 |
| Wild strawberries feed the birds we love, and Creation gardening feeds the soil the plants depend upon. |
We began the backyard gardens for 2015 this summer, laying down newspapers and wood mulch to turn the lawn into compost. That works faster than most assume. Soon the grass and weeds are black, and after that, soft soil is ready for planting.
Some people write about using Dawn detergent and vinegar to kill weeds. The stench of Dawn should warn people that they are dousing the soil with powerful chemicals. Everything dies with detergent. Ocean scientists found this out when treating oil spills with shiploads of detergent, killing off all sea life. In contrast, oil itself is temporarily toxic but goes away without oceanocide. (Source - Mrs. I worked for an engineering firm that specialized in hazardous transport.)
Blowtorch - that will definitely kill weeds, start grass fires, and perhaps burn down fences and outbuildings.
Note that my method builds the soil without harming anything.
The backyard garden has a Western exposure, so there is quite a bit of sunlight, even with the extra trees. I always had some scrubby wild strawberries around the faucet, but something new happened this year.
The elevated soaker hose went across the mulched area for the future vegetable garden. That meant the area underneath the mulch was always watered and shaded. But the line where the mulch met the house was not perfectly shaded.
The wild strawberries, fortified with rich, watered soil beneath, began marching across the base of the house, bearing bright red berries. In various places before, I have seen them as minor weeds, usually rather dry and dusty, not healthy but not yet willing to die.
Now they are neat little bird-feeding plants with brilliant red berries. The three main foods for birds are:
- Suet, mealy worms, and soil creatures.
- Seeds of all kinds, but especially sunflower seeds.
- Berries of any kind.
People who use weed killers on their lawn will shudder at eating the surviving wild strawberries. I use no weed killers beyond mulch, so my organic berries are good for birds and humans alike. The way they creep across the back of the vegetable garden sets the table for birds to get used to one-stop shopping - wild berries, suet hanging above, and sunflower seeds tossed on the ground. Meanwhile, the mulched area is ideal for hunting those soil creatures - who move the shreds of wood and betray their activity.
 |
| Easter Sunday at Holy Word, Austin, and Christ the King. Don't laugh - WELS rewards this with seminary calls. |
This is where we need to adjust everyone's thinking, as I learned from a book on rabbits. We raised them once and learned a lot from them. We never thought of promoting Easter with ads saying - Live rabbits for petting on Easter Sunday!
The common wisdom is that predators control the rabbit population, but do they? If the rabbit population declines, what will the hawks eat, carrots? In fact, the rabbits control the predator population. Only so many predators can exist at the top of the food pyramid. The population below controls the population at the top.
So if one wants birds in the yard, the yard must support the population of birds. I have suet out, so the insect eaters will stop and stay for the next season. I enjoy spreading sunflower seeds, because all the birds enjoy them, and some seeds volunteer, growing into new plants in the next season.
 |
| If every plant cell is a complex chemical factory with nano-mechanisms, they must be nurtured at the same microscopic level. |
God Employs What People Despise
People plan epic gardens. One said, "We have a backhoe to dig the rose garden!" Mrs. Ichabod gasped.
The lawn and garden people sell bags of expensive chemicals that are cheap to manufacture. The chemists and engineers at Dow Chemical used to laugh at the mark ups.
With some planning and labor, the same goals can be realized without the big equipment and big bills. But what is needed? Newspapers? Everyone is throwing them away. Mushroom compost? That is just another day for manure. Mulch? Grass clippings, dead leaves, and old weeds?
I have heard and read the lectures on Creation (organic) gardening. "There, there, have fun with that, but come back for the insecticides, herbicides, and inorganic salts when you fail. Bring your MasterCard or Visa."
 |
| "We're gonna do God's work in Round Rock, but it will take lots and lots of money - yours." |
Faux-Lutherans Despise the Means of Grace
The only ones more contemptuous than chemical gardeners are the Church Growthers. They have great visions for God's Kingdom - but it will take a lot of money.
They have no use for carefully preparing sermons. They copy and paste from Groeschel and other frauds. They hide the sacraments, because God's Instruments of Grace might offend those who need them the most.
Anyone who opposes them is against missions, against evangelism, and lazy, crazy, or disgruntled. To prove how essential their diabolical labor is, they must belittle or destroy the efficacious work of the Word. And the Growthers do work hard - they have to. They must prop up their gimmicks, inject them with spiritual steroids, and march lock-step with other frauds, peculators, and abusers. They need lots of money to do God's work with their entertainments. Koine demands $3,000 to show up.
God's Word Is Efficacious in Converting and Hardening
The principles of Creation are no different from the working of the Holy Spirit in the Word. One can defy Creation, but the results will be the same.
The Word of the Gospel converts. The purer the teaching, the more powerful the effect. When people mix God's Word with man's word, the effect is diminished, often down to outright rejection, the pious words used to mask a demonic message.
But when the preacher trembles at God's Word and dares not oppose it or teach anything contrary to it, the effect is divine. Faith is planted and nurtured by the Word. The congregation only needs to be faithful in teaching and worship to accomplish His will and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit that spring from Gospel teaching.
When expensive gimmicks are used, people say, "We need more expensive programs. This is not enough." When the congregation or synod relies on the Word of God, they have to acknowledge, "God has done this. We are blessed to be see Him at work in His Word and Sacraments."
Obstinate unbelievers, especially apostates, become enraged by the Gospel and take every opportunity to tear apart anything God has done through the Word. They are bottomless reservoirs of slander and malice, as WELS/ELS/LCMS/CLC leaders have shown. They rob widows and orphans and steal church properties with their attorneys, who wear their fancy $3,000 suits. The same attorneys defend their criminal pals so everything can be brushed under the rug.
Face it - your synod's "mission money" spends more time in the courtroom than in the mission field.
But this blessed opposition is the sign that God's Word is having a divine effect. They drive the faithful out of their faithless synods - that is good, no? They wake up people to the Book of Concord, to faithful translations of the Bible, to faithful congregations.
 |
| Infant faith? Answered here. |
