Helen Oppenheimer's Journey To American: I Can Only Imagine

We have all heard "stories" of how Ferdinand Weyland met Helen on the boat as she was immigrating to America and Ferd was returning to the U.S. after a year of studying Semetic languages in Germany. And then getting married some 3 years later right after Ferd was ordained as a Lutheran pastor.

What does it mean to "Bloom Wlhere You Are Planted?

  Read a good book recently, Night Light by Terri Blackstock.

●A short quote: "I realized, as all that was  happening before my eyes, that this was what I wanted to convey in this series. That each of us is put in place for a particular time in particular circumstances and prepared in a particular way, not knowing what God will need us for. Some of us have experienced tragedies and crises with no answers from God about why he would drag us through such pain, only  to find that it qualified us uniquely to do some mighty work of God when the time of someone elses's crisis came. And that's how the body of Christ works."

 Some reflections on my early life when my family grew about 2 acres of field grown pansies.

   ●Pansies are Bi Annuals, meaning they go through the winter and come back to life the next spring. We also go through some trying times..sooner or later. 

 

The beautiful field of flowering  pansies in the fall and then again in the spring were ready to be dug up and then were transplanted in other people's gardens. God sometimes transplants us also...due to changing life situations...marriage, career, death and other events. 

 
 ●But WHY should we Bloom Where We Are Planted?

 
 ● As a believer in Jesus Christ and desiring to be a good steward and a faithful "follower" of Jesus on our way to glory...we can be a light for others to see the Truth.

 ●At the end of our lives, I would like to say or have said, "I  have fought the good fight, I  have fnished the course, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim. 4:7)

 ●"The Lord created each of us individually with different Spiritual Gifts, Passions, Abilities, strengths and a unique personality with different experiences.  Helping each other put the pieces of the seeming puzzle together so we each can be most effective in our families, church, community and the world and finish our lives well and leave a legacy that gives glory to the LORD so when we stand before Him one day, we will hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

 ●Isn't that what we would like to hear one day?

 ●"God has created each of us with a unique contribution to make in our world and our times. No other person has our same abilities, motivations, network of friends and relationships, perspectives, ideas, or experiences. When we, like misplaced puzzle pieces, fail to show up, the overall picture is diminished."   Richard Stearns: President of World Vision U.S.
Quote from his book: The Hole in our Gospel 


 ●  We are Jesus's hands and feet in the world. 

 
 ● "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

  ● As I was looking back at the pictures of the pansies...and thinking about the phrase.."Bloom where you are planted"...I was thinking of all the steps that went into producing these beautiful flowers...and how our lives are like that.

 

●Was  looking for some spiritual  principles or analogies. 

  

●As there are different varieties and colors of pansies, so too is the human race.

 

●Some varieties of pansies only had a few flowers on the plant and other varieties had a mass of flowers..it made me think of how we can go through life with only a few other close friends and we can also have many more friends to encourage us. 

 

● The pansies were seeded for a purpose...to bring joy to the people who bought them.  Just like our father "plants" us for a purpose...

 

 

 

●  Pansies are Bi Annuals, meaning they go through the winter and come back to life the next spring. We also go through some trying times..sooner or later. 

 

●The beautiful field of flowering  pansies in the fall and then again in the spring were ready to be dug up and then were transplanted in other people's gardens. God sometimes transplants us also...due to changing life situations...marriage, career, death and other events. 

 

●God, the master gardener created each of us unique...plants us here for a short time...for a specific purpose...and cares for us. "Lord, open our eyes and heart".  "Come Holy Spirit, Come, you are welcome here" 

 

●Many other analogies can be drawn. Would love to see your comments!

 

●A few pictures of field grown pansies...from our farm many years ago.

 

●The individual beautiful pansy plants grew well in the field where they were planted for the allotted time they were there. They were seeded in the field for a purpose...The  next year they were individually dug up, put in containers and sold to people who then transplanted them to their gardens to be viewed.

Copied from my Storyworth story!

Thinking more of the “Transplanting” process:
It doesn’t happen instantly, but progress’s over time.
When the pansies were dug, boxed and delivered to the Sentry and Kohl’s warehouses…Took a day’s time. Then they were in the warehouse or on the dock for a day or two. If outside on the dock in the sun for a period of time, stress on the plants. Then they were delivered to the stores, up to 200 miles away in some cases…again over a period of time. Then unloaded at the store. Hopefully, there was someone there to water them and keep them alive and looking good until someone purchased them. The beautiful pansy plants didn’t go instantly from our field into someones garden immediately and keep looking great. A lot of stress. So too with our changing events in our lives, be it a job change, starting college, starting a new business, a new exciting volunteer opportunity or challenging interpersonal relations. Sometimes or even all the time, we don’t realize what others are or may be going through until or unless we also experience a change in our lives. We need personal “self care”. And to continue to “Bloom” where the LORD has planted us, and not fade, die in spirit or become discouraged…until the transplanting process is completed and we continue to grow and “bloom” as we did before the transplanting process started. We need to stay close to the LORD and have friends and family that encourage us. Then when the transplanting process is completed, if it ever is, we will again bloom more beautiful than we did before. Just like the pansies in the field. They were not designed to be grown in a controlled environment free of stress, but to be grown and bloom beautifully in someone’s garden!

Encouraging & challenging people to be “rooted”, “grounded” and “grow” and so bloom” where they are “planted” in their neighborhood, world and career…using their Passion”,” Abilities”,” Gifts”, “Strengths” and prior “Experiences” God has gifted them with and thereby bringing glory and honor to the LORD. 1st Corinthians 10:31

Peace.

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Grates of 5 -2 quart baskets of pansy plants. 6 plants to a quart basket.

We could not supply enough to Sentry Food stores at the time and a neighbor got into the business and packaged the same with lessor quality product and also sold to Sentry. I put labels on our crates so the individual stores could ask for our pansies! 

 Sounds like "Branding" 

 

The Key to Joy!

The Key to Joy: It's all about "Relationships", "Communication" and "Forgiveness"!....

As my good friend Ron says, "It's all about relationships".

 With "social media"...it's about "friends", "connections" and "followers".

If you can't wait to get to the end of this post...It's all about Forgiveness!


Over the course of time, I have added, "Yes, and it's all about Communication."
Communication, Communication, Communication.

All about Relationships: Yes, with Jesus through God our Father...and then relationship with each other.

To develop any relationship, we need to listen and to communicate.

So it's all about Communication, Communication Communication.

With God, we communicate through Prayer.

With each other, we communicate in many ways.

But in any relationship...even with the best of Relationship and Communication, we mess up. It's called sin.

With God we can repent and ask for forgiveness.

So to complete the circle...I have added yes, and it's all about Forgiveness.
Forgiveness, Forgiveness, Forgiveness.

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." -Corrie ten Boom



Just as we can have a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ and with each other...We can communicate our love  and needs to Him and also to other...but in the process we have a tendency to mess up. But again, we can ask God for forgiveness...and as He has made His forgiveness available to us, we then also need to forgive each other.


Alot of times...when there is a lack of joy in our lives and we have forgiven others and ourselves...we might forget to forgive our parents for real or imaginary hurts. Perception is real. 



"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and clearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the LORD forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."  Romans 3:12-14

As Eugene H. Peterson says in The Message: Matthew 6: "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part." 

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." -Corrie ten Boom

  So how can we NOT forgive others?

As we truly experience God's forgiveness and grace, it's then pretty easy to forgive others! Or at least it should be!

So, do we have joy?



If not, might be a good time to examine our relationships with others...our spouse, family members and maybe more important to examine our relationships with our parents...if we still have living parents. 

I also remember a verse from the Bible in Exodus 20:12  "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you."


So don't forget to forgive parents, even if they are long gone! Time is short, eternity is long.  

As Don Wilkerson says, "Never be defined by your past. It's a lesson not a life sentence.”

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you." -Corrie ten Boom

 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Psalm 133:1
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer In Life Together says, "this is the Scriptures' praise of life together under the Word. But now we can rightly interpret the words "in unity" and say, "for brethren to dwell together through Christ."  For Jesus Christ alone is our unity. "He is our peace.
Through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, and fellowship with one another."

A parent's greatest joy is found in this verse: "I have no greater joy than to hear that  my children are walking in the truth." 3 John:4

When we do that...we can truly have JOY!

The Power of Vision and Visioneering

As George Barna says in his book, The Power of Vision: Discover and Apply God’s Plan For Your Life and Ministry, “Our greatest obligation while we are on Earth is to know God more intimately and to bring ever greater glory to His name by our efforts. To assist us in that effort, God wants to share with you His vision for your life and ministry.” 

He goes on to say “Just as the pastor is the leader of a church, you are called to be the leader of your personal ministry and to live that ministry in accordance with God’s expectations and desires for you, as outlined through the vision.” 

He further states, “Aggressively seek to understand what God is calling you to do that distinguishes you from every other believer and that makes you a unique ambassador for Christ.”

He ends his conclusion in his book by stating, “Use your vision as the decision-making filter that determines which opportunities you pursue and which ones you reject.”

Andy Stanley in his book Visioneering:   God’s blueprint For Developing And Maintaining Vision Speaks about Good Ideas Versus God Ideas. He says that “Good ideas are limited to our potential, connections, and resources. If you are simply pursuing a good idea, then you need to devote a great deal of time and energy trying to figure out how to pull it off. 

A divine vision, on the other hand, is limited only by God’s potential and resources. That means anything is possible. If it is just a good idea, you have to make it happen. When god gives you a vision, there’s a sense in which you stand back and watch it happen.”

So if it’s just one of my numerous good ideas…I have to work hard to make it happen…and if it happens, I get the credit.  On the other hand if it’s a real vision from the Lord…I still have to work hard. but if it happens…especially if I don’t have the know-how, etc. to make it happen…then God gets the credit.

Sowing Seeds of Life

A picture is worth a thousand words!

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3:3-6  English Standard Version (ESV)

                                    Sowing Seeds of Life!

  

What's Your S.H.A.P.E ?

The Shape of things to come!

A short video: Living for the Line

What's going to matter after we die!

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Happening close to home!

Local Heros!