Suppose I said, “There’s a great-looking girl down the street. Let’s go look through her window and watch her undress, then pose for us naked, from the waist up. Then this girl and her boyfriend will get in a car and have sex–let’s listen and watch the windows steam up!”

You’d be shocked. You’d think, What a pervert!

But suppose instead I said, “Hey, come on over. Let’s watch Titanic.”

Christians recommend this movie, church youth groups view it together, and many have shown it in their homes. yet the movie contains precisely the scenes I described.

So, as our young men lust after the girl on the screen, our young women are trained in how to get a man’s attention.

How does something shocking and shameful somehow become acceptable because we watch it through a television instead of a window?

In terms of the lasting effects on our minds and morals, what’s the difference?

Yet many think, Titanic? Wonderful! It wasn’t even rated R!

Every day Christians across the country, including many church leaders, watch people undress through the window of television. We peek on people committing fornication and adultery, which our God calls an abomination.

We’ve become voyeurs, Peeping Toms, entertained by sin.

~~~~

This is an excerpt from Randy Alcorn’s little book, The Purity Principle. I highly recommend it for husbands, wives, sons and daughters. I would suggest reading it before passing it onto your teenagers.

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Titanic

Ah, Pi Day! If you are a homeschooler, or just a brainiac, you will have a special appreciation for this day. For those of you, who really don’t care to even know what Pi Day is, listen up! Even you might have an interest after reading this!

Pi, Greek letter (π), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535. In other words, simply, it is the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter.

I hope these visuals will give you a better idea of Pi.

You are probably asking yourself, “what does this have to do with me? I am done with school, my brain is full, and I really don’t care.” Well, this is where it gets really good: Enthusiasts all over the world have adopted Pi Day to be March 14th (3.14) the day to enjoy…. you guessed it… Pie!

There are many dinner type pies you could try: pot pie, pizza pie, impossible pie are a few ideas. For dessert, indulge yourself in math and enjoy apple, berry, chocolate, pumpkin, coconut, or any hundreds of pies you could bake up, or purchase. (Surely there must be something about calories not counting when you are doing something in the name of education, right?)

See how this works? Mom teaches the kids, the kids and mom get some math and home economics in (baking) and dad and the whole family gets to enjoy the fruits of their education together!

You might also enjoy reading, Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (A Math Adventure) for further fun and education.

For further online reading:

• Wikipedia about Pi Day and how it began to be observed.
• Wikipedia about Pi, itself
• The official Pi Day website
• Ideas for teachers
• More sites about Pi Day from Lesson Planet.

Enjoy!

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Pi Day!

Some time ago, I shared a video on my blog by Mary Toco called, “Are Vaccines Safe?” Since that time, the video has become unavailable for viewing, but I’ve discovered it can be purchased through Mary’s website. It is worth every cent for a parent to be informed about vaccinations.

Recently, several people approach me about the video seminar. I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so I did some looking around and wanted to share a little of what I found with you.

The unavailable video, I shared previously, was extremely informative and factual. I cannot tell you how informative it truly is.

After a search, I did find part one of the video, of which you may view here. It is part one and includes, what appears to be, Russian subtitles.

Also, I am including another brief video clip of Mary Tocco, because I thought it was interesting, as well. Enjoy!

Another informative watchdog for immunizations is the National Vaccine Information Center. Their mission statement sums up what their purpose is, quite well. “The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is dedicated to the prevention of vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to defending the informed consent ethic in medicine.” They also have a Youtube channel.

As I consulted my bookshelf, I came across a book that was one of several sources, which helped my husband and I in making our decision regarding immunizations. It’s called, What About Immunizations? Exposing the Vaccine Philosophy by Cynthia Cournoyer. Full of statistics and references to support her facts, this book is very easy to read and a great reference tool.

When I flipped through her book, I was also reminded of another super resource, which is a must-have for a parent is How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor Dr. Mendelsohn, Pediatrician, advises parents on vaccinations, as well as how to treat childhood illnesses, and what to expect from your child’s development throughout their growing years. It, too, is a great reference, instead of running to the doctors for everything. This book will save you a lot of time and money by avoiding doctor visits.

I hope these tidbits of information might help you in some way to, or at least encourage you to consider vaccinations and the health of your precious children. Please do not assume anyone, except yourself, has your own children’s best interest in mind. Seriously, your children are entrusted to you. They are your responsibility. Please make yourself informed, no matter what your decision is in this area.

ADDENDUM: Since I published this, I remembered that I wanted to add a couple links to the Center For Disease Control, specifically the ingredients for immunizations.

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Vaccine Video…. And Much More

From the beginning of Raising Maidens of Virtue, Stacy McDonald sets the tone; the anticipation level rises in expectation to be encouraged for women both young and old in raising the bar in godliness and purity. I always enjoy reading Stacy McDonald’s material and Raising Maidens of Virtue met my expectations. I expected a lot and I got it!

What I appreciate about Stacy the most is that she is a straight shooter with a clear message of grace and truth. She has an eloquent and articulate voice for women seeking godliness, while tactfully, and lovingly, causing each of us to examine ourselves in such areas as selfishness, root sin issues, and more.

Stacy respectfully recognizes the structure of authority and begins teaching and exhorting each of us far beyond the “appearance of godliness.” She causes the reader to reach deeper to the foundation, reminding us that, “A woman with an unchaste heart will remain an unchaste woman regardless of what she wears until God convicts her of her sin, she repents, and the transforming work of Jesus creates in her a clean heart.”

This study, Raising Maidens of Virtue, gives a beautiful example of a balanced view of modesty and chastity, which is a refreshing, and yet, world-shattering message that, in itself, could revolutionize our homes and our local fellowships from the inside out. A mother could go through this study with her daughter today, and the message would be just as pertinent and timely in the future when the same woman goes through the study with her daughters-in-laws and granddaughters.

With gracefulness, older women are given the groundwork, the blueprints, to teach younger women. In fact, I would recommend any woman, whether single, widowed, with young daughters, or older daughters to read this study so that they may be equipped, as with a tool, along with their Bibles, to teach and encourage younger women, and disciple maidens of virtue, rather than waiting until problems arise and then trying to head off wrong worldly thinking when it is almost too late.

Stacy McDonald’s Raising Maidens Virtue contains foundational concepts. The earlier you can inculcate these truths into your daughters, the better.

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Raising Maidens of Virtue…. Updated!

See this sweet little smilie? This little lady is feeding the unsuspecting chicken.

The below links will show you how to cut up a whole chicken, similarly to how my mama showed me.

Cutting up a chicken in photos

Cutting up a chicken in photos (A little more detailed).

And a video: Cutting up a chicken Enjoy!

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How to Cut Up A Whole Chicken

I am excited to share this recipe with you today. Not only did my mother make this when I was a kid, but better than that, it is so simple, so fast and so good! It will knock your socks off! Let’s get started!

My family knows I am a caption kind of gal, but let me be sure to start with a couple things:

• Please do us all a favor and wash your hands.
• Tools you will need:  Cutting board, knife, a large bowl for the slices, a smaller bowl for the garbage, a glass bake pan (9×13)
• Ingredients you will need: One yellow box cake mix, about 8 large peaches, one cube of butter (1/2 cup) chilled, shortening to grease pan (spray oil will do).
• A nice hot oven preheated to 350º.

Let's wash about 8 large peaches.

... and slice them.

See how nicely that pit comes free from the peach meat? That's what we call "free stone." It makes life so much easier when handling these lovelies! Be sure to choose free stone peaches.

Peel. If the peach is nice and ripe, the peel will come off easy as you please.

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If it is not ripe, it will be stubborn and more difficult to work with and you may have to use a paring knife to cut the peeling off.

Slice 'em up!

Now try to have self-control not to snitch them!

Grease up your baking pan. I especially like glass for this dessert.

Pour the peaches into the prepared dish.

Time for the yellow cake mix. Any brand will do. In my opinion, the least expensive, the better in this case!

Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the peaches.

See how easy this is so far? Even a small child could help with this project.

Don't let the lighting fool you! It's the same dish LOL

Let's get that butter from the refrigerator. Here it is in all its glory.

Slice the butter.

Lay the pats all over the dessert.

Can you imagine trying to do with with soft butter? Not!

Oops! This piece is a little too large. Let's just divide it... then conquer!

Make sure the pieces of butter are not too big. Lay them out evenly.

Ohhhh this is gonna be good!

Time to go into the preheated oven.

Bake 20 minutes or until it is golden.

Enjoy it warm or save it for later when it is cooled down. Vanilla ice cream is great with this, as well.

I think I missed sharing the photo op on my plate. My mind was elsewhere…. focused on eating! We will be getting some peaches in tomorrow, so maybe I will come back with a final photo… if I can control myself.

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Easy Peach Cobbler

Ahhhh! Beautiful submission!!! There is security under submission. God’s Word has a lot to say about the subject, but I will only scratch the surface.

Submission is not being a doormat. Everyone has an authority. God has laid out the structure to make the man be over the woman. It doesn’t mean that women are anything less than men, but things work in harmony when there is a head. Then we each have a role.

Genesis 2:18-23
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone ; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”  19  Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever  the man called a living creature, that was its name.  20  The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.  21  So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept ; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.  22  The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  23  The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh ; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

Submission is putting yourself under your husband so he can be the leader/head that God intended him to be.

It is not an option, but a directive given to us in Ephesians 5:21-24

And be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 says, A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

Titus 2:5, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Perhaps your husband has a wrong idea of what submission means. Do you not expect your children to submit to your authority? But at the same time, they are not your slaves to treat poorly. We raise them for the Lord’s glory. Your husband is told to treat you with dignity.

Ephesians 5:25-30 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says, The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Does this help in getting a different picture of what submission and authority are?

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Beautiful Submission!

Here is a small list of activities to do with young children:

• Play cherades
• Sing songs like Father Abraham; head and shoulders, knees and toes
• Play Simon Says…or Daddy says
• Make popcorn
• Play Candyland
• Make play dough
• Play dress up
• Make and/or play with puppets
• Read books
• Learn portions of scripture
• Sort laundry together. The older one(s) can make sock matches, fold washrags, put clothes away, identify clothes
• Play with bubbles
• Make pictures for grandma
• Set up a fish tank and enjoy it
• Make instruments with paper plates, oatmeal boxes, etc.
• Plant some seeds
• Visit the elderly
• Make butter
• Make ice cream
• Make yogurt
• Bake cookies
• Dance with music
• Play with cars. Make roads.
• Color with you.
• Find a paper plate craft book and make crafts
• Play a board game with them making up the “rules”
• Finger paints
• Play “hide the battery”
• Play hide and seek
• Do sommer saults and stand on your head

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Activities With Littles

* Bread made with 100% whole wheat bread will be shorter. To help improve the height try the following suggestions:

Add 1 whole egg for better bread structure. When doing this you must reduce the liquid amount by the amount of egg being added. Most large eggs are 1/4 cup.

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten for better bread structure. When doing this you must also add 1 tablespoon additional liquid.

The Most Important Tip of All – Check the Dough

Another very important tip to follow is to check the condition of the dough during the knead cycle, especially when making a recipe for the first time. After 8 to 10 minutes of kneading, open the machine to check the dough. It is alright to open machine during the knead cycle. The dough should be in a soft, tacky ball. If it’s too dry, add 1 teaspoon of water. If it’s too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Always allow any added water or flour to be blended into the dough for a minute or two before making any further adjustment. The dough is just right when it is soft to the touch, smooth in appearance and the bottom of the pan is clean.

Q. Why does my bread collapse as it’s baking?

This may indicate the dough is too wet.  Next time reduce the liquid amount by 1 tablespoon.

OR

Make sure you are using the recommended amount of sugar, yeast and salt being used. Salt especially cannot be eliminated.

OR

If you are at high altitudes you may need to make some adjustments. Reduce yeast by 1/4 teaspoon at a time. You may also need to reduce liquid by 2 to 3 teaspoons. Some experimentation on your part will be needed.

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Bread Machine Figures For Experimenting

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20 Great Reasons You Homeschool