Bible Study - giving honor

Did you know that Esther speaks of wives giving honor to their husbands?  Did you know that that is the very reason she became queen? 

Esther 1:20 "When the king’s edict which he will make is heard throughout all his kingdom, great as it is, then all women will give honor to their husbands, great and small."

How do we give honor to our husband?  One way is by serving him.  Lately, the prayer of my heart has been to see the house through Carpenter's eyes.  It takes quite a bit of effort for me to know what he desires, though he has given me a lot of clues over the years.  He knows I have a lot on my plate, so only occasionally will he mention something that I have been missing.

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I have been trying to step it up in one way in my house.  Once I feel that I have that "under control", then I move on to the next area.  The area I have inadvertently been caring for this past week is the basement. 

In my opinion, the basement is the last area to clean in my house.  I mean, no one sees it, except the people who shower down there (my husband and older boys) and the ones who do laundry (me) and the ones who stoke the fire (my husband, the older boys and me).  Otherwise, no one else goes down there.  By far, more important on my list is the front (actually back) entrance - people come through there all the time.

But when I go down to do the laundry in the morning, I have been taking five minutes or so to clean the bathroom and sweep.  Not a huge deal, doesn't take very long, but apparently it's super important to Carpenter.  How do I know?  Because almost every day this week, he has come up from his shower before work and said, "Thanks for all that you do around here." 

That's it.  That's all.  I actually questioned him about what he meant that first day, just to see what caused that comment.  "The basement looks really nice."  That was all.  Don't get me wrong, he does thank me all the time for things that I do.  But I could tell that this was beyond - thanks for caring for our house.  Something new.

And it took FIVE minutes (or maybe a bit more).  Here I thought that upkeep on the basement would take FOREVER, and I would be cleaning all day every day in order to maintain it.  Today, I do need to work on the entrance area.  But that should take.... drumroll please.....FIVE minutes (or maybe a bit more). 

Lies tell me that my job is impossible.  Lies say "You could clean the basement but it would take you forever and you would never be done."  Realistically, the basement is not spotless.  We keep firewood in a room down there.  Every time you take wood to put in the fire, you have wood chips fall to the floor.  So it's dirty.  The cobwebs probably will NEVER be all gone. 

I let lies keep me from doing what I should all the time.  "The cobwebs will be back, so what's the point?"  Really????!!!!!!  The dishes will be back too, in less time than the cobwebs, but I still work on those at every meal. 

I need to be able to recognize these lies and do battle against believing them.  I need to take up the belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit.  One way to do battle is to get some facts.  Time yourself cleaning the bathroom. Just make sure it doesn't have to be perfect.  Mine never will be, but it will be clean. 

Or maybe the bathroom isn't the area you're struggling with.  Time yourself on that area.  Only do 15 minutes with it.  See how much you accomplish in that short of a time. When you do this, you'll have some facts and maybe that job won't seem as daunting. 

As I said before I've been praying for ways to hear my husband's heart and desire for our home.  I rebelled against what I knew to be his desire for many years.  "It's too much work."  God has brought me to the place where I now desire neatness like my husband does.    It has taken growth, lots of growth.  FLYLady has helped me a lot.  That's where I got the idea to work on just one thing. 

My tendency is to take on the whole house, and then exhaust myself in the process.  Her idea (FLYLady's) is to take on one area for a month.  Then add something new.  This takes longer, but it becomes habit instead of haphazard.

I'm pretty sure this has been one of my topic's before, but I hope that it helps someone to stop listening to the lies that it'll take too long.  Test it and see, maybe it WILL take too long and it's something you need to set aside or hire someone else to do - maybe it won't and you will bless your family.

Making the most of today,
Steph

Homeschooling is more...

Homeschoolin' is more...

than readin', writin', and 'rithmetic. Or at least that's what I believe.   So when I'm teaching them to clean a bathroom, or helping them to do their laundry, I believe it's all school to them.  They don't take tests, except I guess you may call it a test when I let them try their laundry for the first time alone. 

Come to think of it, I should have a curriculum for their "schooling".  Tractorman would start at the beginning with learning to tie his shoes, and other things that preschoolers learn.   Jules can learn to make her bed neatly, and so on.  But generally our housekeeping schooling is low key.  Sometimes I have a schedule of who works where and sometimes we all just work together. 

Making bread, my second son does well at that, is something else that would be good to learn.  Don't get me wrong, I don't expect that they'll be making bread long into their married/bachelor lives, but cooking from a recipe offers lots of valuable lessons - math enters here, but patience, and focus (don't get side-tracked or you may forget where you were) as well.  It's hard to focus in our house.  There is always something fun going on that's more interesting than making bread or school.

Learning to care for animals is another thing on our list and we have to get better at that.  Some days we forget (now that it's cold) that the water freezes and the chickens won't have water if we don't get out there.  Thankfully, it thawed out yesterday or we would be sunk.  Sharpie does well with this ever since he got ducks for his thirteenth birthday.

Also I have been spending some time in the shop working with wood.  I can only run out there during nap time for 10 minutes or so while the babies sleep, but I'm working on a project out there.  In this case, mother is the one learning from the kids.  Jones is good with Dad's tools.  Yesterday I struggled for awhile trying to drill a hole in some cedar (which is actually in the juniper family). 

When Carpenter called to tell me he was on his way home, I told him about the bit smoking and how it couldn't drill a hole at all.  We hadn't had this trouble drilling holes to hang the curtains in the little kids' rooms.  I told him I need some help before I can continue this project and if he could help me tonight that would be great.

When he got home, he whispered in my ear, "That was a masonry bit you were trying to use."  Not knowing anything at all, I said, "Well, that's silly, if it can go through cement, it sure should be able to go through wood."  "Honey, masonry bits are dull, and don't drill, they just go in and out to pound out the cement."  O.k. so even Mom learned something that Jones didn't know yet either. 

Remember that if you aren't homeschooling your children, you still get to teach them all about the areas the schools don't teach.  I must remember that instead of maybe an hour in the afternoon to teach my kids, I get the whole day for some of them.

Making the most of today,
Steph

I must add a note that we use a homeschooling curriculum and we usually finish a lesson a day.  So we do the school stuff too.  Just in case anyone was wondering if we do a non-school type thing. 

Yeast bread - quick style

We make our bread here.  It costs me $.33 a loaf.  Very worth it for us when we use two full loaves for sandwiches.  But most times, I don't have bread when we need it and then there is no time for three hours of rising, or even two. 

I found a recipe on a blog I enjoy reading www.toliverstotexas.com .  She has quick bread recipe that works super well, when at 11:00 in the morning I realize that we don't have enough to eat for lunch.

I use this bread for a lot of different things.  She makes rolls with it, but I also use it for cinnamon rolls and even loaves of bread.

Start with 2 1/4 cups of warm water and 4 tablespoons of yeast.  (Did you know that you can by those big vacuum sealed packages for a few cents more than the jars of yeast? At least that's true here.  Keep it in the freezer and it will last a long time.)  It's important that the water is not too hot or cold.  If you put your finger in it it should be warm, not hot or cool.  Stir the yeast into the water so that it starts dissolving.

Wait five minutes and it should look like this:

Not much different, but see the frothiness (the bubbles) that tells you that the yeast is working and your water was just right. Then add 2/3 cup oil, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs (beaten) and 1 tsp salt.  Mix together well. 

Add 7 cups of flour.  Knead for 3 to 4 minutes.  Then divide into 24 (for rolls) or 12 (for hamburger buns/sandwiches)  and roll into balls. 

Place on a greased cookie sheet and pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Let the rolls raise for 10 minutes, then bake for 15 minutes.  And you have bread for lunch and warm and yummy so that it only needs butter and it's amazing!

If you want to make cinnamon rolls, divide it into two balls.  Roll them into 9x13 rectangles.  Spread a thick layer of margarine on the dough.  Sprinkle about 1 cup (or more) of brown sugar.  Sprinkle cinnamon over it generously.  A bit of nutmeg makes it taste good too.

There you have it, a quick recipe for raised yeast rolls.  By the way, I had one of my boys help roll them out.  But when I'm in a hurry they look like this too.   I need to work on presentation.

Making the most of today,
Steph

Cleaning your washing machine

My washing machine had started having this awful smell and I began to wonder how on earth it could clean clothes while it was dirty.  So I searched Pinterest, and found a method for cleaning a top-load washing machine.  It was pretty easy, but time consuming. 

Fill washer with hot water and put one cup of bleach in.   Let sit for one hour.  Then let the washer go through a cycle.

Fill washer again with hot water and put one cup of vinegar in.  While the washer is filling, take a washcloth and dip it in the water and scrub all around the outside and the inside.  I was amazed at the amount of junk under the rim of the washer drum, also up above the drum.  I used a small scrub brush.  Let sit for an hour and then let the washer go through a cycle.

My machine was grimy before and sparkling after.  I think I'm going to need to try to do this about every three to six months.  You probably could do it less if you don't have nine people to do laundry for.

Making the most of today,
Steph

Titus 2 Tea - Christmas houses

We're on break for a month from getting together with my Titus 2 Tea group, but I thought I'd spend Fridays sharing Christmas stuff this month.

I read something in Club31Women (www.club31women.com) that was helpful to me and we decided, or rather I decided, to try it. 

Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.


Does your home get filled with put-downs and snippy comments toward siblings?  We aren't allowed to yell at each other in our house, but there are always ways to get the point across that "I'm better than you."

It seemed that this was coming to a head and I kept trying to talk to them about it being rude and inappropriate to speak this way to their siblings.  Sometimes mimicking their tone to see if they could hear what I heard, sometimes talking in frustration and discouraging them, which was the very thing that I was asking them to stop doing.  But nothing seemed to be working. 

God during this time led me to numerous posts and comments on parenting and specifically about this.

Praying is a big thing (the biggest).  When we fall to our knees and admit to our loving Father that we can't figure out how to help our children love each other because our own hearts are decietful as well, He comes through.   When our hands are fixing it, He can't help. 

Like the little child who insists on tying his own shoe while the parents stand by ready to do it. "I do it.  I do it."  And he ends up with a bunch of knots.  Finally with tears streaming down his cheeks, he looks up at his parent and says, "Okay, you do it, pwease."  What he doesn't realize is that he's left his parent with a much bigger task than the beginning would have required.
And so have I.  Now that I was ready to start praying about it, the mess was bigger.  But He came through.  I ran across this post from club31women.  http://club31women.com/2012/11/building-a-sweet-home/  As soon as I read it, I decided that we would try it for Christmas - and maybe make it a tradition. 

I envisioned us yearly practicing the art of building up and not tearing down.  So this week we made our house - I meant to buy a gingerbread house, but all they had was an all-choclate house with gumdrops and peppermints for the decorations.  Sounds even better to everyone in the house, except for Sharpie (Son #1)and Bugaboo (Girl #1) who don't like a lot of chocolate.  But even they are loving it. 

One very neat thing is that these molds can be re-used next year and I think it would cost a lot less than the $10 I paid for the house.

As we built the house, we talked about the wise woman (child) who builds her house with her words.  When we say unkind things that's tearing our house down.  If we wouldn't say those words to a friend, then we shouldn't say them to a sibling either.  If we wouldn't pull something out of a friend's hands and hide it so they can't find it, then we shouldn't do that to our sibling.  

When we have guests, little Tractorman (Son#5) is the first to run over and explain why we have the candy house and how we're trying to be kind to each other.  I'm pretty sure they don't get what he's saying, but I love hearing him because I know he's understanding.   

Now as they go throughout the day, when I hear unkind words toward another, I simply take a piece of candy off the house and give it to the one who was wronged.  If I was wronged then I get to eat it.    I haven't figured out a good way to build it back up again, so I still have yet to work on that.  I'm so thankful that God had me run across that post.  I needed it and my kids needed it.  

The thing I must remember is when I say something that tears down, I should remove a piece of candy from the house as well and give it to the one harmed.   I desire my children to love being together and to enjoy one another.  I've seen that happening more lately, and I want to attribute it to the lesson of the candy house, but I think it's more because of prayer and the work God is doing in their lives.   

Making the most of today.

Steph

Bible Study - encourage others

In order to be an encouragement to others, we need to be filled ourselves.  We need to spend time away with the Lord to be refreshed.  Do you have a special time to just spend with Him to learn what He has for you today?

Study His Word.  He speaks to us through His Word.  He shows us His plan for us.

Memorize.  Hide His Word in your heart.  This will benefit you throughout the day and allow for His Word to continue speaking to you.

Now, you're ready.  Who can you serve?  Who does God want you to minister to today?  An obvious answer would be the little people running around under your feet.  They are our first priority.  But can you think of others who would enjoy a phone call or a card or a hand-written note?  These things don't have to take long - just five minutes will be enough to let someone to know you care.

We are called to serve, to be merciful and to give.  This is how we let our light shine. 

Making the most of today.
Steph

Crockpot enchiladas

I love enchiladas.  But now that we make our own shells, I just can't get super excited about making them as they are even more work than tacos.

But..... I found crockpot enchiladas on Pinterest.  I have my own version as I never follow a recipe.  That can be good and can be bad.  But when you grow up in a jungle far from a grocery store, you either make a recipe with the substitutions you have on hand or you go without. 

So since it's Mexican night and we even have leftover tortilla shells from the last time we made them (they freeze well), I'm whipping up some crockpot enchiladas.

First, take your meat.  Is there a rule that enchiladas must only use chicken?  Anyway, I didn't.  I used hamburger.  Put it in your crockpot (this is a trial) on high.  I'm going to find out how this works.  I added taco seasoning  (the recipe calls for about 3 tsp) and 1 cup water.  Leave it this way till noon.  The original recipe used chicken breast and shredded it at noon.  

Homemade taco seasoning is 1 part chili powder, 1 part cumin, 1 part garlic powder, and 1 part onion powder and 1/4 to 1/2 part crushed red pepper. Use 2 T per 2 lbs of meat. It was worth it to me to get the spices that I don't have because I use them in my other homemade seasonings as well.

Meanwhile, I also made my sour cream.  I'll have to let you know how it works.  I don't think I would use homemade sourcream on top of my taco, but in a casserole it works fine.

And last, I made my enchilada sauce.

 In a skillet, pour 2 T oil, 1 tsp garlic, and 1 onion chopped.  Saute the onions and garlic.  Then add 2 T chili powder ( I always use a bit less), and 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp salt.  After that's all mixed well.  Sprinkle 2 T flour over and mix well.  If my skillet looks like it has more than 2 T of flour I was doing a double recipe and I don't measure things well.

 Then add 14 oz of chicken broth.  Did you know that when you cook chicken you can save the broth in canning jars with a lid and ring and just put it in the freezer?  It works wonderfully, except you have to be careful that it doesn't break.  My quart jar almost had the 28 oz I needed for today.  Mix it in and let it cook for awhile.  Because of the flour it will start thickening up.

Then add 8 oz of tomato sauce. Let it simmer for awhile.  It will keep thickening up for awhile.

Around noon, check your hamburger.  It's not even noon and mine looks just about done.  I mixed my sour cream (1 cup) and soups (1 can cream of mushroom) together.  Then drain the hamburger.  Layer the crockpot with the soup/sour cream, torn up tortilla shells, enchilada sauce, hamburger, and then cheese (2 cups divided by 3).  Do this two more times.

Leave on low until dinnertime.  Mine went too long and I had to turn it down.  I think four hours on low would be about right, but we don't always know when Carpenter is going to be getting home. 

It was so yummy, even though it was a bit overcooked. 

Making the most of today,
Steph