The stranger I live with.....

.....is my own heart. Anthony Burgess said, "Men are great strangers to their own hearts." I've been deeply considering this lately as I have been reading a book on Jonathan Edwards (one of my favorites).

Jeremiah 17:9 states it clearly that "the heart is deceitful". So what does a deceitful heart look like and why am I considered a stranger to it? Quoted from the book I'm reading, William Whately says, the heart of man "is the devil's storehouse, an heap of odious lusts; his tongue is a fountain of cursing and bitterness, and rotten communication; his hand is a mischievous instrument of filthiness, deceit, violence; his eyes great thouroughfares of lust, pride, and vanity...In his soul and body there lies the spawn of all wickedness: of atheism, of pride, of unbelief, of hypocrisy, of rebellion, of impatience, of hatred and contempt of God, and of His Word, of indevotion, of profaneness, of ambition, of wrath, of filthiness, of worldliness, of arrogancy, of self-conceitedness, of murders, of whoredoms, of thefts, of perjuries, and whatsoever thing besides, is hateful to God, and contray to His most holy law."

If you can't understand how the heart works then you will never understand your need for a Savior. The reason we are strangers to our own hearts is because we deny the power of sin and the depravity of our soul. Our actions originate in and come from the heart (Matt. 15:18). Consider your heart and the condition it's in that you may no longer be a stranger to it.

*Quotes taken from Knowing the Heart: Jonathan Edwards on True and False Conversion edited by William C. Nichols

New to blogging.....

Yes, I am new to the blogging world. New to writing one but not new to reading and following them. Mainly because, as you listen to the first song on my playlist, I have nothing to say....about myself, that is. But after reading so many and following some, it soon became very obvious that many Christian blogs (and other internet spaces) were self-glorifying. I was deeply bothered by this and desired to have my "own space" where I don't make much of myself but of God.

Who I am is simple: I am a redeemed wife and mother. God has blessed me with a beautiful family, although you won't find them being paraded here. Instead, you will find beautiful pictures of God's creation. I have always been drawn to gardens for they showcase His creation and it is breathtaking. And the things I have learned through my journey with Christ I will share here, therefore calling it "my garden of grace".

May you smell the sweet aroma of Christ, see the beauty of His creation and hear His tender call as you walk with me through my garden of grace.

My first post

Since here and now matters so little and eternity matters so much, the question we should be asking ourselves is how much of today's investments impacted eternity, and how much were wasted on just here and just now.