31 Days to Fruitful Living — Day 1

I am a city girl with a black thumb.  I do not grow things.  Fruit is purchased at the supermarket and brought home.  I do not like to get my hands dirty.

This year, my one-word focus is “fruitilicious.”  My desire to is to live a fruitful life for God, but He is teaching me that this will require me to put in some spiritual elbow grease.  I can’t buy this kind of fruit in the store.  I must cultivate it.

So, for the next 31 days, I am going to be examining what it will require for me to live a more fruitful life.  I hope you will join me.  I will do my best to not let my black thumb get in the way of things.

+++

DAY ONE:

In order to grow a fruit tree, you do not need to own an orchard.  You don’t even need to have a big back yard.  Apparently, you can plant a fruit-bearing tree in a regular old pot.  All you need is a space set aside for the seed to germinate.

Spiritually, fruit bearing begins in your heart.  You don’t need to possess great talent or reputation.  All you need is to set aside your heart as a place for God to begin to plant the seed of His Word.

Is my heart ready to receive what the Master Gardener hopes to cultivate?

“The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger…”

Colossians 1:6A, MSG

Join me tomorrow for Day 2 of 31 Days to Fruitful Living! Come back, and we will chat about “dirt.”  Are you wondering how I am going to manage to write a whole blog post about that?  Well, so I am I… 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!  I would love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

___

Linking up with Thriving Thursdays, Tell His Story, Soli Deo Gloria, Playdates with God, Hear it on Sunday: Use it on Monday, Spiritual Sundays, The Weekend Brew, Still Saturday, Faith-Filled Friday and Wednesdays in the Word. I am joining The Nester and like-minded sisters for this crazy challenge:

Photo Credit:  SP Veres

Rainbow Prayers

He’d been sitting out there for hours.  We’d been sailing through the Inner Passage in Alaska for 13 days.  On day 14, my husband disappeared onto the balcony with his binoculars and never came inside.  I visited him a couple of times… with my winter coat on.  I did not find the chill inviting, so I watched the view from the comfortable sofa inside our stateroom.

Just before lunch, he came inside looking for the camera.  “I asked God for a rainbow,” he declared.

I looked outside.  Although it was cold, there was not a cloud in the sky.  Humph, I thought… a rainbow on a sunny day.  This should be interesting.

“Lord, send my husband a rainbow,” my spirit breathed.  I know he’s your favorite.

+++

A couple of days later, I was sitting on the couch back at home when my husband emerged from his office.  He’d just gotten off the phone — a call we had not expected to go well had gone decidedly in our favor.  Daily, we had prayed for God to make a way and give us favor in a seemingly impossible situation.

Honestly, I was not surprised at all when my husband said, “She gave us a green flag.”  After all, I had just finished uploading our Alaska pictures to Facebook.

The rainbow on the Alaskan sea smiled brilliantly back at me filling me with hope.

+++

“He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.”

Job 9:10, NIV

+++

Q4U:  Has God ever answered a seemingly impossible prayer request that you offered up in faith?  I would love to hear your story!

My one-word focus for the year is “fruitilicious.”  Find out what that means here.

Thanks for stopping by!  I would love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Joining like-minded sisters today at Women Living Well,Tell His Story, Soli Deo Gloria, Hear it on Sunday: Use it on Monday and Playdates with God. 

Supernatural Highway

“I will make all My mountains a road,

and My highways will be raised up.”

Isaiah 49:11, NASB

+++

Joining like-minded sisters at

Fighting On Your Knees

He pulled it out and tossed it in the garbage.  The colorful Bird of Paradise plant in front of the house had become infested with ants.  We had not noticed, but our landlord did.  He got on his hands and knees and pulled out the corrupted plant, its beauty destroyed by a silent invader.  In its place stood a big, gaping hole.  I was sad to see it go….

+++

I am sharing over at Missional Women this week.  Head on over here to read the rest of this post. 

+++

Photo Credit:  Angel Lopez

Resting in Him

“Most of the things we need to be most fully alive

never come in busyness.

They grow in rest.”

Mark Buchanan,

The Holy Wild: Trusting in the Character of God

…

I am taking a much needed Sabbatical and will be off-line for a few days….

Photo Credit: Fabio Pusterla