Spring Planting

Posted on by
2

Happy Spring! It certainly doesn’t feel like it around here – with sub-zero temperatures and five feet of snow on the lawn, but the calendar tells us Spring has arrived!

By now we should have started some seeds indoors… but it hasn’t happened yet. The cold weather and my poor results from attempts last year have deterred me from being adventurous with my seed selections this year. Buying small plants and seedlings is easier. Let the professionals start the hard and delicate part of planting seeds. Then, I will just carry on from there. I don’t have a hothouse for tomatoes or peppers. My soil is not ideal for some of the more particular crops. And I’m too impatient for Lufas or teeny seeds like daisies and other flowers. I’m excited to try – last year we geared up in February for the first fruits. Failure makes me cautious. You’ve heard me say that growing is God’s miracle, we just plant the seed! I should just leave Him to His job.

Photo by Nikola Jovanovic on Unsplash

I watched a cute little YouTube clip from a kid’s object lesson on this topic. I love how Nature is so good at teaching even the most straightforward lessons. Jesus used them often to help His students learn. I’ll link the video in case you need a Sunday school lesson…

Seeds are dormant, hard little creatures that sit around waiting to die… protectors the “Bible mom” calls them. Keeping everything safe until just the right time at just the right moment to bloom, explode and display all their blessings. Plants and seedlings, on the other hand, are vulnerable and out there. They start out delicate. And if they get good care… well, they can become the mighty oak!

Unfortunately, last year my seedlings didn’t grow well. I let the protectors down and the producers just didn’t catch and flourish into the big plants they were intended to be. The few my mom got did pretty well at her house… she got some fruit. I guess her conditions were better.

And so it is with us. We need to be in the right conditions to flourish and grow. We need to be in a good church body with good teaching. We need to be mentored, encouraged and coaxed to grow. We need to feel confident enough to break down that hard protective shell of seed and sprout into seedlings and vulnerable plants. We need to be watered and fed and protected from the outside when we lose our shells.

And we need to be that protector for others. Those of us that are parents are all too familiar with this. We raise our kids, giving them all the attention and allowances we can. Eventually, they sprout and produce their own fruit. (Eek… am I heading to grandma zone??) But it’s true! Time waits for no one. We have limited chances to do our best. Still… it’s never too late! Even sickly seedlings can pick up with a bit of sunlight, a little water and some good food. They may never be the strongest in the garden, but the fruit is possible!

Photo via Jenni Haikonen

So let’s learn from spring buds, shall we? Encourage. Help grow. Seek it for yourself. Plant yourself in good soil. Break down your hard seed shell and bloom!

Here’s that kid’s video clip. May have to look up the “Bible Mom” again. Seems like a nice lady! 🙂 Bible Mom Lesson

I Want Some Ice Cream!

Posted on by
2

Ever want something so bad you wept over it? It consumes you. It envelops your thinking, your time, your energy, and sometimes your money. Guilty pleasures are often this way. They are not needs or necessities. They are just something you want so bad you ache for it. Like a kid in an ice cream store. Okay, like me in an ice cream store! You can taste it. You dream about it. You lose sleep over it. You plan and plead and plot.

Sometimes you get that decadent treat, all drippy and gooey, and after your first bite… brain freeze. Often, our strongest desires don’t end up being as tasty as they look. You are disappointed. Our brain has built up this desire so much that we can’t even live up to the potential we set for ourselves. Or others. Am I alone here? Surely not.

Photo by Dana DeVolk on Unsplash

I’ve been reading about Hannah this week. Her desire for baby Samuel quickly took over. In fact, Eli thought she was a full-on drunk in the middle of the day. Crazy woman. Consumed. Even her hubby thought she was “overreacting” and getting too obsessed. “Am I not of more worth to you than ten sons?” Those poor husbands. They try and fix things by helping. Sometimes we are more than they can handle. “Do what you think is best, dear.” That is all they can say.

I’m learning a hard lesson from Hannah. She gave up her most prized possession after finally getting it! Now, I’ve made this deal with God before. I promise I will use this or that for your ministry, Lord. If you only do this for me, I’ll “make it up to you”. Honestly, you and I both know that’s stinkin’ hard. Who wants to share the perfect ice cream cone? Hannah not only shared, but she also gave it away. With joy.

2 Hannah prayed:

I’m bursting with God-news!
    I’m walking on air.
I’m laughing at my rivals.
    I’m dancing my salvation.

2-5 Nothing and no one is holy like God,
    no rock mountain like our God.
Don’t dare talk pretentiously—
    not a word of boasting, ever!
For God knows what’s going on.
    He takes the measure of everything that happens.
The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces,
    while the weak are infused with fresh strength.
The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts,
    while the hungry are getting second helpings.
The barren woman has a houseful of children,
    while the mother of many is bereft.

6-10 God brings death and God brings life,
    brings down to the grave and raises up.
God brings poverty and God brings wealth;
    he lowers, he also lifts up.
He puts poor people on their feet again;
    he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope,
Restoring dignity and respect to their lives—
    a place in the sun!
For the very structures of earth are God’s;
    he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation.
He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step,
    but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark.
    No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle!
God’s enemies will be blasted out of the sky,
    crashed in a heap and burned.
God will set things right all over the earth,
    he’ll give strength to his king,
    he’ll set his anointed on top of the world!

11 Elkanah went home to Ramah. The boy stayed and served God in the company of Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 2 (Msg)
Photo via Katia G. Photo B.C. 2018

Oh beloveds, I am not there yet. Let’s encourage one another to be more like Hannah. Personally, I’ve still got ice cream dripping down my cheeks.

He Popped the Question!

Posted on by
2

Welcome back, my beloveds! I apologize for the slight delay, but February is a fun-filled month for us and I just wasn’t feeling it. I was in a little stale state as far as writing was concerned… even though we had lots going on! Birthdays, Valentine’s day, Family Day weekend, and I am proud to announce that an engagement has now been added to the month’s list! Our eldest son asked his beloved to marry him… and she, of course, said yes! How am I old enough for this? No comment. That purple hair is coming soon.

And so begins the muse… popcorn. Sorry, I suppose that connection needs to be made. After the great “proposal” we had a little gathering where the mother of the bride-to-be displayed little bags of popcorn that said: “He popped the question”. I’m sure you’ve seen the pun on Pinterest or at various shower-type events such as the one we had this weekend. Anyway… it was a fun little gesture that got me a thinkin’ all about that snack. Who discovered it? How? Why? Why is it the movie snack? Is it the only movie snack? And so I dug a little.

Let’s start with the variety. Popped corn is not the same as the veggie served at Thanksgiving dinner. The Zea mays variety everta, is the most common strain of corn used for popping. Originally domesticated in South America, people used to “pop” it in large kettles on the stovetop. MMMmn. Kettle corn is still the best form, I think. And the movie theatres? Well… somewhere around the 1890’s a guy called Charles Cretor created the classic street car “steam-powered” cart for selling nuts, candy and popcorn. That became popular when Mr. Dickinson began putting them in his theatres… a move that proved the snack was more popular than the actual movie ticket! It wasn’t until the 1970s that a Mr. Orville Redenbacher’s namesake brand of popcorn was launched for home use (now that tv movie watching seemed to have taken over from movie theatre going). Have you heard of that guy? Industry leader, for sure.

So what about that aroma? Remember smelling it back in the school or church basement and just knowing something good was about to happen… movie night, party period or something great. Ahhh… That smell just made you want to snack! Turns out it’s creepy chemicals affecting our brains. Popcorn contains high levels of the chemicals 6-acetyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, very powerful aroma compounds that make us crave the taste. These chemical compounds are also used by food and other industries as a marketing tool to make us “want” their products. Cue profitable theatre ticket sales.

Are you craving popcorn now? Well, just before you dive in the pantry for some Redenbacher’s, let’s think about this as our takeaway: Romans 8:28. We are like those little grains of everta corn to God. He knows that sometimes a little “heat” causes just enough stress to “pop up” good things in our lives. We need to expand out of our little comfort zone sometimes in order to become sweet and yielding. Like that microwaved bag, sometimes things just keep popping and popping up …. one thing after the other. Rest assured God allows it for something good. Always.

Here’s another thought. 2 Corinthians 2:15. We are to be that sweet attraction to others when things are popping up in their lives. The aroma of Christ should flood the room like popcorn scent in a theatre. It draws you in and makes you want to taste it. You should want to crave it. That should be the power of Christ in our lives. And it should be the center of my son’s new marriage adventure. So the party gift was ever so appropriate. I think I’ll go finish off the bag now. How about you?