Gleaning

Cherries, America, Revival

Cherries, America, Revival

Where can we connect, or often, re-connect?
As most people here in the US celebrated a very different Independence Day in 2020, it was an important time to remember what America means.  As there is so much upheaval, change, and discontent, it feels more important than ever to pull together, to help our neighbors, and to reevaluate our priorities.

What Are You Called To?

I was thankful to be able to spend my Independence Day weekend home in Oregon with my husband and had time to reflect on these things.

Without hesitation, I can say that I firmly believe that although America feels battered, and at times broken, is still the land of the free. The land of the opportunity, and a country worth fighting for.

I want to be a part of the positive change that we need in so many areas, but I also will not surrender the freedoms that men and women have fought and died to give me. To guarantee to me in our land.

I believe that God has created each and every one of us for a purpose.  I believe that when we can live and operate in that truth, we will all be what our world so desperately needs.  I believe in the New Covenant that Jesus ushered in when He came to the earth and fulfilled the law.  As a perfect sacrifice He died so that I can be fully alive, a redeemed Saint.  Am I perfect or without sin?  Of course not!  But I am a child of the one true King and a Saint. In my human flesh, I sin, but that sin is not who I am.
This freedom allows me to focus my life and love on God, others, and the world. I am not competing to find salvation or live a life worthy of acts that might redeem me. That deal is done.

America is ready for this.  This love, this freedom to live out your God-given purpose to serve and be a blessing to those around you. I believe God is calling His people to revival. The broken world we see is built on sin. Where light becomes dark, and evil is called good.

Let us gather as believers, to humble ourselves as those called in His name, and to pray for our nation and our world.  I can’t think of anything more important to our country and our people than asking for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and bring revival to our nation.

What did you reflect on during Independence Day?  Read to the bottom for my Vanilla Tart Cherry Jelly recipe!  

Independence Day

So as I reflected this Independence Day, I decided I wanted to celebrate because America and our freedoms are not canceled.


I had the privilege of going to my friend Jeri's home to partake in gleaning from their overflow of beautiful tart cherries.  They had trees that produced such an abundance that they were seeking others who could benefit from their bounty.


It was a lovely summer day and my husband and I were able to join them for fresh air and some sticky cherry-picking. While we picked and visited, we had such a great conversation about our nation, its current state, and how we could be a part of the change that is so desperately needed.  We recounted our experiences and told stories to learn from one another. Time seemed to slow down at this moment together in community together in this way.  We talked for what felt like hours (but really wasn’t), we filled our bucket, and we enjoyed the woodpeckers as they flew around a dead tree they had inhabited near the cherries.  Check out my long-distance phone photography:



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You can see how I had to brand this image, it's pure photography gold. Obviously!
We headed home with our hearts more full and with a mission to try out my friend's special jam recipe.  Because I am following a specific meal plan right now, it was even more special to create something wonderful knowing I wouldn’t be eating it, but it would be a gift to others.  While I am still learning the conversion ratios for Stevia and honey to replace white sugars, it turned out okay and I used my special collector jars to fill with this beautiful creation.

The perfect way to spend my day celebrating freedom!  Free speech, freedom to travel, and the genuine love of helping one's neighbors.  I hope that every Independence Day I have the opportunity to share wisdom with friends and neighbors, listen to stories and expand our horizons, and share in our abundance, big or small.  God bless America.

Tart Cherry Vanilla Jam

Of course, you know I am going to share some of the wonderful health benefits from these adorable little summer cherries.  That's how we roll; fun, health, and adventure for #RealLife.  Check out 10 Health Benefits of Tart Cherries!

MAKES ~4 (½-PT) JARS

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of chopped tart cherries (if you were using regular cherries, adjust the sweetness accordingly)
  • 2 Tbsp. organic lemon juice
  • 1 cup of water
  • 3 Tbsp. Ball® Classic Pectin (I chose to use low or no-sugar pectin)
  • 1 Tbsp. organic ground cinnamon
  • 1 Vanilla Bean, scraped (or 3 Tbsp vanilla extract, I love this brand for lots of projects, they are a legit company)
  • 2 cups sugar (again, I substituted Stevia and you could try with honey as well).  
I like this company NuNaturals as they are local to me in Oregon, are family owned and operated, and have been rocking healthy products for over 30 years!  Use my link for their site directly and you can use the coupon code WELCOME20 to save 20% off your first order. #winning

Instructions:

  • Combine chopped cherries and lemon juice.
  • Combine prepared fruit, water, cinnamon, vanilla, and Ball® Classic Pectin in a 6-qt. stainless steel or enameled Dutch oven.
  • Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.
  • Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
  • Ladle hot jam into a hot jar, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band, and adjust to fingertip-tight. 
  • Optional to can (otherwise use fresh in the refrigerator)
    • Place jar in a boiling-water canner.  Repeat until all jars are filled.
    • Process jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Turn off heat; remove canner lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
Tip, try a stainless steel straw if you don't have a cherry pitting tool (yes there is such a thing).  Plus, these are great to keep handy to make staying hydration fun and easy as well.  I chatted about those in Sustainable Living Part 1, check that out here!

 

Also, prepare your kitchen for some bright colored juice splatter!  That last one might be a reminder to myself for the next time I hand-pit cherries in my white kitchen 🤣

Download and print this recipe to take it into the kitchen without and keep that cherry splatter off your devices! Tart Cherry Vanilla Jam Recipe_EO4RealLife.pdf

Did you enjoy this info?  Head over and check out the Not My New Normal blog!  You can find it right HERE.

Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links to a few select products I use, enjoy, or recommend. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links, and your purchase supports companies and products I believe in.


Information courtesy of Echo Schneider


Meet Echo Schneider, Chief Adventure Officer

 
Overworked, burned out, and with waning loyalty to an industry that had lost its way and was no longer true to itself.  Of course, career burnout was at an all-time high in my sector and amongst the worst in any field.  It wasn’t all even just about work, though my perfectionism often got the best of me there more than other parts of my life.  I look back and see that I was overwhelmed and questioning so many areas of my life.  Was I doing the right things? From diet to products I bought, from how I was involved in the community to time I was spending with family, and from how I was walking out my faith and showing up in a meaningful way to my world. In this craziness is where I found myself.
 
Healthcare (watch my fingers make air quotes as I say that word and use the term loosely at best) in the US had long been bought and paid for and was no longer masking their symptom management and disease maintenance focus.  It had lost its focus on health; they could give you a pill or cut you open.  But to nurture your health and foster your body’s God-given ability to heal itself, they no longer knew how to do that.  Or worse, no longer desired to be in the business of prevention and healing.
 
As so many professional people were doing in the modern economy, we, as healthcare professionals, we’re doing more with less.  Mandatory overtime, poor ergonomics, and complete lack of an environment to practice self-care were the norm.  And to make it worse?  Because of our specific industry, we added in a loss of our medical freedoms just to stay and do our jobs.  The days of job security were long gone, and I watched in fear as friends and colleagues in sectors across the board were being laid off just to help top leaders move the stock up for shareholders.  How terrifying that this could be the reward for lifelong dedication and hard work!
 
At home, it didn't feel much better.  I fought to find a non-existent work-life balance and to be present while feeling exhausted (have you ever come home from work to fall asleep on the couch and finally be awoken when your Mom calls? Tell me this isn’t just me!).  I was disappointed in myself seeing my self-care fall away, time with friends and family slipping by, and I wasn’t spending the time I wanted serving with my church family or in my community.  
 
Add to that the confusion and frustration of what should have been simple daily choices.  What foods should I be eating? Is this trendy thing something I should try?  Wait, is the product good or bad, I paid more for it, but I feel like I saw an article on them that there was a recall or they were green-washing.  So frustrating and such a time-suck trying to keep up and have the health and abundance our family deserved!  I felt like at every turn that I was running to keep up and felt like I ultimately just found more of the same lies in the name of profits, and more ways my health was ultimately paying the price, yet again.
 
How could anyone thrive in this culture when even those who were well educated and seeking out something better faced with such daunting challenges?  I know, first-world problems, but I longed to create something more, a legacy for myself and others.  To break generational chains and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it stuck in this rat-race.
 
Set the stage for that something.  I have, for so much of my life, been interested in learning, growing, and being a student of personal development.  From an investment with top leadership development companies through their programs for years to Law of Attraction to Conscious Language and so many others, I was finding the mentorship and teaching I needed to make the changes I so desperately desired.  
 
There wasn’t an overnight shift or an immediate awareness to change, but I began to find my path slowly and as a result, was investing myself in new ways.  I was raised by a wise and visionary Mother who had shown me what it was to be an entrepreneur.  I always admired that title and was drawn to it in many ways.  As I dabbled in businesses from my youth through college and beyond, I was picking up pieces of freedom and a stage where I could work for myself to create something new.  
 
As the years went on, I kept pushing myself in that path.  I was helping others, and I was welcoming a team of like-minded friends and family to come with me.  This was possible; we were doing it!  It wasn’t easy, we were doing a side-hustle while still being full-time professionals and wives and Mothers, but we were doing it none the less.

I'm so excited to have found a platform to speak truth. To show up for others in "true health" in ways that I didn’t know could exist when I started down this path.  But I know now that we don't have to settle any longer.  Any of us, friends!  It's time to live the great adventure that you were made for.
 
Now it’s time to move beyond business beyond vocation.  Now we are building a blessing.  That has so many meanings, one being the definition of “a herd of unicorns,” in case you didn’t know.  I was given the title of ‘unicorn’ from a dear friend when she came to know me and saw what I was capable of achieving.  And now it’s my turn to see that light in you.  Join me, and together, we can create a community and movement with a vision to change it all.
 
I don't care what your background is.  What education you received growing up in business, finances, or medicine.  Those things don't matter.  We are walking a new path to freedom in all areas of our lives.
 
I'm writing a new future and destiny for myself and my family, and I won't journey alone.  A mentor taught me to carry the confidence that God has called me to rise, but I will not rise alone.
 
I'm reaching out my hand to you (don't worry, I recently used a plant-based hand sanitizer) so that you are not alone; we will do this together!  
 
You are so worthy.  
 
Your family and your dreams are worth it.  
 
Together we can do this, but you must take the first step. ðŸ‘Š

I can't wait to connect with you via text, email, or on social media!

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