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.

Buckingham Palace Shortbread

It's that time of year when the oven is cranked and the candles glisten as I sit with the latest recipe book. I'm preparing for the holidays by experimenting with some new ideas. I've found some real treasures hidden in the pages of this book. One caught my eye because only few ingredients were needed. It's called Buckingham Palace Shortbread.

I decided to try this recipe and the results were amazing. One bite of this shortbread and I wanted another one. I decided to split a piece with the children to justify getting another one. That was so kind of me. :)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

 2 cups of cake flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/4 salt
1 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of powdered sugar

Direction:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt until well blended.

 2. Beat the butter until creamy. Beat the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.

3. Add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions until it forms a soft dough.

4. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes preheat the oven to 350*F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or leave ungreased.

6 On a light floured surface, roll the dough out to 3/4 inch-thick stab, about 5x8 inches.

7. Gently lift the dough and transfer onto the baking sheet. Baked for about 40 minutes. Slip the parchment paper with the shortbread onto a hard surface. Immediately sprinkle the shortbread heavily with the powdered sugar.

8. While it's still warm, gently cut into 1 and 1/2 inch squares. Let it cool completely.

The shortbread taste best at room temperature. 

I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did. 

Real Ministry

As I sit here at the kitchen table watching Sarah look up definitions of this weeks spelling words, the words spoken by my son last week keep playing over in my mind. It was just an ordinary day this school year. Sarah and I sitting across the dining room table not only "doing school," but also sharing life together when my son walked in and said, "Mom that's real ministry you're doing there."

I turned around and looked at him and asked him what was he referring to. How could this be "real ministry?" After all, I'm just a mom who is homeschooling her teenage daughter. A wife who serves her husband. A woman who loves Jesus and enjoys the simple things in life. I'm not standing before hundreds and thousands of people giving the latest talk. No one really sees what I do day to day but my family. If truth be told, there are days when I'm quite lonely and would enjoy the fellowship of adult conversation.

He proceeded to tell me just that. He said although I spend many many hours here at home, but what I'm doing here in my home is "real ministry." He thanked me over and over again for my presence here in the home. He encouraged me to continue doing what I'm doing and don't change for anything or anyone.

As a mom, to have your 20 year old son say such wonderful things is a blessing to hear. There were many years of toiling that I thought my children would never get past the years of depending on me for everything. Looking back, I'm so glad I was there because now I'm reaping the benefit of all that hard work.

Though our days may seem long and tedious, you may not get the recognition now, but wait. It will be worth it because God is true to His word:

Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her.
-Proverbs 31:28

A Mom's Version of I Corinthians 13

"Grace and mercy is not your friend today!"

Those are the words I shouted this morning as the hustle and bustle started. Then I remembered that in everything I do, even in being a mother, I have to do it in love.
 
"And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 
 

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. 

If I scream at my children for every infraction, 

and fault them for every mess they make, 

but have not love, my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children.

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 accepts the fact that I am the ever-present "mommy", 

the taxi-driver to every childhood event, 

the counselor when my children fail or are hurt. 

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child, 

then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. 

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. 

Now I glory in God's perfection of my children. 

All the projections I had for my house and my children have faded away into insignificance, 

And what remain are the memories of my kids. 

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture, 

dishes with missing place settings, and bedroom walls full of stickers, 

posters and markings, 

But the greatest of all is the Love 

that permeates my relationships with my children.

-By: Jim Fowler

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother's first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

By: William Ross Wallace

 William Ross Wallace, the author of this poem, was born in 1819. He passed away in 1881.

I have always wondered where that saying, "the hand that rocks the candle is the hand that rules the world" came from. Now I know. 

The Marriage Bed

Bone of my Bone,
Flesh of my flesh
Breathe of my breathe
...My refuge, My safe haven
is in your arms with my head upon your chest
My covering, my protection
Enveloped with complete security.
listening to the rhythm of your heartbeat
It plays my favorite melody.
Your fingers run through every strand of my hair
a soft kiss on my head
Falling asleep in my favorite place,
pure and undefiled,
is our marriage bed.

By: Katrina Smith

Katrina Smith is the author of the book The Butterfly Movement ~ From Survival to Purpose

"My beloved is mine, and I am his." -Song of Solomon 2:16

Here lately I've been getting emails from women asking me what's acceptable in the marriage bed. What's acceptable in the marriage bed will vary from couple to couple. In saying that, I do know what is not acceptable. What is not acceptable is another person. In order for the marriage bed to be the sacred place God intended for the husband and wife, there cannot be any other person or anything that will distract the husband from pleasing his wife, the wife from pleasing her husband.

"Behold, you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! Also our bed is green." -Song of Solomon 1:16

The Shulamite woman said something here about their bed that really stood out to me. She said their bed is green. When something is green, it has life. There was life in their marriage bed. God's original intent for the marriage bed was not death, but life. Our marriage bed should be pure, undefiled and full of life.

Life Through My Eyes

I'm constantly having those proud mommy moments. Two of my sons directed this short film. It's based on a true story.

Never judge someone by what you see. You never know what the story is behind that person's life. There's always a story. My family has a story. This true story could have been based on my family. There was a time when we felt hopeless. There was a time when we were almost homeless.