Tag: green beans

Accepted By You

Jennifred Jones

Do you accept yourself? Are you accepted by you?

No large painting or detailed sewing project is completed in one day. It takes time and contemplation. It’s an ongoing process with much effort involved.

It’s the same with us. We won’t be where we want to be in one day. Don’t give up because the process takes time – that’s why it’s called a process. It takes time, effort and energy.

We’re not a drive-through delivery. We’re more the slow-cooker.

Be patient with yourself. Allow yourself time to learn new things, to grow and develop. Time will not speed up or slow down.

Think of all the things we like that take time to be the best: sauerkraut, sourdough bread, pickles, marinades, wines, curing time for concrete, paint finishes, molten glass and metals to cool, bird eggs to hatch, water to boil, green beans to can, clothes to dry, packages to arrive, oceans to cross, fish to catch, flowers to grow…

We humans are the most complex of God’s creation, and he said were his best work. Why do we think we are unacceptable and slow and clumsy. We are not living a futile life. It is a valuable life. Accept this about yourself. I am an unfinished person, on a journey, hoping to be the right kind of person for where I am. With God’s help I will achieve what is in store for me. I will be at peace with myself, not get upset with myself and in the meantime help others where I can.

Will you accept yourself today?

The Discomfort of Comfort Foods

Jennifred Jones

The holiday season is over and I am stuffed. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it depends on what you ate and how it makes you feel and act.

That sounds dumb! It’s just food!

Or is it? And is it able to nourish your body?

Don’t say anymore; now you’re getting into something personal, some might think.

My mother always said the reason many people didn’t feel well or had low energy was their bodies were not getting the vitamins and minerals they needed because they were not eating their vegetables.

Another thing she said about eating was ‘moderation and variety’, ‘moderation and variety’. I heard it many times. I believe it is the truth.

Mom was one of 9 kids, growing up in northern Illinois on a small fruit and vegetable farm that her father owned and they all worked hard to make a go of it. They grew up knowing what good produce looked like and tasted like. So they had the variety, and the moderation came about, I’m sure, because there were so many mouths to feed at each meal…not too many got seconds.

So today, when we’re down and stress is high and we want to pamper ourselves or someone else, too often we reach for comfort foods…delicious concoctions of salty, starchy or sweet, buttery flavors. I love it as much as the next person. They’re easy to prepare… or just order in- don’t even have to think about cooking. No need to worry about learning how to discover a genuine ripe melon, or find some fresh green beans, we’ll have our vitamin C in the tomato catsup on our hash-browns.

But…over time our body will begin to complain with aches, pains, low energy, skin conditions, organs begin to shut down, inability to concentrate for very long, and a general low grade feeling all the time.

Don’t reach for the medicine cabinet! Reach for the grocery cart and get some fresh food to put in your body. Take care of it like you would your car. Put in the right fuel and see how many more miles you’ll get from your day.

Come on…this year let’s take good care of our bodies!

You are worth it!

 

Today’s Thanksgiving

Jennifred Jones

Today is Thanksgiving Day. Actually every day is thanksgiving day, but today is the day America set aside to Praise God for bringing them through to a new land and giving them new friends and many new things to learn about…truly a land of new opportunities. So the Pilgrims and the Indians learned to work together and were able to help each other survive and learn new skills and they were so thankful they had a big celebration feast and they all ran off to Meijer to buy a big turkey and sweet potato casserole, green beans and some pecan pie! Not!

They were so thankful that they shared with each other out of what they had on hand from their own lands and root cellars, the men having gone out with bow and arrow or musket and catching deer, wild turkey or pheasant (we don’t really know what all they did or did not eat), but they made do with what they had, shared liberally, and were just glad to be together giving thanks with and for each other.

Why are you writing about this, you might say? Today, this Thanksgiving, was a bit different for me than in the past. My family is all grown and are scattered all over the land and sea and some had other families they were ‘thanking’ with, so I decided to head to town. I went to our brand new Fresh Thyme Market and had some salted caramel coffee and some yogurt covered Christmas pretzels and looked over all the wonderful food and thoroughly enjoyed myself! I ended up buying a couple ground sausages for dinner tomorrow to have for my brother and his wife and that was it!

I had talked with most of the kids early in the morning and I went home to cook my supper, my own thanksgiving dinner.

Guess what I cooked? A skillet full of ‘pottage’, chopped kale, chopped onion, frozen corn and peas and seasoned it with garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper and topped it all off with feta cheese. I made some orange, banana, walnut muffins earlier and that was my dessert. Rather unconventional, but I was happy! The thought came to me, I have so much to be thankful for, God has met all my needs, I didn’t need to have to have turkey, and cranberry and pie to make my day. It was OK to eat from what I had on hand. After all, it was just me, and that was fine with me. I’m not opposed to tradition, but this is how it worked today for me.

I thought, ‘how nice it is to be content even though you may not be doing things the way others are doing things’. They do what works for them; I do what works for me. It takes all the pressure off… knowing it is okay to be thankful with what I have all by myself and be happy for everyone else being thankful wherever they may be.