Apple Butter Offerings

August 16, 2011
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it. {Proverbs 3:27}
As the days grow shorter and mornings grow cooler we know it’s time for our favorite family tradition. Apple picking. The time spent together within the orchards are some of the best memories we carry. But that’s just the beginning. The bushel we bring home contains a whole other set of family togetherness.
Each year we pick the apples that are best for making apple butter. This year was McIntosh. We picked and picked to our hearts delight. The little ones picked them small while the older ones looked for the most ripe. We all tried to deter the youngest girl from picking up the rotten ones from the ground. While little man rode on his papa’s back, occasionally reaching for an apple of his own. At the end of the day we made our way home with almost a whole bushel. Some for snacking but most for the butter. And so we began preparing the first batch.
After our first apple butter year we had some dear friends gift us this apple peeler. I can’t tell you what a time saver it is! Plus it’s simple for the children to crank the handle and help. Much better than Mama standing over the sink with a hand peeler and knife.
All the time we’re thinking of whom we can make a special delivery to. Every year we fail to realize just how much apple butter we make. There have been years when we’ve been selfish and not given away as much as we could have. Only to find jars in our panty later that are no longer good. So this year it’s all gonna go. Every jar. We’ll have some for ourselves, but there’s no sense in storing it. The gift of giving is too enjoyable to withhold from our little ones.
Prayerfully consider how you can bless another family. Do you bake bread? Can you babysit? A simple note to a loved one who’s all alone? A visit to a rest home? Serve at a soup kitchen? Visit an orphanage? Sponsor a child? Listen to somebody who doesn’t normally have willing ears?
There are some very simple ways to show God’s love in a practical way to people you see every day. Giving apple butter doesn’t seem like much when you consider all the hurt in this world. But every heartfelt offering has the ability to open someones eyes to His perfect love.

If you’d like to introduce the fun of apple butter to your family here is a very simple and delicious recipe to follow. Your home will be filled with all sorts of delicious autumn scents!
Blessings!

eucharisteo

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