Guest Blogger Shelley S. Cramm

June 8, 2015June 8, 20152 Comments

This week, I’ve invited my friend Shelley S. Cramm to be our guest blogger. I know you will love what she has to share. Shelley is the author of devotions for NIV God’s Word for Gardeners Bible, and has found the Word of God to be completely useful and practical in her everyday life—not to mention delightfully fun! Her background includes work in architectural and garden design, as well as involvement in a local Toastmasters International club, Bible study groups, Moms in Prayer, and Moms of Preschoolers ministries. Inspiration to write a gardener’s Bible grew out of a routine of morning journaling and an enduring hope to finish up the laundry and get out to the garden. Shelley and her husband Topher have five children and live in Irving, Texas. For more information, visit www.gardeninDelight.com.

BLOOMING DESERTS

As a garden writer, my favorite place to embrace and live out Positive Life Principles is in the garden, of course! The methodical pace of garden work seems to open up God’s ministry to my mind and moving forward in life, and God-sent glimpses of Scriptures or memories of Bible stories become my meditation. His Word breaks through mental burdens formed under the pressures of livelihoods or the sufferings of our loved ones to bring God’s hope, solace, and courage to carry on.

For example, recently I retreated to the backyard after our college daughter left for a summer camp job, one that will take her away for the whole season. I was prepared to mourn her loss when she left for freshman year, but now heartache unbalanced me all over again. Will I be undone with such sadness every summer? We have more children; will all their departures distress me like this? Ugh. What a terrible system, I moaned. I took my protest to the garden (of course), to prepare a new bed for onions, wailing and murmuring at the whole process of life changes, not unlike the Israelites in the Sinai Desert (Numbers 11:4-10).

While gathering the gumption to wrestle the work of turning over soil and mixing in compost (first requiring the overturn of my compost heap—another ugh!), a simpler task caught my attention. I’ll quickly plant my order of autumn crocus bulbs, the flowers that spring up after hot summers in the dry lands of the Bible.

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. Isaiah 35:1-2 NIV

I hunted for some pots to plant them in, amused through my sorrow as I realized that with my forgetfulness in watering pots, these will soon resemble the parched Promised Land! A small smile emerged and soon I remembered the joy God’s Word communicates in seeing a lifeless stretch of earth burst into bloom. Thoughts drifted to our daughter and the burst of life she embodies. Filled with dynamic beauty and enthusiasm, she brings energetic gladness wherever she goes. I thought about the families she would meet at camp, greeted by her joy…and in an instant I glimpsed her life’s charge, to bloom deserts! That is, to impart rejoicing into weary hearts. Suddenly I didn’t feel like crying any more. I was gently renewed, my heart built up in the thoughts of flowers soon to blossom and the beauty of our daughter’s budding life. The pots all planted, I left crying in the onion bed for another day.

In this manner, I have come to see my commonplace suburban plot set against the backdrop of the Bible lands; the garden I keep is common ground between my daily life and the epic tales of truth and wisdom in God’s Word, making the choice “to view life through the eyes of hope” an easy one!

A portion of this blog was first published at www.gardenindelight.com/garden-gods-great-garden-stories/ on June 28, 2014.

For more on planting autumn crocus bulbs, see www.gardenindelight.com/plant-guide/autumn-crocus/

For more about her book, click here.

Relinquish Your Worries

June 1, 20151 Comment

Got any worries in your life right now? Whether it is the kids, the budget, the job or even the small stuff, each day is filled with opportunities to worry. It takes a deliberate effort to turn our thought patterns in a new and faith-filled direction. I like what Charles Spurgeon wrote about worry:

“Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your Captain placed you at the helm. You would never even be able to adjust the sails, yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. Be quiet, dear soul – God is the Master!”

I like Spurgeon’s boat analogy. It reminds me that I’m not the one steering the ship – and what a relief that is! God is not only master, He is with us. I think about Jesus in the boat with the disciples as the wind and the waves overwhelmed their vessel. Jesus was with them the entire time, yet He allowed the storms to come to show that His power is greater than our storms.

Spurgeon went on to write:

“Do you think all the commotion and the uproar of this life is evidence that God has left His throne? He has not! His mighty steeds rush furiously ahead, and His chariots are the storms themselves. But the horses have bridles, and it is God who holds the reins, guiding the chariots as He wills!”

Our God is still the Master! Instead of trying to hold on to the worries, hold on to Him. Remember His unfailing love for you and listen to His voice that continually says, “Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27.

He Sees our Pain

May 27, 2015May 27, 2015Leave a comment

“You are the God who sees me…”

“I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Genesis 16:13

When you feel as though no one knows the depth of pain, do not despair. There is One who sees. You are not alone, for God sees you and knows your needs. In the Old Testament we read how God’s angel met Hagar in the desert as she fled from the cruelty of Sarah. God meets us where we are and gently cares for our needs as well. Whether we are experiencing an overwhelming day or going through a life-changing tragedy, we can rest assured that our God sees. Perhaps you have been unfairly treated and think no one understands, God sees and He understands.

We are not invisible to God. Just as Hagar was comforted by God, so we can find our comfort in knowing that God sees all. It’s easy to think that when bad things happen, God doesn’t see our situation or care about our problems. Be patient. Wait on Him. Have faith in the God who sees and has a plan that is bigger and more eternal than we can imagine.

This is an excerpt from Pursuing God in the Quiet Places.

Strength Through Storms

May 21, 2015Leave a comment

It seems as though every time I turn on the news during the month of May, I hear the reports of storms and tornadoes across the nation. Without a doubt we are in the midst of storm season. During the storms of life, how do we maintain the hope that the sun will shine again? God’s Word brings comfort to our weary hearts. When our discouragements appear to be carrying us downstream, we have an anchor in Scripture.

Consider Jeremiah who was at his lowest point, yet he was able to look upward as he remembered the goodness of the Lord. Here’s what we read in Lamentations 3:

He has broken my teeth with gravel;
    he has trampled me in the dust.
¹⁷I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”

¹⁹I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
²⁶it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Hope came to Jeremiah as he recalled the Lord’s great love. How do we recall the Lord’s great love for us? By reading His love letters! May your heart be encourage through the hope that He brings by the promises of love in His Word and by the comfort of His Spirit.

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Refreshing Rain

May 19, 2015Leave a comment

You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance. Psalm 68:9

Dallas weather has been crazy lately. Although it seems as though we have had constant rain for weeks, we are actually thankful for it. When you’ve been through periods of draught, you learn to count the rain as a gift from God to renew and refresh the dry and thirsty land.

God is the giver of refreshing rain. In Psalm 68 we read that He gave abundant showers to the Israelites to refresh them. God provided for His people in the wilderness. He was the one who met their needs. Now, keep in mind He also allowed them to go through the wilderness and experience dry times in their lives.

There are times when we may feel weary physically or dried up emotionally or worn out spiritually. Although we may go through the wilderness, we also know that it will not last forever. God does not leave us alone in our dry times. Do not lose heart, for the God who allowed his people to dwell in the wilderness also sent abundant showers and refreshing rain to His weary inheritance. Look to the Lord. He is the one who offers restoration to tired souls. Ask Him for abundant showers to not only cleanse you, but to refresh and heal you.