strawberries, you're doing it wrong!!

One of my June-bearing* strawberry plant didn't get the memo. It's blooming now. Late SUMMER!!

Strawberry plant, you're doing it wrong!

SEE. LOOK!  I have now fully documented on media the shame of this rogue plant. If they spend their effort putting forth a harvest now, then they might not produce as well come next June. WRONG!

Little strawberry plant shouldn't feel so bad. Apparently there are a lot of things I do WRONG. The inter webs tell me I've been cutting watermelon WRONG, I've been addressing my emails WRONG, I've been wrapping my duvet WRONG (not that I have one), apparently I've even been eating tic-tac's WRONG for years.

I shouldn't feel so bad. Apparently there are a lot of things the world does WRONG. Moms & dads are doing it WRONG. Democrats, Republicans, Yoga pant wearers all are WRONG WRONG WRONG! Full documentation on social media shows the shame.

Our world sayith let all eyes be on the shamed & never the mocker, the scoffer, the critic.

In truth, a critical attitude says very little about the state of the world around me, but instead says volumes about my ultimate trust in HIM - the Faithful One. If the character of my heart knew Him better as the Great I AM, I wouldn't need to iron my undergarments from their giant twists.

Strawberries, I let you bloom. Though you didn't adhere to my plan.

Yes, there is still wrong in this world. Yes, in a loving relationship we can encourage people to turn towards God. But first check out the plank that may be in your eye (Matt 5:7). & if it is a stone you seek to throw just put it down, even if your right (John 8:1-9). 

Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”  

John 8:10 & 11

*June-bearing strawberries have one big harvest per year. Harvest can start as early as March thru June. In contrast Everbearing strawberries produce a steady harvest throughout the growing season.

adventures in huckelberry

the first rule of huckleberry picking in Idaho is don't talk about huckleberry picking.


So, this summer I've been a bit fanatical about fruit. I've had friends give me lbs of their apples, blackberries, tomatoes etc. I've been turning them into canned goods to sell so I can raise money for a missions trip 2016. So when we were on holiday in the mountains of Idaho this summer I was thrilled to find out the huckleberrys were ripe. All I need to do was find some & jam them.

Idaho, um beautiful!, has several small communities throughout it's mountains. The particular one we visited has friendly faces, hardworking hands & weathered wisdom.  I've been able to spend a bit of my time in this same community from the time I was little. But being at a community & being in a community... they are two different things.

'so where do you find these huckleberries?'  Seems like an acceptable question. But in truth I was asking a question that challenged decades of family secrecy. Most people knew where to find them - as their freezers were full of frozen huckleberries from last years pickings. But getting someone to share this information was quite another affair. Others may have been deterred, but I was determined.

So where do you find huckleberries?
To the honest, this question met silent smiles.
The tactful answered 'oh I don't know, but I know where you can find a great huckleberry shake or pie'
The semi helpful informed me that they were somewhere within the 40 acre circumference - of rugged mountain brush.

My favorite was the helpful smile with detailed instructions to where to find this treasure. 'It's our family secret' she said. She explained that her family wasn't coming up to pick this year, so she might as well share. 'do you have a bucket? because there are piles of them'. Two locations she gave me. I went to the airfield first. After 1 1/2 hours I thought perhaps I missed them. The next set of instructions led me straight to the town dump. 'piles of them' echoed in my ears.

Yes, being at a community is a lot different than being in a community. we all have our valued commodities that we are deeply petrified to share - friendship, identity, attention, leadership, wisdom, the top seat at the table. Almost every community can find itself being stingy in one regard or another. How are you with your commodities? are you afraid they will run out? do you share or do you fear? See, someone always knows when they are not truly let in. No amount of polite tact can make up for that.  It's time to forsake the misplaced value & return it to the stranger & the outsider.

So how did my huckleberry journey end? I couldn't really say. But I do have 2 jars of homemade huckleberry jam that I am selling to fund a missions trip in 2016. Interested?