Give Thanks and Give Back

Come, ye thankful people, come,

Raise the song of harvest home!

All is safely gathered in,

Ere the winter storms begin;

God, our Maker, doth provide

For our wants to be supplied;

Come to God’s own temple, come;

Raise the song of harvest home!

It has been such a long, warm, and glorious fall this year.  Farmers in the area have basically wrapped up fall harvest.  I just gave away the last of my tomato harvest and even though Gertrude the geranium is still in full bloom, she was hauled down to her winter quarters next to the washing machine.  Thanksgiving seems to be the marker signaling the close to one season and the beginning of the next.  In the past it is been the harvest celebration at the end of the growing season, the last hurrah before the rolling in of the winter storms.  It seems that the focus has change to still mark the change of the season but it is more the kick off for the Christmas shopping season.  

Recently I was discussing spiritual disciplines with a few friends.  These disciplines included reading, studying, and memorizing scripture, prayer, service, fasting, giving or tithing, etc.  I mentioned the discipline of celebration and they both gave me a surprised look.  Celebration doesn’t get a lot of press in the spiritual disciplines but the Israelites in the Old Testament to celebrating seriously and I think God enjoys a good party.  There were at least seven major feasts listed in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.  A handful of these were harvest festivals since it was an agrarian society.  

At one of the festivals the firstfruits of the harvest were offered.  I think the following sums up the purpose of these offers:

The offering of the firstfruits to God was a statement of gratitude and a confession that the benefits of the harvest came by his grace. Also, in giving the very first of their produce to God, Israel learned not to hoard but to trust God for provision.
I was surprised by “a confession that the benefits of the harvest come by his grace”.  I might always be a little nervous when I see the word “confession”.  I do like the idea of going beyond being thankful to humbling confessing that my work and striving had nothing to do with these blessings but it is all by His grace.  I also think I fall into the trap of “hoarding my blessings”.  If God blessed me with something once does that me he will bless in the same ways again or do I need to store up that blessing since it might not come around again?  God may bless in the same way or He may choose a completely different avenue of blessing but we can trust that He will always provide for us.  

Another harvest festival was called the Feast of Weeks.  It celebrated the end of the grain festival—very much like our Thanksgiving.  The purpose of this festival was to give gratitude to God for all the crops that had been gathered in during the year.  In fact, each individual made an offering and the portions of the offering were based on the size of his harvest.  

Here’s my editorial portion of this post: Each year it seems that more of the Thanksgiving Day is carved away from giving thanks and turned into an extra day for Black Friday.  I would venture to say that Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping crowds make it difficult to ponder and confess all the blessings we have only because of His grace.  Kudos to companies who are willing to sacrifice some of their bottom line for the sake of not taking a chunk of Thanksgiving Day and turning it into cash.  A few years ago REI, a large outdoor retailer, decided that it wouldn’t even open its stores for Black Friday but encourages its customers to go outside instead of standing in lines.  That’s my plan for Friday.  It’s not that I am sacrificing anything to miss the sales—in fact I will probably avoid all retail areas until January.  But hopefully Arthur and I will take a hike, enjoying the fall weather since it may be our last chance before swirling snows, and recount God’s blessings.  Additionally, just like the Feasts of Weeks, we have an opportunity to give in proportion to what we have “harvested” this year on Giving Tuesday.  Giving Tuesday started about 4 years ago as a day set aside to give to charitable organizations in the chaos of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Many organizations have matching funds to double what is donated on Giving Tuesday.  Heifer International, which is an organization that gives farm animals to people to help end of the cycle of poverty, has a grant to double donations this year and World Vision is teaming up with Thirty-One products to provide bags or totes with donations made on Tuesday.  

We are so blessed in ways that are not universal.  We are reminded that as I write this, almost one person in one hundred alive today are either refugees or internally displaced due to political upheaval or natural disaster.  It is not due to our own efforts that we are not among those numbers, it is pure grace, and I hope that fact will fill us with compassion towards those whose external circumstances have made the future deeply uncertain.  Consider giving to an international relief organizations this Thanksgiving season to alleviate this huge source of human suffering.

We are blessed to live in homes with running water, heating and air conditioning, and comfortable furnishings, all in a time when so many in our own country will have no home to turn to.  While we may work hard every day to provide these comforts, it is also very true that the circumstances very much outside our control and given us completely by grace have given us this gift.  We were born into loving families that nurtured us physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually; support systems that are far from universal.  Let compassion be your default position towards those you see on the street, and offer a smile and an encouraging word should circumstance allow it.

Today, we will still down to a feast at a time when one billion live off of less than a dollar a day and one person in six in the United States will at some point this year experience food uncertainty.  We are again humbled by God’s goodness in providing us with good jobs made possible through the collective workings of this country that creates a stable economy.  Remember God’s love for the widow and orphan, and think of your local food pantry this holiday season.

So many of our needs and pleasures are provided for as a direct result of our education.  We praise God for the advancements and social good provided for by a society that values education enough to provide it to all children and has, to varying degrees, recognized the value of higher education and worked to make is accessible for the rich and poor.  That societal stance has made the life we live possible.  We are reminded that huge disparities in educational opportunity still exist today.  As God has gifted you, encourage the imagination of the children you interact with, and consider giving to organizations to bring the blessing of education to children around the world.

We are blessed with easy access to health care.  It is scary to consider where Arthur might be were it not for the care he received while fighting through depression, and we praise God for the health care providers who made his clean bill of health possible.  So many do not receive that care, and not just when it comes do mental health disorders.  Diabetes goes untreated, dental work goes undone, preventable diseases kill so many, even in this affluent country, that we are overwhelmed with thanksgiving for the grace given our family and grieved by the fact that so many do not receive the same.  Encourage and support programs that work to bring about these ends.

We need to nurture an attitude of thanksgiving for all the provisions God has provided and also recognize that we need to give back in return.  Now I need to go peel five pounds of potatoes for my mom so we can so sit around a table filled with several of the people who mean the most to me in the world.  Omnia Vincit Amor.

Lakeside Retreat

Each year Arthur and several friends from college get together to reconnect for a weekend.  My friends know that if Arthur is going for the weekend I will more than likely plan a get together.  For the past few months they have been asking about when Arthur and his friends are meeting so we can go on a camping trip.  Finally the guys set the date for the last weekend in October which would be perfect for us to have a campout.  So we actually decided that camping outside that late in October might be a little iffy weather-wise so I was able to snag a cabin at a state park to have indoor accommodations.  As it turns out with a high of 80F this weekend camping outside would have worked just fine but having a kitchen and bathroom facilities was a plus for some of the group.

On Saturday afternoon we all met up at Milford Lake State Park.  We had reserved a small cabin that would sleep 4 and it was almost like a tiny-house or at least felt that way when 4 women drag along all the stuff they need for overnight.  It was located right along the lake edge so we spent part of the afternoon sitting outside chatting and enjoying the view.  We decided that hiking was in order being at a state park and we found an area where they had recently held a cross country race so paths were well mowed in the tall grass.  We wandered around enjoying the sunshine and crunching the fall leaves under our feet.

After our hike we were hungry so we dove into bowls of chicken cheesy chowder which it the spot on a fall day.  As we were enjoying the soup we notice the sun was sinking low on the horizon which meant we had to leave dinner and watch the sunset.  We ran down a trail about 1/4 of a mile to an observation tower only to find trees blocking the view.  So we turned around and ran back to the car to scope out a better viewing location.  One of the campgrounds was named Sunset Ridge which sounded pretty good.  When we arrived we jumped out of the car and made our way to a bench just as the sun dipped below the lake.  We enjoyed the beauty for a while and those who didn't run cross country in high school tried to catch their breath after some high-intensity sunset watching-- who knew it was an cardio activity.

Since darkness was setting in it was time to light a fire.  After all a camping is not complete without a fire and more specifically s'mores.  I love that sitting around a fire encourages conversation but when there is a lull in the conversation it isn't awkward silence but thoughtful reflection while gazing into the dancing flames.  Once we got some decent coals the marshmallow roasting began.  As the night air cooled we pulled out our plaid flannel shirts which made the evening more cozy.

Our final entertainment for the evening was stargazing.  We hiked up to an open area on top of a hill overlooking the lake and found a dark and brilliant night sky to spread a blanket beneath.  We are marveled about how the stars are out most evening but we never take the time to stop and appreciate this wonder.  It was also a treat that we saw five or six shooting stars too.  We laid on the ground, lost in the stars for probably an hour, until it finally got chilly enough we called it quits to go snuggle up in sleeping bags in the cabin for the night.  

Homesteading Activities

While we don't technically own any land or a home, the past few weeks have been full of "homesteading" activities.  Wikipedia defines homesteading as a lifestyle of self-sufficiency.  We are miles away from true self-sufficiency we love the challenge of moving our lifestyle in that direction on the spectrum.  Not because we have to but more of a hobby.  Here is a short report on our latest activities:
- We attended the Mother Earth News Fair last weekend.  This is our second time to attend and it is always a fun day to learn new things.  The Mother Earth News is a magazine focused on modern homesteading, all things DIY, eco-living, gardening, and sustainability.  The fair has a plethora of speakers on a wide range of topics as well as vendors.  My parents joined us again this year.  My mom and I attend a lot of the gardening presentations.  My dad has some interests in some of the farming talks.  And Arthur attends a little bit of everything-- from heritage hog breeds to food fermentation to improving air quality in the home.  We always come home with great ideas for someday...when we have our own house and yard.  But we did learn about a lot of things we can do now-- gardening in 2 square feet, making butter and yogurt, having a worm bin.

- I was excited to go to a presentation on vermiculture- using worms to produce compost.  It was also encouraging that about 60 people have worms at their homes and we are not alone.  A few weeks ago we harvested our worm compost while watching the presidential debates.  We figured that both the debate and digging through worm poop would be messy, stinky, disgusting, and have some mud-slinging.  We harvested 4 bags of compost.  Later at the fair we saw worm compost selling for $20 for a 5 pound bag.  We have a gold mine in our basement.

- Attending the fair also got me motivated to do my fall clean up in my garden and plant my "fall" crops of spinach, radish, and carrots.  While technically fall crops should have been planted about a month ago I have the advantage of just bringing my "field" inside when it gets too cold.  Of course it was 85F when I was cleaning the garden and doesn't feel like a hard freeze is just around the corner.

- Arthur attended a talk on making cheese and butter and I listened to one on homemade yogurt.  This has inspired some experimenting in our kitchen.  Arthur is still making sourdough bread from the yeast culture he grew last spring.  Last night he whipped up some fresh butter from cream and we mixed it with fresh basil and some dried tomatoes to make an herb butter for the bread.  We will keep you posted on cheese and yogurt updates in the future. Omnia Vincit Amor.