Within the first few days of the new year I was reading a blog post. It's sad to say, but I rarely read a blog that is not food-related. Well, the blog that I was reading has a home and garden section. That day's post caught my eye. The blogger was writing about planning her garden. I do well if I can keep a plant alive for a few months weeks; I have no idea why this post caught and kept my attention.
As I read the post, an idea started forming. I began thinking about how God's word is a seed. For many years one of my favorite passages of scripture is the one I mentioned in a previous post:
26Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.” Mark 4:26-29 NLT
So I often think about how to apply this scripture. Our pastor had been teaching on investing (planting seeds) as well. This was all fresh in my mind. As I read about planning a garden, I realized that when you plant seeds, you plant them on purpose. You know what you want to grow and what you're going to want to eat, so you only plant those things. This is a simple concept that I have been realizing I can apply to my life. I don't want brussel sprouts so I'm not going to plant brussel sprout seeds. I want spinach sooooo . . . you get the idea. Hmmmm, if the Word is the seed, I can plant a spiritual garden. I can consciously plant what I want. You know, "you reap what you sow."
Or as the Message Bible says it,
What a person plants, he will harvest. From Galatians 6:7
Verses 7 and 8 in the New Living Translation says it like this,
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
The Denise version of verse 7 is this: Don't be ridiculous. God has set things in order so that seeds produce one thing and one thing only. There is no way you're going to grow spinach from brussel sprout seeds. You are going to get spinach from spinach seeds.
What do I want in my garden? One thing that I want in my life is more joy. I will plant seeds of joy in my life on purpose.
About a week and a half later, I had to drive to Alton/St. Louis. Driving is good thinking time for me. I was listening to a minister and sometimes when I am in the atmosphere of listening to the Word, I have inspired ideas. That's when the idea came to make the Joy booklets and share them with others. This was no big deal because I have made and shared scripture booklets before. The big deal part was adding the blog to it. I could list reasons why I was not in the least interested in doing the blog portion. But I believe this was a God-inspired idea and I shouldn't argue with Him. :-)
As I am planting seeds in my own life, I felt that I should sow into the lives of others as well. That's how I ended up making Joy booklets and giving them to people who are special in my life and/or those to whom I felt God was leading me to give. I didn't have enough for everyone who is special in my life, though. But I am glad to be able to share with some. That's the thing about seeds . . . you plant one, but more than one fruit comes from it. My expectation? I expect to be able to sow more in others' lives. One seed . . . much fruit. Pretty cool, huh?
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