The garden is in all its glory now! I'm constantly on the lookout for destructive insects, so I have to know what they look like. I've educated myself on which bugs are good and which bugs are bad; but sometimes it's hard to tell. When I find destructive bugs, I have to eliminate them right away or they'll destroy the crop on which they thrive. If I don't get rid of them, I can kiss that particular vegetable goodbye.
One needs to also know which bugs feed off the destructive insects. I've finally learned what the larvae of a lady bug looks like, so I never destroy those as lady bugs feast on aphids. Those tiny aphids suck the life from plants. Last year I had to pull out an entire row of peas because of an aphid infestation; I was hesitant to spray with insecticide as I would kill the lady bugs if I did so. The peas were pretty much finished producing by then, so I tore them out, stuffed them into a garbage bag, and put them in the trash bin. I didn't want those bugs returning!
Just as I need to destroy destructive bugs which come into my garden, I must also destroy or remove things in my life which harm my walk with God. Each one of us must do so. We have to learn to recognize those things early on and take action quickly or we'll lose the opportunity to bear fruit. Wrong thoughts, attitudes and words can be destructive, as can be certain types of music, movies or television shows which we watch. Bars and nightclubs and other entertainment spots which grieve Christ's heart should also be avoided because God wants us to produce good fruit, and we can't do that if we're consuming ungodly nourishment.
Weeds are a constant problem in any garden, and it takes a watchful eye to keep them out. Once a weed takes hold and produces seed, it spawns a new generation just like it. Weeds occur where we are planted; destructive insects come from everywhere. A weed can come in the form of a family member who tries to undermine your faith, a co-worker who gives you a difficult time, or even a well-meaning church friend. Allow the Word of God to saturate your life; it will form a protective shield, a barrier, where no weed can grow to produce another crop of weeds.
God is good and doesn't let us grow in our gardens alone. He brings into our lives circumstances, people and events, words of encouragement, a timely phone call, to help us recognize and eliminate those destructive things in our lives or to deal with them in a godly manner. Never reject instruction or correction from the Word or from a fellow believer or you might be inviting a host of insects to eat your fruit before it's begun to grow. God helps us in many ways, and other Christian people are one of his favorite choices.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
Memorial Day Salute
Memorial Day - those of us who've been around for a while remember World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War and all those who paid the ultimate price for keeping the world safe and our freedoms intact. We honor them all.
I was in high school when the Vietnam War was raging. So many of the boys with whom I went to high school probably served and died over there. I can't name names, but the statistics would bear this out. While watching a program on the Vietnam War the other night, I learned that over 33,000 of our soldiers killed over there were only 18 years old! Eighteen!!! Young men on the threshold of their adult lives, cut down on foreign soil, never to experience the joys of marriage and raising a family, as well as all the other challenges which go with living a full life. Sad indeed.
So it is with this in mind that I remember all those fallen through the years, including all those wounded and maimed, those who survived but whose lives were changed forever, those who suffered from PTSD and took their own lives because of the horror which they had lived. I'm forever in their gratitude, as we all should be, for without their sacrifices our current world would certainly be different.
May God continue to bless the USA.
I was in high school when the Vietnam War was raging. So many of the boys with whom I went to high school probably served and died over there. I can't name names, but the statistics would bear this out. While watching a program on the Vietnam War the other night, I learned that over 33,000 of our soldiers killed over there were only 18 years old! Eighteen!!! Young men on the threshold of their adult lives, cut down on foreign soil, never to experience the joys of marriage and raising a family, as well as all the other challenges which go with living a full life. Sad indeed.
So it is with this in mind that I remember all those fallen through the years, including all those wounded and maimed, those who survived but whose lives were changed forever, those who suffered from PTSD and took their own lives because of the horror which they had lived. I'm forever in their gratitude, as we all should be, for without their sacrifices our current world would certainly be different.
May God continue to bless the USA.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Planting Time
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Planting time has arrived. The soil has warmed up enough to plant seeds and seedlings, at least here in North Carolina. But I can't plant anything without preparing the soil, so I add fertilizer and dig and turn the soil over again and again, making it loose and well aerated.
Several years ago we purchased raised garden beds to put on the deck, raised on legs so the top of the planters are about hip height. We now have four of these, and they have taken away the back-breaking job of weeding and maintaining our vegetable gardens. Before I plant anything, I create a drawing of the four beds and decide where I'm going to put each vegetable, purchased weeks ago through a catalog. My tomato seedlings are also ready to be planted, so today, before the storms of this evening arrived, I planted my summer vegetable garden.
Even though the seeds are now in the ground, my work doesn't stop there. I'll be in the garden every day, waiting for the seeds to sprout and keeping a watchful eye out for any bugs which may destroy or damage my crop. Soon I'll see the different plants emerge, arching their stems toward the warm sun, then spreading their leaves to catch as much sunlight as possible. From experience, I know my garden, which has plenty of space between plants right now, will have little or no space between plants.
I'm continually amazed at how different seeds produce different fruit. All I have to do is put the seeds in the ground at the proper time, and God does the rest.
Just as each seed produces a specific fruit or vegetable, God has given each of us abilities to use for His glory. I can't try to imitate someone else's gift and expect to do what I'm not gifted to do just as I can't expect melon seeds to produce peppers. Each of us is different, and God knows what we are capable of doing, and if we allow Him to plant us where He wants to plant us and allow him to prune and fertilize us as needed,
we'll produce much fruit to bless others.
(The photo is of a previous year's garden.)
Planting time has arrived. The soil has warmed up enough to plant seeds and seedlings, at least here in North Carolina. But I can't plant anything without preparing the soil, so I add fertilizer and dig and turn the soil over again and again, making it loose and well aerated.
Several years ago we purchased raised garden beds to put on the deck, raised on legs so the top of the planters are about hip height. We now have four of these, and they have taken away the back-breaking job of weeding and maintaining our vegetable gardens. Before I plant anything, I create a drawing of the four beds and decide where I'm going to put each vegetable, purchased weeks ago through a catalog. My tomato seedlings are also ready to be planted, so today, before the storms of this evening arrived, I planted my summer vegetable garden.
Even though the seeds are now in the ground, my work doesn't stop there. I'll be in the garden every day, waiting for the seeds to sprout and keeping a watchful eye out for any bugs which may destroy or damage my crop. Soon I'll see the different plants emerge, arching their stems toward the warm sun, then spreading their leaves to catch as much sunlight as possible. From experience, I know my garden, which has plenty of space between plants right now, will have little or no space between plants.
I'm continually amazed at how different seeds produce different fruit. All I have to do is put the seeds in the ground at the proper time, and God does the rest.
Just as each seed produces a specific fruit or vegetable, God has given each of us abilities to use for His glory. I can't try to imitate someone else's gift and expect to do what I'm not gifted to do just as I can't expect melon seeds to produce peppers. Each of us is different, and God knows what we are capable of doing, and if we allow Him to plant us where He wants to plant us and allow him to prune and fertilize us as needed,
we'll produce much fruit to bless others.
(The photo is of a previous year's garden.)
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Struggles
Now that I'm in my "twilight years", I've been experiencing feelings of failure with so many things in my life; I have a lot of years behind me and plenty of time to think! However, I don't know if I'm comparing today's world with the world of my day. In today's world, we have technology which provides information and connectivity at the touch of a button. In my day, meaning the late 60's through the early 80's, we had nothing other than the local library and friends and family who could offer advice on child-rearing or any other struggle being faced. There were no play dates with other kids in the neighborhood or my circle of friends; my kids played with other kids on the block. There wasn't a vast array of books and websites from which to glean information on practically anything; we just had Dr. Spock and his book on child rearing. There were no exercise classes for baby and mommy, nor were there a variety of gyms from which to choose where you could exercise. Yes, things were vastly different those many years ago.
I mentioned several posts ago that I had spent 10 years in a children's home, from the ages of 8 to 18, and I left with very little knowledge of the real world and how it operated. I married a young man whom I'd met at a camp in upstate New York less than a year after I graduated from high school; he lived in Illinois, so we settled there, in his world, after we married. Motherhood came quickly, and the extended family I thought I had was non-existent, other than to play with my kids when we visited. I had no support or relative on whom to lean, not only during those years, but during my entire life. I never had anyone to mentor me or to model for me what a wife and/or mother and now grandmother looked like, especially one who called herself a Christian. I feel like I flew by the seat of my pants most of the time.
Needless to say, I've struggled with relationships and marriage all my life. It's not been easy, not only for me but also for my three sisters. All of us have been divorced.
Even attending church is vastly different now. I began attending an Assemblies of God Church back in the late 80's and have been attending Pentecostal churches ever since. The teaching I've received in these churches over the years has been a far cry from what I received as a child and young adult and mother in the Baptist and Methodist churches I attended. My walk with the Lord is so much deeper and different now, and I often wonder what my life could have been if I'd attended such churches when young and had had the knowledge of God and living for Him that I have now. I often wonder these things when I'm trying to fall asleep at night.
Despite my failures as a mom, my kids have solid marriages and happy families, for which I'm eternally grateful to God because He covered my failures and shortcomings with His glorious grace! If not for God, the thoughts of suicide which invaded my mind many times during my 20's may have won out in action. I've been to counseling several times throughout my life, and one of my counselors told me that "for all you've been through, you should be a drug addict or an alcoholic." I thank God that He held me in the palm of His hand during all those years of failure and sin, never letting me go until I came back into His presence and let Him take control of my life. But, being the sinful person I am, I still struggle with being all that God has called me to be, yet He hasn't given up on me and never will.
I've tried to be transparent in this post and hope it touches someone, giving hope and faith that God will never leave you nor forsake you either. I've experienced His faithfulness firsthand, and you can, too.
I mentioned several posts ago that I had spent 10 years in a children's home, from the ages of 8 to 18, and I left with very little knowledge of the real world and how it operated. I married a young man whom I'd met at a camp in upstate New York less than a year after I graduated from high school; he lived in Illinois, so we settled there, in his world, after we married. Motherhood came quickly, and the extended family I thought I had was non-existent, other than to play with my kids when we visited. I had no support or relative on whom to lean, not only during those years, but during my entire life. I never had anyone to mentor me or to model for me what a wife and/or mother and now grandmother looked like, especially one who called herself a Christian. I feel like I flew by the seat of my pants most of the time.
Needless to say, I've struggled with relationships and marriage all my life. It's not been easy, not only for me but also for my three sisters. All of us have been divorced.
Even attending church is vastly different now. I began attending an Assemblies of God Church back in the late 80's and have been attending Pentecostal churches ever since. The teaching I've received in these churches over the years has been a far cry from what I received as a child and young adult and mother in the Baptist and Methodist churches I attended. My walk with the Lord is so much deeper and different now, and I often wonder what my life could have been if I'd attended such churches when young and had had the knowledge of God and living for Him that I have now. I often wonder these things when I'm trying to fall asleep at night.
Despite my failures as a mom, my kids have solid marriages and happy families, for which I'm eternally grateful to God because He covered my failures and shortcomings with His glorious grace! If not for God, the thoughts of suicide which invaded my mind many times during my 20's may have won out in action. I've been to counseling several times throughout my life, and one of my counselors told me that "for all you've been through, you should be a drug addict or an alcoholic." I thank God that He held me in the palm of His hand during all those years of failure and sin, never letting me go until I came back into His presence and let Him take control of my life. But, being the sinful person I am, I still struggle with being all that God has called me to be, yet He hasn't given up on me and never will.
I've tried to be transparent in this post and hope it touches someone, giving hope and faith that God will never leave you nor forsake you either. I've experienced His faithfulness firsthand, and you can, too.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
House Cleaning
Through the years I've written several devotional readings, and I'll be posting them on occasion. I hope they bless you.
You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also. Matthew 23:26
I think most women will agree with me about housecleaning -- it isn't a job we necessarily enjoy and it's far from appreciated by those who live with us -- but it's something that must be done. I haven't yet figured out how to live in my home and keep it from getting dirty; there just isn't a way. Now, I could give my house a thorough cleaning, lock the door and go live somewhere else, but what would that accomplish? My husband wouldn't be happy about leaving his home, nor would my cats! And the new place in which we lived would get dirty and need to be cleaned, too, even as the house I locked up would still get dusty. There's no way around it; housecleaning is a fact of life, a necessity, and a job which must be done over and over again.
I'm happy with the thought that when I get to my heavenly mansion, I won't have to clean it. I don't know how that's going to work, but I'm certain God is going to deliver us from the drudgery of daily life on this earth.
But in the meantime, I'm still here, so I have to vacuum and dust my home on a regular basis, as well as clean the bathrooms. If I don't, the hardwood floors would have dust bunnies on them, the area rugs would be covered with dirt and cat fur, and the furniture would be useful as a writing tablet with all the dust on it. Often I have to force myself to do the housecleaning, and it can be pretty disheartening because I know that a few days later, it won't even look like I've cleaned the place, and I'll have to do it again. Thankfully, Bob helps with the vacuuming!
Despite all this drudgery, I do find an element of satisfaction in cleaning my home. God gave us a lovely home, furnished and decorated with nice things, and I can show my thanks and honor God by taking care of what He's given us. And strangely, I also find joy and a sense of accomplishment in doing a good job. Even though it may not be outwardly noticed or appreciated by our family members, we need to remember that God sees our hard work and appreciates it' we give Him glory by our hard work.
Our hearts are our spiritual homes, and we must keep them clean also. Just as I clean my house, I must seek forgiveness and mercy at the feet of my Heavenly Father on a regular basis for the dirt, the sin, that creeps into my life. If I allow sin and its friends to inhabit my heart, my soul, I'll become dirty within, and that will be reflected in my outward life. But if I keep my heart clean before God and allow Him to work in me, my outward life will reflect Hs character, His likeness. The satisfaction and joy I experience by living this way is far greater than the way I feel after cleaning my physical house.
We need to keep our spiritual homes in order, clean and tidy, for only then will we feel comfortable with Christ living in us. If we have dirty, hidden rooms, locked up tight so no one can see what's inside, including God, we won't want God walking around our spiritual homes, for He will ask us to open those doors which we've closed to Him. Then, and only then, can God cleanse us and flood our dark rooms with light; He will help us keep every room in our hearts clean and open to His loving care.
You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of the plate, so that the outside may be clean also. Matthew 23:26
I think most women will agree with me about housecleaning -- it isn't a job we necessarily enjoy and it's far from appreciated by those who live with us -- but it's something that must be done. I haven't yet figured out how to live in my home and keep it from getting dirty; there just isn't a way. Now, I could give my house a thorough cleaning, lock the door and go live somewhere else, but what would that accomplish? My husband wouldn't be happy about leaving his home, nor would my cats! And the new place in which we lived would get dirty and need to be cleaned, too, even as the house I locked up would still get dusty. There's no way around it; housecleaning is a fact of life, a necessity, and a job which must be done over and over again.
I'm happy with the thought that when I get to my heavenly mansion, I won't have to clean it. I don't know how that's going to work, but I'm certain God is going to deliver us from the drudgery of daily life on this earth.
But in the meantime, I'm still here, so I have to vacuum and dust my home on a regular basis, as well as clean the bathrooms. If I don't, the hardwood floors would have dust bunnies on them, the area rugs would be covered with dirt and cat fur, and the furniture would be useful as a writing tablet with all the dust on it. Often I have to force myself to do the housecleaning, and it can be pretty disheartening because I know that a few days later, it won't even look like I've cleaned the place, and I'll have to do it again. Thankfully, Bob helps with the vacuuming!
Despite all this drudgery, I do find an element of satisfaction in cleaning my home. God gave us a lovely home, furnished and decorated with nice things, and I can show my thanks and honor God by taking care of what He's given us. And strangely, I also find joy and a sense of accomplishment in doing a good job. Even though it may not be outwardly noticed or appreciated by our family members, we need to remember that God sees our hard work and appreciates it' we give Him glory by our hard work.
Our hearts are our spiritual homes, and we must keep them clean also. Just as I clean my house, I must seek forgiveness and mercy at the feet of my Heavenly Father on a regular basis for the dirt, the sin, that creeps into my life. If I allow sin and its friends to inhabit my heart, my soul, I'll become dirty within, and that will be reflected in my outward life. But if I keep my heart clean before God and allow Him to work in me, my outward life will reflect Hs character, His likeness. The satisfaction and joy I experience by living this way is far greater than the way I feel after cleaning my physical house.
We need to keep our spiritual homes in order, clean and tidy, for only then will we feel comfortable with Christ living in us. If we have dirty, hidden rooms, locked up tight so no one can see what's inside, including God, we won't want God walking around our spiritual homes, for He will ask us to open those doors which we've closed to Him. Then, and only then, can God cleanse us and flood our dark rooms with light; He will help us keep every room in our hearts clean and open to His loving care.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Spring Brings Hummingbirds
Today is Sunday, a day of rest, or at least it's supposed to be a day of rest. My husband and I worked in the yard, doing what I consider to be relaxing, yet it was work still the same. I planted some creeping phlox and hollyhocks in a huge pot and am looking forward to the time when the blooms on the hollyhocks attract the hummingbirds which frequent our yard. We've taken videos of them fighting territorial battles and "dancing" to attract a mate around our feeders. They are such amazing creatures, the only bird which can fly backwards and hover over a flower as their long tongue sips the nectar from a flower. We'll be putting up our feeders in a week or two as the hummingbirds have always come back the first or second week of April in this part of North Carolina. We always get excited at their return!
Thought for the day: Like a spring of pure water, God's peace in our hearts brings cleansing and refreshment to our minds and bodies. --- Billy Graham
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Thought for the day
Thought for the day: C.S. Lewis: "God gives His gifts where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them."
I guess we need to be empty of ourselves so we can receive the fullness of God.
I guess we need to be empty of ourselves so we can receive the fullness of God.
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