Devotions from the Garden: Finding Peace and Rest in Your Busy Life

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Devotions from the GardenFinding Peace and Rest from Your Hurried LifeBy Miriam DrennanThomas NelsonCopyright © 2015 Thomas NelsonAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-0-7180-3050-6Contents1. God's Transforming Grace, 10, 2. Perennials, 12, 3. Neglected Beds, 16, 4. Soil Testing, 18, 5. Blueberries and Boxwoods, 20, 6. Almanacs, 22, 7. God's Timing, 24, 8. Dirt Under Your Fingernails, 26, 9. A Family Affair, 30, 10. Landscapers vs. Farmers vs. Gardeners, 32, 11. Sowing to the Flesh, 34, 12. Companion Planting, 36, 13. Crop Rotation, 38, 14. Grace in the Garden, 42, 15. The Mantis, 44, 16. Seed Cleaning, 46, 17. The Spark of Life, 48, 18. Nature's Plow, 52, 19. Germination, 54, 20. Repellers, 56, 21. Sun Exposure, 60, 22. Pinching and Deadheading, 62, 23. Grafted to Him, 64, 24. Native Plants, 66, 25. Engineered Holiness, 68, 26. Mulch and Root Flares, 70, 27. Pruning, 72, 28. Paintbrush Pollination, 76, 29. Root Systems, 78, 30. Root Rot, 80, 31. Fruit Trees, 82, 32. Succession Planting, 86, 33. Rainy Days, 88, 34. Drought, 90, 35. Honeybees, 92, 36. Pesticides, 96, 37. Living Among Weeds, 98, 38. Wind, 100, 39. Nothing Is Maintenance-Free, 102, 40. Zinnias, 104, 41. Watersheds, 106, 42. God's Greenhouse, 110, 43. Permaculture, 112, 44. Noah's Vineyard, 114, 45. Heirloom Plants, 116, 46. When Roots Go Haywire, 120, 47. Tomato Disorders, 122, 48. Unfailing Waters, 124, 49. Overwatering, 127, 50. Staking, 128, 51. Blight and Powdery Mildew, 130, 52. Composting, 134, 53. Pulling Weeds, 136, 54. Untapped Harvest, 138, 55. Call of the Wild, 140, 56. The Seasons, 142, 57. Butterflies, 144, 58. Waiting, 146, 59. Netting, 148, 60. The Mustard Seed, 150, 61. Mystery Plant, 154, 62. No Formula for Flourishing, 156, 63. Blooms but No Fruit, 158, 64. Monkey Grass, 160, 65. Straw Bale Gardens, 162, 66. Container Gardening, 164, 67. The Spiritual Garden, 168, 68. Pallet Gardening, 170, 69. Rock Gardening, 172, 70. The Forgotten Crop, 174, 71. A Time to Rest, 176, 72. Butterfly Gardens, 178, 73. Herb Gardens, 182, 74. Rain Gardens, 184, 75. Sowing to the Spirit, 186, 76. Ladybugs, 190, 77. The Riches of Remnants, 192, 78. Stumpers, 194, 79. Bringing the Firstfruits, 196, 80. Gifts from the Garden and the Heart, 198, 81. Year-Round Harvest, 202, 82. Planting, Watering, Growing, 204, 83. Thanks for the Harvest, 206, 84. Offering the Fruit of Our Labor, 208, 85. Remain in Him, 210, 86. The Plant That Struggled, 212, 87. The Soils, 214, 88. Growing As God Intended, 216, 89. The Sower, 218, 90. The Command of the Ages, 222, CHAPTER 1GODS TRANSFORMING GRACEOur citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.Philippians 3:20-24 NKJVPerennial bulbs produce such gorgeous plants and flowers year after year that it's hard to believe their unsightly, humble beginnings.Bulbs originate as somewhat withered-looking balls, some with fine, hairy roots extending outward, and others with crackly dry skin. On the inside of each is a small bud, protected by those ugly outer layers. If you were to set these bulbs on a shelf, they would stay lifeless and be purposeless. But when the fall season arrives and we bury them, we set the stage for something miraculous to occur. We will witness the complete transformation of our ugly bulbs.Upon the first hints of spring-when days are a bit longer and the snow is melting-specks of green begin to dot the soil. Each day the warmer sun coaxes and calls, "Come on! Come out!" until finally the seedlings push through the dirt, the leaves emerge, and the stage is set for the tiny flower buds to sprout and open. At long last, beautiful masterpieces open up, sharing their vibrant color for all to see. The cold ground has given birth to these explosions of joy that greet