Finding Hope When Good Intentions Go Bad

June 1, 2017

Good Intentions

This year would be different. After all, gardens take work–and energy. I planned to minimize and maintain, nothing excessive this year. No need to buy new flowers. That’s why I planted perennials.

It all started with five bags of mulch–one bag per rose. That should make a soft cushy bed for my new rose garden and an easy way to discourage weeds. Veggies from previous years, too deprived of necessary sun, lost their place to this heartier variety of Knock-Out® rose.

But then I looked over at the azalea bed a few feet away, and the newly planted potato vines for this year. Hmm. Old mulch from past years had disintegrated or washed away. And everywhere I looked, our bushy creatures had been at play–or work. New little oak trees were springing up everywhere from the squirrels’ buried acorns.
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God Restores What We Abandon

April 21, 2017

Drooping. Lifeless. Abandoned. Destined for the trash. Appropriate word choices for the plant sitting on the bargain rack of our local home improvement garden section.

But you wouldn’t describe these flowering petunias with those same words, would you?

Yet that pathetic description fit this hanging plant perfectly when I bought it a couple of weeks ago. Could it bloom again? Would it form soft, lilac petals again on its tired, worn stems? Read more

Is Jesus Real? An Easter Prayer for You

April 13, 2017

 

Some of us may feel like Thomas, who questioned the Lord after His resurrection appearance. At times, we too, need to know that Jesus is truly real. Circumstances leave us discouraged, and we soon forget God’s work in our lives. Read more

Finding God in the Garden

March 30, 2017

When springtime rolls around, it’s hard for me not to write about my favorite season. Visions of pink and blue hydrangeas, white gardenias, yellow daylilies, coral heuchera, and purple petunias dance in my head. Every year I save up for colorful replacements or new varieties.

There are some things about this time of year, however, that can destroy its beauty–if I let it.

You guessed it: weeds. You can tell by this picture in my backyard garden that some flowers are blooming. But most of those green shoots covering the ground and invading the good plants? Weeds! Unfortunately, just like most of the plants in my gardens, those weeds are perennial.

The sun may eventually kill the shallow ones, though my garden is mostly shady. And mulch will cover up some of the green invaders. But only for a while. Others will soon take their place. If I let them grow wild and don’t pull them out as soon as they pop up, they will soon choke out the beauty and the fragrance of my garden.

Finding God in the Garden

That’s true of my spiritual garden as well. Think about these areas of life and the power of weeds left untended: Read more

When You’re Craving God and His Blessing

March 9, 2017

When You’re Craving God

and His Blessing

by

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

 

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Five Words That Can Change Your Life and the Lives of Others

March 2, 2017

 

I love words. Words can change your life and the lives of others. Words are my vocation, partly because of some encouraging words I received when I was only a senior in high school.

Years ago, a stranger clipped my senior picture from the local paper and enclosed it with a hand-written, encouraging note in the mail: “You have a beautiful smile.” Just five words–and a simple gesture that took maybe five or ten minutes, but can you guess I started flashing my pearly whites after that? Read more

When You Need God’s Strength

February 2, 2017

Who doesn’t need God’s strength? If you’re feeling weak and in need of a divine touch, here’s something for you to remember:

When You Need God’s Strength

By

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Tired of carrying burdens God never intended?

Weary from the effort to keep your heart mended? Read more

3 Keys to a Happier New Year

January 12, 2017

As the new year unfolds, all of us want our year to be “happier” than the previous one. Based on Scriptural advice, here are three keys  to help you experience a happier new year: Read more

Are You Listening to God?

November 10, 2016

 

Are You Listening to God?

My recurrent theme in many of my blogs, as you know, is “God is Faithful.” It runs through my heart, and that theme is embedded in the heart and soul of the Bible.

So, to me, when people ask in any situation,  “Will God show up?” that’s not even a question to consider. Read more

Book Giveaway – Mornings with Jesus 2017 Devotional

October 27, 2016

It’s time again for another book giveaway. Once again, I’m featuring a Guideposts devotional book, the new Mornings with Jesus 2017 devotional. For my fifth year now, I’ve been privileged to join a team of other gifted writers to compose the Mornings with Jesus devotionals, including this one.

Studying the life of Jesus and reading and learning more about Him each year as I write these devotions has deepened my love and passion for Christ even more. And every year as I experience more of His love and grace, Jesus grows even more precious to me. He is so faithful!

I am pleased to share this opportunity with you. Be sure and read the excerpt; then comment below to enter the devotional book giveaway drawing. Read more

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