All Good Gifts

   Last night a brilliant sunset painted the sky over the bare harvested fields. Although there have been dry spells this year, the fields still yielded good crops for the farmer who tills this land behind our house. It seems only weeks ago these fields were planted with corn and soybeans, but the cycle is completed and harvest is finished. 

    I was reminded of the hymn by Matthias Claudius, "We Plow the Fields."

We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land,

But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand.

God sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,

The breezes, and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.

Refrain

All good gifts around us are sent from heav'n above,

We thank you, God, we thank you, God, for all your love.

You only are the Maker of all things near and far.

You paint the wayside flower, you light the evening star.

The winds and waves obey you, by you the birds are fed;

Much more to us, your children, you give our daily bread.

We thank you then, Creator, for all things bright and good,

The seed-time and the harvest, our life, our health, our food.

Accept the gifts we offer for all your love imparts, 

And what you most would welcome, our humble, thankful hearts.

 

Patience

   My mother-in-law sold her house and the contents seven years ago and moved to a nursing home. Among other things, I bought her huge Christmas Cactus and Amaryllis plants. The Amaryllis bloomed for several years but then refused to bloom again. I kept trying for the last four years without success. Discouraged, I let the pot sit in the dark basement room for about a year and totally ignored it. 

   About two weeks ago I noticed some leaves had started to grow. They were pale and looked sickly. I brought the pot up to the sunlight and the results were amazing. The leaves turned green and grew rapidly. Within days a bud appeared and the stem shot up an inch or more per day. The bud opened and split to reveal four blossoms. Today they are opening into bright red flowers.

   There is a lesson in this story. Sometimes things seem hopeless and there's no use trying any longer. But as long as there is life, there is hope. It may take a long time, but things will happen when the time is right and there will be joy. "Let patience have her perfect work." (James 1:4)

Faith of Our Fathers

 My newest book was released on October 4. Faith of Our Fathers was written at the request of CAM Books for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of Anabaptism on January 21, 1525. The stories of the five most prominent leaders, Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, Michael Sattler, and Menno Simons, are told in chronological order. 

Where was Conrad Grebel when Felix Manz was martyred? Where was Michael Sattler the night Conrad Grebel baptized George Blaurock? How many people were baptized that night? Did Menno Simons meet any of the first four men? You can find the answers to these and other questions in the book.

The book is now available in bookstores or can be ordered online from

 https://cambooks.org/shop/cam-published-books/young-readers/faith-of-our-fathers/

End of the Books

    In 2003, I had 5,000 copies printed of my first self-published book, Annie's Day of Light. The book sold like hotcakes and in less than a year I had another 4,000 copies printed. Self-publishing means the writer pays for the printing and the books are delivered to his/her address. Then it is the writer's job to advertise and ship the books to buyers. We stored the book pile on pallets in a corner of the basement where there were no water lines overhead. This is how the book pile looked after a shipment.

   A book always sells best when it is new. By the time the second printing arrived, sales had slowed and continued to decrease as the years passed by. I could not afford to advertise just one book. Cost of advertising ate all the profits. Without advertising, sales kept dropping.

   Then I self-published a second book, A Home for Sarah, in 2006 and the pile was stacked high for the third time. Those 5,000 copies sold within six months and I had another 3,000 printed. That book sold out several years ago but I still had about 1,000 copies of Annie's Day of Light. I thought the pile would outlive me and I'd never see the floor in that corner again.

    Then a miracle happened. In June, two women who have the Honey I'm a Homemaker podcast did an episode on the  Annie book. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hp319xMkeQ

    Sales skyrocketed. Today, three months later, the pile is gone and I can see the floor again. We hung the porch swing that had been in that corner before the books came. It had been in storage all these years and most of our grandchildren never saw it. The three cases still in the corner are an order I need to deliver and an assortment of my books I kept for my own use.

   

   It took 21 years to sell 17,000 books. I am not reprinting. I don't want to be bothered with it anymore. I have written ten more books since self-publishing these two but went through a publisher who handles the cost of printing, advertising and shipping of sales. The royalties are not as great as the profits in self-publishing, but it's a lot less work and headache. I'm just glad I lived to see the end of the books!

   

Off to School

    August 26 was the opening day of school for all but one of our younger grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The other school started August 27.

Grayson, grade 7

Nick, grade 6; William, grade 5; Emma, grade 4

Avery, grade 1

Colton, preschool

Abigail, preschool

   Our generations cross with the last two. Colton is a great-grandchild and Abigail is a grandchild. Avery is also a great-grandchild. Abigail was allowed to enter preschool this year because her fourth birthday is less than a month after the opening day. Everybody is smiling and looking happy to go to school. 

Rough and Tumble

    Leroy's dad was on the committee for many years of the Rough & Tumble Old Thresherman's Reunion at Kinzers, PA. It is always held the middle of August and boasts of being the "Most Complete Steam and Gas Show in the East." There are steam traction engines, antique tractors, threshing machines, Hit & Miss gas engines, stationary balers, antique wagons, miniature steam trains, and more.

    Because Pop was heavily involved, his wife and children went with him. Rough & Tumble became a family tradition. One of the grandsons took his place on the board when he died in 2004 but the tradition of going to Rough & Tumble is carried on by his children, grandchildren, and now the great-grandchildren.

    Gerald took Abi last year and she couldn't get done looking at tractors. He took her again this year and she had a blast. As soon as they got there she headed for the train.

   Then it was on to see the tractors and other things.

One of the Stauffer tractors

Row of steam engines

Barrel train

Smaller train

Corn box

Ice cream turned by a tiny steam engine made by a Stauffer

Digging in the sawdust

It was an exhausting day for  a little girl.

    

Fruits of Our Labors

    

    On a hot humid day in August one can sense the ripeness of the year. The earth is producing an abundance of fruits and vegetables that beg to be preserved for the coming winter. The four big canning and freezing jobs in August are corn, tomatoes, peaches, and applesauce. 

   Years ago, when I was feeding a family of six children, I canned fruit in two-quart jars and did 100 quarts each of peaches and applesauce. I don't remember how many dozen ears of corn we did but we needed six cups of corn for one meal. We all pitched in to husk a huge pile of corn. Now, I put only one cup of corn in a pack. Peaches and applesauce are in one-quart jars and that is enough for at least three meals. Green beans are in pint jars, pickles and relishes in half-pint jars. 

    I only did eight dozen ears of corn this year. A grandson came one day in July and helped us get it in the freezer. It was such a small pile I didn't think to take pictures that day.

   Today my supplies of the big four are complete and stored away for another winter, thanks to a daughter-in-law, Velma, who volunteered to help. Yesterday she came to help can peaches for another daughter-in-law, Kelly, who has two small children. I had done my own peaches earlier so these were all for Kelly.

Sam is six-months-old

   Today Velma brought the green beans and tomato products she canned for me at her house and helped can applesauce for both of us. Bless her heart!

    

Everybody helped, even Grandpa

Abi stirred the red hot cinnamon candy into some of the applesauce to make her daddy's favorite flavor.

   When we were finished we had thirty quarts of applesauce, nine quarts for me and nineteen for Kelly. I had also canned two pints and six half-pints of sweet pickles before they came to start on the applesauce. Before we are a full week into the month, the August rush is over for 2024. 

   I am grateful for the help with canning. It would have been a lot of work for me to do everything by myself. Thanks also to the people who had extra green beans and pickles in their gardens they were happy to share. We are blessed!