Gardens along the way...23...what am I cultivating...

 Gardens along the way...23...what am I cultivating...

The winter cultivation has already started here in August...as the various crops are harvested, the farmers are starting to turn the ground readying it for winter crops or letting lie dormant for spring planting ...

The farmers are continually busy cultivating....for which I am thankful for their diligence of supply on one hand, but tired of the dust on the other...but the key word seems to be diligence in their labor...

As I walk, I see fields whose lack of care shows in its overgrowth of weeds, spreading to adjacent well kept gardens and fields...

Gardeners as well are harvesting their treasures, watermelons, beans, tomatoes, squash of all shapes and sizes, cucumbers, flowers, peppers and whatever they planted...as well as working the soil in preparation for winter and future gardens...diligence again...

That continuing cultivation in land reminds me of the continuing cultivation I need in mind, body and soul...if I let any area lie dormant or don’t cultivate, there are “weeds” which take over...weight gain, poor health, poor thoughts, all the opposites of fruit of the spirit...my worries increase, my faith decreases, my prayer time vanishes, my joy joyless, my devotional time diminishes, Bible study forfeits...consequently the “weeds” take over and  I become totally unproductive...a blob of oozing nothingness, weedy, needy, merely existing...

I was thinking about this cultivation process or lack thereof...when these two articles passed through my email...they seemed good to share...

Thank YOU...

Test me,  Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:2-3

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

Isaiah 26:3-4 

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

Matthew 22:37 

https://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/20-psalms-to-read-when-life-is-miserable.html?utm_source=Daily%20Bible%20Living&utm_campaign=Daily%20Bible%20Living%20-%20BibleStudyTools.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=3598387&bcid=de7c98eb98d8de8da5653b6a01801196&recip=538461095%20

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/comforting-psalms-for-when-we-worry.html?utm_source=today%27s+bible+breakout&utm_campaign=today%27s+topical+bible+study+-+biblestudytools.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=3598271&bcid=4d7a6c1066a0a17721d6dca40a605ec2&recip=547334711+

Gardens along the way....22...rock gardens...

 Gardens along the way...22...rock gardens...

Years ago it was all the rage to include a rock garden in your landscaping plans...the magazines showed how to use various plants to highlight rocks...then it almost became the norm as rocks are a great weed and moisture barrier...so many of the homes I walk by have either rock or bark mulch...some include large rocks as part of the landscaping ...

This my “waterless” “cactus” garden...painted rocks...

One of my grandsons’ rock garden...

Part of my rock garden...

Local rock house...and garden...

Today, as a celebration of my late husband’s birthday, I wanted to celebrate rock gardens....as a geologist, he had rocks....literally tons of them in storage units, piles at our office, display cases of them, boxes of drill samples, boxes of pulverized ones lining shelves, slides of them to look at under the microscope, buckets of “special” ones...some even in our yard along with antique mining equipment...

He started out with a pile in his parent’s yard as a child, something like one of my grandson’s pile until his father built him a special shed to house his growing collection...when I first met him, that was one of the places he showed me, his pride and joy of a rock collection...just a taste of the future ...

As a Christian, he liked verses associated with rocks...but, he was careful not to put his love of rock above his Love for 

God...and verses like these are highlighted in his Bibles...

and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.

Job 22:24-25 

“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,

Job 31:24-25 

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 

Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 

Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. 

Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land —a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. 

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 

But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. 

If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 

Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 8:1-14,18-20 

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32:4

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2

But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalm 81:16 

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27

Thank YOU for the rock loving husband You gave me and the father to our children...

Gardens along the way...21...the Book of Life

 Gardens along the way...21...the Book of life...

Yesterday our women’s Bible study finished the study by Dr. David Jeremiah, “Agents of the Apocalypse”. He was speaking of the last judgements, the Book of life, and the last invitation...

Jesus saying, “come”...

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Revelation 22:17

My mind wanders in peculiar ways some times...I kept picturing this luscious garden planted by the master Gardener...so perfect in every way, must have been that way in the Garden of Eden...

Sin entered...and Adam and Eve were deceived...then banished from that perfect garden...how heartbroken God must have been to banish them from his perfectness...something He prepared just for them and those to come...to fellowship with them...

The Book of life...here’s this book with everyone’s name entered...as each makes their way through life, they each have a choice whether to believe and accept by faith, Jesus...or follow the deceiver ...those who believe, their name stays in the book...those who follow the deceiver, their names are blotted out...

God desires that none are blotted out, that none should perish...

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

But, I just keep picturing this garden, planted lusciously...new plants appear- greatly blessed...but others disappear, missed from their spot, blotted out, leaving a hole that can’t be filled...how those spots must distress the Gardener...

The Book of Life...filled with names of those who believe...with spots blotted out because of unbelief...how those holes must hurt the Author...

We each have a choice to believe or not...not my words, but the Author of life...not my judgement, but His...

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:27-28 

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:11-13

Thank YOU....

Gardens along the way....17...Wallowa lake...

Gardens along the way...17...Wallowa lake...

I am privileged to be included in a four family unit,  kind of spur of the minute, get out of “dodge”, trip...to Wallowa lake in a 1980’s log house...

The other families, one-my oldest daughter and family, her best friend from college and her family and the last, my son in laws sister and she family- a returning furloughed missionary from Laos, in need of some rest and recuperation, family time...

Most of the houses near where we are staying are landscaped “au natural”...the forest, bushes, grasses, wild flowers- the landscape...and even though it is the first of August, there are still wild flowers in bloom...most of the pictures are on my camera, not my phone , so will have to load them later, 

Took an afternoon hike after water play around a picturesque pond to Chief Joseph’s gravesite, poppies of red, filler flowers of yellow and blue dotted the field with the grasses waving in the breeze along with the smell of pine, and summer heat...

Signs of caution, sightings of cougar and bear posted on trails...part of the ambiance...

The lake itself is part of this area’s garden...a place to swim, boat, float, relax, fish, enjoy...its varying colors from morning to night, gentle slapping the shore from waves, the jumping fish, the blue clearness, the jagged lining rocks, the stately  towering pines lining the shores... a beautiful God-made garden...one of the millions around the globe...

Thank YOU...

We are so blessed even in this year of change and discord...there are still places of tranquility to visit, to enjoy...be they our own back yards or a lake, a park, a short hike, even travel videos and films...gardens of our minds and souls...God is at work in all...delighting to help us grow...

Thank YOU...

song...I. The garden

Verse #1

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.

Verse #2

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.

Verse #3

I'd stay in the garden with Him,

Tho' the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go, thro' the voice of woe,

His voice to me is calling.

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. 

“This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Jeremiah 33:2-3