Restore the Ancient Paths - Homeschool Blogger

Pumpkin Waffles with Vanilla Syrup

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:11:00 -0600

I have quite a lot of pumpkin in my freezer right now. Every fall each of the kids gets to pick a pumpkin from the local pumpkin patch. We use the pumpkins for decorations and then cook them before they go bad. I am always trying to find ways to make use of the pumpkin. Over the years we continue to add more recipes to our collection. We've made pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin french toast, and pumpkin waffles. The waffles are one of our family’s favorite pumpkin recipes. The batter can be used for pancakes as well. Just follow the pancake recipe on the box instead of the one for waffles. I also just use the same waffle batter for pancakes. You can also make these from scratch using a pancake recipe for approximately the same amount and adding the extra ingredients. These can be served with maple syrup or with the vanilla (carmel) syrup below. If anyone has any other pumpkin recipe ideas, please, please send them my way. I still have some pumpkins to cook up that were left over from the pumpkin patch our church held this year.

Pumpkin Waffles

2 Cups Biscuit/Pancake Mix (Like Bisquick)

1½ Cups of milk

1 Egg

3 Tablespoons of sugar

2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 Teaspoons of cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoons of nutmeg

1 Teaspoon of vanilla

1 ½ Cups of Pumpkin

Mix ingredients together and cook in a hot, oiled waffle iron in the same manner as you would cook regular waffles.

Vanilla Syrup

½ Cup of half and half (or evaporated milk)

1 stick of butter

1 Cup of sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Pinch of salt

Heat all ingredients in a sauce pan on medium-low heat until thoroughly heated and sugar and butter are melted, stirring constantly.

Things to be Thankful For

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:48:00 -0600

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for. I am ashamed many times at my lack of gratitude. I heard this poem a few years ago and it really convicted me about the need to be thankful in the little things -- even those that annoy me from time to time. Have a blessed day.

Things to Be Thankful For

Be thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means you have enough to eat.

Be thankful for the mess you clean up after a party, because it means you have been surrounded by friends.

Be thankful for the taxes you pay, because it means you're employed.

Be thankful that your lawn needs mowing and your windows need fixing, because it means you have a home.

Be thankful for your heating bill, because it means you are warm.

Be thankful for the laundry, because it means you have clothes to wear.

Be thankful for the space you find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means you can walk.

Be thankful for the lady who sings off-key behind you in church, because it means you can hear.

Be thankful when people complain about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.

Be thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means you're alive.

~ Taken from Ann Landers’ column—11/22/01

"Miserly Moms"

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:41:00 -0600

Use it up, thin it out, make it last or do without.

This is a quote made popular during the Great Depression that my husband discovered a few years back. He now has it on the top of our budget sheet as inspiration to make do with what we have, and not give in to unnecessary spending or waste. Nicely said, huh? In reality its much harder to do – especially when items of necessity need to be bought or when Christmas and birthdays come around.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the need to develop a depression era mindset and find more ways to save money – especially in the area of groceries. I am continually working on our budget and am very open to any additional ideas where we might be able to save. I've made some changes already: cut out a lot of non-essentials, bought fewer prepackaged convenience foods, plan my menu around sale items or what we already have on hand, etc. I've finally managed to get our budget back to what it was before the economy started to go bad.

Last week I came across a great resource that I'd like to pass on to those who may not know about it. It's a website called "Miserly Moms" . I heard the woman who developed this site interviewed on Focus on the Family last week (you can listen to the podcast here) . Her name is Jonni McCoy and she is an author and speaker who has great advice on helping families save more in all areas, not just groceries.

Some of the things she mentioned on the show were making your own biscuit/pancake mix, syrup ($4.00 vs. 11 cents), & granola ($1.00/lb). She mentioned that these items in particular were considerably more expensive prepackaged than if you make them yourself. You can make these items ahead of time with little effort and then store them in the pantry or freezer for quite a while. Yesterday on Facebook, one of my single friends posted a recipe for laundry detergent. I haven't tried it yet, but I am definitely planning on it. She spent 86 cents per 2 gallon batch. I'll try it and post it if my family and I don't break out in a strange rash :)

Jonni's money saving ideas can be found in her books: Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy and Healthy Tasty Meals for Less than 99 Cents Per Serving. These are available on her website and on Amazon as well. Her website is worth checking out. In addition to money saving tips, she has recipes, testimonials and other helpful resources. Here is a link to an article on some budget tips (they’re located at the end of the article).

#1 You Know You're a Homeschooler When . . .

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:25:00 -0600

Your kids sass you in Latin.

(This actually happened to a friend of mine)

Friday Humor -- A Homeschool Family!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:04:00 -0600

Gotta love Tim Hawkins -- comedian and homeschool dad. He and Todd Wilson of Familyman Ministries help keep me from taking myself and the continual challenges of homeschooling too seriously.

God is God -- A Tribute to Elisabeth Elliot

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:57:00 -0600

God is God. If He is God , He is worthy of my worship, my trust, my obedience. I am only a child, He is my Father. He will not explain everything but I may find rest in His glorious will. His will is immeasurably, ineffably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to, but I will find rest nowhere else. Elisabeth Elliot, after the martyrdom of her husband, Jim Elliot.

Those who know of the life and ministry of Elisabeth Elliot can fully appreciate the impact of the above quote. Elisabeth was married to Jim Elliot who was one of five men killed in the jungle of Ecuador in 1956. Jim was a missionary with the Plymouth Bretheren missions board. He and four other men were trying to reach a tribe of violent indians called the Waodani ( also referred to as the Auca).

The Waodani had a fearsome reputation. At that time, they were known to be the most dangerous tribe on earth. They had a homicide rate of 60% and were on the verge of extinction. Most of the contact that had been attempted by the outside world had ended in violence. The government of Ecuador was ready to take serious action against them if the killing continued. Many employees of the oil company working in the region had been speared by this tribe.

It was with this knowledge that Jim and the other men -- Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed Mc Cully, and Pete Fleming -- decided to make contact with the Waodani in order to bring the gospel of Christ. For several weeks the men made contact with the indians though bucket drops. Nate Saint, a pilot, would circle his plane over the village with a rope attached to a bucket dangling from the plane. Inside the bucket would be various gifts. The indians in return, would place gifts for the men such as a roasted monkey tail and a live parrot. After several trips, the missionaries felt it was time for them to make face to face contact with the Woadani.

When they landed in Woadani territory, they were first greeted with a warm welcome. Two days after making friendly contact, however, all five men lost their lives at the hands of the Waodani. All the men left wives and four left young children behind. Elisabeth Elliot was one of the widows.

Undaunted, a few years later, Elisabeth returned to Waodani territory along with her 3 year old daughter, Valerie. Also in the party were Rachel Saint (the sister of Nate Saint) and a Woadani named Dayuma, whom the women had befriended. Dayuma had been very instrumental in helping to establish peaceful contact with the Waodani. To begin, she had taught the Waodani language to the women. She had also gone before them and paved the way, even securing an invitation from the tribe for the women to come live among them.

Eventually Woadani in that village came to Christ and a church was established. Coming to Christ completely changed the violent nature of the tribe. Today the name Waodani no longer strikes fear in the hearts of neighboring tribes. Instead, they now have the reputation of being "a peaceful people". Moreover, one in six have made professions of faith in Christ.

After a few years, Elisabeth returned to the states and Rachel continued her work among the Woadani until her death in 1994. Ironically, Mincaye, the very man who killed Nate Saint, became an elder in the church and had the opportunity to baptize Steve Saint, Nate’s son and nephew of Rachel.

I can only begin to fathom the love and courage it took for Elisabeth to go to the very tribe that killed her husband, with her daughter in tow, in order to bring the good news of love and forgiveness in Christ. There were some who probably thought her decision to be foolish, even reckless. However, she knew that God’s was the one who was leading her and that she would "find rest in His glorious will". Her story is a beautiful picture of redemption and forgiveness.

Elisabeth Elliot is one of my favorite heroes of the faith because of her bravery, trust, and determination. She knew the risk and she was willing to take it in order to bring the salvation of Christ to the Woadani. Because of her obedience and sacrifice, along with that of the other women who accompanied her, we will be hearing the Woadani tongue singing praises to our Lord in heaven.

Steven Curtis Chapman produced a beautiful video montage about the martyrdom of the five men that can be viewed below. Just to give you fair warning, it does contain brief clips of tribal nudity.

The story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot can be found in the books Shadow of the Almighty and Through Gates of Splendor. You can read more about Nate, Rachel and Steve Saint in the book The End of the Spear. There was also a movie by the same title released in 2005.

Wear the Crown � A Tribute to Martyred Missionary, Bonnie Witherall

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:16:00 -0600

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church – Tertullian, 197 AD

Gary & Bonnie Witherall

November 22, 2002 I was enjoying Thanksgiving vacation at my mother-in-law’s house in Oregon. Normally when I am on vacation I like to leave everything at home – phone messages, email, etc.– and just enjoy the people and surroundings around me without distractions from home. For some reason on this day however, I decided to go ahead and check my e-mail. As I scanned down the list of subject titles, one suddenly caught my eye. It read something like this: "Urgent prayer needed for family of American missionary murdered in Lebanon". Alarmed, I immediately opened it and began reading.

The e-mail was from some friends of ours who were missionaries in the Middle East. They were reporting on the death of Bonnie Witherall who, along with her husband Gary, was a missionary to Sidon, Lebanon with Operation Mobilization (OM). The information in the email was sketchy -- I didn't even have a name -- so I quickly turned on the news expecting to hear some sort of report about the incident. After watching an entire broadcast, with out any mention of the event, I decided to turn to the internet. I did several searches and came up empty-handed. I searched again the next day –still nothing.

Eventually, the events of the incident began to unfold through a good friend of ours, named Bill, who is a missionary with OM. Apparently Bonnie was ministering in a very dangerous part of Lebanon at a prenatal clinic. Most of the women whom this clinic served came from a Palestinian refugee camp down the street. This was the same camp where refugees were caught on video rejoicing after the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. Bonnie was a medical assistant at the clinic helping the doctor provide prenatal care to the patients.

On November 21, 2002, Bonnie arrived early at the clinic, as was her normal routine, to prepare tea and biscuits for the women who would be visiting the clinic that day. She failed to notice the assassin behind her who followed her in and proceeded to put three bullets in her head at close range.

When her husband Gary was notified of this horrific event, he immediately rushed to the clinic. When he arrived, he started toward the room where the body of his martyred wife lay. To his frustration, there were soldiers blocking the door of the room who refused to let him pass. Determined, Gary tried to push his way past the soldiers. Eventually, the soldiers overtook Gary and placed him in an adjoining room.

In desperation and grief, Gary pressed himself tightly against the wall closest to Bonnie’s body. It was in this moment that he heard the still, small voice of the Lord speak to his soul. "Gary, there is a seed planted in your heart today. That seed can grow into hatred and bitterness or grow into love and forgiveness. Choose!" To which Gary responded, "I choose forgiveness." That evening, on Lebanese television, Gary had the chance to share with that nation about God’s love and forgiveness and his personal choice to forgive Bonnie’s murderer.

In an article the following day in the London Times, Gary commented further about his difficult decision to forgive: "God led us to Lebanon and we knew that we might die. … It’s a costly forgiveness. … It cost my wife"

Bonnie knew of the dangers associated with her calling. According to an article in the New York Times the clinic had received terrorist threats for sharing the gospel with patients. In a video taped interview a few weeks before, Bonnie had been asked if she was afraid of getting killed in her work. She replied by saying, "All the days that are ordained for me, God knows every single one of them. He knows every hair that’s on my head and He knows every minute that I have to live." When told by a religious leader that she "might be vulnerable to insults or even being hit," she responded that "she would consider it an honor.''

Although I never had the opportunity to meet this hero of the faith, she was obviously an incredible woman who was willing to count the cost and risk everything in order for others to come to know Jesus. Her story challenges me to seek deeper levels of commitment in my own walk with Christ.

Inspired by Bonnie’s testimony, our friend, Bill Drake, wrote a song, Wear the Crown, in honor of her memory and memories of those around the world who have obediently given their lives for the gospel of Christ. Voice of the Martyrs took the song and made a video out of it.

You can read more about Bonnie’s life and testimony in the book Total Abandon, written by her husband Gary.

The Korea Maru

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:48:00 -0600

My great-grandmother, Harriet

While at my aunt’s house last spring we had the opportunity to look over some family photos, letters, and notes found among some of my great aunt’s things discovered after her recent death. This was a very special time spent with my family as my grandmother reminisced over the people and memories found in the photos. One of the items my aunt discovered was a poem written by my great-grandmother, dated November 11, 1918 – Armistice Day (later to be renamed Vetran's Day).

Apparently, my great grandparents and their 5 children (with one on the way) were enroute from India to the United States for a furlough after having served for several years as missionaries in Northern India. They had taken a train from India to China, and from there traveled to Hong Kong. They then boarded the ship Korea Maru, a Japanese ocean liner which would stop in Japan on its way home to the United States.

The Korea Maru (from the collection of Björn Larsson)

This voyage home was a frightening endeavor for this family. Not only was it to be a long trip on rough seas, but the United States was embroiled in World War I and there was imminent danger with ocean travel during this time. Ocean mines had been planted in the Atlantic by Axis forces and there was the fear that there may have been some planted in the Pacific as well. So it was with much uncertainty and apprehension that my great-grandparents made this journey home. When they arrived in the Japanese harbor, they were greeted with the best news they could receive. The war was over! There was much exuberance and celebration and sighs of relief for the passengers on board the ship. It was with this sentiment that my great-grandmother penned the following poem entitled the Korea Maru:

The Korea Maru, a Japanese liner, from the Hong Kong shore pulled away.

Through Pacific’s Blue waters, northward

her steady directed course lay.

Round the world there had been fearful fighting

with the cannon, and bombs, and dread gun.

While out in the ocean, Atlantic

Gruesome work of hid mines had been done.

Would we reach our loved home ‘cross the waters?

Would we reach dear America’s shore?

Our great sturdy ship plowed the water

of coal and of food stuffs we had store.

At last in the Japanese harbor

our anchor was dropped in the sea.

While forebodings of unseen evil

gave place to shoutings of glee.

From the shore o'er the water came sounding

a noise as of whistle and gong

While the guns and the crackers exploding,

gave noise to all of the throng.

‘Tis the sound of rejoicing and gladness.

The people have gone wild they say.

For by cable had come the glad message

of the peace armistice signed today.

In the evening on board the great liner

small flags of the nations they place

With Japanese, the French, the Italian, the Brittish and Old Glory

the tables they grace.

‘Twas festive indeed that occasion

confetti and crackers and fun.

While mid colorful flags of the nations

they rejoiced that the dread war was done.

November eleventh’s the great day

when round the world the news ran

that Germany and other nations

had signed, had signed the peace plan.

My great-grandparents did make it safely to America’s shores. Unfortunately, they never returned to India. Shortly after arriving, my great-grandfather fell victim to the swine flu epidemic of 1918-1919 and died from double pneumonia. This left my great-grandmother a pregnant widow, with five children to raise on her own. At 93, my grandmother is the only one living now. She is the one pictured below with her mother’s hand resting on her shoulder.

Greenhouse, Cold Frame, Field

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:57:00 -0500

HSLDA’s monthly publication The Homeschool Court Report had a great article a few months ago on the "Greenhouse" philosophy of parenting. I had only recently heard of this term, even though I have been homeschooling for 8 years now. In this article they interviewed homeschool pioneer, Gregg Harris, father of well-known authors and speakers Josh, Alex & Brett Harris . I really appreciated Gregg’s insights; So with HSLDA's permission, I have pasted a portion of the article below. Follow the link at the bottom to read the rest of the article.

Outgrowing the Greenhouse: A Conversation With Gregg Harris by Jennifer Olmstead

Ever wished you could sit down with Gregg Harris—father of Josh, Joel, Alex, Brett, Sarah, Isaac, and James—and find out his secret to raising driven, passionate, and grown-up teenagers? Recently, we did, and we hope you’ll enjoy having a seat at the table for our conversation as Gregg discusses his thoughts on the "greenhouse model," raising kids willing to do hard things, and then learning to let them go.

The Greenhouse, the Cold Frame, & the Field

COURT REPORT: Back in the early nineties, you used to talk about the "greenhouse model," which forwarded the idea that it’s in your children’s best interest to be sheltered inside the greenhouse until they reach maturity—like seedlings. But when we look at the things your kids have accomplished at young ages—Alex and Brett started TheRebelution.com at age 16, published Do Hard Things at 18, then progressed to the national Rebelution conference tour; Josh started speaking and founded New Attitude at 17, then published I Kissed Dating Goodbye at 21—frankly, it doesn’t seem like you’ve kept them in much of a greenhouse. Just the opposite, in fact! Has your opinion changed?

HARRIS: Well, let’s look at the metaphor of the greenhouse—or the hothouse, as some have called it. You don’t transfer plants right from the greenhouse into the field. Before that transfer, plants go through an intermediate process called a "cold frame." A cold frame differs from a greenhouse in that it doesn’t have as much temperature control. There’s much more fluctuation of temperature than in the greenhouse. There, the plants get used to changing temperatures so they don’t go into shock out in the field. That’s where the plants are "hardened."

Similarly, there are transitional involvements and activities that allow our children—once they’re well-rooted morally, doctrinally, and spiritually and have a strong sense of what they believe and who they are in Christ—to progressively be exposed to different points of view.

Unfortunately, many parents make the mistake of exposing their children to conflicting points of view before they are rooted, which creates a feeling of rootlessness and a lack of identity. At that point, the children can’t interact with these new ideas from a position of strength or confidence, but instead are feeling pushed around by every wind of doctrine. The Scripture refers to this in Ephesians 4:14 when it says that we’re no longer to be like children, pushed around by every wind of doctrine and the cunningness and craftiness of men in their attempts to deceive.

Because of this tendency, the strategy we’ve adopted for our family is making our home a place where people learn to think for themselves and discover what they believe at a very young age. You can read more here .

For further reading on the subject, be sure to see Transitioning Out of the Greenhouse in the same publication.

The Education Fairy

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 10:58:00 -0500

We started school a few weeks ago, then we went on vacation for 10 days. I know, it’s not the typical way to start the school year, but I needed to do it this way for various reasons. The girls were less than enthusiastic about starting two weeks early, so I knew I needed to give them a little incentive to get their juices flowing. So I decided to start a new tradition. I had mentioned in a previous post that we love family traditions. I have never done much with back-to-school traditions, however. We usually have a tea party within the first month of school (except for last year, when my poor post-40-year-old brain totally forgot), but that's pretty much about it. This year, however, the girls got a visit from the "Education Fairy".

For several years now, we have been involved with a "back pack ministry" started by a lady from our church. This ministry collects school supplies or monetary donations from various individuals, churches, and businesses in the community. These items are then placed in backpacks according to school and grade specifications and distributed to needy families in our town. As I was in Walmart and the Dollar Store looking at all the school supplies it struck me: with the exception of Grace’s first year in at a charter school, my girls have never had back-to-school backpacks. Yes, they have backpacks but they are several years old. Furthermore, I had never given them a backpack full of their own, new supplies – we have always just made do with what we had (which I’m all for, by the way), supplementing here and there with new supplies as needed. What also struck me is that throughout the years of helping with this ministry, my girls have never complained about not getting a back pack of their own. So I decided that I was going to start a new back to school tradition: The Education Fairy. Now, the Education Fairy may not always be as generous as she was this year, but she is determined to bring something new for school each year from now on. Anyway, I know many homeschool moms already have been doing this sort of thing for years, but this is the first year we’ve done this.

On the first day of school I made the girls one of their favorite desser– . . . I mean breakfasts: chocolate chip pancakes.

It was Brian’s day off, so he helped me serve each girl breakfast in bed. One of us carried a tray while the other carried the backback. "Look what I found. It looks like the ‘Education Fairy’ came this year." To which I received a variety of responses ranging from eye rolling accompanied by a smirk from my 13 year old and frenzied jumps of glee from my 7 year old. My 10 year old just simply said "thanks Mommy & Daddy". When I reminded my 10-year-old her that these gifts were from the Education Fairy, my 7-year-old (still giddy) responded with a huge sigh, a smirk and a slight eye-roll "Yeah, right, Mommy and Daddy. You ARE the Education Fairy.

In addition to the pencils, paper, crayons, binders, etc., I found back-to-school cards at Walmart. In each card I wrote a back-to-school blessing/prayer for each girl stating how I saw God working in their lives currently and how I hoped they would allow Him to continue to work in their lives this school year. Of course I didn’t sign the card "Love, The Education Fairy" – so my cover was officially blown! My 13 year -old was on to me. "Funny how the Education Fairy signs her name 'Mommy & Daddy'"