"He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame." Proverbs 10:5
Busy Busy Summer:
So the last time I posted.... was over a month ago! I am beginning to understand why school is September through May. Haha! This summer, as you may recall from my previous post, I started to do lots of gardening. I absolutely love it! We have been enjoying all that God has given us, but it has also kept me quite busy. I've had to spend time watering it, digging up the weeds, then harvesting and preserving the bounty! :)
Gardening isn't the only thing that has taken up my time from blogging, I have also been very busy with family activities/outings and enjoying the summer sun/holidays! :) Lastly, I have decided to try and read 5 books for my local library reading program. I have learned many things about gardening, being a locavore, and building a creative home. :)
Bindweed (aka Wild Morning Glory):
Last year, when we moved in to this duplex, my neighbor suggested to me that I get rid of the Bindweed. She told me that it would overtake my backyard. At the time, I didn't do what she suggested (plus I thought it was a pretty plant)....... and it took over the whole hill that goes across my backyard and COMPLETELY covered every plant down there! At the beginning of this summer, I began to destroy that monster of a plant. UGH! It's hard work to get rid of it!
Well, I made an awful mistake. We didn't have the yard waste disposal yet, and I allowed this thing to sit in a waste bin and even laid some on the ground on my lawn....... BIG mistake. My husband, this past week, mowed our lawn.... guess what I discovered? In those few weeks, it had covered a good portion of the lawn as well!
Bindweed doesn't just cover the surface, it grows underneath up to 30 feet in length! Now, daily I am pulling up vines of this stuff.... Daily, I am trying to keep it from growing more and invading more of my lawn!! FRUSTRATING!
A Need for a Pastor/Godly Wise Counsel:
I wish I would have listened to my neighbor's counsel. I wish I would have sought advice from someone who knew gardening and had knowledge of Northwest plants! I wish I would have been taught in gardening/weeds so I could have avoided this costly mistake!
"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." Proverbs 9:9
Now, I know, that a pastor does many things, including fulfilling the great commission, but he is also there to give wise spiritual counsel. A pastor has dedicated his life to the ministry of obeying God, loving/serving others, and leading people to Christ. When he preaches, it's not just to lead others to Christ... He also is showing us what to do with the "Awful Bindweed in Your Garden". God gave us pastors to protect us from things that can harm the good in our lives and destroy everything of beauty! He can tell you: "Watch out! This will cost you a headache, frustration, and loads of problems!" Pastors can help give us instructions on how to better use our talents for the Lord; similarly, a good knowledgeable gardener can show me how to grow healthy and fruitful herbs and veggies.
Last thought: remember, I didn't listen..... and it cost me. Not listening or taking the advice of our spiritual leaders can lead us into some problems. Let's listen to our parents and pastor. Heed the counsel and warnings of our God-given authority and we will reap the benefits/avoid those pesky "bindweeds"!
"The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall." Proverbs 10:8
Remember:
A experienced and seasoned gardener can teach me how to have a successful and sustaining gardening; in the same way, Pastors, godly leaders, and godly wise women (maybe a pastor's wife or an elderly lady in the church) can help us to make the right decisions and reap an abundant Christian life. :)
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
The Whole Story
"For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones,
I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him..." Proverbs 7:6-13
Did You Read It?
So I posted these verses on Facebook as my status and wrote at the end, "Read the rest of this chapter to get the whole story. There is much true here." The likes I had on it were much less than my usual "Bible verse" posts. So it makes me wonder?.....
Did you read the whole story? Did you see all the truths?
.... or did you only noticing "the harlot" and did it make you uncomfortable?
If that's why you didn't like it, I understand. It's easier to not associate ourselves with that, but unfortunately, our society is becoming more and more like this story.
Here is Why I Posted This:
"For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones"
OBSERVED: The writer is observing what is happening outside the window. The writer is walking circumspectly and watching the circumstances around him. Are you aware of your surroundings? (Eph. 5:15)
"I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house."
OBLIVIOUS/THE SIMPLE: This man went somewhere he wasn't suppose to go. This man didn't have understanding. He went "near her corner", like a child that played with fire and got burnt. Do you get involved with things you shouldn't? Reading your Bible will give you better insight on things that you need to avoid. :)
"In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night"
THE NIGHT/DARKNESS: Are you up later than you should be? Are you going places at night where you shouldn't be going? "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:19 Go to sleep early. Set for yourself a curfew. :)
"(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) "
SEEKING ATTENTION: This woman left her own home and went seeking after problems. Are you minding your own business and doing what God has told you to do? Or are you getting into trouble? "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;" 1 Thes. 4:11 Memorize this verse. Stay busy with things that honor and please God. :)
My Thoughts:
Whenever I post anything, I'm always double checking myself and very cautious about each word, paragraph, and the meaning behind it. This story is so relevant to our generation. It is an important one to study. I only give the preview, because God tells us to study His Word for ourselves. (2 Tim. 2:15) We must know our Bible and let His truths enter our heart.
As for the harlot.... Have we forgotten about God's love toward Rehab, the harlot? She became the grandma to Boaz, Ruth's husband. :D Or His love for the Samaritan woman who had 5 husbands and wasn't married to the man she was living with? Or His forgiveness toward the woman caught in the act of adultery?
I make mistakes and get myself in trouble. I'm an imperfect wife and mother: as the quote goes "to err is human". When I read this woman's story, I can learn from her mistakes and grow in godliness. I can avoid pitfalls and sins that so easily beset me. I can be a changed woman and live godly and wisely (like the writer). That's why I like this story. :)
God loves the sinner and forgives their sins... even this woman in Proverbs 7. We don't know the end of her life, but this part is here to give us an example of how to avoid temptations in our life/society.
We don't know her whole story, only God does.
I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him..." Proverbs 7:6-13
Did You Read It?
So I posted these verses on Facebook as my status and wrote at the end, "Read the rest of this chapter to get the whole story. There is much true here." The likes I had on it were much less than my usual "Bible verse" posts. So it makes me wonder?.....
Did you read the whole story? Did you see all the truths?
.... or did you only noticing "the harlot" and did it make you uncomfortable?
If that's why you didn't like it, I understand. It's easier to not associate ourselves with that, but unfortunately, our society is becoming more and more like this story.
Here is Why I Posted This:
"For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones"
OBSERVED: The writer is observing what is happening outside the window. The writer is walking circumspectly and watching the circumstances around him. Are you aware of your surroundings? (Eph. 5:15)
"I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house."
OBLIVIOUS/THE SIMPLE: This man went somewhere he wasn't suppose to go. This man didn't have understanding. He went "near her corner", like a child that played with fire and got burnt. Do you get involved with things you shouldn't? Reading your Bible will give you better insight on things that you need to avoid. :)
"In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night"
THE NIGHT/DARKNESS: Are you up later than you should be? Are you going places at night where you shouldn't be going? "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:19 Go to sleep early. Set for yourself a curfew. :)
"(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) "
SEEKING ATTENTION: This woman left her own home and went seeking after problems. Are you minding your own business and doing what God has told you to do? Or are you getting into trouble? "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;" 1 Thes. 4:11 Memorize this verse. Stay busy with things that honor and please God. :)
My Thoughts:
Whenever I post anything, I'm always double checking myself and very cautious about each word, paragraph, and the meaning behind it. This story is so relevant to our generation. It is an important one to study. I only give the preview, because God tells us to study His Word for ourselves. (2 Tim. 2:15) We must know our Bible and let His truths enter our heart.
As for the harlot.... Have we forgotten about God's love toward Rehab, the harlot? She became the grandma to Boaz, Ruth's husband. :D Or His love for the Samaritan woman who had 5 husbands and wasn't married to the man she was living with? Or His forgiveness toward the woman caught in the act of adultery?
I make mistakes and get myself in trouble. I'm an imperfect wife and mother: as the quote goes "to err is human". When I read this woman's story, I can learn from her mistakes and grow in godliness. I can avoid pitfalls and sins that so easily beset me. I can be a changed woman and live godly and wisely (like the writer). That's why I like this story. :)
God loves the sinner and forgives their sins... even this woman in Proverbs 7. We don't know the end of her life, but this part is here to give us an example of how to avoid temptations in our life/society.
We don't know her whole story, only God does.
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