Category Archives: Inspiration

Rotting Fruit

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Alright, my friends… this post is not for the squeamish, so if you can’t handle the yucky stuff, move on. I have a funny story to share. We had a lovely dinner out this past weekend, and halfway through dessert, I put my hand down on the booth beside me, only to discover something sticky… which I promptly blamed on my son for being messy and dropping his dinner between us. I was wrong. It seemed to be my purse leaking some awkward, yet sweet-smelling substance. Rewind a few days. Heading home from work late and a dear co-worker says, “Here, take this banana home – it’s a little too spotted for my liking”. Yup. Popped it in the purse to empty it later… fast forward to three days of overripening fruit accumulating in the bottom of the handbag. Lightly coating the contents in the thin, fruity film à la rot. Gross. Lesson learned.

Please tell me I’m not alone in this constant battle of trying to keep fresh fruit and veggies crisp and vibrant. Who else fights with avocados and zucchini, willing them to stay around long enough to be eaten? Or “gently reminds” their children not to play with the apples for fear of bruising? Of course, individual consumers are not the only ones who fight the rot. Margaret Barth, author of “Microbiological Spoilage of Fruits and Vegetables,” estimates that of all the product that is grown in the United States, 20% will be lost to spoilage.  In Canada, 45% of produced fruits and vegetables are wasted. And 1.4 million kids don’t have access to healthy choices. A sad reality.

And although efforts are being made to rectify these issues, moving forward is prooving to be difficult. I watched a video recently about “American dumpster divers”. Folks who make it their mission to finding the treasures left behind by stores. Now, second generation iphones are one thing to find… but 50 lbs of overripe cherries? How do we save such a rich resource? One lady in the video explained it simply… time. Her crew of helpers wash, cut and process the perfectly-good-but-needing-quick-attention produce to share with those who need it. A job the supermarkets simply can’t take on, and so the dumpster it is. The divers have a worthy cause, although unconventional. How many of us are willing to make the sacrifice? Visions of one slimy purse banana creep into my head.

And so I muse. What “good intentions” do we have that seem to solve little in this messy world? God created the natural world and humans to co-exsist in perfect harmony. Sin arrived and made it messy. Unfortunately, nothing we can do can restore that perfect connection we had with our Creator. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that it is only through God’s gift of grace are we re-united with Him (perfectly…as He originally intended). None of the “good things” we do can reconnect us. Despite our best efforts, good food still rots. If we work hard and make good choices, we can preserve a larger portion of “fruit” and share the wealth with others who can benefit from our efforts… but ultimately God’s perfect gift of salvation is the only way to an eternity in Heaven.

So next time you pluck out that bruised apple from the fruit basket, or search near the back of the fridge and discover the shrivelled up zuchinni (or dare I say find the left over lunch at the bottom of your purse?) be reminded that our best “fruit” still spoils quickly. The dumpster divers among us can assist in using our resources as best we can. We can help reduce the waste by working together to get the job done before time takes over and everything gets yucky. Ultimately, though, we simply must take the gift God gives us from His pure and perfect garden. And how sweet it is, friends, to taste that perfect offering!

Want to learn more about food waste? Here’s some interesting stats: Food Waste

Want to learn more about accepting God’s free gift? Try here: Perfect Fruit

Want to learn ways to make your food last longer? Here’s one source: Preservation

Life is Messy

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Oh, my friends! What a world we have come to live in! Not only have we only just begun to crawl out from under a global pandemic, our own country has faced huge discord among its people in recent weeks, resulting in freezing assets, misguided information, and rally cries for dissension. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Europe has gone to war. Power-hungry men are puffing up their chests in attempts to gain … something. And the innocent are suffering. I have no words. In fact, I skipped a week or two of posts because I am beginning to question it all. Do words have value anymore?

Is it worth my two cents if I choose not to post my personal views and take sides? Is it worth it to “remain neutral” and bring some light-hearted script to encourage when the world is in such darkness? Last week I received a new book on the Psalms (check out my Instagram reel here) and I am looking forward to doing some doodling as I delve into it. The Psalms were never my go-to book. I think King David was a bit bipolar. His words always seemed far too “up and down” for me. One minute praises — the next, deep laments and evil wishes to dash his enemies. Recently I heard this about the Psalms: that you don’t truly know the light until you’ve been in the dark places. I suspect that is a very true statement. And the Psalms hit it on the head.

A couple weeks ago was my eldest daughter’s birthday. Now, she will be the first to admit that her culinary skills are not top-notch. She has a few basic recipes under her belt and she is happy to repeat them week by week. However, she wanted to try a few new things for her birthday dinner. Fine. No problem, sweetie, I will help you shop for ingredients and make a few suggestions, but the work is yours. The food was great. Everything tasted wonderful. The problem with amateur chefs? My kitchen was a disaster! Every dish, every appliance, every spoon and platter was well used and left for dead on every counter space left available. Sigh. These are memories. We can clean up later.

Life, like cooking, is sometimes messy. Challenges abound. Sometimes we have to be under fire to grow, change and “glow”. Life is not meant to be perfect and predictable.

“Governments make plans, but the Lord checks them. He does not let people do everything that they want to do. The plans that the Lord makes will always happen. His ideas will always be with us.”

Psalms‬ ‭33:10-11‬ ‭(EEB)

It’s pretty clear — God doesn’t let people do everything they want. The governments — and the common people, make plans; plans they think are best, but only God has the last say. None of us have been through this life before. We cannot predict the outcome or guarantee that our methods for living will be the most ideal ones. We are like my daughter… following the recipe hoping we interpret the instructions well, and that our efforts will somehow resemble the glossy picture in the book. More often than not, we create a fairly good tasting, but messy delectable delight. This world is full of sin and it’s going to get messy. Life with God will require patience. But God is infinite and promises to bring good out of the mess. 

Photo Credit: Do it yourself from Scratch on WordPress

Perhaps you are like me, tired and at a loss for words about all the things that have been weighing on the world lately. Maybe it has lit a fire under you and your faith has been made stronger in the face of opposition. Maybe you are just trying to eat some good-tasting stuff and will deal with the clean-up later. Take heart to the assurance that “the plans that the Lord makes will always happen” and I don’t think He’s done with us just yet. Be blessed with the journey, friends.

Fun Froggie Facts

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When we were younger, a great gang of us kids would spend long summer days catching frogs in the lake near our summer home. We’d create a make-shift home in our buckets with a landing rock and some seaweed and hope they would stay forever. They didn’t. Our moms would send us back to shore with our bucket o’ frogs and make us release them to the wilderness once again at the end of the day. There aren’t too many frogs left now, pollution has stolen up most of them. They say an unspoiled wetland is teeming with frogs. And they are not just in wetlands, either. Apparently, there are approximately 5 000 species of frogs covering every habitat from wetland to desert tundra! Plus, new types of frogs are being discovered every day!

Here are some fun Froggie facts:

  • a group of frogs is called an army
  • one species of frogs does not have lungs… they breathe through their skin
  • the name Kermit has all but disappeared from the new baby list due to our muppet frog friend
  • frogs blink when they eat in order to push their food down… by using their eyeball muscles
  • the largest frog is the goliath frog weighing in at about 3 kilograms, the smallest is merely a centimeter

Obviously, this week I have been learning some fun frog facts — for some reason, I stumbled upon a fabulous frog fact and haven’t looked back since. Wanna see?

The Glass Frog. Carl C. Hansen, Smithsonian Institution

This is a Glass Frog (Centrolenella colymbiphyllum). Its skin is so translucent that you can watch its heart beating, its blood flowing and its food digesting! They used to be a bit of a mystery to the scientific community because they are only translucent on the bottom half. The top of the frog is lime green, which makes sense, as this is the same colour as the tropical leaves they hang out on. As it turns out the hue of their legs blends in even better when the sun shines down on their leafy home — the brightness shifts — adding to an increase in camouflage for these little buddies. How cool. Not to mention a see-through belly where one can watch digestion happen in live-action? Even cooler. I muse again at the handiwork of our Creator!

Javan gliding tree frog

Wanna hear another fun frog fact? I’m just a bundle of frog information this week, aren’t I? Here goes: frogs have a 3 chambered heart. One part for bringing in oxygen from the skin and two chambers for oxygenation of blood from the rest of the body. A good system as designed by a good God.

So why all this froggie fraternizing this week? Diversity. Frogs are a phenomenal example of how vast and diverse a species can be. Each is adapted to their own special gift; perfectly designed for their specific habitat or lifestyle. Should the giant Goliath frog be jealous of the glass frog’s translucency? Nope. Should the tiny tree frog crave the Hollywood lifestyle of Miss Piggy’s Kermit? Even though it’s “Not easy bein’ green?” I say again, no.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians that we are all individuals, yet still a part of the bigger picture of the body of Christ. We come with our own unique talents, gifts, abilities and yes, faults. Not all of us are perfect, and many of us struggle to change the bad for the better. Our churches are collections of people with differing opinions and ever-changing views. Some we like, and others we argue over. None has been more evident to me than during these last two years of vaccines, lockdowns and Covid restrictions. Still, I believe God has equipped us with a specific set of skills to be His advocate and further His kingdom to the best of our abilities. I mean, if he can make teeny see-thru frogs, why not the complex brain of a human?

We have the unique ability to rationalize. To think and reason and weigh the consequences of our behaviour. Should we really be so petty to focus on being hearts when we should be being hands or feet, or eyeballs that help swallow our food? God designed us to all be parts of the body! Fully Relying On God, Graciously, In Everything. In case you didn’t get it… that’s being a happy little: “F.R.O.G.G.I.E”

Happy Musing, my friends.