The Parable of the Pumpkin

Tonight was pumpkin carving night at our house. Now of you don't carve pumpkins, you can just exit now and I'll understand, but I'd really like for you to listen a bit to the parable of the pumpkin.

First, all the 'little pink things' choose what they'd like to have carved on their pumpkin, momma tries to trace or draw it on the pumpkin, and then daddy does the carving.

Afterwards, we talk about 'Christian'--the pumpkin who chose Jesus! Christian lived in the patch with his family and friends. Life was pretty good for Christian, but at times, he felt an emptiness way down deep inside--even though his life was very 'full', something was missing--or maybe someone. (Romans 3:23) He knew that he was helpless to leave the 'patch' on his own and that it was only "by grace that he could be saved" (Ephesians 2:8) so he prayed and Jesus--who is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (IJohn 1:9) came to him. He lovingly picked him up and washed away all the dirt and carried him to safety.

Christian now looked pretty good. He was nice and clean on the outside, but something still wasn't quite right within (Matthew 23:27,) so he prayed again and asked God to take away all the yucky seeds inside that kept making him want to return to the dirty old patch of sin.
God knew that Christian was sincere in his desire, so he began cutting. The cutting was painful, "for God's Word is sharp and powerful," (Hebrews 4:12) but the carver was so kind and assured Christian that it would be worth it all--for he was giving him "a new heart and taking away the old stoney one." (Ezekiel 36:26)
Inside, they found seeds of doubt, hate, greed, envy, dishonesty, pride and many other sins. Some things Christian didn't even know were in there. Christian was embarrased and humbled at all that God was doing for him. Of course, the scraping and probing hurt, but God said "not to be afraid and as he removed things, he replaced them with a peace and joy unlike anything the 'patch' could ever give." (John 14:27)
The happiness inside was reflected in the cheery smile that Christian now wore. (Proverbs 28:14)

It was not enough though, that Christian himself was happy. God told Christian that "Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) and he put the light of his love inside of Christian that it might shine out to others.

God then told Christian to "Go into all the world" (Matthew 16:15) and tell the good news of the Gospel. He did not just set Christian on a pew in an elegant church building, but sent him back into the patch that he might be "In the world but not of it." (John 17:15)

Not everyone Christian witnessed to accepted Jesus, but Christian refused to become discouraged for he believed the promise that if he "was not weary in well doing, he would reap..." (Galations 6:9)

And he did reap in the end--in the great harvest of eternity--for his influence was more far reaching than he ever knew in his lifetime.

After I told the story and we discussed it a little, (interresting conversation) :) we sang

"This little light of mine--I'm gonna let it SHINE!"

Disclaimer: This parable is drawn from "How being a Christian is like being a pumpkin" and from the Bible, of course! :)

Some like it Hot!

Rick brought me home a salsa recipe from a co-worker last night so I decided to give it a try this morning. I made just a few subtle changes to fit our tastes. It turned out soooo good, that I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Here are the washed peppers and tomatoes.

The recipe called for all jalapenos, but I used a mixture of jalapeno, habanero, and green bell peppers.

As follows:

2 small green peppers, about 10 habanero, and the rest jalapeno. Enough to make 6 cups when chopped very finely.

I also used one onion --because that's all I had. The recipe called for 2 cups and I only got one.

I chopped all this with the small dicer on my Videlia Chop Wizard (which I LOVE!)

I also chopped 6+ cups of peeled tomatoes, using the larger attachment.


Add to chopped ingredients:

2 cups cider vinegar

10 cloves minced garlic

4T minced cilantro

4t oregano

1t cumin

3t salt

2-3 cans tomato paste

(Tomato paste is for the purpose of thickening, so you can adjust the quantity to your liking)
Simply combine all ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Carefully ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim and threads of jars with a damp cloth. Place lids on jars (I heated my lids along with the jars to steralize them). Screw ring down evenly and firmly, but do not use excessive force.

Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

All my jars sealed and I had enough extra (I ran out of jars) to keep about a quart in the fridge. It is sooo yummy. It's pretty hot because "Some like it Hot" ;) so if you want a milder version, I would just substitute more tomatoes for some of the peppers. This is supposed to yield 6 pints, but I was pleased to get 12 pints and a quart.

Monday's Merchant

This is a tale of Monday's Merchant who merrily went to market with 4 little munchkins and her mom! On a Monday of all things!

My girls LOVE wearing denim. It's like their homeschool uniform. :) These still have lots of wear in them and are nice brands. Jolt, Children's Place & Gap!

Four great skirts all for less than the brand new price of one!

They've already been washed, ironed and hung!