Harvesting Pumpkins and Souls

God and His creations are so amazing, aren’t they? Each season offers us different treasures to celebrate. Winter with its bare branches, frosty windows, and snow gives me permission to stay inside, read, and soak in coziness. Spring is exciting as I plant new seeds and watch them unfurl out of the dirt. Summer brings me sunshine and the joy of a growing garden. But, Fall, Fall is my favorite.

Fall with its warm, bright colors thrills me to my core. The trees around me suddenly adorn themselves with leaves of every color and I love them all. I have been known to stop the car and pick a few leaves on the roadside. And I finally have my own oak tree and I am delighted by the acorns that fall below it.

I love the harvesting of autumn treats (pumpkins, squash, apples, and pears). And then I head into the kitchen to cook up treats with the bounty.

The thought of an Autumn harvest has always delighted me. My family never had a garden, but the pictures I saw in storybooks made harvesting look like so much fun. Now that I’m grown, I delight in growing food for my family to enjoy. I love going out in my garden and discovering new things every day. I have to admit that by the end of the growing season I am exhausted from picking and processing all my food. It turns out that harvesting may look like fun, but it is also a lot of hard work! Then I remember this verse:

“Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8

Soon enough the first frost will put an end to my garden and I will tuck it in under a bed of compost to rest for the winter.

The cooler weather of Fall also allows me to pull out my sweaters. There is just something about wearing sweaters that makes me feel cozy. After the harvest is over, Autumn seems to tell me to stop and rest for a bit. I buy scented candles with cinnamon, pumpkin, and apple scents and check out cozy mystery books from the library. That prepares me for when the Fall rains come, and I am perfectly happy to nest indoors.

“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.” Exodus 23:16

Harvest was of course an important time in Biblical days. Without a good harvest, food was scarce. It was vital therefore to plant, reap, and gather. A quick dive into “harvest scriptures” will give you plenty of material to study. You will find that “harvest” was used not only for food, but for souls as well.

“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.” John 4: 35-36

“Jesus tells his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” Matthew 9:37-38

During this time of creepy décor, I like to remember what God created for us to enjoy in Fall. If you’ve ever grown your own pumpkins or even visited a pumpkin patch, you know the joy of hunting through the vines to find the perfect pumpkin. This simple craft provides plenty of pumpkins, with no muddy feet!

What you’ll need:

Ann Kirsten

Material

Circle patterns
A needle and thread
Twigs from the yard
Cotton batting
Scissors and glue

Instructions:

Draw and cut out circles in various sizes. Remember that your pumpkins will turn out smaller than you think. I used bowls, jar lids, and luncheon plates for my circle patterns.

Ann Kirsten

Once you have enough circles cut out (by the way, this is a great scissor skill for kids because the circles don’t have to be perfect) you can move on to the next step.

Ann Kirsten

Sew a simple running stitch around the top edge, leaving ½ inch at the top. Leave a thread tail at both ends.

Ann Kirsten

Iron your seam allowance in or put a thin line of glue and glue your extra ½ inch in.

Ann Kirsten

Start to gather your stitching. When you’ve gathered half of the circle, place a ball of batting inside. Continue gathering. Dip your twig in glue and place it in the middle. Tie your gathering thread together and tie a tight knot. Clip the ends short or tuck them inside.

Ann Kirsten

Pull the thread ends to gather your running stitch, tucking the raw edges in as you go. Tie a knot in the thread and tuck any loose bits into the top of your pumpkin.

Gathered together on a tray or plate, these make an adorable Autumn display.

Ann Kirsten

Why not make some for friends and neighbors and add a scripture verse. It would make a cute reminder that God created so much colorful bounty for us to enjoy in the Fall. How about:

“Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us”. Psalms 67:6