Answered prayer, a "blessing" long in coming....

Answered prayer, a blessing "long " in coming....

This is short history of which we were only tools and bit players in the infinite scheme of events....as God can move the world as He did with the birth of His son, he moves in our lives as well...

In the eighties we were concerned with gold production in Nevada, there was a slump and money was tight. We had our only call for a late mortgage payment....But, we felt moved to pray to become debt free.  We had no way and saw no way that that was possible.  We wanted to buy the piece of ground in Lamoille and fulfill our dream of building a new home on acreage where our children could have animals...and as long as we were in debt, we felt we couldn't, in good conscience, do that...

But, God intervened and made it possible. We sold one of the pieces of mining ground for the amount to pay off the debt, buy the ground and pay for a new house, if we really a watched every dollar ....Grandpa decker gave us a cedar tree to cut up for the interior finish, a lumber store went out of business and we were able to purchase the lumber as reduced rates, as well as other money saving  things at the time ...

But, on another plane, we were concerned about the body of believers of which we were apart.  Legalism was becoming more and more apparent and we felt we needed to break from that body.  God provided a way to do that as well, when Don's mom needed help in Oregon, as well as an opportunity for Don to attend Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland...

Instead of the two year absence we planned, we stayed 9 years...seeing our children blossom while attending a multi-denomination Christian school, caring for his mother, working on her family book, running the Nevada - based business, and eventually building another new home in Oregon.  Dad was, however, hitting a wall.  He had SAD from the perpetual  gray weather which led to the necessity of taking antidepressants as well as u recognized grieving from the death of his mother and brother...we needed to return to sunny Nevada...

While all of. this was taking place, we were attending Northwest Hills Church...which had a vibrant Sunday school, women's ministry,  small group program and consistently supported short term and long term missionaries...along with being involved with local ministries...one of those was the beginnings of Church of the Valley, which met periodically for prayer and song worship .....

was 

Shortly after deciding to return to Nevada, I remember attending one of the Church of the valley events.  I dreaded that return so much as there had been considerable emotional church abuse and cult-like control that I felt it was to return to prison...I was crying as we sang, praying that Elko would open up to a similar revival with churches actually working together for the good of the community ....

We did return and opportunities for service for dad and I opened up to our greatest involvement and some of of our greatest hurts in the church...but in the ensuing years, evangelical pastors actually got together and prayed for one another, worked together in community wide projects..and the bonus was that now, in 2015, they get together  at the Young Life building...a building we gave to Young life to service the youth of Elko...and now serves as a neutral spot for pastors to come together ....how God works is so amazing...I sit back in awe and wonder...to be a minute part of His plan in this one town...vision carried on from one person to another and another and yet another...orchestrated by the Creator of the Universe... 

Thank YOU for a tiny glimpse of the tapestry in which You have woven our lives...

Psalm 42:8, 11 By day the Lord directs his love,at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life.

 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,for I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God. 

Psalm 65:2-5, 8 You who answer prayer,to you all people will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins,you forgave our transgressions.

 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,God our Savior,the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, 

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades,you call forth songs of joy. 

 

Walking the aisle ....

Walking the aisle....

Sitting in the balcony at a seminar has it advantages. You get a elevated look of the event before you and a different perspective of the people below.

When the speaker explained the way of salvation and asked if any wanted to accept that free gift, she asked people to come forward and talk to the stationed counselors. The music played softly and attendees started moving down the aisle toward the beckoning call...many went forward...

But, watching from the balcony gives an advantage of seeing those people as they move forward...there is a determination in their walk, their body language shows a decision, a purpose different from others who may be walking to a different destination.  There may be tears and brokenness in their  stance...but the walk is visually separated from the others...

In the Old Testament, there are notable times that the Israelites made a distinct choice...

Deuteronomy 30:15-16, 19-20a, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life,....

Joshua 24:15, 22 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. 

And in the New Testament  there were as well,...

When the disciples walked away from their livelihood and followed Christ...when multitudes turned...

Acts 2:37-41 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 

We each have that decision to make," whom shall I serve?"   Walking in the way of the world or walking in the way of Christ and accepting His salvation...

Thank YOU for your gift, freely given...

Let love seep in....

Let my love seep into the inner recesses of your being...Jesus calling...

I am back in the town where my family spent many years living, growing, learning...visiting old friends, seeing changes, capturing moments...

I always have to journey to our favorite canyon to let it "seep" into my being until I come again..there is a refreshment going up into the high rugged mountains, smelling the fresh clean air, finding wild flowers in July in the alpine meadows...looking for the elusive beavers in their ponds...watching the fisherman pull in trout from the ponds...spotting deer or wild mountain sheep leap from rock to rock...picking berries in their season...panning for garnets in the icy streams...hearing the rustling of the leaves in the wind...wading in the cold pools...picnicking with friends...recalling times past...watching seasons change with the colors of leaves....

Gaining rest in my soul...in a place as I can with Jesus who does the same ....if I let Him.  

This canyon is like walking into Psalm 23 or 121 and many others  ...a place to lay everything before Him and let Him carry the load...

Thank YOU for the canyon...the mountains to remind me that help comes from You...who loves me more than words can say...

Psalm 121:1-8 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?

 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. 

Comfort zones....

Comfort zones....

"At one of the church services I went to yesterday , the comment was made that when we are going In faith, we are forced to stay close to God...so true in many facets of life...
God asked Abraham to leave his comfort zone and head out into a new land, new adventures and that is what we have all been faced with these last few years.
It wasn't easy, it was disruptive, it was risky, it was challenging, and he made mistakes, but God blessed ...and He was always with him....just as He is with all of us...we may not know the paths he is leading, but He is there...and increases our faith through the painful times as well as the wonderous times...and that is a blessing, not the monetary, but Himself with us..." Note to my kids this a.m.

I hadn't really thought of widowhood as a " called out journey". I knew it was a new path, a new way of life, a new chapter... but not this other title...

I was comfortable married, I loved the "land" that I lived in...and really wasn't ready for a change of any kind..even though I asked what my ministry was after children had left, parents taken care of...I wanted a "comfortable" ministry...

But Abraham and Sarah were called into something new in their old age...not when they young and full of energy...a twenty or thirty year old ....

Calling isn't age related...nor are new journeys in life...just different..,maybe just as challenging, just as risky, and maybe painful...I/we need to stay open to those changes, those new journeys, and most of all stay faithful...

thank YOU for your calling on each of our lives...the challenges we meet, You are with us all the way to the new land You have promised...

Deuteronomy 10:18a, 20-21He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, .....giving them food and clothing. Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 

Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,is God in his holy dwelling. 

Memory Lane...

Memory Lane...

Yesterday I drove past a street called "Memory Lane" as I was leaving a town which held a seminar...

I had just attended a Beth Moore seminar..."Feast the Soul".... I have never been to a live seminar with her before...she is so enthusiastic !  The music was so good as well ...

It was indeed a feast for the soul with her words proclaiming God's Word richly embellished with word pictures, examples, proclamations, invitations, prayers....it was satisfying and encouraging ....

The "grain/bread, wine and oil" example she used  is found many places in the Bible, symbolizing the Word, gladness of heart and anointing...and we need all three for balance in our lives...

When I was looking up verses about these three items, I found this verse in Joel and enjoyed the promise..even though God is speaking to the Israelites, 

he speaks to me as well...

Joel 2:19a The Lord replied to them:“I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy you fully.....

"Grain, new wine, and olive oil"....His Word, gladness of heart and anointing ...it is for all ages ( even mine)... It never runs out, it satisfies fully...

That is what He promises of Himself ....He brings His word to my soul, His Gladness to my heart, His anointing to do His will and He keeps on giving...

Healing, joy, comfort...Himself...by sending His Son for salvation, the Holy Spirit for truth and conviction...supplying all of our needs...fully...

So Memory Lane  was an appropriate  street to past leaving this seminar....it made me reach for those past  teachings...those ancient Words which are everlasting again reminding me yet another day of God's love and care...

Thank YOU for speakers who remind us of deeper issues in our lives...your deeper words that touch our hearts again and again...reminders of You and Your care for us, Your feasts for our souls....

Road construction lines...

Sitting in construction lines....

Yesterday as I travelled I had the opportunity to participate in road construction waiting lines...not too many....but some...

At one place, I was the first in line, which meant I had just missed the one before me and that I got to wait for awhile before the pilot car came back  took the next line of cars...30 minutes...

As I listened to my book I had purchased, I watched the cars and trucks accumulate behind me...I had passed many of these vehicles over the last two hours and now here we were all in the same line waiting together for the pilot car...

The picture came to mind of one of the landowners that Jesus talked about in the New Testament...he hires men to work a whole day, then smaller and smaller parts of the day.  At the end of the day, they receive the agreed upon wages. They All receive the same amount and the ones hired first felt that they should receive more as the later ones got the same....funny how that works....

For all my passing, I just got to be at the head of the construction  line...we ended up there together...no special privileges or anything...same "wages"...

That is the way of salvation...we may do it early in life or later, but when all said and done, just because we may have received it earlier, salvation is salvation....the door is always open, waiting to be entered. Jesus is knocking ....he desires us all to receive Him no matter what or when...

Thank You For lines of construction, no special privileges ...better roads for us all...a way, the Way...to your freely given gift of salvation...

Matthew 20:1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 

He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 

He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. 

He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 

So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 

When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 

"But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. 

I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” 

Motel rooms.....

Motel rooms...

Over the years we have stayed in a huge variety of motel rooms while traveling hither and yon...never in the high end ones to be sure... Just the everyday variety...from ones we questioned the cleanliness to suites... Ones whose bathrooms had mold growing around the tub to ones which used cards to turn on the electricity in China...ones where mice regularly visited to a whole suite built around a center hot tub with mirrored ceilings...

Our favorite in one town was an old auto court, with a huge room with beds and couches and the big treat, at the time, a swimming pool....we stayed there so many times it is hard to count...but it was in our budget...that was the primary consideration, plus the "luxury" of a pool.  Now, it seems, a pool and exercise room are standard fare...with wifi and breakfast provided...

Times have changed, but  I am still staying in motels here and there, as I travel to new and old places...I can't stay at my parent's home anymore, it has sold and they are gone...I choose motels where I feel safer as a single...the old auto court has gotten really old and run down...

But, they are all temporary abodes...as well as our bodies ...temporary.....our bodies come in different shapes and sizes...from extravagant to plain and simple...we can dress them up, add accessories, but  they are pretty much the same...just like motel rooms...different colors...different personalities ...but pretty standard ...and they age with years of wear and tear.....

we look in the mirrors of time and there are usually big ones in the motel rooms...and see changes .....no one jumping on the beds, or running to the single bathroom, or quickly dressing for the pool, single beds instead of multiple...years have passed in a blink of an eye...but the rooms are still pretty much  the same...we have changed. ...time has marched on...as our bodies can attest...

Thank YOU for the provision over the years of rooms along our paths...from the mice infested ones to the extravagant ....from the wonderful old auto court to the fresh new ones...from the freezing cold ones to the over heated...all have added spice to our lives and memories unlimited...laughs and tears...

1 Peter 4:9-10 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

There are so many references to others offering hospitality throughout the Word, too numerous to give...

Mary's birthday ....

Mary's birthday...

38 years ago, we were living. in the Cascade mountains  of Oregon. We had packed to leave for a two year stint in Indonesia...but that job was cancelled over lunch in New York as the movers were putting the last of our household items in  a moving van for storage...

I was pregnant and planned on having this baby in Cairns, Australia...but now we repacked and headed back to the mountains...only repack again and return to our home in Nevada to await our second baby's arrival..

We had boy's names picked out and two girl names...one meaning "favor" and the other meaning, "Liberty"...we didn't know the sex of the baby at the time, so the waiting game ensued...it was a hot July...a new hospital....only three miles away...instead of a flight from one country to another...

My husband was working in his office nearby, our son was playing as I fixed breakfast that morning...then the pains hit hard and fast...I told our son  go get his father quickly as I finished breakfast preparations. They sat down and ate as I readied myself for the hospital run...

We drove straight down the road to the hospital entrance where I checked in quickly, my husband left to take our son to some friends and then returned...

One hour and 45 minutes after the first pain, a little girl was born....a liberty seeking Mary...although she has found favor in many ways, Hannah for a name wouldn't have fit her at all...

So began a journey in a hot new hospital...(the air conditioning wasn't working at the time).... A new little person entered our lives....our four year old son who had been praying for a baby was surprised with a sister ....his best friend had gotten a brother for his prayers....

We moved back to the mountains...traveling yet again....I think she has traveling in her bloodlines ...seldom spending her summer birthday at home...and has travelled to various places around the world since then...

This Mary has been a blessing as have each of her siblings...she exemplifies Liberty, perseverance, helpfulness, industriousness, both with her family and those around her...her husband and boys rise up and call her "blessed"..

Thank YOU for the gift of Mary this day and all the others...she indeed is a treasure that You lent to this family...

Happy Birthday...

Proverbs 31:25-26, 28 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 

Psalm 67:6 The land yields its harvest;God, our God, blesses us.

Psalm 107:37-38 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers

Whirligigs...

Whirligigs...

Wherever my husband and lived, we tried to raise a garden...whether in the iron rich soil of the Willamette valley, the desert caleche soil of Nevada, or even raised box gardens..we tried to coax fresh fruits and vegetables from the seeds, sun and soil...

We battled bugs, gophers, blackbirds, squirrels, deer, poor soil, horses, snow, frost, scorching sun, loose sheep and cattle  to raise edible fare and prize winning produce...we canned, froze and dried our food for the winter months...one year we would have an abundance of one vegetable and another it would be another...we never knew what would do well, that particular year, we just planted as much as we could...to tide us over the winter for family...God controlled the harvest and we always had enough to share..

One early garden was inundated with gophers...we trapped, smoked, watered and whirligiged them...I have this picture in my mind of hunting for whirligigs...my husband and I were grocery shopping and found this big bin of them...we had heard that gophers don't like the sound, so my husband was putting each one to his ear to find the loudest ones to poke In the ground near their holes... Of course we were laughing so hard it took awhile to find the noisy ones... Laughter ...even over whirligigs ....

Thank YOU harvests of fruit and vegetables, as well as laughter to bring chuckles over the years...the edibles are long gone, but the pictures in my mind still wonderfully remain...

Psalm 85:11-12 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 

The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. 

Psalm 67:6 The land yields its harvest;God, our God, blesses us. 

Psalm 107:37-38 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish. 

Garden tour ....

Gardening .....

Yesterday I went on a garden tour all over the town in which I reside...we went from the million dollar plus homes to the desert homes, to the "hippy style", to the artist, to the aged to perfection homes...each unique, each garden showing the love and care the individuals had....each striving over time to cultivate something beautiful and good...by sweat of their brow...in rocky, dry soil with weather that is cold cold in the winter and hot hot in the summer ....

Some had the fancy hot houses, others used pvc pipes and heavy plastic, some had professional landscapers while others worked tirelessly themselves..some produced an abundance of edibles while others were for the beauty of color and wildlife ...

The last garden was filled with scripture in it nooks and crannies which summed up the owners' philosophy of life...they actively gave glory to the true Gardner of our souls...His beauty, His cultivation, His supply, His decisions, His pruning...out in the desert...I just wanted to sit in this garden and soak up His presence...

Thank YOU for the gardens, Your cultivation in life, You have given so much that is "good". Help me to take time to listen, to learn, to cultivate that which you have so freely bestowed.... In my "garden" of life...

Genesis 1:11-13 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 

The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. 

And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 

Genesis 2:9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Genesis 3:17-19 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Connecting roads....

Connecting roads...

One of Toyota's advertisements talks about all roads being connected to one another...the story, "around the world in eighty days" has that same connectivity of transportation...the song "no man is an island", the ring - a theme of eternity......all show our connections as well one of the earlier verses...

We are not alone .  We are connected by family, by jobs, by towns, by roads, by faith....and even as Jesus was leaving, he didn't leave us alone ...He asked the Father to send us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to teach us, to lead us..His care and connection with us never to be broken...or separated ....

Thank YOU so very much that You never leave us ....we connected by a bound that is invincible .....

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 

John 8:16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 

John 14:16-18, 26 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. 

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 

Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 

Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

As it is written:“For your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

( each day this week I have been thinking about this blog. Couldn't get to it, but it was still there waiting...then this morning, I knew it was supposed to be written, even though time was again tight...then opened "Jesus calling" and there was this devotional...God's timing is right, connecting:-)

"Jesus calling" July 18
I am nearer than you think, richly present in all your moments. You are connected to Me by Love-bonds that nothing can sever. However, you may sometimes feel alone, because your union with Me is invisible. Ask Me to open your eyes, so that you can find Me everywhere. The more aware you are of My Presence, the safer you feel. This is not some sort of escape from reality; it is tuning in to ultimate reality. I am far more Real than the world you can see, hear, and touch. Faith is the confirmation of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality, perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses.
“God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
—Acts 17:27–28
Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].
—Hebrews 11:1 amp

"Perfect"

"Perfect"

It is easier to accept others than myself.... I judge my performance against some unknown scorecard, my looks against Barbies, my occupation, my cooking ability, my everything against some unknown entity ....I was raised by perfectionistic parents as an only child, so compliance was accepted...but I always wanted to make sure everyone was happy, that I didn't embarrass them or myself, no risks of any kind, best grades, music lessons, college, no driving accidents, high expectations/stress of myself...no mistakes, great marriage, perfect parenting, perfect kids.....everything done to a "t" (whatever that is)...but I still felt and feel unworthy...I didn't have the perfect hair, looks, grades....I took on false quilt as not being perfect ....

I lived in a perfect world, but in reality it wasn't...and it still isn't...nothing or no one is perfect except Jesus and His world....He came to seek and save the lost....to bind up the wounds of the hurt, to die for the perishing...all of which we are...without Him...

Thank YOU for coming to seek me...to die for me and the millions around me who are perishing in an imperfect dying world...You are the Way..the Truth..the Life...

"Jesus calling"-July 13

I want you to experience the riches of your salvation: the Joy of being loved constantly and perfectly. You make a practice of judging yourself, based on how you look or behave or feel. If you like what you see in the mirror, you feel bit more worthy of My Love. When things are going smoothly and your performance seems adequate, you find it easier to believe you are My beloved child. When you feel discouraged, you tend to look inward so you can correct whatever is wrong.

Instead of trying to “fix” yourself, fix your gaze on Me, the Lover of your soul. Rather than using your energy to judge yourself, redirect it to praising Me. Remember that I see you clothed in My righteousness, radiant in My perfect Love.

In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
—Ephesians 2:7–8

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
—Hebrews 3:1

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

—Psalm 34:5 

Into the garden....

Into the garden...

•  

There is an old song,,," in the garden" which was sung over the years, a favorite of many...a slow peaceful song...

I was reminded of this song as I wandered through a lavender garden, buzzing with bees, fragrant with the varying scents of lavender, colorful with the different hues of lavender....to be followed by a trip to a colorful nursery looking for deer resistant flowers...blooming profusely in a giant patchwork of colors, shapes and variety...

I wake up each morning under a blanket of Monet's garden, covered with flowers and colors of all kinds..."my morning garden"...

I am alone in my gardens for the most part..trying to listen to God's voice...He does speak to my heart through His Word, His quietness, His love, His reminders of others...the written or spoken word of others....the beauty and intricacy of His creations...

Adam and Eve had the privilege of walking in the garden with Him, in fellowship....Jesus spent time in the garden in prayer...and He continues to meet us there...as well as anywhere else..for the communion of love....Jesus prayed for us in the garden...he was laid in a garden tomb....He talked of people as part of a garden with pruning and trimming...

Thank YOU...for the quietness of gardens to walk with You and talk with You...learning of You...

John 14-18

Genesis 3:8 Genesis 2:15-16 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 

In the Garden

 

I come to the garden alone,

While the dew is still on the roses,

And the voice I hear falling on my ear, 

The Son of God discloses . . .

 

And He walks with me, and He talks with me, 

And He tells me I am His own, 

And the joy we share as we tarry there, 

None other, has ever, known!

 

He speaks and the sound of His voice, 

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing, 

And the melody that he gave to me, 

Within my heart is ringing . . .

 

And He walks with me, and He talks with me, 

And He tells me I am His own, 

And the joy we share as we tarry there, 

None other, has ever, known!

 

And the joy we share as we tarry there, 

None other, has ever, known!

 

Words and Music by C. Austin Miles , 1912

Arranged by Ray Charles

In the Garden (1912 song)

For the Van Morrison song, see In the Garden (Van Morrison song).

"In the Garden" (sometimes rendered by its first line "I Come to the Garden Alone"^{[citation needed]}) is a gospel song written by American songwriter C. Austin Miles (1868–1946), a former pharmacist who served as editor and manager at Hall-Mack publishers for 37 years. According to Miles' great-granddaughter, the song was written "in a cold, dreary and leaky basement in New Jersey that didn't even have a window in it let alone a view of a garden."^[1] The song was first published in 1912 and popularized during the Billy Sundayevangelistic campaigns of the early twentieth century by two members of his staff, Homer Rodeheaver and Virginia Asher.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans recorded the song with vocal quartet and orchestra on March 3, 1950.^[2] Tennessee Ernie Ford performed the song on his 1956 platinum album Hymns. A June 18, 1958 recording by Perry Como was part of his album When You Come to the End of the Day.^[3] It is also used in juxtaposition to "Blue Tail Fly" near the beginning of the Merchant Ivory film The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. The book of poetry Tea by D. A. Powell also refers to the song. Doris Day recorded the song on her 1962 album You'll Never Walk Alone. Elvis Presley recorded the song on his gospel album How Great Thou Art (1967). Willie Nelson recorded the song on his 1976 gospel album The Troublemaker.^[4] The gospel song is sung in the closing scene of the film Places in the Heart (1984) and by Ronee Blakley in the Robert Altman film Nashville (1975).