Gardening Mercies: Finding God in Your Garden [Hardcover]

Laurie Ostby Kehler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

Tending the Soul's Garden

It has been said that to love another person is to see the face of God. To see the hand of God, cultivate a garden.

Gardens are places where we are up close and personal to God's daily miracles of creation, death, and rebirth—life itself. Indeed, the act of gardening can be a deeply personal experience in spiritual growth. But life, like gardening, is sometimes messy, dirty, and hard.

Digging into the struggles and joys we face daily, such as discerning God's will, coping with crushed hopes, and learning to love, Gardening Mercies provides inspiration and instruction for the seasons of our lives.

Discover how God is working in you, despite your past mistakes
Grow a deeper reverence for and friendship with God
Start the process of healing from painful moments in your life
Experience God through the power and beauty and wonder of His creation.
Gardening can be hard work. Growth takes time and effort. But as all gardeners know, the results are beautiful to see, smell, and touch. The same is true as we grow and become new creatures in Christ, and yet the results are even more beautiful—eternal fruit.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Laurie Ostby Kehler is the daughter and granddaughter of award-winning gardening mavens. A gardening enthusiast herself, Laurie and her husband live in California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764223933
• ISBN-13: 978-0764223938
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't need a green thumb to enjoy this beautiful book, August 16, 2001

By 

L. Walker "book lover" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardening Mercies: Finding God in Your Garden (Hardcover)

At first glance, Laurie Kehler's Gardening Mercies looks like another pretty gardening book--which I happen to love--but then once you enter the pretty pages, it's so much more. A wonderfully written devotional with depth and wisdom that draws the reader closer to God, but unlike many devotionals, is light on the saccharine, heavy on the 'real.' And funny, too! An example: "I used to be a high-maintenance morning person. Before I found out my thyroid was too slow, mornings were almost a battleground between my husband and me... I was like the TV character Maude on steroids." You can't get much more real than that! Thanks, Laurie, for writing such a refreshingly honest devotional that I could relate to--and for not being afraid to get your hands dirty: gardening--and life--involves hard work and deep digging before we can get to the beauty. This one has it all, even for gardeners like myself: lovely descriptions of beloved flowers--and gorgeous illustrations--spiritual probing and wisdom, candor, and great touches of humor!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See God through new eyes, July 1, 2001

By 

M Eubank (NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gardening Mercies: Finding God in Your Garden (Hardcover)

Creatively and candidly written, each chapter led me to a deeper understanding of the Lord through the eyes of a gardener. Laurie takes us on a personal journey through many gardens and lives giving us a new view and opening our hearts to God's care for us. It is a refreshing look into other real lives with weeds, bugs, pruning to be done, as well as beauty and strength to be enjoyed.

This book is well-written to reach a diverse audience in that it is eye-opening, instructional and interesting no matter what your spiritual stage of life. I found it hard to put down, getting quickly hooked into the next chapter from the first glance. I also found its depth drawing me back to read the previous chapter again to savor or chew on a thought or truth realized.

Reading Laurie's book is like listening to a good friend, it is personal and candid. Being a beginning gardener myself, I also really enjoyed learning a few gardening tips and advice. I highly recommend taking a walk through Gardening Mercies and sharing it with a friend.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book and great gift idea, June 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Gardening Mercies: Finding God in Your Garden (Hardcover)

Unlike other gardening books which only discuss plants, Ms. Kehler talks in a really warm and personal way about struggles we all face- disappointment, frustration with God about things not turning out the way we'd like etc. and ties them into her love of gardening. The floral engravings sprinkled throughout the book are lovely too.

This was really unique and wonderful--BUY it!!