Well, after much thought, planning and hard work the McKnight Family Homestead garden has been switched to all raised beds and is planted! Hopefully, produce production will be way up and weeding way down! Oh, those nasty, tenacious weeds… I may have been guilty a time or two for grumbling and calling Adam a jerk as I crawled around on my knees pulling up weeds that seem to grow at 4 times the rate of my vegetable plants.
Many times as we installed those new raised beds in our garden I was so grateful for some of the tools that I am blessed to own. Certainly miter and table saws were helpful in building the structures that would house our new garden, but the most helpful tool was our John Deere 1025r tractor.
To fill those garden beds we added 10 yards of wood chips, 5 yards of composted manure and 10 yards of soil — not to mention the wood chips we used on the pathways. All told, I filled the bucket of our tractor somewhere between 50-60 times to move material from our driveway to our garden which is a distance of about 300 feet. I figure that would have been around 200 wheelbarrow loads! Yikes… I would still be doing THAT 2 weeks later. Having the right equipment for a job makes all of the difference.
You know, as we seek to bring God glory by living lives of faith and purpose, I am so grateful for the ways in which God equips us so that we can accomplish the purpose he has called us to fulfill. Perhaps, at times, we may grow concerned; wondering if we are living in a manner that pleases God. I love the assurance of help that we receive from God in Ezekiel. “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:27″ NIV
Without doubt the Holy Spirit is the Christian’s only hope to live a God-honoring life as He illuminates God’s word in our heart and applies it to our lives. Jesus once said, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears…” John 16:13 NIV
What a blessing Jesus has given us in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, because the reality is that without the infusion of the Spirit no one would be capable of living the Christian life. If you think 200 wheelbarrow loads to my garden would be hard work… just try living the Christian life in your own strength.
Yep, I’m really hoping my garden produces more of a bountiful crop than ever before… but even more so… Holy Spirit… produce fruit in my life — fruit that will last — the fruit of your Spirit.
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