Monday, October 20, 2014

Be Still


I am not a patient person...

NOT.AT.ALL!

Psalms 37:7 says, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Jesus)". 

Apparently God wanted to teach me a little lesson in patience and grow my faith muscles.  All while being still.  WOW....

I have this thing called, "bleeding heart syndrome".   I'm sure others suffer from this as well but basically I HATE any injustice.  My soul bleeds for children particularly that don't feel or know what love is due to life circumstances.  My heart cries out for orphans.  My mind is blown away by the children who are sold into slavery right in front of our faces.  Even as I write this, I feel that little blazing fire within me getting fueled to run out and stop it.  To bring EACH AND EVERY orphan into my home.  To love EACH AND EVERY child who is hurting.  To END child slavery as a whole. 

That being said, I married a practical man. A man who first of all loves Jesus but knows that it is just not practical to have 1,000,000 children living in our home.  Lets say he "balances" me.  He doesn't like any of the above situations either but knows that God has given me a mission right now to love and disciple the four children he gave to me. 

Then came along a friend with a passion for orphans in other countries.  New Horizons for Children is an organization that places children from overseas orphanages into homes during the Christmas and summer seasons.  During these times, the orphanages "shut down" and the kids are left to celebrate (or not) Christmas on their own.  Like...NO ONE is loving them?   NO ONE buys them presents?  NO ONE cooks a yummy meal for them?  UMMMMMMM NO! 

So this lovely friend decided she should host.  Then another lovely friend decided to host.  Then another.  So of course I should host.  Right?  Aren't we called to take care of orphans?  Isn't this a huge example of injustice?  But Zach...ummmmm not sure how he would like that idea.  Well, I guess I should pray.

Then one day I was completely blindsided.  I sat down on my computer to check facebook and what would you know.  There she was.  MY GIRL!  Let me say I was not thinking of hosting at all this holiday season and I knew that Zach wouldn't be on bored with it but I felt and overwhelming pull towards this girl.  I immediately sat down with God and prayed!

 An excerpt from my journal that day:
10/1/14
There are so many kids wihtout moms and dads.  My heart grieves for them.  What do I do with this grief?  I want to host and orphan ("o") this Christmas but I'm not sure it's your will.  You command us to care for the orphans and widows.  Please, PLEASE change Zach's heart.  Help him let this child into our home.  Please Lord.  "O" needs you!

She consumed me for the next 24 hours.  My heart bled like it never had bled for a girl I had never met.  I could see her sitting in my living room.  I could smell her sweet head.  I could imagine snuggling with her, reading a book.  I WAS SURE she was suppose to be here.  God laid this girl on my heart.  He told me to pray for her.  Why shouldn't she be here?

Zach and I talked about it and prayed more than ever about "O".  My heart didn't waver at all.  Zach's didn't either.  He wasn't hearing what I was hearing.  He was hearing, "no, she isn't for us.".  WHAT?????  I begged and pleaded with God.  My core group of friends were all praying that Zach's heart would be changed.  I called NHFC and found out more information about "O".  There was no way she wasn't meant to be here!

The next few days my journal opened with this:
10/2/14
I'm so confused Lord.  Which way are you leading me?  

10/3/14
I am worn and confused Lord.  I was so sure I heard your voice and went out on a limb only to get burned.  My heart breaks.  

I cried out to God.  He answered me with these verses.  "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him".  1 Corinthians 2:9.  "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14.

As I sat in my living room pondering these verses, I felt I NEEDED to talk with my friend Juliane about the whole thing.  Why wasn't Zach hearing what I was hearing?  Why was God saying, "Be Still" when this was obviously not a time to wait?  I called her, heartsick over "O".  As I retold the whole story she told me to go outside, take a deep breath and know that I obeyed God.  He was going to do all the work, I just need to "chill out" and relax.  What happened next was what one of my friends would call a #MJM (Magical Jesus Moment)...

I said "O's" name...

Immediately a light bulb went on in Juliane's head.  "She is for me". 

Wait...what??

Juliane went on to describe a vivid dream she had 2 years ago about a girl named, "O" who lived in an Eastern European country.  She asked me to send her the picture.  I did and the rest is history.  

God WAS talking to me.  I WAS listening. The little girl who my heart grieved for WAS going to come here.  I WAS going to see her sitting on my couch.  I WAS going to smell her sweet head.  Not sure about the snuggling part but its possible.  My husband WAS hearing God saying she wasn't for us.  I WASN'T going crazy.  

Juliane immediately talked with her husband and they went forward.  "O" will be here this Christmas.  

My lesson from this was that I am not in control.  God may put things on my heart but it's not up to me to decided what to do with them and when they should happen.  As Juliane said, "Take a deep breath and know you obeyed God"!   I look forward to hearing God more as I learn to fine tune my hearing.  

Patience...Patience....Patience.  

I'm excited to see what God has in store for us ;)

PS. You can read all about the Worthington's journal to get "O" home here!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Natural flu remedy!

This is more of an informative post for myself since I tend to forget all the things I do to combat things naturally!

Kylie and Cooper had the flu....  It only was bad for 1 day!  I kid you not, 1DAY!!!  Here is what I did to make life easier for them and help them recover quickly.

1.  Homeopathic flu remedy.  If you aren't lucky enough to have a homeopathy doctor near by who makes a flu remedy, FIND HER/HIM NOW!!  We gave it to Kylie every hour/Cooper every 3 while symptoms lasted and it worked well and shortening the duration of symptoms!!  Amazing.  If you don't have a doc near by, please try Oscillococcinum which can be found at your pharmacy.  I personally haven't tried it but have friends who use it and swear by it.  It is another homeopathic remedy for the flu!!  

2.  ELDERBERRY SYRUP!!!!!!!  Take 2 teaspoons every 3 hours!  A.MAZING!  If you don't want to spend a fortune on it, I make and sell it myself for $10 per pint!  It's a lot cheaper than store brand versions and is made with LOCAL RAW HONEY!!!  

3.  Zicam!  Its another homeopathic remedy which is found with the cold meds at your pharmacy.  Take it every 3 hours while symptoms last!  (It can be used for kids ages 2 and older and my kids didn't mind the taste). 

4.  For coughs:  use Similasan Cough Relief !  There is a kids and adult version but kids can actually use the adult one...just saying! It's cheap and works great! 

5.  Epsom salt bath!!!!  Mix some epsom salts with eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender oils and soak!!  It detoxes and relaxes you all at once.  As an added bonus, it helps with muscle pain.

6.  Thieves oil!  Just cover your poor sick and not so sick people with it.  Diffuse it in a small crock pot with some cinnamon sticks to get rid of any airborne viruses.  Also clean the living tar out of your house with it!!!!  You can just put it in a spray bottle and spray everyone down :)  I sell it, so let me know if you need any!  I am trying to stock up for this flu season so I have some on hand.  I went through almost an entire bottle which is pretty impressive!

7. Drink lots and lots of things.  For congestion, I have been drinking Yogi Breathe Deep.  It really relaxes and looses things up! 

8.  Oregano oil for coughs!  Put it in a nebulizer (if you have one) or just inhale directly to loose up your chest congestion.  (Thanks D)

9.  Sleep, sleep, sleep and more sleep!  

Thank you to all of my other natural mama friends for their input into this post!  Especially, Jocelyn Rebisz :) Now, here is to hoping you won't have to use this natural flu remedy....

Keep washing!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Week 2 of pantry clean out!


Lets sum up week #1....

We spent a total of $43 at the grocery store on Monday and $5 yesterday!  I'd say we did pretty well. 

Now, if you look into my pantry, you will see very few items!  I mean VERY few items!  But we are making due...

Today, I did another brief inventory and made another grocery list for the week.   If your wondering what we are eating this week..here's a peak..

Monday: Meatballs with sauce
Tuesday: Sloppy joes (without the bun) and applesauce/homemade fries
Wednesday: Ham and potatoes with broccoli
Thursday: Rotisserie chicken with seasoned rice and roasted veggies
Friday: Meatloaf with roasted potatoes

I also made a batch of sauce, fruit leather, gf bread, smoked ribs and ground up some beef.

It smells delightful in here.
 My kitchen was mass chaos! 
 YUM!!!

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Day number ??

How's it going you ask?  Well my pantry is starting to get bare but we still have food.  I have used up so much of what is in the freezer it makes my heart smile.  Yesterday, I found pizza dough I had froze a while back along with some cookie dough.  Thus, we had pizza and ABC cookies for dinner while daddy and Ky skied!

Tomorrow I will set our weekly food menu and hope we can stick close to the $43 we spent last week.  Tonight we are having southwestern egg roll dip with tortillas which will cost us $5 tonight at the grocery store.  Sorry folks, but we don't have any essential ingredients right now...

Off to make some more gluten free bread! 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Day # 3


What we had:
 Tacos....
(Sorry no pictures) but it was devoured!
 
Baking Update:
As part of cleaning out the pantry/freezer, I have come across a lot of frozen rhubarb/zucchini/blueberries.  What else to do with them but BAKE!  
 
First we made rhubarb bread (GF style).  Not going to post the recipe because it was so.so :/  The kids ate it but it does not have the best aftertaste.  Still half a loaf to go (I made 2 yesterday) so it wasn't a complete waste. 
 
Next I made english muffin bread!  It just came out of the oven, so I cannot comment on how it tastes.  It's also not GF so I cannot give a personal testament as to how absolutely delicious it may be.  The hubby will have to be my taste buds on this one.  

Monday, January 6, 2014

Empty the shelves day 2



Black Bean and Cheese Burritos

What we had:

1 can of black beans
some tomatoes
cheese (colby jack)
red onions
a half of a bell pepper
garlic
mild jalapeno peppers
and burrito shells/corn tortillas


Saute onion/pepper/garlic (minced)/peppers until tender
Add black beans (rinsed)
remove from heat and add cheese
spoon into warm shells
top with diced tomato (or salsa) and some sour cream.

I added rice to our meal!


Sunday, January 5, 2014

Food clean out day 1

So snacks...

My kids are grazers.  They love their snacks so I try to make them healthy.  I plan on making lots of bread from shredded zucchini I found in the freezer and applesauce I canned in the fall.   BUT...what about on the go?  School lunches?  When mommy is just too busy blogging to stop and get a snack ready....

Well my wonderful Sister In Law made us fruit strips for Christmas this year.  Let me just say they were de.licous!  The kids gobbled them down within a few days.  Now, I don't have a dehydrator yet so I needed to figure out a way to make them without one.  AND.THEY.WORKED.OUT.GREAT! 

Yesterday we made strawberry ones and today I have apple in the oven. 

And did you know it is ever so easy!  And healthy! And frugal! 

Since I love to can, I had an abundance of jams and unsweetened applesauce in the Hoosier. Simply, spread a thin layer of jam/applesauce on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and bake at 170 for 6-8 hours.  It doesn't take up energy and works great.  Then flip the dried fruit on some wax paper, cut, and roll.  Wallah!

*WARNING:  These will be gone within seconds if left unattended! 

Enjoy!

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Frugal mama

This is the month to be frugal.  To be VERY frugal!  So lets give this a try. 

First on the list...MEAL!

I already spend near nothing on groceries but we always seem to have a lot in our cupboards.  That being said, we are eating it ALL this month.  Yes, we are going to clean out our pantry which will require a bit of creativity from this mama.  I am very open to any suggestions on simple meals (kid friendly of course) so please comment with any you may have. 

A few meals we may start with...
  1. Bean and cheese burritos (and whatever salsa/sour cream we have in the fridge)
  2. Tacos (I make taco seasoning, canned a lot of tomatoes this fall, and have a freezer full of meat)
  3. Breakfast for dinner.  Potato pancakes, bacon, and eggs from our chickens
  4. Meatloaf
  5. Roast with veggies
  6. Ham (and leftover for soups and lunch meat).
  7. Lots and lots of stew...
  8. Cheeseburger Quiche (GF of course)
  9. Skillet meat supper
  10. Pasta with homemade meatballs
  11. Whole chicken in rotisserie cooker (leftover for soup)
  12. Texas chili
  13. Mexican style beef tacos
  14. LOTS OF SOUP...and did I mention soup?
  15. Hashbrown Sausage Casserole
  16. Herb rubbed sirloin tip roast
  17. Daddy's favorite!  (Chicken pan fried in State Fair Sauce)
  18. Shepherds Pie.
  19. Sloppy Joes

And PLEASE give me some more suggestions!

Lets see how much $ we save this month doing this!  

Merry Christmas


We had an amazingly simple Christmas this year minus the traveling from one place to the next. The big news being.....WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!! Yes we are and the kids are more than ecstatic! Hope you enjoyed yours as much as we did!