Grapevine Studies Have a New Website!!

Grapevine Studies will be launching a new website next week. And in honor the new website, they are having a sale that will be going on through the end of February. Please visit their site  by clicking here.

 Earlier this year, as part of the TOS Crew, I was given the opportunity to review one of their products. You can read my review here.

While on the website you can also join their newsletter. Below you will find a copy of their current teacher article!!

Happy Stick Figuring!

What We Can Learn From the Planting of Olive Trees

In 2005, we had the privilege of taking our family on a tour of the land of Israel. One of the first things people notice in Israel is the olive trees.  In Israel, olive trees represent ownership of the land;  if you own the olive tree, you own the land that the olive tree is planted on.  One day on our tour our guide, Yossi, talked about the different philosophies behind planting olive trees in the land of Israel--the Arab perspective and the Jewish perspective.
 
Yossi explained that the Arabs first take a cutting and place it in a hole dug for the new tree. The shoots are then watered and given the necessary fertilizer to grow. Eventually the tree grows and bears fruit. This is the Arab method of growing an olive tree.
 
The Jewish method begins the same as the Arab method--with a cutting.  However, that is where the similarities between the two methods end. The Israelis place the little shoot into a soil plug and tend it in a nursery until it is strong enough to be transplanted. While in the nursery, the little sapling is watered, fertilized, and the plant is cared for to ensure it grows strong. In due time, the gardener sees that the plant is ready, and he transplants it into the field.  Eventually it bears fruit.
 
At this point, Yossi stopped and asked if we had any questions.  We did.  What is the difference between the two trees?  He paused and said, "The quality of the fruit."
 
The Lord left us the commission to "go and make disciples." As you look at those the Lord has entrusted into your care to disciple, how are you planting your trees? Are you just giving them the bare minimum they will need to grow and bear fruit?  Or are you tenderly nurturing those in your care to oversee their proper growth so that they will be equipped to bear maximum fruit?
 
How can we ensure that our little plants grow up to be strong disciples and in turn make disciples?

Mark 16:28 gives us clues:
    -Teach them to love and obey God and His Word.
    -Pray for them.
    -Equip them to teach and disciple others.
 
Grapevine Studies exists to help provide tools for teachers and parents to use in discipling others and helping them grow and bear fruit wherever they are planted.  May God bless you as you tend the young trees in your nursery.

Serving Him with Stick Figures,
Dianna
Grapevine Studies