Tag Archives: work

Gardeners and their Gardens

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Ever wonder why something happens in your life?

Ever wonder why something doesn’t happen?

All things in life happen as a result. From the simple impulses that generate activity and movement in our bodies to the massive events that occur in our lives from words spoken, actions taken, behavior displayed, and thoughts executed. Things happen as results.

 

We reap what we sow.

 

The best picture I see of this is from the life of a gardener and the need to sow in order to reap.

 

Gardeners Delight

 

 

 

 

The gardener sows specific seeds

I am not an expert in farming or gardening; in fact I have no green thumbs, but I do know that if I expect to harvest some fruit and vegetables I need to sow some seed. Specific seed. The gardener decides (or knows) what they would like to grow and plants specific seeds to achieve those results. Specific seeds yield specific fruit. Every time I have asked a gardener what they planted in a garden they tell me exactly what they expect. They know this because they were specific in what seeds they sowed.


The gardener has expectations

I have yet to talk with a gardener that does not have expectations from the seeds sown. Most gardeners have tremendous, large expectations. Expectations to a gardener are fuel

for their passion. A fuel that propels them and sustains them as they endure the season from sowing to reaping. Expectation is met with excitement when little green shoots project skyward thru the cultivated soil. Talk with any gardener and they will tell you what they expect from the seeds they have sown. Their eyes light up when they tell you how much, how tasty and how good their harvest will be.

 

The gardener places what he wants to get

Row upon row of fertile ground is worked, cultivated and nurtured because seeds will be placed into the soil. The seeds placed are what the gardener wants to grow. A gardener

does not plant a seed of corn expecting cucumbers. He places in the ground the seed which has in it the DNA of the final product. There is no guessing at what he will reap; in fact, he knows before he sows what he will get by way of taste, look, feel, color. He places into the ground what he wants to get out of the ground.

 

The gardener is always thinking sowing and reaping

When a garden is planned and developed the mindest that is found in a gardener is that both of sowing and reaping. It is not one or the other. It is both. Having a continual mindset of sowing and a continual mindset of reaping is what keeps the gardener creative, intuitive and flexible. The mindset of sowing places the gardener in a process of evaluation and determination. The mindset of reaping places the gardener in of process of evaluation and expectation. Changes in methods are the result of the evaluation of both the seed and the fruit received. Creativity enters to enhance the process and the results.

Gardening is all about the results 

Everything a gardener does is for the final product. The drive to get up early and work the soil is because of the payoff at the end. The reason the soil is cultivated and nurtured is because the gardener wants results. Weeds are pulled so the plants will get every bit of nourishment and nothing will go wasted elsewhere – why? because the gardener wants the best results. The attention to detail is so the final product will be the best. Every gardener takes pride in the results, and so they should. The better the results the bigger the smile.

 

God’s Word is not silent about gardening

He paints pictures of garden throughout the Bible. He planted the first garden…and it was good, real good. Jesus refers to the Word as seed and its activity in our lives.

If you want to see different results in your life check the seeds that are being planted in your life.

If you want to see different results in relationships check the seeds that are being planted.


Sow SPECIFIC seeds, sow with EXPECTATION, place IN what you want to GET OUT, have a CONTINUAL mindset of sowing and reaping, sow for RESULTS, and most importantly SOW the WORD

 

 

 

I would love your comments and feedback…
Always sowing, always reaping

David

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS

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I have had many discussions with people regarding goals, the future, dreams, plans, what they want to be when they grow up, etc. Discussions with retired folks, tired folks, young people, newly wed, nearly wed, happy singles (and those not wanting to be single) and even children. Sometimes the individual is very focused on what their goal is, sometimes not so much. Sometimes the individual has no idea about the future, other times the future is so intricately planned I wonder if there is any room for a hiccup. From all my discussions I have found this topic to be one of great stress and consternation.

Through my life I have found a number of things that have helped me, and equally a number of things that have frustrated me when I make goals. Over the next few blog postings I would like to share with you some of my thoughts about goals and I would love to have your feedback, comments or questions.

When I went from elementary school to high school my parents decided to enroll me (and a number of my siblings) into our local church school which was just starting out. My temper tantrums and manipulations did not change my parents mind, it only gave them more resolve. The school was not set in a traditional classroom, but rather each student had their desk referred to as a cubicle (the sides of the desk were high enough to discourage communication with your neighbouring student, whether she was a cute girl or a sport fanatic like myself). The mindset behind the school was for individual learning and not classroom style learning.

One of the first lessons we were taught and required to do was to make a ‘goal’ for the day. This took the form of a chart where we wrote each subject down and then wrote how many pages we were going to do in that subject for the day. It did not take long for some of us to realize that if we set ‘low’ goals we would then get our schoolwork completed sooner and we could fool around (whatever that look liked). Shortly after we came upon this great realization we encountered another ‘light bulb’ moment. If we set ‘low’ goals that were not stretching or pushing us it would take us much longer to complete our prescribed material (long term goals) and thus our school year would be lengthened (not something any active young boy desires or wants). Our goals needed to reflect our long term dreams and not just our short term desires

The lessons I learned are:
• if you set too low of a goal you will not stretch yourself
• if you set a short sighted goal you may adversely affect your long term goal
• your short term goals should reflect your long term goals
• set your long term goals, then set your short term goals

I guess I learned a few more things than just the Pythagoras Theorem and Newton’s Laws;

What are some goals that you have set?
Do your short term goals reflect your long term plans?

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. (Proverbs 21:5 NLT)

Working towards my goals,
david