Andrea Burke has lived the gardening life as well, so I read A Bit of Earth with a feeling of collegiality, a deep understanding of someone who has planted garlic in the fall and, feeling a kinship with the small cloves buried under earth and leaves, has asked herself, “How will it survive the winter? I barely do.”

She writes about Mud Season and reminds me to cultivate the days of muck boots and slow slogging by “letting the churn of mud slow [me] down enough so [I] can see who God actually is and where on earth he actually has [me].”

She recounts the blessings of hard work, the benefits the uninitiated chalk up to luck, but gardeners know require bent-over hours in the tasks of planting and tending.

The forty-nine inspirational readings are divided by season and include insights both poetical and practical:

As you plan what seeds you’ll plant this spring, consider also the growth you want to see in your life.
Learn the names of the weeds you’re fighting in the garden and, likewise, identify the sins you’re fighting in your life. Call them by name and uproot them ruthlessly.
Harvest the fruit of your labor with joy, all the while praying for a fruitful life: “Please let there be something to harvest in the end.”
For seasoned gardeners or for the curious about cultivation, Burke’s winsome words will encourage and motivate those who feel the call to tend their own “bit of earth” while being more intentional about cultivating the soil of their h

I love every book that talks about seasons. I didn't have enough time to fully dig in but this is going on "to buy" pile!

Such a wonderful devotional based on recognizing the lessons that each season holds. Burke's insights add so much insight to life in each season on nature and life. There is so much to learn from God's hand in each season and the blessings that are visible if we take the time to slow down and look for and at them.

Andrea G. Burke's A Bit Of Earth is an absolute gem. In fact, I loved the book so much that I purchased a copy on Amazon. Although I am not a gardener, the words within the pages of this book spoke to me on a very personal level and I knew I needed a physical copy to take notes in and highlight. It is divided into four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Seasons speak not only to what grows within the garden, but also to what is gradually coming to an end. God's goodness is evident at all times, even in the midst of heartbreak. Throughout the book, Burke shares many personal stories to illustrate God's goodness, faithfulness, and steadfastness. All of this is woven into the seasons and gardening. Burke's writings reveal her passion for outdoor living and gardening and a great deal of knowledge about the subject. My original intention was to use this book as a devotional, but I found myself reading it all the way through. I plan to read it again slowly and meditate more on the prayers and scriptures throughout. I encourage anyone to get this book and spend a year in the garden with God.

This was such a good book!
I just loved everything about it!
Well done and beautiful.
I love gardening and this book was wonderful to read through.

This is such a sweet book. The writing is beautiful and reverent. I love the seasonal prayers so much. I’m definitely going to be owning a copy of this!!

A Bit of Earth: A Year in the Garden with God is a beautifully written book, combining practical gardening advice with life lessons gleaned from tending a garden and observing the seasons.

Sprinkled with scripture, hymns, poems, and prayers, the author imparts insights and words of wisdom.

This is a book to return to year after year.

I liked that this book was organized by season, and I enjoyed the recipes shared in each section. I wish there were more recipes and less focus on bible or hymn quotations.

I love devotional. I also love flowers and trees. God creates beautiful gardens and wonderful plants to help us through this world. Why not take a walk with God through the garden with insight into scripture and thoughts. I love forward to returning to this book each year. One will find new thoughts and surprises each time. I received a copy through Netgalley. A review was not required.

A Bit of Earth is a sweet devotional that is ideal for the garden lover. With lessons about gardening intertwined with spiritual lessons to learn FROM gardening, it is would be a great gift for a green-thumb Christian friend or family member. I've bookmarked several places that I want to come back to and make notes.

*I was given a complimentary copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

I loved this book.

I didn’t know how much I needed this book this summer. This book has invited me to stop, plant, rest and wait.

Andrea gives the right words, scripture, poetry and prayers to the deep, the hard and the sweetness of life that I rarely can put into words.

Beautiful imagery, fun illustrations, recipes and prayers are in this book and I look forward to coming back to it

I really enjoyed how this book married two important things in my life, my relationship with God and my love for gardening. There are so many things in the garden that parallel with life as a believer. I appreciate how this book helps me to see God in everything because everything is made by Him and for Him and He is in everything.

This is a great read and I’m thankful to Lexham Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I adore the metaphor of the garden in our walks with Christ, and this devotional just dove deeper into the beauty of it all. I loved how this book opened my eyes more to the creator and the creation I am surrounded by that is so easily missed. Gardener or not, i urge you to pick up this devotional to glimpse a new side of creation.

A beautiful book of prose, metaphor, scripture and life lessons. If you love the rhythm of the seasons and you have gardened at all, this book will speak to you. It can be used as a daily devotional or read for the season you're in. The book begins at Winter, so I read some of it, then skipped to Summer as my calendar turned to July. It is so meaningful to me, full of both practical gardening advice AND spiritual insight. I am ordering myself a physical copy and will gift one to my mom and daughter. HIGHLY recommended!

My favorite humorous quote: "Like the time I tried giving up coffee and I realized I'm not a kind and patient person; I'm just caffeinated. "

I received this book from NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

A Bit of Earth, A Year in the Garden with God is a devotional by Andrea G. Burke. I enjoy gardening so I found this to be not only an enlightening read but also an inspiring one. I do think that gardeners, whether recreational or more, would enjoy this book. Perhaps you like vegetables and flowers but don’t necessarily grow them, you could enjoy this devotional too. I found it easy to read then to relate to your daily life.

It is listed as part memoir and part prayer book which it is, but it is also part pointing you to see God’s hand in your daily life. Such as the two-day devotion about weeds. Yes, we are often reminded that sin is like the weeds that need to be taken out of our lives, but this devotional pointed out something I had never thought of before. Weeds take the space and nutrients needed for the plants that were sown, so does sin take the time and resources from our lives that could be better spent. As I was pulling weeds today, I thought again about that concept. Deep thoughts for weed pulling. So this book is profitable not just for gardeners but for us all.

*“And God formed the man out of dust from the ground…” - Genesis 2:7*

My heart was filled with so many emotions throughout this book because it was simply beautiful!

Honestly, I’m not sure why I picked up *A Bit of Earth: A Year In the Garden With God* since I’m not a gardener, so I was surprised that I really loved it and would like to get a physical copy for myself and the garden enthusiasts in my life.

As I read this, I felt God also working in the garden of my heart, and I was reminded of how He is so faithful to us throughout the seasons of our lives.

This little book is made up of a garden of wide variety: poetry, prayers, scripture, reflections, stories, gardening advice, and recipes. The author uses these elements to paint a vivid picture of the quiet stillness of winter, the way the world blooms in spring, the vivaciousness and abundance of summer, and the crispness of autumn - all captured in her garden. Therefore, I would recommend that you read it slowly and savour it instead of reading it quickly (which is a mistake I made).

In the end, I’m so grateful I picked up this book (despite not being a gardener!). It’s the kind of book where you want to underline every sentence. Plus I learned a bit about gardening.

Also, the cover is gorgeous and I’m tempted to start a garden.

**Release date:** 31 July 2024

**Verse:** Genesis 2:7-9

****thank you NetGalley and Lexham Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Part gardening guide, part devotional. This was a poetic expression of the joy of creation. It was divided by season and included poems and prayers. This would be the perfect gift for the Christian gardener in your life!

I was hoping this book would be more relatable and poetry. Instead it was more the author's personal experience told in a semi-poetic way. It wasn't really for me.

I'm not a gardener, but part of me wants to be. This book was truly beautiful to read. I'm definitely going to be seeking out a physical copy, when it's out for my home.bookshelves, to slowly go through again and savor more.

As a fellow gardener this felt like a warm hug in a book. The layout, writing and imagery is so very beautiful. I am so grateful to have received a copy before publication. However, will be purchasing a papercopy as it's just such a tonic. A must read for any fellow plant lover / gardener.