Category Archives: In My Garden with God

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Trimming Back

It has cooled off here in the mountains so I have started working outside again. I love it! Fall is such a lovely time in our area and the cool air just makes me want to stay out in all the beauty and soak it in.

Phil got me a new tool – a battery operated hedge trimmer. It has been so easy to use and I have been trimming up a storm. Some of our shrubs haven’t been attended to in so long that I had to trim in stages. I would cut back a bit, gather the trimmings so I could see what was left , then cut some more. The end result is plants that look neater, but are also healthier.

The old dead stuff has been cut away.

As I was doing this work in our yard, I felt a Spiritual lesson being impressed on me. (This is often the case with me – I feel God’s presence so closely in my garden)

What old, dead stuff am I clinging to?

In thinking about this, I realized that we humans can cling tenaciously to traditions, beliefs, and even forms of worship that no longer bring life to us spiritually. That is because once a branch or limb is disconnected from the trunk or stem, it starts to die.

If our spiritual life is not connected to Jesus, the True Vine, what may have once been spiritually beneficial will soon die.

In John 15:1-4 Jesus is instructing His disciples just before He will be taken to die on the cross. Jesus wants these 12 men He has poured His life into to REMAIN connected to Him, even as He dies, is buried, and rises again.

So, Jesus says –

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

The challenge for me is to remain connected to Jesus, and allow Him to cut out anything that won’t produce fruit.

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Abundant Blooms

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Another amazing woman who added so much beauty to our community has passed away at 91. Bernice Rogers Elliot was one of those unique individuals that shared her flowers, quilts, vegetables from her garden, and recipes with everyone she met. Bernice made you feel at home and part of her family on the first visit. I am enjoying plants in my yard that came from Bernice.

Her legacy of sharing beauty lives on in my garden and many other gardens in our community.

Bernice also shared wisdom. I remember asking her as we walked through her abundant flower garden years ago, how she kept her flowers blooming. I was new at growing flowers and Bernice’s were so plentiful and diverse. She was cutting blooms to share with me, and several other folks as we walked. I knew she had given away literally scores of blooms, but there were still so many growing right before us!

“I have so many because I give them away. The more you cut the blooms, the more you will have.” Bernice exclaimed with her beautiful smile.

The secret of Bernice’s abundant flowers was the fact that she gave them away.

Jesus taught us that same principle in Luke 6:38 NLT

38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

How true this is in our lives! When we give generously to others, we receive so much in return.

There is a lesson from biology that aligns with this principle. My father, a biology teacher, taught me that the purpose of a flower is to attract pollinators, which after their job is complete, causes the flower to form seeds. If flowers are cut, no seeds are produced, so the plant makes more flowers to fulfill its purpose.

Bernice’s daughter, Lois Cline, shares her mother’s generous spirit and love of beauty. My lentin roses, a gift from Lois, have spread so I can share them with others just as they were shared with me.

Bernice’s legacy lives on in Lois.

As I share my abundant flowers, more will grown. As I share God’s love, more love is given.

May we abundant in our giving, sharing all we have and are with others.

In My Garden With God #20

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God’s Workmanship

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I love spring! I love the warmer weather, the sounds of birds, the fresh smells of grass and honey suckle blooming, the beauty of trees and flowers bursting forth in bloom.

Spring fills my senses.

It is such a blessing to live in a region that has four seasons. We have had LOTS of rain this fall and winter and now the result is an abundance of blooms.

Our camellias and forsythia have more blooms than I remember from previous years. The tulip blooms are bigger and more abundant, as were the daffodils, which are now fading. The dogwood trees are just opening here and also have so many blooms.

This may be the most beautiful spring I have experienced.  Everywhere I look I see God’s workmanship. The variety of plant life, the diversity in color, size, form, and texture all make flowers such a joy to behold. I never tire of walking around our yard and seeing a new bloom or something green peeking through the soil ready to grow up in the warm sunlight. I especially enjoy seeing a plant emerge that I have totally forgotten about since last spring. It like receiving a present I didn’t expect! God’s workmanship.

Ephesians 2:10 says –

10 For we are his workmanship, 

created in Christ Jesus for good works, 

which God prepared beforehand, 

that we should walk in them.

Just as we enjoy the beauty of nature, God’s creation – God enjoys US, also His creation as the above verse states. We bring God joy when we fulfill the purpose for which He created us.

I was thinking about this as I cut flowers in our yard for arrangements for a friend’s birthday celebration. Each type of flower was different – unique – but fit in beautifully in the arrangement. I saw each of these flowers as perfect to complete the arrangement I planned.

I have other flowers I never cut for arrangements. They look better growing in their natural habitat. Trillium are one of my favorite flowers, but I have never cut them to bring inside. They show their beauty best growing outside.

Each of us is different – we look different, we have different talents, different abilities, even different preferences. Yet each of us was created for good works that Jesus has prepared for us to do.

My friend Carol and I are like that. See how much we look alike? (ha!) We are so different in every way, yet our friendship spans 65 years. (oops, now you know how old Carol is!)

One reason our friendship has lasted is that we appreciate the different gifts each other has. How I admire Carol’s medical knowledge and gift of discernment! I don’t envy those abilities – instead, I seek her wisdom when needed. (many times over the years)

Each of us has been created by our Heavenly Father as His workmanship. May we walk in the good works He has prepared for us.

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In My Garden with God  #19