Category: Homemaking

Cake Pops

A little more traveling around… this time, I want to share with you a fun idea: Cake Pops!

You’ve no doubt seen these in shoppes and Starbucks… but you don’t need to pay the high price to try one of these or to share them with your family.  You can make them at home — and, just the way your family would like them!

Here you go:

This woman is soooo fun to listen to — I watched a few more of her videos. Then, following the link to her site, I sure think she’s got a great site going there! I think you’ll like the ideas/methods, too. Especially if you’ve slid into a slump in the cooking and serving department! Sometimes all you need is a little nudge, a picture of creativity at work and some new ideas to spark enthusiasm for serving your family! If you’re in a slump, do not — I repeat — do not stay there. It’s homemaker suicide to stay in a slump and wallow there. Believe me, the price is too high – you don’t want to pay that price — wait, you CANNOT afford to do it!

You can view more of her videos *or* you can visit her site, Divas Can Cook for more great cooking tips, recipes and serving ideas.  Go!

Love every day

For the month of October (and surely, I pray, beyond) I’m determined to love every day.  Now, that could read: I’m determined to love every day or  I’m determined to love every day. I’m conscious of this double meaning or double intent and, therefore, have decided to aim to graciously pass through/live in/focus on living each day of this month on purpose.   I had come across an article, then a book and then a radio program (surely not be accident — and by the third time I could see this) keying in on the phrase: Love is a choice.  For surely, it is true, love — or the response of love/to love is a choice! We can let come what may, speak before we think, judge a matter before we consider it, respond without thinking.  Any or all of those reactions happen every day to us – in us – through us.  But the decision to love — the decision to react in love – the decision to embrace the day/season/month — just might prove to be more challenging with the sun’s rising and setting each day.

One of the several things I’m doing/planning to do during this month is to pray each morning for specific needs that actually require more love than any other tangible thing. Another way I am planning on utilizing is to see or to watch for what the Lord has for each day by going to the Scriptures to search in the tenth chapter of a book (books of the Bible in no particular order) and the corresponding verse of the day.  So, today for example, I took a look at Hebrews 10.2.  I’ll choose the third verse in a different book tomorrow… the fourth verse in a different book the next day and so on.  October being the tenth month and using the calendar number for each day of the month gives me a great framework.

Getting back to basics… doing the things we used to do… making soup! bread! soap! and other good things… lighting candles, singing together as a family, working on projects.  There truly are so many good things to do there’s no reason to mourn the passing of summer and all that means and fret at the entrance of the next season and all its marvelous possibilities.

There’s a reason for this decision and resulting exercises… and if you have difficulty with changing seasons, low light, cold temps, family changes, etc., etc., you already have an idea what I’m talking about and can easily see why it’s so imperative, so necessary to embrace the day, to take every thought captive, to be renewed daily in the spirit of your mind and to give no place to the devil.  I can look back and sincerely say: an idle mind is surely his workshop and a failure to plan is a sure plan to fail.

May the Lord bless you every day of October… and beyond.

ed, note… this letter was saved in drafts and now today’s the 16th [I so needed this today] :

And He took them up in His arms,
put His hands upon them and blessed them.
–Mark 10.16

A Well Stocked Pantry and a PPP List

You might consider taking a good look into your pantry… what you’ve got on hand, what do you use most often and what’s lacking?

Then, if you have them, take a look at your most recent grocery receipts – most stores give enough description for you to cipher what’s on the receipt.   This is probably the easiest way to start a food pantry shopping/stock list.   A well stocked pantry is invaluable for many reasons — not only does it save you a great deal on so many levels,  you also have many more options for mealtimes, unplanned extra dinner guests and a “rainy day” stash.    So, stocking a pantry really makes ¢ents bcz good planning really will save you time and money.   Now, you may already do this, and if so, you know what I mean.  But, on the other hand, but if you haven’t done this, or don’t have much experience or incentive to do so, maybe I can encourage you a little bit, prod you along a little bit — it’s really easy to get started and to build little by little here and there  — you’ll be pleasantly surprised how easy this is (and how glad you’ll be to have it underway).  It’s sort of like another idea I’ve shared from time to time regarding building a freezer meal reserve (by occasionally doubling or tripling recipes: serving one and freezing one or two).  As you’re able, whenever you grocery shop, buy an additional item or a few additional items.  With this in mind each time, you’ll be shopping more wisely as you’ll be more apt to shop from a prepared list.  Occasionally you might plan to buy two of each item: storing one, using one.

Now, the quantities of the foods in your pantry will be entirely up to you and to your family’s needs.  Stored in large glass jars or Food-Saver bags or Seal-a-Meal bags and/or other food storage containers (of course, commercially packaged or canned goods will have a longer shelf life, for the most part).  Any or all on the following list (use it as a springboard to make your own!) — depending on your family food preferences and other dietary needs and what you/they really do like and really will eat.  It’s foolish to simply stock up on what lasts longest or stores best if you/your family will not actually like or eat it… and you’ll regret it. This is not a TEOTWAWKI (the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it) list — it’s a “consider the ant” list, it’s a prepared mother’s prudently planned pantry list.  Thus, when you shop, think: PPP :o)

  • Water
  • Rice, Quinoa, Couscous, Assorted dry beans (navy, pinto, kidney, black, red, pink, garbanzo), Lentils, Assorted noodles – pasta (think of a variety your family likes)
  • Tomatoes (sauce, whole, stewed, pureed, diced)
  • Chicken, Vegetable, Beef, Tomato stock (home canned or purchased)
  • Canned meat – tuna, salmon, beef, chicken chili, turkey (home canned or purchased)
  • Canned sauce (home-canned or grocery) Spaghetti, hollandaise, marinara, flavoured oils
  • Canned vegetables, pumpkin, peas, navy beans, chili beans, black beans, pintos (I don’t store too many canned beans since we have all these in dry form — saves space, etc).
  • Additional canned items such as olives, water chestnuts, artichoke hearts, capers, peppers, chiles, etc.
  • Canned fruits (home-canned or grocery) peaches, pears, plums, applesauce, pineapple, etc.
  • Seasonings, Sea salt, Pepper, Assorted spices — (consider what you most commonly use in your recipes) cinnamon, cayenne, curry, garlic salt, dehydrated onion and garlic, etc., etc.
  • Sauces, hot sauce, salsa, ketchup, mustard, pickles, mayonnaise
  • Vanilla, Almond, Peppermint, Lemon, Maple extracts
  • Honey, Agave nectar
  • Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil, Coconut oil, Shortening,  Balsamic Vinegar, White Vinegar
  • Powdered milk, buttermilk, evaporated milk
  • Jelly and Jam — so easy to make
  • Cereals (package well for freshness) oatmeal, farina, rice
  • Dried fruits, fruit leather, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, Jell-o, pudding mix
  • Baking Cupboard supplies:  Wheat berries (if you have a grinder — highly recommended), flour, cornmeal (rotate often), sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, condensed milk, raw sugar, golden and dark brown sugar, powdered sugar, condensed milk (sweetened and unsweetened), molasses, sorghum, corn syrup, gelatin, tapioca
  • Peanut butter, Almond butter, Nutella (be sure to rotate these often)
  • Nuts and seeds — also rotate frequently as these tend to spoil more rapidly due to the oil content.
  • Coffee, teas, hot-chocolate mix
  • Paper products, towels, napkins, plastic bags, wraps, foil, etc.

    • Keep the shelves wiped down, the jars and containers clean so that you don’t attract pests (and this gives you an opportunity to examine your ‘stock’ from time to time.

    Then… be sure to have some very basic items on hand:

  • Well stocked first aid kit:  Aspirin, tylenol, Grapefruit-seed extract, Garlic extract, Alcohol, Hydrogen peroxide, swabs, gauze, bandaids, teatree oil, soap, tweezers, cotton, bandages — this list could include many more items, tinctures, etc.
  • Prescriptions, baking soda, apple-cider vinegar
  • Personal toiletries, toothpaste, deodorant, etc., toilet paper, fem products as needed, essential oils.
  • Basic cleaning: Soap, Vinegar, Baking Soda, Ammonia, Bleach, scrub-brush bucket
  • Matches, Kerosene for Oil Lamps (remember wicks), Flashlights/batteries, candles, lightbulbs
  • firewood, kettle, water, propane (if you have a campstove)
  • blankets/tent

a gardener’s journal

May I suggest….

A gardener’s journal… or a summer log… a season’s log…

I’m making one of these so that I can keep a running log of what’s going on in the garden — and what’s *supposed* to be going on ~wink~ in the garden.

As an example… my entries are including what’s being picked now, what I need to do as far as clean-up, storage, etc., etc.  I’m dividing a simple notebook into sections — a section for an overview of our yard/garden (what’s planted where) and a basic timeline for maintenance.  In this way, I can see when something was planted, if it’s in an optimal place, when it was fertilized and when it will need to be done again.

It also alerts me to what needs to be pruned this autumn and what can wait for springtime — I think I’ll make a note of the results of prior year’s pruning — especially if we made significant changes or did more drastic cutting.

As I make a note of vine fruits or tree fruits and their initial ripening date or length of harvest, I can better plan for food preservation — as an example, I can note when we first pick the strawberries or raspberries, when the black berries were ready and when the Italian prunes will be ready.  As I see the squirrels gathering and running off with the hazelnuts, I’ve made a note of the date and in this way, I can better plan for getting the buckets ready and the nuts picked up.  Since this is not a new activity to me and I’ve never really taken the harvest all that seriously, I’ve always just watched for the squirrels — but now I’m thinking it’d be wise to be a better steward of these trees and so,  having the log will help me to keep better track of harvest dates.  Who knows? I just might start keeping track of just how many buckets of walnuts and hazelnuts we actually gather.  Until now, the amount has been generally quantified:  a bunch or a whole bunch.  We’ve tended to figure them in terms of prior years — more than last year or not as many as last year.   While that seems to have been sufficient, I’d still like to have a better idea so that I can measure how well the different pruning styles have affected or will affect the next season’s yield.

I think that one of the most important reasons I want to maintain this gardener’s journal is so that I will be more accountable or more responsible with the bounty I’ve been given.  I read something some time ago… a mother talking with her daughter describing someone’s character and it went something like this: ” they’re the kind of people who let blackberries die on the vine.”  Now that may not seem like all that big a deal — perhaps unimportant, really, but I read that with some measure of conviction bcz I’ve allowed blackberries and many, many other things to just die on the vine.  I don’t want to be the kind of woman who lets fruit die on the vine.  I don’t want to waste opportunities or waste what I’ve been given.  Wasted seasons… the fruit of a season dying on the vine.  God gave me a great blessing as I let that mother’s comment sink down in my ears… to my shame, I remember many seasons where fruit was left on the vine to fall to the ground.  And, so… in light of this, in light of God’s great love, grace,  mercy and kindness, I endeavour to, from this day, so far as it depends on me, to be careful with what He’s given me to tend.

Has God given me fruit, a harvest, a bounty… that I’ve let die on the vine?  What can I learn and change?  Have I been careful with what He’s allowed me to grow?  Have I cultivated, pruned, watered, weeded and tended well to the garden the Lord has given me?  What can I do today?  How can I best plan for and invest in this and the coming season?  I repent, I rejoice, I seek and find my answers in the Master Gardener’s Journal and I take another step today…

 

Autumn’s in the air…

Each morning I walk around our yard and garden to pray, to sing and to see the changes, the growth and produce each day brings.  And then each evening seems to be the time I walk around our yard and garden in much the same manner… only the mood and thoughts are different — it seems to have become a time to reflect on the changes of the day and make plans for the next.   Lately, the changes of the days almost feel like an assault to my senses as I realize that Autumn’s in the air… I can smell it, taste it, feel it.  The air is changing and another year is coming to a close.

I’ve been sincerely working at looking forward — instead of dwelling on the loss of another season.  Now, that may seem pretty morbid to state it that way — losing another season — but when I think of summer’s passing and autumn’s arrival, I’m never thrilled with the prospect.  But I should be — I should be glad — especially this year, I should be thankful and I should be hopeful: so much is ahead!  The road ahead already has markers and I really ought to be embracing the thought of the marvelous plans and opportunities ahead.  Still,  I lament the passing of the warm, breezy, soft days of summer.

Since I’ve been freeing myself from the tangled web [here, etc.], I’ve spent at least a portion of nearly every day outside — the sunnier the day, the longer I’ve spent out in it.  Summertime’s my favourite time of year here as it’s the only time of year in the Pacific Northwest where there’s a remote possibility of a very warm day — and, to me, the warmer and brighter the better!

I bought a notebook for a garden journal — should’ve done this long ago and really don’t know why I haven’t — but I got the notebook so that I could log the different things I did in the yard and garden this year — what I planted and when, what grew well and what didn’t, when trees and plants blossomed, when fruit or produce appeared… those kinds of things.  I’m leaving lots of pages between sections or categories so that I can make this sort of a perpetual journal from year to year.  I used to rely on my memory for what was planted and when maturity would happen or which bulbs were/are planted in different places and spaces.  But I can’t do that very well now and want to be more productive with my time anyway.

A recent browsing of photographs reminded me of the importance of writing things down.  The bush I thought I’d fairly recently planted has actually been in that spot, according to the photograph,  for over a dozen years now.  It seemed like only a few to me.  So, you see the need for the garden journal?

As I’ve gotten used to being outside, getting my hands dirty, growing things and watching changes, I’ve seen and been where I’d forgotten I love to see and do.  Instead of reading about what I love, instead of writing about what I love, I’ve been doing it… and every day I’m reminded of what’s most important.  The passing of another season also reminds me that I must be about the work of the day, of looking forward,  of treasuring this home and family: autumn’s in the air… the seasons are passing (snap your fingers) just like that.

Untangling the wwWeb – part two

This is “part two” of the previous post by the same name — you can read it here.  The reason I’ve entitled this and the previous post: Untangling the wwWeb is bcz it truly is a  tangling or entangling web.  Now, what I hope is understood here is that the web or internet or electronic communication is not the enemy — it’s not all bad.  In fact, I readily admit that it’s a profoundly invaluable tool.  But tools are just that: tools.  We utilize tools — and the right tools help us accomplish tasks much more efficiently than were we to not have them.  Tools misused or used in the wrong hands are actually dangerous.   We can think of the internet (or iPhones, smart phones or any other communication device) as a tool — a very useful tool if used properly.   Unplanned or unbridled internet use is dangerous and should, from here on, be evaluated as a properly or improperly used tool.

Here’s an idea for you.  Set the timer for 20 minutes right now or next time you use your computer (or iPhone or whatever).  Bing! the timer will ring and you’ll be shocked just how fast twenty minutes passes!  Now, for amplification, set the timer for that same amount of time before embarking on some task you don’t like doing.  You’ll be shocked how slowly twenty minutes passes!  That little exercise is to give you an idea just how much time you’ve  wasted spent invested online.   You can never get that time back.  Ever again.

In order to untangle from the web — and it is, in intensity and enormity, a world. wide. web. — I believe you must (in addition to answering those questions in “part one” of this post) admit you’re tangled in it (if you are) and then do some fessing up to yourself, to your husband, to your children.  Your fessing up may extend beyond your home.  Think back on days gone by… how were they really spent?  How much time did/do you really spend online? And, as with all addiction recovery, a course or a plan of action and accountability should be — read:  must be — established.   A lack of a plan is a plan to fail and disregarding accountability is a sure plan to cheat yourself.

You may clean the room, clean the space in your life that the net once fully occupied, but unless you fill that space with plans, purposes, activities and measurable accomplishments, that space will be filled with demons of a worse kind.   Those demons might be resentment, regret, shame, anger, self-pity, bitterness, pride, anxiety, frustration, woeful longing and on and on.  Those demons travel in a pack.

Get busy and stay busy.  Look well to the ways of your household and do not eat the bread of idleness.

Wherever you are, be fully there.  Whatever you’re doing, be fully doing it.  Whoever you’re talking with, be fully engaged in conversation.  It may shock you how disconnected you’ve been.  It may shock them how distracted you were and now aren’t! It may be weird for them–  and you — to be doing all the stuff you delegated (so you could be freed up to do all that important good stuff on the internet).  Watch out for personal  resentment if you’re not appreciated for all your hard work.  Determine to live joyfully in your home.  Purpose to change your tomorrows since you cannot do a single thing to change the yesterdays.  You can change — your days can change and in doing so, you’ll be investing in your tomorrows.

Set about accomplishing the things you’ve set aside… maybe neglected.  You know, the stuff you used to do before the the tangled wwWeb got you and your time all wrapped up.  As you do things, you’ll experience delightful appreciation for personal growth and accomplishment — interest and investment in your home and family once again.  You’ll be living all those pictures you’ve been dreaming about.  Try new things.  You sleep better knowing that the greater satisfaction comes in actually doing and accomplishing instead of just observing; reading about things other women seem to be doing or seeing pictures of all that all those other mothers seem to be accomplishing.  Keep in mind each day that the wise woman builds her house but the foolish plucks it down with her own hands.

In time you’ll establish a balance of best vs. good… literal vs. virtual… wise vs. foolish or not-so-wise time investment.  You’ll begin seeing or will begin doing all the things you knew deep down you wanted to do/you should be doing… but couldn’t do bcz you were all tangled up viewing a screen.  Drinking another cup of coffee.

♥ may you always be blessed.

Untangling the wwWeb

Untangling from an internet bound life is sort of like limiting coffee consumption (but worse. so much worse). You might not even know you’re addicted to caffeine until you attempt to go without it for a day — or, okay, a morning without it.  And then, if you’re addicted, you know it. You really know it.  Your pounding headache constantly reminds you.

It’s hard.  It’s actually painful — very painful — at first… and then, enduring the pain, you see a few days pass and the pain diminishes.   You may have given up or reduced your coffee consumption but the pull is always there… especially when you catch a whiff of the nearly intoxicating aroma of great coffee.

In time, you learn to drink a cup of coffee and be satisfied.  If you’ve been a long time coffee drinker — the kind that can’t live without coffee — it may take time — lots of time — before you can trust yourself to keep within a predetermined limited indulgence.

Maybe your deal’s not coffee or chocolate or any butter-sugar-flour combination food.  Maybe your deal’s just the internet… maybe, like me, you’ve found your life wrapped up in a tangled mess of lost time, neglected duties, distracted thoughts, misunderstandings and forgotten purpose.   In a way, it doesn’t really matter what had (or has) you distracted and off course — like I’ve said many times, even good things are the enemy of best things.  So if you (believe me, I’ve been there, been here, and fully understand) have found yourself all caught up in all the good things — the very good things of the internet — you may need to take a step back and ask yourself some hard questions.  Well, the questions aren’t hard at all, it’s the truth — or facing it — that’s the hard part.

I sincerely offer this baker’s dozen following questions… your answers may be helpful or insightful to you and may prompt you to consider the need re-chart your course.

1.  Have I left my first Love?
2. Am I doing the things I am responsible, gifted, supposed to be doing?
3. Am I accomplishing the goals and plans I have (or had) for my home/marriage/motherhood?
4. Would my husband be pleased with how I have spent the hours of each day/week?
5. Do I ignore that inner prompting to get busy with my responsibilities?
6. Do I make excuses for how important my computer related activities are?
7. Would I be willing to list some things that have obviously gone by the wayside bcz I’ve been distracted on the computer?
8. Have I heard negative comments about the amount of time I spend online?
9. Can I go a day without checking into Facebook, email, blogging, reading blogs or looking at Pinteresting things?
10. Do you frequently say the meaningless phrases, Just a minute or Just a sec?
11.  Do you feel you have a right to not be interrupted while using, browsing, writing, being entertained on the computer?
12. Do you prefer to miss activities, visits, etc., so you don’t have to miss being online?
13.  And finally, does a power outage send you into a frenzied panic?

All those questions weren’t meant to be glib or even entertaining — they’re serious questions to prompt serious introspection and reflection and hopefully give some inspiration for changing your tomorrows.

 

Smash Books & Upcycling

Reusing became renewing became recycling became repurposing became upcycling.  Sort of.

Actually, each of these are simply names for doing something new or different with something old or used or originally designed for another use.   Each are probably unique in application, though.  I smugly threw them all together but I know there’s a difference between reusing and recycling for example.  I can’t think of an example right off the top of my head, but I’m confident there’s a difference.  This is only possible because I’ve seen art.  And I’ve seen Art.  I’ve heard music… and I’ve heard…

So, Amelia came in to ask if we could go and purchase a Smash Book. I wondered what this product might be — no, I really wondered what this product might cost!  I think, Don’t jump to conclusions about this item… it’s probably not what it sounds like.  And then Sara reminded me she’d gotten one for her sister.  Hmmm, again I think, it really must not be anything at all what I’m imagining. So I thought I’d look up just what a Smash Book is.  And then I see a new word I’m not familiar with:  Upcycling.  Trying to give respect, I think, there must be a reason they’re not saying “recycling” or “repurposing.”  So… Wiki.  Yes, that’s where I often turn when I hear or read something unfamiliar.  Or forgotten.  In this case, unfamiliar.

I’m not even so last year on this on.  Apparently, there is a 1999 book,  Upcycling. According to Wikipedia:

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

The first recorded use of the term upcycling was by Reiner Pilz of Pilz GmbH in an interview by Thornton Kay of Salvo in 1994.[1]

We talked about the impending EU Demolition Waste Streams directive. “Recycling,” he said, “I call it downcycling. They smash bricks, they smash everything. What we need is upcycling where old products are given more value not less.” He despairs of the German situation and recalls the supply of a large quantity of reclaimed woodblock from an English supplier for a contract in Nuremberg while just down the road a load of similar blocks was scrapped. In the road outside his premises, was the result of the Germans’ demolition waste recycling. It was a pinky looking aggregate with pieces of handmade brick, old tiles and discernible parts of useful old items mixed with crushed concrete. Is this the future for Europe?

So, reusing old or other materials and give them greater value.   As I read this I think to myself, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and value is in the hand of the buyer. And then my imagination sort of went on a journey… and began to think of the gazillion possibilities.  Well, at least hundreds!  It’s a scrapbook, it’s a journal, it’s a collage, it’s a collection… it’s a Smash Book.  Or whatever other name you’ll assign to the creation.  I mean, there are often dual purposes for words.  Just consider the word smash!


 

Here are some more Smash book ideas and instructions:
Altered Fantasy’s Upcycling blog-posts in this series.

Part 1 http://alteredfantasy.wordpress.com-part-1/

Part 2 http://alteredfantasy.wordpress.com-part-2/

Part 3 http://alteredfantasy.wordpress.com-part-3/

Part 4 http://alteredfantasy.wordpress.com-part-4/

Part 5 http://alteredfantasy.wordpress.com-part-5/

Part 6 http://alteredfantasy.wordpress.com-part-6/

 

May you always be blessed. ♥ ps

What’s a mother to do?

Dear Sister,
First, I want to thank you for writing — for it is in acknowledging our condition and in seeing our need that we can best affirm and apply, by the grace of God, the help or teaching we receive.

Second, though this may not be helpful, you’re not alone and your situation or your  “dilemma”  is not unusual.   The devil may attempt to tell you otherwise, but what you’ve written is common to women who both come home from the “work-force” *and* who’ve been trained otherwise.  The “trained otherwise” is the main problem — not the new daily routine of being home and not out of the home.  That will be the easy part once you accept the calling and seek to define and live it.  You will define it as you go — and you will live it as you define it.

The “it” is the high calling of being a keeper at home… the main tree of motherhood.  Incidentally, motherhood doesn’t relegate a woman to never leaving the home or never having “outside” work — there are likely seasons where one or both of these will happen — but it is my understanding that the season of child birthing, nurturing and training necessitates that mothers stay home to heed the calling the Lord has placed on her life and carry out and do these things.  Radical feminists will argue the point.  But I will continue to defend the Scriptures that call a mother to be a keeper at home, to love her husband and her children, to be discreet, sober, good, chaste, obedient to her husband — seeking all of these — that the Word of God be not blasphemed.

Psalm 113.9  He maketh the barren woman to keep house,
and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

As to the question of not knowing what to do.  Here’s an exercise that might be helpful for you.  It will take you some time, so you might print this off so you can address it when time allows.  Here is the exercise:

  • List all the outcomes you desire (so far as it depends on you) for your life?
  • What kind woman do you want to be remembered as being?
  • As for your walk with the Lord, how do you see that worked out in your daily life?
  • How can you work these attributes into your daily life?  What do you need to implement?
  • As for your behaviour and character what specific qualities to you most highly value?
  • As a wife?  As a mother?  As a companion?
  • What sort of atmosphere do you seek as a description of your home?
  • The appearance of your home?  The flow and routine of your homelife?

You may never have had the instruction to be a “godly woman” or a “keeper at home” or a “homemaker” or a “mother.”  But I think you might agree that you do have an idea what this looks like or a dream of what it might be like.  That’s what I’m asking you to consider — that’s what I’m asking you to ponder as you go through the days ahead.  Yes, you may not know what to do – exactly – today, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have any idea.  You may not know the paints, the colours, the hues, the brushes and blades used in painting a portrait, but you’ve seen the portrait or, at least, you’ve imagined it.

Yes, you may have been “instructed otherwise ” and, therefore, you need to spend some time reevaluating, rethinking, reorganizing your thoughts about motherhood and keeping a home — that’s what that “exercise” above is meant to address.  You may be mourning the loss of time — the robbing of your time and purpose as a wife and mother.  Don’t let the devil deceive you that it’s too late.  If you’re still living, it’s not too late.  Don’t ever forget that.  The devil will deceive you to believe otherwise.

That crafty devil’s playbook is very thin — he doesn’t possess many tools or ideas — so he plays them over and over and over again.  The longer you live, the more you’ll see this.

May you always be blessed.

what’s a mother to do (part 2)

(This is part 2 of the post What’s a mother to do?)

Remember, you are a book that’s being written every day… and your husband and children are reading it.  Your story, in part, is defining their lives.  Let the Lord be the author and finisher of your faith.

You may resent (as many women do) that no one ever told you the truth about marriage, wives, motherhood and being a keeper at home.  You may also resent that you were persuaded to pursue a career or led to believe that a “professional” career is of more worth than “just hanging around the house all day for the rest of your life.”  And, given that scenario, I just might agree.  But motherhood — true motherhood — and being a keeper at home isn’t at all about “just hanging around the house all day…”   That’s another reason for the “exercise” above.   True motherhood is a God-given, God ordained gift — this has to be, and become to you (and me), more than rhetoric — more that pious words.  This is truly — truly — a very high calling.

And so there’s another thing I’d like to suggest is that you clean the slate — clean the slate of bitterness, resentment, disappointment you may be feeling toward your husband, mother, family and friends who instilled the “otherwise” teachings in your life.  That regret or even anger against people or things will not allow you to move ahead in the way the Lord has planned for you.  His plan is infinitely greater than you can ask or imagine.

Yes, motherhood and being a keeper at home is a cycle of dailies — and, yes, the dailies are *so* daily.  But they are the rudimentary things God uses to refine us.  They are the building blocks of character and training we need and we need to instill in our children.  They are the stuff  of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control.  And all of these things give motherhood its glory and define its purpose — and they are the things we must yearn for and  seek in and through our lives and the lives of our children.

You may have been trained otherwise, but you’ve got something going for you that can dispel that training and replace it… you’ve got a picture of what you want (and what you don’t want).   The title of that picture is haven and time.  You know you want a haven for your husband and children.  Stop for a moment and ponder what that looks like.  You might keep that word in mind as you fill out some of your answers to the questions above.  The second word, time, is also important to remember as one of the priorities you already know you have (or want to have).  You want to have time for your children.  It, too, will be important to remember when answering the questions.  How will you spend your time in order to have or make time available for your children.  I think you might also be implying that you want your children to remember you as their mama who always had time or made time for them.  This will be important as you set up the routines of your day.

Schedules are very hard to implement and maintain in a home,  but routines — daily set routines — priorities are the set activities of each day; these are things we see that we accomplish each day.  You know the phrase goes something like:  Fail to plan = a plan to fail.  So, that being said, start today… take a step of faith.  Begin with prayer:  Lay all this before the Lord, lay proverbs 14.1)down your life before Him… give Him your sorrows and regrets; give Him your plans and desires; yield to His calling on your life.  If you will commit your way to the Lord, He will direct your steps9.  I know this to be true — I’ve lived this and for me this is not rhetoric but truth — a wise woman builds her house….  When I deviate from this, I fall. I literally fall and utterly fail.  And a house comes down with the foolish mother.  I know this personally and truly — thus I press on and part of my calling is to tell other mothers the truth, to show other mothers that the Lord is Faithful and True and His Word does not fail.

I hope this will help you today… I will think on this further and will write to you again.  You know, the very fact that you wrote tells me you’re off to a wonderful start.  I guess I’d add:  take in the Bread of the Word, eat well, plan well, listen to praise music – not jarring music, get sunshine, seek every single day to find good things… good things to say, good things to think, good things to remember, good things to do for your husband and children.  Their future (and yours!) really and truly depends on decisions you make today and every day.

This may, at first blush, seem harsh — but let the thought sink down in your ears — I say all of these things today at the door of my 34th wedding anniversary. I’ve experienced the fruit of good and bad decisions — good and bad branches and vines.  You know,  good and bad seeds both grow — that’s really a hard reality to grasp and to face — but it’s the truth.  When I’ve neglected things, been distracted over things, been lazy or careless, lost my focus or given the bulk of my attention to things that didn’t pertain to the task at hand, the seeds planted in those times have yielded bad fruit — weeds — noxious weeds —  branches and bitter fruit that needed to be pulled, pruned, burned and/or destroyed… even now, I must be vigilant to watch for roots of bitterness or selfishness of those times and even in these days and take the necessary — painful, humbling and difficult — steps to cut them out.  When I’ve cultivated the soil and have planted good seed, when I’ve invested and have been eager, working diligently, heartily, cheerfully, purposefully and graciously, the blossoms have been fragrant, the branches strong and the fruit sweet.  That’s what I pray will be the result of your life: sweet fruit.

May you always be blessed.