Sign of Spring.....

My neighbor friend sent me this picture of her new

babies!! They are sooooo adorable.

Saturday we had our Titus 2 Group meeting.

This time our Bible Study was about

"Becoming a Titus 2 Woman"

How that requires a focus and different

lifestyle than we might otherwise choose without

that as our goal.

Whether we are striving to be all Titus 2 implies

now as we raise our children, love our husbands

and learn to stay home.....

or even as we are striving to be that

older woman for others in our life.....

Either way, it involves abandonment.

We must abandon our desires, hopes, dreams,

family, friends......etc. Wrap them up in a

blanket and lay them on God's doorstep!!

Walk away.......the new owner (God) will

now take care of

those abandoned things......

this does not mean we will never have

a life......it only means we are not in

charge anymore. :)

"Others may surrender......

we must abandon."

Then we talked about planning our

gardens and growing more this

year, and growing enough to feed our

families and even be able to put some up

for over the winter. How soon we can

get started on that...trying some cold hardy

crops now with plastic on them.

Then off to Gramma Belle's for more

crocheting!!

It was a good day.

Today......

Today is restful compared to yesterday!!

Yesterday was full of bread making and canning

and making several pans of Enchiladas, some

for the Shepherd's House on Monday

and one for our dinner and one for

a freezer meal (yay!! love it when that happens!!)

Today...I am blogging....studying for our Titus 2

Group tomorrow....this afternoon we get to go to

a friends for our monthly "Sewing Circle" (no one really

sews anymore, but sometimes.....)

Then come home take a "homemade" pizza crust out of the

freezer, spread it with some of that "homemade" spaghetti

sauce, top with "cheapo" pepparoni from Costco that is in

the freezer and some cheese that

is already grated and in the freezer.

WOW!

How easy is that?!?!?

My kind of day. :D

I ran across this quote this morning...it is so good for so

many circumstances in life, I just have to share it....

it is from an old magazine from 1993...

I think that word "inconveniences" can be translated to

mean anything that we are dealing with...

it could be something in our past, it could be illness,

unemployment,.....anyway, here it is.......

"God uses all those inconveniences to plant

tender seeds of endurance when

you are not even looking.

And before you know it, tiny sprouts of

perseverance and contentment

begin to crop up where resistance

and impatience used to thrive. You hardly

notice itin the beginning, but one day there it is -

the sweet flower of long-suffering

bloomingright there in your very irritation.

God has us here inthis flower garden of

patience, long-suffering,

and perseverance."

Have a great weekend!! See you Monday!!

I'm Back...........

Although, I am not sure where I have been!! LOL.

Just busy, living life and taking care of the family!!

Anyway, I am sorry for those of you who are so kind to

check in regularly that there has been nothing new since

Valentines Day.....but I will take the next few

days to catch up, I promise. :)

I loved this winter cheer in my kitchen window.......

It bloomed just in time for the Valentines tea,

gave us a touch of fresh red.....

So, where have I been, what have I been up to??

On Valentines day I did two teas....

one for the ladies at noon.

and one for couples that evening......

I am still canning.....I am trying to stock up on some meals
and have a back up if I should not be able to use my
freezer or the electricity would go out or something.......

This is, from the left, kidney beans, spaghetti sauce
and chili without beans.
I am thinking I could use one of each and have a pretty good chili.

In this time some where we had another Titus 2 meeting.
We talked some about gardens, brought healthy, easy kids snacks
to share and had "Gramma Belle" come to help with
our crocheting. She loved it so much, we are
going to her house next time. :)

We have also been keeping our daughters dog for a bit, she can
not have animals where she is renting.....our only grandchild..... :)
Oh me, then since I talked to you last....I have done another tea!!
Spring Fling, Health Nut Tea
and of course, I keep on baking.....
Sunday morning Banana Raisin Muffins.

My husband has been very slow for work but he has just enough
to keep us going mostly. And we are very thankful and
Praising God for providing work in May that will help us alot.
We are looking forward to that. In the meantime,
we keep going, keep busy, and most of all keep our
eyes on Jesus the only one who can work all this out.

I am planning on getting some recipes on here soon, as well as
more canning info. Right now, though, I am "home alone".... :),
so I think I shall go spread all my stuff out on the table and make
a plan for my garden!! Just bought seeds and want to try some
early covered with plastic, so I need to make a plan.

I will show you all these things as they happen, as well as
catch up on some of what has already happened.

Hope your still with me....are you enjoying spring weather where
you are? We will have a "spring" day, then a snow day....
that is why I am not too worried about changing my background

yet...it looks "springy" to me :) our joke is for the rest of the world

April showers bring May flowers....i

n our part of the world April (snow) showers
might bring a few May flowers. :D

Titus 2 Day

I am sad to have no pictures of our day together....

but we just started up our meetings again now that the

holidays are over. We are only going to

meet once a month, that way we can meet just

a little longer and do more.

This month we focused on:

"Peace in Perilous Times"

Everything we did was in an effort to help

bring peace to our own hearts as well as

our families and in our home.

As they arrived I had bread dough ready to go and

each rolled out Cinnamon Bread. The point was, when you

make a batch of bread, once in awhile do a cinnamon one for

a treat, nothing like Cinnamon Toast with a bowl of

hot cereal on a cold winters morning. Sounds

peaceful right?? Making our families happy and

contented brings PEACE.

Then I had our soup done to a point, meat browned, veggies

chopped, and it had to be boiled for just 5 minutes

before you could can it in the pressure canner.

Food ready to go in the pantry keeps us at PEACE.

So, we enjoyed lunch together and then had a short devotional

about peace in our lives. Peace comes when we draw

closer and closer to God. When we are close to

Him, we will be able to trust Him more

and that brings PEACE to our whole household.

Then we did a project that is fun to use with homeschool

curriculum or just for a fun scrapbook project idea. We made

a Lap Booklet with Minit Books inside.

Lap books are a file folder folded to the center so it

opens like shutters and you put different bits of

information or pictures or whatever on the little

booklets that you glue inside. Fun for all

ages. Once the older kids master the little

books, they can help the younger ones.

Busy children on a cold winters day

is very PEACEFUL indeed. :)

Then I showed them how to use a fabric pen

and write a verse on a piece of fabric to

embroider. Scripture on your walls is a

very good thing.....it reminds us of God and

who He is and keeps our minds focused

on Him throughout the day. Which brings

more PEACE to our homes.

The verse I chose is one that has ministered to

me ALOT lately.....

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE,

whose mind is stayed on thee."

Isaiah 26:3

So, some knew embroidery and some learned that day

as we moved on and learned how to do a granny

square. Some knew crochet and some had to

learn. So, at that point we just spent the next

bit of our time crocheting or embroidering

and encouraging one another. :)

All in all it was a very PEACEFUL day. :D

Next month, we will do two more embroidery stitches

and possibly work on crocheting a bit more. And

some other fun things I have up my sleeve. :) Our

theme next time is PREPAREDNESS.

(But not to an extreme, just some things we

can easily do).....which also brings PEACE!!

If you are ever interested in doing your own Titus 2 group,

Lisa at New Harvest Homestead

on my side bar will send you a free meeting

guide. It has some fun ideas and encouragement

for how to start a group.

Plums!!!

Awhile back, one of the girls in our Titus 2 group

brought lots of plums from her tree!!

Have you ever used a steam juicer?? I LOVE mine!! All you do is rinse the fruit and put it into the top basket there, it steams and juice comes out the little hose, right into the jar. It is sooo hot, you can

just put a lid on and it will seal.
Beautiful Plum Juice!!
Beautiful Plum Jelly from the Plum Juice!!

However, I do have a confession to make....I could not find a recipe for Plum Jelly anywhere. After making plum jam that came out realllly thick, I decided plums have alot of natural pectin, so should not need pectin for jelly. So, I decided we would follow directions for Grape Jelly. Similar shape and color, riggghhhhtt??? This was for our Titus 2 meeting. I, the older woman, was showing them how to make jelly. Directions said to boil until it reached the stage where the juice is clinging to the spoon and drips off twice....2 drips. We stirred and boiled and stirred and boiled. Finally, we decided to take a break from that, have our lunch and come back to it. After lunch, it had hardened soooo hard, I almost broke the wooden spoon trying to remove it from the pan!! It was quite amazing and we laughed very much!!!

So, later I followed the pectin directions, using pectin, still for Grape Jelly. You only boil that for 2 minutes. :) It made the above jelly, which is very thick, but it is jelly!! So, we had a fun class that day....

learning how NOT to make Plum Jelly!!

Titus 2 Meeting.....

I and three other younger ladies have began meeting to encourage each other in the Spirit of Titus 2, share ideas and learn new skills.

We are reading through the book "Created to be His Helpmeet" by Debi Pearl, discussing the questions at the end of each chapter.

Then we "DO" something!!

Our September theme: "End of Summer....Back to School / Easy Meal

Ideas for those Busy School Days!!"

So, first we talked about easy/make ahead meal ideas, then we made some very quick muffins. Easy/busy school day meals may be freezer meals or just quick and easy or even making ahead some bulk mixes to have on hand.

We ended our time with Brunch out in our "Outdoor

Dining Room"........

On the menu were Watermelon, Quiche, Bran Muffins, Cucumber Sandwiches and to top it off Cookies and Tarts all with Tea of course. :)

Next time (I am really excited about this) we are making aprons!! We will also assemble an "Easy Oven Lasagna" for our lunch. This can also
go right to the freezer.

I LOVE to encourage women in their homes. This is my passion.

There are some good suggestions and helps at New Harvest Homestead. Lisa will send you a Titus 2 Meeting Guide if you would like to do something like this. We meet twice a month, some only meet once a month.... Her link is off to the side here in my links. Check it out.

Canning 101

Two very happy ladies, ready to go................

both are basically first-timers!!
We did some Roma's.......I like these because they hold together a little better in the jar after processed. I also, chop some, so that I can dump them into a bowl and ad my spices I get through my food coop and make salsa! It is a special Salsa Seasoning mix.
We also did a box of canning tomatoes.........

And there you have it!!


Then the pickles.....
We had two or three cucumbers left, I usually just eat them, but these guys wanted to use them and there was this little jar....so cute.....you could almost hear it...."pick me, pick me"....

Isn't he cute all full of pickles!!
Pickle row...........

And..........they are still smiling!!!!

Take Action!!

"Learn to be wise, and develop good judgement and common sense! I cannot overemphasize this point. Cling to wisdom -

she will protect you.........Determination to be wise is the first step toward becoming wise! And with your wisdom, develop common

sense and good judgement."

Proverbs 4:5-7

I love how these verses are jam packed with action verbs!! We do not just sit and wait for God to give us wisdom or common sense, it requires some action on our part.........

Learn - gain knowledge or skill, find out, come to know.

Cling - stick or holdfast. (A vine clings to its support).

Determination - make up one's mind very firmly, fix or settle beforehand, fixed purpose.

Develop - bring into being, make or become better, bigger, more useful.

Now let's go ahead and apply this to being a Titus 2 woman.....to our husbands, our children, our homes...........

Have a Blessed Day ladies!!

Flower Gardens, Altars and Job Requirements.......

So, blogger does not seem to want to do pictures today... :( So, thought I would share some thoughts.....

A quote from an article years ago, "The Road to a Debt-Free, (Keeper at Home), Simple Life is Rarely Straight" (Parenthesis my added thought).... :)

"God uses all those (any) inconveniences to plant tender seeds of endurance when we are not even looking. And before you know it, tiny sprouts of perseverance and contentment begin to crop up where resistance and impatience used to thrive. You hardly notice it in the beginning, but one day there it is -- the sweet flower of long-suffering blooming right there in your very irritation. God has us here in the flower garden of patience, long-suffering and perseverance."

Just a couple more great quotes:

"Have you surrendered your life to the Lord or have you abandoned your heart on the altar? The Titus 2 woman must abandon her heart. Others may surrender, you may not stop with surrender, you only begin there." B. Boyce

"God did not author words such as 'I can't!' or 'I quit!'...to be used in context with a job requirement. You can and you will!" B. Boyce
(The "job requirement" here being anything

we must do at home).

Wow, deeply ponder some of these thoughts today....wow!!

Only God's way can make everything right in the end......

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." Proverbs 14:1

"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit" or another translation puts it....."Gentle words cause life and health; griping brings discouragement." Proverbs 15:4

Plucketh - In Strongs this word is described as to pull down, break, destroy, beat down, overthrow, ruin..........

In the dictionary it says - pick, pull off, pull up....as in "tearing up a flower", just pulling it out by the roots.

House - referring more to family but also can be an "inside" place or home.

How many ways might we be destroying our families and homes on a daily basis? Do we build our husbands and children up or do we tear them down? Do we cause them to be discouraged by complaining? Are we so unorganized we are constantly busy trying to catch up and have no time for them? Are we willing to love them as Jesus Christ would have us love them?

Think about it.............most of us as mothers have a natural instinct to love our children, that comes naturally as far as caring for them and protecting them. But what about what is right for a child from God's perspective? That does not always come naturally. That love has to think first, then act in line with what we know is Biblical truth. The outcome being a more long range result. It is choosing what we know God says is right, not just going by what we think is right from our natural instinct. This is the love talked about in Titus 2, "teach them to love their children". In not doing so, are we by chance "tearing our house down"?

This kind of love must be learned!

There are many ways to make things work better for us at home, which often makes everyone happier and helps us in "building our house". Do your children help you around the house. They all can and should learn the responsibility of having to make a home run smoothly. I had a friend, who had 10 children, all homeschooled......as soon as the youngest could reach the bottom rack of the dishwasher it was their job to empty the dishwasher and just put them on the table. They were learning to help and they enjoyed it. I really think whether or not our children enjoy work is how they see us handle it. :)

There are many things I hope to share with you on this blog. Simple recipes, make ahead recipes for the freezer, making money by saving money, canning, many things that over the years have helped me be able to stay home. We have done without some luxuries, and cut back in areas that some people are just not willing to do...........but I have been home and able to care for my family. And, my children did not feel deprived or without....we had fun and they enjoyed life to the fullest!! I guess, I looked at it as "my childrens lives depended on it"....I did work out of the home when we first got married and I cannot imagine how I could have done that, raised children and kept my home. Some do, and do it well, it just was not what God has for all of us, so this is to encourage those who are home.

Now, in this new season of life, I have a bit more free time. I still choose to be home. I try to be more creative about how to help make money to make ends meet. Selling things in my Etsy shop, Prairie Day Camp in the front yard for homeschoolers, Keeper at Home classes in my home, where girls come and learn cooking and sewing or other hand skills. That way, it is income and I am putting into peoples lives.

Just to touch on one possible cause of "tearing our house down".......a few ideas I ran across recently in a very old magazine.....

Time Management Helps

1. Seek God and pray over your goals.
2. Do the worst things first.
3. Learn to say no!!!
4. Get rid of clutter.
5. Don't pile it, file it!!
6. Eliminate unproductive activities.
7. Make a list and stick to your list.
8. Rise early!
9. Get an answering machine or take your phone off the hook.
10. Include your family.
11. For housecleaning, each night have a 10 minute pick up before bed.
12. When you are feeling very discouraged, depressed, tired, and like lashing out in the evenings, you are probably tired............a good time to be quiet so we do not "tear down" all we have done in our day.

Of course, there is much to say about each of these points, perhaps another time.

Consider this.............

A look at Titus 2............
"The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children...........................
to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

At the end of Titus 2:5, it says...."that the word of God be not blasphemed."

Have you EVER thought about what that means?!?!?!?! The day my heart got a grip on that, I realized what a position I held and what a responsibility I had to uphold God's word. Most often I think we read those verses, skimming over them, maybe thinking....."yeah, yeah, love my husband... ok........... childen..... ok......." and on we go, never focusing on the ending or the consequence if we do not do these things. What are we, as Christian women, saying to a watching world?

Just ponder this for a moment...........

Blaspheme - to speak out with abuse or contempt. (hmmmm, could possibly just our actions be doing this very thing??)

Blasphemy - abuse or contempt for God or sacred things. (ouch!!)

Abuse - make bad use of, use wrongly, abuse a privilege.

Contempt - despising, feeling that a person or act is mean and low. In law - open disobedience to the order of a court.

I would say this is not something to be taken lightly. What are we saying to the world, to those around us, to our families?

I do know this....contentment, true contentment lies in abandoned obedience to God. When we cannot even do what he tells us to do in his Holy Word, we will not be TRULY happy or content.