Hi, Everyone!
Susie Larson here...

Before I get into my topic, I want to mention that I will be giving away a $10.00 Caribou gift card to one of you in January. Like coffee, smoothies, green tea? Post a time or two this month and share what God is doing in your life! Your name might be drawn for a sweet treat!

For those who are visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.

Many of you know that I've made it no secret that I'm no Martha Stewart. My friends say I don't give myself enough credit, but I say that I am a one-time wonder.

I can plant one kind of flower, maybe two, and it will thrive. I can make one kind of dinner, maybe three, and it will taste fairly good and nobody will get sick afterwards. I can decorate, to a degree, but I don't care about it enough to see my projects through to completion.

I remember a particular year when I was especially busy, and when spring approached, I was even too tired to plant flowers. One of my neighbors gave me the great idea of putting fake, plastic flowers in my hanging baskets outside!

What an idea!

Without further thought, I went to the store, purchased some bright, plastic flowers, and stuffed them into my hanging pots. Beautiful!

Beautiful that is, until the first spring showers. Rain is good for real flowers, but not so good for fake ones.

Though I thought I had saved time by not buying and planting real flowers, I really gained nothing. I spent time and money on a counterfeit and that's what I got.

Jesus calls Himself the Vine and He calls us the branches. We are to abide in Him and bear much fruit. He strongly stated, "Apart from Me, you-can-do-nothing."

When we strive on our own, we disconnect ourselves from the life-sap required to do His will.
When we get ahead of God, our branches thin out, our leaves wither, and our fruit ends up under-developed, and that's our fault.
When we take shortcuts because we're tired of waiting through the process, we plant fake flowers, and when the rain - that's meant to nourish - falls on us, our work is easily uprooted.

Our job is to stay connected to the Vine. Our job is to be the branch. Our job is to abide so closely with the Lord, that fruit super-naturally grows in every area of our lives.

Read on...