Paula Davis

I was weeding in the garden tonight. It’s amazing how quickly the weeds grow up and drown out the plants! It seems one day I look at it and think, “There’s a few weeds. I’ll have to get out here soon.” In just a day or two the weeds have taken over!

Sometimes when I go out to weed the ground is dry and hard. It takes a lot of work with the hoe and rake, working the ground and my muscles just to make a little progress. It can be frustrating and makes me want to quit.

Last night it rained. Not a big storm, but a nice, gentle, soaking rain. As I began my task the weeds pulled easily from the soft, moist ground. I found myself grabbing by the handful and yanking clumps of weeds at a time. I made so much progress in a short amount of time that I just wanted to keep going.

The landscape of the garden changed quickly as the flowers and vegetables emerged from the mess surrounding them.

My thoughts wandered from the weeds in the garden to the weeds in my life. Bad habits or attitudes that aren’t Godly can creep in quietly then seem to take over what was once controlled by God’s will for my life. Neglecting time in God’s word or not turning my days over to Him can turn my thoughts to selfishness and away from the fruits of the Spirit.

Have you ever found that when you allow the weeds to grow up into your attitudes and behaviors that God sometimes has a difficult time weeding them away from you? I’ve seen that in my life. Looking back I can see where God has allowed rain to come in to my life in order to soften me. Not storms necessarily, but a steady rain that soaks in and makes me turn my thoughts away from my desires and own selfish will and back to His desires for me.

It’s not that the fruit God plants in me is gone, but the weeds have overtaken them and made them hard to see. When I allow the rains to fall and soften my will God is able to pluck away at those weeds. As He clears away my selfish actions and desires His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control can again be seen.

And they can grow strong and beautiful.

If you’re going through a time of rain in your life right now and you’re uncertain of why the ‘good’ things of life don’t seem to be coming your way, take some time to examine for weeds. Is God sending these gentle rains to soften you and turn you back to Him? If so, ask Him to work at pulling the weeds that are creeping into your life. As the way clears you will see the beauty of all God has planted in you and will continue to grow as you allow.

blessings and peace on the garden of your life today!
Paula

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:8

OK…so this verse has nothing to do with the bagel & coffee I had for breakfast…or does it? This Psalm was written by David after he had been captured by one of his enemies. He had acted insane and so he was released. This verse is taken from the middle of David’s Psalm of praise and thanksgiving to God for delivering him from one of his enemies.

So it got me to thinking. When is God good?

It’s easy to recognize the goodness of God on a morning like this when I’m sitting on my deck enjoying a beautiful morning and a yummy breakfast.  But God is still good when it has rained for 6 days straight and all I have for breakfast is cold cereal.

It’s easy to recognize the goodness of God when your my loved ones are all around me and we’re enjoying time together. But God is still good on Father’s Day when my dad is with Him in Heaven instead of here having coffee with me.

The second part of this verse is the part that seals God’s goodness for me. When I take refuge in God and give all my cares to Him I begin to see His goodness in the midst of things that don’t go the way I want them to. Praising God is easy for me when the sun is shining and I see blessings all around me. Some days I have to take refuge in Him and call on the Lord to show me His blessings in the midst of sadness, physical pain or a grumpy mood. When I do, I see that there is good then too.

Whatever today brings for you, take refuge in Him and allow yourself to recognize the goodness of God. In the happiness and the sadness I’m certain He’ll show us…

It’s all good.

blessings and peace to you today!
Paula

Keeping our physical bodies in shape is so important. Once they are out of shape it can be a big (and exhausting) challenge to get them back into shape (trust me, I know…). We must work hard and be consistent to maintain a healthy physical body.

I was thinking today about a different kind of shape…

S piritually

H ealthy

A ttitudes and

P ersonal

E xpectations

Oftentimes we have very high expectations of ourselves as Christians. We expect perfection and forget about grace.

We steadfastly remember Matthew 5:48 ~ “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 

We know we are to be like Christ and beat ourselves up when we are not. While this attitude may be noble it’s really not healthy.

I tend to be an all-or-nothing kind of person. When I am working at getting back in shape and miss a couple of workouts I tend to get down on myself, throw in the towel so to speak and give up. I care less about how healthy I eat and become more sloth-like. Instead of correcting myself and starting fresh I give up.

Do you do this too?

How ’bout in your spiritual life?

If you miss your quiet time a couple of days, or don’t pray as diligently as you think you should do you get frustrated with yourself and let the time grow longer and longer between your time with Him? Do you spend more time beating yourself up than asking for God’s forgiveness and grace?

This has never been God’s intention for those He loves. Instead He asks us to look to Him for grace and forgiveness and start new again.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:23

So, just as I head out this morning to work on the shape of my physical body I look forward to returning home to work on my spiritual shape as well.

I hope you’ll remember God’s grace and compassion this morning and look to Him to keep your attitudes and expectations healthy today.

blessings and peace to you as you work on your shapes!

Paula