God, Remove The Toxicity Within Myself.

Can relate.

realizing all over again that God is truly all we need and there’s no way around that. there have been many times in my life where i’ve searched for things to fulfill me. people, relationships, approval, popularity, hobbies (yes even hobbies) and so much more. still, every single time i think that this certain thing could bring me joy, i end up reaching a point of emptiness inside. whether it’s a split second or even an entire month, i realize all over again that i am nothing without God. not even a full days rest could compare to the refreshing joy of being connected with God and being fully known by Him. without God, i am nothing and i can do nothing. it really all comes down to this: even if everything was taken away, would i still be okay with just jesus?

so friend here is your reminder that God is all you need and all you’ll ever need.

Pray Without Ceasing.

Dang. The feels. Sheesh.

poem.

when i’m with you i feel like i’m on vacation; time moves slower and nothing else seems to matter.

you crept up on me slowly and now i can’t get you out of my head.

i think about the way you tease me and how i roll my eyes.

i think about how i look at you and you return the gaze with your warm brown eyes.

but even more than that i think of how you make me feel.

safe. like i’m home when i’m with you. how we can cuddle and not have a need to say anything. comfort.

you teach me new things and challenge me to grow as a person.

i think of your touch late at night when you’re not here, and i think of you when i wake up.

i don’t know how you did it, but you have me wanting to be called your girl.

i haven’t given you my whole heart yet because i’m afraid of what you might do with it.

but you’ll see it soon. because i said it feels like i’m home when i’m with you.

and you know that old saying…

home is where the heart is.

Abide with Me Lord. This I Pray.

Blessed July.

Interpreter took him into a dark room where there sat a man in an iron cage. “Who are you?” Christian asked.

“I am not who I once was.” He replied.

“Who were you?”

“I was once a happy and flourishing preacher both in my eyes and in the eyes of others. I thought I was on the way to the Celestial City.”

“What are you now?” Christian asked.

“I am a man of despair and shut up in this cage. I cannot get out.”

Christian asked, “How did you get into this condition?”

The man looked down and said, “I quit watching and praying. I sinned against the goodness of God and grieved His Spirit away. I provoked God to anger, and he has left me. I have so hardened my heart that I cannot ever get out of this cage.”

Interpreter said, “Put this man’s misery to your remembrance and let him be a caution to you.”

Cannot Wait to see you Again.... :-)

YEAH. Previously on Tree Sexism.

Botanical Sexism Cultivates Home-Grown Allergies 

Arborists often claim that all-male plants are “litter-free” because they shed no messy seeds, fruits or pods. In the 1949 USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, which focused on trees and forests, this advice was given to readers: “When used for street plantings, only male trees should be selected, to avoid the nuisance from the seed.”  In the years following, the USDA produced and released into the market almost 100 new red maple and hybrid-maple-named clones (cultivars), and every single one of them was male.

It took a number of years for these new trees to mature enough to start to bloom, but eventually they did and with them came more city pollen and the “epidemic of allergy and asthma.” Many of these same trees are still alive and well and getting even larger, and the bigger they get, the more pollen they shed.

Allergies are rarely triggered by small amounts of an allergen; they are initiated by an overdose. Small amounts of pollen exposure are actually good for us, but if we have highly allergenic trees or shrubs in our own yards or lining our streets, we will soon enough be over-exposed. In order to put the brakes on America’s allergy epidemic, we need to reverse the trend toward male-dominated landscapes and stop selling and planting any more of the most allergenic trees, shrubs and grasses in our cities.

and the kicker:

Female trees produce no pollen, but they trap and remove large amounts of pollen from the air, and turn it into seed. Female trees (and female shrubs also) are not just passive, but are active allergy-fighting trees. The more female plants in a landscape, the less pollen there will be in the air in the immediate vicinity. By relying less on males and paying more attention to the allergy-potential of all the plants in our urban landscape, all of us may one day breathe easier.

Okay.

Heard Your Voice Lord through her.

Something I recently heard from God about:

Make sure you’re sowing into ministries which have fed you spiritually and make sure you’re being a cheerful giver when you are led, whether you’re in a good position financially or not. Actually, especially when you are not it is important to “sow your mites” and to stop thinking that you’re better off saving your money and pinching pennies instead of giving your firstfruits like you ought to. A Christian friend recently said something really wise to me “you have a special opportunity while in a season that you are struggling or poor to ‘sow out of your poverty.’ You will probably never be this financially unstable again in your life so show your faith now while you have the chance to make that display”

Luke 6:38 ESV

Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-7

Kingdom living requires kingdom giving and I am not promoting a prosperity gospel in saying that, but just the fundamental ideas of sowing and reaping and supporting those working in the field/vineyard

Listen to me, your body is not a temple. Temples can be destroyed and desecrated. Your body is a forest - thick canopies of maple trees and sweet scented wildflowers sprouting in the underwood. You will grow back, over and over, no matter how badly you are devastated.

Beau Taplin (via quotes-for-reference)

#Temples #Forests #Growth.

Keeping plants alive is a true accomplishment for me