Apple Butter sanctification
by darlene hight



I love apple butter! If you offered me my choice from every type of jam, jelly or preserves, I would always go for the apple butter. I like it with peanut butter, I use it when I'm making fingerprint cookies and I love it on hot buttered biscuits. As my kids would say, "It's the bomb!"

Most years, in the fall, we make our own apple sauce. We go to the orchard, pick nice, tart apples and make a family project out of it. I will never forget the year that I decided to make my own apple butter.

Did you know that it takes approximately bushel of apples to make 10 to 12 one-pint (.47 liters) jars of apple butter? Let me spell that one out for you a little more, it takes 21 lbs. (9.45 kg) of apples to make approximately 20 cups of apple butter!

It also takes about nine hours to cook apple butter. This doesn't include the time it takes to peel 21 lbs. of apples, or the time it takes to put it in canning jars or freezer containers. This is just the cook time.

So roughly, it requires a ten to twelve hour day to provide your family with ten tiny jars of apple butter, which my family will polish off in a month or maybe two.

Having said all of that, let me also say that the end result was incredible, fantastic and "Oh so yummy!"

Do I make apple butter every year? No.

Would I, if it was the only way to get it? Absolutely! Some things are just worth the effort.

Sanctification is a time consuming process. God is in the business of producing sanctified Christians and He believes that they too are worth the effort.

Here are two recipes. One you can make at home with apples, hard work, time and patience. The other is a recipe for sanctification that only our God and Creator can produce. However, it is a study that will nourish the soul and affirm God's commitment and concern for you, me and all believers, no matter where we are in the sanctification process.

Virginia Oven Baked Apple Butter

Ingredients
One half bushel of apples
One quart
5 lbs. (2.25 kg) of sugar
6tsp. Cinnamon, 3 tsp. Cloves, 1 tsp. All Spice, 2 TBS. Lemon juice
Ten to 13 one-pint sterilized glass jars
Directions
1. Place apples in a very large pot and add one quart of water. Do not cover the apples in water. Cook the apples down, as if making applesauce.
2. Mash the apples with a fork or hand blender and place in a metal baking pan. You may have to make a few batches separately, depending on the size of your oven. Plus, you want to lose moisture in order to make a thick butter, so don't cover the pan. This cooking process can make a very messy oven, so make sure you're ready to clean it when finished.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F (175 C) and cook apples for 45 minutes or until very bubbly.
4. Remove from oven and stir in spices. Lower the temperature to 275F (135 C) and cook for 4 to 5 hours. Open door occasionally and stir the apples. Take the apples out when they are dark brown in color.
5. If you like the apple butter to be on the sweet side, add 5 pounds of sugar.
6. Put the apples back in the oven at 275F (135 C) for 2 or 3 hours. Stir occasionally. The apples are ready when they look dark red/ brown in color.
7. Put the apple butter in jars. Refrigerate after opening and enjoy!* * *

Recipe for One Sanctified Person

Ingredients

One self-righteous person - Acts 7:54-59 and 8:1 (NIV)

"When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

At this they covered their ears and yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of the young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

And Saul was there giving approval to his death."

Directions
1. Add Conversion - Acts 9:1-6a (NIV)

"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked."

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied."
2. Mix in various trials and a healthy dose of God's provision Acts 9:20-25; 14:18-20; 16:22-23, 16:25-34 and Acts 22:8-13.
3. Apply a bold witness - Acts 24:1416 (NIV)

"However, I [Paul] admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man." Abide in hope and wait for a sure reward!


Darlene Hight 

Darlene is a writer who travels with her husband, Mark across rural United States as he builds power plants.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com







Thanks!

Thank you for sharing this information with the author, it is greatly appreciated so that they are able to follow their work.

Close this window & Print