A Story About Vines
I grew up in south Georgia surrounded by a vine that was lush and green with fragrant blossoms. It also grew like wildfire and was practically impossible to destroy. Kudzu. Some of you are nodding in recognition and others are ignorant of the scourge of this beautiful vine. Evidently, at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial, the Japanese brought kudzu to their pavilion and the U.S. Soil Conservation Service came up with the bright idea…
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Pruning Hurts
It is incredibly hard to “quit while you’re ahead.” To be sidelined in the middle of living out your dream. For whatever reason. And yet, God, the Master Gardener, “cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more”. John 15.2 I well remember seasons of pruning. Of cutting back professional activities in order to focus on mothering my own…
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Why Roots Matter
It’s called The Big Oak. My Georgia hometown’s most popular tourist attraction. After all, this southern live oak tree (Quercus virginiana) dates back to 1680 and is currently 68 feet tall and has a limb span of 165 feet. It is also where my mother was born in 1927, at the home of my great-grandparents Chastain who lived there from 1906-1966. The tree is magnificent. But it’s the roots that tell the full story.…
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It’s a Hard Process from Crawling to Soaring
Can you imagine walking into a room with over a thousand fluttering butterflies? I did just that at the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens in Georgia and it was quite a colorful experience. Not to mention hot and humid, out of necessity. In this glass-enclosed ecosystem more than fifty species of butterfly live freely among tropical plants. Butterflies arrive there in the chrysalis stage, purchased from family-run butterfly farms in…
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That Elusive Rhythm of Slow
Driving through Pebble Hill Plantation I saw the road sign that caused me to grind to a halt. “Slow Down. I Mean It!” And Pansy Poe, the owner of this beautiful estate outside my Georgia hometown, had signed her name to give it more authority. Actually, God could have authored that sign as well. I believe He sends signs warning me to “Slow Down” all the time, but I’m usually running by too quickly to…
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When the Soil is Hard and Your Shovel is Dull
In these lazy, hazy days do you ever find yourself just coasting through life? You know the symptoms – lacking energy or enthusiasm for pursuing new things; feeling jaded or lethargic when you hear others speaking of a new vision or passion. Sometimes you just want to say, “Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.” If so, then God has a word for you, through the prophet Hosea. It’s time. Break up your unplowed ground;…
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Flinging Beauty Far and Wide!
I have never seen a field of sunflowers in Tuscany. And I’ve never been in Texas in the Spring when the fields are covered in Bluebonnets. But recently I saw an outcropping of Purple and Blue Lupines covering the wilderness in Wyoming and their beauty almost made me cry. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of…
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Too Much Debris Clogging Up Your Life?
He was just an old man people rarely saw. A quiet forest dweller, he lived up in the Alps and was known by his task as “the keeper of the spring.” This mountain man had been hired many years earlier by an Austrian village council to clear away the debris from the pools of water that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town. With faithful, silent regularity his work helped make the village become…
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Seedling to Sequoia – Small Beginnings
Johnny was a Revolutionary War veteran. What to do after the war in a new land? Travel west and throw out seeds. Apple seeds. Yes, John Chapman will forever be remembered as “Johnny Appleseed” who planted apple nurseries and orchards throughout Ohio and Indiana. These apple trees helped transform the pioneer land into homesteads, and thus built a new nation. Imagine what a few little seeds can do. I used to live near Muir Woods…
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Maybe It’s Time to Sit in the Shade
I love hydrangeas. I think they look like bouquets of lace. A few years ago, I was thrilled to receive a beautiful hydrangea plant for my birthday, which was immediately stuck in a hole in the ground outside. But I am not a gardener. Every time blossoms would appear, they turned brown almost immediately and no amount of water could resuscitate them. The problem was, of course, they had way too much sun. Hydrangeas grow…
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Will This Be Your Summer of Growth?
Does the sunshine and warmth bring to mind lovely gardens full of blooming flowers and ripe vegetables? If you are ready for some growth in your own life, why not begin here: Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3.18 Such spiritual growth is a process called sanctification — one that lasts a lifetime, and even into eternity. But along the way, great strides can be made,…
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5 Tips for When You are Discouraged in Your Calling
(NOTE: I originally wrote this for writers who felt discouraged, but honestly, the principles can apply to whatever you are called to be and do. Hope these tips offer hope as you move into the Summer!) You got excited. Inspired to write. Motivated to minister. Challenged to pursue dreams. And, for a while there – surrounded by kindred spirits cheering you on – you could almost taste the success. A book published. A conference keynote…
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