It’s that time of year again! When the leaves turn, and I wake to crisp air in the morning, my pantry gets a clean sweep and restocking. I’ve stuffed it chock-full of spices, sprinkles, sugars, flours, fruits, candies, nuts, and specialty ingredients for seasonal baking over the next three months. I plan my holiday recipes with experiments in October, so I can decide the winners and losers for Thanksgiving and Christmas giving.
Pumpkin cans stacked next to complimentary spices stand at the ready to mix and pour into pumpkin what-all. From pies to puddings, to sauces to scones to cakes to breads to souffle, pumpkin baking in the oven scents the home with tangible comfort. The sense of smell ignites stories of Autumns long ago when childhood wonder at the change of season opened a world of delights that only October brought. Can you smell the fragrant stories of bygone fall days:
- Trips to apple orchards and pumpkin patches
- Crunching dried leaves under our feet before raking them into piles
- Pulling the sweaters out and wrapping up cozy in the evening
- Cringing in fright when that giant orb spider weaves his web outside the front window
- Carving pumpkins, painting pumpkins; pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!
Though pumpkin itself lacks flavor on its own, a generous blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg is vital to every pumpkin recipe. In fact, this blend of spices, commonly referred to as pumpkin pie spice, adds seasonal flavor to any fall dish.
Each of these spices should be measured with care, though. For instance—more cinnamon than clove, less ginger than cinnamon, and a sparse touch of nutmeg are best. The just right amount pleases the palate. Too much, though, ruins the plate.
And one of those spices, used in excess, is actually toxic.
Nutmeg, the pungent, sweet, warm spice from the dried seeds of the nutmeg tree, though an important element of pumpkin pie spice, when taken alone and in excess acts as poison. A tragic chapter in the story of nutmeg is its 19th century use to induce abortions. In fact, when taken in large amounts it may cause anxiety, drunkenness, confusion, headaches, nausea, allergic reactions, dermatitis, and episodes of hallucinations and psychosis. This type of nutmeg overdose most often happens as an accident in children or on purpose with teenagers experimenting with substance abuse.
This toxic use of a valuable and tasty spice reminds me of how our words, used well and in properly measured amounts, can delight and amplify the satisfaction of a story, well told. Our words can be used to bless or abused to poison. This is true in relation to the technical elements of writing and composition—how we measure out our words with attention to grammar and syntax. But it also relates to the subjects we choose to write about and how we use words to influence readers and culture for good or for ill.
In such times as these, words are wielded as weapons by irresponsible writers, filling print and online platforms with toxic spices. Like a nutmeg overdose. The power of words to poison minds and destroy the reputations of others has become the toxic spice of choice in popular media and entertainment.
As a writer, I feel a higher sense of calling in the words I write. My pen must be an antidote to nutmeg-like toxic-level words stirred into the current events’ mix. When I blend my word spices responsibly—with just the right amount of nutmeg balanced with companion cinnamon, ginger, and clove—I set an example of how to add spice to an otherwise bland squash and enrich a nutritious meal or sweet desert.
I hope to do so with my ready supply of baking ingredients in my pantry this season, as well as the measured words I write and speak. And, I have found the perfect spice blend to the purpose in Philippians 4:8 NLT:
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
My prayer for you is that your word-mix in this present season be finely measured. For all of us who seek to be God flavors in the earth, may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of the Lord—and health to all who taste of it. (Psalm 19:14)
Writer-speaker, Kathryn Ross, ignites a love of literature and learning through Pageant Wagon Publishing. She writes and publishes homeschool enrichment and Christian living books for home, church, and school. In addition, she shepherds writers through the steps book development and production. Her passion to equip women and families in developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle, produces readers and thinkers who can engage the world from a biblical worldview. She blogs and podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and PageantWagonPublishing.com. Connect with Miss Kathy on Facebook.
(C) 2018 Kathryn Ross
Sweetness is the taste commonly associated with sugar. It is a pleasant taste that can energize and delight in measured doses, but also cause illness in excess. How you add sugar to your story, in wise amounts, evenly distributed—with an extra dollop on top at the end—will determine the satisfaction of the story, leaving its reader lifted and smiling.
