When The Shack first came out, it was a hit, especially in Christian circles. Yet I was reading and hearing that there were serious theological problems with its message. I checked the book out of the library to read for myself, but I couldn't. I didn't get past the first chapter. I felt strongly that if I wanted to read a good book, one that teaches me about the character of God and how He will be with me through anything I have to go through, then I should read my Bible. And that's what I've been doing, with more purpose and more involvement. Not just because it's good for me; not because I'm supposed to; but because I hunger for it. And the more I read, and the more time I carve out for it, the more I hunger after the Word of God.
If you are considering reading The Shack or have already read it, please read these Biblical responses to its theological problems. You can read Michael Youssef's response here. Jan Markel of Olive Tree Ministries also has an article and I will post that link later.
In San Diego a pastor with a home Bible study has been told to cease gathering in his home or obtain an expensive permit. Terrible precedent if this is allowed to stand.
I know in Texas some homeschool co-ops have been visited by children's protective services, who have insisted that they need to have a license to operate if they provide child care. THSC has worked on their behalf to limit government involvement.
You can read about the San Diego pastor here and the Texas case here.
There are websites devoted to rating service providers. How well did your handy man do his job? Did the roofer complete the work on time and on budget? Even doctors and dentists are being rated.
Today I'm rating customers.
There are some mean, nasty people out there, and cashiers and service providers have to turn the other cheek. But it's wrong!!!
Yesterday while my husband was helping a man add cash to his pre-loaded debit card, the man insisted on adding more money than corporate policy allowed. After calling his help desk and receiving confirmation of the rules, my husband informed his customer that he could only add a certain amount. Long story short, the man walked away after abusing my husband verbally. The customer's final zinger---You're just jealous because you don't have as much money as me!
Can you believe anyone would have the gall to say something so obnoxious?
I thought I had heard it all, but later that evening another employee was told by a customer, "I don't want to see your ugly face." There had been NO interaction between the employee and customer. The customer just walked by, looked at my friend and said that.
I don't understand how anyone can act that way.
Last week's meal plan worked well, even though our kitchen sink decided to stop up and took 3 days to unclog. (BTW--we tried everything! Liquid Plummer, 2 different kinds; a plumber's helper; baking soda and vinegar; and even a wet/dry vac! Finally, Mark ran the garden hose through the kitchen window and into the pipe. He already had the sink drain detached. The garden hose flushed the plug right out! I do have to say my husband is the best--he never did say, "What did you put down this drain?!!") Since the meal plan included only 5 meals, and none were scheduled for specific days, I was able to pick up Chicken Express one day and reheat left-overs and freezer meals the other days.
Now, this weeks meals:
Sweet and Sour Meatballs with mashed potatoes, green beans, and baked apples
Baked Salmon Loaf with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce and salad
Shrimp Fried Rice and eggrolls
Mexican Lasagna, chips and guacamole
Notice a theme--lasagna my way. Cinco de Mayo is Tuesday, so we might celebrate with this Mexican Lasagna.
Corn tortillas (not Doritos, but the soft kind you buy near the bread. You could also use flour torillas if you wanted.)
1 can refried beans
1 small jar salsa
1 small can green chilis, chopped
1-15 oz. container ricotta cheese, fat-free works fine
1 egg
cilantro and pepper to taste
2 cups Colby Jack cheese, shredded
1 small can sliced black olives
3 green onions, chopped
1 chopped tomato
sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix refried beans and salsa. Use enough salsa to thin beans so they are easier to spread, but not soupy. Mix ricotta cheese, egg, green chilis, and cilantro and pepper. Spray 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray, then pour small amount of salsa on bottom. Layer tortillas, bean mixture, ricotta mixture x 2. Finish with layer of tortillas then Colby Jack cheese. Bake about 45 minutes. Garnish with sliced black olives, sour cream, green onion slices, and chopped tomatoes.
The eggplant lasagna turned out well. I followed the Gluten-Free Lasagna recipe substituting eggplant and zucchini slices for the noodles. I also cooked uncovered for about 50 minutes and then let the casserole rest for about 10 minutes. DH and I both agreed, though, we would have liked it even more with sliced mushrooms!
Next--how about Mexican Lasagna for Cinco de Mayo! I found a recipe here, but think I'll try my own version.
When we first began homeschooling, we were privileged to hear Chris Davis from the Elijah Company (now Homeschool Market Place) speak at a homeschool conference in Arlington. He made some excellent points about homeschooling that have stuck with me through the years.
Most important in the success of your homeschool is your mission statement or statement of purpose and your goals. Obviously, everyone who homeschools will wants their child(ren) to learn academic skills and an agreed upon (by society) set of knowledge/facts. But we homeschool for a variety of reasons.
Some people choose to homeschool so that they can tutor their child and provide individual help and an individulaized educational plan. Others choose homeschooling to protect their child from bullying or to infuse a Christian worldview into their lessons. Our purpose and goals effect our curriculum choices as well as how and what we teach. If we know our purpose and goals, we can choose our curriculum more wisely and I believe, be more successful.
MISSION STATEMENT/STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
So, why do we homeschool? We believe that God called us to a lifestyle of learning. He called us to keep our children at home and to teach them not only the 3 Rs but about Him. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us "And thou shalt teach them (the Law, God's Word) diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." And in Deuteronomy 5:33 He reminds us "Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess."
We knew, even before we had children, that God was calling us to a different life and that we would homeschool our children in seeking His will. We didn't think we could effectively carry out our life purpose without homeschooling. There are only 24 hours in a day. If 8 are spent away at school and 10 are spent in sleep, that leaves only 6 hours for eating, playing, bathing, chores and God often gets shoved into the leftover spaces which are few and far between. We wanted God, His Son, His love to infuse our lives and our family. We felt that only through homeschooling would we have the time, the freedom to allow this.
Deuteronomy 5:33 and 6:7 summarize our statement of purpose for our homeschool, our goals follow from there, and our curriculum choices reflect our purpose and goals.
GOALS
First, what I want of my children, more than anything else, is that they accept Christ as their personal saviour. By this I mean that each child, individually and when they are ready, acknowledge that they have sinned, believe that Christ died in their place so that they might be forgiven of their sin, and confess with their mouth (and their actions) that Jesus Christ is Lord. Nothing else I teach will amount to a hill of beans if they don't KNOW the Lord. The greatest mathematician, the wealthiest businessman, the most successful surgeon is lost without Jesus. Our lives may stretch 80 years or more, but eternity is forever.
Second, I want to teach them a Christian worldview. As they grow up and live their lives, I want each of them to make their decisions based on scripture. I want them to know that abortion is wrong because God says thou shalt not kill. I want them to know that we should feed the hungry because Jesus told us that whatever we do for the least of these we've done for him. I want them to choose a profession not because it will make them lots of money (although that would be great since they could take care of me in my old age) but because it uses their gifts and talents and brings glory to God.
Third, I want my children to discover how God has gifted them, to develop these gifts and talents and to use them to God's glory. Even though they are young, I can see certain gifts and talents in my children. Noah and Jonah are great artists, though with incredibly different styles. Noah's art work is bold, confident, and involves numerous superheroes, some we've heard of and many he has made up, along with stories for each. Jonah's art is precise, careful. While he also draws superheroes, he also loves drawing scenes and has a detailed memory which he can put on paper. Grace loves all animals and is developing her art, but at present her talent seems to be in ballet. I don't know if they will "make a living" with their art/dance, but I do want them to use them to God's glory, meaning I want all that they create to point people toward the Creator and glorify Him.
CURRICULUM CHOICES
I will explain our curriculum choices and also how we homeschool and what our day looks like in another post.
One of my goals for our children is that they appreciate/enjoy/celebrate the freedoms they have in the United States. We are free to worship God (or not). We are free to speak our minds and share our faith with anyone. There is no litmus test on religion for employment or school. Granted there are people in our society who would like to limit our freedoms. And there are frequent court cases involving schools, in particular, that have attempted to abridge student rights regarding religious freedom. However, our constitution GUARANTEES my freedom to worship. Not so in many other countries. Tonight we will be discussing this article during our family worship time.
FAITH UNDER FIRE
Taliban executes 2 Christians
Believers were protesting demand they accept Islam
Posted: April 25, 2009
12:30 am Eastern
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
 Pakistani flag |
Taliban Islamic radicals have attacked a community of Christians, executing two of them following a rally that protested Muslim graffiti in their neighborhood that ordered them to accept Islam or die, according to an international Christian organization.
Continue reading...here.
This is an experiment and I'll let you know how well it works. I've made a difficult Greek dish called Mousaka which uses eggplant in a layered casserole. So I decided to try a lasagna with eggplant instead of noodles. I'll use my gluten free lasagna recipe, substituting eggplant for the noodles. I will peel and slice the eggplant about 1/2 inch thick. Zucchini were also on sale this week so I'll be adding a little zucchini layer, too.
You'll find the lasagna recipe here.
We love to eat red beans served over brown rice with home made salsa, avocado chunks and cheese. The children prefer to put some or all of this into flour tortillas. I buy the HEB brand, but we have made them, too. (Homemade tortillas are easy and so tasty! Just buy a bag of the mix and follow the instructions. You'll find the mix in the flour aisle, at least in Texas.)
1 pound of pinto beans, sort, rinse, and soak over night (If you forget to soak them, you can always quick soak. After you've sorted and rinsed, cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, then cover and let sit on the back of the stove for 1 hour. Drain and cook as usual.)
Pinto bean seasoning or chili powder, minced onion, minced garlic, salt
Drain and rinse soaked beans. Put in large pot with 6 cups hot water and spices. (About 3 T pinto bean seasoning or 2 T chili powder, 1/2 T minced onion, 1/2 T minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt. I don't measure any of these spices; I just add some of this and a little of that, but these are the approximate measurements.)
Simmer for about 2 hours, until tender.
Serve over brown rice with salsa, avocado, and cheese
Salsa
Chopped onion, 1 small or 1/2 large
Chopped tomato, 2 small or 1 large
Cilantro, 1/4 - 1/2 t dried
Lime juice, if you have it.
Put in bowl and toss. I received a Vidalia Chop Wizard for Christmas and use it to make salsa. It works great if you don't try to chop too much at once.
This is SOOO easy. I prefer using chicken breast, but we were given about 10 pounds of chicken thigh meat so we'll be using that. Not as healthy or low fat as breast, but certainly frugal.
1 pound of boneless chicken breast or thigh
Kikkoman Sweet and Sour Sauce
Veges.--large pieces of chopped onion, green and/or red pepper, carrots, and pineapple
Cut chicken into bite size pieces and saute' over medium heat in skillet sprayed with non-stick spray until chicken is almost done. Add veges. and continue to cook until onion is translucent and chicken is completely cooked. Add Sweet and Sour Sauce to taste. (I probably use 1/3 of the bottle or less.) Serve over rice. (Brown rice has more fiber and is healthier but sometimes we eat white rice, too.)
I have used The Homeschool Mom for many great ideas and free resources. One free resource is her basic dinner menu. I receive an email once a week with 5 complete dinners, recipes, and shopping list. Currently, I look through the menu to get ideas, although in the past I followed the menu exactly.
Since we are trying to be both frugal and healthy (ultra heart healthy), I have been doing more vegetarian meals and two fish based meals each week. The menus are mostly gluten-free. If a recipe calls for a gluten item, I either substitute or leave it out. For example, the mushroom burgers are served without buns. We also eat fruit, veges., and trail mix for snacks. (And I admit, we also eat ice cream, more often than we should! But it is so good.) Here is my menu for the coming week, with recipes or recipe links.
Sweet and Sour Chicken* with brown rice
Red beans and rice with salsa, avocados and tortillas*
Eggplant Lasagna* with salad
Mushroom Burgers and Salad
Shrimp Salad with feta and Greek dressing
Salmon Patties with potato salad
For lunch we will eat left overs or sandwiches.
For breakfast, the children prefer cereal (store brand of honey nut toasted oats, rice squares, or Fibre 1). Grace and I also like "milk shakes". I also like vegetable omelets. We eat pancakes about once a week. I use Fibre 1 pancake mix.
*My recipe. I will add these recipes this week.
For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. II Timothy 1:12b
I've always thought of those things I've committed unto Him as myself and my salvation. I know that He will keep me unto Himself forever and always. (Even when my mind--and Satan--tries to convince me that I do not deserve/have not earned His commitment. Ha! Of course, I haven't earned it. I am NOT worthy. But He is worthy for me. And He makes me righteous.)
Today I think of those things I have committed unto Him. And today I realize those things are my family. My dear husband and his not so healthy heart. My sweet children, whom I want to clutch tightly and never let go. I don't need to hold onto any of them as tightly as my mother-heart wants. I can let go. Because I have committed them--Mark, Noah, Jonah, and Grace--I have committed them unto Him. They are in Jesus' hands. And He will keep them.
I am sad because my neighbor died today. We weren't close. We were the kind of neighbors that wave and say hello. Friendly. We've been neighbors for nearly 14 years. We rejoiced with him when he got married and at the births of his three children. And now we grieve with his wife and family.
It hurts more because I know that there but for the grace of God go I. Mark lives because God granted us more time. Yes, we had great doctors, hospitals, medicine, surgery, but given his blockages, there is no known reason, other than God's amazing grace, that he lives and that we were able to celebrate another Christmas, another Easter, another anniversary. I'm sure I will spend the rest of my life trying to understand why God spares one and takes another.
I am so incredibly thankful for the gift of more time with Mark. I am so incredibly thankful that my children have their father. And I am so, so terribly sad for my neighbor's wife and children. God help them. And God give me the words and show me the ways to help.
When I woke up this morning, the day between Good Friday and Easter morning, I couldn't help but think of the disciples and how they felt on this day.
Their Lord was dead. Everything they believed was suddenly and seemingly irrevocably destroyed. They must have been devastated. And add to this the knowledge that one of their own had betrayed him. And then Peter had to contend with his memory of denying Jesus.
This must have been the longest day ever.
And then early Sunday morning the women went to the grave, and there was this enormous earthquake. I think they must have fallen to the ground, covered their heads in fear. And an angel whose countenance was like lightening appears, rolls back the stone, and tells them, "He is risen!!"
And on the way to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, before they had proof, but because they believed, Jesus appears to them and commissions them, "Go tell my brothers!"
And the Marys (Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast 7 demons, and the other Mary) found the disciples weeping and mourning. And when they told them, the disciples did not believe. How could they believe what they wanted so badly but knew was impossible?
But even in their unbelief, they hoped and they went to Galilee as instructed and there Jesus appeared to them. And they worshipped him. But some still doubted. Even then, some still doubted.
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Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto God while I have any being.
Psalm 146:1-2
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Up from the grave he arose,
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And he lives forever with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
written by Robert Lowery, 1874
A few minutes ago I could hear my children in the living room. They were gasping and screeching in horror.
"What are you watching?' I asked. We don't have cable and usually they are good about turning their heads during inappropriate commercials on those rare occasions when we do watch TV.
I couldn't help but laugh when I heard the answer, "A cooking show!"
The chef was cutting up a raw chicken.
All the way my Saviour leads me; what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt his tender mercy, Who thro' life has been my guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in him to dwell!
For I know whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well; for I know whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
written by Fanny Crosby, 1875.
I've been reading and watching the NEWS. Nothing about it gives me comfort or peace. It's like passing a really bad car wreck on the highway. You don't want to look, but you can't help yourself. And after you've passed, all you can think is that if you had been 30 minutes ahead.... If you hadn't stopped for that ice cream.... If the clerk hadn't made a mistake on your bill and you hadn't had to go back, you would have been in that wreck.
I feel these events swirling around me, but strangely untouched by them. Yes, money is tighter, gas is going up again, groceries went up and are still going up, and the electric bill is going to get bigger and bigger as the summer heats up, but for the most part, I am in this bubble of peace. No matter what happens in Washington or at the G20 Summit (read Worldnetdaily for a summary of recent decisions!), no matter what laws are passed in Austin (the Texas Legislature is meeting, and as the saying goes, "No one is safe while they are in session!"), no matter what happens down the street (BTW--not only did the drug house burn to the ground, the land has been razed and is for sale!), I am in my Saviour and He is in me.
HEAVENLY PEACE! DIVINEST COMFORT!
I have been using my home made laundry soap for several weeks now. It was easy to make. The biggest problem I had was keeping count of the number of cups of water I needed to add. I solved that problem by having Grace keep count for me. (Apparently, my mind wanders and I can't remember if I've added 3 cups or 4 cups.) Not only was the soap easy to make, it works very well. I did not add any additional scents to the mix, but I really like how it smells. Fresh and clean. And at 7 cents per load, I am saving $$$. Gotta like that. You'll find the recipe here: