I was going through an old file of writings I kept on training children when I ran across these words from an old article by Elisabeth Elliot. I’m sure Elisabeth would agree with me that there is nothing inerrantly evil about giving a child a peppermint lozenge in church but I thought her question, where she asked if the cross is an attraction, was worth considering. Today’s child training methods seem to go in the opposite direction. Parents oftentimes do everything they can to keep their children from experiencing any hardness in their lives. I’m sure there are extremes on both sides of this coin. Yet, how different our child training is today compared to a century ago.

 

Amy Carmichael told about how when she was a child, they had very strict rules in their family. She came from a northern Presbyterian family. She said, “When we went to church, we noticed that other children were given peppermint lozenges, but we were never allowed that luxury.” Her parents felt that they could sit through church, long as it might be, without sucking on peppermint lozenges.

As I look around at the Christians and the Christian children, I wonder to myself, “Where is the discipline that produced an Amy Carmichael, a Gladys Aylward, a Malla Moe, a Mary Slessor, an Ida Scudder?”

There’s pain in the realization that there are not very many in that category, not very many to whom the cross is the attraction. That was one of the questions that Any Carmichael would ask prospective candidates who wanted to come and work with her in India as missionaries. “Is it the cross that is the attraction? Does the thought of hardness draw or repel you?” 

Excerpts taken from Elisabeth Elliot’s writings

I wish, brothers and sisters, that we could all imitate “the pearl oyster”—A hurtful particle intrudes itself into its shell, and this vexes and grieves it. It cannot reject the evil, but what does it do but “cover” it with a precious substance extracted out of its own life, by which it turns the intruder into a pearl! Oh, that we could do so with the provocations we receive from our fellow Christians, so that pearls of patience, gentleness, and forgiveness might be bred within us by that which otherwise would have harmed us.

—Charles Spurgeon

 

I almost wanted to title this blog… “Christmas in May”.

I’m starting to think about Christmas this month because I know if I don’t start planning ahead then I’ll be caught off guard. So, I’ve been watching the dollar stores and picking up little ‘fill in’ gifts for the grandchildren. Five dollars, here and there, does not put nearly the strain on our budget as waiting to purchase everything at once.

Strawberries are in season in California so I’m saving the little green plastic baskets. I use them for candy gifts. I put a piece of colored seran wrap inside the basket and the candies on top. I usually make Mounds Balls (recipe on my website).  I watch for the cellophane wrap when it first comes in at the dollar stores and use it to wrap the outside. I cut a large square.. place the basket in the middle and the bring all four sides towards the top while securing it with a colored ribbon. (Does that makes sense?) Anyway, it’s much cheaper to save these plastic containers than to buy those plastic plates.

Another thing I’m doing is knitting dishcloths in the evenings. I’m finding it very relaxing. My mother taught me the simple knit and pearl stitches when I was in elementary school over 40 years ago. I still remembered what she taught me. (Now why do I have such problems remembering where I left my car keys?) I’m not a tv watcher but enjoy reading blogs in the evening while my husband watches tv. I have a laptop so I can sit in the same room with him. We have dial up so my computer is extremely SLOW. I knit while I’m waiting for the pages to load. I’ve already set aside one dishcloth towards my Christmas stash.

I have a ‘gift closet’ where I store my gifts. I also keep ideas in that closet for future projects. I found a tile idea where you write scripture on it. I thought it would be a neat idea for the grandchildren and I to work on someday. Once you write your saying on the tile then you put it on a small easel.

Our church ladies have been studying Proverbs 31. Preparing for the future was a practice of the Proverb 31 woman. She was able to SMILE  at the future. We’re being reminded what a hard worker she was. She did not eat the bread of idleness but worked willingly with her hands.

Hope you had a lovely week! The winds were over 30 miles an hour in my neck of the woods. The rural area where I lived was one big dust storm! I mowed our yards while wearing sun glasses, a face mask and a coat with a hood! What a sight! But, at least my eyes did not get a ton of sand in them.

 

“In the twelfth century, the vast wealth of Weinsberg Castle lay in peril. Enemy forces besieged the stone fortress and threatened the riches that lay within. The inhabitants stood no chance of defending themselves against such a great horde, and the opposing forces demanded a full and complete surrender. If the occupants would agree to give up their wealth and the men would give up their lives, the women and children would be spared.

After consultation, the women of Weinsberg Castle asked for one provision: they asked to leave with as many possessions as they could carry. If the opposing forces would agree to this one request, the men inside would lay down their arms and hand over the castles riches. Fully aware of the wealth of riches loaded within the castle, the enemy forces agreed. After all, how much could these women take?

Finally, the castle gates opened, and the sight that emerged elicited tears from even the most calloused soldiers. Every woman carried her husband on her back.

How many of those rescued men were perfect? Not one. But every one of those imperfect men meant more to their wives than anything they owned.

Where is your greatest wealth? ”

(Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas) 

Most people I speak with these days are trying to cut back on their living expenses. I’ve been working at it  for the past 2 years. One area that I’ve worked hard to cut back on is our grocery bill. The past two years I’ve been able to cut my grocery bill in half.

I believe there have been several keys that have helped with this cut back.

1. Cook, cook, cook! (Fortunately, I enjoy cooking and baking!)

a. Cook something daily.

b. I set aside one morning a week where I make 3-4 meals. I divide the dishes and freeze what we won’t eat for the week. It’s just my husband and I at home these days so we can get 2-3 meals minimum from one recipe.

c. Make as much from scratch as possible. I’ve learned to make my own tortillas, salsa, winter salsa (using canned tomatoes instead of fresh), barbecue sauce, lemonade, ice cream, laundry detergent, jams, skin lotion, salad dressing, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, lemonade, etc. My next goal is to try my hands at making toothpaste. Anything that I can make from scratch will most likely save money compared to an already prepared item. I keep basic ingredients on hand that can be used in a variety of recipes.

2. Shopping

d. Purchase meats under $2.00 a pound. I watch for the sales and try to only purchase meats on sale. I push to get at least 2 meals from one package of meat.

e. If I have to purchase eggs (I get most free from a friend) I will buy ‘checks’  from a local egg company which costs around 1/2 the normal price.

f. Our church is very good to it’s members and blesses them with a wonderful food pantry.  Much of what is given are carbs that we try to cut back on but I am blessed by their canned goods. It takes some ‘pride swallowing’ to receive help from others but I see it as a great blessing from God for this season of our lives. (Most counties offer a free food pantry, also). I’m sure there will come a time, once our home sells, when we will no longer need help.

3. Use it up or do without!

I’ve had so many items that I have purchased over the years and then decided I didn’t like the product. It was money wasted. So, I purposed to use those products up before I purchased new ones.

Other times , I just went without. It’s amazing what we can do without! I ask myself if I really need to purchase that item or can I use another recipe or just do without it. Many times I can do without!

Currently, I am watching for recipes to use more of the canned vegetables and fruits we are given so that I can cut back on buying the fresh. I prefer fresh but since the canned are free I need to take advantage of finding ways to use what I have on hand. I’m hoping this will cut our food expense down even more. I recently made a pea salad from canned peas and it was very good. This week I’m going to do a search on Recipezaar to see if I can find salad and veggie recipes for corn and green beans.

*~*~*

A few weeks ago my in-loves and my husband’s step-brother came for a week’s visit. We were so happy to have them visit. I was a bit concerned,though, how I was going to feed them for 5 days and not go over our budget. I ended up spending less than $50.00 for extra’s while they were here. PTL!

So, I prayed my way through my cupboards, freezer and fridge asking  the Lord for creative ways to use the food that I had and as always He was more than faithful.

I went through my vegetable fridge drawer, my pantry and freezer. I had fresh broccoli, tons of eggs, canned veggies and some boxes of instant potatoes.  I didn’t have enough meat on hand so I bought a 10 pound bag of legs/thighs for under $7.00 and some powdered sugar to ice a cake. The 10 pound bag gave me enough chicken for two meals with a few pieces left over for my husband’s lunches.  

Here was the menu for one of our evening meals:

Barbecued chicken (homemade barbecue sauce)

Broccoli Salad (made with Splenda because Dad has diabetes)

“Angel Eggs” (the Christian version of Deviled Eggs  *S*)

Roasted Garlic Potatoes

Pickled  beets

Fried Okra

I didn’t have any barbecue sauce so I made some from a recipe I got from Paula’s Down Home Cooking show. I baked the chicken ahead of time so all we had to do was throw it in the grill for a short time to barbecue it.

I had a few cans of beets that were not pickled so my MIL taught me how to pickle them. They turned out great. She used two cans of beets, 1 1/2 tbsp. of pickling spice, 1 1/2 cups of vinegar and a cup of sugar. You could add or subtract according to your taste. We saved the juice and I soaked some hard boiled eggs and onions in it the following day.

I’ve had two bags of whole okra in my freezer for a few months. I used Sister Ellis’s recipe and fried up both bags.

It felt so good to be able to present a ‘down home’ meal to my husband’s family and all I had to spend out of my pocket for this meal was less than $5.00. I could have never pulled this off if I didn’t have years of collecting recipes and experience in pulling meals together out of seemingly ‘nothing’ and we probably would have ended up taking them out to eat which would have cost us $7.00 A PERSON instead of spending $5.00 for the entire meal along with leftovers for one more meal.

*~*~*

I outgrew a ‘recipe box’ more than 25 years ago. My recipes have now found their home in 3 very large notebooks. Each recipe is placed inside sheet protectors. I believe the notebooks are considered 3 inches. I purchase the sheet protectors and notebooks from a local Staples store. I got this idea from my mother years ago.

Notebook 1: meats, casseroles, salads, vegetables, sauces

Notebook 2: Breads, tea breads, appetizers, beverages

Notebook 3: Desserts

 

I’ve tried to make it a habit to collect different versions of the same recipe. That way if I’m out of a particular ingredient I can look at another recipe and see if I can find a substitute. For instance, when I made Paula Deen’s barbecue sauce for dinner I didn’t have any orange juice but another recipe I had called for apple cider vinegar. I replaced the orange juice with the apple cider vinegar and it tasted just fine.

I’m thankful that God has given me a love for cooking (although I don’t always feel like I have the energy to do it). It brings my family pleasure not to mention the money it saves on our budget.

 I’d love to hear of ways you are cutting back in your home.

A disciple is not above his teacher , but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher . Luke 6:40 (ESV)

Our beloved Pastor used the scripture above as a strong exhortation to the mother’s and grandmother’s of our congregation yesterday to continually be training their children and grandchildren in God’s Word. His reminder was that our children’s faith will not be above ours. I thought long and hard about what he said. I thought of my prayers and desires for my children and grandchildren and how I long to see God’s Word bursting forth from their lives in an even greater measure. I had to ask myself if the same is true of my life. What kind of importance am I placing on God’s Word in my own life these days?

Pastor’s exhortation had it’s work in me and I set out this morning to get up even earlier to spend more time in God’s Word. I’ve been slack lately about spending good chunks of time in the bible.  My life has become increasingly busy and I’ve allowed the cares of this world to choke out His Word. I feel as if I’ve been ‘snacking’ rather than really ‘feasting’ and I’ve felt the effects. There has been this longing… a sadness, so to speak… for more of Him who alone can satisfy my soul.

Mother’s Day was full of the same. I was convinced once more of the urgency of living for Christ before my children and grandchildren. Time is running out.. the days are passing so quickly! My grandchildren are growing like weeds. My oldest grandson’s head nearly touches my shoulders! When my days are over on this earth and my children and grandchildren surround my deathbed I want to look into their faces and know that I did all I could to point them towards heaven. 

The weather was warm on Saturday so the grandchildren wanted to swim in the pool. They were all lined up waiting to get in. Each was pushing the other so that they could be first. I reminded them that Jesus came to serve and not to be served. C.J. quietly left his number one position and went to the back of the line. I told him how proud I was that He obeyed God’s Word. He replied that he wanted to live a long life. My heart sank! He remembered! One day when the children were over for a visit in December we worked on Eph. 6:1-3. We talked about God’s promise for a long life if we honor our parents.  God’s Word had it’s effect on his heart!

What are we doing TODAY to sow God’s Word in OUR hearts!

What are we doing TODAY to sow God’s Word in our children and grandchildren’s heart!

Tomorrow may never come.. let us work while it’s still called TODAY!

 

 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth .   3 John 4

I wish I could say that once I learn a lesson I don’t have to be taught again! Unfortunately, in my spiritual walk this is not always the case.

Several years ago I was having health problems due to not handling the stress of owning 2 businesses and homeschooling. I cried out to the Lord for His wisdom and was convicted that I was sinning in  how I was responding to my work. Step by step I learned how to respond in a godly manner to a mountain of work and the interruptions of the day. I thought those lessons had become solid habits but obviously I was wrong.

 Last week we had family visiting from out of state. It was a blessed week full of laughter, lots of chatting and lots of cooking. Once our company left I needed to make up for lost time and immediate made a long list of all the work I wasn’t able to do during their visit. As I started working through my list I began to have one interruption after another. My husband wanted to talk to me about this and that… my dogs wanted to attack my brush as I was washing the car and my hoola-hoe as I was weeding… the phone rang…a neighbor came by to visit… etc. I felt myself becoming anxious and irritable. I had a LIST (with a capital “L”) to finish and no interruption was going to get in my way!!!!

 Within a short amount of time I became convicted of my attitude and realized I had fallen back into the same old habit that I thought I was done with. I was not accepting those little interruptions that crowd in on one’s day as from the hand of the Lord. My LIST had become more important than keeping focused on the Lord’s agenda for the day and I had worked myself into a frenzy for fear I wouldn’t finish THE LIST!

Now, I realize that we often have decisions to make regarding some of the interruptions in our day. What I am referring to here are those small interruptions that are necessary. A husband or a child’s request, a phone call from an upset sister in the Lord, a neighbor who may need a listening ear. If we have elevated our work above those ‘assignments’ sent by the Lord then I believe we have misunderstood the Lord’s true purpose for our lives and our homes. What good is a completed LIST if we have failed to use our homes to minister to those in need or to lend ourselves to those we love most living within the walls of our home?

 I remember reading once in Stepping Heavenward (Inspirational Library Series) to never tackle more work in one day than you can handle in a peaceful and calm attitude. I thought that was very wise advice. I lived by those words years ago and now they had come back to resound loudly in my ear. (You can order this book if you click on it’s name in this paragraph).

So, I quieted my heart and refocused! This was the Lord’s Day.. not mine! I was the Lord’s servant.. here to bring Him glory in the home He had given me! I apologized to my husband and set out once again to work through my list. Only this time my heart was not anxious because my mind was set on serving the Lord and bringing Him glory FIRST.. instead of focusing only on my TO DO LIST. 1 Cor. 10:31

 I pulled out my Stepping Heavenward to review those lessons I thought I had learned many years ago. There are so many wonderful jewels in this book! It was like visiting an older, wiser sister in the Lord!

I’ll leave you with another thought from it’s pages…

“Katy?” Helen suddenly asked, “do you always submit to God’s will thus?”

 ”In great things I do,” I said. “What grieves me is that I am constantly forgetting to recognize God’s hand in the little, everyday trials of life, and instead of receiving them as from Him, I find fault with the instruments by which He sends them. I can give up my child, my only brother, my darling Mother without a word; but to receive every tiresome visitor as sent expressively and directly to weary me by the Master Himself; to meet every negligence on the part of the servants as His choice for me at the moment; to be satisfied and patient when Ernest gets particulary absorbed in his books, because my Father sees that little discipline suitable for me at the time; all this I have not fully learned.”

Economic Stimulus Payment & Christ

April 28, 2008  |  By: John Piper
Category: Commentary