LISTEN UP

Wow, has it ever been beautiful out of late. I've been feeling especially blessed because, not only do I have juvenile bluebirds from the first brood earlier in the Spring, but mama and papa bluebird are now working on brood #2. That's real excitement for me. I'm especially looking forward to when they finally discover the birdbath in the back and teach the juveniles how to bathe. Yesterday, a daddy cardinal was feeding his juveniles and they were geting baths for their first time.

Walking was nice this morning. Barry, who bares his teeth at us, the beagle was again a problem, but I don't let it ruin our walk. We just have to get by him and take a few minutes to catch our breath before continuing on our way. We have one less horse in the field across the street. Mark mentioned that he saw the horse trailor go by, so I'm not surprised to only have two to enjoy across the road.

Taffy looks rather ridiculous these days. She refused to quit licking her incisions as they healed. I only kept her wrapped for a week or so, and now she is on antibiotics to take care of infections. She also has a lovely E-collar as they call it, referring to an Elizabethean type collar. Others refer to it as a cone. So for the next week or so, Taffy will be my little conehead.

I'm still watching over my gardens and flower pots. Thankfully, not a lot of weeds, but I do need to get down around the zuchini, yellow squash and cucumbers and start some pulling. I discussed Jesus' parable of the weeds found in Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43 with my Bible study group at church. It's actually harder to understand than I first realized. Whereas, in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus is sowing the word of God, which is represented by the wheat. He explains what happens when we receive it. It is up to us to manage our heart and attitude upon recieving His word and allowing it to flourish, thereby eventually producing fruit and a harvest.

The Parable of the Sower also has Jesus sowing the good seed, but there is also an enemy sowing a bad seed, which grows up as weeds among the wheat. Rather than pull up the weeds, it is recommended that the weeds and wheat are allowed to grow side by side until the harvest. At that time, the weeds are picked, bundled and thrown into the fire and the wheat is then harvested and placed in the barn.

I was troubled in the explanation that the devil was planting seeds that became evil people, not to be redeemed. However, after discussions at church, I believe that the devil plants the seeds of sin in our hearts, as Jesus plants the seed of God's word. We can allow both to grow, but it is up to how we choose to live our lives as to which will flourish and be ready to be picked at the time of the harvest. I hope we all try to refuse to be tempted to nurture those seeds of sin in our lives. Allow yourself to simply care for the wonderful word of God that teaches us to love God, love one another and treat everyone as you'd want to be treated.

My hope is that you have the ears to hear what God is telling us. Verses 41-43 of Matthew says: "The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

I'm going outside to enjoy this beautiful time of year. The days are still getting longer and will continue that trend until the first day of summer actually arrives. You have a great day, stay safe and enjoy every minute of these nice long days. luv, Susan