At our Forestry Field Day event a few weeks ago, the session hubby and I were most excited about attending was the “Bigleaf Maple Sugaring” session. This session was offered twice during the day, with the first presentation directly after lunch.
So hubby and I made sure to finish up lunch early so we could get to Tent 5 in time to get a seat.
(It was a very popular session … there wound up being about 45 or so people who showed up for this session!)
Upon arriving at Tent 5, we discovered that a fabulous perk of getting there so early was that the teacher of this session had a table set up with several different kinds of Bigleaf Maple Syrup for everyone to sample. He came over to the table and encouraged all of us to try the different ones, as he explained a little bit about each individual producer of each kind.
I have to admit, I was very excited to see what Bigleaf Maple Syrup tasted like!
Much to my surprise, it didn’t taste anything at all like “normal” maple syrup. Bigleaf Maple Syrup has a very “earthy” tone to it, and it isn’t quite as sweet. Hubby and I sampled two different kinds, and we also found it surprising that even though both were Bigleaf Maple Syrup, they each tasted completely different!
During our session, our teacher recommended these two different news-links to watch. I found them fascinating and thought you might enjoy them as well. In the second video (King5 News) the teacher of our session was actually interviewed near the end … look for Kent Wheller in the video.
UW scientists tap into potential for maple syrup industry in Washington | FOX 13 Seattle
Washington could be home to a budding maple syrup industry | king5.com
Here are a few spiritual applications God gave me from our class on learning how to tap our Bigleaf Maple trees and how to make Bigleaf Maple Syrup:
#1. As we read the Bible and learn what God has for us, it’s like eating Bigleaf Maple Syrup! It’s sweet to get a word from God!
“The word of the Lord is sweeter than [Bigleaf Maple Syrup], than [Bigleaf Maple Syrup] from the [Bigleaf Maple trees]. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” – Psalm 19:10-11
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than [Bigleaf Maple Syrup] to my mouth!” – Psalm 119:103
#2. God wants us to thrive and flourish in life. Wisdom will help us do this. We gain wisdom by asking God to give us wisdom – the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom! We gain wisdom by reading the Word of God (the Bible). We gain wisdom by listening to wise counsel & advice from wise people. We gain wisdom by learning from our mistakes. We gain wisdom by learning from the mistakes of others. Wisdom is sweet!
“Eat [Bigleaf Maple Syrup] for it is good; [Bigleaf Maple Syrup] from the [Bigleaf Maple tree] is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you.” – Proverbs 24:13-14
#3. When we listen to the wisdom & counsel of those wise people in our life who are closest to us, it is sweet!
“Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” – Proverbs 27:9
#4. Words which are most often spoken today are words which tear others down. We can use our words to speak life. Kind words are sweet! Honest words are sweet! Gentle words are sweet! Encouraging words are sweet!
“Pleasant words are like [Bigleaf Maple Syrup], sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” – Proverbs 16:24
#5. It is good to have goals! It is good to work hard to accomplish our goals! The satisfaction of achieving a hard-won goal is sweet!
“A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.” – Proverbs 13:19
Thank you God for Bigleaf Maple Syrup!
* Thank you God for your Word (the Bible) … which is sweet like Bigleaf Maple Syrup!
* Thank you God for wisdom … which is sweet like Bigleaf Maple Syrup!
* Thank you God for wise counsel from loving friends … which is sweet like Bigleaf Maple Syrup!
* Thank you God that we can use our words to speak life … which is sweet like Bigleaf Maple Syrup!
* Thank you God for giving us sweet satisfaction in a goal accomplished and a job well done … sweet satisfaction like Bigleaf Maple Syrup!
