about a flower

Bam!  Beautiful!  Full bloom brilliance.  A flower is not difficult to recognize.  I've never heard anyone say "I think that was a flower, but I wasn't sure".  They are unmistakable.

Fall rolls in & the mums bloom.  Another season, featuring different flowers.   My faulty garden planning did not account for fall blooms.  The annual flowers have faded, perennials out of season.  All I have are herbs - rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil etc.  Lots of pretty greenery, no pretty blooms.  Herbs can bloom, but typically they bolt.

Blooming & bolting produce unmistakable flowers. The process inside the plant is what defines the difference for blooming vs bolting.

To bloom - The product of a healthy plant in a reproductive cycle to establish new seeds, or provide fruit.

To bolt - when a crop prematurely flowers due to stress & unhealthy conditions.  The plant panics & must reproduce quickly in case death is imminent. The crop becomes very bitter to taste.

Here is wiki paraphrased:
To bloom: flourish, a time of vitality, beauty, fragrance.
To bolt: to run quickly away or as a method to fastening something. Not exactly the horticulture definition, but quite telling with connotation.

Am I blooming or am I bolting?

I can clearly identify bolting in my life.  Times of stress, hurt, pride - when I should have been focused on drawing into the vine - John 15:5.  Instead I was focused on those flowers that I thought I could have.  A tree is known by it's fruit, so what am I if I'm not producing fruit?

Even in my front yard it is easy to play the comparison game.  My herbs... there is just not many brilliant flowers there.  It's not their season, nor their purpose.  My neighbors mums - simply breathtaking. (I thought it was a bit stalker-ish to snap a pic of them, so I posted a marigold pic above that I took this summer)

Blooming?  or bolting?

Perhaps its in the words: stress, bitter, fear, pressure, feeling confined, wanting to run or escape. Feelings of having something to prove to others, self or God.  Discontentment,  Very little is as frustrating as watching my best efforts shoot up into a bitter mess.

Even in my front yard it is easy to play the comparison game.  My herbs... they are not brilliant flowers.  It's not their season, nor their purpose.  My neighbors mums - simply breathtaking.

Antidote to bolting?  Let me define another term.

ABIDE

According to Merriam-Webster, Abide is defind as this: TO WAIT for.  to endure without yielding: withstanding.  to bear patiently.  to REMAIN stable or fixed in a state.  to continue in a place.

Take a break from the outward appearance, blooming & fruiting. The French proverb should not be 'bloom where you are planted'.  The proverb should read ABIDE where you are planted.   Sorry to the French, you're wrong on this one.

Abiding is prayer, reading His word, sitting at His feet & listening, living out psalm 84 without interruption.  Being content being HIS.

Healthy plants abide.  Only healthy plants bloom.

My herbs in my front garden are healthy but their value is not in their bloom. They don't need that kind of attention. I will soon harvest & dry their leaves. They will be a sweet fragrance & a savory flavor in my home throughout a dormant winter season.  I could run out and get some hardy mums - blooms are wonderful things - but this year, this season... I really need this reminder of abiding.

Trust in the Lord and do good; 

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the Lord, 

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; 

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 Psalm 37:3-7

lurking in the leaves

Want to grow a garden? Start with green beans. My personal preference are pole beans. They grow like a vine so you can even plant them in atypical garden spaces.  

In August & September I enjoy harvesting green beans daily - this year I have separate pole bean towers.  It's important that I turn over all the leaves in search of ripe beans. If I miss one, it will turn tough & the beans start protruding from the typical slender shape.

This year one of my towers has become home to a giant grasshopper (I didn't know God made them that big!).  I found him when I was turning over leaves. Rather he found me. He is reliable to show up when I least expect him, but refuses to be photographed.  He may be a she... I never think to ask. I named him/her Wilber.

I ran into Wilber again today. For the first time he hopped off entirely off the tower & I could finally harvest in peace.

As I continued to over turn leaves today it became quite clear, I fear Wilber. This became more obvious as I found green beans hiding everywhere that had become over-ripe & several rotten. This subtle fear had altered my behavior. I was now missing out on the good stuff...because I was afraid of what might be lurking in the leaves.

My surprise wasn't really that fear motivates me to miss out on things - although it is always a good reminder.  There is much to digest on this part alone.

My revelation was that I HAD NOT REALIZED I WAS AFRAID.

The fear shackles that do the most damage are the ones we don't acknowledge.

I hadn't noticed how timidly I was weaseling my way through the green beans to avoid the surprise of a Godzilla-sized hopper jumping out at me.  I would have never noticed the untouched fruit had the threat not jumped away.  Above all, what can Wilber really do to me anyway?  His only power is to scare me.

What about you? I don't usually ask you much, but today I am asking you to notice. Notice your fears, however irrational.  Notice the why behind your actions.  Is it time to dismiss this power in your life?

A life lived in fear misses everything & gives nothing.  To impact the world, we simply must throw off our fears & live in freedom.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, 

but gives us power, 

love and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

a mystery of joy

This is a bachelors button plant. Centaura montana native to europe. This evergreen plant should maintain its leaves even in winter. It grows well in acid or alkaline soils, light sand to clay-like soil & is drought resistant. The only downside is that it doesn't grow in water logged areas. Thanks wikipedia for the info! We all feel smarter now.

This plant brought me joy this summer. Not because I knew about this plant, but because I didn't. In early May I went to my favorite lil' plant shop. I bought a plant that had leaf structure like echinacea, but a bit different. There were no flowers & no tag to identify this plant.

I bought it, planted it, watered it & waited with one purpose: to find joy in discovering what it is. Kinda like a Christmas present.

Joy for me is not in my nature. I struggle. I have to intentionally pull stunts like this so I can stretch my underdeveloped joy muscles. Otherwise I live in the space where I twist happy things into sad & words of encouragement into condemnation. Depression has often been at war deep within me. It is right now.
  
But I can find joy that I have a Centaura Montana growing in my front yard. That means something to me.

I ruined it for you though. You got the facts & picture but not the joy. Sorry about that.

This morning I discovered something about joy while in a depressive sob fest state & psychotically googling for answers. First I googled 'how to find joy' & received several page options with 3-40 steps plans for attaining joy. No joy there.

My next google endeavor were the words joy + bible verse + comfort. Here is where I found my discovery.  The Old Testament uses the word joy more than the New Testament. Yes, the Old Testament is size-y-er by general word count. But still, shouldn't the New Testament have more 'joy' in it?  Isn't that where the mystery in Christ is revealed?

God thinks differently.  He put each joy where it goes.

Why more joy in the old then the new? Not a clue. I have ideas, but really... no clue. It's a mystery.

I've learned something about the power of mystery. There is joy in not having to figure out everything right now.  There is joy in not putting everything on social media & saving it just for the most important people in my life. There is joy in waiting to share big news face to face. Do I readily purge every insight I've gained on others in a 3 or 40 step plan of facts and pictures. Or do I encourage them in their joy filled journey of discovery? Yes, I realize the irony in blogging this.

I also learned how backwards Joy is. Happy are those who mourn & are poor in spirit (Matt 5:3&4). Consider it pure joy when you face trials (James 1:2). More joy in the Old Testament than the New. Joy is living through a battle & waiting until the scars radiate beauty. Joy is not avoiding the battle.

So... I still feel joyless much of the time. But I'm working on living in mystery more often. I'm working on sharing life in ways that don't cheapen what is most important. It can be as simple as planting or creating something new just to see what pops up - letting joy happen in the surprise of what the day or moment might hold.

Joy: stopping the google search engine or what I think I know & waiting for God to show me the legit picture in His time.

 but just as it is written,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
   

1 Cor 2:9

***a special shout out to my proofers Tracy & Mandy. They allow you to understand the very messy thing that is my brain. They also let me keep the word size-y-er.   If you ever notice a mistake it's cause I changed it after they corrected it.  Thanks guys!

don't judge my corn

Don't judge my corn.  It isn't exactly picture perfect.  It's definitely not the husked ear of corn you'd hope to unwrap from the market.  It's got obvious gaps.

But don't judge my corn.

You might extend grace if you knew the story.  It was a lone corn stalk growing alone without others to help pollinate it into fullness: READ.  Oh, bless it's heart.  It really tried to be complete, poor thing.  (I'm absurdly attached to this corn plant).

We all have gaps: daddy issues, anger issues, little man syndrom, mama's boy, EGR(extra grace required), clingy, needy, drama queen, busy body, attention whore.  Oh, the list can go on & on & it doesn't get any cleaner as I go.

Yeah, bless their heart!  They need grace.

Every now & then circumstances meet in a perfect storm.  People can get husked - all their inside gaps show.  This happened to Peter.  Peter, little man syndrome, know it all, over zealous & reeking of attention whore, his gaps are well documented in the gospels.

He tried to walk over to Jesus, via water.  He missed his destination.  He sank.  All doubt is now removed, Peter's got issues.   He, afterall, couldn't keep his eyes on Jesus.  Maybe he was lacking in faith, maybe he wasn't 'living free'.

Bless his heart, I bet he looked all foolish as he started sinking in terror.   I wonder what those unhusked disciples in the boat thought.  As painful as it is to feel judged, I don't know that I would rise above pitying Peter gaps.

Many of us may live tension with faith.  We want to step out in faith, but fear letting our gaps show.   We feel the pressure to perform, keep it together.  We take misplaced responsibility of making faith look easy & then await affirmation from others who are conviced we are leaning on grace.   There is calm, but no peace.

However, the very act of stepping off the boat admits self defeat.
Stepping out in faith isn't pretty.
Leaning on grace is messy buisness.
There is no calm.

But there is peace.

Yes, stepping off the boats admints self defeat.  Therein is the freedom.  We must own our deficits boldly & reflect brighter His grace.

Paul is another one with gaps.  He talks about them in 2 Cor 12.   Interesting thing here:  In verse 9 my bible has some red letters - meaning these are direct words from God.

 My grace is sufficent for you, My power is perfected in your weakness   

2 Cor 12:9a.

 Perhaps this fundamental truth is so far above human comprehension that God had to speak it directly to Paul.  I lean on this verse for comfort in hard times, but a rarely let this truth penetrate my everyday life.

I want 'extra grace required' people evoke spiritual jealousy instead of spiritual pity/judgement.  How did requiring more grace get twisted into a bad thing?  (Luke 7:36-50)

I also wish to be & be around husked, bare people even when the world condemns or pitys the weakness.

Peter, afterall, walked on water.

But greater than that, he knew how badly he needed Jesus.  The good looking fools in the boat forfeited this experience.

Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, 

so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.   

2 Cor 12:9b

cheating seasons

Seasons change: Hot, cold, wet, dry, stop & go.

Today it's 101 degrees. This is what happens to an Azalea bush when the temperature is 101 degrees. OUCH! Don't worry I threw the hose on it.

But today I'm also cheating seasons.

My fall crop of broccoli is growing indoors. It is too hot outside for these cool weather seeds to germinate & grow. Here I have them under a grow light inside A/C-ville.  I'll plant them outside when seasons change to cool. I can extend the cool season further by putting a plastic covering over the plants. Thus, with this greenhouse effect, I cheat the freezing season.

I also plan on harvesting more than once. Once the first brocoli head is ready, I chop it off & the plant will want to shoot up more florettes. Depending on the weather, come fall I may be able to harvest as many as 5-6 times from the same plant (each harvest getting smaller).

This works well with the purpose of broccoli. They want to create seeds so that there will be a next generation of broccoli plants. When they sense the season might change it 'bolts' or starts the seed giving process. I stop the process when I harvest the green florettes before they turn into tiny, pretty flowers. That's why it keeps producing more florettes.

Seasons change.  Hot, cold, stop & go.

But I'm cheating the seasons.

Should I be suffering from horticulture guilt for not letting the poor brocolli plants met their purpose? Maybe I'll think about that when I'm enjoying the tasty brocolli this fall. Maybe not. If I get a yield, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love the 'fruit' it provides. It's BROCCOLI!

But maybe the question I should ask is what else am I treating like broccoli.

Where else am I cheating seasons? Focusing on the yield & not the life? Striving for the destination & forgetting the journey? Going when it is the season to stop. Talking when it's time to listen? Attempting to blog deeply profound things when its time to teach a kid how to fold laundry? Oh... thats me.... conviction... Hang on.

A few days later:

Inevitably anything cheated of its seasons will fade & droop like the Azalea tree at the top. Yet living in a natural season is strongly resisted in our world. First, we rarely change our bad pattern until we are parched. Second, our solution to the starvation we feel is often to work harder at doing the wrong thing.

Let me explain: An apple tree would look very odd if its roots grow out of the ground & into the very apple it is working to produce. But somehow we've convinced ourselves that our stuff, our products, our ministry, our good deeds can somehow satisfy us.  But Jesus says:

"I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."  John 6:35

We can spend a lot of energy pinpointing the specific's of where 'that line is' between sabbath and work; what is meant to be consumed & what is meant to be left to grow future seeds?

But the real question is this:

In what do I trust? Where are my own roots seeking fulfillment?

Do I love the harvest? Or the One who gave the harvest?

Do I value a life that produced much?
or
Do I value a life ABIDING in my maker?

But seek first His kingdom and 

His righteousness, 

and all these things will be added to you.  

Matt 6:33

impact growth

Meet half-dried chili pepper.

It was gifted to me on our family vacation by a friendly hand I'd just met.  She wanted me to have it.  I was admiring her vegetable garden & she invited me in for a chat.  Then she handed me this.  She said all the vegetables in her garden were heirloom vegetables: meaning they weren't gentically altered or a hybrid, & came from a hot pepper from last years garden.  She wanted me to take a small bite.  I politely nodded & put it in my purse.  I didn't eat it.

I took it home.

I plan on using the seeds inside & planting lots of chili pepper plants next year. If you attempt this it will not be a succesful technique if you use store bought vegetables.  *There are exceptions to this, but that is a story for a later date.

I was thinking later about my behavior towards her - the friendly hand who first held the pepper.

She invited me in & gave a piece of her labor for me to enjoy.

As far as she knows I'm some lady who took a pepper, didn't try it, put it in her purse of all places, said thanks and later walked away.

She'll never know the impact that pepper will make.

She doesn't know much about me.  Perhaps you don't either.  I've updated my profile if you want to know a bit about who you are reading about.

So back to impact.  That's ultimately what I'm about.  I love gardening, but more than that I love watching lives change by the power of the Great Healer.   I love seeing death turn into life, blindness into perceiving & understanding, oppressed into free.  These aren't just events recorded in the Bible - they are happening now.

Often we live under the lie that what we do isn't making a difference.  We give away pieces of our labor & never see the impact.  But don't be deceived my friends.  Deep in our root structure resides countless lies that poison & prevent life nutrients from saturating our soul.  Self-criticism, comparison, selfishness & apathy breed these lies deep.

The biggest lie we live: we don't need to rely on the Source, the Giver of life.  Our roots need to be tapped into only HIM, our Father in Heaven. (John 15:4)

1 simple gift.  28 unseen seeds now poured out have the possibility to make 28 pepper plants.  The potential for each plant to bring forth several more peppers.

Impact matters.  Impact multiplies.

Lets sow some shall we!

Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love.

Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, 

for now is the time to seek the LORD,

that He may come and shower righteousness upon you

Hosea 10:12

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crushing faith

I've tried to grow cherry trees.  I planted two.  I have none.  It would have been nice to post a beautiful picture with bright cherry blossoms at the top to aesthetically get you in the mood for blog reading.

But I don't.

The first tree was taken out by a helpful hand who thought it was unwanted brush.  The second was lost to drought.

I had high dreams of a life filled with cherry pie & jam - serious real night time dreams about a cherry tree.

But some things don't happen in real life.

Like when I was young & prayed for a specific Christmas present.  That didn't happen.  A self-pollinating sour cherry tree still is a dream of mine, but after two attempts, I wonder if it's worth the effort.

If I didn't want one so badly, it might be easier to plant & try again.  Kinda like when I prayed my family would never fight. And for people at school to accept me.

I prayed for joy.

If I didn't really mean those prayers it might have been easier to keep praying when it didn't happen - to keep faith.

But some things don't happen in real life.    

There are words that evoke prayer & faith: "the cancer is back", "mini-stroke", "I cheated on you", "it's over", "she's gone", "miscarriage".  Even people who usually don't pray, wind up on their knees for these situations.  

But some things don't happen in real life.

Unfortunately, most situations can't be fixed by purchasing another cherry tree & starting again.  I don't think anyone’s prayers are like the ones they prayed before that first 'no' answer from God.

There is a rule somewhere (though I haven't seen it) that one must quote Hebrews 11 as a reference to 'faith'.  It's about when God did some seriously amazing 'Yes' things by faith. (I'd recommend reading if you haven't before).

But that is only half the story of faith.

Let me reference this story of Jesus praying by some olive trees.  He said "Father!  All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." (Mark 14:36).  Is it possible for Jesus to pray a un-faith filled prayer?   Was He being disingenuous? Making a point for posterity?  I think no.  In faith He was praying God to remove the burden - for Him to not go to the cross the next day.  But real life happened, Judas came to betray & Jesus died.

That's the moment.  The summit point of disappointment.

What should faith be like then?  Don't bounce to the resurrection yet & tie your answer in a nice ribbon.  Seriously, what should faith be like in THAT moment?  

When all is crushed?

When you ask God & He says no?  When the figurative cherry tree doesn't resurrect?
Will your faith be cut at the stump?  Will it wither in drought?  Or worse will it turn into an insincere, obligatory, 'ought to', type of faith?

Those moments really gauge your faith.  Do you believe because you merely have seen & received?

Or do you still hope for the unseen?  

I know where my gauge falls & I am lacking.  But Jesus was faithful.  He IS crushingly faithful; The kind of faith that accepts soul crushing consequences for the unseen hope.  He yielded to God's will be done.

I'm grateful for those around me who have this faith: a woman who now lives her last days trying to control the pain from cancer.  Her legacy of faith is spilled out on Facebook as hundreds of friends post their final good byes to her.   A family whose crushing faith has taken them through a tragic injury & into a different, unasked for future.   Yet they pray simply to see the goodness of the Lord.

That’s the kind of faith I want.  The one where I pray with child-like faith, accept when 'no' is the answer, and still hope for what I can't yet see.

I would have despaired unless I had believed 

that I would see the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:13&14

who else will?

Wondering what you are looking at?  That's the game I play every time I look in my garden.   This is a corn stalk.   I planted 4 rows with 10 each.  I got one lone corn stalk.  I waited for the others to come poking up.  No joy.  Here is a little corn stalk trivia: One corn stalk is quite unsuccessful at pollinating itself & growing a full ear of corn.  It is basically a nutrient zapper with the potential to grow only few kernels on its own.

So why keep it in my garden?  Cause I'm relentlessly stubborn when it comes to looking out for the loner.   I'm developing an ridiculously strong emotional attachment to it. Why should this corn stalk get thrown to compost just because the others didn't bother to show up?  It's here doing a stand up job.

Look at it!  You go corn stalk!   You grow!

For the garden nerds out there I planted pumpkins & pole green beans to fill in the empty space.  Also in this pic you can also detect some serious grass growing (the lawn variety, not recreational to be clear).  I claim to be a gardener, but I don't claim to be a good one.

There is a way with my help that it this loner will develop full healthy ears of corn.  It is called hand pollination.  I'd explain the process but if you google it you'll understand it better.  I also might blush if I talk about the girl & boy parts of a corn stalk - and that one of them is called tassels.   Really I'll spare all of us. In short, the stalk has everything it needs do to what is required.  It isn't like it is defective, or incomplete.  It just needs intervention at key moments for it to thrive.

So profound thought today?  No.  Not really.

Just a super loud shout out to anyone who has weathered some tough storms on their own.  So to you single parent, foster child, abandoned spouse, neglected spouse, ignored kid, props to you.   You, the advocate for the underdog even though you'll get burned, the de-friended, the outcast, the fallen down but getting back up, the anxious/depressed, the weaker than ever yet still sober.  You go!  And finally you 'the virtuous' who thinks standing upright never mattered, that's right I'm blogging about YOU,  you especially...

...I see you treading over the wreckage that most would have died underneath.  You see, THAT MATTERS!

A lot of us occasionally find ourselves on that road where nobody friendly is traveling.  Perhaps for a few of us it is an all too familiar journey.  There is One walking with us.  One, who although unseen, intervenes at key moments & give us exactly what we need.

So, to you, today:  I'm sorry so you're lonely.   I hurt with you.

Mostly, I hope you know you're not incomplete or defective.  Consider this you're friendly reminder that you have everything it takes to stand...

Learn to do good

Seek justice

Help the oppressed

Defend the cause of orphans

Fight for the rights of widows

Isaiah 1:17

...especially when no one else does.


And in cheesy radio station style, I dedicate this song from Shane Harper to you.

If you can't pull it up on your browser click HERE

the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH & nothing but the TRUTH

 Thorns hurt.  That is the truth.

Prickles penetrate the skin with a clear message - handle with care, don't get too close, I'm not afraid to hurt you.  Thorns choke out good seedlings (Matt 13:7), they torment us to cry for God's grace (2 Cor. 12:7-8). Thorns are part of the curse when we fell into sin (Gen 3:17).

I've had to contend with thorns. 

Several years ago I planted a rose bush in my back yard with hopes of beauty. All I got was thorns.  Proper fertilization & pruning resulted in… more thorns. Eventually I gave up the idea of pretty rose blooms & became complacent with the thorny bush hanging out in my yard.

Fast forward to Spring 2011. It was time to make different plans for that space. I was tired of mowing around a prickly thorn bush and I wanted to grow something meaningful. Shovel in hand I dug it out. I prepared the soil for a vegetable garden - something fruitful for a change.  Relief.

Until those thorns came back.

Spring 2012 I dug deeper & cleared all the roots I could find. Spring 2013 I spent days preparing the garden bed & planted several strawberry plants when my nemesis, thorn bush, poked its head up and killed a few of the strawberry plants. I felt utterly defeated.

So here is the whole truth:

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if I were just speaking of my garden. Really, this story mirrors some thorns in my soul I've been battling since that bush was planted.   Thorns of bitterness, hurt, wishing to be loved & desired, relationships that took a bad turn, longing to escape, negativity, depression, etc.  There is honest embarrassment when I own up to the number of years I’ve battled my own self & how much the thorns had taken over.   I had taken great effort to remove these in my life - without success. Things that had been prayed & fasted over - and yet remained. These thorns were destroying MY best laid plans for serving my loving Father. These thorns were affecting other people too.

Thorns hurt. They hurt me & they hurt others. 

Early summer 2013 I noticed something.  Something I hadn’t seen before on my relentless thorn bush. It was a bud. Not just one bud, but 40+ buds.  God had different plans than I did.

Nothing but the Truth. Those blooms changed everything.

I had long forgotten that this wasn't a thorn bush. This was a ROSE bush. It was designed to produce beautiful, fragrant roses - visible from afar.  Sure the thorns are still there, but they are worth it when I remember that its identity is a rose bush. I can't explain the mystery of why this mule rose bush remained dormant until last year. Perhaps it was so God could clearly speak to me last summer about the whole truth of myself & others.

I'm not a problem. I'm a person.

Even among my thorns, God creates blooms.  (2 Cor. 2:14-15)

People are not problems. People are people.

It is easy to be quick to dig out the problem people in our lives - but we forfeit the refining & forfeit the beauty that God can bring forth.  We forfeit the blooms.  The fragrant offering is living the pattern of Godly relationships.   (Eph. 5:2)

Fundamentally I'm created to be loved. When I'm not loved for who I'm created to be, it will always hurt. It will always attack my identity because I'm created to be loved. Likewise, I can never underestimate my role in reminding someone else of their true created identity. When I see someone as a prickly thorn bush, or oppositely distort love into lust, I become the speaker of lies in their life.  I become the thorns that torment & choke out little seedlings. 

So this year, 2014, I still struggle with seeing the potential for beauty among the thorns of life. But God is speaking to me through that rose bush.  This year there were hundreds of blooms.

It’s like sometimes, God just wants to brag.

I AM the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.

I AM the tree that is always green;

all of your fruit comes from ME.

Hosea 14:8