Joy in Creation

Psalm 65:8
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
   where morning dawns, where evening fades,
   you call forth songs of joy.

My zinnias are blooming.

This time of year, as I'm driving through the country toward my hometown to visit family, I roll past fields of soybeans and signs with sweet corn for sale. Abundant gardens filled with tomatoes, green beans, and cucumbers catch my eye, and one home offers pick your own flowers. The cosmos and zinnias dance in the breeze, inviting people to stop by and cut a bouquet.

My daughter, Maggie, and her husband, Michael, grew a lovely garden this year. From their abundance, she gave us green beans and zucchini, and I can't wait to see her blue pumpkins. As I sat in my chair and snapped the beans, I considered how amazing it is that God gave us so many incredible plants. He offers a variety for us to eat and a multitude to enjoy.

The zinnias I planted from seed have sprouted and bloomed. Their rainbow of color welcomes people to our door and brings joy to my day.

I am in awe of all God created. From the tiny pea to the giant redwood, the woods to the rainforest, the ocean to the mountains, everything He made He gave us to explore, discover, use, and enjoy. God also gave us responsibility to take care of the earth and the natural resources He provided. As I soak in the beauty, I long for us to appreciate and care for the environment we live in.

The whole earth is filled with wonder and I rejoice in God, the Creator of everything. Even as I love all the plants and animals, I adore and worship the One who made them, and I'm thankful for the bounty of summer and the beauty of the season.

Thank God for His gift of creation and rejoice in Him.

 

Grow Through It

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Every flower must grow through dirt. 

I've grown zinnias everywhere we've lived. The tall green stems topped with an array of color danced in my flowerbeds all summer—until we moved to the condo. The little plot where the lavender and black-eyed Susans thrive isn't good for zinnias. I'd given up trying to grow them from seed until a new spot opened on the other side of the porch. The HOA had removed a pine tree and left a gaping hole in the landscape. When the neighbor gave me several packets of flower seeds, I stirred the dirt, laid down some potting soil, and sprinkled the seeds with the hope of growth.

In about a week, little seedlings pushed through the dirt. Those tiny green sprouts brought me joy. Not all the seeds made an appearance, but the ones who did will show the colors of summer. I'm eager to see how they grow and bloom.

Like the seedlings, sometimes we have to push through the dirt to grow. The soil may represent a difficult time in our lives when our hearts are tested by sorrow, despair, or uncertainty. Or maybe we're in the wrong soil, like the zinnias. The dirt in the little flowerbed didn't allow for growth, but the other side had the nourishment the plants needed.

Maybe we're in the wrong place because we aren't listening to God. What if I've allowed myself to stop listening to the Holy Spirit, which means I've cut off my life's supply of grace and hope?

Regardless of where I am in life, I will continue to grow through as I go through. Whether I'm pushing through the soil or finding myself in the wrong spot, I need to seek Jesus and listen to the Spirit of God so my faith will produce perseverance and perseverance will bring me to maturity.

Have you planted your heart in God's soil?

He Cares

I love this time of year, before the temperature rises beyond eighty,
and the plants sprout from the ground. 

My flowers are mostly perennials that reseed and return year after year. 
I don't have to do much to the plants,
and before long I'll have a lovely rainbow of blooms.

I think God filled the world with flowers to remind us how much He cares.

"Consider how the wild flowers grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you,
not even Solomon in all his splendor
was dressed like one of these."
-Luke 12:27

New Life Awaits

The hyacinth and tulip leaves have pushed through 

the cold January ground and reminded me of the coming of spring. 

I love that God thought to give us plants, some to eat and some to 

simply enjoy. As I wait through the quiet of winter, I look forward to 

new life in my garden, just as I look forward to heaven.

Enjoy the beauty of the earth until we see the magnificence of heaven.

 Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.

So Did I

Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

My columbine cross-pollinated.

When I first planted columbine in my flower garden, I started with one or two plants. I had grown the old-fashioned ones for years, but when I moved, I failed to take them with me. Eventually, I gathered starts of white and purple from my siblings and added a pretty blue one. With their pops of color and lacey leaves, they add bursts of joy to my plot. As the spring flowers bloom, I'm reminded once again of God's handiwork.

Last year as I perused the early blossoms, I noticed a change in one of the columbine plants. The white ones generally have a multi-petaled bloom, while the purple and blue produce more of a bell shape with tiny curls on the edges. When I focused the camera on one of the white blossoms, I noticed it had a bell shape, too. The white had cross-pollinated with one of the other plants and created a delicate white bell with curls.

I'm fascinated by the work of God in nature. Of course this discovery got me thinking. When I as a human "cross-pollinate" with the grace God offers, I become a different person. I'm no longer relying on myself. Instead, I'm a child of God who relies on my heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Through Him my soul reaches a level of beauty I could not imagine possible.

Just as the white columbine changed and blossomed, so did I when I surrendered my life to Jesus. He has a good work for me to do and when I mesh the abilities and desires God has given me with his grace and forgiveness, I'm a new creation who by what I do, brings glory to my Father. I thank God for His grace and mercy and for the chance to make a difference.

Praise God for Jesus and for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

See the Soul

Last week I posted a photo of the lily-of-the-valley,

still green, without full blooms.

A few days later, I caught this picture of the beautiful white bells.

What if I'd only noticed this sweet plant in all its glory, 

with bells on and beautiful.

I would have missed the wonderment of the stages of growth.

I love the words "If only we saw souls." 

I would see the heart of the person,

the stages of growth, or the need for encouragement.

I'd see the worth and the beauty of a soul struggling to make it through the day,

or the soul who reaches out and lifts others up.

Seek to look at the soul and see the true beauty.

 

And God Created These...

Kelleys Island, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Kelleys Island, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Westlake, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Kelleys Island, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Kelleys Island, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Kelleys Island, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Kelleys Island, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Marblehead, OH ©PennyFrostMcGinnis

Don't Say Thanks

Don't Say Thanks

They said I 

couldn't thank you

for the plants.

Bad luck they said.

Those old wives.

The ones who

hung over the fence.

Made up tales.

I'm not saying thanks-

so the black-eyed Susans 

and bleeding hearts 

may live. 

-PFM

After a conversation with a friend about the etiquette of not saying thanks for plants, I had to look up the source for such a belief.

"Never say thank you if someone shares their flowers or plant cuttings with you-if you do they (the plants) will die. (I've heard this one my whole life-and man is it hard not to automatically say thank you when someone gives you plants)"

See more at: The Blind Pig and the Acorn