As an artist I tend to be a visual leraner (go figure!). Connections are made at times that I sometimes don't expect. Last night I was in my small raspberry patch enjoying the luscious, ripe fruit. We have never had such a bountiful crop of extremly large berries. What is different this year to produce such a wonderful harvest? Is it the water, the soil, the light, or did I actually remember to do the tedious chore of pruning the prickly branches last fall? While munching and collecting berries John 15:2 came to mind. It says: He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. As a gardner and as a Christian I have learned that even fruitful branches need pruning. So this week I am thankful for the visual of the raspberry bushes that have reminded me that the more fruit we bring forth, the more we abound in what is good, the more our Lord is glorified. So I look inward to see what I need to prune from my life today (I'm afraid there is always much to choose from)...and hopefully this fall I will remember to prune the raspberry bushes also!Monday, July 21, 2008
Lessons from the Raspberry Patch
As an artist I tend to be a visual leraner (go figure!). Connections are made at times that I sometimes don't expect. Last night I was in my small raspberry patch enjoying the luscious, ripe fruit. We have never had such a bountiful crop of extremly large berries. What is different this year to produce such a wonderful harvest? Is it the water, the soil, the light, or did I actually remember to do the tedious chore of pruning the prickly branches last fall? While munching and collecting berries John 15:2 came to mind. It says: He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. As a gardner and as a Christian I have learned that even fruitful branches need pruning. So this week I am thankful for the visual of the raspberry bushes that have reminded me that the more fruit we bring forth, the more we abound in what is good, the more our Lord is glorified. So I look inward to see what I need to prune from my life today (I'm afraid there is always much to choose from)...and hopefully this fall I will remember to prune the raspberry bushes also!
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Another raspberry patch lesson: (True story) A couple of years ago, I was outside in the spring clipping away at all sorts of prickly things that were handing into my yard, such as a few trees we have that have big thorns on them, wild rose plants, etc. I went around the yard, singlemindedly clipping, clipping. When I got all the way around, I realized I had clipped off the raspberry plants in the process. They have never recovered.
God reminds up, in the lesson from a few weeks ago, to leave the weeds, that it is the angels' job to separate the weeds from the good plants.
When we kick people out of our churches, by force or by implication, we hurt the whole church.
This afternoon I tried to reply to the email or comment that came in my email from you, but it bounced. Then I checked you blog and used that email address, which I think is the same, but it bounced. The reply was just a sort of acknowledgment, but I thought you'd want to know about the bounce.
Your email is still bouncing. I just sent you one and it immediately bounced. Blogger won't allow me to send the bounce message because it contains html. I'd recommend sending yourself an email or going to a friend's computer and sending yourself an email so you can document what is happening.
No, it’s not the blog comment that isn’t working, it is your email address, even the one you are using to send these emails to me. Do you have an alternate email address that you can send to me? Then I'll forward on your bounce messages.
Just sent you some emails at the alternative email address. Hopw those work. I'm receiving emails from the carrot top address just fine.
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