Harvest…. I’m looking forward to it already. The tiny little plants are promising…
There are a few blooms on some of the plants…yet another promise. The ground was properly prepared, tilled and rid of clumps of grass. Rain came at a perfect time, releasing the fertilizer into the soil and providing the moisture necessary for germination. Seeds were planted and have pushed up thru the soil with amazing speed.
Life. The process is amazing.
There will be a harvest. I want to be prepared and ready. Pea sheller…check. Jars and lids…check. Freezer space…check Freezer bags…woops…Even though there is a lot yet to happen before that time, I want to be ready. (better buy more freezer bags ! )
Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” (Luke 10:2) What is your role in that? Do you realize you are in the middle of His field? There may be soil ready for a seed to be planted. It may be time to pluck out a weed that threatens to choke out the life of a seedling. There may be a need for watering.
There IS a plentiful harvest, whether you think so or not…whether you see it with your eyes or not. Take the time element out, God is not limited by time…the harvest is there. He sees beginning to end, it is you and I that think within time limits.
It’s not time to pick peas. But I have, and expect to again.
I may not witness a changed life today. But I have…. Praise God !!… and expect to again.
I dedicate my skills and abilities to Him, (parable of the talents, Mat.25).
I am dependant on His ‘equipping me for every good work’ (2Tim.3:17)
I am sent. ( Luke 10:3, Mark 16:15)
Now…if I can just find the right row…..
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Necessity
Necessity… Coffee in the morning. Chocolate. A good pillow. Books. Reading glasses. Phone.
What would you put on the list?…
My husband fusses because I take a bag of books everywhere we go. But I never know when I might have an opportunity to drag one out and read a while. It really depends on the circumstances…but we all have those necessary things, things we think we can’t do without.
I can’t do without books. Especially my Bible.
I don’t do well without my morning coffee.
My friends know I have to have at least a bite of chocolate after I’ve eaten.
I can’t read anymore without help from reading glasses.
Like most of us these days, my phone is almost always close by.
But are any of these things really as necessary as I tend to think? I doubt it…
What is necessary? Really ? Food. Water. Air. Is there anything else that is really necessary?
Jesus said there was one thing. “ One thing only is essential…” (Luke 10: 42 The Message)
Let’s not miss the one necessary thing. Sit at His Feet today.
What would you put on the list?…
My husband fusses because I take a bag of books everywhere we go. But I never know when I might have an opportunity to drag one out and read a while. It really depends on the circumstances…but we all have those necessary things, things we think we can’t do without.
I can’t do without books. Especially my Bible.
I don’t do well without my morning coffee.
My friends know I have to have at least a bite of chocolate after I’ve eaten.
I can’t read anymore without help from reading glasses.
Like most of us these days, my phone is almost always close by.
But are any of these things really as necessary as I tend to think? I doubt it…
What is necessary? Really ? Food. Water. Air. Is there anything else that is really necessary?
Jesus said there was one thing. “ One thing only is essential…” (Luke 10: 42 The Message)
Let’s not miss the one necessary thing. Sit at His Feet today.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Complicated
Complicated… When asked about relationship status, I often see or hear people say ‘it’s complicated’….
All relationships are complicated. Some more so than others I suppose. It seems to me that the relationships we have that are so very complicated have gotten that way from our own poor choices.
This morning I read the story of Abram and his childless wife. (Gen.16)
There was a promise of God. There would be a son. God said so. Yet, it hadn’t come to pass yet and Sarai thought perhaps she needed to help God out a bit. So, according to the custom of the day, she sent one of her female servants to her husband. (I can’t fathom that…but I read that it was common in the culture of that day.) A child born to this servant would be considered the child of the servant’s master….Sarai would finally get what she longed for.
Then it began to get complicated. (An understatement, I’m sure !!)
Jealousy. Resentment. Mistrust. Blame. Regret.
I’m prone to think Abram could have nipped this problem in the bud. But he didn’t, and after the relationship with the servant girl was established, it could not be un-done. The literal history of the world was changed. Ishmael was born. The Arabs are his descendants.
Complicated ? Indeed so. But God is not hindered by our complications. He IS hindered by our refusal to deal with the consequences of our own choices. It is never wise to manipulate circumstances. But when we have done so, the best thing we can do is run TO God, not away from Him.
Facing our complications face to face with the God of the universe is the best way to unravel any complicated situation. He has the most amazing way of cutting right through all the complicated messes we make. But we have to make that decision, be brave enough to look at it honestly, with ourselves and with Him….and trust Him enough to act on what He says.
It won’t be easy. It won’t be fun. But it will always be harder and more painful when we refuse to do so.
There is absolutely nothing that is too complicated for God. And the amazing thing is….when we obediently place all of it in His Hands, He brings blessings out of those awful messes !
He is so good.
All relationships are complicated. Some more so than others I suppose. It seems to me that the relationships we have that are so very complicated have gotten that way from our own poor choices.
This morning I read the story of Abram and his childless wife. (Gen.16)
There was a promise of God. There would be a son. God said so. Yet, it hadn’t come to pass yet and Sarai thought perhaps she needed to help God out a bit. So, according to the custom of the day, she sent one of her female servants to her husband. (I can’t fathom that…but I read that it was common in the culture of that day.) A child born to this servant would be considered the child of the servant’s master….Sarai would finally get what she longed for.
Then it began to get complicated. (An understatement, I’m sure !!)
Jealousy. Resentment. Mistrust. Blame. Regret.
I’m prone to think Abram could have nipped this problem in the bud. But he didn’t, and after the relationship with the servant girl was established, it could not be un-done. The literal history of the world was changed. Ishmael was born. The Arabs are his descendants.
Complicated ? Indeed so. But God is not hindered by our complications. He IS hindered by our refusal to deal with the consequences of our own choices. It is never wise to manipulate circumstances. But when we have done so, the best thing we can do is run TO God, not away from Him.
Facing our complications face to face with the God of the universe is the best way to unravel any complicated situation. He has the most amazing way of cutting right through all the complicated messes we make. But we have to make that decision, be brave enough to look at it honestly, with ourselves and with Him….and trust Him enough to act on what He says.
It won’t be easy. It won’t be fun. But it will always be harder and more painful when we refuse to do so.
There is absolutely nothing that is too complicated for God. And the amazing thing is….when we obediently place all of it in His Hands, He brings blessings out of those awful messes !
He is so good.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Aroma
Aroma… just a scent, a smell….a little whiff of a fragrance. Can stir all sorts of sensations up can’t it? I walked into a store yesterday and smelled strawberries…
Can you guess what I had for breakfast? The power of smell is amazing to me. An aroma can’t be seen but it can sure invoke some power!! Make me hungry…make me ill. Make me sleepy….or refresh and awaken. Soothing or invigorating.
What smells good to me might not smell nice to you. I can’t fathom that anyone would not love strawberries…but some people don’t.
“We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:15)
I want to be the aroma of Christ, don’t you? But we need to know that that won’t smell good to everybody. To those who are perishing, it may have a stench.
The message of Christ is life. But to those who refuse it, it is death…. ‘for the wages of sin is death…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23)
“To the one, we are the smell of death: to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity..like men sent from God.” (2 Cor. 6:16-17)
The message of Christ is the sweetest of any aroma. I can’t fathom that anyone would not be drawn to it. But some are not.
That does not negate my role…I am to BE the aroma of Christ…in whatever place I am…whatever role I play.
It is not what I do..but what He may do through me…not on what I am capable of, but what He is capable of accomplishing through me, in spite of my weaknesses. I can do nothing out of my own merit….but ‘I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength’ (Phil. 4:13)
I want to smell like Him. And I pray that that scent will be pleasant to everyone around me…. and make them want Jesus.
He is so good.
Can you guess what I had for breakfast? The power of smell is amazing to me. An aroma can’t be seen but it can sure invoke some power!! Make me hungry…make me ill. Make me sleepy….or refresh and awaken. Soothing or invigorating.
What smells good to me might not smell nice to you. I can’t fathom that anyone would not love strawberries…but some people don’t.
“We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Cor. 2:15)
I want to be the aroma of Christ, don’t you? But we need to know that that won’t smell good to everybody. To those who are perishing, it may have a stench.
The message of Christ is life. But to those who refuse it, it is death…. ‘for the wages of sin is death…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23)
“To the one, we are the smell of death: to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity..like men sent from God.” (2 Cor. 6:16-17)
The message of Christ is the sweetest of any aroma. I can’t fathom that anyone would not be drawn to it. But some are not.
That does not negate my role…I am to BE the aroma of Christ…in whatever place I am…whatever role I play.
It is not what I do..but what He may do through me…not on what I am capable of, but what He is capable of accomplishing through me, in spite of my weaknesses. I can do nothing out of my own merit….but ‘I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength’ (Phil. 4:13)
I want to smell like Him. And I pray that that scent will be pleasant to everyone around me…. and make them want Jesus.
He is so good.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Can't
Can’t… I’ve been told many times in years past… ‘Can’t can’t do any thing…’ ( cain’t is the way we say it around here…)………..
There’s a lot of truth in that. If you decide you can’t. You probably can not. You decide up front, decision is made…
I was reading this morning about Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome going to anoint the body of Jesus. On their way they thought about the big stone that would be blocking the entrance. They knew that stones were rolled over tombs. Perhaps they didn’t think about that obstacle before setting out that early morning.
“…who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’ (Mark 16:3)
The stone was already gone. NOT to let Jesus out… He later appeared into locked room. No, the stone was gone in order for us to enter.
The stone is still gone. If you think you can’t enter, you’ve just decided you ‘cain’t’.
Don’t give me the excuses…I don’t need them. Tell Him your excuses.
“I just don’t have time”
“I can’t comprehend”
“I don’t understand”
“It is too hard”
Add your own excuse for not entering…what stops you?
That empty tomb is a fact. And it testifies to you and me that Jesus did what He said He would do. He IS Who He said He is. He kept His promise to rise from the dead, defeating the ultimate enemy of all mankind. He kept that promise, so we can believe He will keep all the others as well.
Don’t decide to not make the trip because you think there’s a stone in the way. He will see that there is no stone to block your way. But you have to get up and make the trip. If you decide that an obstacle will stop you…. It will.
And the enemy will rejoice.
There’s a lot of truth in that. If you decide you can’t. You probably can not. You decide up front, decision is made…
I was reading this morning about Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome going to anoint the body of Jesus. On their way they thought about the big stone that would be blocking the entrance. They knew that stones were rolled over tombs. Perhaps they didn’t think about that obstacle before setting out that early morning.
“…who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?’ (Mark 16:3)
The stone was already gone. NOT to let Jesus out… He later appeared into locked room. No, the stone was gone in order for us to enter.
The stone is still gone. If you think you can’t enter, you’ve just decided you ‘cain’t’.
Don’t give me the excuses…I don’t need them. Tell Him your excuses.
“I just don’t have time”
“I can’t comprehend”
“I don’t understand”
“It is too hard”
Add your own excuse for not entering…what stops you?
That empty tomb is a fact. And it testifies to you and me that Jesus did what He said He would do. He IS Who He said He is. He kept His promise to rise from the dead, defeating the ultimate enemy of all mankind. He kept that promise, so we can believe He will keep all the others as well.
Don’t decide to not make the trip because you think there’s a stone in the way. He will see that there is no stone to block your way. But you have to get up and make the trip. If you decide that an obstacle will stop you…. It will.
And the enemy will rejoice.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Groaning
Groaning… ‘anachah’. A moaning or sighing response brought on by physical, spiritual, or mental despair involving both the body and soul.
“I am worn out from groaning, all night long I flood my bed with weeping…” (David in Ps. 6:6)
Bless David’s heart. This is the same guy who stood with only a slingshot and stones to face a literal giant from an enemy army. I just love how God has given us so many people whose lives we can learn from…people who are the same as me. And you. These characters in the Bible aren’t super-heros. They aren’t from another planet endowed with supernatural powers. They just serve a super-natural God…the God I serve. The God you serve.
David had a lot on his mind when he wrote this Psalm. And I am so thankful that he was so brutally honest. He pours his heart out, in tears, completely honest with the God whose love he was so secure in. He didn’t feel inclined to paint a prettier picture and pretend it was real. He didn’t fake it. He didn’t deny what he felt. He faced it within himself and took it to God. All the ugly of it…
Paul teaches this in 2 Cor. 10:5. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive EVERY thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (my emphasis)
This thing doesn’t happen by accident…this taking captive every thought…(or any thought at all!) I believe it is an ‘on purpose’ thing. We have to realize FIRST just what our thoughts are…and we can be wrong !
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)
We can not know and trust our own heart. For we don’t know what may lie there, Peter certainly didn’t. He, like David, was brave. He proceeded to attack when the soldiers came following Judas, to take Jesus from the garden. Then during the long night ahead, Peter hid like a scared animal and swore he didn’t know Jesus. “Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!!’ ” (Mt. 26:74)
I wonder how many nights Peter might have groaned all night, weeping in his bed. Regret. Sorrow. Shame.
Not many. I don’t think so anyway.. “Don’t be alarmed…you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He has risen !…go, tell his disciples….and Peter…” (Mark 16:6,7)
“…he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Cor. 15:5)
That is the Jesus I love.
“I am worn out from groaning, all night long I flood my bed with weeping…” (David in Ps. 6:6)
Bless David’s heart. This is the same guy who stood with only a slingshot and stones to face a literal giant from an enemy army. I just love how God has given us so many people whose lives we can learn from…people who are the same as me. And you. These characters in the Bible aren’t super-heros. They aren’t from another planet endowed with supernatural powers. They just serve a super-natural God…the God I serve. The God you serve.
David had a lot on his mind when he wrote this Psalm. And I am so thankful that he was so brutally honest. He pours his heart out, in tears, completely honest with the God whose love he was so secure in. He didn’t feel inclined to paint a prettier picture and pretend it was real. He didn’t fake it. He didn’t deny what he felt. He faced it within himself and took it to God. All the ugly of it…
Paul teaches this in 2 Cor. 10:5. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive EVERY thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (my emphasis)
This thing doesn’t happen by accident…this taking captive every thought…(or any thought at all!) I believe it is an ‘on purpose’ thing. We have to realize FIRST just what our thoughts are…and we can be wrong !
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9)
We can not know and trust our own heart. For we don’t know what may lie there, Peter certainly didn’t. He, like David, was brave. He proceeded to attack when the soldiers came following Judas, to take Jesus from the garden. Then during the long night ahead, Peter hid like a scared animal and swore he didn’t know Jesus. “Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!!’ ” (Mt. 26:74)
I wonder how many nights Peter might have groaned all night, weeping in his bed. Regret. Sorrow. Shame.
Not many. I don’t think so anyway.. “Don’t be alarmed…you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He has risen !…go, tell his disciples….and Peter…” (Mark 16:6,7)
“…he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.” (1 Cor. 15:5)
That is the Jesus I love.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Miserable
Miserable.. Pity party alert ! I am miserable.
It has been years since I’ve felt this misery. Oh, aches and pains come and go. The occasional virus finds it’s way into my body and makes me feel icky for a few days. I get down in the dumps about situations. My body gets tired quicker than it used to and I can’t keep up the pace I once could.
But not like this misery…
Have you ever just considered how powerless we really are? Just stop and think about what can stop us right in our tracks….shut us down like flipping off the electricity. I am reminded that I am absolutely at the mercy of God and His universe….and the whims of my own choices.
I chose to weed my flowerbeds. And I chose to put that little ivy twig in the pile to be picked up ( in my bare arms ) and thrown over the ditch out of my yard. I had the knowledge of that evil…(that pretty little green ivy twig only LOOKS pretty). I have the knowledge of the truth..( the little ivy twig is poison).
So…now I am miserable. One touch and I am slowly becoming a mass of whelps that hinder every aspect of my life.
I thought about Job. “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas..”(Job 6:2)
I suppose I’m being a little dramatic, but there’s a lesson to be learned here…a lesson far deeper than not handling poison ivy.
When I know the danger and warnings about something…pay attention! Don’t think ‘I can handle this…’. ‘I will be really careful’ ‘Just this once..’
As it is with poison ivy, so it is with all the things God has cautioned us about. ‘..let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us.’ (Heb. 12:1)
I pray often to be easily taught. I haven’t had a lesson like this in years….and I doubt I’ll soon forget the misery of this itch that I suffer as a result of my own arrogance and poor choices . Who am I to think that I can change the rules of nature?
And who am I to think that I am ever safe outside the boundaries of God’s will for my life? I can’t even handle a little twig of ivy….
It has been years since I’ve felt this misery. Oh, aches and pains come and go. The occasional virus finds it’s way into my body and makes me feel icky for a few days. I get down in the dumps about situations. My body gets tired quicker than it used to and I can’t keep up the pace I once could.
But not like this misery…
Have you ever just considered how powerless we really are? Just stop and think about what can stop us right in our tracks….shut us down like flipping off the electricity. I am reminded that I am absolutely at the mercy of God and His universe….and the whims of my own choices.
I chose to weed my flowerbeds. And I chose to put that little ivy twig in the pile to be picked up ( in my bare arms ) and thrown over the ditch out of my yard. I had the knowledge of that evil…(that pretty little green ivy twig only LOOKS pretty). I have the knowledge of the truth..( the little ivy twig is poison).
So…now I am miserable. One touch and I am slowly becoming a mass of whelps that hinder every aspect of my life.
I thought about Job. “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas..”(Job 6:2)
I suppose I’m being a little dramatic, but there’s a lesson to be learned here…a lesson far deeper than not handling poison ivy.
When I know the danger and warnings about something…pay attention! Don’t think ‘I can handle this…’. ‘I will be really careful’ ‘Just this once..’
As it is with poison ivy, so it is with all the things God has cautioned us about. ‘..let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us.’ (Heb. 12:1)
I pray often to be easily taught. I haven’t had a lesson like this in years….and I doubt I’ll soon forget the misery of this itch that I suffer as a result of my own arrogance and poor choices . Who am I to think that I can change the rules of nature?
And who am I to think that I am ever safe outside the boundaries of God’s will for my life? I can’t even handle a little twig of ivy….
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