Seed Therapy

I enjoy gardening.  Therapy comes in those little seed packets.  Winter tends to be hard on me even though it is beautiful.  I’m ready for warm days and sunshine months before they show up.  Those little seeds are a promise of warmer days to come.

It’s a thrill when I finally plant seeds and set them in the window.  I like to start seeds in starter trays.  After watering and planting the neat little rows, cover the tray so the moisture and heat become trapped.  You’ve just created a mini-greenhouse.  The sun quickly warms them and sprouts begin!

I plant all sorts of things…everything my family will eat and a few new items.  When I use my green thumb on something unfamiliar, we all get a chance to try a new item from the garden.  We’ve discovered the joys of tasty foods from our own plot of land. Harvesting something we’ve grown ourselves brings great satisfaction.

Don’t dismiss gardening if you have little space.  Container gardening starts out exactly like a full-size yard garden.  The main difference is planting the seeds in pots.  Look for great pots at thrift stores or garage sales.  You’re apt to find plenty.

Always wash your pots thoroughly.  If they’re deep, add paper egg-cartons broken into fourths and a few large rocks to the bottom.  The egg-cartons act as a filler and the stones help with drainage and add weight for ballast on windy days.

Herbs are some of my favorite container plants.  Since they’re portable, I keep them near the door on my porch.  A snip in the early afternoon means a tasty dinner later that night.  Dill dip, rosemary on a pork roast, oregano and thyme in spaghetti sauce…all delicious and all from home.

I usually dry my herbs for year-round use and fun gifts.  This winter I brought my rosemary plant inside.  When I long for summer, I gently touch the plant, and the delicate scent reminds me of warmer days.  Now that’s therapy at it’s best!

(Rosemary)

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Best of the Best

Do you ever get tired of hunting through stacks of recipes, looking for your favorites?  It seems that I return to the same tried and true dishes again and again.  Time is at a premium for me, and I don’t like wasting it while searching through my large stack of cookbooks and recipe cards looking for particular recipes.

Several years ago I took a few minutes to set up my own “Best of the Best” cookbook, and it has saved me countless hours every week.  I have found, over the years, it is well worth the time I spent organizing my favorite recipes.  Now I primarily rely on one single cookbook each day:  The Best of the Best.

To make your own cookbook, just take a plain 3-ring binder and fill it with a stack of page protectors.  Place your favorite recipes in the pages and voila, you have created your own perfect cookbook.

Here are some tips to remember when setting up your Best of the Best cookbook:

• Only choose your favorite tried and true recipes.  If you use this cookbook to store recipes you are hoping to test out, it will quickly become clogged with useless papers and the purpose will be defeated.  This cookbook allows you to immediately find your favorite recipes, so be sure to reserve it for that purpose.  If you need a place to store recipes you want to try out, set up a separate binder for those.
• Recipe cards and magazine clippings can easily be stored in the pages.  For all other recipes (such as those found in favorite cookbooks), photocopy the recipe from your book or type it into a Word document, print and place in your Best of the Best cookbook.  This will save you from thumbing through a thick cookbook looking for a particular recipe.
• When asking a friend for a recipe you’ve enjoyed, see if she can email it to you.  It will be simple to print off the email and slip the page into your Best of the Best cookbook.
• Once a year, go through your cookbook and cull recipes you haven’t used much.  Take a few minutes to update Best of the Best with any new favorites you’ve discovered.
• When a son or daughter gets married or heads off to college, give them their own starter version of Best of the Best, including copies of recipes for their favorite foods as well as family heirloom recipes.

The H-E-A-R-T of Hospitality

Do you remember the following melody and song lyrics?

“Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage. This I tell you brother, you can’t have one without the other.”

Have you ever considered how hospitality and love go together like a teacup and saucer? Both can stand alone, yet one without the other is not complete. Hospitality offered without love leaves your guest feeling cold. A teacup without a saucer can be filled, yet the cup and spoon have no place to rest properly. When people come together through biblical hospitality, usually they will find their cups being filled to overflowing with love and sweet moments of rest.

Hospitality must come from the heart; otherwise it is nothing more than entertainment. Webster’s dictionary defines hospitality as “the act, practice, or quality of being hospitable; friendly and solicitous (showing care, attention, concern) entertainment of guests.” A great definition, but for the Christian woman there is so much more: tender acts of kindness, caring, listening, serving, and touching the lives of others in Jesus’ name.

How do we demonstrate hospitality from the heart?

Where is hospitality demonstrated? First and foremost it is to be exemplified in your home. Your home is the greatest evangelistic tool available to reach a lost world for Christ. Your home is to be a prepared place for those who live there and for those who visit–a refuge. From our homes hospitality is to be demonstrated to the church, taken to the marketplace, and into the world. (Romans 12:13; Titus 2:3-5; Proverbs 31:27)

Who is offered hospitality? God shows no partiality; therefore we must be willing to express hospitality to everyone. Hospitality is to be shown to our neighbors (Matthew 5:43-48). We are to invite the needy (Luke 14:12-14). James 2:1-10 admonishes us to show no favoritism. Hebrews 13:2 states, “Do not forget to entertain strangers…” Many times our hearts are not open to everyone–we have a list of exclusions.

When is hospitality to be extended? It is not often that the word always can be used, but this is one of those instances. Hospitality is to be spontaneous and intentional; both require our time and effort. Paul instructed Timothy to “preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season.” (2 Timothy 4:2) Demonstrating hospitality does not always fit into our schedules. This is why it is important to be prepared at all times. Create a special nook in your home just for tea and talk.  When you are preparing casseroles, soup, breads, and muffins, make extra and freeze for future use.

What are the benefits of hospitality? The benefits come through our relationships: creating new ones and nurturing the old. Touching lives through biblical hospitality is about refreshing others with encouragement, restoring a relationship which has been broken, renewing a relationship which has fallen by the wayside.

Why practice hospitality? You and I are given the opportunity to share Christ, our greatest treasure, a priceless possession. Furthermore it is a command.

Biblical hospitality is a lifestyle. Perhaps today you need to write a love note from your heart to God’s heart and say: “My home is open and available to everyone You bring to my door. I am willing to learn how to take the necessary steps to be prepared always. I want to touch lives, build relationships, and share the greatest treasure, Jesus Christ. Create in me a willingness to sit at Your feet and serve hospitality from the heart.”

To leave a comment:

• If you are reading this post in email form, click the article headline. This will take you to the article on MMCW’s website.
• Scroll down until you see the box entitled ‘Speak Your Mind’.
• Enter your name, email (it will not be published) and your website or blogsite if you have one (you do not have to have one).
• Click on the big empty space and then begin typing your comments.
• When you are done, click ‘submit comment’.  That’s it!  We look forward to hearing from YOU!

Eggs Benedict

1-2 English muffins, split and toasted, per person

1 hard boiled egg, sliced, for each full muffin

1 slice of bacon, crumbled, for each full muffin

For Blender Hollandaise sauce

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 Tbsps. lemon juice

dash ground red pepper

Place egg yolks in blender and mix for 5 seconds. In small saucepan heat butter/margarine, lemon juice, and red pepper until butter is melted and almost boiling. With lid ajar and blender running at high speed, slowly pour in butter mixture. Blend about 30 seconds or till thick and fluffy. Serve immediately over muffins, eggs, and bacon. Makes 1 cup.

Virtual Advent 2009: Christmas Cookie Tree

Last year I tried something new. I wanted something fun for an extended family Christmas gathering that would be different from the normal fruitcake, chocolate balls, shortbread and tarts. A friend of mine told me about something she’d seen called a Christmas Cookie Tree. I did a little ‘googling’ and got fairly giddy about making a few for the gathering as an edible centerpiece. It went over exceptionally well and I ended up making a few more for other Christmas events we had.

It is quite easy. You can pick up a set of Star cookie cutters in 10 sizes at bakeries, cake decorating shops or,  if you are energetic, you can make patterns on paper and then cut out the cookies with a knife around the edges. You can also find them here.

Make a double batch of your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Cut out two of each size. Bake them with the smallest sizes on one cookie sheet and the larger ones on another one to have more even baking.

Cool them completely. While they cool, prepare your ‘foundation’. I covered a cutting board and a cookie sheet with foil as my base. Mix up your icing (icing sugar and water with butter optional). Put ¼ cup of the icing in a separate bowl. Tint the remaining icing a bright green.

When the cookies are cool, put a dab of icing on the base where you would like to plant your tree. Then starting with the largest cookie, cover it in green icing. It does not need to be perfect, most of it will be covered! Place the iced cookie on the ‘planting spot’. Then ice the same-sized cookie, placing it on top of the other green star, but turn just slightly so that the points of the stars do not line up.

Continue in this pattern from largest to smallest. When you have one star left, ice it with the white icing and cover it in yellow sprinkles, or tint a tsp. of the icing yellow and ice the last tiniest star. Place it on the top of the tree on its side.

With the remaining white icing, decorate the base by making ‘snow drifts’. Sprinkle icing sugar over the tree and base carefully making it look like it is covered with freshly fallen snow. If you would like, you can buy tiny colored decorating balls to place in the wet icing to look like ornaments.

If you prefer less icing, do not ice the cookies before stacking, simply put a small dab of white icing in the center of each cookie as you stack them so that they stick together. Then sprinkle with green sugar, or pipe green icing on as desired, or ice them entirely with white icing instead of green to give it a ‘heavily laden with snow’ look. Another option is to color your cookies green before baking, then simply powder them with icing sugar.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap so the cookies don’t dry out. Allow it to set before transporting. This freezes well, although it will need to be removed from the base.

I have also made this with Rice Krispie Squares cut into stars. To do this, press out the freshly made mixture onto a large working surface (cutting board or cookie sheet you can cut on). Press it as thin as you possibly can. Cut out the star shapes, then set aside until they are firm. Then assemble as you would the sugar cookie tree.

Enjoy your tree! Be prepared to force your guests to take apart the tree, they won’t want to ‘ruin’ your masterpiece!

This post is part of the Virtual Advent 2009 Blog Tour.

Preacher’s Wife Punch

*6 pks raspberry Kool-Aid
6 cups sugar
6 cups water
4 cups tea
1 large can pineapple juice
1 large can orange juice
2 gallons water

Cook first three ingredients five minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients. Freeze. To serve punch take out of the freezer 5 hours before you serve. It should be served at slush-like consistency.

*If you prefer a red punch for the holidays, substitute a different flavor Kool-Aid for the Blue Raspberry.

Memory Notebooks

I’m not creative enough to be rightfully called a “Scrapbooker.”  Or do they call those people “Scrappers”?

I don’t own any specialty scissors.  I’m not sure what a “tag curler” is, and I’ve never purchased “embellishments.”

We like to record our memories as much as the next family, but we just do it a little differently.  Our method isn’t as beautiful as scrapbooking, but it works for us.  And it is far superior to my old method of chronicling memories, which involved little more than tossing photos into boxes and wishing for a free day to dedicate to scrapbooking.

Eventually I had so many boxes that a month of days wouldn’t have sufficed, and I needed an alternative.  So I began notebooking.

Somehow, that one word made all the difference to me.  I could choose to make our notebooks a thing of beauty, full of embellishments and curled tags.  But I didn’t have to.  After all, I was not scrapbooking, and my notebooks could be plain and practical and no one would care.

Our tools typically involve little more than a three ring binder, cardstock and a stack of page protectors.

Whenever we are on vacation, I pick up enough maps and brochures so that each child can have his own set.  After we get home, each child makes his own vacation notebook, taping ticket stubs and maps onto cardstock and tucking mementoes into page protectors. Years later, should we choose to revisit the same location, the maps and brochures are easily found in the notebook.

It is important to remember not to tape down photographs, lest they degrade over time.   A few archival quality photo pages slipped in the back of the notebook give each child a spot to put his favorite pictures from the trip.   If they have kept a journal during the trip, this can easily go into the notebook, as well.

I do something similar at the end of the school year when I chronicle highlights for each child.  Samples of their best work from each subject are placed into a three ring binder, along with written compositions and drawings.  Throughout the year I snap photos of all their field trips, hands-on projects, recitals and special events, and put the prints in the back of each child’s notebook.  Saving and displaying these photos is much more practical than keeping every project they make throughout the year, and the children can see at a glance all that they accomplished.

I love my notebooks.  The simple, unadorned look of the three ring binder enabled me to stop worrying about how my memories would look on the page, leaving me free just to record them.  And that’s what scrapbooking is all about, right?

Loi’s Housecleaning Routine

To control housework and not let it control me, I use a daily routine.

Nightly Routine
1. Everyone picks up their stuff and puts it away. This usually only takes about fifteen extra minutes when everyone takes responsibility for their personal items.
2. Clean the kitchen. Turn on the dishwasher as you turn off the lights.
3. Vacuum the family room and straighten the pillows and magazines.
4. Throw in a load of laundry.
I love to go to sleep with my servants workings. As you close your eyes, thank the Lord that you live in a country where you have the privilege of an electric dishwasher and a washing machine.

Morning Routine
1. Make my bed.
2. Switch the clothes from the washing machine to the dryer.
3. Make coffee.
4. Empty the dishwasher while coffee is brewing.
5. Wake kids–eat breakfast–make lunches.
6. Kids rinse their breakfast dishes and load in dishwasher.
7. Fold and deliver clothes to rooms before kids leave for school.

Shower Routine
1. Spray down the tile and glass with Windex before you step out of the shower. Windex is my cleaning product of choice.
2. After you have finished with the sink, spray with Windex.
3. Wipe out the sink and countertop with damp towel. Yes, we use fresh towels each day.  A personal family preference.
4. Spray the commode with Windex and swish with potty mop. Wipe down with a paper towel.

This simple daily routine will keep all of your bathrooms relatively clean and germ free. You can get by with a bi-monthly cleaning.

Friday is sheet-washing day. We usually have company over the weekend and it’s nice to have fresh sheets on all the beds. Everyone strips their beds and brings the linens to the laundry room. The first person down starts the wash cycle. On sunny days I will have the kids bring down their comforters and hang them out in the sunshine to freshen them up.

Fresh air is better than any air freshening products. Throwing open the windows on sunny days will keep the house smelling fresh and kill harmful bacteria that lingers in the air. With our busy lifestyles and close living, people tend to keep their homes too warm and closed up. Air conditioners and heat constantly recycle air in our homes. God created the ozone air to rid us of germs. Have you noticed that some homes tend to have a smell to them? My grandmother’s home had a particular smell–moth balls. These smells linger from fried food, pungent spices, smoke from wood stoves or fireplaces, cats / dogs /birds, diapers, and cypress wood paneling to name a few examples. It is not always a pleasant aroma and often the smell is not noticed by the homeowners. We get accustomed to our own house’s smell. If you are daring, ask a trusted friend what she smells when she walks into your home. Air fresheners only mask the smells by adding chemicals to the air. Fresh air or an air purifier scrub the air molecules of impurities.

Making Thanksgiving Memorable

Although I do have fond memories of my childhood Thanksgivings, I also distinctly remember wanting to stay far, far away from my mother all that week. She always took upon herself the burden to entertain and feed the extended family. It was certainly a noble gesture, but one that she was not organized enough to do well. We kids generally wanted to eat quickly and leave the Thanksgiving table as soon as possible.

When my husband and I started our own family, I spent my first two Thanksgivings trying to recreate the ideal Thanksgiving meal – even though it was generally just us, thousands of miles away from family. My poor husband had to stand helplessly by while I whipped up enough turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes to feed an army. His pleas for simplification went unheeded.

It was only after I had an infant to care for and just couldn’t put in the effort required for the traditional feast that I began to rethink my approach to this holiday. I reviewed every tradition that I had assumed was so necessary and asked myself two questions: what does this tradition mean? And do I even enjoy it?

I love holidays, and I would rather spend them with lots of friends and family, so we began organizing large Thanksgiving potlucks every year. I’m not especially fond of turkey, especially when dry; my usual Thanksgiving entrée is Crown Roast of Lamb. I love incorporating local foods – our holidays in Hawaii often boasted local favorites like sushi and fresh pineapple. My kids like simple foods, so we make sure to have chicken and rice for their enjoyment.

Our Thanksgivings are certainly more relaxed and enjoyable, but we also intentionally include some time for real thanksgiving to the Maker of All. Now that’s a tradition I can live with.

Sheri Payne is a homeschool mom of 3 in Virginia
http://kauhale.blogspot.com

Reflections of a Scrapbooker

I never dreamed scrapbooking could strengthen my walk with God.  Like most, I began scrapbooking to tell the stories of family photos and enjoy a creative outlet.  Surprisingly, the hobby I began as a craft spurred my faith in three key ways:

I’ve recognized the value of difficulties. Life’s low points are as vital to document as the joys because hardships strengthen faith.  Seeing the benefit on paper helps me to be joyful in times of trouble.  Preserving these stories (with or without photos) ensures that future grandchildren can read about my growing faith.  I’d give anything to have such a treasure from my grandma.

I’ve grown strong Christian friendships. When women gather with a focus on photos, the bond is immediate and strong.  We share much about life, which can grow quickly into sharing the treasure of our Heavenly Father.  Scrapbooking friends from five different states now participate in a Bible study and meet by conference call for group discussions.  The blessing of studying with friends who can’t attend church together is overwhelming.  We share much more than photos and memories.  We share Christ.

I’ve been equipped for God’s service. Although I never saw myself as a teacher, I began helping women start album projects of their own.  Right away, I knew that God was preparing me for greater Kingdom service.  I now lead women’s ministry and Bible study groups.  God has grown my love for preserving stories into a heartfelt love for women.  He has given me a desire to serve Him and equipped me to do so while enjoying a passion.

Scrapbooking is more than a hobby and more than a craft.  It’s even more than a tradition.  For me, scrapbooking is a bridge to a lifestyle that glorifies my Savior.

Cathy McIntosh

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