growing and learning

Ray Stevens Does it Again!!!!

I just got this link in an email, and I had to share with you!!!

If you have ever heard a Ray Stevens song, and laughed, you have to listen to this one!!!  Turn up your speakers and enjoy!!!

http://home.comcast.net/~singingman7777/SOY.htm

Prayers for our Country -- He can heal our land

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

Where to start-part 2

Now that you've evaluated your financial situation and housing it is time to decide if you are going to have to move.  I know, move is a four letter word to many people-LOL.  For those of you who already have a paid for home with some workable land you are leaps ahead.  For me I had to move.  My house was to big and expensive and located in town.  At the point that the decision to move was made, we started looking into options.  Build? Buy smaller?  We knew the location so that was a big help.  We knew whatever it was it had to be paid for.  After a short time (very short) our options were clear.  We would have to start from scratch.  We had a camper so we decided to sell out everything---yes I do mean everything.  We replaced our new cars with older paid for ones, sold out everything from housing to equipment--if it wasn't part of the 'new plan'.....it went.  Talk about a tough thing to do!  But it was necessary.  It was late winter-early spring.  We set the camper on a piece of land and moved in.  We had 6 months to get a house set up before winter.  We started with a very basic one room design and built on from there.  Almost 6 months to the day we moved in the first part of the house.  Now this may not be an option for some but I told this so that you know that anything is possible, if you want it bad enough.  Easy? NO.  I won't lie about it.  It was hard.  But it was also very rewarding.  The thing about starting a homestead from scratch is you can build it as necessary and in the way you decide to set it up.  Small is the key---Only build the farm you need---nothing else.  Keep in mind your end plan---keep things in mind like heating and cooling.  Keep it as efficient as possible.  You will find that you will learn so much.  We knew nothing about anything when we started this.  I didn't even have the right clothing or shoes to work outside when we began-lol.  It doesn't take long to figure some things out.  Make a tenative layout of what area's you will need for gardens, animals ect.   It will probably change but keeping these things in mind will help in the long run.  Chickens, dairy goats, rabbits....are all good ideas to help you on your path to independence.  Think about water sources, heating options, possible solar applications, possible income sources, ect.  There is alot to think about and plan on,  so write it all down and date it.  I still have notebooks full of idea's and plan's that we made as we went along.  (you'll really enjoy these things later!)  You will find that you only have so much time to think things through and doing it twice is not good.  It is easier to change plan's then to start from scratch each time.  I hope this was helpful to someone!  Blessings>faithfarm

Crockpot Apple Butter

This recipe comes from my husbands Grandmother and Great Aunts.  They are just precious... I love them very much. They are going to share with me the recipe for the crust part of their fried apple pies also! The Apple Butter, I believe is the filling. I put up 9 pints yesterday morning and look to have at least 9 more for today. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
**Also... I don't know how a substitution of honey or agave nectar would be in this recipe... I have yet to try  it.  IF you try it before me, please let me know! :)

Crockpot Apple Butter
6 cups Apples
3 cups Sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cloves (I added that)
Vanilla
Put all your apples in the bottom of your crockpot, then layer the sugar and spices. Do not stir.
Cook on low all night and in the morning you are ready to puree and jar up your butter.
Put your jars in a hot water bath for at least 15-20 minutes. 

My Cup Runneth Over...

SUBSTITUTE FOR RED FOOD COLORING

PAYING OFF THE MORTGAGE EARLY

Living Green Can be Simple

Does it ever confuse you why green living can be so complicated? Some practices are almost a deterrent from incorporating this into our lifestyles. I have found that I desire to use green practices, but not at the cost of sacrificing my simple life practices. But there is one good thing that keeps me from feeling guilty, simple living often incorporates green living by its essence. Having less, means less garbage, less waste, less cleaning products to care for stuff, less time to care for stuff, less stuff to replace, etc. But how can you do more when you are already struggling to incorporate my simple living practices into your life?

Be thoughtful before you purchase an item. Do you need it? How will it affect the environment and now and in the future? Will there be continuing resources to purchase with using the product? Is there an environmentally friendly way to do this? Some products are now environmentally friendly due to companies making it easy for you. Refillable items, sold in recycled easily disposable items that are poured into a permanently re-usable dispenser are a great example of this. Technology companies often offer an easy method to recycle items such as ink cartridges and batteries by including prepaid envelopes to send the old and empty containers back to them in.

Wash your clothes in cold water only. This completely eliminates the heating of water. I have not found any significant difference in the cleanliness or stain removal of our clothing. I have not used warm or hot water for years. Once you get into this practice, if you have to purchase a new washer, you can often save money by purchasing a model that has fewer options. Additionally, with cold water I have noticed that I can use significantly less detergent to clean a load of laundry.

If at all possible, try carpooling for different activities. Even if you can’t use this practice every day, try finding ways to incorporate carpooling one or two days per week. You will save money, and be able save the environment at the same time. When you can’t carpool, consider sharing errands with a friend or neighbor. If you and a friend both have a designated errand day, that fall on different days, call each other the night before to ask if the other needs anything. This will help eliminate the need for you to make an extra trip out for some forgotten, but needed item for you AND your friend. This saves, time, gas, and emissions!

There are lots of ways to being incorporating green practices into your life style in a simple way. As with other simple living practices, don’t wait, and get started today, with just one idea that you can change this month!

These are my thoughts.

Leslie Valeska

~Contributing Writer~

Leslie Valeska is the lucky wife of Thomas.  With children ranging in ages from 4-16, she has had a lot of time to learn and experience much of the fine art of homemaking.  

For FREE daily tips and a FREE E-zine on simple and frugal living visit her blog Journey to Simplicity. Need a source of encouragement, inspiration, and support on your journey to Godly womanhood? Visit Simple Journey Ministries (she has a FREE E-zine too!) Of course, don’t forget to visit the Simple Journey Bookstore!

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