Pulled some weeds today…

… and not just in my garden.

Ahhhhh, to get down and get dirty in my flowerbeds. This year they seemed even more overgrown with early spring weeds than any other year we’ve lived here.  I knew I had my work cut out for me so I did the front bed last week and tackled the backyard bed today.

Some of those stinkin’ things were so stinkin’ DEEP.  I had to pull with all the muscles I had in my legs and back (and I’m still feeling it…).  Other weeds were widespread, easy to pull but ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE.  Some weeds are sneaky – they actually look endearing, as if they were begging to be left since they “look” like they belong there, like a shrub or flowers.  I filled a whole black garbage bag with weeds from the front flowerbed, and another for those in the back.  And to think… I haven’t even touched the vegetable garden yet.  Well, those will be matched with the mega-tiller soon.  There’s no way I could tackle those on my own.

For me, garden time is my quiet place (one of them).  Usually it’s just me, God and the greenery.  I can chat quietly with my Father and He whispers to me with His sweet words.  Today we talked about sin.

Weeds are a lot like sin.  Sometimes they’re so DEEP that you have to use all your (faith) muscles to dig them out.  It requires work, it’s probably going to hurt, and the only way to ensure they don’t come back is to pull them from the root.  Other sins are WIDESPREAD.  It may be a common sin that “everyone’s doing” and you can justify it easily.  Those can be easier to “pull”, but just as necessary that they get rooted from the flowerbed. Finally, there are those SNEAKY sins.  They actually are pleasant to the eye, so one may think it’s ok to leave them there… but the truth is, they’re still sins.  They have to go. Time in the word and communication with the Master Gardener are essential to pulling all of these types of “weeds”.

Then, there’s those sins need the “mega-tiller”.  They need a serious movement from God, a changing of the heart (repentance) and a change of path.  They need to be ground up, chopped up and destroyed so they don’t return.  You have to pull out the big guns of accountability, extensive time in the TRUTH of God’s word, and powerful, constant and fervent prayer to blast away the weeds and have victory in the garden of your soul.

In order to prepare the flowerbed for a beautiful, bountiful array of flowers, the weeds have to go!  Weeds will overtake the flowers, strangle them, hide them, and steal the nutrients that they need.  You can’t have a flourishing garden and keep the weeds. The garden first needs to be cleared of the junk to be open and ready for the luscious growth.

WEEDS: Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.  Galatians 5: 19-21

PULL THEM OUT… TO MAKE ROOM FOR –

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-25

SO WE CAN BE FRUITFUL FOR HIS GLORY!

Let’s pull out those sins from the roots, bag ‘em up and leave ‘em behind so we can live in the fertilized soil of His goodness.  You can’t have weeds AND fruit/flowers.  One of them has to go… I say WEEDS!

Happy EASTER!

The tomb is empty.  Jesus defeated death.  He is RISEN.  He is ALIVE!!!

I pray this day that each person reading this knows Jesus personally as Lord and Savior, Redeemer, Friend.  I wrote a post a few years ago that may help you if you’re not sure.  Jesus REALLY loves you and all that is represented in this weekend (Jesus’ death, burial and RESURRECTION) was for YOU! Give Him your life today!

That Saturday

The disciples were in shock. What just happened?? I-I-I thought He was Jesus. I thought He was the Messiah. Imagine their grief, their doubt, their confusion. That Saturday was probably one of the longest days of their lives. They were living in Saturday, but they didn’t know what the next day would bring. They didn’t know THE REST OF THE STORY. Even though Jesus told them the rest of the story, it didn’t sink in. It didn’t make sense.

We spend a lot of time stuck in Saturday. We experience trials, grief, doubt, challenges, hurts, confusion. Saturdays seem to take so long, because we don’t know the REST OF THE STORY. But, just like the disciples, Jesus has given us the rest of the story. We have a hope in Him. Saturdays require faith. Saturdays require great faith, waiting on what you cannot see, trusting in a faithful God.

Micah 7:7 “I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”
*We have a God who hears and doesn’t leave us.

Col. 3:24 “You will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord.”
*Sometimes we won’t see the reward until we get to heaven. Still trust Him.

Heb. 6:19 “We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure.”
*Jesus is our anchor.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
*He goes before us.

Romans 8:25-28 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.
In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
*We can hope by faith in what we cannot see.
*We are not alone, the Spirit is within us.
*He will work things out.

Today is Saturday, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. If you’re living in a Saturday, have HOPE in the One who hears, cares and knows what tomorrow brings.

Dog Talk

Dog lover.  If you are one, you’ll totally get this post. If not, you’ll think I’m nuts… if you don’t already .

What do you call your dogs?  We have two doggies in our fam.  Nala, a 6 year old Golden Retriever (my BABY) and Scooter, a 4 year old Teacup Yorkie (AKA, the bad one).  Although they have relatively cute doggie names, I rarely call them Nala or Scooter.  For a glimpse into my dog-lovers heart, I share the reDUNK-u-lous sounds/names that I call my doggies.

Nala: Nala-Katala.  The Most-Beautifulest One. The Mostest. Nala-Katala-Chi-Chi-Wah-Wah. Oooz. Mama-zona. Mama-zona-from-Arizona.

Scooter: Scootie-badootie. Scoot-the-poop. Wuzza-wuzza. Zaaz. Zoooh. Zaaz-zoo. Zho-Zho. Zhu-Zhu. BAD DOG.

What re-DUNK-u-lous stuff do you say to your doggies (pets)???

Raising Katniss

Hunger Games.   A story of teenagers killing other teenagers.  Well, if that’s the only story line you’ve heard about, I can understand that you’d think it’s a bit grotesque, absurd, and unnecessary in this day and age.  But that’s not it.  (BTW, exit stage left if you haven’t read the books or watched the movie and are going to, because there may be “spoilers” below…)

I don’t want to focus on the whole story, but on one character. Katniss Everdeen. I absolutely loved her (and the actress they got to play her in the movie did a phenomenal job!).  She is such an example of courage and bravery.  She’s an example of character that stood strong amidst adverse situations. But, even more so, she was an example of putting others before herself… even to the point of willing to die for another.

No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13  Hmmmmm, reminds me of Someone I know…

A friend noted this about Katniss, “She showed selfless love and was uncompromising in her convictions in the face of social pressure/survival.”

I want to raise a Katniss.  I want to raise two Katnisses.  I pray my daughters will grow up to have such courage and love for others (out of a love for Christ) that they would put others before themselves and live uncompromised.  Shoot. I want to be a Katniss.

Did you read/see Hunger Games?  What did you take away from it?

Jesus

I don’t want to be cynical, bossy, angry, frustrated, impatient, unkind, critical, doubtful, unfeeling, insincere, hateful, greedy, unthankful, disrespectful or undisciplined.

Bottom line.  I.Need.Jesus.

¹³ Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure. ¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am made out of flesh, sold into sin’s power.¹⁵ For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. ¹⁷ So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. ²¹ So I discover this principle: When I want to do what is good, evil is with me. ²² For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God’s law. ²³ But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body? ²⁵ I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin. Romans 7:13-25

¹⁶ I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Gal. 5:16-18

³¹ Jesus replied to them, “The healthy don’t need a doctor, but the sick do. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32  Thank You, Jesus.

Help us, Lord.

Spring has SPRUNG!

Spring. My favorite season. It’s a time of rebirth, growth, newness, life. The birds chirp, the trees bud and up here in the north, we come out of hibernation. What? We still have neighbors??

This spring has been like no other that I remember in my lifetime. The last day of winter was 83 degrees and the first day of spring was 85!!! Don’t get me wrong, summer is a close 2nd as far as favorite seasons go, so I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the unseasonably summer-like weather.

Normally in March we are still sloshing around in new or leftover snow. We may get teased with a “warm day” of like 60*. But, for the most part, we’re still hunkered down, avoiding the cold at any cost. Bundled from head to toe in winter attire, wishing we could head south for spring break.

Ahhhhhhh, but this spring we busted out shorts, t-shirts and even flip flops! I had several requests for us to put up our little pool. In fact, one family member in Toledo DID open their in-ground pool… In March. In Ohio. We ate meals on our back deck and played basketball in the driveway until it was too dark. We did NOT turn our air conditioner on, but the next door neighbor did . We’ve taken walk in the parks and made trips to the local ice-cream establishments. I even cut.the.grass. We didn’t have to travel 1000s of miles south for spring break. Spring Break came to us.

Oh. And did I mention I got a little sunburn on my nose? In March? In Ohio??

How about you? How’s the weather where you are? What’s your favorite season?