Cookin' It Up!

What has happened 17 times in the last 17 years in the Wood family???

Posted by Mrs. Joseph Wood
01:59, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 .. Posted in Mostly Photo Entries .. 7 comments .. Link

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....

Rootbeer Cookies!

Posted by blessed mom
01:01, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 .. Posted in Family Meal Table .. 5 comments .. Link

This was a new recipe we tried and it's a keeper! These are fabulous and not just the ordinary run of the mill cookie!! My kids LOVED them! The rootbeer used in the recipe is concentrate/extract not the rootbeer / pop you buy to drink. You can purchase the extract at the supermarket where the extracts are sold. ( next to vanilla)

The frosting/ icing is rootbeer flavored too!

YIELDS: 4 dozen

Rootbeer Cookies

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tsp rootbeer concentrate/extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 c up butter melted

2 TBS hot water

1 1/2 tsp rootbeer extract

Cream sugar, butter and eggs. Add rootbeer and buttermilk. Combine dry ingredients and add to creame mixture. Mix until smooth. *Refrigerate dough for 1 hour*. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

Glaze/Icing: Melt butter in pan, remove from heat and add hot water, rootbeer concentrate and sugar. Stirl until smooht. Spoon over cooled cookies. If glaze gets too thick you can reheat over low heat.

Enjoy!

~ gloria ~

Prayers for our Country -- He can heal our land

Posted by blessed mom
09:48, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 .. Posted in On My Heart .. 5 comments .. Link

Friends,

As you know our nation is struggling right now. The past few months our nation was hit by 3 tornados, and then the financial crisis on Wallstreet. We are in the midst of a bitter contest for the leadership of our nation with the upcoming election in November. Same gender marriage was recently allowed in the state of California. Shootings of various kinds have plagued our nation this past year. Our nation continues to embrace national infantacide thru abortion.

We are in a deep mess and there is only ONE way out.

" If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, an turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven an will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." ~ 2 Chronicles 7:22 ~

I listen to the politicians spew their thoughts on "how" we can heal our nation from the challenges we face.......and I shake my head in disbelief....... where is God in all "their" plans? The fact is, it's just "their" plans and not God's plans. God's plan is for us to repent, to humble ourselves, to pray and to seek His face...... and THEN He will HEAL our nation!

Our hope does not lie in a new administration ..... our hope does not lie in a "bailout" program.... our hope lies in the Lord!

Please join me in prayer for our nation. I have been praying for years for our nation to "turn our hearts around" .... but my prayers have become more feverent. We are in a pickle for sure & we have gotten ourselves there because of our wrong choices. We have left our "first love" and run after other gods. We have as a nation ran after the god of money, greed, debt,... you name it, America's got the latest "idol"....

It's so very sad.

Please pray for our nation....... pray for our people to turn their hearts to the only SOLUTION to our national crisis we are facing......... God.

May He forgive us,

gloria

Things around the homestead

Posted by HandsNHearts
08:26, Monday, October 6, 2008 .. Posted in Around the Homestead .. 0 comments .. Link

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

Posted by HandsNHearts
08:24, Monday, October 6, 2008 .. Posted in Around the Homestead .. 2 comments .. Link

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)

misplaced wisdom of youth

Posted by Andrea
09:21, Sunday, October 5, 2008 .. 2 comments .. Link

I am in the middle of a major soap opera that I'm sure would have everyone riveted to their tv sets if I were to put it on the screen. It seems like wisdom is misplaced to me. Why is it that you get your wisdom when you are older? So many young people need much more than they have.

My youngest son has decided to go live with his father who is a very bad role model. I have left messages for him but he has not spoken to me in over a month. I just pray and pray that God will watch over him and keep him safe and show him the right paths to take.

I also have a very best friend who is going through some very bad problems in his marriage. He is 42 and his wife is 28. She is just out to have a good time and not worried about the consequences of her actions on her husband and the children.

I guess we get the wisdom from our life experiences and that is the point of going through everything but sometimes I just wish God would give us a little earlier on in life, to help us make better choices.

10 Commandments for Every Christian

Posted by HandsNHearts
03:21, Saturday, October 4, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

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

Posted by HandsNHearts
03:54, Friday, October 3, 2008 .. 1 comments .. Link

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.

Tired of the liberal biased media?

Posted by blessed mom
09:32, Friday, October 3, 2008 .. Posted in This 'n' that .. 14 comments .. Link

Anyone out there in blogland weary of the liberal biased media?

If so, please leave a comment..........I have been trying to keep up on election news, only to become sick to my stomach whenever I read what is in the print media. :(

It is SO obvious the liberal media machine have picked their "star boy" for this coming election. He can do no wrong in their eyes. It is obvious they are out to "eat alive" those that even slightly ruffle their feathers.

It makes me sick and I hope Americans are seeing the media for what they are -- socialists who are despereately trying to "shape" American's thinking......... do they really think they can dictate to us what we should think and believe???

I am sick and tired of the oh so obvious partiality and bias...... this is not journalism......good grief.

I for one am not going to allow the socialist liberal media machine dictate to me what I should think about this coming election and "who" I should vote for.

I hope & pray you will do the same!

~ gloria ~

How Frail is your Faith?

Posted by Mrs. Joseph Wood
10:16, Thursday, October 2, 2008 .. Posted in Front Porch Chat .. 2 comments .. Link

How frail is your faith? These are the words I considered this week. My parents had come for a visit- it was a quick visit and I was concerned about their safety with them being so tired. I tried calling daddy however, his cell phone wasn't charged. I waited for the next morning and called their home.. no answer. Instantly my heart dropped to my feet. I tried the cell phones again, the car phones, the home phone again and then I heard that sweet sound I was longing to hear... that deep, raspy voice say, "Hello?" Oh, daddy! You are home! I heard all the details and learned the Lord had led them home safely without incident.. in fact he had a highway patrol man pulled them over at one point when momma was getting to tired just to check on them. Well, that sure woke her up and she was able to drive the rest of the way home without any incident! After I hung up I considered how frail is my faith.. will one missed phone call instantly make me forget all the countless times of His faithfulness? I had to ask the Father to forgive me and have kept that reminder in my thoughts this week as we have faced pressing issues. The Wood family is doing well...we delight in singing His praises and fixing our attention on Him instead of the storms of life. Cheryl, thank you for all your prayers and emails. Cyndi- thank you for calling to check on us and praying faithfully for our family. And to everyone else that lifts up the Wood family in prayer- thank you! How humbled we are that others would take time to pray for us!!!

I know there are many friends of ours with heartaches, concerns and life storms that seem to be invading every part of your being- may I encourage you to trust in the Lord... praise Him for who He is not just what He does! Fall into His arms and just listen to His heart beat! The song, I have posted above is one that has been sang often here in the Wood household, may we each desire to drink of His cup despite any discomfort to our physical bodies!

I pray that my brief note finds you all doing well.. bathing in His blessings and giving thanks for all He has done in your lives! And on a really fun note... go check my Bekah girls blog she has a fun post about laws in our new home state of KS posted. I laughed to the point of tears... just tooo funny! I also have posted here a trailer clip of a new movie that I am sure will be a blessing to many! Fireproof is a movie made by the same people that made Facing the Giants. Our Beckham family friends first told us about it; they watched the film last week and only suggested that if you go... take Kleenex! I pray that the Lord will use these films to reach the lost, the hurting and those that have strayed from His arms. Enjoy the clip and let me know if you go. I hope to go this weekend with my Joe as well as Bekah and Shadow- we will see what the Lord has planned.

Have a wonderful weekend as you abide in Him dear friends. May He have His perfect will in each of our lives.

May our lives be a testimony for all the World to see that there is a God in Heaven because of His Handiwork that they wittness in our lives.

With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood

Bekahs Blog: http://www.homesteadblogger.com/homesteadprincess

Fireproof video clip:

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