Mistress of My Domain

Sometimes God speaks in mysterious ways...

2011-05-23T09:42:00.001-04:00

Just when I was contemplating giving up on this blog, my sweet friend Hilary of Accidentally Green sent me a blog award. I felt that readership was falling off, and thought perhaps I should just concentrate on my main blog, Life Between the Buns. I'm in the middle of writing a series here, which is a tough thing to do, especially when wondering if anyone is reading it or if it means anything to anyone. There have been other things I wanted to post here about domestic life, but felt I needed to complete the series first. I was getting discouraged, to be honest. And worst of all, I was neglecting doing a work that I believe God had given me to do.

I'm really not sure what it means to be a "versatile blogger" but because I do write on several blogs, this award has inspired me to keep it up. I'm looking forward to meeting more younger women here, younger and older, in the Titus 2 tradition. If you stop by, please leave me a comment so I'll know, and I will come by an visit you too!

So thank you Hilary! I actually have been praying that I would become re-inspired to write here, and now I am! In the past, I haven't been a big fan of blog awards because they always seem to require something of the recipient, but I've learned it really IS more blessed to give than to receive (duh!) But I do tend to change the "rules"...so here is MY version:

In accepting this award, here's what you ~~need~~ might want to do:

1. Thank the person who gave it to you.

2. Share ~~7 things~~ how ever many things you want about yourself.

3. Pass the award on to ~~15 other bloggers~~ someone else, but only if you want to and have the time.

4. Copy the award and paste it onto your blog if you so desire.

SEVEN THINGS ABOUT MYSELF:

1) On September 25 of this year, my hubby and I will celebrate 35 years of marriage. I told him we HAVE to "make it" because I already ordered and received a custom-made Christmas ornament that says "married 35 years"! (www.lisa@lisaleonardonline.com)

2) Within 41 hours between March 28 and March 30 this year, I became a grandma for the 5th and 6th time. The babies were born about 500 miles apart and we got to "be there" to welcome both of them! (I have two awesome grown sons who married awesome gals who I love like daughters!)

3) My hubby and I blog for our church's local outreach ministries. (www.loveinactionblog.blogspot.com)

4) I enjoy writing and blogging has become a great outlet for me and a fantastic way to "meet" people all over the world. I've met one blogger friend in person for the first time last fall (she lives in Indiana) (www.lifeandgodliness-rebecca.blogspot.com) and I've talked to another on the phone (she just moved from Florida to Georgia) and we found out we have a mutual acquaintance! It's a small world afterall! (www.jewelsforthejourney.blogspot.com)

5) Although I am officially an "empty nester", my life is anything but empty! I am a part-time care taker for a couple of my grandchildren, and I help my mom and my mother-in-law (who are both octogenarians, widows, and live in the same seniors condo building). And I still get up about 5 am to make my hubby his breakfast, pack his lunch, and see him off to work each weekday.

15 Bloggers I'd like to recognize with this award:

1) Rebecca ~ life and godliness

2) Jessica ~ jewels for the journey

3) Judy ~ Simply Thrift

4) Beth ~ Outnumbered, Three to One

5) Debbie ~ No Spring Chicken

6) Elaine ~ Serving Him at Home

7) Lois ~ Walking on Sunshine

8) Nellie ~ Nellie's Cozy Place

9) Jamey ~ Life's Reflections

10) Mari ~ Mari's Cakes

11) Saska ~ Join My Joy

12) Maria ~ Calm Energy

13) Debbie ~ Of His Pasture

14) Bernie ~ On My Own

15) Jackie ~ Embracing My Blessings

I have many other wonderful blogger friends and if I missed you, I'll catch you the next time! I took the time to do the links so you can visit some of these fabulous ladies when you get a chance. I will resume writing the series on the Five Aspects of Women soon!

Created to be a Lifegiver...

2011-04-04T09:30:00.001-04:00

Mother and Child Reading
by Frederick Warren Freer

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #8

The third aspect of woman which has been identified is that of Lifegiver. Lifegiving was intended by God to be a dominant theme in every woman's life, whether she is single or married, with or without children. It is a basic element of womanhood that can be expressed in various ways.

What is meant then by "lifegiving"? Lifegiving can be defined as raising life above mere existence to meaningful living. Women were created physically, emotionally, and spiritually with a unique capacity to do just that. After God pronounced the curse in Genesis 3, Adam named his wife Eve, which means "mother of all the living" and his spiritual eyes were opened to her destiny as he discerned her role and accepted and respected her in a new way.

Every woman can make the choice to be the lifegiver she was created to be. She has the capacity to partner with God and man to physically bring life and to nurture it with food, clothing, shelter and care. She also has the emotional capacity to give life by nuturing the soul and spirit through her words and actions in teaching, comforting, encouraging, admonishing, healing, and beautifying.

Wherever life exists, there is work to be done because all life needs enrichment and nuturing, whether socially, intellectually, artistically, spiritually, emotionally or any other way that raises life above mere existence. Who are the people in your lifegiving domain? Here are some I have identified in mine:

*husband
*sons and daughters-in-law
*grandchildren
*parents
*relatives
*friends
*friends of children
*children of friends
*neighbors
*strangers I help through serving various ministries

*All content of this series is based on what I learned from the study "Five Aspects of Woman" by Barbara Mouser, and taught by Helga Gross at the Hudson Community Chapel. While this summary is my own, the entire study was developed by Mrs. Mouser, and can be purchased through the International Council for Gender Studies website.

Be back soon...

2011-02-28T07:19:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what happened to January and February. I fully intended to resume posting this series right after the holidays. I'm getting my act together now, so watch for the next post soon on the Five Aspects of Woman. We will look at the woman as a Life-Giver.

We interrupt this program...

2010-12-07T06:52:00.008-05:00

In the spirit of my desire to keep Christmas simple, sane, and sacred this year, I won't be posting on this blog until after the holiday season. I wanted to keep the series on the Five Aspects of Woman continuous here ~~ but I will be posting about my life in the sandwich generation regularly over at www.lifebetweenthebuns.blogspot.com, as always. I hope you will visit me there!

I have finished summarizing the first two aspects of woman ~~ Mistress of The Domain and Helper-Completer. When I resume posting here I will summarize the other aspects ~~ Life-Giver, Lady of Wisdom, and Glory of Man. I hope you are enjoying these insights into biblical femininity as put forth by Barbara Mouser, and I look forward to continuing in January.

I want to wish all my blogger friends a wonderful Christmas season. I am thankful to have met each and every one of you here in the blogosphere and look forward to getting to know you even better in the coming New Year!

♫ "Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Diety

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus our Emanuel!" ♫

The Redeemed Helper-Completer

2010-10-29T07:11:00.005-04:00

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #7

The fallen helper-completer we saw in the last post was a pathetic, unhappy creature, grasping to obtain a role that was delegated to the man. She was rebellious in her thinking and actions. Being deceived and cursed, she was never at peace with herself or with men in particular, and could never properly see her role as God designed it. She believed that to be subordinate was the same thing as being inferior, and she wanted no part of that.

When our spiritual eyes are opened to Truth, we can realize that we can embrace our femininity without giving up "who we are". We can understand that just as the members of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, being One, are equal in essence, and they are Divine, they have different roles which complement. Likewise, man and woman are both equally human, but with different genders and different roles. The Great Designer created the genders to compliment each other, not compete with each other.

The Redeemed Helper-Completer, because of Christ, sees herself as a competent help-mate to her husband and knows by nature she is designed to come along beside him to help and complete him. God did not prounounce His creation to be "very good" until He made her to be a loving, helping companion for the man.

We say "because of Christ" to indicate that without embracing Christ's redemptive work on the cross, it would be impossible for the woman to fulfill her role with complete acceptance and joy. Just as Christ did not grasp at His Divinity but instead willingly layed down His life sacrificially and took on the role of a servant, a redeemed woman does not have to grasp at her equal humanity with the man, but can accept and embrace her femininity and be what Jesus asks her to be: like Him.

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." Philippians 2:5-7

Because of Christ's example, a woman is free to see herself as a necessary, complimentary, and competent aspect of human kind. Just as Christ's servanthood did not diminish His Divinity, the woman's helper-completer role does not diminish her humanity.

God asks of the woman no less than He asked of Christ -- to submit, respond, trust, obey, and to give life through our own bodies, whether physically or through our servant role.

Next ~~ Partnering with God: The Woman as Lifegiver

Helper-Completer...or...Deceived Competer?

2010-10-10T14:42:00.015-04:00

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #6

As we saw in the previous post in this series, God saved the crown jewel of all His Creation for last when He made the woman from the man and for the man. Finally, He pronounced His work to be "very good" and satisfied, He rested from His labors.

One detail that can be easily overlooked in the Biblical account of Creation is that even before the first woman was made from man's side, God had placed Adam in the midst of the Garden of Eden and gave him freedom to eat anything there with the one exception -- the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The command not to eat of that one tree was given directly to Adam, and Adam ultimately would be accountable for the keeping of God's command. (Gen. 2:15-18)

We know what happened next. The woman that God made to be a blessing for Adam was deceived by the cunning serpent, and Adam chose to go along with disobedience to their Creator rather than to be the strong, ruling head of the woman and put a stop to what was about to happen. While both Adam and Eve sinned, Adam bore the responsibility. Judgment and death now entered the world, and they both were banished from the beautiful garden, left to be on their own to eke out their existence apart from the constant fellowship of God their Creator.

God's judgment was swift and devastating. A number of curses fell upon all of God's creation because of one man's sin. Nothing would ever be the same again. The beautiful ideal of the woman being created to complement and complete the man was now corrupted. Before the curse, woman felt protected and happy with the man being her head. She was pleased to be his beloved, and it was his love for her that gave her contentment in her role.

The woman is no longer content to be the crown of the head; now she battles to be the head. Men now struggle to maintain headship, and woman is constantly rebellious and manipulative. Everything is in disorder compared to what God intended in the beginning.

Ever since the curse, woman has fixed in her unredeemed heart the ambiguity of wanting the companionship of the man, yet at the same time wanting to control him. Though she was fashioned to be his perfect helper, instead she seeks to dominate him.

The fallen helper-completer is not only at odds with the man for whom she was made, but she is at odds with herself and with her Creator. Instead of embracing her complementary role in the male-female relationship, the woman is intent on competing with the man. In this cursed and fallen state, she is completely deceived and doesn't realize that she cuts herself off from the very thing her heart desires the most -- intimate fellowship with her help-mate and with her God.

Next ~ The Redeemed Helper-Completer

Made from the man, for the man. Say WHAT?

2010-09-21T20:30:00.004-04:00

The Creation of Eve by Michelangelo (1508-1512), The Sistine Chapel ~ The Vatican

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #5

The next aspect of woman as identified by Barbara Mouser, after Mistress of the Domain, is that of "Helper-Completer". This may be the most difficult aspect that women today, even Christian women, need to come to terms with. The idea that woman was made from the man and for the sake of the man is, to say the least, extremely counter-culture.

I hope you will stay with me here while we take a look at this Biblical concept. On Day 6 of Creation Week, the first two chapters of the book of Genesis tell us that God made the first man, Adam, as well as all the animals and birds of the sky. He then paraded each one before Adam's eyes and commissioned him to give each one its name. In this way, God showed Adam that there was no other creation like him...no one to come along beside him to help him in his work.

"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him." (Gen. 2:18) The Scripture goes on to tell that God caused a deep sleep to fall over Adam, and God Himself performed surgery by opening up Adam's side, taking out a rib, and closing up the flesh.

We aren't told whether Adam remained in his sleep while God fashioned the woman from his rib, but we know that at some point, God Himself brought woman to the man. Adam then said, "This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." (Gen. 2:23)

Personal photo of display at the Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY, 2010

While the man was created from the earth and for the earth, to till it and make it productive, woman was created from the flesh and bone of the man, was brought to the man, to help and complete the man. Everything else that God had created, He pronounced it to be "good", except for the aloneness of the man, which He pronounced "not good". God did not make a "mistake" when he made man without a suitable helper...timing is everything! He intentionally created woman in the way He did to model the respective roles of each gender. Man was created first because he is the head and leader, but man needs woman to support him and provide him fellowship. "For indeed, man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake." (I Cor. 11:9)

Woman was created as a Divine gift to the man. She was created to be his help-mate and encourager. While usually the man is the "bread-winner", the woman often protects the family assets. She bears his children and nutures them. While men are typically task-oriented, women are more relationship-oriented. Men are by nature risk-takers, while women are security-conscious. The list can go on and on, as the classic differences in the natures of the sexes are well known.

None of this says that the woman is inferior in status to the man. In fact, I like to say that in all of God's Creation, the Woman is His Crown Jewel! She was the last of His creative acts, and the accomplishment that brought the Creator to rest and satisfaction.

The Bible presents the complimentary truths that women are at the same time equal to the man and yet the man is the head of the woman. The Five Aspects of Woman study uses these Scripture verses to illustrate this:

Gen. 1:26; 2:18:

*man and woman were both made in God's image (equality)

*woman was made from the man and for him (man's headship)

I Cor. 11:3, 9, I Cor. 11:11-12:

*both dependent on each other (equality)

*woman was created for the man (man's headship)

I Peter 3:7:

*man and woman are joint heirs of the grace of life (equality)

*woman is the weaker vessel (man's headship)

Special note: Most men and women have a strong desire for marriage, though we may spend a good portion of our lives being single, or some people may never marry. This does not change the created purposes of the feminine and masculine characteristics or attributes. Nor does it say that each and every person should be married. If you are a single woman, you can still recognize that you have a freedom in your singleness to use the gifts that are fundmental to who you are as a woman. That would include a natural ability to be relational, to be a helper-completer for many people, to use your insights and unique gifts to complement those of others.

If you ARE married, how does your husband feel your support? How are you demonstrating your respect for his leadership in your life? These questions were posed to me in my workbook when I took this course 10 years ago, and my children had not yet left the nest. This is how I answered:

"I try to keep things orderly at home and to keep the family relationships/schedules under control so that he doesn't have to be so side-tracked and can concentrate on doing his main job. When he is out of town on business, we stay in touch by phone or fax. (Today it would be email!) When he is sick or hurt physically or emotionally, I am his confidant and advocate. We try to eat together as a family as often as possible, and we don't eat until he gets home and to the table, as a rule. He also gets passed the food dishes first, and is usually the one to ask the blessing. This builds "oneness" because we are trying to demonstrate (to our children) that we are in agreement with his position of family headship."

Next ~ Helper-Completer, or Ambiguous Heart?

Born again, I am a redeemed mistress of my domain...

2010-09-14T07:45:00.019-04:00

The Milkmaid by Jan Vermeer (c.1658-1650)

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ post #4

Some years ago my husband and I sat in the kitchen of an elderly Jewish lady, a Holocaust survivor who we had become acquainted with after I had heard her speak about her facinating life story. As we sat around her table, she asked us point blank what we Christians meant when we spoke of being "born again". We shared with her what we have come to believe and know and have experienced in our own lives--that though we were born into a sinful and fallen world, and we ourselves had lived in rebellion against our Creator, that we have come to understand and believe that God has provided for us a way to be reconciled with Him. God did for us through Christ what we could not do for ourselves. He reconciled us to Himself by removing our sin and guilt. Through faith in the righteous work of Jesus Christ, we are no longer alienated from God, but instead we stand as holy and righteous before Him. We have been redeemed--bought with a price.

Being born again means I now have a new nature, and even though living in a fallen world is a struggle, my life now is filled with hope and and joy. It has meaning with an eternal perspective. When things are falling apart all around me, I know this is a temporary condition, and that God is saving His creation in the same order in which it fell: the hearts of Adam and Eve fell first, bringing decay and death into the world. God is redeeming the hearts of mankind and bringing spiritual health and life to those who believe, and someday will restore His physical creation as well, even our own bodies and the earth itself.

Positionally, I am a redeemed mistress of my own domain. Even though I am weak, I am strong because of the grace of Christ. I lean on Him constantly to continue to work in me and show me how I can better bring honor and glory to Him each day of my life. I haven't "arrived" but I am on a journey. I am in the process of being perfected.

As a redeemed mistress of my domain, I thrill to learn, own, and master those areas of my life that I instinctively know were Tailor-made for me. I feel good about myself when I focus on being a creative, productive person within my sphere of influence. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, I can know I am approved by God, and I reflect His glory to others. I am free to live my life in the image of God by being fruitful, by ruling and by subduing in those areas that make up my personal domain, and where I will be accountable to Him.

My heart's desire is to be a faithful steward of my domain, and I long to hear the words of Christ: "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:23)

Are you a born-again, redeemed mistress of your domain?

Next ~ It is not good for the man to be alone

What went wrong?

2010-09-08T21:22:00.019-04:00

The Laundress by Toulouse Lautrec - 1889

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #3

In your God-given calling to be a productive mistress of your domain, have you ever wondered why, no matter how hard you might try to keep up with things...your garden, your laundry, keeping your stuff organized, or any number of other items, that every single thing you attempt to maintain doesn’t stay organized, clean, or weed-free? Our houses wouldn't stay clean, for example, even if we would lock the door and keep everyone out. Eventually they would fill up with dust, possibly bugs, and start to smell bad. If we waited long enough, furniture and drywall would start to rot. Pipes might freeze and cause water damage. There is simply no way to keep anything in an original, pristine condition.

When Adam and Eve chose to sin against God through disobedience, they essentially corrupted the Divine image in which they were created. Their pure and innocent fellowship with Him was broken, and the day they sinned, they died spiritually. They became rebellious and hostile toward God by not trusting in His Word. God's judgment was severe and swift:

"Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:17-19

Everything in all of God’s beautiful and perfect creation is now affected by the sin of our first parents. By not trusting their Creator, they blew it. Death, both spiritual and physical, became the abnormal result for all of mankind. The whole creation is in bondage to the process of decay, and continues to groan in frustration and helplessness. To make matters worse, there was not a thing they could do to restore the perfect relationship they had with their Creator, and this has been the sad state of man ever since. As Barbara Mouser says, “We cannot think, work, moralize, sexually reproduce, or emotionally feel our way back to God.”

Even our most precious and loving relationships with others are now marred by sin. The closest of marriage partners still have to make a daily decision to love, honor, and respect each other and it takes real effort to think more highly of the other. Child-rearing is often an overwhelming challenge; friendships can be plagued with frustrations and misunderstandings. Sometimes it might even seem like it is too difficult to make the effort to be a real friend, much less to reach out to a stranger in need. None of these things come to us naturally out of the goodness of our hearts, because there IS no good in our hearts.

Our personal domains which God originally gave us to subdue and rule over and be productive in now rebel against us, just as Adam and Eve rebelled against God. In plain words, life is a struggle.

What are some of the areas of your domain where you feel the consequences of the Curse no matter how hard you try or work to bring order to things?

Next ~ So what's the remedy?

You were created to be the mistress of your domain...

2010-08-31T18:00:00.003-04:00

Lydia the Hospitable

picture in the public domain

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #2

“Jesus, my God and King, It was You who came to earth to live as a man, and it was You who brought a new dignity to the status of women. Your expressions of kindness and love toward women was, is, and always will be, unsurpassed. When I think of all my doubts, my confusion, my unwillingness to receive all that you intended for me to be from the beginning, I stand ashamed of my shortcomings. I ask that you will purify my heart, my mind, and my will through this study, that I might more lovingly reflect Your heart, Your mind, and Your will. This is only possible through your love and forgiveness, for which I now pray. Amen.”

As I began this Bible study in September of 2000, I wrote down this prayer. It is still the prayer of my heart today. We, as women, desperately need to see ourselves as unique creations of God, and understand that we were uniquely created for unique purpose. We need to support each other and build each other up as often as we possibly can. Matthew 6:22 says tells us that the eye is the light of the body. In other words, we need to be able to “see” ourselves correctly as God intended, so that we can mature to become the productive, effective, and confident rulers of the domain God has given to us. A proper view of our life provides the proper basis for living.

Just what is our domain anyway? Our domain consists of everything in our lives for which we are responsible. Our personal domain would include such things as our relationships, our bodies, our time and our talents. It would also include parts of the physical world around us...anything that would be in our charge or within our ability to control.

When mankind was created, God issued His mandate and gave us His divine authority to subdue, rule, and to be productive. This mandate might be called “The Great Commission of the Old Testament.” For we find in Genesis 1:28 these words: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

As I began to think about what kinds of things made up "my domain". I listed six categories for which I knew I will be accountable to God. Here are the areas I pin-pointed:

1) relationships

2) words

3) home management

4) talents/gifts

5) stewardship of money

6) attitudes

Next, I looked at each of these general areas, and thought about them more specifically. For example, under "relationships" I listed: husband, children, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, neighbors. Under "talents/gifts", I listed: hospitality, writing, teaching, reading, organizational skills. I did this with each of the categories. Then I chose one area that needed better stewardship, (money) and made the decision to do something about it in the coming week. In my workbook, I wrote: "This week I need to set up and organize my files and home office space. I also need to work on the family budget."

As I learned more about my call to be the mistress of my own domain, and thought more about the reality of someday meeting my King face to face and giving an account of my stewardship, my identity as His chosen viceroy began to come clearer into focus. I was asked in my workbook what was one thing I want to be able to give to Christ as a fruit of my life. I wrote this answer:

"I would like to be able to say that because I was a concientious steward of my time, money, and talents and recognized my capability, authority, and responsibility to be the mistress of my domain, that I was free to impact the lives of others for eternity's sake~~even if that impact was a cup of water. I especially want to be successful at the parenting game so that my fruit will produce seed for more good fruit."

Or to say it another way, as Erma Bombeck did, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."

What is your domain, and what are you doing with it?

Next~ what went wrong?

Five Aspects of Woman

2010-08-29T17:17:00.012-04:00

Five Aspects of Woman Series ~ Post #1

About ten years ago, I took a life-changing ladies' Bible study at our church called "Five Aspects of Woman". It is a study of the nature of femininity from a Biblical perspective. The study was written by Barbara Mouser, who with her husband, William Mouser, founded the International Council of Gender Studies in 1991. Here is an excerpt from their website that tells what they are about:

"The International Council for Gender Studies (ICGS) is formed of evangelical Christians in America and Europe who are committed to speaking the historic Christian faith to this generation. We think that non-biblical egalitarian tenets about the nature and relationship of men and women are not only corrosive to society at large, but also pose a threat to the spiritual vitality and integrity of the Church. Persuaded that God has spoken through the Prophets and Apostles in the Bible concerning human sexuality, we have joined together to call Christians to reaffirm and to live anew the whole counsel of God as He has spoken concerning gender issues."

I say this study was "life-changing" for me not because I have ever had any doubts or conflicts with my gender or feminine attributes, but because I had never studied the Bible with an eye to view myself as a unique female creation and had never given much thought as to how God's design for woman went any further than what I had always been taught: woman was created from the side of the man to be his helpmate; women are to be in subjection to their own husbands; older women in the faith are to teach the younger women, and so forth.

Our culture today does not hold women in the high esteem that God their Creator does. Women who voluntarily and lovingly place themselves under the headship of their husbands are seen as old-fashioned. Those who cultivate a "quiet and gentle spirit" are urged to take an "assertiveness training" course. Mothers who sacrifice financially to stay home and feather a nest for their families are considered to have wasted their education. On it goes.

A little bit about me:

By the time I took this course, I had been a full time stay-at-home mom for about seven years. Before that I worked outside the home, first full-time, and then on a part-time basis. While I can never reclaim the time I missed when my sons were younger and I was working, I am so grateful that I was able to be home full-time throughout their entire teenage years and to this day. But except for my husband's constant encouragement, I never felt the permission or the empowerment to fully be comfortable in my role. I knew that my focus was right and good, and believed in my heart that it was God-pleasing. Still, there always seemed to be a nagging feeling that my love of and contentment with being wife, mom, and homemaker made me something just a little bit "less" than others who chose to continue their education or remain in the workplace while raising their families.

This study helped me realize there is so much more God wanted me to understand. The forming of the woman was the last of God's creative acts, and I like to say, His "crown jewel"! When He finished with all He had made, He pronounced them "very good". By the time I finished this study, I not only felt "permission" to be all that I was called to be, but I felt "commissioned" to teach the study myself, which I will tell about at the end of this series. It was perhaps a once-a-lifetime experience with an eternal impact.

So...I am going to post a short series here on each of the five aspects that Barbara Mouser has identified. They are:

1) Mistress of the Domain

2) Helper-Completer

3) Life-giver

4) Lady of Wisdom

5) Glory of Man

In the course, as Mrs. Mouser states on the website, "Each aspect is studied as it was created to be, as it is marred by sin, as it is redeemed in Christ, and as it applies to life now."

I invite readers to share your stories or insights as we go along, aspect by aspect. Either post as comment, as lengthy as you like, or if you prefer to email me, I will respond as soon as possible. If only one woman out there gains a tiny affirmation of any aspect of her Biblical femininity, I will be so blessed!

trash to treasure...

2010-08-16T09:23:00.003-04:00

Here is one of many items my dad rescued from a curb, and turned into a treasure. To see something I did recently, look here. I'd love to hear about some of the things you have turned from trash to treasure...?????

stuffed green peppers

2010-08-09T23:37:00.004-04:00

There's nothing special about this recipe, but I have had a lot of compliments when I make it. This is one of the easy dishes I sometimes make for our meals ministry. We had it the other night with corn on the cob and a tossed salad.

I take the bell peppers and slice them in half from top to bottom, and then cut the tops off and clean out the inside. Rinse and set aside while making mixture. All you need is ground beef, a couple eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, chopped onion, and a little milk. Mix in a bowl and add salt and pepper. Stuff the half peppers generously, lay them meat side up in a baking dish, and cover with a large can of crushed tomatoes. Then sprinkle with parmesean cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. The last ten minutes of baking, take the foil off.

My mom makes her peppers totally different. She uses cooked rice, and browns her meat first. I like the rice but don't want the extra carbs. And cooking the meat first changes the texture. It's all in what you prefer. Both ways are good!

Here is a kitchen gadget that I can't do without. It came from Pampered Chef. It's a scraper that I use to clean off my countertop. It's wonderful and if you don't have one, you need to get one!

What's you favorite kitchen gadget?

My own little rebellion...hanging clothes outdoors to dry

2010-08-02T21:35:00.006-04:00

I just could not take one more warm, sunny day without doing this. I mean, of course it is not a necessity. But one of the things I've missed since we moved into this allotment almost 15 years ago was hanging my clothes outside. I honestly don't know if we have deed restrictions here or not regarding this, (I might soon find out!) but we've had such a hot summer and I've been outdoors with the grandkids (and the neighbor kids) so much that I just wanted to have a clothesline.

First I went to one store and bought a retractable apparatus that you attach to your house and then the line gets attached to a hook which is attached to something else. Hubby and I went outside and tried to figure out what that "something else" might be, and he decided he would build something onto our deck that would make it tall enough to stretch the clothesline over to. I thought about it some more, and the next day I went and bought one of those clothesline pole kits that is a T shape, and can accomodate several clotheslines. I had to go to our town's hardware store, because the stores like Lowe's don't carry these. The box said "4 pieces" so I thought that meant it was two T shaped poles. It was about twice as expensive as the retractable apparatus, but I decided I would just take the plunge and really commit. I picked out an area behind our attached garage. So I had hubby return the retractable clothesline to Lowe's.

When hubby was all set to work on this over the weekend, we opened up the box to find it was only one, not two pole kits. He also wasn't smiling when the instructions said to dig a 12 inch deep hole and fill it with concrete. Our soil is really hard...we've installed two picket fences when we first moved in...and neither of us were eager to go through all that trouble and expense, and risk being told we wouldn't be allowed to keep it up.

So...I had hubby return the T pole set to the hardware store, and told him to go ahead and buy the retractable clothesline I had seen there. Here's what we ended up doing:

Yep, that's it! Hidden in and attached to our maple tree, which is about 25 feet behind our house.

And here is the hook that is attached to the house, cleverly placed in the seam of the siding and barely noticeable when the clothesline is not attached.

The line is just long enough for one load of clothes at a time. I've already done three loads and it was so much fun. I'm hoping to do bedsheets today. The clothes cannot be seen from the street or front of the house at all. Only one neighbor has full view of it when the clothes are on the line (from the backyard only) and the other neighbors would have to try pretty hard to see anything. So I don't think I'm really bothering anyone by hanging clothes out a couple of times a week.

This is the view my next door neighbors have when the clothes are on the line. When I take the clothes down, I simply retract the line and nothing is visible. They happen to be on vacation so when they get back they'll get to see it for the first time!

By now you might be asking, "why don't you just check the deed restrictions so you aren't worrying about this?" Well, it's been 15 years since I've looked at the paperwork, and anyway, this is just my own "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I'll let you know if anything changes!

What about you? Do you like the smell and feel of sun dried clothes in the summer as much as I do?

Chicken Marengo

2010-08-01T20:32:00.006-04:00

We had this for supper tonight! This recipe came from my mother-in-law years ago. I make it in the pressure cooker. I suppose you could cook it slowly on the stove, or even in a crockpot, once you brown the chicken. It's real easy, and very tasty. Let me know if you try it!

Chicken Marengo

2-3 pounds boneless skiless chicken thighs

1 tsp. coarse black pepper

1 cup flour

1-3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 - 1 pound sliced mushrooms

large can crushed tomatoes

1 cup dry white wine (or any cooking wine)

1-2 Tbsp. oil

Place flour and pepper in a large ziplock bag or a paper bag and shake chicken pieces in the mixture. Heat oil in bottom of pressure cooker and add garlic. Saute for about a minute. Add floured chicken pieces and brown slightly on both sides. Add mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, and the wine. Stir gently and then close pressure cooker and put steam regulator in place. Heat on medium until regulator starts to rock, then cook for 10 minutes while rocking slowly. Remove pressure cooker from heat and let pressure drop slowly. When steam valve is fully closed, carefully open the lid. Serve over boiled noodles.

Do you have any favorite pressure cooker recipes?

How do you like my pineapples?

2010-07-27T09:20:00.027-04:00

A couple posts back on my other blog I happened to mention that I love the hospitality symbolism of the pineapple, and I have a small collection of them throughout my house...nothing that is overly valuable, but just little things we've picked up here and there, or things that have been given to me as gifts.

Pineapples were a coveted commodity in Colonial America, and guests who were treated to them felt especially pampered. You can read some interesting facts here. I was amazed to discover that fresh pineapples were "rented" out to folks who wanted to use them as a table display to impress guests, but couldn't actually afford to buy them and eat them!

Here are some of my pineapples. I'm sure there are more, because every time I turn around I find one I didn't take a picture of.

A print we bought in Charleston, SC when we visited there a couple of years ago. We had it framed at Hobby Lobby and it hangs in our dining room.

One of my favorite pineapples, also purchased in Charleston...(the pineapple capitol of the world??)

This large tray stands on top of my china cabinet...I enjoy using it at Christmastime, as it was a Christmas gift from my hubby one year...

One for my foyer...

a gift from my friend, Jennifer, this welcome sign is in the kitchen...

I've enjoyed these handcrafted metal coasters for years. We bought them in Ohio's Amish country at Wendell-August Forge.

This tiny stained glass pineapple was a souvenir we brought home from Williamsburg, Va. It hangs on a dining room window:

As does this suncatcher...

...which we also got in Williamsburg.

A couple of "welcome" plates sit on a double shelf in our family room...

This Willow Tree "Welcoming Angel", a gift from my friend, Brenda, is part of a mantle display...

I painted this plate at a ceramic shop...

(notice I made the leaves blue to go with my decor...let's hear it for artistic license!)

This beautiful pitcher was a Mother's Day gift this year from my kids in SC.

A variety of little pineapple things I found in my kitchen...

Brenda started me on this collection of etched glasses with a silver rim...she gave me the first two, then I gradually added 6 more. I just love them...

My sister-in-law, Marcie, gave me this beautiful cut glass pitcher, which I love to fill with water and lemon slices...The etched wine glasses were another gift from Brenda.

A smaller pineapple tray and a silver dish, (whoops, where's the silver polish?) both from Charleston, SC...the glass candle globe with pineapple etchings came from my friend, Marilyn...who also gave me the beautiful salad spoon and fork serving set...

I found the little butter knife in Charleston...

Here is a Christmas ornament that I keep out all year 'round. The pineapple opens up and you can hide a tiny gift inside!

And last but not least...something for the backyard...

For some reason, the bees like this better than the birds!

Hope you enjoyed the pineapple tour. What do you collect around your house?

My latest addiction...spinach-feta egg omelets

2010-07-24T12:13:00.012-04:00

I just have to share this with you friends. I found an easy way to make omelets by watching a You-Tube video, and I tried it with my favorite omelet ingredients. It is so easy and so good that I've been keeping the ingredients on hand and I've been making these several times a week. I'm trying to watch the carbs, so I don't make any toast to go with it, and I'm finding these to be very satisfying.

First, start by sauteing the ingredients in a little butter, except for the egg and cheese. I use chopped fresh spinach, chopped roasted red pepper, onion, and pitted calamata olives.

While that is sauteing for just a minute or so, I beat up two eggs in a bowl. If you want them to be fluffier, you can add a little milk, but I leave that out.

Next, pour the egg into the skillet on top of the ingredients. The amazing thing I learned from the video is you want to keep the eggs "moving" ... I always thought you wanted it to sit there and cook to retain the shape. Instead, gently move the eggs around with a spatula, lifting here and there to allow the uncooked part to flow onto the skillet. Do this carefully, and gently "scrape" any uncooked part to the edges. The top will still look a little "shiny" but cooked when it is done.

At this point, sprinkle on about a tablespoon of crumbled feta cheese and salt & pepper if desired.

Now the part that was very different for me, but works fantastically: gently lift the edge of the omelet from the far side of the skillet, and carefully "roll" it with the spatula over and over and onto your plate! I always had trouble trying to "flip" an omelet over in "half"...this method eliminates that problem.

What are your favorite omelet ingredients?

Getting rid of pesky fruit flies...

2010-07-23T08:48:00.005-04:00

I don't know what it is, but everytime I have brought fresh fruit into the house this summer I am dealing with those annoying fruit flies. I love having fruit out on the counter and within reach for a quick and healthy snack. But I just can't STAND those flies that are so hard to get rid of.

So here's what I tried, and so far, it is working. I have one of these decorative "bee catchers" that you are supposed to hang outside. It has sort of an inverted hole on the bottom and an opening at the top as well. But I just placed it on my kitchen counter near where the flies are hanging out, and put about an inch of sweet red wine inside. That lures the fruit flies into the jar and they drown in the sweet wine. Not a bad way to end their life cycle I would say. I can see about a dozen of them in there so far, and a few hovering around the opening deciding if they want to take the fateful plunge!

I'm sure this would work with any kind of a jar. Does anyone else have a working solution for this summertime problem?

Try this delicious sandwich wheel...

2010-07-13T07:46:00.003-04:00

Here's an easy summer lunch or supper that makes a beautiful presentation too.

2 tube cans Pillsbury French Bread

deli meat

deli cheese

Italian dressing

lettuce, onion, tomato, salt & pepper, olive oil & dried Italian seasonings

Remove French Bread dough from cans and place on a greased, round pizza pan, forming a ring with the two loaves by pinching together to close the wheel. Brush olive oil liberally over top of bread dough. Sprinkle Italian seasonings on top so they stick to the dough. Bake according to instrutions on the tube can. When bread ring is finished baking, partially cool on a rack and then carefully slice the wheel in half, leaving a top and a bottom. Flip over the top to leave the inside of the bread exposed. Spread dressing on both sides. Layer deli cheese and meat on both sides, then on bottom side only, layer remaining sandwich fillings. Flip the top back onto the bottom and cut wheel into two inch sections and serve.

Vacation Bible Camp: Roadtrip

2010-06-29T07:00:00.010-04:00

Our church had what we used to call VBS last week. On the first day, 1400 children between age 3 and 5th grade were present. They were expecting 1500 by the end of the week. I am amazed every year at the commitment and hard work of so many people that it takes to pull off an event like this. It seems like they think of everything!

Here is one of our pastors overseeing things, so to speak...

I was so excited for my granddaughter, age 4, to have a great experience this year. Last year she was a little too young and all the noise and commotion frightened her. The first day's events were actually held on Monday evening from 5:30-7:30 pm. The rest of the week, it was held from 9 am till noon. There was every bit as much noise this year, but she did really well and loved going every single day!

Snack time...notice the orange ID tag that was worn every day. Also, each family had to create a password in order to safely retrieve your child when it was time to leave.

The atrium of our church was transformed into a city park. This water fountain was a big hit!

Every hallway and every classroom was decorated for the Roadtrip theme. Some hallways were destinations, such as a beach. Other hallways took you through farmland. It was amazing!

There were all kinds of cute little shops near the city park...

My mom and my grandson stop by the pasta shop...

The popcorn machine was a favorite too!

I have no idea who the creative people are that thought of this, but every day the marquee changed to reflect the lessons of the day.

This is a favorite stop for the young moms. Each morning, refreshments such as cheese cubes, scones, grapes, coffee, tea and juice were offered along with some chairs to give the moms a chance to visit and just pamper themselves a little. A daily gift was given too, such as travel mugs, shopping bags, and flower seeds.

The most important part of the roadtrip of course were the lessons learned along the way. Each day the kids were given a printed card to take home which reviewed the day's Bible story. I'm looking forward to using these in the days ahead to review and reinforce the memory of them with my granddaughter. She had a great week, and loves singing the songs she learned and retelling the stories.

Thank you Hudson Community Chapel and each and every person who contributed in any way to an awesome Roadtrip! God bless you for investing so heavily in the eternal destinations of so many precious children!

Have you ever picked your own strawberries?

2010-06-18T09:11:00.006-04:00

June is the month for strawberries here in NE Ohio. There are several farms within 1/2 hour's driving distance from our home. I've been so anxious for it to stop raining around here so I could take my grandchildren on a little strawberry field trip! The magic day was yesterday. We had so much fun. We chose a local farm that doesn't use pesticides on their strawberry plants and the kids were able to munch away while picking. I've already given away three quarts, and put three more in my freezer. The rest we will eat fresh...we've already enjoyed smoothies, and I will make shortcake today. These berries taste nothing like the ones purchased in the grocery store. It just doesn't get any fresher than this! We only had the energy to pick one nice big basketful, and they won't last very long...but the fun memories will last a lifetime.

Hide the clutter please!

2010-06-10T21:12:00.005-04:00

One of my pet peeves around the house is the increasing number of electronic gadgets that we are collecting. Actually it's not the gadgets themselves that bug me, but all the charger cords and USB cables that clutter the tables and countertops. I've always disliked "wires" that "showed" anywhere, and believe me, we seem to have miles of them around our house.

Anyway, I saw a cute box at a discount store recently and it matches my kitchen decor perfectly. It was only $4. and I thought it would make a great little storage box for our cell phone charger cords, camera cables, laptop charger, etc. There's even room in there for the cell phones and the camera, a calculator, even the baby monitor. All those things kinds of things that clutter up the kitchen but have nothing to do with cooking! And they can now all be found in one place.

What do you think?

Thrifty shopping for children's clothes...

2010-06-06T15:46:00.005-04:00

I just love to shop for children's clothing at our local thrift stores. With four grandchildren ages 4 & under, I have a good excuse to hunt for bargains. Here is my latest catch, all from one store:

7 dresses = $15.05

7 pr. boys socks = $1.20

4 girls tops = $6.00

4 boys shorts/overall shorts = $3.95

3 boys shirts = $1.80

1 boys swim trunks = $.30

1 girls panties = $.20

Grand total = $28.50

Since I (sadly) don't sew, I never buy anything that needs repaired. And I look for clothes that are not faded, spotted or out of style. Usually I buy items the kids can wear "right now" ... unless I happen to find a real bargain on something I know they will grow into and in the right season.

The name brands on the items above are such as these: Gymboree, Circo, OshKosh, Glo, Carters, Sophie Rose,Youngland, Chaps, & Children's Place.

But even more fun than finding these great bargains is taking my four year old granddaughter shopping with me. I show her the rack where her size is, and tell her which color tag to look for (the ones that are 1/2 price that day!) and away she goes! "Oh grandma, look at THIS! This is BEAUTIFUL!" ... She holds a dress up to herself and twirls around in delight. Sure, at those prices, pick out seven! When she gets a little older I will teach her more about the money part so she can understand it all better. Until then, I'll just keep on being an obnoxiously giddy and doting grandma!

Anyone out there who shares this thrill of the bargain hunt for quality children's clothing? This exact Sophie Rose sailor dress is for sale at Kohl's for $30. I paid $4. for it, and it doesn't look like it was ever worn. Yippee!

Children in the kitchen...

2010-06-03T23:09:00.007-04:00

My grandson, Deacon, who with his mom and little brother are visiting this week from SC, made our supper tonight. I don't know where I caught onto this, but every now and then if I have any leftover spaghetti meat sauce, I make these little "pizzas". Deacon is four and he was so proud of himself that I let him put these together. Here's how he did it:

First we opened up a package of English muffins, and splitting the muffins, layed them out on a cookie sheet.

Next, we took the reheated meat sauce and spread it generously on the split muffins.

And the last step was to cover each pizza with a slice of American cheese.

The pizzas then got baked in a 350 degree F. oven for approximately 8 minutes, until the cheese melts and the bottoms get slightly crispy.

Deacon also fixed the salad...

And set the table!

I was so proud of him and loved watching him be so happy to be helping me in the kitchen tonight!

These little "pizzas" make a quick hot lunch from leftovers and you can use anything you want for toppings. Enjoy! (Not only the food, but the kids!)

A baby shower...

2010-05-07T14:10:00.011-04:00

Last weekend, the small group I belong to hosted a baby shower for the daughter-in-law of one of us. It was so lovely and seemingly effortless that I want to share it with you.

We didn't want the grandma-to-be to have to do anything, so the rest of us divided up the tasks. The gal whose home we used, assigned duties to the rest of us.

She in turn had a lovely table ready complete with beautiful fresh cut pink tulips.

She also had a couple of pink balloon bouquets around. (Yes, the expected baby is a girl!) She went with the pink and white theme all the way down to the serving dishes, pitchers, and the paper plates and napkins. As the hostess, she also provided lemonade, coffee & tea. One more sweet thing she did was make party favors in the form of little white boxes tied with pink bows, and inside, Hershey kisses. And if that weren't enough, the talented hostess also handmade the invitations and got them mailed.

Another lady in our group was assigned the task of receiving the rsvp's. She kept the rest of us posted on how many to expect so we could plan our food contributions accordingly. We ended up with about 25 ladies.

Another gal was in charge of the dessert, and she decided on two awesome cakes baked and decorated by her talented daughter. One was yellow with a lemon curd filling, and the other chocolate with raspberry filling.

I was given the task of deciding the menu, then assigning items to be furnished by each one.

Here's what I came up with:

chicken salad sandwiches on mini croissants

fresh veggies and dill dip

fresh fruit cups drizzled with key lime pie flavored yogurt

What do you think?

We had a party game ready in case we needed it, but as it turned out we didn't. There was plenty of good conversation, good food, and lots of gifts to be opened!

Finally, all of us turned in our receipts to the hostess, who then divided up the total cost of everything and five of us shared the expenses equally.

A lovely shower, a beautiful day, and a very special brand new mother-to-be!

Here's how I made the chicken salad:

I took 12 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them in half. Then I put a large pot on the stove filled 2/3 full with water and brought it to a rolling boil. I then dropped the chicken into the water and let it come back to a boil. Next, I shut the heat off and covered the pot, allowing the chicken to poach for about 10-15 minutes. It is done when the chicken is white all the way through. Next, I took the chicken out of the water and allowed it to cool. While the chicken was cooling, I chopped a couple small onions and about 2/3 of a bunch of celery finely in my food processor. I then cut the chicken up in small pieces and mixed the chicken, celery and onion in a bowl with Hellman's mayonnaise, enough to cover. I then added a little salt and pepper to taste.

Baked Penne

2010-04-17T08:39:00.005-04:00

Here is a great dish that is easy to make. It was served as dinner to out-of-town guests who attended a birthday party that we went to last weekend. (Wasn't that a thoughtful thing to do so we didn't have to go scrounging for a restaurant?) I could not believe how delicious it was!

This can be made up ahead of time and then baked when you are ready. I made it this week and I will make it again soon and put it in my freezer, ready to bake. This recipe fills a 9 x 13 pan.

Baked Penne

1# lean hamburger

1/2# ground Italian sausage

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves chopped garlic

2-3 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

1 jar Ragu or other spaghetti sauce, approx. 22 oz.

1 can seasoned, diced tomatoes, approx. 14 oz.

1 box Barilla whole grain penne pasta, 13.25 oz.

Brown the meat, onion, and garlic together in large skillet. Drain excess grease if necessary. While meat mixture is cooking, boil pan of water and cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain pasta. Add spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes to meat mixture and continue cooking about 8-10 minutes. Now you are ready to layer much like you would a lasagna. Start with sauce in the bottom of 9 x 13 pan and make layers of meat sauce, pasta, cheese, ending with cheese on top. Bake covered for about 30-40 minutes, until thoroughly hot and cheese is melted.

*Note: This would be a great dish to take to a family in need, either hot, or ready-to-bake. Add a tossed salad and some dinner rolls, and maybe some simple brownies or ice cream, and you have a very simple but lovely dinner to deliver.

Something different for Easter dinner...

2010-04-09T05:15:00.008-04:00

I just felt like doing something a little different than our usual ham and scallopped potatoes for dinner this year. What do you think?

Our menu consisted of chicken cordon bleu, ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and tossed spring salad with cranberries, pine nuts, and blue cheese, and the traditional hot cross buns.

Since it was my hubby's birthday as well, we had cake and ice cream for dessert. A friend gave me this idea of putting the ice cream in cup cake papers the day before, so we wouldn't have to stand there scooping out ice cream when it was time for dessert. It worked out really well. I filled the papers in the cupcake pan with vanilla ice cream and added a few colored sprinkles, then put it back in the freezer overnight.

Here is the chicken recipe. I love that this is prepared the day ahead, and only takes 20 minutes to bake before serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Pound chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Add a thin slice of ham, and a slice of mozzarella cheese. Carefully roll. Dip in a mixture of mayonnaise and a little water. Roll in seasoned bread crumbs, and place seam side down on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.

Move over Martha...

2010-04-03T09:38:00.006-04:00

I finally put away the last vestige of winter this week as I threw my winterberry wreath in the trash. It had served me well for several seasons, but wouldn't make it through another Ohio winter! Here's what I put on our front door in its place:

I'm so proud of myself because during the winter I found the makings for this wreath at our local Salvation Army store. It is a 25 inch grapevine wreath, and there were about ten bunches of artificial spring flowers that came with it. All for $2.97!!!

So it took me about an hour to cut the flowers apart with a wire cutter, and hot glue them onto the wreath. The ribbon for the bow I made cost me $1.00 at Dollar Tree. So for a total of $4.00 I have a nice new look for Spring!

Then last week I found a little consignment shop that unfortunately is going out of business. But lucky for me, this beautiful ceramic pitcher was on sale for 60% off. My kitchen colors are butterscotch, barn red, and navy blue. I had been wanting to make a spring-like centerpiece for our kitchen table so this was perfect. The pitcher cost $7.00 and I added $3. worth of artificial daisies, which made the arrangement about 20 inches high.

Another "find" over the winter at a different consignment shop are these large 12 inch diameter House Beautiful heavy wooden charger plates. They are navy blue, and the original price was $22. each. I got them for $5. each! The large butterscotch colored cloth napkins I found at a discount store for 25 cents each. I love the new look of my kitchen table, which by the way, was green for about 12 years until we painted it barn red, except for the top.

I'm so excited that Spring is finally here. I love home decorating on a budget. I hope some of you will share some ideas with me! Happy Spring!

"...train the younger women...to be busy at home..." Titus 2

Passover Apple Crisp

2010-03-29T07:21:00.004-04:00

Here's a favorite recipe I like to use at this time of year. The Jewish people only use unleavened bread during Passover, to recall the haste with which their ancestors fled Egypt, leaving no time for dough to rise. It's very easy to make, and quite delicious.

5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Matzo topping:
1/c cup sugar
2 large matzo crackers, crumbled (what I use)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped almonds
(Combine ingredients)

In a bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon and toss. Use cooking spray on a large pie dish or other baking dish and place apple mixture inside. Spread the Matzo topping over all. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake uncovered for 45 minutes until apples are tender and topping is crisp. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Finding time for quiet time...

2010-03-11T20:22:00.009-05:00

It seems like I have posted about this before. I'm not sure. Maybe it's just that I have shared this experience with many younger woman. But if I'm repeating myself... well, let's not go there!

I read a blog post today that reminded me of my own experience from years ago. Life was very busy. I worked a full-time job outside the home. I was mom to two active boys. Hubby did some international business travel which sometimes took him away for a week or more at a time. We were all active in our church. You get the picture.

Every now and then I had an opportunity to go away on a weekend women's retreat with the ladies from church. Such blessed times! One time we decided to do a "partial" silent retreat. We stayed at a convent about 4 hours from home. It was situated on lovely grounds, and all our meals were served. Our rooms were private, clean, and plain. There was a combination of scheduled sessions interspersed with free time to walk the grounds, meditate, read, or do whatever we wanted. We were not permitted to speak until after breakfast and chapel. That meant we got up in the morning, showered and dressed, and went back to our individual rooms until it was time to eat. We ate together, but silently. We attended chapel and had communion, all in silence.

It is amazing how you can clear your head of so much static just by being quiet. Even after we were permitted to talk, instead of a bunch of female chatter with one another, we seemed to maintain a rather hushed, reverent tone of voice with each other. It was like everyone respected the fact that we all most likely had a lot of deep thinking and soul searching going on, and no one wanted to break into the holiness of the atmosphere of the retreat.

One morning when I was alone in my room praying before the breakfast hour, I told God how grateful I was for this "time apart"...time that I could just be alone with Him. I was feeling so blessed and refreshed. Then it happened. I cannot explain it, but I know I somehow heard and recognized the voice of God. He quite distinctly said these words to me: "You know, you can have this special time with me every day of your life if you will just get up before your family and meet with me."

For several years after that, I got up between 4 and 4:30 am and went downstairs to our family room. I lit a candle and turned on the soft lights, and spent about 1 1/2 hours reading my bible, journaling, and praying. It became a habit and it was a real time of intimacy with my Lord. It gave me strength to face the day ahead. I had time to not just talk to God, but listen to Him.

Eventually I no longer needed to get up so early to have my quiet time. I cut back on my working hours, my family grew up, and I had plenty of time during the day to do my bible study and prayer. But I did miss it. I think I missed it the most because it was an idea that God had personally given to me. A special gift from Him to me.

Now, so many years later, I am revisiting this old habit. Back in November of last year I renewed the habit of having my quiet time early in the morning. Nowadays our alarm clock goes off at 5 am and my hubby leaves for work at 6:30. I take that first hour, between 6:30 and 7:30 to read, pray, and journal. I'm not totally where I need to be with this yet, but I'm getting there. There are many temptations not to do it: watching the morning news on TV, checking email and writing or reading blog posts, laziness, tiredness, etc. But this renewed habit I am forming again really blessed me this past year through the holiday season. I can honestly say I was not stressed like I normally get, and I felt like I lived every day very intentionally. Now, because I babysit two of my grandchildren several days a week, and help my mom get around the other days, my life seems busier again. That calls for more consistency in the ordering of my day.

I'm not the same person I was 25 years ago and my situation is different than it was then, but my need to have uninterrupted time alone with myself and with God remain. In the blog I mentioned above, (another Jackie) uses a portable basket filled with her bible, journal, pen, devotional, and a candle. I'm going to do this too!

I would love to hear how others manage their quiet times. Let's share some ideas! And I will leave you with a haunting thought I've had for months: What would our lives look like if we spent as much time alone with God that we spend on the internet?

Humm....

For newer readers, this is a post I wrote last October, before I reinstated my early morning discipline for quiet time.

Traditional Irish Blessing

2010-03-02T13:46:00.002-05:00

I've never been to Ireland and I'm quite sure I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me, but I do love the music and many of the beautiful Celtic blessings. Here's one for you today.

The Way of Love...

2010-02-14T08:38:00.005-05:00

¹ If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. ²If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. ^3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

¹¹When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

¹²We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

¹³But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

~I Corinthians 13, The Message~

Heart shaped cut-out cookies for Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T04:17:00.012-05:00

The big day isn't quite here yet, but our cookies have all but disappeared already. Why? Because I have the best recipe for cut-outs and frosting. I would love to share it with you. I actually published this recipe before on this blog but here it is again for any newcomers.

My granddaughter stayed overnight the other night so we could have time to make a batch of these. The size of the heart shaped cookie cutter that we used allowed us to make 5 dozen cookies. She took about 15 of them to her pre-school for their little party. We wrapped each one in a little cellophane bag with a tie, then put them in a pretty red box for easy carrying.

Then she got to keep a dozen that she personally decorated, and her mom took some to work, and...can you tell I'm trying desperately to account for the 60 cookies???

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

Cream together:

2 sticks butter (1 cup)

2 cups sugar

Beat in two medium eggs with mixer.

Sift together and add to the first mixture:

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

4 cups sifted flour

Blend into mixture 1 tsp. vanilla

Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees F. Time depends on size of cookie. Start checking at 6 minutes. They are "perfect" when you see just a faint browned edge. Take cookie sheet out and set on wire rack till they cool off.

Note: This is a large recipe. It will make about 100 small to medium sized cut outs, or about 50 large cut outs. It can easily be cut in half.

Butter Cream Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened (1 cup)

8 cups powdered sugar

4 tsp. vanilla

milk

Cream together first three ingredients with beaters. Gradually add milk by the tablespoon to desired consistency. Note: this is a large recipe. It will frost about 100 small to medium sized cut outs, or about 50 large ones. The recipe can easily be cut in half.

I got a new car for my birthday!

2010-02-05T07:18:00.010-05:00

I had so much fun playing with the new toys the grandkids got for Christmas that my hubby decided I needed a new toy for myself. So he bought me a new car!

I think he's lost his marbles, but then again, this thing is actually pretty impressive. It has a remote control, and can not only go backwards or forwards, but can turn corners too. And it goes really fast! My eye-hand coordination isn't what it used to be, but I'm getting the hang of it! So never let it be said this old granny is just wastin' away in her rockin' chair!

My birthday happened to be a babysitting day, and when Elylah arrived, she started pulling balloons out of the drawer and trying to blow them up. She just assumed we were having the only kind of birthday she knows about...with a lot of fanfare. I told her I was too old for that, but what I really wanted was for her to make me a cake! She happily obliged!

She is using the electric hand mixer for the first time. She's always been afraid of the noise before.

We used a Betty Crocker yellow cake mix. It called for a whole stick of butter which made it very yummy! I just love yellow cake with chocolate frosting...but I don't care for prepared frostings. This is the recipe I like to use, which is very simple and the taste is well worth the extra time.

Fudge Frosting

2 cups sugar

1/2 c. shortening

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2/3 c. milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all ingredients except vanilla in saucepan. Heat to rolling boil, stirring occasionally. Boil one minute without stirring. Place saucepan in bowl of ice and water. Beat until frosting is smooth and of spreading consistency; stir in vanilla. About 2 1/2 c. frosting.

from Betty Crocker’s Everything Chocolate Cookbook (1993)

...they each got to lick a beater of course!

Elylah found four candles in the drawer, since she is four...and that was fine with me! So we sang the birthday song and blew out the candles...and I got what I really wanted for my birthday: another precious memory!

January 27, 2010

snow ice cream and dirt pudding make for a fun party!

2010-01-13T14:29:00.014-05:00

Last Saturday, we had a birthday party for my South Carolina grandson, Owen, who turned two this week. The chances of him being in Ohio for his birthday are rare, so we were so excited to do this. We rounded up some little people and some big people too, and my daughter-in-law Ellie and I threw together a great theme party. It didn't hurt that our good friend, Jennifer, had a whole grocery bag full of "free" dump truck themed birthday stuff that she donated to the cause.

As the children were arriving, we sat them down at the table where they colored a picture of a dump truck that Ellie found on line and had made copies of. This kept them occupied for a few minutes.

But Ellie and I had decided the main "entertainment" would be making snow ice cream, since we had a very plentiful amount of clean, fresh snow right outside the kitchen slider window.

The kids loved it!

Instead of traditional birthday cake, we decided to make dirt pudding, and we served it from a large dump truck, filled with gummy worms of course!

Here's the birthday boy the night before they had to leave, trying out the shaving set we got him. Does it get any cuter than this?

SNOW ICE CREAM

1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream (or half & half)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix until dissolved.

Mix in 4-6 cups packed snow.

Serve immediately.

DIRT PUDDING

2 cups cold milk

1 package chocolate instant pudding mix (4 serving size)

1 - 8 oz. tub Cool Whip

1 - 16 oz. package oreos, crushed as in a food processor

gummy worms

Pour milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk until well blended, 1-2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in Cool Whip and half of crushed cookies. Place into bowl (or dump truck!) and "hide" gummy worms in pudding, with a few sticking out of pudding. Cover with remaining crushed cookies.

Memory-making in progress...

2009-12-21T23:00:00.000-05:00

What a busy and fun month it has been...and will continue to be! Hope you will enjoy these pictures of what's been going on around here!

Here's a picture of my niece, Sarah. In early December she borrowed my house to have a jewelry party with items she either designed and made, or items she repurposed. Sarah is a 3rd year student at nearby Kent State University. She is a sweetheart. It was a fun way to kick off the holiday season and made me hustle to get decorated!

The same day as the jewelry party, in the evening, our small group had our Christmas get-together. Here is a photo of me and Bob that was taken there. Oh and in the morning of that same day was the funeral of Mary Talbot, who I wrote about earlier. (Story here.) So December started off being really busy!

Princess Elylah turns four on Christmas Eve, and she has had a month long celebration already! Her parents gave her a "children's party" (at our house) earlier in the month...

Here she is with her Uncle Jonah, who is 7.

This past Saturday, her Papa and I took her to a children's play at a theater in a nearby town. She got to wear her Christmas dress. Isn't she beautiful? When her cousins get here from SC on New Years Day, along with her little brother Ethan, we will get a picture of all four of them in their matching outfits. (I reserve my right to be an obnoxious grandma!)

After the play, which we attended with friends, we all went to Dairy Queen for ice cream.

Jonathan (5) and Benjamin (3) celebrated with us!

I think this shot is priceless!

Jonathan's and Benjamin's parents, our dear friends, Ken & Jen.

The following day, Elylah had yet another party at our house, this time we were invited! In attendance also were her other grandma (Lola), her great-grandma's (GG and Amma), her great aunt, her mom's cousin and fiance, and her uncle Jonah, her mommy and daddy and little brother, Ethan. Joanna made her princess cake (again!). It was absolutely amazing!

If all this activity wasn't enough, we had a birthday party for JESUS on Monday!

The kids made these darling foam nativity sets from kits I bought at Michael's on sale for only $3.19 each!

They also made these pretty Christmas trees, using ice cream cones, frosting, and decorations.

(Had to sneak in a cute shot of Ethan and Curious George)

The children took turns telling parts of the Christmas story, using the Fisher-Price nativity set. One by one, the pieces were put into place, and we were amazed at how much these little people, ages 5 and under, know already and can tell with such excitement. Please notice the three kings that are placed face down. Without any prompting, Jonathan did that, explaining that they bowed down to worship baby Jesus!

The kids each got to choose a gift from my basket, as we explained why we give gifts on Christmas.

When they come back on Christmas Eve, they will be able to take home one of these rolls filled with candy. (See this previous post for these ideas.)

Tomorrow will be a busy day too. My favorite Santa will be making a surprise visit to some children. Humm...wonder when I will bake, wrap our gifts, finish my newsletters and mail them, finish some gift projects I'm working on, and well, FORGET about shopping for a new Christmas sweater! Also, I'm still trying to decide who to gift with my Christmas Jar (see this post for explanation.)

My journal says that last year on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 I stayed up till 3:00 am to get everything done. That's not going to happen this year...and so I say, Merry Christmas to all, and to all GOODNIGHT!

Christmas Wassail

2009-12-10T14:41:00.005-05:00

I have a recipe for wassail that I have used for 30 years, but this year I decided to simplify it. Really, I can't tell the difference. So my "new, improved" recipe is this:

Take a gallon of apple cider (or you can use apple juice). Add a quart (or a large can) of pineapple juice. To that, add about 1/2 cup of lemon juice and 1/4 cup of honey. Then I throw in two large cinnamon sticks, a sliced orange, and sprinkle in a little ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.

We always have this on Christmas Eve, and at any other time we have guests over during the holidays. Everyone loves it, and with all the winter sniffles, it just tastes good and it's healthy too.

You don't want to boil the wassail. Bring it just to the boiling point, then turn the heat down and keep it simmering on the stove. Or put it in a crockpot. Don't put it in punch bowl because it won't stay hot, and it might break the bowl!

If you want to get fancy, you can stud a couple oranges with whole cloves and after baking them with water for about a 1/2 hour, you can float them in the pan instead of the slices. But I decided that it hurts my fingers too much to do that and takes too much time.

This is a family favorite as has been one of our Christmas traditions for years. I hope you will try it! (Any leftovers, just refrigerate and then reheat in cups in the microwave.)

Our Favorite Things!

2009-12-07T13:59:00.020-05:00

Here's something my hubby and I did a couple of years ago. I was in the mood to have a little fun and I thought he needed to lighten up a bit too. So we composed this song. We used it for our annual Christmas newsletter in 2007. Try singing it to the tune of "Our Favorite Things" (Hammerstein & Rodgers, The Sound of Music.) Maybe you and your family could sit around the dinner table and hammer out your own words to a familiar tune, just for fun!

(Bob)

Dressing like Santa and fooling the neighbors

Cookie press cookies and resting from labors

Stories of gifts that are carried by kings

These are a few of my favorite things!

(Jacque)

Salvation Armies with kettles and bells

Luke Chapter Two and the message it tells

Stars on the treetops and children that sing

These are a few of my favorite things!

(both)

Railings with garlands and satiny bows

Lights in the windows and candles that glow

All of the blessings the Christ-child brings

These are by far our favorite things!

When our friends come

And our hearts sing

when our family's near

Then we remember our favorite things

And hope we can spread...some cheer!

A couple random ideas for the holidays...

2009-12-04T03:52:00.006-05:00

*Save your empty toilet paper rolls!

Around the first of December I start collecting the empty cardboard rolls in a bag until I have 15 or 20 of them. I use them to make candy filled "crackers" by covering them with Christmas wrapping paper. I put pieces of wrapped Christmas hard candy in each one. Leave enough space on each end to tie with a ribbon. Then I put the wrapped treats in a basket in my foyer, and when my holiday guests leave, they get to take one home with them. They can also be used as favors on your Christmas dinner table.

*Something for everyone!

I always seem to have little Christmas odds and ends that accumulate such as small children's books, candles, small toys, inspirational Christmas books, or ornaments. I keep a small basket under the tree filled with these things, unwrapped. You never know when you need an extra gift for someone you didn't know was coming by. Or when my friends pay a visit and bring a child, I always want to have some little thing on hand to give them. Some of these kinds of items can be picked up at sales after Christmas for up to 70-80% off the regular price and saved till the following year. Another idea would be to wrap them, and have a sticky note attached that says boy/girl/adult male/adult female or something like that...or just a description of the gift that can be easily peeled off before handing it to someone.

*What did I do last year?

Keep a simple journal of the Christmas season. I have a little journal book that I purchased for about a dollar last year. It has a cute Christmas snowman on the front so I can easily identify it. It was fun to go back and read the two or three lines I wrote in it each day starting the first week of December. I noted what friends stopped by, what concert I attended and with who, when I did what decorating, what food I contributed to the family Christmas party, etc. I also listed the gifts given and received, and checked off the names as I sent out my thank you cards. It only takes a couple of minutes each day--it's not meant to be a deep spiritual journal, but just a brief record of the things I'd like to remember.

*Toys for the tots

It seems like there is so much around the house at Christmas time that we don't want the little people to be touching. It's hard to keep their sweet little fingers off our fragile ornaments and out of the candy and cookies. Last year I splurged on a Fisher-Price Little People Children's Nativity Set. I found a place in our family room for it, on the hearth of our fireplace so the children can reach it easily. It stays set up and they are free to play with it whenever they want. They can't break it, and they know it's there just for them. OK, I admit it. I really like it too!

*Don't reinvent the wheel!

I finally got smart a couple of years ago and started taking pictures of the Christmas decorating I did that I thought looked pretty good. I don't do the same thing every year, but at least I have some ideas by looking at what I've done before that worked. For example, the picture in my header is last year's. This year I'm going for a more casual look, so I used the same swags on the banisters, leaving the pine cones, but I took out the gold beads and satiny ribbons. Instead I made large bows out of green, red, and cream colored checked cotton ribbon. I'm making bows for the tree out of the same ribbon.

I have also saved the Christmas issues of some magazines and put sticky notes on the pages I want to revisit. Sometimes just looking at one thing in a picture in a magazine gives me an idea of something new to try.

I hope some of these ideas will spur you on to share some of yours as well. What little things do you do to simplify the season and still make it memorable?

Make an Advent Wreath...

2009-12-02T08:52:00.000-05:00

Here is a simple (and a bit unconventional) Advent Wreath I made this week. I took less than 45 minutes to put together. I simply took a styrofoam wreath, carefully cut four holes for candles, and covered it with ribbon and a little greenery. I used Stick-Um candle adhesive to keep the candles in the holes, then tied little bows around the candles. It cost under $10 to make.

Instead of the purple and pink candles that are often used, I used dark red candles and plaid ribbon. I'm using this same ribbon throughout the house this year to get a simple and homey feel to the decorating.

We will light one candle each week of Advent, and then I will put white (or cream colored) pillar in the middle of the wreath on Christmas day.

Please share what you are doing with your decorating this year!

Are you getting prepared for His coming?

2009-11-30T21:02:00.005-05:00

Those were the opening words of an e-mail I received recently from a friend. I laughed hysterically as I continued reading of how she felt that preparing for her husband's family to spend the holidays with them seemed more daunting. I thought, "you're preaching to the choir, sister!"...oh how well I can relate. For me, "the holidays" are a six week long adrenaline rush that I absolutely love. Still, the words stuck with me: "Are you getting prepared for His coming?"

Well, of course! I love the beautiful carols that speak to something deep within my soul...I love to hear the story of the baby in the manger over and over again...Mary and Joseph, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men...all doing their parts...Again: "Are you getting prepared for His coming?"

OK, Lord...I'm listening. Just what is it You are trying to say to me?

Part of the answer came while attending a Christmas concert the other evening. The words of the familiar carol hit me like a bolt of lightning. Everything we do to prepare for the holiday season is all about HIM. We can't even "discover" Him...rather He reveals Truth to us. Can we quiet our hearts long enough to see and hear and feel what He has revealed in sending His Christ, to live and die as one of us? His great love is His only motivation for revealing Himself to us, for offering His great salvation.

Scripture tells us that when He comes again, it won't be as a little babe in a manger stall, but He will come with power and great glory, and every eye will see Him and every knee will bow...and I think we will all sing...

"He rules the world, with Truth and Grace!

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love!"

Are you getting prepared for His coming?

(Reprinted from Stager family Christmas newsletter, December 2001)

Now Thank We All Our God

2009-11-26T09:29:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! May the giver of all good and perfect gifts be highly praised this day!

a few more pumpkin recipes...

2009-11-24T05:03:00.007-05:00

Here are just a few more favorite pumpkin dessert recipes! I hope you have time to try one.

Pumpkin Fudge

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 Tbsp. corn syrup

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 (12 oz.) package white chocolate morsels

1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

Stir together first six ingredients in saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking until candy thermometer registers 234 degrees (soft ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 9 inch square pan. Let stand two hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Pumpkin Dip

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

2 cups (15 oz.) canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 Tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 Tbsp. nutmeg

Combine with mixer and refrigerate for three hours. Serve with gingersnaps.

Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Beat eggs at high speed for five minutes. Beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Spread into greased cookie sheet and top with chopped walnuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Cover clean towel with powdered sugar and turn pumpkin roll onto it. Roll towel and cake together and coo. Then unroll to spread on filling. Reroll and chill.

Filling mixture:

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 (3 oz.) packages cream cheese

4 Tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat until smooth

On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.

--William Jennings Bryan

perfect mashed potatoes and gravy

2009-11-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

Anyone who has been reading this blog knows by now that I am not a gormet cook. I am a pretty good cook, but I'm not fancy. I like to use ingredients that are staples in my pantry. I like my food to taste good and to look good too. I'm fussy about texture. And I like my food to be hot when I eat it, with a good "home made" taste.

With all the things that go into putting a big Thanksgiving dinner together, it did take some practice to learn how to get everything to the table hot and ready to eat at the same time. As I stated before, I use a roaster oven for the turkey, and that frees up my oven for other things...including keeping side dishes warm while waiting for the turkey to be carved, the stuffing to be removed from the bird and put into a serving bowl, and last but not least, for the mashed potatoes and gravy to get done.

Another nice thing about using a roaster oven for the turkey is once the turkey is lifted out and waiting to be carved, all those yummy drippings are there in the bottom of the roaster just waiting to be made into delicious gravy. (You do remember I said to coat the entire bird with Crisco before roasting? Now you know why!) The mashed potatoes and gravy are the last thing to make and must be done right before sitting down to the table.

To back up for just a moment: Early on Thanksgiving morning, after I get the turkey going, I peel the potatoes. I know there are all different kinds of potatoes out there, but I just buy white Idaho potatoes. Make sure the skins don't have green on or under them and don't use potatoes that are sprouting. Just nice firm brown potatoes. I usually peel an entire 10# bag! Hint: lay out newspaper on your countertop for the peelings, then wrap them up and throw them in the trash. You do not have time on Thanksgiving to take a chance on clogging up your garbage disposal with potato peels. (Been there, done that!) As I peel them, I throw them into my sink that is filled with cold water. This is their initial rinse and it keeps them from turning brown while I'm working. When I'm all done peeling, I rinse them off again, one by one, and place them in a large pan, again filled with cold water. I usually go ahead and quarter the potatoes. Leaving them in the pan of water, I refrigerate them until I'm ready to start boiling them later on in the day.

Alright now. Back to making the potatoes and gravy. Put that large pan of cut up potatoes and water on the stove and bring it to boil. Be sure you have a couple of inches of water above the potatoes. Do not cover with a lid or you will have an extra mess to clean, as it will boil over. Once it gets to a boil, turn the temperature down just enough to keep it barely boiling and let them cook until you can easily insert a fork or knife into the potatoes, but not long enough that the potatoes crumble in the water when you do that. When the potatoes are done, drain all the water off by pouring the potatoes into a colander in your sink. Then simply put the potatoes back into the same pan, and you are now ready to start beating them with an electric hand mixer. Here comes the personal preference part. This may surprise you if you paid attention to my previous comments about being fussy about texture. I like my mashed potatoes to have just enough "lump" in them that there is no question they are home made. So go ahead and beat your potatoes however you prefer them. Add at least a half a stick of butter, depending on how much you are making, and add milk SLOWLY. The worst thing you can do to mashed potatoes is to add too much milk. They will turn out like potato soup. When you have them to the consistency you prefer, don't forget to add some salt. Don't over do the salt, but you do need some to bring out the flavor. I would say try two teaspoons to 10 pounds of potatoes. After I put the finished mashed potatoes into a serving bowl, I sprinkle just a little paprika on top just to give them some added color. Incidentally, use an oven proof bowl if you can, such as Corningware. That way you can alway cover them with some foil and keep them warm in the oven if you need to.

While your potatoes are still cooking on the stove, you must get going on the gravy. I try to make as much as I possibly can so we have lots of leftovers. With a 20# turkey, there will be plenty of drippings, so I take about 3 cups of water to start with, and add about 3 Tablespoons of WONDRA flour to it. Stir it with a whisk. The Wondra will practically dissolve in the water and this keeps the gravy from being lumpy. SLOWLY pour the water/flour mixture right into the pan drippings. (When you removed the turkey, you should have turned the heat in the roaster oven down to a lower temperature, but still on.) Start stirring the gravy right away with a wooden spoon while you are incorporating the water/flour mixture into the drippings. Slowly bring it to a boil. If it looks like you can add even more water/flour to make even more gravy, go ahead. The key is do not just add flour alone to your gravy. It will lump up right away. By using the water/flour mixture, you are able to slowly add it while stirring constantly, and it will thicken as it cooks, without those awful lumps. If it looks like it is getting too thick, just slowly add more water. Just give it time to cook, and it needs to boil to do that. And keep stirring!

TIP: While I'm finishing up the gravy, my husband is carving the turkey and putting the meat onto a platter. The stuffing has already been removed and is keeping warm in the oven. I usually let some helpers carry all the other side dishes to the table when the gravy is just about done, and then everyone finds their places. The gravy is the very last thing to go on the table!

graphic from www.penniwigs.blogspot.com

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing

2009-11-19T07:25:00.010-05:00

"Freedom From Want" by Norman Rockwell

I'm really excited that I found a frozen Honeysuckle turkey for 59 cents a pound. So I was able to get a 19.32 lb turkey for $11.40! He's been in my freezer for about two weeks. I will need to take him out and put him in the refrigerator on Tuesday next week so he will be plenty thawed out by Thanksgiving morning.

I have been roasting my turkeys in a roaster oven for quite a few years now. They can be purchased quite inexpensively these days and I love using it for holidays because it totally frees up my oven space for other things.

If you are new to roasting Thanksgiving turkey, here's how you do it: Take your thawed (or fresh) turkey and wash it in the sink. Be sure to remove all giblets that usually come stuffed inside. Mine go directly into the trash, though I know some wonderful cooks who use them in their gravy. Pat your turkey dry with a towel. Take Crisco (I like the butter flavored) and spread it all over the outside of the turkey. Then stuff the turkey with the dressing you made the night before. (see below) Fill up both cavities. If you still have more, you can stuff it under the skin on top of the breast! It tastes so much better when stuffed in the turkey than baked separately in a pan. Use those turkey lacer pins that you'll find at the grocery store to help close up the cavities. I usually don't bother with the string. Follow the directions on the packaging for roasting time and temperature, which varies according to the weight of the bird. Just figure out what time you want to eat dinner, and allowing about 15-30 minutes for the turkey to set after it is finished roasting, and time to carve it, just count backwards to see what time you need to have it in the oven. If you are using a disposable aluminum roaster pan, be sure to put a cookie sheet under it for support. I start out with mine covered, either with foil, if I'm roasting it in the oven, or with the lid of the roaster oven. When it is nearing the time for the turkey to be done, I remove the covering so that it gets nice and brown on the top. By the way, you'll need a turkey baster to catch up the juices and drizzle them over the turkey frequently while it is roasting. That's all there is to it. Simple!

For years and years my mom and I have made our bread stuffing with a recipe right out of a 1961 Betty Crocker Cookbook (which gives permission to quote brief passages). We actually triple the recipe, but I will give it to you here as it is printed. Now I know it is not fashionable these days to be using what I call "puff" bread, plain white, inexpensive bread. But this is the one day of the entire year I break all the (new) rules for eating high fiber bread and err on the side of what really tastes great! I know there are a million recipes for all kinds of fancy stuffing out there, but I guarantee you, THIS is the recipe that everyone will not be able to get enough of. That's why we have to triple it!

Bread Stuffing

(3 qts. for a 12-lb. turkey)

1 cup butter

3/4 cup finely minced onion

12 cups coarse or fine bread crumbs or cubes

1 1/2 cups chopped celery (stalks and leaves)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. dried sage, thyme or marjorm

poultry seasoning (to taste)

Melt butter in large heavy skillet. Add onion and cook until yellow, stirring occasionally. Stir in some of bread crumbs. Heat, stirring to prevent excessive browning. Turn into deep bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients lightly. For dry stuffing, add little or no liquid. For moist stuffing mix in lightly with fork just enough hot water or broth to moisten dry crumbs. Cool and place stuffing in bird when ready to bake.

Tips: Instead of using packaged bread crumbs or cubes, buy a couple loaves of soft white bread. Take a bread knife and cut it into small cubes and measure them out. Save any extra bread slices for your left-over hot turkey sandwiches. I cook both the onion and the celery in the butter in the skillet, then add about one half of the bread cubes. When you turn this into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients, it should be plenty moist and I don't add more liquid. I cover the bowl of stuffing and refrigerate it overnight. Do not stuff the turkey ahead of time, only just before you put it into the oven. Sometimes my refrigerator is so full the night before Thanksgiving that if it is cold enough outside, I just put my covered bowl of stuffing in my car until morning.

Tomorrow I will tell you how to make the best mashed potatoes and gravy, just like grandma used to make!

"Come ye thankful people, come
raise the song of harvest home
all are safely gathered in
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
all our wants to be supplied
come to God's own temple, come
raise the song of harvest home."
-Henry Alford-

graphic from www.penniwigs.blogspot.com

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without...

2009-11-18T11:29:00.006-05:00

Sweet potatoes!

I have several really good recipes for sweet potato casseroles, but this one has become my favorite for the past couple of years. It has a crunchy pecan topping that is hard to beat.

Sweet Potato Casserole

4 1/2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup milk

1 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, and preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, melted butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and flour. Cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture is crumbly, then stir in the pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over the sweet potatoes. Bake for 25 minues until golden brown.

Tip: Make this up ahead of time, storing in the refrigerator, and bake it at the last minute so it is ready for the dinner table when it comes out of the oven.

Through kitchen windows in the night,

when lamps are lit

and burning bright,

I feel that warm of long ago

from windows I don't even know.

A light in a kitchen window

finds me yesterday's best friend--

and sweetest memories surface

to take me home again.

--D. Morgan

The best part is...

2009-11-17T00:01:00.002-05:00

the pumpkin pie!

As I stated yesterday, part of my contribution to the family Thanksgiving feast has traditionally been the pumpkin pies. These recipes work perfectly year after year, and I wouldn't think of doing it any other way. It's not at all difficult, and everyone loves them, and you come out looking like a great baker! So please try this!

First off, I want to give you the pie crust recipe. This came from my Aunt Mary Ann over 40 years ago and it truly never fails! The best part is it makes five large pie crusts. So that means you can make two double crust pies and one single crust, or five single crust. Last February I made five double crust cherry pies for a Valentine's Day event, and I just had to make two of these recipes:

Never-Fail Pie Crust

5 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 tablespoon vinegar

cold water

Method:

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add shortening and work into the flour with two knives until course, about the size of peas, (or use a pie crust cutting tool.) Into a one cup liquid measuring cup, break one egg and beat slightly with a fork. Add vinegar, and then enough cold water to make one cup liquid. Add this to the flour/shortening mixture and mix into a good consistency for rolling.

Tip: divide the dough into 5 equal sized balls. Work with one at a time, and cover the others with a clean damp dish towel to keep from drying out while you are working. Roll out crust quickly on countertop or board covered with flour. Try not to handle the dough more than necessary--just roll into a circle to the desired thickness and circumference, carefully fold it in half, then in half again, and center on your pie plate, carefully opening up the sections. Press into ungreased plate gently. If there is too much excess dough hanging over the edge of the plate, just cut it with a knife or scissors, and tuck edges under evenly. Flute with fingers.

Now then, no matter what "new" recipe the magazines come up with each year (they have to, that's their job) I ONLY ever use the Libby's recipe that is on the back of the Pumpkin can. (NOT pumpkin pie filling). I'll give it to you here so everything is in one place.

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

4 large eggs

1 large (29 oz.) can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin

2 cans (12 fl. oz. each) Carnation Evaporated Milk

Method:

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into (two unbaked) pie shells. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Tip: I am really funny about texture, and I don't want to taste or see any pieces of egg white in my pies. So, I really beat the eggs with a mixer until they are very smooth. Same thing with the pumpkin mixture. Every can of pumpkin can look different as far as texture or color. So not only do I beat the mixture very well, but I prefer my pumpkin pies to have a little darker color, not that light orange look. So if I see the pumpkin is too light in color, I just add a little more of the spices to darken it up. I usually make the pies the night before Thanksgiving, and let them set on the cooling racks until morning. They might "weep" a little, so I just soak up any excess moisture gently with a paper towel. I never put my pumpkin pies in the fridge until after dinner the next day, and I've never had a problem. In my opinion, refrigeration changes the texture of the delicious crust. Now why would I want to do that? (If you are making five pumpkin pies with the pie crust recipe above, just double this filling recipe and it should be enough for all five pies.)

Oh, if you are responsible for bringing the pumpkin pies to your Thanksgiving dinner, don't forget the whipped cream!

Fondly remembering my father-in-law this Thanksgiving, Harold Robert Stager, who always loved my pumpkin pies. He was a man of few words, and so his compliments really meant a lot to me.

Thanksgiving dinner memories and tips

2009-11-16T08:47:00.009-05:00

Thanksgiving was always a special day in our family when I was growing up. There were four of us girls (along with our three brothers) and I have nothing but sweet memories of all the preparations and the special feast. We always had at least 25 people for dinner, counting out-of-town relatives, and friends we would invite. So that meant setting up tables in the living room to extend our dining room table.

Some of the jobs we had when we were young were stuffing celery sticks with cream cheese, filling our mom's pretty cut glass dishes with olives and pickles, ironing tablecloths and cloth napkins, and setting the table with mom's beautiful china from the hutch. We always made name tags and spent a lot of time trying to figure out who should sit where. This was the day we always put aprons on...the homemade kind passed down from our grandma. Each of us were assigned jobs to do, and we took great pride in being part of it all. As guests arrived, we girls would offer appetizers, such as cheese and crackers and our stuffed celery sticks.

My dad always insisted on a fire in the fireplace, even though by the time everyone got there, it would get way to warm in the rooms! But he loved the tradition and it puts a smile on my face to remember how happy it made him. My dad loved his family and we were his pride and joy.

For many years, even after we all grew up and moved away from home, we came back for Thanksgiving. Each year the numbers grew as we found a place at the table for our own children as well. Mom loved doing this holiday more than any other. She was just like a mother hen gathering her chicks together.

Eventually we just became too large of a family to all gather in one home, so we had to start dividing up. Mine became one of the "host" homes...and a baton was passed. I kept many of the same traditions we had when I was growing up, and added a few of my own. As everyone gathered around the table, we would either have an appropriate Thanksgiving reading, some singing, or go around the table with each one telling something they were thankful for.

One year I made a small twig tree which I had in the middle of the kitchen table. Around it were construction paper leaves with strings attached. As each guest arrived, they wrote something they were thankful for on the leaf and hung it on the tree. It made a nice centerpiece. To this day I love setting a beautiful table and making guests feel pampered. I usually have a few appetizers on the kitchen counter to hold folks over till everyone arrives and dinner is served.

Something else I like to do is have some hot cider steaming on the stove. A few years back a young married couple who often join us for Thanksgiving dinner (as their families are out of state) came early to help. She carried cups of hot cider to the front door to greet the guests while he hung the coats. That year we had a special reading about the history of the first Thanksgiving, and we also had guitar music and singing by our two sons and a soon-to-be daughter-in-law.

Sadly, many of us are geographically scattered now so it is rare that we all are together on Thanksgiving. But with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we are still too large a group to eat at any one house. So this year we are trying something different. We are renting the party room at mom's condo so at least as many as can make it will be together. Mom and I will each do a turkey with stuffing, as always, and I will make pumpkin pies. Everyone else will bring the side dishes, breads, and more desserts. I'm looking foward to it! Changes are difficult, but being together is what it's all about.

This week I will post some recipes and more tips that you may enjoy considering for your own special Thanksgiving celebration.

graphic from www.penniwigs.blogspot.com

"For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends, We thank you, Lord." -- The Book of Common Prayer

making cut-out cookies with Amy & the recipes

2009-11-04T20:30:00.009-05:00

My friend, Amy, needed to make some cookies for a project her group was going to present today at school--something about a library open house to promote literacy in children. She is a graduate student working toward a degree in children's library science at Kent State. I was blessed that she asked me to help her. Fortunately it was my day off from babysitting my grands yesterday so we worked on this together well into the evening last night. You can read about Amy here:

lifebetweenthebuns.blogspot.com/search/label/cerebral%20palsy

Amy said she hadn't made home made cookies in years, and she was so excited!

I've never had much help in the kitchen, so it was fun for me too.

Oh my goodness, what a mess we made!

But looky here at the results!

I found these alphabet cookie cutters in a huge container along with two sizes of numbers at Hobby Lobby for $8.99. There are 50 cookie cutters in all.

Here are the recipes for the sugar cookies and the frosting. I've used these recipes for 30 years when making my Christmas cookies!

Grandma's Sugar Cookies

Cream together:

2 sticks butter (1 cup)

2 cups sugar

Beat in two medium eggs with mixer.

Sift together and add to the first mixture:

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

4 cups sifted flour

Blend into mixture 1 tsp. vanilla

Note: This recipe will make about 100 small to medium sized cut outs, or about 50 large cut outs.

Butter Cream Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened (1 cup)

8 cups powdered sugar

4 tsp. vanilla

milk

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

Kiss the Cook

2009-11-02T14:00:00.011-05:00

My daughter-in-law suggested I post my spaghetti sauce recipe so here it is. (Happy 7th anniversary, Andy & Ellie!) It is very easy and I usually have everything I need in the house when the mood strikes to make it. I actually won "first place" at our family reunion last year in our sauce tasting contest. Not sure why...there were many very good ones there...but for two years, until our next reunion in July 2010, I'm enjoying being "boss of the sauce". This was just a basic recipe that I tweeked a bit until I made it "mine." Hope you will try it sometime.

Jacque's Spaghetti Sauce

1# bulk sweet Italian sausage

1 1/2 c. finely chopped yellow cooking onion

1 - 12 oz. can tomato paste

3 - 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes

2 c. water

4 tsp. chopped fresh garlic

4 bay leaves

1 heaping Tbsp. dried oregano, crushed between hands

4 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp. salt

1 heaping Tbsp. dried sweet basil, crushed between hands

In large heavy pan, cook sausage and onion until meat is brown. Add all remaining ingredients and bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Makes 12 cups sauce. Note: this freezes well if you want to make some up ahead of time and save for later.