Prayer

What a week it's been!  And it's not over.  Not necessarily a good or bad thing.  It could get worse, I just hope not.

Last week I embarked on the much dreaded project of switching out all our summer clothes with fall and winter clothes.  Normally this wouldn't be as painful of a task as it was this time.  For one thing, we're living in a camper.  There isn't exactly room to spread out, let alone walk when you bring in boxes of clothes to switch out.  It was a week of practically mountain climbing just to get from one end to the other in our camper.  The other issue is that all our fall and winter clothes are in storage (I guess I was hoping we would have been in our house by this time) and it's all been moved 4 times.  Once out of our house and into storage in the basement of a shop, then to the main floor when we had the initial flood warning, then into a garage at a house that was on the market when the shop and town flooded, and then days after it was moved to the garage, that house received an offer (it had been on the market for 4 months) and finally moved into our basement of our 'being constructed' home.  Now, the task to simply locate their clothes, well you can just imagine.  On top of that my parents recently drove up from the West Coast with a trailer packed to the brim with stuff for us.  Along with that came more clothes, so I had to locate those as well, and let me tell you I still don't know what all they brought with them.  All that to say, I'm just glad its over, everything that I could find is switched out and nothing is organized!  Let's just say that there will be one big organizing party at my place once the house is finished!

And then this week, well like I said, I hope it doesn't get worse.  My son came down with some sort of bug and we're still trying to figure out what he's got.  First it was cold symptoms, then he thew up but acted fine afterwords so we blamed it on all the apples eaten from the apple tree, then he had a raging fever for a day and then he, well we won't go into further detail but he still isn't feeling up to par.  I am hoping and praying it isn't really the flu and that the rest of us, especially my 2 1/2 month old don't get sick.  Being a mom, I think there should be a rule about not ever being allowed to get sick, it's just simply awful!  And being a mom with a husband who works 6 days a week from sun-up to past sun-down trying to build his family a house and having kids or myself sick with the flu is something I don't want to even think about!

So why is this post titled prayer, other than the obvious fact that I've probably been praying for the health of our family and our sanity last week?  I've also been home a lot and that has given me a lot of time to think and pray.  I've been praying about the uncertainties of our house, our health, for my husband and children and many other things.  One prayer that has been pressing and urgent is that of our dear friends who recently had a baby who is in the hospital and even now going through surgery and there are many unanswered questions still about his condition.  And I received the privilege to pray with a friend today, she came and asked if we could pray together when I had a free moment, and I can't tell you how much that blessed my heart.  I had to ask myself how often I go to someone and ask them to pray with me.  Not often.  Why haven't I?  It was such a blessing for both of us and it ministered to my heart praying with her.

Are you praying for your friends and family?  Are you asking for prayer?  Do you take time to pray with your husband or children?  Do you have a prayer partner?  Just some questions to consider.

What a beautiful privilege we have to communicate with our Lord, to pour out our hearts to Him and listen to Him!

Pray for Your Husband: to Be Strong and of Good Courage

                                                                                                                                      Image credit: absentmindedoracle

Are you praying for your husband? 

Are you getting on your knees and truly beseeching the Lord on his behalf?  

Prayer is powerful!  

To think that we have the privilege to talk to the Creator of the universe, that He listens to our hearts desires and our cries to Him.  And that He answers us when we call.  Wow!  I am in awe of my Redeemer, my Savior. 

Let’s rise up and seek the Lord on our husband’s behalf.  Pray for him that He would love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.  And that he would be a man like Joshua, that He would be strong and of good courage!

May I suggest to take time to pray scripture over your husband; write or type out verses and keep them with you and as you remember to pray for him take a moment to pray the Word over him too.

Joshua 1:5-9

"No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you nor forsake you.

"Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

"Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

"This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all the is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 

"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua needed reassurance, again and again, to be strong and of good courage.  As our men go out into the world daily, they are faced with many temptations and pressures from this world.  Seek the Lord diligently, fervently, and do not cease in your prayers for your husband.  Pray that he would be a man who is strong and of good courage.  A man willing to love and serve the Lord with his life.  Pray!  

*A side note: young woman who are not yet married, this applies to you as well, pray just as fervently for your future husband!  Seek the Lord on his behalf even now, what a blessing this will be!

Grandma Bear's "Bestest" Granola

I must say that I think we have the best granola recipe ever!  Well, we sure love it anyway!  We eat it for breakfast with yogurt and fresh fruit or just by itself as a snack, it's wonderful and we would love to share it with you.  It's from the cookbook 'From the Kitchen of Two Sisters', a fabulous cookbook with some amazing recipes that promote healthy eating using natural ingredients.  You can buy your own copy from my store here.

 

Grandma Bear's "Bestest" Granola

Wet Ingredients 

1 c. maple syrup

1 c. honey

1 1/2 c. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. each maple, vanilla & almond extract

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 tea. salt

Dry Ingredients 

12 c. rolled oats

3 c. coconut

1 c sesame seeds

1 1/2 c. pecans - chopped

1 1/2 c. walnuts - chopped

1 1/2 c. almonds - chopped

1 c. raisins (optional)

1 c. dried cranberries (optional)

*I also add about 1/2 c. ground flaxseed

1.  In a sauce pan melt butter.  Add all other wet ingredients and mix well.

2.  Combine the oats, coconut, sesame seeds and nuts in a large bowl.

3.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

4.  Bake the granola on cookie sheets in a 350 degree oven for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

5.  Add the dried fruit to the cooked granola.

6.  Cool thoroughly before storing.

Makes about 24 cups

Prep. time: 20 - 30 minutes

Cook time: 20 - 30 minutes

I like to make this in bulk and freeze it, then we always have some on hand.  Also I order my dried cranberries from Azure Standard and they are fruit sweetened.

Getting Your Children Involved: Doing the Dishes!

Get your children involved, they will love it and so will you!

Join me as I start a new series about getting your children involved as you do your chores around the house.  My kiddos are little, ages 2 and 3, so my advice is specific to their ages, but you mothers of older children, I hope, can also benefit from these ideas, you may just end up using them as a starting point for knowing what your older kids are capable of helping out with around the house. 

I have little one’s under foot right now who love the chance to help!  They think it is so great and even a treat to dry dishes, fold socks or get out a new trash bag to put in the trash can.  I want to encourage you moms to take advantage of this opportunity while they enjoy helping out to begin to create and build good habits of service for the future. 

So often I want to do things around the house my way, and I want a job to just get done, but then as I’m going about my cleaning the kids start getting in the way, they start playing with the vacuum or fighting to get my attention, even undoing what had just been put away or cleaned.  This leads to me getting frustrated with them and sometimes not even getting done what I had hoped to.  The cycle is vicious but it can be avoided by getting your kids involved in what you’re doing!

Little one’s are very capable of doing many tasks around the house.  Give them a job and have them work at it.  If their attention span is short give them multiple little tasks that don’t take much time, although I would suggest just giving one task at a time otherwise they are likely to not remember a list.  Ask yourself what is more important, having a perfect house and everything done just exactly how you want it to be done at whatever cost or getting your children involved and teaching them to be servants, even if the job may not get done perfectly, as quickly or exactly how you would have done it. 

Take time to teach them each task, this will help them learn how to do a new job and learn how you expect it to be done.  Remember, this is a process, they’re learning, and you may need to repeat the teaching process a few times.  It may not get done exactly to your liking but we want to encourage them to try and in the process they learn how to listen to instruction, they learn how to do a task, and they learn how to serve their family.

Get your kids involved: Doing the dishes!

My little 2 and 3 year old love to help dry the dishes.  When we were in our house they would help us unload the dishwasher, now that we’re in the camper they help dry the dishes as I wash them.  You could even chose to have them wash the dishes!  I appreciate this so much, their willing little hearts to serve, and it helps me get the dishes done faster!  I get them each a drying rag and they get to work drying the dishes and stacking them on the counter for me to put away and the items, such a silverware, that they can reach to put away, they do. 

You may need to set some guidelines according to your family and children.  Right now our dishware is mostly plastic while we’re in the camper so they are safe to dry it.  While we were in our house using our regular dishware they had limitations on what they were allowed to help get out of the dishwasher such as knives and large glass serving bowls were off limits.  Along the way we have had a couple broken dishes, but we chose to use it as a moment to teach our children and have them learn the importance of being careful and using two hands, being aware of what they’re doing.  Dishes are replaceable!  Don’t miss the moments and time that you can spend with your children and teach them valuable life lessons, especially while they're young and they think it’s a treat!

PRAISE your children!

Praise your children ten times more than you correct them!

What a great reminder that I have been in need of.  We’re living in a camper this summer as we build our home and I feel like everything has been out of sorts.  I am normally very organized and enjoy being on a schedule but since we’ve been building, which started in May, all of that was thrown out the window.  It feels like nothing is organized and we are definitely not on any schedule, we really can’t be as each day is different with what needs to be done on the house. 

I work better in a clean, organized and scheduled environment.  I feel more relaxed and at ease.  But life is not always as I would like it to be and that should not dictate how I act as a wife or mother, how I raise and instruct my children.  But sadly, I have to admit, that my attitude and outlook has not remained the same throughout this summer.  I have began to slack in teaching and training my children, my temper has grown short and there have been many days that I just hope to get through the day.  This has reflected in my children, how they act and treat one another; they are seeing me and learning from me, the good and the bad.  Sadly, it’s probably been more bad than good lately. 

Prior to moving into the camper and building, our family was purposing to praise our children 10 times more than we correct them.  I believe this goes against our nature.  It’s easy to see when someone is doing something wrong and to call them out on it.  In dealing with our childrens behavior, it’s much the same, we see the things they are doing wrong, their actions that are unkind, their words that are mean and we are quick to correct them.  But it’s easy to let the gentle words and kind action go completely unnoticed.  We thrive under praise, even as adults.  As our children are learning and growing we need to constantly praise their good behavior, this will help them desire to do the right thing and become the person they should be. 

Children are born into a sinful nature and we need to teach them to put off ungodly behavior and put on godly character.  If we’re going to do this then we need to know what godly character is.  The Duggar’s have a great character quality chart with definitions, you can check out the chart here.  We as parents need to know and understand good character qualities first so we can see them and specifically praise our children when we see them doing what’s good and right.  When we see one of our children cleaning up their toys we can say, “What a great job, child’s name, you are being so diligent in cleaning up your toys.  Thank you!” or “Thank you for taking out the trash without even being asked. I’m so encouraged by your initiative. You saw what needed to be done and just did it! You encourage me to have more of a servant’s heart.”  To go beyond just simply saying ‘good job’ but speaking the character qualities so our children learn and understand what it is that they are doing takes purpose but it is vital and will make and incredible difference in your childrens lives and in your own! 

My encouragement to myself and to you is to purpose to learn the character qualities and purpose to teach them to your children and PRAISE your children when you see them carrying them out.  What a blessing this will be in your families lives as you begin to learn as well to put off the old man and put on the new man.  (Colossians 3)

Simple thoughts on this season

There is the hint of Fall all around, a hint of yellow on the leaves, a hint of harvest in the air. 

Oh how I love autumn, my favorite season and time of year. 

I love the chance to get outdoors and enjoy God’s creation. 

Magnificent color all around.

The beauty of the foliage amidst the backdrop of a clear blue sky. 

The hearty smell of burning leaves.

The days hint to cooler weather and bring an invigorating and yet cozy feeling. 

Yes, autumn is on the horizon. 

Autumn, a season of change.

Seasons

Each one distinct.

Each one beautiful.

To each one its own hardship.

Each one for a specific purpose.

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” 

(Ecc. 3:1)

“He has made everything beautiful in His time.” 

(Ecc. 3:11a)

In His time, In His time

He makes all things beautiful in His time

Lord, please show me every day

As You’re teaching me Your way

That You do just what You say

In Your time

In Your time, In Your time

You make all things beautiful in Your time

Lord, my life to You I bring

May each song I have to sing

Be to You a lovely thing

In Your time

Praising Jesus in this season.

Praising Jesus for this season. 

Simply praising Jesus!

Teaching your children their ABC’s and the Bible Part 2

Along with learning the names and attributes of Jesus while learning their ABC’s, like I talked about in Part 1 here, I also wanted them to be memorizing scripture and thought it would be a great idea to learn a Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet as well.  

 I did some searching and came across this great resource from heartofwisdom.com.  She has compiled a list of Bible verses that go along with each letter of the alphabet.  You can go to her site and print out the copywork Bible verse pages here. 

That was great but my little kiddos weren’t writing at the time and I thought it would be a good idea if it were all compiled in a book that we could read together.  So I got creative and decided to make a book myself through shutterfly.com.  I love shutterfly and have used it to make my family photo albums each year and I had noticed that they had an ABC photo book layout.  What a great idea, not only would the kids have an ABC book and a Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet, but the book could feature them as well!  Kids love to see pictures of themselves so I set out to take pictures of them doing something or having something that coordinated with each letter of the alphabet such as for B I took a picture of them playing with their blocks and for F I took a picture of their feet, etc.  I compiled the pictures, Bible verses and the word for whatever action I chose for each letter together in a photo book and had it printed.  It has been one of their favorite books to look through and we have been making our way through the ABC Bible verses!

Here are a couple pages from our ABC Bible Verse Photo Book.  I hope you enjoy and are inspired. 

Perseverance

 

 photo credit

We recently attended a family camp and the theme was perseverance.  Wow, no word could have been more applicable to our lives right now. 

You see, we are in the process of building our own home this summer and my amazing husband is doing the majority of work himself.  We started the building process in May and we’re in great need of the reminder to persevere even though it’s getting tough.  For the last, honestly I don’t even know how many weeks it’s been, my husband has been working on the electrical and plumbing.  We knew these areas would possibly be the hardest because we are not familiar with how to do either, we would be learning as we went.  And since it’s taken so long it’s easy to begin to lose heart, to lose motivation, to lose the desire to keep going.  But we know winter is coming and we need a roof over our heads because a camper will not be sufficient to live in during our Northern winters. 

We must persevere even though we don’t feel like it. 

It’s not easy. 

It doesn’t feel good. 

It’s uncomfortable. 

Again, we are faced with a choice.  Do we persevere or do we give up and quit? 

Jesus tells us in Romans 5:3-5, “but we also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” 

We have a Helper, the Holy Spirit, and He is doing a work in our lives as we make the choice to persevere.  He is molding and shaping our character and making us more like Him if we allow Him to.  No it may not feel good for a time.  Yes it’s probably uncomfortable.  But we have hope in Jesus Christ, that no matter what we are going through He is with us and He is doing a work and because of that we can persevere! 

What work is the Lord doing in your life right now?  What is He teaching you through this situation?  Are you allowing Him to mold and shape you into who He desires you to be?

Teaching your children their ABC’s and the Bible Part 1

I came across a wonderful book that we have used while teaching our little one’s their ABC’s.  It is so important to teach our children about Jesus Christ and who He is and teach them about godly character along with their academic learning.  So when I came across this book that teaches them about Jesus and their ABC’s, I was sold!

click here to purchase this book through my store.

My children have memorized their ABC’s and they have memorized the names and attributes of Jesus and these truths are being hidden in their little hearts and minds as they learn and grow.

What are you choosing?

I was recently encouraged and challenged by a friend’s facebook status.

She wrote: “I sure loved watching the sun rise and sitting with the One who created it, but now my eyes are a burnin'!!!”

I smiled as I read her comment but then I began to really consider what she was saying, what she was doing. She was making a choice. A choice that was sacrificial.

She is a mom of little ones and as a mom of little ones myself, one being an infant, I know how precious sleep can be. But I had to ask myself if it was more precious, more important than spending time with the Lord first thing in the morning. I knew the answer in my heart. The answer is no!

And so I was challenged.

Challenged to examine my heart.

Challenged to examine my choices.

What are you choosing? Are you choosing to make Christ your first priority, no matter what you have to sacrifice, even something as simple as a few extra minutes of sleep and you’re left with your ‘eyes burnin’ for a little bit? Or are you choosing to surrender to the desires of the flesh and the pressures of life?

Personal time with our Lord is precious, the most important thing we can choose to do!

My challenge to you is to make the choice to spend time with the Lord in the word and in prayer over a few extra minutes of sleep, a busy schedule or any other number of things that can fight for your time.

It will be the best choice you make every morning.

What do you do to make sure you spend personal time with the Lord every day?

Diaper Cake

Feeling crafty lately!

After a friend and I finished making homemade soap we decided to put a diaper cake together for a another friend who is due to have a baby soon. It turned out too cute not to post.

Homemade Soap Tutorial

This past Friday I spent the day with a dear friend and she showed me how to make homemade soap! I had been researching and trying to learn about making my own soap but I was a little nervous about trying it myself, so when I realized I knew someone who made soap I jumped on the opportunity to learn.

There are many different ways to make soap, different recipes, and you can be creative to your hearts content with how you'd like to personalize each batch of soap with scents or liquids or add-ins. I'm looking forward to making more batches in the future but for now here is what we did:

We made a couple batches, the first was made with raspberry tea (for the liquid), melonberry scent and we added dried raspberry leaves for look and texture.
The second batch we used coffee (for the liquid), vanilla extract for added scent and coffee grounds.

The recipe we used:

4 c. Water (or goat milk or herbal tea)
Stainless Steel Container
48 oz. Shortening (non-hydrogenated)
32 oz. Coconut Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
12 oz. Lye (slightly heaping 1 1/4 c.)

(*have vinegar on hand to neutralize any lye that gets on skin. *Coconut oil makes it lather nicely and makes the soap harder)

First get everything together.

Grease pan, waxed paper or molds with extra shortening.

Cut shortening & coconut oil into smaller chunks to make them easier to add.

Put 4 c. liquid into pot (water or tea at room temp., goat milk cold.

Carefully pour lye into liquid.

**Never pour liquid onto the lye and wear gloves to protect your skin. If the lye touches your skin flush with vinegar immediately. Also, because of the chemical reaction between the liquid and lye and the fumes that it creates you may want to do this part outside.

Stir carefully with a stick blender.
The chemical reaction from the lye & water heats the liquid.


Add the shortening a little at a time while stirring.

Add coconut oil at room temperature and continue stirring.

Add olive oil and continue stirring.

Add any extras such as oats, essential oils, spices, etc.


Use stick blender to stir until soap begins to "trail" or "trace".
Be watching carefully as it sets up quickly and you want to pour into pan or mold while still liquid.

Finally, pour into greased mold or pan.

Cover with a lid and blanket so it cools slowly.
Check every 30 minutes.

Cut into bars when it is solid enough.
Cover again until soap is completely solid.
When soap is completely hard, stack and let them cure for at least 2 weeks before using.
Enjoy!

Orange Tapioca Salad

My first post and it's about food, a little ironic considering I'm not a huge fan of cooking.  You can check out my 'About Me' section to read more about my aversion to cooking.

But, I am going to a friends house tomorrow to make homemade soap (stay tuned for a post on that!) and I'm bringing this little treat along with me, so I thought I'd share it with you too! 

Growing up I was unaware that there were "salads" that tasted this good!  I remember most of my salads having lettuce in them, well not this one!  And to be honest, my husband and I would consider this a dessert, but if you would like to consider it a salad, for that is it's name, be my guest.  I hope you enjoy!

Orange Tapioca Salad

1 sm. box Tapioca Pudding

1 sm. box Orange Jell-O

1 sm. box Cook and Serve Vanilla Pudding

2 c. Boiling Water

*Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Let cool.

2 sm. cans Mandarin Oranges

8 oz. Cool Whip

*Mix in mandarin oranges and cool whip.  Chill until ready to serve.  (best if chilled overnight to allow it to thicken)