Thoughts

Mel Robbins helps us deal with many mental issues through what she has learned from the experts. I hope it helps you!

David Jeremiah will help you find and know a powerful God… Listen and learn…

By Susan Berry

As I enter my senior yearsI often ask myself, “Have I done all I can do for the Lord?”

My heart longs to share all that God has done for me with others. What is our life’s purpose? How many ponder that question sometime during their life? To have purpose and direction is a wonderful thing. To know that purpose is even greater.

Sharing Gods grace and love is the most fulfilling path in life. I have many gifts and talents given by God and I endeavor to use those gifts to bless others. At the end of my days I hope to have peace knowing that I have shared Gods love with as many people as possible.

God in His infinite wisdom made us His vessels to carry His love to the lost and hurting. We each have an assignment, to love and bless one another. May we finish our assignment with victory and hear Father God say, “Well done.”

By Susan Berry

TOGETHER

Life takes us on many journeys. Some journeys are with others some are alone. Life takes many paths, some solitary, some together with companions. Being alone can be peaceful and reflective. The quiet and slower pace can be like taking a deep breath and feeling your mind and body relax.

Sharing the journey can be very special.  Enjoying conversation, discovering new things together and the warmth of friendship.

Jesus sent the disciples out in twos. This could have been for many reasons. One being safety. Another being the strength in two witnesses rather than one person testifying of who Jesus is. The Lord said “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am also.”  There is strength in numbers.

There is a scientific principle in gardening for companion planting. Certain plants thrive more when side by side with other certain plants. And there are some that actually discourage growth if they are near each other.

Cucumber Beetle and Squash Bugs can be destructive pests in the garden. I have personally seen them kill a plant in no time at all. Through research and experimentation I discovered that planting Squash or Cucumbers along side Dill and Nasturtiums will repel these pests. Garlic is known to repel many pests in the vegetable garden also. And there is something about Basil that will make Tomato plants more healthy and productive.

Together we also can be healthier and more productive when we have companions. Quiet alone time is nice at times but if we fnd ourselves isolating or withdrawing from life we will open ourselves up to the pests and weeds that can take over our minds and souls. God admonished us to stay close and be faithful to the body of Christ. Companion growing and planting will gives us strength in our lives and walk with God.

Together life is wonderful!

By Susan Berry

Isaiah 1:18 NIV

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

As the snow fell last weekend I sat and gazed out the window and watched as my little corner of the world turned pure white. When I first met Jesus the knowledge of my sins being forgiven was astounding to me. Reading in God’s word that my sin is as scarlet to Him made me shrivel in shame. As the revelation of how Jesus’ sacrifice made my sins white as snow made me look at snow very differently.

Have you ever really looked at how pure white snow is? It is so white, so bright that it can blind you for a few moments until your eyes adjust to the brilliance. I imagine that will be what it is like when I look upon Jesus’ face.

Winter can be long and is known to be a time of sadness and depression for some people. For me the days seem to drag as I wait for Spring and getting into my gardens. As I looked out at my gardens buried in snow I smiled. Knowing that snow holds Nitrogen and as it melts it puts Nitrogen into the soil. Atmospheric Nitrogen that snow catches on its way down from the sky to the Earth. This Nitrogen stays in the soil and will feed plants that grow there in the Spring.

When nitrogen supply is high, roots can accumulate excess nitrogen to use later for developing leaves, stems, and grain. So my Asparagus plants may look like nothing is growing in the Winter but under the soil the roots are storing all the wonderful Nitrogen to be used in Spring when the plants break dormancy.

As we wait for Winter to pass into Spring we can feed ourselves by studying God’s word and through prayer. This will strengthen our roots and deepen our walk with our Lord. His forgiveness washes us white as snow. Praise Him from whom ALL blessings flow. Even snow.

By Susan Berry

God did an amazing thing today for me.

For weeks now I have been crying out to God about an answer to prayer that has not come. I’ve been praying for years, shedding countless tears. I told God last week, ” I can’t even pray about this anymore. I’m exhausted and the words won’t come” Then of course the enemy came and tried to tell me what a terrible Christian I am for not steadfastly praying. As I rebuked that lie and let out one last gut wrenching sigh to God, I went to rest and be still.

Yesterday, I was led to reach out to the daughter of a dear friend of mine. This friend taught me about the Holy Spirit after I met Jesus a few months earlier in 1984. My friend passed away about ten years ago but I have kept in touch with her precious daughter who was in a youth ministry I volunteered for and she babysat with my sons occasionally. Today she replied to my message I sent and said God had led her to pray for the thing I wasn’t able to pray for anymore. She knew nothing about my prayers and I got the impression the leading came as a surprise to her also.

God raised up a prayer partner for me without my even knowing or asking. Just when I thought God didn’t hear me or see me, He proved me wrong and flooded me with love. This lady also told me she was going to reach out to me a while ago because she needed someone to talk to but God kept saying, “Not yet”. God knew HIS timing was best. When I felt alone, hopeless and like my prayers were just vapor evaporating before reaching Gods ear, He sent the Holy Spirit to prompt another child of God to intercede on my behalf.

Don’t give up! Don’t surrender! And don’t be dismayed, for God is with you always!!

Romans 8:27 NIV

 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

By Susan Berry

Am I Still a Child?

As a person who was raised in a dysfunctional family and then, as a young adult, married a person from a dysfunctional family, I understand trauma.

I hesitate to use the word “abusive” as I feel it plays the victim card and leans on blame too much.

Dysfunction births dysfunction.

When I got saved at the age of 24, one of the first things God did in me was begin the healing process to free me of the damage caused by growing up in an unhealthy home. Seeing the damage childhood trauma had caused was painful. But not as painful as living in the midst of the trauma.

Before I knew my Lord Jesus Christ I ran from my dysfunctional family and married as an escape. My marriage was also dysfunctional and traumatic. My children were then raised in a very unhealthy environment that resulted in childhood trauma for them.

It took many years for me to allow God to heal me of the damage and deliver me to a healthy soul, emotions and thought patterns.

Now as I approach my senior years I see the growth God has graced me with. As we heal and mature in our soul we are able to mature in our walk with Christ and live not as children,  but as disciples.

Peter had to come to the revelation of his own insecurities and immaturity as we see by his life. The truth of the Lord brings healing. It brings us not to ourselves but to Himself and that in reality, is our maturity.

Think about all of the people who encountered Jesus in the Bible. I cannot think of one who in one way or another didn’t need healing to help them come to the revelation of who Jesus was. Whether it was physical blindness or spiritual blindness, once they received healing they received freedom.

Childhood trauma, relational trauma, marital trauma…seeing it, surrendering it to God and asking His healing love to cleanse us will bring deliverance. And deliverance brings freedom from chains that bind. And freedom brings maturity.

I pray for anyone who reads this and needs healing that Father God will touch your heart and soul to bring peace and fullness of healing to you.

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV

By Susan Berry

Seasons & Waiting

Acts 14:17

“Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from Heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

Romans 8:24-25

“ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”

Winter is not an easy season for one whose heart resides in the garden. Even after twenty two years of growing many gardens, I struggle to wait for Spring and the hope it holds.

I long for the aroma of warm soil, of seeing a tiny seed push from beneath the soil and peek through with green leaves full of life and hope.

Seasons in life are the same as seasons in nature. Change, abundance, loss, sorrow, hope, joy. We walk through the season’s waiting, trusting and hoping that God’s love and faithfulness will bring the fulfillment of the season.

January, for gardeners and farmers is a time of planning, reflecting and preparation. For me, it is when I wait with anticipation for the new year’s seed catalogs to arrive. Each day I run to the mailbox hoping to find a treasure of new seeds.

As we are sometimes encouraged by our Pastors’ messages in January to reflect on the past year and how we could improve our personal walk with the Lord. We learn and hope as we reflect that the coming year will bring personal growth.

Winter is also when gardeners plan their new gardens for the coming Spring. We journal and draw and rotate our beds so that our new crops will flourish and be bountiful.

Our life journals can have the same design and plan for us. We endeavor to remove what weeds may have crept in last season. We look to the positive growth and plan to nurture and feed those areas even more.

As I press on through the short dark cold days of Winter I hold to hope and God’s plan for my life. Knowing He has all the perfect seeds and will hold them for me until it is the perfect time to sow them.

Food of the word and gladness of our salvation. Our joy and sustenance through the Winters of our life.

I am so blessed to be a part of EncouragingU. As a follower of Jesus Christ and a Horticulturist I hope to share my journey with you by sharing the teachings God has spoken to my heart as I go to the garden with Him. I love to encourage others to venture into gardening and benefit from growing their own food. Our bodies are the temple for God’s glory and eating healthy is one way to glorify Him. I can be reached at figandhoney878@gmail.com. 

God Bless,

Susan Berry

Max Lucado says we just did something God never does… Know what it is? Take a few moments and listen to his encouragement… You will be encouraged!!