What is the largest fruit in the world? It’s the American fall favorite, the pumpkin, known for its round shape and bright-orange flesh. A single pumpkin can grow as large as 1,000 lbs or more, depending on the seed variety. Each year, competition growers sow their seeds around June or July, hoping to produce the largest pumpkin in the world by the first of October.
This year, the 2007 record was scattered at the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers (OVGPG) Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off [whew!] by a specimen weighing-in at 1,725 pounds. Christy Harp, a schoolteacher from Jackson Township, Ohio, set the new record and hopes to teach the world her growing secrets.
Dixie Classic Fair - NC's Record Breaking Pumpkin
North Carolina’s pumpkin record was also broken this year by Ricky Holder, who produced a pumpkin weighing in at 1,257.8 lbs. and crushing the current record of 960 lbs. Our family got to see it on display at the Dixie Classic Fair and it was impressive! A child around us remarked, “Here’s the Great Pumpkin.” It definitely could have been with its massive breadth.
After I looked at our pictures from the fair, I decided to Google for any news articles about Ricky’s record-breaking pumpkin and I found a newsreel from the local station, WXII. I listened to the clip several times to hear how Ricky grew the gigantic pumpkin. Because of my unsuccessful attempt to grow pumpkins this year, I hoped Ricky could give me some tips for next year. Instead of gardening tips, I heard something in the clip that amazed me.
VIDEO: WXII News – Ricky Holder’s Record Breaking Pumpkin
The announcer said that, at one point during its growth, the pumpkin was putting on 38 lbs. a day. If you do the math, that’s 7.6, 5lb bags of sugar. That’s an incredible increase in a short period of time. Was it possible to just sit there for a few hours and watch the pumpkin grow?
It made me think of a Bible passage in Thessalonians. Paul, Silas, and Timothy wrote a letter of Thanksgiving and Prayer to the church of the Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 1:3-4
3We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 4Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
It would be amazing to grow in faith and wisdom at the rate Ricky’s pumpkin grew. You can’t measure intangible things like faith, love, and perseverance, but if you could, then imagine adding thirty-eight pounds of those things each day in our Christian lives. The results would be powerful.
Ricky said that it required a lot of hard work, good soil, lots of fertilizer, and a little bit of luck to grow his champion pumpkin. Christians can apply that technique in our lives by working hard for the Lord, planting ourselves in his firm foundation (soil), studying the scriptures and praying daily (fertilizer), and having faith and trust in God (it is a sure thing.) If we do those things, we will surely grow with God.
Tags: Christian growth, record breaking pumpkins, Shared Devotion, Shared Devotions, talks with God
I love GOD so much and I wish my faith would increase as quickly as that pumpkin, but we do have to endure so many things in order to grow that faith. A faith not tested is a faith not trusted!If we never went through the battles, how would we know HE would deliver us? Those rescues lets us know we can trust HIM, thus growing our faith even more, and HE allows this to happen over and over, and to think GOD never gives up on us and is always testing us to grow us closer to HIMSELF. Thank you for the post it is a great one.
You mentioned not knowing about Tim Hawkins in a comment on my site, you can go to You Tube and watch a bunch of his videos or you can buy the whole DVD which is sooo funny. It called \"Full Range of Motion\". You will laugh all through it. He is so animated as well. So funny that Tim Hawkins.
Thank you for coming to visit My Christian Diary and I hope you will visit again soon. GOD bless you!
Your sister in CHRIST,
Donna
I’ve never seen a pumpkin that large, that’s amazing. What in the world do they do with it? Do companies buy them or are they just for competition sake? Have a great weekend.
Jude´s last blog ..Risk Of Illness From Raw Oysters?
Donna, Your are really on target. The hazards we encounter while we grow in the Lord are difficult and keep us from growing at the alarming rate that Ricky’s pumpkin grew. Thanks so much for posting. I’ll keep checking your blog. It’s great. Thanks, Jeanne
Jeanne@Shared Devotions´s last blog ..Pumpkin Chronicles: Growing As Christians
Hi Jude, the large pumpkins are too stringy to eat and the seeds are too hard. The best use would be mulch. You could probably carve it and my kids wanted to open it up to see if they could all fit in it.
Thanks for posting.
Jeanne@Shared Devotions´s last blog ..Pumpkin Chronicles: Growing As Christians
Now that’s one giant pumpkin. I know my kids would go crazy about it if it was pumpkin-carving season
Ron Marn´s last blog ..Pine cabin bed
Now that\’s one giant pumpkin. I know my kids would go crazy about it if it was pumpkin-carving season
Now that\\\’s one giant pumpkin. I know my kids would go crazy about it if it was pumpkin-carving season
Ron Marn´s last blog ..Pine cabin bed
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