Beulah Acres …and the Lord God planted a garden.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this post is priceless!

I would much rather garden than try to understand the intricacies of my computer.  Honestly, I just want things to work the way they are supposed to, whether it’s a computer or a coffee pot.  Unfortunately, there are times when the wondrous world of technology breaks down and we have to either fix it or call the geek squad.  Calling the geek squad is fine when one has the time to wait for their arrival.  This week, well into late spring planting season, waiting for the geeks wasn’t an option. I just started replacing batteries in wireless devices, shutting down and restarting the computer, and talking sternly to the monitor.  When none of those actions produced the desired result, I went to Best Buy and bought a new mouse.  Finally, after overcoming my urge to throw something, my computer is back in proper working order so I can write a new post!

The weather has been perfect this week for planting in the Twelve Tribes Garden.  Several faithful gardeners have labored with me the past three days, weeding, preparing new bedding areas, and planting.  We have planted fig, pomegranate, and desert willow trees; dwarf wax myrtle, Indian hawthorn, and cleyera shrubs, and a variety of perennials and annuals.  The bridge between Ephraim and Asher is complete.  The pathway from the Threshing Floor is well underway.  The arbors in Reuben and over the Threshing Floor were started today.  And new areas of the garden are being defined every day.  Throughout the workday, visitors come to the garden to walk, to pray, and to fellowship.  The presence of the Lord and the love of His people in this place are a delight to experience.

After I came home this evening and cleaned up from a day of playing in the dirt, Chuck and I returned to the garden.  That’s when I took these pictures.  Enjoy the tour!

When I arrived at the garden this morning, a group of eager gardeners awaited me.  Jesus de la Cruz was already working on the threshing floor, and the community vegetable garden crew had begun filling the raised planters with soil.  After last week’s rain, everyone was eager to get back to work.  As you will see from the pictures, the garden was buzzing with activity–and it wasn’t just the bees!

The threshing floor in Ephraim is a work of art that will be a focal point and reminder of God’s provision, both physically and spiritually.  Even now I can imagine the arbor draped with a chuppah in preparation for a wedding.  Ephraim is connected to the seventh month–Tishrei–on the Hebrew calendar.  Tishrei is the time of year when harvest is complete and the people experience the fullness of God’s blessings.  The youngest of Joseph’s two sons born in Egypt, Ephraim received the firstborn’s blessing even though he was younger than his brother Manasseh.  Jacob said of Manasseh, “He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”  Ephraim’s portion of our garden will reflect the fruitfulness and prosperity of his father, Joseph, through the plants and the threshing floor.  As the Word says in Genesis 49:22, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.”

Here is a sample of the activity today in the garden.  Enjoy!

This first week in May has been a time of planning and preparation in the Twelve Tribes of Israel Prayer Garden.  The welcome rain gave all the garden crew an opportunity to rest their planting muscles before starting on the next phase.  This has been a week for walking through the garden, getting a feel for the rest of the tribes, marking new pathways and bedding areas, and making choices about permanent features in the landscape.  In the days and weeks ahead, several things will change in the garden:

• A threshing floor arbor will be built in the tribe of Ephraim
• A bridge will be built connecting Asher to the rest of the garden
• Stone steps and a retaining wall will be installed in the tribe of Reuben
• A water feature will be added to the tribe of Manasseh
• And so much more!

And, of course, there will be lots of new trees, shrubs, and flowers planted throughout the garden!

Even now, with just a fraction of the garden completed, the Spirit of the Father is so strong!  Of course, from the very beginning of this adventure, God’s people have walked and prayed over and through every part of this place.  It is truly a sanctified piece of earth, and I am blessed to be a part of it.  I can’t begin to express my thanksgiving to all those who have sowed into this garden with time, money, plants and prayers.  And even if you can’t be here to experience the garden in person, I will continue to post pictures so you can enjoy what God is doing in Corinth, Texas.

Shabbat Shalom.

Living in Texas, where drought is often a reality, we rejoice when God hears and answers our prayers for rain!  In the last forty-eight hours, we have been blessed with an abundance of spring rain and unseasonably cool temperatures.  Today, my outdoor thermometer never registered above fifty-five degrees while the rain fell steadily most of the day.  The next three days promise to be mild and sunny.  Even so, the ground will be too wet for in-ground gardening for several days.  During this gardening break, we will be planning the next phase in the Twelve Tribes Garden, building raised beds in the one-acre vegetable garden, and tending to the compost pile.  By the end of the week, I hope to have a nice, newsy post for you all!