Mulching – the easy way

What is mulching?

: a protective covering (as of sawdust, compost, or paper) spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds, enrich the soil, or keep fruit (such as strawberries) clean

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mulch

Mulch for free

Chipped wood and bark are some of the best types of mulch materials. However, these are not always easy to obtain. We have discovered that mulching can be also done in an easier and cost-free way. What we suggest is using grass clippings instead. We can find these in places where grass has been recently cut/mowed. All you have to do is to collect and dry it. If you do not have enough grass clippings from your own lawn, you can ask your neighbours to let you have theirs 🙂

We kept our grass clippings in a sack until they got dry

The best time to apply a grass clipping mulch is right after you have done weeding. We did our weeding after a rainy night. This way our mulch will keep the soil moist until the next watering/rainfall. To find more details about this way of mulching, please read this article.

God bless and happy mulching! 😀

PS A few days later and we can confirm that our mulch is doing its job (keeps the ground moist and prevents a significant number of weeds from coming up).

Deceitful Heart

Bible verse and the Spirit of Prophecy insight

Proverbs 28:26

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,
But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

No man can of himself understand his errors. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. The lips may express a poverty of soul that the heart does not acknowledge. While speaking to God of poverty of spirit, the heart may be swelling with the conceit of its own superior humility and exalted righteousness. In one way only can a true knowledge of self be obtained. We must behold Christ. It is ignorance of Him that makes men so uplifted in their own righteousness. When we contemplate His purity and excellence, we shall see our own weakness and poverty and defects as they really are. We shall see ourselves lost and hopeless, clad in garments of self-righteousness, like every other sinner. We shall see that if we are ever saved, it will not be through our own goodness, but through God’s infinite grace.

Ellen G. White – Christ’s Object Lessons p.159.1

Present day application

I remember a few years ago, a man from the street randomly walked into my local church. During the putlock, I have overheard him say in a conversation: “in spiritual matters, I just follow wherever my heart leads me”. Even though I was still an immature Christian myself back then, I have already had it ingrained in me to not trust my heart when it comes to doctrinal issues. I really wanted to tell him this, but I did not know how to do it without belittling his reasoning. I have never seen him in church again…

When I have first read Proverbs 28:26, it felt almost like a slap in the face. The world has taught me exactly the opposite – all my life I have been hearing the words “listen to your heart” or “follow where your heart leads you”. It took me some time to understand why trusting my heart is not what a Christian should be doing. The lessons were painful, but in retrospection, I am glad that I went through them.

As a fallen race, it is our tendency to trust our own hearts. If we do not get what we want, and in the way we want it, we are restless. Like those little children who eventually learn that their parents were right, we also (hopefully) learn that our heavenly Father is right. The ‘worldly’ happiness which we often pursue never lasts. Let us allow the Lord to mould us instead. He is the potter; we are the clay.

Trust His hands and be blessed!