The mornings have been quite cool the last week, mid 40's.  The days still flirt with the 90's, and the swamp cooler gets a mild workout in the afternoons, but there are sure signs that a cooler time is close.  The weather sites predict that our weekend high will be in the upper 60's and lows in the low 40's.  We live on the outskirts, a bit North, and that could mean as much as 10 degrees lower...pushing close to freezing.

With a wonderful gardening season drawing to a close, I still have a lot of good stuff to harvest.  That's school for the next day!  As we observe the seasonal transition, we see the ending of some crops, we consider how to rescue unripe produce or protect it, preserve what we gather.  Life is school, and this aspect of Americana, many students never see.   Imagine the Pilgrims and others who arrived in uncertainty.  What would they eat?  How would they manage?  There was much to learn by experience, without loads of books and websites to instruct and direct.  We have the benefit of centuries of experience and work at our hands, and can make the most of our modest garden. 

The pending chill brings again the sense of urgency, that we must pick, pick, pick!  DS got a 5 gallon bucket of beans yesterday, and thinks he could probably fill two more today.  "Bean" is living up to his nickname!  That bucket gave me 5 one gallon ziplocs of blanched veggies to freeze.  I have my probable last harvest of lemon cucumbers, and am looking to make some pickles today.  I picked a big bucket of tomatillos yesterday, and am going to try a recipe for jam today.  My dd was a little disgusted at the idea, but I figure it's worth a shot.  I haven't even begun to harvest as many of those as I can.  There are still lots of green tomatoes on the vine...we'll probably try to protect the plants with viscuine later today.

The harvest is plentiful...again.  The workers, while many in our house, are still fewer than I could use today.  Some less skilled youngsters lose interest quickly.  Those more persistent still wear out after a while.  Gotta work, but we can do what we can do.

I've been watching the news lately, and the financial and political environments are crazy.  Reading an article about a certain Congressional leader and his relational connections to someone in a troubled housing entity, I realized why I see so little sorrow in the nation's leadership.  Fear in some...for their finances and positions.  Flippancy.  No godly sorrow, but perhaps that's due to no godly values in many. 

The last few chapters of Isaiah are really interesting.  In verse 3 and 4 of chapter 66, there is a portion that says, "Just as they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations, So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them; Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight."  I think we see many becoming fearful, and the fear is feeding into more fear.    Verse 14 of the same chapter says, "The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, And His indignation to His enemies." 

Going back to the beginning of the chapter, I think I'll meditate as these events play out:

"Thus says the LORD:

'Heaven is My throne,

And earth is My footstool.

Where is the house that you will build Me?

And where is the place of My rest?

For all those things My hand has made,

And all those things exist,'

Says the LORD.

'But on this one will I look:

On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,

And who trembles at My word.' "

Isaiah 66:1-2


The signs of the times in this world tell me to keep my eyes on Jesus.  Nobody knows the day or the hour, but He will fullfill every jot and tittle!  It's an interesting time for a believer, filled with sorrow for a lost and defiant world, filled with excitement because one knows that there is a hope beyond that spoken of by candidates for office.  The Lord is the true "HOPE" candidate, and He holds our world's mess in His hands.  The harvest is so plentiful.  The workers so few.  Some unskilled?  Some weary?  Some distracted?  May we return our attention to His call and His mandate!  Do you have our attention yet, Lord?  What will it take to gain it, if not?  I pray our attention turn to the need to harvest!