6 Homemade Bird Suet Recipes – Birds and Blooms
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Category Archives: Homeschooling & Homekeeping
Bounty from the Lord!
We will have enough to make and can salsa this year due to a cat that adopted us. In previous years, woodchucks devoured everything we grew. The Lord is merciful and gracious beyond what we deserve.
sage
African Violets grown from seed
Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
It astounds me that these beautiful flowers grew from dust-like seeds in seven months’ time! Each is different and beautiful. The Lord says that no matter what we do to ourselves as far as embellishments go, we will never be as gorgeous as flowers. Very humbling, from my perspective. Thank You, Lord Jesus!
sage
Hints for Home Schoolers – Eating the Bread of Idleness
Proverbs 31:27
She looketh well to the ways of her household,
and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Groan . . . the Proverbs 31 woman. Did any woman ever achieve what Solomon so glowingly describes as the “virtuous woman?” It is important at the outset – to fully recognize that Proverbs 31 describes the entirety of all the phases of a woman’s life. The young children at home phase, is different than the older lady volunteer stage. Proverbs 31 covers all, and I mean ALL stages of a woman’s life, and should not intimidate you, nor prevent you from striving to become a Proverbs 31 woman. A little at a time!
The particular focus of this article, really affects me personally. Most people who don’t know me very well, would scoff at the notion that I could ever be idle. Here is my confession. I like to be idle. Far too frequently, as a matter of fact. When I sense that people are trying to pressure me into doing something (usually perform) that I don’t really want to do, my sinful sense of self preservation looms up, and tells me to withhold, and not do anything.
Here are all the lyrics to my theme song, written by the genius, Irving Berlin:
[1st verse:]
Every time
I see a puppy upon a summer’s day
A puppy dog at play
My heart is filled with envy
That’s because
My heart is yearning to pass the time away
Like that pup
‘Cause I’m all fed up
And tho’ it’s wrong to be
I long to be
[chorus:]
Lazy
I want to be lazy
I want to be out in the sun
With no work to be done
Under that awning
They call the sky
Stretching and yawning
And let the world go drifting by
I want to peep
Through the deep
Tangled wildwood
Counting sheep
‘Til I sleep
Like a child would
With a great big valise full
Of books to read where it’s peaceful
While I’m
Killing time
Being lazy
[2nd verse:]
Life is short
And getting shorter with each day that goes by
And how the time does fly
Before you know, it’s over
That’s why I’m
In such a hurry to pack my things and fly
To a spot
Where it’s nice and hot
And hear the birdies sing
While I’m being lazy.
Yes, that’s me. I would rather read all day, then engage with people. When my children were young, I used to lock them out, and take a long hot bath every night, and read.
Is there any hope for idlers like me? Like you? Yes, there is.
- Get and use a planner. So what if it’s not the beginning of the year. Start one anyway. Having things written down, helps you keep track of where you are wasting time. Write everything in there. Bonus – planners for this year are still available – and are greatly reduced in price now!
- Use a timer! Mine is on my phone, if your phone doesn’t have one, get a small digital one and keep it on you. Time how long you do your particular idling – like for me – limit daily reading to 1 1/2 hours. If yours is TV, do the same thing. When the timer beeps – turn it off, close the book, shut down your computer – whatever is stealing your time – obey the timer!
- Every time you hear yourself say – I deserve this – make an attempt to check mate that thought process, and substitute – is this pleasing to the Lord? Trust me – you will get the answer to that question.
It came as a cold, hard, fact to me, that my idleness, was in reality – escapism. Escape from all kinds of things. Things that annoy, frustrate, irritate, and bring on feelings of impatience. ESCAPE!! That’s what TV, internet, books, or any activity we substitute for what we should be doing really is. Escapism. That’s not to suggest that you don’t need rest and relaxation. I’m sure there’s enough of you reading this post who understand what I’m talking about. Idleness is deliberately choosing to do other than what is needed.
Sometimes, a great many people need my help. And, often, I just don’t want to. No fancy analysis needed. I’m idle. I like to do, what I like to do, when I like to do it. This is not the service life – it is the selfish life.
There is hope for idlers, the same hope there is for everyone. The closer we walk to the Lord, the more we will become like Him, and we will feel less and less like escaping from everything. Truly, He can cure every ill, even our self created ones.
My very favorite Bible Verse:
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.
sage
Saturday Supper! Crock pot Kraut and Apples!
This thrifty meal is perfect for busy, chilly, days. Many of us will have the ingredients on hand. I always keep apple juice and sausage in the freezer. And Granny Smith apples in the fridge.
We buy several gallons of apple cider when it is available in the fall, and store it. But apple juice works just fine.
1 lb. Sauerkraut (I only use ALDI German kraut in the glass jar) If you use the ALDI kraut, it does not need rinsing, but rinse and squeeze out other kinds of kraut.
1 lb. Smoked Polish sausage
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 c. Packed brown sugar
3/4 t. Sea salt
1/8 t. Black pepper
1/2 t. Caraway seeds (necessary IMO)
3/4 c. Apple juice or cider
Spray the inside of crock, and place half the kraut in the bottom, spreading it evenly.
Cut sausage into 2 in. pieces and place in crock. Add the rest of the ingredients, then cover everything with the rest of the kraut.
Do not stir!
Cook on high for 3 to 3 & 1/2 hours, or low, for 6-7 hours.
Normally, I serve rye bread with this savory dish. But since I had the cider…
If you have apple cider, serve your kraut dish with apple cider bread …
This yummy recipe came directly from
breadmachinediva.com
sage
Saturday Bake – Sour Cream Bundt Cake!
This delicious cake has a simple jam filling.
2 c. All purpose flour
1 t. Baking powder
1/2 t. Sea salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 & 3/4 c. Granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temp
2 t. Pure vanilla extract
1 c. Dairy sour cream (I always use Daisy)
3 T. Strawberry jam
Heavily grease and flour a ten cup Bundt pan. Sprays will NOT work for this cake. I use Crisco, but lard will also work. I do not recommend coconut oil, as it will impart that flavor to the cake. Set the pan aside.
Preheat oven to 325, and set oven rack to the center.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat butter and sugar together in a medium bowl till creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and sour cream.
Fold the dry ingredients into the sour cream mixture by hand. Do not use a mixer for this step. A large rubber spatula is ideal for folding. And do not overwork the batter. We do not want to develop the gluten!
Spoon battet by large dollops into the prepared pan. This batter is thick. Half the batter should go in, then with the back of a spoon, smooth the batter till it is level. I use a soup spoon. Now, using a measuring tablespoon, dot the half filled pan with the three tablespoons of jam.
Jam is lumpy and that is what you want. Just keep it towards the center as shown here.
Next, dollop the rest of the batter into the pan, and using the back of a spoon, smooth it gently over everything, covering the jam and going all the way to the edges. It should look like this…
Now place your cake into the preheated oven for 60 – 70 minutes. A pic should come out clean, and a few moist crumbs are fine. Here is how it looks when perfectly baked in the pan:
Set on a rack to cool for 15 full minutes! Then, turn pan over, let sit for a couple of minutes and tap it on the rack. The cake will come out, provided that the pan was properly prepared.
Very good cake. Very good. Just cake, no glaze or frosting. It can stand alone!
Saturday Bake – Crusty Italian Loaves!
1 & 1/4 c. Warm water
1 T. Olive oil
1 t. Sea salt
3 c. Bread flour
2 t. White sugar
2 & 1/2 t. Yeast
1 egg yolk
Place all ingredients except egg yolk in pan of bread machine. Be sure to make a well in your dry stuff to put the yeast into!
Set bread machine to “dough” setting. Allow the full cycle to run and then remove dough to lightly floured surface. Using a bench knife or sharp knife divide the dough into two. Shape into long loaves, cover, and let rise in a warm place for a full hour.
I have a pan made specifically for this kind of bread as you see in the picture. But you can get good results without it. A baking couche will also work well. I like my pan because it allows steam to escape.
When rising is compete, brush the loaves gently with the egg yolk beaten with 1 T. water. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 – 30 minutes. The longer the bake, the crustier the bread.
This bread is for hubby’s birthday today – Italian beefs, made from beef that has cooked all night in the crock pot, with lots of spices! The bread is crusty, but also absorbant for all those juices!
All things done well to the glory of GOD!
sage
Saturday Bake – Oatmeal Power Bars!
Now this is what I call instant breakfast! They also can be cut, wrapped, and frozen.
6 eggs
1.5 c. Honey
1 c. Regular olive oil
4 t. Vanilla extract
4 c. Quick oats (not instant!)
4 c. Old fashioned oats
1 c. Chopped walnuts
1 c. Chocolate chips or chunks (I really like ALDI chunks)
Blend eggs well, blend in honey, oil, and vanilla. Stir both kinds of oats in, finishing with the nuts and chunks.
Spread into a 9 x 13 pan that has been greased or sprayed. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.
Growing Radishes At Home: Step-by-Step Guide to Grow It Yourself
Find out how to successfully grow radishes at home and discover the essential tips that will ensure a thriving garden.
Growing Radishes At Home: Step-by-Step Guide to Grow It Yourself
Good Stewardship – Cheap Thrills
On this page, we invite our readers to share their thrifty ideas with us and other readers. It behooves the truly born-again Christian, to make proper use of whatever God gives. I always like to think, that the more frugal I am, the more I will have to support missions, ministries, and to give to worthy causes – like the crisis pregnancy center. Wastefulness has no place in the family of God, especially when we consider that every breath we draw is a gift from Him.
John 6:12
When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Proverbs 18:9
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
I’ll get it started with some of my major thrifty stuff. Please feel free to share your frugal fun with us in the comment section – and if I deem any of them to be superior – they will be edited into the post.
Cut down old flannel sheets, shirts, and anything else that is 100% cotton, into handkerchiefs. Serge or overcast the edges, or pink if no sewing machine is available. Wash with bleach or borax and hot water for sanitation, since it doesn’t matter what color they are as long as they are clean. A good size is 10 x 10.
Use plastic lids that have a deep lip as plant saucers to catch water run off. For example – the lid to large Nesquick canisters are ample saucers for a 5″ pot.
Use large clear “pretzel barrels” as mini cloches/greenhouses for your early tomato and pepper plants. They are the perfect size, and will protect tender plants from late frosts and torrential downpours. A lot of snack foods come in these barrels now. And you can use the lids as plant saucers!
Empty yogurt containers make ideal seed starting pots, with holes poked in the bottom for drainage. Filled with cheap soilless planting media you can save oodles of money by starting your own plants from seeds. Especially if you save seeds!
- 4-6 parts Sphagnum Peat Moss or Coir
1 part Perlite
1 part Vermiculite
Cat Mahm:
Keep the heat in at Christmas-time by lining the windows with “fake snow”. This could be cotton fluff from the inside of an old pillow, or I even sometimes use white dish clothes.
Keeping heat in can reduce the heating bill, so I line everything with towels or insulating materials. It especially helps around the bases of the windows!
Cat Mahm:
Yes it does.
Need to kill the weeds in the driveway? Don’t buy all of that expensive weed killer.
During the spring/summer/fall months, I get a tea kettle to boil. Shortly after it has boiled, I pour it on the dandelions or persistent grass growing up through concrete. I go out the next morning and the weeds have completely withered and are easy to pull up. My driveway is weed free all year long.
Cat Mahm:
I never go out to eat. I never do take out. It’s never healthier, it’s addictive, and it’s way more expensive.
I buy my ground beef in bulk and chop it up into individual pounds, and store them in the freezer. You can do this with so many things. I would love to get a chest freezer someday. Buy everything on sale, freeze it. So many things can go in a chest freezer.
Please share your thrifty secrets with us!
sage
Is Your Child’s Elementary Teacher Giving Them Sleeping Medication?
The reasons to homeschool your kids becomes more and more evident each day. This time, multiple teachers at an elementary school in Texas are accused of giving young children “sleepy stickers.” Here is a link to an article: cbsaustin
Apparently, the mother of a 4-year-old only found out because her daughter snuck it home after school explaining to her mom that the “sticker makes her fall asleep.”
This isn’t the first time it has happened, and it probably isn’t the only place it’s happening. In fact, something like this was also found out to be happening last year as well! Teacher resigns after giving melatonin…
Yikes! Check in with your kiddies and make sure they aren’t being secretly medicated!
127 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:1-5
Hints for Homeschoolers – The Home Library
Anyone may see, how electronics (via the prince of the power of the air) have captured the hearts and minds of an entire generation. A well stocked home library can effectively stem that evil tide! And via garage sales and thrift stores, the home library can be filled to the brim with books for every member of the family. Truly, the warm pages of a book are far superior and more intimate than a Kindle or lap top.
Our local Salvation Army has paperback books at two for $.99. And absolutely free – children’s books and Bibles. Hardback books are $1.99, and some are truly nice. I also have picked up many sheet music books (barely used) at the same price they charge for paperbacks.
Findings published in the journal Social Science Research show that raising a child in a home filled with books positively impacts her future academic growth and job attainment. Specifically, as Pacific Standard reported, the study found that when it comes to standardized tests, “Regardless of how many books the family already has, each addition to the home library helps children do better.” That makes sense: A book-filled home encourages a culture of reading for enjoyment and talking about books.
A growing body of evidence shows that growing up with home libraries boosts adult literacy, adult numeracy (math skills), and adult technological competence, with the greatest returns to the growth in smaller home libraries. In other words, adding just a few books to your home library can make a big difference.
Going from no books at home to some books at home. Going from some books to a few more. This is doable! That’s what we’re doing at BookGive all the time.
In this study, the researchers found that growing up with almost no books was associated with literacy levels at about 50% below average. Having at least 80 books raised the literacy levels to average. Once a home library hits the 300 range, the literary gains are not significant, although we’d never discourage folks from surrounding themselves with lots of books.
https://bookgivedenver.org/why-home-libraries-matter/
Our home library is significantly smaller now that our family has grown up and out, but we still feel that books are the gateway to knowledge. Some of my personal books are so well loved, they are more tape than paper… My sewing books are in the sewing room, cookbooks are in the kitchen, and and gardening books are all in a corner shelf near the piano. A full set of encyclopedias is stowed on a very high shelf in the linen closet. Because you never know!
The time you spend reading to and with your children, will be remembered with far greater clarity than any cartoons or games children play.
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, And liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, And searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 1:2-5 KJB
sage
Hints for Home Schoolers – Field Trip!
The past three hints have been a rough idea on how to squeeze it all into your day without losing it! Our next topic is the ever popular field-trip, and some ideas for making the most of it. One of the great advantages a home-schooling family has, is the freedom to adjust schedules.
- If you have a zoo within reasonable driving distance, consider purchasing an annual family pass. Our zoo included parking with our pass, as well as entry into other zoos around the country.
- Science and history museums also offer annual passes, with similar reciprocal entry to related venues.
- State parks offer an annual car pass, usually consisting of a vinyl, dated sticker for your windshield.
Our home school had a field trip every month. By watching the weather closely – we would cancel school for that day – and go to the zoo! By taking our field trips during the week, we were able to avoid large weekend crowds. On nicer field trip days – we visited an outdoor interest. During brutal winter weeks, we still took a field trip, but spent the day roaming around a museum. I will stress, that our field trip schedule was never scheduled. Sometimes, the kids would wake up, and while they were eating breakfast – I would announce it.
If you are following an accredited curriculum, the missed school day will need to be made up for. Our schedule from A Beka Academy allowed for a large block of vacation time during December. I would shave days from that block of time, and use it for field trips. I discovered that if we had too much time off in December, it was too hard to get back in the swing of things.
If we brought lunch from home (almost always) we would get a treat like ice cream, or something from the historic bakery at the museum. The scene above is from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
Don’t overlook large outdoor museums, usually consisting of historic buildings. Often the employees and docents are well versed in the lore of times past, and will regale any children you have that are willing to listen!
The image above is from the Henry Ford Greenfield Village Museum in Michigan.
Important field-trip tips to remember:
- One field trip a month
- Watch the weather
- Watch the runny noses! No fun going anywhere unless everyone is feeling well.
- Spontaneity can add to the experience and reduce stress. If I told them ahead of time we were going – and something went wrong (ie: one waking up with a sore throat, severe weather) there would be disappointed faces all day.
- If you bring lunch from home, allowing the kids a treat from the venue will quiet any quests for the other stuff. It’s a kind of bribery, but heck – it works!! And can save a heap of money over buying lunch out. Especially teen and preteen boys can eat so much, you could regret taking them anywhere!!!
- By buying annual memberships to places you like to go, it will save money and the necessity of budgeting every month for the field trip. The annual passes are always a better deal over individual ticket prices.
In spring, we often opted for the metro-park, which had a farm.
Babies everywhere!
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Proverbs 31: 26
sage
Hints for Home Schoolers – Pets
Our home school has always had pets. We actually had pets before any children came along – so from their infancy animals were a constant presence. Children and pets – a match made in heaven. . .
Pets can be a valuable “spring-board” for many home school adventures! In addition – kids can learn responsibility for another living creature. Pets can help human beings, who come into this world as completely self-centered selfish creatures, to grow into mature, dependable individuals.
- A pet can be the basis of a writing project. Any composition, book report or research paper will be enhanced by the child’s interest in their pet.
- Pets (particularly dogs) will a be great ally in enforcing schedules.
- Recalcitrant nappers can change into the most eager sleepers if allowed to nap with a pet.
- Measuring food and counting treats are excellent for teaching basic math.
- Developing and making home made dog biscuits is a great project.
- Growing “cat grass” and sunflowers (for seeds) is a good botany/biology project.
- Pets can reduce test time stress simply by being there.
- Pets can console kids (and adults) that are feeling down.
- When kids are home with pets all day – no one gets lonely – kids or pets.
My kids very often had a cat on their laps or desks, and a dog at their feet all day during school.
As they get older, the pet may stimulate the child to work at an animal shelter, or even pursue a career in human or animal sciences. The benefits of home schooling with pets are too numerous to cover here, but every study shows that caring for and living with pets makes us better, healthier people all around.
What about outdoor pets? Positioning a bird feeder outside the window where you have your home school, can be a constant source of delight – no matter what the kid’s ages are. Keeping field guides and binoculars at the ready will spur kids to look for identifying marks, and triumphant cries of delight will be heard when the correct identification is made.
The feeder(s) can be an excellent exercise in record keeping and charting comparisons of most desirable seeds. Unsprayed lawns will have even more birds and critters, as well as insects to study. Dandelions can be picked in heaps for pet guinea pigs to eat.
In cold winter areas – home made suet cakes are a good science project, and again – a good basis for experimentation. Do downy woodpeckers like suet or peanut butter better? Oilers or stripers? (sunflower seeds) Writing it down and illustrating it involves all the areas of school – art, math, language skills, science, and history. Bird calls have been used as the basis of some great classical music and poetry – such as ‘The Lark Ascending,’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams, which was inspired by a poem by George Meridith.
To A Skylark
O skylark! I see thee and call thee joy!
Thy wings bear thee up to the breast of the dawn;
I see thee no more, but thy song is still
The tongue of the heavens to me!
Thus are the days when I was a boy;
Sweet while I lived in them, dear now they’re gone:
I feel them no longer, but still, O still
They tell of the heavens to me.
–George Meredith–
2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.3 Sing unto Him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.4 For the Word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth.5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 33: 2-5
sage
Hint for Home Schoolers – Saturdays
Saturday is the day where many home schools “fill in the gap.” That is – get to the stuff not compatible with the ordinary school week. I stress here – I am only sharing with you what worked for our family. Every family is different, with unique needs and interests.
The bread machine at our house chugs away almost every day of the week. But – I really enjoy baking, and my family loves eating what I bake. Depending on other activities – I make it a point to bake something tasty every Saturday. Sometimes I bake in the morning, sometimes afternoon. Sometimes – all day long – as in the case of holidays and special occasions. Pies, cookies, or cakes. . . from scratch. Here is where I strive for variety. The quantity aimed for was an amount that would last until the next Saturday. Once in awhile there was a sudden invading army of teenagers, and what was intended for a week only lasted a couple of hours! But most of the time, the calculations were correct.
If you choose to involve your kids in an extracurricular activity – Saturday is the ideal day for it. It was important to us that our children be competent swimmers – so all were enrolled in swim classes at some point. If you can get them in at the same time, with different class levels – it becomes easier. Saturday is also a good day for any music class, horseback riding, or whatever else is right for your family. Again – if you have more than one child – try to consolidate. For instance, while one of my kids was having a guitar lesson, another was having voice lessons in the same music academy.
I will add this caution – it is far more important for your kids to become grounded in the Word of God, than to become a star athlete, math genius, or musical child prodigy.
Try to adhere to the same sleeping and eating schedule that you follow during the week. You can avoid a lot of trouble if you do, and may quite possibly ward off some infections ( the ones that come when kids don’t eat right or get enough sleep.) Again – teens and pre-teens need a LOT of sleep. They are the ones most likely not to get enough.
Saturdays should be enjoyable, not stressful. Don’t try to squeeze so much in that you don’t know if you are coming or going! Be creative – some piano teachers will even come out to your house! Your kids do not need more than one or two extra curricular activities a week at the most. Make Jesus the priority – not recitals, trophies and certificates.
And – the horror of it all – Saturday afternoon is the best time for “practice driving” with teenagers. [God help you]
Helpful email subscriptions:
Daily Focus Devotional from Alpha Omega Home School (very fortifying) http://www.aophomeschooling.com/
Off the Grid (health and self sufficiency articles from a conservative, Christian perspective) http://www.offthegridnews.com/
I encourage you try a “baking Saturday.” The way to man’s heart may be through his stomach, but don’t underestimate the effect of hot cookies or brownies on the rest of your family as well. The routine of Saturday baking is a wonderful tradition, that reaches back hundreds of years. It satisfies a longing for simpler, unhurried times. Ask yourself – will your adult children remember you driving them to soccer practice? Or will they remember long talks over homemade peanut butter cookies and milk? [My husband’s testimonial -“Have a hot pie off the rack, you’ll never go back.” He loves, loves, loves hot cherry- apple pie with ice cream!]
To emphasize how serious I am about this – one of the therapies employed at a local children’s home (for severely emotionally disturbed kids) is having female volunteers bake cookies for and /or with the kids, in a one- on- one setting. The therapists haven’t even come close to understanding why this means so much to these poor young people.
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9
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Recipe for cherry-apple pie
- pie crust for double crust, 9 ” pie
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 3 lbs. peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 21 oz. can cherry pie filling
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Place baking sheet in center oven rack (I line mine with foil.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare homemade or store bought pie crust, adding the almond extract. If your kitchen is warm, divide the dough into two, one slightly larger than the other, flatten into disks and store in the fridge.
Spray 9″ deep dish pie pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, toss apples with sugar and cinnamon. (I use a mechanical apple peeler – a truly wonderful doo-dad!) Stir in pie filling. On floured surface, roll out larger dough disk into 12 ” circle, and fit into pan.
Spoon the fruit mixture into pie shell. Roll out the remaining dough into 11″ circle and fit over pie, or cut into strips and weave lattices. Cut slits for steam to escape if using solid top crust. Seal, trim, and crimp edges, using ice water as “glue,” if needed. Lightly brush crust with beaten egg.
Bake on hot baking sheet for about 1 hour, 15 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, I always rotate the pie, and then tent it loosely with foil for the remainder of baking time.
I do not add any “thickeners,” such as flour or cornstarch to this recipe, because the canned cherry pie filling usually does the trick. But brands vary! I use Comstock, which is very dense. If you are concerned about too runny pie filling – don’t add more than a tablespoon or two to the filling, or it might get gluey in texture. Also , do not attempt to substitute another apple for Granny Smiths in this recipe, or else it will be too sweet. It is very important that you set this pie on a hot baking sheet at the start of the baking time – or the center will not bake! Not only that -it helps keep your oven cleaner. This type of fruit pie is notorious for bubbling over. Happy baking – but a warning – if your spouse is a fruit pie lover, you may find yourself making this one a lot!
sage
Hints for Home Schoolers – The Prodigal
So, you’ve done everything right. You’ve home-schooled for years, surrounded your kids with the love of Christ, and after years of careful tending – your semi-adult child rebels. And not a little rebellion – we’re talking major rebellion. I’m not referring to the sullen eight year old who refuses to finish his math paper – what is on the table here is the child who morally rebels, and may even leave home. Can this happen in a Christian home school? Yes. Rarely, but it does happen.
Every person born in the world has the potential for rebellion within them. One only needs to hear that first NO! out of a toddler’s mouth to believe it. This is natural rebellion as a result of the fall of man that every parent must quell in their child, or the infant terrible will grow into an intolerable human being. But is teenage rebellion “natural?” Homeschool parents become defensive when overly helpful outsiders promise them, and none too kindly, that their teenagers are going to put them through hell. Is teenage rebellion inevitable?
To answer that question, we must address what causes it.
- Attention starvation – Ok, you have three younger children that need 100% supervision. Your 15 year old doesn’t need that much from you – right? Wrong. The teenager that is “acting out” is actually “crying out for attention.”
- Too much criticism from you– NEVER publicly chasten your teen. Bear in mind that teasing can be taken as mocking, and it is very, very painful. And please have a tender heart for other people’s teenagers.
- Be informed – Always make every effort to be fully informed before you make a judgement on something. Often kids are so fearful of disappointing their parents they will compound what they have done by attempting to conceal it.
- Making assumptions – Both teens and their parents make assumptions about each others’ motivations. And they are usually wrong!
- The Golden Child – This is a toughie. It very frequently happens in multi-child households that one of them will seem “golden” to the other kids. They don’t seem to get disciplined, their grades are wondrous, they are talented, everyone loves them! Every person on this earth, including your “un-golden” child has something they can do well. Make it a priority to dig for that “gold.”
Alright, you did all that and you still have a rebel. What now? Cling to the Word of God like a life preserver in a stormy sea, and heed this promise:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (This Proverb does not guarantee that your children will be saved. Salvation is an individual choice that every person must make. The Proverb does, however, assure us that what we teach our children regarding character stays with them – even through rebellion.)
True story time –
A conservative family with seven children, all raised the in the same fashion, had one child that chose the world. After twelve years of homeschool and careful nurturing, the unsuspecting parents were greeted by a note and an empty bed one morning. Their 18 1/2 year old daughter had simply moved out in the middle of the night.
In her note she said she wanted to “see the world.” For these parents, it was almost like a death. For the first time in her life, the parents did not know where she was. They did not know who had helped transport her, either. All of her clothing had been taken, so it was clear she had moved out.
This experience was so terrifying for the parents, they called the prayer chain, and began fasting and praying with all of their being. Days passed, then weeks, then months. Then years. Not a word. The toll on the mother’s health was drastic. They acted hopeful around each other, but inwardly carried it like a ten ton weight.
The one day, out of the blue, the daughter returned home. She was a broken person. She no longer had that sparkle in her eye they all loved. She looked more like a hunted animal. And – she was four months pregnant. But – she was penitent! She came into the home, and in front of the entire family, got down on her knees and begged forgiveness from her parents, saying that she had already asked the Lord for forgiveness. And, those blessed, weary parents embraced that child with all the love they could muster, praising God and giving thanks for her safe return.
Did they reprimand her? No, because they could see that she had already “paid the piper” several times over, and bore scars that would last a life time. The purpose of this story, is to know that there is restoration for the rebel and their families. With God – all things are possible.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Luke 15: 7
If you are coping with a prodigal, try not to give way to consuming fear – it is not the Lord’s will that we live in fear – even for our children. I have counseled women who are completely overtaken with thinking and fretting about their children. Jesus must be our all-in-all, not our children.
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6: 4
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sage
Hints for Home Schoolers – The Rest of the Day
The third installment will address the third part of the day. By dividing your day into small but defined segments – you will feel less overwhelmed, and have a series of small successes each day! And really, each small success is a huge triumph, when you consider that you are doing a woman’s most important work – raising Godly children for His honor and glory.
Now that free time is over, if you have older children – they will still be working in required subjects. Various state laws sometimes require that home schools be in session for the same amount of hours that public schools are. Most home schoolers find a way to comply, without chaining their teens and preteens to a desk all day. My kids were in a self directed program for middle and high school, which only required my supervision, not direct teaching.
11. Attend to any remaining subjects after lunch. For us, this was time for history, science and supplemental subjects like health, art and music.
12. Depending on how many kids you have – this could take 1 – 2 hours altogether, with very short breaks.
13. By around 2:30, even the older kids should be finished with everything except what we term as “seatwork.”
14. We would all have a light snack between 2:30 – 3:00.
15. From 3:00 – 5:00 is complete free time. Even for mom. Time to sew, garden, play piano, or – take a nap! Many times we all hit the family room with our afghans and snoozed for varying lengths of time, depending on age. Sometimes a teenager needs a nap more than a toddler! And – because dinner was always in the crock pot, this was very, very stress reducing.
16. Twice a week, during the afternoon free time period, was an outing. One was a necessary grocery shopping trip. The other was for a weekly field trip. This consisted of driving to the library, or park. We varied parks, so there was plenty of free diversion. Even in winter, we loaded sleds into the vehicle and spent a lot of time outdoors.
17. By this time – everyone is ravenous – and the wonderful smell coming from the crock pot is enough to send up a cheer from everyone!
18. After dinner and clean-up, is what I like to call “quiet time.” Quiet playing, reading and studying. Teenagers will have a lot of written work to satisfy diploma requirements. Immediately after dinner was the best time to finish copious amounts of high school work. This is not the time for younger children to be screaming and running around the house. It would be a very good time however, for reading library books, or watching videos. I have very strong objections to exposing kids of any age to television as it is now. There are many options – such as DVDs from the library, or something like Netflix, which gives you complete control.
19. Younger ones gets baths around 7:00 – 8:00. Then, I don’t know about yours – but mine always had to run around after baths! Every night. (usually wanting to be chased ) And, of course, a bed-time snack.
20. After everything settles down, I make dinner in the crock pot for the next day, and put it in the fridge to start in the morning.
Yes, bread machine. Another home school helper extraordinaire. Saves tons of money, especially if you want your family to have pure food. And yes, I load this up at the same time as the crock pot, and set the delay timer. You can not imagine how easy it is to get your family dressed, washed-up, and to the breakfast table when there is the aroma of hot cinnamon raisin bread calling to them.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Proverbs 31:28
Five Reasons NOT to Send Your Kids to Public School by Pastor Voddie Baucham
By Pastor Voddie Baucham
Anyone who has kept up with my blog knows that I am no fan of government education. I have made it a point to carry The Continuing Collapse on a regular basis, and I try to make biblical, philosophical and theological arguments in favor of Christian education as often as possible. However, I recognize the obstacles those of us on my side of the street face. As many as eighty-five to ninety percent of professing Christians send their children to the government for their education. That is simply an astonishing figure considering the fact that the Christian community fought mandatory government education tooth-and-nail for its first fifty years of existence. Since then we have gone from fighting against government schools to fighting for them and implying that those who fight against them are fundamentalists, anti-intellectuals, and racists.
In the meantime, our schools grow progressively worse. As fall approaches, I want to appeal to those of you with children in government schools. Please don’t send them back! I beg you to consider what you are doing. As Dave Black has written: “No academic skepticism, no secularist authors, no blatant materialism can so undermine the spiritual life of the country like the completely secularized training of the child under the authority of the state… Bible-based education is mandatory for Christian parents. If we think we can keep our children in a secular school system and escape the dumbed-down, amoral, and immoral results of secular humanism in schools, we are sorely mistaken (See: http://daveblackonline.com/our.htm).”
With that, here are the top five reasons not to send your kids back to government/public school.
5. You Don’t Have To
This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people ask home educators the ‘authority’ questions (i.e., to whom do you report? Who approves your curriculum?). These questions are the byproduct of statism. The Gramscian, neo-Marxist influence is so prevalent in our culture that we don’t even recognize it anymore. We actually believe that children are wards of the state when in fact they are not. As a result, some people have a hard time believing that they have the right to educate their children in a manner of their choosing. Well, I’m here to tell you that you are free. Your children are yours. They do not belong to Caesar. You don’t have to take them back to the local government indoctrination center next semester. And in some states (thank God for Texas), you don’t even have to tell them you’re not coming back!
4. America’s Schools Are Among the Worst in the Industrialized World
One of the issues that many Christians seem willing to ignore is the fact that sending children to American schools represents extremely poor stewardship. American students continually rank at the bottom in math, science and reading compared to other industrialized nations. That’s right, our educational system is among the world’s worst! Of course everyone says, “Our schools are different.” News flash… that’s a lie!
One of our elders taught honors math at one of the ‘best schools’ in one of the ‘best school districts’ in Texas (you know, one of those schools people lie and cheat to get their children into so that they can get a ‘better education’). His advanced geometry class was filled with a bunch of imbeciles who could barely do basic arithmetic. As a result, most of them failed their first major test. You know what happened next? The principal called him into the office and told him to make things right. One of the things he was told was to employ a grading technique called “Square root times ten.” Thus, a student who made a 49 on a test ended up with a 70 in the grade book (for those of you who went to government schools like me, that’s the square root of 49 times ten).
This is what’s happening at our ‘best’ schools. Don’t believe me? Ask a college admissions worker how many students coming from our ‘best’ schools with grade point averages hovering near 4.0 need remediation when they get to college. It’s an absolute joke. The overwhelming majority of children in our schools have a B average or above (mostly for self esteem reasons), which serves to give them and their parents a false sense of achievement. It also results in people who ‘feel really good’ about their schools.
Please don’t buy the lie. Your child’s school is probably terrible. If you really care about the stewardship of you child’s mind, don’t send them back to the worst schools in the industrialized world.
3. America’s Schools Are Morally Repugnant
The headlines speak for themselves. Student-teacher sex scandals, student-student sex, immodesty, foul language, drugs, alcohol, radical homosexual agendas, teachers taking students for abortions, “sexting” leading to suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, brutal beatings, and school shootings. These are just some of the headlines that have become the norm. And that does not include things like cheating, disrespect for authority, impropriety towards the opposite sex, and other moral behaviors children learn regularly and repeatedly in school.
Van Til said it better than I ever could: “Non-Christian education puts the child in a vacuum…. The result is that child dies. Christian education alone really nurtures personality because it alone gives the child air and food…. Modern educational philosophy gruesomely insults our God and our Christ. How, then, do you expect to build anything positively Christian or theistic upon a foundation which is the negation of Christianity and theism?…. No teaching of any sort is possible except in Christian schools.”
Moreover, the system itself is funded by virtual theft. Homeowners are forced under threat of the loss of their property to pay for the education of other people’s children. How is that appropriate? The government tells everyone that they have to send their children to school, then tells homeowners that they are going to be the ones to foot the bill whether they like it or not. Not only is this a form of welfare, it is also a form of theft.
For those of you ready to read me the riot act and yell and scream about paying for roads and bridges, hold on a minute. Why is it that we get all up-in-arms about our tax dollars being used to fund abortions (while our opponents make the roads and bridges argument), but we don’t see this one? Our schools are morally repugnant. They are also neo-Marxist, secular humanist indoctrination centers. Why should I as a Christian be forced to pay for children to have every vestige of Christianity beaten out of them? Americans are not forced to pay for Mormon schools, or Muslim schools; why should we be forced to pay for neo-Marxist schools (remember, all education is religious in nature)? And why should any Christian contribute to such a system by sending their children to such schools at the expense of others? And before you yell, “I’m just using the tax dollars I spent,” ask yourself if you’re willing to take advantage of all that abortion funding going to Planned Parenthood, or those tax dollars going toward fetal stem cell research.
2. Government Education is Anti-Christian
“I am as sure as I am of Christ’s reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education, separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen.” (A.A. Hodge)
Jesus made it quite clear when he said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30 ESV). I am amazed at how many Christians refuse to acknowledge this fact as it relates to the government school system. Our education is either based on biblical truth, or some other ‘alleged truth.’ There is no such thing as neutrality in this regard. All education is religious in nature. Since it is illegal for students in our government schools to be taught from a Christian perspective, then it follows that they must be taught from a non (or anti) Christian perspective.
As Hodge pointed out, the result of non-Christian education is anti-Christian education. Government schools must be anti-Christian. They can be nothing else. Therefore, to send a child to a government school is to have them trained in an anti-Christian environment for 14,000 instructional hours. To get that much instruction from church a child would have to attend two hours a week for one hundred and forty years!
1. The Bible Commands Christ-Centered Education
“This whole process of education is to be religious, and not only religious, but Christian…. And as Christianity is the only true religion, and God in Christ the only true God, the only possible means of profitable education is the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Charles Hodge)
I recognize that educational antinomianism is the norm in the modern American church. According to the common refrain, “It doesn’t matter what educational choice you make… you just have to pray about it and do what the Lord leads your family to do.” However, I must confess I find this concept disturbing on a number of fronts.
First, this kind of thinking denies the sufficiency of Scripture. The Bible speaks either directly, or principally to every aspect of life. There are no grey areas. Sure, there are things that are difficult to discern, but education is not one of them. Though you won’t find the word ‘education’ in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, there are a number of passages that speak directly to the issue of training ourselves and our children intellectually, spiritually, philosophically and morally (See Deut. 6:6,7; Prov. 1:7; Eph. 6:4, etc). We also have numerous warnings against allowing others to influence us intellectually, spiritually, philosophically, and morally (Psalm 1; Rom. 12:1,2; 2 Cor. 6:14ff; Col. 2:8, etc.).
Second, this line of reasoning smacks of mysticism. Instead of making an argument with an open Bible we dismiss all opposition with the flippant, trite, overused, and theologically problem-laden phrase, “we prayed about it and this is what the Lord told us to do.”
The Lord ‘has spoken.’ (Heb. 1:1-2) We are not awaiting new revelation. Instead of doing what the Lord ‘told us,’ Christians are commanded to do what the Lord ‘has told us’ in His Word.
The London Baptist Confession speaks to this matter rather poignantly: “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving Knowledge, faith and obedience; Although the light of Nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable [sic.]; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and His will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will untoHis Church; and afterward for the better preserving, and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment, and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the World, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of Gods revealing His will unto His people being now ceased.”
The Cambridge Declaration states: “We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian’s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience [i.e., “the Lord told me”] can ever be a vehicle of revelation.”
There’s enough here for an entire series of posts (so many posts… so little time), but for now let me simply say that the “the Lord told me” line of argumentation has serious theological problems. We must make our educational decisions with an open Bible. “The Lord told me” is no substitute for ‘the Bible says!’ Please don’t make a decision about your child’s education without consulting (and obeying) the Scriptures.
Conclusion
How I long for voices like Hodge, Van Til, and Machen (who called government education a “soul-killing system”) to be heard among my Southern Baptist brethren. However, with over eighty-five percent of our children in the government schools and more government school teachers and administrators than any other ‘denomination,’ it is highly unlikely that our side will prevail on this issue any time soon. One wonders what the schools will have to do to our children before we are willing to acknowledge the folly of our choices. In the meantime, I will continue to watch, fight, and pray, and try to convince as many of you as I can to liberate your children from Caesar’s indoctrination camps.
I have quoted John Wesley on this issue in previous posts. However, his words are far too pertinent for me to ignore on this issue: “Let it be remembered, that I do not speak to the wild, giddy, thoughtless world, but to those that fear God. I ask, then, for what end do you send you children to school? Why? That they may be fit to live in the world? In which world do you mean, — this or the next? Perhaps you thought of this world only; and had forgot that there is a world to come; yea, and one that will last forever! Pray take this into your account, and send them to such masters as will keep it always before their eyes. Otherwise, to send them to [a government] school (permit me to speak plainly) is little better than sending them to the devil. At all events, then, send your boys [and girls], if you have any concern for their souls, not to any of the large public schools, (for they are nurseries of all manner of wickedness,) but private school, kept by some pious man, whoendeavours to instruct a small number of children in religion and learning together.”
I can’t help but wonder if people called Wesley divisive or extremist for making the aforementioned comments. Perhaps not. Perhaps they simply said, “That may be right for you, but it’s not what the Lord told us to do.”
Voddie Baucham is a husband, father, pastor, author, professor, conference speaker and church planter. He currently serves as Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church inSpring, TX. He has served as an adjunct professor at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, TX, and Union University in Jackson, TN. He has also lectured at Southern Seminary. To contact Pastor Baucham visit his website at http://www.voddiebacham.org or call toll free 1 (877) TRUTH-58.
http://exodusmandate.org/public-schools/top-five-reasons-not-to-send-your-kids-back-to-public-school
Hints for Homeschoolers – She’s Called Homemaker for a Reason
“She’s called “homemaker” for a reason…she isn’t someone who keeps the basics of house upkeep. She isn’t a maid; she doesn’t just attend to the logistics. She keeps a HOME and all of the aesthetic, comfort-giving, sanctuary-like properties involved. This is one reason I think that so many Americans are unhappy. They focus on the prestige, the money-making, the status. For their obsession to be “equal” with men (they are in value, but not the same), women have pressured and have been pressured into a worldly system that says they have no value outside the world’s perception. Women are afraid to admit that they love home because they are belittled for it. All women are intended to be helpers. Helpers aren’t “the scene” themselves, but the pillars of support for the structure. Our human pride revolts at this, but when this vision is understood in increasing sanctification, it is beautified. When I was a girl, I loved being home, but did not realize the value of it as I do today—increasingly. I used to watch my mama dart like a bee from one end of the house to the other, nourishing us physically, emotionally, spiritually. I always admired it, but never applied it to myself specifically. But now, thanks to God, there is nothing I love more. I am so content—-dare I say, giddy?—over my divinely-intended role. I find myself pouring over cookbooks, homeschooling books in my free-time. It is SUCH an ART that so many people are unaware of. Mamas, don’t be ashamed to teach your daughters this. Papas, I urge you to commend the value of your wives and daughters, and to instill it in your sons. We are a society that only sees production and success in income and exterior. We need revival, and it begins in the home. Turn a deaf ear to the world and seek true joy.” ~Whitney Ann Dotson
The above short essay is a great reminder of what a true woman’s role is. It is certainly not to get into the “rat race” and compete against men. That whole procedure is satanic, and demeaning to both men and women, and destructive to families. My own mother was a stay at home mom, and she did not even have a car until I was in my early teens. She was happy to stay home, and cook. She was also a talented artist, and being home gave her ample opportunity to fulfill those creative urges. She looked for the approval of her family – not the approval of the world. Many of my “friends” made underhanded remarks about the fact that my mom was always home. Their moms had “careers.” But, those same friends, always showed up for my mother’s cookies and pies! While they ate those homemade treats, they often would longingly state that they wished their moms baked like that. How little the world understands the beauty of traditional family life.
Two new cars in the driveway is the signifier of the successful family nowadays. Frequent and lavish vacations are the norm, as well as eating out several times a week. Even daily in some circumstances. Instead of cleaning and gardening (which is excellent exercise) mom goes to a gym to stay in shape. Money is regularly paid out to nannies, housekeepers, health clubs, restaurants, and even to someone else to sew on buttons or repair a fallen hem. Dads are so tired they can’t take care of the yard, so lawn service is paid. What’s going on here? The answer is simple. Covetousness.
Always needing and wanting more. More house, more bedrooms, more bathrooms, more kitchen, better neighborhood, better schools, better clothing, more clothing, it goes on and on and on. When does satisfaction ever come? At what cost? Your kids? Your marriage? The world says – you can have it all! Drop your kids at daycare, drive in rush hour traffic. Work eight or more hours a day. Come home tired and order take-out. Why? Why would you do that? For money? What an awful statement of the world we find ourselves in. One young woman said to me -“I want to live in a better neighborhood.” I asked her what kind of neighborhood she thought Jesus lived in. No answer. And there usually isn’t. Christians are every bit as guilty of materialism as their worldly counterparts.
The fact is, that everything you are working for outside the home, will not be coming with you in the next life. The only thing in this short life we have, that we can possibly take with us into eternity – is our children. Your mission is not to have a spectacular home, and many possessions – your true mission as a woman is to be a “keeper at home.” It has more responsibility than any job in the outside world. and its rewards are far reaching. Way farther than the amount you have in the bank. Your greatest responsibility is to lead your children to a saving knowledge of Christ, and guide them on the path of righteousness.
Proverbs 14:1
Hints for Home Schoolers – Breakfast Brain Food
Okay supermoms! Home schooling is a HUGE undertaking as well you know. Now here I am, asking you to feed your little scholars something other than cold cereal. You may be thinking I’m asking too much – after all – how could I possibly know how much you have on your plates? Well, I’ve been there and done that. Including wallowing in the guilt that accompanies the slap-dash breakfast that is all we think we can manage on busy school mornings.
Just how important is breakfast? Hugely important!
Eating breakfast is important for everyone, but is especially so for children and adolescents. According to the American Dietetic Association, children who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom and on the playground, with better concentration, problem-solving skills, and eye-hand coordination. http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/many-benefits-breakfast
Well, dear ones, I have the answer to that troublesome issue. It is a recipe I developed while observing my family’s eating behaviors over the years. After finding it was impossible to get everyone (different grade levels and schedules) to the breakfast table at the same time – I finally came up with something that served the needs of all family members and schedules – including mine. If you read the article about Saturday baking, then you will see how this is accomplished. During the Saturday bake (cookies and treats) I also bake enough of my “Oatmeal Power Bars,” to feed my family breakfast for a week. Everyone loves these.
The basic recipe for Oatmeal Power Bars:
6 eggs beaten
1 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 1/2 cups honey
4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
4 cups quick oats (not instant!)
In a LARGE mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer, then add oil and honey, beating until well blended. At this point, you will add your “enhancements.” Extracts should be blended in with the oil and honey, and the dry add- ins get mixed in with the oats. The 8 cups of oats and dry add- ins will need to be mixed with a sturdy spoon or spatula – they are very dense!
- Chocolate chip – add 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Apple cinnamon – add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 cup chopped dried apples, and 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Cranberry – add 4 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/2 cup Craisins, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped pecans
- Cherry – add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons almond extract, 1 cup dried cherries, 1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
There are many other options to flavoring these bars. I only share with you my family’s favorites. Raisins are not popular at our house – but I’m sure you could come up with a raisin variation your family would love. They are soft, chewy, and you can really sink your teeth into them. They are so good in fact, that a young athletic man ( a neighbor) pays me to make him a pan every week. He says he “has to have one every morning!”
Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray, and dump the mixture in, flattening it with your spoon or spatula. Put directly into a cold oven, set it to 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. If your oven has poor circulation, rotate the pan half way through the baking time.
This recipe can be halved and baked in an 8 in. square pan – and it can also be doubled if you have two 9 x 13’s and a really huge mixing bowl!
Allow to cool completely before cutting. These bars are even suitable for toddlers, if crumbled in a bowl, and softened with milk. I just popped it in the microwave for 30 seconds, and my little ones loved it.
High in soluble fiber and protein – gluten free as well. These will transform your mornings – I guarantee it. And since you make enough to last for a week – this is the most instant of breakfasts – but oh so much better for your family than anything you could buy from any store. I buy my oats from Aldis – the absolute cheapest place to buy them – and they are excellent quality. I also buy my eggs from Aldis – because there is a Bible verse inside each carton. I buy honey and vanilla extract from Costco.
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Sage’s Sewing Space – Bounty of Buttons
I suppose most homemakers don’t have the amount of buttons I have – accumulated through inheritance and every other avenue possible. For quite some time, my buttons were kept in the giant glass salad dressing jar that held my mother’s buttons. It held a respectable amount of buttons – all akimbo!
My mother felt this was a good system, even though it required a tedious hunting and pecking effort to locate a single button, let alone several matching buttons. I, however, am not my mother. And I confess to being a tad, OK, a LOT more needy of organization than she was. While I won’t go so far as to say my “buttons were being pushed” – I admit to feeling anxious about them.
I was compelled to troll Pinterest in search of ideas. Alas, nothing was presented that would organize the gigantic amount and variety of buttons I had. The ideas ranged from spice racks to customized shelving. My penury nature resisted the idea of spending any money whatsoever.
Garage sales had yielded a bonanza of canning jars the previous summer – and I had my answer. By sorting the buttons into cute 4 oz. “quilted” jelly jars, I had my favorite things all at once. Organization – and thrift. For someone like me – this is organizing ecstasy. And since I have a large amount of white and off white buttons, those are divided by size as well. This solved all at once the huge amount of buttons, which was even greater than my mother’s had been. And they are easy to locate by color – without labeling. I love labeling as much as the next “organ-ista” but if I can avoid labels, I do, because to my way of thinking – it’s one less thing to spend money on. And – these jelly jars are readily available – should I need more (yikes!) or if one should break. I realize not everyone has this amount of buttons – but this will also work well with large beads and sequins! I do some sequin work when I make a costume or an evening gown – and they are difficult to store. They are so light in weight – and easily scatter all over the place. With the sequins in the jelly jars, I can just dip my beading needle into the jar, and come out with a sequin. Very smooth!
In this image you can only see the multi-colored sequins, but in other jars are iridescent, solid black, and solid white sequins, as well as specialty sequins shaped like stars and snowflakes. I do not however – use these jars to store beads – that is another topic entirely.
The next question was – where to put the twenty jelly jars so they would be largely out of the way, but still easily accessible? A trip to the attic revealed a dusty, black wire, two tiered fruit basket. I already have a combination wrought iron banana hangar with a fruit basket underneath – so the one from the attic was just taking up space. Viola! While the proportions in the picture are deceptive in size, I assure you that there are twenty jelly jars in that fruit basket. The height of the total basket is 17.5″ and the diameter of the large and deep bottom basket is 13.5.” More than enough space and easy to see. This whole thing is set on top of my grandmother’s extremely heavy wrought iron plant stand – which at this time I do not use for plants. Since buttons are not looked at as often as my other sewing notions – this arrangement keeps them out of they way in my work area, and makes a decorative display for the sewing space. The faceted “quilting” on the jelly jars makes beautiful buttons even more lovely. Dusting is easily accomplished with some kind of duster with a handle on it – like a Swiffer or one with lamb’s wool.
It is evident to me, from nature, that our God, is a God of order. He makes things beautiful and orderly. What a nice way to emulate our Creator! Living with order can create harmony and a sense of calmness in our homes. He is never careless with His creation – we should never be careless with what He has given us.
Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
Crock Pot Coveting
How, you say. How could anyone covet something as mundane as a Crock Pot? Well, when you already own several working Crocks you don’t need another one. Or do you? This new Crock takes crockery cooking to the sublime level – and I don’t mind sharing with our readers, that I have already let the interested parties know what they can gift me with should they so desire. . .
Oh my – this is right up there with my new sewing machine that I saved and saved for. You program in what kind of food you are cooking, and when you want it done, it does the rest. Gives me goosebumps!
This description comes from the Crock Pot website:
Details & Features
The Crock-Pot® Slow Cooker featuring Smart Cook™ Technology is the ultimate in convenience and style. No longer feel restricted to what days you use your slow cooker or what cook times fit your lifestyle. The Smart Cook™ Technology allows you to select your “Ready At” time and your protein type and then it does all the thinking for you. Food will cook to the optimal temperature to be ready when you want it to be. Recipes that normally call for 6-8 hours can be extended for up to 12 hours, while recipes with 10-12 hour recommendations can be shortened to 6 hours. This slow cooker’s modern design is evident with a polished, stainless steel exterior and stylish metal handles with a silicone wrap. Manual controls include Low, High, and Warm cook settings to adapt to more delicate recipes that require shorter cooking times. When the “Ready At” time has arrived, this slow cooker automatically shifts over to a convenient keep-warm mode. The cooking indicator and keep warm indicator lights offer at-a-glance convenience. Serving your dish is effortless. The 6.5-quart, removable stoneware provides a smooth transition from countertop to tabletop; no other dishes necessary. Plus, the stoneware and glass lid are dishwasher-safe, making clean up quick and easy.
Features:
- Smart Cook™ Technology allows you to select your “Ready At” time and your protein type allowing the slow cooker to do the rest of the work for you
- 6-8 hour recipes can be extended for up to 12 hours & 10-12 hour recipes can be shortened to 6 hours
- Slow cooker automatically shifts to convenient keep-warm mode when cooking is complete
- 6.5 quart capacity, serves 7+ people
- At-a-glance cooking and keep warm indicator lights included
- BONUS: Cookbook with over 25 delicious recipes specific for this slow cooker.
- Polished stainless steel exterior
- Stylish metal handles with silicone wrap
- Removable oval stoneware
- Dishwasher-safe stoneware and glass lid
Please don’t think we get any kind of remuneration for featuring this – I just try however I can to help home school moms in their challenging mission to do it all and not crumble under the stress. Crockery cooking is one of the best ways to accomplish everything, save money, and reduce stress all around. The newer crocks have a “keep warm” feature, that stops the cooking process, but will enable any late arrivals at your house for dinner (like husbands that work overtime, or teens that have part-time jobs) to have a really great, hot meal, rather than microwaved leftovers. And lets face it – sometimes we are too tired to cook up a fabulous dinner in the late afternoon or early evening after a full day of home schooling and home keeping. If dinner is already made – you’ve got it made!
EASY CROCK POT PORK CHOPS
I frequently buy huge packages of pork chops on sale at SAM’s Club. I repackage it when I get home, putting about 7 chops in each package. Very often, the packages of chops are so huge – that I can make each of these recipes twice from the one huge purchase. Uber thrifty!
One of the packs gets breaded and pan fried with this coating:
- 1/3 cup cornmeal
- 1/3 cup rye flour
- 1/3 cup raw wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Mix a couple of eggs with a small amount of milk, dipping each chop into batter and then into wheat germ breading mixture. Fry until no longer pink inside.
With one of the packs of chops, I remove any bones, and cook the chops on low in crock pot for about 10 hours with onions and barbecue sauce. The chops shred effortlessly after this, and are piled onto buns for pulled pork sandwiches. So easy and good!
With another of the packs of chops, I place one sliced onion in the bottom of crock, top with chops, and then top with two undiluted cans of tomato soup. Bake on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-10 hours. Everyone loves this – even people who don’t like pork chops.
PROVERBS 25:24
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. . .
Sage’s Sewing Space – Thread Corral
If you have been sewing for any length of time, undoubtedly you have encountered the frustration of thread storing and organizing. In years past, I kept spools in cookie tins, and finally on the wall – in orderly thread racks. walmart.com
This was fine – it got them organized, and out where I could see them easily. But there was one HUGE drawback – the thread became so dusty that yards and yards of it had to be unspooled and tossed to get to the clean thread underneath. Sewing with dirty thread can really damage your machines! Not only that – the dirt can ruin your sewing project!
After scrounging around organizing blogs and books – I discovered the most fabulous and thrifty way to store and organize a large thread collection. I confess, I hijacked the idea from this website with very few alterations! http://thedomesticdiva.wordpress.com/2007/07/13/sewing-room-organization-challenge-part-ii-thread/
Behold the wonder of it! This black wire cart came from SAM’s club for $19.99. I found it in the fall around the time kids start going back to college. It is intended to hold a small refrigerator or something, but I use it for my large thread collection. It has wheels, and is so convenient I am beside myself. The clear plastic thread cases came from Joann’s one at a time with a coupon or sale or both. On the top stationary rack, there are cone threads, which are on the tall side. In the center pull-out rack, are the regular threads, which are in clear plastic cases and stacked. Since the drawer pulls out, I can easily access the cases in the back, and also, since the cases are clear – every thread is instantly findable.
Each thread case is sorted by color, which is nothing short of organizing ecstasy. Organized, convenient, and dust free! You may notice on one of the spools – a piece of tape. That is Scotch Pink Hair Tape. I use it to keep threads from unwinding and it is wonderful and resettable. It never leaves a gummy feel, and saves so much aggravation over tangled thread. I have two spools which have lasted me for over five years. The tape is excellent for bobbin threads too – which are also kept in clear plastic bobbin cases on the bottom shelf of the thread cart.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF USING THIS SYSTEM IS PUTTING THREAD BACK IN THE PROPER CASES AFTER YOU ARE FINISHED WITH THE PROJECT!!!!
PROVERBS 31:27
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Sage’s Sewing Space – Tool Caddy
Many home schoolers are also involved in the domestic arts to a high degree. Aside from being thrifty, sewing is a creative outlet which is very empowering to women. You need not be at the whim of mercurial fashion trends.
If you sew, you know how important tools are to your work. Scrounging around for items can cause frustration, not to mention wasted time – which no home schooler can afford. Various contraptions are sold at Michael’s, Joann’s and Hobby Lobby to help with organizing such tools. These are nice, but can be pricey. I needed something that was easily portable from the cutting session to the sewing session. Specifically – the tools involved in the cutting, altering, and marking of fabric before any actual sewing takes place. The scissors used here should never be used for anything else! Not even paper pattern cutting. These things are used together – at the same time if you desire maximum efficiency.
Voila! Problem solved. This is a wrought iron silverware caddy from SAM’s club. It was $9.98 cents when I bought it two years ago. They usually carry them throughout the spring and summer, being intended for outdoor eating. The price will vary during the season – going down markedly towards the end.
- In the far right holder, I keep extra sharp items, including tracing wheels, rotary cutter, and an awl.
- In the center right holder, I keep all scissors, including dressmaking shears, pinking shears, paper pattern cutting scissors, and shears made especially for fragile fabrics.
- In the center left holder, I keep every manner and color of marking pencil.
- In the left holder, I keep a number of different hem gauges and small rulers.
- In the front curved section (intended for paper plates) I keep my Dritz Ezy- Hem (invaluable for shrinking in fullness on skirt hems.)
- In the square back holder (intended for paper napkins) I keep a tidy stack of many colors of transfer papers that are used with tracing wheels.
Once I’m done cutting and marking the fabric, the caddy is moved from the cutting area, to the sewing area, where I can easily access the scissors for trimming of seams while sewing. The scissors are so easy to keep track of this way.
I wear a wrist pin cushion while pinning and cutting, so there is no need to move a pin cushion around. When it comes to home keeping and organization it pays to think outside the box. Specially made cutting tool organizers can be very expensive. When it comes to being frugal, durable, efficient, and pretty – this silverware/cutting tool caddy can’t be beat!
PROVERBS 31:25
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
Hints for Home Schoolers – Dress for Success
I expect this post won’t sit well with some of our readers. There is a funny homeschool family that even makes youtubes of them in their pajamas! I will be the first to admit that sometimes I just don’t feel like getting dressed and facing the world. But I still do it each and every day. And the kids were also required to dress for the day – every day.
When I say dressed – I mean what is appropriate, practical, and presentable. Isn’t it preferable to be decently garbed and groomed when the UPS man comes to the door? Or how about if your mother-in-law stops by? You should never feel uncomfortable about your appearance – or your children’s appearance. I would also add – it is nice for your husband when he comes home from a hard day’s work, if you don’t present as a frump.
- Wearing skirts is a personal conviction between you and The LORD. If you truly believe in your heart, that your pants, jeans, and shorts, are modest, practical, presentable, and pleasing to your husband and your God – then go ahead and wear them. I no longer wear pants of any kind – but this came after many years of conviction and spiritual growth.
- Our experience revealed that the children were more ready to learn after washing up and dressing. It had something of the effect of school uniforms. No torn or raggedy play clothes. I learned also not even to allow breakfast unless they came to the table with washed faces, hair in order, and clean clothing.
- When there was sickness, all day pajamas and nightgowns were permitted, providing the patient was too sick to do anything except stay in bed all day. They all tried at some point to “fake it,” and spend the day goofing around instead of working. If you’re well enough to play games, or talk on the phone, you are also well enough to do your math page!
- If you take your job as home school teacher seriously – your children will be more likely to do so as well. Leading by example can be expressed in how you dress. If your kids think you don’t care – they won’t care either.
- If you are under conviction to wear skirts, it is wiser to start daughters out in skirts from the start, with leggings or shorts under the skirts for modesty during the toddler stage. It is very difficult to get daughters to wear skirts after they reach adolescence if they have not been dressed that way from the beginning.
I wear a “uniform” of sorts, and if I dressed any differently my family would think something was out of kilter. When I was first married, I wore sweat pants because they were so cheap. My husband never said anything, but I could tell he didn’t like them. Then I tried jeans. That was not very practical (not to say immodest) because I spend a lot of time on my hands and knees. My jeans invariably ended up with holes in the knees – and that was even worse then the sweat pants! I was so frustrated and it was too expensive to keep replacing pants that were worn at the knees. Patching was only a temporary fix.
The answer came one day while I was sewing a skirt and top for a new spring church outfit. The skirt was an aline, six panel, elastic waist pattern. Very easy to sew, fits smoothly with no bunching because of the aline, and – the most important – it has no front or back! Since it wears that way – it does not wear out too quickly in one certain area. I decided to make the skirt out of denim, and voila! Problem solved. These skirts wear like iron. I get several years out of each skirt, even with daily washing.
This is the pattern I have been using for a long, long time. While it is no longer in print – some are available on Ebay, and I believe Kwik Sew sells some out of print patterns. It is Kwik Sew 2956 – and sews like a dream. Other pattern companies sell similar styles. I really like this one because of the trim fit, and the full, sweeping skirt. There is never any difficulty no matter what kind of work I am doing – it does the job. I usually try to find denim that has some kind of embroidery on it for visual interest. The one I have on now has red and blue embroidered stars scattered over the fabric. Subtle, but nice.
I pair these skirts with either a tee shirt, or a turtle neck (depending on weather) which I buy for $5 at Meijers. Since these are so thrifty – I usually get several new ones every year. They last about 2-3 years through daily washings.
On top of the skirt and shirt – I wear this apron. It covers everything, has two pockets, and fits more like a dress than an apron. I have made this pattern over 30 times. The two deep pockets hold my hankie, and whatever else I need to tote around. This is always made out of calico, and gets a lot of washing too. Unfortunately, this great pattern is also out of print – but is being sold on Ebay as well. The binding is a little tedious to sew, but not difficult. What makes this so practical, is the fact that it keeps the skirt and shirt so clean, that if I want to go somewhere like the library, grocery shopping, or Wednesday night prayer meeting, I just pop off the apron, put on a jacket or whatever – and I’m out the door! The fabrics I choose for these can run from flowers, to leaves, to birds. Sometimes I choose seasonal prints, for specialty aprons worn on holidays. It is very festive – and you can function in the kitchen and still look good.
Why only get dressed for total strangers when you go out? Why not look good for the people you love the most? You can be practical, modest, and lovely for your dear ones. They deserve it! And you will feel better too.
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Proverbs 31:21-22
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Hints for Home Schoolers – If Onlyism
It seems like only yesterday, that my children were all home and our days were very full. What I can recall with great clarity, are the early years of home schooling. We were alone in our home school – no HSLDA, no home school organizations. Back then, the materials we purchased from A Beka Book were geared towards Christian schools – not home schools.
i remember the day to day tenseness wherein i longed for “more time.” if only i had more time in the day. . .
This thinking was not from the LORD! It was my selfishness and pride taking over. As a young wife and mother, (and new Christian) I was using the world’s standards to measure my life, my appearance, my children, our home, and our home school against. There were days when I felt resentment towards my situation, thinking – “If only I could spend more time at the piano, I would be happier.”
What about you – do you have a list of “if only’s?” Let’s take a quick look at a short list of common “if only’s.”
- If only we had a bigger house
- If only I had help with the housework
- If only the kids were spaced father apart
- If only the kids were spaced closer together
- In only we could afford all the home school materials we want
- If only I had more energy
- If only I had fewer children
- If only I had more children
- If only I could get organized
- If only I felt adequate at teaching
- If only my kids had a desire to learn
- If only my kids would appreciate what I’m doing for them!
The underlying source of the “if only’s” is coveting.
coveting = desiring something to the degree that it disturbs your inner peace
For me, the intense desire to play the piano was coveting to the nth degree. While I knew that it was the LORD’s will for me to home school our children, the overweening call of the keyboard never has left me – even to this day. It is obsession which must be beaten into submission on a daily basis. Technically – it could be identified as idolatry as well. People worship many different things. Some are house proud, some will covet power and money, others desire fame and popularity, while some actually worship their children!
My singular “if only” problem is very, very sinful, because it demonstrates a lack of contentment to my family and the world at large. Even if I devote all my time to playing only Christian music, that does not sanitize it. Waking in the middle of the night and longing for an empty house in order to be able to play the piano at 2:00 am is not from the LORD, nor honoring to the talent He gave me. The solution to the sin is surrender. Full surrender to the Lord God Almighty. And gratitude . . .
Won’t you join me in nailing your “if only” to the cross?
Prayer: Dear LORD, my failure is before me. I confess to You that I have not been content, and I want to show a gratefulness towards You that my family and the rest of the world can see. I see LORD, that what You have given me, is what You want me to have. You are all sufficient for me. I need nothing else.
In Jesus precious name. Amen.
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Uber thrifty washing machine lint filter!
If you sometimes feel like you are feeding a small army – doubtless you at least occasionally buy produce in large bags. Many of these bags, including potatoes and oranges, come in a bag that is half plastic and half mesh.
The mesh at right is from a 10 lb. bag of oranges purchased at SAM’s Club. The front is plastic, and the back is very strong mesh.
Simply cut the mesh from the bag, and toss or recycle the plastic part.
Fold it in half, and serge or sew three sides shut (one may not need sewing since it is the folded edge) leaving the top open.
Here is a completed strainer, this time made out of a Russet potato bag. The strainer is attached to the washing machine drain hose with an extra long twist tie, which is very easy to remove, with the top inch or so folded over. If you are using a regular sewing machine, do a double row of stitching for strength.
We eat a lot of potatoes, and I am always especially happy with the yellow ones because our laundry room is yellow!
Yet more thriftiness!
I have been buying from a wonderful Christian company called “Taylor’s Cutaways and Stuff,” for decades. They sell velvet and satin remnants by the pound, and as I am a crazy quilter, this is a dream come true. But that’s not all they sell! Right now they are having a their fabulous BOGO cookbook sale! 22 pages of uber thrifty cookbooks to choose from! Enjoy this delightful website . . .
http://taylorscutaways.com/programs/shop/estore.cgi?lst=1&lnd=12&category=Bargain_Cookbooks
1 Timothy 6:6-7
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Hints for Homeschoolers – Divide and Conquer!
Your housework that is!
The method I use, will not work for everyone. The reason being, that everyone has a different home, different family, and even different kinds of dirt. For example – only some of you need to think about water softeners or septic systems. My house is on the large size (we are downsizing in the next two years.) We also have well water, which makes things a little more challenging despite a high-tech water treatment set-up in the basement. But I digress – here is the daily outline:
- Sunday is for church. After church, in general, Sundays are pets and plants day. The houseplants get undivided attention for one hour per week, including watering, re-potting, pruning, rotating, and fertilizing. I find this activity very relaxing and soothing, even restful. I can usually take a great nap after the indoor gardening session. This was also the day I used to clean ears and teeth, and trim nails on my dog – but she left us this past summer. . .
- Monday is clean the kitchen day because Tuesday is when trash and recycling is picked up. It’s a good day for me to rummage the fridge for anything that needs to go in the garbage since it will be gone the next morning. Living in the woods prevents me from putting anything that might interest animals into the outside trash until the last possible moment. Twenty minutes are spent de-cluttering and organizing, twenty minutes are spent dusting, and twenty minutes are spent on the floor. I set a timer for each twenty minute block of time. I also clean the downstairs half bath on Monday.
- Tuesday is a light cleaning day – just the family room. There are a lot of book shelves in there, which get swiped each week with a Swiffer duster. It’s great for the tops of books – which can be ruined by embedded dust. A lot of dusting here – twenty minutes dusting, twenty minutes straightening and organizing, and twenty minutes on the floor. It’s the same amount of time I spend in the kitchen – but not nearly as strenuous. Tuesday is also the day I take care of any ironing. The upstairs small bath gets cleaned today too since it is the easiest bath to clean.
- Wednesday is devoted to the basement laundry room. It is huge, because the house was built long before the electric dryer was available. I also have a recumbent exercise bike, a large wooden potting bench, and two cat trees in the laundry room. This room can get horribly filthy, because it opens to the wooded back yard, and is on grade level. Once again, twenty minutes of organizing and de-cluttering, twenty minutes of dusting and scrubbing (there are five windows in just this area!) and twenty minutes on the floor. If I don’t time myself – I could get carried away here – because the vacuuming is endless. Especially around the ceiling cobwebs. There is also a room down here with a fireplace that we used as a bedroom. It gets tackled along with the laundry room.
- Thursday is another light cleaning day, involving only the formal dining room and parlor. Lots of attention to detail, but it’s never too cluttered or dirty, because it is off limits most of the time. In general, I am the only one in the parlor on a daily basis because of the piano. Some people would say that is trending towards fussy and the ridiculous, but as any mom knows, it is nice to have a portion of the house that is always clean and presentable. This area also holds antiques, which take some attention. The large cupboard in the dining room gets a good work over inside, (something always needs rearranging in there!) then twenty minutes dusting, and twenty minutes on the floors. The downstairs half bath gets cleaned again because it gets the most use, and is the bath used by guests. Since this cleaning is so light – Thursdays are designated for errands like grocery shopping, etc.
- Fridays are devoted to the upstairs, which includes three bedrooms, the sewing room, and the family bath. I change the sheets in the master, and clean the family bath. (This house does not have a master bath.) The other member of the family are required to change their own linens and clean their own rooms. Twenty minutes are spent organizing the master bedroom, twenty minutes are spent dusting that room and the hall, and twenty minutes are spent on the floors including the stairs going down. The sewing room gets a little attention every day. But that’s for another post!
- Saturdays are the most changeable, because of DH. His office dwells in half of the lower level. If he is working in there on Saturday – I do not clean it. It has a full bath, which I also may have to skip because of his schedule. On those days – I go all the way up, up, up, and work on the attic. This is a full blown, old fashioned attic that you can walk around in. Spiders love it. I could spend hours in here – but once again, I time the twenty minutes organizing, twenty minutes dusting, and twenty minutes on the floor, and staircase leading down. Saturdays are also my day for baking – usually in the afternoon. If the weather is nice, (not often) I will go outside instead of the attic, and work on the garage and storage shed.
I don’t mind telling you, that this monstrous house was much easier to take care of when all of my helpers were available. But, like I told DH – it’s good exercise, and I feel wonderful after it’s done. The key to all this clean comfort is not trying to do too much at once – and not procrastinating.
One technique I’ve adapted is “overlap” vacuuming. I attach an appliance grade extension cord to my vacuum cleaner’s regular cord. It gets plugged into an outlet near the entry of the particular area I’m working on that day. After doing the thorough vacuum of the focus area – I continue vacuuming out as far as I can go with the extension cord. Not going into corners or anything – just getting the general area done. This makes everything easier, and prevents tracking into the room that has just been cleaned. This system allows for the kitchen floor to get a once over three times a week! And I don’t know about yours – but mine needs that!
Some day, hopefully sooner rather than later, we will be moving onto our retirement program, but until then, it is my responsibility to keep this home to the best of my ability. I know some young moms who think they would be happier if they only had more room – but let me assure you – your kids grow up and leave – and you are then left in a huge, empty house! But I also know – that if I can keep this place in order – you can do it in your home too.
Titus 2:3-5
King James Version (KJV)
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed.
Hints for Home Schoolers – Helpful Handmaid #3
Everyone has their own way of doing laundry. Here – I just share mine, with the hope that you may glean something that will make your home-keeping more efficient – enabling you to devote more time to school.
There are still many women in the world today, who do laundry the old-fashioned way. I can recall my grandmother’s scrub board stowed in a corner of the cellar, but I also recall her white Kenmore washing machine. She never told fond stories of her years with the scrub board! As she put it – “It’s not the washing – it’s the wringing.” But – oh – she loved that Kenmore! The washing machine has done more to raise the standard of cleanliness than any other appliance.
There are actually many articles and books written decrying the effect of technology on home making. Perhaps there is some justification for some of these claims, as anyone purchasing and using appliances nowadays, is not likely to have them for very long. The intentional deterioration of quality keep us going back for new machines. The other charge is made against the “over-cleanliness,” resulting in over consumption of water and electricity. But the fact is – that before the “hand-maids” came along, women were spending three entire days a week, just maintaining the family’s clothing and textiles!
It usually went something like this:
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Sewing on Wednesday
Market on Thursday
Cleaning on Friday
Baking on Saturday
Church on Sunday
Each of these “days” took an entire day to accomplish!
I use the laundry basket method of sorting. There are six of these baskets, and every morning I sort all laundry between the baskets.
- warm load – tumble dry low
- warm white bleach load – tumble dry medium
- hot bleach load – tumble dry medium
- cold wash – line dry
- warm dark load – tumble dry medium
- odds and ends – like kitchen and bath rugs, blankets, and pet things
Everyone has a “magic” number of daily loads to do to keep things from piling up. For you it may be only one – for others it may be five. For our current number of residents – it’s four. Years back – it was six – and that included laundry for an invalid. We likely do more laundry than most people do, but we live in the woods, do a lot of dirty activities, (like baking and gardening) and also use only cloth napkins and handkerchiefs, and once upon a time – cloth diapers and baby wipes.
Each day as the laundry progresses, I stack the empty basket under the full ones. By noon – I’m done with laundry for the day. There will be a few items in the top baskets, but not enough for a load yet. The whole stack of baskets then gets slid under the folding counter until the next day, when the whole procedure starts over. In keeping with my love for schedules, if for some reason there isn’t enough to do the four full loads – I will look for something to wash – like one of four, huge, well-used afghans from the family room. I also have been making my own laundry detergent for the past decade. It works better and costs less. Here.
Twice yearly, the bedding gets done. That includes mattress pads, blankets, spreads, comforters, and pillows. Everything. Spring and fall bed changes take more loads than my normal four.
Speaking of bed pillows – I hope you wash yours! If your pillow feels “heavy,” it is full of really icky stuff. All bedding should be washed in the hottest water possible, and mattresses should be thoroughly vacuumed. Wash two pillows at a time, with hot water and bleach if possible. After the cycle is finished, flip the pillows over and spin again. This gets rid of most of the moisture and dries more easily. See here about dust mites. One older lady I know, had never washed her pillows. They weighed six pounds each! That is just too gross!
I have my laundry scheduled so that it does not interfere with showers and dishwasher times. I only run the hot load after all showers have been taken, and after the first dishwasher run at 10:00 am. This is not hard to accomplish if you are consistent.
If you keep after it, you will never feel overwhelmed – and your family will be clean and comfortable.
Thank You, LORD, for these helpful handmaids. They really are a blessing, and we are even more thankful for the families you have given us to care for.
PSALM 57:7
King James Version (KJV)
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Hints for Home Schoolers – Finding Forgiveness
Oh – the high expectations we place on ourselves when we begin our home school journey! And. . oh . . .how we can beat ourselves up if we don’t meet our own expectations.
When we lose our tempers for any reason, sometimes impatient, angry words can come out before we realize it. If the recipients of this anger are your children, you may have trouble forgiving yourself. Sometimes moms feel so terribly over their harsh words, they will even stop home schooling altogether, feeling they are not a good enough person to do this important job. It is essential that you recognize your sin in losing your temper. That is the first step – the second is to ask God’s forgiveness.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1: 9
The third important step is to ask your children’s forgiveness. Very important for you to be candid with them, to assure they understand that what you did was not right. This will teach your kids by example, to take responsibility when they are in the wrong.
Last but not least – forgive yourself. While some people can hold a grudge against someone else for the rest of their lives, in my experience, many mothers in particular, guilt themselves into a place of self doubt that can be incapacitating. When those days come along when nothing seems to be going well – ie: kids are whiny, the house is a mess, the laundry is piled up, you are behind schedule, you feel frumpy, mom-in-law or sister is critical . . .you know what I’m talking about! Follow the S-T-O-P procedure –
Sit down
Take deep breaths
Open your Bible
Pray
Are you going to screw up? Yes. Did I? Yes. Can you still get a good outcome? Absolutely!! Is there such a thing as a perfect home school? NO!
Which brings up the other area of possible reasons you may need to find forgiveness for. How much mental space do you devote to comparing yourself to others? Especially women you see on television, in magazines, know from church, internet, or your home school organization? Either way you come out in that comparison, either feeling superior or inferior – the actual act of comparison is wrong. The only One we should ever compare ourselves to is Jesus Christ – and have it be our life’s goal to be like Him in every way. Time spent comparing yourself and your home school to anyone different is akin to coveting. The apostles were guilty of making these kinds of comparisons, and were reprimanded by Christ. If things aren’t going smoothly for you – you may want to consider that you are being chastened for this very thing!
We don’t need to convince God of our sinfulness – we prove it to Him on a daily basis! Torturing yourself over something rash you said or did will not help you or your children. Bemoaning the seeming “inferiority” of your home school is dis-functional, while at the same token, luxuriating in your perceived “superior” home school is self- deception. Bad day today? Tomorrow is new!
But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Psalm 86: 5
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Favorite teaching tool –
I consider this item a must have in any home school. It is an astounding timeline of over six thousand years – showing incredible detail. My very learned father tried to sneak it into his suitcase when visiting one time! (I bought him his own copy for father’s day.)
Raised by a historian, you could imagine I might be a little picky about timelines, but I am unable to detect anything wrong with this chart. It is printed on stiff paperboard, folded accordion style in gorgeous coloration, and shows major world events as they occurred in different parts of the world concurrently! We used it in every grade level.
Magnificent! My highest recommendation. While I bought mine many years ago at a home school convention – it is easy enough to find on Amazon.
The Vine Vigil 
