Eyes to See

Box of Old Journals to Destroy

I've been getting rid of old journals that take up too much room but reading some of them first. 

This week I found this: "Trust me in times of trouble and in plenty", I hear God saying. "Pray not just in the morning but always. Ask, seek, knock. Do not depend on yourself for anything."

I respond,"I cannot really depend on anything but You Lord. Help me to turn to you in everything I do."

Looking back, after the eye operation for a new cornea, the Lord has been showing me and reminding me how to trust and turn to Him. Since December, I put drops in my eye four times a day every day and lay down and be still for two or more minutes each time. So now it is a habit as I wait, "Lord to open my eyes so I can see what You see and what you want me to see.". I pray for needs that He shows me.

I don't think you have to have an eye operation or drops in your eyes four times each day to stop and ask questions of the Lord and talk with him. All I know is that my eyes have been opened to see what I have been blinded to before. I am more aware of what is going on around me and how I need to respond.

The Lost:
He has shown me this last week to have a heart for the lost, More specifically to have a broken heart for the lost.  A few weeks ago I had a blood draw for a 6 month check up and the nurse could not find an adequate vessel and I ended up with a huge bruise.on my forearm. After a week, the bruise turned into a heart shape.

It seemed like it was a strange blessing from God. But sometimes it takes day or more to realize what God is telling me. So last Sunday a week after the picture above was taken, the second week after the blood draw, I noticed that the "heart" bruise on my arm now looked as though it was a broken heart. Not coincidentally, at church, the praise and worship video showed a bandaged heart and song about having a broken heart for the lost! I get the message Lord!

The Lost: (no answer to the meaning and purpose and reality in life and no distinctiveness of man)

It is then that I remember what I have been praying daily for years:

"Lord help me see the lost as you do. Help me to have a broken heart for them and great compassion. Help me think about their spiritual condition. Help them really matter to me. Lord give me a heart that beaks when I encounter non-Christians in a crowd. Give me new eyes to see them as they really are (lost, separated, distressed) and show me what to do for them. Give me words, wisdom and grace. "

"Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now an found, was blind but now I see." John Newton

So what are you trying to get rid of, so to make room for a new way of looking at what is around you?"
Are you trusting God to show up in unusual places?
How might you be lost?

April blossoms

Last week the cherry trees, plum, early apple and Asian pear were in bloom and I missed a picture, so here is a sample display of pink and white blossoms in our orchard this week to cheer you.

Granny Smith Apple blossom

Crab apple blossoms

Espalier apple just starting to blossom

 Purple and Pink Blooms in the Potager Garden

Pansies and lilies inn a pot

More pansies by the gate 

Tree peony and Clematis Montana at the gate.

 By the way, the bees are out and about!
"...The whole earth is full of His glory." Isaiah 6:3

Palm Sunday Leading to Easter

We prepared the week before last for special company, cleaning, cooking and decorating to make "fit for a king."  We also prepared for Palm Sunday,  to celebrate the entrance of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem, the King of Kings, riding on a donkey, with palm fronds waved by children.

The Chinese Windmill  palm  (Trachycarput fortunei) in the Hot border, the main palm died and this is the new life that came from it.

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Another palm in the past was moved from the hot border to a pot and placed it near the rose arbor tucked away from winter winds when temperatures dropped.

"Open Palms" like a Prayer in Winter Snow (several years ago)

Palm Moved to the Front Deck

So we sacrificed  and clipped off the bottom fronds and a friend helped slice the barbs off the stems so children's hands would not be injured and on Palm Sunday the children of the church waved the palms and sang "Hosanna".

This weekend, Easter, we prepare for the "King of Kings" Jesus. Preparation, not outward cleaning or movements to better spaces but coming clean inside to make us fit so we can open our hearts to receive all that Jesus did for us. He left heaven as the three in one Godhead, took on human form, born of a virgin, lived a life of dependence on the Holy Spirit with all the temptations of humanity but without sin, became the sacrificial lamb of God to take away the sins of the world and all who believe in Him, and sent His Holy Spirit to live in those who believe, so we could be set free from the power and penalty of sin and have access to the same Holy Spirit for every part of our redeemed life. If you have not asked Jesus into your life, do it this Easter. Don't just prepare outwardly but your heart inwardly knowing He has rescued us, setting us apart so we can receive Him. He is risen! He is Alive!


How are you preparing for Easter? Is it just outward preparation or is it the most important preparation you can ever do, that of opening your heart so the King of Kings to come into your life so  Jesus can live through you.   Happy Easter!

Lent

Hellebore “Lenten Rose” blooms every year around Easter

Lent and time for the Spirit's leading us to repent

My Hellebore reminder.

(not that I confess only seasonally)

I'm not one to follow lent in terms of giving up things I might love. I believe in doing this occasionally when I am called to pray and fast for deeper prayer connection with God and to intercede  for others to receive the peace and wisdom needed in difficult situations .  

But I do believe in preparation for Easter.  It is not just a day filled with flowers and family and food, although these are still important. Preparation enhances the reality of what Jesus did for us so we can celebrate new life in an even greater way, not just in the Spring garden.

 I could not find the potted Hellebore in the garden yesterday. It was a mystery, but I got involved in making a St Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage and forgot about it and listened to Celtic songs “You Raise Me Up” (fast forward video to 2 minutes)

 I sing this as a prayer to God.

This morning after praying for what I should write, the image of a half-dead hellebore in a dark car trunk popped into my head. I forgot! Four days ago I put it in the back of the minivan to bring it to church. It was used as an altar flower during lent in previous years, and I brought it just in case someone forgot to tell me they needed flowers.  But I was the one who forgot, and found it in the back of the minivan on its side.

My husband mentioned that he heard something rolling around, but didn't pay attention to what it was. I had not used the car since Sunday.

Hellebore message

As I pray for wisdom for myself and you, a message seems clear: often things happen so we might look at ourselves more clearly. We can blame someone else for the bigger problems or we can distract ourselves so we don’t think about it, but the sight of the Hellebore lying on its side, dirt scattered about, broken leaves and blossoms gives a message about the reality of what is not right in our lives. 

• ·     Whether you believe in sin or not, God wants us to see our lives as He does. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
• ·     Realize the chasm between us and God. Romans 1:18-32
•    "The path to healing requires repentance, and repentance requires conviction of sin, and conviction of sin requires clear exposition of the Word of God, even when it is uncomfortable.” John Piper p. 44 World Jan 23, 2014
•  "From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Matthew 4:17  
•  “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus, John 10:10
•  “Receive the Holy Spirit, repent and be baptized.” Acts 2:31-38
•  “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” Jesus Revelation 3:20

How might you prepare for Easter? May you sense the Holy Spirit's leading.

Meyer Lemon Tree

A year ago February at the NW Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, we bought a Meyer Lemon tree.
When our daughter lived in California, they had one in their back yard, we admired it and thought we would try one for ourselves.

Meyer Lemon in a pot with fruit

So we bought and brought home the almost two foot tall blossom filled plant with hopes of it bearing fruit. I hand pollinated it with a brush over the open white flowers and kept it inside our sun room until all danger of frost passed and put it outside in the sun through the summer and fall. Fruit was slowly developing and I kept asking my daughter if it was ready yet. She said that it should be orange-yellow. So yesterday, I went to pick the fruit and it fell into my hands upon touch.

Meyer Lemon Tart with garnish of Lemon Verbena leaves

Today I found a great recipe that used the three lemons. It was just ripe in time for a Memorial and potluck dessert for Howard, a wonderful and missed member of our Shaw Island Fellowship and community.  So hopefully the tree will continue to flower and bear and I will remember Howard each year when it does and also be thankful for our daughter's introduction to the fresh winter fruit.

May we all bear fruit such as Howard did.
"May you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God..." Colossians 1:9-10

February garden flowers

Although most of the East and Midwest are under blankets of snow, we have had unusually mild weather for this time of year. 

Here are some photos of outside wintered over plants from our garden to brighten your day.

Crocus
One day where there was bare ground,  the sun comes out and then they appear.

I love the late winter in the Pacific Northwest and the plants have responded to the warmth by putting out new growth and some fresh flowers.

I am putting more plants in pots recently for ease of care and ability to move them around
to fill in bare spots and for best viewing

Galianthus (snowdrops) in a pot

Hellebores  wintered over outside

This pot comes to life each year and I occasionally bring it inside to brighten our home

Primula in a pot wintered over outside

There are many more plants to add for February and I will add them to this post soon.
Thank you for your interest.

A Lesson in Loss

Nest by artist J. Matt Miller (original oil that we purchased)

“A nest is a cup of space, a swinging cradle, an anchored platform, a wedge between boulders, a pocket in bark or dirt, a scrape on rock, a dent in sand. It represents the still point in a bird’s fast-paced life, the place where past and future meet. The nest is the place where the wing beat of the hummingbird – vibrating at twenty to eighty times per second – is quieted; where the California Condor’s soaring flight to 15,000 feet is brought down to earth. It’s where the Red-tail Hawk’s shrill whistle falls silent, its thick talons folding softly over white eggs." Nests: a foreword by Gretel Ehrlich for The Nest: and Artist’s Sketchbook, MaryJo Koch, N.Y:Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999

 I came upon it while weeding the potager. We had been away for ten days, just enough time for the birds to scope out a perfect, undisturbed place to build their  nest and lay their eggs. Then we came back and I decided to clear out the potager of weeds. It was so hidden that I could not see it until a pulled weed revealed three beautiful eggs.  These eggs were laid by birds who flew long distances back to our garden, found a mate, built a nest and spent time laying and sitting on them.  After I took away their protective grasses, they abandoned the nest and eggs. I couldn't sleep. The eggs in the bird nest disturbed me. By my actions four birds were not brought into this world and the white crowned sparrow's hard work was in vain.

Then I heard the Lord say,"Why are you so upset with bird's eggs that you exposed to harm? The loss of three eggs, how much more important is the loss of a child."  Forgive me Lord. The family on the island who lost their son are grieving beyond our imagination, and we have not reached out. We had them over to dinner. Perhaps in your timing and your plan so we could be tender to them and have your spirit in us, not our own ways, when speaking, listening to, and praying for them. Lord fill, immeasurably more than a cup, the empty space in their lives and hearts to overflowing with your comfort and love.

How much more than we ever know the lives of others we affect by our actions or inaction.

“Peace be to the GOD and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4