New Year’s eve always reminds me of the the parties that I would have at the bar.  I was pretty selective as to who would be invited.  I kept out the trouble-makers.  At nine o’clock, the front door would be adjusted to open only from the inside.  No one could get in after the door was closed.  Food and liquor  was provided as a package deal.  .  . as much as your wanted.  People would feast on the food and the beer. . .and whatever else they were inclined to do to make their New Year happy.  I was inclined to snort cocaine for the first time;  but it wasn’t the last.

At midnight we would play the traditional New Year’s Eve song, “Auld Lang Syne.”  Everyone would  have their party hats on, blowing horns and shaking noise makers, throwing streamers, kissing every one and celebrating the new year.

        “Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought mind?  Should old acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne.” 

This song is also played at funerals, graduations and endings to certain occasions.  It’s a farewell to the old year and a reminder to stay close to those who you love and who love you.  It’s a hello to the new year and the prospects of the happiness that hopefully awaits you.  For me it was a funeral song, a graduation into more serious insanity and a farewell to the remaining sensibilities that I had.   .   . All the silly little sheep of His flock have their own stories to tell.  Who knew then, that it was all meant to be?

        “And surely you’ll buy your pint cup, and surely Ill buy mine;  and we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.” 

When I think about the thousands of pint cups that I drank with others, it sort of warms my heart.  I have memories of having fun, feeling close to others while the partying went on, but not knowing that death to my soul was eminent.  Little Lily is getting teary-eyed.  She knows the feeling.  “It’s such a mystery,” she said.  “Who knew what was secretly going on in my own heart?  It was dying and I didn’t know it.”  The Newbie Dumbo sheep nodded.  “Who knew that a cup of Kindness was on its way?” she said, and her tears began to flow.   .   .and Life began to flow, for where the River flows, everything shall Live.

       “We two have run about the slopes and picked the daisies fine; but we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.” 

The eagles are remembering their lives in the old year. . .and in all their old years.  Who knew that every moment of it, regardless of what was happening. . .every atomic second of it was simply a new page in each new day, from God’s Book of Life, written in its entirety, before time began?  Every thing, in every way, shape and form. . .all coming into existence, all coming solely as a result of His labor, His work, His plan.  “Thy will be done. . .Thy will, will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  It’s that cup of Kindness from Him that the eagles have seen, and it makes them fly into the Rainbow of the Colors of His Love, where they can eat and drink all that they want. . .and it’s all free.

       “We two have paddled in the stream from morning sun till dinner time;  but seas between us broad have roared, since auld lang sine.” 

I have swam in that troubled stream my whole life.  .  . dog paddling to stay alive, to keep from drowning.  The storms in the seas have roared in my soul and have  nearly frightened me to death.  And like the “Footsteps in the Sand” picture where the little lamb was carried by His Savior every step of the way, He was paddling with me on His back, always holding tightly, never letting me go and carrying me every stroke of the way.

       “When you walk through the waters, I will be with you. . .and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fires of life, you will not be burned.  The flames will not set you ablaze.  The fire will only burn off what troubles your soul.”  Isaiah 43:1-2 

Sweet little Lily is crying. . .tears of Joy and Happiness.  She knows it’s true.  She has drank from His cup of Kindness.  He drank all the poison of life that was in the cup before He gave it to her to drink.  All that was left was His Wine of Love to her.  She is intoxicated from it.

       “And there’s a hand, my trusty friend and give us a hand of thine;  and we’ll take a right, good will of draught,  for auld lang syne.” 

Those big ears on the Dumbo sheep are wide open and ready to carry them up to where the eagles fly.  His words to them are the breath of His Spirit and the Divine Wind carries them above the earth. . .free of their earthly life.  Free in the moment. So Good in the Moment.

       “So do not fear, for I am with you.  Do not be distressed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and I will help you.  I will uphold you and carry you with My Divine right hand. . .when you fall in the New Year, you will not be hurled head-long because I am the One Who holds your hand.”  Isaiah 41:10

      A New Day.  The Day of God’s Power.     A Day of Forgiveness.  A Day for Hope.  The Day of New Life.

     It was 32 years ago. . .the week after Christmas.  It was four-thirty in the morning.  I had gotten home an hour ago and was lying in bed trying to get to sleep, but it wasn’t happening.  I was wired from all the cocaine I had done that night at the bar. There were dozens of early mornings like this one.  I could hear the birds singing.  I hated their music. It sounded like they were taunting me. I think it was the first time that I considered God in a serious way.  In my desperation, I tried to make a deal with Him that morning.

     “God, if you will let me sleep. . . I will stop drinking and doing drugs,  and I will straighten myself out.”  I meant it.  I always meant it, every time I said it.  This was the first time I had said it to Him.  I was full of resolutions, full of promises to change, full of believing that I could do that. . .and yet full of despair and a sense of my own personal bankruptcy regarding possessing the strength that I needed.

     It was just a few months earlier that I had found that little pamphlet in the back room of the bar, that had a beautiful and peaceful looking picture of a waterfall.  There was a verse on it from the Bible.  I will keep you in Perfect Peace. . .” Isaiah 26:3.  It wasn’t time yet for peace.  Sleep did not arrive for me that morning.  I didn’t know then, what I know now.  I couldn’t see it then.  I couldn’t hear any Good News.  The only fragrance in the air was the scent of death coming from my own soul.  Little Lily and the Dumbo sheep are crying.  The eagles are grounded right now because the tears in their eyes have momentarily distorted their vision. They know that the moment will pass.  The Son will come out again.  “I will keep you.”

     I was driving into Orland yesterday afternoon and rear-ended another car.  I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what I was doing.  Fortunately no one was hurt.  My car is a mess.  A deep sadness came over me.  What did you say, Lily?  She held me in her arms and whispered, “It will be okay.  It is the Lord’s doing.  Let Him do to you, what seems Good to Him.” Medicine for my troubled heart.  “He will keep you.”

     My son Ben picked me up at the accident scene.  We drove for a few minutes and I found myself trying to hold back the tears.  I couldn’t do it.  He said, “It’s okay Dad.”  Then we drove in a peaceful silence for awhile.  He offered his own car to me to use for a few days and blessed me with some other thoughts.  “He is keeping you.” 

     What does a cocaine addiction and an accident have to do with New Year’s resolutions?  Just a hint right now.  Resolution begins with the letter R. . .or it begins with the letter r.

     “To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.  Nothing can be put to it nor can anything be taken from it.  And God does it all so that man will be in awe of Him. That which He resolved before time in the womb of His own being, He gives birth to in time.  Everything in the universe that happens each day, in every way, shape and form, is simply a new page turned over from the Eternal Book of Life.”   Ecclesiastes  3:14-15  

     My daughter Rachel just called as this is being written.  She wanted to know how I was doing.  She’s one of those recovering Dumbo sheep learning about the Divine Alphabet. Faith was on her lips and Love was in her heart. . .and Hope was in words.  “He has been forever keeping you.”

     He is the Keeper of Resolutions.  He alone possesses the Wisdom and Strength, not only to know what is best for His little flock, but brings them through the fires and deep rivers of life to Keep His Promises for the New Year and Prove His Unchangeable Love to them.  “I will never leave you or forsake you.” 

     I still make resolutions, small r.  I never learn, it seems.  He still makes Resolutions, Capital R and in His Perfect Patience and Mercy, in His Kindness and Understanding. . .He teaches His children that His Love is freely given. . .freely received.  Free, Love.

A B C D E F . . .”Please stop there,” one of the first-timers said.  She’s sitting towards the back with the other newbies.  “What would you like to say?” the oldest Dumbo sheep asked.  “The word Faith, begins with the letter, f.”  Although she’s pretty young, she knows her ABC’s.  It’s part of our foundation towards developing sound thinking and speaking. . .and reasoning.  “I have faith,” she said. “My mom says I do and so does my dad.  Every Sunday morning, the preacher says it too. He keeps telling me to use my faith and it will make God happy.   The songs that I like a lot, promise that things will be good if I only have faith in myself.  The problem is, I just can’t find it.  I don’t know what to look for.  What is it?”  I don’t think I have it.  She started crying. Change is coming for her.

I noticed that sweet little Lily has made her way over to the newbie and put her arms around her.  I think she’s whispering something in her ear and filling her soul with the His fragrance.  “If you have a faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you can say to a mountain, ‘Remove yourself from this place and it shall be removed.  Nothing is impossible for you to do, with this Faith.”  Matthew 17:20  As young as she is, mountains are already surrounding her.  I heard one of the Eagles say, “She’s come just in the nick of time.”

A few days ago, when we were having another Good Moment, we talked about the reality of the ornaments on man’s tree.  Faith is one of the brightest ornaments and sits close to the top of his tree. He has worked very hard to develop it.  He’s in constant labor in it, trying to give birth to the magic that it apparently brings when someone possesses it. Trying, trying, trying to make it happen.  Pushing, pushing, pushing. . .to help the birth along.  Read another book about it.  Pray another prayer for it.  Yield yourself to it.  Follow the example of others. . .blah, blah, blah.  Sorry.  I’ve been down that road and it is a Dead End.  That little cutie in the back already knows that.  If faith is born from man’s laboring, it is stillborn.  It is a dead faith.  Lower case letter f.  Worse yet, it is a gross insult to the Creator.  When a man is possessed by his own faith, he is free of God because he is his own god, lower case g.  But he is deaf and blind to it all.  The fruit from his tree is lifelike, but it’s only an ornate bowl of plastic fruit.

Webster defines faith as:  “the act of wholeheartedly and continuously believing in the existence, power and benevolence of a supreme being, having confidence that your well-being is His concern and all things in your life will work for your good;  a firm and unquestioning trust and confidence in  the value, power and efficacy of something or someone you believe in;  a belief system.”  It is a verb, and it is a noun. Faith is an action taken.  Faith is a position arrived at.

The definition of the word in the New Testament Greek Language is: ” to rely by Inward certainty;  to agree; to believe; to make friends; to be persuaded; to be made to yield; to assent both reflexively and passively to what is seen and heard in the eyes and ears of the soul.”  This is the Faith that Grows on the Tree of life. This is the Ornament that Shines like the Morning Son. This belongs alone to the Alpha and Omega of Life. . .the first, and the last. . .and every Capital Letter in between of the Divine Alphabet.  The eagles just returned from their morning flight over the Colors of the Rainbow of his Love and with their own eyes they have seen Him and with their mouth, they have tasted of His Fruit.

    “The Fruit of God’s Spirit (the work which He alone accomplishes) is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Self-control, Faith.  Yes, Faith.  The little newbie’s ears just perked up (and I swear they’ve grown a little).  She has little eagle eyes now too.  “

So that is where Faith comes from. It’s from Him. From Jesus.  From His Spirit, Who makes Jesus a Reality in the soul.  He is happy when He does everything.  His Love to me must do everything.”  It has to be a Gift.

     “I have come in to My Garden with my children;  I have gathered the spices that I have grown.  I have gathered the richest perfumes that come from My own Scent.  I have eaten My own Honey from My Honeycomb.  I have drunk My Wine from my Vine; and I drink only My Milk.  Eat and drink, My Loves.  You can never make My Love disloyal to Myself. Drink abundantly of My Love, My precious little flock, for you all are irrevocably Mine. . .all that I have, and all that I am, is yours.” Song of Solomon 5:1

It’s like a New Year’s Eve party in here right now.  Celebration.  Dancing and singing.  Faith is on everyone’s lips.  Kisses from the King.  Happy New Year!

  Eternal Life.  Freely given.  Freely received.  Free, Love. 

I just looked at Face Book and my son Ben posted a Christmas greeting with a song by Joni Mitchell called, “River.”  It has a peaceful and mellow sound to it.  I listened to the lyrics, “It’s coming on Christmas, they’re cutting down trees.  They’re putting up reindeer and singing songs of joy and peace.  Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on. . .I wish I had a river so long, I would teach my feet to fly. . .”     skating and flying.   Skating and Flying.   You need a river.    You need a River.

‘Your children will be abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your Riches; and You will make them drink of the River of Your Divine Provisions.  For with You is the Fountain of Life:  in Your Light we shall see Light and Truth.”  Psalm 36:8-9

Skating.    She wishes the river was frozen so she could skate away from the world she lives in.   I heard those lyrics many years ago, when I was very young.  My heart sang them so many times,   I stopped counting.  And to able to fly away. . .only in my dreams.  One of Ben’s Christmas gifts from his girlfriend Theresa was the movie, “Never Ending Story.”  It’s one of his favorites, and mine.  A lot of flying 🙂

The irony of it all is that we ourselves are a river.  We begin to flow at the moment of conception.  It’s a calm flowing. . .peaceful, secure, in good hands so to speak.  Then we gush out in a Wonderful burst of life and the current is a little faster.   We’re like a little stream, just a tributary of larger streams, connected to rivers. . .a network of waterways.   There are a number of verses in the Old Testament that compare man’s heart to a stone. . .a smooth stone. . .smooth enough to skate on.  The Dumbo sheep are shaking their heads back and forth, knowing that this information is going to be difficult, if not impossible to accept.  They’ve been there. . .not able and unwilling to hear it, until He gave them those magnificent hears to hear His  magnificent words.

The river that we are,  seems to begin to freeze over time.  It’s so slow and subtle that we are usually unaware of it, until a moment arrives and it startles us.  .  .and others around us.  We brilliantly find ways to keep our hearts warm, to keep the river from freezing.  Just think about it.   We’re like those   “Ice Road Truckers” on TV,  running our rigs over the frozen ice.    What is it little Lily?  You say that you remember when your heart began to melt,  the first time His fragrance entered your soul?   It was warming scent of the River of Life.

Skating on the River.  I remember when the Eagles returned from their first flight over the Rainbow, into the Colors of God’s Love.  They all agreed that the Color they loved the most was His Forgiveness.  The Love of His own Son to each one of them,  let them skate. . .allowed them to enter the Kingdom of God without penalty or punishment. . .free Love, freely given, freely received.  When Rachel, Jessie and Ben were little, we would sit them down once in a while and make the announcement that this was a time for amnesty.

They knew that no matter what they told us about their “secret sins” they would be totally, forever free of punishment or reprisals of any kind.  Webster defines “amnesty” as:  forgetfulness;  the voluntary overlooking of an offense by the one offended;  a full pardon.  The Dumbos just took flight.  When He speaks to them of His Love and the Love of His Son, they fly on the River. . .they soar with the Eagles.  It’s true that amnesty with the kids was a profound challenge, because of the nature of the things that were “confessed”  But they would leave the experience with a clean slate, their little “hearts of stone” all cleaned up for the moment.  And just like me (and you), in a matter of moments. . .we are silly little sinners again, skating down the river, driving our rigs over that frozen ice.  Little Lily just asked me if maybe, this is too much to digest for some of you?  “Your right, little one. . .I get carried away sometimes.”  Sorry.  Just one more thing.

“And God said to me,  ‘My child, have you seen this before?  He carried me in His arms to the brink of a River.  There were many wonderful, colorful evergreens on both sides  (like Christmas trees).  ‘These waters pour out into the desert and into the Dead Sea and when they enter the sea (the sea of putrid and frozen waters)  the waters shall be healed and made fresh.  And wherever the River flows, every living creature in the flock shall Live. . .for where the River runs, there is Peace and Relief. . .Wisdom and Power. . .Fruits from the Tree of Life. . .Full and Forever Amnesty.”  Ezekiel 47:8-9

What a sight to Behold!  A Christmas River. . .to Skate on and to Fly on.  Full of His Gifts.  Full of Life.   Full of Himself.  Full and Free.  Free, Love.

     A Real Christmas tree. . .there’s nothing in the Universe quite like it.  When I was young, we always had a real tree.  Some years, my dad worked at a Christmas tree stand in the city and we always had a really nice one.  My cousins lived downstairs of us.  It was a two-flat building.  One year they bought an aluminum tree.  There was a color wheel that mechanically rotated in front of a spotlight and the three different colors on the wheel would take turns shining on the tree.  It was pretty cool.  Like the colors of the rainbow. “Like” the colors of the rainbow.  Not the real colors.

I was just thinking of all of this as I was driving home a little while ago.  I started crying with tears running down my face in the car, remembering some good things about Christmas.  The Dumbo sheep are sometimes mourning doves when memories of the past arrive.  When the fragile Lilies are sad, it is such sweet sorrow.  Even the eagles grow tired and weary, and get teary-eyed for a moment. They are good in the moment. Healing tears.  Medicine for the soul.

Remember the Garden that God planted in Eden?  Flowers and Fruit trees, vegetables and vines. A feast for the eyes and for the stomach.   In the middle of the Garden was the Tree of Life.  Whenever God makes a reference to Himself, it is always a contrast to what man thinks and believes about himself.  God, Capital T, Tree.  Man, lower case t, tree.  L, Life;  l, life.

“I am the true Vine (Tree). . .every branch that bears fruit, I prune it so it can bring forth more fruit. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it be joined to the vine, nor can you bear fruit unless you are in union with Me. . .without Me, you can do nothing.  You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained (predestined) you to bring forth fruit.”  John 15:5,19.

The dumbos have those big ears wide open, listening to Him share His words of Life. . .and they always learn something from Him.   The branches are totally, continuously passive.  Each branch comes forth, born from within the Vine, and as His essence, His sap so to speak, runs through the vein of the branch, it buds, then it flowers, then it blooms. . .and fruit comes forth.  Perfectly passive and Perfectly active.  All part of His predestined, Perfect Plan for His sheep.

The Tree of Life is Full of Ornaments.  The tree of life is full of ornaments.  She’s raising her hand again. That sweet, little Lily who is wise beyond her age and always has something to say. “Yes, Love?”  “God is the Capital ‘O’ Ornament and man is the lower case ‘o’ ornament,”  she said as the Fragrance of the knowledge of Him filled the air.

     What are man’s ornaments on his tree of life?  wisdom, knowledge, beauty, success, achievements, relationships, his own ego, his own thoughts, his own ideas.   Everything that you can think of that makes us happy, that gives us a sense of being the authors of our own destinies.  Even our “free” will.   Even our religion.  Even the good things that we do. We have made our way to the top of Mt. Everest with our strength and power and intellect, and it still is only the best the earth has to offer. . . and it goes on top of the tree. . .just man-made ornaments, the fruit from our tree.  Can you feel the rush from the wind that has just blown in?  The eagles have just arrived from their flight over the Rainbow of His Love.  The have seen His Ornaments. . .they have tasted the Fruit from His Tree.

“He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the sheep.  All those Whom I have chosen, I will give the the right to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the middle of the Paradise of God.”  Revelation 2:7.   There are some newcomers over in the corner, kind of fidgeting in their seats.  Our little Lily, who never misses anything, went over to ask them, “What’s up?”  They said that all of this sounded too much like religion.  It sort of turns them off.  She said, “religion is only a turn-off when it starts with the lower case letter r.   Then it’s man’s creation, man’s invention, one of man’s ornaments from his tree.  It is just a shadow from the Light that shines from the Tree of Life.  Man’s religion originates with man.  God’s Religion originates with God. Man’s religion depends in part, on man’s strength.  God’s Religion depends solely on His own Strength. . .freely given and freely received by every one of His children.

He hangs His Ornaments on the branches of His Tree.  His own Essence flows through the branches and His Fruit miraculously arrives at just the right time.  The Fruits of His Spirit are ripe for the  picking. Love, Joy, Perfect Peace, Patience, Kindness, Self-control, Wisdom, Power.   All given as Christmas presents, all wrapped up in Him. . .all ready to be unwrapped at the moment of your need.   The Fruit is Himself.  The Ornaments are Himself.  The Tree of Life is Himself.  The Christmas Tree of Life.

What a Christmas morning it will be.  The Dumbos and the Lilies, and the eagles wont be able to sleep a wink, knowing that all those presents are waiting for them. . .whether they’ve been bad or good.  Only because He is Good.  Only because He is Love.  Only because He is Mercy. . .and Forgiveness. . . Totally, Completely and Forever in Love with His little flock.

When the kids were much younger, we moved to Tucson Arizona and lived there for a year.  There were two boys who lived next door to us.  They were older than my son Ben who was almost four at the time.  The brothers were always fighting.  They loved to play with Ben.  One day the oldest boy came running in with Ben in his arms.  One of the brothers threw a sizable rock at the other and hit Ben in the forehead with it.  He had a huge gash and blood was streaming  out.  We rushed him to a clinic and they stitched him up. “Sticks and stones may break my bones; but names will never hurt me.”

“He said to them, ‘He who is without a sin among you, let him throw a stone at her.’  Those who heard Him, being convinced in their own conscience, went away one by one, until they all had dropped their stones and walked away.  Only Jesus and the sinner were left. He said to her, ‘Where are your accusers?  Who is left to condemn you and call you names?’   “No man, Lord,” she said.  “Neither do I  condemn you.  Go in Peace.”  John 8:7-11

I’ve been called every name in the book.  I have deserved the names.  I have thrown stones and created bloody gashes in other’s hearts.  The dumbo sheep know what I’m talking about.  What peace can there be with guilt?  Only temporary peace.  Only distractions from the torment.  It’s a little easier to find pretend peace if you are relatively successful in life.  A good person, so to speak.  There’s a strange story in the Old Testament about lepers.  The worst name you could be called.  It made you an outcast.

“And the leper in whom the plague is. . .he shall cry, ‘Unclean, unclean. He shall dwell alone. However, if the leprosy covers all the skin, from head to toe, not just a spot here and a spot there, if the leprosy covers all his flesh, the priest will pronounce him clean.”  Leviticus 13:12-13.    The Lilies are totally intoxicated right now with His Fragrance.  His scent was a scent of forgiveness, when they were at their worst. . .from head to toe.  “She who has been forgiven much, she loves much.”  The priest pronounced the leper totally clean, no condemnation ever again.  Perfect Peace.

One of my favorite hymns is “Rock of Ages”.    Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee. . .nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Your cross, I cling. . . Foul,  I to the Fountain fly, Wash me Savior or I die.”  The Rock.  A Rock of Peace.  The sheep love this song about a Place to hide from guilt and condemnation.  A Refuge of Peace.  They know that on that Solid  Rock they stand.  All other ground is sinking sand.  And, they know that they are a “chip off the Old Block”.

Are your ears open, little Dumbos?  Ready to be swept off your feet with His fragrance, sweet Lilies?  And those of you with eagle eyes, are you ready to soar above the colors of the Rainbow and see the Riches of His Love?    “He that has an ear, let  him hear what the Spirit says to the sheep.  To him that I enable to overcome, I will feed him with Good Food from My Love.   And, I will give him a White Stone and in that Stone a new name will be written by My Own Hand.”  Revelation 2:17    He writes, “My Love.”  He writes His own Name on them.

A White Stone.  A chip off the Rock of Ages.  Union with Him.  Like Him.    The word, “white”  in the New Testament Greek language, means:  perfectly white;  Light.  Only this reality results in Perfect Peace.  Always, and only white.  Always and only Light.  A new name written by the Trinity of God before time for every sheep of the flock.  Chosen by the Father.  Made white by the Son.  Seeing the Light and being Light, the work of the Holy Spirit.  A White Christmas indeed.

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago and lived most of my adolescent life in a typical neighborhood.  The space between our house and the one next to us was called a “gangway” and it couldn’t have been more than six feet wide. We would smoke and at night, drink beers. Everyone had small back yards with a tree or two.  The house on the other side had a giant crab apple tree, which we would raid when the apples were ripe.  Two doors down was a little bungalow and in the back yard was a grape vine.  I would sneak over there at night and grab a few bunches of sweet, green grapes and rifle them down before anyone could catch me with the evidence. Dumbo sheep do things like that.  I knew that someday I would grow my own garden, filled with fruit trees, vegetables and beautiful flowers.

“And the Lord, God planted a Garden eastward in Eden: and there He put man whom He had formed.  And out of the ground came all the fruits, vegetables and flowers that the Lord made to grow and the Garden was pleasant to the sight, and very good for food.  The Tree of Life was also in the middle of the Garden.  .  .” Genesis 2:8-9

We are all gardeners.   As soon as we are aware  of the world around us, we begin to select the fruits and vegetables and flowers we want to include in the garden.  .  .the garden of our heart.    We till the ground.   We plant some seed.  We water the soil.  We watch it grow.  We provide the sun that it needs to warm up the seed and call it forth out of the ground.  We our brilliant little suns.  We produce the garden. We harvest produce from the garden.

Webster defines “produce” as:  to bring forward;   to exhibit;  to bring forth  to give birth to;  to bring out as a dramatic production;  to cause to have existence.  That is the verb. . .our own actions as gardeners.  The definition continues:  something that is brought forth naturally and as a result of effort and work;  a result produced;  the yield;  the offspring of our work.  The youngest Lily has her hand raised again.  “Yes, Love”?   She is always so excited when His Fragrance fills the air.  She is Wise for her age.   She said,  “We have been with child, we have been in pain.  We have as it were, brought forth wind.  We have not produced any deliverance  (real fruit, real flowers, real vegetables)  in the earth.”  Isaiah 26:18   She giggled as she repeated the words,  “We have brought forth wind.”

Such a variety of gardens that we grow.  Families are gardens.  We start out with two fruit trees and the seeds fall to the ground and bear more fruit.  Children are the flowers of our garden.  I feel a little sad right now as I am reminded of those moments in the past when my Jade plant received better care from me than my kids did.  And if it weren’t for the fact (one of those, “When it comes to God, if it’s too good to be true,  it is true facts) that everything that happens to His little flock will only serve them, and the little ones they love, I would only despair.   He does make all things work together for their good.

“Mary, Mary, quite contrary.  How does your garden grow?  With cockle shells and silver bells, and pretty maids in a row.”   How does your garden grow?  What have you planted.  What have you reaped from your efforts?  What have you produced?  How’s the gardening going?  Are others in your life still enjoying the fruit of your labors?

The dumbos have heard Him say,  “You shall be as a tree planted by the Waters that spreads out her roots by the River and shall not see when the heat comes;   it won’t scorch her,  but her leaf shall be green.  When the drought comes  (for it always comes), she will never cease from yielding fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:8    Fruit better than gold.   The eagles know.  They soar over the Colors of the Rainbow of His Love and are filled with the Fruit that comes from Him alone.

“They that dwell under His shadow shall return to the garden.  They shall revive as  the corn and grow as the Vine.  The scent shall be as the Wine of Lebanon.  They say,  ‘I have heard Him and I have observed Him.  God has said, I am like a green fir tree.  From Me alone is your Fruit found.”  Hosea 14:7-8

He is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faith, Self-control.  The Fruit of His Spirit.  Spiritual Produce for His little flock. Produced by Him.  All given freely.  All Free.