-first things first… I LOVE these passages. Okay… moving on..Matthew 13:1-9

After reading that, what do you think you could learn from a farmer- the ones that work the land- about pursing life? Ever heard that saying the grass is greener on the otherside.. and that older person said No baby, the grass is green where you water it. You need the right soil, in the right place, with the right amount of attention…. 
The rest of the story. Matthew 13:18-23
Jesus actually clarified what His parable was about here. That was nice, right? But why? Evaluation and application. Evaluating our own soil and the necessary changes we need to make for growth. 
This story is also written in two other gospels. I’d assume, then, that it’s important right? Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15 for those following with a bible.
I can’t relate to soil, but most all of us can relate to a failed diet right? You start exercising and two days later when you haven’t lost six pounds you’re mad. Nothing happens at first but just soreness. Like even my feelings hurt kind of sore. And you kind of want to just quit- run back to the couch and Netflix series cause that couch never made you feel that way. It also never took you anywhere. This is the second kind of soil. Just to give up when it hurts, but that’s not what we’re learning. Get to the right soil. We. Have. Got. To. Stop. Stopping.
I can’t stress the importance of time with God in our lives enough. I KNOW it’s busy. But remember what you joined this for… it’s a pruning process. In a few months, no not instantly, your seed you’ve planted in good soil has started to grow.. This is where it gets hard for people. This is where it got hard for me. Some of you girls have just known me through my “new self” so it’s hard for y’all to grasp the changes my new seed snatched out, but some of you… know who I was. My mom is so funny, y’all. She’s like it’s just crazy because I know you, I’ve known you your whole life so to see you like this is just crazy. And. It. Is. I’ll say I have always had an honest heart. Sometimes too honest. (If that’s a thing) If you asked, expect an answer and don’t whine when it wasn’t what you wanted. I was selfish. I was bitter. I held grudges. Katie took care of Katie first and she didn’t need a soul. Y’all independence isn’t cute. Bad attitudes with brutal honest opinions- also not cute. This is not a world of girl power- be dependent. God power. Yes, I just took it there. The point is… the pruning. Good things in your life, and more in your heart, will start to grow. JESUS DOES NOT GROW WITH WORLD. You CANNOT have both. Can’t. Read it again. Can’t. This isn’t a have your cake and eat it too kind of thing. You don’t get to choose the pieces of Jesus you want and put the others in a closet. It don’t work like that, girls. Keep the gossip and get some grace too. Sorry friends. It is absolutely necessary to start weeding out some of those bad things, like I mentioned above, to make room for the new. Have to. And some flowers grow with thorns. Pulling them out will hurt. I had to pull so much out of my heart y’all. I bled I picked so much. That is the objective though y’all. Bleed, hurt, cry… but persevere… because that’s what brings our character. 
Now.. the seed. What kind of seed. Some people’s Jesus seed looks huge, doesn’t it? Like gah, that girl is Christian, Christian. I want to be there… stop comparing. The beauty in gardens is no two beds look exactly the same… but they all started the same. They all started with a small seed. Yes I know some people, hand raised, buy all ready sprouted flowers that you put in the ground and they’re automatically pretty- pretend that shortcut doesn’t exist, k? K. As the seed goes into the ground, its covered with darkness and dirt. Don’t look for the light through dark holes in the soil. You will give up before you get started. Dig deeper, sit still and feel the light. When your laying in the sun and you can feel it just radiating over your skin- you close your eyes and you’re not worried about not getting your tan because you still feel it. You know it’s there without seeing it. THAT is how Gods presence needs to be in our lives. Farming faith requires patience. Allow the seasons of dirt to pass. Every day water that darkness. Faithfully. Without uncertainty because you know eventually something is coming out of the cold dirt watered with a warm heart. When it comes to perservence, I think it’s a matter of heart. It’s not the body that wants to quit, it’s the mind. 
But we can’t quit.


“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, BUT NOT DESTROYED” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9
Sometimes dirt is cold, it’s always dark, and sometimes it’s stepped all over… but it’s never destroyed. If we place our faith in the right place, with God and not with ourselves,  we will go through periods of unfairness, of difficulty, of darkness. Our dirt may get walked on, the petals on our flowers picked at… but no matter what we will never be abdondoned and we will never be destroyed. 
Tears, right? They can’t win, y’all. Whatever your “they” or “it” is… it’s not going to beat you. Even when it feels like it, it’s not. It can’t. You built your flower in the soil of all-surpassing power. No person, no thing, no storm will ever crush that kind of power. We will all reap what we harvest… it’s just up to you what you sow. 


I love y’all! 
Katie