Great Reading... Great Conversation
June 10th
July 8th
August 12th 7:00pm
"A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket..." -author unknown
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Girls Night Out Summer Series with Liz Curtis Higgs
June 25th, July 30th and August 27th 7:00 p.m. as we enjoy Liz's Bad Girls of the Bible Series. Come for one or all of these insightful, humerous and thought provoking teachings!
At the home of Eve Kramp, 970 Pippin Lane, 610.518.0446.
Girls Night Out
Questions/directions? Call Megan, 610.518.3852
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The Garden Post is designed to share news and information specifically for women, offer spiritual encouragement and insight, and provide resources and connections for wise living.
I welcome the opportunity to connect with you and want to hear from you. Stop by my BLOG periodically or give me a call. Email me any time with a question or suggestion.
I'm thankful for the gifts of friendship and want to share them. Do you think about the unique role you have as a woman in your home, your community? Do you have a question about your faith? About God?
Let's connect today... Louann
Louann Rodgers
lkrodgers@comcast.net
www.RootedToGrow.com
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WAVES 
...an incredible word picture of God's measureless, relentless love.
I sat by the beach this weekend. Dug my toes in
the sand and soaked up the sun. A familiar ritual each spring, after
the long winter, a break in the weather draws me back.
I'm a
beach girl. Summers at the beach were a part of growing up, filled with
piles of sandals, buckets of sea-shells, and foods that mix well with
the salty air. Sitting by the ocean, with the waves rolling in and out,
I feel the pulse of nature's rhythm and expectant regularity. Despite
the season, the patterns of the ocean remain constant. Changing
slightly with the tides, the incessant ebb and flow of the waves, large
or small, is assured.
As I pondered the power of the ocean and the ceaseless waves, I felt peace... Some
of that peace certainly comes from the familiar feelings the beach
always brings me, but most of that peace comes from the reflection of
our God who created this immense ocean and it's indomitable waves. The
awesome God who brings us the rise and setting of the sun, the complex
beauty of changing seasons, and the fresh assurance in each new day.
Awesome creation. Sovereign power. Measureless love. Incredible peace.
Our spring study of Ephesians 3:14-19 reminded us that there will never be a day when God's grace and truth would not be available to us. We
live in the grace of a sovereign God who persistently pursues us. The
God who created the beauty of those persistent waves gave us a word
picture of His assurance. Scientists tell us that because of
the rotation of our earth and the gravity of the moon and the sun - the
ocean's waves will not cease. God's love and peace will never cease.
This
summer you might find your way to a beach, sitting in the sand, looking
out over the ocean. Stop and consider the vast majesty of our
persistent God. His unending grace. His measureless love.
As
the summer days approach, don't let the changing schedules, family
travel or break in your daily routine overlook your time with God.
You just might want to sit in the surf and let those wave wash over you, like the relentless, measureless love of God.
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Spirit to Spirit...hearing God in the midst of life
encouragement by Linda Slavin
If God was going to speak how many of us would listen?
How we would want to hear?
The spirit of man[woman] is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. (Proverbs 20:27). God uses our spirit to enlighten us, to guide and direct us. He speaks to our spirit by an inward witness.
I remember a time of thinking and feeling so empty. Like losing hope, but no matter how I felt or thought my heart would be searching for the only true source of my strength. The only source I knew to be true...
His Word. His voice.
"I do search you Lord in the midst of this..." I would say as I saw myself with my hands lifted up reaching for someone to grab them and help lift me up. "God, I trust you and I know I have a future, plans by you."
And then I heard Him say:
"I know this is a place you may not want to be, a place you want to find yourself, but keep planting, keep building, and keep doing.
Don't stop just because you know it's not your place.
Prosper where you are planted."
Life's situations can bring about the greatest results if you allow God to use them. The real you comes out. When your pretense, your picture of who you want to become comes down, you will find a wonderful person inside. The inner man[woman] of the heart.
"For thou will light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." Psalm 18:28
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Reflections on Measureless Love...
WOW.
This
spring study has been challenging.
I've been challenged in very specific
ways... mostly in how I might limit God. I have wrestled questions in my heart as I prayed and pondered the words of Ephesians 3,
"Rooted and established in love, so you may
have power to grasp how wide and how long and how deep is the love ue to
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." - Ephesians
3:17-19
So many insights from this Scriptures linger on my mind.
Who am I trying to measure up to?Who am I trying to measure up for?Who am I trying to measure God by?
Why do I cling to the measuring tape?
Scripture does that, settles in, takes root, and comes to mind again in a moment when the Holy Spirit draws it back to us, gently bringing wisdom that we so desperately need.
God wants to fill our empty places but we won't let go of the measuring cup. He wants to meet our every need and we worry about everything. Can I toss my measuring cup into the recycling bin?
In the last lecture of this study we were reminded that there will enver be a day when God's grace and truth are not enough for us. Never. Not one day. Power and love. Unlimited grace and truth.
Measureless love.
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"For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."
- Proverbs 2:6
Summer Scriptures ...a Bible Reading Plan just fit for the summer
"Your word is a lamp
to my feet
and a light for my path."
- Psalm 119:105
Your feet will take you many places this summer, most in really fun sandles or comfy walking shoes. Be sure your feet take you to the quiet place, a place where you go daily, for refreshment and joy from our Savior.
Wear out those shoes... the ones that take you to that special place with God, the ones that bring you close to His heart. Wear them in and wear them through this season of change, travel and sunshine. Better yet, kick them off and takes those extra moments, seeking solitude and rest.
There's a reason 'real' shoes feel funny after the summer, our feet are swollen with summer. Take those quiet moments... and put your feet up!
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