PrairieLady

Summer School Adventures Starting

Summer School Adventures starting...

Adding to the Summer School fun...and a baby shower gift

Adding to the Summer School fun...and general fun

we are closing Guantanamo...

Got good foods?

1. Raw (grass-fed) dairy products which are rich in CLA, alkalizing minerals (Ca, Mg, K) critical Vitamin D, beneficial probiotics, numerous enzymes, vitamins A, E, K and B Vitamins.
2. Free-range eggs, which are rich in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, cysteine and other amino acids, lecithin (phospholipids).
3. Cod liver oil, which is a rich source of vitamins A and D and some EPA/DHA.
4. Coconut oil, which is rich in medium-chain, saturated fatty acids as found in human breast Milk, Very anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-bacterial. Readily absorbed, easily processed by the liver.
5. Fermented soy products such as miso and tempeh (avoid processed soy products, soy-based supplements).
6. Fermented vegetables (raw) such as sauerkraut, kim-chi which contain powerful anticarcinogenic compounds, lactic acid, lactic bacteria, enzymes, nicin, acidolin Fand lactoperoxidase.
7. Fermented milk products: kefir, yogurt, clabbered milk, and buttermilk.
8. Raw butter/cream from grass-fed ruminants: rich in CLA, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, Wulzen factor (anti-inflammatory).
9. Sprouted grain products: rendered free of phytates, enzyme inhibitors; rich in enzymes and additional vitamins.
10. Pigment-rich fruits containing resevetrol, astazanthins, lutein, lycopene, proanthocyanidins, bioflavonoids, flavenols, ascorbic acid, etc.: blueberries, strawberries, elderberries, raspberries, prune-type plums, cherries, etc.
11. Ocean fish rich in EPA/DHA, such as sardines (watch mercury in large fish), wild (not farmed!) salmon, sea vegetables rich in alginates (which are metal decontaminants), iodine, numerous trace minerals and mucopolysaccharides.
12. Vegetables: brassica (especially kale, brussels sprouts), also broccoli, asparagus, garlic and onions, winter squashes, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, and miscellaneous greens such as raddichio, arugula, mustard greens, endive, dandelion, radish, celery, etc.
13. Meats (pork, poultry, beef and lamb) should be ranged fed and drug free. If your pH levels are low, eat small amounts until they rise.
14. Tropical fruits (for enzymes!)--pineapple, mango, papaya, jack fruit, leechee, guava, coconut, etc.
15. Pure water: up to half your body weight in ounces. Consider alkaline and energized waters.

1. sugar: Feeds cancer cells and causes insulin production, which stimulates cancer growth. Demineralizes and acidifies the body fluids. This also includes refined carbohydrates.
2. Vegetable oils: easily oxidized, causing peroxidized lipids (carcinogenic); especially avoid hydrogenated oils (trans-fatty acids). Exception: Raw, first-expeller-pressed olive oil, which is rich in chlorophyll and squalene.
3. Processed dairy foods and conventionally raised meats--they lack CLA, and are likely to contain hormones, antibiotics, E.coli, salmonella, camphylobacter, etc.
4. Too many carbohydrates even from whole grains (high in phytates, which inhibit mineral absorption and enzyme activity:). Soak and/or sprout grains before eating
5. Refined soy foods.
6. Fluorine, chlorine: enzyme inhibitors, carcinogens that suppress iodine uptake by thyroid.
7. Pesticide-laden produce: especially potatoes, apples, coffee, bananas, celery, onions, etc.
8. All processed (canned/frozen) foods such as possible, including organic processed foods. These foods are "dead".
9. Foods containing artificial colors - very carcinogenic.
10. Microwave and barbecued foods (heterocyclic hydrocarbons).

Voddie Baucham -- We Despise Our Children

:::"All I can think to say is, I can't believe he got away with it. If you are pressed for time, at least listen from 25 minutes until the end. He speaks on the state of the Church and how to close the generation gap." -Amy Scott

Of course you know how much I respect and admire the boldness and truth-speaking of Dr. Baucham, so I take any opportunity I find to point to him. I've heard part of this message before and it just makes me want to shout. Oh that more godly men would just speak the truth and not worry about its popularity…just as our Savior did.

"We despise children in the Southern Baptist Convention." -Voddie Baucham

Oh dear sisters, call your husbands and children around and listen to this message.

The Cleaning Challenge

Now the *real* purpose behind the challenge I offered up -- my main closet! We will be putting it under seige!

It isn't so much a closet really as a 'hidden storage area' here and wow is it a mess and disorganized extremely.

I know what we have in there, but the main trouble is too many littles going in and out for things, so nothing is even remotely stacked or grouped anymore :o(

Ok, not that being stacked or grouped even helps this area.

I admit it -- I have far too much fleshly pride to even take pictures. This is such a disaster area, I'm ashamed to have you see hoe bad it's gotten in there.
And it's not as though it's been in use as junk storage a long time either -- we just redesignated the area back when the woodstoves were put in! Losing a living space here for the wood heater and the cookstove meant repurposing those items from that room to another.

Well, I suppose 'repurposing' isn't really the word considering I didn't go about storage the proper way. What I should have done is to truly sort and dejunk *before* we relocated things to that closet area. I should have been ruthless and done some serious purging before even trying to relocate anything.

I am certainly passing on a poor legacy to my children with my lack of plan and organization especially when it comes to this! I want so much more for them! I definitely don't want this to be an issue for their spouses to deal with -- pack rat tendencies show a basic lack of faith, if you think about it. And if I trust that The Lord supplies my needs, I am stealing so much of His Glory by hoarding away so much junk and clutter this way.

But, I plan to regain that ground and honor God with my clean sweep as it were! God can easily redeem the loss to the locusts here, and I plan to be heavy in prayer chat with Him the entire way! I have to truly be honest about what is necessity and what is plain junk to shed ourselves from. And I know my level of pack-rettedness here...there is far more JUNK there than treasure to keep on and level!

So -- my JUNK Challenge this week will be the closet area.

What is YOUR area?

Monday's Update

But this week is busy. Good thing God instuted that wonderful day of rest and worship for us because we certainly needed it this week.

Tonight and tomorrow our preacher is doing Revival meetings at another church. We'll be meeting up with them to drive over -- so many back country roads stretching out around here, there's no way I'd find it on my own.

Wednesday we have our own church services and I have class with the teens. We are ready to start putting things together for our VBS now. I left the tubs of supplies last night, now its time to begin 'crafting' our 4 themes -- the jungle, a castle, an Indian village and a volcano. We have laid out the plan of action for the VBS, with the craft projects and games we are planning and we have our Bible stories/lessons together. Time to start making our props and such.

Thursday is the Visitations night. If any of the ladies come along for the ladies crocheting, I'll be up there. A couple of the ladies are planning to join the visitation rounds themselves, but I believe it's better for me to hang out at church on that. With my headcovering and dresses-only, Plain style to boot, I don't believe I'd be a help in visiting. Most folks automatically assume that we are Amish (well, we've been considered everything from Amish to Catholic to Jewish and even Muslim based on headcovering alone! Folks just don't know anything different and people do like their stereotypes and pigeon-holes). I don't see folks running to check out our church if they believe we hold anything Amish to ourselves -- folks don't tend to like "rules" or strict teachings; they want fluff and lightness.

Friday we just have bill paying to do. Whew! That will be a nice quiet day!

Saturday morning we are starting an Outreach at church. Again, the adults were starting this, but the teens really need to be involved in something themselves. I'd like to carry them up to Memphis one day, to the mission/homeless shelter and places like that. There is no end to the things they can and should be doing to reach out and see what is around them. They are rather coddled in their lessons sometimes, but they aren't children anymore, it's time they act as though they truly have the Salvation Gift they lay claim to and step into The Lord's adulthood.
Being the first gathering, and a bit short notice, I don't have a deep plan yet for this gethering, but hopefully we will get some ideas for next meeting at least.

And back to Sunday's glorious rest and worship again! We will definitely enjoy the Lord's Day again and bask in His Wisdom of a day set aside from the things of the world.

Other happenings this week:
We have 3 dresses cut to sew, prayerfully before midweek.
Lots of baking -- we might, if it's in His Timing, put together some mini breads to carry along for Visitations. Regardless, we have plenty of our own baking to do. And get the list together for the Farm Market.
Schooling goes on no matter what the busyness looks like
Finishing the side area of the barn, cleaning and mucking out
Putting together next month's school plan so I can check out the reading materials needed and used

All sorts of odds and ends to tie up with small projects and projects nearing completion.

And none of them are getting any closer to ticking off with me typing!

What's on your plan for the week?

Have I been missing that long?

The Newest Homestead Project...

Mother...Wife...Daughter of The King...Woman of God

For thousands of years, God-fearing women have looked to the noble, or virtuous (KJV), woman of Proverbs 31 as their ideal. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, probably had this role model of the virtuous woman in the forefront of her mind from earliest childhood. Most Jewish women did, for this poem was traditionally recited in the Jewish home every week on the eve of the Sabbath.

But what about today’s woman? Of what value can this ancient poem be to the diverse, complex life-styles of women today? To the married, to the single, to the young, to the old, to those working outside the home or inside the home, to those women with children or without children? It is more relevant than you might at first expect — although it is also too good to be true.

When we examine this ancient biblical ideal of womanhood, we do not find the stereotyped housewife occupied with dirty dishes and laundry, her daily life dictated by the demands of her husband and her children. Nor do we find a hardened, overly ambitious career woman who leaves her family to fend for itself.

What we find is a strong, dignified, multitalented, caring woman who is an individual in her own right. This woman has money to invest, servants to look after and real estate to manage. She is her husband’s partner, and she is completely trusted with the responsibility for their lands, property and goods.

She has the business skills to buy and sell in the market, along with the heartfelt sensitivity and compassion to care for and fulfill the needs of people who are less fortunate. Cheerfully and energetically she tackles the challenges each day brings. Her husband and children love and respect her for her kind, generous and caring nature.

But with all her responsibilities, first and foremost, she looks to God. Her primary concern is God’s will in her life. She is a woman after God’s own heart. Let’s examine the characteristics of this remarkable woman — a role model for Christian women today.

The model woman described in Proverbs is a portrait of ideal womanhood. The focus of this portrait is a woman’s relationship with God, not her specific abilities or marital status. The Proverbs 31 woman realizes that regardless of her natural talents or acquired skills, or all her accomplishments, her strength comes from God.

Who is a virtuous woman today? Proverbs 31 tells you that it is the woman who puts God first. The ideal woman of Proverbs 31 should encourage all women everywhere. Cultures change, but this woman’s God-inspired character still shines brightly across the centuries.

What more can I say on Mother's Day? The idealized perfection of Godliness wrapped in the clothing of a woman of God's Own Heart is right there in Proverb 31. Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary and Martha, Ruth...there are countless other worthy examples of women of God. Each has one thing in common, as the article I share about shows...each shares the heart of God every minute throughout their day. They look to The Father first. They draw their strength from Him and Him alone. They are not seeking gratification elsewhere, through the eyes of others, but seeking His approval.

We all strive for something in this life. For some, it's being a mother and wife. For others, it's being of a career-mind. We have to temper all of those against one thing in order to be truly called a woman of God...we must balance our daily lives, no matter what direction they take, by His Word and His Word alone. After that, if we are truly walking in His Way, everything else will fall into place and the 'struggles' faced will not be a hindrance at all but rather a stepping stone to yet another level of Godliness for us.

Happy Mother's Day to each and every mother out there -- whether you have children of your own still or yet, and whether you have the heart of motherhood or not in your life yet. There is a bit of that Proverbs 31 woman in everyone woman, regardless of where God has called her to be. May you all be blessed and continue to find many more blessings daily.

¹⁰Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

¹¹The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

¹²She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

¹³She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

¹⁵She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

¹⁶She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

¹⁷She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

¹⁸She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

¹⁹She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

²⁰She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

²²She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

²³Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

²⁴She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

²⁵Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

²⁶She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

²⁷She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

²⁹Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

³⁰Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.