Deep Thoughts and Little Happenings

Spring beckons us outdoors and invites us to stroll around our gardens.  We see the new growth and we take stock of what needs to be done to keep all our plants as healthy as possible.   For the next few weeks, I want to compare the work of tending our garden to tending the garden of our hearts.   Gardening requires tools , and those tools must be taken care of properly.  They must be cleaned and many must be sharpened.  Items needed will vary by tool, but we all need rags, alcohol, and oil.  Some of you sharpen your own tools which adds sharpening devices and knowledge of angles to the list of things you need.  Other tools need things like electrical cords and batteries.   Not everyone would agree, but I consider gloves and sunglasses as must-have garden tools.  Gloves protect my hands and ensure a firm grip.  S unglasses keep me from squinting against the glare, and help me see what I'm doing.  I don't want to lop off the wrong branch or uproot plants instead of weed

Today is the first day of spring and there's new growth everywhere I look. The red maple was actually glowing this morning because it's branches are so covered with tiny red leaves.  The flowering cherry tree is covered in pink blossoms. The mophead hydrangea has little touches of yellow-green emerging all up and down its bare stick-like stems.  The azaleas have tight little buds on all their branch tips. The daffodils are standing tall in anticipation of showing off their over-sized blooms.  The wider fluffier leaves of the daylilies are pushing through the soil.  The asters are showing off new growth beneath the old.  And all three - daffodils, daylilies, and asters - are multiplying in numbers!   All these are signs of life.  They're also reminders that there are things that need to be done.  Pruning, mulching, fertilizing, and consistent watering of both lawn and garden. All this can be seen in the life of a Christ follower too.  We need Jesus, our living wat

I don't know about you, but change is scary for me.   I like learning and experiencing new things, but I don't like being unsure of what's next.  I want to live with adventure, but I want life to be predictable.  Now how's that for a contradiction of wants?! It took me a while to recognize this battle of wants going on inside of me, but once I did I started praying.  I asked the LORD to help me trust Him more so I would embrace the change He wanted for me.  It wasn't long before I was reminded of one of the old stories about me with my Grandpa Bill.  I followed him everywhere he went whenever we were together.  I would walk directly behind him, stretch my shorter legs to match his stride, and put my feet right where his grandpa feet had been.  We would check on the horses, cows, and fruit trees, climb through the barbed wire fence, cross the creek, climb over the dike, skip rocks in the lake, and lots of other fun things.  We enjoyed being together.  We did li

I recently posted a question on FB asking everyone to tell me their favorite fruit and why they like it so much.  It was fun and interesting to get all the responses.   Friends were telling me about different varieties of apples, melons, and berries; some I'd never heard of and others were some of my favorites.   I also enjoyed learning about the many reasons they liked their favorite fruit.  It ranged from taste to texture to time of year. All this fruit talk got me to thinking... Did you know there are 9 characteristics of Holy Spirit fruit?  Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control are Holy Spirit fruit.  Wow!  Talk about a fruit for every season and occasion!!! Then I had another thought... All those fruits we like to eat come on a variety of plants; trees, shrubs, bushes, and vines.  Yet not one of those plants made the fruit.  That fruit was a result of the health of the plant.  A tree doesn't chant, "Appl