Tend Your Garden Post #5: Fruit of the Vine

Growth takes time. Be patient.
And while you're waiting, pull a weed. 
saying by Emilie Barnes

We were starting to get impatient, "When are we going to see something we can eat?" We'd grumble. Then the other day we saw these peas, so Alex picked them and I ate them. They were sweet, crisp and crunchy. I claimed to not like peas, probably because the ones I'm used to eating are frozen. Those taste soft, mushy, kind of like a bland paste. What a difference growing them yourself makes. I could just stand there and pick and eat and be satisfied.

We've had to make adjustments in our "learning" garden. I had to prune away tree limbs so the plants could get enough sun. I had to transplant a squash plant, it made it through the move and is doing well but I wonder if this will hinder its fruit. Our strawberries are trying to burst out but birds just love them too much! I need to buy a net.

This experiement has taught us many things, one lesson that currently comes to mind is patience. In due time the fruit will be there we just have to learn to wait and let nature do its thing, in the meantime just watch the process, take care of what you can and rejoice in the harvest when the time comes. Funny how this garden lesson parallels the happenings in our personal life too!

 

The Progression Of The Cone

A pictorial review of the cone's fashion statement in history.

by: petercat.harris

The Ancients: Elongated Skulls were the FAB FAD

Practiced through cultures worldwide by binding the head to a board.  Notables such as the Incans, Mayans, Egyptians, Native Americans and Siberians left evidence of this coveted high verticed look. If you wanted that 'smarter than a bookworm' look, nix Coco Chanel and sport a board.

Image 120027, from Professor Giuseppe Orefici's research at Cahuachi (Peru), courtesy BBC Horizon (1998 program).

Nefertiti: Egyptian Queen

The Modish Medieval Model: When women shaving their bangs off for that elongated look was 'wenchin' 

                                                                     Portrait by: Rogier Ven Der Weyden

AND THEN... Cone fashion revisited the Dark Ages only to resurface again in the 20th Century with a downward spiral attached to its legendary fame surrounding superior intelligence. The cone now had an uncanny semblance to a waste basket.

Circa 1960: When rotating your hips to "The Twist" and sporting a Rocket hat was Hip; the cone makes a comeback, but as comebacks usually do, it flopped. Can you spot the infamous cone in this fashion spread?

                                                                                         Yeah, Baby!

The 90's seemed like a long tunnel with no point, the cone was still recovering from the bad rap it got from the 60's but the cone just may have reached its zenith in this decade.

                                                    The Coneheads from SNL

Somewhere on the timeline of human history the cone lost its mojo, it was demoted from its association with superior intelligence only to be cast in utter fashion faux pas for the weekend entertainment seeker.

Now maybe the cone can relate to Oblio, from the land of point.

                                                                        The Cone in the Corner

The "Ergotized" Kingdom And The Farmer Who Saves The Crop

I should be attending my Monday chores of cleaning up the house after the weekend onslaught of messes but I think this is a more important matter. All weekend long I have been reflecting on the Matthew 13 parable Jesus told his disciples about the darnel and the wheat; the word Mercy kept scrolling through my mind as I thought about the story.

As the heading note in The Chronological New Testament states, "It is important to understand the term, "Kingdom of Heaven". Found only in Matthews gospel, it describes the current age in which we live." It is important to understand the wheat is the true followers of Christ and the darnel is the many deceptions that lead one astray. One can list many, many things that fall under the darnel category.

As I read the story and got to verse 29, the reason the word mercy was so prominent in my thoughts made sense. The servants of the field had found out the enemy sowed weeds in the framers field and asked the farmer if they should take care of the problem immediately. The farmer replied, "No, lest perhaps while you gathered up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them."

Darnel is called false wheat, it looks just like real wheat except it has unworthy attributes. (See the amazing facts below taken from botanical.com by Mrs. M Grieve)

1)When Darnel has been given medicinally in a harmful quantity, it is recorded to have produced all the symptoms of drunkenness: a general trembling, followed by inability to walk, hindered speech and vomiting.

2)The ancients supposed it to cause blindness, hence with the Romans, lolio victitare, to live on Darnel, was a phrase applied to a dim-sighted person.

3)The alleged poisonous properties of Darnel are now generally believed to be due to a fungus.

4)It is said that the country people of Cheshire believed Darnel to be 'degenerated wheat'

5) In the East it is a more serious enemy to the farmer, and in the low-lying districts of the Lebanon and other parts of Palestine it becomes alarmingly plentiful. If inadvertently eaten it produces sickness, dizziness, and diarrhoea. It would seem that the 'malice aforethought' of sowing this wild grass deliberately (as in our Lord's parable), was a not unusual practice. The following is a quotation from an old newspaper:

'The Country of Ill-Will is the by-name of a district hard by St. Arnaud, in the north of France. There tenants, when ejected by a landlord, or when they have ended their tenancy on uncomfortable terms, have been in the habit of spoiling the crop to come by vindictively sowing tares, and other coarse strangling weeds, among the wheat, whence has been derived the sinister name of the district. The practice has been made penal, and any man proved to have tampered with any other man's harvest will be dealt with as a criminal.'

6) Chemically the seeds contain an acrid fixed oil and a yellow glucoside, but as far as microscopical appearances indicate, the Darnel contains nothing that is not contained in wheat, and analysis has not yet revealed its poisonous elements.

I find it amazing that even modern science has trouble distinguishing the false from the real and in the case of darnel, a new word to describe its malice has been created in order to describe it. The word is ergotize and means to be poisoned by grain...

Can you see why the farmer said to wait until harvest? Can you see how sneaky the evil sower is trying to"ergotize" the real? (Religion, in ALL sects, forms and denomonations worldwide certainly are candidates for being placed under that "darnel" category.)

Can you see the wonderful act of grace and compassion in the decision of the farmer? He waits until the harvest where only a trained eye can distinguish the real from the fake. Isn't He the only one who knows our hearts? (Jeremiah 17:10)

The good news of the wheat and the darnel parable is this; the farmer; Jesus, came to fulfill the promises given in order to save us from being strangled out by the darnel. If we keep our eyes on Him, take up our cross and follow Him, learn to submit to what His will is through obedience made possible only through a daily relationship, we can be made ready for the harvest and "shine forth like the sun." (Matthew 13:43). The field is the world, the wheat is the real and the darnel is the false.

Jesus and all He has done and IS, is MERCY. He is the "farmer" that constantly tends to the crop, surveying the heart (substance) that seeks His truth. He makes strong those "stalks" of wheat that reject the facade of the darnel as it bides its time growing in the Kingdom of Heaven side by side.

The truth will set you free...(John 8:32) even in a world choked with weeds...

Shade of Grey: Not So "Shady" Anymore

I'm not really a Sci-Fi junkie but I admittedly watched The Twilight Zone late at night growing up in those adolescent years because frankly, the show titilatted my gray matter, especially the amygdala.

Last night was one of those nights, the kind where your brain will not shut up and keeps you barely hanging on the topics it presents like a chatty cathy. So I wanted to divert my thoughts to a different topic to help bore the issues out of my head, so I got on Youtube and searched The Twilight Zone. I thought a little jaunt down old memory lane might scare my brain into giving me some peace so I could sleep.

Then I saw this clip and all it did was make my brain more alert...

The Obsolete Man

Sounds like today doesn't it!

One word: Surreal

Rod Serling:  "Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues including censorship, racism, and anti-war politics."

Pulp Fiction: The Bean Conspiracy

On my self directed journey to learn about nutrition I was way layed by an eye opening article uncovering the truth about that magical fruit we all attribute our bodily noise from the nether regions to; the fiberous bean.

Ahh, I might as well get it out of the way..

Everyone knows the well rhymed chant of childhood that causes uproarious giggles, finger-pointing and even proud admittance at the act of passing gas. The infamous Bean Song..the song that somehow became a legend through oral history and from generation to generation is unscathed by misinterpretation or incorrect wording only to live another day.

The Bean Song

by: Anonymous

(and probably wanted it that way)

Beans, beans the magical fruit

the more you eat, the more you toot,

the more you toot the better you feel,

so let's have beans for every meal.

(or this added line)

so lift your leg and let it squeal!

Let's break this conspiratorial message down line by line with what is truth and what is fiction..

Line 1: Beans, beans the magical fruit...TRUTH

It is common for most conspiracies to start out with a bit of truth, it makes it necessary for the targeted mind to succumb to the lie somewhere hidden or twisted into the plot. Beans really are quite magical, the way in which they grow is interesting in itself and their function in the human body is unique to the legume family. (more on this later) Of course, the well known English fairy tale Jack and The Beanstalk dictates the magical qualities in an entertaining fashion.

Line 2:  the more you eat, the more you toot...FALSE

This is where the conspiracy starts and I speculate the motivation behind this lie was fashioned by a parent to get their kid to eat their dinner which happened to involve beans. A parent will resort to humor in desperate attempts to get their kids to do what they want, my own humiliating experiences abound in my head as I write this. When a lie is outed, a fact must take its place. According to Karen Hurd Ph.D., Nutritionist and retired Army Captain, Beans Don't Cause Gas. The Bean Queen, as she is known amongst her colleagues and clients explains the reality of how gas is formed in our digestive system and how the bean actually is the regulator of this imbalance. (The entire article is worth the read, as she explains the process beautifully.)  She has had amazing results prescribing beans for health and has published a cookbook, suitably called The Bean Queen's Cookbook. 

Line 3: the more you toot the better you feel...TRUTH

I can't squabble on that one...when you gotta go, you better blow! Although, the lie is somewhat perpetrated further in this line.

Line 4: So let's have beans for every meal...TRUTH (with a condition)

If you have consistent flatulence problems beans up to six times a day is a curative method according to Karen Hurd's above mentioned article.

Maybe this post "spilled the beans" on a brilliant conspiracy to thwart and place blame on the innocent bean in order to get kids to eat their dinner. Ahh, when it comes down to it, this is one pulpy conspiracy I can live with...

The "conspiracy" lives on...

Chronological New Testament: A Few Thoughts



"Do whatever He tells you"
by andycoan


I've been reading The Chronological New Testament, and have been eating up every page. As I read the books of the New Testament on the timeline in which they happened, I find certain dynamics being revealed in such a way that it caused me to feel as if I was reading The New Testament for the first time.

I wondered why the members who debated, studied and eventually put together the twenty-seven books known as the New Testament Canon, did it in the order they did. I've heard some evidence points to the notion the books in the order we are use to were aligned this way in order to help make doctrinal issues clear. Without going into that tangent; following the order of events as they took place in time has only helped make doctrine clear for me and I've read the New Testament in "traditional" order many many times and have never seen things as clear. The problems that arose and how they were addressed, the struggle to keep the church pure, the teachings of Jesus born out in believers life through real experiences all follows the sequence and definately reveals a pattern that if we pay attention shows us clearly how the church should function.

Does the modern church live this pattern out? There's some homework for ya!

There have been many moments where the words have popped off the page and started a brainstorm of thoughts. Since being part of the church means sharing your experiences with the Lord with other believers I thought I'd at least share how this book, put into action by a believer so others could benefit, has at least on a basic level helped spur me on in my understanding of how to walk with God and be an active participant in His church (I Corinthians 16:15-18 CNT WebVersion).

The book starts off with the preparation of men who were to take God's message out into the world, Acts 1-11. Paul's experiences have a great impact on the church and as the text unfolds I notice I can relate as the Holy Spirit has taught me some of those same things through my own personal experiences and have also given me reason to keep trying for those things I know I lack.

I read 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 and I can understand Paul's point, talking about his weakness is made strong in Christ. In chapter 11 he talks of being unskilled in speech yet he speaks boldy the things of Christ. There are times I feel the worlds weight glaring down on the truth and my flesh wants to quiver and hide, yet through the Holy Spirit's strength and guidance He has made my mind sharp and strong able to dispell the world's reasoning in order to show Christ's glory for what it truly is. I am honored and humbled this vessel was used to Christ's gain.

I read chapter 11 verses 22-33 and if you look at that account of peril through fleshly eyes it makes no sense that someone would go through all that for his fellow believer and to be obedient to Christ. Why would someone choose this path of constant struggle and pain? Then in chapter 12 the Lord sends a demon to keep Paul in check, he even asks for it to be removed and the Lord says no and Paul responds with gladness. Paul understood the principle of sumbission at all cost because his gain was Christ. His spiritual life meant more to him then the fleshly, time condensed one he had now. Being able to go through this willingly and gladly has to have personal, knowledge and devotion to something alive and tangible and utterly true. From a fleshly point Paul would look insane but when someone has found the truth and knows it, they are a rock unmoveable and it doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks.

I ask myself the hard question, Could I go through what Paul went through to follow Christ? (Remember Christ was our ultimate example in what He gave for us)

The more I talk to God, get to know Jesus and follow what the Holy Spirit teaches me through real life events, I'd like to think, YES. Experience to experience I am being transformed by the reality of Christ in my life and the joy given only by God surpasses any worldly sorrows.  There is gladness in my weakness because He is being glorified for who He truly is and I get to be part of something I don't deserve. I am coming to understand what taking up your cross really means through the personal teaching of the Holy Spirit as He reveals to me what I need to do or what He wants to do, confirmation of it in scripture and then relating it to other believers carrying their cross too. Now that is the real church and I am proud to be part of it.

As the first lines in the Chronological New Testament say, "The first church was not the one in Jerusalem; it was Jesus and the 12 disciples. The real pattern cannot be based on mere assumptions drawn from letters Paul and others wrote. Jesus set the example for His church."  It is based on relationship.

Paul is a shining example of following Jesus' pattern, as were countless others in the New Testament, and we must include the righteous in the Old Testament as well. The fact I am offered the chance (my life) to try and follow the example and pattern too makes my spirit soar....

Thanks to Ken Brown and James Dinsmore for putting together the Chronological New Testament!

Note: The picture above has special significance pertaining to my walk with God...2 Kings 4...when I found this on the photosite I use the title the photographer gave it sealed the deal for my choice in using it with this post...

Tend Your Garden - Post #4 - Growth

"Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there."

 Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

It has become my daughter's and my daily ritual to examine the new growth in the garden. We log the details in our minds as we scan each plant, it only takes a moment but much data is recorded.

Things we noticed:

1. Some critter thought our garden was the perfect digging playground. We suspect a squirrel liked the soft, dark, rich soil to hide his winter stash of nuts in.
2. All the seeds sprouted except the basil.
3. The new growth was too tempting for bugs. A caterpillar was found guilty of chewing on the spinach, plucked off and flicked across the yard. One beet fell prey to another devouring bug.
4. The dog managed to upset the potted strawberry plant, leaving dirt clod trails as a "bread crumb" path to make sure I found the evidence of her discontent. Thankfully, she controlled her temper tantrum on the strawberry enough so I could salvage the plant and re-plant it. I wish I could get my points across as well as that dog!
5. A few nut grass weeds made their way in the bed.

The owl did a decent job keeping the birds away...so far!

The thing that irked us the most was the pesky insects. We couldn't see them having their banquet on our goods and we didn't want to spray pesticides to get rid of them so we are attempting to rid the garden of them by planting marigolds. If the bugs have to have a buffet I hope this distraction works long enough to let the new growth mature.

Needless to say, I always like to get back to the quotes I use in the post. Thomas Fuller's quote, "Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there," applies in our daily lives as well. We live with a sin nature, it is something we battle our entire lives. If we don't tend our spiritual garden on a regular basis those things that we don't like tend to take a little more of the bed then we intended and we know what happens when a garden is left alone for far too long, the weeds take over and choke the nourishing plants out or the pesky insects eat them to a nub. 

How important it is to take the time daily to scan our "spiritual" garden, assess what is lacking and ask the master gardner (The Holy Spirit) how to handle it. There are times He even tells you about a problem before you are even aware of the fullness of it. The beauty in this relationship is the trust that is built through active obedience and submission. When The Holy Spirit points out a weed (sin)  that needs pulling or even tells you to prune a healthy branch (restraint and shaping) on a maturing area in your life, you come to know that it is for your benefit. 

Spritual gardening "tools" to live by:

Hebrews 12: 11

James 1:2-26

Thank You Lord for helping me tend my spiritual garden!