FORGIVENESS

A friend and I are embarking on a study of "Forgiveness.

It's true, we've all been offended or betrayed at one time or another in our lives. Sometimes this causes intense discomfort and may seem to be overwhelming. These hurts to the heart if left to fester can cause bitterness to spring up. Some people have no idea how to rid themselves of those feeling. It may lead to hate towards the ones who have offended us or unreasonable fear of being wounded again. They shy away from relationships with people because they are afraid of being hurt. Forgiveness is very important to the Christian especially because we have such a great example in the Lord Jesus. We have been forgiven much and because we have been forgiven much we should in turn forgive those who have wronged us.

Ephesians 4:32

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Sometimes we think of forgiveness as something we are doing for the offender. We actually are allowing God to work a good work in us when we forgive. He brings healing to our heart and life. We are agreeing with God, that He is the only one who is able to judge another.

Romans 12:19

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

So we aren’t letting the offender “off the hook” so to speak, but we are allowing God to work in that persons’ life, and our own. Bitterness comes from playing the offence over and over in our mind. Remembering over and over the insults, hurt, rejection, injustices and pain that others have caused us. It causes us to be weak and fearful. Bitterness can actually cause us to be physically sick.

Hebrews 12:12-15

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Forgiveness is not a forgetting or promising to forget.  Forgiveness is not promising to believe that the other person was not guilty or responsible for what they did. It is not praising or rewarding the other person or approving of what was done. Forgiveness is not permission to repeat the offense. Forgiveness is our decision to no longer hate the offender; to realize that God will make things right. He has promised healing to our mind. He will work in the heart of the offender in ways we cannot.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Forgiveness is between you and God. Choose a time when you are ready. Pray and tell God that you are choosing to forgive, that you want Him to heal your heart and give you the sound mind He has promised. When we pray, agreeing with God that is a powerful thing. He will hear us. He is ready to heal us and give us peace. Just as with salvation it is not something we can DO, we are trusting GOD TO DO the work in our heart. We make the choice, but He does the work.

Galatians 2:16

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Titus 3:5

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us

…to be continued…

A Day Off

Last Friday I took a day off work.  Not just for a little time off, but because I had to go to the dentist in Boston and get my last 2 teeth out.  I'm getting prepared for permanent dentures and needed to get that taken care of.  We woke up about 3:30 am in order to make it to a 8:30 am appointment.  Got there just in time.  Mr D. had an appointment too.  We were all done by 11 am and though I was experiencing some discomfort I decided that we ought to at least enjoy the rest of the day.  We stopped at Market Basket for some lunch stuff (soup for me), and drove to North Hampton State Park Beach and had some lunch and walked along the beach.  It was a cold yet clear and sunny day.  The seagulls at first were a bit interested, but not aggressive and finally fluffed their feathers and hunkered down to keep warm.  I had a little swelling in my face, but took some pictures anyway.

Beautiful day to enjoy with my sweetie.  Look forward to many more.

Grandma's 'Lil Peanut

MORNING GLORIES

Here it is the middle of October and my Morning Glories are still blooming. I've had to cover them up a few times, and will for the rest of this week, but they are little rays of sunshine to me and I'll try to keep them going as long as I can.

The little bee was a gift from a friend who gives me bees.  My sweetie calls me his "Honeybee" so that's where it started.  I have a small collection of garden bees.

See the "heart rock"  Doug and I found that on the land.  I kept it and used it in the flower bed.

Just a little love and sunshine from me to you.

God is good!

Just in case any of you doubted we were gardening this year... I'm giving a glimpse of the garden.  It is a jungle since we've had 3 weeks of rain.  This means that the garden is wet in the morning before I go to work and in the evening it has been POURING. 

This makes for wonderful growth in the garden... the plants we want to grow and the weeds we don't want to grow. 

The blueberries are plumped and blushed.  The strawberries rotted on the vine for the most part.  We were able to pick during one short reprieve in the rain and picked about 4 pints.


highbush blueberries



We picked a few peas last night to cook up for dinner, yum!  Also pulled some radishes for Mr. D... I don't eat them much, but he loves them and will snack on them all day. 



peas in back, rhubarb (gone to seed) strawberries in foreground

  If the weather holds we should have a few days of sunshine and maybe I can get caught up with the weeding.  I know these pictures don't look it, but we weeded for about an hour last night.

winter squash gone wild



romano




red runner



We pray that God allows a good harvest this year.  Got a couple months to go.

Sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy... I was in a hurry to get to work on time... the time on my camera is not right either.  This was about 7:10 AM.  At least the date is right.

I was thinking today of the many failures we've had gardening.  It starts out just like this, but something happens, powdery mildew, bottom rot on tomatoes.  We had a hard time the first year making anything grow except where we had burned brush and there in the ashes the soil was good for winter squash.  I was also thinking today of friends who had 5 goats shot by an angry neighbor.  I know they worked hard raising them and all the money they used that went into feeding them grain through the winter and three of them were kids born this spring.  I was heartbroken.  It's hard enough farming, but then to have someone shoot your animals because they got off your property and onto theirs?  That is just mean and not very neighborly.

I must remember that these things happen to all of us.  Good or bad, right or wrong, God is still good and He is still God and He will always be in control.  We can labor hard for our provisions, but it is God who gives increase.

Matthew 5: 44-48

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

No matter what the circumstances may be, that last verse sums it up  "... be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

Perfect here doesn't mean sinless, but it does mean we should strive to have the mind of God in all circumstances... whether we are dealing with grumpy neighbors or mold in the garden.   We know that God will provide what we need.

Praying that all our gardens produce well and that God will give grace to our friends who lost their goats.

God Bless! 

Lupine

The Lupine are blooming again on our hillside.  I wanted to take lots of pictures this year 'cause the dirt work being done here this summer may tear them up and they'll be gone.  I've tried for years to get these started in many places I've lived, but these all came about by sort of an accident.

I had a little box of wildflower seeds that I'd picked up from the Dollar Tree and they'd been around the house a couple years since I really didn't have the space to formally plant them.  One day I took the box outside to the top of the hill and just threw them to the breeze.  I really didn't have much expectation since I didn't think there were viable seeds anymore.  The next summer I had a variety of wildflowers blooming on the hillside.  Over the years the only ones to survive were the Lupine and Daisies.  They started small, but spread each year.  Mr. D likes to mow the hill and make it look better, so I let him do that once they have gone to seed.  I try to keep some of the weeds down a little during the early spring, but since he mows once a year, they really aren't bad.  There's a few dandelion that bloom early, colts foot and  paint brushes, but the Lupine are above them and beautiful. 

Thinking of the beauty of God's creation... it all points to the Creator, just as the Lupine spires point to the sky.  Although we love the beauty all around us and we do live in a beautiful part of the country,  it makes us love God all the more for giving us this to enjoy. 

We would not want to begin worshipping the beauty we see since all nature declares the glory of God.  Think of those who have done this.  Where does it lead?

Romans 1:22-27
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Help us Lord to give proper praise to you when we see your hand in nature. 

Memorial Day Snow

Woke up Sunday morning to this...

then Monday we planted the garden.  Monday was a beautiful day, sunny, breezy, and warm.  I got the laundry on the line and it dried in no time.  It was cool enough so working in the garden was wonderful and the breeze kept the bugs away. 

Just a little achy this morning and had lots of leg cramping last night but all-in-all and very successful work day.

Hope you had a good Memorial Day Weekend.