Pages

Sunday, January 31, 2021

PARABLE of the Persistent Widow (or the Unjust Judge)

SundayJustice2C

PARABLE of the Persistent Widow (or the Unjust Judge)

by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo SundayPARABLE_zpskg749l78.jpg

"The Parable of the Persistent Widow" is mainly about prayer but it is also about persistence and trust.
You will see by the above verses that the town judge is unfair.  This judge sounds like a modern judge, even back in Jesus' day there was corruption in the courts.

Prayer

We are supposed to pray without ceasing  (see verse below).  (click HERE to read "How to Find Answers To Prayer).  And in the above verses it says that we are to "always pray and not give up."  ALWAYS, that means continuously, without ceasing.  Prayer comes in many forms: it can be silent, casual, formal, spoken, thought and at any time - even upon waking,  It should be constant.

"Pray continually" 
1 Thessalonians 5:17

SundayJustice2A

Persistence

Notice in the verses above that the judge thought of this lady's persistence as an annoyance.  She got under the judges skin.  Now, she must have been very polite otherwise he would have charged her or held her in contempt of court (although verse 5 does say that he worried that she would attack him).  We know that this parable portrays the woman as a decent person, so she would never have attacked a judge.  However, we know that this judge did not have a sense of morality since this judge did not fear God and did not care about people.
Therefore, persistence is vital.  In the end this woman wore the judge down with her persistence.   


SundayJustice2B


Trust

God will give justice to His children who cry out to Him day and night (see verses above).  We have to trust God and we also have to understand that our timing is not God's timing (see verse below):

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 
2 Peter 3:8

We must accept that we might have to wait longer than we had hoped.  And, we also have to accept that our version of "justice" might be wrong - what we think is just might actually be sin.  We have to be open to repentance when necessary.  But when we walk in His plan, then justice will happen without a shadow of a doubt.


Remember - 
God will give justice and quickly!!


Previous PARABLE posts:
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "The True Vine & the Father Gardener"
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "Be a Fruitful Branch Instead of a Withering Branch"
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "Producing Joyful Fruit - God's Love Remains Forever"
PARABLE OF THE VINE - "Everlasting Fruit & Everlasting Friends"
The Prodigal Son PARABLE - The Son Who Ran Away
The Prodigal Son PARABLE - The Son Who Stayed Home
PARABLE of The Good Samaritan - Love God First

PARABLE of the Good Samaritan - Love Others
PARABLE of the Sower - Along the Pathway

PARABLE of the Sower - On Rocky Places
PARABLE of the Sower - Seeds Among Thorns
PARABLE of the Sower - Sown on Good Soil



Over the Moon Linky Party

_____________________________________________________________________


Take Up The THANKFULNESS Challenge!
I challenge you to thank God for something everyday for one year!  Either write it down in a diary OR share with us on a blog.  If you have a blog & would like to share your THANKFULNESS posts with us, then please fill out this form: 365 Days of Being THANKFUL form - click HERE and you will be added to the THANKFULNESS page.

THANKFULNESS Challenge
</

Friday, January 29, 2021

A Decade of Blogging - CHOCOLATE

DecadeChocolate

A Decade of Blogging - CHOCOLATE
Time sure does fly!!  "God's Growing Garden" is 10 years old and I am going to be celebrating this milestone all year long.  There will be different topics each month and I will go through the past decade showcasing a post from each year which will focus on that specific topic.
In this third post of this series we will feature 10 delicious CHOCOLATE recipes. 

Click on each title below to see the entire post - ENJOY!


by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo DSCF8721_zpsqmvbhco5.jpg
CHOCOLATE
Photobucket


Linked to:

___________________________________________________________________

by Angie Ouellette-Tower for https://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo Affiliate_zpsthefxkt5.jpg

Are you in need of Online Counseling?
Professionally Licensed
Spiritually Informed
Readily Accessible

Faithful Counseling

 click logo image above 
or 
click HERE to view Faithful Counseling website
_____________________________________________________________________


Take Up The THANKFULNESS Challenge!
I challenge you to thank God for something everyday for one year!  Either write it down in a diary OR share with us on a blog.  If you have a blog & would like to share your THANKFULNESS posts with us, then please fill out this form: 365 Days of Being THANKFUL form - click HERE and you will be added to the THANKFULNESS page.

THANKFULNESS Challenge

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Tuesdays with a Twist Blog Hop #405

Welcome to Tuesdays with a Twist #405!

Before we get to the blog hop today - checkout this post:
Orange Hot Chocolate With Cocoa Cream
Orange Hot Chocolate by Angie Ouellette-Tower for godsgrowinggarden.com photo 011_zps41d38535.jpg

Start planning next year's Victory Garden!  There are many wonderful seeds available at Mary's Heirloom Seeds (click picture below):


_____________________________________________________________
Checkout the many great giveaways going on right now!
Click the button below to enter each Giveaway!!:
God’s Growing Garden Giveaways
_____________________________________________________________
Good Morning and Welcome to another No Rules Party!


TWTbasic


TWTpictures
We're your hosts & co-hosts 

Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
Angie @ God's Growing Garden
Checkout my amazing "Featured" Pinterest Board

(click HERE to view & follow)
Features!
Each co-host will be sharing her own picks for Features. This gives everyone a better chance of being featured. Be sure to check all of our blogs to see if you were featured! 
photo TWTmyFeature_zpsfu2tics4.jpg
My Features this Week are:
There were so many amazing posts that I couldn't pick only 3! - One extra fantastic post this week!

1. "What Is God Really Promising Here?" by Living Our Days
2. "Inspiring Ideas To Use Crochet Flowers" by The Little Treasures
3. "Chocolate Covered Cherriesby Mom, The Lunch Lady


If you've been featured we'd love for you to grab a button.

TWTfeatured



The party starts every Tuesday at 7am EST and will continue until Saturday at 11:59pm.  Feel free to stop back any time and "like" your favorites.  Please visit other blogs if you have a moment. 

Share older posts as well as new ones.  No limit on links!

*Pictures should be your own* 

By linking up you give us permission to use these photos

 (with proper link backs) in our features.   And now for the party!





Photobucket


_________________________________________
Grow your own!
Many wonderful garden products from

 "Mary's Heirloom Seeds"!!
click to view


Monday, January 25, 2021

You're the STAR - Week#4 HOME (January 2021)

After saying last week that we had an easy winter - tonight we are supposed to get a significant snow storm - haha.
Thank you again for joining us!
There are many ways to follow me:
blog  |  facebook  |  pinterest  |  twitter  |  bloglovin  |  instagram

___________________________________________________________________

Before we continue onto the Linky party I wanted to share from my blog:
by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo DSCF8605_zps1n6vrr6l.jpg

by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo YoureTheStarHopLarge_zpsjbrldhcx.jpg

WELCOME to the January 2021 "You're the Star" Blog Hop!
________________________________________

WELCOME to HOME feature week of the January 2021 "You're the STAR" blog hop!
Meet your HOME week Hosts

YoureTheStarHome 
This week is HOME feature week
Swing by the Home Hosts' Blogs:
Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn
Liberty @ B4 and Afters
This is a month long Linky party featuring YOU!
There will be 4 different features each week and 4 different feature categories.  Just to be clear - this is NOT a themed party - you may link up ANY family-friendly blog posts any day of each month. 
The "theme" occurs in our weekly features:
WEEK#4 HOME - recipes, home décor, antique/DIY &/or travel (this can include anything about your home - even history posts - all while remaining family friendly)


by Angie Ouellette-Tower for godsgrowinggarden.com photo ShopHoppingFeatured_zpsf9fab123.jpg

(All features were chosen from the December 2020 "You're the Star" blog hop)


Thai Turkey Meatballs by Homemade on a Weeknight



If you've been featured then please grab a STAR button below:
by Angie Ouellette-Tower for http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo YourAstarFEATURED_zpspebobflc.jpg

*******************************************************
photo STARhosting_zpsqbwlkopx.jpg
*******************************************************

All Hosts/CoHosts will post this blog hop on every Monday of each week.
Please link up your family friendly blog posts below!
It wouldn't be a linky party with YOU!
(IMPORTANT NOTE: by linking up you understand that you might be featured next month and if so, we will use some of your photos from your post - rest assured - we will always link back to your lovely blog.  We might also share your fantastic posts on social media.  Also, you may link up as many family-friendly posts as you like & YES - other blog hops &/or giveaways are welcome {giveaways and blog hops will NOT be featured though}  Thank You & ENJOY! )







___________________________________________________________________

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Integrity vs Duplicity

SundayJustice1B

Integrity vs Duplicity

It used to be that if a person showed justice then integrity was a necessary characteristic, but now I fear that duplicity is the new norm.

We will begin by defining integrity & duplicity.

Integrity - Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.

Duplicity - Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.

In the verse above we see that integrity is the guiding light to living in a righteous manner.  And eventually, those who are deliberately deceptive will be destroyed in the end.


SundayJustice1C

Living by God's moral ways equals safety, peace, comfort.  In the verse above I think the word "crooked" is the perfect description (crooked/evil personality) for those who live a duplicitous life.  These deceptive people always try to find a back way around to avoid doing what is right but thankfully they will be found out eventually!
The verse below is similar - living in a righteous way is actually protection from a wretched life.  Wickedness will be the downfall of the sinner.


SundayJustice1D


The answer is prayer.  Pray for wisdom and pray that God will guide you to walk on the righteous road.  Pray with confidence!  Like the Scripture passage says below - don't be unstable by doubting prayer.  Just remember that God's answer to your request might be "no".  But rest assured that God will always love you!


SundayJustice1A


Photobucket


Linked to:

_____________________________________________________________________


Take Up The THANKFULNESS Challenge!
I challenge you to thank God for something everyday for one year!  Either write it down in a diary OR share with us on a blog.  If you have a blog & would like to share your THANKFULNESS posts with us, then please fill out this form: 365 Days of Being THANKFUL form - click HERE and you will be added to the THANKFULNESS page.

THANKFULNESS Challenge

Saturday, January 23, 2021

The Science of Life - SLEEP

LIFEsleep

The Science of Life - SLEEP

I have never seen so much importance put on "science" until this Pandemic started.  Now don't get me wrong, I think it's great, but it got me thinking about why "science" is almost ignored when it comes to fetal development and the topic of abortion.

Today is the third post in a series where we study the science of life.  The first post focused on DNA (click HERE to view that post) and the second focused on the Spine (click HERE to view that post). This series will be free of attacks and politicization.  I am going to detail a single part of gestational development in each post in the absolute basic of scientific terms (basic because that is my scientific level).  Which brings me to my disclaimer and details:

1.  I am NOT a doctor and I am NOT giving medical advice or any advice of any kind.  The information below came from my online research.
2.  I will NOT be publishing any comments.  This is an attack free series.
3.  I will be sharing my opinion from my Christian perspective which will appear below the dotted line.  If you do not wish to read my Christian perspective, then simply do NOT scroll past the dotted line - it's that simple.
4.  Sometimes I will include articles that emphasize or enhance the scientific topic of the post.

We will begin by reviewing the stages of sleep (there are 5):

Stages 1 & 2 - these are the lighter stages of sleep.

Stages 3 & 4 - deeper, restful sleep including delta (slow wave) sleep, which decreases as we age

REM - stands for "Rapid Eye Movement" - this stage of sleep is where most of our dreaming occurs (although - dreaming can occur during any sleep).  During this stage, our bodies remain still while our eyes move back and forth (side to side), hence the name.

Babies in the womb spend about 95 percent of their time sleeping.
7th Month  - this is when REM sleep begins.

Circadian Rhythm - is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours

Week#26 - the baby is awake and asleep at specific times of the day.

Interesting studies on fetal sleep

Cick to read more:




-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

LIFEsleep2

In both the Old & New Testaments of the Bible we see how God used dreams to communicate and show his plans for the future.  Just as an example, this past Advent season we studied how God spoke to Joseph through a dream (click HERE to view that entire post).  There are also other people like Abraham, Jacob, Daniel (and many others throughout Scripture) who were shown the way ahead by God through dreams.  This means that God could be speaking to us through dreams as early as 7 months in the womb!!! - Thereby proving that a "fetus" is a separate human - a unique life!!! 

 "In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8

If you have had an abortion in the past and are struggling with that decision today, then please know that God will forgive you!

 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

"All unrighteousness" covers all sins.  Pray to God, confess your sins to Him and He will forgive you!

Linked to:

___________________________________________________________________

by Angie Ouellette-Tower for https://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/ photo Affiliate_zpsthefxkt5.jpg

Are you in need of Online Counseling?
Professionally Licensed
Spiritually Informed
Readily Accessible

Faithful Counseling 

 click logo image above 
or 
click HERE to view Faithful Counseling website
_____________________________________________________________________