Fruit

Today I needed to walk down into town (2 blocks) and decided to walk a bit further...it's a gorgeous day! The sun is out, and there is just enough breeze, not too hot, not too cold, just right!

On the way I decided to see if someone was home, for a nice surprise visit)... I saw....

...an apple tree full of apples!...

...many apples had already fallen to the ground! :(

How can I refuse such a generous offer???

...and they are so delicious too!

I picked them from the tree, not from the ground....I hate waste but not enough to chance picking up bad fruit.

The apple situation got me thinking about Eve in the garden of Eden, and I know, I know, it probably wasn't an apple...(how many other traditions are probably all wrong?)...still...I pondered, the tree, the forbidden fruit, the snake, the beautiful garden, what a tragic loss....and yet, the Lord in His goodness provided a means of recovering what was lost....!!! Yet so many would rather have their forbidden fruit of seeing it their own way, rotten fruit, what a waste!

Genesis 3:8-14 (KJV) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.   

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him,

 Where art thou?   

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.   

And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 

 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  

 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? 

And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.   

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, 

Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life...

 They both knew they had done wrong, their guilt caused them to hide from the Lord, and then pass on their guilt to their companions when confronted with it. We still do the same today, even blaming the Lord for our guilt, saying like Paul said we would: "Why did you make us this way, it isn't our fault because you, God, made us to be this way". 

Romans 9:20 (KJV) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

 And yet the Lord doesn't argue the point with us, though clearly we are wrong. 

Whether it was an apple, or a banana, or an apricot, is not the point...we often look at things in such a manner that we miss the entire lesson that is there for us. No matter what excuses we may come up with to excuse our sin, it is still sin, and there are consequences, and God by His grace and mercy will save some (many?) forgiving sin by His blood shed on a cross, a most cruel punishment, so that we might live forever with Him.

In Real Life...Update

A couple of updates on what is going on in my "real life" world, outside of cyberspace...

My love for the Lord seems to ever increase, even with (especially with?) the terrible things I see going on, people who maintain they were "true Christians" and now say they don't believe in Jesus or the Bible and even post on Hinduism (for crying out loud) when you don't believe the truth you'll fall for anything, eh? I get so much peace and comfort from reading the scriptures, a peace that truly goes beyond my intellect or understanding, and I am truly thankful and content with life, and pray that no matter what happens, with everything going down the tubes so quickly anymore, that the Lord will be my strength and my shield when tshtf, that I won't give in to save my flesh...

So anyway, here are a couple of things that are going on here at our house...

Recently there was a townwide yard sale...but as these things sometimes go, it poured rain all day of the event. We were thinking of participating in it, but my husband decided to put it off for next year, and good thing because it was quite a rain and we have no tent...some diehards were out there in the rain with tents and I did go to a couple of their homes...I purchased a nice shelf for eight bucks!

At another house there was exercise equipment...I asked hubby about it, he said he already had plans for my exercise equipment and surprised me with a gift a few days ago...

Yeah, ok, very funny honey... :)

The garden is doing nicely however the weeds are doing best of all...I had decided last year that I would try my hand at doing it all from cuttings and seeds, so my plants, although they are doing well, are still small:

 The two scraggly looking plants are herbs: rosemary, watercress, basil, chives and cilantro (the tallest plant), okay they don't seem to be doing so great....started the herbs from seeds.

These are mostly all from seed, a few are from cuttings, my petunias (from seed) are growing well however still have not flowered...an aunt who has a gorgeous flowering garden credits Miracle Grow plant food...may have to go get some of that, been using an off brand plant food, some things just require spending the extra bucks.

These by our front door are also from cuttings, the red flowers are begonias that I rescued when they were hanging plants downtown. They are doing very well! The Dutch in me loves the fact that they were free! Bonus!

Yesterday I found this dead mole in our grass...

I truly never knew they have such an ugly snout!

And all that gardening leaves my joints more achey than ever, so when I saw an article promising relief from joint discomfort by drinking gelatin in water I had to give it a try. I had some last night; used half a packet in a glass of water, and had some again first thing in the morning. I must say that I noticed relief in my hands and feet this morning. Yesterday my feet were so stiff I hobbled around the house like I was 80 years old (sorry to any 80 year old who doesn't hobble that may be reading this). I have arthritis and joint pain from the wear and tear on my body from pushing heavy x-ray equipment and heavy patients; back pain, shoulder pain, pain in my hips...so I thought I might notice a slight benefit and any slight benefit would be a wonderful and welcome thing. This morning I walked down our staircase without having to brace myself compared with yesterday when I had to hang on to the walls as I painfully descended them....and my hands, I was barely able to close them yesterday, today I even can clench my fist tightly which I was unable to do yesterday because of the previous stiffness. I do still notice slight stiffness in my fingers but nothing like it was before starting this. Thank the Lord for this find! As a side note, the joint  cartilage which wears away as we age is made of the same material that makes up the myelin sheath which encase our nerves, so I also see this having potential benefit for nerve pain.

Anyway, you have been updated! Praise the Lord for His goodness, mercy and grace! He is worthy of our thanksgiving and praise! :)

Random Thoughts

It has been very rainy here lately...which is great! My plants are loving it!

I got a few cuttings from a fellow lover of gardening...she gave me some bleeding hearts stems, we are both novices at this so neither of us was sure if you can start bleeding hearts from stem cuttings....well I've discovered that you can!!!! I'm thrilled!

It doesn't look like much yet....

however if you look very close...

...a new leaf!!!!!

I took a walk to run a quick errand and saw a friend...

he looks very much like the frog I saved last year...

but larger....same spot along the road as last year...

he's almost the size of the palm of my hand...

(pic from last year),
he was about the size of my thumb...

could it be...?

I have much to get done, the weeds are taking over so I have to go out and vanquish the enemy! Hope you are enjoying the summer as much as I am :-)

Blogging vs. Time

We've been incredibly busy lately so I haven't had much time for blogging...  The past week or so I've been digging around the yard doing gardening.

As you can see I still have a lot of work to do...

Not a whole lot is in bloom right now, the tulips just finished, and I started annuals from seeds, and sadly they still are only about 2 inches tall, and also started a vegetable garden, which isn't showing anything yet, I'd show you in pictures, but it's kinda depressing...

Working out in the yard with plants and dirt always brings to mind Jesus parable about the sower and the four soils:

Luke 8:4-15 (KJV)

 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.

And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?  And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

Now the parable is this:

The seed is the word of God.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.


When I was a child in the SDA church I remember a sermon preached on the four soils, and I remember sending a hope to heaven that I was "good soil". I'm thankful for this parable because it opened my eyes to the truth, and how easily it could be snatched away from me by an evil enemy of my soul, and instilled in me the notion that I had to be tenacious and stubborn...thankfully those are traits I have (sometimes to other people's frustration) and are put to good use in my walk with Jesus :) 

A Little R & R

I recently returned from an amazing trip with my husband...I will share a few photos in this posting, maybe to go into more detail at a future date...or maybe not, God knows :)

This was taken at a rest stop, we did quite a bit of driving, it was good to get out and stretch our legs...

...it was a huge rest stop,

and the view was spectacular;

we were somewhere between Phoenix and Flagstaff...

these images don't do it justice

I don't know those people, 

they just happened to get in my shot...

the cacti are just beginning to blossom

I can only imagine how beautiful the desert will be

in a week or two...

Our little road trip was so amazing, we decided on the spur of the moment to go west, and it was so wonderful! I only wish we could do it more often...but oh so thankful we could do it at all...

Well, that's all I have time for today :)  <3

Winter is coming

Snow is on the horizon....and so it was time to take down the shrubs however the mum's (which I have waited so long and patiently to bloom) finally opened up a week ago. Sigh. I really didn't want to take them down right after they finally made an appearance. So anticlimactic. Therefore I rescued some of the blossoms for vases. Now I can enjoy them a little longer.

YAY! 

Horticulture

Update on my garden: it is still blooming and looking wonderful.

Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd:
        and their soul shall be as a watered garden;
               and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
                          Jeremiah 31:12 (KJV)

I've been thinking about this verse. When I go outside to water, all the thirsty plants drink in the water and make me so glad and uplifted. Lately we've been getting some rain so I haven't had to water them as much. I just go out and enjoy their beauty.

Many of my annuals are forming seeds so I've been gathering them to try to start them from seed in the spring. I have some flowers that I haven't seen that particular color variety before so it'll be wonderful if I am successful.

I'm also experimenting with trying my hand at starting new plants from cuttings...

I started these about a week ago and they are still green...it's a good sign. :)

The packets next to the plants are all of my seed gatherings.

I've also been thinking about the parable of Jesus when He related hearers to four soils. If I wasn't around to have prepared the ground it would have been rocky and weedy and trampled by careless passersby,  and it wouldn't have gotten the water it needs. It makes me aware of the fact that I'm thankful the Lord prepared me to hear Him, and since that time I've continually sought Him to help keep the weeds at bay and water me in times of drought. There was a time I was very stubborn and thought I knew better for myself than anyone else. I am thankful that I was able to lay down that arrogance and self-pride. God showed me a much better way.

Hear the parable of the sower of the four soils:

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, 

Behold, a sower went forth to sow;   And when he sowed, 

some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:  

For this people's heart is waxed gross, 

and their ears are dull of hearing, 

and their eyes they have closed; 

lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.  

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

  

 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 

  

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Matthew 13:4-23 (KJV)

At one time or another I was all of the above soils. I had a praying grandmother when I was a small child, so perhaps this is why the Lord never gave up on me. I also remember hearing the parable of the four soils preached by our Seventh day Adventist pastor when I was about 11 years old, and I remember there coming a silent unspoken response in me, a thought that came to me that said: "I hope that I am that good soil, God please make me the good soil"...and I believe He heard my heart and began even then preparing my "ground". However I was still going to go through the other phases of poor soils and I still would mock those who believed in Jesus thinking myself so much more superior than those poor, silly, superstitious morons. I would still go through many terrible situations and if I would have died then I know I would have gone straight to hell, and yet I didn't die at that time, and believe me when I say that there were several times that I could have and absolutely should have, and yet somehow He kept me from killing myself through my blind stupidity. He prepared my soil during this time, answering the silent prayer of a little girl in a heretical "church" and yet He was able to get through to me in this church that taught heresies because He spoke to me through that portion of the sermon when the pastor read actual words from the Bible.

I'm not recommending this as a good procedure.
Not at all.
It just proves the fact that God can even use a talking donkey to do His work.
It wasn't overnight.
It took MANY years in developing.
He was faithful even when I wasn't.

I just hope I am half as good a gardener as the Lord is (even that I think would be exceedingly abounding), and can grow a successful garden next year from my cuttings and seedlings. 

<3

Beetle Problem

A terrible development on the home front...

Lately I have been battling a small but formidable foe in my garden:

a small yet voracious eater of my blossoms and greenery...and they fly! These guys have done major damage to my cana-lilies and petunias.

This means war!

It's Almost Spring...

Technically, it IS spring, it's just not acting like it yet. Spring means beautiful flowers, and gardening and planting. At one time I had a garden. The soil... well, you couldn't really call it soil, it was so full of clay that hardened that it was more like solid concrete. I tried planting a garden. I planted cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and zucchini. I did end up harvesting about a half dozen bell peppers about the size of cherry tomatoes, and the tomato caterpillars got all my tomatoes. I remember when I tried to dig the ground and clear the weeds thinking about how backwards creation is. I had to work very hard to coax plants that I  wanted to stay alive, but the ones I didn't want grew like...weeds. Sigh. It wasn't like that in the garden of Eden. I don't think there was such a thing as a weed there. Everything grew nicely (I imagine) not out of control and haywire all over the place. And the soil must've been perfect and lush and full of minerals. The garden did need tending, but I don't believe that is was as back-breaking to care for as a garden of today is.

Paraíso - Jan Bruegel

In the Bible, the first mentioned garden is the garden of Eden. And what is mentioned in Revelation about the new earth sounds like a garden of Eden restored. Are there other gardens mentioned between the first and the last?



There's this one:


Deu 11:9  And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD swore unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deu 11:10  For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
Deu 11:11  But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:
Deu 11:12  A land which the LORD thy God careth for the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
Deu 11:13  And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deu 11:14  That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
Deu 11:15  And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

and what about this account of Ahab and Jezebel?

The Song of Solomon mentions a garden of spices

and this promise of the Lord:

Isa 51:3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

and:

Jer 31:12  Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

and the Bible tells us that satan:

Eze 28:13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

and this incredible passage that speaks to Pharaoh of Egypt about the beauty (greater than any of the trees in Eden) and deadliness of pride and how someone that is caught in pride will come to a terrible end

and the coming destruction:

Joe 2:1  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Joe 2:3  A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. (this is an amazing chapter to read see it here)

In this search, I discovered something about the garden of Gethsemane (which is what I've always heard it called, and what I've always referred to the place where Jesus prayed at the time He was arrested)...that isn't what the Bible calls it.

Mat 26:36  Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

Mar 14:32  And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
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Can you tell that I want the spring flowers to be blooming again? Sigh...soon...soon and as beautiful as spring is here on earth it won't compare with the beauty that the Lord has planned for His children when we are with Him...