REVIVE isn't just for gardens...

"And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail". Isaiah 58:11

Saturday, I worked in my vegetable garden, planting peas, lettuce, radishes, squash and carrots.  One of the things I love doing each year is figuring out where I am going to plant the various things. Plants need to be in different spots than last year so they don't pick up diseases.

In the end it all looks like a jumbled mess because everything gets planted so closely together but it is fun to start out organized.

After deciding to plant the carrots at the bottom of the plot where I had the cucumbers last year, I used the hoe to make a wide swath in the soil and then I watered it thoroughly only to figure out later that the soil would not absorb the water. [Now I understand why the cucumbers last year required watering EVERY day.]  The water just slid off of the top of the soil. Finally I worked in a couple of buckets of compost which helped. 

Later, I was talking to my son and he told me to go get some REVIVE fertilizer and sprinkle on that part of the garden since that is helps condition the soil to absorb the water better.

And isn't that just like us in our walk with the Lord.  At times we feel "well-watered." At other times very dry...the Word seems to just slide off our hearts.  It doesn't sink in.

"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Isaiah12:3 

We love the times when with joy we know God's presence; we see Him at work all around us; we find ourselves grateful for all He does.

We want our thirst to be quenched

    We want to know God's presence 

          We want to see His grace, His love

                We want what the old hymn "I Come to the Garden Alone" talks about:
  

I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

And the voice I hear falling on my ear

The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own:

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,

And the melody that he gave to me

Within my heart is ringing.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own:

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

I'd stay in the garden with Him

Though the night around me be falling,

But He bids me go; through the voice of woe

His voice to me is calling.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own:

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.

[For those of you have never heard this hymn, click on THIS]

This is where REVIVE comes in....for us.


Lord, you were favorable to your land,
   you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
  you covered all their sin.   Selah
You withdrew all your wrath;
  you turned from your hot anger.


Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
  and put away your indignation toward us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
  that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
  and grant us your salvation."  Psalm 85:1-7.


It does all come back to God doesn't it?


To His reviving us,
To His steadfast love and faithfulness,
To His salvation.


And so we continue to give thanks for all He does for us...even when we feel dry and thirsty.
And so we ask Him to restore us, to revive us.


And as we wait....
   We pray
      We watch for His work all around us
            We are thankful....Oh, yes, we are thankful!


What am I thankful for this week....


#454... gardens to walk in, work in, be in. No wonder God began man in a garden.


#455...hummingbirds....heard before being seen.

#456...bears...to make me grateful for a son who comes to fix the gate and the once-again broken fence


#457...orange fish in pond...some missing after two visits from bear


#458... Iris in so many colors


#459... new rose bush all ready in full bloom...bright red


#460...a birthday party for a 2-year-old...and all that energy


#461...two pounds...lost


#462...changes coming at church...hard but oh so necessary for "other's" sake

#463...Lupins...in bloom...gorgeous


#464...eating on the patio...in April...warm and beautiful


#465...Super moon...super...super...beautiful


#466...watching Melvin catch and eat Millers...then finding out they are high in fat content and good for cats


#467...thank You for creating Millers good for something


#468...the promise of rain and then the smell and feel of RAIN....

#469...another season of hiking with friends


#470...hiking in Red Rock Cantyon...seeing geese on top of cliff


#471.  snow on Pikes Peak


#472...clean kitchen


#473...tea. . .  Earl Grey... Ginger Peach... Apricot Mango... English Breakfast... Blackberry Sage... Valentine Chocolate... Mango... Irish Breakfast... 


#474...a soft chair on deck to sit and read in


#475...friends who say thank you