Plan Your Harvest!
Spring is the time of new hope and new beginnings. A time to plant what is to become the harvest. What do you want to see growing in the fields of your life? It’s time to make a plan for your harvest.
Happy Spring!
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing~
Marian McCoy Boveri
It’s the time of year when fresh vegetables abound as the harvest is gathered. This delightful recipe is from Eating Well. Since maple syrup is a great option, there is a conversion for maple syrup included in the recipe. Maple syrup amounts are reduced by 1/3 from brown sugar and oven times are reduced by 25°F when maple syrup is added to this recipe.
Sweet and Spicy Roasted Carrots
Ingredients:
Directions:
*you could also substitute the brown sugar with 4 teaspoons of maple syrup. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F for step 4.
“It is the most profound work of motherhood that a mother prepares her family for a world she will never see. She creates the connection to the generations past and the generations to come. Traditions by their very essence create this connection and keep her work alive.” ~ Marian Boveri
Generations to Come
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing~
Marian McCoy Boveri
What a beautiful and touching blog post from Natasha Lehrer Lewis
about her mother’s belief in the ability to put back together again an old tattered teddy bear. Indeed it even received a newly-knitted red sweater.
On this Mother’s Day, may all the broken people receive a mother’s love–whether from their own or another. I pray that the broken, tattered pieces of you are repaired. May others then gather around you and knit you a brand new sweater.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing~
Marian McCoy Boveri
It is said that many people break their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January. In fact nearly 40% of the New Year’s resolutions made will have been abandoned by this time. There is even a day designated as “Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day” on January 17 to alleviate the guilt that often accompanies the giving up on these good intentions. The year has barely begun and people have stopped walking on the path they set for the New Year because they fail to realize that the harvest they want to see is dependent on time for its season.
The truth is that we still stand at the threshold of the year. Agriculturally speaking the seeds haven’t even been planted for this year’s harvest. We still remain in the season of planning and preparation. Giving up on this year’s harvest before it has even been planted reflects a lack of awareness on how harvests come to bear fruit. The harvest takes time and work. Indeed you will reap what you sow but the reaping comes in due season. It doesn’t happen overnight.
Women Pulling a Plough circa 1917
In this picture circa 1917, three French women took it upon themselves to bear the burden of pulling the plough because their lives and the lives of their children were dependent upon the harvest. The men were off at war and the retreating German army took the horses which were relied upon to carry the burden of pulling the plough. Planting needed to be done but the ground could not take the seeds until it was cultivated. So the women themselves took on the necessary task of pulling the plough because nothing was going to stop them from receiving a harvest.
Are you willing to do what needs to be done to see the harvests in your life? Start by looking upon the year as the farmer does. The farmer takes time to develop a harvest strategy in order to receive what is needed. What if you looked upon all those things you want to accomplish as potential harvests in your life? A harvest requires some planning and p-l-o-u-g-h-i-n-g and cultivating along with a lot of hard work long before one can even begin to see a harvest.
Is the goal you want to accomplish as important as the harvest was to these women whose families depended upon it to survive? Maybe your survival doesn’t depend on your goal—or maybe it does? The point is that your goal will produce a harvest in your life if you approach it as something that is planted into a field that in turn needs planning, ploughing, planting, cultivation, and harvesting.
It remains that this picture inspired other nations to send women out into the fields to insure there was a harvest while men fought in the war.I pray that it inspires you to do the hard work that needs to be done so that you receive the harvest you have been wanting for. Should the time come for ploughing and there is nothing to pull the plough with, may you remain determined to overcome any difficulties in order to cultivate the field for planting. I hope this inspires you to find a way to put your hand to the plough and plough on.
A Call to the Harvest
Plough on dear friends. Plough on.
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ An Old Irish Blessing ~
Marian McCoy Boveri
Copyright: Marian Boveri @ www.AllThingsHarvest.com
Picture copyright: https://goo.gl/896YLg
The first Monday after Epiphany is known as Plough Monday in certain parts of England and can be celebrated anytime from January 7 to January 14. Plough Monday is preceded by Plough Sunday. Both of these days were considered to mark the start of the agricultural year. Ploughing of the fields began at this time and continued into March in preparation of the season’s planting. These days also signify the end of the Christmas Season and a time to get back to work.
Ploughing the Field
In the early 1400s it was tradition on Plough Sunday to bring the ploughshare to church for a blessing upon it and the land. The ploughshare is the portion of the plough that is the cutting or leading edge. The Reformation put an end to this practice. However, there has been resurgence in the celebration of Plough Sunday with liturgical prayers even written for “Blessing the Plough” and “Blessing the Seed”. In this day and age, the connection to farming for most people has changed. Plough Sunday and Plough Monday have now become a time to celebrate, recognize, and honor the work of farmers and farming.
Written references to Plough Monday go back to the beginning of the 1400s. Farmers would take the plough around to houses seeking donations to keep the plough candle burning in the church. Plough guilds were formed and each often had its own plough light in the church. On Plough Monday they went out together with their plough to raise funds for the church and to maintain the plough lights’ burning. The plough light most likely served as a continuous vigil that was initiated at the Plough Sunday church service prayers for blessings on the year’s coming harvest. With the Reformation, the burning of the plough light was abolished. Shortly thereafter the plough guilds were suppressed as well.
Despite the church connection to Plough Monday having been lost, the tradition of going door-to-door asking for money survived. As there wasn’t a lot of plough work available at this time of year, the ploughmen would seek donations to sustain themselves and their families. The plough was decorated and the ploughmen would parade through the town stopping at houses and asking for money. Those who did not give were threatened with having the front yard ploughed over. These threats were rarely carried out but in some instances were. Plough Monday traditions fell out of practice in the 18th century but have seen resurgence in recent years. Costumes and dances and all types of celebrations accompany the parading of the plough.
The significance of Plough Monday as the beginning of the preparation for the year’s harvest as well as the first “back to work in the New Year day” certainly brings things into perspective. The holidays are over, the New Year has begun, and it is time to put the hand to the plough and start cultivating the fields. For it remains that the preparation of the land is what allows it to be fruitful and bring forth its yield.
Therefore consider what you need to plough into this month in order to be preparing for this year’s planting. Do you know what harvest you want to see this year? Do you know what seeds you need to plant in order to yield that harvest? Taking time now to determine what fields need ploughing in ready for planting will help to bring forth an eventual harvest. As this tradition holds, it is time to plough into the new year. It is time to put the hand to the plough and move forward in cultivating the fields of your life.
Plough on dear friends. Plough on.
[In order to stay consistent with the tradition outlined this post, the use of the UK spelling of “plough” instead of the US spelling of “plow” was used.]
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing~
Marian McCoy Boveri
Photo credit: http://farmiciarestaurant.com/
Happy Epiphany! Happy Three Kings Day!
The Twelve Days of Christmas lead up to the celebration of Epiphany. This day actually marks the beginning of the season of Epiphanytide, known as the Octave of Epiphany, and runs from January 6-13. It is included liturgically in the Christmas Season, although these dates can vary on different calendars. Epiphany is the celebration of the arrival of the Three Kings to visit the Christ child. They came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It is considered to be a “celebration of revelation” as it is the day Jesus is revealed to the world. As the Christmas season ends, the faithful are called to go out into the darkness and witness to the light of the Christ child.
The Three Kings of Epiphany
This is considered to be the traditional day on which to take down Christmas decorations, although some have already this done on Twelfth Night. There are others, however, whose traditions dictate keeping decorations up until Candlemas on February 2, which is the Feast of the Purification and the Feast of the Presentation.
Epiphany celebrations hold some wonderful traditions. This is the day that many enjoy a King’s Cake which was discussed on Twelfth Night. One variation on the King’s Cake that is served on Epiphany is to put a small figurine of the Baby Jesus into the bottom of the cake. The person who receives the piece with the Baby Jesus in it is considered “King or Queen of the Day” and is the one who is supposed to hold a party or at least purchase the next King’s Cake. King’s Cakes are also a tradition of Mardi Gras which officially launches its season on Epiphany with parties held every Sunday until the Tuesday before Lent. King’s Cakes are often decorated with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold. Purple standing for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.
Epiphany is also time for the traditional blessing of one’s home for the upcoming year which dates from the Middle Ages. The blessing is usually done by the head of the household. The present year and the letters “GMB” are written above the door in chalk and a prayer of blessing follows. They would be written for 2017: “20 + G + M + B + 17”. The letters stand for the three Wise Men who followed the star: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. It is also popularly believed the first letters of each word stands also for the Latin phrase “Christus mansionem benedicat” which means “May Christ bless this house”. The “+” signs represent the cross. This is a wonderful activity to do as a familyas a reminder of love and grace abiding in the home. While the chalk eventually does fade– the blessing remains.
Happy Three Kings Day!
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand!
~An Old Irish Blessing~
Marian McCoy Boveri
Photo: Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_ngwozdeva’>ngwozdeva / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
The way to experience a bountiful harvest is to decide on what you want to see yielded in the field. Harvests need to be created purposefully through planning and making the right decisions. On the surface this may appear to be an easy thing to do. Yet proper decisions do require some heart-felt reflection. Without taking the time to reflect upon the true harvests you want to see in your fields, you may be planting the wrong seeds. It is in planting the wrong seeds that you first run the risk of reaping the wrong harvest. Indeed as you well know–you reap what you sow. Each decision itself becomes a seed planted in the field.
Each decision is a seed.
How do you determine the right seeds that need to be sown in the field?
Start with asking yourself:
This will help you formulate the proper decisions that will determine the direction of your planting. Knowing the purpose of the harvest determines the decisions on what to plant in the field. In the end the outcome of the harvests is dependent upon the choices and decisions you make regarding the seeds that are planted in the fields. Strategic decision-making and planning is necessary to achieve the harvests you desire.
It is essential that you continually assess what is growing in the fields in order to make the right decisions on how to cultivate, nourish, and protect the harvest. If what you have planted isn’t growing and bearing fruit, make sure you take the time to stop and reassess the field. If you find something growing in the field that you did not expect or want, it may be that you have to plow the field under and begin again.
The key is to take the time to make the decisions that are needed to insure a bountiful harvest.
Remember, it is up to you to decide what harvests you want to see in your life.
What will you decide to plant in your fields?
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ An Old Irish Blessing
Marian (McCoy) Boveri
As January comes to a close, the planning time for this year’s harvest should be well underway. If you want to see a bountiful harvest in your life–it will require planning. Taking the time to actually sit down and decide on what you want to see growing in the fields of your life is essential to successful harvests.
Deciding on the direction you want your life to go in and the results you would like to see at the end of the year depends upon you. Your harvest is directly dependent upon what you do or do not plant and cultivate in the fields of your life.
What will your barn store?
Whether or not you take time to plan the harvests you would like to see in your life–it remains that something will indeed grow within the fields. Even fields that lie fallow grow something–though it may only be weeds or leftover fruits from a harvest past.
If you don’t take the time to figure out what it is that you want growing in your field, the time will still pass and the growing season with it. It is possible that some of what you want to see in your life will pass you by if you don’t use the opportunity to be deliberate about what you plant in your fields.
Take time to review the fields of your life and reflect upon the past harvests.
In order to maximize the potential of your harvest:
Will this be the year that you grow a bountiful harvest or an accidental one?
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing
Marian (McCoy) Boveri
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