All About Heaven: (Contemplative Gardening)

By Gregory Young Teter

What do you believe in? Is God a part of your life? Are you happy with how your life is going? This book is a small part of the authors life and how he has made his life joyous. Content with what God has given him and sharing how he sees the world through nature, the author hopes to inspire you to share the best of your life with others too.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16).

For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope (Romans 15:4).

Relating everyday occurrences in the world around us and some uncommon observations of birds to biblical passages, the author has made a life germane to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is filled with quick references to inspirational wisdom. Let this book be a guide to strengthen your faith, give you fresh hope, and help your love grow, grow, grow!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512760545

Gregory Young Teter

Gregory Young Teter received a BA in English from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1982. The culmination of his Catholic upbringing was when his father who converted to Christianity to marry his wife, who had two priests as brothers. Married in the church by one of those brothers, Gregory tried to be as diligent as his father in raising his own son and daughter. As a good loving dad, he encouraged his children and wife to be good Christians. Now, semiretired and living in West Chester, Pennsylvania, mere miles from his childhood home, he gardens, cooks, turns wood into art, writes, and tutors.

Book preview

ALL ABOUT

Heaven

(CONTEMPLATIVE GARDENING)

Gregory Young Teter

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Copyright © 2016 Gregory Young Teter.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-6054-5 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/20/2016

Contents

Preface

Dedication

1   Our Garden

2   Weeds

3   Seeds in the Bible

4   Stewards of the Earth

5   Heaven Is Five Years Old

6   Rachel

7   An Interesting Day

8   Wind

9   Humble

10   1 Corinthians 13:4-13

11   10 Commandments

12   Beatitudes

13   Scattering Seeds

14   Rain

15   Joy

16   St. Isaac Jogues

17   Hope

18   Salt

19   Peace

20   Bread

21   Hands

22   Laughter and Joy in Heaven

23   St. Norbert

Preface

Sharing is very important to me so this small book shares some of the ways I apply Jesus’ teachings to my everyday life. You will find my appreciation of nature is one way I thank God for his gifts. Throughout my life I have witnessed the marvel of birds and will give accounts of some of their flights of fancy.

Throughout the book you will find Biblical passages which are apropos to each chapter and which are compilations of similar passages from the Old and New Testament. Some of the greatest wisdom and expressions of love are included. My hope is to make it easier for the reader to find something to use in a conversation, i.e., what the Bible says about seeds -

James 3:18

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. (KJB)

Over the years I have accumulated thoughts and writings which express a little about faith, hope and joy. A quality of beauty and an intensity of emotion is a definition of poetry with that my verses are tempered with love and, as always, I thank God for all my gifts.

2 Timothy 3:16

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (KJV)

Romans 12:9

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (ESV)

Dedication

I was raised in a large Catholic family. Not all of us have remained with the church and I allude to this when I talk about seeds, but one of my sisters, Dr. Lenore Teter, who practiced psychiatry in Washington D.C., honored her parents by her devotion to helping others. In her practice if there was no other hope for a difficult patient, Lenore would place a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe on their file and pray for them. She also encouraged me to document the stories I related to her about birds. My big sister died suddenly just before retirement. There were two funerals – one in Cumberland MD., which was well attended including busloads of co-workers and friends from Washington and a second in Washington a week later. The second funeral, also very well attended, was on a Jewish holiday