Divine Appointment—The Resolution for Women

Cookie Cutter Life I grew up wanting to fit in with everyone else. I lived my life trying to please others and be who and what they wanted. I wanted to look like the other girls. I wanted to act like them. I didn’t want to cause any waves or draw attention to myself in any way. I wanted to live a cookie cutter kind of life.

Living Differently What I never learned until much later in life was that I wasn’t supposed to be living that way. I was supposed to stand out. I was supposed to be different. If I wasn’t different in any way, then how would the world have known that I was a Christ follower?

“We ought never to be lost among the shuffle of worldliness . . . driven by lowly pursuits and interests, becoming so similar in appearance to everyone else that we can’t be singled out in a crowd.”

I have come to the realization that I don’t want to be lost in the shuffle anymore. I want people to talk about how I am different. It isn’t a bad thing to be different as long as you are living your life for Christ.

People often say that I am wasting my life and my degree by being a stay-at-home mom; they say that I was destined for far more important things than cooking, cleaning, and changing diapers. But what they don’t realize is that I am exactly where God wants me. He made me a mother of nine beautiful girls. He placed the desire in my heart to stay home with them. He designed me to be a keeper at home. If I am in God’s will, then how can I be wasting my life? Shrier mentions Moses in this chapter and how he took on the job of a shepherd after being raised a noble. While it didn’t look “right” to the world, he was exactly where God wanted him.

My life is standing out for Christ now. Many aspects of my life go against what normal society says I should be doing and I’m okay with that. When people feel the need to bring it to my attention (and not always in a nice way), I am thankful for the opportunity to share God with them. It is because of Him that I am the way I am and am experiencing the many blessings He has for me. I am far from living the life He has for me perfectly, but I am trying to live it with purpose. I am trying to bloom right where He planted me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

I've never cooked or baked with rhubarb before. In fact, for many years I thought I didn't like rhubarb because I had tried it once and didn't like it. Then, a couple of years ago I ate a dessert at a church potluck and was surprised that it was rhubarb. Since then, I've had more and more rhubarb and enjoyed it. While at my in-laws house for Mother's day, I mentioned that I would like a little rhubarb to try cooking/baking with it. My father-in-law ended up giving us a large box of it so I have lots of rhubarb cooking/baking in my future!

I figure rhubarb is a frugal food to use because it grows about anywhere and it grows in abundance. I am looking forward to finding new recipes for my family.

The first thing I made with it was a rhubarb pie which I thought was pretty good. Yesterday I tried strawberry-rhubarb muffins. I took a recipe I found on Pinterest and of course changed it to make it a bit healthier and to use ingredients I had in the house. Everyone liked it so I will probably just stay with my version instead of some day trying the other.

Here is my version of Strawberry-Rhubarb Muffins.

• ¼ cups Coconut Oil
• ¾ cups Sugar
• ¼ cups Safflower Oil
• 2 1/4 cups whole grain Spelt Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 cup soured milk
• ½ teaspoons Almond Extract
• ¾ cups Chopped Rhubarb
• 1 cup Chopped Strawberries
• ¼ cups Brown Sugar For Tops

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease your muffin tins (approx. 18 muffins).

With an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and oil until smooth. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the egg, soured milk and almond extract to the creamed sugar mixture and mix well. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Add the chopped rhubarb and strawberries and lightly mix in.

Scoop the batter into tins. Sprinkle a little brown sugar on the top of each muffin.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes until golden on top.

Squiggly Twigs Designs

Over the years, I have begun sewing more and more of the clothes for my girls because it is becoming harder and harder to find modest clothing for them. It is also nice to make them a dress in their favorite color, a pattern they like, and even to make coordinating outfits for them.

To help me with my sewing, I have utilized a number of patterns from Squiggly Twigs Designs. The two patterns I use the most are the Miss Patricia and the Pretty Peasant Dress Pattern. I really like these patterns because they are so versatile. I download one pattern and then can make multiple sizes from that one pattern. I am able to adapt them to whatever measurements I need/want and can even add ruffles, shorten or lengthen sleeves, etc.

Here is a picture of the girls wearing skirts I made for Resurrection Day 2011 using the Miss Patricia skirt pattern. I chose four different materials and then combined them in 8 different ways so each girl had a unique skirt. I was able to adjust each to the specific length needed. Also, when I ran into some problems with the pattern, but Debbie was quick to work with me not only through email, but also through phone conversations until we were able to get it worked out. Customer service is definitely a plus! Hava (the youngest at the time) is wearing a jumper using the Miss Maria pattern. I want to use this more because it is just too, cute!

I also use the Pretty Peasant Dress Pattern for making pajamas and dresses. I used it to make nightgowns for the girls at Christmas 2011. While they didn't have matching material, they all had some kind of pink (I used what I had been given!). Here are pictures of a few of them; I was having difficulty getting the pictures to load so I didn't do all of them.

I also used it this past Resurrection Day for their dresses. I purchased four different colors in the same pattern and then combined them to make their dresses. I used embellishments I already had on hand to finish them off. Again, they were able to have coordinating dresses but yet unique for each of them.

I highly suggest checking out Squiggly Twigs Designs if you sew clothes for little girls (or even women!). Every Tuesday she posts tutorials on new ideas and has many patterns available for download.

The Affirmation Crusade—The Resolution for Women

We’ve already discussed the importance of realizing that God created us special and unique and we should revel in that instead of being ashamed; however, women are also creatures who thrive on receiving affirmation.

“[W]e experience a certain depth of blessing when we are affirmed by other women.”

Have you noticed that women often compliment each other on a hairstyle, a shirt, or a pair of shoes? We compliment each other on a well-cooked meal, a great grocery deal, or even the color of our nail polish. Women enjoy receiving compliments and will therefore give compliments to others quite often.

Men do not understand this need for affirmation. Their lack of understanding can sometimes cause stress in a marriage relationship. I think the key is to communicate that desire/need to your husband and model it for him. You can compliment him on a number of different things and I think without even realizing it, he will start complimenting you more often as well.

Since receiving compliments are such a blessing to us, we should be more intentional about blessing other women in that way. The next time you like someone’s sweater, or skirt, or garden, take a few moments to let her know. You will brighten her day by affirming who she is.

 

Another resolution came at the end of this section:

“I will accept and celebrate my uniqueness, and will esteem and encourage the distinctions I admire in others.”

To Which Kingdom do you Belong?—A look at Chapter 12 of Be Fruitful & Multiply

“God’s kingdom is a kingdom of life. He is the author of life. He is the one who breathes life into every human being. He loves life. Because He is the author of life, it is precious to Him. Do we value life the same way that God does?”

I have been saying the same thing (in different words of course) for a number of years. It is something I challenge people with often and wish I had the courage to challenge even more people with.

Almost always, people will agree that children are a blessing (especially within the church). While they say children are a blessing, their actions say something different.

Blessings are good things that people are usually eager to receive; however, when it comes to children, they want to limit their blessings. Why? Are we not saying that life isn’t valuable when we deny a life to be born? Many will say that they are not denying life because they have never had an abortion, but as I’ve discussed on my blog before, by trying to take control out of God’s hands of when He blesses you with a child, you may certainly be denying a life to be born. In addition, those who have taken hormonal birth control could have unknowingly caused an abortion because of those hormones. (I still cringe thinking about the years I used hormonal birth control.)

We often read in the Bible times when many babies/children were killed. Why? It was always because Satan was trying to stop God’s plans from succeeding. One instance was when Pharaoh had all baby boys killed to try to stop the Israelites from multiplying. Another was when Herod had baby boys killed because he heard the King of the Jews had been born.

Satan is still at working trying to eliminate life! If he can decrease the size of God’s army, then he is on his way to succeeding. Far too many Christian families have fallen prey to his deceptive plan of shrinking God’s army. It has gotten so bad in our society that we are now being forced to help pay for Satan’s deception! Not only does your insurance money go to help others get hormonal birth control or sterilization if you pay for insurance, but your tax dollars pay for the same thing through Medicaid. Tax dollars are even being used to help support Planned Parenthood which performs abortions and there have even been some court cases that have come to the conclusion that it is okay to “abort” a baby immediately after birth if there is a just cause to have had an abortion beforehand if the mother had known the exact status of her child.

It is sickening for me to see so many Christian families not only buy into Satan’s deception, but to argue for the necessity of his plan and to support it with where and how they spend their money.

I firmly stand in God’s Kingdom and support life in all cases. Where do you stand?

On Faith and Frugal Living

The girls and I were interviewed for the local paper earlier this week and an article about us ran today. Go to the Cadillac News and check it out!

Before she had children, Darcy Carmichael could not picture herself a stay-at-home mother.

She wasn't big on cooking and cleaning.

Today, the Manton woman is a stay-at-home mom of nine daughters, who range in age from 1 to 11 years old. She decided to leave her job as a teacher after the birth of her third daughter, Allyn, who's now 8. She jokes she was forced to learn to how to cook and clean.

Continue reading the story at Cadillac News.

Feeding Your Family on a Budget, Part 7

Meatless or Less Meat Meals

Scalloped Egg Casserole

10 hard boiled eggs

6 tbsp butter

6  tbsp flour

2 tbsp mustard (dry or prepared)

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

2 slices of bread

Melt butter, whisk in flour and mustard and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk until thickened. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Peel and slice the eggs. Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan, then a layer of sliced eggs, more sauce, and another layer of eggs, and keep going until gone. Butter bread slices and cut into cubes and put on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is a good side dish or double to use as a main dish.

Quinoa and Black Beans

2 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 ½ cup uncooked quinoa

3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 quart canned black beans

parsley

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and parsley.

Note: Other beans may be substituted or substitute rice for the quinoa (you’ll have to cook longer though).

 

Lentil Sloppy Joes

1 cup dried lentils
2 cups water
1/8 cup onion, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp. chili powder 
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste or ketchup
1-1/4 cups water (omit if using ketchup)
6 to 8 whole wheat buns or 2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions:
Rinse and pick through lentils.  Add two cups water to pan with lentils and bring to boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 40 minutes until tender, but not mushy.
For the sauce, combine the minced onion, salt, sugar, dry mustard, chili powder, minced garlic, and celery seeds. Combine well and set aside.
When lentils are done, add the tomato paste and water. Stir in the sauce seasoning. Combine well and heat through. Let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes on low heat to combine flavors.
Serve on whole wheat buns or over brown rice.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Herb Bean Spread

1 clove of garlic
1 can Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon basil, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

With motor running, drop garlic into food processor or blender. Add beans, juice, water, and oil. Puree until smooth. Add basil, salt and pepper. Pulse until incorporated and herbs are coarsely chopped.
Spread the bean spread on the inside of the pita and layer in the veggies of your choice.

Feeding Your Family on a Budget, Part 6

Even more ways to save money:

• Cook from scratch! Buying convenience food costs money. I can just as quickly whip up pancakes from scratch as from a box and they taste better and are healthier, too. If you think you don’t have time, then you could prepare extras on weekends or when you do have time.

• Don’t buy convenience foods! You can buy a lot more rice in a bag than if you buy minute rice. It really isn’t hard to cook rice and it doesn’t add a whole much more time (especially if you have a rice cooker because then you can just set it and forget it!)

• Eat whole grains! Whole grains fill you up faster so you will eat less. For example, before we made the switch to whole grain pasta, we would go through two pounds of pasta at each meal (back when there were just 7 of us). Just the other night I made a meal with only one pound of pasta for all of us.

• Serve lots of side dishes! I learned this one by accident. If you have out more options for sides, people won’t eat as much meat which will save you money! I was raised that every meal needed a meat, starch and vegetable, but if I offer two vegetables and/or a fruit, then the amount of meat consumed is less.

• Raise your own food if possible! We started with a garden to help us save money. Even if you don’t preserve your abundance, you will still save money during the summer/fall when you are picking from your garden. We now have chickens for eggs (and meat) and goats for milk. It costs a lot less for feed for those animals than it would for us to buy the food. Even if you live in the city, you can still do container gardening, square foot gardening, etc.

• Let your friends and family know you will take their abundance! We have friends who know they can call us if their gardens produce more than what they want. We just head over and pick what is left. I have friends who receive food from others and they might not particularly care for what was given to them, so they call us. We have even had friends of friends call and offer food from their gardens, old hens for butchering, etc.

Can God Use Me For His Purposes?

Can God Use Me For His Purposes?

Wait

 by Russell Kelfer

 Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

 Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

 I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

 And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”

 ”Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.

 ”Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!

 Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?

 By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

“My future and all to which I relate

 Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?

 I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,

 Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

 ”You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,

 We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

 And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:

 I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”

 Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,

 As my Master replied again, “Wait.”

 So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,

 And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?”

 He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

 and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.

 I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.

 I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

 ”I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.

 You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.

 You’d not know the depth of my love for each saint.

 You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

 ”You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;

 You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.

 You’d not know the joy of resting in Me

 When darkness and silence are all you can see.

 ”You’d never experience the fullness of love

 When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

 You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

 But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

 ”The glow of my comfort late into the night,

 The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

 The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask

 From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

 ”You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,

 What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.

 Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,

 But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I’m doing in you.

 ”So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see

 That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.

 And though oft My answers seem terribly late,

 My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait.”