I have been thinking about how it is so easy to overlook today's blessings.How many times do we dwell on how much we wish tomorrow's blessings were here and completely let today's blessings go by ignored? If it is raining today we say "I wish this rain would stop so we could go outside." If it is to hot and dry we say "Boy we sure need some rain." If it is winter we are wishing it is summer and then when summer gets here we complain about the heat.We desire children and then get frustrated because we have so much to do taking care of them.We are soooooooooo unthankful!
Collossians 4:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,to the which also ye are called in one body;and be ye thankful.
I am going to be thankful TODAY that TODAY I have:
Children to clean up after,to train and to hang on me all day because they love me!
Diapers to change because I have a precious baby.
Dishes to wash because we have food to eat.
Produce to can because I am healthy enough to plant and care for a garden.
Lots of food to cook because I have many hungry people to feed.
A night to plan for my sweet dh and I tonight because he is ALIVE and here with me!
Weight to lose because of a wonderful marriage and lots of pregnancies :)
A million things to think about,plan and get done because I am healthy enough to do them!
SO many flies to kill because we ar blessed enough to live in the country and have animals to attract the flies!
Rotten squash to get out of my basement cause I have a bunch of new fresh squash coming on to replace it!
Fruit flies to kill because well........atleast I don't have something tragic going on in my life that would make fruit flies seem minor! :):)
Most importantly,I have the Lord's wonderful Truth to dwell on all day and guide me as I try to complete all of my tasks.
It is Friday! I can't wait for my dh to get home! We celebrate our 14th anniversary on the 20th this month and He is still my very best friend and we are more in love than ever.
I am so thankful today and I want to stay feeling this way ALL day and not let the stresses of my day drag me down!
Enjoy TODAY'S blessings!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Preserving Kale (and any other greens)
I really,really want to like Kale.My midwife tells me that she finally found a way that her boys will eat Kale! They are asking for seconds! She blanches it first, sautees it in olive oil, and then adds toasted sesame or sunflower seeds and seasoning.They love it.Since Kale is like one of the very best vegetables there is for you I am determined to get it into our diet.I have about 20 plants so hope to get several gallons in the freezer this year!
Wash Kale............
Fold in half and cut off stems.Wash Kale............
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Time to make butter!
When I was getting ready to make butter the other day I thought....You know,I ought to take pictures for those who have never had the chance to make butter! :) So here you go! The first one is the cream in the churn (3 quarts).I get that much from about 3 gallons which is what we are getting every day currently.Not for long though as we have another cow getting ready to freshen any day!
Here the butter is done and still sitting in the buttermilk.
Drain the water and squeeze as much out with your hands as possible and you are done!
Friday, July 23, 2010
What I want in storage this year for food.....
40 quarts of pickles
50 quarts of saurkraut
40 quarts salsa
20 quarts hot peppers
40 quarts frozen corn
1 gallon dried corn
15 quarts frozen green peppers
125-150 quarts of frozen vegies (other than corn)
30 quarts apple pie filling
Dried apples and pears ?? how much
10 quarts of sun dried tomatoes
20 quarts apple sauce
25 pints of pizza sauce
50 quarts tomato sauce
Green salsa
Enchilada sauce
Blackberries
Dried potatoes AND stored potatoes
Squash
Diced onions
12 pints relish
Beets?
Apple cider in freezer? We need another freezer for this so we shall see.....
I am sure I am forgetting some things but I can add to this later!
50 quarts of saurkraut
40 quarts salsa
20 quarts hot peppers
40 quarts frozen corn
1 gallon dried corn
15 quarts frozen green peppers
125-150 quarts of frozen vegies (other than corn)
30 quarts apple pie filling
Dried apples and pears ?? how much
10 quarts of sun dried tomatoes
20 quarts apple sauce
25 pints of pizza sauce
50 quarts tomato sauce
Green salsa
Enchilada sauce
Blackberries
Dried potatoes AND stored potatoes
Squash
Diced onions
12 pints relish
Beets?
Apple cider in freezer? We need another freezer for this so we shall see.....
I am sure I am forgetting some things but I can add to this later!
Just because it isn't a struggle for you.....
does not mean that it isn't a struggle for the next person! I have been thinking alot on this lately.
Two different women get married to two different men.They are both sweet,good hearted,christian women BUT
The first woman has been trained her entire life to be a keeper of the home.She is at total ease in the kitchen,she has been taught how to manage a house,to garden,preserve food,sew,knit,train children,take care of her husband,she breezes right through everything when she gets married because she is confident and capable.She has a thankful,positive attitude which helps her tremendously with the stress of being a wife/mother.She knows how to train children and does it naturally.She lives her life for the Lord and strives to please him every day but she has her struggles too.She just keeps trying.She loves Him with all of her heart.
The second woman didn't have the privelege of being trained for marriage/motherhood.She can't cook,has no idea how to keep laundry/dishes/cleaning caught up,gardening is totally out as she can't even get a meal on the table, she has no clue how to do anything with a needle and even if she could,she has no idea how she would even have TIME.She is stressed out and finds it extremely hard to stay positive.Her children don't obey because she has no idea how to train them and also finds it totaly overwhelming to even think about training them along with keeping everything else up.She lives her life for the Lord and tries to please him every day but she struggles desperately.She just keeps trying.She loves him with all of her heart.
BOTH women have the same heart but their own definition of "easy" is so different because of their upbringing.They are no different in God's eyes because he looks at the heart.How sad if the first woman should look at the second and say "Whats the matter with HER? She can't even cook a good meal for her family and look at how messy her house is and how bratty her children are!" She can't be trying, I mean how hard is it to do those simple things?
Both women struggle but at totally different levels.It is crazy how human tendency is that when we learn something, and it becomes easy for us,we want to look back at those who haven't gotten there yet and say "Whats the matter with you? This is easy!" It's a TERRIBLE attitude,totally ungodly.I have been guilty of it myself.If I have learned anything,become good at anything,I should be thankful to GOD.I should always remember how hard it was before I became good at it and should be patient,helpful and encouraging to those who haven't learned it yet.Another thing to remember is that we learn at different speeds.You can't say that once you have been a christian for 1 year, you should know this and this and this.By 5 years you should know this and this and this etc.The Lord teaches everyone differently.There most certainly should be, and will be, GROWTH in Christ if a person truly *is* a christian but that growth looks different for different christians sometimes.
I am so thankful that the Lord loved me even when I was a brand new christian knowing very little.He doesn't love me anymore now that I know more.He loves the new,ignorant christian as much as he loves the 100 year old christian who is full of HIS wisdom.
Do I ? How worthless of me,who has been given this love to turn around and feel less love for the struggling,ignorant christian than the strong,wise christian!
It is so easy to think "Well thats just common sense!" or "There is no excuse for that,anyone should know that!"
Us who are blessed to have godly training,let us not be impatient and condemning to those who want to learn and change but struggle so much because they have such a long hard hill to climb! If you start climbing the hill 3/4 of the way up you aren't going to be near as tired when you get to the top as the person who starts from the bottom!
Two different women get married to two different men.They are both sweet,good hearted,christian women BUT
The first woman has been trained her entire life to be a keeper of the home.She is at total ease in the kitchen,she has been taught how to manage a house,to garden,preserve food,sew,knit,train children,take care of her husband,she breezes right through everything when she gets married because she is confident and capable.She has a thankful,positive attitude which helps her tremendously with the stress of being a wife/mother.She knows how to train children and does it naturally.She lives her life for the Lord and strives to please him every day but she has her struggles too.She just keeps trying.She loves Him with all of her heart.
The second woman didn't have the privelege of being trained for marriage/motherhood.She can't cook,has no idea how to keep laundry/dishes/cleaning caught up,gardening is totally out as she can't even get a meal on the table, she has no clue how to do anything with a needle and even if she could,she has no idea how she would even have TIME.She is stressed out and finds it extremely hard to stay positive.Her children don't obey because she has no idea how to train them and also finds it totaly overwhelming to even think about training them along with keeping everything else up.She lives her life for the Lord and tries to please him every day but she struggles desperately.She just keeps trying.She loves him with all of her heart.
BOTH women have the same heart but their own definition of "easy" is so different because of their upbringing.They are no different in God's eyes because he looks at the heart.How sad if the first woman should look at the second and say "Whats the matter with HER? She can't even cook a good meal for her family and look at how messy her house is and how bratty her children are!" She can't be trying, I mean how hard is it to do those simple things?
Both women struggle but at totally different levels.It is crazy how human tendency is that when we learn something, and it becomes easy for us,we want to look back at those who haven't gotten there yet and say "Whats the matter with you? This is easy!" It's a TERRIBLE attitude,totally ungodly.I have been guilty of it myself.If I have learned anything,become good at anything,I should be thankful to GOD.I should always remember how hard it was before I became good at it and should be patient,helpful and encouraging to those who haven't learned it yet.Another thing to remember is that we learn at different speeds.You can't say that once you have been a christian for 1 year, you should know this and this and this.By 5 years you should know this and this and this etc.The Lord teaches everyone differently.There most certainly should be, and will be, GROWTH in Christ if a person truly *is* a christian but that growth looks different for different christians sometimes.
I am so thankful that the Lord loved me even when I was a brand new christian knowing very little.He doesn't love me anymore now that I know more.He loves the new,ignorant christian as much as he loves the 100 year old christian who is full of HIS wisdom.
Do I ? How worthless of me,who has been given this love to turn around and feel less love for the struggling,ignorant christian than the strong,wise christian!
It is so easy to think "Well thats just common sense!" or "There is no excuse for that,anyone should know that!"
Us who are blessed to have godly training,let us not be impatient and condemning to those who want to learn and change but struggle so much because they have such a long hard hill to climb! If you start climbing the hill 3/4 of the way up you aren't going to be near as tired when you get to the top as the person who starts from the bottom!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A few gardening pictures from this year.
The first is my garden standing at the house,looking out to the garden,The 2nd is up against my house.You can see that it is only half way finished lol but the first part has comfrey and echinacea planted in it.Not sure what all else I am going to plant yet.The 3rd picture is standing on the other side of my tomato patch.I thought it was SO pretty!!I hope I get more tomatoes than I can handle.They were starting to get a little early blight after a bunch of rain but they are doing better it seems! I am so thankful! I was worried!
More gardening pictures
The first picture is the morning glories growing on the fence I have right when you walk into my garden.Then there is a close up of some of my green peppers.I have about 15 plants and I hope to get plenty in the freezer this year! The 3rd picture is a close up of my flowers that
are in the front of my garden and the 4th is the blossoms on some beautiful,heirloom,"dragon" beans that I am growing this year! I just thought they were so beautiful!
are in the front of my garden and the 4th is the blossoms on some beautiful,heirloom,"dragon" beans that I am growing this year! I just thought they were so beautiful!
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