Spirit

Encouragement from the Scriptures necessary for spiritual wellness.

MYO Vegetable Broth

by ladypbwiggins

Okay vegans, vegetarians, plant-based, clean whatever your label this is a definite budget booster. Standing in the grocery store or online  trying to decide which is the healthiest vegetable broth to buy could be overwhelming. Like the good determined to be clean eating people you are, time is spent reading and comparing ingredients. Even after choosing the one with the least ingredients, you think about the preservatives added so this little box can sit safely on the shelf.

Make Your Own is the solution. It is very easy. I must admit I used the recipe with a few changes. I added a jalapeno. Wasn’t very spicy because it was diluted by 10 cups of water and the water from the vegetables. Also, I did not use a pot to simmer on the stove. I used my 10 cup pressure cooker on the soup setting. I had more than a 10 cup yield. Less liquid is lost with the pressure cooker.

My yield was 4 cups in 3 ziplocked bags.

3 bags x 4 cups = 12 cups bagged and

1  1 quart mason jar= 4 cups

So I had 16 cups of vegetable broth.

But wait that’s not all. What about the cooked veggies? I juiced them. From that process i got another 16 cups The result was thicker so I think it would be great for soup or chili bases.(The darker jars contain the veggie juice). So I had a total of 32 cups of vegetable broth.

And then there’s the pulp from the juiced veggies. I’m thinking about dehydrating to make a veggie boullion. Don’t know if that will work but I shall see.

For the Budget

It cost at my local market $2.60 for a 32oz box of organic vegetable broth. 32oz = 4 cups

I made 32 cups. 8 oz  =1 cup

32 cupsx8oz = 256 oz

256oz equals how many 32 oz boxes.  I made the equivalent of 8 boxes of organic veggie broth with no preservatives. I froze most of it. The cost was under $10. The mushrooms were the expensive part. If you make it without mushrooms and use other veggies it might be even less.

To be fare; If I had purchased 8 boxes the cost would have been $2.60×8= $20.80. I know for some the $10+ dollar difference isn’t much but don’t forget about preservatives and sitting on shelves.

It only took the time to wash 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks , 1 onion 1 leek, 4 garlic cloves and 8 oz of mushrooms. Put in pressure cooker. Bottle after it cools. That’s it. I juiced the cooked veggies so that took about another 5 minutes to put them in my Nama J2 and bottle the juice.

Just a little Wisdom

by ladypbwiggins

Where there is no WISE guidance, the nation Falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 11:14

Most certainly, the evil man will NOT be unpunished, the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.  Proverbs 11:21

Think about it.

Note: Capitalization is mine for emphasis.

Not Forgotten

by ladypbwiggins

When you feel people have forgotten your acts of kindness;

When you feel unseen or unheard;

When you feel no one cares about you;

REMEMBER

The Father in Heaven sees, hears, cares and remembers.

You are NOT forgotten.

Daily Character Checklist

by ladypbwiggins

Dear Christian.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you are displeasing God, or so some say. But here is one of the many checklists offered in the Bible. It is concise yet encompassing. It is found in Proverbs 6:16-19.

  1. A proud look – haughtiness, self agrandizing
  2. A lying tongue
  3. Shedding innocent blood
  4. Devising wicked plans
  5. Running toward evil, to do evil, to sit in the company of evil on purpose
  6. False witness who speaks lies
  7. One who sows discord; you know just like to stir up trouble

He really hates lying. He listed it twice. So dear one examine yourself. Be honest. Don’t try to justify your behavior. What you see is yes and amen and then do something about it. Correct it if there is a need. We all fall short sometimes.

Watch What They Do

by ladypbwiggins

He(she) who goes about as a tale bearer reveals secrets. Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his(her) lips.  Proverbs 20:19

Remember when you get that call which purpose is to spill the tea about someone, those same lips will possibly spill the tea about you to them.

My restatement of the next part is, “Don’t get caught up with smooth, complimentary conversation. Watch what they do. Compare it to what they say.”

I wish I had listened to a version of this advice when I was younger. My grandmothers had their version. One in particular I remember.  Lips all the time flapping are probably lying. Your ears are not trash cans.

So hear me young’uns, 😉, Listen closely through the filter of honest and clear observation. Don’t be blindly swayed by gossip wrapped in flattering words.

Consequences

by ladypbwiggins

A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies will not escape.

Proverbs 19:5

Just going to let that sit right there.

Love in Action

by ladypbwiggins

Can you positive example of where you’ve felt loved?

I experienced a car accident that totaled my car. Some friends, a couple, helped me buy a brand new car. They paid the down payment, taxes and registration without my asking. Their action supported their statements of love.

Redefining

by ladypbwiggins

Hi Everyone.

For those who are former followers, I  am renewing my presence in this digital world. For those who are and will be new, welcome.

My randomness has not changed. The “black soil” has just been seasoned and is richer than before. I have gone through a deep loss. I have gone through the grief that accompanied that loss. I  discovered in that process that I was also grieving the loss of 45 year old identities. 

I hear you saying, “What?” For 45 years my identity was somebodies’ something which consumed the original. I was my husband’s wife, my children’s mother, and the Pastor’s wife. I am still my children’s mother but they don’t need me the same way. The question, “who am I now?” popped into my mind and I grieved that loss.

I am now ready to find Pat; To redefine and to live the rest of my days as my New authentic self. What does that look like? We will find out together.  My soil is getting richer.

The least

by ladypbwiggins

Gideon judges 6:14-15 7:9-11

I was sitting thinking about a sermon presented a few weeks ago. It was from the book of Judges about a guy named Gideon. Gideon was chosen by God to fight the enemy of His people. When Gideon was informed by the prophet, his response was, “My family is the least of families, and I am the least in my family.” There is much more to the story, but the thought of “the least” is what has captured my thoughts.

Have you ever thought of yourself as “the least?” Have you ever compared yourself to others? Did you decide you weren’t good enough based on that comparison? Well, listen to this. God loves choosing “the least” to do great things. David was the youngest son, a sherpard boy. Esther was a Hebrew girl in captivity who became Queen of Persia. Matthew was a tax collector hated by all, yet Jesus chose him. Mary Magneline was a prostitute but Jesus chose her. Peter was an uneducated fisherman. Jesus chose him, and he became a leader of the apostles. I am not great by man’s standards but He chose me. I could go on but I won’t. This is my point. God has a plan for you that will make you great for His purposes. It might not be on a grand scale. You might not even be recognized by those around you. But if you follow His plan, you will be great on His grand scale. Go in the strength you have and trust Him to give you what you need to do the job. You are not “the least” in His eyes.

Trust God to make you Great.

Not Again!

by ladypbwiggins

No matter how hard you try, we will not be erased. We will not be eradicated. We are like ants. We are resilient. We are industrious. Regardless of the industry, good or bad. We ARE industrious. The skills our ancestors possessed on the plantation they brought with them from Africa. Our ancestors had societal structures:government, commerce, agriculture, and construction. What was learned from slavery was how to avoid the whip. How to live with rape. How to swallow pride for the sake of survival. I won’t talk about methodology. We might need to use them again.

Mr. DeSantis and those of like mind, all the whitewash in the world will not hide the atrocities done to our ancestors. We will always BLEED through. The TRUTH will always come through. Your children will discover that you lied to them.

We, as a people, survived slavery. We survived Jim Crow. We will survive the “Jim Crow” you are trying to create. You say slavery taught us skills we needed. You are correct. You taught us how to survive people and attitudes like you. We can navigate the ploys you implement. Our ancestors passed those lessons down. We may have forgotten that we needed them, but we did not forget them.

So, I implore my people teach those lessons to our kids and grandkids. Teach them our history, good and bad. Teach them self-sufficiency. Fraternal organizations and churches increase your community activities that include teaching our people. Use the tools you’ve learned in business and law to strengthen us. We are strong because of our ancestors. We are stronger because of what we’ve personally experienced. We will become stronger still.

Let’s learn from those who HAD to teach our kids our history at home and through those aforementioned organizations. They did not depend on others to teach US about US.

Let’s Get Busy