Roots of a Tree

                            Roots of a Tree
Dear Friends,
     The garden space around our house is pretty small, especially the narrow side yard isn't big enough for a second tree.  Several years ago in the fall of the year  I noticed a very small, baby oak tree growing close to the fence and close to the maple tree. It was only about a foot tall, but it had several beautiful, glossy leaves that were bigger than my hand. They were sparkling with the morning dew in the bright morning sunlight. A squirrel must have dropped an acorn snack and it had taken root next to the fence.  I thought that the pretty, little tree needed a better location so I got the spade from the garden shed and started to dig up the tiny tree. I was surprised at the depth of the roots. I couldn't dig it up and didn't want to damage it or kill it attempting to move it, so I filled the hole back up and put the spade away. Today, it's a little  taller than the fence and seems to be determined to stay there, so there it stays, the strong little oak tree.
   I heard someone say that when a grape vine is planted in stony ground  the roots are forced to work harder, and grow deeper so that then the fruit is sweeter and the plant is stronger. It's not surprising that some of the best wine in the world comes from the rocky hills of Samaria in Israel.
   My thoughts today are about how God created plants with roots and the job of the roots is to find nourishment for the plant. He compares us to plants in His Word and wants us to learn from His creation.
Ephesians 3:17
"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him.  Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong."
Colossians 2:7
"Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness."
     I am thankful for the beautiful ways God teaches us His desires for us, how much He loves us, that even in the roots buried under the ground He put lessons for us. It is so special, the simplicity of the roots of a tree and the truth of thankfulness.
     

Manna In The Desert

                       Manna In A Desert
Dear Friends,
     A cactus plant grows in Israel and in other desert areas that is called Sabra. It's prickly but has beautiful orange or yellow flowers bursting  from the tops of the leaves and sweet fruits grow after the flowers bloom. In Morocco they have used this plant for centuries to make a gorgeous, shiny silk fabric that is made into scarves. 
    The fruit and fabric that comes from this plant can symbolize God's provision during a wilderness season of life. God provided a way of protection for the Israelites during the night that all the firstborn of the Egyptians perished. He was with them when they came to the Red Sea and allowed them to pass through on dry ground and then the Sea closed on the Egyptians providing safety for His people. They saw mighty works with their own eyes. They ate the honey flavored manna when they were hungry and got water from a rock when they were thirsty.
    During wilderness times the thorns and rocky terrain can keep us from seeing the flowers and the fruit. Even in a desert testing time God has provision. 
Hebrews 3:14
"For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ."
2Corinthians 9:8
"And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others."
   Many times I need reminders of the faithfulness of God, gentle words to bring me back to trust and gratitude. Reading or listening to encouraging testimonies of how God was near to someone during a trial can help us gain new strength to endure and triumph in the desert.
Psalm 100:4
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."
     I'm thankful for the prickly Sabra plant and the lessons we can learn from God's beautiful creation.

Becoming

                               Becoming
Dear Friends,
     Since I started writing this blog a few people have asked me why I call it "Linen and Silk" so I thought I would write my thoughts about that to you in this letter. It's about "Becoming." Becoming who I am in God, His design.
     I heard a Bible teaching about linen fabric and it captured my attention and held my interest and since I enjoy flower gardens and the beauty that  butterflies bring to the garden, I made linen my fabric choice and decided on silk as the perfect fabric to go with it, both in what I wear and for the things I sew.
    I have had an interest in sewing and needlework since I was very small, cutting scraps of fabric and making simple clothes for my doll. It somehow seemed the perfect choice for me.
     I thought of how a caterpillar makes a cocoon and transforms into a butterfly and I made a picture out of Linen and Silk fabrics that included a butterfly from a paisley embroidery design on linen. That was the start of "Linen and Silk".
    A cocoon is made of silk fibers that are taken and through a tedious process are made into thread that is woven into the fabric that we call silk.  Silk fabric comes in several different forms from coarse, rough, unprocessed fabric that is covered with lots of little imperfections called "slubs," to the high gloss, shimmery silk that most people think of when they hear the word "silk." Lots of different textures of silk are in between the two extremes.
     Linen is made from the flax plant fibers and also goes through a complex process to make it into thread and is woven into the fabric. Linen also comes in a wide range of textures from thick, heavy and imperfect, covered with the little knots or slubs  as they are also called in linen, to a very highly processed, smooth,  sheer fabric.
    Both linen and silk are mentioned in Ezekiel, Proverbs and Revelation. 
    I was praying and wanted God to do a work in my life. I was at a point where I cried out to Him to show me the imperfections that He desired to touch and He showed me and continues to show me slubs that need to be remade. He is a master craftsman, a weaver of great skill and I am thankful for His skillful, compassionate hands. My prayer continues to be, "Take me, remake me, use me for Your glory."
Ephesians 2:10
    "For we are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." 

The Beauty Of God

             
                                 The Beauty Of God
Dear Friends,
     I had to decide on a picture for this blog post. How can a picture adequately express the beauty of God? It really can't come close.  I considered a picture of the empty tomb, which I really believe is  one of the greatest ways that Jesus shined His beauty! But when I read Luke 24:49, the last words of the risen  Jesus in the Gospel of Luke,  I knew it had to be this picture of the rainbow over Jerusalem. A beautiful picture of the promise of the Father!
     One of my favorite worship songs is "A Resting Place".  It expresses a great longing  for and the finding of rest and dependence on God alone. Finding this place is what He desires for us. Psalm 27:4 speaks of beholding the beauty of The Lord and seeking Him. He created the earth and all that we see and experience with our senses.
      Throughout each year as the seasons change we can find a resting place in Him.  From the brilliant, cloudless days of summer, to the freezing, gray months of winter He can be found. Psalm 27:4 "The one thing I ask of the Lord--the thing I seek the most- is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the 
Lord's perfections and meditating in His Temple."  Every creature will one day give blessing and honor and glory and power to Him who sits on the throne. The One on the throne is  described as glorious, brilliant as gemstones with a glow like an emerald rainbow circling the throne(Rev. 5:13). 
     The storms of this material world with the dark clouds and flashes of brilliant lightning and rolling, crashing thunder are demonstrations of God's majesty. The storms hold the message that can bring us back to delight in Him. 
     Revelation 4:11 is a sort of praise song expressing the worthiness of God and the pleasures He receives from His creation. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are created.  He desires that our pleasures be in Him." 
    Every day, in every season, in good times and in trials the rainbow of His promises is there.

Time In A Garden

                          Time In A Garden
Dear Friends,
     One thing that a garden requires is time.  Time to plan, to prepare the soil, plant seeds, time to wait for growth and time to pull weeds and time for harvest. Now that fall is here and winter seems to be racing to get here, my time in the garden is spent harvesting the last of the tomatoes, peppers and herbs.
   "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a book that shows what can happen to a garden when left to itself for a number of years and how it can spring to life again when it is cared for.
     The young Mary Lennox who had been sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire discovers a secret garden that has been locked up and the key hidden away for the past 10 years.  
    The story is full of surprises and beautiful transformations in both the people and in the garden. 
    God has a time for everything and if we experience a time where the garden is locked  for a period of time God knows and has His plans even if we don't see the beauty in it for a time. The spring will come in His time. That garden that is planted by Him won't be hidden or covered with debris forever.
     I am always thankful when I have the time to spend in the garden. In the fall I like to collect seeds and colorful dried ornamental grasses and lovely lavender flowers and sweet smelling herbs. Fresh herbs from my garden are nice to dry and use in the kitchen during the long, cold winter. When the house needs to be closed up against the cold weather it can be a comfort to have the scent of simmering pasta sauce made with the basil, oregano and parsley from my garden. These are small reminders to me that cold weather won't last forever and my garden will bloom again.
     Ecclesiastes 3 is the well know chapter about time.  The times are all in God's mind.  Verse 1 says that "to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose." This letter is a reminder of His faithfulness even when things aren't blooming.

Doves In A Garden

                                         
                                                           Doves In A Garden
Dear Friends,
     Doves are such quiet, peaceful birds.  In my garden I will see them either perched on a low branch of the maple tree, or napping  quietly in a shady spot. When they are hungry they enjoy the weed seeds that I can never seem to keep from multiplying in the summer. Sometimes I accidentally frighten them because they are so still and quiet and I don't see them until in fright they fly off in a group with a whirling sound of their wings. It is such a unique sound, not like anything else I can compare it to. The only other sound  they make is the soft cooing conversations they have with each other.
     Seeing the little doves reminds me of the doves my dad had in a small aviary attached to the shed in the back yard. He would open the door of the cage in the morning and the doves would enjoy the yard and sit on my dad's shoulder or hand. They would return to the aviary when the sun was setting.
     Doves are an important bird in the Bible and I'm always glad when they visit my garden. We see Noah take a dove in his hand and let it fly to look for dry land. The little dove trusted Noah and returned to his hand in the evening.
     The dove mentioned at the baptism of Jesus is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. It's so beautiful that God chose a dove that is quiet and gentle, not like a hawk. The word for Holy Spirit is the same word for wind, which indicates strength, direction and purpose. 
   Imagine the sky opening as Jesus comes up out of the water and the beautiful dove rests on His shoulder, His strong shoulder that carried the cross. His shoulders are also the place in the story of the lost sheep where the shepherd placed the sheep when it was found. 
Luke 15: 5
     "And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders."
    So when we see a little dove we can think of the strong shoulders of our Messiah Jesus.

Praise Like a Garden

                       Praise Like A Garden

Dear Friends,

     The colder weather is approaching and my garden only has a few things in bloom now.  The rounded mounds of spicy scented fall flowers with their bold tangerine orange and lemon yellow are some of the last colors braving the chill air. I'm so thankful for the colors of autumn all around me. The brilliant colored leaves are everywhere right now and on sunny days the hillsides seem to glow like gold. The brightest time of color only lasts  for a short time, then the trees will be dark and empty until the snow covers the branches.

     We have so many things to praise God for.  So many blessings come in praising and thankfulness.  Praise brings growth to the garden of our hearts. I desire for this garden to grow and bloom even during the months that the garden outside is resting.

     Isaiah 61:11 says this in a beautiful way.

     "The Sovereign Lord will show His justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise Him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere."

     Prayer and praise does change things. The changes start inside of us and then around us.