gardening – Page 3 – Jesus is for the Wounded

Anatomy of a Garden Bed: Luke 7

Published on September 6, 2014September 6, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

⁴While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ⁵“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.

20140827_191225 — Nothing going on here at the nursery: barren ground and a dead stump provide a perch for this lone feline.

⁶Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.

20140827_202927 — In the absence of compost and amendments, nothing would grow in this soil!

⁸Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

DSCF0575 — Compost, Canadian peat moss, hardwood mulch and fertilizer should give these newbies and transplants a head start in their new home.

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

When we do not heed the Word of God all our efforts waste away, crumbling back to the earth like the dead plants in this compost pile. How better to thrive in the Word of wisdom! — This passage provides important lessons for our lives. When we do not heed the Word of God all our efforts ultimately waste away, crumbling back to the earth like the dead plants in this compost pile.

⁹His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.

Without the counsel of the words of Jesus Christ our lives are like chasing the wind. — Striving in our own strength, is like blindly chasing after the wind.

¹¹“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹²Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

Barren ground shall not awaken without the light of our Lord and Savior. — Barren ground shall not awaken to the truth without the light, the Words of our Lord and Savior.

¹³Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.

20140830_161444 — Plants weaken and become subject to pests and diseases when choked together. Perennials that mature properly require care, division, replanting, water, sunlight, fertilization, and time to grow in due season.

¹⁵But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

DSCF0589 — The newly pruned and divided stella d’oro daylilies will flourish next year, finishing this season well and providing plants for the new garden bed too.

Resting in God's creation — How glorious it is to rest in God’s creation and plan for our lives!

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P.S. I’m thinking of putting together a group Skype devotional and prayer time once per week with others who are largely isolated for whatever reason. The focus would be open and based upon belief in God through the person of Jesus Christ of the Bible. Please leave me a comment below if you might be interested. I’ll do a separate blog on this soon! Take care, JJ

You bring me joy

Published on June 21, 2014June 22, 2014 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

How about playing a little tune while enjoying the view that encourages me these days: my beloved and my garden. Enjoy!

Song to play:

Pictures from my heart of gratitude. Thank you Jesus. You are so good to me. JJ

My beloved and me at Lakeside Rose Garden, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Our first compost pile in what used to be the dog pen. Sorry Elle! You'll have to share! — Our first compost pile in what used to be the dog pen. Sorry Elle! You’ll have to share!

Lavender in the veggie garden bringing on the bumblebees. Yes!

Looks like the Knock Out Rose bush is going to make it after all!

Spring and Fall

Published on October 31, 2013October 31, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

My body will tell you tonight: it’s quite an accomplishment to finish our Spring and Fall yard clean up projects all within 24 hours! Whaaat? Such is life these days. All completed just in time for the long soaking rain storm outside my window as Winter approaches . . . the maiden tulip bulbs are going to be real happy in their new home!

I am exceedingly grateful to be functioning somewhat better despite the ongoing noxious episodes that occur most days. Then there were two noxious-free “holidays” within the past four days. THIS IS HUGE GUYS AND GALS! I haven’t had more than a one-day break per week since living in the hotel at the beginning of the year when we were remediating our home for mold. Looks like the IV magnesium treatments (counted #20 today) and sugar/sweetener-free cholestyramine are beginning to work a wonder inside of me. I am grateful and humbled.

Despite all of this good news for some reason I needed to cry a bit today. This year has been especially traumatic. When I’m in one of those hour-long to several-hour-long episodes my ability to think and reflect is gone. My mind is blank. No processing occurs of what is happening to me. I have heard patients with dementia describe his or her mind this way. There just aren’t any thoughts. Gratefully I do not have dementia. I often wonder, however, if there will be synaptic damage from the almost 2 years of seizure attacks. Then again, maybe the neurons just needed a little Spring cleaning, resetting, and the like. Anyways, I believe that to grieve the loss of my health is, well, healthy. Perhaps it will pave a comprehensive path to healing?

The end of Psalm 139 reads:

²³Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

I have heard an application of this passage that it can describe the need to reflect upon and grieve a past trauma as part of a God-honoring healing process. The Lord knows me and my circumstances in addition to the outcome. By opening my mind and heart to His merciful grace under the shadow of His wings, I will find rest. I have prayed many times to “get” the purpose of all of this suffering and wondered if I was “there yet.” I asked my husband Steve, my God-honoring spiritual leader, if he thought there was anything I was not seeing. Was there some sin or character flaw that required repentance? Steve was gracious when asked these questions. We both saw the little lessons and unexpected blessings that were the “silver lining” to this illness. We have not become embittered. We have drawn even closer together and to Christ. Whew. Thankfully.

Blogging started as online journaling and has become so much more. I do hope that my writing will be used for God’s glory and point people who are going through serious trials, to the person of Jesus Christ. To the Gentle Reader out there, you have also helped me find a plan and a purpose for this time in my life. The process has become as meaningful as the lessons learned. One lesson learned yesterday: don’t leave a wheelbarrow full of mulch out in the yard! Put it under the covered porch. Six times it got rained on and rained in. Geez that was one heavy wheelbarrow!

A little humor helps fer shur. And my Stevers is a great model of the value of silliness in the middle of the crap-o-la-ski. (You were missing my Polish, I know, so here ya go!) Thanks for hanging in there with me. Wish I could hug ya, eh? :J

Three Joys

Published on May 4, 2013May 4, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

A Pause in the Middle of the Storm

Published on January 30, 2013January 31, 2013 by Jesus is for the WoundedLeave a comment

I am grateful to report that I received my Advanced Master Gardener designation from the Cooperative Extension Office of Purdue University, Fort Wayne yesterday. God is good.

To become a Master Gardener in a University-affiliated program in the United States, a person takes a three-month course, six hours per week, successfully completes all class assignments and projects, takes a comprehensive exam, and completes 48 hours of related volunteer work. Each additional rank of recognition, requires additonal volunteer hours and educational classes. For me, the volunteer work and training was accomplished while undergoing treatment and complications of Lyme Disease! How does that work? By the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ alone!

Sometimes I would stop at the Extension Office to water the Vegetable Garden in the cold or extreme heat because it needed me to do so as one of the members of the Vegetable Garden team. Sometimes I went to an educational class a “shred-over-nauseous” in the evening just to get out of the house and be around people. And the Lord allowed me to sit at my computer last Winter and research a beautification project for my housing association . . . to help me get out of bed! I remain grateful for this opportunity to accomplish something meaningful to me and even more grateful for the love and support of my husband, Steve.

Steve encouraged me to cut back on my work schedule and take the Master Gardener class before illness first struck in October of 2011. After that it was the friendship of our special project group within the class that kept me going as viral hepatitis set in: Jim Battin, James Poiry, Sue Hauck, Cindy Trygg, and Beth Fiato. Sue Hauck is in the picture above, to my left (I’m the gal in black) and Cindy Trygg is in the audience: two sweet gardeners extraordinaire that took an interest in me and kept the friendly connections going after the class ended. When I began treatment for Lyme Disease in January of 2012, Fran and Karen Yorio and Bill Diedrich joined what was to become the Willow Run Community Association Beautification Project and kept it all going with great support and feedback when the going got tough for me. Later in the year, Cindy, Jim Neuhouser and Jo Ellen Smith allowed me to work at my own pace and sometimes alone late in the day to hang in there this past summer with the Veggie Garden team. These crazy hours of volunteering and ongoing training, with the support of kindred spirited Master Gardeners and Interns, helped me earn this designation. Thank you! You da best! I could not, would not have been able to do anything without your friendship.

Last night was a pause, a moment to reflect, despite the ongoing chaos that is in our home right now. We ate banquet food and listened to a presentation on prairie management from Blue Heron Ministries, Inc. Just that we were out for a special night then returned to the hotel room to crash while our home begins the mold restoration process. Throughout this past 1 1/2 year, I am grateful to know that gardening, one of my favorite passions (with Steve being number one, of course!) will be there when the dust settles (and goes away!) in our home. Maybe this Spring I’ll plant a commemorative specimen to represent this amazing journey of discovery, of healing.

Hmmmmm . . . Any ideas what that should be? :J