On August 21, at the age of eighty-nine, evangelical leader James Dobson passed away. He was the son, grandson, and great grandson of ministers but decided to break from tradition to become a psychologist. Renown for promoting Biblical values and helping countless families through his organization, "Focus on the Family," he was advisor to five United States presidents. For me, the most impactful story of his life comes from his relationship with his father and his two children.
 
James Dobson shared an account about his growing up years. As a pastor and leader of revival meetings, Dobson's father traveled long distances from home. His wife was mostly responsible for raising James. When he turned sixteen, he began to develop a fresh attitude toward her. One night, after having a hard conversation with James, and in his presence, she called her husband and said, "I need you." He canceled four years of revival meetings and came home to be with his wife and son. Here is what James said about his life after his dad came home: "And my dad, by making that sacrifice, invested in me. We hunted, we fished, he was with me. It pulled me back from the edge. I was an only child, so that time with my mother and dad was idyllic."
 
After attending the University of Southern California, James Dobson became a leading child psychologist. In 1977 he began his radio program, "Focus on the Family." With thirty-four Christian stations to oversee, his own family began to suffer. His dad saw this and wrote him a letter warning him that if he did not invest time in his two children, he would lose them. As a result of this advice from his dad, James cut back on the travel so that he could do for his children what his dad had done for him.
 
When asked by CBN Founder Pat Roberson about his passion to champion traditional families, James told him, "...Everything that we have believed about the family for thousands of years, literally, is being questioned now and being undermined. And there is a real danger that the family will disintegrate." He went on to say, "...The family is the ground floor. That's the foundation for the entire culture. Everything sits on that—our institutions, our government, our way of life, our values, our children—everything sits on that foundation."
 
More than anything else, Dobson made it clear that a family's first priority needs to be teaching their children to love the Lord. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 6:5-7) We would be wise to follow the advice of this extraordinary evangelical leader. If we desire to see our country prosper, we must put our focus on raising and honoring our families so that we place them in the heart of American life. 

​The Hebrew month we enter tonight is called Elul. This sixth month is meant to be a time for introspection before the High Holy Days begin. The Jews use this time as one of repentance for the wrongs done to others. The Hebrew letters of Elul (Aleph, Lamed, Vav, Lamed) are an acronym for "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." (Song of Solomon 6:3) Elul is meant to be a time of recommitting to our relationship with God. Some people called Elul the "Jewish Lent." This season is called Teshuvah which means repentance and returning to God. According to Jewish tradition, Elul is the time when Moses was on Mount Sinai preparing to receive the second set of tablets.
 
The origin of the word Elul is linked to the Akkadian word for harvest. However, Elul is also related to the Aramaic word, "El," which means "to search" or "to examine," highlighting the introspective nature of the month. We are called to deepen our relationship with God during Elul. Some Jews will blow their shofars daily (except on the Sabbath) as a reminder that we are in the month of repentance. It is customary to read Psalm 27 twice daily (morning and evening) from Elul 1 until Sukkot (The Feast of Tabernacles). The Psalm is meant to give the reader peace in their souls as they repent.
 
During Elul, it is said that the King comes out to the field and can be approached by anyone. It is a time when there is divine closeness like no other time of the year, and an ideal time to deepen our relationship with the Lord. The King's accessibility is a great time of excitement. The definition of accessibility is "the quality of being at hand when needed," or in other words, He is available and easily approachable because all barriers are removed.
 
Jesus is a perfect example of the King coming into the field. He set aside His royal robes so that He could come to earth and commune with us. As it says in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made HIs dwelling among us." Jesus lived in a tent of mortal flesh so that He could manifest God's goodness to us. While on earth, Jesus chose twelve disciples who had intimate connection with Him for three years. During this time, He poured into them and taught them how to live according to God's Word. In His prayer to His Father in John 17, Jesus asked that His disciples would be sanctified by God's truth. Jesus came to earth so that the life of God would flow through mankind and that our fellowship with God would be restored.
 
The King came to earth to unite man and God through salvation. The King is in the field to bring us "life and life abundantly." (John 10:10) For the Christian who has pursued the King, every month is like the month of Elul. He makes Himself available to us because He desires intimacy with us more than we do with Him. However, we can use this month of Elul as a reminder of the King's amazing love for us.

​One of the fascinating displays at our local Grange Fair was of honeybees. Not only were there posters explaining the process of making honey, but there was also a beehive frame with hundreds of bees around the queen bee. One of the posters told us that the bee is the first animal domesticated by man thousands of years ago. The poster went on to say, "In Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, India, South Africa, and the Americas, people have harvested since the dawn of time the nests of wild bees, then began installing colonies in wooden, ceramic, mud, or straw habitats."
 
Bees make and store honey so that they have something to eat when there are not enough flowers in bloom. They find both pollen (their source of protein) and nectar (their carbohydrate) from flowers. Every flower produces a unique flavor and color of honey. Bees collect the nectar through their tongues, called the proboscis. Those who do the collecting are called forager bees. They bring the nectar to the hive in what is called their "honey stomach." The enzymes in their stomachs begin to break down the nectar into simpler sugar. When back at the hive, the forager bees pass the nectar on to the younger bees called house bees. The nectar is passed from one house bee to another which further breaks down the sugar and reduces the water content. It is then deposited into hexagonal-shaped honeycomb cells. The water content of the honey must get below twenty percent to be ready. The bees then seal the honeycomb with a wax cap.
 
I read on "honeyflow.com" that it takes two million flower visits for a honeybee colony to produce one pound of honey. This must be why there is a need for so many bees in a colony. Every bee in a colony becomes essential to the protection of honey. Recently, there has been a decline in the bee population due to pesticides, habitat loss, diseases, and parasites. Shifts in temperature and rainfall patterns can also affect a colony. Bees cannot fly in the rain. Without honeybees our diets would suffer greatly. They are necessary for pollination. There is an organization called The California Almond Board that has been campaigning to save bees. They say that almonds would not exist without the pollination of the honeybees. Apples, avocados, onions, and some berry types also rely on bees for pollination.
 
In the Bible, honey is associated with abundance, provision, sweetness, and blessing. Multiple times, when God was bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, He told them He was bringing them into a land "flowing with milk and honey." Moses reminded his people of this: "Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you." (Deuteronomy 6:3)
 
The Psalmist writes about honey from the rock: "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways...You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock, I would satisfy you." (Psalm 81:13, 16) Here, I believe the rock could represent Jesus—our source of sustenance, blessing, and grace. Even during challenging times, God's goodness brings us blessing and joy. We should also remember that as honey is sweet and nourishing, so is God's Word. "How sweet are Your words, to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth." (Psalm 119:103)

​Treasures hidden below the sea are revealed when the tide goes out. The coastline of Maine is known for its boulder-strewn edges. When low tide occurs, you have the opportunity to climb up on some huge boulders and look out on the expansive ocean below. The boulders in Maine fascinate me as I look at their variety of layers laid down over thousands of years. The ocean has managed to place some grooves in the rocks, but the larger ones are immovable because they are deeply anchored into the ground.
 
At low tide one may hear the sound of the life that lives on the ocean floor. Habitats formed below are revealed and life comes alive in a new way. Rocks and sand are covered with varieties of seaweed that provide shelter and food for crabs, oysters, and snails. Sea birds peck at the seaweed to find gourmet morsels to digest.
 
Tidal pools become visible as the ocean pulls away from the shoreline. Waves that crash ashore leave deposits of crustaceans, fish, and plant life in hollowed out areas surrounded by large rocks, and small habitats or microcosms of the ocean beyond develop. New life appears in these small places, and a community grows. It is the large rocks and boulders that protect each community from being destroyed. Standing at the edge of a tidal pool, I remember how the Lord is our Rock. Psalm 62:2 says, "Truly He is my rock, my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken." 
 
Our lives, like the life that appears in tidal pools, also have moments of ebbs and flows where we feel exposed and vulnerable. It is during these times that we need to remember our Creator, the One who gives us life and encourages us to grow where we are deposited. During challenging times, He is the Rock who lifts us up and gives us new vision for life.
 
2 Samuel 22:2 and 3 says it this way: "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength, in whom I trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies." When we feel like we are being deposited in new areas of life, we must evaluate what is happening to see if it is time to start some new relationships and begin to explore possibilities that we never thought about before. God has a plan and purpose for us, and we must move with His flow. May He introduce us to some new and exciting possibilities.

​One of my favorite summer-flowering shrubs is the Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). The large, round, showy flower heads are made up of clusters of small individual flowers. It has always been fascinating to me that we can change the color of the flowers by treating the soil with different kinds of fertilizer. The pH of the soil, or its acidity or alkalinity, is measured by a scale from zero to fourteen. Seven is the number of a neutral pH. When the soil pH changes by one point there is an increase or decrease of ten degrees. Soil solubility of nutrients impacts the health of a plant.
 
In the case of the hydrangea, if you prefer blue flowers, the soil pH must be reduced by adding aluminum sulfate to it. As the plant absorbs the aluminum, its flowers will begin to turn blue. If you prefer pink flowers, lime should be added to the soil to make it more alkaline. I see a Biblical principle here: What we take in impacts our output. That is why it is so important for us "consume" the Word of God.
 
A few weekends ago, friends cut some beautiful blue hydrangeas from their garden and brought them to us as a gift. I was so thrilled with the clear blue color that I wanted the flowers to last as long as possible. I know that the key to sustainability of any flower placed in water is its ability to continue taking it in. I cut the flower stems at an angle so there would be a maximum absorption area. Then, I made it a point to change the water and recut the stems daily. My efforts gave me great reward as our flowers lasted for three weeks.
 
Each time I cut the stems so that they did not harden off I realized that God was using my exercise to teach me a spiritual principle. The primary Scripture He brought to my mind comes from Psalm 95:7 to 8. "He is our God, and we are the people of HIs pasture, the flock under His care. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert." This passage refers to the time after the Israelites had been miraculously delivered from Egypt yet began to grumble about their lack of water. The Lord told Moses to strike a rock with his staff and water poured forth.
 
What we need to know about this situation is that God was testing the faith of the Israelites. He does this to confirm the strength of our faith and the degree of our commitment to Him. He selected a place named Massah, meaning testing, and Meribah, meaning quarreling, for this encounter. (Exodus 17:7) Isn't this fitting? The Israelites failed the test, but God would use His test as a reminder of His faithfulness in the future. Proverbs 28:14 tells us, "Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble."
 
When we harden our hearts, we cannot take in the spiritual blessing that God has for us. He wants us to stay soft and pliable so that we can take in all that He has for us. Let us remember the example of the lovely blue hydrangeas to keep ourselves open to the flow of the Holy Spirit who wants to fill us with amazing nutrients.