An Apple A Day

I just had apple pie for breakfast.  (No, Daniel, I didn't eat yours.)  This is the way I look at it.  My nephew Zachary used to call the crust the "bread of the pie," so it's kind of like toast, right?  and there are apples inside.  You know what they say.  "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  I just did myself a favor by eating that pie for breakfast!

We went apple picking on Sunday afternoon.  After church on Sunday morning a gang of us hopped in our cars and headed up to Oak Glen, nestled in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains.  It is the height of apple season, so now is the perfect time.  If you live in southern California it's just over an hour from Orange County and 90 minutes from LA.

After a delicious lunch of ribs and pulled pork sandwiches at The Rib Cage, we got down to business.  This is what we came for - pie!  There are dozens of places to buy fresh-baked pies in Oak Glen but our friends, Mark and Patty, who were our tour guides for the day, swear by the pie at Law's. 

They have a cinnamon sauce to pour over their pies.  We have to agree, their pies are amazing.  We bought a pie, some cinnamon sauce and some ice cream and devoured a pie right then and there.  If you take a trip to Oak Glen be warned, the service at Law's is sloooow, but if you are not in a hurry, the pies are worth the wait.  If you are in a hurry, what are you doing strolling around Oak Glen?

After devouring our pie we knew that wasn't enough, so we had to buy a pie to take home.  Well, maybe we should buy two...

 or three...  Dang!  That pie was good.

After consuming mass quantities of food, we figured it was time to do some walking, so we headed down the road to Los Rios Rancho for apple picking.

First, we braved the corn maze and took a few wrong turns along the way, but eventually made it through to the other side. 

A word to the wise, remember kids,  no matter where you are, always watch out for strangers.

Some are stranger than others.

Finally, it was time to pick apples.  After all the preamble, apple picking was a bit anti-climactic.  The varieties that were available last weekend were a bit picked over and the ones that were loaded on the trees were not yet available to be picked, but we managed to fill a bag and get a photo-op, or two.

"Mom, are we posing for this lame picture for your blog?" 

Why would they say that?

Even though the u-pick apples were picked over, there was a great variety of delicious apples available at the stand.  We loaded up the car with our favorites and a few caramel apples for the kids.  I love Pippen, nice and tart, and discovered that Braeburns are just the right amount of sweet, plus they are crisp and juicy.  Sam and Rachel were greatly amused when they discovered that there is a real variety of apple called a Macintosh, and that it's not just a computer. (The only computer worth owning, their father says.)

If you are able, I would advise you to go to Oak Glen during the week when the crowds are lighter.  If you are interested in more than eating and buying apples, like we were, there are many other great things to see and do in Oak Glen.  The Old Schoolhouse is a fun place to visit and Riley's Farm has family activities year round.

Don't forget your apple a day - crispy juicy apples, or apple pie, apple crisp, caramel apples...

 

God Grant Me Wisdom

"Science is organized knowledge.  Wisdom is organized life." 
 Immanuel Kant

At our church, Convergence, we have embarked on a Sunday study of the book of James.  I love this little book.  It is a  treasure tucked near the end of the Bible and is one of my favorites.  It's jam-packed with kernels of truth and every time I read it I discover something new.

Along with the Sunday messages, our mid-week small groups are discussing this great book.  Last night we discussed this passage from the first chapter of James.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts it like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

I can think of few things more precious than wisdom.

Solomon, the great king of the Israelites, had pleased the Lord so greatly that the Lord appeared to him in a dream and offered him whatever he desired.  Solomon knew the value of wisdom.  It was the one thing he asked for.  To this day we speak of the "wisdom of Solomon."

Wisdom should not be confused with knowledge.  Many intelligent and brilliant people are greatly lacking in wisdom and their lives reflect that.  I don't think wisdom is as simple as common sense.  I beg to differ with Immanuel Kant.  It's more than organized life.  It's deeper than that.  I like these definitions, from YourDictionary.com

- the quality of being wise; power of judging rightly and following the soundest course of action, based on knowledge, experience, understanding, etc.; good judgment; sagacity

- the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.

I especially like the second definition.  I think this is closest to what James is talking about.  

God's promise in this verse is so beautiful.  He has promised that when we ask for wisdom, he will

-"give generously" not in little miserly portions, but abundantly
- "to all"  that includes me and you  
- "without finding fault" he doesn't look at my past record - wow! 

There is just one caveat to this promise.  I like the way The Message words this.

"Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.  People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves.  Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open."
James 1: 6-8 (MSG)

At first blush that seems simple, but upon closer examination I realize I pray that way all the time.  I "worry my prayers."  I am a "wind-whipped wave."  Yikes!

I need God's wisdom.  Without it life is just too much.  Marriage, children, work, finances, relationships, etc.   It is all too much for me to figure out.

I need to make a change from a "wind-whipped wave" to a bold believer, asking for wisdom and believing I will receive it.  My heavenly Father has promised he will grant it.  He is Someone on whom I can depend.


Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

Rise and Shine

Do you remember the little ditty, "It's nice to get up in the morning!  But it's nicer to stay in bed"?

I wholeheartedly agree...with the second part.

I am not a morning person.  Any family member or former roommate or friend who has ever had the pleasure of being around me in the morning will attest to this fact.

I've come a long way in this department.  When I was a teenager and a young adult I was downright mean in the morning, like a rabid dog.  You didn't want to get too close or I was liable to bite off your hand.  I have learned to cope since having children and I can fake it (sort of) most mornings and occasionally paste a smile on my face.  I have to.  I'm the mom.

Part of my maternal duties involves morning.  The advent of cel phones has made the wake-up routine more annoying than ever.  Everyone in the house has set alarms on their phones to go off at varying times, sometimes two or three times.  Cel phones, by their very nature, are not attached to anything, and get left in various rooms, pockets and purses throughout the house.

I am the only member of my family that does not sleep like I'm in a coma.  So, I hear every alarm that is set, from the first through the last and have to go on a scavenger hunt through the house to track them down.  Then I have to awaken the sleeping soul for whom it was intended.

Mornings suck.  It's scriptural.

"If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning,
       it will be taken as a curse."
Proverbs 27:14

I'm not an afternoon person.

Is is just me that feels that slump every afternoon?  I'm working away and I can hear it from the other end of the house.  It's my bed calling, beckoning me to come, lie down and take a wee nap.

Every day it's the same thing.  I have to resist and continue to plod through because most days this slump hits just as I'm expecting the kids to come barreling through the door.  I try not to caffeine my way through the afternoon because, at my age, it affects my ability to sleep at night.  Oh, the dilemma!

Good moms have organized afternoons.  Snacks, homework, what to make for dinner (arrrgh, I hate that one!), homework, housework.  Some days it's all I can do to put one foot in front of the other and make grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.  I feel like I'm shortchanging my family but I can't find any more to give.  Besides, they like cheese.

Afternoons are hard.

I'm not a night person.

I used to be.  I used to love nighttime.  That was when I really started to get going.  Something happened over the past few years.  I got older and nighttime got earlier, or later.  Anyway, it's just not the fun it used to be.  My energy level has disappeared and the sofa looks more and more enticing.

My oldest heads out for the evening at 9 or 10 and I'm not jealous, I'm just thinking, isn't it bedtime?  After my youngest two kids are tucked in for the night I think about settling in to watch a movie or catch up on some work on the computer but all I can really do is drag my butt to bed.  Everything else, even reading a book, seems like too much work.

So, mornings are out, afternoons are shot and nights are kaput.  That leaves me with approximately two really solid hours of time in my day when I am at maximum productivity level.  It appears as though I've shot most of that writing this post today. 

It's definitely time to take a nap.