Thursday, October 29, 2020

Gardens along the way...blowing out the pipes...

 Gardens along the way...blowing out the pipes...


Down every street, there are trucks running around with air compressors, going from house to house, yard to yard....signs abound advertising “we blowout your sprinkler systems “ adding their phone numbers....a yearly ritual and needful job before the really cold of winter sets in, and freezes the pipes....(the next signs will be “we repair sprinkler systems)...


You watch these workers, their equipment, the process of blowing out the pipes...water, and then vapor exit all the sprinkler heads, drip systems, eliminating any excess or “standing” water from the underground/unseen pipes...one of the final preparations for winter...(we are still raking leaves, waiting for those final ones to drop).


Not sure I am ready for winter, but it is built into our world, giving rest to us all...after the fast growth of spring, the vigor and harvest of summer, the richness and final harvest of autumn...the earth needs the rest in preparation the the next year ...around and around, season upon season...


But, back to the “blowouts “....a reminder of what do I still harbor in the hidden  underground “pipes” of my life...what needs to “blowout “...so that it doesn’t expand and break ...


I thought of Jesus’ analogy of the yeast, leaven...it expands, like sin, it grows...beware of false teaching...when we thought it was hidden...


Repeatedly, for offerings, the Israelites were told to offer bread without leavening..the finest flour, without yeast... offering themselves, clean...no sin...they left Egypt with bread within leavening...they have the "feast of unleavened bread”...commemorating their leaving Egypt on the way to the promised land...God’s deliverance...


Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste —so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 16:3

 

If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of the finest flour mixed with oil, and without yeast.

Leviticus 2:5


11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Matthew 16:11-12 


Or Paul’s reference to yeast...

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8


Just like blowouts...a little water can damage a whole piping system...

The yeast of hidden old bread, old habits, old life, old sin...I need to lay those down, clean out , “blowout “...get rid of...confess...in preparation for the new filling...truth, sincerity, the fruit of the Spirit...the transforming....


Thank YOU again for simple pictures to remind me of your lessons for my life....help me be watchful of things I need “blown out “...gotten rid of...

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Old friends, new friends...

 Old Friends, new friends....


This week is a Tapestry of old and new friends...threads woven into my life making a beautiful picture...


What started as an innocent question from a new friend lead my mind to wonder into the past and present...

“Do you know how to use..”a particular product? Was the question...my mind fought back, “ I have used this since it came out on the market” ...but of course the questioner wouldn’t know that as we have only been acquainted with one another for a year or so...she doesn’t know my history or what I have done or not done...has no long time trust of me...


This  has made me delve into the past a bit...as this week I am meeting with a friend whom I have not seen or heard from basically since high school, another friend is coming this weekend whom I have known since  our children were small...these mixed with new acquaintances and friends from this last year...each has blessed my soul in different ways...tea with a new friend, exchanging ideas, history...

Then last night one of my dreams was of a long time friend who has passed away...I heard her laughter as we strolled along a path...what memories we made...


And I have been receiving cards, notes, texts and gifts this week from far and wide from the past and present, yet again reminding me of the blessings of friendships acquired along my path in life...


So many have touched my life, added to the richness of it...I can only hope that I have done the same to theirs....


Thank YOU for being the ultimate Friend in my life...one who laid down your life  and rose again that I might have life eternal, thank YOU for friends you have put along my path...


Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.

Proverbs 27:9


13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

17 This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:13-17


“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.

Acts 13:38


What A Friend We Have in Jesus Lyrics

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged—

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,

Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised

Thou wilt all our burdens bear;

May we ever, Lord, be bringing

All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright, unclouded,

There will be no need for prayer—

Rapture, praise, and endless worship

Will be our sweet portion there.

 


Songwriters

Charles C. Converse

Published by

Public Domain





Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Those simple boxes...

Those simple boxes...


I have written about “simple boxes”, operation Christmas boxes, in the  past...

At our worship service we had our first short video about those simple boxes...the smiles, the joy, just permeated the room, my soul...


I just pictured and replaced in my mind all the people seated there, was transported to Columbia, South America...

The congregation would been seated on a hard concrete floor, louvered 2x4 board “windows”, each in their best shorts and tee shirts....they would have walked up to 2 1/2 hours on dusty country trails to get to the meeting place in flip flops or similar “shoes”...they would have been seated in age groups 2-14 years of age, anticipating whatever was going to happen....


The abundant harvest display in the front of our sanctuary would be replaced with a covered pile of boxes, no music or fancy equipment ...(the children don’t know that they are getting a free gift symbolizing the free gift which God gives Through Jesus)...the pastor would have been a former witch doctor...the only chairs available would be relegated to “visitors”...


Clowns would appear giving a fun presentation...then a speaker would explain their free “gift”,  boxes would be uncovered,  each one distributed to each child, a countdown made, then pandemonium as  boxes are ripped into...squeals, , giggles, laughter...parents, grandparents, onlookers would watch and listen to all..


Those simple boxes have the opportunity to change lives...an invitation would be issued to all to attend a Bible study to learn of the Savior of the world, the real gift...a church may be planted... a village changed...lives transformed...


Simple boxes with a simple message...a gift, freely given...tells the story of Jesus who gave his life that all may live...


Thank YOU for the memories...the opportunity to give, the opportunity to receive ....


For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-17 

Complete...finished...goal...

Complete...finished...goal...


Completed assignments, finished tasks, reached a goal...I thought of these phrases this am as I read Proverbs 24:30-34...haven’t wanted to be known as a sluggard...but one who finishes, completes...reaches a goal...is trusted to fulfill my word or finish...


I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. 

I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: 

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 24:4,30-34 


Watching my children grow into adulthood, learning skills, I was thrilled with each of their accomplishments from those first steps, words, walking into their first classroom day to the days they each finished their schooling in whatever area they excelled...to their chosen professions...still striving...still challenged to move ahead...finish...complete those tasks set before us...from protecting, filming, planning, clearing, building...learning...

My older four grandchildren are reaching into adulthood...learning new skills...paving the way for the younger seven who are quickly moving up the ranks year by year...

The older ones have set the bar pretty high for those coming behind...but I have confidence in each to reach their goals...just as I did their parents and aunts and uncles....


We each have a path set before us...chosen, given, planned by a loving 

Creator...I pray that we finish, complete that path in a worthy manner...finishing well...Thank YOU....


Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14


My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:2-3


The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

Ezra 6:15 


So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

Nehemiah 6:15


When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. ...”

Deuteronomy 32:45-46


Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

John 19:28-30














 

Friday, October 16, 2020

Gardens along the way....31...season’s colors

 Gardens along the way...31...Season’s colors...


And now we come to autumn....

We have walked through spring, summer and now autumn...


The colors of the seasons fill my senses with wonder...the newness and pastels of spring ....the richness of mature greens, crops of all kinds...the changes to autumn and the deepness of reds, yellows, golds, oranges...and finally to earthy browns of all values and tones...winter is not far away with its whites, evergreens, barren gardens and trees...to all be repeated again next year...and each year until such time as this all passes away...


Like an artist’s changing palette...held in the hand of the Almighty Creator...a brush stroke here and there with a standing back...thinking...

 

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.....”

Genesis 1:31a


I love the deep richness of autumn, the cool nights, the “just right” temperatures of the days...the wispy clouds...the end of harvest...the preparations for winter...the pumpkin patches...the thankfulness...the colors...


As I thought about this blog, I was wondering about the colors in the Bible and if they had meanings...I found a few...

 But reading the Scriptures, the rainbow, the colors of the Tabernacle, colors of stones for the priests garments, Jacob’s speckled sheep, Joseph’s coat of many colors...to name a few...speak of the importance of color...everything just wasn’t a bland gray or black and white...


And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

Genesis 9:12-13,16


Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.

Genesis 30:32


Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

Genesis 37:3


Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. 

Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker.

Exodus 25:9,26:1


And look at the colors of people around the world...the skin tones, the variety of eye/hair color...clothing, bright and subdued ...


What is there not to appreciate in color...thank YOU...



Interesting articles...

https://thinkaboutsuchthings.com/biblical-meaning-of-colors/ 


https://www.color-meanings.com/biblical-meaning-colors/#:~:text=%20Other%20colors%20in%20the%20Bible%20and%20their,authority%207%20Purple-%20Priesthood%2C%20Kingship%2C%20Royalty%2C...%20More%20


May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 

Monday, October 12, 2020

Sharing in the harvest...

 Sharing in the harvest...


The other day a bunch of people got together to decorate the church for harvest time. A lot of people brought this and that, fruit, pumpkins, quilts, flowers, leaves, baskets, dried corn, canning jars, antique wagon and chairs, old boxes...colors, colors, rich colors...abundance...and we wove it all together to make a display here and there to portray fall harvest kicking off missions month...what a blessing...sharing in the harvest...


As a child, I heard about missionaries from my grandparents and parents...we got the precious letters and reports at least at Christmas time...what a blessing...sharing in the harvest..


It brought back times when each of my kids came home from their short term missions trips to Australia, New Zealand, the Ukraine, Brazil, VBS, camp staff, Mongolia, Iceland...or when my husband and/or I returned from western China, Mongolia, Central America ....or times when we hosted families with Wycliffe...or Africa, Thailand, Nepal, Laos, South America, North America, Europe, unnamed countries, Israel, locally, Young life, YWAM, New Tribes, World Venture, Biblica, Child evangelism, Samaritans Purse, Christian veterinarians, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Crown Financial, American Indians, India missions, Jesus Film Project, etc...what a blessing...sharing in the harvest...


Plus, lately, I am hearing about trips my older grandchildren are taking with various organizations or their parents, aunts and uncles ...what a blessing ...sharing in  the harvest....


And now, our church family has honor and privilege  to hear reports this month from various missionaries ...what a blessing...sharing in the harvest...we are encouraged as a body by these reports...our hearts, souls and minds are enriched by their sharing...God is at work, as usual, all over the world and we get,  in some way, to share in that harvest...whether financially or letters, or prayer...or even personal visits...a joy...


The song, “Thank You for giving to the Lord” weaves its way through my heart and mind at times like this...our gifts (which really are God’s), given from abundance or scarcity are multiplied into a harvest...just as the one seed sown reaps a harvest...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFrdJ2V3r7Y


Some of us sow, some of us cultivate, some of us see the harvest...but God works in miraculous ways to produce the harvest...working in people’s hearts in all cultures of the world ...and we get to share in the joy of harvest...thank YOU...


Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 

As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 

And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 


From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

Acts 14:26-28


The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

Acts 15:3-4 


First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

Romans 1:8-9


But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.

1 Thessalonians 3:6


Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126:5-6






Saturday, October 10, 2020

Gardens along the way...30...ready for winter, thankfulness...

 Gardens along the way...30...ready for winter, thankfulness...



I am putting my garden to sleep for the winter ( I think)...the leaves are falling, rains are predicted, cooler weather is coming, less sunshine, ready to winter prune my little orchard, cut down the surprise sunflowers,  pick the last of the tomatoes, zucchinis, pull and discard the plants...like tearing out old friends...we have spent many hours together this season...


I planted, watered and God caused the increase ...I am thankful...but, I had also to be thankful for trees that didn’t produce due to the frost...


I remember distinctly the time that I learned my first lesson of being thankful in all things...we were living in the Cascades in a little “community” called Jawbone flats, now called Opal creek. ( it just burned to ground recently in the Oregon fires). I had just learned my grandfather was in the hospital in California...and was dying...now, if you didn’t know, grandparents are supposed to live forever...so this was heart wrenching as we were close...I had just been reading that we are to rejoice always and I wasn’t too happy about that bit of information...


I was arguing with God about giving thanks...how could I do that when my grandfather was dying or the myriad of other things that weren’t thankful worthy in my opinion...but He repeated it over and over until I had to relent or refuse...it was like plucking out an old friend that was growing well..cleaning out part of my garden of flourishing unhealthy  habits...how could I be thankful in all things? But, I had to plant  this new habit, thought process...something that would grow year around and permeate all of life..


But the verses  are clear..


Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7


Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,23-24


This lesson has followed me through many deep waters, hard and easy times...it still needs cultivation once in awhile...but to be at peace, I need to be thankful...in the winter times as well as all the seasons of life...thank YOU....


Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. 

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:20-21

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Gardens along the way...26...Lord of the harevest...

 Gardens along the way...26.....Lord of the harvest...


I arrived home to two arm loads of zucchini, they were quickly dispersed to others as well as my refrigerator and into my protein zucchini breakfast muffins...

When I returned to the “Y”, the front table was loaded with melons, tomatoes, green and red peppers, cucumbers, squash, popcorn....all to be shared  from other gardens, blessing one another with their abundance...beautiful colors...celebrate the new season...the end of the summer...harvest....autumn...


(“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go”...unknown....)


Harvest time in Idaho means truck loads of onions, corn, silage, wheat, sugar beets, dry beans, hay in all sorts of sized bales, apples, peaches, pears, seeds, hops, pumpkins, winter squash ...to name a few...food for multitudes...(and dust from the harvesting)...


We don’t celebrate like the Jews did , but it would be fun to do...remembering to whom we are thankful and for what...we have Thanksgiving later, but even that has gotten pushed aside, lost between Halloween and a commercial Christmas...


But thankfulness is not just for the fall... it is an attitude and way of life...

The Lord of the harvest is there all the time...blessing, interceding, loving...thank YOU...


“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

Exodus 23:16


For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

Deuteronomy 16:15 


The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.

Psalm 67:6 


Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:37-38 


34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

John 4:34-38 


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:9-10 


Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

James 3:18

Gardens along the way....27...indescribable...

Gardens along the way...27...indescribable....


One of my goals this year was to learn to paint, or rather, start the process...it is not an overnight success or rather I am not an overnight success...am really creating another pile of paper, canvasses to be trashed...composted...at some point in time...but, I needed some creative outlet between other activities...photography is my favorite after floristry, but neither of these are really available right now...


So while taking pictures of my gardens along the way, I would come home and try to duplicate, in some medium, those pictures on to paper, with the help of a YouTube lesson or two or three or four...mixing colors, different brushes, different paints, styles, etc.....some became shreds through the shredder, others joined my growing pile of “try’s”...


I say all this to point out, that I am not an instant creator...I have to use paint, brushes, paper, canvases, instructions created by others...a beautiful flower doesn’t magically appear on paper at my word...or brush as I have tried...plus it takes many many tries to even get something that resembles an already beautiful flower...


Our pastor just started a series on the book of Genesis...creation to start with...the beginnings...am so enjoying...

God spoke and everything came into being...His Word made it appear, there was no practice over and over, no smudged  paper, no shreds from mistakes, no tubes of paint for colors, no decisions on the size of brushes, no “how-to” videos or teachers...it came to be because He said so...that is just mind blowing...


When I take photos, I love the intricacies of a close up, the pollen on a flower, the bee or butterfly with it’s tiny body, the beauty of the small...but, I can’t duplicate it in any form or fashion...it is 

God created pure and simple...not formed from mistakes or do-overs...


Just looking at the gardens along the way that I have seen this season, the beauty, the order, the provision...it had a beginning in the spoken Word at creation...it had a purpose, an order given then as well..I can’t make a seed grow and sprout, produce without God’s help...His infinite creativity...thank YOU....


Genesis 1

Job 38, 39


“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! 

Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone — while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? 

“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? 

“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? 

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. 

“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. 

“What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! 

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? 

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass? Does the rain have a father? 

Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? 

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? 

Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? 

Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? 

Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? 

Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return. 

“Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes? I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat. It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout. It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.

“Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night? Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you? Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it? Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor? 

“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry. 

“Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high? It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold. From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar. Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”

Job 38:2-39:30



Indescribable - Chris Tomlin (Music Video With Lyrics)YouTube...


https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/christomlin/indescribable.html 

Gardens along the way...28...preservation...

 Gardens along the way...28...preservation....


Canning, freezing, dehydrating, freeze drying, salting down, pickling, smoking,  jamming, jellying, juicing, jerking, bagging, winnowing and threshing, boxing.....preservation...putting aside...planning ahead...getting ready for winter....


Right now there seems to be a shortage of canning jars, lids...people are planning ahead for the months ahead in droves...we have come through a hard year and when able, we are trying to preserve what they can...we don’t want to be left short handed again...


I think of the Israelites crossing the desert to the promised land...daily food, no preserving except for the Sabbath day...

And later still, in the Proverbs, we are to look to the ant who gathers for future use...or the sluggard who is not wise and has nothing ...


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.

Deuteronomy 8:3-10 


Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Proverbs 6:6


We can do all the preserving, planning ahead for our temporal bodies while here on earth...but the most important “planning ahead” is what are we doing  with the eternal...how are we asking the question...”What must I do to be saved?”...the single most important “preservation” question we need to ask and answer...where are we putting our trust for the future....


He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

Acts 16:30-34 


For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-17 


Thank YOU that you have given us bounty here for our earthly needs, but thank YOU so much more that you have prepared a way for us to have eternal life as well...through Your Son, Jesus...


(Totally aside, ðŸ˜Š

My newest fun recipe for drying is salt and vinegar zucchini chips with “everything salt free bagel seasoning”, hummm good)