This week Deborah and I told ourselves that we weren’t going to have an episode as long as our last two Well, in one way we were right. We apparently are not capable of being short on words. We are embracing our verbosity and just throwing caution to the wind. We hope you enjoy this episode. We had such a great time making it!

Show Notes

Patterns, yarns, shops and supplies mentioned

Malabrigo

Twisted Owl Fiber Studio – Desert Sunset

Wasatch and Wool Yarns (LYS)

Lane Cervinia

Isabel’s Yarn Shop

Cascade Heritage Paints – Sage Honey

Marianated Yarns – Jungle

Madelinetosh – unicorn tales in Glazed Pecan, Neon Peach, Flashdance, and Cousteau

Knitpicks Felici – in Time Traveler, Bubble, Kaliedescope, Rainbow and Hawthorn fingering

KitKat Hat by Andre Sue Knits (pattern)

ChaioGoo needles

Addi Sock Rockets

Paradise Fibers (LYS in Spokane Washington)

Sweet Georgia Yarns – Smitten

Ella Rae Lace Merino

Geek Socks (pattern)

Mrs. Crosby Loves to Play – Bahama Woodstar

Muriel Capelet by Louisa Harding from Knits from an English Rose (pattern)

Loop by Casapinka (pattern)

Reversible Bucket Bag  from the Bag Making Bible (sewing pattern)

Podcasts mentioned

Little Bobbins Knits

Amanda Makes

Bakery Bears

Books Mentioned

The Lonesome Gods by Louis L’Amour

1984 by George Orwell

The Cursed Child by JK Rowling , Jack Thorn, and John Tiffany

The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien

Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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If you are like us, and have a garden, you probably have zucchini overload! There are some summers where it literally takes over my kitchen counters! What a good problem to have, really. I have a list of things I do with mine to try and vary the zucchini eating experience. Here is just one of the recipes I make with mine. It’s extremely simple, quick, and delicious!

Lemon Garlic Zucchini Wedges with Parmesan

Gluten Free

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, finely minced
• Garlic Salt and Lemon Pepper for seasoning
• 2-4 TBS freshly grated parmesan cheese
• cherry tomatoes and herbs for garnish
• Fresh marinara, and/or ranch dressing for dipping.

I used Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper, and Lawry’s Garlic Salt.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large ziplock baggie, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, garlic salt, and lemon pepper. Set aside.
3. Cut zucchini into long wedges, about 1/2″ thick. Add these to the baggie containing the olive oil mixture and seal the baggie closed. Gently squish around with your hands to evenly distribute the olive oil.
4. Dump out onto a large baking sheet and sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 11-12 minutes.
6. At the end of the cooking time, switch the oven to broil and continue baking for about 3 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.
7. Remove from the oven and place on serving dish. Sprinkle cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs over the top to garnish.
8. Serve piping hot with fresh marinara, or my personal favorite, ranch dressing for dipping.

*Note: I did a quick search online and saw that both of the seasonings I used are gluten free. You should always check this out for yourself each time you purchase, as companies often change ingredients or processing methods.

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I love journaling pages! Some of my favorites come from Allison at Simple Inspirations. One of her gratitude charts sparked an idea and I used it as inspiration to create a General Conference journaling page. I plan to use it as a way to organize main points from a speaker and take more detailed notes on separate pages. My family has a discussion after the last session of conference on Sunday and it always helps me to remember who spoke about what easily without having to dig through piles of notes.

Please enjoy these for your own personal use. There is a black and white version as well as one in color.

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Two weeks ago my church’s General Conference was held. It’s an opportunity for church members to hear messages from our leaders that inspire us to be focused on the most important things.

One of the talks that has stayed with me was by Elder Joseph W. Sitati and was titled “Be Fruitful, Multiply and Subdue the Earth.”

This is not a new topic to the Christian world. In Genesis 1:27-28 we read the following:

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The concept of subduing the earth has much depth and meaning behind it but today I want to concentrate on the first part of that sentence.

What’s funny is that whenever I’ve heard the phrase “be fruitful and multiply” I thought it was all one thing – the instruction to have children.

Now, we know that God’s commandment to multiply is still in force. Children are a gift from God and our families are central to His plan for us. We have the responsibility to bring children into this world, nourish and nurture them, teach them and train them, and most of all, love them. There are many who believe that this commandment is wrong. That the world is too over-populated. Or maybe that there is just not enough good in the world to justify bringing children into it. I disagree with all of those statements.

But that is not the purpose of this post. How do we continue to live this commandment when we are no longer having children? Does that mean that our work is done?

Be fruitful.

In John 15:5-8 we read:

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

And in Matthew 7:20 we are told that “by their fruits, ye shall know them.”

What does it mean to be the branches? Another way of describing this is the more current Producer vs Consumer mindset.

Richard and I like to call this being a Creator rather than a consumer.

Creators vs Consumers

A creator is someone who is bringing forth good fruit. Wherever they go or whatever they do, they leave a place better and richer for having been there. I think of consumers, not in the way that we by necessity consume products but the mindset, as the swarm of locusts who descend on an area and pick it clean then move on to the next area. A creator would be the farmer that comes in and plants and tends his crops, growing food and creating beauty. Another phrase I’ve heard is squatters vs. homesteaders. Which one is there for the long haul? Which one is thinking long-term and planning for the future, not just for themselves but for those to follow after?

I’m not even going to talk about business here. I think there are lots of conversations happening about having a producer mindset in the business world but what about when it comes to our homes, families and communities?

What does it look like?

When you look around it’s easy to see the consumers. Think about education. A short examination will show which families are just looking for the next educational product to consume and use up and which families are invested in assisting, sharing, and building up educational resources and communities.

In communities there are the families who move into neighborhood and stay there for as long as it’s convenient or new and exciting then move on to the next bigger, better location. Then there are families who invest in making the community more unified through serving their neighbors, caring for the common areas, being involved in local government or councils, and generally being aware of each other.

In our homes, friendships, workplaces, communities we have the daily choice whether we are going to build or consume. And don’t forget about the online community.

Even at church we see this. And this is the question I want to pose to myself. Am I being a consumer of the gospel? Or am I being Christ’s hands to build up His kingdom? When I am in a consumer mindset I go to church only looking for what I can get out of it. I am willing to serve only as long as it’s convenient or doesn’t challenge me to step out of my comfort zone. I put in the minimum and that’s what I get out of it.

What would Jesus have us do?

As a co-creator with God I would instead go to church looking for what I can give, who I can serve, who I can lift, and what I can improve. I would look for ways to build those around me. I would fulfill church callings willingly, even ones that are a big stretch for me. In short, I would try to be like Jesus.

He is the greatest example. He literally created the earth. He gave us our lives, our families, all that is beautiful and good and worthy. As we follow His example we become creators/producers and make this world closer to the heaven we look forward to. And we find joy along the way.

I’d highly recommend watching Elder Sitati’s message for yourself. Take a few minutes and nourish yourself so you can go out and create something beautiful today.

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