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Written by Walter Lanyon:
YOU sent that letter this morning, didn’t you? You carefully wrote it, addressed and sealed it, and then you dropped it in the box. You didn’t have a string tied to it, did you? No, you just dropped it in the box and went on your way. You didn’t think that the box was especially burglar-proof, did you? And you didn’t wonder how it would get from the box to the post office, and from the post office to the train, did you? You didn’t spend all that morning worrying about whether the train would arrive with it, did you? No, you dropped it light-heartedly into the box and forgot it.
You sent that prayer this morning, didn’t you? You carefully made your declarations for right and offset the wrong thoughts. You addressed your prayer to the All Highest and only ONE. But what did you do after you had sent it? You had a string of worry attached to it, and kept pulling it back to you to see if you could not add another word, or to see if it were really “made.” All morning long you doubted, and the next morning you sent another prayer; but it, too, was attached by a string of doubt and fear and did not get far.
Several days after you sent the letter you received an answer, which read: “I have your letter of such and such a date;” and you recalled that you had written a letter. Still you didn’t rush out of doors and stop every passer-by and say, “I sent a letter and got a reply,” and then elaborated on how you went through the whole affair, how you had hunted for paper and spilled the ink, or lost you pencil, etc. No, you accepted the letter, read it, got the benefit from it and went on you way.
And finally, in a half-hearted way, the poor little prayer which only half loosened, came back to you with a ray of light and you rushed to you nearest neighbor and said: “I had a demonstration – - you see it was this way, etc.”
“O ye of little faith!” Why don’t you cut the strings of worry that are attached to you every thought and “loose it and let it go?” Have the same faith back of your prayer that you have back of the letter and it will return to you with greater certainty and with surer reward.
Away out in the front lines while the battle was raging, a carrier pigeon was let loose with a message, and as he disappeared into the distance, fading away into the limpid blue of the sky, no worried thought hampered his voyage. When they “loosed him and let him go” they knew that he would fly to his destination and results would follow.
Who had not felt the perfect faith of a child in St. Nicholas? They ask for their heart’s desire and are never left without some expression of love. When ye ask, ask as believing ye shall receive. You don’t go into a store and ask the clerk for a certain article and then chase madly about repeating the request a thousand times. You ask and then wait. And so when we learn to ask and wait – - wait with the patience, which is absolute faith – - then we shall constantly receive the reply, the reward that is rightfully ours. “Ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you; seek and ye shall find.” Don’t knock and at the same time try to force an entrance by the window. The master of the house will take you for a robber and only bar his doors heavier.
And so as you send a letter send your prayer – - let them go forth unhampered, untrammeled by fear, worry or care. Don’t stampede your thoughts – - a multitude of assertions accomplish nothing, they only congest you thinking. Speak to your Father in secret, and he will reward thee openly.
-Walter C. Lanyon
The Echinacea flower is one that has slipped my attention in our gardens until recently. It is an herb, or a plant that dies to the ground every year, and reproduces from its own seeds, which fall in the fall. This plant has a hearty green stem with long, skinny, hairy leaves and is not bushy; typically there is only one flower on each stalk.
 Echinacea Group Our flowers are purple, which means we have Echinacea purpurea. Echinacea has a center of cones where the pollen is stored, around which the petals grow. This herb belongs to the daisy family, and one can immediately see the family resemblance. Echinacea centers are a bit more robust than say a Shasta daisy, but the petals are very similar. Our plants are living next to some lavender bushes and some thyme; an herb garden of sorts. The tall purple beauties stand alone, somewhat like skyscrapers in a city. I wonder if the bees and other insects think the same thing!
Traditionally, echinacea has been used in teas and as an herbal supplement thought to shorten the length of the common cold or flu. Actually, this purple beauty has chemicals that boost the immune system and there have been tests done which suggest that people who drank five cups of echinacea tea at the first sign of cold or flu symptoms had less severe symptoms than those who drank normal tea. Antibiotics have lessened the use of this herb in America, but for native Americans, echinacea was a cure-all.
To find the symbolic meaning of echinacea, I had to defer to the daisy family, but found that its meaning co-insides with its medicinal use. Daisies represent purity, patience and simplicity, innocence, loyal love. It is interesting to me that purity and innocence would be associated with healing. I guess God is all of those qualities, and when one aligns himself with purity and love, innocence and patience, he is aligning himself with God. I also suppose that it follows closely that to align oneself with God in character is to cause the body and spirit to function harmoniously. Let that be a lesson to us all.
 A sample of Echinacea purpurea It is of particular import that function follows character or the nature of a plant is what directs its purpose, as is true in all of life. If we would align ourselves with truth and a particular good that we seek, let us find the character of God that is behind that good. Who comes up with the meanings of flowers anyway? I don’t know but they are pretty darn good at it. Kudos to you flower people!
Along the lines of the character of God, we shall explore this in more detail in postings to come.
I suppose that even the smallest details of a plant could reveal its purpose and if we know the purpose of a thing, we can bring that thing into manifestation in our lives.
More to come…
Today at the Lilies’ gardens we have an abundance of Hollyhocks. Our original plants came from a nursery, as most of our plants do, but these have been extremely fruitful plants, reproducing from seed all over the garden.
Hollyhocks are tall slender plants with leaves similar to grape leaves, with different lobes or sections. The flowers are mostly yellow or pink. Although there are a few other colors, like dark purple, ours are mostly shades of pink or yellow. Flowers surround the stem, mostly at the top, which can grow to be almost 12 feet tall. Our plants range from 4 feet to 8 feet currently, but in past years we have had them reach upward of eleven feet. This makes them blow around in the wind quite a bit, which necessitates staking, although the Hollyhock stem is generally quite strong. Flowers are abundant and bloom for what seems like an eternity. One variety has a single layer of petals with a strong central stamen, and another has at least two rows of petals. Of course, the flowers which have a single row of petals are easier to press for use in our cards and prints, but both are very beautiful.
Hollyhocks are known as such but their true name is Alcea, and they are native to southwest and central Asia, with some species native to southeastern Europe and even Egypt. (Wikipedia) There are many varieties of Hollyhocks, and I am not sure how many we currently have. I suppose 3 to 6 different varieties out of around 60 live in and love our garden.
In the Language of Flowers (www.languageofflowers.com) Hollyhocks symbolize ambition and fecundity. For those of you like myself, who might not know, fecundity means “producing or capable of producing abundance of offspring or new growth”. This definition is most apt for the Alcea. Of all of its characteristics the ability to reproduce is at the top of the list. We have found Hollyhocks abounding in places almost unimaginable. In between the bricks on one of our patios, we regularly find seedlings popping up. This is not to mention all of the abundant reproduction we find in other areas of the garden. Even in late summer we have new seedlings popping their heads up out of the ground, ever eager to begin their new lives.
Transplanting the Alcea is a bit tricky. We attempted it in late spring, and the tap roots of the plants were already a foot or more deep. Once transplanting was accomplished, the plants did not reach the height they normally would have, although they did survive.
Truth be known, we appreciate the Hollyhock for its nature, bold, fruitful and beautiful. It occupies a place in the forefront of our garden, intermixed with lilies and other wild flowers, which fortunately bloom at the same time as the hollyhock.
If someone in your life is ambitious and fruitful, consider sending them a hollyhock or a card with a hollyhock on it. Your message won’t be forgotten.
Think about heaven for a moment. If it is true, and I think it is, that every need is met and every desire is fulfilled, if it is not harmful to others or to you, then there is no more need to be selfish. Think about that. Why do we take and try to get things for ourselves? Is it not because we feel needy? Aren’t we taught that every good thing comes from hard work and sweat? In a nutshell, we have to compete and take from someone else what we need just to survive. So we build this attitude of lack and selfishness into our thinking and it is backwards.
Then we are told to be a good person that we need to give a certain amount of what we earn or have to those who don’t have enough. This is no doubt a noble and right thing, but in reality there is enough to go around; AND we should do our very best with whatever we have been given, to increase and multiply, but not because we have need. If all is freely given and freely received, then we have lost our motivation to be greedy and take.
Then what do we think about?
What motivates me to be all I can be?
What if there really is enough for you and everyone else too?
What do you think?
Today is another beautiful day. I have the most wonderful brother and sister-in-law, and nieces and nephews. They are such a joy to be around. Each one is different, but equally wonderful.
My brother is a joy-bringer and laughter creator. He sees life very freely and enjoys each moment with an ease that is rare. He is also very generous. He thinks more about giving to others than getting for himself. I love his company. You are my bro!
My sister (in law) is a beautiful person. She is always smiling and laughing and loving. She is the best mom I have ever known, except for my own wonderful mom. If someone needs to be encouraged, she is the first to speak up. Thank you.
My niece, Goldilocks, is a ham. She is also very loving and gentle. She likes to play horsies and call me on the phone. I cherish time with her. I love her broad smile and her imagination! She is a genius you know.
Goldy’s little brother is a wiseguy with just as big a smile, and a huge heart. He likes to wrestle and climb anything that can be scaled. He also likes to curl up in your arms and take a nap, which is probably as much fun for me as for him. I can’t wait to take him camping and show him the outdoors with his daddy!
Older brother is caring and thoughtful, and very creative. I very much enjoy his newest drawing or building project. Senior is also very good with the little kids. He is gentle and likes to play! What a gem!
Very closely linked to older brother is older sister, the firstborn of four wonderful siblings. She is adventurous, helpful and an excellent watcher for the kids. Although I have not spent as much time with the older children, they are becoming wonderful young adults.
Together they are an incredible family full of fun and love, which I am delighted to be a part of. Thank you for sharing your lives with me everyone! God Bless You All! I am so grateful for you and cherish every minute we have, which will only increase!
God is good to have put us all together.
Guilt is like a plague. It causes us to react to it and say:
“I cannot be guilty of anything lest I be crushed and destroyed. Therefore I
must guard against it by being ready to throw it off at every turn. I will
examine every event and motive of everyone to be certain that I am not
guilty of any wrong. I will excel at this; I must! ”
Guilt has crippled mankind and has produced two extreme reactions:
sociopaths who can be guilty of nothing and those who wrestle against guilt
day and night only to find themselves defiled by the exercise. The former
cannot be saved and must be avoided. They have their reward. The latter
must cease the contest to be delivered. As long as the wrestling match
continues, the defilement continues. We must refuse to engage our
opponent! He will leave the arena for lack of anything to do.
The Holy Spirit cannot finish the work in us as long as the cloud of guilt
remains. The cloud is kicked up by our constant groveling in the dirt with
guilt. Cease wrestling with otherʼs opinions! Cease constantly examining
your thoughts and reactions and motives. These things are the Holy
Spiritʼs responsibility not yours.
Learn to delegate.
Cease feeding the Giant.
ʻOne little stone will fell him!ʼ That stone is truth.
You are not guilty. How can Christ be guilty? He has triumphed gloriously!
Welcome to Christʼs life, uninterrupted. It is no longer yours! Neither you
nor the opponent can defile that! Hallelujah!
-Pastor Jerry White
It is commonly said that “Jesus died to forgive your sin,” but why do I care? What does that mean today? In a society where Jesus increasingly seems irrelevant, what does it mean that Jesus took my sin?
The Bible teaches us that death, sickness (slow death), poverty, and every kind of evil came into this world because of sin. Basically we become separated from God because of sin, but that gap has been bridged through the gift of God, His Son, Jesus, who is the Christ.
Just to clear things up, everyone is initially considered a sinner. So you are not especially bad, nor does God expect that you can all of a sudden act perfectly. What He does want is the humility to see that we are incomplete and incapable of pleasing God without Him.
The Bible is relevant to society today because we as humans and all of the earth around us came into being through God, and He is everywhere around us now (In Him we live, move and have our being.) So we are only separated from Him through our unawareness of Him. We were created to live in union with God, not separate from Him. When we struggle for independence, thinking ourselves able or desirous of live apart from Him, we only deceive ourselves. The only true life is union with Him.
Guess what, you can’t really exist without Him anyway, He is the very life that you are, and your life is in fact only a gift, which we will all discover in time.
God is not a God of wrath, waiting to destroy His own children, but a God of infinite compassion, wanting only to have a large family.
To return to my original point, we exist in a state of death by default. Science seeks to cure mankind’s ills by studying the obvious, which is good and admirable, and God-inspired. However the only real cure for these things is the removal of sin, which does not happen by good works, although those are good. It can only happen by a free gift of love, in order to show us His love. You see, God had this whole picture in mind from the beginning, and you are walking in a path that was destined for you long before you can remember. God wants you to know that you are loved, and that He actually came as a man and died to prove it to you. I don’t know anyone else who show love to that extent. We think of God as mean and nasty because He requires death as the penalty for sin (or disobedience). But what we don’t most often see is a God who knew the incapability of His creation, so pre-destined Himself to take the fall, all just to prove that He is a God of Love, not hate or death.
So if something within you is stirring, its God’s spirit, and you should just say “Thank you” for taking my place in death, so I could be re-united with my Father and life a life that is full of wholeness, prosperity, and Love, for all of eternity. You were chosen to love Him. Thank you for restoring me to relationship free from hindrance or guilt in the very presence of God. Please come into my heart and remain there forever, thank you God. Now YOU have the divine nature, too! Also, please give me the Holy Spirit to guide and lead and comfort me, and give me life, and abide in me forever. Thank You.
Jesus is really God, and man. He could set you free because He alone could live without sin. Being God He had the perfect nature within Him, being man, He was able to step into our place. We were all made by Him, and even now our very breath is His life. When He died, He was perfect, but He was taking the place of every man for all time, if we only acknowledge His great love. When He died, all of sin and death and every form of sickness died with Him. (are you getting the significance of this for today?) No matter what your problem, its root cause is sin, not necessarily your own. But it has ALL BEEN WIPED AWAY. Yes, every problem, every fear has all been taken care of. It is really that simple. It is the simplicity of it all that is so beautiful. This is faith. God just wants you today to say, “Thanks, God.”
Its not just that all of your problems will vanish into thin air, and they will if you will let them, its now that you get to walk in true order and unity with the One who made you in the first place. Now you have entered into His kingdom, where He rules. Which is great because nothing opposed to Him can stand, but more than that we can have love, and He lives in our hearts.
Now that you have seen Him, and He is in you, join me in telling the whole world what a wonderful God we have relationship with!
Dear Friend,
I understand that you are having difficulty, as you believe that you have “failed” in some way.
I have pondered this same issue on numerous occasions – I believe we all do. It may be we feel as though we’ve failed people, failed in a situation, failed ourselves or failed the Lord.
I believe the Truth is that we do not fail in Christ, we only grow. The problem comes when we place the emphasis on “us” instead of Him. Learning to trust Him is our quest and rest in Him a command. “Be not afraid.” “Enter My rest.”
We all find ourselves in storms. No one is exempt, but how we deal with the storm is the issue.
When we focus on “us”, our problems or other people or their problems we are definitely not asleep in the boat as He was. He said He would see us through, He’d take us to the other side. Do we believe this? When our eyes are on the waves and the wind, we are then giving more credence to them, more power to them than to Him. He said “Peace be still”, He said we would get to the other side. We have to fall asleep in the boat too. This however is not a passive state, but an active faith.
“Do not let your heart be troubled.” We do not fail in Christ, we go on to know the Lord. As our eyes are directed off of ourselves,(incidentally this is why we feel “failure”- our eyes are on ourselves and how we appear) and are constantly on Him, we will gain peace in God and rest in Him.
I can’t tell you there won’t be more storms, however we can grow through them, and He will constantly Be right there showing us what we need to focus on.
Let your wounds be healed – just get in the boat with Him and He will lead you on. After all it’s His work to perfect us ( “I will complete the work that I have begun in you”), ours only to believe and LET HIM DO.
Sweet Dreams,
Jane
Hello all,
Lilies of the Field, Inc. has published its fall catalog! If you love gardens, flowers, or just creative artwork give this a look-see. The cover (front and back) is comprised of photos of our own gardens, from which come all of Jane’s beautiful creations.
The catalog is featuring our ability to customize Thank You’s or Christmas cards using any of our designs, which of course are on the web at http://skyrivergallery.com/ Even though some of the cards have messages already, they can be altered.
Being in the gardens can truly bring healing, to your soul, mind and body. It seems to help one get in touch with the Creator of us all. Our cards and prints are directly descended from this atmosphere, so if you need a touch, please take a look.
Download your copy of our catalog for FREE, by going to www.skyrivergallery.com and clicking the picture of the catalog that shows up on the right side.
Pleas take five minutes from your busy schedule and read this! It could change your life.
For all you business owners and other folks out there, I know that the market has been tough for a lot of us. That is why we decided to do something to help you. Whether you are aware of this or not it is true, that there are principles at work in our lives that go beyond just the exchange of matter.
Things cause matter to do what it does. So with your business, and your personal life. So, what is the point?, you are asking.
I think we can help your business turn around if it is not successful, or make it more successful if it is. The principle is giving.
All of us have been the recipient of gifts at some point in life. If we are willing to admit it, everything we have has been allowed to come to us. Gulp. What SHOULD that make us want to do? Maybe give back?, or bless someone who needs a little light? None of our businesses would survive without customers or clients, would they? They trusted you with their money, or maybe they haven’t yet, but you want them to. One of the best things that you can do is to humble yourself and open up to a thankful attitude. Be thankful that your car started today, or that your husband or wife said “I love you!” today. Be thankful that you HAVE a husband or wife. Be thankful that you are healthy. Be everlastingly grateful that we live in the United States and can operate our own businesses and make our own decisions. Be thankful that the sun is shining, that you have teeth! How about the dog that comes to rub against your leg every day when you get out of bed, or come home for lunch, or get in the car, or come home from work? I am thankful that I get to eat a hot meal for dinner. That I have a solid roof over my head, for the flowers blooming in the yard, and the gorgeous foliage turning orange and red in the forest. I am thankful for clean water.
You get the picture. But what just happened as you read this? Be still. I became much lighter and joyful thinking about the things that make my life wonderful, and these are just a tiny part of the wonder of life.
What does being thankful do? It makes us aware of the Good, which comes from a good God, which is all around us all the time.
So if our business is suffering, it could be because we are not seeing that the goodness really never went anywhere after all, but we started looking at matter and not the eternal substance behind it. If we start being honest we will admit that really all we need to do is open our eyes to Good (God) and it starts flowing in, and we will find it flowing into those places that we thought were sick or lacking before.
Just look up.
If you are thinking that you know this but its the other people out there that need to learn, there is a solution for that, too. Tell them you are thankful for them. Show them that there really IS good everywhere. This will backfire on you in a Good Way!
Cheers and Happy Day!
P.S. Practice being thankful in all areas of your life. As you begin to be the conduit for thanks, and any good thing, (as you tell someone you love them, pet the dog, or give lunch money to someone in need) you can’t help partake of what you are giving out. Try it!
 Fall is Here!
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