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This blog has been a long time coming, because I’ve been having difficulty thinking of what to write.  I am squirreled away in my little town in NE CO and all I seem to get excited about is my garden.

It amazes me that it has grown so many beautiful flowers with just the toss of some seeds and the self sowing of nature.  Is that enough for a blog?  The bugs that fly about amaze me, also.  I can stand over them and watch them and they could care less!  They go about there business gathering pollen.  It is all very calming to watch in the way that watching fish swim relaxes you.

I keep trying to think of a way to tie it in to some type of spiritual learning.  It’s not coming.  I mentioned this to a friend and she said well, the Bible has a lot of references to gardens.  We started to name them:

The Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-23)

            The Parable of the Weeds (Matt. 13: 24-30)

            The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt: 13: 31-35)

            The Parable of the Vineyard (John15: 1-5)

            The Fig Tree Withers (Matt. 21:18-22)

What others can you think of?

None the less I am not making an actual connection.  I do feel closeness to Jesus when I watch the busyness of my garden and maybe that is enough. I feel the closeness to nature and its beauty that only God can provide, and thank Him for that.  I see the harmony of insects living in peace with each other and pray that the rest of the world can reach that same level of harmony one day.  I know we will find it when we finally meet Jesus in eternal life.

Where do you feel the peace and harmony from the presence of Jesus?  What connections are you making?  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Not long ago I experienced a moment with Jesus during a Morning Prayer service. Currently we are trying to find a pianist/organist for our church services, but in the mean time we sometimes use CD’s to provide music. The song that played was “Sing Alleluia” sung by Jennifer Knapp.

Listening to it filled me with warmth and love for Jesus and when I came across it on the internet; I thought I had to share it. Plus it has a video/slideshow, which adds a whole new dimension to it.

I hope it touches you the way it did me. I would love to here your comments. Otherwise, enjoy and sing praises to our Lord!

“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.”
Psalm 96:1-2 (NIV)

Share with me your experiences when you feel close to Jesus. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Prince of Peace Episcopal Church and Jubilee Ministries will be collecting canned goods during the Logan County Fair Parade Saturday, Aug 7.

The food will be collected as the church’s float passes by and will be donated to Cooperating Ministries of Logan County.

This year’s Logan County Fair theme is 100 Years of 4-H. The Prince of Peace float’s theme is “Pass the fruit of the spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control …for another 100 Years 4-H.

The parade begins at 9:30 am. The parade route will start at Fifth Ave. and West Main.

Through my wanderings on this spiritual and Christian journey, I’ve been on the look out for Jesus in different forms. A motivating force in this journey is the need for spiritual nourishment. Where will my next bit of nourishment come from?

I’ve found the most satisfying bits come from being more than an observer in life. We know what the Bible says. We hear the readings on Sunday’s, and hopefully, we find time each day to spend in communication with God. A couple of different thoughts come to me when thinking about this.

During the Cursillo weekend that I attended I built a strong relationship with Christ. One of the many things that I took away from that week-end was that believing in Jesus means serving others.

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14-17)

I think of what this can look like…helping someone move to a new home… bringing a meal to someone who has lost a loved one… providing a ride to someone in need… helping the homeless… giving a drink to those who are thirsty… What does it look like to you?

Another thought comes to me. I read a devotional about friends; friends who accept you for who you are, but who help you to grow. Do you have friends like that? They challenge your thoughts to make you think deeper than you would on your own; friends that help you to grow closer to Christ.

Do your friends poke and prod you to make you look at things from a different view? Maybe they offer you opportunities to try something that will help you grow in your faith; they are friends that sharpen us. Are you a friend who sharpens someone else? These are valuable relationships that give us spiritual nourishment.

“As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

As we journey on in Christ, I thank God for my friends and pray that I help sharpen them as they help sharpen me.

Think of your friends and how you are being a friend to others. Where do you see Jesus in your relationships?

“This is the reason we were made
To know the love of our creator
And to give the love He’s given us away
Yeah the Maker and the Father and the God of everything says…it’s all about love.” All About Love – Steven Curtis Chapman (Link to song below)

Our Family Fun Night was planned to be just that – FUN! It turned out to be much more. We helped each other cut fruit for our “fruit of the spirit” salad, sang songs of praise, and made tie dye t-shirts. The surprise came when I looked around and saw middle school kids helping the “older generation” cut fruit. Everyone, young and old, participated in our songs of praise. I was amazed when I saw little kids and teenagers using “gentleness” to throw water balloons at each another. Who would have imagined!?

The ultimate act was tie-dying t-shirts. Although some were a little impatient about when the activity would begin, all were ready to wrap the t-shirts in plastic wrap and wait till the next day to see their unique designs.

The following Friday we sang songs wearing our colorful t-shirts for the residents of an assisted living center. Again we were walking with Jesus. Love radiated through our songs and the smiles on the residents face reflected it back. It was a time that we felt close to Jesus.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.”
(Galatians 5:22-23)

Where have you felt Jesus’ love? This morning my husband came in from the garage where he was working on a project. He was sawing some lumber and had trouble cutting it at the correct angle. He explained it to me, but I didn’t know what he was talking about.

I tried to understand, but I have limited ability visualizing 3-dimentional ideas. I asked some lame question, because I really didn’t know what he meant. He looked back at me and I could tell from his puzzled expression that I asked a question that made no sense at all. So I said, “What can I do to help?”

He looked up at me, and with a sigh said, “How about some moral support?” I heard Jesus in his voice and answered, “That I can do.” I left the computer and together we went to the garage. He measured and sawed and I kept him company. We were together with Christ.

Funerals evoke many different emotions, and of course love is among them. During my neighbor’s funeral, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter stepped forward and sang a moving version of “Amazing Grace.” Before they sang the daughter-in-law gave a brief statement. She said, “…before the funeral I can cry, and after the funeral I can cry, but now I will sing.” Through Christ Jesus she and her daughter found strength and love to celebrate the eternal life of their loved one. It was beautiful.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Where have you seen and felt the love of Jesus? I would love to hear from you.

04 All About Love

As I write this blog, I am thinking Jesus is always present in our lives. To put it briefly, God the Father is the creator of all things and shows us what to do. Jesus forgives us and shows us love and His way, and the Holy Spirit moves us from within. It should be easy to see Jesus, for He is everywhere. God is everywhere. I’ve found that sometimes it is easy and sometimes it is not.

There are times when I am surprised by God’s presence. My family and I hiked up Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Forest. The time spent hiking, and enjoying God’s country stimulated all our senses…the smell of the junipers, the sound of the water crashing down over the rocks, the wind whispering in the trees, the heat of the sun penetrating our backs, the thirst for a cool drink of water.

As we hiked down the trail towards the car, I mentioned the only thing missing were the flowers. I said to my daughter, “The last few times I’ve been to the mountains, it’s been either too early for flowers to bloom or late enough in the season that they are done blooming.” As I said that, I turned and noticed a small clump of yellow, star shaped, daisy type flowers blooming in a patch of rocky undergrowth. No other flowers were around. I looked at my daughter and she looked back at me. Was that a coincidence or was that God?

Another time I was on the phone with my daughter. She was telling me about her busy week. She took a few days off from work to help her best friend with wedding preparations. Performing duties as a bridesmaid, she ran back and forth from Denver to Greeley to Ft. Collins for three days until the big moment of the wedding. She helped throw a bachelorette party, slumber party, tied bows on favors and looked after kids whose parents seemed to have disappeared. When it ended she was exhausted, but she felt good about being able to help and was impressed by a wedding ceremony that was totally in Latin. The feeling that came to me as she related her week was that she was full of the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.”
(Galatians 5:22-23)

It is not always as easy to see God working around us. A friend asked me the other day, “Do you see Jesus in the homeless.” I had to really think about that…when had I last seen a homeless person? It was on the way to town. I scanned the highway as I drove and “a rock” came into view that seemed out of place. There was the highway, the paved shoulder, and then pasture. Right off the edge of the shoulder in the mowed grass was a boulder. As I approached it, I realized it was somebody sitting on the ground, hunched over. The person wore a camouflage coat with the collar and hood over his head. Some packs were nestled in front of him. There was no movement as I drove by.

Then all the questions came.
“What should I do?”
“What could I do?”
“Would I be risking my safety if I stopped?”
“What if this was a ‘con’?”
“Should I call the State Patrol?”

Meanwhile, I drove on, and made up all kinds of excuses and reasons why I did nothing.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Please forgive me for looking the other way.  Help me to open my heart to others and to pay attention to what I see and feel.  Help those who are in need and provide for them food, shelter and  clothing, fill them with Your Spirit and give them Hope of a better life on earth and in Heaven.  Thank-you for the for all your creations and for being a forgiving and compassioinate Father.  I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen

 What would you have done?

As we continue on our spiritual journey think about the times that are easy to feel close to Jesus, and think about the times He was there, but you looked the other way. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

God's creation