Our Week in Review

This week has been busy and full of challenges. We have been doing a great deal of thinking and praying, trying to discern what was best for our family. You see, Jacob was right on the line for the age for starting school at the church school, and we have been trying to decide whether or not to start him in first grade this year. After a great deal of praying, we felt God was impressing on our hearts to homeschool him again this year. It was a very difficult decision because I know there was a part of him that wanted to go to the church school. But after talking with him about our decision, he is actually excited to continue homeschooling.

"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7

Anyway, here is a summary of the rest of our weekly happenings. :)

Mother dear made corn filled heating pads for each of us. They are nice and warm in our beds on cold Winter nights!

Baby dear, so soft and sweet. He's learning and growing, it's really so neat! Baby dear likes to sing us a song, "Dis da da day! Dis da da day!" (This is the day! This is the day! That the Lord hath made!) We love to hear his cheery little song, we know he will soon be big, it won't be long!

"Father, we thank Thee, for the bountiful food You provide for us!" We were blessed with 12 pounds of delicious mozzarella cheese! Today we made grilled cheese sandwiches and the combination of fresh cheese and homemade bread was beyond delicious! I think I will shred some of the cheese and store it in freezer bags to have on hand for homemade pizza.

I absolutely love rocking my baby (toddler) to sleep. I love the weight against me as he cuddles in, the way he smiles when I wrap a blanket around him, the way he looks up at me right before putting his thumb in his mouth and the contented little snore as he drifts off. I love rocking my baby.

Big brother works on his school work. A diligent scholar is a blessing to his parents! We have been finishing up our kindergarten school work in preparation for starting our first grade books. So exciting! Our next year's curriculum has been ordered. Joshua and Joseph are also looking forward to getting their preschool books.

In His Precious Name,

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Thankful Thursday- albeit late!

Yesterday was a busy day and there was no time to write a post, but I wanted to take a minute to remind myself of the many things I have to be thankful for. And so, it is Thankful Thursday on Friday!

I am thankful for new glass milk jars! A dear friend was able to get the farmer that she buys from to sell us ten brand new glass milk jars at cost! What a huge blessing!

I am thankful for my growing box of sewing patterns. It feels so nice to be able to make things for my family to wear.

Titus and Hannah dropped by for a visit and brought a bag of apples for the boys. I am so thankful for little boys who appreciate such simple sweet things as a delicious apple for a treat!

I am thankful for the farmer who plowed the entire road leading to our house, and our lane all the way up to where our vehicle was parked AND all around our mailbox. What kindness!

I am so thankful for my big boy, who still loves to cuddle with me. I know he won't always be little, so I want to remember to cherish these moments while I have them.

I am thankful for the infectious laugh of little Joe. You almost cannot hear him laugh without joining along!

Above all though, I am thankful for my heavenly Father, who loves me so much when I am so undeserving. Even when I fail Him, over and over again everyday, He continually pours out blessings and love on my life. I will never be able to comprehend the magnitude of His love for me. I think of how much I love my children, and am reminded that as much as I love them, it is merely a drop in the bucket compared to how much He loves me.

With Love and a Thankful Heart,

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Dealing with Discouragement

Discouragement is something that we all face at one time or another, and most likely we will face it more times than we'd like to admit. I've been facing quite a bit of discouragement lately, and it has really caused me to think about the ways we handle it when it comes along.

When discouragement knocks us down, we really have two choices. One, stay down, roll over and let discouragement win. Or two, stand up and fight back. We can choose to turn discouragement into motivation.

Lately I have been feeling like every time I turn around, there is another disappointment trying to knock me over. Have you ever seen those blow up things with the weights in the bottom? You know, those things were you hit it and it falls over and then bounces back up again? That's exactly what I have felt like. It has been just one thing after another. Some small things, some big things, but it has all been enough to leave me feeling worn down.

It would probably be easier just to let the discouragement win, but, as my husband so lovingly said the other day, "We're a resilient bunch!" So, instead, I am turning this discouragement into motivation. When others say that I am not good enough, I am taking that as a personal challenge to be my best. I may never be good enough for some people, but I know that my best is what my Father wants from me.

Motivation can be a beautiful thing. Disappointments can also be a wonderful gift...if we allow them to be. Without failures, without disappointments and discouragement, we can become complacent. Complacency is a dangerous thing. When we become too comfortable with our situation, we begin to start letting the little things slide. We stop being so diligent, because after all, we don't have to. Everything is peachy...

Then discouragement comes along and shakes us out of our complacency. Do we give up, or do we dig in and turn things around?

Yes, discouragement, disappointment and even failure can be a gift. Years ago I heard a saying, "If you are comfortable with where you are, then you probably aren't doing much for God". When we are growing in our faith, when we are doing God's Work, the adversary will not be happy with us. He will do everything in his power to derail us, to make us want to give up. He will throw every disappointment our way that he can think of. He will attack us where he feels we have weaknesses.

What are we to do then?

First, we need to check where our focus is pointed. Are we focused on things eternal, or are we too wrapped up in the world's desires? "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them." 1 John 2:15

Once our focus is on the right place, we need to trust God to carry our burdens. "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7 Sometimes I think that we believe our discouragements are too little to matter to God. But He doesn't say "Casting all your BIG cares..." He says, "Casting all your cares..." I believe God cares about even the little discouragements in our lives, and He's waiting for us to trust Him with them.

Often times this is not a one time deal. Many times we have to cast our cares upon Him again, and again, and again. We may have to give him the same discouragement every five minutes. If you are the mother of young boys, you are familiar with that feeling! Sometimes it is minute by minute of casting the same cares upon Him!

Once we have given Him our discouragement, we need to let it go. That's not always easy. If you are someone who needs to feel "in control" like me, then it's really not easy. But Scripture says that we need not to worry. "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" Matthew 6:25

The thought of being able to give my discouragement to God is freeing. God cares enough about me to care about my hurt feelings and disappointment, and to me, that is a very encouraging thought! Use that encouragement to motivate yourself! If God cares enough to carry our burden, then we should care enough to pick ourselves up and do good!

Choose to turn discouragement into motivation.


In His Precious Name,

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Oh, Christians!

It has been on my heart to write about this issue for a little while now, but I don't particularly enjoy writing about contentious subjects. Thus comes procrastination. It has been nagging at me though, so it is probably time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys!).

Several weeks ago one of our the ministers at our church preached a sermon on friendship. He made an excellent point, "Christians have more reasons to be friends with each other than any other group of people because we have the most important thing in common...a love for Christ." This should, above all else, bind us together. Are we not, in fact, brothers and sisters in Christ?

And yet, it also seems that no other group finds more reasons to disagree than us as Christians. Head covering sisters look down at non-head covering sisters. Mainstream Christians accusing conservative Christians of being legalistic. One group of Mennonites snubbing another because their dresses have patterns, or suitcoats have buttons vs. hook and eye closures. Baptist churches in bitter divide over issues such as hymnals. The list could go on and on.

I don't mean to imply that none of these issues have any weight. I certainly have my own set of beliefs over many issues, some of which are rather strong. But, I cannot understand why it is that these issues can cause such bitterness, and just plain meanness amongst Christians. Are we not called to love one another? To treat each other as neighbors, as family? Why then, oh Christians, have we become so mean?

Over the last few weeks, I have witnessed some shocking behavior amongst Christian friends. I have seen such judgmentalism and hurtful words spoken amongst people who should have every reason to love each other. It is truly heartbreaking.

I have had my heart broken over such things many times. When we had left the Mennonite church over a year and a half ago, I had friends who turned their back on me, and treated me as if I had leprosy, or said hateful things. I was so shocked by it all that I felt pushed even further away. I developed almost a distaste for things that I knew were godly, simply because I couldn't imagine that the God I so deeply loved would condone such meanness. It took me some time to get past my hurt feelings, and eventually I came back to God's path for me, but, this doesn't always happen. So many Christians have been turned away, simply because the rest of us cannot be kind.

I have come to the conclusion that the biggest stumbling block in a Christian's life is other Christians. We, as a group, are the most detrimental thing to one another. Why is it that we cannot see that our harsh words wound each other? Why can we not love each other in spite of differences? Why can we not overlook these differences to see the One that binds us together? Why do we care if one brother eats pork, or another wears flowered dresses? Yes, these might be convictions that really and truly matter, but it is not our place to treat each other unkindly when we do not agree. I feel that bears repeating... It is not our place to treat each other unkindly when we do not agree.

Christians, oh Christians, are we not called to love one another?

We are called as Christians, to have Jesus' likeness shine through us. When the world looks at us, they should see His love. Are we so focused on what we think is right or wrong that we forget to love those who are sometimes unlovable? Would you show Christ's love to the cashier at Wal-mart with the lip piercing and dyed hair, or are you too busy noticing that she doesn't meet our "standards"? Does she not deserve the love of our Father just as much as the innocent looking Amish girl or the clean cut missionary's son? How many of us treat someone like this cashier with the same Christ-like love as we do someone we view as "just like us"?

I think it is important to surround ourselves with likeminded believers, who help us to build up our faith, and strengthen our walk. But, we cannot surround ourselves only with people who believe just as we do. We have to have room in our circle of friends for those who we are called to witness to. We have to allow people to grow in their faith. How will they ever grow if we decide they are unworthy?

During the aforementioned sermon a few weeks ago, one of our ministers talked about the fact that as God works in our lives, and we grow in our faith, we develop more and more levels of conscience. We have to have Christian charity for those who have not developed the same level of conscience that we have. We have to make ourselves available as examples and true friends to each other as God works in each of our lives.

I know that my faith came to the place where it is now via baby steps. I did not wake up one day as a plain dressing, headcovering, homeschooling Mennonite helpmeet. I am pretty sure that if I had learned about all of this at one time, I would have surely given up and said "I can't!" I had to learn gradually, as my heart was ready for each step. What if someone had decided I was unworthy of God's love, because I believed in modest dress, but wasn't so sure about headcovering?

Christians, oh Christians, let us show love to each other. Let us show kindness, and true charity to one another. Let us love each other, as God loves us, despite our differences, despite our shortcomings. There is not one among us who is perfect, who has it all right. We are human, we will fail each other more times than we can count. God loves us even though we do not deserve it, and will never be able to do enough to merit it. Do we not have the responsibility to show this love to each other? Christians, oh Christians, I believe that we do.

In Christ's Love,

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A Keeper at Home

I read this poem a while back in a Keepers at Home magazine. I liked it so much that I put a copy of it on my refrigerator where I could reread it often.


A Keeper at Home
- a reader, Keepers at Home Magazine, Fall 2010

A keeper at home, I have promised to be,
So many duties are waiting for me.
A mistress of dust rags, of mops, and of brooms,
A sweeper of spiders in corners of rooms.
A shaker of rugs, a duster of chairs,
A straightener of bookshelves, a scrubber of stairs.
I'm a plumper of pillows tousled by heads,
A smoother of covers, a maker of beds.
A shiner of windows all speckled with rain,
A washer of clothes that are dirty again.
A sewer of buttons, a mender of tears,
A patcher of holes that are needing repairs.
I'm a cooker of meats, of breads and of pies,
And other good things that bring joy to the eyes.
The planner of meals and the cleaner up, too,
For I must wash dishes when the cooking is through.
A tender of gardens, a planter of seeds,
A gatherer of bounties, a hoer of weeds.
My duties are many all the day through,
One task or another I hasten to do.
And when I am tempted to scold or to frown,
My mind goes to those who must work in town.
I would not trade places with any who roam,
I pray God to keep me a keeper at home.

With Love,

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Do You Have Confidence, or Not?

Our little Joseph has the cutest way of asking questions. Everything has to end in an "or not". "Do you like chicken, or not?" "Are you sleepy, or not?" I love the way he asks questions, and I hope this phase takes a long time to grow out of!

But on to the point...

Some time ago, I had met a new friend. This friend had been reading my blog before we met face to face. One day we were talking and she told me that one thing that had really stood out to her from reading my writings was my confidence. Confidence in the things our family was doing, confidence in how we are raising our children, confidence in who I am. I remember being so shocked by that. Me? Confident? After thinking further about it, I realized she was right. I did have a lot of confidence in what I believe, and who I am.

Somewhere along the way, that confidence began to slip away. I do not exactly know why, and I believe that it happened so slowly and gradually, that I didn't see it happening. I woke up one day feeling like I was adrift...

Do you know what is so amazing though? I quickly realized that the confidence wasn't gone. Even more amazing was to realize that the confidence that I had in these things can't be lost, because it doesn't come from me. What an awesome sense of power to know that Our Father supplies us with everything we need to fulfill the plans that He has for us. It's so wonderful to know that I don't have to do it alone!

I don't feel adrift anymore. My Heavenly Father knew that I needed a little encouragement, and He has moved mountains, rearranged paths, knocked down walls and built bridges wherever need be. Oh, how loved I am!

Do you have confidence, or not? I do.

^"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." Jeremiah 29:11

In Christ's Love,

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Frugal Friday- Winter Drying

We all know that drying clothes on a clothesline is the frugal thing to do, but what about when the weather is cold? I have certainly hung clothes out in freezing weather before, but, of course, my clothes completely froze. The problem that I faced was that my clothes were wet once they thawed out. So, what are we to do then? There are certainly ways to hang clothes indoors, but for some this is just an inconvenience and not practical if you have a lot of laundry to do.


One way to at least cut back on dryer usage is to utilize drying racks. These can range in price from very inexpensive (I've seen them at Wal-mart for around $10) to pricey (places such as Lehman's carries them for much more). They don't take up very much space, and conveniently fold down for storage. I like to hang heavier items, such as towels, on these to dry to cut back on how long the dryer has to run. I also find that as an added bonus, it adds a little humidity back in the air. :)

I am actually considering hanging a line in my basement that I can use on rainy or cold days to help with drying as well.

Blessings,

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Thankful Thursday

I love little reminders to be thankful for the blessings in my life. It is so easy to get bogged down with the stresses and burdens in daily life and lose sight of the blessings all around us.

Fresh, real milk...straight from a cow. Many times when we pick up our milk for the week, we see that it was milked that morning. I am thankful for the delicious cream and for how much the boys love drinking their fresh milk!

I am so thankful for the warmth of home...even when home is often chilly because it is a drafty ole farmhouse! No matter the weather outside, I can always count on the warmth that comes from being surrounded by my family.

I am especially thankful tonight for a little boys who was thrilled to have new "nannies" that mommy made for him! He has been asking for plain nannies, with no characters or patterns (yes, he truly is a good boy, with an amazing heart and desire to follow God!). He said they were the most comfortable nannies he has ever worn. He was just beaming. It makes my heart feel so good to know that such a little thing like new nannies could make him feel so special.

In Christ's Love,

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Daily Happenings of Milk and Dishes

Today was one of those days that seemed a little extra busy, although I'm not quite sure why! There was nothing out of the ordinary, just a typical day in our abode!

Jacob's new favorite chore around the house is washing dishes. He actually asks if he may do the dishes. Today he told me that he wants to be the only one who washes dishes...unless he has to go to bed earlier and then he wouldn't mind if mommy or daddy did any that were leftover. :) Cheerful and willing helpers are such a blessing to their parents!

This afternoon I cut out four dresses and worked on a pajama pattern for Jacob, and then cut out a pair for him. He and Joshua have been asking me to make them "plain nannies". I think it is so sweet how they want even their nightclothes to be modest and plain. Jacob told me today that he only wants to wear clothes that his mama makes because he knows that I love God and he doesn't know whether the people who make the clothes from stores do or not. He is such a deep thinker for a boy of five years!

Somehow we ended up with two gallons of milk leftover this week! I'm not quite sure how that happened, but I needed to use it up today since we usually pick up our milk at church on Wednesday evenings. I thought about cooking some different things that require a lot of milk, but then realized that the milk was really on the edge of freshness. I decided instead to set it aside for making cheese. We have not made cheese in a couple of years, so it is long overdue! I poured the two leftover gallons into our big stock pot, and set it out to let it "clabber". It should be ready for the next step by tomorrow or so.

Tomorrow my youth girl helper, Linda, will be here. I am hoping to be able to work on my sewing while she is here. The boys always enjoy helping her clean, so I should have a little extra time on my hands. :) I still have quite a long sewing to-do list, and I am hoping to accomplish most of it while it is still cold yet. I know that Spring time will be rather busy with gardens and chickens and what-not! (yikes! It's probably time to be working on those plans as well!) Busy days are good days though.

In His Love and Care,

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Our Days...Little Jewel Style

We have been reading a lot of the Little Jewel books from Rod and Staff lately. Our children love reading them, and I find the simple stories to be so wholesome and edifying. The boys really like that the stories resemble their own lives, and the pictures in the books look like us and our church family. They want to read story after story, and I enjoy reading to them as well!

One thing I really like about the books is that the story lines are so simple, and so practical, and so true to what our life is like, and what we strive for our lives to be like. So many times we read a story and the boys comment, "Oh, that's just like my mommy!", or "I do that too!". They like the books so much that we have even made copies of a few key pages to put on our refrigerator for encouragement! Reading these books has been such a good example of how children should behave, whenever Joshua starts to feel like his attitude is not quite right, he begs me to read him his favorite book, "God's Happy Family". Our copy is already looking well loved!

I thought I would share some of our day, Little Jewel style...

I like to help when mother bakes! We make our cookies and pies and cakes.

Big brother helps in the kitchen. He knows what a blessing it is to help mother!


I like to hold our baby dear! There are many things that I can do! I love my brothers and spread some cheer!


Many hands make light work!


Mother dear rocks our baby sweet.

We love when supper time is near, because it means the arrival of father dear. We watch for him on the gravel lane. Do we hear the crunch crunch of footsteps on the gravel?

God gave us fathers, to teach us to work and teach us to play. He reads us our stories and teaches us to pray.


Sometimes our lives seem so simple. There's not much that's exciting in our day to day world (although there has been almost too much excitement recently, but that's another post...) but sometimes the simple moments are the sweetest. I love when little James falls asleep in my arms, or when one of my big boys offers to help. In these little moments I feel God's love for me. His love is in the slobbery kisses of toddlers, and sticky hands of little helpers. His love is all around me.

Blessings,

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Our Supper Table

Over the years I have made some really great long distance friends, and have often thought about how nice it would be to just sit and fellowship and eat together! So, this eve, I am inviting you to join us at our supper table, at least in spirit!

The lamps are lit, and the table is set. On our menu this eve we have meatballs, mashed potatoes, and green beans (made with bacon and lots of butter of course!). After we eat, Daddy reads our Bible reading and our Beside the Still Waters devotion, oh and we also usually sing a song or two!

Oh how lovely it would be to share a meal with each of you. I am so thankful for the blessing of friends in my life, both those close to home and those I have never met face to face! God is so good to me!

With Love,

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Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits

A friend asked me to share this recipe, so here it is! This is a delicious way to fill up your belly on a cold wintery morning like we had today!

My recipe makes a big enough batch to feed our house full of growing boys, so if your family is on the smaller side, you may want to halve it.


Sausage Gravy
2 lbs. pork breakfast sausage (I use the medium spicy, which has a tiny kick to it, but you could use mild or hot as well, depending on your preference)
1/2 c. flour
4 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste

Crumble and brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour till dissolved. At this point I transfer mine into a larger pot because my skillet is not big enough to hold everything, but if you were making a half batch, you could continue on in the skillet. Gradually stir in milk. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly. Salt and pepper to taste.

If you are going to be reheating this, rather than using it right away, you may need to re-thicken it a bit with cornstarch or flour. I like to make something like this ahead of time to serve on Sunday mornings before church.

This gravy is absolute delicious over buttermilk biscuits!

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 c. solid shortening
3/4 c. buttermilk

Directions:
Blend flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a medium sized bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blend or two knives until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add buttermilk all at one time. Stir with a fork. Gently form dough into a ball and put on a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly with finger tips 10-15 times. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with floured cutter or knife using even pressure to keep side straight. Place on baking sheet close together for soft sided biscuits or 1 inch apart for crusty sides. Brush tops lightly with milk. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.


I doubled this recipe to go with the big batch of sausage gravy.

Blessings,

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Bedtime Routine

Our bedtime has been much the same for years. It has been so neat to see our little family grow and continue on with the same traditions.

First everyone gets changed into their "nannies" (otherwise known as pajamas). We then read a bible story from Egermeiers Bible Story book. This tradition is especially sweet because Rick's grandfather, whom we were very close to, gave us this book. It was his book from when he was a small boy. It is so precious to us!

Once the story has been read, we say our prayers. I absolutely love listening to my husband pray with our children.

After prayer time we sing our night-night song. We have sung the same song since Jacob was a little baby. It is actually a VeggieTales song (which I realize is a bit ironic, since we don't watch VeggieTales, but we really liked the message of the song)

I thank God for this day, for the sun in the sky,
for my mom and my dad, and my piece of apple pie,
for my house on the ground, for His love that's all around,
that's why I say "thanks" everyday!

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart.
I'm glad for what I have, that's an easy way to start.
For the love that He shares, 'cuz He listens to our prayers,
that's why I say "thanks" everyday!

The boys love our routine, and look forward to it each evening. I love that we are building lasting traditions with them.

In Christ's Love,

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