My Identity

All of the decorations are taken down with the exception of a few words glistening with glitter in the green grass. I bend over to pick a few up. There I stood staring. The staring lingered as I saw the words “GRAD” and “CONGRATS”. What am I going to do now? Our youngest child has just graduated from high school. Continue here...

Bloom Where You're Planted

The clouds have finally rolled back and the sun is shining brightly each day. I grabbed a chair this past weekend and sat in the middle of the yard. Curiosity was getting the best of me. There was so much going on in my neighborhood. Neighbors doing yard work. The sound of mowers humming said Spring is here. I wanted to see. I wanted to see everything. Especially, my husband as he was planting new rosebushes and azaleas in the front yard. Bloom Where You're Planted continued here...

 

Sweet Potato Pie: A Thanksgiving Tradition

Every year around this time I reflect on the first Thanksgiving my husband and I had together as man and wife. I still get a chuckle just thinking about it. We come from two different cultures. Our cultures never really clashed until we were trying to figure out what pie we should have at Thanksgiving.

Click on the link for my Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

 and how it became a Thanksgiving tradition in our home.

A Homemaker's Attitude

As you may know by now, homemaking takes time. Time can be your best friend or you view it as an enemy. However you see time, a few things are certain; time does not stop nor does it wait. It just keeps on ticking.

Too often in my younger years of homemaking, I thought time was an enemy. I would wake up early in the morning with my to-do list in hand ready to conquer the tasks that were before me. I would try to cut corners in order to save time.

Oh sisters, I must confess something to you. I despise cleaning toilets. How I wish I could tell you that there is a smile on my face as I scrub the toilet bowl. Not only is there not a smile on my face, there’s mumbling on my lips. As I stand scrubbing, I cannot help but to wonder how long I must stand there scrubbing. There are so many other things I’d rather be doing with my time. I need to check Facebook. After all, I want to see if there’s an update on my friend’s next door neighbor’s grandmother who was having surgery. Also, someone may share an idea on a short cut to cleaning toilets.

How I wish I could say that my attitude regarding homemaking is always a positive one. It is not.

Last week after scrubbing the toilets, my daughter commented on how clean our toilets were and how much she enjoyed that. My heart beat a little faster. The first thought that came to my mind was whether or not she heard the mumbles that I uttered from my heart.

At the time, my heart says there is more to life than scrubbing toilets.

Preparing meals for my family is something I can do all day. I love being in the kitchen. I have fond memories of time spent in the kitchen. While in the kitchen, my heart is filled with praise. My attitude is great because it’s something I enjoy doing.

How quickly my attitude can change at the dinner table when the meal that took hours to prepare is eaten within ten minutes. By the way, I do not recall hearing a “thank you” or “this is delicious”. All I hear are grunts and “mmm…” accompanied by a few burps.

My family does not realize that I missed what is trending on social media because I was too busy cooking a meal. Now I am out of the loop. Three hours have passed since that friend I have never met posted a picture of her husband taking her to a lovely new restaurant on opening night. She already has so many likes and comments on that photo. All I have is a kitchen table with dirty plates.

At the time, my heart says there is more to life than cooking meals for your family.

As for me, time is not necessarily the enemy. It is my heart and the things that dwell therein. The mouth speaks what my heart says. Once I recognized that there is an ongoing battle with homemaking versus my idols, I was able to put things into perspective.

Homemaking for me could not be confined to a certain time of the day. I admire those women who have a schedule and stick to it. My greatest success in homemaking came when I acknowledged that homemaking was a matter of the heart. If I truly believed that I am called to be a homemaker, it will show in my attitude. It will be easier for me to put away the idols that consume my time.

“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.” -Proverbs 31:27

My Journey to Simplicity Has Just Become Simpler

I did it! I went 7 days wearing only 7 pieces of clothing. I can't say that it was hard. In some ways it was, but in others, not so much. The word that's most fitting is funny with the "LOL" in caps. There were a few funny moments that I dare not share publicly. None the less, it was surely a journey that I will never forget.

I did however, learn something about myself. It had nothing to do with clothes, but everything to do with something material that up until 3 years ago I didn't have. It's my laptop. Or should I say was my laptop.

For years I longed to have my own laptop. I would literally dream about the things I could do with my laptop. For years I shared a desktop with the children and occasionally with my husband when he got on two or three times a year. One day, my dream came true.

I still remember the day bringing her home. Yes, her, because I called her "my little girl". She was mine. Everybody knew that she was mine. She was such a part of me that I gave her a name. I named her Tilly. I went so far as to add her as a daughter on my Facebook profile. I know by now you're shaking your head wondering if I had my head examined recently. Rest assure, my head is fine; well, as least that's what I've told myself for years (ha ha).

I've been longing for simplicity and carry out my commitments to the book "7" by: Jen Hatmaker. What I didn't know that my journey to simplicity would entail learning a valuable lesson about myself. You see, I had not died to self (me) the way that I thought I had. It wasn't until some material thing that was so precious to be was no longer there. Soon after, I heard something. Or should I say Someone.

"I'm all that you need Sandra. When you have Me, you have everything."

I wanted a simple life. I wanted to rid myself of excess. I wanted this journey to open my eyes to me and the things deep within me. That's exactly what He did and exactly what He's doing. He's making my life simple...

In recent days I've been reminiscing about the early days of my children's live. The days before I had a computer at all. Those days were so sweet and full of peace. We got up. We ate. We "played" school, but I was really homeschooling; I didn't know it then. I remember the days when I had no idea what was going on in the world because we didn't receive any channels on our television. Those were the days. The days where my stress consisted of a baby teething and why didn't my child eat lunch. I long for those days...

The next journey that I'm going on is a "No Stress" journey. That will be 7 days of no stress. How can that be possible? I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out. For sure that means ridding myself of those things that bring stress. My 7 days of no stress would be easier if I went to Hawaii, but I'm not. I'll let you know how it goes. Not sure when I'll be back on. I'm at the library and my session is about to expire. Until then, take care my friends.

Oh, before I forget, I gave away 7 pieces of clothing.

2013 Reading List & 2012 Short Recep

A new year is upon us. I breathe a sigh of relief and embrace this new year. Last year has earned the title "The Year of Transitions". Now that graduations are over and our children are settled at their new duty stations, things are so different here on the home front. There's just the three of us. Although things have changed dramatically around here, my duties remain the same.

My heart is still centered around my home. I spend my mornings and afternoons homeschooling a 14 year old teenager that has a great attitude about life. She's funny. She's smart. Evenings are spent together as a family. My husband is still a solid rock in my life. We laugh. We play together. We love each other.


As I was gathering my reading list for this year, I really didn't know where to start or what to read. I'm in a new season on this path we call life. It's a bitter-sweet season. I miss my young adult children, but it's beautiful watching my eagles spread their wings as they soar across the beautiful blue sky. They've transitioned from my lap only to leave their fingerprints stamped on my heart.

I'm a wife. I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother. I'm a homeschooling mom. I'm a homemaker. I'm an encourager and friend. With that being said, here's my reading list of 2013. These books reflect some aspect of whom I am, most important, I'm His daughter.

Here are the titles and authors:

"Fascinating Womanhood" by: Helen Andelin
"The Beauty of Modesty" by: David and Diane Vaughan

"Lies Women Believe" by: Nancy Leigh DeMoss

"Feminine Appeal" by: Carolyn Mahaney

"Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by: Joanna Weaver

"A Virtuous Woman" by: Ruth Mast

"Woman You're a Kingmaker" by: Dr. Wellington Boone

"Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman" by: Anne Ortlund

"Liberated Through Submission" by P.B. Wilson

"Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" by Jennie Chancey & Stacy McDonald

"The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands" by: Dr. Laura Schlessinger

"The True Woman" by: Susan Hunt

"Encouraging One Another" by: Women of Faith

"The Many Sides of a Woman's Heart" by: Brenda Hunter

"Woman to Woman: Life Principles From Titus 2" by: Barbara Henry

Magazines:

Keepers at Home

Crowned With Silver

Above Rubies

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been doing since my last blogpost:

Taken moments after I arrived.

My first time meeting this little guy.

We picked up where we left off almost a year ago.

As you can see, I got to visit my grandbabies! I love being their Mema

My youngest daughter got to travel with me. It was great spending time with both my girls.

Youngest son graduated from Army OSUT. I'm a proud Army mom. Hooah!

One of my soldiers got to come home for Christmas. I was one happy Army mom :)

Still keeping the flames alive ;)

Until next time,

Sandra

*Disclaimer: Although these books and magazines are good and have practical tools that you can apply to your life, in no means do they replace the Bible. Also, I'm not endorsing a book and/or authors(s), I'm just sharing what I'm reading this year. Please use your own discretion when reading the books listed above or any book for that matter.

Freezer Apple Pie Filling

I was blessed this week with a box full of apples from an older couple at church. I decided to make Apple Pie filling and freeze it for the upcoming holiday pies. With the left over apples, I will make apple butter. (Apple butter taste delicious when it's spread on some hot, homemade biscuits.)

Here's the recipe for Apple Pie filling:

About 8 cups of apples
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup of sugar (I use a 1/2 cup of white and 1/2 cup of brown)
1/4 cup of all flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

Put sugar and all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix.

It should look something like this when you're doing mixing. 

Dump the mixed dry ingredients in a freezer bag. 

Peel and core apples. I don't have one of those machines that peel apples. So to save time, I used an apple slicer. Once sliced, I peeled and sliced the apples.

Put the sliced apples in the freezer bag with the dry ingredients. Leave the air in there and shake the bag so that the dry ingredients coat the apples. 

 This is after the apples are coated with the dry ingredients.

 Add lemon juice and vanilla extract.

 Now, make sure all the air is out of the bag and mix. 

Now it's ready for the freezer.

I'm looking forward to baking Apple Pies this holiday season. This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving early. Two of our sons will be home. We look forward to spending precious time with them.

Word of Encouragement:
Let us, as Christian women, be busy about our homes. There are so many things that would come in and take time away from our families. If we allow those things (internet, social media, phone, going from house to house, etc.) to steal our time; it's time we can never get back.

Herbs, Honey, Bread & Butter

I look forward to our Wednesday evening home group. This week it is our turn to bring snacks. I don't know why I ponder over what to bring. I'm sure whatever I bring, the people are so sweet that they will eat it anyway.

Last week during our Home Economics class, Sarah and I baked some homemade bread. This bread was by far the best we have ever baked. The recipe is a keeper for sure. We got the recipe while watching the video "Homestead Blessings: The Art of Bread Making".

So I decided to bake bread for our home group. Here's an excerpt of the video.

Here's how our bread turned out. Of course we melted butter on our :)

Also, I managed to find fresh herbs really cheap in my area. I decided to make herb butter to go with it. Since my husband has a little sweet tooth (which I always cater too), I decided to make some honey butter as well.

Herb Butter

Herb Butter is fairly simple to make. You use 1 stick of butter. 3 teaspoons of your favorite fresh herbs. I like to use 3 different herbs. I also add a tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese; it's optional. Mix it on high with a hand blender until well blended.

Honey Butter

Honey Butter is just 2 ingredients: 1 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of honey. We like the taste of clover honey, so that's what I use.

I love to put my butters in small canning jars.

As the weather starts to warm up, I'm reminded that nothing compares to bread baking in the oven. Soon, I won't be able to crank that oven on. I'm enjoying it now while there's still a cool breeze today. Someday, I look forward to my grandchildren enjoying my fresh baked breads that I made for their mother and father when they were younger.

Home-Baked Bread

by Sally Croft

"Nothing gives a household a greater sense of stability and common comfort than the aroma of cooking bread. Begin, if you like, with a loaf of whole wheat, which requires neither sifting nor kneading, and go on from there to more cunning triumphs."
-The Joy of Cooking

What is it she is not saying?
"Cunning triumphs". It rings
Of insinuation. Step into my kitchen,
I have prepared a cunning triumph
for you. 

Spices and herbs
sealed in this porcelain jar,

a treasure of my great-aunt
who sat up past midnight
in her Massachusetts bedroom
when the moon was dark. Come,
rest your feet. 

I'll make
you tea with honey and slices

of warm bread spread with peach butter,

still fresh with dew. The fragrance
is seductive? I hoped you would say that.
See how the heat rises
when the bread opens. 

Come, we'll eat together, the small flakes

have scarcely any flavor. What cunning
triumphs we can discover in my upstairs room
where peach trees breathe their sweetness
beside the open window and
sun lies like honey on the floor.

In Honor of International Women's Day

In honor of International Women's Day, 

I would like to honor all the women who are truly 

striving to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

Each day, as Proverbs 31 women, we rise early. We do so not to catch up on the latest gossip circuiting the news media. Many of us rise early just to catch a glimpse of what His instructions are for us written in His word.

We go into our secret place to pour out our souls to the One whom we rely on each day. Knowing that without Him, we couldn't celebrate this day or any other day; but rather succomb to the pressures of the latest trend which society tells us what a real woman is. While there in that place, we die to ourselves so that when our family looks at us, they see Him.

Some pity us because they have the tendency to think that our days are filled with drudgery. Yes, some days are hard because we are going against our selfish nature that wants to be catered to rather than catering to others. For the most part we look forward to serving our husband and training our children. Some may see us as women who sit around all day eating Bon Bons while watching the latest daytime drama on television. Truth be told, we wish we had a moment to sit and watch anything. We live our lives not being busybodies in other men's/women's matters, but rather spending our days being keepers in our homes.

At the end of today just like any other day, we will praise God for blessing our day. We will praise Him for helping us get through this day. If it's His will that we rise tomorrow morning, we will praise Him again. We live our lives to praise Him each and every day in all that we do.

  

Domestic Tranquility

My home is all decorated for Christmas and I've been working on several projects. Each time I try and finish one, I start another one. Today, as I sat there at the kitchen table sewing an apron for a friend, something hit me. My home was so peaceful.

It was far from quiet. There were numerous sounds through out my home today. The washing machine which has the tendency to get louder and louder each day. Maybe I would too if I was being used for the fifth time before noon. Sarah sitting at the table with me cracking jokes as usual. One of my sons come through talking about the latest thing happening in his life. My sewing machine humming away with each step on the pedal. In the midst of it all, it's peaceful here.

Peaceful should be at least one of the words we use to describe our homes. With so many homes today in disarray, it can get discouraging at times. It's during those times that we have to remember who called us to do the job we are doing in our homes.

Being a keeper of the home is so valuable. In order for us to win the war against the declination of the family structure, the battles have to be won in our homes. Some days, the feeling of facing another battle can be overwhelming. It's on those days when we put our armor on and fight. When we fight, we don't play patty-cake with the adversary. We fight as if our lives and the lives of our families depend on it.

Peace is something that can be obtained in our homes. Look around your home. Look at your family. Look at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself that peace in your home is worth having. Something that's worth having is worth fighting for.

Glimpse of Our Family

Each month I try to learn something new. This month I learned how to do videos. I was so proud of myself. My husband raved about my video so much that I wanted the world to see it. There's nothing like a man who thinks you're the best at everything you do :)

Making Memories

My 19 year old son really got me to thinking this week about eternal things. One day, I will go into eternity and the things of Earth won't matter anymore. To me at least. What will matter are the memories that I leave behind for my family to cherish.

I've been on a quest since becoming a mother and a wife to make every second count. During this quest I'm hoping to make memories that will be cherished not only by my children, but my children's children as well.

Sarah (11), has been learning how to sew. I've been teaching her this summer to make simple things. She just completed her first apron that she made for her older sister who just got married.

One day while sewing, I touched her precious hands as I helped her guide the material through the sewing machine. I gently closed my eyes. I remember those same hands used to be so tiny that she could barely wrap them around my finger. The smell of the Johnson's Baby Lotion came to my mind. Oh, how I loved that smell. That smell how now been replaced by Bath & Body Works lotion. Where did time go?

I smiled as our hands touched and we finally got a straight 5/8 in. seam. She looked at me with excitement in her eyes. It was a proud moment for her and a memory she will never forget.

Sarah's precious hands

It's reversible

The Hype About Kissing

Some have asked us, "What's the big deal with kissing? Why such restrictions put on young adults who are over the age of 18? They are engaged right, so it is okay huh?"

Since the beginning of Ryan and Ruthie's courtship, Don made it perfectly clear to Ryan that he can not touch his daughter nor kiss her until after they said I do. Ryan gave his word and kept his promise to Don.

When it became public knowledge that Ryan and Ruthie were waiting to kiss until after they said "I do," the question arose as to what's the big deal with kissing. There's nothing wrong with kissing. In fact, I love kissing and I'm all for it because it's a form of intimacy. Intimacy is something that should be shared between a husband and wife according to scripture.

As a young teen, I did my share of kissing and I'm not proud about it. Those kisses lead me down a path of destruction because it opened up a door that led to a room in my heart where only my husband was suppose to dwell. The results from kissing left me sad and frustrated. Sad because I so wanted to be cherished. Frustrated because I wasn't.

Was my daughter doomed to repeat the same mistakes I did? I wasn't sure at first. They say history has a way of repeating itself. I didn't want my daughter to make the same mistakes such as the ones I made. With all the Christian jargon about generation curses I didn't know what to believe. One thing I knew for sure is that the God I serve had redeemed me from a life of sin. With that redemption, the generation curses would only be passed down if I allowed it. I was not going to let that happen.

In Song of Solomon, the Shulammite woman reminds the Daughters of Jerusalem not to arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

Kissing can and does arouse the sexual senses that we all have. We are kidding ourselves if we think that our children will not be aroused when kissing that young man or woman. Once those sensual desires are awakened, what's a young man or woman suppose to do? However they deal with it outside the marriage bed to bring satisfaction and release is sin.

As a mom, I've taken the lines from the Shulammite woman and remind my kids constantly not to arouse love prematurely. Many hours of dialog are spent in our home talking about purity and the rewards it brings.

I had an interesting conversation with Ruthie weeks before the wedding. I asked her if they've talked about the kiss that they will share at the altar on their wedding day. After she turned beet red, she said, "No we haven't talked about the kiss. We've decided not to talk about anything like that." That was music to my ears.

The picture above was taken right after the kiss.

First Ministry

Yes that's me in the center surround by the people I minister to everyday. Some may say that it looks like my life is centered around my husband and children. They are absolutely right because it does.

Yesterday I was on a conference call with my pastor, his wife and two other sisters that have become such dear friends to me. My pastor was encouraging us because he saw the things we were doing in the church. Things I do because I just love doing them, ex: encouraging women, cooking meals for new moms, helping out where ever I can, ect. My pastor wanted to publicly acknowledge us during our 40th Annual Women's Conference by giving us the title of Deaconess Missionary. He said we were already doing the work and wanted to make things official.

During this conference call, my pastor reminded us that our family comes first. Myself, along with the other sisters on the call agreed 100%. It was at that moment that I realized just how blessed I am to be under leadership that promotes family first above ministry. I'm not sure if my pastor or his wife ever reads my blog, but I wanted to say "Thank You!"

Being in the church for so many years I've seen on multiple occasions where a woman neglects her home for the sack of the ministry within the local church. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying anything against being active in church. What I'm saying is how can a woman go and help other people in the church when she won't even help her husband and children.

As funny as it may sound, I've seen women cook meals for other families in the church and won't even cook for her own family. A woman will go and clean someone elses home while hers looks like an F5 made it's way through it. She will be the first to raise her hand if her pastor asks for volunteers, but ignores her husband's request for assistance.

As our children were growing up, we didn't allow them to sit in the back with their friends and goof around. We kept our children with us. We wanted to worship as a family. Too often in the church, parents are so focused on making sure they are getting their "blessin" that they don't know what their children are doing. Some parents may be shocked to know that their childs first intimate encounter occurred at church.

Now that I have some adult children, it tickles me at times that they still make their way to the front row to sit next to us.

I haven't been the perfect wife or mother. Never have been. Will never claim to be. One thing I do know is that my family will always be my first ministry.

Hack! Hack! Hack! and Sweet Kisses

I received a text message from a dear friend this morning. She said, "Good morning." My text response to her was, Hack! Hack! Hack Crud! Hack! Hack! Crud!, etc..... It's was a good thing she wasn't standing in front of me. She may have been frightened by my manly voice and that awful hacking sound protruding from me. I then informed her that I was battling a cold. A bad one.

I've been under strict orders from my wonderful husband to rest and not do anything. That is very hard for me to do because I love being busy. Busy at home. I had all kinds of plans this week. I planned on taking out some my Spring clothes and putting away Winter clothes. I planned on starting a project that I will give to my precious daughter at her bridal shower. I planned on going to JoAnn's Fabric with my new coupons to see how far my $13 would go.

I took some over the counter medicine, which I don't like doing, but I needed some sleep. I don't remember much about this morning, but I do remember a few things. I remember my husband kissing me on the forehead before he left home to clean the church. The reason why I remember this is because it wasn't just one kiss, but many kisses. And they were sweet kisses too.

I'm not sure how much time had lapsed. Next thing I knew I felt those sweet kisses on my forehead again and this time he was telling me that he was leaving for work. Another thing I remembered was making sure the blankets were just so as I laid back down with a smile on my face. In spite of all the hacking, congestion, chest pain and sore throat, those sweet kisses managed to put a smile on my face :)