On Keeping Simpler Days Alive...

I LOVE simple things,

like bowls and baskets of freshly-picked garden-fare...

like the meals they make...

 like lines of clean laundry flapping in the breeze....

like puppies...

like almost dinner-plate-sized hibiscus...

The list really is endless, isn't it?!!

Sometimes we look back at the simpler way life used to seem

Where time has smoothed the bumps and twists and left a kind of dream

-world in its place; its weariness and brokenness forgot

As we trace precious yesterdays with sentimental thought

Sometimes we mourn Bygone's idyll of simpler, slower pace

And in life's seeming frantic quest for more, feel out of place

Forgetting for the moment, what remains no mystery;

To keep life's simpler days alive is up to you and me

Sometimes the wily ways of want seem to have seized control

Influencing a kind of pace that drains love of its soul

Too pushed to pause and let the beauty of creation awe

Too rushed to linger where progress does not enforce its law

Time's breadth of Day remains the same; twenty-four hour lease

The Word of God will never change; it leads in/to paths of peace

(For the unknown has always tried the hope and trust of hearts

Progress still cannot compensate for what God's Word imparts)

Sometimes we mourn the seeming loss of simpler yesteryears

Before technology seduced and enslaved eyes and ears

While just as it has always been, God's handiwork abounds

In evidence of He whose steadfast mercy still confounds

Sometimes it seems what mankind deems as progress, serves instead

To maim the mind, with chains designed to bind and leave for dead

But wisdom is still free for all to seek and find, if we

Remember what we leave behind is up to you and me

 (thank-you Wendell Berry)

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world; this is still so

Dear mother, homemaker, remember this when you feel low

And quite forgotten in a world where VIP's  compete 

The charge of keeping simpler days alive is no small fete

  

The charge of keeping home fires burning is a high call

For happy home-sweet-home is surely the best wealth of all

Where simpler ways are praiseworthy, and blaze contentment's trail 

Where gratitude is still the key to joy that cannot fail 

The simpler days had their fair share of trouble's portion too

As wisdom's worth was then it is today, and all time through

We are the master of our choices just as They were then

And simpler days can still survive if we so choose. Amen

Janet Martin

Prov.2:1-8

My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding—

3 indeed, if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones...

💗💙💚💛💜

If you still have zucchini and you're not sure what to do with it

the casserole in the above photo is a quick, satisfying supper,

Esp. with a side of freshly sliced tomatoes

or garden-medley salad.

The pictured salad is simply a blend of Greek salad ingreds.

tossed with a light dressing...

Zucchini Casserole

3 eggs, 

1/4 cup olive oil

Whisk then add

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

whisk till smooth then stir in

2 cups shredded zucchini 

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1/4 cup green pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 finely chopped jalapeño pepper (optional)

1/2 -1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup (or desired amount) of meat 

such as cooked ham, bacon, sausage or pepperoni

(also optional)

Pour into a 9x13 or similar size casserole dish

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes