PrairieLady
Avoid the Drive-Thru Trap!
Here are some great recipe ideas to avoid ordering take-out or going through the drive-thru which is not only expensive but usually un-healthy.
It only takes a little preplanning to get a healthy homemade meal on the table. The crock-pot is a great tool to use when you aren't home to prepare a meal.
Check out this great blog:
Hard Times
Some helpful suggestions on:
I don't know about everyone else, but now is the time to start making changes in how we consume and spend money.
I am not going to live in fear and I know the Lord will provide, but I also know I need to use wisdom and be self-controlled if we are going to get through these hard times.
What has happened 17 times in the last 17 years in the Wood family???
Hello dear friends!Well, the Wood family has some wonderful, exciting, new news to share with you all.... first have you gotten use to writing the Wood family address in pencil yet? I sure hope so because we are on the move once again! Move 17 in 17 years is just a few months away. The Lord has richly blessed us with a home on 16 acres that is already subdivided so my parents can one day build and live with us. It is our desire to care for them when the time comes- what a treat it will be to have the family all together! The home is so pretty... it is truly a "Jeanette" house with a front porch for friendship visits, big pretty windows and plenty of room for our family to grow! Two orchards, two gardens, and multiple berries are already mature and ready for the Wood family to enjoy! A pretty wooded park like area is awaiting the children for days of play! We also have a river that is quite huge, it actually is hooked up to our water system to care for the animals, landscaping and gardens. The river is sure to provide fun in the heat of summer, fishing tales and days of fun in the canoe with daddy! The barn is huge and is sure to be filled with the animals our Father provides in His perfect timing! We are all delighted!!! Can I share how it all happened? It was truly a God event!!!
One day, a few weeks ago, a gentleman came to our door saying that he was running for office. I directed him out back to visit with my Joe for awhile. After some time, Joe came to me and introduced us again- his name was Mr. Zeller- he mentioned to me that he had met several home school families and was also a father of five. Later that day we were driving around as a family when we saw him going door to door on another street. We pulled over to invite him to dinner however, when he pulled out his calendar it was easy to see he was quite busy. He asked for our email and phone number so he could call us and try to fit something in should the Lord open those doors. He also asked if I would want to be added to his email newsletter. Of course! We would love to keep current on his progress and the issues we could be in prayer over.
A few days later I received an email from the woman who was in charge of Mr. Zellers email newsletter. She sent me a sweet introduction letter to her family- she is a homeschool mom of 7. What a treat it was to hear from her and more than that she also invited us out to her home for a dinner and dance. Now, everyone that knows the Wood family knows we don't go out much but after talking to my Joe and the children everyone thought we should go and meet them. What a surprise when we showed up... there was 6-7 other homeschool families all with many children! We were delighted and had a fun night of fellowship! The children continually came to me saying, "Momma.. these are really neat friends!" While visiting with some of the women I was asked how we liked Kansas. I responded, "We are enjoying it. It was quite a pleasant surprise to find it so pretty and people so friendly. My parents came out and would like to join us here one day. We are going to start looking for property but we have some special requests because of their needs." One of the woman said, "Oh! You're looking for a place?" "Well, yes but it must have a paved road." I said hesitantly since most of what Joe and I found has been on dirt roads. "Oh! It does!" she responded and then she told us that the Ribelins had not yet put their home up for sale but that they had built a home on more property and were getting ready to do so. I got the phone number so we could contact them but I wasn't really feeling rushed to call since it probably wasn't what we were looking for.
Two days after that party, Joe was off from work and said he wanted to go look at the home. We got directions and were so surprised... rolling hills, everything was green, close to the shopping center, nice homes on the drive out.. everything was looking so lovely. Could this home really be something we are looking for? As we turned the bend of the road we saw the home.. instantly, the car "whoooed and awed" Oh, could this be the home we are looking for? We met the family, who are very precious! Both of us talked and said.. "Let's see what God does." Even if He says no to us buying the home we both agreed that we wanted our friendship to grow as we grow in Him. We toured the property.. I called mom in tears as this was exactly where I could see them growing old and me walking over to enjoy a cup of tea with her in the mornings!
After a few exchanges in documents, photos and information. Mom and Dad felt they needed to fly out for the weekend to look at the property and see if this was the Lords direction for our families. After mom and dad took a look at everything and the matter was given time in prayer.. we have all decided this is the Lords direction and... well... The Wood family is moving!!!
We have a lease at this home however, the land lord has agreed to let us out of it if he can find another quality renter. We know that if this is the Lords direction He will take care of all these details. Our hearts are filled with thanks! We feel so richly, abundantly and undeservingly blessed!!! Dear friends, please lift your voice in praise and thank Him for His continual faithfulness to our family. Surely He has taken us to green pastures!!!
I have posted some photos for you to peek into our new home. I will send everyone our address as things get closer!
Thank you again for all your prayers and love toward us... we appreciate each of you!!!!
With much love, Mrs. Joseph Wood
Driving up to our new home
Coming down the driveway
Buidling site for Momma and Daddy some day
Wooded area
Huge pretty back yard for fun with friends
River:
Home:
I hope you enjoyed your little tour! Until our next chat dear friends....
Pantry Planning for Pets
Anyone with cats or dogs knows that there are ocassionally times when you run short on pet food. Of course, if you live in the city it is easy to stop at a store to buy more. Living in a rural area can make a simple trip to the store out of the question. What do you do if you run out of pet food just before a payday? What about winter storms or other situation when making a trip to the store is not possible?
If you are planning your pantry for winter, you should always try to plan ahead for your animals also. Just as a winter storm can cause a hardship on us if our pantry is not well stocked, it can be devastating to pets.
Our cats are all outdoor barn cats. We never keep cats in our home. For food, they hunt rodents which helps to keep the rodents from getting into the livestock feed and hay. The added benefit being that because the cats hunt rodents, we have no large rodent-eating snakes around the house, barn or outbuildings. Even though we only put out a small amount of food for the cats, mainly kitchen scraps that the sheep cannot eat, we still need to think ahead for winter. During winter months, the rodent population is lower and there is much less for the cats to hunt. This is where planning ahead can be a blessing.
Recently, I came across a couple of websites that have recipes for making homemade pet food. The first is Pet Food Cookbook. This site has many recipes for dogs, cats, and birds. The second site is Healthy Recipes for Pets. Healthy Recipes for Pets has recipes for cats and dogs. A special section for each also contains recipes for pets on special diets due to health issues.
I now have in my notebook a couple of recipes for cats. I chose recipes that use items found in our pantry on a regular basis. This will allow me to easily have the necessary ingredients on hand if the situation should ever arise that we need to make the homemade pet food. We are planning to get dogs in the spring to start working with the sheep. For that reason, I also have a couple of recipes for dogs.
Here is a very simple basic recipe for cats that will work in a pinch. Cook up some rice and lentils. To this add some leftover vegetables and a can of tuna. For cat food, you may want to have some tuna packed in oil. The oil is good for them. Mix this all together and let cool before feeding to your cats. You can feed the same thing to dogs. My husband remembers often feeding rice with leftovers mixed in to their dogs when he was growing up.
Things around the homestead
Ok, still don't know why the camera didn't want to upload to the computer...or why the computer didn't want it to, but that's technology for you. I've played and reloaded and rebooted and what-have-you, and finally, this time, it just sort of worked.Here's the assorted odd pictures of the last many days here:
LOL...yes, basically a useless picture...but it was supposed to be here for the day I baked the pumpkin bread and raisin pumpkin snack cake. And yes, of course I buy butter in that huge container....doesn't everyone? My goodness, what other size would there be for a large family?How do you learn to ride a bike? Well, you talk your older brother into letting you be the first to ride his new bike, then you get on and let him shove....er, push you gently....across the front yard. Note to my children: you might want to find a new place to test your bike riding skills. There is a slope to the front yard in that particular area, and it heads straight into the mulch pile and timber line.
This is Wild Child, Jacob...with Abigail there in blue, and KatiAnne on the bike....totally forgetting to even pedal...or steer.
Here we have Miss Emily trying to coax the chickens into coming closer for a visit. She poked her hand into the fence and wiggled her fingers, calling them...chickee, chickee. As soon as they started over toward her, she liked to have pulled the fence down yaking her hand out so quickly.
And the new addition to the homestead...and still unnamed officially...The Buddy Dog :o)
He is a Great Pyrenese (or however you spell that...it never looks right to me). According to our friend who got him at his auction, he's about 3 months old. But goodness is he huge for a mere 3 months old!
Here he is with Matthew...and our blind goat...doesn't he look awfuly big for 3 months? Maybe it's just me. I'm not very familiar with their growth patterns and all. I know they are to be large dogs, but at 3 months, I guess I thought he'd be more 'puppy' sized or something.
As to being 'protection' for the goats, well, I don't know about that. He's rather skittish with them and tries to pick his places wherever they aren't. And our 'seeing' goat is a bit of a pill with other animals in her pen. She all but killed the poor black puppies that grew up with them. The male is blind in one eye and won't go near the pen now. The female always did have a bit more gumption, but even she chooses her battles with that seeing goat.
Yeah -- that one there, staring at you, with a touch of attitude....that's the seeing eye goat :o) We bought her as a companion for the blind goat. But she's full of attitude...spit and vinegar I think is the old saying. That's definitely her.
A serene Saturday & Sunday afternoon
Here are the photos from yesterday. The children built a fort.
Well, it's an encampment of sorts, really.
It's Boonesboro...or in our case, Smithsboro. The children love watching the old television series Daniel Boone. Emily sings Daniel Boone was a man....a biiiiiggggg maaaannnnn.... all day, just out of the blue. And easily switches between that and Victory in Jesus or Jesus Loves Me. She has rather eclectic singing choices, I know.
This is the beginning of our fabricated chicken house, actually. It's just a cattle panel arched over a frame. We'll move the chickens around the garden area with it once it's finished.
Well, maybe...looks like I may not be getting this one back any time soon:
And the laundry that was left to wait on Smithsboro's completion...
And, I just thought this photo turned out nice. It's Miss Dimples, our KatiAnne, enjoying Smithsboro's outdoor cafe...
She wanted Grandma to see her :o)
Our Electric Bill
We have had so many inquiries from those who read my husband's and my blogs about our electric bill that I wanted to post. Yesterday, we received our first bill that has a full month of the limited usage. Last August, when we started this journey towards cutting out the majority of our electricity usage, our electric bill was $250 for 1 month of usage! That was the bill which had my Beloved reaching the point where enough was enough. So, we started making changes. These changes have paid off greatly. We removed the air conditioners, TV, VCR, DVD, many of the small appliances from the kitchen, and much more. Granted, the air conditioners were the major contributor to our bill, but the other things also had an effect.
So, what was the new amount for the current bill? It was $51 for the month! What a blessing it was to see that the changes are having such a pronounced effect. The lower bill gives us also the drive to try and take it further, lower our usage even more.
Thank you to all who have emailed, sent messages, or left comments about our changing to a more simple lifestyle.
10 Commandments for Every Christian
We could all certainly use far more of this in our churches today and a lot less of the 'Christian play' that goes on.
• DON’T IDEALIZE the church – it’s glorious, not because it’s perfect (after all, you’re in it!), but because it’s being redeemed.
• DON’T CRITICIZE your fellow-believers anytime or the pastor (especially never ever before or after a Sunday service: the Devil’s already doing that; don’t you help him).
• DON’T POLARIZE in church meetings or committees. ‘I don’t agree’ is very negative: try ‘Is there perhaps another way of looking at this?’
• DON’T OSTRACIZE people whose psychological ‘chemistry’ is different to yours, or who do not see things your way. Be Christian, and greet them warmly, and pray with them anyway.
• DON’T IDOLIZE the pastor or any other leader: we are all fellow- strugglers and we all have feet of clay.
• DON’T MONOPOLIZE conversations: be that kind of rare person who is an empathetic listener.
• DON’T ORGANIZE anything ‘off your own bat’. Initiative is good: initiative plus collaboration plus accountability is better.
• DON’T HOMOGENIZE. Talk to people who are not your cronies (even tax-collectors and sinners do that). Accept people who are not like you theologically. After all, God’s truth may include both your and their understandings!
• Above all, DON’T VERBALIZE your frustration or negativity about the church to others: it is sure to discourage them. Do it with the Lord, a spiritual director or counselor, and possibly, after much prayer, to a responsible leader. The devil is very clever: he puts words into our mouth like: ‘Would you (my friend) pray with me about the problem I have with...’
• Instead REALIZE that the Church is loved by Christ, so be patient with each other: the Lord hasn’t finished with any of us yet!
The Attack on Men
All I will say to this is Amen. If you can't see our society totally wrapped up in this, you need to pull off the blinders and take a really good look around you. We don't have many MEN in our society today. We don't have many LEADERS in our society. And, sadly, we aren't working to change that in our up and coming young men and boys either.THE ATTACK ON MEN:
Every television show depicts men as idiots, buffoons, or evil monsters. Satan wants to reach women because they are more easily deceived. The only obstacle to his subversion of women is men. His attack on men is primarily to remove any credibility or influence they have over women. The effectiveness of this campaign is shown in the TV program “The Red Green Show”. In this show there is a motto for men that is repeated with a resigned shrug, “I am a man...I can change...If I have to...I guess.”
Young men today may not even know that the pattern of male submission that is prevalent today is an aberration. It has never existed before in the history of the world. Men were created to take care of families. Women were created to be taken care of. “Women’s liberation” is a communist term for the destruction of families. Liberation implies a struggle against oppression. The communist “liberation” movements have all been armed rebellion against governments that oppose their revolution.
It is important to recognize that revolutionary and political terms are used to demonize traditional families and family practice. The “liberation” that is implied is not against men, but against the God created order of life. Women are to be liberated from families and made worker bees in the corporate hive. In the communist model, women are not mothers or wives, but workers. Workers exist to serve the state.
Men today do not have wives or mothers, just fellow workers. Men are told that this is the natural order of things and any suggestion of the “old way” is an insult to women and must not be tolerated. Men are told to accept the new status of women. Men are bullied into acquiescence with this rape of our culture and exploitation of women. It is sad that Satan has gotten women to be the loudest defenders of the attack upon women.
It can be helpful to examine some of the specific ways men have been reduced to silent and sometimes willing partners in the exploitation of women.
1. Higher education. Men were told that only smart people in universities were educated enough to have any authority to speak to issues concerning their families. Fields such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, social work, and other phony “science” have been used to stifle objection.
2. Liberal religion. Most churches have been completely subverted to worldly perspectives in advance of the more direct attack on men. When men turned to their churches to help fight the direct attack, they only found that the churches had already “gone over to the enemy”.
3. Media. Men are portrayed as crazed killers, bullies, irresponsible, unreliable, drunken violent abusers. Satan does not allow a picture of quiet kindness and strength. Satan will never allow real men who lead their families with love to be seen. The imprint of media is a stain on all of us. More pervasive than the worst Korean War brainwashing, we are saturated to our core with Satanic images, frames of reference, and modes of thinking.
4. Elementary education. The educational system has been one of the greatest tools Satan has used to homogenize men into a submissive mold so that they will not object to the changes being brought forth in our society. As boys they are continuously told to be quiet and sit down, they are learning to stifle their natural inclinations. A primary purpose of the elementary classroom is to break the spirit of young men.
5. Elevation of sport. Boys are told that if they have to be restless then they can play sports. There is nothing so sad as to see someone whose whole life is reduced to this narrow mode of expression. Some men become so occupied with sports, it becomes the only vehicle they have to communicate with others, like the POWs who would communicate by tapping out a code.
6. Withdrawal. Satan is familiar with the most common response of men to situations of discomfort, they withdraw. By making life increasingly alien to men, he forces them out of areas he wants to control. The percentage of women in universities is increasing dramatically. Most men cannot feel comfortable in the radically political, and fervently hostile climate of campus life. Even for men who want to lead their families, they do not know how to meet the frustrating resistance from family members already held captive by the world. These men often seek divorce when they should be seeking knowledge and wisdom.
7. Self-indulgence. For centuries Satan had to rely on alcohol and adultery as his main tools to subvert morality. However, by careful planning and timing he was able to introduce abortion, the drug culture, birth control, and the sexual revolution all within a few years. We now have a climate where this is an accepted way of life. However, while some are dragged down to complete degradation, others (by God’s grace) resist the pull of consuming sensual pleasure and see the emptiness and waste of such a life. Many Christian pioneers come out of the depths of sin to the light of truth and joy of knowing real love.
There is a way to fight back or at least resist these pervasive Satanic influences.
1. Become a Christian. There is a supernatural war going on all around us. Satan is allowed for a little while longer to rule over the earth. The Bible says that those who are not Christians are “held captive to do his will”. Being a Christian connects you to the winning side in this war and provides the means of being pulled out of a spiral of destruction.
2. Grow in truth. Satan achieves most of his success through our failures. If we draw close to God and gain wisdom and understanding, we are able to reduce the number of times we are deceived. The Bible says, “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world”.
3. Acknowledge humility. Most men do not like the feeling that they do not have the answers or need to get advice or help from another person. The Christian life cannot be lived without humility. Men need to learn that courage is undertaking difficult or unpleasant action because of necessity.
4. Find a mentor. God provides those with wisdom who can give advice and provide encouragement. An ally in the fight against worldly corruption can be an essential part of a successful resistance to these corrupting influences. There are many poor and false teachers, so one should be careful.
5. Abandon error. Satan loves to isolate people in a shell of pride. A woman can raise a clenched fist demanding the “right” to be sexually exploited, killed her babies, and be left alone in her old age. No one will be able to convince her she has been duped because she has been inoculated against any suggestion of error. In a similar way men become encased in destructive prisons of error and humility is the key to escape.
6. Withdraw from diversion. Many children grow up in homes where they learn quickly that the father’s desire to watch television is more important than anything the child might have to say. Our recreations, entertainments, hobbies, and pleasures all act to turn us from our responsibilities. We need to understand the damage that we cause others by our selfishness.
7. Character is more important than performance. Men often focus on what they can do and how well they can do it. They tend to see their worth in terms of their value to “get things done”. This reinforces a materialistic and utilitarian view of the world. The Christian pioneer is understanding that all that we do is of God and there is no room for boasting. As we grow closer to God and value what He values, we learn that a humble and loving heart is infinitely more valuable that job proficiency.
We need to turn our vision from the world. The images we get from the world only enslave us. We need to turn towards Christ. From Him we gain truth, wisdom, and understanding. With the truth, we can build strong families free from the degradation and corruption of the world.
New Christmas Giveaway
There is a new Christmas Giveaway taking place! Mennobrarian has put together a wonderful giveaway Christmas themed package The drawing will be held on October 8th. You can read about it and sign up at her blog.
Best Wishes!
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