Why Green August?

Green August…strange name for a blog is a common reaction. No one has said those exact words, they don’t have to, their face says it. I don’t blame them, I understand their reaction. Then you have the people who know my last name is Green and assume that’s where I got the Green but can’t figure out the August. A simple answer would be my last name is Green, we got married in August and I like the way they sound together. That would be just the beginning though, there’s so much more behind Green August than that simple answer.

There are 3 reasons I choose the name Green August.

1. The first is the straight forward and simple answer. We were married in August. A new beginning, new life with a new last name, Green.

2. The next has a little more meaning behind it. A year and a half ago, in August, our family of 4 were all baptized together. Another new beginning, new life in Christ.

3. The final reason is a little deeper, a little thought provoking. We live on the edge of northwest Ohio, where it meets with midwest Ohio. If you’re from here or have been here in August then you know, there is not much green left on the ground. Green in August is not something usually seen here. Summer is starting to end, the dry heat has or is sucking the life from the plants, grass, and fields. There is not much green but there is a lot of brown. The crops are starting to dry up for harvest and unless you water your yard, it’s beginning to turn brown also.  What appears to be dead really isn’t though. With the drying crops, they are harvested and become something that gives back life as seeds for more crops, food for animals, or food for us. With the grass, given time, water, and cooler temperatures it turns green again. Given a little work and time things come back to life, are given new life or turn green again. Life comes back to what appeared to be dead. I have had similar dry spells in in my life, where it seems as if everything is turning brown, drying up, dying. I’ve learned with a little time and most importantly, with faith and trust in God, life is brought back. Things turn green again. Where death seemed eminent, Jesus Christ won and there is eternal life, new life.

At various times over my almost 40 years of life things have appeared to be what August in Ohio is, dry, brown, and dying.  My life, my marriage, my hope to be a mom, they have all seemed to be dead or on the verge of death at certain  junctures. Some of that is my own doing, I made choices that like the summer heat, caused the damage that was causing the death. Other times, just like in nature, things happen that we have no control over that bring about damage that again causes life to drain away, to begin dying.  Like the crops, grass, and plants that are turning dry and brown though, each area that appeared to be dead or dying for me was given new life and that life was given by the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ.

Without salvation through Jesus Christ my life is over, I am dead. Not physically but spiritually. I was heading down a path in life that was leading to a dead end. There was nothing but dry, brown lifeless days ahead of me until I learned what true repentance and salvation through Jesus was. Through him I have ever lasting life.  John 11:25 (NIV) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die

The same is true of my marriage and dreams of motherhood. Both looked to be dead and we’re given new life through God. What was brown and lifeless, became green and given new life.

So, now you know the simple reason, the meaningful reason, and the deeper thought provoking reason behind the name Green August.

In life we all face times where we feel like the end has come. We feel there is death of some sort that has happened or is happening. Whatever you’re facing today, no matter how bad the situation looks, there is still life there waiting for you. Just like those summer August days seems to be brown and lifeless but we know there is hope of greenness and life that comes back. There is hope and life for you and your situation. That hope and life is found in God’s son Jesus. He died and rose again to life that you should never die but have eternal life. John 3:16 (ESV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I found new life in Jesus, he gave me a Green August.

Brave Enough to Walk Through the Door

We’ve all heard the saying, “when God shuts a door, He opens a window.” What if God opens the door though? Are you brave enough to walk through the door?

That’s where I’m at….I need to walk through the door.

I’ve felt the call to write for so long but always make excuses.  Many times others have told me, “you should write.” I just smile and say, “thank you” but never act on it. I can’t do that anymore, I have to be brave enough to walk through the door God has opened.

So here I am taking the first step through the door by writing a blog.  Scary. Intimidating. Daunting.  Just a few words that describe this step. I’ve asked myself so many questions about doing this. Where do I start? How do I start? What if I don’t know what to write? What if my grammar is horrible? What if no one reads what I write? The most haunting question though….what if I fail?

Aren’t I failing though if I don’t do anything at all?

So here I am,  trusting Him to equip me for what He has called me to do, to write. With a new journal from my Husband for encouragement to write and a new blog to fill with post I’m walking through the door He has opened.

This is a short and sweet post, a kind of get my feet wet post. I hope you’ll come back to read more. To learn the meaning behind calling my blog Green August(I’ll give you a hint, there’s more than one reason why). To read about my personal project for the year, “Fifty-two of You”.  To see where I go with writing.

I’m excited to see where God leads me and how He equips me now that I’ve been brave enough to walk through the door.

equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen. Hebrews 13:21(ESV)