The Garden of your Heart

One of the endeavours of CareSA is the Care Africa project, which includes the concept of Care Gardens, with the catch phrase “Plant a garden in your yard, Plant a garden in your heart.”

Today I thought to recapture the vision but with an emphasis on the garden of Your Heart.

Just to encourage you to tend to your garden with these few simple, yet profound truths on how to grow the splendour of your soul.  The clever play on words are not all my own, I found them lying anonymously in my box of collectables begging to be shared for a chuckle or two.

Cultivate the Fruit of the Spirit:

Love, Joy, Peace,
Faithfulness, Goodness, Kindness,
Gentleness, Longsuffering and Self Control.
Share generously with all you meet this year.

Plant a good few rows of Peas:

Ppatience, Ppoliteness, Ppreparedness, Ppromptness,  Ppersistence, Ppunctuality, and Peperseverance.

Plant four rows of Squash:

Squash gossip
Squash grumbling
Squash indifference
Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of Lettuce:

Let us be faithful,
Let us be kind,
Let us be obedient
Let us really love one another

No garden  without Turnips:

* Turn up for meetings
* Turn up for service
* Turn up to help one another.

We must have Thyme in our gardens:

Time for Work
Time for Play
Time for Laughter
Time for God
Time to Pray.

Weed out all toxic thoughts immediately !
Regularly sprinkle on the Fertilizer of Forgiveness.
Water well, and often, with the Word of God.
Do these simple soul deeds, and watch  the Garden of Your Heart  grow !!

With a little Faith Hope and Love, you can
 Pick the fruit of your labour.
Want to join the Care Africa project ?… then

Plant a Garden in your Yard.  Plant a Garden in your Heart.

And send me a photo of the Garden in your yard…. for my upcoming Care Gallery.

Some Ideas for the Gardens of your Yard.

Wishing  you all a bouquet of fresh vegetables in 2017

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good,  Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.   Psalm 34:8

 HAPPY GARDENING     

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LOOKING FOR … KINDNESS

 

Philosophically speaking : I was reminded today of what progress means.
It is  Think, Expect and Do – or conception, pregnancy, birth.   In other words  the seed, the gestation and then the manifestation. This hopefully followed by growth –  which can take on its own directions and distractions. And in between each phase there is time, and plenty of it, and that only because of the grace of God.
This may well be the pathway of development and progress, which can be applied to many levels of life, not only social development or the faith life.   What is required is Patience.
But that is not what I am looking for today.  I am putting out onto the Blogosphere the challenge for Kindness through:  The Kids of Africa Campaign.

However, console yourself and keep this formula in mind when you consider your unfulfilled dreams, unfinished tasks, or purely if you are a procrastinator of note,  take heart you now may have the excuse, the pattern, or  even the reason for the delay !

I have said all that to say this….these are the thoughts I was entertaining for not forging ahead with my writing project on The Fruit Basket.  A random writing series of “LOOKING FOR  ….” the virtues of the good life found in Galatians 5:22.    So today I resume my search, but with an edge of practicality, and being an unashamed opportunist, want to include it in the challenge  of the Kids of Africa  Campaign,  with the hope that it will unleash a flood of  kindness to and from all kinds of communities.
Here is the challenge – creating caring communities through kindness and crafting.

     THE  KIDS  OF  AFRICA  CAMPAIGN
Africa is a rich continent, not only in minerals, but in humanity too.   To draw on this wealth we need to mine, not only the gold and silver, but also the huge deposits of goodness and kindness lying within our own hearts.
Join this simple campaign for Kindness by knitting a beanie or two…or three, for the Kids of Africa.

The intention is to create caring communities through Crafting – whether it be knitting or crocheting.  Communities, especially the Women, the Young ones, the Amazing Gogos (Grandmothers) and all those in between, crafting for the Kids and teaching Kids to craft for the Elderly and Disabled in their communities  –   perhaps even grow veggie gardens too, to blend in with the Care Africa movement project.
Begin by knitting beanies, preferably in red,  but any colour will do, and then distributing them in  your own local community.
If you want, you may send a photo of yourself and your community to this email
clyle.sa@gmail.com   –   and it will be posted on the  Blog just to show that Africa cares.
This is an initiative against poverty, a campaign for kindness, and for communities to progress.

BEANIE  PATTERN 
With Double Knitting wool, and size 4 mm or 4.5mm knitting needles
Cast on 90  stitches for the Kids beanie.
First Row Rib :  Kl, P2,  to end of row
Second Row   :   P2, K1,  to end of row
Change to no.  4.5mm or 5 mm knitting needle and
Continue until work measures 24 centimeters.

Shape Top of Beanie
Next Row  :  P1  (K1,  P2 together)  –  repeat to end.
Next Row  :  Purl.
Next Row  :  K 2 together to end.
Next Row  :  Purl to end
Next Row  :  K2 together to end.
Next Row  :  Purl two together to end.
Leave a length, and break yarn.
Thread twice through remaining stitches.
Draw up tightly and fasten off.
Stitch back seam neatly together.

Adult size Beanie :   Cast on 100 stitches
Rib until work measures 30 cms.
Continue to shape top.

Enjoy creating … and teach others to be kind through crafting. 
Blessed are those who consider the poor.   Psalm 41:1

                                                                         Happy  crafting !