We can learn from flowers. We drink deeply from the minerals and water from our roots in Jesus and His Word with prayer. When we drink enough from these sources, only then do we grow and bloom and open up into a beautiful flower that encourages and enriches other people’s lives and shows God’s glory.😃❤️
Tag: growth
Beauty After Pruning
Like a gorgeous azalea in full bloom so are we after some healthy pruning. No one wants the bad parts of their lives pruned, even by a loving God. However, everything is better and richer after the pruning. 😃❤️
Gardening the Soul
Gardens do not thrive unless two things happen… 1. You put effort and resources into it, and 2. God works on and blesses it.
The same is true of our soul. When you feel dry or wilted or flooded inside, not thriving spiritually, it is never (unless it is a test) that God is not doing His part. It is far more likely we are not putting in the effort or resources. For example, not reading our Bible, not participating in church, not serving, not praying. Spiritual growth is not a one way effort, it is a relationship with almighty, loving God. No relationship is healthy without effort from both sides. And when the effort is mutual, it is beautiful and thrives.
So, if you tell me you are going through a dry patch or feel overwhelmed or lack luster spiritually, I will remind you to humble yourself and do your part because God always does His.😄❤
It Takes Purposeful Effort
Being a Christian requires purposeful effort. So does being a jerk in many cases. So does running a marathon. So does accomplishing anything praiseworthy. But to hear Father God say “Well done, good and faithful child”, we have to decide to commit purposeful effort into pleasing Him. That includes learning what pleases Him via the Bible, prayer all the time, and meeting together with other Christians for help and encouragement with both of those. It is easy to be lazy, requires very little effort and no purpose. But actually committing is a big deal and a lot of purposeful effort will need to be utilized to get into good habits and stay in close, maturing relationship with our loving God. And eternally- speaking and even right now, that is where we need and want to be.❤
Tonya LaLonde 