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Love in the Home

 

Today, while my kitchen looks like an explosion of dirty dishes and books, with piles of laundry waiting, dusting to do, work to be done and dinner to be made, I take a break, let it all wait and sit with my coffee and a favorite poem….








Love in the Home

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper–not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness–not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love is present through the trials.

Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Love is the key that opens salvation’s message to a child’s heart.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child. As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.

Author Unknown

 

Now I’m off to go tackle it all!

A New Year’s Prayer and Black-eyed Peas

Hard to believe that another year has passed us by. It has been a wonderful, busy year full of many blessings and amazing experiences. My trip to Guatemala was by far the highlight of my year and the perfect way to start off the new year.  I will be ringing in the 2012 at home with my blessings. New Years day is also my Mother-in-loves birthday, we usually head over to her house and enjoy a traditional New Years day meal of cabbage, black-eyed peas and pork roast!

Here is a wonderful recipe for Black-eyed peas from Frank Davis of New Orleans…

Black-eyed peas

1 pound dried black eye peas
4-6 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound sautéed bacon, diced
1 cup diced yellow onions
1/2 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 tablespoon dried sweet basil
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons bacon drippings
2 teaspoons Frank Davis Vegetable Seasoning
Sea salt and coarse-ground black pepper to taste, if needed

First, rinse the peas well under cold running water in a colander and set them aside momentarily to drain.

Next, take a 5-quart heavy aluminum Dutch oven (one that has a tight-fitting lid) and bring the chicken stock to a rapid boil. Then drop into the stock the chopped bacon.

Now bring the stock to a slow boil.

Then add and stir in the onions, celery, garlic, thyme, sweet basil, and bay leaves, cover the pot tightly, and over medium-low heat continue to cook until the vegetables soften, which should take about 15 minutes.

At this point, drop in the black eye peas and the bacon drippings and stir the pot well, making sure the mixture is uniformly blended.

Then bring the peas to a boil, but immediately reduce them to a simmer, cover the pot once again, and cook the peas until they become tender and full flavored (this should take about an hour or so on a very low fire).

Oh—be sure to stir the pot occasionally to keep the peas from sticking to the bottom.

Finally, just before you’re ready to eat, sprinkle in the vegetable seasoning and the salt and pepper and season the peas to taste.

Remember—you already have salt in the chicken stock, the minced bacon, and the bacon drippings, so you may not need to add much more if any.

Then, when your pork loin and your cabbage casserole are ready, serve the peas directly from the pot, piping hot, over a short pile of steamed rice and accompanied by a hearty chunk of hot buttered corn bread.

There couldn’t be a more “Naturally N’Awlins” way to start a brand new year!

A New Year’s Prayer

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.

God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

30 Days of Giving Challenge

I am taking the Challenge over at 30 Days of Giving!
30-Day Giving Challenge
“If you have a heart for giving, we invite you to join us from November 1 – 30, 2010 as we take giving to new heights, combining the efforts of thousands of people. We’ll be working together to bless our friends, family, neighbors, and complete strangers by making a conscious effort to give each day of November (and hopefully going forward). And we’ll do it all for God’s glory!”

Unfortunately, this is an area where I have often fallen short. Between working online, homeschooling, home keeping, working out and vegging out, I have missed many opportunities to give and bless friends, family and strangers in my own community. 
I give of my time and money online while running a community for homeschool moms, and as a family we have been  sponsoring “Fred” in Chile for 15 years via World Vision. Through the blessing of World Vision, we have gained a 5th son and watched a sweet, wonderful boy grow up to be a smart, confident young man.
This month I want to focus on giving back in my own community, over the next 30 days, I will share how and what we will do as a family to give back as we participate in the 30 Days of Giving Challenge!


We are also doing something very similar on the Homeschool Lounge Swap shop Group, Heather Anne our Swap group moderator is hosting a “Pass a Blessing UnSwap” in November and December. 

To participate, you will be asked to provide at least one random act of kindness that blesses someone else during this holiday season.  There are literally THOUSANDS of options to choose from.

Here are some ideas:

Pick a person from the Angel Tree and bless them with a gift.
Drop off part of or all of a holiday meal “ding dong ditch” style for someone in need.
Drop off presents for their children in the same manner.
Send someone a gift card anonymously.
Buy a winter coat, gloves, and a hat for children from a needy family.
Drop a tray of homemade baked goods off for someone.

When you’ve accomplished your mission, go back to the THL Homeschool Swap Group and share.  

Encourage your children to do this WITH you.  Show them how amazing it feels when you give to someone in need. Remember, the gift does not have to be monetary, you can give of your time, talents and skills too. :-)

Will YOU accept the challenge?
Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.  ~Author Unknown

Light and Easy

 When we fully let go and let God do the molding, growing and maturing…it makes the load and the journey much lighter!

My Saturday morning Devo… 

MATTHEW 11:30 KJV
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Christians often struggle in their walk with the Lord, but it
should not be so. Have you ever thought, “It’s so hard to be a
Christian!”?

I have.

At one time I believed it was so difficult being a Christian
that I had no motivation to tell others about the Lord. Living
for Jesus just seemed too hard for normal people.

How wrong and deceived I was!

Never forget that the message about Jesus Christ is the gospel
– which means good news!

If you are having a hard struggle, it’s not because of what the
Lord is requiring of you. The problem lies with yourself — in
pride and unbelief, which the Lord will help you overcome.

Walking with the Lord is meant to be a joy, not a burden. Yes,
there are trials and difficulties. But the Lord always helps us
and delivers us. (Even if it results in martyrdom, we will be
delivered!) Therefore, we can always trust in the Lord and
rejoice in Him. When we do that, every day can be a joyful day.

Living the Christian life is not supposed to be just a matter
of our willpower, but a matter of trust — faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the One who carries the load. We are not
qualified and capable of saving ourselves by our own effort.
That’s why we need a savior.

Too many people are trying to save themselves, instead of
trusting in Jesus to save them and make them into what He wants
them to be.

PHILIPPIANS 2:13
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for
His good pleasure.

We do need to change — to do better and be better. But our
focus needs to be on Jesus and not on ourselves. We need to ask
Him and expect Him to work in us and change us. The Christian
life is meant to be a constant fellowship with Jesus and
looking to Him in faith. Otherwise, in our own ability, it is
impossible.

Remember, Jesus is not out to condemn us, but to help us. He
loves us, and proved it by dying in our place.

http://aDevotion.org