How does your garden grow?

Yesterday Patrick got a whole bunch of vegetable plants free from a greenhouse--I have a feeling we'll be eating lots of peppers, broccoli, eggplant and cabbage this fall!

Today in church, Tony continued the series on "Words Christians Use but Don't Always Understand", and discussed Baptism in the Spirit. It's a controversial topic in the church and even among my friends in various denominations, so I don't want to get into it here. But the take home message was, Christians are leaky; we need to be filled with the Spirit more than just once, because we lose it through the cracks. It would be nice if someone else picks it up along the way, but I have a feeling it's more like the Second Law of Thermodynamics: you always lose something (that's for you, Jonell :)).

So what do those two topics have to do with each other? Well, I was thinking about water for our souls when I was watering the new plants. One thought in gardening and tree growing is to water less often, but with more water, so that the plants grow deep roots. Another thought today was if we need to be (re)filled with the Spirit on a regular basis, why doesn't it seem to happen as often as I'd like? I have a feeling that my gardening analogy works here...by watering less often, it encourages us to dig deep into God's word, to really put down roots and be grounded in who he is. When we get frequent "water" it's tempting to be shallow, but then how will we stand when the storm or drought comes?

So I'd agree with Paul in his prayer for the Ephesians: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Thanks, Lord, that you fill us with your Spirit and empower us to be bold for you. Help us to dig deeply into knowing and loving you.