A Contented Life - Homeschool Blogger

Listening- verb or noun?

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 16:36:00 -0600

Here poses a very important question. Is listening active or passive?

Do you listen as Eli listened in the Bible or as Samuel? This was something that was talked about at church this morning. After listening to the sermon then reading over for myself the verses I have come to the conclusion that we have a choice.

God spoke to both men. Both men heard. One man acted and one did not. One man, once made aware of God's presence became intuned to His voice.

This makes me wonder if I am as intuned to God's voice as I could be. Do I hear Him speak to me even when it is something I do not want to hear? When it is soft and gentle? Then do I respond?

I challenge you to read this passage of scripture in 1st Samuel. See if you also do not feel a challenge coming from God to be more aware of His promptings, to be more aware of the actions- or non actions- that follow.

I think this is much deeper than just these small ramblings but I wanted to get it down while it was on my heart. I will definitely be following up and editing this.

Grapes

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:05:00 -0500

When life gives you grapes-or your good friend Laurie--- make grape juice!

Here is the process we took.

Get some beautiful grapes- these are concords

wash and put grapes in the steamer/juicer

As it steams the juice comes down out and into jars.

Wah-Lah---end product ---wonderful fresh grape juice!

Eternity, secondary?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:27:00 -0500

Last night we had our first meeting as a new church plant-kind of a precursor to the real date of Jan to be on our own. It was good. We discussed Col. 1-8. Which reads-

Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse:
Grace and peace to you from God out Father.

We always thank God , the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--the faith and the love that spring from the hope that is stored up for yo in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing , just as it has been doing among you since the days you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

We discussed many things about this passage.But something that was said sounded loudly in my ears- and then made its way to my heart.
The question was brought up- When did eternity become secondary?
To self I have a very quick conversation that goes something like this---
What? How can that be? Eternity ? Secondary??? Hmmmmm...could that be true? Do I treat eternity as secondary when talking and sharing Christ with others? Nahhh..... Really??? I don't see how that is possible... Well, maybe.... You know I think it is possible. Actually I think I can see that exat thing that I do. WOW. Forgive me Lord.

When we talk to others, while we live each day and others see our actions, is eternity secondary? Has God become such a vending machine god that we are only concerned with putting in a token and expecting to receive gifts that abound and thus making us and our lives abundantly happy? Is God there to just satisfy our needs? Has this attitude permiated the way we share Christ with others? Just expressing to them what Christ can do for them? Save them from a life of pain, give them satisfaction, help them quit whatever nasty little habit we can all find ourselves doing... Is this the God we talk of? The God we expect?

What about the God that will save you from an eternity of seperation from himself, an eternity of ****ation to the pits of hell? Do we express that to others? Do we even understand it? Can our minds wrap around such a huge thing? Maybe not. But we need to. People are dying to know a God who will save them and have a relationship with them and love when no one else will. If we 'sell' this vending machine god we are selling a counterfiet god and one that will surely lead others to be let down as soon as things don't go the way they think they should. This vending machine god cannot sustain the storms that life so often brings.

So my challenge to you this day is to share your life, share your heart and what God is doing there. Share the fact that God is there to give us eternity, not just the here and now. Think how you share with people- you could be the only one that ever will share the gospel with them. Youmay only have a moment, but make the moment count in words and actions.

Just my thoughts...

If you have tomatoes...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:48:00 -0500

make tomato soup!

We have been blessed this year with a great harvest, especially tomatoes. I decided to make and can soup with some of them. If you have never done this let me encourage you. It is not only healthy for your body but also your budget! I did quarts for our family, pints for lunches and to share and even half pints for Rick to take to work. It even makes a nice gift for someone who is sick or maybe having a baby.

It is not scary I promise---Here is a glimpse into the process.

Start with some nice ripe tomatoes.

Put the tomatoes and some chopped up onion and garlic into your blender. You can also add green beans, squash and carrots- this is a great way to hide those veggies from the kids, and maybe the husband too!

When it is a nice puree pour it into a stock pot. Keep doing this until all your produce is used OR your pot is full!

Add seasonings and let this simmer for about 1-2 hours.

Now, if you do not have one of these handy dandy food strainers I personally think you should stop reading this and run down and get one. Pour your soup mixture into the funnel and start cranking...

Your soup will come out one part and all the peel and seeds the other part. After you have repeated this step until the soup is finished put your waste material back through one more time. This way you will get every last drop of that good tasting stuff in your soup!

Then have your kids come in and lick the pot clean!

You will need to pour your soup into your jars, put the lids and rings on snugly and pressure can them at 10 lbs for 30-35 min. ( or whatever your book says)

Here is your finished product! Put them in your pantry and know that you have accomplished a lot today.

oatmeal

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:27:00 -0500

Oatmeal- I think this is such a great food. There are so many uses for it. But the best part of oatmeal for me is that it is CHEAP.
Grind it into flour and it becomes a nutty addition to anything but very well hidden from any picky eater.
Add it to muffins and pancakes as and extra boost to fiber and to texture.
For a great breakfast cereal that tastes like you are eating dessert- add some honey and a little milk yummmmm!
Make cookies with it to give the cookies a little redeeming factor ;0)
Granola- here is a great money saver- oats, honey, some fruit and you have the best granola plus it is loads cheaper than store bought and you can actually pronounce everything that went into it!
Here is a little temptation in case you have never tried making it yourself-

Granola Bars

Ingredients:
2 Cups Organic Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Roasted Peanuts
1/2 Cup Almond Slivers
1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/2 Cup Wheat Germ
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2-3 tsp Butter (some for pan)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Carob Chips (optional)

Butter 9X9 glass baking dish and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread first four ingredients on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan. Place in oven for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, combine butter, honey, brown sugar, peanut butter and salt in medium saucepan over medium low heat. Cook until all sugar has dissolved. Mix in vanilla and remove from heat.

When toasting of oat/nuts mixture is complete add cereal or wheat germ to dry ingredients.

Lower oven heat to 300 degrees F.

Now- go crazy and put your own favorite ingredients!
Enjoy!!

inch by inch---Surprise!!!

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:36:00 -0500

Inch by inch.
We give ourselves away

Inch by inch
We hand our freedoms over

Inch by inch
We want more of our needs taken care of.

SURPRISE!!
We can no longer remember who we are supposed to be
We are no longer able to choose
We have no control
We are shocked...

Why?

Because we take our eyes off God, we start trusting in our own ways, we look to others for wisdom.

I wonder if God is ever just sickened by our lack of commitment to HIm? I know I am...
even of myself.

FREE PAINT!!!

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:47:00 -0500

For all of you crafty and or thrifty women here is a fun deal. Go here to Glidden for a free--100% free- quart of paint in whatever color you choose. Hurry though it is only good for as long as they have the paint.

Sorry All Gone :0(

Newest Children

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:45:00 -0500

Here are the newest members of my family

Thanks to Jodie at RicRacSews
I can pass these cute little creations on to my grand daughters Faith and Felicity. I am sure they will be well loved!

Now run on over and check out Jodie's incredible creativeness at her Etsy site!

My Handyman

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:21:00 -0500

Well, for anyone who does not know us personally you might not know that I have my own personal handyman. I refer to him as MacGyver but actually I think MacGyver would do well by being referred to as Rick.

Here are our newest projects( but they are really his and we all just lend a hand when needed ;0) ) - or at least some of them...

Added a doggy door(as you can see)

Took out a window in the laundry room and added a built in curio cabinet.

Put all new woodwork in the game room- beams, around windows, doors and a new counter top that he built himself!

Redo the downstairs bathroom- completely gut down to the studs

Remodel the upstairs guest bathroom from the studs up- new shower enclosure, counter top, tile floor, textured walls and all the fixtures.

Expand the kitchen- enclose the sunroom, add windows, move the doors, tear down the wall, move/add electrical stuff, put up ceiling, texture walls, add lighting/ceiling fan

Tile downstairs entry ways and the extra kitchen.

This is what he is doing in a 3 month stretch. NOT including the normal 'get ready for winter' chores such as making sure the house is in no need of winterizing, all our wood is cut and split for heat, animals are cleaned out and will be cozy with new bedding. Plus I am sure there are millions of things I do not even know about.

He is doing all of this physical stuff plus starting a young man's bible study for the spiritual well being of the young handymen in training he gave me and the other young men the girls have brought into and God has blessed us with.
Incredible.

To Tear Down or Build Up...That is the Question

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0500

I have been thinking a lot on the verse that talks about the woman that tears down her own house. It could mean physically but I am assuming it is emotionally.
What would that look like? Oh, I think if we are honest we all know what that looks and feels like...

*The mornings that we wake on the wrong side of the bed and are just crabby to be around-tear.

*When our husbands need some encouragement and we bellow out the honey do list and why hasn't it been finished yet???-tear

* The phone calling the middle of the day from your hubby to see how things are and we instantly start reciting how bad things are.-tear

* Talking on the phone to a girlfriend about your husbands shortcomings, your children's faults--TEAR, TEAR, TEAR

Then we wonder-- Why doesn't my husband take me on dates? Why doesn't he want to spend time with me instead of golfing, working or whatever. Why don't my children bring their friends home? Why don't they want to hang out as a family? Why don't either one of them talk to me?

Why am I so lonely in a house filled with people?

When will we do the simple thing that God has commanded? Love one another. This is not a love like we love (selfishly) but a Christ-like love (selflessly). Those simple words ( put to action) will BUILD, BUILD, BUILD.

So, today, I commit my mouth to only speak words of encouragement. To Rick and anyone else. It will be hard, I will have to pray more, I expect God to move, and change my heart in some areas I may not even realize need some attention.