Go have a look at my latest blog entry on my newest blog:
http://athrivingkingdom.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Monday, July 09, 2012
The latest in our household
Dear friends,
As we emerge from this heat-wave, through which the Lord has taught both me and Paul many things, we are excited about His leading in our lives. I am going to keep this very short with a few links that you can look at on your own time to glean a more comprehensive picture of what is happening with us.
Prayer requests:
1. Full-time job for Paul.
2. God's perfect leading and provision for us in every area of life.
3. God's favor and breath of life on the following:
Praises:
1. We are getting increasingly connected to our new church. Visit their ever-changing website:
2. Our garden is thriving even amidst a squash bug attack. I've put up about 15 quarts of dill pickles and frozen bags of zucchini.
Upcoming training:
Paul and I are praying about and hoping to be able to take a SOZO training this month here in Kansas City. (see our church website above for that link)
We long to join with you and your journeys in life, love and faith in Jesus! Please keep us up to date on how we can be praying for you!
By grace alone in Jesus,
Arden
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Squash bugs
Last weekend, we discovered that squash bugs had invaded our garden. Being the novice gardeners that we are, we thought we'd dodged the proverbial bullet with these critters, but alas, the invasion, and now war, is on. Thus far, they seem to be winning, but our persistence in searching day by day seems to be paying off.
Today, as I searched, I found a large squash bug in the process of laying eggs. For a brief moment, the sensitive mom side of my welled up...VERY brief lapsing moment...and then the killer side of me came raging forward. I grabbed the momma and squished her, and then proceeded to smash all of her babies. Yes, I am a baby killer.
Hunting for these bugs has been one of the most challenging gardening events ever. After killing momma and her babies, I searched for eggs and bugs on other leaves and came across an entire colony of just hatched squash bugs, which look like small black spiders. I quickly smashed those as well as they tried to skitter away.
Leaves on our pumpkin plants are turning yellow as a result of the bug invasion, and we are praying that our pumpkins don't get infested on the inside, which is what these darn bugs do. The fruit looks beautiful on the outside and then you cut it open only to find rot on the inside.
The Lord is using this whole experience to paint a very real picture of the reality of sin as well as the evil one. I'm convinced that squash bugs are a result of the fall of man...and therefore are from the pit of hell. They do NO one any good at all and only bring death and destruction. Like sin, they hide under the leaves of plants, laying numerous eggs in the hidden-ness of the leaves, and thus from one momma sin, is produced a whole plethora of sinful issues. Once these bugs hit, they are REALLY hard to get rid of...how like sin in our lives. We open the door to something that seems harmless, or we know it's bad (one bug), and then the entire inside of us becomes rotten to the core. Sometimes on the outside, we look healthy and "ok"; but look inside and there is rot due to sin.
The enemy is like a roaring lion, prowling around looking for whom he may devour. He's constantly looking for ways to plant eggs that will destroy us. We have to be vigilant about removing the eggs so that sin does not run free and take over, ruining our lives.
I must admit, that after the first day of killing bugs and smashing eggs last weekend, I was very discouraged. The next day, I didn't even want to go out to the garden because I was afraid to find more bugs and egg colonies. In my heart, I just wanted to avoid it and hope it would go away. How true is that of our hearts sometimes with regard to sin: we know it's there, but we don't want to deal with it. I mustered up the strength and went on a bug-hunt. Sure enough, I was smashing and destroying bugs and eggs. My heart began to shift.
The next day I was excited to get out to the garden to bug-hunt! I want to rid the garden of any infestation of squash bugs and I will turn over every leaf to find every bug and destroy them as I am able. Just as with sin, this is a war, fought daily, and the lives of our 'fruit' are at stake.
Today, as I searched, I found a large squash bug in the process of laying eggs. For a brief moment, the sensitive mom side of my welled up...VERY brief lapsing moment...and then the killer side of me came raging forward. I grabbed the momma and squished her, and then proceeded to smash all of her babies. Yes, I am a baby killer.
Hunting for these bugs has been one of the most challenging gardening events ever. After killing momma and her babies, I searched for eggs and bugs on other leaves and came across an entire colony of just hatched squash bugs, which look like small black spiders. I quickly smashed those as well as they tried to skitter away.
Leaves on our pumpkin plants are turning yellow as a result of the bug invasion, and we are praying that our pumpkins don't get infested on the inside, which is what these darn bugs do. The fruit looks beautiful on the outside and then you cut it open only to find rot on the inside.
The Lord is using this whole experience to paint a very real picture of the reality of sin as well as the evil one. I'm convinced that squash bugs are a result of the fall of man...and therefore are from the pit of hell. They do NO one any good at all and only bring death and destruction. Like sin, they hide under the leaves of plants, laying numerous eggs in the hidden-ness of the leaves, and thus from one momma sin, is produced a whole plethora of sinful issues. Once these bugs hit, they are REALLY hard to get rid of...how like sin in our lives. We open the door to something that seems harmless, or we know it's bad (one bug), and then the entire inside of us becomes rotten to the core. Sometimes on the outside, we look healthy and "ok"; but look inside and there is rot due to sin.
The enemy is like a roaring lion, prowling around looking for whom he may devour. He's constantly looking for ways to plant eggs that will destroy us. We have to be vigilant about removing the eggs so that sin does not run free and take over, ruining our lives.
I must admit, that after the first day of killing bugs and smashing eggs last weekend, I was very discouraged. The next day, I didn't even want to go out to the garden because I was afraid to find more bugs and egg colonies. In my heart, I just wanted to avoid it and hope it would go away. How true is that of our hearts sometimes with regard to sin: we know it's there, but we don't want to deal with it. I mustered up the strength and went on a bug-hunt. Sure enough, I was smashing and destroying bugs and eggs. My heart began to shift.
The next day I was excited to get out to the garden to bug-hunt! I want to rid the garden of any infestation of squash bugs and I will turn over every leaf to find every bug and destroy them as I am able. Just as with sin, this is a war, fought daily, and the lives of our 'fruit' are at stake.
Monday, July 02, 2012
Colorado and the East coast
I am among the many thousands of people who think, "This will never happen to me!"
This past week in Colorado, raging fires tore through residential areas of my hometown of Colorado Springs. I spoke with my cousin who was on pre-evacuation orders. She said she was grabbing heirlooms and our grandfather's old medical bag.
It turns out that over 300 people lost their homes, a few people lost their lives. Many were completely unprepared to evacuate, and as we now know, that is downright NOT GOOD!
On the east coast, in the middle of one of the worst heat waves in the nation, millions were/are without power. For the elderly, those with small children, etc., this would be a great time to grab a 72-hour to-go bag and drive to the nearest hotel or motel that does have electricity.
An acquaintance of mine has a suggestion which you can listen to HERE.
I also have an even better suggestion, in my opinion of course. Why should you have to spend time shopping around, collecting all sorts of items you would need for a "go bag" when they are already expertly put together FOR YOU? Follow this LINK to find pre-assembled emergency "go bags" for 1, 2, 3 or 4 people. You not only have the essentials in there like some water and food, but toilet paper, first-aid supplies, etc. It's so convenient, and all you need to do is grab it and go.
My husband and I have a 2-person 72-hour bag from Shelf Reliance that is inside our house. We have just ordered 1-person bags to keep in each of our cars just in case we have to get out and we are not at home. We are also making copies of all important documents to put in the bags as well.
How much wiser and better is it to be prepared than not? Make the investment NOW, so that later, you can help others who have not prepared.
This past week in Colorado, raging fires tore through residential areas of my hometown of Colorado Springs. I spoke with my cousin who was on pre-evacuation orders. She said she was grabbing heirlooms and our grandfather's old medical bag.
It turns out that over 300 people lost their homes, a few people lost their lives. Many were completely unprepared to evacuate, and as we now know, that is downright NOT GOOD!
On the east coast, in the middle of one of the worst heat waves in the nation, millions were/are without power. For the elderly, those with small children, etc., this would be a great time to grab a 72-hour to-go bag and drive to the nearest hotel or motel that does have electricity.
An acquaintance of mine has a suggestion which you can listen to HERE.
I also have an even better suggestion, in my opinion of course. Why should you have to spend time shopping around, collecting all sorts of items you would need for a "go bag" when they are already expertly put together FOR YOU? Follow this LINK to find pre-assembled emergency "go bags" for 1, 2, 3 or 4 people. You not only have the essentials in there like some water and food, but toilet paper, first-aid supplies, etc. It's so convenient, and all you need to do is grab it and go.
My husband and I have a 2-person 72-hour bag from Shelf Reliance that is inside our house. We have just ordered 1-person bags to keep in each of our cars just in case we have to get out and we are not at home. We are also making copies of all important documents to put in the bags as well.
How much wiser and better is it to be prepared than not? Make the investment NOW, so that later, you can help others who have not prepared.
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