New Fruits- New Podcast
It’s Harvest Season!
In my neighboring town of Lodi, ranchers are getting ready for grape picking. The Lodi appellation is ripe as Vintners prepare to turn grapes into wine. Being this close is thrilling because we get to see firsthand how our food (and beverage) gets prepared, and I’m incredibly spoiled to taste some of the best wine in the world. (Yes, Lodi has some of the very best) But it's not just grapes that have me excited! This is the end of the Summer harvest, and seeing all the toil and hard work of the farmers and the beautiful fruits.
This summer, I too was hard at work. I am preparing for a new writing project that I have been working on. It was also a time of prayer and reflection on all the ways God has produced beautiful fruit in my life. So much that this has inspired me to start a new podcast.
Just like the harvesters and the many grapes around me, the Be Fruitful Podcast has come to fruition.
Another podcast? Why the change?
As you may know, I cohosted the Mourning Glory Catholic Grief Podcast for many seasons. And in some ways, speaking about grief helped others and helped me, especially seeing how suffering, while difficult, is necessary and purifying for our human condition.
But now I’m in a new season... and I feel called to speak about the fruits of those difficult seasons of grief, and all that I have gleaned. So in this new season of podcasting, I want to share exactly that! Planting seeds, waiting for the soil to do the unseen work, pruning and weeding, and waiting for the harvest to glean.
In faith and in life, we go through different seasons. Sometimes we are the seed planter, and sometimes we are harvesting someone else's crops. But God is the vine.
So why the name Be Fruitful?
I was inspired by the first command God gives to man. In Genesis 1:28
God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.* Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth.
Being fruitful is not simply procreating the earth; it's bearing fruit. And we do this in our friendships, in our actions, in our virtue. But most importantly, the Fruit of Mary through Jesus. He reminds us He is the fruit of the vine in John 15:5,
I am the vine you are the branches, remain in me and you will bear much fruit.
If you ask any farmer, a good crop requires the best soil, the right temperature, and the right conditions. Some of these things are produced from the farmer’s hands, and some of these things are at the mercy of the weather and the elements. It’s a never-knowing game, but you pray you have the perfect ingredient in the farming world. In some ways, our faith is similar. Each of our prayer (seed) deposits is heard and cultivated in the soil, but the harvest is at the mercy of God’s hand and God’s time, when He decides to harvest these fruits.
I hope you’ll join me on this new adventure
I’ve lined up amazing topics and guests who want to share the fruits of their faith walk and what God is doing in their lives.
As I get this new project up and running, I ask for your prayers and your encouragement (and your grace, especially with some of my technical difficulties; the audio might, on occasion, pick up a dog barking or the microwave revving up in the background from my home). My messages are raw but authentic and all from the heart.
And I would LOVE to hear from you! What topics do you want me to cover? What is bearing fruit in your life right now? Or maybe you’re going through a season of weeding. Wherever you find yourself on this journey, know that you’re not alone, and I am praying for you, and thank you for your support!
Below are some teaser episodes to the start of this venture. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or most streaming sites.
Be Fruitful in Christ,
Andrea
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