Ephesians 2:4 – But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (NLT)

Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (NIV)

For the last two years, I've been the one to do the gardening. My husband had always done it in the past, but, because of work demands, he gave it over to me. Although I'm not nearly as good a gardener as he is, I'm learning a lot about God there.

God is the gardener in our lives. He tills the ground, gives us the circumstances, the questions, and the conditions that cause us to query our reason for being, even before we are saved. Into that struggle, that soft-tilled earth, He puts people to pray for us, talk with us, and plant seeds of hope that there is a better way. We do have a reason for being. We are warmed by the Son and rained on by living water.

But He's not done yet. He watches over His little seedlings, weeding close to them, gently keeping His hand around them for protection, while He clears the path of weeds. He talks to His little seedlings, and tells them how beautiful they are and how much He delights in them.

As His garden grows, He continues to weed and thin and prune. Sometimes the pruning and thinning hurt, no matter how gently and lovingly He does it. But it's all done with one goal in mind: He wants each of us to have a bountiful harvest, bearing all kinds of good fruit.

All of us are God's gardens. He loves working in each one of us. What good fruit will He produce in us? The time is yet to come when God will harvest the riches that He has cultivated and produced. Then we will stand amazed at what He has accomplished and marvel at what He has so lovingly done in us.

Prayer: Oh, Father God, help us to welcome Your weeding and pruning in our lives, knowing that You love us and desire only the best for us. Help us to produce good fruit. Thank You, Father. Amen.

As a result of the events that have taken place in the world over the last six weeks, I have been thinking quite a bit about leadership. What makes a leader? What draws us to a leader?

In this country, we seem to elect leaders based on everything from good looks, financial status and influence, to how well they express themselves or whether their political values are similar to ours. We continue to vote for them and stand by them until they do something we disagree with. Then we vote them out, and repeat the process with a new leader, who often changes things implemented by the former leader. The focus is on the needs of the majority, and sometimes individuals get lost in the cracks.

In other countries, leaders are not always chosen. They may gain their leadership through birthright or even force. They often retain leadership until either they are succeeded by the next generation or a stronger power overthrows them. They control their followers' lives in every way. Their focus is on their own achievements and on drawing power to themselves. While both forms of leadership are acceptable in the eyes of the world, each falls very short of what our eternal leader has in mind for us.

Jesus' leadership was unique. He led through servanthood. Many wanted Him to raise up an army to defeat the Romans. The Pharisees hated Him because He believed in helping and healing people's lives rather than conforming to a restrictive set of man-made rules. But He never tried to draw attention or glory to Himself. In fact, He was always drawing attention to His Father; He reminded people that His Father was greater than He was. He focused on the needs of individuals, and kindled hope in the hearts of people. Jesus didn't seek to gain power, but became more powerful because of His incredible, selfless expression of love and service to people. People followed Him and were drawn to His genuine love, which draws us even today.

This is the kind of leadership our hurting world needs more than ever before. We each need to develop a servant's heart. There are so many hurting people to love. Let's follow Jesus' lead. Let us do things that deliberately draw attention away from ourselves and on to our heavenly Father. Let us love the unlovable; trying to view each person we meet as a gift of God — someone God wants us to lead home through our communications and actions. Let's be like Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, You are our great leader. Help each of us to develop a servant's heart, so that others may see You in us and want to follow You. Help us to be focused on You in all we do, and not on what we do for You. Thank You for leading us by example and for being with us every step of the way. In Jesus' name. Amen.

One morning as I was making school lunches, preparing breakfast and sorting out clothes for the kids, I was feeling a little unappreciated. Here I was, working hard making everyone's morning run smoothly — and no one even seemed to be conscious of what I was doing.

I started thinking about how God, as our parent, does the same for us. How often do I behave the same way toward Him as my kids were behaving towards me, and instead of recognizing His loving care, take Him for granted? He gives the sun in the morning to light our day, the birds to sing, the trees for shade, a variety of weather, plants and animals — countless little gifts to remind us of His love, new every day. And then there are all the personal blessings He showers us with.

How often do we truly pause in our busyness and appreciate God for what He does just in the course of one day? We have such a loving Father. Let's take time daily to praise and appreciate Him — and never take Him for granted.

Prayer: Our loving heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us. Help us to always recognize You in all things, even the little things we don't always see or take for granted. Thank You for Your many blessings. Thank You for Your amazing love. In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.