This morning the garden has three plants that are essentially ground cover: sweet woodruff, garden aubrieta, and fleabane. These are all small plants with white flowers that are in mass. The fourth white flower which is taller and has come out all at once is the white garlic flower.
For this post I have take two photographs for each plant where I write something about them that was new for me. I will also explore three verses that are gifts from the Bible.
This garden Aubrieta is a hardy low- growing evergreen perennial that forms a mat of white flowers in spring. Likes full sun, well drained neutral to alkaline soil. Our plant was placed here in 2016, the year Mum Dorithy died.
Now the first of four gifts from the Bible
The word of God allows believers to understand whether their actions are motivated
by
natural emotions (soul / psuche: personality, mind, emotions, and will of our own selfish reasoning.)
or true spiritual conviction. ( spirit/pneuma the part that is directed by the Holy Spirit and interacts with God; faith, hope, conscience.)
Here is this interesting verse:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the deviding asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints ( the toughest part of our bodies) and marrow ( the soft life giving part of the bone), and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
The second ground cover plant.
Sweet Woodruff/ sweet scented bedstraw. The small 4-7mm diameter flowers have four white petals joined together at the base and are produced in cymes.
I found this fascinating so drew it , to show how organised the structure is.
The sweet woodruff plant covers the ground under some pear, apple and cherry trees that grow along a high wooden fence. This seems to protect the fruit trees from water loss during a hot summer.
A second gift: David asks God to do this:
Create in me a clean heart .
Psalm 51: 10
God speaks 100’s of years later through Ezekiel possibly affirming what David asked for:
God speaking: ‘ A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put in you and replace the stony heart with a heart of flesh. This, my Spirit, will cause you to walk in my Statutes and you will keep my judgements and do them.’
Ezekiel 36:26
We begin at the beginning by seeking God most determinedly/ earnestly for a true Christian experience.
We feel the creative power of the Holy Spirit.
We receive the new heart, that is kept soft and tender by the grace of heaven.
We look to Jesus with humility of heart for guidance and encouragement.
EG White.
The third plant:
Fleabane belongs to the daisy family and this one has been in a pot since 2020. It is the plant that has outlasted all three others. A strong plant I have left to take over.
Here all three plants are in a small cup. ‘Copeland Spode’s Italian, England.’ This style was produced from 1816 and features rural Italy, likely inspired by the paintings of Claude Lorrain. It intentionally blended European scenery with Chinese – inspired 18th Century Imari border, creating a popular ” East meets West” aesthetic.
A third gift, but really the first, from the Bible is that it reveals Jesus.
Jesus speaking: ‘ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.’ ( I must read this more carefully in its context . There is always more to learn.)
Jesus speaking to God: ‘ Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth.’
Then Paul says something interesting about what the word does.
‘ the washing of water by the word’ Ephesians 5:26
This purifying through reading, hearing and obeying scripture is the word of God acting through the Holy Spirit cleansing us as believers.
The fourth plant all in bloom and also a ground cover is the wild garlic. Here are a few stalks added to a group I already had in a vase.
Here are some quotes about the Bible from others. You may agree or disagree. All are interesting:
Dwigh L. Moody had this to say about the Bible:
The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
And
The Bible says, ‘ In the beginning was the word.’ In the same way your words have creative power.
Bo Sandchez
And
The Bible is not man’s word about God, but God’s word about man.
John Barth
Have a good weekend. I guess we will be worshipping and then walking.
Sandy 🙂