My Garden sings of Summer

I am sharing my garden in HD and song. Check http://vimeo.com/5904789

Out of the old comes the new

The weather is milder today but gray and rainy. After walking Mia with Tim I felt the call of the garden to get in a little clean-up work. Most of the flower beds are full of dead things. Some have unusual blooms, seed pods, and berries that hardly resemble what they once were.

Most however have strong roots and tiny buds that hold a store of strength for the next phase of life.

We set to work raking fallen leaves from the beds and trimming off tops and wilted foliage.

I always feel that a good stint in the garden brings things into a proper perspective.

Today it seemed to remind me how very temporary everything is here. But it also reminded me that God is always about the future.

The Azalea, the Kerria, the Sedum all showing signs of the life that is inside waiting for its chance to burst forth. It reminds me that God declared after a catastrophic flood "While the earth remaineth seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Whatever you are facing today there will be other days, different days, maybe easier, maybe harder. God's power will be there for you. I count on it.

The righteous are as bold as a lion.

Lion cubs look so cuddly.
They don't look bold.
They look inquisitive, comfortable, satiated.
How would you describe them?

I love this picture. It makes me want to hold them and feel that soft fur.

I wonder what they are thinking about.

I imagine they are watching the examples around them and learning how to survive.

Now the lion to the right looks bold. She is roaring, I think. Possibly there are other names for it, maybe snarling?

The cub has to learn from the example of its mother and father. It has to practice.

Does the roar make the lion bold? I don't think so.

How does the lion become bold and how do I grow in boldness?

This little cub is trying out some lion possibilities.

It seems he is practising his roar;

he is imitating the grown lions.

We too need to practice our roar.

The Proverbs tells us,

"The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." Pr 21:8

I must practise boldness as I know and understand it, to become bolder. Our boldness is based on what Christ has already done. Paul writes of the Corinthians in 2 Cor:3 "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.

5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 2 Cor:3: 3-5, 12

A slight change in the weather?

Life is interesting. There are ups and downs.
One day everything is wonderful and you are so full of thankfulness for God's goodness you feel blessed and amazed.
Then there is a change in the weather; not literally but the climate and setting of your life just changes. Something new came into focus. It's not entirely new, it actually was there before but it was not in the forefront.
Now there is a change in the weather. A storm is beating down and it definitely has your attention.
You are caught in the rain and making a quick get away seems in order.

This is not a time to lose perspective. It is a time to be alert. The One who controls the weather is not surprised. He is there in the midst of the storm. Jesus diciples said "Carest thou not that we perish?" as their boat tossed in the storm and water poured over the side. It is easy to dash into a bigger problem in the attempt to escape the one we face today.
What did Jesus say to the storm? He said "Peace, Be still!"
What does God say? "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Trust God in the storm and obey His voice. He will be exalted in your life. He will walk with you through the storm and when you look back all that caused you to fear you will remember how faithfully he brought you through.

John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Roses, Roses, Roses

June is fabulous for Roses. I always enjoy them. This year all the lovely warm weather has helped them explode in beauty. This rose is a David Austen's Old English Rose named "Abraham Darby."

I seems to be the first one with a bloom each year and that first Rose is enormous.

The fragrance is very strong and somewhat fruity mixed with a traditional old rose scent, a very pleasant fragrance. Of all the apricot English roses, this has to be one of the very nicest and is a strong plant that reblooms quickly.

I have to go back again and again to smell this rose. It declares to me the glory of God.

1. Color-beyond gorgeous-pink and peach and golden yellow in the center.

2. Form and detail-lush and abundant-probably more than 50 petals edged with scallops and crinkles in their tissue like softness.

3. Fragrance-breathe it in and enjoy-amazing; sweet, fruity, spicy perfume.

Mt. 6:28 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?