A Bountiful LIFE

Peaches fell from baskets and bowls. They littered the countertops and even occasionally the floor where they had rolled from their perch. Mischele and I looked around with a sense of awe, and an even greater sense of determination; we would tackle this mountain if it took us all day…or even all weekend – okay, so it may take a week, but we were unwavering.

My back started to ache at the thought of standing hunched over the sink, skinning the little beauties in preparation for their winter homes: the canning jars! We looked at each other and sighed. “How long could it possibly take?” Calendar days ticked off in our minds, but we decided to dig in anyway. They certainly weren’t going to can themselves.

Nothing says God’s bounty like a kitchen full of peaches!

God’s bountiful blessings come into our lives in many different ways, and at the most perfect of times. Friends free up their schedules when we need them the most, encouragement abounds when we are at our lowest, and trees are brimming with fruit when the season comes to an end; leading to quality time of work and conversation between friends.

Have you counted your bountiful blessings lately?

Author Anne Voskamp spent a year chronicling all that she was grateful for in the book One Thousand Gifts. Her determination to find something every single day to thank God for, was revolutionary in that she found special in the seemingly ordinary, and gratitude even when it didn’t make sense.

How do you find gratitude when there is so much pain around you?

Where do the heartfelt words begin, when that heart has been broken?

When frustration is all that you feel, why would you want to rejoice?

 

I think the answer lies within the book of Proverbs:

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Reaching out and up when life seems to be closing in, is medicine for the bones. It is exactly what we need to shift our focus from our situation and on to something worthy of our attention. Your Father is working on your situation, He is moving on your behalf all the time, working towards the very best outcome. As we focus on Him, He is shifting our circumstance, bringing in new opportunity, and bringing together what is needed to give us all of the blessings He has planned. But we need to trust.

 

Trust that He loves you

Trust that He is working always for your good

Trust that His bountiful blessings are on the way

Your blessings may seem sprinkled with spatters of tribulation; sometimes that is the way of it. But one day you will look back on those ‘blessings’ as you sit down to a plate of peach cobbler, fresh from the oven – and you will thank Him for the gift of A Bountiful LIFE.

 

_______________________________

Four full days we worked on our massive piles of peaches – the poor little tree outside my kitchen window looks bare and weary from its burden – Like me! We made Peach jam, Peach sauce, and peach cobbler filling to fill our jars for the coming winter months. We’ve included our recipe for the peach cobbler here. We hope you enjoy it! Bon Appetite!

download the pdf here:Canned Peach Cobbler recipe

Canned Peach Cobbler Filling

24 cups ripe, peeled and sliced peaches

4 ½ cups brown sugar

5 ½ cups water

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. vanilla

2 cups plus 3 Tbsp corn starch

1 ¾ cups lemon juice

-combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and water into a large pot. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring constantly so it won’t burn or stick to the bottom. Stir in the corn starch and lemon juice, then return to a simmer and cook till thickened. Add peaches all at once and stir to coat.  Bring mixture to a simmer again and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Add more lemon juice if it seems too thick, but it should be kinda thick…so don’t add too much.

Pack hot peach cobbler mixture into hot quart canning jars. Seal with lids and rings and process in a boing water bath for 30 minutes. Let cool and store in a cool place…preferably dark. But first check and make sure they sealed!  If the center of the lid gives at all when pushed, put that jar into the refrigerator and use soon.  Or you can always put it back into a put, boil again and repack….I’d rather just make cobbler…or pie.  Pie works too! Yumm!

Recipe for making the cobbler with your canned peach filling:

Pour filling into a casserole dish of your choosing. (I like my round 9” diameter dish 🙂 Cover with your choice of cobbler topping (recipes below) and bake at 350 degrees for the amount of time in the topping recipe you choose. Different toppings require different times. Enjoy!!

 

Crunchy Oatmeal Topping

1 cup flour

¾ cup brown sugar

¾ cup rolled oats

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 stick of cold butter  cut into smaller pieces(yes the whole stick….and don’t use margarine – yuck!  And it isn’t good for you!)

-put all ingredients into a food processor and pulse till it resembles coarse meal. If you don’t have a food processor, combine all dry ingredients and cut in butter with a pastry blender, two knives or even a large fork….more work tho L Sprinkle over the filling and bake 30 minutes, or a bit longer if it is not browned…watch closely!

 

Crumbly Sugar Topping

1 cup flour

¼ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. chilled butter

¼ cup boiling water

-Combine flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water with a fork until just combined. Sprinkle topping over the filling and bake! (about 30 minutes…don’t want it to burn!)

 

Original Bisquick Cobbler Topping

1 cup bisquick mix

1 cup milk

½ tsp nutmeg (or cinnamon … I like cinnamon!)

½ cup butter melted

  • Stir together dry ingredients, then stir in the melted butter. You can do this all right in your baking dish! Spoon the peach topping over the mixture and bake 50-60 minutes, The topping will push through the peaches and bubble to the surface….enjoy!

 

 

5 responses to “A Bountiful LIFE

  1. Is Beautiful Life Ministry’s going to have a fall conference again this year? Had a great time last year and didn’t want to miss it if you were!!

    Like

    • So glad that you enjoyed yourself Susan! We had to put the next conference on hold…Hoping to have one at least every other year. It is a huge undertaking and we need to let the workers rest 🙂 Thank you for your interest, we will keep you posted in the future!

      Like

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