Royalty

I am rather fond of purple! I really enjoy about all the shades that there are of that color. Today has been a day of enjoying purple for me so I thought I would share it with you.

First off, I chose some purple/lavender items to wear to church this morning and then Megan came out holding a couple of dresses in different shades of purple, wanting me to choose which one she would wear. After she dressed in purple we asked Mara to please join us so she did. At church a couple of other ladies were also dressed in purple.

This afternoon I went out to the garden to turn the sprinkler on and take some pictures and I started to notice all the different purple things that we have growing. Here is some (but not all!) of the purple things around here:

 An eggplant flower. I have never grown them before this year (as I my experience eating them was not all that wonderful) but this year I was given some plants and they are growing well. I think I might have to grow them often just because of their beauty.

 An eggplant.

 Bean flowers and beans with purple stripes.

 Purple cabbage

 Purple stalks on my indian corn.

 Purple radish flowers.

 Purple flowers that Megan has in her garden. (I don't remember what they are.) Updated: Blog reader, Emma says they are Anise Hyssop which does sound right. Thanks Emma!

 We have some grapes turning purple.

 The balloon flowers are blooming beautifully right now.

 Creeping Bellflower.

 A late blooming (and unique blooming) hosta named June.

Megan and I- dressed in purple.

I was thinking about Bible verses that would go along with purple and I came across this one in 1 Peter 2:9-12. It doesn't mention purple but it does talk about royalty- who usually dressed in purple. 

Here are the verses:
"But you are a Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, a People for God's own Possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a People, but now you are the People of God; you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."

 I love how in these verses we are reminded of who we are as Christians- We are special, God has set us apart and has a special job for us but we are also reminded of where we came from- we  were in darkness and we weren't anything special but through God's mercy he has made us special.  Then after confirming who we are we are told how to live. We are to live in such a way that people who see us will glorify God. What a wonderful life we are given!

This verse is a great reminder of our focus in life and I hope that when I see purple I can be reminded of how through God's mercy I am now Royalty- and that I would act in the way that He wants me to.