Back from ladies retreat weekend at Drift Camp. What a wonderful weekend with 40 beautiful women of God! This weekend was such a great reminder of why “community” is so important. It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of our daily lives and not take the time to grow and nurture our relationships with one another.

It seems as though in my younger years, while raising my boys, it was easier to find “girlfriend” time. Play dates at each other’s homes or days at the park were pretty regular. Now that my boys are grown and I am working full-time, it seems much more challenging. Of course, back then, whenever we did get together, the focus was really on the kids, and not on each other, so I guess every season of life does have its challenges!!

Hebrews 10:25 says that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but exhort one another. This is so important because God made us all different parts of one Body and we are each supposed to use our gifts for the good of the Body. This can only happen when we live in community.

So, maybe now isn’t the time for you to get away for a weekend retreat with the ladies, but I challenge you to think of some way that you can foster being a part of “community” in your own life. Maybe it’s as simple as picking up the phone and inviting a friend out for coffee or a play date. You won’t regret it J

Gardening is on my mind this time of year. I love seeing the signs of life in a tired wintered over garden when the sun starts shining. The peonies are poking up through the ground along with the numerous bulbs that were planted the previous fall. There is new growth on the clematis and hydrangea. Beautiful and exciting! Wait a minute though, what is that I see? Ugh, it’s the first sign of a weed. Not just any old weed, but the nemesis to my coastal garden…the dreaded False Lily of the Valley. At first sign of this nasty weed, I know one thing, it is time for WAR!!

Yes, that’s right, war. This isn’t some simple little weed all by itself. This is a nasty, aggressive weed with a massive root system. If I don’t declare all-out war on it, it will take over my garden and choke out everything in its path. What I have found to be somewhat effective is anytime I see a new leaf poking of the ground, I yank it out, so that it doesn’t have time to grow and multiply. However, it spreads fast and I can’t always keep up with it and then I have to take more drastic measures, like using Round-Up. I have to be so diligent and vigilant.

This reminds me of what the bible says about the root of bitterness. When speaking about pursuing peace with all people, the writer of Hebrews teaches us that a root of bitterness will cause us to fail of the grace of God, to be troubled and to be defiled. (Heb. 12:15). It is so important that we don’t hold onto the things that are done against us by others and cause there to be fertile soil for the root of bitterness to grow wild in our hearts. Just like the False Lily of the Valley in my yard, unchecked forgiveness and resentment will grow like wildfire into a root of bitterness that will choke all the love out of our lives.

The moment that we recognize those wrong attitudes in our heart, we need to yank them out and lay them at the feet of our Lord. It literally is a war against bitterness. With the help of our Lord Jesus, we can have a beautiful garden free of bitterness.   

Gardening is a passion of mine. There is something special and therapeutic about digging in the dirt and being a part of the process of creating a beautiful landscape. When I moved to the Central Oregon Coast almost eight years ago I had to learn a whole new way of gardening. I had moved from the Sacramento Valley, a place that is known for its hot summers. It wasn't unusual for us to have several weeks at a stretch of 100+ days.

Not so on the Central Oregon Coast. If we hit 80, it's highly unusual, maybe happens once a summer. It is considered a major heat wave and the locals can't stand it. The average summer temperature is about 65 degrees. Fine by me.I had no problem at all with the cooler weather. I'd lived in that Sacramento summer heat for 27 years. Enough is enough! I had looked so forward to being able to sit outside without sweat pouring down my back. I dreamed of a nice coastal garden like I had seen in magazines. Boy, did I have a lot to learn.

I was used to planting roses, marigolds, zinnias and the like. All those heat loving plants! Those things would never grow around here. What was I to do? After some trial and error, I figured out the best way to go about it. I just starting looking around my neighborhood. What was growing in other people's yards? Why reinvent the wheel? Find the things that grew well in other people's yards and plant some of the same. That worked pretty well. Then every once in a while I would try something that I hadn't seen locally and guess what, it would usually die. So, the things that did well, like fuchsias, azaleas, peonies, I would plant more of, but the things that didn't I would yank out. Now my garden is looking pretty good.

I realized that this is a lot like my spiritual life. I need to look at the things that are growing well in my life. Those are the things that I need to plant more of.  Sow the seeds of kindness, forgiveness, patience, etc. And those things that are not good, I need to yank them out by the root. Goodbye to envy, unkindness, impatience, stubbornness, unselfishness, etc. . These things have no place in the soil of my life. Any just like in my garden, I want to look around and learn from those who are emulating the behavior of Christ. Christlike behavior is what I want to exhibit in my own life. Then just like a beautiful garden, my life can bring joy to the lives of others.