I shared some time ago a few ideas for activities for little ones. These are ideas that my own mother had written down on recipe cards for me when I was young! Click here to see my first post with some ideas.

• Finger paint with shaving cream on colored construction paper.
• Decorate a small clay pot. Plant flower seeds, nurture and watch them grow.
• Paint a fence or side of the house with a clean brush and a bucket of water.
• Make mud pies or mud stew with twigs, rocks and acorns

I’ll be back with a few more soon, so be on the look out!

Tags: Educational Stuff, just fun

This came out of a student book and was the ONLY whole wheat bread I could make.

1. Blend in glass measuring cup: 1/2 c. warm water, 2 T. yeast, 2 T. honey or sugar, 1 vitamin C tablet, crumbled.

2. In large mixing bowl w/wooden spoon, mix: 4 c. very hot – not boiling – water, 4 tsp. salt, 2/3 c. honey or sugar, 2/3 c. vegetable oil

3. Blend in: 6 c. whole wheat flour

4. Blend in order then turn out on lightly floured surface: Yeast mixture, 6 more cups of flour (white or whole wheat) (seeds may be added – about 1/2 c.)

5. Knead 5 to 10 minutes (great time for prayer!)

6. Place in greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover & let rise 1 1/2 hrs. or until doubles in size. Punch down, cover, and raise 45 minutes.

7. Punch down and grease pans.

8. Divide and shape into loaves.

9. Place in pans. Let rise 30 minutes.

10. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

11. Turn out on sides to cool.

Tags: Food, kitchen cares, recipes

The term, “quiverful” is not in scripture. I had never heard anyone call themselves this until I hit the internet. I had read the book, A Full Quiver, but never thought of the term before. The quiver that God refers to in His Holy Scriptures when it talks about, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them…” The quiver spoken of here is a warriors. Warriors’ quivers usually held about 80 arrows, versus a hunting quiver, which held about 5. Can any of us say we are “quiverful”?

Whether one is qf or not qf, whatever the interpretation of that is, it is not a salvation issue, so we cannot and should not ever judge another person’s closeness to God by how many children they have or don’t have.

I ask myself often, is my life given over to serving and honoring, and glorifying my Savior in all I do? Have I given every part of me to Him in complete sacrifice, not partial, because He is worthy of it all? It may not be in regards to having as many blessings as He chooses: It may be in regard to any area of my life. I could just as easily ask, “Have I given my eating habits to God?” “Have I given my children to God?” “Have I given my marriage to God?” “Do I spend my time wisely to things that glorify God and work towards leading others to the Kingdom?” “Are my thoughts His thoughts?” Once our hearts and minds are intent on pleasing our Lord, everything else will fall into place….if we let it. Our habits become His habits. Our children and marriage become His children and His marriage. Our time becomes His time. Our body becomes His body. Remember, we have been bought with a price. We already proved in the Garden of Eden that we cannot do things in our own power. We have none.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 – Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

Tags: Bible Truths

This portion of scripture has really encouraged me over the years when money has been exceptionally tight:

Luke 12:22-40 And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!

And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.

Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

Tags: Bible Truths

Two of my “big boys” are working at a new neighbor’s home. It is a very large log home (about 6,000 sq. ft.) sanding the entire thing and staining it. They had heard good reports about our boys from other neighbors, so offered them a VERY well-paying job.

I take them and pick them up. Although they are only 3 doors down, it’s about a half a mile. Here’s some of the discussion they reported to me as of late. We all found it quite humorous, similar to what my older son experienced at his place of work:

Last week, their [adult] son moved back home. He is helping with the sanding, as are the woman and the the man of the house. The woman is QUITE A CHARACTER. Today, the son finds out we don’t have a tv. “You mean, you have NEVER watched a video IN YOUR LIFE?”

My son, Joe, says, “Well, I did see a short one in hunter’s safety class.”

“Yeah,” he replies, “but that’s EDUCAAATIONAL”

So he asks, “have you seen Star Wars?”

“No, but we have the book.”

“Have you seen JRR Tolken’s stuff?”

“No, but we have his books.”

“How about CS Lewis?”

“No, but we have his books and I’ve heard audio tapes.”

“AHA!” He exclaims, “So you ARE lazy!” So he asks, “Do you play VIDEO GAMES?”

“No.”

The son tells my boys that he has over 300 dvd’s. He said, “I’ll find you a “good” one to watch.” Then he turns to his mom and says, “Mom, which dvd should I show the boys?” to which she replies, “Remember, they aren’t allowed in the house.”

He says, “I’ll bring the tv out here!”

So the woman says to the boys, “I was thinking of your poor mom and how much work kids are with all that cooking and cleaning.”

My son, Joe says to her, “Oh, my sister cooks all the dinners and we take turns with lunches.”

“Oh, but the dishes!” She exclaimed.

“We have assigned chores.”

Evidently, she wasn’t going to be happy with any answer he gave because the next thing she says is, “When I was growing up, we had a neighbor that had 16 kids! They were treated like SLAVES! They never played with us. Well, ONCE, they played with us.

Joe told me he set her straight. But then she asks him, because she and the husband argue all the time, “Do your parents ever fight?”

“No.”

“You mean they NEVER fight?”

“Not that I know of,” Joe replies.

Joe said that she laid down the law to her husband NOT to curse in front of my boys. She keeps scolding her son when he cusses and yet, SHE does it! “OOPS! Don’t tell your mother! That’s the ONLY one I say.”

Yesterday, when I picked them up, they told me the last thing she said to them as they said good bye was, “Remember, don’t tell your mother ~wink~”

Tags: Joe, television