Friday, December 30, 2011

PLANT JUNKIE

“…who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” MATTHEW 13:46

“You really are a plant junkie, aren’t you?” It had been several weeks and many plant sales since my friend, Al Rome, walked with me through my ‘shade garden’. Yes, my collection of plants is as eclectic as my taste in soul food.

Often our sins are collected in the same way, individually, some singularly small and yet, each deadly in despair. We need to take them to the place of redemption, the foot of the cross. The more often Christ and the cross are visited the lighter our load and the brighter our outlook Christ’s’ cherished blood is the Christians only choice; the crimson cleanser.
Clean up your act and act like Christ cleaned up your sins.

Gardening tip: Often, plants in-mass are more powerful than impressive specimens.

PRETTY PINK PEOPLE

     The cataract laden lens of the right eye had been replaced and Kat and I left Southern Eye Institute headed to Perkins for a western omelet, pancakes and a side of bacon. I had not eaten since last evening. The eye was safely bandaged with a clear plastic shield and heavily shaded sunglasses. I looked like Blues Brothers meets Pirates of the Caribbean.
     Arriving home, I removed the sunglasses. Wow! I commented on my brightly distorted optical observations and we let it pass as an aftershock of the surgery…we’ll sleep on it.
     The next morning I awoke to a whole new world, or so it seemed. Everything was so much brighter, at least through the one ‘new’ eye. Later, back at Southern Eye for the day after follow up, the explanation was that the cataract had not only troubled the focus but also limited light to the optic nerve.
     By closing first one eye and then the other, I could detect the differences in ‘pink people’ in my right eye and ‘regular’ colored folks in my left. Wait for it…two weeks later.
     The left eye was done and I could see, clearly, from both eyes….brightly. Life was seen in high definition and living color. Kat, my wife, is gorgeous!
      In John 9 there is a story of Jesus healing a blind man. The ‘punch line’, by the blind-since-birth man is, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” JOHN 9:25 NIV
     Kudos to Dr. Schanzer and all her team at Southern Eye Institute and to the LORD, God Almighty, who gave her the abilities to do modern-day miracles.

“Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God….” LUKE 18:43

Gardening tip: Placing a plant among other plants so that each may be seen should really be considered as, so that it can be seen five years from now. It will grow, you know.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

TEACH THE MEN

“Teach the older men to be . . self-controlled . . Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.” TITUS 2:2,6 NIV

Men wrestle with anger, sometimes because we are control freaks and other times because we are men. Men, leaders, are supposed to be right, yet we are not always right, just most of the time. (I really couldn’t let that one go by) Mike Royko, in his book, “I MAY BE WRONG BUT I DOUBT IT’, Regnery Publishers, Chicago, shares about Dave, a sensitive and creative new kind of bum.

    Dave was a hippie and yes we are talking about yesterdays, long since lost in a sea of trash from the Hait-Asbury section of San Francisco and other city incubators of the new bum, hippie. This man, Dave, was not interested in self-control, he was interested in being ‘creative’ and smoking weird things to find ways to be more ‘creative’.
     Man is always moving away from God, society and responsibility. He rewrites rules and interprets the acceptability of his behavior by his standards. Joshua was confronted by this approach among the people.
     Joshua made this statement in the face of those decisions; “and if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” JOSHUA 24:15 NIV

Let us decide whom we shall serve, and do it intentionally.

Gardening tip: Gardeners serve at the pleasure of the weather, so . . . plan your rainy day, cold day jobs far ahead and have supplies on hand to complete the task. Do likewise for the days you can get out during the winter. Make every day count despite the weather.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

RAILROADS DINOSAURS AND BABY SISTERS

Patricia Lynn, my baby sister, sweeter sibling and run-a-round buddy for more than sixty years, sent the question from the kitchen. “When did railroads get started?” I recalled that Papa, our father, Louie Marshall, forty three year veteran conductor, was born in 1887. His father had been an engineer, also on the Illinois Central, southern division. In the back of my woefully dilapidated mental warehouse I came up with an answer, “Somewhere in the mid 1800’s”.

Now, that was close enough for me to give her an answer, but not close enough to satisfy my wondering wisdom as to how close had I come? Off to the library! Usually, off to the library is no problem, except this time we are on vacation, Fairfield Bay, near the ‘backwoods’ of Arkansas. That’s a long way from where my library card has visiting privileges.

Arriving at the library, I ask for directions to the railroad yards (section). Not sure that I expected an area teeming with engines black with soot of wood or coal. Finding few offerings, I turned to leave and discovered some tables with books for sale.

I surveyed the assortment of ‘coffee table books’ scattered about, and in the midst of the muddle lies the answer to the search! A gently worn cover touted a collection of yesteryear pictures of wood and steam powered locomotives.

Picking one of the books up, I find a wonderland of wonderful gigantic smoke belching locomotives pulling long lines of colorful cars across landscapes dotted with lakes and snow covered peaks. There was page after page of metal behemoths moving man westward from homes and business in the east, the land of early American settlers. In this particular book I find the answer to Patricia Lynns' question and so much more.

The four buck book is a wealth of knowledge surrounding the advent of coast to coast travel in the comfort of the Pullman sleeper. The book, like many of its inhabitants, now lies sleeping, silently, covered by a clutter of other publications, on the coffee table in Sisters’ den. Hopefully, one day, a grandchild will pick up this volume of my grandfathers era and maybe, just maybe, ask a key question which will open the doors to an oral history of prior generations and days lost to calendars in trash barrels. The memory of coal smoke on my nostrils and the shrill of a steam whistle across the Muddy Mississippi River Delta still lingers in the ‘favorites’ section of my heart, my mind and my soul.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

HELPMATES

So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. LUKE 5:7

Two tired and bent old men were laboring in a small vegetable garden to produce food for a local pantry. The fruits of their labor were to be delivered freshly harvested to the needy in their community. They visited quietly while harvesting purple hull peas. They shared some insights of life. Near the end of their toil, one broke a period of solitude, “I’m so glad you were here to help me. We got a lot more done than I could have done alone. I would have quit long time ago.”

When we shoulder up with fellow Christians, much more is accomplished. Didn’t Jesus send out the disciples two by two? “It is not good for man to be alone”; while that was said about a helpmate for the man, it is so very true about life itself.

Often we have the opportunity to encourage a fellow gardener simply by lending a hand for a short period of time. Whether it is a labor of love in a volunteer garden or simply sitting with them as they ponder a fork in the pathway of their garden, when you come along side a friend, you are there to be a helpmate.

Garden tip: Develop your garden to live longer than you do. The weeds in it will.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

by Dee Dee Wike

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the streets
People's bellies were bulging from too many sweets.
The haggard expressions on all those tired faces
Were sure signs that they'd shopped at too many places.
With pocketbooks empty and stress levels high
They comforted themselves with some coffee and pie.
Now yearning for a simple, more joyful occasion
They wondered what happened to the Christmas celebration.
The gifts 'neath the tree wrapped in paper so fine
Left them wondering why they had spent their last dime
On things that would soon be discarded and tossed,
Instead of investing in the lives of the lost.
The message of Christmas was somehow deleted
While parties and gift giving were often repeated.
The true meaning of Christmas got lost in the shuffle
As everyone got caught up in the hustle and bustle.
Christmas morning arrived and the gifts were unwrapped
As we uttered a sigh, "Another Christmas has passed."
Did we take time to ponder the true meaning this season,
Or did we once again forget that Christ is the Reason
We celebrate with gift-giving and time spent with all those we love
And that He came here for us, leaving heaven above?
With a few days remaining before the big day
Let us take time to ponder and give Jesus the praise.
Let us unwrap the gift that He brought that first Christmas
And give him our hearts. Merry Christmas, dear Jesus!

Product description

A Pleasing Aroma
Inspiring Devotions for Joyful Living
by Dee Dee Wike
Some days, life stinks! Bad things happen, and we get so caught up in the chaos of living that we lose touch with God and his purpose for our lives. A Pleasing Aroma: Inspiring Devotions for Joyful Living was written for busy men and women who need a spiritual boost and the encouragement of God's Word to meet the demands of their stressful lives. With relevant applications for the challenges we all face—everything from raising children to being thankful in any situation—these short, easy-to-read devotions are designed to encourage you to live joyfully as a pleasing aroma to those around you as you grow in your relationship with God.
Whether you read just one or many devotions as your schedule allows, you will be encouraged to live and glorify God through your attitudes, actions, and daily interactions with others.
384 pages - $20.99 (paperback)

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FOLLOWING THE CHRISTMAS LIGHT

Dec 14, 2011

For with YOU is the fountain of Life; In YOUR LIGHT WE SEE LIGHT. Psalm 38:10
LIGHT ILLUMINES, REFLECTS, POINTS THE WAY, GUIDES, AND GUARDS FROM DANGER.
WE NEED LIGHT…PRACTICALLY, EMOTIONALLY AND SPIRITUALLY.
DARKNESS HIDES, HINDERS AND HOLDS US HOSTAGE .
JESUS CAME TO BRING AN ETERNAL LIGHT FOR ALL PEOPLE.
HIS BIRTH WAS PLANNED, BY A GOD OF LIGHT, ATTENDED BY ANGELS WHO SANG OF HIS LIGHT AND SHEPHERDS AND WISE MEN FOLLOWED A STAR TO DIRECT THEM TO TO THE MANAGER.
HOW DID MARY BIRTH A CHILD IN SUCH A PLACE?
THERE WAS WARMTH FROM THE ANIMALS, AN EARTHLY HELP MEET NAMED JOSEPH AND THE ENTOURAGE OF THOSE COMING TO PAY HOMAGE.
BUT, IT ALL BEGAN WITH MARY AND JOSEPH WHO TRUSTED THE LIGHT OF TRUTH.
MARY ACCEPTED THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN ANGEL THAT SHE HAD BEEN CHOSEN TO BE THE MOTHER OF THE CHRIST, CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT….” MAY IT BE TO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID.” LUKE 1:38
JOSEPH WAS ALERTED IN A DREAM ALSO BY AN ANGEL WHO CONFIRMED TO HIM THAT” MARY HAD CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT– A SON –” THEY WOULD CALL HIM “IMMANUEL”– WHICH MEANS GOD WITH US–
“WHEN JOSPEH WOKE UP HE DID WHAT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD HAD COMMANDED HIM AND TOOK MARY HOME AS HIS WIFE.” MATTHEW1:24
THESE CHOSEN ONES LIVED IN THE LIGHT OF DEVOTION , FAITH AND OBEDIENCE TO THE GOD THEY SERVED.
THEY HEARD AND OBEYED.
OBEDIENCE REQUIRES ACTION NOT JUST ASSENT.
IT IS AN AMAZING ACCOUNT OF TRANSPARENT LIVES , OPEN TO THE LEADING OF GOD’S DIVINE LIGHT.
THEY HAD HANDS ON INFLUENCE, LOVE AND WATCH CARE OVER THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
STARS IN THE HEAVENS WERE USED TO GUIDE THOSE COMING TO CELEBRATE THIS EVENT WHICH WOULD FOREVER PIERCE THE DARKNESS OF OUR WORLD– GENERATIONS, RACES, AGES WOULD KNOW HOW JESUS’ BIRTH WOULD CHANGE LIFE.
PARDON, FORGIVENESS. MERCY, GRACE RESTORATION WOULD ADORN HEARTS WHO RECEIVED HIM.
THE JOURNEY OF THE MANGER, CHILDHOOD, MANHOOD WOULD UNFOLD THE MISSION OF A LOVING GOD WHO WOULD RECONCILE A LOST WORLD UNTO HIMSELF THOUGH JESUS.
THE CROSS WOULD BE THE SYMBOL OF SACRIFICE AS JESUS’ BLOOD WAS POURED OUT FOR OUR SIN, ALL SIN, ALL MEN.
NOW THE CHRIST OF SCRIPTURES CAN LIVE WITHIN US BY HIS SPIRIT. HALLELUJAH!
” BUT TO AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM HE GAVE THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD.”JOHN 1:12
WE CAN HEAR, RECEIVE , BELIEVE AND THEN BELONG.
WILL YOU?
ONLY YOU CAN CHOOSE.
HOW?
BY OPENING UP YOUR HEART IN PRAYER– INVITING HIM TO COME INTO YOUR LIFE, TO CLEANSE YOU OF ALL THE SIN THAT HAS BEEN WEIGHTING YOU DOWN BURYING ALL HOPE. CONFESSION OF SIN IS THE DOOR TO OPEN .
HE WILL COME.
IF YOU DO THIS– HIS LIGHT WILL BECOME COMPELLING– IN THE WORD OF GOD, THROUGH PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW HIM, IN CIRCUMSTANCES, IN DECISIONS, IN ILLNESS, IN TRIUMPHS AND FAILURES, IN LOSS AND DOUBT, THROUGH IT ALL YOU WILL KNOW YOU BELONG TO HIM AND THEREFORE HIS LIGHT WILL OPEN THE WAY MOMENT TO MOMENT , DAY BY DAY…YES NIGHT TO NIGHT.
WILL YOU?
COME TO THE MANGER AND SEE.
A BABE WHO WILL BE KING.
KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS, YOUR KING, YOUR SAVIOR AND FOREVER HE WILL POINT THE WAY FOR YOU THROUGH ALL THE SEASONS OF LIFE.
THEN AS MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OF GOD YOU WILL MEET FOLKS WHO LOOK DIFFERENT FROM YOU BUT YOU WILL KNOW THEM AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN FAITH!
WHAT A CHRISTMAS GIFT, ETERNAL, EVERLASTING.
COME!
MERRY CHRISTMAS. FOLLOW HIS LIGHT!
BILLIE

Sunday, December 11, 2011

LOOK FOR MY SIGNS

I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. Genesis 9:13

Do you look for signs while traveling in unfamiliar parts of a city? Do you watch your garden for signs of bulbs bursting through snow? Ever watch for signs that someone is hurting; needs encouragement or needs a job. Maybe you can’t provide for them in all the ways they desire at the time, but you can promote a relationship. Recall the great commandment where Christ wrapped it all up in a nice neat package we can understand: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself”. Luke 10:27 Maybe that is where the old cliché comes from: walking in some one else’s shoes.

When you are hurting… down and desperately in need of understanding, comfort and forgiving, aren’t you accepting of almost anybody? Well, today, you are that anybody for somebody out there somewhere! Be watchful for those preordained God pushes onto your pathways. Look for the signs. They are everywhere. God loves us all the time in all the places. Watch for his finger prints on the menu of your day!

Gardener tip: Watch for plants showing stress all throughout the year. One or more may need relocating.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

FOR THE LEAST OF THESE

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD, your God.” LEVITICUS 23: 22

Sixty years ago, we had a 4-H Club project called Wildlife Conservation. As 4-Hers, we urged families and friends, farmers, gardeners to leave the ends of fall harvested fields and the corners of family gardens. These small concessions would provide large areas for habitat and bountiful food for the birds, rabbits, deer, etc. We also planted animal 'covers' and food sources on the fence rows to aid in the wanderings of wildlife from one area to the other.

We gardeners, today, could take some tips from those old ideas. We cut and mulch everything and manicure lawns up to the fence. How about providing some protective boarders and adding a few pantry plants for passing friends?

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. MATTHEW 25:40 NIV

WAITING FOR HEAVEN

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?” JOHN 14: 2

The wind carried a cool light mist and evening was racing across the road and into the woods. Most of the leaves had left their lofty perches, joining the humus collected on the forest floor. Only days before the trees were ablaze with leafy dress, preparing for the parties that accompanied the approaching seasons. The man sat quietly on the stump, reflecting on the progression of time. A few weeks past, the oaks, hickories and sweet gum trees had been lush and verdantly green, teeming with all manner of life.

However, the days were quickly shortening as the sun shifted southerly in the skies. Cooler air was creeping down the creek and the neighborhood often shook from frost forming temperatures. Pulling his collar closer and resetting his cap to relieve his eyes from the sunset, the man pondered his place in the passing parade of time and life.

The accelerating passage of time had gathered with it friends and family; some were cherished, others strangers to most. Yet they all succumbed to the cycle of the seasons and worked their ways through the walkways of eternity.

The man sat there in the back of his garden woods surrounded by the handiwork of his Creator and the meager modifications he had made to that which he had been given stewardship. “All this, too, will pass,” reflected the man, “for Earth is not my home…I am just visiting here; practicing, praying and preparing for Heaven.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” JOHN 14: 3

Monday, November 28, 2011

FROM THE EDGE OF THE WOODS

He limped from the forest through the thin brush that sprung up behind the carpenters shed. Sounds from the shop told Sammy that Joseph and his son were already busy at work, repairing a plow for a friend. The small grey creature crept ever so lightly to the edge of the opening and waited. Jesus, dragging a heavy wooden barrel, came around the corner of the shop, moving toward the edge of the yard where he emptied the previous days’ sawdust and wooden scraps. As soon as Sammy saw Jesus, he hobbled across the open space to this special child of whom all the creatures talked.

Jesus, seeing the small animals’ crippled approach, knelt down to greet his little furry visitor. “What can I do for you?” Jesus asked. “Child of God, if it is your will, I would like to climb trees and live high above the earth in the leafy world. With my broken leg I am sentenced to the floor of the forest. Daily I scamper about, avoiding the dogs and cats that would have me for their next meal.”

Jesus reached out and lifted the little squirrel up, looked directly into his face with its sparkling dark eyes, “Little one, your faith has made you whole. Go and climb trees with the rest of your friends but don’t tell them about me. Tell them about my Father, the Creator, who created you and the trees you climb. I, too, will one day be crippled and my Heavenly Father will make me whole just as He has you. Go and be all He created you to be!”

Thursday, November 24, 2011

STRENGTH POWER PERFECTION

God is my strength and power and He makes my way perfect. 2 SAMUEL 22:33

Not even the best of our plans for the garden work out every time. We dig up yet another plant and try to find a home for it so that it adds color or texture to that area of our garden world. Life is a lot like that, also.

We plan for this job or this relationship and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Is it because we haven’t recognized our relationship with Christ? Everything we do should have God’s fingerprints all over it. Have we recognized Christ as our Redeemer and Savior? Christ should guide our every move; our every thought. Does He?

We must ask God early each day to guide our steps along life’s garden pathways. Everyone who watches us should see Christ in our actions. Ask God to guide your steps today.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

Gardener tip: Many of your family are scurrying about to get all their shopping lists organized; think about the right tool you could suggest for a Christmas gift.

THANKSGIVING

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. PSALM 100:4

There are those of us who would have Christmas all the year. Christmas is music, gifts, bells, and all the imagery that our past Christmases conjure up. I am one of those who would like to see Thanksgiving at least be a season and not just a Thursday filled with turkey and football.

Thanksgiving is an opportunity in the midst of the mayhem. World events currently circling the globe like a freak storm of nature are spreading despair, unrest and uncertainty across the nations. However, in my house, Thanksgiving is first and foremost an acknowledgment of God’s presence and position in our family. Just the fact that we have a house, not quiet paid for, and a family, though most of the members are rescued animals; really so are we!

And that’s what makes Thanksgiving so special. We are rescued! Christ’s gift of his birth life, death and resurrection, is the stuff of Christians around the world that makes us all so thankful. I am so thankful for all my friends and fellow gardeners, each of whom has had significant input toward the development of my garden-life.

Central Church has been central to the development of my present state of thanksgiving. Central’s members, staff and so many others who have graced the doors over the passed 13 years have been an integral part in making my Thanksgiving possible.

Kat and I are eternally thankful for each of you. THANKS

Monday, November 21, 2011

ABUNDANT FRUIT

….You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit

DUETERONOMY 28:30

We gardeners live with the eternal hope that the new specimen plant we just parked in its spot in the garden will provide that extra something that seems to be missing. We visit others gardens, we walk the isles of garden shops in search of something special. We live with a hope of developing our garden space into that special area of our lives so that we might enjoy our labors and that others will enjoy it with us.

What if we had the scripture from Deuteronomy as our outlook? Wouldn’t be too much planting going on, would it? Deuteronomy 28 has the good stuff early in the chapter as the consequences of obedience and disobedience are spelled out for those who would follow all the commandments given them. Pretty tough under the Old Testament Law, don’t you think? Today, we Christians have a hope based on a promise found in the New Testament. The very word of God through His Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ, tells us, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”( JOHN 10:10)

And then He went to the cross, died and was resurrected that not only would we have life and have it more abundantly but that we might have the abundant life here on earth and then enjoy life eternal with Him in paradise. It doesn’t get any better than that!
The next time someone walks through your garden how about sharing with them what God has done in your life. Your life may be the only Bible someone sees!

Garden tip: If you have trouble with moles and voles, plant your bulbs in a wire basket or a large plastic container with the bottom cut out.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

FIELD OF FLOWERS

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.” MATTHEW 6:28

We have seen awesome pictures of vast fields of beautiful flowers captured by the camera and through the eye of a photographer. This is the picture Jesus was talking about where great masses of blooms just seemed to appear along the roadside and spread beyond the crests of the hills. Those fields in his story are in great contrast to our gardens where we toil over that very special specimen plant we just received.

Sure, we worry about how we dress and how we look when we go to church on Sunday; we want to look ‘religiously acceptable’. We need not worry about clothes; we only need to concern ourselves with the decision to pick up our cross and follow the Christ. Our souls lay naked before God but the Holy Spirit is busy spinning a garment of righteousness for us. We will be arrayed more brightly than all the fields of flowers on our trip through Christ into eternity with the Father.

As you walk the pathways of your garden will you share with someone how He has worked a mighty work in your heart, your life, your family, your job….?

Garden tip: Flowers planted ‘in-mass’ are more powerful than a number of specimens planted randomly.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

TIME RELEASE FERTILIZERS

…and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God my be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 TIMOTHY 3:15-17
     Time-release fertilizers are the buzz in many gardening circles. Like most plant soil our spiritual souls need continual “feeding. How often do you feed from the word? “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
     Pick a time and a place to meet with “The Word”. To sit quietly with an open heart and a listening ear to hear the Holy Spirit whisper sweet prayers on your behalf. Listen as the messages echo through the halls of heaven and the depths of your soul where Christ waits to meet with you there.
     Time release enrichments enrich over time.

Monday, November 14, 2011

COME TO THE GARDEN

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. GENESIS 2: 15

My father’s favorite song was, “I Come to the Garden Alone”. The words tell us a lot about the relationship we have with the Creator of The Garden. …”while the dew is still on the roses”……

God originally created us as gardeners to “work the soil and take care of it”. The soil test you have taken this fall will tell you what you need to add to your garden soil.

God is the Creator and “gardener” of our souls and He knows what we have in and need added to our soil (soul). Through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and the spoken word, God provides us what we need to be good “gardeners” of the soil and soul which He created especially for us.

The Bible tells us we are “salt and light”. From a gardening perspective, think also of us as fertilizer and water. We cultivate relationships just like we cultivate our gardens with just a little daily care.

Won’t you share with someone, today, what God is doing in “your garden?

You’ll never walk alone in your garden, the original

Master Gardener walks with you.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

FOOTPRINTS IN YOUR GARDEN

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. MATTHEW 5:16

There are many ways to “grow a garden”. I love gardens both formal and informal; perennials based or ablaze with annuals. Our gardens may be shared with others or tucked away in private areas; totally haphazard or professionally done. All these options are okay with our neighbors or friends. Some may even envy us or our gardens. Our gardens are us and they reflect our decisions.

Life is a lot like that. We have choices and consequences. We may believe that our lives or our gardens have little or no effect on others but most of the time that is not totally true. Somebody is always watching us and for whatever reason, they see us as a reflection of what we say or do. We may talk the talk but they watch to see if we walk the walk.

Do our lives present a pattern for others; friends or family or even strangers, perhaps? We must be careful of how we garden and where we trod, for someone we love may be walking in our footprints. The paths we choose to take and the places they take us are often paths chosen by others. We are challenged to lead a life where Christ is the goal and obedience is our lifestyle. We are to have a garden for all to admire and share.

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. JAMES 1:22

Gardening tip: This fall when the woodlands begin their metamorphosis from forest greens to cornucopias of color, gather several handfuls of leaves and send them to friends who live in Florida. They will be so appreciative or extremely jealous.

God Has A Green Thumb