Fertilizer

I have posted a couple of times now about a landscaping project that we began a month or so ago in our front yard (post 1 here, post 2 here).

This past weekend, my son Robbie and I were outside and we noticed that there were a ton of weeds in the area that we are growing new grass (see above picture) so we began to remove them. While doing this, Robbie asked me why there were all these weeds here and not in the rest of our lawn.

Great question I thought. I went on to explain that we put down a special fertilizer in the spring which helps to prevent weed seeds from germinating and that I made sure not to get that fertilizer on our new soil, otherwise, in addition to not having weeds we wouldn't have much grass either.

Then I had the opportunity to point out to him about how this is like our life. Without missing a beat he said, "I sense another devotional coming." He was right of course.

I shared with Robbie that our lives can get infested with "weeds" if we don't apply the proper fertilizer...
* Reading the Bible regularly
* Talking with God regularly
* Hanging out with other Christ-followers to hold us accountable
* Keeping a thankful heart

So remember to fertilize.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Growth

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a 5 ton pile of dirt that I had dumped on my driveway. the reason I did this was to re-landscape an area in my front yard. The area above is the almost finished project. The only thing left is for the grass to fill-in completely.

When I planted the grass, I did everything I was told to do with it. I spread the seed. I fertilized. I raked it in lightly. I watered it several times per day (and it has rained like crazy this month!). Yet, after ten days, I saw nothing, not even a little sprout of green anywhere.

So, I called the place where I purchased the seed. I was told to give it a couple more days as the ground has been cooler than normal (I guess because of global warming--lol). So when I got home that evening, I looked again, and grass was coming up--yea!

Each day I look out there to check its progress. Most days it just seems like there is no change. But over the course of a week, the change is pretty drastic.

Much like the spiritual growth path we all are on. There are some days when it just seems like nothing is happening, or it seems like we are moving backward! But, if we continue to seek after God, over the course of time He is fertilizing and watering and before we know it, we are much further than we ever thought possible.

Bumpers

Last Wednesday through Friday my wife and I attended the Call2All Congress in Dayton, Ohio. It was amazing!

One of the speakers in the business track talked about the importance of having "bumpers" in our life. He said that a bumper is like a bumper used in a bowling alley for kids to keep their ball out of the gutter.

In life, a "bumper" is someone you have given permission to to speak Truth into your life and to hold you accountable. It could be that you need to be bumped because of your eating habits, your lack of exercise, your looking lustfully at members of the opposite sex or spending quiet time with God.

This was a great analogy and I also believe we all should have bumpers in our life. This is tough, though, because having bumpers in your life will force you to change and to grow. Change and growth many times is painful. We might have to give up something that we really like. But, this is the path to true growth and fulfillment in life.

I feel so blessed to have a number of bumpers in my life. These are other men who pray for me, encourage me and speak the brutal truth to me. I had breakfast with one this morning and I have breakfast with another tomorrow.

Do you have bumpers? If not, I challenge you to seek them out and ask them to breakfast or lunch.