Breaking All Kinds of Ground

Recently I visited my son in Utah.  He lives in Salt Lake City. (I know I have already shared this with you, but I'm trying to make a point, so bear with me.) This is a far cry from the farms of Iowa where he used to live.  I have come to appreciate and love the uniqueness of each.
All through Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa we would see cornfield after cornfield as we drove to see him.  They were beautiful. Every now and then a house would appear with a nearby barn.  I would always marvel at the modesty of the house - pristine, but plain.  The farmer's glory was in his crops which indicated how successful he was in maintaining their growth until it was time to reap. Nature plays such a huge part in bringing all to fruition, but the farmer must do his part first by starting with the right soil. He carefully plans, hoping for abundance. Every step he takes matters for the ultimate result.
Utah is mountainous and beautiful, but even in the valley the ground is hard and dry. The trees and brush that grow naturally among the rocky terrain are lovely, but drought resistant because humidity is so low. Soil enriched flower gardens and domestic potted plants must be watered daily in order to survive.
Many of the homes in town had an area of their yards sectioned off for vegetable gardening. It was a major investment to fill the bed with right kind of dirt, plant the seeds, and then care enough to oversee its progress for weeks to come.  The life of a farmer - urban or rural - is hard, but rewarding in the end.
1 Corinthians 3:6-8   I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 
Paul is speaking here about the spreading of the gospel with the harvest being the souls of men. Breaking ground with people takes determination as well.  It is not always easy when dealing with flesh and bone. (For some of us, it is never easy.) Still, the seeds need planting. Sometimes 'people' ground is harder and more resistant to any kind of care that might be offered. We must not only reach out, but reach in. It might be easier to just throw some seeds at that rocky surface without any prep work at all, but no one gains anything by using this method.
The world is a dry and thirsty place. Cultivation is lacking all around us. Few are selfless enough to invest in others.
Matthew 13:23  "As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." 
Our speech need not be perfect, but our love for Christ must be genuine and obvious.  The seed itself is the precious message of hope to a lost and dying world.  It must be fed, watered, and nurtured with truth and steadfastness. We must remember that only God brings forth life and growth.
1. plant - place a seed, bulb, or plant in the ground so that it can grow. Plant some seeds purposefully and not scattered to the wind.  God will do the prep work in the hearts. You just be the sower.
2. nurture - care for and encourage the growth or development of.  After planting the seeds, make yourself available for conversation, kindness, and minister as needed.  Invest.
3. harvest - the process or period of gathering in a crop.  Only God can do the harvesting.  After that, growth occurs, for it is only in dying that we live. 
John 12:24-25 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 
I do believe God is calling us to farm.  His crops never fail. Take time to do a little sowing and then purpose to nurture and cultivate. God will do the harvesting.  You just watch and wait for that to happen.
If He calls us to farm, He will have a harvest.
Hosea 10:12  Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. 
Sow some righteousness for yourself.  Reap some love as you dig deep into the word of God.  It is time to seek Him and farm.

Finding Jewels On the Beach

No, I did not find lost jewels as I walked Galveston's shoreline.  I found something worth much more. We have been on sabbatical for almost two months. For the first three weeks we made 'out of state' visits to see two of our children and our time with them was precious and good.  It was upon returning home that things went south...really south. I want to share it because we all go through difficult, rebellious days.  It even feels good and right to do so.  At the end of it all, I wrote down my personal insights and while they were nothing earth shattering, maybe they were jewels, after all.

When I went on my journey, God went with me.  Every choice I made was measured  by what He might want me to do.  My decisions were my own, but all of them were based on His call on my life. I was physically absent from what I can only call normal as we travelled from Texas to Utah to Ohio. It was a break from routine, for sure. The Lord was my constant - the anchor that helped me discern how best to serve my family.  We laughed through the memory making and I was able to read, write, and rest. My longing to be with my children had been somewhat appeased as we boarded the last plane for Texas.
Upon returning home, 'norm' showed up with its demands at my door and I ignored it and rejected it. "No," I almost said aloud, "not yet!"
"When?" it silently asked as that word fell on deaf ears. My ears were shut to routine and to God as well - the same God, Who went with me every step of the way and home again so I could resume His purposes for me here.  Only I did not like my purpose anymore.  Breathing different air had been a balm I did not realize I needed.  Vacations can be taxing, too.  I was exhausted, but in a good way - only so very reluctant to return to duty. "We. Are. Still. On. Sabbatical." I would say to myself.  How very selfish I felt inside...and ungrateful.
Someone generously gave us three days on the beach in Galveston not long after our last getaway. Again, my choices were mine to make, but there was no one else around, (except Tommy) to press in on my coveted seclusion.  It was like a salve to my soul. We walked on the shore every morning and evening. Often Tommy would sit and read as I steered myself toward the east and took off in search of oddities. (Believe me, they are there.)

There was no one in sight as far as I could see in either direction, so I could freely talk aloud with God.  The stain of selfishness made me ill and I did not want to remain in this condition. Sometimes we are prodigals of our everyday activities out of our need for spontaneity. Nothing wrong with that. I was however, rejecting His plan for me.
As I walked and talked, hot tears began to roll down my cheeks. He had given me this moment.  He planned to meet me here all along.  I was in real rebellion and He just kept blessing me.  God loved me through my self-centeredness and taught me more about Who He is.

I saw the never ending waves that broke relentlessly against the seashore, reshaping it again and again.  Sandpipers searched for food, sticking their beaks into the sand as the water retreated. Seaweed surrendered its life to the beach and the wind's constant gusts across the gulf would return again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.  God allowed me to see His handiwork all around me.  When I thought obedience would mean losing these moments of freedom, He showed me that the only bondage that held me captive was of my own making.

Sandpiper territory

His perfect design for me was freedom all along.  We are not free unless we are submitted to the Lord's best for us...not with eyes scrunched tightly and head nodding slowly, but with the peace that comes with a yielded heart, knowing that the Sovereign One can be trusted.
God could have disciplined me with a stern hand in order to get my attention.  I like this way better. Love is also a chastening tool.  It moves mountains.  The biggest ones lie in the heart of man.  I am on a new journey now: To love others to Christ - even when I disagree with everything they are doing, and how they may be acting.  I'm just gonna see what Love can do.  It worked on me.

Waiting On the Leaves

It's early September and though the leaves in south Texas will not turn until early November, I will wait and pretend in the meantime.  I wait every year.  Autumn's colors will arrive as anticipated and leave before I am ready. (I am never ready.)
In their stead, poor substitutes will suffice, inadequate though they be - appearing in odd places throughout my house and remaining until the season is over.  I have been known to shed a tear or two at their passing. Seriously. (Maybe that is an indicator of my maturity level and inability to accept change.)

My love for leaves began in the Fall of 1989 when visiting New England for the first time.  I have never been the same.  Thankfully, this beauty comes annually, though its grandeur is not matched in the deep South.  My memory is not so short it can't recall my breath being snatched from me at the sight of God's design for color in nature.  Its magnificence is forever in my heart. Pictures are unable to portray full splendor, but they do a pretty good job for me.

Inside this book are numerous
leaves I have collected and
preserved inside waxed pages. 

And sometimes an artist will capture
the season just perfectly...for posterity.

Is It Enough Just to Obey?

Thus says the LORD concerning this people: "They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins." Jeremiah 14:10

What if the task ahead of you yields no fruit...but for experiencing your own obedience to the Lord? What if instead of gratitude for a job well done, rejection is all you are offered, along with a determined attitude of rebellion?  This describes Jeremiah's dilemma.  He preached and preached God's word to the Israelites, only to be shunned by them, his words ignored, and his mission utterly futile...yet some of the most beloved scriptures of grace and hope are found in this book.

Sometimes we will work painstakingly on a particular project, envisioning the end result and when the end result arrives, it is less than desired - not bad - just less that what we were striving for and so we are undone.  Our focus is on the outcome, bypassing the lessons learned along the way.
Lives are lived with expectations of success.  We dream of better days and prosperity.  Some work years at one goal without ever achieving it. Isn't there something to be said for staying the course God calls us to, even if it means that we never see anything meritorious in the end?  Yes.  God loves obedience.  It is all He has ever asked us to do.  If we, like Jeremiah, give our bodies to be His vessels for use, then it is God's word that is at stake...not the value of our endeavors.  Let the gospel be the offense and not we ourselves. Let our message and our representation of Who Jesus is be all that matters and not whether or not we are heard.
When God calls us to live for Him without counting the cost - it is dangerous to decide ahead of time what the outcome should look like.  God in His omniscience already knows these things. Maybe the only outcome is the one found in the heart of the one committed to obey.

And maybe the only fruit of our doings is found on the inside.