My New Friday Devotional

Why Do I Need New Believers In My Life

Matthew 28: 19-20

“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

New believers can energize a more mature believer. When someone who’s new in the faith comes into a church and is excited about Jesus, it most often energizes me as an older believer.

New believers need more mature believers to disciple them. They’re discovering things for the first time. Maybe they have questions about what a Scripture passage means. As an older believer, if I start helping them, I too, discover things I have forgotten. For me personally, this rekindles my passionate belief in my own faith.

If I am discipling a new believer, as I’m doing the discipling, I am greatly benefited. I am helping to make a new disciple. My witness benefits the new believer, but it also benefits me as I’m doing the discipling. That is why mature believers need an outlet. It’s called making disciples.

Jesus said, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. (Matthew 28: 19-20).

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Thank you Jesus for all the new believers, and thank you that you lead me to them, so that I can teach and share my beliefs and my joy in knowing You. Amen

My Orchid

My white Orchid has eight (8) long lasting blooms. I water it every Sunday. The blooms have lasted two (2) months. Not a one has fallen off. Two of the lower green leaves died off. I have a skylight and I think even though I have the blinds closed to conserve the A/C  the orchid is thriving in this light. The root system is bright green, plentiful and compact. It’s looks very healthy. I have never had one with eight blooms  before. Two (2) new very tiny blooms are starting to mature.

“Anticipation is wonderful!”

Roots, in the Irish “Dunne” tradition….

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

Good Morning,  my precious Jesus,

This place is part of me. You gave me strong roots. I am eternally grateful for simple, wholesome and faith based roots. I find forever comfort in knowing that the “land” is embedded in my roots. I come from a humble people who worked the land, while raising crops, family  and tending cattle and the prairie. You were the primary focus of their lives every day. Each one of them, and there were nine, set example for me. You were the reason they taught me. You were always their center.  If I had not had this grounding as a small child, which carried me all the way through my young adult days, I could be lost. But…I am found. Thank you my dearest Jesus for strong family and faith roots. My own parents lost their way, but family intervened and pulled me along with them. How blessed I am. I’ve tried to pull my children along. I claimed long ago, when they were little, that I must “teach” a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. I pray. They are yet young: hear me Jesus I pray. You can bring them to you. Hear my constant prayer Jesus. I say AMEN!

My Prayer

Loving God, please grant me peace of mind and calm my fluttering heart…….  I ask for your strength and clarity of mind my Loving God. Give me the strength of mind to find my purpose for today and walk the path you’ve laid out for me. I trust your Love Jesus and I know that you will heal and bring me calm as I take a day off from the gardens. You sent an amazing rain storm last night and so the gardens are actually a bit muddy. Your new day looks to be cloudy and somewhat cooler. So grateful for this change in weather.  Thank you Jesus. Today I will read, rest, relax, pray and study your Word. I had many visitors yesterday in the garden. Tiny bugs everywhere. The end result are several bug bites. Sooooo…..,today I will follow the path you have laid out for me. I trust your Love Jesus, and know that you will give me peace of mind, body and soul. I praise you and give all honor to you Lord Jesus. Thank you  for being with me in “rest.”  Amen.

 

Sweet Peas

 SWEET PEAS ON  A BAMBOO TRELLIS

Sweet  Peas are beautiful. Delicate petals twisting and winding around each other, and their fragrance is sweeter than any flower we can think of. And it’s a natural sweetness. The blossoms of the English variety of sweet Peas are actually edible but,  not so with the American seed variety. They possess a toxicity. So even though they look delicious enough yo eat, this  would be a No/No. The flower colors vary in pinks, blues, purples, fuchsia, white and lavender. 

Yesterday we were at the nursery and they have bamboo reeds in stock. You can create your own trellis at home and there is still time to plant Sweet Pea seeds. They make the cutest little bouquets you can place around the house. Your house will smell delicious. We encourage you to try sowing this seed in the next week or two. Full Sun is still plentiful and your seeds should germinate in just a few days. Be sure to encourage  them to climb the reeds. They are lovely. They are a “very happy” flower. We love them, and we hope you might give them a try. They are very old fashioned. Enjoy!

Tips – Preserving your gardening hand tools

 

What You’ll Need

• 10″ Terra Cotta Pot (weve used an aluminum tub)
• Clean Sand
• Mineral Oil

Begin with  a simple terra cotta pot. The aluminum one I used is about 14 inches in diameter.

Paint it a pretty color if you’re feeling fancy.

Next, working in a large bowl or bucket, mix together enough sand and mineral oil to fill your pot. You’ll want to use enough oil so that your sand is fairly evenly coated. It should stick together but still have a “crumbly-ish” texture. Place your favourite hand tools down into the sand when you’re done with them.  Each time, they’ll get a little sharper (kind of like when you use sand paper to sharpen kitchen scissors) and they’ll be coated in just enough oil to keep them rust free! It’s magic.

“Contessa” says….. it’s easy – peezy!!

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Jesus, Thank You for my beautiful day……

Good Evening my Lord and my God, 

Thank you Jesus for a very fruitful day today with very productive work, I enjoyed beautiful early morning weather, and moist soil in which to make my contributions in the yards where I am working. The rain you provided was generous and so welcome. Thank you for your living waters. I made very good progress today. I am so grateful Father.

I want you to hear me tonight as I humbly confide in you for guidance. Jesus, help me to trust you with my decisions and my future. I want to lean on you with all my heart. My own understanding of my future may be less than perfect. I know you want your very best for me. I ask for your clear guidance in my life Lord. I submit myself to you because I know you will lovingly direct my path. I know your direction is always the best and your perfect way. Jesus hear my prayer tonight. In Christ Jesus, my Savior and my God. I give you my whole life. You are my life and I love you. Amen

Prayer answered……

…….it just rained hard – for a half hour. Oh, Jesus my gardening in the morning at 7 am will be glorious. Thank you so much. You answered my prayer. Amen.

Gardened Today

In progress – two ongoing projects on Beverley Drive right now. Today we were there very early morning. We are still two weeks from completion. The weather has been pretty brutal, so our hours are early mornings. It works. Rain could be a blessing. With no rain and hot temps progress is slow. We don’t mind, but it sure would be nice t get some evening showers. We would even work in a nice soft rain.

Newer projects will most likely come in towards early September.  Last year we had a very robust fall work schedule – all the way up to Dec 14th. We will take time off the last two weeks in August, so plan your requests of us accordingly.

FYI – Some of our generous clients have posted referrals on the PFX Facebook page. Please view for yourself.

Parkfairfax does recommend watering at least twice a week for up to a half hour, very early mornings, or after the sun goes down. You will be surprised what a difference it can make for your plants and your grass.

Please stay tuned for our new fall Gardening Ad in the September FORUM Newsletter. As always, if you have referrals please send us a txt message at 703-548-1882.

Hang tight  We are doing the same.

“The Garden Contessa”