Tag Archives: seed

A Green Thumb? – Phyllis Freeman
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Planting Seeds

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 1 Cor. 3:6 KJV

I have a brown thumb for growing things. Can’t do it. My sister, Dot, and our brother, Thomas, inherited the green thumb from our dad. He loved gardening and eating fresh vegetables. My favorite memories from our family garden were the juicy red tomatoes and the steaming yellow corn on the cob, dripping with melted butter.

“Never underestimate the power of a seed.” When we share God’s word with our family or others, we never know if our prayers and efforts will germinate and produce a giant spiritual redwood tree or a little neighborhood bush.

Those who taught Dot in Sunday school knew they were planting God’s word into her heart, but they couldn’t know that Dot would eventually spend years teaching in a Christian college and spiritually mentoring students from around the world. They didn’t know she would then spend twenty-five years as a missionary evangelist in and out of foreign countries. She and her co-worker, Dr. Faye Whitten, spent three years teaching and mentoring students in Ghana, West Africa. They got to see a harvest for the kingdom through their student ministry in several African countries.

Even though I cannot grow flowers or a garden (I even starved a cactus to death), I understand the concept of planting seeds and nurturing souls for the kingdom of God. Sunday school teachers understand. They plant seeds of truth into the hearts of children, youth, or adults.

I’ve planted seeds of truth, and I’ve watered seeds others have planted. When we’ve done our best to model God’s love to others and nurture them however we can, God can bring them into relationship with Him.The Holy Spirit can cause God’s word to penetrate a heart’s fallow ground and bring growth.

Whether or not you have a spiritual green thumb, keep on planting and keep on watering.

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A freelance writer, Phyllis Qualls Freeman has more than four hundred published devotionals and human interest stories, including; Secret Place, Upper Room, Knoxville News-Sentinel and writes for three publishing houses on assignment. She teaches classes on emotional healing and speaks at ladies’ meetings and conferences on these issues. Phyllis leads the prayer warriors for Christian Devotions. Pqfreeman40@yahoo.com

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Planted in Our Roots – She Said
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God in the mountains

Planted in Our Roots – She Said

The farmer sows the word. Mark 4:14 NIV

They’re farmers who know the result of their labor…who know what it means to reap what you sow.

I love the mountain folk. The heritage I’m blessed to have, burns deep in my heart. Perhaps it’s the simplicity of the life here. Maybe it’s the genuineness of the people. Could be the outright honesty that seeps from the people of the Appalachians. (It’s here we say the Appa-LACH-ians not Appa-lay-cians).

I live nestled between the crevice of the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains where the Eastern white pines and Fraser firs fill the air with the minty flavor of evergreen. Sugar maples drip their sap onto the fingers of those unafraid of the true sweetness found in the mountains. Rhododendrons and daisies color the bluffs and only a few miles outside the cities, lay the dirt roads that carry you into the real heart of the Appalachians…its people.

Life is simple here and folks are who they are. In the midst of the rolling hills, lay the remnants of the old circuit riding preachers –those who dug in deep to teach the word of God.

Deep in these mountains are the people who, unskewed by a warped world view, still believe. Here… folks make no bones about the seeds they plant. A man’s word is as good as his handshake and sharing what you have is “just the right thing to do.” You love your neighbor as yourself and when a man dies, you still carry food to the family, pull them close, and press their tear-smeared face against you. It’s called “comforting.”

The hillsides are dotted with plowed fields and gardens grow lush. Making apple butter is still a church tradition and singing Amazing Grace still convicts the hearts of those who really know Jesus. The love of Christ, as raw as it may seem, is sown deep into the lives of these people.

The seeds were sown years ago. The traditions raised, cherished, and protected. God, according to these people, stands watch over the valleys from the mountaintop.

Christ cast out the seed of His Word. He met the people where they were…taught them so they could understand. Some of the seed flourished while others didn’t. Still He continued to sow the word.

Though we are a people far from perfection, the Word of God is planted deep in our roots. I’d like to think it’s sown in your heart too. Cultivate it. Water and prune it. Then share its fruit to a hungry world. Accept the challenge Christ offered. Sow the seed. Nothing can happen until you do.

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Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and cofounders of ChristianDevotions.us. They cowrite the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host Blog Talk Radio’s Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! along with Scott McCausey. Eddie and Cindy travel and speak at conferences across the country and they are available to speak at your church or conference. Contact them at cindy@christiandevotions.us.

 

 

 

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