I was talking with my friend and mentor this morning. She was sharing about her garden. She has added a fountain, has flowers planted, a garden growing, a sitting area there to enjoy and admire the fruits of her labor. As I was on the phone with her I walked outside to sit and look at my own yard. Now remember that I did attend college for horticulture/floriculture. However, my yard looked as if an abandon home had it's yard mowed. My rose garden is completely overran with weeds, the English Ivy has taken over the fence and all the bushes that landscape the front porch, the birdseed feeder is gone, the naked ladies, iris' and tulips are not blooming. It is really quite a sad sight. My husband is wonderful at making sure our yard is mowed and the edges trimmed so that we aren't fined for having a pasture in town. I am not committed to following through with the little extras that turn our yard from just serving a purpose to being a delight to the senses.
I have no natural gifting in the area of gardening. And since I have accepted that I have allowed this to be an excuse for how our yard appears. I keep hoping one of our neighbors will nominate us for some HGTV special for someone who needs help, but so far neither Ty Pennington or any of his costars have rang the doorbell.
In Psalms 44:1 the writer says that he knows of God because his ears have heard about all God has done for his father. As I posted about faithbooking last week, I realized that what started out to be something tangible for me to remember and see God's works in my life, it will be equally important for my kids to be able to look through and see also. How will my children grow to know Him unless I'm talking about Him? How will my children grow to love Him unless they see us love Him and see the love He has for us? It is my responsibility to tend to the hearts of my own children so that they bear the fruits of the Spirit. Left to themselves they will develop just as my yard has. They might have the appearance of a fresh cut but there is nothing more that they are growing. The areas in their hearts that with pruning could produce beautiful flowers and delicious fruits to offer others, may eventually be choked with weeds from lack of proper feeding.
I issued a challenge last week to find 5 things a day to be thankful for, I'm going to put a little twist on that challenge. In addition to those 5 things, find one thing each day in which God showed Himself real to you that day. No matter how big or small.
For example: I was mad at my husband and was going to leave without a note just to prove my point and give him a little scare even if it was just to WalMart for a couple of hours. My van which has had no problems before, would start and then die after a second or two not allowing me to get anywhere. It eventually made it to the middle of the drive and I left it parked there. Allen got home, I let him know the van was broke. He got in, started it and drove around the block and it has been fine every since. I knew at the time it was childish behavior, but to be honest I really didn't care. God allowed me time to cool off without doing anything stupid to cause more conflict.
Many blessings to you this day as you tend your own little gardens.
I have no natural gifting in the area of gardening. And since I have accepted that I have allowed this to be an excuse for how our yard appears. I keep hoping one of our neighbors will nominate us for some HGTV special for someone who needs help, but so far neither Ty Pennington or any of his costars have rang the doorbell.
In Psalms 44:1 the writer says that he knows of God because his ears have heard about all God has done for his father. As I posted about faithbooking last week, I realized that what started out to be something tangible for me to remember and see God's works in my life, it will be equally important for my kids to be able to look through and see also. How will my children grow to know Him unless I'm talking about Him? How will my children grow to love Him unless they see us love Him and see the love He has for us? It is my responsibility to tend to the hearts of my own children so that they bear the fruits of the Spirit. Left to themselves they will develop just as my yard has. They might have the appearance of a fresh cut but there is nothing more that they are growing. The areas in their hearts that with pruning could produce beautiful flowers and delicious fruits to offer others, may eventually be choked with weeds from lack of proper feeding.
I issued a challenge last week to find 5 things a day to be thankful for, I'm going to put a little twist on that challenge. In addition to those 5 things, find one thing each day in which God showed Himself real to you that day. No matter how big or small.
For example: I was mad at my husband and was going to leave without a note just to prove my point and give him a little scare even if it was just to WalMart for a couple of hours. My van which has had no problems before, would start and then die after a second or two not allowing me to get anywhere. It eventually made it to the middle of the drive and I left it parked there. Allen got home, I let him know the van was broke. He got in, started it and drove around the block and it has been fine every since. I knew at the time it was childish behavior, but to be honest I really didn't care. God allowed me time to cool off without doing anything stupid to cause more conflict.
Many blessings to you this day as you tend your own little gardens.
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