Almost Spring…well…

 Actually spring began March 21st, but it is always a little bit late reaching us in Ontario. I am trying my hand at winter sowing…

I planted mostly flowers from seed in the bins. I planted them mid February and they are just beginning to pop up. We still get freezing temperatures at night so they are growing quite slowly and many of the seeds have yet to show any signs of life. I was beginning to think it wasn’t working and that all my seeds had died. So I searched the Internet to find out more and discovered that it can take up to 8 weeks for the seeds to sprout! 

Only a few parsley plants showing up in this one so far…can you see them?

Does that help? Yeah, just barely out of the ground…man, this process requires patience!! 

Some sunflowers and lupines….

Black flowered Johnny jump ups and bee balm starting up in this one…

Crocus

Miniature iris

Around the garden some of my bulbs are pushing up through the soil. A couple have even started flowering!

A storm is brewing. Time to go inside and do some more housework ☺️ 

February is Beautiful

 Well, it’s a bit cold outside, and windy, and we are supposed to get rain later today….but for February it’s quite beautiful, actually.

There are patches of snow still on the ground…

About 44 Fahrenheit, practically summer! 😃 Just kidding…

I am experimenting with winter sowing, I’m trying it in plastic totes. I’ll let you know if it works. 

I will be posting on my other blog later today. You can find the link to my other blog on the sidebar —-> it is called “Bible Treasures and pearls”. I’ve been neglecting that blog… I want to take a bit of a deep dive into being born again vs. trying to earn salvation and it’s a heavier topic than I want for this blog site, so if you check back tomorrow it should be up.

Pray that your day is blessed with noticing the many tiny miracles the Lord blesses us with FOR FREE simply through living life.

Seek Ye First…..

 

Hebrews 1:10-12 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

***

Life’s briefness has been heavily on my mind lately….

While standing in line at the grocery store we may sometimes feel like “it takes forever”, but when we really contemplate the matter these and other moments pass by us quickly. This has truly been impressed upon me recently when I got notified that a dear friend of mine passed away in January. “But how can that be?” I thought to myself as my mind struggled to believe the truth of it. 

I visited his Facebook page and read the condolences and well wishes directed toward his family. I reminisced on my time as his student years ago, twenty years…has it really been THAT long ago??? He often placed “likes” on many of my Facebook posts but he will never interact with me on social media again…no more corny jokes, no more sharing of inspirational quotes and scripture verses. 

My conversations with him now will be one sided, from me to the memory of him, of things I would still like to share with him, enjoy with him, to hear his point of view …silence…

The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible mentions the fleetingness of our mortal existence here. It points out how meaningless life is unless we see the bigger picture with  the Lord included in it. If our lives are empty of God’s grace and mercy what would be the point of living at all?…. if it all ends in nothingness? What would be the point of struggling through life, working and toiling to attempt at making a fortune… or perhaps even just to strive at paying the bills on time… until one day comes death and then ….

…nothing….

Is that all there really is???

But Jesus said there is much more than what we see here, and that the Kingdom of God is very near to each one of us. He told many parables of what that Kingdom of heaven is like and to desire it more than all the riches of earth.

He said “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (temporary fleeting things) shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. 

But if we only seek after the temporary things which are here today and gone tomorrow, we will end up with nothing, because the truth is we cannot take any of those things with us when we leave this world. 

So seek the thing that will be with you even after time on earth has come to completion for you, what Jesus died to share with you. Seek His mercy and His grace while you still have time and He will give it to you free of charge, already paid for with His own blood. Don’t waste another minute of the time that is fleeting, chasing after the wind. 

Hear His voice calling you, 

answer His call to you,

bask in His mercy and His love for you….

Life will still be hard, but it will have infinite meaning.

Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

1Timothy 6:17-19 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

For God so Loved the World….

 

Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying Master, which is the great commandment in the law?Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This passage seems simple enough on first glance, and I have seen explanations for Jesus’ words that I think do not fit the context. I’ve heard it explained that the first portion “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God…” to mean 1-4 of the Ten Commandments and “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” to refer to 6-10 of the Ten Commandments. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees here and they were very aware of all of the Old Testament including the Ten Commandments so it would seem out of place for Jesus to be saying to obsessed rule keepers another way of saying “keep the commandments”. They believed that they did so better than anyone else. But how did Jesus show His love for the Father and for us? Jesus showed His love by laying down His life; He died for us in accordance with the Father’s will.

Do we love God enough to die in place of our enemies? 

THAT is what Jesus is saying, and He affirmed this when He showed us that kind of love; a love that is impossible unless the love of God resides in our heart, mind and soul; a love that can only be carried out by His strength through us. May He grant us that simple yet profound and powerful kind of love.

John 15:13 Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.