Christ

Change Me

/ Gail Johnson / 2 Comments

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

dying squash-1The leaves were slowly losing color. Green was fading to a sickly yellow. No matter how much I watered or didn’t water, how much I fertilized or didn’t fertilize, nothing seemed to work. If something didn’t change, I was going to lose every squash and zucchini plant in the garden.

After a Google search, I found a gardening site with the information I needed. The owner told me to check the bottom of the plants. If I saw a substance, that looked like sawdust I had vine borers. But, what the article said to do next was unheard of, or at least to my ears. But I had no choice.

And you know everything you read on the internet is true. 🙂

I strode back to the garden where hubby was weeding and told him what I had found. We went in search of the plant murderer. Sure enough, we found the evidence explained on the site. I asked hubby to give me his pocket knife. I located the spot I thought the vine borer was lodged and slit the vine in the direction of the capillaries. Chewing away the life of my plant was a fat white grubby worm.

Warning: If you are sympathetic to pests then you may want to stop reading. The gardening expert suggested I take a toothpick and impale them. I didn’t worry with the toothpick, I used the knife to cut them apart. Yes, I am a mean woman when it comes to a pest eating my hard work.

dying squash2-1Then, I pieced the vine back together the best I could. Unfortunately, a couple of plants died. But the rest lived and produced delicious squash. You can see the new growth in the picture.

I couldn’t help but compare that to a heart in need of spiritual surgery. A heart filled with unhealthy, life-draining pests is sick. It doesn’t matter how much we read the Word or how much we pray, until we allow the Holy Spirit to remove the  problem we are fighting a losing battle.

Too many times, we avoid spiritual surgery because we don’t want to let go of the hurts or go through the pain. Yet, without the operation, we are doomed. We can’t allow unhealthy things to stay inside us. Anything that isn’t of God needs to go, or it will eventually kill us.

…for out of it are the issues of life.

Bitterness in the heart will leak into every area of life. It rears its ugly head in our tones and actions. The sad part is that we can’t see that we are the infected one while the other person isn’t affected at all. The vine borer didn’t disturb the tomatoes, cucumbers, or peas. Only the squash—the infected plant itself.

Create in me a clean heart David prayed. That is my prayer too.

 

 

Maple Pecan Ice Cream

/ Gail Johnson / 5 Comments

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV).

With July coming to a close, I’m trying to make every minute count! Seasons change. That’s an undeniable fact.

Children growing up is another fact. My kids are twenty-three and eighteen. These are precious days to me. And when they decide it’s time to leave and make their own way—maybe miles away—it will still be a precious time, but not like now.

So I cherish this season. And in the midst of all the changes, I hold to the Creator of all seasons. For no matter what the season holds, there is a purpose only He knows. And so, I will trust Him and show my love to all those in my care while I have the chance.

For who knows what tomorrow will bring?

 Today, I’m sharing my favorite. I warn you, this stuff is addictive. Again, this is half a canister. If it were doubled, I would eat it. 🙂 Not good for Gail!

ice-cream-2334323_1280Johnson’s Maple Pecan Ice Cream

2-14 ounces condensed milk

4 ½ cups whole milk

1 can evaporated milk

½ teaspoon Maple flavoring

1 cup pecans, chopped and roasted (place under broiler)

 

Directions

Mix condensed milk, cream, milk, and maple flavoring in the canister. Stir well. Add pecans. Place canister into the ice cream churn. Lock into place. Turn on the machine. If you wait, the ice and the salt can freeze the canister in place and it won’t turn. If this happens, you have to work until you get it to turn or start over. Bummer! So, turn on the machine and begin to layer ice and salt—1 part salt to 8 parts ice according to the salt box.

Layering is an art you learn as you go along. I like to add thin layers of ice with more salt. That way, the ice cream can be eaten when the churn stops.

If you like hard ice cream, drain the salt and ice when the churn stops, repack and allow to harden 1 hour, or pour ice cream in a freezer container and freeze.

This recipe makes half a canister because we like it fresh, not frozen. So we make enough for one afternoon and eat it all day long! If I were making a full canister, I would just double everything.

 

 

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Guarding Our Hearts

/ Gail Johnson

Proverbs 4:23 commands us to guard our hearts for every thought, word, or deed flows from it. Actions must be taken to protect it from invasion.

Every year I plant a garden. It isn’t a lovely garden with a white picket fence, ivy trellis, and flowers adorning the beds. No. In fact, the beauty of my garden is in the eye of the beholder. If you were to see it, you would probably ask yourself why I even bother.

My garden is enclosed with cow/horse panel on three sides with the back of the barn completing the fourth. Added to the bottom is a piece of running board or catwalk. Along the north side is an electric fence. And even though, I have added a layer of protection every year, something always seems to find it’s way inside.

This year, we spent several days trying to figure out why the tops of my bell peppers were disappearing. We checked the fence. Too small for a deer to stick its head through. We checked for holes next to the fence. No sign of turtles. Then we placed boards in front of the gate. The next morning I found another scalped bell pepper. With pregnant clouds above, I had no other choice but to wait it out.

Baby BunniesOne week later, I decided to weed the tomato bed. During the process, my seventeen-year-old daughter found tufts of hair next to one of the plants. Baby rabbits! With umpteen dozen wooded acres, why in the world did the female rabbit have to pick my 48 x 48 fortress. I began trying to figure out how the mother was able to get inside while my daughter was oohing and aahing over the cute little ears!

“Oh, they’re so cute,” she said. “Look at those fuzzy ears!”

I watched her for a moment and knew I couldn’t get rid of them, yet. I told her to stop hoeing and we would watch them for a little while. Then, I began searching for the break in my wall. Finally, I found a little tunnel under the wall of a stall. The fuzzy miner had been busy.

On the way to the house, I informed my daughter the rabbits had to go. Her disappointment was obvious. “But they’re so cute.”

“Well, cute or not, they’ll destroy everything out there. Make a choice.”

With hand over heart, she replied. “But, Mama. My heart is torn.”

I reminded her that small things can be cute, but they can grow up to be quite ugly and destructive. She agreed. She searched for information on what to do and found they were older than they first appeared. According to the experts, the babies would soon leave the nest. A week later, they moved out and we covered the hole.

My garden may not be pretty to some, but it supplies me with a veritable summer buffet. From it, I pick tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peas, cucumbers, strawberries, bell peppers, and cantaloupe.

Next year, I plan to add a moat.