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Showing posts from 2011

Family Year End Review and Goals

The close of the year is a good time to take stock of the year past and make goals for the year ahead.  We all have dreams and goals but the difference between the two of those is action.  Dreams remain nothing but idle fantasies without action.  Goals on the other hand, are accompanied by a plan and a time limit.  So in order to make some goals come into focus and have a chance at becoming a reality, my husband and I are going to sit down today and chat about the year behind and the year ahead.  I thought I'd share some of the questions we'll be going over today and maybe they will inspire you to do your own "State of the Union" study on your marriage and family life during the past year. Just for Couples How do you sense God moving in your lives and guiding you as a couple? Is your marriage growing and getting stronger? Are the children doing well or having struggles? What changes do you want or need to make in the coming year? Where do you feel

Breakfast for Dinner

For dinner tonight, I wanted to use up some of the Christmas ham we have in the fridge so I made a Denver Omellette in the oven.  This is a great recipe that uses all the same ingredients but saves you the time from having to make each individual omellette.  I served it with blueberry muffins and hashbrowns along side. Turned out sooo yummy! Here are the recipes: Oven Denver Omellette 8 eggs 1/2 cup half and half (or cream) 1 cup shredded cheddar/jack cheese 1 cup diced cooked ham 1/4 cup finely diced onion 1/2 cup diced green pepper (or mushrooms) Pour into a 9" square greased casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until set. Blueberry Muffins 2 cups flour (can use all or part whole wheat) 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup oil 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) Mix until all ingredients are moistened.  Scoop into greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes.

Just God

Someone recently said that since God is the God of peace and love, their current trial could not be from him. I began to think about Job. The trials that came upon Job were all with God's express permission.  So it is where we ourselves are concerned.  Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him , to destroy him without cause. God was moved against Job. He gave Satan permission to try Job with utter heartbreak.  In human understanding this is puzzling.  But God's ways are infinitely higher than our ways. Were God's actions toward Job loving? Based on the fact that God is holy, just and true, I can only conclude that, yes, they were. Then Job reminds us of something we should have hanging on the wall - that we came into this world with NOTHING-

Christmas Busy-ness

We have been busy busy this Christmas season.  My oldest son has branched out and is teaching an art class twice a month to 10 fellow homeschoolers.  He has done really well so far and I'm proud to see him conquering his fears.  It's not easy getting up in front of people and speaking and he's doing a smashing job. At the start of each class he reads a scripture that pertains to art and then briefly expounds on it.  The first class he read Psalm 91 and spoke of how the heavens and all of creation show God's handiwork.  God is the originator of all art and we simply attempt to recreate the beauty that the Lord has created in the first place. The second class (he's only done two so far) he asked the class if anyone knew what the first sculpture was.  Nobody knew.  Then he read the verse in Genesis that speaks of forming man out of the dust of the earth and that the first man, Adam, was just a sculpture until God breathed life into him.  Isn't that awesome?!

Get the Metal Out of Your Mouth

Quack, Quack, Where’s The Duck? Originally, a “quack” was a dentist who used silver fillings. Silver fillings are also known as amalgam fillings which contain mercury. Mercury was known as quicksilver in the United States. But interestingly enough, it was known as “quacksilver” in Europe. In 1848, the American Society of Dental Surgeons required its members to pledge NOT to use mercury amalgam in filling material. And when member dentists in New York City used mercury, they were suspended for “malpractice by using silver mercury fillings.” According to Morton Walker, D.P.M. (author of Elements of Danger and 70 othe r books related to alternative health), the suspended fellows refused to give up their toxic ways because mercury offered an easily malleable, inexpensive filling material. They formed a new, competitive organization—the American Dental Association! Mercury is a known toxic metal and has been linked to birth defects, autoimmune illnesses and neurological i

Overruled

I urge you to please watch Overruled . It is perhaps one of the most important issues we are facing today in the world - a parent's God given right to raise their children the way they see fit is being threatened from every side.  It is a frightening thought that there are political forces at work to steal our children away and overrule the decisions we make for them as their parents.  Watch the movie and support parentalrights.org.  Please pray that God would hear our cries and protect our parental freedoms and rights!

Why I'm No Longer a Vegetarian

When I was little, I saw some funny looking stringy, dark things in the chicken leg on my dinner plate.  I asked my daddy if they were veins and he made some kind of joke and gave me  a vague answer.  But I knew they had to be veins...and boy was that  gross!  :-) Years later, as an adult, I started avoiding eating meat. I ate it only on rare occasions and thought I was much more sophisticated and wise than those around me (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek). To boost my inclination, I found the media saturated with anti-meat-ites as well as many books purporting the same. These people glorified animals to a level almost equal to  that of humans.  Naturally the humane treatment of animals is important to God and he will hold accountable anyone who mistreats an animal.  Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. Psalms 50:10-11 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hill

Recognizing the Season We're In

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It would be pretty vexing to wish for snow in the summer or plant veggies in the winter.  Wanting something we do not have...the Bible calls it coveting, and it's a sin.  The Lord gave us four wonderful, earthly seasons. I love them all!  He also gave us different seasons of life. When we try to live in a season outside of His design, we are inviting trouble.  But when we walk wisely, and recognize the season we are in, we can really save ourselves a lot of grief. Longing to do things that our current circumstances don't really allow for can cause us to be unfruitful and can even lead to depression.  Depression is terrible because it is like living in chains.  Some of the most miserable and unuseful people I've ever met are wallowing in depression. It must be a truly horrible state of mind and women can be quite prone to it.  But in the Word of God, we find so many ways to combat these foes.  When the Bible is read by someone full of faith, it produces the fear o

The Cayenne Miracle

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Have you heard about cayenne? Did you know that it is not just a hot spice in your kitchen but a powerful, life saving medical remedy?   After reading this article, I hope you will put Cayenne pepper on your shopping list and then start learning how to use it. You never know when it could mean the difference between life and death. If I had known about cayenne years ago, I could have helped a loved one whose brain was hemorrhaging right before my eyes. This is a very informative article. Another interesting resource is a book I just finished reading, by Dick Quinn called "Left For Dead". In it he documents his own true and amazing story of how after having a heart attack, an angioplasty and a double bypass surgery, his doctors could do nothing more for him and essentially they left him "for dead". After becoming desperately weak and on the verge of death, he remembered someone he met who had urged him to take cayenne.  He figured her suggestion to

Fabric Softeners and Hazardous Waste

I absolutely love the smell and feel that Fabric Softeners give to my laundry.  I've alsways found the scents luxurious and comforting.  But until recently, I did not realize that the chemicals which make up both liquid and dry fabric softening products are toxic.  The ingredients of these products cause illness including cancer and brain damage.  The young and the very old are naturally the most susceptable to these dangers.  Take a look at some of the ingredients and their related toxicities: Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) hazardous waste list Camphor: central nervous system disorders Benzyl acetate: pancreatic cancer Benzyl Alcohol: Irratates the upper respiratory tract Ethanol: central nervous system disorders; Listed as hazardous waste by the  EPA   A-Terpineol: respiratory problems, fatal edema, & central nervous system damage Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic Linalool: A n

Why Homeschool?

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When my parents decided in the 1970s to homeschool me and my siblings, homeschooling was illegal in every state.  I am glad that their concern for us and our well being was more important than the rules of man.  Governments want our children. That's a fact.  Don't believe me?  Read "None Dare Call it Education". It will turn your stomach when you realize how dumb you've been.  Or rather, how dumb the government would like you to remain.  This is one issue where ignorance is definitely not bliss.  Get informed. Read up on this subject. Your children will never get another opportunity to have another childhood.  They are depending upon you to do right by them. You'd have to live on a deserted island not to see the trash that the public schools are churning out of their programs.  And private schools don't churn out much better goods.  Contrary to what the Education Bureaus would like us to believe, the problem is not that they need more money because g

Should Christians Tithe?

When we, as Christian, look at an issue, our entire doctrine should be based not on what man says, but on what God says. And he gave us his words in the Bible.  Many churches preach tithing.  But what does God say? Should Christians tithe? The fact is that not only are we not required to do it, but it’s sinful to tithe. Why?  Tithing is old testament law. In Galatians chapter 5,  Paul said, “Whosoever of you are justified by the law are fallen from grace”.    When a person goes back  to the law - to keep the law in any part as an obligation or a duty - he’s stepping away from grace.  It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s lost, but he’s stepping away grace. He’s falling from his position in grace. How does tithing cause a person to fall from their position in grace? Let me ask you this: if you’re tithing and you don’t tithe, would you feel guilty?   Would you feel like you’re cheating God or robbing God? (As the preacher said in Malachi 5).   If you say, “Yes, I would”, then yo

How to Open a Pomegranate

Pomegranates are a great source of vitamin C, B5, fiber and they are also antioxidants and anti-viral.  But they are a pain to open!  Every time I've eaten a pomegranate it's a struggle to pick out all those little encased seeds.  Well I just learned an old Indian method to open one and I wanted to share it with you. It's a cinch! How to Open a Pomegranate Score the pomegranate crossways and wedge open with your knife. Break the halfs into quarters and then one at a time over a medium size bowl, hold each quarter, skin side up in the palm of one hand and hit the skin all over with the flat side of a wooden spoon with the other hand.  The seeds will fall out of the pods and into the bowl - all of them!  This method has taken the dread out of pomegranates for me.  I am off to make a pomegranate smoothie for my family now!

Courageous

My husband and I went to see the movie, "Courageous" this afternoon and it has to be the Kendrick brothers' best work yet. I think it's a movie that is life changing and I would like to see more like it.  The Lord sure has given these men an amazing gift of movie making. Every film they have done is intelligently written, has wit, humor, heart and good story telling. The story in their latest movie moves at a good pace and there is never a time when I was bored. In fact, I couldn't believe it was over two hours, it went by so fast.  And even though it was a drama, it was not so heavy that it was a downer at all.  They put truly hilarious comic relief steadily throughout the movie and we lauged out throughout the film.  But we also cried.  A lot.  There were only 5 other people in the theater with us (it was an early matinee) and sniffling and eye rubbing was abundant among us all. I'm not going to give away the plot or story line, but I will say that it&#

Making Greeting Cards

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I enjoy making my own greeting cards. It is much more economical for one thing.  Prices for greeting cards baffle me.  Some cost as much as $5 and $6 dollars and when you're on a tight budget, that is quite an extravagance.  Years ago when our family was young and our budget extremely tight, I decided to make my own.  The advantages include saying exactly what I want to and making it special to the person I'm giving it to. And every time I make one, it cost literally pennies and I'm saving money. I have different books that I use as references.  Some have quotes, some have scriptures by category.  And I sometimes reference websites such as Bluemountain.com for inspiration. I also use my own original poetry. The variety of ways to construct a greeting card are endless.  There are many books on the subject at the library to assist with learning techniques.  But a few scraps of pretty paper and some basic art supplies are all that's really needed to turn out pretty,