Katelyn noticed the other day that our grapes were ready. Sure enough, the vines are loaded. It reminds me of the verse from John 15 -
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Then yesterday in church we sang this song:
We're the people of God, called by His name,
called from the dark and delivered from shame;
one holy race, saints every one,
because of the blood of Christ Jesus, the Son.
If we're God's people, we should be showing some "fruit". I've been pondering this a lot lately. I met a new neighbor at the bus stop. She does not come from the same background as I do - 3 children with no father,welfare, etc.. There is no church affiliation or religious beliefs. I'm looking for small ways that I can be a witness. She does not have a car, so she walks home from work. I'm thinking that I could bring her home once in a while, but I can't do it every day. Sometimes, our church has movie night (veggie tales or something similar). The kids could be invited to that. I would love to hear suggestions on what you think. You know, I pray for opportunities to witness and then they come and I get scared and feel insecure. I just feel so out of my comfort zone, if you know what I mean. Sorry, I'm kind of rambling. Just my thoughts for the day.
Lastly, these grapes have got me thinking - grape juice.
I make my own. Here's an easy grape juice recipe:
Wash 100 grapes (or about 2 cups). Put them into Qt. jars.
Add 1/3 cup of sugar. Fill the rest of the jar with boiling water.
Stir gently to dissolve the sugar. Process in canner for 25 minutes.
It's best to let them set for 6 weeks. When ready for serve, strain
out the grapes and drink the juice. Delicious. My kids love it!
12 comments:
Wow! That's impressive! I must say that I am pretty crafty but even I have yet to can stuff! That's awesome, way to go!
Love the grape pictures - I want to eat some! I think it would be a great idea to offer her an occasional ride and invite the kids to some special events. I should look for our EE stuff. It teaches you how to talk about salvation in a normal conversation. I should study it myself again!
Oooh here are the yummy grapes you were talking about...looking good!
Check this link, Karen was talking here about praying with someone, it may encourage you too.
http://surviving-motherhood.blogspot.com/2007/09/testimony-to-gods-sovereignty.html
Yummy!! I'm going to have to try that. Please come to visit us in South Carolina. We'd love to have you!
The pictures bring back memories!! We used to have a ton of grapes growing up!! Only my mom and dad made something else besides grape Juice! LOL :)
That's funny that you and Cheri blogged about grapes at the same time! I didn't know that you both made your own grape juice. That's so cool!
I think the best way is just to show love to her. People notice when you treat them with love and go out of your way to help. Just love on her as much as you can, and pray for her an God will work in her heart. (I always get scared too - I think most of us do, but God isn't scared and he'll touch her heart and open her eyes for you when she sees how your life is different.)
I laughed out loud when I saw your blog- I had no idea that you were blogging about this! Great minds huh....
I just wrote about grapes, too! 'Tis the season! My favorites are the muscadines, but the friend who shares hers also has concords. Very good and very beautiful. I wish I had some vines of my own!
Do you and Cheri live near each other??? Hey Mari will be in MY hometown next week - HOW FUN is that????
Hey Teri, I think you remember that a few weeks ago I also blogged about our grapes....I agree with Laura about just loving people.... that is a testimony in itself and when the opportunity presents itself it will be in a very natural way!
I never knew how to make the grape juice...that´s so cool!
Phew ... I read the blog post, and then just had to read all the comments as well and that took longer than reading the post ! ha ha !
I agree with everyone else ... just love your new neighbor ! The practical things that you can do to help will speak volumes. I think cooking a meal is an amazing "witness". I've cooked meals for people who have NEVER had a meal cooked for them ! Isn't that sad ? It's such a simple way to say "I care about you and your family !"
That's my two cents !
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