More From Penny Frost McGinnis

Hi. I’m Penny, and I’m thankful that The Upper Room published my devotion about pruning.

My husband and I no longer live in the home where I pruned the suckers from the bottom of the tree—we downsized. We sorted through all the stuff we had collected over the years. It’s remarkable how much a person accumulates over time. This was our second downsize since our kids flew the coop. You’d think we would have learned.

On the day we moved from our home with the big backyard and into a condominium, a weight lifted. Our two bedroom, one bathroom condo fit our needs, and God knew that. God worked through an amazing financial expert to help us acquire a place that requires less work, less stress, less time, and has less room to collect stuff. 

Since the move, I’ve also retired. God blessed me with 24 years of library work. As a retiree, I have more time to write and to volunteer in my daughter’s classroom. Oh, how I love those first graders. Once a month, I also teach leadership skills to middle schoolers, which is a fun time.

Pruning away the excess gives me more time to enjoy life.  I still fiddle with the flowers in my small garden, cutting them back and encouraging blooms.

One thing I’ve learned—pruning is an ongoing process. As I grow older, I find I need to snip away at bad attitudes, negative thoughts, and frustrations. Along with getting rid of the junk in my life, I want to nurture my emotions and spiritual well-being. I want to cut out the parts that cause me to stumble and encourage the fruit of God’s Spirit to bloom. 

You can visit Penny’s personal blog here: http://www.pennyfrostmcginnis.com/.