Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Wow it has been three weeks since we started our “A call to Sow.” Grab your favorite drink and journal as we peek into our “soul garden” and see how it’s growing. Let’s get started.
Have you heard the expression “Digging in the dirt makes one feel closer to God?” I know for the most part when I’m out digging, I find myself absorbed in all that He has created. It’s a great way to spend my quiet time, cultivating what I love...spending time with God.
Luke 8:11 tells us: “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” When we begin to dig into God’s word, there is no doubt that there will be an increase and immeasurable amount of growth of our faith and our strength in Him and His peace in us. His word produces life....just like a seed.
Jesus taught the parable of the soils to His disciples in Mark 4. Christ said spiritual fruitfulness or barrenness depended upon the type of soil that received the seed of God's Word. He warned of the choking influence of thorns… pesky, prickly weeds that squeeze the life out of fruit-producing seedlings. The weeds Jesus warned of are the worries of the world, the anxieties of this age. Worry or anxiety means "to be drawn in different directions," or, "to be distracted.” What’s worrisome is that these weeds have the inherent potential for multiplying ... and way too quick!
When weeds are left unattended, they can cut the harvest by as much as 40 to 60 percent. As I consider the consequences in my life of the "harvest hinderers," I know that I need to get serious about pulling, poisoning and plowing under those destructive weeds. Letting just one weed grow freely in your life could result in crop failure; removing them is essential to a healthy, productive, bountiful harvest.
The potential for weeds for me is my busyness. A full schedule of doing good can crowd out the best of my intentions and I soon find the seed that He has planted in me becomes “weed crowded.” I catch myself rummaging through the pages of God’s Word and circumventing or skirting through my prayer time. And I justify my actions by saying…” see, God, how busy I am for the Kingdom?”
I can also be distracted by urgent things, but what’s more urgent than feeding on His Word? See, doing all the right things doesn’t always qualify for a bountiful harvest, even if our intentions are good. If we don’t pick up and rightly utilize the tools He has given us, be prepared for some deficiencies. 
As we grow closer to Him He can spotlight areas of the weed root that has mixed itself in with the seed of life: for example, it can be bitterness...un-forgiveness...jealousy…lack of faith, or even doubt.
When we find ourselves not producing as we should, that’s when we need to take inventory: Are we reading God’s Word …daily? Are we spending time in prayer?
Friend, what distracts you? What pulls you in a direction you know is unfruitful? What seems to be inhibiting the growth of your spiritual walk?
Time spent in His presence…springs forth His power in us….which roots us in Him!
We must keep a watchful eye on our “soul garden.” We must be careful how we pluck out the weed not to disturb the seed that has been properly planted. This week make a check list; ask Him to help you weed out your pesky, prickly weeds so you can continue to produce a bountiful “soul garden!”
…rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:7
Thanks for stopping by “Faith filled Friday’s.
Love,

 Debbie