Unfolding beauty

This is the last day of August signaling the approaching end to what has been a summer of unusual and unpredictable weather. It was colder than normal and wet during times that should have been hot and dry. Flowers as well as vegetables have either adapted and prospered, died early or simply failed to produce at all. Some, like these blue poppies are finally beginning to bloom long after their normal flowering time.

The beauty of these flowers as they unfold, revealing their true colours, brings joy to my heart.

I believe the Father's heart rejoices in a similar way as He watches us grow and step into the destinies He has designed for us, each one of us uniquely gifted and profoundly loved.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Life is just a bowl of pickles

If life is just a bowl of pickles, our bowl will be overflowing! I have made 18 quarts of garlic dills since yesterday morning to go with the 9 quarts made last week. And.. and.. there are still cucumbers on the vine and more blossoms just beginning.

I'm not really complaining, even though I pretend to scream in horror when Rick comes in from the garden with another full pail. I have a recipe that's very simple. The most time consuming part is washing the cukes and rubbing off the spines.

FireFly's Garlic Dills

Wash all cucumbers, removing as many spines as possible
Cut a thin slice off each end
Leave whole or quarter or slice -- whatever you prefer

Brine is made of equal parts vinegar and water with 1 tablespoon pickling salt for every 2 cups liquid. Bring brine to a boil

Pack each hot, sterilized quart jar with 1-2 cloves (depending on size and your taste) of garlic (Rick's homegrown garlic is the very best), 2 heads fresh dill, and as many cucumbers as you can cram in. Fill jar with hot brine, remove air bubbles, wipe rim, place fresh lid on and twist on ring securely but not too tight.

Process jars in boiling water for 15 minutes. Cool on counter overnight and check to be sure jars have sealed. Any unsealed jars must be refrigerated.

Label and store jars in a cool, dark location. We are blessed to have a cold storage room in the basement. The longer they sit, the better they get.

Place in refrigerator to chill well before serving. This makes them crisp!

Next I think I'll let some of the cucumbers grow large and turn them into relish as pickle mania continues.

Evening Drive

There's a field around the corner, about 2 miles away

that normally stands empty, filled with weeds and hay

And every now and then, sad old horses

just a few, are left to pasture there.

But yesterday as I drove past

what caught my eye was moving fast

A brand new herd, both old and young

Running in the morning sun.

I wished I had our camera with me, but I was on my way to town to spend the afternoon at a funeral for a member of our church family and had no time to turn back home.

Last night, as we sat down to a quickly prepared dinner of black beans and rice I told Rick about our new equine neighbors and asked if we could take a drive out to see if we could get some photos. Not knowing where they came from, I was afraid if we waited they might disappear as quickly as they arrived.

The approaching sunset was calling forth colours that shimmered and shifted. Rick captured the view of the road ahead of us.

Sometimes we can gaze down the road, and it appears endless, as if we have all the time in the world. But memories of the funeral yesterday cried out to me, just as I don't know when the horses might be gone, we never know when the road will end.

It's never too soon to secure your life in Christ. It's never too soon to express your love to those you hold dear. It's never to soon to forgive someone or ask for forgiveness. And if the road indeed is long, your travelling will be lighter with the Lord walking beside you

"For man also knows not his time [of death]: as the fishes are taken in an evil net, and as the birds are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when [calamity] falls suddenly upon them." Ecclesiastes 9:12 Amplified

Celery Soup

Image via Wikipedia

Each spring, Rick plants celery, hoping for a harvest. Most years, what has emerged from the garden hasn't been worth the time it takes to wash. Hard and skinny stalks with a bitter flavour.
Maybe it's the unusually cool weather, or the abundance of moisture, but this year's celery is large and crisp, unlike anything we've ever grown.

This celery would be perfect in my home canned chili sauce, but we don't yet have tomatos. I didn't want to just freeze the first fruits so I thought about making celery soup. I googled recipes, but those I found called for flour or others thickeners, which I'm not at all fond of. To me they give soup an odd, almost slimey texture.

I often cook without a recipe, going by instinct and taste, so I boldly ventured into the kitchen this morning to prepare my own version of creamed celery soup. I was so pleased with the results that I am going to share the recipe with you as best I can, realizing that, as usual, I did not measure. It's soup, after all, just throw things in, cook and enjoy!

FireFly's Creamed Garden Celery Soup

2 - 3 onions chopped

large bunch celery 2 - 3 pounds

vegetable oil to coat bottom of soup pot

(I would have used the leaves, but they were too large and tough)

3-4 large potatos peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons chicken broth powder

3 quarts water

dried minced garlic

handful of chopped parsley (mine was from the freezer)

pepper

Cook onions and celery in oil until fragrant and soft but not brown. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer until all veggies are soft. Puree with an immersion blender (regular blender or food processor work too). I like to leave some of the soup unprocessed for added texture.

That's it. Simple as can be, and believe me, this was better than any canned cream of celery I've ever eaten. I had a hard time not serving myself a bowl for lunch.

I might try adding some light cream (1/2 & 1/2) when I serve it tonight with toasted tomato (first ripe one's from the garden) sandwiches for dinner.

Word Filled Wednesday - If My people

"If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14 Amplified

This photo was taken one evening during the ten days of prayer leading up to the Global Day of Prayer 2009. A group of us journeyed to the highest places in our region to pray and declare that Jesus is Lord over all.

To see more Word Filled Wednesday posts come visit Susan at Forever His Why not add a post of your own?

Thirsty

I am happy and thankful to be back home on the land and in the life God gave me.

While I was away I felt trapped and lost. I wasn't only away from my house and garden, my familiar routine, my beloved pets and my friends, but I also felt that I had stepped out of the presence of my God.

Just like the hummingbird above or the bee below, I came home parched, looking for nectar, thirsty for Jesus and for time resting at His feet.

"Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 107:8-9 NIV

Jesus in His great mercy and love is faithful to satisfy my every need. Like the hummingbird below, caught in an unusual moment, perched on the feeder with wings oddly still, I'm going to take a good long drink and rest.

"The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Revelation 22:17 NIV

Are you ALL in?

I was asked to be the speaker of the main message for our morning church service yesterday. I felt the Lord leading me to speak about consecration, being set apart, and being sold out for Him. Here's a bit of what I spoke about:

For those of you who’ve seen Fireproof, you might remember the scene where Caleb, the main character told his friend he had made a decision for Christ. He said to him “okay, I’m in”

His friend joyously said “You’re in? Are you all in?”

“Yes, I’m all in!”

That’s exactly where I want to be.. ALL in, hopelessly devoted to Jesus, so lovesick that I will do whatever I must to please Him, to care more about what He thinks than what any man or woman thinks of me. To be like the woman who broke her alabaster jar of expensive perfume to anoint her Lord.

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” Matthew 26:6-13 NKJV

I don’t want to straddle fences, half on God’s path and half on my own. I want to be ALL in, fully committed to His will and His ways.

There is no such thing as partial commitment when the pilot of a giant airliner is speeding down a runway. There is a certain point where he cannot decide to remain on the ground. That pilot cannot change his mind when the plane is two-thirds of the way down the runway. Once he crosses that line, he is committed to the air, or the plane crashes disastrously.

I don’t want to miss what God needs from me because I was afraid to leave the ground.

C.S. Lewis relates, “When I was a child, I often had a toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother, she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother--at least not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this: I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist the next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from my pain; but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists; I knew they would start fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache.”

I don’t want to walk around in needless pain because I’m afraid of “getting fixed”. Better to suffer through the work God needs to do in my life and come through stronger, cleaner, better reflecting His light.

Whatever the Lord asks of me, I pray I would respond like Mary when the angel told her she would give birth to the Son of God, even knowing the difficulties she would face:

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her." Luke 1:38 NIV

I also want to obey without question, without hesitation. If He says jump, might I only ask “how high?” I know that kind of radical obedience is not only difficult, but almost impossible to our fleshly natures. Yet this is what I feel He calls me to.

Romans 11:36 NIV says "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."

All I am is in Him. All I am is for Him. I’m in. ALL in.