Pray to the Lord of the harvest

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6,7

The warmer weather has been inviting to get busy in the garden.  I love seeing the plants grow and bloom.  Right now the wildflowers are blooming.  The air is filled with such a wonderful sweet scent from the crab apple tree to the sweet aroma of the flowering Solomon Seal plants that cover the forest floor around here. 

Two years ago when we bought this place I was excited to plant a vegetable garden.  There is a large garden plot in back of our lot, but it hadn’t been cultivated in the past few years.  Weeds had taken over the garden.  Finally this spring I decided that it was time to clear just a small area.  It took several days of tilling and hoeing just to get the soil ready.  Our backs and legs ached after pulling out roots and rocks that were deeply embedded in the soil.  So much work just to get it ready for the seeds.  

I was reminded of the Scripture in Corinthians as I placed the seeds in the warm soil.  I found myself praying for the people around here.  “Lord as the seed of your Word is placed in the hearts of our friends and neighbours, may it take root in the soil of their heart and grow and flourish to bring forth fruit.” 

Ministry work is very much like gardening.  We spend much time preparing the soil for planting and watering.  It takes a lot of effort to pull out the rocks and gnarly roots of distrust, misconceptions and hurts of the people we work with.  As we come alongside people, we share God’s hope and love and healing.  Over time the soil of hearts is softening to receive the seed of God’s Word.  We look forward to the Word of God growing mature and fruit bearing believers.  So we press on and continue to cultivate, plant and water and pray to the Lord of the harvest to bring forth fruit for His glory.

the birds of the air...

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? " Matthew 6:26

In the last couple of days we have been noticing some activity just outside our living room window.  Two robins have been busy flying back and forth with little twigs and leaves in their beaks.  Sure enough they found a perfect spot perched on top of our light fixture to build their nest.  It certainly has been a team effort as they both have been busy bringing the building materials together to make their little home for their offspring.   It has been fun to watch them.  And it reminded  me of the above passage in Matthew 6.  Sometimes circumstances  in our lives can give way to worry and anxiety, yet we need to remember these words of Jesus.  As the Father cares for and feeds the birds of the air, we who are more valuable than they can trust Him to care for us whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Thank you God for using the robins to remind us of your care and love for us.  

Creator's Talking Circle - Easter 2011 (short)

the silver lining...

People sometimes say that every cloud has a silver lining to comfort somebody who's having problems. They mean that it is always possible to get something positive out of a situation, no matter how unpleasant, difficult or even painful it might seem.

The cloud is the painful time of losing a loved one. Knowing that we won't be able to call them, or send them an e-mail telling them about our day. Realizing that the part they played in our life here on earth has ended. We all will face the death of a loved one at some point in our lives. It is something that we don’t like to talk about or even try to imagine. Death is a reality we cannot escape. But God tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 that "we do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope". Christ won the victory over death. Those who believe in him will have the hope of eternal life. That’s the silver lining to the dark cloud. Death is not the end, in reality it is a new birth into eternity with Christ and God the Father.

Kim - Howard - Amanda

This Tuesday is the memorial service for Howard’s dad Carl. Because he put his faith in Christ, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is even now celebrating eternal life with his Lord and Saviour. He is free from the pain and suffering that is part of this sinful world. That is the silver lining and something to celebrate.
Howard flew to Wisconsin to be with the family to celebrate the life of his dad. Another silver lining is spending time with the kids and grandkids. He met our granddaughter Grace for the very first time in person. I just wanted to share a couple of the pictures that Kim took of opa and his girls and the grandkids.

Lauren - Delilah - Grace - opa Howard - Topher