Changing Fields

Many people end up in fields that aren't all that related to what they studied in college.  My official studies in college weren't exactly missionary prep, although they were helpful.  (My unofficial studies in college, i.e. studies that came from real life experiences primarily through church and a campus fellowship group, were the real missionary prep.)

During my years in Japan, I continued to learn.  Language, cross-cultural skills, how to teach English, leadership, missiology, church planting, and more were studied in formal and informal settings ... classrooms, conferences, seminars, workshops, books, and the school of life.

Now I find myself needing a whole different skill set.  Thankfully Geography was one of my minors and the roads here are mostly straight and at right angles, but even with all of that and a GPS, I still don't fully know my way around.

The skills that are causing the most lament on the learning curve are gardening and decorating.  I can shop for, plan and cook a nutritious meal, albeit not gourmet.  I can clean toilets (Thank you, summer Bible camp!) and mop floors (Thank you, Aunt Velma from said summer Bible camp!).  I can wash dishes and clear counters and organize the piles that are always accumulating on every flat surface.

But grow a plant?!?  Inside or out, it's no secret that I'm not a master gardener.

The answer to that seems to be creating arrangements of silk flowers, but just walking into Hobby Lobby with that purpose is enough to push me over the edge.

And now I'm faced with the task of window dressings.  Huh?!  I took this photo of my younger sister's kitchen a few years ago, and may find some inspiration there for my kitchen window.  What's your favorite window treatment?  We want to allow the sun and scenery in, but not allow the neighbors to see straight in to our dining room table.