Sowing

 

 

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!

"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

 

 

Sower

TISSOT, James Jacques Joseph

Between 1886 and 1894

Brooklyn Museum

New York, NY

United States

 

  "...when his (Tissot) carefully researched collection of 350 watercolors depicting the life of Jesus was first published as a book in 1896, it found a large and enthusiastic audience. No one who had followed his previous career could have anticipated that this painter of urban life in Paris and London would undertake the project of painting virtually every event in the Gospels.

The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ project took nearly ten years to complete. When it was done, it chronicled the entire life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament in a series of 350 watercolors. To research the project Tissot traveled to Egypt, Syria, and Palestine in 1886–87, and again in 1890.

While in the Holy Land he closely observed the landscape, the vegetation, the architecture, and the manner of dress, and filled sketchbooks with what he saw. He talked with rabbis and studied Talmudic literature as well as theological and historical volumes. He believed that there was still a remaining “aura” in the places where the Gospel events took place, and he spoke of having mystical experiences that added to his careful research. What he wanted to create was something as close as possible to an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus." [from Terry Glaspey's "75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know"]

 

http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib-fulldisplay.pl?SID=20200711799812323&code=act&RC=55004&Row=18

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap

but by the seeds that you plant.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

 

 

 

It is not always granted to the sower to live to see the harvest.

All work that is worth anything is done in faith.

~ Albert Schweitzer

 

 

 

 

An Evening Picnic

(It was too hot on my patio to have it at noon.)

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Sharron Leonard STILL became chilled.

 

Rebecca Martin

 

A Garden Party

with CV (Carolyn) Martyn

Saturday, July 11, 2020

CV has plenty of shade.

(Clockwise, starting from the bottom) 

Jackie McFarland, Linda Bradford, Jill McFarland, Nancy Priest, CV Martyn

 

Such a delicious garden!!!

A feast in every way.

 

Oh, YUM!!!

 

 

Gary and CV Martyn are not only avid gardeners,

they are also amazing chefs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org

 

 

Happy 121st Birthday, Mother Alexander!

July 13, 1899 ~ March 26, 1999

 

 

 

 

Genesis 25:19-34 with Psalm 119:105-112 or
Isaiah 55:10-13 with Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

 

 

Genesis 25:19-34

These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is to be this way, why do I live?" So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,
   "Two nations are in your womb,
      and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
      one shall be stronger than the other,
      the elder shall serve the younger."
When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterwards his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!" (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright." Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

with

Psalm 119:105-112

Your word is a lamp 
   to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath
   and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.

I am severely afflicted;
   give me life, O God,
according to your word.

Accept my offerings 
   of praise, O God,
and teach me 
   your ordinances.
I hold my life 
   in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare 
   for me,
but I do not stray 
   from your precepts.
Your decrees are my heritage 
   forever;
they are the joy 
   of my heart.
I incline my heart
   to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.

or

Isaiah 55:10-13

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
   and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out in joy,
   and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
   instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
   for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

with

Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13

Praise is due to you,
   O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows 
   be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
   To you all flesh shall come.

When deeds of iniquity
   overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.

Happy are those whom you choose
   and bring near to live 
in your courts.

We shall be satisfied
   with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.

By awesome deeds you answer us
   with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope 
   of all the ends
of the earth
   and of the farthest seas.

By your strength
   you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.

You silence the roaring
   of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
   the tumult of the peoples.

Those who live at earth's
   farthest bounds
are awed by your signs;
   you make the gateways
of the morning
   and the evening shout 
for joy.

You visit the earth 
   and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full 
   of water;
you provide the people
   with grain,
for so you have prepared it.

You water its furrows abundantly,
   settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
   and blessing its growth.

You crown the year
   with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow
   with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness
   overflow,
the hills gird themselves
   with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves
   with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves
   with grain,
they shout and sing together
   for joy.

Romans 8:1-11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law — indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!

"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."