“Hey, you have to come outside and see this!” my husband burst through the phone from 30 yards away.

Last spring, he happened to see sweet potato slips at a feed store. He planted 20 of them (roots with a little bit of leaf), right next to the tiny, spring version of the annual fall tomato jungle.

Sixteen of the 20 plants came up. We ignored them until after the first hard frost.

Our “negligence” was rewarded with abundance!

All this because he said yes to a few tiny shoots, spending an hour one afternoon covering them with mulch.

“Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.” (Proverbs 14:27 MSG)

Some of the potatoes were big enough to adopt as pets.

We took pictures so the kids could cherish them in remembrance after we ate them.

That night our menu was sweet potato fries, with a side of mashed sweet potatoes smothered in butter and brown sugar.


The next day (and several days since then) we’ve had variations on baked sweet potatoes.

I might need a few new recipes!

“You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s sweet potato kabobs, sweet potato creole, sweet potato gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple sweet potatoes, lemon sweet potatoes, coconut sweet potatoes, pepper sweet potatoes, sweet potato soup, sweet potato stew, sweet potato salad, sweet potato and potatoes, sweet potato burger, sweet potato sandwich.

That — that’s about it.”*

– Bubba on shrimp, Forrest Gump

*quote modified (the feed store wasn’t selling shrimp that day — but God have mercy if they ever do)

If my oldest has inherited his dad’s work ethic (or maybe a strong desire to work alongside his dad)…


the girls have inherited their mom’s gift of enjoyment! 😉

That is a legitimate gift, right?!

The thing I enjoy most is the time together. Being with family makes all the work worth it.

“Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life” (John 6:27 MSG)

“Attend to Me and eat what is good … My words will give life” (Isaiah 55:3a VOICE)

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens … producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit.” (Isaiah 55:10-11a NLT)

“The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.” (Matthew 13:23 MSG)