imagine what you must be going through. My heart goes out to you. If this post could help at all, that makes me so happy. Prayers and virtual hugs to you, dear friend!
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I wish the things we plant were as capable of growing under tough circumstances as the weeds around them. Good luck with the fight. Also, if you ever decide to get rid of the honeysuckle, good luck with that, That stuff is hard to kill.
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Thanks, Dan. I have a feeling it will be a never-ending fight.
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Way too much work for me. I am not a gardener and the only kind of dirty I like my hands to get is from ink on my scrapbook projects. I’ll bet it looks and smells really nice though!
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Ha! I am only a reluctant gardener. It does look and smell great when the flowers bloom.
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What a lovely attitude. I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you for your kind comment.
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And I believe along with you that hard work and dirty hands have a lot to do with a clean and healthy mind
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My dad always used to say “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop!”
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I love being outside with my hands in dirt still loved reading your post. I can imagine how beautiful that honeysuckle would look when in flower. #lifethisweek
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Thank you. It really is beautiful when it flowers.
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Your honeysuckle bank could have no better nor fiercer champion. Nor will whatever cause ends up being the focus of your energies.
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Thank you, Jan. I don’t know yet what it will be, but I am looking forward to the search.
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Such a timely reminder Laurie! A lovely post.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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Thank you, Jennifer. Blessings to you.
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I must admit I read the title and cringed as I HATE getting my hands dirty. (Not a euphemism!) It’s a weird thing but I hate having dirty hands or feet so tend to spend minimal time outside and dislike gardening or working in the yard intensely. I have so many plants I should re-pot and I have gardens that need tending and I just ignore them! Every so often when I can afford it I have the person who does my mowing trim some hedges or prune the bushes a little!
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Ha! You and my husband are both averse to dirty hands. He would like to pay for someone to do the mulching and weeding for us but hates to spend the money!
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There’s something about getting your hands into dirt that is (no pun intended) grounding. Also in times of flux, tending the dirt gives you an outcome that’s visible almost immediately – you can see the difference your hard work makes.
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Ha! I like the pun even if it was unintentional. Yes, you are right. Sometimes we need that immediate gratification.
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That’s a good way to describe how we’ve found ourselves managing during lockdowns and all – dirty hands but clean minds. I’ll have to remember that description!
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Dirty hands and clean mind is my goal! 🙂
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Hi Laurie – great title and loved how you led us into the song line and the way it connected to your life and latest pondering
–
So nice !
And I have pulled so many weeds over the years that I actually had some wear and tear damage to my right elbow (and funny because I think the wear and tear theory came up in a comment with me before – and here it is again) so I had to find new ways to pluck and pull! My elbow healed (it felt like tennis elbow but I know it was from so much gardening and maybe fro the dog leash – and other use) but I healed it with rest and magnesium oil (I like life flo magnesium cholride flakes with a little DMSO) anyhow – once in a while when I do a pull up I can feel a slight something in that elbow and then I rest it. But I give god all the glory for the way he gives us insight on natural remedies and just really loved how he leads and feeds.
Anyhow
All that to say that as you take led about pulling those weeds – I was right there – and I could imagine your son doing that and wonder how it likely helped him “wary and ground” which they say a lot of youth today need to do more
So many kids are j doors and touching electronics and are not really getting enough earth time
Oh and last part of my comment
– we had an area near the back that had honeysuckle – but it was not at all ideal for our yard and was very happy to see it go
But I can imagine your hillside with it and seems like it really served a njce purpose
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Weeding is so much more strenuous than most people imagine. Weeding my bank is a workout! So sorry your elbow was damaged as a result of weeding. My son used to complain about his chore – a lot! This was in the days before video games became as prevalent as they are today. Great to hear from you!
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Hi Laurie – I do think the elbow had lots of other wear – hahah – but I weeded a lot for a while – and then got smart! mulch and ground cover is key (as you mentioned here) and then also – catching them early – before the roots go deep (and more life metaphor there -!!)
wishing you a wonderful week ahead
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You are so right – mulch and ground cover eliminates a lot of the weeding. I learned that the hard way on the honeysuckle bank. You have a good week too!
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😊🌸🌺 🌸🌺🌸🌺
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Hi Laurie – I can so relate to moving into a house with a lot of garden work required and no budget to do it with. We built a house on a 2 acre bush block 30 years ago (moved from it about 10 years ago) and the hard work with keeping those weeds at bay and finding things to plant that were cheap and would flourish was an ongoing work in progress. I hope you find your inspiration for what to put your efforts into – I don’t have one “big” thing – I seem to get my hands dirty by dabbling in lots of little things.
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may wind up dabbling in a bunch of little things too. I’m not sure I want to take on a really big thing at this point in my life! 🙂
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Laurie, I loved this. I love how you used the honeysuckle bank and the weeds as a visual for how the weeds of negative thoughts impact our minds. We must be so intentional about clearing the pernicious thoughts that drag us down and away from Jesus.
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Yes. When I was writing this post, I kept thinking about my dad’s often-quoted line from Proverbs: Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
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Your post reminded me of my last house. Our backyard, which sloped, was covered in a plant that was really easy to grow. Unfortunately when we adopted a border collie he was highly allergic to the plant. My son spent days ripping the whole lot out, then we returfed the slope.
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Wow! I never heard of a dog being allergic to a plant. That is interesting!
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I love honeysuckle. I love the expression, Filling up one’s bucket. It seems like that is what your father did for you and what the farmer did for him.
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That is so true. My father did that often for me.
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It sounds like the honeysuckle bank has kept you busy but that is a good thing. I know during the first lockdown here I spent plenty of time in the garden weeding. It is never ending but that is a good thing to keep me busy. x
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It IS a good thing to be kept busy these days. My hubby and I mostly stay at home. It prevents my mind from wandering into dangerous territory!
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Laurie,
I have found, during this COVID year, that I’ve spent a whole lot more time in my yard and gardens. When I’m working away, digging in the dirt, my mind does less wandering to dangerous and unhealthy places. Sometimes the simplest mantras are the best. My work in taking the Word to a dark Gospel frontier has also helped to take my mind off “first world problems.” Amazing how doing the next thing in front of us and doing for others takes our minds off of self. Great post!
Blessings,
Bev xx
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That is exactly what I find, Bev. When my hands are busy, my mind does not have time to seek out those unhealthy thoughts. You have found your calling! So wonderful. Blessings to you.
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I Really love honeysuckle and I’m so glad you have decided to put in the hard work to keep it nice. I’m sure you will be rewarded plenty for your toil.
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I can’t wait for next summer to smell that heavenly scent!
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I love plants and flowers finding their way into my flower beds and yard by way of loved ones. I understand why the honeysuckle are so important – a reminder of a father’s love! Your post made me think: ” for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mark 6:21) – so what our mind rests on – is what we treasure – whether it is a God treasure or an unhealthy treasure! Thank you for your beautiful reminder to keep our minds and our hands focused on things of God!
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You are so right. I think of my dad often when I look out over the honeysuckle. I love your application of the verse from Mark to the concept of a clean mind. I wish I had thought of that to add to the post. Thank you for pointing that out! 🙂
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Good luck keeping that honeysuckle thriving. Our house was built with a walk- out basement too and we have at least one hill that we tried to slope enough to mow. Only problem was monsoon like rains came right after planting and so much of it floated away that we are left once again with a hill of weeds.
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Oh, how frustrating! Those weeds are so hardy.
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What a beautiful post, as a literal message and as metaphor. Funny enough, when I couldn’t fall asleep last night, I found myself repeating *your* One Word for 2021 over and over in my mind. Just the word. .And I saw that here, too, as you return to that bank–over and over–to empty it.
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Oooh… I like using “empty” as a mantra to fall asleep. I never thought of that, but you are right. It is meditative.
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We have honeysuckle also and know how it can overtake an area quite quickly. So far, kudzu hasn’t found its way to the west coast so we are safe (for now, anyway). I sure wish I had some child labor to get rid of weeds. As it stands now, my hands will remain dirty (not sure about my mind 🙂 ).
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Ugh! I hope kudzu never makes it out your way. It is terrible! I wish I had some child labor these days too.
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Hope you find the perfect fit for your energies and passion. Until then, I hope the running and weeding keep your spirit light.
We had honeysuckle, too. Both of us enjoy the fragrance. But it began taking over the entire garden and strangling out other plants so we treated it like a weed – sadly – and pulled it out. As I child, I enjoyed drinking the nectar from honeysuckle blooms. And will still stop to do that when I happen upon a plant.
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Thank you! I will keep listening for a clue. I think I am just about done weeding here until next spring. The ground will soon freeze. I never heard of drinking the nectar. I will have to give that a try next summer!
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You have to stay on top of kudzu. Pull it before the pods release millions of seeds.
It seems I have a new weed in my yard every year.
I hate to use a weed & feed but I just can’t keep up anymore.
I’m planning on a spring and fall weed and feed. Only did a spring one this year and my new weed of the year looks happy and healthy in our freezing cold weather.
I love when spring comes and I can get my hands into the soil. I also love walking barefoot in my garden.
Just something about it.
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Yes! I hate that kudzu. It is so tenacious. A lot of the weeds that infiltrate the honeysuckle bank actually came from the yard. that’s why I needed a mulch barrier between the yard and the vines. Love to dig my toes into the soil too.
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Hands dirty, minds clean. Such a great mantra. I love the smell of honeysuckle. It always invokes memories of when my husband and I were first married and living in our first townhouse. In life, we have those weeds that want to dig deep into our faith and overtake us. Thankfully, God is faithful and helps us to keep our hands dirty to root out those things that want to pollute our minds. Thank you for this wonderful post.
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I love that mantra too. It’s a good reminder. I love your metaphor of weeds growing into our faith. I wish I had thought of that before I wrote the post! 🙂 Thank you.
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I so love that phrase. Certainly going to use that going forward.
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Thank you. So glad you liked it!
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I had to Google Kudzu to see what it looked like. I think I mentioned my neighbor who got angry when I asked her not to put her basset hound out at 3:30-4:00 a.m. every day as it barked incessantly until they let it in (not for a long time) – this was right under my bedroom window. The homeowners took offense and emptied their birdfeeders into my side garden. This resulted in thistles growing everywhere – they have rhizomes and it was nearly impossible to dig them out. At least your hard work pays off with a heady scent.
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Oh, that basset hound would drive me crazy! Especially since I don’t sleep very well anyway. Good for you for speaking up! Your neighbors sound terrible! So sorry!
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I have had/still have some interesting neighbors. I like Marge’s son, but that he saw the hawk watching those squirrels, and as a hunter enjoyed the predator vs. prey did upset me. On the other side, she put up a white privacy fence on my side only – it made no sense at all. And her contractors removed the chain-link fence when the permit was not correctly pulled and I had to pay to get my portion of the chain-link fence re-installed. She refused to pay for the fence after I demanded her to do so – $250.00 to have it replaced. Other things … she came two after the basset hound’s owner.
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Ugh! Your neighbor sounds like a real pickle.
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Very true!
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Children are so same. Whenever I ask my child to do something, he comes up with child labor law.
Dirty hands, clean mind ..my learning point is keep yourself busy and your mind won’t be free to give you negative thoughts.
Faith keeps us going. Thanks for sharing this Laurie. I love your posts.
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Ha! Those child labor laws. The funny thing is that now that son is a lawyer! 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment.
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This post left many of us with memories it seems. We moved 3 times into houses that were brand new and of course, there is a tendency to cover up the boundaries and have some greenery. One house, it was the bougainvillia with all its sharp spikes that did us in..eventually it all went, another it was a far to tall hedge that we could no longer maintain and then the last place, great vine with pretty flowers each spring..but it took over the pool area. Sigh. It must be something in our humanness that we cannot like ’empty spaces’. Like your quote too.
Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week is the last Share Your Snaps for 2020 and then only one week to go after that before a short break with Life This Week returning on Mon 4 January 2021. Hope to see you next week too. Denyse.
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Ha! So true…we typically do not like empty spaces. We like to soften the edges of our homes with some greenery. In my case, it was the need to cover the bank to prevent erosion, since it was too steep to plant grass and mow. Thank you for hosting. See you next week!
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I love that phrase, Laurie. Great precept to live by.
Happy Wednesday!
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I loved it as soon as I heard it, Veronica. Thank you, and you have a good week too!
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[…] Keeping My Hands Dirty […]
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Laurie, I can always tell how good of a day I’ve had in my flowerbeds by how dirty I am when I’m done. The dirtier, the better! Good for you to keep after that kind of weeding though … when weeds start overtaking my periwinkle patches, I’m always tempted to dig it all up and plant something else. This must be the week for posts about encouraging mantras … I love yours!
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Ha! I always seem to get very dirty when I work in my flowerbeds. My husband, on the other hand, can work all day and be clean as a whistle! How does he do that? I loved your mantra too! 🙂
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Great post full of encouragement! If more people kept their hands busy getting dirty they wouldn’t have time for judgment.
I do hope you win the fight for your honeysuckle! Right now, we are fighting invasive bamboo!
Your link at ‘My Corner of the World’ this week is an exciting addition! Thanks for joining us!
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Oh, so true. We need more dirty hands and less judgment. Bamboo is difficult to get rid of once it gets established, I know! Thank you so much for hosting, Betty!
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What a lovely read! I had to Google Honeysuckle as I’m not familiar with it over here in Australia. It’s pretty! I love that line “I keep my hands dirty, my mind clean” – perfect! Mindset is so important during this pandemic and it sounds like yours is in good shape and besides, gardening is therapy and good exercise!
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Thank you! Honeysuckle is pretty but it’s a shame you couldn’t Google the smell! 🙂
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That’s what I call garden therapy. I truly enjoy working in the garden with my hands and knees in the dirt. I spend a lot of time talking to God while doing this too.
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Ha! Yes…good word for it. I need some garden therapy right about now, but it might have to wait until spring.
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I would love some garden therapy right now – spring can’t come soon enough. 🌞
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For lots of reasons!
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what a beautiful post. made me smile a few times.
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Thank you! So glad I could give you some smiles! 🙂
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I 100% agree Laurie with your words “if I focus on the negatives, the loss, it clutters my mind.” That’s how I feel too. That’s why finding something to love every single day is so very important. Thanks for joining the Lovin Life Linky xoxo
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Thanks for the kind comment and for hosting the link-up this year. Hope your holidays are wonderful!
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It’s often easily to remain on the spiritual realm and pray for people and situations. Getting our hands dirty takes so much more. This year I got my hands dirty to save stray dogs in our area. It’s difficult and frustrating work, but so rewarding. Thank you for this lovely reminder, Laurie.
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You are so right, Corinne. I think we are supposed to get down to eye level with those who need our help. Get our hands dirty and get involved. Good for you for saving stray dogs! I think if I did that, we would soon be overrun with dogs. I just love them!
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[…] A new mantra I adopted helped to dispel feelings of self-doubt and stress that overtook my mind when I ran, but that mantra was the final step, not the first. […]
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Loved this post😄👍
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Thank you.
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