Seeds

A year ago my daughter and I began reading the Tyndale 1536 Bible at the same time comparing it word for word to the King James. It took us a year to read it. Much of it was the same but there were differences. And they were significant. The most obvious one was found in the Ten Commandments where the wording for the seventh one in the Tyndale Bible reads," Thou shalt not break wedlock" (Exodus 20:14 [Deuteronomy 5:18, Matthew 5:32, Mark 10:19]). It was the breaking of the marital covenant vow which exists between a man, a woman, and God that is forbidden and counted as sin. This vow is to be until death. (Proverbs 2:16,17; Deuteronomy 23:21,22; Malachi 2:15; Romans 7:3)

All remarriage with the exception of widowhood is adultery (Luke 16:18; Romans 7:1-3). The exception clause given in Matthew 19:9 is not given as permission for remarriage but in our modern church it is used that way. Rather it is given for permission to separate which harmonizes with 1 Corinthians 7:10. The other exception clause given in Matthew 5:22 is for fornication [pre-marital sex].

Divorce was not allowed in the church until 1534ish when King Henry the VIII started the Anglican church which gave him the divorce he wanted.

The American Fly Honeysuckle grows in the woods on our land. In the spring it has non-distinct, yellow-green flowers. In the fall when the foliage of the other shrubs has begun to fade this shrub is colour brilliant. I found a specimen with the seeds still attached and as I drew it I contemplated Luke 8:11, "Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God." Tyndale lost his life through the hands of the church for the Seed and I ask myself- what am I doing with it?


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Comfort

My daughter, who is thirteen drew this warbler and penned these words. "Recently I had been thinking that all (but the Yellow-rumped Warblers that grab flies off the cabin) had gone south. Not so! God always sends surprises waiting out the back door. My mom and I met a tiny warbler in the garden this afternoon. A few minutes later, we spotted it again in an elderberry bush, eating what few ripe berries were left. It was such a tiny, delicate bird with a very olive back, and a faint eye stripe. Protected from above by foliage, and to the side by the low wire fence that the bush had outgrown, she was very relaxed, feeling not afraid, trusting solely in her Creator. We can do the same. That little female Tennessee Warbler was a perfect example for others to feel the same as I do, that no matter what happens, God is in control, and in the long end, all is for our good and the good of other's. Place your trust in God, feel comforted, unafraid, satisfied just like the itty-bitty bird."

Joy

Two years ago I dug up a tiny piece of this pretty roadside flower and took it home leaving plenty of the flower behind. This month I drew it in my journal. The longer I studied it the more I wondered why it couldn't be a particular flower I had wanted to grow but had never seen. I looked in my wildflower guide and realized it was the sought after flower.

God know's how to send each one of us happiness. "For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and JOY." Eccles.2:26 The Jerusalem Artichoke is a native flower of Ontario and it is now growing in my yard scattering happiness like star dust to my daughter and I.

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Thankful

This is my desk in my cabin. I sit here when I draw, paint, design tapestries and often when I'm mending. Creating is a very important part of finding solace in my very long journey in grieving loss.
I am thankful to God for his great blessing in bringing my daughter and I here to this wild space. I feel like I deserve nothing, but God has overwhelmed me with his gifts. And that leads to the second part of my observation and that is no matter how down I feel to remember my blessings. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Psalm 103:2 ESV

Leaves

"and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Rev22:2 I wonder about these miracle leaves. What do they look like? What do they taste like?
When we moved here from PEI I brought along a tiny, native high bush cranberry shrub. What I didn't know at the time was that this shrub grew wild around the forested edge of my yard. What a surprise I had the first spring! The blooms are ornamental, the fall leaves red and the berries delicious. Each fall my daughter and I try to pick them before the grouse and other forest animals consume them. Interestingly this berry doesn't mold. When the berries are picked before fully ripe they continue to ripen when left out of the fridge.
As much as I admire this earthly shrub my heart is drawn to the celestial country where all pain no matter its source will be healed forevermore.
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Survival

On a beautiful spring day my daughter and I saw this green comma in our yard last week. It was the first butterfly of the season. It had overwintered as an adult butterfly. After a cold winter it seems to me a miracle how this little creature survived. I feel encouraged by this butterfly. Since it survived the harsh winter than I too with God's help can survive the harshness of this life. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."Phil. 4:13 kjv 

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In the woods

I was walking with my daughter through the black spruce tree's behind my property. There are no roads in here making it a wild space. I was looking for birds when suddenly large, dark wings dropped down through the tree's and as silently as a feather falls through the air it disappeared ahead. We walked on in breathless anticipation when suddenly I saw the alarmed great gray owl looking uneasily at us with yellow eyes and then it swooped down among the black, inky, green trees and disappeared. I did a victory dance. I had turned 50 and my daughter 13. I was alive, healthy and despite all the heartache, loss and sadness I felt joy. I am thankful to God who sustains not only the owl but me. "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matt 5:45 NIV

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