Speak With Wisdom

More Favorites

2011-12-06T22:54:00.001-06:00

Smart little Benji boy

Awesome couple

Pink little legs

Sweet Daddy & Lucy

She loves unka Aaron

Natural Wonders

Riding with my man

Sunrises and sunsets with my honey

When God Guides The Study

2011-12-06T16:17:00.000-06:00

WOW! When God guides me to scripture after scripture relating the same subject, even though I wasn't studying that concept, or searching for it it makes me excited, wondering where this is going and what He's trying to show me. I had just read a chapter in a book titled Hard Saying of the Old Testament about Abraham and the demand from God that Abraham sacrifice his son. This is a passage in the bible that I have had struggles with over time and finally came to understand, though I still find it intriguing. I laid the book down, and soon after was searching an online concordance for "love", "unending" or "unending love", thinking nothing at all about what I'd just read. The VERY first entry for "love" in the NKJ version of Bible Gateway's concordance is Genesis 22:2 and reads:

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

I thought that was interesting, what a coincidence... but what happened next gave me goose bumps. I put in "God's love" and found one of my favorite scriptures because I learned it in a song from a pastor friend. Micah 6:8. I clicked a link to see the verses in context and this is what I read:

⁷ "Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
      Ten thousand rivers of oil?
      Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
      The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
       ⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good;
      And what does the LORD require of you
      But to do justly,
      To love mercy,
      And to walk humbly with your God"

This passage is telling us that even IF we poured out rivers of oil or gave something precious, such as our children in sacrifice it is not pleasing to God. He NEVER required human sacrifice in the first place, only obedience. Also, CAN we do justly? On our own do we love mercy? Do we ever truly walk humbly? The answer is of course, a resounding, "NO." We cannot, we do not, and most of the time we'd rather not even try because we fail so miserably. Thank the Lord that He Himself was the sacrificial atonement in our place.

Pioneer Woman!!

2011-11-04T18:21:00.000-05:00

I started looking at Pioneer Woman's Blog way back at her beginnings. I think we were even a part of the same online homeschool support group. I was so excited to finally MEET HER!

Her wonderful chicken spaghetti!

She was very personable and sweet. I told her that I also am a photographer and homeschooled my son. She said we had a lot in common. I totally forgot to tell her I'm an Okie too!

Told her all about my precious daughter, living in Germany who would have loved to meet her.

LOOK! It's the Ree Drummond Groupies!

I love her normalcy, her humor and her cowboy boots!

The Old Vinson Home Place

2011-08-28T22:23:00.002-05:00

Last summer I went with my brother, Charles to visit the old Vinson farm. I was just a baby when grandma moved from the farmhouse into Mangum, so I have no memories there, but I love hearing stories from my family, from siblings and cousins who talk about the farm and grandma and grandpa Vinson. I never knew my grandfather so the photos, pages from his personal journal and stories about him are precious to me. I learned that he was something of a poet, so I know where my yearning to write poetry of all sorts came from. The town of Vinson, 20 miles west of Mangum, OK was named for Henry Benjamin Vinson, townsite owner and my great-great grandfather .

Wonderful, lonely, old house nestled in amongst the rattlesnakes and mesquite bushes

When I excitedly showed my aunts, uncles and mom the photos on my laptop it was so sad for them to see it as it is now,
but I love the layers on the old roof, the sagging boards, remaining windows and the rusty tin.

A roost for huge turkey vultures now. I'd like to tell you that they're hawks, or bald eagles...something majestic,
but they serve a purpose and they have pretty nice digs.

I'll post more pics another day from when we saw great uncle Parker's house.

A bloom in the dry soil of West Oklahoma

Kinda reminds me to bloom where God's planted me

Fruity Spinach Salad

2011-08-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

I'm all about saving money by figuring out how I can make something at home for less. This recipe was inspired from three different sources: TV guy I saw make something similar, Panera Bread and the Wednesday night church salad bar. I can eat a whole huge bowl of this stuff! Eat it with one of my Sandwiches - not Just For Kids, or add some chicken to the salad for a meal. It's like having dinner and dessert at the same time! Feel free to add mandarin oranges or fresh pineapple, or to subtract other fruit.

Fruity Spinach Salad

Fresh or bagged Spinach (whole bag if for a crowd)
Blueberries (or blackberries, raspberries...)
Strawberries
Walnuts (or pecans)
Purple Onion
Feta Cheese crumbles

Wash spinach in a colander and take the stems off the larger leaves while it drains. Wash fruit. Cap and quarter strawberries. Very thinly slice a small portion of the purple onion and cut into pieces.

Place spinach in the bowl first then top with the rest of the beautiful ingredients. Drizzle the strawberry dressing over salad right before serving, or serve it on the side for guests to drizzle desired amount.

Strawberry Dressing

1/4 c. Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 c. Honey (could cut this down a little)
1/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
4 large Strawberries

Throw all together into a blender or food processor and blend until berries are fairly smooth.

People Can Disappoint

2011-08-08T18:57:00.001-05:00

People can disappoint me, they can disappoint you. 

I recently thought I was okay with a "something" that happened, or actually failed to happen, in spite of my lofty expectations. The Lord has lead me to realize this week that I need to overcome idol worship in many forms. No, I don't have any golden idols that I burn incense for and bow down in front of, but I have idols nonetheless. You probably have a few that need tearing down too. I think I'll share a series of my thoughts on various idols I've struggled with, and some I continue to haul around with me. These idols sit on my back and weigh me down. I'm ready to chop them to bits and have done with them, but I suspect I'll be just like the Israelites and keep struggling with honoring and fretting over things and people that were never meant to be God to me. A wise woman will realize that only with God's help can we be free of those things which drag us down, and eventually make slaves of us.

So first is PEOPLE as idols. My pastor says "Folks are just folks."  What he means is that people are flawed. They aren't prefect. They WILL hurt and disappoint us. Even the best people in our lives cannot be perfect. They can't fix everything, can't be there for us always....the list goes on. We expect so MUCH from people. Humans were never meant to be God to us. Our children, our husbands, our parents, our teachers, our pastors are not God, but we often treat them as if they should be. We either expect perfection and holiness or a relationship that was never meant to be filled by anyone other than God.  Or WE can set ourselves up as a god. Not THE God, but a god, because we demand perfection of others without mercy. We want adoration as the only one whose agenda matters, and we forget Who the true Lord of the Universe is. (We chuckle at that, but you know it's true) 

We can be seriously hurt...both our pride and feelings if we set ourselves or others in God's place, AND it is a form of idolatry. 

"Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other."  -Deuteronomy 4:39

Summer Blender Drinks - Pina Colada - Family Version

2011-08-08T17:05:00.003-05:00

Drinks bought at coffee shops and restaurants can rack up the $$ for families trying to stay on a budget. There are probably plenty of recipes online for those willing to dig around and who really want to save money.
I will stick to what I know and love to make on my own. Feel free to add a link to your favorite recipes if you like. All of my drinks are family friendly, so there are no "adult" beverages here. :)
Making your own drinks can be quick and easy if you keep some things on hand, like fruit juices, fruit and yogurt.

Pina Coladas for 2

1 cup Pineapple juice
4 Tab. Cream of Coconut (Not fresh juice. The stuff in a can has added sugar)
2 cups ice cubes

Put everything in the blender and blend, turning the blender off and on as needed to let things settle and blend into a frosty wonderfulness! That's all there is to it! Can you believe it? Couldn't be more simple. Figure out how many of these you can make for the cost of juice and a can of cream coconut and you'll think twice about going to Sonic or anywhere else even at happy hour.If there are ice cube chunks in the bottom of your glass that means you either didn't blend long enough, or your blender is having trouble withe the cubes. I have a blender that was mom's, made in the 1970s and it is a powerhouse!

Now go make some other fruity drinks and smoothies. You can do it!

Sister Weekend!!!!

2011-03-26T17:18:00.006-05:00

My sweet sisters and I had a wonderful weekend together! We haven't gotten all of us together since our kids were little, and I don't think we've had a weekend together alone since when WE were still kids playing twister and monopoly. Ah yes, monopoly, the game Jana always won. We let you win, girl, that's all. ;)

How do you like our toes?

We went to the Dallas Arboretum, and I have to say it had to be close to the experience of the Keukenhof gardens in The Netherlands, and a tiny taste of Heaven's garden. It was GORGEOUS! The day was gorgeous, the flowers were gorgeous, and I got to spend the day with gorgeous sissies! You big Sissy!

We had fun last weekend re-bonding, eating, watching a movie, soaking in the hot tub and
left with promises to do this every year from now on.

We women need our sisters, whether they are blood or just best friends who resemble what we'd hoped for in a close sibling.

I am so so blessed to have sisters and a couple of friends who put on the sister skin for me. Who else but they can listen without needing to fix it, just be there for you...hopefully non judgmentally with unconditional love like the Father above? They squeeze you...and pray for you...and...love you. Thank you God for my blessings-my sisters and sisterfriends! If you don't have a close sister - then be one to someone. If they come to your mind, they probably need you!

I think this verse speaks about being that kind of friend. We can think "woman" as we read it:

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." -Proverbs 18:24

Charlie's Choice

2011-03-22T12:35:00.003-05:00

Lamplighter books and audio dramas are wonderful! I truly can't say enough nice things about them. If the books seem too advanced for your readers, then by all means, listen to the abridged audios as a family. They are outstanding in their messages and the format of audio drama. In my opinion a drama with actor's voices, background sounds and music, is much preferable to just hearing a book read, no matter how talented the reader.

Charlie dreams of a better future where money and position could cure his family's problems, he learns about true wealth and about the "Captain of his soul".

It was interesting this morning, just as I finished this audio drama, the radio pastor was preaching on storing up wealth for wealth's sake. He said it was not only sinful, it was silly. I started thinking about a book I'm reading where a character says humans spend all their time amassing things, and they don't stand the test of time- they're like tissue paper, window dressing.

The Lord says:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:19-21

If you look at your receipts and credit card statements where does your $ go? That's probably an indication of where your heart is.

I heard a story from a lady this week who said her dad had put a $100 bill in the cellar under a fruit jar and the termites ATE it! This was years ago when a hundred dollars was a lot of money.

In these economic times we need to make a careful reading of passages like Luke12 about finances and worry.

King James Bible 400th anniversary and William Tyndale

2011-03-16T12:59:00.004-05:00

King James Version of the Bible is 400 years old this year! It was begun in 1604 and completed in 1611.

The King James wasn't the first English Bible, just the first "authorized" by the leader of the English Church, who was also the king, by the way. In 1525, William Tyndale, an English contemporary of Martin Luther, translated the New Testament. Tyndale was the first to translate large parts of the Bible into English, for normal laypersons. During Tyndale's time the English language was scorned as a barbarous language of plowmen and commoners. If you could afford a copy of the scriptures it would most probably be in Latin. Some English translations had been made as far back as the seventh century, but Tyndale's was the first English translation directly using Hebrew and Greek texts. Tyndale's translation was the first printed Bible in English. John Wycliffe had translated the Bible 150 years before, but it was in Middle English, never printed on a printing press and never widely distributed because the press didn't exist yet.

In 1535, Tyndale was arrested by church authorities, and a year later strangled and burned at the stake. His crime? Publishing the scriptures of the New Testament in English.

The fifty-four independent scholars who created the King James Version of the bible in 1611 drew significantly on Tyndale's translations. One estimation suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale's, and the Old Testament 76% his.

The King James Version has helped form our language, given context to our literature, inspired our music, and for centuries was the one book a family owned and read before all others.

I personally love the New King James version because the old King James beautiful poetic language still comes through minus the thees, and thous. Also words like "speaketh" became "speaks"
The 130 translators of the NKJV believed in unyielding faithfulness to the original Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew texts including the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I got my info from:
The Story of The Bible
Wikipedia®
biblicalscholarship.com

Sisterchicks In Wooden Shoes- book review

2011-03-15T14:17:00.002-05:00

Sisterchicks In Wooden Shoes was my first Sisterchicks book, and after reading it I look forward to reading more of this series. As a church librarian I'm always looking for great books our patrons will love and I feel this book meets my criteria for uplifting content in a book.

Summer is a busy mom who manages to juggle her life and keep it all together until she gets a bad report on a medical test. Because of this she decides to travel to Holland to meet her long-time pen pal, Noelle. Summer and her friend spend a wonderful time together visiting Amsterdam and Corrie Ten Boom's House in Harlem.Summer shares her fears with Noelle, and she in return shares her heart.

A few years ago I was able to return to Holland for a visit, so it was quite nice to read about the characters visiting the same places that I love.

Love

2011-02-24T08:43:00.000-06:00

Love...We use the same word whether we mean how we feel about our family, our God, or chocolate. We know it's not the same thing, right?

Benji says: "Nanny, I love you so much my stomach hurts."

"Nanny, I love you a whole pile of frogs!"

"I love Nanny, she's my friend."

Oh, Benji Boy, I want you to love God that way. I want you to love God like He's your friend, and please Him, and raise up a new generation to love Him. That would make me the happiest, if you and all my grandchildren could grow up adored and taught by your families and raise up more just like you! What a blessing you are to your Nanny and Pappy!

Counting My Favorites

2011-02-17T03:43:00.005-06:00

Some of my Favorites are.....

Little Grandsons and Animals...

New Baby Granddaughters and Buttery Soft Skin...

Perfect Roses...

The Color Blue, I love blue and old, Old Wood...

Mountains, the majesty, the enormity, the peace...

Miss Patty Dog and Snow...

My Kindhearted, Smart, Wonderful Kids...

My Honey's Hands and The Word...

A New Godly Generation...

Silhouettes of Bare, Leafless Trees...

All my favorites serve to remind me that I often say I must be one of HIS favorites, otherwise how, how, how, could HE forgive ME and cast my failings as far as the east is from the west and choose to remember them no more?? Actually, there's absolutely nothing that I can do to make myself acceptable to God. THAT is why He died in my place and raised from the dead to pay my penalty. I can never be good enough on my own.
The Lord God is who I owe gratitude for the blessings of each new day and every favorite that comes into my life.
You can be one of His favorites too.

Psalm 103:8-18

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

15 The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

18 with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

Honk If You Love Anti-Christian Bumper Stickers

2011-02-16T23:21:00.000-06:00

Honk If You Love Anti-Christian Bumper Stickers

Is a GREAT post by Russell Moore on his blog Moore To The Point. It's a must read for all Christians. Who of us hasn't let ourselves be angered by those kinds of statements from people, either in person or stuck on a vehicle we're forced to follow for miles. I once saw a car so covered with a weird assortment of stickers I thought, "They have a serious problem with almost everything." Instead of praying for that person, or engaging them in meaningful conversation, we just shut down. Oh, the wiles ways of Satan. Wise women and men, read Mr. Moore's article here.

The Promises She Keeps- book review

2011-02-15T14:56:00.045-06:00

The Promises She Keeps is about a young woman, Promise, who has cystic fibrosis. She yearns to be remembered long after her death, so she pursues a singing career hoping for fame.

Her path crosses with, Chase, an autistic artist, Zack, a troubled young photographer, and Porta, a strange, self-seeking, gallery owner.was an interesting book.

I liked the character development and how the author shows us what autism and cystic fibrosis must be like for those who live it. It was hard to put down. I also liked the allegorical feel of the story line, but I wish it had been made a little plainer that the characters had a relationship with God.

The book was provided for me by the publisher, I was not required to give a good review nor was I compensated.

Free German Language Lessons!

2011-02-11T14:34:00.000-06:00

I just found Free German Language Lessons!

You'd think after living here twice and making trips back I'd be fluent in German. Nein! Just when I think I can say something clearly, someone asks a question that I can't answer and I'm back to:
"Nicht verstehen."

I can understand (verstehen) quite a lot actually. The speaking part gets me in trouble.

I just discovered Deutsche Welle where you can learn German online for FREE! How cool is that?! I'm so excited about it I want the website on my links list on the right. I just started, so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also checking out the Pimsleur method which has some good reviews. Both immerse you in hearing and speaking the language right away instead of learning endless lists of words and never putting them into practice.

Colorado with my Best Friend

2011-02-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

I went to Colorado with my best friend in September. Thought you might like to see a photo. Our sweet, practically grown son was with us and took the photo. It was sort of a 25th anniversary trip. The kids have nearly always gone with us on anniversaries and we couldn't go without him since he'd never been.

I'm soooo blessed to have such a husband. Valentine's Day is coming up and I just want him to know that I'm looking forward to another 25 Valentine's Days with him, even if I don't get to be home for this one. I'm awaiting the eminent birth of a granddaughter here in Germany and will be here instead. It's hard to be in multiple places at once. Us moms always seem to be pulled in a hundred different directions. We are wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, grandmother, with all the jobs those titles entail. Then we add paid and volunteer work to the mix with our aging parents needing a little or a lot more care and we are often stretched to the limit. Sometimes it feels like "To infinity and BEYOND!" So I'm thankful beyond measure to the Lord for my honey. He helps me carry life's burdens and gives me so much joy. I don't worry about my folks, our son, or a multitude of other things while I'm away because I can count on him to take care of things.

My love trusts in him
When the days are hard
Or the nights are sad
He's there for me
I can lean on him

He prays with me
Hands gently encasing mine
I feel a treasure
He would give his life for me
I can rely on him

We listen together
With each word we speak
I know I matter
And he cares for me
I can confide in him

He's kind and true
Thoughtful and strong
He captured my heart
So many years ago
I will cherish him

Fun Inside Activities for Young Ones

2011-02-08T08:05:00.000-06:00

So here's Benji boy enjoying one of the activities I mention below from the
Preschool Activities in a Bag.

Yucky weather or a busy momma makes for restless children, especially the smallest. Sometimes the cheapest fun is the best fun. I used to make a little boy happy with something as simple as tractors and trucks cut out of old magazines, or a ball of yarn that the kids could wind around table legs, doorknobs, anything that wouldn't fall over and break, turning the whole room into a giant spiderweb. The only rules were that the big kids had to watch out for the littles and it all had to be cut off and thrown away before dad came home. I'll post that photo when I find it.

We had the regular blanket tent creations and giant box caves, but also couch cushion castles and bed pillow tunnels. I once or twice let the kids, nieces and nephews included, use an old foam twin mattress to slide down the stairs. Well, okay....I slid once too, but only because they begged and said it was such fun, and it WAS FUN!

Other ideas for bad weather:

Go outside anyway. They do where the weather is rainy or snowy a lot.
Games- charades, board games, hink pink, hide & seek, hot & cold, red light/green light, gossip (a good time to discuss gossip with your kids), Mother may I? Simon says....
Go to a museum or the library.
Make & take cookies to the fire department, police station, or post office. (call first)
Scavenger or treasure hunt.
Get out your favorite Bible kids songs DVD or CD and move or make up your own motions
Have a puppet show (stuffed animals work for this)
Play dress up
Make playdough or Bread dough creations like we did here (play dough recipe coming)

Starfall is a free, interactive website for littles learning their alphabet sounds, and for those beginning to read.

Tumblebooks are ebooks for kids, sometimes narrated by the author. You can get a trial subscription, or access them through a public library with a subscription like this one: Tumblebooks at the Portland Public Library.

One of my favorite sites for littles is DLTK kids Craft page. It has printable paper crafts, alphabet tracer pages, songs and rhymes, mini books, online puzzles, Bible crafts, coloring pages.....

Preschool Activities in a Bag are wonderful fun for preschoolers to do on their own while you work with older children or need an uninterrupted moment for Bible study or housework. Even if you are very crafty and make learning things and games for your kids as I did years ago, these books are great tools to help you plan and do a swap. What's a "swap"? You invite other moms, babysitters, grandmothers...anyone with little people in their lives to make an educational activity in a bag for each participating family, and set a time to get together and swap! That means if there are 20 participants your family will receive 20 different activities! Maybe when you meet and swap you'll have a picnic lunch together as a group, go on a field trip together, or some other extra to get your preschoolers together for some fun. I participated in one my friend, Marsha, organized and then my daughter did one with friends where she lives, in Germany. Here's Benji's stash.

Made by Joel is the blog of a crafty, creative dad. Make sure to check out his printable creations like the paper city, thaumatrope spinner, and easy homemade toys like his branch trees toy and box dollhouse. His blog is chock full of neat, cheap fun, like Cheerios box crafts, simple marionettes, slotted building disks.... well he also has a book, Made to Play.

Francine Rivers

2011-02-07T04:34:00.000-06:00

Francine Rivers is one of my favorite authors. Over the last few months I've read her Mark of the Lion, Sons of Encouragement, Lineage of Grace and Marta's Legacy Series. Her Mother's Hope and Her Daughter's Dream are the two-book series of Marta's Legacy. These books deal with a long period of history from the great-grandmother's time in Europe to present day women. I think these books affected me so profoundly because the stories are loosely based on the author's own family and deals with the perspectives of each woman in the family, their struggles with life and each other. Struggles that many of us have had in our own families to understand and forgive each other.

Tea Cakes For Valentine's Day or Christmas

2011-01-30T15:31:00.000-06:00

Tea Cakes are better known as soft sugar cookies or shortbread to Americans.
Lofthouse is one store brand.

This old recipe has been passed down from mother to daughter for a very long time. Its origin is English-Scottish. Just in the last 150 years it was passed from my great-grandmother, Claudia Paxton-Parker to Edith Thelma Parker-Vinson to Betty June Brown to me and my sisters to our daughters. So I'd say these wonderful cake/cookies are quite the family tradition. I double the recipe for sharing and make them at Christmas time and often Valentine's Day too. Trees for Christmas, hearts for Valentine's. It's a big deal that I'm sharing this super wonderful family recipe with you,
so properly appreciate it. :)

Tea Cakes

2 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter (the real stuff)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract (I added this to the recipe)
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
approximately 5 c. flour

Cream together the eggs, sugar, butter and extracts until fluffy. Add buttermilk and mix. Mix together dry ingredients and add enough flour to have a workable dough. You'll be adding more when you roll out the dough, so be careful. Too much flour affects the taste. Chill the dough for an hour or more for best results, then roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Also, flour the top of the dough a little to prevent the rolling pin from sticking. Cut out using your favorite cookie cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. At this point you may choose to brush the tops of the cookies with egg whites and sprinkle with colored sugar before baking if you don't intend on icing them after baking. Otherwise bake at 325 until just done. If you want them soft there's no need to brown them at all, just cook until set. My mom likes them brown and crispy, but that's not how to get the "Lofthouse" type softie cookie, that brown one is a coffee dunker!

We ice these wonderful cookies after they cool with a true butterceam type icing. No Crisco please!

My Buttercream Icing

1/2 c. softened butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
desired flood coloring
2-4 tsp. milk, or more

Beat together the butter, sugar, coloring, and vanilla. It will be dry. Add the milk a little at a time beating until creamy and spreadable. Spread on the cookies and sprinkle with sprinkles or colored sugar, if desired, while the icing is still wet. This is a good kid job, getting the cookies sprinkled before the icing firms up. ENJOY!

Meatloaf in a Skillet

2010-12-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

I've always made meatloaf....in the oven. Mine and my mom's is the only meatloaf I will eat, but recently I got a wonderful idea from the novel, Jimmy by Robert Whitlow.
This Meatloaf in a Skillet idea came from Jimmy's mother making "meatloaf in a pan" on her stove. So here's the old recipe with a new way of cooking it.

Meatloaf in a Skillet

This batch fell apart in the skillet because I tried to make it without eggs.
It was still quite yummy!

2 lbs. ground chuck
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium bell pepper, chopped (or pulverized in the food processor if you have pepper prejudiced people in your family)
1 medium onion, chopped or pulverized as above. :)
1 sleeve of saltine crackers, crushed
fresh ground mixed pepper
salt
powdered cayenne or hot pepper (optional, you can use Cajun seasoning)
3 eggs
bbq sauce
ketchup

Mix everything except bbq sauce and ketchup together and form into a huge patty in a oiled, warm, skillet, This can be a large regular skillet or an electric skillet. I make a large vent hole in the middle of the patty which will help it cook faster. Cook on medium high heat, which will help to brown the meat faster. Cook on one side until very brown, then cut into 4 parts, like dividing a pie into fourths, and flip each section. (Alternately you can place a plate over the patty and invert the plate and skillet together to flip.) Brown on remaining side. Take meat out of the pan and place on a serving plate. Get rid of any excess oil left in the pan and put a little water, maybe 1/2 cup or less, in the hot skillet to deglaze. In this case deglaze means you are going to loosen all those yummy meat bits to use in the bbq topping and clean your pan at the same time! So, with the burner on medium, simmer and scrape the pan until all the good stuff turns loose, then mix some bbq sauce and ketchup in the pan and pour over the meatloaf. You can also make your own bbq topping by adding the following to your hot skillet during deglazing:

ketchup and water, or 2 small cans tomato sauce
tiny splash of liquid smoke
powdered cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
black pepper
salt
1 tsp. prepared mustard (like you put on a sandwich)
1 Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. vinegar

Simmer until thickened and pour over the meatloaf. Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and salad.
Meatloaf can be made into individual patties for finicky eaters who want different ingredients. You can also add finely shredded potatoes or other veggies to the mix. Just no white bread please! Nothing worse than a slimy meatloaf!

Cha's Cajun Rice

2010-11-24T15:06:00.000-06:00

Cajun Rice

Everything is "to taste". It can be extremely spicy, or mild. I used to make a "concentrated batch" for adults, and have lots of extra rice with butter to mix in with kid's portions. This is technically Cajun and not Tex-Mex.

I've made this different almost every time. So season and use ingredients that sound good to you. You can use shrimp if you like. No ingredient list. Ingredients are in red.

Cook 2 cups your favorite rice. You end up with about 4 cups or so of cooked rice.
In a VERY LARGE skillet brown a pound or so hamburger meat. (I often use whatever I have leftover from cooking another day) You will need the extra room later to mix everything in.
Slice and brown one whole beef smoked sausage.

After meat has browned and been combined in the skillet, add and continue to cook:

Chop and throw in some Tabasco peppers or other hot peppers. CAREFUL!
Slice up and throw in a complete bunch of green onions.

Turn off burner and stir in:

Butter or olive oil
Chicken broth or bouillon powder
Sage
Curry
Salt
Pepper
Cajun seasoning (optional, but isn't everything?)
Cumin
Sour Cream (If you need a cool down)
And last, but not least- Rice!
Beans are nice, but optional

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2010-10-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I've made many versions of beef and chicken enchilada casserole over the years and I've discovered that as long as you're putting what you like in there, it will be good! Ingredients for this one are below, but here are some versions of stuff I've thrown together and called enchilada casserole, so you'll realize it's hard to mess this up. You can wrap some of the gooey stuff with meat in tortillas and pour some gooey over them. Or you can layer chips or tortillas with the stuff, I just prefer the lazy way out and often mix it all up together, pour it in a dish and top with cheese. Can be a great way to use up stale chips and whatever extra meat you've cooked already.

Version #1: Ground Beef, black beans (drained and rinsed), corn tortillas, red enchilada sauce, (sometimes corn) Monterrey jack.
Version #2: Ground Beef, cream soups, Velveeta, red ench sauce or salsa, corn tortillas or crushed chips, a little cheddar.
Version #3: Chicken, sour cream, cream chicken soup, salsa or Rotel, flour tortillas, Monterrey jack.

This version of Chicken Enchilada Casserole:

4-5 cooked, leftover Chicken Breasts shredded (cooked in the crock pot. We already had bbq chicken this week)
12 oz. or so of Sour Cream
LARGE can Green Enchilada Sauce (or 2-3 small cans)
2-3 inches from a block of Velveeta cubed and melted with a little milk
Doritos Chips and Corn Tortillas (I had about a cup of chip crumbs and about 20 corn tortillas torn in pieces)
Sharp Cheddar
Avocado and Salsa for topping after cooked

Mix everything except cheddar, avocado and salsa. Pour into large, sprayed, casserole. Top with a little cheddar, Bake at 350 until good and hot in the middle. When it's cooked you can add salsa and/or avocado slices to yours. You know most kids wouldn't eat that yummy stuff, so why waste it on them? (Served with a salad and green beans tonight at my house.)

Recent Questions About Homeschooling

2010-09-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

We started homeschooling after our son had been in public school for a few years, so I often get questions from those thinking about starting later. Some are afraid of the cost, their ability to guide learning, socialization with other children (if there aren't siblings), and a support system for themselves. Others worry that they can't stand their kids attitudes now so how could they deal with them all day at home? I may not answer all of your questions adequately here, but keep asking other homeschooling families. Your children may learn differently than mine, you may discover you like only textbooks (eek) or that you have enough siblings who can entertain each other at playtime, so you won't have to seek out groups and friends as much as other homeschoolers do. Every family is different, yours is unique too.

"Why did you start homeschooling?" And "I can't homeschool because....."

These can be somewhat answered in my posts:Me Homeschool !? and Homeschooling? YES, you can do it!

I do want to add that if your child/children have an attitude problem they may not be the only ones who need an attitude adjustment. Yes, I'm talking about you- mom and dad. There should be parental love and authority in the home. Your kids will respect and love you back if you take the lead in this area. Whatever discipline you choose for bad behavior should be consistent and THEN there should be quick forgiveness when the offender has repented. On the same hand, if you have been hateful, unjustly angry or harsh, YOU should apologize and ask your child's forgiveness and start again. Hopefully they have seen your willingness to forgive them in the past. My son once said, "It's hard for me to believe that God can forgive me sometimes.....but I know that He does because you and dad always do." .....Wow, what a profound thing that was for me to hear.

Here's the part of Ephesians 4 right after we are admonished to "put off" the old nature and "put on " the good stuff:

Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." -Ephesians 4:25-32

What have you used to homeschool and where did you get it?

Most of what we've found useful is on the right hand side of this blog under the title: "Curriculum and Websites We've Liked" You can also look over my posts under "Homeschooling" tags.

I bought used books online from Vegsource (even if you're a meat eater like me), The Swap, The Homeschool Classifieds, and Amazon, new books from Pennywise Learning, A Beka and many more. I borrowed from the public library, and the homeschool section of our church's library. We also used free online sites as much as possible when we started out. Other sources are homeschool conventions held in larger cities. There you can put your hands on the materials first hand and see if you think they would work for your family or not.

I found worksheet generators that were a lot of help. Though the original site I used can't be found there are plenty around now. Just a Google search away here. If you are determined, have a closely-supervised internet account, and own a library card, you CAN homeschool for practically nothing, especially in the early years. If you have younger ones who will use the same curriculum soon, look for materials that can be reused instead of used up and thrown away.

We like reading real books as much as possible for history, and I will often check out just the textbook from the church library for American History, for example, and not require answering tons of questions, but discuss what he's learned through reading it. AND have him read a few books... at least one or two of them being biographies from the same time period as the text. I think this approach has fostered a love of reading and history. I'm eclectic in my choices for texts and will use whatever is available to get it done. (AS long as they are Christian texts) A word here about "The Classics". Just because a book has achieved the honored title of "classic" doesn't always imply that it is literature fit for children, or adults, for that matter. Use discernment.

What will they be doing with their free time? What about kids their own age to play with?

If you'll be homeschooling your other kids they will have playmates. Incorporate fun learning with the sit down bookwork. I never let my son spend all day watching tv or playing video games. I used to babysit three younger children and he learned to play with them. There were board games and leaning games. Giant bubbles in the swimming pool outside was a science lesson and tons of fun. Hand microscopes and magnifying glasses made the world a wonder for days on end. He used the couch cushions and blankets to build forts when he'd read about castles, allowing even the baby to crawl through the maze. A huge spiderweb was made in our whole living room with a ball of old yarn. Kids scissors were used to cut it all away and clean up before dad got home. It builds compassion and responsibility when kids are encouraged to play with kids of varying ages. Don't forget the many adults your family can learn social skills from and lend a helping hand to. The elderly neighbor, the art teacher, grandparents, people at church... There are church groups for Bible memorization and fun games such as AWANA . Christian based sports groups such as Upward Sports. Look around for a homeschool group in your area and/or another homeschooling family with kids the same age.

More questions to come....

Dave Ramsey

2010-08-30T13:46:00.001-05:00

One of the books our senior son will be re-reading. He went with us to Dave's Financial Peace University at our church. I highly recommend this method of group attendance because you have the moral support of others.

After attending with us and watching Dave speak about the dangers of credit and seeing him cut up credit cards, our son said he'd NEVER own a credit card! YES! That's my boy!

Dave Ramsey knows what it's like to be broke and knows how to dig out of debt. He uses biblical standards for finances in his material.

Garlic Mashed Potato Casserole

2010-08-25T10:23:00.000-05:00

Garlic Mashed Potato Casserole

Also known as "Mrs. Possum's Funeral Potatoes" because my dear friend always made them for funeral dinners. If you make them with canned milk folks will never know that you didn't spend forever peeling potatoes, but you can substitute real potatoes mashed with the jackets on, yum!
She used an entire large box of Hungry Jack Instant Potatoes. That makes a HUGE dish, bigger than 9x13, or two regular dishes. I'll give you both recipes, but you can't mess it up. I've tweaked the recipe and made it my own with fresh garlic, rosemary and chives, but it's quite good with whatever you have on hand.

HUGE Recipe

1- lg box (15.3 oz.) box of Instant Mashed Potatoes (When I measured these out I think it was about 6 ²⁄₃ cups.)

8 ²⁄₃ + ¹⁄₂ c. Liquid heated in large pan. (Milk and Water) This can be 3 cans of canned milk, and then some other milk if you want....if they end up a little dry we will be adding more moisture anyway.

2 sticks Butter (can use some olive oil. Not extra virgin)

16 oz. container of Hiland Sour Cream :)

2 tsp. Garlic Salt or fresh garlic

Rosemary

Chives

Pepper & more salt to taste

12 oz. grated Sharp Cheese

Make the potatoes almost by package directions, but heat all the liquid, melting the butter in pan also. Mix in some cheese and all other stuff, throwing in the kitchen sink if you want. I might occasionally add something like cooked broccoli and chicken. Top with remaining cheese. Place in a sprayed or buttered casserole dish/dishes. Bake at 350 with foil on for a little while, take foil off to brown slightly. Everything is cooked so you just want it to be good and bubbly hot.

Smaller Recipe

4 c. of Instant Mashed Potatoes

5 ²⁄₃ + ¹⁄₂ c. Liquid heated in large pan. (Milk and Water) Again, this can be some canned milk, and then some other milk if you want....if they end up a little dry we will be adding more moisture anyway.

1 stick Butter (can use some olive oil. Not extra virgin)

8 oz. container of Hiland Sour Cream :)

1 tsp. Garlic Salt or fresh garlic

Rosemary

Chives

Pepper & more salt to taste

6 oz. grated Sharp Cheese

Planning-Scope-Goals...Whatever You Want to Call It

2010-08-23T16:17:00.000-05:00

So.....as I'm helping a 12th grader, sorting out goals to accomplish this, his last year, I did a real double-take on some courses we were going to use. The operative word here is "were". As homeschool parents sometimes we overachieve on behalf of our children, loading them up with studies and extras they may not necessarily need. Students and parents can be overwhelmed, and buried alive under a mass of stuff and activities. We can look at these things and decide they are worthy, but are they profitable for us right now? Every year has been different, but here's an example of some goals we've written out as our son has grown towards adulthood and the books and materials used to reach the goals:

Goals

Bible & Christian walk- Know what you believe and have a ready defense. "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.." 1 Peter 3:15. Hide large blocks of scripture in your heart. Use a prayer journal. Lead devotions and/or a study group. Ask God where He wants you.

Life skills & Relationships- Continue learning home and car maintenance. Continue watching for what needs to be done and acting on it. Strengthen and invest in your Christian friendships.

Math- Sharpen basic math skills for life situations, such as figuring interest, percentages, finding area, math associated with construction, financial skills...

Writing- Be able to communicate effectively and to write for pleasure.

Physical- Work on strength and health with manly work.

Some materials we will use:

The Bible (NKJ, John MacArthur study Bible)

Apologia Science
Wordsmith Craftsman
Math
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace
The New Answers Books 1, 2 & 3, by Ken Ham
The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel
More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell
Christian Worldview for Students Volumes 1 & 2, by Brannon Howse
What He Must Be To Marry My Daughter, by Voddie Baucham
Marriage By Design, by Voddie Baucham
Family Driven Faith, by Voddie Baucham
Various videos and sermons from Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, John MacArthur, and others.

Notgrass Government

2010-08-21T19:50:00.000-05:00

We got our 1/2 year Government credit using Notgrass Exploring Government, by Ray Notgrass, last year.

This courses places an emphasis on using original source documents, and showing the influence that Christianity has had on the past and present.
I liked that the curriculum included the reading material for the historic documents, essays, and speeches using the book "We Hold These Truths" No searching on the internet or the library for those.

There were choices for writing and research assignments and tests that our whole family tried to take orally. I LOVED that it was Christian-based.

If you use Notgrass, and have your child read their Bible, you'll be able to give 3 separate credits. One-half credit each for Bible, government, and composition.

Momma - A Woman, Like Us

2010-05-09T17:11:00.000-05:00

Momma - A Woman, Like Us

She's just a woman, like us,
striving to do her best,
or better
than the mommas who came before her.
She sometimes succeeds in triumph,
occasionally concedes defeat,
often muddling and meddling along,
stumbling through another day
in the world on sinful legs, just like us.

A momma sometimes cooks and sews
and tends a garden to provide for her family.
She will bake pies, wash clothes, and volunteer
for jobs no one else would take for pay, for the sake of her children.
But even if she's unable to do those things,
she loves in other unspoken ways...
Her heart yearns for her children.
She would spend the whole night on her knees for them,
she'd fight a tornado for them,
she'd give her very life for them,
and almost did when she gave them life.
Maybe that's why God uses the image of a mother's protecting care in scripture
for Himself and His great love for us.

"For what??"
she may sometimes ask herself
when besieged with trials and heartache.
"For them, it's what mothers do."
she'd simply say,
and be right.

She's just a woman, like us,
doing the best she knows how at the time.
God give us the grace to do the same.

Merry Christmas to All!

2009-12-22T15:16:00.000-06:00

My green Christmas card this year.
May God bless you and yours! Let's not forget Who came and why He came.

Creation

2009-10-30T19:15:00.000-05:00

How can anyone look at something as intricate as a flower and think all of creation just "happened"? Click that pink flower and make it bigger. Is that a happy accident of millions of years? I think NOT. There is design in nature because there is a designer! We don't look at a gorgeous landscape painting and say, "Wow, look at that! Wonder how it got here? Maybe the canvas grew out of the wall and the color accidentally splashed on in such a perfect way. Cool!"
Such stupidity amazes me. Some people are more willing to believe the aliens are coming back to get us and take us to the home planet than in a Creator God. The mother ship may be coming for them, but only in their minds.

There is mathematical precision in nature. Here are a few sites which show some interesting stuff. Always supervise kids on the internet. No guarantee all sites I recommend will have all good stuff on them.
Naturally occurring fractals
The Golden Ratio or Section
More on Numbers in nature

Sheeple People

2009-10-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

Why do so many people become sheeple and believe everything they see and read? Why don't more people grow up with the ability to think for themselves and discern real truth? Truth about God and our beginnings, truth in history, truth about every person's worth and purpose? I believe it's because we're abdicating our job as parents to lead and teach the truth. The idea of quality over quantity of time spent with children is a lie. If you are spending less time with them than peers, teachers and strangers, whose philosophy of life will they come away with?

We have earlier and earlier programs to educate and babysit our children paid for by public funds. Pretty soon we will be birthing babies and handing them straight over to mother government to indoctrinate and raise. Who can be bothered with all that messy educating and nurturing stuff?

When I read things about the Nazis and the children growing up in that society it makes me wonder if we're headed down the same road. Nazis believed they were a master race and believed evolutionary ideas of other races being inferior, so they had "perfect" young women and men having babies and handing them straight over to the government to raise and indoctrinate. They taught the children to abandon their Christian faith and families in favor of the state god.
"Defective" people were euthanized and they actually taught their children the value of this. An example from a schoolbook exercise:

"To keep a mentally ill person costs approximately 4 marks a day. There are 300,000 mentally ill people in care. How much do these people cost to keep in total? How many marriage loans of 1000 marks could be granted with this money?"

Interesting that some found Hitler totally sane, isn't it?

What are we as a society doing when we rake our babies and toddlers off our legs and shove them, from the beginning, through the door of a day care facility instead of raising our children ourselves? Is it any wonder that we have so many children with emotional attachment and behavioral problems?

You should also know what is being taught to your little ones. AND big ones, for that matter. From the cradle to the grave we are bombarded with false teaching about our origins and our value as human beings. We mistakenly think it is the government and the church's responsibility to teach our children what they need to know. I'm not knocking good public and private teachers. They are underpaid and underappreciated, but it is NOT their job to nurture, and teach our children everything they need to know. It's ultimately a heart issue. Morality cannot be taught without a belief in God. You can teach rules and punish for not getting the results you desire from children, but when they ask why they have to act in a certain way, then what? Who says you have to share? Who says you shouldn't kill? We're just higher order animals who are marking time here on this crummy planet until we die, after which there is nothing. Right? To whom are we ultimately accountable? Whose job is it to bring up children? Scripture clearly teaches that it is the parent's responsibility.

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
-Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Tell me how you can do that without having a relationship with your children? If you rarely see them whose values do you think they will adapt? How will they learn to think for themselves when they are fed the same politically correct, morally bankrupt garbage year after year?

Some interesting thoughts from history :

History was altered to reflect the Nazi view. Have you noticed that our history textbooks have become more global in the last few years?
Children were educated to be servants of the state, not family and God.
Teachers were encouraged to forget facts. They were to teach "right" attitudes or "character" through feel-good experiences.
School discipline declined to an alarming extent.
The Nazi Party instructed teachers as to what they could and could not teach. Sound familiar?
There was an obsession with politically correct standards for right and wrong. German professors were warned: "From now on it is not up to you to decide whether or not something is true, but whether it is in the interest of the national Socialist Revolution."

People are fittingly called sheep and goats in scripture. We are so easily lead astray.

Why has homeschooling become so popular?

2009-09-19T08:33:00.000-05:00

Washington Times Op-ed—Outstanding Results on National Tests

by J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) estimates there are more than 1.5 million children being taught at home. Furthermore, the DOE estimates that homeschooling has been growing at 7 percent a year for the last 10 years.

Two related questions many people ask are, “Why has homeschooling become so popular?” and “What is motivating parents to take on this daunting responsibility?” In the most recent report by the DOE, parents gave three basic reasons for choosing home education: to provide religious or moral instruction, concerns about the school environment, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools.

Regarding the third reason, there is new research showing that the average homeschooler who takes standardized achievement tests is doing very well. The study, commissioned by the Home School Legal Defense Association and conducted by Brian Ray, an internationally recognized scholar and president of the nonprofit National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), is called “Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics.”

The study included almost 12,000 homeschool students from all 50 states who took three well-known standardized achievements tests—the California Achievement Test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Stanford Achievement Test—for the 2007–08 academic year. The students were drawn from 15 independent testing services, making it the most comprehensive homeschool academic study to date.

The results reinforced previous homeschool studies conducted over a period of 25 years.

Five areas of academic pursuit were measured. In reading, the average homeschooler scored at the 89th percentile; language, 84th percentile; math, 84th percentile; science, 86th percentile; and social studies, 84th percentile. In the core studies (reading, language and math), the average homeschooler scored at the 88th percentile.

The average public school student taking these standardized tests scored at the 50th percentile in each subject area.

Beyond academics, there were significant results regarding achievement gaps. It is common knowledge that gender, as well as parents’ income and education levels will greatly affect a public school student’s academic results. Public schools have invested greatly to try to close these achievement gaps. The study, however, shows the achievement gaps found in public school were greatly diminished for the home educated.

For example, homeschooled boys scored at the 87th percentile and girls at the 88th. Household income had little impact on the results of homeschool students: Children of parents with an income between $35,000 and $49,000 scored at the 86th percentile, whereas children of parents with an income over $70,000 scored at the 89th percentile.

As one would expect, the education level of parents did affect the results. For example, homeschool students of parents without college degrees scored, on average, at the 83rd percentile for the core subjects. When one parent had a college degree, those students scored at the 86th percentile, and when both parents had a college degree, those students scored at the 90th percentile. There was virtually no difference, however, between the scores of students whose parents were certified teachers and those who were not.

In summary, the results were slightly better than the most recent large academic study regarding homeschoolers (the 1998 Rudner study), and the average homeschool test results continue to be 30-plus percentile points higher than their public school counterparts.

In my opinion, there are two main factors for these outstanding results: the educational environment where learning takes place, and the individualized, one-on-one instruction. Most homeschool students are directly taught by their parents, who love their children enough to make the sacrifice to stay at home to make sure their child is taught in a safe and loving learning environment. Second, one-on-one instruction emphasizes the best interests of the child rather than the best interests of the group.

In a sentence, homeschooling is a recipe for academic success.

Michael Smith is the president of the Home School Legal Defense Association. He may be contacted at (540)338-5600; or send email to media@hslda. org.

Happy Anniversary

2009-09-06T09:24:00.000-05:00

We've been married for 24 years. That's quite an accomplishment these days.

* He turns wrenches, banging his knuckles all day, to provide a living for us so I can stay home and do what I do.
(That's why I love his hands. There's full of scars to remind me.)

* He comes in from a hard day in the heat or cold with a smile on his face and a
"Hi, Pretty Woman!!" on his lips. He says this whether I look good or not, whether the house is a disaster or clean....

* If he has to drive a long distance to pick up a broken down truck he will call and talk to me. (That's why I decided the cell phones were worth it.)

* He completely checks out the car for me before I go on a long trip without him.

* He will listen to my advice and tell me he's sorry if he didn't take my advice and things turned out badly.

* He holds my hand in public.

* He lets me buy all the chocolate chips I want. (That's a whole other story.)

* He buys me chocolate.

* He's a big strong guy who sometimes gets misty-eyed during sad parts of a movie.

* He teases about all the plants I have but he will bring me one home just the same.

* He's willing to play "banker" while we play Monopoly even though he doesn't really like to play board games.

* On his day off he sometimes makes me go take a nap in the middle of the day if I've been up too late.

* He pays all the bills and doesn't yell at me if I forget to bring in the bills/mail from my car and he's wondering for days where they are. (I've done that more than once)

* He eats whatever I put in front of him even if he sees I've hidden broccoli in it.

* He digs the gross hair clogs out of the drain for me 'cause he knows it makes me sick.

* Every evening when he shaves he washes out the sink so I don't have to clean up his beard hairs.

* He shaves just for me.

* He makes extra coffee for me.

* He cooks my steak just the way I like it.

* He is a manly, godly example to our son and our nephews.

* He supports and encourages me with homeschooling and my business.

* He prays for me.

Salsa

2009-08-04T10:53:00.000-05:00

Tar Tar's Salsa

Basic Recipe using fresh ingredients. Measurements are after chopping in the food processor.

15-20 c. Tomatoes, Roma are best (squeeze out the juice and seeds to eliminate liquid)
2-4 c. Jalapeno or other hot peppers (removing some of the seeds will cool it down)
1-2 c. Bell or other sweet peppers
2-3 c. Onion/green onion
Plenty of Garlic
One medium Zucchini (optional)
1-2 large cans Tomato paste
1-2 Tab. Cumin/Cilantro or chili powder
1 Tab. Paprika
Oregano, thyme, basil
Chives
Salt
1/2 c. Vinegar
1/2 c. Lime juice

You can adjust the amounts to suit your taste. Simmer the salsa a little and can it either by water bath or pressuring. Wear gloves when handling the hot peppers.

Salty Dill Pickles

2009-07-29T11:22:00.000-05:00

Spicy Salty Dills

Here's another of those family recipes passed down by the women in my family for generations.

Gather or buy your pickling cucumbers FRESH. Pickle the day you pick if you want good pickles!
My family recycles gallon and half gallon jars. If you don't get them to reseal you must store them in the fridge. In fact, store a few jars in the fridge anyway. It makes them nice and crunchy! Some recipes use pickling spices, or ferment their pickles for a few days, we don't.

Here's what you need before you start making brine:

pickling cucumbers
fresh dill, or dried seed & weed if you must
fresh garlic
fresh hot peppers (jalapeno, cayenne, hot banana...)
pickling salt
white vinegar
jars, lids & rings (washed & sterilized)
Pot deep enough for waterbath (check out your county extension office website for info on canning)

Wash cukes, fresh dill, and peppers in cold water. Heat your brine while you pack the jars with slices, spears, or whole cukes. Each qt. jar gets:

1 pepper (if you want them spicy)
one bunch of dill stems, seed heads, or 1 tsp. dill seed/weed
2 peeled garlic cloves
As many cukes as you can cram in

The basic recipe for the brine is going to be a ratio of 2:1:1/4
That's 2 parts water:1 part vinegar:1/4 part pickling salt.
In case your ratios are rusty, here's a starting point:

The Brine

2 quarts water
1 quart white vinegar
1 cup salt

It will take approximately 1 pint of brine per quart. The cukes take up half the room in the jar.
Bring the brine to a boil. (Whatever you do don't lean over the kettle and breathe in or you'll be sorry.) Place your jars with cukes into a cake pan or the sink to catch salty spills. Pour each jar to within about 1/4 inch from the top, trying to cover the cukes. Some you may waterbath, which my mom does upside down in a pan for gallon jars. Not that I'm recommending, just telling you. Some you can use clean, sterile, used, lids on and store in the fridge.

What if there were a video camera?

2009-07-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

Lights, camera, action!

What if there were a video camera recording your words, tone of voice and facial expression when you are speaking to the people you love most? I ask this question because I recently said I needed to record a family member's speech when they think they are sounding perfectly nice, and they aren't. Then I started thinking about my own speech. Hmm, convicting.

What if there were an constant audio visual presentation of what comes out of my mouth and the way in which it spews? Unfortunately God sees and hears. Sometimes it's not even what we say, but the way we say it that is offensive. More than offensive to our family, it's offensive to a Holy God whom we say we honor and love. To be a wise woman I need to backtrack, ask God and my family's forgiveness and start over with words that are more pleasant to hear, even if they are a reprimand for a child. If we want respect, it has to start with us.

"My lips will not speak wickedness..." Job 27:4a

^"Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things. " Proverbs 23:16

"A time to keep silence, And a time to speak" Ecclesiastes 3:7

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment." Matthew 12:36

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34b

Teddy Bear Bread and Pecan Carmel Cinnamon Rolls

2009-07-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

Benjamin and I made a teddy bear bread out of part of the dough I made for cinnamon rolls. Can you tell it was fun?

Just a little flour

Bear bear has raisin eyes and nose.

Good job Benji!

Bear bread is easy to make with any bread dough. After the first rising, form the bear parts like you would if you were playing with Play-dough, and stick them together with a dab of water. Let rise until doubled and bake in the oven. Bear bread loves honey!

Nose is already gone

Yummy arms!

Pecan Carmel Cinnamon Rolls

2 1/2 c. flour + more for kneading in
1/2 c. wheat flour or wheat germ
1 pkg. yeast
1 tsp. salt

Mix above ingredients together in a bowl. Add:

1/4 c. sugar or honey
1/2 c. oil or melted butter
1 1/2 c. warm milk

Stir together very well, or use mixer to beat together add:

2 eggs

Beat until the dough is elastic and add as much flour as you can stir in with a spoon. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes, working enough flour into the dough that it is smooth and not sticky. Place dough in a bowl with a little oil, turning it over to coat. Cover and let the dough rise until doubled. While the dough is rising you can mix up the pan goodies, for lack of a better term. It's the stuff that will be on top of your sweet rolls once they've baked and you turn them upside down. The more goo, the more gooey. The last ones I made needed more. Use your own judgment. If you want dry rolls ignore me. :P

Pan goodies
In each 9 in baking pan (you will use 3-4 pans) stir together approximately:

1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. melted butter
chopped pecans

This pan does not have enough goody in it. Don't go by the photo.

Punch dough down once it has risen and divide into 2 parts. Working on a LARGE floured surface roll out the dough into a sort of a rectangle. You can try to keep the narrowest width 10 inches or so, but it doesn't have to be prefect. On the dough:

1/2 c. melted butter or more (I sometimes use half olive oil)
sugar and or honey
Sprinkle with cinnamon

Roll your dough up like a jelly roll starting on the longest side. Using a sawing motion with a sharp serrated knife, cut slices about 1 or 1 1/2 inches thick. Remember, they will almost double in thickness when they rise.

Before I cut my roll. It's leaking a little honey and butter. YUM

Place them into the prepared pans and let rise until almost doubled. Bake at 350 until done. Immediately flip them over in the pan or onto a plate. You can drizzle with some icing if you want. Serve right away. No photos of the finished product, they were eaten before I remembered.

Nut Butters

2009-07-23T07:46:00.000-05:00

You can make your own yummy nut butter from whatever crunchy, delicious nuts you like. Some people use raw nuts, but I like mine roasted.

Oh the possibilities! Almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, sunflower seed and of course peanuts make wonderful nut butters.

If you buy the nuts pre salted they might be a bit too salty, so use your own judgment. Also, you can decide how smooth you want your butters. Smooth with a few crunchy bits thrown in near the end of processing is what I like. All nuts have great oil content but need a little more to make them truly spreadable. You can add a bit of olive oil, flax seed oil or canola. Only add what it needs.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love sunflower seed, so I recently made sun butter.

Here are some nice recipes to use your nut butters in at Cooking Light. You can also do a Google search for cooking with nut butters. You could try making a chocolate nut butter with a little cocoa, or melted dark chocolate. If you use cocoa you may need a little sweetener of some kind.

Nut Butter

2 cups of unsalted nuts or seeds of your choice
1/4 tsp. salt (to taste)
2-4 Tb. oil

Place your nuts and salt into a food processor or grinding stone. :) Process the nuts/seeds until chopped finely. Some will start to release oil and turn to a dry paste. Add oil a little at a time until the butter is the consistency you'd like it to be. Store in the fridge. Simple, huh?

2009-10 School Year

2009-07-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

Our course line-up this year for 11th grade:

Bible
Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2
Apologia Marine Biology
Notgrass Exploring Government
History of the World DVDs
Spanish
Total Language Plus - Starting with The Hiding Place this year
Painting with Donna Woodall
Guitar, fiddle & mandolin with Mrs. Vida, of course

Pesto

2009-07-21T00:53:00.000-05:00

I love pesto so it's a good thing I grow my own basil almost every year. I used to think about selling pesto, but I'm not sure everyone loves it as much as I do. Also, if I sold it I couldn't squirrel it away and give it away like I do.

Original recipes for basil pesto use pine nuts. I've never made it with anything except pecans.

Pesto is good in pasta, chicken, pasta salad, soups, potatoes, pizza.... It can be brushed on bread and toasted a little in the oven. You can add sun dried tomatoes or chopped fresh tomatoes when you use it in whatever you're cooking. You can throw a lump into your spaghetti sauce for a quick boost of flavor. It can be overdone, so be careful of turning everything green or using too much.

You can process it very finely into a paste, or make it a little coarse. You can use more or less spinach, or none at all. More or less garlic to taste also. Once you've made it and tasted it on your noodles you can decide how strong to make it next time. Of course fresh basil is best, but people also make it with dried basil and fresh spinach. If you freeze pesto you can leave out the cheese if you want, adding it to your dish later. Some people say the cheese doesn't freeze very well.

Pesto!

2 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed (no branches)
1 cup fresh baby spinach
½ cup Parmesan or Romano cheese (the better the quality, the better the taste)
½ cup pecans
4 cloves garlic
½ tsp. salt
½ fruit fresh or lemon juice (optional. Just keeps it brighter green)
½ cup olive oil

Pack your measuring cup with the basil, but this isn't an exact science.

Place all ingredients except the oil into a food processor and pulse until you make a paste. This will take quite a few pulses, scraping down the sides each time if you want a smoother paste. You can make it the old fashioned way, chopping and smashing by hand if you like. I'll be eating mine on hot pasta with my feet up
while you're still looking for a big sharp knife!
Once it's to your desired consistency start adding the oil slowly as the machine runs.
Smell that heavenly smell!

Once it's processed I keep some in a jar in the fridge and freeze the rest in doubled sandwich baggies which are then placed into a quart size freezer bag. I turn a baggie inside out on my hand and squish it in there. I know, it looks gross, but it's green gold!

Spiced Peaches

2009-07-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

My family has always called them Pickled Peaches, but if you call anything "pickled", people automatically think of sweet or dill pickles and decide they won't even try them. That's okay too, because they'll leave more for me to eat!

My momma, Betty, made these as her mother, Edith, made them as her mother, Addie, made them as her mother made them.......So you can see this recipe has been handed down through the years. I have great memories of eating perfectly spicy peaches, which were rationed out because we loved them so much and there were only a few precious jars. My kids must learn to make these and pass on the love!

I've read recipes where people advise you to bring the peaches to a boil and let them sit to soak and plump up overnight. That might be a good idea since mine kinda shrank after I canned them. I don't recommend cooking them for very long, because if you start with ripe peaches they'll be soft after canning. How do you know if a peach is ripe? Press your thumb gently on the top side, if there's plenty of swish it's ripe. So here's the basic recipe:

Pickled Peaches

(This made 5 quarts for me)

4 ½ cups sugar
3 cups water
1 ½ cup vinegar
whole cloves
stick cinnamon
whole allspice
ripe peaches, peeled and stems removed. 4-5 per jar
Fruit Fresh or lemon juice
wide mouth canning jars and lids

As you peel the peaches place them in a little water that has some Fruit Fresh stirred into it and roll the peaches in it. Stick cloves into your peeled peaches. About 5-7 cloves for each peach.

Heat sugar, water and spices until they reach boiling. Add peaches to the syrup and bring to a boil. Let them sit overnight if you want. I would put them in the fridge after cooling.

When you're ready to can them place the peaches and spices in the clean jars, fill to within ½ inch of the top with the syurp, wipe jar rims and place the lids and rings on. Process in a canner or water bath.

Wait a few weeks to open and enjoy them.

Number Our Days

2009-06-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

"So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom." -Psalm 90:12

If the Lord delays His coming, and we live a natural life, how many days do we have left here on earth?

Do this: Get a calculator and think about how long you are likely to live. Be generous and give yourself 75 years. So if you are 40 multiply 35 (your estimated remaining years) times 365 to number your days.

My number is 10,950. Doesn't sound like much when you put it into days, does it? But I may not have tomorrow. There are no guarantees.

How will numbering our days gain us a heart of wisdom? In Psalm 90 Moses writes about how God feels towards sin. Part of it reads:

"You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Return, O LORD!
How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands." Psalm 90:8-17

What I learn from this Psalm:
First I learn that God knows all our little secret sins. There's no hiding from Him.
I'm not going to live forever, and when I die I will face the pure and righteous judge.
I can offer Him nothing good on my own.
Only by God's mercy can I have a life free from the guilt of sin. A life full of meaning and value.

And second, I learn that our days are limited here on earth for doing what we should be doing. Jesus spoke about the value of time: "I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work"-John 9:4

"So then you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" -Ephesians 5:15-16

What we do TODAY should count for something because we are exchanging a day of our lives for it.

I need to set goals. My biggest waste of time is having only a vague idea of what I'm trying to accomplish as a parent and Christian, or what we are trying to accomplish schooling. Some days we seem to spin our wheels accomplishing little. I want to set daily goals of Bible study, prayer, elimination of sinful attitudes and actions focusing on godly principles for myself and children, becoming more Christ-like, obeying God's word...

My weekly and monthly goals may be things such as getting us to church, talking to people about Christ, visiting or calling the sick or those I know need encouragement, practicing hospitality...

I need to commit my priorities to paper, thinking about the most important use of my time right now. I want to list my priorities in order of importance. I should refuse to do what's not on the list. Do first things first. I don't know about you, but I often get mired down with the trivial things and neglect the vital things. I need to remember Mary and Martha: "You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" -Luke 10:41-42

What was the "good part" that Mary had chosen? She was sitting, listening at the feet of Jesus. Are we taking time to do the same, or are we caught up in so much running around "serving" that we have forgotten the most important thing? Listening to and obeying Him, and teaching our children to do so.

There's never enough time to do everything, but there's always enough time to do important things. I don't want to be diverted, or distracted from the important tasks set before me.

Homeschool High School

2009-06-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

It sometimes seems like a bridge that's uncrossable, but if you take that leap of faith, or hang in there one day at a time until you've crossed, you and your teens can manage it.

If you've been homeschooling why are you discouraged now? Take it to the Lord and evaluate what needs to change.
If you want to homeschool, there are plenty of resources out there.

If you're getting bogged down just thinking about homeschooling in the upper grades. Take heart! There are those who have been there!

Encouragement from the Homeschool Channel:

Homeschooling Through High school Part 1

Homeschooling Through High school Part 2

From other wise sources:

Homeschooling Teens

Why Homeschool Teens?

And from this blog:
Homeschooling? YES, you can do it!

Teens

Prevention First?

2009-06-01T07:52:00.000-05:00

Title 10 income for abortions will INCREASE with its passage.

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-24T18:06:00.000-05:00

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!

The Big Lie We Were Taught

2009-05-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure I was ever directly taught evolution, I think I absorbed it from the culture. I remember being taught the "Big Bang" theory in elementary school.
We have a pastor friend who says, "Yes, the Big Bang happened.....God said, 'BANG!!', and there the world was!"

I have great respect for teachers brave enough to buck the system. I had a wonderful Christian biology teacher in a public high school. He took us through the book at the beginning of the year so we'd know what he expected from us. He said he'd be skipping the evolution chapter since he wasn't allowed to teach the truth of creation also.

As I became an adult I started to absorb different ideas about creation. I started to believe God could have used evolution to create the world. He could have, but He didn't.

Did you know?:

Stalactites can grow at an alarming rate, not taking millions of years. They can be found under subways and monuments:

George Rogers Clark Memorial (from the official NPS site)

On March 26, 1934, within six weeks of the day the memorial building was accepted by the executive committee, the members were informed that following a rain there appeared: “numerous small leaks through the terrace into the finished rooms in the basement . . . (and) there were very heavy leaks around the downspouts at the corners of the terrace.”

By Jan. 30, 1937 leaks had become so numerous that a report stated, “the disastrous results” to the building were “appalling.”

During April 1939, an inspection of the structure described the situation and “decadent conditions . . . caused by leakage, which had been allowed to exist.” This inspection found stalactites four feet in length where water seeped through the structure.

This inspection also identified the cause of the seepage problem as “damage to (the) waterproof membrane.” This was caused when granite slabs were moved into place and the concrete of the terrace surface was poured. “Improperly designed terrace drains” also were cited as a contributing factor. The report concluded, “If money were no problem, the difficulty could be corrected by removal of all the granite slabs and pebble-concrete terrace pavement and replacement of the fractured waterproof membrane.”

An island can form in a matter of months from volcanic action. I found the first hand account of people on a yacht watching a new island form right before their eyes.
The account of the people on the Maiken.

Modern hats, tools, and barbed wire have been found which are fossilized. There is plenty of argument over the type of fossilization here, but the fact remains....fossils can and do form more rapidly that we have been lead to believe. Fossil hat

More evidence that Noah's flood covered the earth and wasn't just a localized flood. Western Oklahoma and Kansas settlers didn't have many trees for posts, so they used the limestone. Many of these posts can be seen which have sea shells embedded in them. There are piles of seashells in Oklahoma near where some of my family lives, and shark teeth have been found in the Smoky Mountains.

Canyons can form from in quite a bit less than a million years. You know layered ones that were supposedly laid down over millions and billions of years, then millions more to allow rivers to cut through them exposing those layers. Evidence against millions and billions of years can be found from the Mount Saint Helens eruption which laid down layers of ash. When the rains and subsequent flooding came they cut a canyon into the debris and solidified ash. I'm not claiming this canyon was formed in an instant, but it was formed much more rapidly than millions of years. Why do people doubt that the Grand Canyon could've been a result of Noah's flood? You figure it out. (Make sure to read the awesome rebuttal and click on the amazing Grand Canyon photo links.)

Unfossilized dinosaur bone containing hemoglobin, and the still-recognizable shapes of red blood cells have been found.

Human Fossil Record

Evidence of rapid burial and fossilization have been found. A larger dinosaur in the middle of swallowing a smaller dinosaur! He didn't even finish his dinner that he was consuming tail first. Before these creatures had time to rot they became quickly buried and then fossilized. That kicks slow evolutionary process in the head and gives credence to the rapid burial and aftereffects of Noah's flood.
"...on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." -Genesis 7:11 That sounds like stuff was coming up out of the earth to me. Volcanic action? Remember Pompeii and how quickly disaster came to those poor people?

Coal chunks have broken open to reveal gold necklaces, iron pots, and finely crafted brass bells, and other man made things. You know how reliable carbon dating material can be, right? Also fossils are dated in relation to the surrounding rock. How is the surrounding rock dated? Why, by the fossils in them, of course!

Scientists have been known to lie and fabricate evolutionary evidence to gain prestige, and grant money. People would rather believe a lie than the truth. Confronted with the truth of creation in 6 days means you may have to think about The Creator and what He expects of you. You see the problem here. When I speak to Christian people about these evidences even they are amazed.

The different interpretations of data come from whether a scientist has already formed a bias against the creation view of the beginning. Some scientists see evidence of evolution in the same data that other scientists see evidence for creation by a higher power. Even if they don't believe in God as I do, they at least are willing to admit there is perfection, precision, and design in nature. When they come to admit those facts, the ones with true wisdom begin to realize for every design there is a designer. For every piece of artwork there is an artist. For every work showing craftsmanship there must be a Master Craftsman.

Think and Act Positive

2009-05-21T15:46:00.000-05:00

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

2009-05-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-05-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-05-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-05-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-05-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

These are the softest, fluffiest, most moist biscuits, because they are made with yeast and oil.
You can use olive 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

2009-05-02T15:46:00.001-05:00

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? What kind of company will he/she keep if they are placed in a public school setting or even some private Christian schools? Important questions to ask before you make such a decision.

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 are big, big rewards at the end.

Free Wedding Photography Contest

2009-04-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

From my Charlene Day Photography blog:

Free Wedding Photography Contest

With the economy the way it is I suspect there is a extraordinary couple in our area who would like a professional photographer for their wedding, but they just feel they can’t afford one. I am offering FREE wedding photography for that deserving couple. I want this to go to a couple who would truly appreciate the gift.

Please send your story, or the story of a couple you feel is deserving in detail to: contest @charleneday.com (remove the space)
The story of your/their situation and why you think you/they should receive such a gift.
I want to hear about how the couple met, any trials or obstacles, and what they mean to each other.
I am looking for honesty, real love, and hope in your emails.
Tell me why the couple will have a hard time budgeting for photography for their wedding.
Give details of the wedding, such as the location and vendors already booked.
Attach a recent photograph of the couple to the emailed story.

Wedding must take place between August 1st and December 31st of 2009 on a date that I am available.
If I am booked on your wedding date I will immediately inform you.
Wedding must take place in the River Valley area, Tulsa area or the NW Arkansas area.
The couple must be willing to have their photographs and their story published on this blog.
The 3 finalist couples will be chosen by me and other discerning judges, at our discretion.
The final 3 couples will be posted on this blog for people to cast their votes.
Deadline for entry is June 15th.

The winning couple will receive up to 5 hours wedding day coverage, an online gallery of photos for 60 days, and a disk of their photos with a release.

There are truly no strings attached, if the couple doesn’t want to purchase anything extra, that is fine.

If this contest goes well we may do another in Nov.- Dec. for 2010.

Town Hall For Hope

2009-04-17T14:15:00.000-05:00

Town Hall For Hope with Dave Ramsey

Click the link to find where you can view the live simulcast.

From the website:

Tired of hearing the fear, doom and gloom that’s filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event!

Join us for this free event April 23 at 8:00 p.m. EDT in one of the thousands of venues across the country as we stand together to reignite the fire of hope!

National Tea Party Day

2009-04-15T08:54:00.000-05:00

National Tea Party Day is scheduled today.

TEA is for Taxed Enough Already.

Check out the website to attend. Some are starting at noon. The one nearest us starts at 4PM.

Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:

vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?
are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?
consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?
want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?
punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?
admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?
run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?
want government controlled health care?
want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?
refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?
appoint a defender of child pornography to the Number 2 position in the Justice Department?
want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?
want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?
want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?
take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?

If so, participate in the TAX Day TEA party rally, the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party.

Bring your cell phone and call Congress and the president while attending the TAX Day TEA party rally (Representative and Senators, 202-224-3121; President, 202-456-1414). Tell Every American about this effort by forwarding this invitation to your friends. Together we can make a difference.

Resurrection Cookies

2009-04-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

These little cookies are a great way to get away from the Easter Bunny and teach your children the REAL story of Resurrection Sunday.

While you make them you could sing or listen to some of the many hymns or praise songs about Christ's death and resurrection. Worship with me.

The Lion And The Lamb
We Serve A Risen Savior
No Greater Love
Thank You For The Cross
On My Cross
How Deep The Father's Love For Us

If your family has nut allergies you could probably leave those out. I think I made these in the past without nuts.

Resurrection Cookies

1 c whole pecans
1 t vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 c sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. (this in important - don't wait until you are halfway done with the recipe!) Place pecans in a zipper bag and let children beat them with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested
he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa.1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered ookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matt. 28:1-9.

HE IS RISEN!

My Most Favorite Video EVER!

2009-04-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

Family Roots-Spiritual Roots

2009-03-20T05:23:00.000-05:00

Family roots are wonderful to explore, but what are our spiritual roots?

This is a photo of my step-grandmother's family. She was just a baby in 1910 when this photo was taken. She was already being raised in a Christian home. I never thought of her as a step-grandma. I was very close to her, she was just "Grandma" to me. She was a godly, soft spoken woman. She opened her mouth with wisdom....she was a wise woman who loved her Lord. I want to grow up to be like her.

God speaks about the good roots of the person who trusts in the Lord. Not a perfect person, but a person who trusts in the Lord:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit." -Jeremiah 17:7-8

"All have sinned" Romans says. Christians are sinners. They haven't "arrived" at perfection. They are only different from other sinners in that they listened to the tug on their hearts that there is a God, He loves them and provided a way out of their hopeless situation. They realize their failings, their brokenness, their total inability to do good, to be good in their actions, or in their hearts, and they have thrown themselves on the mercy of the only righteous judge. A judge who took off His holy robe, stepped down into time and our world to die for our sin so that we don't have to suffer eternal death. The judge paid our fine for us. How cool is that?!

You might have been away from church for a long time, or never set foot in one. Maybe you think you know too many hypocrites in the church. There's always room for one more hypocrite! Come on in! We are all spiritually broken people looking for a hospital.

Speaking of hypocrites, there's a parable Jesus tells about the wheat and the weeds (tares) which is very interesting:

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus gives the meaning in Matthew 13:36-43

That was a dirty trick, sowing weeds that look like wheat into the fields. They can't be removed without harming the wheat, uprooting it. Satan is the evil sower, so what is he sowing? His sons, which are everyone from the most awful unrepentant sinner to the false Christian. When I realized there could be tares in the church itself, it freed me from a lot of bitterness. That may sound strange, but the knowledge gave me relief to know that when Christian people are mean, they might not be Christians at all! It also caused me to look at my own life, stop pointing my finger at everyone else, and examine my own heart...."Am I a tare, or could I appear to be one to others?"
"Do I need to remove the beam from my own eye?"

We should "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" :

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. -Philippians 2:1-16

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled..." Hebrews 12:14-15

Answers to Superintendents

2009-03-17T08:40:00.000-05:00

Some emails were intercepted from public school officials who are trying to drum up support for Rep. Cook’s bad homeschool bill.

Education Alliance Blog answers the concerns of government school officials with students leaving Arkansas schools to homeschool.

Arkansas Homeschoolers

2009-03-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

Arkansas HB 2144

An Act Amending the Prerequisites for Home Schooling.
Click the link above for more information.

Our children are our God-given responsibility. Why do so many people, some of whom have no relationship with their own children, want to legislate away all parental rights to be able to make schooling decisions for OUR children? Some will rue the day these interfering bills were passed if they decide to jerk their own kids out of a public school which teaches things they don't want taught. There are MANY former public school teachers who have brought their own children home to educate them. If you think you can keep your children's hearts while they go to public or private schools that is your decision. It's nice to decide for your own family whether it be government school, private, or home education.

I confess, in the past I was one of those who applauded loudest when any restrictive, or so-called "accountability" bill was introduced. Why? Because I knew a family who were schooling at home, but only in name. The children were horribly behind. Were those children my responsibility? NO, they weren't, but like many other mistaken folks, I thought other people's children were my responsibility. They aren't! If the government school system isn't doing it's job do we get to tell them what to do with our children who are enrolled there? Of course not! I dare you to try!

I can remember when our daughter, a hard-working, excellent student, was frustrated that the kids who tested in elementary school for the gifted and talented program were still in the program in high school, whether they were still performing at that level or not. They could've been good students, or could've been doing drugs in a parking lot next to the school for all the other kids to see. In some public schools you can sign your kids away to "special" classes that you can never retrieve them from. Once they're in, they're in. It takes an act of Congress to get them out again. By the way, you are ONLY the parent, you can't possibly know what's right for your own child. Just forget about the ones who are passed from grade to grade because no one cares. Yes, it still happens folks.

The majority of the kids who are home educated go on to get a high quality, one on one education. The proof is in the pudding.

In one study it was shown that homeschooled students scored at the 85th percentile while the public school students averaged in the 50th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests. Interesting results seeing that every year the government spends 92% MORE per student than the average homeschool parent does. (The percentage difference would be even higher for those of us who utilize the library and used curriculum.)

The children who only get a so-so homeschool education are getting at the very least what they'd have received from ps101. Have you had a thank you note from a publicly schooled, young person lately? Have you read the misspellings on grown kids webpages? Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, but you know what I'm talking about.

So Thankful

2009-03-09T19:25:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you how thankful I am for caring friends and family who lifted up grandson, Benji, in prayer. Just knowing there were others praying gave me such peace of mind. It's hard being so far away from the kids and then not being there with them when this happened.

For those who don't know:

Benjamin is my 2-year-old grandson living with his parents in Germany. He fell quite hard on tile floors two different days, striking his head near his eye in exactly the same place. After the second mishap his mommy noticed that his eye on that side was slightly crossing, or wandering to the middle. They checked his vision, his pupils and after a long scream and cry he was playing and seemed fine. There was/is a small bruised place on his head, and he was complaining that light hurt his eye and is still rubbing it. They were advised by their family doctor to take him to the children's hospital where he and his mommy spent the night. (One more night to go for observation and testing.)

A doctor friend of Benji's other grandparents couldn't believe that they hadn't had a CT done yet, but after Benji's daddy spoke with the him on the phone, the doctor agreed that he does NOT need one. He said that if it happened in the US, they would have done a CT, but only because doctors are afraid of malpractice. Because Benjamin hasn't shown any lethargy, never lost consciousness, and his pupils are normal, he believes the CT is unnecessary.
He also said that the eye problem is probably because of local swelling that should go away within a few days.

The German eye specialist said the optic nerve looked fine. She said there was some bruising/trauma that she could see. She did not see the eye do it's wandering trick, but she also reassured them that it should go away in a few days. They are spending another night at the hospital, maybe another test in the morning, which is the middle of the night for us.

A little incident today made me feel my heavenly Father's care over this whole thing. First you have to know that last night I was listening to songs on the computer and found His Eye is on the Sparrow. Part of the words are, "His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me." That song comforted me and made me cry.

So back to today. My husband had to make a trip to Home Depot, so I went with him and was wandering around praying, thinking about Benjamin, and looking at plants. I walked over to where small bird baths are displayed. One little bird bath had two tiny cement birds perched on it's edge. When I peered into the bowl I could read what was written inside the rim.....
"His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me."

Goosebumps anyone? That kind of thing doesn't happen to me often,
but when it does, WOW!

A Good Belly Laugh

2009-03-08T15:22:00.000-05:00

"A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones." -Proverbs 17:22

"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." -Proverbs 15:13

There's nothing as uplifting as hearing my good friend, or my sister laugh uproariously. Both ladies know how to bring the cheer out of the depths of their hearts and let it spill out in side-holding, tear-inducing, I'm-gonna-wet-my-pants laughter. Just let my sister tell you the story of the time the Texas wind blew her nativity set away...."Mary was rolling across the lawn, Joseph was hitting the side of the house, and baby Jesus was no where to be found!"

I love being around cheerful people. God says a merry heart is good medicine and makes a cheerful countenance. What's a countenance? Technically it's your face, but it's also your demeanor, behavior toward others, expression, composure, your bearing. So I think that means what's on the inside comes out in our faces and actions, kind of like the other thing God said about what's in our hearts comes out of our mouths. (See: Luke 6:45, Proverbs 27:19, and Proverbs 4:23.)

As awful as sorrow is, God can use even sadness for our good. We can mourn over our sin. Bad situations can bring us back to God. There are situations were sorrow is better than laughter.

"Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better."-Ecclesiastes 7:3

"For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

Silly Octopus

2009-03-07T14:50:00.001-06:00

Poor thing, he couldn't wait for his snack.

Seven feet long, thirty pounds and he squeezed himself through a 2 inch hole!

Putting on support hose has got to come in a close second to that squeeze. ;)

Octopus gets inside lunchbox at Boston aquarium - Boston.com

The Oklahoma Aquarium near Tulsa is a great place
to observe sea and lake creatures.

The next two homeschool discount days are April 21, 2009 and May 18, 2009.
You have to pre-register, but what a fun field trip!
It's one of my favorite places.

Here's an octopus I photographed there.

When we were there last I took photos of the jellies. My favorites! I made this composite photo of a jellyfish swimming. They are so amazing.
How awesome is our God to think of such interesting creatures?!
Click the photo to see it larger.

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ;
he puts the deep into storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.

For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm. -Psalm 33:6-9

Student Writing Intensive

2009-03-05T09:50:00.000-06:00

These writing courses are from The Institute for Excellence in Writing and are lessons on DVD. I checked out the VCR versions from the library. I think we offer DVD versions of these also. My son actually liked these lessons! This was a breakthrough!

The company recommends that you choose level A, B or C based on your child's maturity level and age rather than on their writing ability. I didn't know this in the beginning, so we used level A and level C. I'm sure the extra writing didn't kill him, and I may repeat C.

They also offer High School Essay Intensive.

Bless Beth Moore!

2009-03-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm studying Esther with the Beth Moore study on Esther. I really like her people studies. I loved the Daniel study also. You could sink your teeth into that one!

Why do I especially want to say, "Bless Beth" today? Because in the last video lecture I watched she spoke about women who dress provocatively. I can't tell you everything she said, but she passed on a conversation she'd had with the mother of young men. The other mom had asked, "Why do young women dress that way? Don't they know what they're doing to these young men?" (and older ones, I'd say) Beth replied, "Yes, they know exactly what they're doing, and that's why they're doing it." She said women can dress cute without being revealing. When you show off what you have, you take away your dignity and your mystery as a woman.

She went on to say that no one dresses accidentally. Boy, is that ever true? We women do know exactly what we're doing when we dress a certain way. We shouldn't dress to cause another to stumble, neither should our daughters. We know instinctively that guys are sight-triggered, it is our responsibility to dress modestly, young and old women, little girls and teens.

1Peter 3:3-4
" Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."

Searching For True Love

2009-03-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

These are excellent VCR tapes by Josh Harris. There are 3 in the Searching For True Love series. You'd want them all. Love, Purity and Trust. They're oldies, but goodies.

Josh is funny enough to keep a teen's attention and serious enough for parents. His on-the-street interviews sadly show how people view the meaning of love. It's evident they don't have a clue. Do you? Do your teens?

I hope they eventually release them on DVD. Maybe if we pester him? The FBC church library has them. Well, not right now....I have them, but I'll take them back so you can borrow them. The ones I have were actually transferred to DVD. Cool, huh?

I wrote out a few questions for my teen:

Am I content where God has placed me in my singleness? Why, or why not?
Write out Ephesians 5:15-16. The King James and New King James versions say, "redeeming the time", What does this mean?
How am I redeeming the time? (What am I doing with my single time for God?)
What could I be doing?
Am I committed to wait for the one God will bring to me?
Am I firm in my convictions about courtship?

A Beka Bible Doctrines

2009-03-01T22:12:00.000-06:00

A Beka Bible Doctrines for Today is sold for 10th grade. This is a book I recommend for high school and up. 5 thumbs up! :)

Possibly slightly younger grades could read through with parental help. Every Christian adult should have such a marvelous doctrinal gem on their bookshelf AND actually read and understand what's in it!

As is usual with A Beka courses there is a teacher book, student book, test & quizzes booklet, and answers to tests & quizzes booklet. If you know me, you know that we don't use everything A Beka puts out there, even though we LOVE their curriculum. We dug into the Bible and read through and discussed the Bible Doctrines book. Meaty, wonderful discussions. No tests were needed for me to know whether we'd "gotten it" or not.

Does God Owe Us Anything?

2009-02-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

I look into the world and see so much evil and pain. I used to wonder how God could allow such things to happen. As I grew in understanding and truth from the Lord I came to realize that He doesn't owe us anything but His righteous wrath. If I examine my own heart, even on my best day, I'm thinking evil thoughts about someone. We live in a fallen world, which we chose from the beginning.

Who is Teaching Our Children?

2009-02-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

Dr. Voddie Baucham

Return of the Daughters

2009-02-26T15:23:00.000-06:00

I have to give a huge thumbs up to The Return of the Daughters. What’s a young woman to do with her single years? This DVD can help you think about that issue.

What a wonderful documentary to share with your teens! If you are interested in godly daughters, or courtship, this is a must see video. Yes, I forced a boy to watch it, but he was glad he did. :) There are extras on the DVD and you must watch the section on courtship.

Sinus Headaches Are A Pain!

2009-02-23T20:23:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like a horrible sinus headache to cause your head so much agony, sap your strength, and rob you of a whole day, except maybe a migraine.

I'm usually able to realize a sinus headache is coming, before it's raging, and do something about it.
Not so yesterday, so I suffered away from home until I was sick to my stomach with the pain.

When the barometer pressure changes, usually indicating rain, my headaches begin. I also get a headache when I've dusted and not used a mask, or when there is a bunch of pollen. Allergies-Ick !

Well, I guess someone else has noticed barometric pressure related headaches, because you can research them on Google. Mine are always on one side of my face in the sinus cavity on that side and behind that eye.

Enough complainin' about the pain, what do I do about it? The following is NOT meant to be medical advice. If you want that you'll have to go to a doctor. I'm not one, so take all my advice with a grain of salt. I'm just sharing what has helped me.

Get hydrated - Drink plenty of fluids, whether you feel like it or not. Water is best. I sometimes get up in the morning stuffed up and know if things don't loosen up I'm going to be in pain. I make a very hot cup of tea or coffee. After I drink it down a little I start trying to place the side or bottom of the warm cup on the spot were it hurts. I also like to inhale the warm steam from my cup. Don't scald yourself ! I sometimes alternate that with ice cold water. Cold orange juice also is good in the morning. If I'm away from home and feeling sick to my stomach I'll get an icy cold Sprite from the Sonic, or a lemon water.

Use the healing properties of hot and cold water - It's more effective if you've taken in plenty of fluids before doing any of the following: Use a very hot washcloth on your face where it hurts. Try it on the back of your neck on the same side. Rewet the cloth as needed to keep it good and hot. Then splash ice cold water on your face or use a cloth dipped in ice water on your face. Alternate back and forth with the heat and cold. If you're already in a lot of pain skip the cloth treatment and get in the shower. Use the warmest water you can stand on your face, head and back of your neck. If you have a handheld shower head, use a powerful massaging setting and get it closer. Be careful, not too near your eyes. You can follow the heat with cold, but you really want a handheld for that so you can direct it only onto your face. Brrrr!

Other treatments - Heating pad. Gel face mask that is kept in the fridge. Inhaling steam with menthol or an essential oil in some hot water, possibly making a steam tent out of a towel. Humidifier. Saline drops in the nose. Neti pot. Eating something very spicy. Chewing very minty gum or mints. Exercise if you feel like it. Massage your face and neck where the pressure is. Sometimes I ask my hunny to put me in a headlock. No, really! I lay my head on his chest and he uses his forearm across my temple and applies a good headlock there instead of my neck. Feels wonderful and is more cost effective than buying me a new head, which is what I ask him to do when he asks if I need anything.

Medicine - I can often use some of the above treatments and get relief with no medication at all. Sometimes I know I'm going to need to take a couple of regular ibuprofen. If I'm in enough pain I'll take a prescription dose and go to bed. I also take a nasal decongestant as needed. There's only one that really works for me. Once again, I'm no doctor, and overuse of ibuprofen can cause liver damage among other things, so see a doctor rather than medicating what could be a serious problem.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

2009-02-21T09:45:00.000-06:00

This is one of those recipes that isn't an exact science, and you can't ruin these potatoes unless you completely char them.

So get out your potato scrubber and a big bowl.

4-6 large Potatoes- skin on (new potatoes are best, but try whatever you have)
small Onion-chopped
Chives-snipped
2 small bunches fresh Rosemary-snipped (about 2 Tab when snipped, use less dry)
2 fresh Garlic cloves-minced or pressed (can substitute garlic powder, but it's not the same)
1/4-1/2 cup of Olive Oil
can put in some melted Butter if you want, use less oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Partially boil your washed and cubed potatoes. This speeds the roasting process, but don't boil them too long or they'll lose their jackets.
(When momma and grandma said potatoes would lose their jackets I thought that was pretty funny)

While the potatoes are boiling put all the other ingredients into your large bowl.
Drain the potatoes and toss them together with all the good stuff in the bowl.
If the potatoes look a little dry, add a little more oil. The beauty to these potatoes is that you can start out with less oil and
drizzle a little more as they're baking if they look dried out.

Pour them onto a greased cookie sheet. Sometimes I foil line a pan for the oven, or put them in heavy duty foil and roast them on the grill.

Bake until browned to your liking at about 375. Turn with a spatula at least once.

2009-02-12T12:01:00.000-06:00

Is Public Schooling Accomplishing What We Want, OR What Someone Else Wants?

Rights of Christian Students and Teachers in Public Schools

Photography Class Interest ?

2009-02-05T09:18:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking about teaching a photography class for homeschool students this fall. This class would be tailored to 7th-12th grade students to earn a credit in digital photography. I've yet to decide if we will use a book, what the class size will be limited to, and I'll need to look for a place to hold the classes. There will be a fee. It would be good for them to have their own camera of some kind, though I'll have cameras we can share during class time. It would also be nice to have laptops so that we could really get into digital editing software, without everyone trying to see one computer. I'd want to be able to meet a few times in the downtown area to do some on-location photography with them. I know this could be a lot of fun, and I hope everything works out for me to be able to do it. I may do a younger class as a co-op class at a later time.

Me Homeschool !?

2009-01-26T21:30:00.000-06:00

I didn't officially homeschool when my kids and step-sons were little. I didn't have a teaching degree, even though I'd worked toward it at one time. I wish someone had told me I was totally capable, since I was homeschooling from the beginning, I just wasn't aware that's what I was doing. I did real teaching of letters and sounds, not just teaching them to sing the ABC song when they were preschoolers. We did crafts that tied in with learning. Later we reworked public schoolwork through late hours. I taught budgeting and cooking. We took educational field trips. I wish I could say I taught them Bible verses early on, but you can't teach what you know nothing about yourself. That was for church Sunday school teachers to do.

My daughter liked and excelled in ps. For the most part she had no serious problems, unless you count the awful change in schools from the kindergarten where she had been reading the first semester, to one where the teacher took away her pencil and gave her a crayon. The new teacher was mean and impatient. She had good and bad teachers along the journey, and she made her way through. In her junior year of high school she attended OSSUM.

On the other hand, I had to wring my son off my arm and push him through the kindergarten gate almost every day. I felt it was a good day if I could poke him in, jump in my car, back away from the building before he could start out the gate again, and get home without crying all morning myself. Those kindergarten days should've clued me in that this was not going to be easy for either of us. He loved books and loved learning and playing. Then came the day the school informed me that he was at the borderline for needing to be in reading lab. I thought that it would only be a good thing if they thought it necessary, so I signed the papers and in he went. That was the beginning of the end of government schooling for us. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to realize the need to get out. He began bringing reams of schoolwork home, and we worked through the evening hours in tears trying to get it all done. I asked why he wasn't getting the work accomplished at school. He explained that by the time he was through with reading lab and got back to class they were done with those subjects and were going to gym, art, music and lunch. Up to this point he had been an average reader and loved reading. He had excellent comprehension, but he did not like to write down the answers to the comprehension questions. He'd write, "because" or "I don't know", but if you asked him about what he'd read he could go on forever excitedly telling you the details. Then he began to dislike reading.

In frustration one evening I told my husband that I might as well homeschool him because I was doing it already! Before this I had found homeschoolers downright unusual and probably incompetent. I only knew one person who seemed to have it all together. I had doubts, but we began to pray about it and when I complained to a friend that I didn't think I could make him mind all day she replied, "That's the main reason you should be homeschooling!"

When I dove in I had no support system except The Swap. I didn't think I could be in a co-op group because I had a little girl that I babysat and taught preschool work to. Then I acquired two more children. All belonged to public school teachers. So for four years I taught my son, two little people, took care of a baby and carted the kids around. When people would make snide remarks at school about homeschooling one of these moms would answer, "Oh, you mean like the lady who babysits my child? The one who has taught her to read at three years old, does Bible crafts and verses with her AND teaches her own son?"

I'm so thankful that I have a support group like Believers now. What a wonderful group of like-minded people, devoted to teaching their own children!

Now I can teach Bible, and should NOT depend on Sunday school teachers and other people to teach what I should be teaching, what the Lord commands that I teach.

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
-Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Eclectic Curriculum

2009-01-26T08:16:00.000-06:00

Ever since our exodus from public school we've been eclectic in our choice of learning material. Eclectic means that we've been using a variety of sources to teach the individual subjects, not using only one publisher to accomplish our goals. We've pretty much stuck to reading real books for history and language arts, using texts only for supplements, or to tie it all together. I never test on the history text, we just read through and discuss. In my opinion Real Books = Real Learning which sticks with you for a lifetime. Just beware of the homeschool parent's bane: Curriculum Overkill.
For example, we've used A Beka, but never the entire curriculum. There was one notable year I probably used a different publisher for every subject. However; if you choose to do be that eclectic, make sure you aren't doing double, or even triple duty on a subject. Overkill on language arts is the biggie. Take it from someone who has been there. Also, how many years of grammar does a kid need? Get them writing and building vocabulary!

In the 5-6 grades we used A Beka for reading and their spelling/vocabulary/poetry. We used Writing Strands for writing. In the 7-8 we used A Beka's Grammar/Composition.
We ALSO used Beautiful Feet American History spread over 2 years, which has some writing and vocabulary. Somewhere in there we tried a smattering of Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLATL). In the semesters that we concentrated on writing skills, I supplemented with Daily Grammar and spelling lists for grade levels like Pocket Basics and Everyday Spelling that I found online. If he knew the spelling words the first testing he didn't have to write or test on that word. Wordly Wise was the best vocabulary studies we found, and still use them. Can you see how you could get bogged down in the language arts swamp? Thank the Lord that He guided me and showed me that we didn't need to get it all done in one year! That's the big reason I wanted to use programs like Beautiful Feet or Total Language Plus, reading real books, and combining history and language skills, which was my goal from the very beginning.

In the 5-8 years we used Saxon for math. For science we used Bob Jones, wrote our own curriculum one year, then went to Apologia Science, purchased from Home Science Tools.
For Bible we used different things, I wish we had used Discover 4 Yourself Bible Studies, which a friend highly recommends for children AND adults. We used Latina Christiana for Latin studies, which I highly recommend for vocabulary building and biology later. BF Ancient History was spread over 2 years.

9th grade was:

1st semester for English/History: we read some Medieval and Bible history real books (Some of those books were on the BF list, some were Henty books, some our own choice)
Timeline from Homeschool in the Woods done scrapbook style
2nd semester still read good books, but concentrated on essay writing with help from the English Works website and The Institute for Excellence in Writing
Saxon Algebra (struggled)
Sign Language from a co-op class
Accounting from co-op
Guitar, mandolin, fiddle and choir from outside home
Apologia Biology
Carpentry & mechanics from dad

The 10th grade has looked like this:

Switched to Teaching Textbooks for Math
Read through A Beka's World History Text
1st semester more stuff from The Institute for Excellence in Writing
2nd semester we started Total Language Plus-Oliver Twist currently
A Beka's Bible Doctrine and Bible reading (no testing, just discussion)
Finished Apologia's Biology and started Microbiology outside of home. (more about that later)
Carpentry & mechanics from dad
ACT prep
He taught a co-op class
Spanish from outside home
Co-op computer class
Art classes from outside home
Guitar, mandolin, fiddle and choir from outside home

As you can see, the only core courses on our own, ended up being: English, Math and Bible.
Last semester I was driving 4 days a week, so even though it was worth it, I'm glad we've dropped some things! We're down to 2 days a week.

Teaching Textbooks & Saxon Math

2009-01-23T09:55:00.000-06:00

Teaching Textbooks Algebra has been a good change for us from Saxon. I like Saxon for it's thoroughness and repetition, but as we've gotten into higher math I've really appreciated that TT has answer cds which work out EVERY problem, if you need the help.

There are D.I.V.E. cds for Saxon which are very helpful, but they do not work out every problem. Some say that students who have used Saxon receive consistently high scores on standardized math tests. Teaching Textbooks hasn't been around long enough to have data prove the same for them, but for us it was a good switch.

If you are using Saxon for middle to upper grades and you see that your child IS "getting it", don't be afraid to pare down the work to every other problem. Just make sure they are consistantly answering each type of problem correctly. On the other hand, if you see that they aren't understanding you can go back through a lesson, do extra practices in the back of the book, or find extra practice problem sheets online.

Cherry New Year !

2009-01-01T12:58:00.000-06:00

My favorite cherry recipe was always made by my favorite aunt. She was a great cook and a wonderful example of godly womanhood. I miss her. More about Aunt Dorothy later. First her recipe:

Yummy Cherry Stuff

Some people call it dump cake because you dump everything in a baking dish. We just call it that "Yummy Cherry Stuff That Aunt Dorothy Made". There are versions using crushed pineapple or fresh blueberries. Once again: This Is Not A Healthy Recipe! That's why I only make it once a year. I was going to post a picture, but it was attacked and mostly eaten before I remembered.

Butter or spray a 9 x 13 baking dish. Dump the following ingredients in order listed and spread out in the pan. Don't mix together.

2 cans cherry pie filling
1 DRY white or yellow cake mix (yes, just the dry stuff)
2 sticks butter (melted or just cut up and placed on top)
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, but yummy)

Bake at 350 until top is browned. About 30 minutes.

Aunt Dorothy was diagnosed with a brain tumor when I was young. The doctors didn't expect her to live past the year. She had 2 surgeries to remove parts of the tumor, but in the 70's there just wasn't much hope even with chemo. I was just a kid at the time, but I knew it was serious and scary. She was sick from headaches and chemo, but she clung to the Lord in such a way that it made a lasting impression on me. I'd never known anyone who talked to God like He was standing right there, a Friend and a Father, a Comforter and Confidant. I'd never seen anything like it. I wanted to be like her. I still do.

I really got to know and love her when I started traveling with her and Momma to Saint Francis to the cancer treatment specialists. It was a serious thing, of course, but it was a lot of fun in the beginning because she and Momma were so much fun. We stopped and bought peaches on the way home once because she wanted a peach. Momma told her we didn't have any way to wash them, and not even a paper towel to use for a napkin. Of course Momma did stop and buy peaches, took a pillowcase off a pillow, and rubbed the fuzz off a juicy, perfectly huge peach and gave it to her. Dorothy pronounced it, "The best peach I ever ate!"

I remember squeezing into the cab of a pick-up truck with Momma, Aunt Dorothy, Grandma, and my sister-in-law. I was the only skinny one, because I was still young. This was no F-150. I sat on the edge of the seat the 30+ miles to "town" and back. We laughed the whole trip. No one is as fun as a bunch of Christian women who love each other,
and I wanted to be smack dab in the middle of them!

She took me with her to buy Tex-Mex when we were in Odessa.
Tex-Mex was something we didn't have much of around home. She asked me if I wanted refried beans. When I replied I didn't even know what a refried bean was, she exclaimed, "Well honey, you have to have some then! You'll love 'em!"
I think of her every time I eat refried beans. What a tribute, huh? Somehow I don't think she'd mind.

I went with her to her church. First time I'd ever set my bashful foot inside a Pentecostal church. I wasn't afraid with her there. It was wonderful to kneel beside my favorite aunt and listen to her offering up prayers to God. I hung on her every word. It was like the Spirit of the Lord just hung around her like a garment.

Did I mention she lived much longer than the doctors expected? YEARS longer.
I know that whatever pain and sickness she endured was not in vain. If for nobody else, the Lord let her live longer for my sake. For my sake, yes.
Thank you Lord. Let me be like Aunt Dorothy.

Christmas Questions

2008-12-24T12:30:00.000-06:00

See if you know the answers.

1.When Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit:
a. Joseph didn't want to be engaged anymore
b. Mary left for awhile
c. Joseph and Mary were already married
d. both a. and b

2. How many wise men came to visit Jesus?
a. We don't know how many.
b. Three (We three kings)
c. Ten
d. a multitude

3. The baby Jesus was born in:
a. a field
b. a stable
c. a cave
d. who knows?

4. What animals were present at Jesus' birth?
a. cows and sheep
b. a donkey and sheep
c. pigs, cows and doves
d. we don't know

5. What sign were the shepherds told to look for?
a. a star
b. a baby in a manger
c. a neon sign
d. angels

6. When the wise men found Jesus He was:
a. laying in a manger
b. sleeping in the hay
c. in a house
d. we don't know

7. What did the innkeeper say to Mary and Joseph?
a. "No room here"
b. " You can use my room"
c. "You can use the stable out back"
d. we don't know

8. An angel appeared to Joseph and told Him to name the child Jeshua (Jesus)
to fulfill the prophecy that a virgin would give birth and the child would be called Immanuel.
What does Immanuel mean?
a. Jesus saves
b. God with us
c. God in flesh
d. God is born

9. How much younger was Jesus than His cousin John?
a. 6 months
b. 1 year
c. 2 years
d. we don't know

10. Which gospels have the account of Jesus' birth?
a. All four
b. Luke and John
c. Matthew and Luke
d. Matthew, Luke and Mark

11. Who is the only person who can claim to be the true Messiah
based on legal, genealogical records?
a. A few thousand
b. Only the Jesus of the Bible
c. who knows?
d. Any man descended from David

12. Who fulfilled more than 100 prophecies which were know to be
prophecies about the coming Messiah?
a. Only Jesus of the Bible
b. Obama
c. L. Ron Hubbard
d. Muhammad

1.-d
2.-a The Bible doesn't tell us how many. We just figured there were three because of the three gifts, and it stuck. There could have been a whole entourage of people with their servants and animals to travel so far.
3.-d
4.-d
5.-b
6.-c The wise men were not present at the birth of Jesus, but came later
7.-d
8.-b "God with us" Amazing that He would become a man, live among us and die in our place.
9.-a
10.-c
11.-b Jesus' geological record was preserved in scripture in both Matthew(family tree of Joseph, His legal father) & Luke (Family tree of Mary) No one else can prove their bloodline to David positively because the temple records were destroyed in AD 70 when Rome burned Jerusalem.
12.-a Only Jesus. Read them for yourself.

There were actually people calling Obama the messiah. Can you believe it?
L. Ron was the nut case who started his own religion. He was a science fiction writer.

The Unwanted

2008-12-19T22:53:00.000-06:00

There are so many people defending the "right" to abortion in the world. There are so many "unwanted" babies that that heaven must be full to bursting with them by now. I can't fathom how we got to this point. Now it's perfectly acceptable that babies are murdered right up to full term, as they're being born, or left to die afterwards. Unwanted....what happens when you're unwanted someday?

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me--
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
-Martin Niemoeller

Neat, thought-provoking story.

You'd never know

2008-12-18T08:05:00.000-06:00

You'd never know it's the season celebrating Jesus by looking for Christmas cards, nativity ornaments, and the like. Now we're supposed to scrub His name out of the holiday itself and say "Happy Holidays".

Well, what is a "holiday"? HOLY DAY, that's were "holiday" comes from. I realize that some of our holidays were dates used in ancient days for pagan, evil, celebrations, but we all know that the early church began combating that with HOLY DAYS of their own. Sad that we may be devolving towards the paganism.

Thanksgiving is for giving thanks to who? The Lord, of course! Then there's Christmas, when we celebrate Jesus' birth, not St. Nicholas, who is celebrated separately on the 6th of December in many counties.

We spent Thanksgiving in southern Ohio with my husband's family. We went to the grocery store where there was already a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army. He said, "Happy Holidays" as I put money in the kettle and was turning to leave. I loudly replied, " AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!" over my shoulder. A lady nearby chuckled, and I said, "Merry Christmas....Christmas.....Christmas!" And we both had a good laugh. Let them just try to stop me from saying Christmas. :)

Too Funny!

2008-12-06T00:49:00.000-06:00

Funny about Obama birth certificate.

You gotta laugh. Our country is going to you-know-where in a handbasket.
Just laugh, and pray.

Here's text from Igor's site, but go there to see the great certificate he made:

To my new friends in America;

My name Igor Marxomarxovich I come from old country Russia one year ago. I thank you for freedom has been given me in my new country.

I here only this time but have already vote. I vote five times already with the help of new friends at ACORN. They tell me OK I become citizen later. Never in my country can I do this. I vote three or four times later this week. They give me new name each time I vote. Give me American cigarettes to smoke in line. Sometimes even find Igor place at front of line.

Such freedom. My uncle die three year ago. With help of ACORN he still able to vote (but not get American cigarettes)

My sister not speak English. They even go vote for her. Generous American taxpayers pay ACORN help make this possible! Thank you very much!

This beautiful land of opportunity. Even stupid person like Mr Biden can become president. In my country we call such people rocket scientist. That is person who say he smart, but too stupid to fly rocket straight up into air then down into ground to crash.

I would like to show my gratitude to Mr. Obama. He not have time to find birth certificate to be president. He go back to Hawaii for 5 day but only have time to visit sick grandmother for hour and still find no paper. Media too busy to help. They have important things to do like find out if Joe Plumber in union or where Ms Palin get dress.

I help them easy. In Russia all plumbers in union. Dues become taxes. Then, union become part of government. Even rocket scientist know that. It not matter where Ms. Palin get dress. Maybe she give dress to Mr Biden, He wear on TV interview and answer mean question easy like she do. Then maybe he not get so angry and look so stupid..

To help Obama campaign, I, Igor, make him birth certificate. Better than one DNC goons make for website! I take DNC like my KGB back home!

*I Igor make certificate only from gratitude. But if Mr Obama need Cabinet member, I Igor have many good credential:

Former community organizer for KGB

Much smarter than Senator Biden

Graduate Moscow Elementary School in only 10 year!

Former treasurer for Moscow Plumber Union - raise dues 40% only keep ½ for myself – buy big house with big backyard in Moscow(buy cheap from good friend, Moscow slum lord before he go jail)

Graduate top of class from Moscow Elementary, therefore know 50 states in US, 15 states of USSR and 57 states of Islam (my school records sealed – I not want you see them)

Not as good looking as Ms Palin, but a lot better looking than Hilary and Hawaii Governor – looks important to media …That why good friend Senator Barney get me loan from ACORN and Freddie Mac before I declare bankruptcy.

Have birth certificate. Eligible be of President United States!

All facts can be check on independent nonpartisan nonprofit internet site www.FactCheck.Igor.KGB.org. Media has inspect all document and see raised seal. All donations to Igor accepted.

Remember, I Igor say vote early and vote often. Then you get more American cigarette.

Gratefully yours,

Igor Marxomarxovich
Any complaints or comments please send to www.FightIgorSmears.KGB.org and they will be handled in appropriate manner.

Praline Sweet Potatoes

2008-11-25T00:24:00.000-06:00

Only the most important part of my Thanksgiving meal!!
I ~~detest~~ really don't like the ones with marshmallows.
No offense to those who do, but if you haven't tried these, you don't know what you're missing.
Those who think they don't like sweet potatoes should still make these. It really should be labeled "dessert". YUMMYY!!

Praline Sweet Potatoes

4 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tab. vanilla
4 eggs
1 c. cream

Mix above ingredients together. Spread in a buttered baking dish.

To Make the Topping:

1 stick butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans

Mix topping ingredients together and spread on top of potato mixture.
Bake at 350 until topping is slightly browned , about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

I Want a Search Engine

2008-11-20T00:44:00.000-06:00

I love Google search. Anything I want to know....sometimes more than I want to know,
I can find with a quick "type and click".

Alas, the search engine which would be the most helpful to me doesn't exist, yet. I want a search engine for my house.
Maybe one for the car too. NO, not a GPS, a search engine.... you know, to find lost stuff within the car itself!
Sometimes I could use one for inside my head, when I forget things.

Yes I know, I'm a nut. It doesn't stop me from REALLY wanting a search engine for my very own.
Can you get me one for Christmas? I'll try to be good and declutter before it arrives so the poor dear doesn't blow a gasket.

Alfredo & Basic White Sauce

2008-11-17T23:53:00.000-06:00

Lots of yummy "soupy" and "saucy" things can be made from starting with a basic white sauce. Nearly all sauces, puddings, cream soups, and gravies have these in common:

milk/cream/milk substitute content
oil/butter/fat content
flour/corn starch/other starch substitute thickening content
Some have eggs or egg yolks

When you make a basic white sauce you can add nice things to make different sauces: fresh or dried herbs, fresh ground pepper, garlic, toasted nuts, pesto, curry, bouillon, cheeses.... the list is endless. This is so easy, and you can make Alfredo Sauce with it!

Basic White Sauce

4 Tab. butter
4 Tab. flour
1/2 tsp. salt (leave out if using bouillon)
2 c. milk or half and half (half heavy cream-half milk)

In a large saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk all at once and whisk continuously over medium heat until thickened. See, wasn't that easy? I told you so.

For Alfredo Sauce just add 1/2 cup of Parmesan and/or Romano cheese. You can saute a little pressed garlic in the butter before adding the flour to really make it more yummy.

The delicious Romano sauce that we had in Europe was basically the above Alfredo Romano Sauce, with just a touch of red sauce in it, poured over tortellini. I think it had some thin, tiny, pieces of ham or Canadian bacon on top.

Pizza Fridays

2008-11-14T15:36:00.000-06:00

Friday is Pizza Day at our house. Rarely we order a pizza, more often I make it. This Friday I was feeling under the weather,
so 15 year-old son said, "I can make the pizza, mom."

????? Wow! So I sort of stood/leaned there and told him how to make the dough. He made very nice pizza, even sauteing the mushrooms! I took photos once before, but didn't post the recipe, so here ya go. Get your pizza makin' pants on.

Mamma Cha's Pizza Pie Dough

2 c. unbleached white flour
1 c. wheat flour
1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp. salt

Stir that dry stuff together. Add:

1/4 cup oil around the sides of flour
aprox. 1 1/2 c warm water (enough to make a really, wet, sticky, mess)

Beat this vigorously with a big spoon or mixer until the dough becomes elastic. (That's the gluten protein strands forming. Science, for you homeschoolers) Gluten Free Recipes Here Then stir in enough flour to make a non-sticky ball. Maybe 1 more cup. I'll get back to you on that after this Friday. For pizza dough I usually knead the dough right in the bowl adding flour as I need it.
Drizzle oil on the nice firm ball of dough and flip to coat it. Set it aside to rise a little. The more it rises, the more soft the dough becomes, but for pizza it's fine to use it within a few minutes. This is a pretty good bread recipe if you rise it 2x. Very similar to my bread machine bread recipe.

Oil up your cookie sheets or pizza pans. This dough will cover 2 big cookie sheets nicely. I stretch half the dough to the length of the pan, then lay it in there and start spreading by pushing down and out. Too much "out" and you'll tear the dough.
I'm not the pizza guy we met in Savannah.

So the order for putting it together is:

oil your pans
dough your pans
sauce
cheese
meat, and some veggies if you want them in the middle
cheese
pepperoni and/or onions, green peppers, mushrooms, peperoncini or banana pepper rings......

For sauce I use Del Monte Four Cheese Spaghetti Sauce. Not pizza sauce. One can covers both pizzas, if you like plenty of sauce. I've made pizza sauce, this is easier.

Falling Faces

2008-11-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

If you're over 30, have you ever made the horrifying mistake of leaning over and looking at your reflection in a mirror which is laying on a counter? Go do it, I'll wait for you to come back, laughing and crying hysterically......

Not a pretty sight, is it? Well, that's what small children see when we lean over them!
LOL! Now, lean over your mirror, slightly stick out your tongue, shake your face vigorously and say, "Bbbbblllllah!"
It's enough to frighten children and tiny pets. Maybe scar them for life!

What happened to my face? I'm glad I'm not too terribly vain. It would scar ME for life. I'm sure that God lets our vision worsen as we age so we can't see each other's outer flaws clearly. I need failing vision for people's inside flaws too.

I'm so thankful that God looks on the inside and not the outside, even though, I'll admit, sometimes the insides of me aren't very pretty either.

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." - Proverbs 31:30

"...the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7b

Day Thirty - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

If you made it this far, and stuck with it, I'm so proud of you! If you backslid and talked trash to and about your man, don't beat yourself up about it. Apologize to him and God, and start over. There's always a new day!
RIGHT ACTIONS BRING RIGHT FEELINGS.

Day Thirty:
"...This is my beloved, and this is my friend..."
Song of Solomon 5:16b

Friends can be completely honest with each other, but friendships are strained when truth is not spoken in love. How are you speaking to your beloved? Are you so "used" to him that you don't appreciate the wonder of his friendship? That is your challenge today.

Is your sweetheart your best friend? Does he know this? Have you told him, or do you assume he "just knows"?

Friendship is something that is cultivated through the good times and the bad. Friends can share their hearts, but they don't step on each other's hearts.

The way to have and be a good friend is to cultivate and celebrate the relationship. As you end this "30-Day Encouragement Challenge," celebrate your friendship with your husband. Get alone and reflect on your beloved friend. Write him a letter, listing the qualities you admire and appreciate about him. If you are creative with words, write and frame a poem about him.

Perhaps you can prepare a special meal, just for the two of you, and read the letter or poem to him. Ask if you can pray for him, and if he is willing, thank God for your love and friendship, asking for His blessing on your home.

Encouragement, as you have seen these past 30 days, is a synonym for love in action.

***

How has this challenge changed your heart and life, dear friend? Did God encourage you as you planned ways to encourage your husband? Were there difficult days where you simply needed to trust that God was working? Days when it was hard to leave the results to God? Remember that God is faithful, and He will bless you for your willingness to obey Him. His ways are not our ways, and perhaps He will honor you in ways you do not expect, but one thing is sure - you will never be the same because of your commitment to be more like Christ!

What kinds of victories have you experienced in your home since you started the "30-Day Encouragement Challenge"? Would you take a moment to share these victories with us?

Day Twenty-nine - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Day Twenty-nine:
"A prudent man foresees evil, and hides himself; the simple pass on, and are punished." Proverbs 27:12

As you near the end of your Encouragement Challenge, take time to think about your husband's responses to the wickedness of the culture, the media, etc. Does your husband recognize and avoid evil? Does he regularly turn his back on pornography, sexual temptations, and the urge to lie and cheat?

This is a valuable character trait. Like Joseph in the Old Testament, who fled from the wicked advances of Potiphar's wife, this takes an understanding that these kinds of sins are first and foremost, sins against God (Gen. 39:9).

Praise your husband when he recognizes and turns his back on wickedness. If you can think of a circumstance where your husband stood for righteousness, remind him of that today-and express your gratitude.

Maybe you missed this

2008-11-10T21:16:00.000-06:00

Sometimes things are reported and we miss important details as we scan the articles.
I read that there are going to be elections in Iraq soon.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said:
"....there is potential for election-related violence and instability, as witnessed recently in Mosul, where attacks in early October forced nearly 10,000 Christians to flee their homes..."

It's terrible that people had to flee their homes, but did you see 10,000 CHRISTIANS! Whoo-Hoo!

Day Twenty-eight - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Day Twenty-eight:
"The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility." Prov. 15:33

Sometimes, when we just "know" we are right and our husbands are wrong, it takes great humility to honor them. It is difficult to speak well of our husbands when our own hearts are puffed up with pride.

As part of your Encouragement Challenge today, pray that you will respond to the Lord in faith and humility before you react to your husband. Speak wisely and well, and leave the results to God.

The humility that comes from a right relationship with God - the humility that comes when a man is willing to listen to God and be taught from His Word - is indeed a beautiful quality. Jesus was an example of this kind of humility when he was willing to submit to His Father's will (John 6:38; Matt. 26:39).

Does your husband have that kind of humility? Is he willing to learn from and submit to direction from the Lord? Let your husband know how precious this is to your marriage relationship.

Day Twenty-seven - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

Day Twenty-seven:
"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD." Ps. 31:24

You have almost completed the "30-Day Encouragement Challenge." Perhaps it has taken you a tremendous amount of courage to speak words of encouragement consistently to your husband. Courage comes as we place our trust in God. Have faith that God will continue to work long after your encouraging words have been shared.

There are lots of "tough guys" in the world, but true courage comes from the Lord. Does your husband exhibit the courage to take an unpopular stand, perhaps even to stand alone against evil? Is he courageous in his faith? Does he work hard to change injustice? Is he a stickler for the truth? Does he protect you or your family from the attacks of the Enemy?

Psalm 27:14 says this kind of courage comes from "waiting" on the Lord for His strength. If your budget allows, "award" your husband with a medal, trophy, framed picture of a brave knight, or some other token that represents his courage as a man of God. Praise evidences of your husband's courage in protecting you, your marriage, your family, or your home.

Day Twenty-six: - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Day Twenty-six:
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Luke 2:52

If you have faithfully encouraged your husband, you will no doubt have seen some changes in his life...and your own life, as well. Encouragement is a wonderful habit that we hope you will continue for the rest of your life.

The important thing is to keep growing in Christ and obeying the Word of God as you respond to your husband. As you consider today how to bless your husband and not tear him down, think of ways that you can encourage balance in your home.

Jesus led a balanced life. He grew mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. As you see your husband branching out in these areas, is there a pattern of growth? Is your husband striving for balance in his life? If so, let him know you have noticed, and ask how you can further encourage that balance.

If your husband is out of balance - focusing on one area to the exclusion of the others - consider whether there are things you can do to help restore or create balance in his life. Can you encourage times for sports or exercise? Keep the children quiet for a study time? Invite friends over for dinner? Stimulate his mind?

Be sure you are working toward balance in your own life, as well. Be an example!

Day Twenty-five - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-07T18:00:00.000-06:00

Day Twenty-five:
"...seek peace, and pursue it." Psalm 34:14b
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

Before you consider whether these verses describe your husband, consider your own presence in the home. Do you promote an atmosphere of peace, or do critical words often flow from your mouth? Do you struggle with anger? If so, before you continue with your Encouragement Challenge, confess these sinful habits to the Lord, and determine to speak words of peace to your family today.

Does your husband bring an atmosphere of peace into your home? Is his presence a calming influence? Does he bring music, entertainment, books or people into your home that build a sense of serenity? Let him know how much you appreciate this wonderful quality, and support his choices.

If, on the other hand, he is quickly angered or he creates chaos rather than calm, ask God to give you an abundance of the kind of peace that will speak to his heart. Be patient and loving. Create an inviting atmosphere of peace, as much as possible.

The Greatest Artist

2008-11-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

All the leaves could turn brown and hang on the trees until spring buds pushed them off. Why is it necessary for them to lose their chlorophyll and change into the beautiful rainbow of color we see every fall? God set this tree painting extravaganza in motion with creation and we enjoy it every year.

When we try to paint or create anything beautiful, it is but a murky copy of what the Great Creator did and does.

If we allow Him the paintbrush of our lives He can paint joy where there was despair, a clean heart where there was guilt and hopelessness, love and forgiveness where there was bitterness and hate. Why wouldn't we want that?

Mom as Peacemaker

2008-11-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Over the years I've gently coaxed family members toward each other when words of forgiveness or encouragements need to be spoken. I think it's a momma's job to help the children to respect their father. Also to gently speak to our husbands (never in front of the kids) about using kinder words, clearer words, encouraging words, with the children. Asking them how we can also do better.

I encouraged children who would come to me with a complaint, or hurt feelings to go with me to speak to Dad. I might start the conversation with, "Dad, A____ , feels very hurt and wants to talk to you."
That would lead Dad to say something like, "I'm very sorry I hurt your feelings, I just don't want you to....."

I recall an evening when my husband was sitting outside in the dark worrying about one of our teenagers. I spoke to the offender and told them where Dad was and why, and suggested they go out there. Up until then I think our teen had the mistaken idea that Dad was unreasonable. Knowing that he was very seriously concerned, because of love, changed everything.

A young one of ours harbored bitterness for YEARS over what they felt was an unjust swat from Dad in front of a cousin who laughed about it. I'd had enough of hearing the story rehashed and told the stinker that even if the spanking was unjust, it was TIME to get over it and FORGIVE. They were a young Christian, after all. I shared Ephesians 4:31-32 "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."
(Don't we all need to memorize and put that to practice?) We prayed about it together and finally there was a release of all that bitterness.

Encourage your kids to honor their fathers by speaking and acting honorable toward him yourself.

Day Twenty-four - Husband Encouragement

2008-11-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Day Twenty-four:
"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4

Children can be quite a challenge to the marriage relationship. A wise wife will support her husband's leadership in the home as much as possible, and will praise him for his fathering skills. Negativity makes a man feel like a failure, and may make him to want to give up.

Does your husband discipline your children wisely? Does he show them love and encourage them? Does he take an interest in their activities and dreams? Does he spend time with them? Does he take part in developing their character? Praise him for these important life skills.

If you don't have children - is your husband positive and encouraging around other people's children? Let him know that you have noticed.

If your husband does not experience positive relationships with children, you will need to figure out why. Perhaps he had negative experiences as a child with his own parents, and needs to learn how to respond. Perhaps you can lovingly and patiently show him how to parent - while still maintaining his authority in the home.

Being Careful With Our Words

2008-11-05T08:07:00.000-06:00

I have proof that God has a great sense of humor.

A few years ago I knew I was going to be spending extended time with someone who rubbed me the wrong way. It never mattered how carefully I worded things, my words would be interpreted to mean something entirely different than what I'd meant. I decided to pray earnestly that the Lord would help me with my words, that I wouldn't speak one word that wasn't necessary and kind. I asked the Lord to help me be understood and help me to keep my mouth shut.

On the 13 hour trip to this person's home I developed a scratchy throat and arrived with barely any voice at all! Isn't God good?!! I could barely speak above a whisper, and could only smile at the conversations going on around me. I was amazed and chucked the whole visit at the sense of humor of the Lord.