Happy Memorial Day!

Grand Dad E

Papaw D

Military service personnel deserve our respect and gratitude. Pray for someone today who is serving and remember your ancestors who fought to make our country free.

My husband served in the military, so did his father and grandfather. My brother-in-law retired from the military. My uncle served in WWI. Our nephew is serving. My cousin lost her son in Iraq.

We are so blessed we take everything for granted. It may not always be so blessed. Take a look at what's going on in the world and our country and you can see that it probably isn't going to last.
America may have her faults, but there are still hordes of people trying to come here. All you need to do is travel to a few foreign countries to see why.

My honey. What a handsome guy!

Think and Act Positive

We can probably all confess to negative thinking, which can lead to negative actions. I've got a "blessing book" that a friend gave me to remember my blessings in. What a great idea! I've read through and received encouragement from what I'd written not very long ago. It's amazing how soon we forget God's blessings to us.

"Every generous act of giving and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow." -James 1:17

I purposed to sit down and write every positive thing I could think of pertaining to my husband today. It's sometimes easy to count our spouses failings. How many negative things would we want calculated about ourselves? Oh my! What a list my honey would have on me!

So here's a partial list of his awesome attributes:

He goes to church with us on Sunday mornings.
He teaches our son valuable things.
He doesn't go out without me.
He always remembers my birthday with a sweet card.
He never talks down to me.
He goes to work and provides for his family.
He takes care of the house, the yard and the cars.
He hugs our big son.
He usually asks my opinion and considers my point of view.
He loves my momma.
He pets my dog, takes her out, and feeds the cat.
He cleans the huge hairballs out of the drain.

Top that list.

Taking Offense

I've had a couple of conversations recently about taking offense. Someone thought they'd offended or hurt me and I wasn't offended at all. I told them that I rarely get offended. That sounds like a brag, and I think the Lord brought to mind later how often I do take offense.


Just one example is my mild road rage. Some days it seems like everyone is talking on their cell phones, running red lights, and I suspect I may have a giant electro-magnet on the side of my car that draws folks out of their lane into mine. So I start talking to the car of offense: "Hey, red car! Get in your lane!" , "Don't pull out, don't pull out truck!"


My 76 year-old mother was in my car one day as this was going on and commented, "Honey, don't talk to those people they can't hear you, and it's a sign of immaturity." I was offended when she said that, but......she was right. :)


I think that more than not being easily offended at people I'm just oblivious. Oblivious that anyone would intend to leave me out, snub me, intentionally do something mean. Now, if you hurt my babies, watch out! I usually notice that.


One of my sisters used to call me Miss Gullible. Gullible is being easily deceived or duped. All her practical jokes and tricks worked on me. I still love her, by the way.


"He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love" -Proverbs 17:9

Happy Mother's Day!

What an honor and responsibility women and mothers have!


"She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
' Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.'
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates." - Proverbs 31:27-31

"But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." -Titus 2:1-5


The world doesn't reward women who stay at home to raise their families. Who work from home, or do whatever they can to be with their husbands and children.
To the contrary, society would have us believe that motherhood, raising a family and caring for them is somehow demeaning, trivial, and beneath any smart woman.

How we are deceived if we fall for that one! The years pass so quickly. We have to make wise choices now, for when the little ones are grown up where will they have received their world view, their view of God, their view of right and wrong? From the people who love them most and want the best for them, or?

Sandwiches Aren't Just For Kids!

Summer is coming and there's nothing like a substantial sandwich for easiness and keeping the kitchen cool.

I love a good sandwich. When we lived in Europe we ate bretzel sandwiches, which are a soft pretzel type sandwich. There were also the brotchen that we used to load up with all kinds of wonderful cheeses and meat. American cheese just isn't real cheese, people!

I haven't made pretzels in years, but I think it's time to try to make bretzels for sandwiches. When I figure that recipe out again I'll post it.

When I make a sandwich for a real meal I try to have some good stuff on hand:

• Hard rolls or hoagie buns
• Olive Oil
• Fresh rosemary or oregano (just a tiny bit), or dried Italian herbs
  
• Shaved meat, shredded or sliced leftover turkey or chicken, and/or pepperoni
  
• Real cheese, some kind of cheddar, Swiss, or other tasty cheese
• Fresh baby spinach or leaf lettuce (pile it on, you can't taste it, and it's good for you)
  
• Tomatoes
• Sliced avocados, or guacamole....(Yes, that's guacamole on my sandwich there.)
• Onions or chives, if you like
• Coarse ground pepper
  

Drizzle a little olive oil on the open bread and sprinkle with Italian herbs, or fresh snipped herbs and toast in the oven. When the bread is toasty place the cheese on one side and the meat on the other side. Toast until warm. Pile on the veggies and enjoy!

Stew and Cornbread

The rainy days have me hankerin' for some stew and cornbread cakes. My mamma always made the best cornbread. She still does! She'll use the stone-ground cornmeal, which is harder to find now, but it does make a difference.

Stew is another one of those things that you can't really mess up. You put what you like in it, and it only takes a little of each thing which is why the Stone Soup Story works so well. Momma used to save bits of veggies in the freezer and put them in the stew when she made it.

Hearty Beef Stew

I start out with some roast meat cubed up and browned. Place the meat in the crockpot. I sometimes brown some onions and fresh garlic in the same pan. I deglaze the pan by putting in some water and scraping the yummy browned particles from the bottom of the pan. Pour that into your crockpot with the meat. Then I usually put in the following:

• carrots
• potatoes
• green beans
• corn
• cabbage
• celery or celery seed
• oregano
  
• rosemary
• tomato sauce or canned spaghetti sauce
• salt to taste
• black pepper only when you're ready to serve, as black pepper becomes bitter with too much cooking.
  

Other fun things you can add:

• pepperoni or smoked sausage
  
• lentils
• barley
• zucchini
  
• peas

Cook in the crockpot until done.

Cornbread Cakes

• 1 cup cornmeal (hopefully stone-ground)
• 1 cup flour
• 4tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• oil for frying

Mix the dry ingredients and stir in the eggs and milk.
You may put this batter in a hot oiled skillet and bake it normally, or you can make fried corn cakes.

To fry the cakes, place a little oil in a large skillet, electric skillet or griddle pan.
Spoon a large spoonful of the batter onto the hot skillet. Turn when good and browned.

Hurry Honey Biscuits

These are the softest, fluffiest, most moist biscuits, because they are made with yeast and oil.
You can use olive oil or some coconut oil, and experiment with using part whole wheat flour. You can use honey in place of the sugar, or put some grated cheese and garlic in them for a dinner biscuit.

These make a large batch, but you can place the leftover dough in the fridge and make more when you like. Leave room in the container for yeast expansion.

Hurry Honey Biscuits don't necessarily have honey in them, the name just means biscuits made in a hurry....Honey. It's a real hurry if you have the dough made up and waiting in the fridge. Ask me how often I really do that. ;)

Hurry Honey Biscuits

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 pkg. or 2 1/4 tsp. yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 5+ cups of flour

Pour warm water in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Let sit a moment then add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Stir in the oil and buttermilk. Stir the dry ingredients together and add to the wet mixture. Stir in enough flour to make a soft, not too sticky dough. Dump the dough onto the counter which has been dusted with flour and knead just enough to make the dough smooth and not sticky. Too much kneading will produce tough biscuits.


Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut out your biscuits using a cutter or glass dipped in flour. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.

How Homeschooled Teens Have Fun

You don't usually have to worry what Christian homeschooled teenage boys are getting into.

Mostly parents just have to worry if the wrestling matches are held indoors around small siblings, pets and breakables, or if their tent filled up with rainwater the night before and they're too tough to come inside.

I'm so grateful to the Lord for these good Christian young men who are counted among my son's friends. They are worth their weight in gold....and they're pretty heavy if you're on the bottom of the dogpile!

There is a saying : "A young man is known by the company he keeps."

What kind of company does your young person keep? Important questions to ask no matter where you live, no matter where your kids school.

Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

Proverbs 12:26
The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27:9
Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.

^"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." -John 15:12-14

"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." -James 4:3-5


If you think the teen years will be too tough to handle homeschooling, please try not to feel that way. Do your very best to stick it out, it's worth it. These years are just as important as when they're littles. Get help, get tutoring, or co-op classes. Barter with someone who is knowledgeable in whatever scares you, just remember why you started down this road. Keep your feet on the path if at all possible. There can be big, big rewards at the end.