...kIdS iN tHe KiTcHeN...

I like to get my kids in the kitchen at an early age.

At first they hold the mixer and dump the ingredients  I have measured.

Sometimes they actually get them in the bowl.

When they begin cooking on their own,

I usually start with breakfast meals.

This isn't really what I meant when I told her

she would be learning to make scrambled eggs.

We clean up a lot of spills.

We have a lot of laughs.

I have learned to EXPECT disasters.

It saves me from being disappointed

or surprised when they happen.

We like to taste the batter.

I think they double-dip when I am not looking.

For all I know, they just lick the spatula

and put it back in the container on the counter.

The second breakfast Beka learned to make was baked oatmeal.

She loves using the mixer, it seems like real cooking.

This is usually the part where you begin holding your breath,

knowing you might have to clean the cupboard faces,
and maybe wash an extra load of laundry.

Phew!  No spills!

This recipe is  from Florence, a well-loved woman who, along with her husband Lewellyn, used their family farm for a camp, Box T Bible and Saddle Camp, for many years.

Beka's Baked Oatmeal

1 cup of brown sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

1  1/2 cups of milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together and add

4 cups of oatmeal (quick or regular, whatever you have)

Put in greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can add nuts or dried fruit.

I love adding toasted, slivered almonds and cranberries.

Many people serve it warm with applesauce over the top.

My kids like to eat it in a bowl with milk and a little more sugar, if I don't catch them putting it on top.

I would love to vary this recipe now that I am becoming more conscious about fats and sugars.   I thought of replacing the 1/2 cup butter with applesauce.  Any suggestions?

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As I start a new week with my kids underfoot in the kitchen, I am looking forward to all of us gaining new skills, enjoying each another's company and EXPECTING messes, spills, lost measuring cups and missing ingredients for everything I am cooking.

When I understand that CHAOS and CHILDREN are worlds that can coexist harmoniously if I understand their mutual dependence on one another and keep CALM, then there is peace in the KITCHEN.

Click over to Nan's blog, momstheword, to see what other moms are doing this Monday to make their homes SING! and start the week off right.

Whatcha' Asking For?

John 16

19 Now Jesus...said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’?

20 ... you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.

21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.


23 And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.

24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

ask, and you shall receive

This is not a blank check for carnality.

It doesn't say ASK and RECEIVE that:

your wallet may be full-

your house may be full-

your garage may be full-

your bank account may be full-

your fleshly pleasures may be full-

your fame may be full.


It says JOY.   That your JOY may be full.

It doesn't mean the JOY of getting all the things your selfish heart is desiring.

Some people look at this promise of God as a blank check.  It is a promise, He is generous, but He isn't allowing us to fill in any amount that our hearts desire in the way of earthly possessions.

The Lord Jesus is actually talking about  the sorrow they were going to endure and He was promising the sorrow would be replaced with JOY.

They would have JOY when they saw Him again in Heaven.

There would be JOY in that because the common people would now have immediate and direct access to the God of Heaven, and would be granted answers if they asked in the name and will of the Lord Jesus.

This JOY cannot be purchased with money. Why is it that some people love to use ASK and you may RECEIVE in speaking of fine houses, cars, jewelry, money and fame?

Do they think wearing and living in the wealth of this world would represent their spiritual blessings? It only represents their spiritual shallowness, if they would even think those things could compare to the beauty of the JOY of the Lord's presence.

Joy is a natural outcome of the presence of the Holy Spirit, possessions are not.

Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith...."

Money is not evil, the Bible tells us the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. It is not evil to have things things. It's not even evil to be wealthy.  The error is thinking this is what brings JOY to the Christian.

JOY in the New Testament was never a response to a physical possession, it is the natural outcome of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer who has entrusted Christ for their salvation.

If He promised us eternal life,

how would we

how should we

how could we

ever be satisfied with JOY in anything else?

May YOUR joy be full!

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This blog has been linked up at Fifth Street Palace for Motivate Me Monday. 

Click over for more inspiration from Christian women!

Krispy Kreme King

We were in Seattle, and as usual,

a massive accident changed our driving plans. 

Since the three police cars and the four cars kept us from turning left,

we turned right.

It had to have been a sign from the Lord, the kids assumed,

when they saw the Krispy Kreme sign ahead.

Yes, we stopped. 

If the Lord went to all that work to cause an accident

 just so I would drive past a place to treat my kids 

 - to high cholestorel, cavities, high blood sugar,

and enough fat to begin clogging their arteries -

then how could I say NO?

Grace is shocked. 

 We haven't had donuts in years.

We occasionally get them instead of a birthday cake.

We're not big cake eaters, either.

Especially since I learned cancer feeds on sugar.

The kids always want to feed my cancer.

Of course, colored stripes make them taste better.

I have this love hate relationship with snacks.

It is fun to buy your kids treats.

It is convicting knowing they are eating

something with no food value.

Once they were all gone,

and it didn't take long,

Jon still had an urge for Krispy Kreme donuts.

I didn't want to drive back to Seattle.

He looked on the internet.

He found a recipe.

He mixed the dough.

He rolled out the dough.

The rolling pin was a wedding gift

from Gramma Else.

He cut the dough.

Antique metal cutter from a garage sale.

I didn't even know I had it in my collection.

I bought it cuz it was old and cool.

I certainly never intended to use it.

He made the glaze.

Then he deep fat fried them in canola oil on the stove.

You pat them on paper towels,

then dip them in the glaze.

Are ya' droolin' yet?

There aren't any left.

They tasted nearly like Krispy Kreme donuts.

Jon thinks he'll add a little more sugar to the donut recipe next time.

It was an astounding outcome for a first time recipe.

That's my boy -

the Krispy Kreme King!

What's Your Daughter Going to Do Now?

Sometimes, we Christian moms are criticized or questioned for the way we want to raise our daughters. Family members, friends, other Christians and total strangers love to give their input when we don't follow the traditional path of having our daughters move out at 18 and incur a huge debt to get a college degree.

 We want to teach our daughters Titus 2, to love their husbands, children, be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, and to seek the Lord in all things.  We think higher education is to be sought if/when directed  by the Lord, not mandatory for every woman to "have something to fall back on."  I loved college and I love learning, but I do not think it mandatory, nor do I think it wise to bring debt into a marriage.

From birth we raise our daughters  to be nurturing, daring to say, teach and believe that motherhood is a honorable career. Until that time, or if the Lord desires them to be single,  we encourage them to pursue their interests that will compliment  desirable and godly qualities in a woman. We are not always supported in this mindset.

Ironically, when secular women come to these conclusions on their own, they are praised.

Scenario #1 -On the internet I found a corporate lawyer who quit to become a creative, green seamstress. Her website quotes she was, "disenchanted with life as a corporate attorney, she yearned to get back in touch with her artistic side and use the right side of her brain again." Her work is beautiful, her creations unique and she has truly created a niche in the market that is very successful. We all applaud her -she is truly amazing.

But, imagine how that would be accepted from our end, as homeschooling mothers raising daughters.

"What's your daughter going to do now that she is graduated?"

"She's starting a home sewing business. She's just going to make purses."

"Oh. That's all?  She's not going to college?"

"No, we would love her to embrace her creativity, live in a home environment and be able to work without the stress of the work force."

"Oh, so she's NOT going to college? She has to get out into the world sometime! Won't she need something to fall back on?"

Most of us older moms have had these conversations. Most of us have stopped offering complete information about what our daughters are doing, because we don't want to hear the  scorn of the world when they find out we aren't "letting" our daughters venture out to live on their own when they turn 18.



Scenario #2 - In a toy store the other day, the clerk was more than delighted to help me find a toy I was looking for. She also freely offered that she had left corporate America for the peace of selling toys. She boasted that she never brings work home anymore. She is happier and healthier.

Imagine that from our lips.

"Is your daughter looking forward to having a corporate career?"

"No, my daughter just wants to bypass corporate America and  work for a toy store."

"OH."  Big sigh of disappointment.


Scenario #3 - Feminists have been disappointed in how many highly educated women are not in the work force. When women have children they want to be with them. It's that simple. Not all of these highly educated women plan to return to work after their children are in school. They like being home.



So, what is wrong with just teaching our daughters to stay at home from the beginning?  Why do women need to take the college/debt/disenchanted corporate road before taking the road to  fulfillment?
Instead of saying, "I am teaching my daughters to be Titus 2 women" I wonder if it would be more acceptable if I said, "I am teaching my daughters how to avoid the disenchantment of the corporate world and stay in touch with their artistic sides."

It doesn't really matter, I have learned long ago that when I was pregnant with my third child  -

(But you have the perfect family, a boy and a girl, why do you want more children?) -

I would not be winning any popularity contests with my convictions.


No praise about the wise financial decision of teaching them not to start their future in debt for more than we paid price of our first home.


No praise for allowing them to learn to save to buy their first car, learning how to develope a good credit rating or maintaining a successful financial budget.

No praise for supporting them as they pursue their interests and ambitions.

No praise for keeping them safe.

No praise for building closer relationships as they mature into an adults.

No praise for teaching them relationships are more important than careers, status or wealth.

But, I am not setting out to be popular or to trying to please people with my life.

I am aiming to be the kind of mother who raises her kids according to the Bible and pleases the Lord.

I am setting out to be faithful.



(This is not meant to be a discourse against college or working women.  This is merely a comparison of the scorn I have experienced for teaching a conviction and learning forward,  verses the admiration for gaining a conviction and learning backwards. )

Fading Flowers and Eternal Bouquets

I love flowers.

I love them in my gardens.

I love fresh bouquets on my dining room table.

My husband buys me flowers so often,

I bought a special vase just for his love offerings.

When I found these miniature daffodils

and grape hyacinths at Trader Joes,

I knew they would be a perfect pick-me-up

in the kitchen windowsill.

The tin cans were a gift from my niece, Lydia.

She found a box full  at a garage sale and just KNEW

her auntie would love the ol' things.

They move around my house a lot,

as I find different uses for them.

Too soon, the flowers looked like this.

I planted the bulbs in the garden,

and put the tins back on display.

With this picture of bloomless, wilting flowers emblazed on my mind,

I began meditating on -

I Peter 1:24-25

"...The grass withers,

And its flower falls away,

But the word of the LORD

endures forever.”

My favorite preacher,

my husband,

often reminds people that

there are only three things

that last for eternity.

GOD

HIS WORD

PEOPLE

God

wrote the Bible

for the people,

so if the people,

read the Bible,

they will know

God.

A hearst has never pulled a U-Haul.

The only things we can bring to heaven

is our knowledge of His Word

and other souls that have trusted God's Son as their Savior.

nothing else

Flowers are beautiful,

but will fade.

The Word of God,

and His promise of salvation

to all who believe

will bloom eternally.

Who would you like

 in the bouquet of souls

you help win to the Lord?

Pampered by the Chefs

Jon was my personal baking chef during the 25 days of low iodine diet required before the thyroid uptake scan.

He began by making a few delicious loaves of banana bread from the Low Iodine Cookbook compiled by the Thyroid Cancer Survivor's Association.  His heart to serve me and make my time more pleasant was such an encouragement to me.

Next, he made three loaves of whole wheat bread,

so I had my own bread for morning toast and sandwiches. 

It was amazing!

He tried to ask me a few questions,

but I said, "Hey, Jon, remember,
I haven't made bread in years!"
I could show him how to knead it,
but for the rest of his questions,
he turned to the Internet.

I actually quit making homemade bread when he was born-

baby #5 did me in.
I was a little tired.

How appropriate that he is now the breadmaker in the family!

He also made several batches of monster cookies,

adapted for my dietary needs.

That meant no chocolate, but they were still delicious.

To help ease the frustration of  the low-iodine diet,
my family does the majority of the cooking during this time.
Scott, Bethany and Grace cooked the meals,
brought me snacks if they suspected I wasn't full
from the 2.5 ounces of meat I could eat twice a day,
and did everything they could to make the burden lighter.

Because of their cooking,
and Jon's baking,
I felt pampered.

Pampered by the Chefs.

He Never Sleeps

While going through cancer years ago, my dear friend, Bonnie, shared a verse the Lord used to ministered to her heart during those painful, lonely nights at the hospital, when she couldn't sleep for the pain.

Psalm 121: 2-4, "My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.  He will not suffer your foot to be moved: He that keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He that keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

She knew when she couldn't sleep she wasn't alone, because the Lord wasn't sleeping either. He was with her, He was listening to her prayers, He was comforting her, He was speaking to her heart. The Lord has used this encouragement many times in my life, including last night.

A child accidentally woke me up during a 1am poddy break, and for the first time since my January 29th recurrent thyroid cancer diagnosis, my thoughts went into a  bit of panic mode. 

In the darkness of night, while the house slumbered, I worried about treatment, I worried about side-effects, I worried about choosing the right doctors and the right treatment.

In a moment, I remembered my promise to the Lord to give Him things in prayer and NOT take them back in worry.  So while my LORD was not slumbering, I prayed about each item, and left them in His lap to take care of.

I fell asleep immediately.

In the morning I reread a precious note from a dear friend, Rochelle, who had given me these "words of life" to uphold me.

"The Lord will command this lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with you,"  Psalm 43:8

Not only is He not sleeping during the nights, He is giving our hearts a song.

As I pondered this thought today, it occurred to me how it's been hard to sympathize with my children who are afraid of the dark.  Because I had never experienced that fear as a child, I felt their fears were a little unreasonable.  I still comforted them with Scripture, prayed with them,and  loved them, trying to bring peaceful sleep, but my heart still was always a little surprised that even that effort, I sometimes couldn't take that fear away. I didn't doubt them, I didn't mock them, I just didn't totally understand.

Now I am wondering - maybe they weren't afraid OF the dark,

maybe they were afraid IN the dark,

like I was last night.

As I had to take my own advice last night, I realized it truly works.

Prayer can turn worries into a song.

We can sleep at night, because the Lord doesn't.