Mocha Moments

Bible Reading Plan

2012-01-04T14:51:00.002-06:00

I especially love the Bible Reading Plan that I am using because it begins with the New Testament and only involves reading a few chapters a day. I love beginning with the New Testament because of all the stories and miracles of Jesus. I am able to "see" Him in action and really get to know Him as a person. So if you have tried over and over to read the Bible through and just can't seem to make it past Leviticus, try starting with the New Testament first.

I believe that reading through the Bible is important because when I'm just studying I tend to not read certain books or I just tend to skip certain parts of the Bible, partly because I'm just not all that familiar with what is in them.

Reading through the Bible on a regular basis helps me to become more familiar with the parts I don't know well and it creates a great habit. It also doesn't take long to read a few chapters and with the Bible on audio I can listen even while I am doing something else. I often like to listen as I am reading, especially when I come across difficult words. Alexander Scourby is my favorite when it comes to listening. He seems to have a special ability to make the word come alive.

My prayer is that as I read God's word and search for Him with all my heart, that my heart will be changed into His likeness. Happy reading.

Newness of Life

2011-12-29T14:01:00.003-06:00

Therefore, If any man be in Christ He is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17

As I think of the new year that is fast approaching, my mind is drawn to this verse. I am ready for the new year, ready for a new life in Christ. Don't we all love things that are new? New house, new car, new clothes-there is just something about newness that is appealing and exciting.

The beautiful thing about a new life in Christ is that the newness happens every single day. I love the thought of that. Today I renew my newness in Christ and I pray that it never grows old.

Whispers From God

2011-09-27T22:23:00.003-05:00

Lately I have really been enjoying my time with the Lord and not that I don't always enjoy my time with Him, but recently it has taken on an extra special meaning. When I first started having time with God in the mornings, I was at a loss. I knew I should have time, but what in the world was I supposed to be doing during that time?

Believe it or not, not knowing what to do has actually kept me from having my time. When I think about it, it's really silly. Let's suppose I have a really good friend that I love to hang out with. Do I always decide what we are going to do before we hang out? No, because I just enjoy being with that person and by spending time with that person, I get to know them better and grow closer to them.

This has been my relationship with God. I sit in the stillness and listen to Him speak. Sometimes He gives me scripture to meditate on. Sometimes I already know the scripture and can just meditate on it. Sometimes, I only know a portion and have to look it up. Sometimes I am just clueless and He has to guide me all the way.

Other times He impresses my mind with people to pray for-people I haven't heard from in years, or even people I have NO desire to talk to!

Sometimes He remind me that He is a God of order and tell me to go and clean my room. What I love about this is that even in keeping my room orderly, I am worshiping God. WOW, what a thought.

Today He whispered to me that I need to do better at meal planning. :-/ I hate meal planning. I have no idea why, but I do. But I am excited about it because I know God is going to help me. He has already given me ideas to help me out. How can I not love a God like that?

Perhaps you are struggling with your time with the Lord. You don't have to have the perfect Bible study plan or really any plan at all. Just carve out some time and He will take care of the rest!

True Worship

2011-09-25T12:04:00.002-05:00

This past week our Sabbath School Lesson was about worship. What I particularly liked about this lesson is how practical it was. It made me think of my everyday life in a different way.

Oftentimes we refer to worship as an isolated event, but closer study reveals that just at the 4 beasts worship day and night, so we worship day and night. The question then becomes, who are we worshiping. Every act of life from washing dishes and laundry, to our interaction with others is an act of worship.

How then do we know who we are worshiping? Our fruits tell it all. One writer says it this way:

" Unless we control our words and tempter, we are slaves to Satan. We are in subjection to him. He lead us captive. All jangling and unpleasant, impatient, fretful words are an offering presented to his satanic majesty. And it is a costly offering, more costly than any sacrifice we can make for God, for it destroys the peace and happiness of whole families, destroys health, and is eventually the cause of forfeiting an eternal life of happiness."

Even the very words that we speak in day to day conversation are an act of worship. How important it is then to have all thoughts brought into subjection to the will of God.

Here are a few points that I gathered from this week's lesson that I thought were worth sharing:

1. God alone, the Creator of the Universe is worthy of worship and praise.

2. True Worship causes the old man to die.

3. True worship causes us to abhor self.

4. In the presence of God, a realization of our sinfulness rises before us.

5. True worship acknowledges who God is (Worthy, Powerful, Mighty, Wise, Just, True, etc...)

My prayer is that as I behold Christ, every thing that I do will reflect the fact that my worship is directed to Him and Him only. Let this mind be in me that was also in Christ Jesus.

Day 73: The Altar of Sacrifice Restored

2011-08-09T06:04:00.002-05:00

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted among the earth (Psalm 46:10)

As I began my worship time this morning, God reminded me of the importance of stillness in His presence. This is the time when God reveals Himself to me, when I get my instructions for the day, or when He reveals the truths of His word to me (or all of the above).

This 90 Day devotional that I am going through has several scriptures that are given for memorization. I notice a theme of cleansing in a few of them today.

John 15:2 Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the words which I have said unto you

We must be cleansed. The them of salvation is about cleansing.

Psalm 19:9 The fear of the Lord is clean...

James 4:8 ...Cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your hearts ye double-minded

Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way...

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart O God...

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17)

The death of Christ is sufficient for salvation. We must have faith to believe in the death of Christ. I was not there when Christ was crucified. At no time have I seen Christ in person to know that He is alive. How then do I know that His sacrifice is sufficient?

I believe in Christ because the Bible declares Him as the Savior of the world. Why then do I believe in the Bible as truth? I believe in the Bible as truth because when I meditate upon its themes, my life is transformed. My frustration is turned into joy and peace. The hatred that my natural man so easily gravitates toward is replaced with love. I never have to "try" to get rid of it. Just as the effect of playing dirt is to become dirty, so is the effect of meditating on God's word to bear the fruits of the Spirit.-to be cleansed of the filthiness of the works of the natural heart.

Another reason I believe in the Bible as the inspired word of god is prophecy. The Bible is the only book to predict with accuracy events that cover an unbroken time span of 2300 years. No other book or religion can make such a claim. So, if the God of the Bible can predict the future with such accuracy, then certainly He knows will happen in my lifetime and can guide me to make the best decisions according to His will for my life.

If you are struggling to know which way is the right way, I challenge you to study the prophecies of the Bible. Don't know where to begin? Feel free to contact me.

I will write a separate post soon for those w ho would like to study on their own.

Until then, Study to shew thyself approved...

Day 72: The Shewbread Restored

2011-08-08T05:23:00.002-05:00

I have been going through the book Prayer 90x: 90 Days to a Spiritually Fit You by Pastor Ivor Myers. Today's topic is about the restoration of the table of shewbread after being cast down during the dark ages.

Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to they word

II Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

It is God's word that cleanses us. We must take heed to it.

What does it mean to take heed to God's word?

God has commanded us to study to shew ourselves approved that we not be ashamed. God's word must be divided.

What does it mean to rightly divide God's word?

During the Dark Ages people were not allowed to read God's word. It is the word of God that cleanses and so I can only imagine the "filthiness" of mankind during this time.

It is only the knowledge of truth that will save us from deception. When the truth is know, all deception can be spotted. God said that He would sanctify us with truth and that His word is truth.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: they word is truth

In the 1300's, John Wycliff translated the Bible into the common language of the people, thereby restoring the table of shewbread that had been cast down for so long.

Lord thank You for the privilege of having Your word. Thank You for the changes it has made and is making in my life as I heed its counsel and meditate on its meaning. Continue to reveal Yourself to me that by beholding Your character I may be changed into Your likeness. Remove the things from my life that take me away from You. May your word be as sweet as honey in my mouth. May my desire to spend more time among its pages grow as I learn of You and Your love towards me. May I never be separated from Your loving kindness that is better than life.

Photo Credit

Weekly Menu Plan

2011-07-31T21:56:00.002-05:00

As I gear back up for the school year one thing I am working on is menu planning. I must admit that I hate menu planning. I have no idea why, but I do not like figuring out what I want to eat for the week. Coming up with this week's plan wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. I must say that I am thankful to have good cookbooks and money to go shopping with!

Sunday-Haystacks

Monday-Lasagna Roll ups, mixed vegetables and salad

Tuesday-Leftovers

Wednesday-Oat burgers and gravy, scalloped potatoes, salad

Thursday- Black beans with yellow rice and vegetables, salad

Friday-Pizza, salad

Sabbath-Broccoli Quiche & peach cobbler (for potluck at church)

Note: All menu items are dairy, egg and meat free.

20th Year High School Class Reunion

2011-07-21T15:18:00.009-05:00

June 8th made 20 years since I graduated high school. Boy how the time flies. It seems like just a few years ago that I was hanging out at Band practice or staying after school for pom-pom squad practice.

My 20th year reunion was July 15-17 and boy did we have a blast. Friday we had a Meet and Mingle at Seville. Saturday we met at the beach behind Flounders, and Saturday night we had a semi-formal dinner at the Pensacola Yacht Club.

I won Least Changed, again. My classmates went on and on about how I look exactly the same. Here are a couple of pictures from high school. :-)

Debutatante Ball-Dec '90

High School Baccalaureate

and here are a few pictures from the reunion to compare:

This picture is from my 10 year reunion. The banner is for "Least Changed".

And here is a picture from this year's semi-formal event. OK maybe I do look a lot like I did in high school. My secret-Eat healthy, Exercise, Trust and Obey God.

Bees-A Lesson in Obedience

2011-07-21T14:17:00.002-05:00

One of our most favorite things as a family is to study nature. As a result, we have several nature dvd's by the Moody Science Institute, one of which is about bees.

Bees are marvelous creatures. We learned about how they construct their houses and how the hexagram is the perfect shape. We learned how they control the temperature of the hive. We learned how they protect the hive and many more things. The one thing that stuck out the most in my mind, was how they communicate.

When a scout bee is telling another bee where the food source is, he wiggles his body so many times a minute to tell how far away the food source is and angles his body to tell what direction according to the sun. As I was meditating on this, I thought of how the world rotates and how the angle of the sun changes. So let's suppose a bee told another bee to fly at 30 degrees, within 30 minutes, those directions would be inaccurate!

How true is this of when God tells us to do something. What He told me for today may very well not even work if I try it tomorrow!

What a powerful lesson from the bees that delayed obedience is disobedience! Not only must I require strict and prompt obedience of my children, I must model it in my daily walk with my heavenly Father. My prayer is that I will not only obey, but that I will obey quickly, completely, without questioning or complaining.

The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Psalm 19:1

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. I Samuel 15:2

My Curlformers Test

2011-06-08T12:08:00.004-05:00

Recently I tried curlformers. I was very hesitant at first because I just couldn't understand how my coily hair couldn't be straightened by such a contraption. But I must say that I was rather pleased with the results!

I washed and conditioned my hair and then used Curly Nikki's styling spritz. I had to buy some extra curlformers, because my in my original purchase I got the regular length. Big mistake. If you plan to buy them, get the longest ones possible to account for hair growth.

I used a total of 36 curlformers and sat under the dryer for about an hour. I could have done less because half of head was dry by the time I finished. The curlformers are coded by color for width. I used the pink and orange ones.

I bought 2 more packs and so I will try again to see if I get even better results. The style lasted 2 days. I wish I had pin-curled them at night to keep the style even longer. I will definitely try that next time.

Why I Left Bible Bowl Part II

2011-05-25T17:17:00.003-05:00

The more and more I studied for Bible Bowl, I came across verses like "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another" Romans 12:10,
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Phillipians 2:3

What I learned is that God's methods not only do not include strife, but the very principles of His government are against it. I had to ask myself the question, "Why do I need an incentive of winning to study God's word. It is not enough that I have been commanded to study to show myself approve or that God promises that I will find Him when I search for Him with all my heart?

I left Bible Bowl because as God began to reveal Himself to me, the model of the game did not fit His character and how can two walk together except they be agreed? I left because God called me out to study to find Him, to study to be changed into His likeness, to study to fill my mind with the things of Him.

I thank God that every day with Him is sweeter than the day before.

Why I left Bible Bowl Part I

2011-05-15T07:41:00.004-05:00

Let me first begin with why I joined Bible Bowl. There was a time in my life that I was busy working for God, but I was not spending time with Him. I knew of Him, but I didn't know Him personally and intimately. My conscience (the voice of God) kept telling me to study. I wanted to study, but for many reasons that I won't get into here, I never did. At least not on a consistent basis.

I knew my Bible, probably better than most, but I knew that God was not pleased with my study habits and my efforts to know Him better. So I joined the Bible Bowl. At the time I believed it was an answer to prayer. I would be forced to study in order that I not look bad when the competition came. The first year we had a team we decided to divide up the books among us. My book was Deuteronomy. I was so discouraged because it wasn't really in a story format and I wasn't sure how to go about reading. At any rate, my team won the first few rounds of competition and off to Ohio to the National games we went. I was blown away at how well read the teams were and how quickly they answered questions, often with only a few words haven been read.

The games were a success, except for the guy in the hallway who was arguing over his points and the little kid that cried because he got the question wrong. I figured that was just a part of the game and didn't take much notice.

After we came back from our win, we recruited others to play in the other age groups. We would meet after church to go over the material and study. Fast forward a few years and the youth team makes it to the National competition, but they are no match for one of the other teams.

They lose, but are confident that it's just because they didn't take the time necessary to study. So this time they want to "study", but they don't want to take time to be bothered with the principles of the story of any "unnecessary" details because at Bible Bowl they are only required to regurgitate facts. Finally, they didn't want to participate at all because they knew they couldn't win.

A similar thing happened with my team. One of my teammates was one of the best in the country, and no one would show up to play us because they didn't want to lose. What happened to everyone is a winner in Bible Bowl? What happened to you win because you opened your Bible and read? I would ask other teams for tips on how to study and no one wanted to share, because we might beat them. Wow, I thought this was about studying to know God.

Putting Sin to Death

2011-05-14T12:34:00.003-05:00

Today's Sabbath School Lesson was about David, his sin with Bathsheba and his repentance. I have read and heard this story many times. Each time I come away with something different. David was supposed to be at battle, but instead he stayed home (his first mistake). While on his rooftop, he sees a beautiful woman and enquires about her. He is told exactly who the woman is and who her husband is (his way of escape-I Corinthians 10:13). He calls for the woman anyway and sleeps with her. She becomes pregnant so David calls for her husband to come home from war. This is his first attempt to cover up what he has done. He tried, unsuccesfully to get the man to sleep with his wife so he will think the baby is his. After this attempt fails, he resorts to murder. He brings the woman to his home, and marries her. He then goes on about his life as if nothing has happened until...

Nathan the prophet confronts David, but with wisdom and skill that only God could give he uses a parable to tell David of the wrong that he has done. David acknowledges that he has sinned against God and repents. God forgives David and cleanses him, but the baby that was conceived dies.

This time when I read this story, the death of the baby stood out to me. The word conceived stood out in my mind and God brought James 1:15 to my mind: Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

This baby symbolized the sin brought forth from David's lust. Even though God forgave David, He had to separate him from the sin that had defiled him. I always found it interesting that David cried and cried until the baby died, but isn't that how it happens? We are caught up in the very thing that God doesn't want from us. He tells us that He is going to take it away and we are sorrowful. Perhaps it's a job we shouldn't have, maybe a relationship. It could be anything that separates us from God. But once that thing is gone and we realize that God has taken it away we can now move forward and walk in God's purpose for our life.

I myself have experience that pain of God putting my sin to death, but O the joy that comes in the morning when God has cleansed me and created my heart anew! What a beautiful lesson in how God separates us from sin, puts that sin to death, gives us a new heart and sets us on a new path, the path that lead to Him.

Stay faithful and I pray that I will see you at the end of the path.

Our Daily Schedule

2011-05-05T06:53:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine asked me about our daily schedule and so I decided I would write a blog post about it.

We keep this schedule (or the routine of the schedule) 95% of the time. I have learned to be flexible and so we adapt when necessary.

6:00 am Mom's quiet time with God

7:00 am Children rise and complete morning routine, Mom's morning routine and breakfast prep

8:00 am Family Worship, Breakfast and Breakfast Clean-up

9:00 Morning walk or other exercise

10:00 School

12:30 Dinner Prep

1:00 Dinner, Kitchen Clean-Up, Afternoon house pick-up

2:00 Room Organization time (Because we are moving)

3:00 Quiet Time (Don't call my name and I won't call yours!) :-)

4:00 Craft Time (Knitting, Crocheting, sewing, etc...)

6:00 Supper or Light snack then cleanup

7:00 Family Worship

7:30 Bath Time, then Bed

A few notes about the schedule. I am not a schedule type of person. I have time restrictions and I really struggled to come up with one. The more time I spent with God, the more He impressed me to be accountable with my time and to teach my children to do the same.

In the morning the children must have their routine completed before coming to the breakfast table. Our philosophy is that the man who does not work, does not eat (II Thess 3:10).

I often get the question of how can we finish school in 2 1/2 hours. This block is mainly for what I need to teach or go over with the kids. Most of their work is done independently after I give assignments and so a lot of time I may be doing something else during this time. Also we do not do every subject every day. We use the Unit Study method of learning and may spend a week on history, a week on science, etc. We generally 2 Bible plus 2 subjects a day.

For our meals, we eat our heaviest meal for Breakfast and we eat at 5 hour intervals with no snacking in between. This has worked wonders for us. When we snacked, my kids had little to no appetite at meal time and always wanted a snack. This encouraged us to eat junk as most kids to not associate anything healthy with "snack food". Not eating between meals means that my kids are hungry when it's time to eat and they eat well. We drink 2 hours after eating or 15 minutes before.

Hope this helps and I would love to see the schedules of others. May God be with you as you seek to use even your time for His honor and glory.

The end of the 1st 40 days

2011-02-23T10:46:00.004-06:00

Our first 40 days is up and I must say that I am pleased with the results. It was great only concentrating on one thing and what was even more wonderful was getting into a clean car! No more shuffling papers around when I have to pick someone up for church. :-)

Now we are on to the next 40 day challenge. This time I am concentrating on my kitchen. The general theme in all areas of the house is to leave a room the way you found it with the focus on Christ and His grave clothes. Before He left the tomb, He folded them up neatly even placing the napkin in a separate place, so before we leave any room, we should leave it neat and tidy.

Whenever I leave the kitchen, especially after mealtime, it should be clean. What a new concept this has been for me, but it is amazing how the Spirit is leading and how He speaks to me and prompts me to help me keep things in order!

I don't know what God has in store for me, but I believe He is using attention to little things to prepare me for greater things.

I can't wait to see what the next 40 days holds!!

40 Day Challenge update

2011-01-31T12:00:00.004-06:00

We are half way through our 40 day challenge and I must say that I can see God's hand working with us. The car is still clean! I even got a comment from one of my neighbors on how nice it looked. WOW!!

The kitchen is taking shape and is clean most of the time. I have a new work schedule and so I am adjusting to it, but otherwise things are going well. I am getting back into the habit of planning out my meals. This helps with grocery shopping as well as having meals on time. One habit that I am working on is cleaning out my refrigerator before going to the grocery store. This helps in SO many ways. It helps me know what's in my refrigerator and it helps to cut down on wasted food. Sometimes I just forget what is in there, but cleaning on a weekly basis helps to eliminate the science projects that tend to grow in the fridge! :-

On to the bedroom, now this is an area that I really need some serious deliverance from. My room is mess MOST of the time. I just don't understand it. It's almost like I find comfort in the mess or something?! At any rate. I have broken my room up into zones and it works so much better than trying to tackle the whole thing at once.

One thing that I found is that I am really bad at putting things away. So I am working on the habit of always putting things back after I use them. There's no telling what you might find on my bed, from cookbooks, to calculators, to notebooks. Even my Bible has been known to wind up on the floor because I just lay it next to me after reading it. :-/

Even though we have a way to go we are definitely making progress. I am confident that God who has begun this work in me will finish it!!

40 Day Challenges

2011-01-10T06:53:00.002-06:00

As I was thinking about us becoming more orderly and building habits, I thought of how many breakthroughs in the Bible came after 40 days. So for 40 days we are going to concentrate on areas of orderliness. First up on the dock is our bedrooms, the kitchen and the car.

I'll begin with the car as it has been the easiest and most effective so far. A while back, the kids and I were riding in the car with a friend. I marveled at how clean his car was. He said that when he was a kid, his father taught him to always take out of the car whatever he brought in. How is that for simple. And it works!! So as we speak, my car is clean!!

On to the kitchen. We have not mastered keeping the kitchen clean, but it sure has gotten better than what we were doing. Sticking to our established meal times helps by eliminating snacking and by helping my mind be in a mode of preparation for the meal and cleanup once the meal is done.

I have established a habit of having the dishes in the dishwasher be clean at all times. So if I put any dirty dishes in the dishwasher, it's only right before I run it. Otherwise, I wash them before putting them in. This is a little extra work, but it's worth always having clean dishes in the kitchen.

Meal time is not over until the dishes have been washed and put away and all food has been put away. We then declare the kitchen officially closed! No meals in between means healthy appetites for the next meal and it also means our stomach has a chance to do its job and rest up before the next meal.

And then finally are the bedrooms. Yikes! My bedroom is looking better everyday, but it's still not to the point where I would want anybody to come in here. My prayer is that by the end of the 40 day period, it will be company friendly and that it will stay that way.

Looking forward to deliverance from the bondage of bad habits.

Order in Every Day Living

2010-12-08T19:27:00.003-06:00

God has really been working with me on the subject of order. I have been working mostly on getting my house organized by establishing everyday routines. This has included keeping my kitchen clean at all times which was a major challenge until I made the decision to "close" the kitchen in between meal times.

This practice was easy to implement because we have set times for meals and even if we are not exactly on schedule, we do not generally eat between meals. I find that by doing this, my kids have a heartier appetite and eat much healthier than snacking on junk in between meal times.

So after we finish eating breakfast, we clear the table (our school desks), and wash all the breakfast dishes. Once the kitchen is clean, then "close" it and we transition into school with a clean kitchen!!

I cannot stress how much easier this one step has made my life. No more searching the dirty dishwasher to find a dish to use. I immediately wash the dishes and put them away or put them in the dishwasher to run it. So there is rarely a dirty dish in the house. What a change from before!

Now as I was reflecting on John 20:5-7, I noticed how after Christ rose, he actually took the time to fold up His grave clothes! How's that for diligence and orderliness?! At any rate, as I meditated on this passage, I thought of how when I leave a room, I also leave an impression based upon how I leave that room. Think of it. Have you ever passed by someone's desk at work and wondered if their house looks the same? It's really the same whether it's messy or clean. I pass by houses and I notice when they are immaculate or when they are not so immaculate. So I think of what Christ's house would look like and if He folded up His grave clothes before He left the tomb, how would a room look when He left out of it? Would it be messy, or would He leave it exactly the way He found it or better?

So this is the task before me, to clean as I go and to always represent Christ in everything that I do. Praise God that His Strength is made perfect in weakness. (II Cor 12:9)

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-06T08:26:00.004-06:00

Picture: Some of the Thanksgiving food, my cousin Felisha and my Grandmother in the left hand corner. :)

Thanksgiving is by far one of my favorite holidays. I love the fact that my family gets together and I usually get to see cousins that I haven't seen in at least a year or more. This year was no different. I got to see my brothers, several aunts and uncles and several cousins that I hadn't seen in about 3 years.

Our trip from Texas to Florida began on Sunday morning. The drive is long and we break it up by staying the night with my Aunt in Baton Rouge. This time we took our new puppy Alex. The poor thing had motion sickness before we had been traveling and hour and managed to get sick 3 times before we ever got to my Aunt's house. I'm wondering if we should just keep him out of the car, or just take him along on errands more often. Any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated!

We got to my Mom's house on Monday afternoon and the fun began. My dad bowls and so we met him at the bowling alley and spent a little time with him.

On Tuesday we had a family photo shoot on the beach. I look forward to sharing some of those photos soon.

Wednesday was cooking day. Since we are vegan, there is pretty much nothing that my Grandmother cooks that we eat, so I always prepare something for my family. This year I made Fried Chickn Seitan (found in Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia Simpson) and Tofu Pecan Meatballs. For dessert I made a double layer sweet potato cheesecake using the recipe found here.

I normally am not big into meat substitutes, but my daughter asked me if I would make a chicken substitute to help her resist the urge to have a piece of fried chicken! Let me tell you that the Fried Chickn Seitan recipe did not disappoint! It was fairly easy to make and equally delicious.

Thanksgiving day was great as always. Packing 30 people into a house that wasn't designed for more than 10 or so, is not so inconvenient when you genuinely love (and like) the people that you are packed in with.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for life, family and friends. Praise God for all the wonderful things that He has blessed me with and for the frame of mind to appreciate them. My prayer is that every day of my life will be a day of Thanksgiving!

Why/How I became a Vegetarian

2010-11-10T23:10:00.003-06:00

My journey to vegetarianism began in college. I was on campus (Florida A&M University) at the first annual "Be Out Day" in line behind a girl getting her food. She commented that the only meats that she ate were turkey, chicken and fish. My interest was piqued.

The next month, through not intentions of my own, I did not eat any beef and noticed that I did not have any cramps that month. Now to understand how significant this was, you need to know that when I had my first child, I experienced the same pain that I had experienced every month!

I went back to eating beef and the cramps returned. I have not had a piece of beef since. That was 1995. Thus began my journey to healthy living. Next I did research on pork and after finding basically NOTHING positive, I gave that up. In 1997, I was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church that is well known for it's promotion of healthy living through diet and exercise. I met several people that were vegetarian and did lots more research. I eventually gave up all other meat, fish being the last.

I studied about how the original diet of Adam and Eve was vegetarian and as I longed to be restored fully to the Creator, embracing the original diet of man soon became a part of that desire.

I gave up dairy through no choice of my own. I desired to give it up eventually, but was forced to do so after having my son. He is allergic to cow's milk, and I developed an allergy to milk shortly after having him. Whenever I have milk, my asthma flares and I have trouble breathing. It only took a time or 2 of that to be completely end my relationship with milk! Now my body is so sensitive to it that I can tell within minutes if I have eaten something that has milk in it.

One thing I must say is that there was a time that I had pretty much given up meat, but I would eat it when I went home for the holidays. I could tell such a huge difference in my body. I went from feeling fabulous to feeling almost lethargic from the meat. It was then that I knew that there really was a difference in what it was doing to my body.

Today I don't eat meat, because I believe that my body is the temple of God and that His perfect will for my life is to eat the diet that He created just for me!

Psalm 119

2010-10-27T18:09:00.005-05:00

One morning while in my quiet time with God, He impressed deeply on my heart that He wanted me to memorize Psalm 119. My first thought response was "Lord, did You mean Psalm 19?" :) I knew in my heart that He meant 119, because of verses that I had been coming across, ones that stuck out in my mind.

I realize that I already know many of the verses by heart already, either from elementary school or from my personal studies. Of course that still leaves many verses to commit to memory, but I am actually looking forward to the challenge.

As I looked over the verses in my Bible, I notice that they are sectioned off 8 verses at a time. So I am using a 3x5 index card with the first letter of each word on the front and the verse itself on the back. I plan to do a card for each section of 8 verses, 22 cards total for 176 verses, and have them laminated.

I believe that there will be a time in earth's history when believers of the faith will not have access to God's word. It is my desire to have God's word hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Him.

The Path of Life

2010-10-09T06:31:00.003-05:00

This morning in my devotional time, I read about the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. The children of Israel were surrounded on every side by mountains, water and the Egyptians behind them. It seemed that there was no path for them to take, but that of defeat. But God, through the faith of Moses, carved out a path for them that was only made possible through them exhibiting faith as well.

As I meditated on this passage, I thought about ants. Proverbs 6:6 says "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise". I thought about how ants travel along a path. You can't see it, but it is definitely there. Have you ever tried to wipe away their path? The result is confusion and disorientation. That is exactly what happens to us when we stray from the path that God has laid out for us. We become confused and distraught.

May we take time to listen to the voice that says "this is the way walk, walk ye in it" (Isaiah 30:21), that we may find fullness of joy in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11).

Be blessed my friends.

Vegan Sausage Recipe

2010-09-19T08:05:00.003-05:00

As a vegan, one of the things I miss most is breakfast sausage. As a child growing up one of my favorite things to eat was a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit. My mom would get up at 4 in the morning and make breakfast. Now that's enough to make any kid smile.

At any rate, one of my friends developed a sausage recipe that tastes absolutely wonderful and gets 5 stars from my resident food critic (my son). I am posting it here for your viewing pleasure. Please let me know if you try it out.

Seven Seasonings Sausage Burger

4 3/4 c. water
1/3 c. yeast flakes
3/4 c. pecans or walnuts
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. coriander
1 1/2 Tbsp. basil
1/2 c. Bragg’s liquid aminos or unfermented soy sauce
3 3/4 c. 1-minute oats
3/4 c. cracked wheat
1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds
2 tsp. sage
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. savory (optional)

1. In a large pot, bring 2 3/4 c. water and cracked wheat to a boil and cook for 15 to 30 minutes.
2. In a blender, blend the remaining 2 cups water, yeast flakes, liquid aminos, sunflower seeds, nuts and the seven seasonings. Blend well.
3. While constantly stirring, add the blender mixture to the boiling bulgur wheat and water. Return to a boil. Slowly add the oats to the mixture while stirring. Continue to cook and stir for 2 - 3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until cooled. Form mixture into patties and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes, then flip patties and bake an additional 5 minutes.

You can also pan-fry the patties in light olive oil instead of baking, if desired

Recipe by Robin Swain

Prayer 90 Challenge

2010-09-17T08:22:00.004-05:00

Most people have probably heard of the P90X program that promises physical fitness in 90 days. While I haven't tried it, I have heard that it definitely delivers, cutting away fat and leaving your body trim.

Pastor Ivor Myers has come up with the Prayer 90X, 90 days of extreme spiritual training and it is fabulous. This book takes you through the Bible in 90 days, 1 hour a day, from the origin of sin in heaven to the earth made new.

I have been blessed beyond measure. You can sample the first 14 days on the Facebook page. Be sure to come back and let me know what you think.

Our Newest Family Member

2010-08-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

We have a new family member, Alex. My daughter turns 13 next month and when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said "Nothing really, just a puppy". For the longest time I avoided getting a puppy because I know they are a lot of work and I just wasn't in a place in my life to add on extra responsibility, but we are in a new season and the new puppy is a refreshing reminder of that.

The story of how we obtained him is an interesting one. We first checked our local shelter. On the day we went in, we saw a cute poodle mix, but he was not available for adoption because he had just been picked up the day before. We went back on his emancipation date, only to find that he wouldn't be emancipated the next day at noon because he had come in during the night.

So we went back once again. By this time the kids were set on getting this dog. I wasn't feeling him though. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something was just not right. I filled out the application and was ready to pay for him when one of the workers at the shelter suggested that we play with him a bit longer before we make our final decision. We discussed the process of getting him ready to go one, one of which was having him tested for heartworms. It was then I heard God clearly speaking to me. My prayer was that if he had heartworms, I knew he wasn't the dog for us.

We played with him during the 8 minutes it takes to get his results and sure enough he was positive for heartworms. The kids were devastated. It was a hard choice, but I knew I had to leave him. In my spiritual journey I have learned a very important lesson. It is often hard to follow God, but it's always harder when you don't!

We left and came home and searched the internet and that's where we found Alex. He was only 8 weeks old and the owner was only asking $25 for him. We scheduled a visit and brought him home on Sunday.

We are now in the potty training stages and I am happy to report that he is doing well! Stay tuned for more on our adorable addition.

Oven Baked French Toast Recipe with vegan option

2010-05-14T10:35:00.006-05:00

French Toast is one of my favorite breakfast foods. My Mom made it often when I was growing up. This weekend a local bed and breakfast featured its recipe in a local magazine and she even has instructions to veganize it. I made it this morning and it was delightful. The recipe is only for 2 servings so be sure to make proportions suitable for your family.

French bread cut 1-1 1/4 wide remove crusts

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk

1 dash Heavy cream

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp orange syrp

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1. Whisk it all together until well blended.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F

3. SPOON the batter over the bread, including the crustless edges. Place on greased cookie sheet

4. Place bread in oven and bake 10 minutes.

5. Flip and bake another 10-15 minutes until top is golden brown.

6. Serve immediately; sprinkled with powdered sugar, fresh fruit or topping of your choice.

*Do not dip as this is what makes the bread soggy

Vegan French Toast

Same as above except:

Mash 1/2 banana eand substitute for egg

Substitute soy milk for regular milk

Leave out the cream

Heart Preparation

2010-05-13T07:45:00.004-05:00

In my devotion time this morning, God laid the word preparation on my heart. As I meditated on this word the thought of preparing my heart for Christ's soon return filled my mind.

God formed Adam from the dust of the ground. I imagined a plot of soil read to be tilled for gardening. As the soil must be prepared before planting seeds, so must my heart be prepared to receive Christ.

Proverbs 16:1 says "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord

It is God that prepares my heart to plant in it the fruits of the Spirit. As I spend time with Him, He waters and shines His Light and breathes His air upon me that I may grow. As I grow and mature, I bear fruit and those who come in contact with me know that I have been nurtured by the Master Gardner because of the fragrant fruit that I bear.

Hatching of Baby Chicks

2010-04-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

Chicks Coming Soon!!

2010-04-12T12:38:00.001-05:00

This week we picked up a dozen eggs to be hatched into chicks. So far, so good.

We marked the chicks with an "X" on one side and an "O" on the other to keep up with turning them and set the incubator at 99.5 degrees. The kids are estatic.

Now I have no idea what we are going to do with these chicks once they hatch. I guess we better be building a coop. Ann, where are you? I need some help, cause I'm sure you know the best way to build a coop and what I need to be doing.

Natural Deodorant

2010-04-11T07:23:00.000-05:00

Eating healthy and wearing my hair natural has affected my life in so many different ways. After reading about how anti-perspirants contain aluminum, I knew I didn't want to use them anymore. I went to Whole Foods and purchased some of the deodorants they offered and didn't like how much I was sweating in my clothes.

I attended a natural hair meeting and one of the ladies gave a recipe for homemade deodorant:

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp baking soda

1tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp essential oil ( I use lavendar. Choose a fragrance you like)

1 tbsp tea tree oil

Mix all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

I absolutely LOVE this deodorant. Everyone in my household except my son ( he has no need for deodorant) uses it and loves it.

I made a youtube video that you can view here

Vegan Cashew Loaf

2010-04-05T08:58:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I prepared a meal for Easter. I am very pleased with the way it came out. We had cashew loaf, green beens, macaroni and cheez, rolls, aloo paratha and cheesecake (I used sweet potato). Yes I ate too much! :)

One of my fellow tweeters asked for the recipe so I am posting it. Enjoy.

3/4 cup raw cashews, coarsely ground

1 cup soy milk

1 mdm onion, chopped or 2 tbsp dried minced onion

1 cup fresh whole-wheat bread crumbs

1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp dried parsley, powedered with fingers or 1/4 cup fresh parsley snipped with scissors

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/4 cup quick oats

(I added a tbsp of gluten flour, for better hold and meaty texture)

Pour into greased baking dish. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until firm and lightly golden.

Taken from Tasty Vegan Delights by Gloria Lawson and Debbi Puffer

If you try it, please be sure to stop by and let me know how you like it.

What Are You Hungry For?

2010-04-02T08:45:00.003-05:00

This week as the kids and I were having family worship, we talked about the daily manna that was provided for the children of Israel in the wilderness. We talked about how Christ is the Bread of Life.

I am a firm believer that my kids get into trouble when they don't have something specific to keep them busy and out of trouble. I believe this same concept applies spiritually. God gives us His Word, our manna. We are to eat of it daily. The truth is that just like we are hungry everyday for physical food, we are hungry everyday for spiritual food. Christ can feed us or Satan can feed us.

I told my kids if they are full on the Bread of heaven, they won't have room to eat the junk food that Satan offers.

What are you hungry for?

Sew Crafty Friday-Quilt Squares

2010-03-26T16:04:00.004-05:00

This week I am working on quilt squares for my homeschool group's quilt. Several ladies are making squares. We will each get a square and make our own quilt. I'm excited. This square has not yet been sewn together. I just laid it out. I cut out all my strips, but need to finish cutting the individual squares. Then I will sew them all together!

Have you been crafty this week? What are you working on. To see more crafty projects, visit Shereen at Waiting for Him.

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

2010-03-16T05:36:00.002-05:00

As a part of our homeschool curriculum, we study character qualities. The current character quality is humility. In health we discussed how the bladder exhibits humility in its function. We talk about what humility is and what it is not (antonyms).

My son is a part of the Adventurer Program and as a fundraiser, the club is having a fashion show. The club practiced on Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening my son said that he did not want to participate in the fashion show. My first thought was that something had happened. Maybe he had gotten into a disagreement with one of the other little boys. Upon further questioning, he said that he did not believe that Jesus would be in a fashion show. He said that when he posed in the clothes he felt that he was being showy. Immediately I tried to imagine Jesus showing off His clothes. Wow, not good fit.

I was filled with emotion. My 8 year old son, recognizes pride when he experiences it and has the courage to stand against it. My prayer is that I will be bold enough (through Christ strength) to stand for the things I believe in.

May God continue to give me the strength and wisdom to teach my children to be like Daniel. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8

The Moore Formula

2010-03-09T08:25:00.005-06:00

I got a question about the Moore Formula so I would like to take a minute to write a little bit about how it works.''

The Moore Formula in a nutshell says that the time student spends on academics, should equal the amount of time they spend on work and service.

There is a six point prescription for academic excellence

1. Scripture Memorization

2. Observation Skills

3. Work and Service Education

4. Building Academic Skills

5. Guided Questioning

6. The Study Buddy

In the Manual, each point in spelled out in detail.

One thing that I love about the Moore Formula is the use of schedules. They decribe what they call "anchor points". Set a time for Rising and going to bed, bath time and bed time, meals and school and fill in everything else around these major items. Be consistent but open and flexible enough to allow change.

They use unit studies and give examples of how to create them yourself. I try to create our units based on what's going on in our area. With spring around the corner, we will visiting the pond to look for tadpoles, observing birds build their nests, identifying trees etc. We will also be gardening and using it for spiritual lessons as well as physical activity.

I hope this sheds some light on this method. Feel free to ask any specific questions you may have. I am more than happy to answer them

Homeschool Snow Day

2010-02-26T08:24:00.005-06:00

A few days ago I woke up to huge snowflakes falling outside of my window. What a beautiful sight. It doesn't snow much where we live, so I told the kids to hurry up and get bundled up so they could play in it before it all melted. They did just that and had a blast.

The kids enjoyed snowball fights with Daddy

And making miniature snowmen. :)

I incorporated learning by talking about the difference between sleet and snow, and the next day when it melted we talked about why it was easier to make snowballs out of freshly fallen snow.

It's days like this that make me extra thankful that we homeschool.

My Natural Hair Journey

2010-02-16T19:28:00.006-06:00

From a very young age, I got my hair hot combed (straightened). As early as 6 I was getting the "Just For Me" perms from the box and for a long time I didn't know what my hair really looked like.

When I started making better choices in my eating and become overall more health conscious, I couldn't help but being bothered by putting harsh chemicals on my hair. I felt like I should stop getting perms, but what in the world was I supposed to do with my hair?!

Since natural hair is so different from chemically treated hair, there is really no way to answer that question before chopping all of the the relaxed hair off. Well I had seem women with really cute short natural styles, but I didn't know what my hair looked like underneath and I wasn't confident enough to rock it if it wasn't extra cute!

My last perm was April 24th of 2008 and after that I flat ironed my hair. I asked my hairstylist to trim my permed hair as my roots grew out. So for every inch of new growth I got, I cut an inched of permed hair . A year later my relaxer was almost completely gone and I did the "Big Chop" (which wasn't so big after all because I was cutting all along).

I have not looked back. I love my hair! I received a lot of negative comments "I like your hair straight" "Why in the world would you do that to your hair. It's so beautiful when you perm it" and my Aunt just flat out told me "I do NOT like your hair like that and you need to get a perm or do something!" Now I'm the kind of person that would have buckled under the pressure. The thing that kept me is that my mind was already made up and I knew exactly why I was doing what I was doing.

I must embrace me and that includes my hair. My hair is the healthiest that is has ever been and I get far more compliments than I do negative comments.

So if you are thinking of going natural, first know why and stay committed. Do research and find products that work for your hair. ALL natural hair is different. Even on my head I have at least 3 different types of hair. Know that God made you beautiful!

The Great Backyard Bird Count

2010-02-12T06:00:00.002-06:00

The Great Backyard Bird Count Starts today! What a great science and observation lesson. My kids can identify birds better than me and that is very exciting. :) Be sure to let us know what kind of birds live in your backyard.

Oh how I long to live in the country or in some place where there are actually trees in my backyard!

Homeschool 2009-10

2010-02-11T20:14:00.002-06:00

I was looking at my blog and noticed that I never did post what we were working on for this school year. Of course that wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have a label at the top of my blog that says "Our Homeschool" LOL

So this year we don't have a lot of changes from last year. We are still using the

Adventist Sonlight Curriculum

Math-U-See (Beta and Zeta)

Italics Handwriting

Moore Formula (Service and Work as many hours as school)

Charlotte Mason Scripture Memory

As a part of the Moore Formula we have been a bit more intentional about working on crafts/hobbies. My daughter is learning to knit and my son is putting together model car kits.

This year my daughter enrolled in the 4-H Veterinary Science Program. It is a 5 year course that trains the students to be a certified Veterinary Assistant. After completing this program, they are then encouraged to study for 2 years to become a certified Veterinary Technician and then go on to complete program to become a Veterinarian. She is very excited and doesn't even complain when I ask her to do her assignments. :)

Carob Milkshake

2010-02-11T19:29:00.003-06:00

I made a carob milkshake. I had every intention of taking pictures, but it didn't last very long! The recipe is from a book I got a long time ago. In fact, I don't even know where I got it. Maybe from my Mom? Anyway here's the recipe. I will take pictures next time!

1/2 c. carob chips

2 1/2 c. soymilk

2 frozen bananas

Place carob chips in 1/2 cup soy milk and heat until melted, or blend 1 cup soy milk with 1 tbsp carob powder and 2 tbs honey. Blend bananas, soy milk, and carob until smooth.

It wasn't as thick as I would have liked, but it was definitely good!

Ten in the Bible

2010-02-10T11:24:00.000-06:00

It's February and it seems that we are just getting back to full speed with our homeschooling. The good thing is that whether you are intentional or not, learning takes place. I am getting much better about seizing the moments and using them for teaching opportunities and character building.

Today for our spiritual math lesson we went over the number 10 in the Bible. I started out by asking the kids what stories or instances in the Bible they can think of that use the number 10. At first they looked at me with a blank stare and then my daughter yelled out "The 10 Commandments!" like she had found gold. LOL I mentioned the 10 virgins and then my daughter mentioned the lady that had 10 coins and lost one. For some reason in my mind she had 2 coins, but my daughter looked it up and sure enough it was 10.

This moment makes me proud, one because I know they are really paying attention, and two it's actually sinking in.

The Very First Step

2010-02-09T08:36:00.003-06:00

There was a time in my life when I felt very close to God. I would wake up in the morning at 5am and have sweet communion. It seemed that whatever I was studying was necessary for a conversation I would have that very day or the next day. It was as though I was being hand fed by God. There was a peace in my heart that I cannot put into words.

Then something happened. I'm not sure what is was, but I wasn't getting up everyday. My worship was not consistent. Sometimes it was in the morning. Sometimes it was in the evening. Sometimes it just wasn't. I felt that desire to be close to God, but I wasn't making it happen.

I have felt that way most recently. Now don't get me wrong. I'm studying and I'm reading, but I can't say that I'm experiencing that burning in my heart that I used to (Luke 24:32).

So I'm going back to the drawing board. I believe that there is a science to salvation. A method if you will, such that if you get off track, if you wake up one day and the burning is missing, you can get back on track by following certain steps.

It is my desire to outline those steps and to (by God's grace and strength) follow them.

The very first step in approaching God is to know and believe the love that He has to us' for it is through the drawing of His love that we are led to come to Him. MB 104,105

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying, Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3

Herein is love, not that we loved God, bt that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitation for our sins. I John 4:10

But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Quilts for Disaster Relief

2010-01-22T09:00:00.000-06:00

At my church we meet every 3rd Sunday to work on quilting. Our newest project is to make several quilts to have on hand when disaster strikes. This week we worked on two quilts. The lady in charge, Ms. Hazel, cut out squares and we ( another lady and I) picked colors to go together so we could lay them out.

After we lay the quilt out, we number each column and then stack the pieces to prepare them for sewing. The columns are sewn together in strips and then the strips are sewn together to create a quilt top.

We were able to mostly finish one quilt top and will work on more next month. Who knew that fabric could bring so much joy. :)

Charity Scarf Project

2010-01-21T14:14:00.000-06:00

A while back I mentioned a website I found called Craft Hope. I love this website and everything that the woman who created it is doing to help others. She does a new project every few months and the next project is the Red Scarf Project. You can read all of the details here.

As soon as I saw the project was up I went to the my LYS (Local Yarn Shop) and purchased some red yarn. My yarn of choice is the Sandnes Duett and it is delightful!

I have not been able to get any really good pictures of my scarf, but hopefully you can see what it looks like.

I will post again as I continue to make progress.

My New Book Came Today

2010-01-20T16:16:00.004-06:00

I visit Susan B. Anderson's Blog a lot. She always seems to be having some fantastic giveway for yarn or books or something delightful. Not too long ago. I generally enter them all. Not necessarily because I want to win, but because they are always so nice that I want to comment on them. Well this time I won!

I am very excited about winning this book and am looking forward to making some fabulous projects soon. Happy Knitting!

Haiti Tragedy

2010-01-13T22:02:00.002-06:00

At first I was numb, not having any feeling. Not even sure how to process it all. And then my heart began to ache for the many people that have lost their lives and for those who didn't lose their lives, but lost everything they know.

Just think of it. You are going about your day, doing your normal routines and in a moment the world as you know it changes.

I am really beyond words, but I certainly do want to express my heart-felt condolences to the people of Haiti and to those who have loved ones in that region of the world.

I am donating money to the Red Cross and checking to see if there is a way that I can help in my local area. I would imagine that as people start to send in donations such as clothes and toiletries, much help will be needed to sort and arrange, pack and ship.

If you have never helped before, now is the time.

Crisis such as these make me long as never before for the return of Christ. Come Lord Jesus come and prepare your people that we may be ready to meet you.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-09T21:03:00.005-06:00

Wow, I can't believe it's 2010. Is it me or does time seem to be going more quickly?? We had a busy holiday season over here. I got my cookies mailed out to friends and they absolutely loved them. I was actually a bit overwhelmed by the great response. Looks like I have a new ministry tor work on. :)

I had a great time knitting and relaxing. I finished knitting all the pieces for my son's sweater (I'll show that in another post) and now I just need to sew it together and put the zipper in. I should be finished with it by next week. Next on the needles is my daughter's panda bag. It will most likely be a Valentine's Day gift for her with a few goodies put inside (have I ever said how much I LOVE bags).

We spent 2 weeks in Florida visiting family. My Mom bought a Christmas tree for the kids and they had a great time decorating it.

We spent most of Christmas Day at my Grandmother's house. Even though I'm vegan now, I love looking at all the baked goodies she makes. It always looks and smells like a bakery over there.

Here are a FEW pictures of the items that my Grandmother made for Christmas. There was a whole stack of boxes full of confectioneries that I didn't even get to!

She calls these church windows. It's marshmellows, and chocolate and some other stuff all rolled in coconut. When you cut them, it gives the appearance of stained glass windows.

These are her Mexcian Wedding Balls. I made my own this year because she puts butter in hers. They looked really good though and I was tempted to eat one. :)Red Velvet Cake

Sticky Buns. She made 3 sets of these for my brothers. My twin brother that came home tried to keep all 3 sets for himself. LOL

I think this was the German Chocolate Cake.

My Grandmother's love of baking has been passed down to me. Now I just need more Vegan recipes to get me motivated. So how was your Holiday Season?

Holiday Happenings

2009-12-15T20:36:00.003-06:00

I love the holiday season. One thing I love most is that in general people seem to be more friendly. Today I went to the post office and sent off my holiday cookies (my new tradition). I told my daughter to go stand in line why I got the packages ready to mail off. When I joined her and my son, I was greeted by a lady who immediately told me how well behaved my children are and thanked me for how my daughter had calmed down her youngest. Her youngest was crying uncontrollably and stopped when my daughter started speaking to her. Then the lady says to me, "So I hear you are shipping vegan cookies." This sparked a whole new conversation in which I found out that her youngest was allergic to dairy and so she had been vegan for a while. The lady said that she couldn't take being vegan because she had a hard time giving up red meat.

Veganism is definitely a lifestyle change and is not for the faint of heart. :) We chatted some more in the line until it was my turn and then we were parked next to each other outside and chatted a bit more. She talked about how she noticed such a huge difference in her body while she was vegan. Her acne cleared up completely. She didn't have any flare ups with her asthma and her energy levels were higher.

I should have exchanged numbers or e-mails with her. Not sure why I didn't (maybe because I am moving soon?). At any rate, I sure did enjoy our short visit and she and her family will be in my prayers.

Have you ever met someone and felt like you should ask for them info, but didn't for one reason or another? I would love to hear about it!

Book Review: My Read and Rhyme Bible Storybook

2009-12-15T20:24:00.003-06:00

I received an e-mail a while back asking if I would review a book. Being the book lover that I am, I happily agreed. The name of the book is My Read and Rhyme Bible Storybook by Crystal Bowman & Cindy Kenney. It is illustrated by Chritiane Engel

The book says that it is geared for ages 4-7 and I believe that it is great for that age range. Each Bible story included is told in poem form. What I like most about the book is that there are questions at the end and it gives an activity suggestion for each story. Also included at the end of the story is a list of words that the child can read and a list of rhyming words to match.

To take a peek inside, you can visit the Amazon link here.

2nd Annual In His Image Awards

2009-12-09T22:24:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday was my church's second annual "In His Image" Awards. This is the end of the year banquet where those who have worked hard are recognized. My husband decided he didn't want to go so I made it a girls night out with just my daughter and me.

i had no intentions that we would match and didn't even realize that we did until I saw the picture! I found my daughter's dress at Macy's for $20. She absolutely loved it. I found my dress on sale at JCPenny. I wore the black wrap with it because I don't like to wear sleeveless clothes and the dress was a bit to big and reavealed a little more than I would have liked at the top. I really do like it though so I plan to have it altered and maybe wear a camisole under it to give me complete coverage. :)

I think this was my first formal event with my hair in its natural state. Loved it and can't think of any reason to go back.

Holiday Nut Loaf

2009-11-25T20:11:00.002-06:00

I made this recipe last year and it was a big hit. I am making it again this year for my Thanksgiving main dish. The recipe is from the Seven Secrets Cookbook by Jim and Neva Brackett:

1 cup tofu and 1/2 cup water (or 1 cup soaked soybeans with 1 cup water)

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

1 TBS Bragg Liquid Aminos or 2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 cup gluten flour or cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 TBS onion powder

1 tsp ground sage or Italian seasoning

3-4 cups soft whole grain bread crumbs

2 cups pecans (may use walnuts, almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds or cashews)

2 cups finely chopped onions

1. Blend tofu (or soybeans) with water, garlic, and seasonings.

2. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add blended tofu or soybeans and mix well.

3. Place mix in lightly oiled or nonstick loaf pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes to give it a chance to set up before removing from the pan. Turn upside down onto a serving dish. Garnish with fresh parsley or kale and serve with Simple Gravy or Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce.

Sweet Tomato Topping

8-ounce can crushed pineapple

8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 TBS molasses

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Combine ingredients in a small bowl.

Animal Assisted Therapy-4H Group Lesson

2009-11-19T06:51:00.005-06:00

The 4H Vet Science programs has 10 group lessons per year and 10 individual lessons. Yesterday was the group lesson on Animal Assisted Therapy. For this lesson a woman came in with her guide dog in training. We learned that this woman has been training guide dogs since she was 9.

We also learned that a candidate must be at least 17 to receive a guide dog and the candidate only pays $1. That dollar gives them full ownership of the dog! The dogs can only work for about 10 years before they must retire. I guess since dogs years are approximately a multiple of 7, that sounds about right. :)

The dog that we got to meet is named Ziva. Ziva is a black lab and is very playful and sweet. Given the command "find the girls", Ziva can locate the women's restroom. She has been known to insist that the water fountain is the restroom, but she is still learning and doing quite well.

Around May or June of next year, Ziva will go on to school with a professional trainer to learn the other necessary skills of possible leading a blind person. If she passes with flying colors, she will then be placed with someone based on need and temperament. If she fails, there are a few other jobs she may be able to qualify for, or some will get her as a pet.

We learned that one dog is being trained to detect high and low blood sugar levels from the smell of the saliva of his caregiver. Wow, who knew??

Bird Watching Class

2009-11-18T07:24:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I attended a bird watching class given through my city's Recreation Center. I was lounging around when I got up and my son came into the room with his pair of binoculars. I immediately remembered that my class started at 8am! I love how God sends me gently reminders.

At any rate, I grabbed my binoculars and my daughters bird guide and headed off to class. I couldn't find the directions on line and wound up having to call the Rec Center for directions so needless to see I was about 10 minutes late! When I arrived the class had just finished introductions and was looking at the first set of birds.

The instructor kept commenting on how he had never seen such activity at this park. I believe it was God answering my prayer to make the class a great experience that would ignite a desire to study birds. :)

The original plan was for me to take the class with the kids, but they were not old enough. So I decided to go and see how it was done and then bring the information home for us to use as a part of our studies. It was so funny to see how I was the youngest person in this class. I think the person closest to my age had to be in their late 50's! I love it when this happens because then I have such a vast amount of knowledge to draw upon.

We walked the trails through the park and saw woodpeckers, and warblers. I think I saw more cardinals than I have ever seen in my life. There were blue jays in the tops of the trees. I saw more mockingbirds than I care to count. :) The instructor pointed out KingFishers and a few other birds that I don't remember off hand. Next time I take the class (yes I plan to take it again) I will take a small notebook to write down the species.

My instructor had an ipod with him. Now this day in age that shouldn't be odd except that he must be over 70 years old and it didn't have any music on it, only bird sounds!! As we moved up the trail he would play the sound of the bird he expected to be in that area to get them to come up. And then he kept making this little bird sound with his mouth. How exciting! Who knew I could have so much fun watching birds. I see a bird unit study coming up very soon!

My Prayer Journal-Flight TWA 800

2009-11-12T07:18:00.004-06:00

I have been impressed more and more lately to keep a prayer journal. I pray for others often, but, I never write those prayers down. For me, there is something powerful about writing things down. I am very much a technological kind of girl. I have a laptop, an I-touch, a blog...you get the picture, but I still keep a paper datebook and I still find pleasure in writing things by hand.

This morning while I was having my quiet time with God, I thought of a lady who lost her four children in TWA flight 800 on July 17, 1996. What's odd about this thought is that were 240 people that lost their lives on that flight and this lady has been on my mind ever since. This morning I prayed for her and I wrote my prayer down in my journal. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will comfort her and give her the peace that passes all human wisdom. I have no idea why this lady stays so heavily on my mind and after so many years no less, but I am learning to be obedient to the promptings of the Spirit. I pray that one day whether on this earth or in the earth made new, I will get to speak with her and hear of her story of how she made it through.

Is there a seemingly random person or a thought that comes to your mind often? Consider writing it down and presenting it before the Lord in prayer.

Quilting Project

2009-11-04T11:01:00.000-06:00

Before I mentioned a website called Craft Hope that is hosting a quilt give-away this month. I started working on my quilt and bought enough material to make 2 of the same kind. I will give one away and keep one for my son as a Christmas present.

In the picture above you can see several of the prints. There are 3 horse prints. I sewed the last strip on wrong. The cowboy print in the corner is supposed to be in the other corner so that the horse prints make a diagonal. At least that's what I saw in my mind. I did the second one correctly and am still trying to figure out if I want to "fix" this one before I finish the quilt.

Here is a closeup of one the middle horse fabric. I thought this was very "Texan" and boyish. I love the burgundy and cream and tried to bring that out in some of the other squares.

So next I need to purchase the batting, and cotton flannel material for the back. I hope to be finished by the end of the week.

Blood Center Field Trip

2009-11-03T10:18:00.011-06:00

This week the kids and I went on a Field trip to the Blood Center. At first my son was very nervous about going. I guess he thought someone was going to poke him with a needle.

Once we got there, he calmed down quite a bit. There were many things to keep his attention.

Here is a rack of blood ready to be taken to the lab

Here is a lab technician sorting blood and getting it ready for the hospital.
We learned about plasma (on the right) and how the blood is prepared. The kids learned how blood is made in the marrow of the bones, and how blood cannot be manufactured by any outside source. The machines behind the rack that look like washing machines are centrifuges. The kids learn how the centrifuges are used to separate the blood.This picture was taken inside the refrigerator. There was a freezer next to it. We learned that the blood is never frozen (only the plasma is frozen) and cannot be stored for very long before it is no longer usable.
We ended our tour by checking out some of the cars outside. All of them have lots of colorful designs on them.

The kids had a great time and now we excited to do more follow up on blood and how it works in the body!

A Worthy Cause-Craft Hope

2009-10-30T15:54:00.002-05:00

Since I discovered knitting, one of my new favorite things to do is listen to podcasts. This week I was listening to the Craftsanity podcast (episode 105) and found out about a website called Craft Hope. The woman who founded this blog hosts a different craft everymonth to be given away to needy children somewhere in the world. How nice is that?

This month's craft is quilting. You can read more about the organization that will be collecting the quilts here. If you quilt, please consider joining in. The deadline is November 15th. Even if you can only make a quilt top it will help out tremendously.

I plan to make the take-along-quilt. This is a great project for Christmas gifts as well.

4H Vet Science Group

2009-10-15T08:24:00.005-05:00

My daughter has joined a 4H Vet science program. It's a 5 year program to be a Veterinary Assistant. It is quite amazing how this all came to be. When my daughter was 5 she said she wanted to be a Veterinarian. Now the only problem with that is that she was terrified of dogs. "In her own child-like faith way, she would say God is going to take my fear of dogs away and I'm going to be a Vet!" And sure enough He did take her fear away and now we even dogsit for others when they are out of town. Now that is the kind of faith I need!

Last night was the group first activity meeting where they interview a Veterianarian and ask about educational background and duties. Our group chose a PetSmart. The staff was so friendly and helpful.

Here my daughter is trying on the gloves they use to keep the cats from scratching them.

They got to go into the x-ray room and see an actual x-ray of one of the patients. The Vet nurse explained what they were looking at.

All the kids went home with a free stethoscope and one of the parents wrote to our Yahoo group last night to say that her daughter was already trying the stethoscope out on her cat. How sweet.

We are looking forward to the next activity.

Baby Football hat

2009-09-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

I attended a baby shower the Sunday before last and the Grandmother of the baby asked me to knit a hat. She only gave me a couple of days notice and so I just made a basic little hat. When I got to the baby shower, I found that the parents and grandparents are all huge football fans so I decided to make him a footall hat from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B Anderson .

I'm still working working on my backstitch so the football didn't turn out quite as cute as I would have liked it to, but I hope she will like it none the less.

My Firstborn is 12!

2009-09-03T09:24:00.007-05:00

Yesterday my daughter turned 12. I can't believe that it's been 12 years since I was living in San Jose with no family close to me.For her birthday we went shopping for a new outfit and shoes and then she was supposed to meet a friend later that afternoon for a pedicure. I told the friend's Mom to meet us at Claire's since she didn't know exactly where the nail shop was and the girls seemed to be having so much fun that we decided to just shop there instead. Above is a picture of the girls trying on the feathery boas.

After hanging out at Claire's for a while we went to Petland. The guy at the store said we could play with a puppy so Jasmine chose a Chiuaua. I have never seen a puppy with so much energy. She never stopped. She just ran around the little cubicle the whole time gnawing on feet and chewing shoes and just darting from one end to the other or running in circles. I was exhausted just watching her. :)

Next we played with a Yorkshire Terrier. This dog was very relaxed and much more my speed.

Osh Kosh 2009: The Courage to Stand

2009-08-19T19:38:00.005-05:00

We are back from the 2009 Pathfinder Camporee in Osh Kosh Wisconsin and what a grand time we had! Over 35,000 people from all over the world attended. This year's theme, The Courage to Stand was based on Queen Esther.

Here is a picture of my daughter getting ready to march in the parade.

After a week of using Porta-potties, taking 5 minute showers and walking 2 miles to get to all the events, I am sur glad to be home!

Girls Night Out at the Knit Shop

2009-07-24T19:07:00.004-05:00

My LYS (Local Yarn Shop) hosts a knitting night on Thursdays. Yesterday was my second time being able to attend and what a blast these ladies are. Currently most of the women are working on a sweater knit along. I've opted out since right now I'm working on a doll (pictured below) and soon I'll be working on a birthday cake hat for my niece.

Here is a picture of the knit shop dog, Rosie. Here she is trying to get a piece of cheese from one of the ladies and what I wish you could have seen is her begging for food by tapping her paw on the lady's arm. Too funny!

Last night I found out that one of the girls is vegetarian. When I asked her reason she said "Because I believe God is in everything". Sounds like a perfect ice breaker to me! Keep me in prayer as I prepare to be sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit in regards to this matter.

Happy Knitting!

The Atmosphere of the Soul

2009-07-17T08:02:00.003-05:00

Have you ever been in the presence of someone and when you left that person you were energized and ready to conquer the world? And have you ever been in the presence of someone who when you left their company you were ready to throw a pity party and blame the whole world for all of your problems? If you have lived long enough, then you most certainly have been in the presence of both. This is because we give off what we feel inside.

Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own--an atmosphere, it may be,
charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with
the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent
and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the
atmosphere surrounding us, every person with whom we come in contact is
consciously or unconsciously affected. {COL 339.3}

What's flowing from your stream? Is it rivers of life? Or is it a cesspool of gloom and doom?

I encourage you today to allow God to purify your streams so that others who come in contact with you will know that Jesus lives!

John 7:38

Hat Swap Update

2009-07-12T20:02:00.005-05:00

These are the items that I recieved from my swap partner. The Yada Yada prayer group book, some scrap booking items and of course the hat that we were swapping

This is my model Jenny donning the ribbon hat. It's a little big for her head because the hat is for a 6 month baby and Jenny is much smaller. :)

The hat swap was a great project to participate in and I'm so thankful to my swap partner for the little extras she threw in.

Shift Your Focus

2009-07-09T07:47:00.003-05:00

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. -Isaiah 26:3

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. -II Corinthians 3:18

By beholding we become changed. God promises in Isaiah 26:3 that if our thoughts and affections are on Him we will experience peace through our trust in Him. He also makes another promise that as we keep our mind on Him, we will become like Him. So if we shift our focus, we can become like Christ and experience perfect peace. What a promise!

How often have you taken the time to read the stories of Christ and really meditate on His thoughts? Take for example the time the woman was caught in adultery. All the men brought her so that she could be accused and put to death by stoning. Jesus ignored them and began to write in the dust. Have you ever thought about what He was writing? Why didn't He just call out the names of the ones who had set her up or better yet, the names of the ones that had been with her which would perhaps include all of them!

Was He composing Himself? Was He giving them a way of escape or a chance to break out of this evil deed? I propose that as we reflect on Christ and ponder His thoughts, we will become like Him and experience the peace that passes all understanding. He promises that in His presence there is fullness of Joy.

May the fulness of God's joy be yours today and you shift your focus toward Him

Ribbon Hat

2009-06-24T10:13:00.003-05:00

I am a member of the Itty Bitty Hats group on Ravelry. I decided to join a hat swap and that hat for this month was the Ribbon Hat. I tend to like things that are simple so this hat was a bit of a challenge for me, but I decided to join anyway. My hat is now done and I plan to knit up a surprise for my swap partner which I will post once I'm done with it.

I Won, I Won!

2009-06-23T18:28:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I attended a Threads of Love meeting and the director told a story of a quilt that been made by some of the volunteers, sold at an auction, and bought buy her husband. She wanted to raffle the quilt to make money for her chapter. When I saw the quilt I was thoroughly impressed by the craftmanship of it and thought it to be very "Texan" with the boots and stars. I thought of how I would love to have it, but only bought a ticket to support the group.

Today was the 5th birthday party of this Threads of Love chapter and guess who won the quilt? I couldn't believe it. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but I am happy to have it indeed.

My Clapotis is Done

2009-06-01T17:43:00.003-05:00

Earlier I wrote a post on my latest knitting project, the clapotis. After knitting it halfway through and ripping it out, I finally finished it. I went to a graduation party last night and several of the ladies there fell in love with it. One in particular wore it until it was time for me to go. As I was walking out to my car, I was impressed to give it to her. So I'll be packing it up in a nice little bag and presenting it to her at church this weekend.

The first picture is what the colors actually look like. I guess the lights from the kitchen table flushed out the colors in the second.

I've already purchased to yarn to knit my next one so maybe I'll get to keep that one. :)

That Still Small Voice

2009-05-20T16:41:00.003-05:00

Today is the last meeting of my son's Adventurer Club is today. The director likes to give goodie bags to each kid as a part of their End of the Year party. She asks that each parent donate items to the bag(about$1for each item) and let each of us know how many items to purchase.

I had planned to go to Walmart to pick up a few items and so I figured I would just look in the toy isle to see what little trinkets I could find. As I was driving to Walmart, I felt an impression to go to Walgreens. This was a little odd because I don't generally shop there. There is a new one in town and I could take the route to Walmart that takes me right past it.

I go into Walgreens head to the toy isle and I see the cutest little stuffed animals for $0.99. And just when I thought that was enough, there were exactly 17 different ones-the exact number I needed for the party!

I praise God that He is faithful to me even in the seemingly insignificant matters of life!

Simple Mayonnaise (Vegan)

2009-05-18T20:24:00.002-05:00

One of the hardest things for me when deciding to go vegan was giving up mayonnaise. I was not impressed with the cost of the substitutes. I was more than excited when I bought the Seven Secrets Cookbook by Jim and Neva Brackett. They have a recipe that uses items that I keep in my pantry. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. :)

Simple Mayonnaise

12 oz box of MoriNu Silken Tofu, or 1/2 brick regular tofu plus 3/4 cup water

1 cup raw cashew nuts

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 TBS honey or (2 of sugar)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder (not granulated)

Place all ingredients in blender, and blend for at least 1 minute until silky smooth. Chill to thicken.

Makes 3 cups

Menu Plan Monday

2009-05-04T14:05:00.002-05:00

I am trying to get back into the habit of menu planning. When I'm annoyed by the question "What's for Dinner"? Then I know there is a problem! And of course the only problem is that I don't have an answer!

Sunday-Leftovers

Monday-Spaghetti

Tuesday-Pigs in a Blanket

Wednesday-Stirfry

Thursday-Black beans and rice

Friday-Pizza

Sabbath-Eating at Church!

Hopefully next week the menu will be a bit more exciting, but at least this week I have an answer to "What's for dinner?" What are you eating this week?

Spring Cleaning from the Spiritual Point of View

2009-04-24T08:19:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of months I have been having the urge to purge and do some deep cleaning. Many call it Spring Cleaning and from watching nature from the animals mate and build nests and the budding of the grass and flowers, I would dare say that there is something that God has placed in us that makes us feel alive this time of year and give us the urge to do a deep cleansing.

Today I decided to tackle my Master Bedroom Closet. It looked fairly organized when I started, but after pulling things off of the shelves, and rearranging clothes (putting Winter ones away and taking out Spring/Summer ones) the closet and my bedroom looked and absolute mess. Now of course when I drop off the Goodwill bag, throw out all the trash bags and neatly put everything else away, I will see that my efforts have been worth it.

What's the spiritual lesson here? Look at your life as a closet. When the seasons of our life change, God comes in and pulls stuff out, throws stuff away, and then rearranges what left (if there is anything left!). Sometimes when we go through this process, our lives look a mess, it looks like nothing is going right and it looks like only the worthless things are showing.

But when God is done (and I say that symbolically speaking since I believe His work on us goes forever) we can see clearly a well ordered life-one that speaks highly of the order of God.

So if your life is a mess, don't fret. God is in the cleaning business!!

My Daughter Singing for Sabbath School

2009-04-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

Jasmine was asked to sing at the 13th Sabbath Program last quarter. I missed it because I was at home with Christopher who wasn't feeling well due to his allergies.

Our Morning Outdoors

2009-04-20T16:46:00.005-05:00

This morning as I was preparing breakfast, the children called me outside to see a rabbit. When they first spotted him, he was in our front yard, but then he ran into the neighbors yard.

The pictures that I got of him are not that great as I didn't want to get to close to him to possible scare him away.

After looking at the bunny for awhile, I noticed the chatter of all the birds in the air. I asked my son to close his eyes and see how many birds he could identify by sound.

What sounds or other lovely things have you noticed since Spring has sprung?

Devotional Thought- By Beholding We Become Changed

2009-04-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed unto the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. II Corinthians 3:18

We have heard it time and time again, “By beholding we become changed”. But what does it really mean? God has made us as creatures with impressionable minds. In a nutshell, we are like sponges. We absorb what we immerse ourselves in. Whatever we focus on is what we become like, thus the phrase, by beholding we become changed.

If we want to be like Christ, we must spend time getting to know Him and continue to “hang around” him by immersing ourselves in His word. The good news is, that we never have to try to get rid of our sins. Spending time with Christ will make us want to abandon them.

The opposite also holds true, if we spend time listening to a lot of negativity, we will become negative.

A few examples come to mind to illustrate how this miraculous change comes about. For those who have children, you know when your children have new friends or have been introduced to a new concept. How do you know?-by the changes in their behavior. They say things differently, their attitude is different, and their responses to you are different. Any parent who knows their children, knows when their children have different influences in their lives.

Another example that comes to mind is when I changed my eating habits. I added fresh raw fruits and vegetables (salad with leafy greens) every day and made sure I was drinking plenty of water. After doing this a while, I paid a visit to McDonald's. The same food that I had eaten often for most of my life, and enjoyed, was now disgusting. I had not made a decision in my mind to never eat there. After eating healthy, I no longer wanted to eat there.

So it is with beholding Christ. After we get to know His spotless character, how He sacrificed beyond comprehension, we become dissatisfied with who we are and we start to act like Him! Praise God that I don’t have to try to be like Christ. I can just spend time with Him and He’ll rub off on me!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T08:12:00.002-05:00

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

The Creative Power of God's Word

2009-04-10T08:21:00.003-05:00

Lately, for my devotion time, I spend some quiet time with God and allow Him to place thoughts in my mind. I then go to His word to verify that these thoughts are indeed from Him.

This morning, the words "void" and "creative power" came to mind. The first verse that I thought of was Genesis 1:2,3

And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

The next verse that came to mind was Isaiah 55:11

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it.

This next verse I found after doing a search on the word void: I beheld the earth, and lo it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light-Jeremiah 4:23

So here is my devotional thought from these verses: God's word has creative power! One pastor put it this way. Holding out a white handkerchief, he said, "If God says this cloth is white, it either is white or it will become white!" How powerful is that? What God says either already is true OR it will become true as He speaks it. His words hold the very same power for you and me. If things in my life are not going exactly the way they should be, I can speak God's word over my life and expect a difference!

If God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1, Psalm 33) then certainly He can speak a change into a life that has gone awry. Be encouraged and know that God is still on the throne and He is still speakings things that are not as though they were and bringing them to pass!

On the Needles

2009-04-09T10:41:00.005-05:00

I have been working on knitting a clapotis. My yarn for this project is the Noro Matsuri color 6. The original pattern calls for Lorna Laces Lion and Lamb in Bittersweet. It's 50% silk and out of my price range! :)

I have made it to section 3 row 8 and am ready to drop stitches. In the few months that I have been knitting it seems that one of my main goals has been to keep all of the stitches on the needle and now I'm on a pattern that wants me to drop them! I've a little nervous to say the least. I found a great website that explains how to drop them and so I guess I'm not as nervous as I would be.

Here is what I have done so far. If you look closely you will notice that my needles are not in the project. I counted my last row and my stitches were off so I had to unravel to get back on track. :)

My next project is the Bunny Tail hat from Itty-bitty hats by Susan B. Anderson. I am the host this month for a charity knitting project on ravelry and this is one of the hats we are making for the knit-a-long. If you have a Ravelry account please stop by and see me (yolandamarie).

My yarn of choice for this project is Cascade Farms Cash Vero DK color 2865

My Core Values-Purity

2009-04-04T18:51:00.002-05:00

A couple of months ago I began writing about my core values. The first on my list was Purity. The dictionary defines purity as the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc... Strong's concordance adds the words chaste, immaculate and modest to the mix.

I want my children (and myself) to be pure inside and out. I think of Mary the Mother of Jesus and how pure she must have been to be able to give birth to the Messiah-pure not only in body but in thought as well. This is the type of purity that I desire.

Now how exactly do you get (and keep) that kind of purity. Philippians 4:8 is one of my favorite scriptures. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there by any virtue, and if there by any praise, think on these things.

I use this scripture as a standard for the things we watch on television and any activities we participate in. Yes it means we abstain from a lot of things, but I am learning to keep my children's minds focused on other things to the point that they don't even ask for the television anymore. God is good!!

Neighbor to the rescue

2009-03-26T09:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was outside looking at my yard and feeling bad over how pitiful it looked. I surveyed the front yard, trying to visualize what I might want it to look like. As I was visualizing, I thought of my neighbor down the street whose yard always looks so nice.

I took a stroll down to the mailbox and the same neighbor that I was thinking about was just getting home from work. I walked up to her truck and asked her a few questions about her yard and how she keeps it looking so nice. She actually doesn't even think it looks nice!

At any rate, I asked her about some of her plants and she was gracious enough to give me one! She told me several times what it's called and of course I don't remember. So if anybody recongnizes it, please let me know!

Update: I remember now that the plant is called a Hosta!

Youth Congress

2009-03-25T06:21:00.003-05:00

Hello all, Life has been busy as usual. This past weekend we were in Baton, Rouge Louisiana for a fabulous Youth Congress. This year's theme was, I am Generation S: Let Your Light So Shine (Matthew 5:16)

We arrived on Thursday evening. The original plan was to be there in the afternoon in time to participate in the community outreach, but we left an hour behind schedule and a trip that should have taken 7 hours took 10! We wound up missing the community outreach and our scheduled dinner as well.

On Friday afternoon we were blessed by Dr. Rupert Bushner who is in charge of Spiritual Life at Oakwood University and I attended both a Communication class and a CPR class that will go towards my Master Guide training.

Friday night was the best night of all. The Youth from my church performed a powerful skit that had the whole house on their feet and Dr. Bushner brought the Word! He talked about how the sun is the greater light with the moon being the lesser light and how we are moons needing light from the Son of Man. When their are thing blocking the path of light to us (lunar eclipse), we become dim and are not able to shine for God. What an encouragement to remove all obstacles and shine for Jesus!

What I loved most about his sermon is his admonishment to not try to forsake the sins that so easily beset us, but to just spend time with Jesus walking with Him. By beholding we become changed. He referred to Enoch and how he walked with God until he "was not"(Genesis 5:24), and encouraged us all to be "was nots"!

What a Spirit filled weekend it was. I have made it back safely and positioning myself to become a was not!

Be Blessed,

Will Work For Food

2009-03-13T11:49:00.002-05:00

A couple of days ago, my husband was laid off from his job. He went to work that morning and by 11 am he was calling to say he had some bad news.

What a tough time we are living in today, but I am encouraged because I know that the God I serve is faithful and I've never seen the righteous nor his seed begging bread!

I don't know what the future holds, but I do know who holds it!

I know many of you have been hit hard by this ecomonic crisis. Be encouraged. Know that God is real and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently.

Be blessed!

E-mail Quandary

2009-03-11T09:51:00.002-05:00

I was checking one of my many e-mail accounts this morning and noticed that I have over 600 messages in my inbox. This is what I would consider one of my personal accounts ( I have accounts set up just for junkmail). Once upon a time I would never have more than about 50 messages in my account at once. I took time daily to read through them and purge, filing those that I might need later in a separate folder.

Then came gmail-the e-mail that doesn't have folders and suggest with all the storage space available there is never a need to delete an e-mail!

Now this particular account in question is not gmail account and having 600 messages in it is driving me insane. What's driving me more insane is taking the time to go through and delete the irrelevant messages.

How do you handle your e-mail? Do you have a million messages or do you keep them at a minimum?

Donuts!

2009-03-05T16:57:00.006-06:00

A fellow homeschool Mom recommended a vegan website (Vegan Yum Yum) and I found a fabulous donut recipe there. I'm thinking of making these for my son's 7th birthday party. We'll add some sprinkles and dip some in melted carob.

Here is what our pan looked like before we put it in the oven.

In the oven and almost ready:I forgot to take a picture before I filled the pan the first time. Here is what it looked like after:

The finished product

My Core Values

2009-02-25T09:30:00.003-06:00

This post is in response to HomeschoolDaddy's post on his 8 core values. He is interested in hearing what the values of others are, how they live them out and how they pass them on to the next generation. Be sure to post yours and let me know so I can check them out.

I know that I have values. I think that most people would say that they do. I think that some would even dare to say, myself included, that they have lived portions of their lives in direct contrast to their core values. Perhaps not having them listed and referring to them regularly is a primary contributor to such.

In a world where the motto seems to be to each his own and where many people seem to live unto themselves. It is important to have a list of core values, a standard by which to measure life. However, I am not sure that I have ever sat down and listed them or that I even have any idea of how many I have.

I found a great list here for anyone who may need some help putting their core values into words.

Some of my values come from things that I learned from important people in my life such as my Grandmother who always said "Baby, don't ever be a liar. If you'll lie you'll steal and if you'll steal you'll kill." Other values of mine come from my spiritual journey and my desire to emulate Christ.

OK, so here is what I came up with:

Purity
Excellence
Honesty
Integrity
Selflessness
Hope
Non-conformity
Service
Simplicity
Kindness

I live these values out by first purposing in my heart that I will live by them and make them a part of my daily life, and then looking for practical ways to put them into action. By living them out in my daily life, I easily pass them on to my children. They are quick to model the behavior that they see in me-the good the bad and the ugly. :)

Another way to live out my values effectively is to surround myself with people who have similar values. When I am around honest people, it becomes increasingly difficult to be comfortable living a lie.

I will be sure to post more information on each individual value. This topic has stirred by mind.

Google Reader

2009-02-18T12:36:00.002-06:00

Technology is forever changing. It seems that just as soon as you get used to one thing, something new and better takes over.

I was so thrilled when Blogger came up with the feature to be able to follow some one's blog. I can't count how many times I have come across a wonderful blog, only to never be able to find it again because I wasn't even sure how I wound up there in the first place. So I added all of my favorite reads to my blog manager. Well, the only problem with that is that I only saw the updates when I logged into my blog, which lately hasn't been very often. I also found that several people are following my blog that way too. Why didn't you guys tell me about it! :)

With sites like Facebook and twitter, my blog has been severely neglected. At any rate, I was looking at a twitter post of woman who raved about Google Reader and now I'm wondering how I didn't know about this sooner!

All my favorite blogs in one place and who knows what else I will learn about it. If you haven't checked out Google Reader, what are you waiting for?! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T17:32:00.003-06:00

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. I John 4:7

I hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day. Be sure to let someone know that you love them and know that I love you!

The Peace that Surpasses all Understanding

2009-02-03T06:28:00.003-06:00

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119: 165

Recently I was deeply hurt and offended. As I mulled over the situation, my first thoughts were of anger, rage, disappointment, faultfinding, backstabbing-you know all those feelings that are allowed to rise up when you dwell on "stuff".

God quickly pointed my mind to His Word. I am understanding now more than ever why it is important to have God's Word hidden in my heart.

The first scripture He sent me to was Psalm 119:165 which says: "Great peace have they which love thy law" and nothing shall offend them. So I had to ask myself the hard and painful question: Why am I offended. According to God's word nothing should offend me.

The next scripture He showed me was I delight to do thy will yeah thy law is within my heart. Needless to say, there was not a whole lot of delighting going on in my heart. So I responded, "Point taken, Lord. Is there anything else you have for me"? to which he responded with Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee:because he trusteth in thee.

Why did I not have the peace that God promises I would have? Simply because I was not doing my part to have it. My mind was not focused on Him. I chose to focus on my problem instead and doing so brought on all the negative effects of such a poor decision.

Are you experiencing a lack of peace in your life? I encourage you shift your focus and put your trust in God. It worked for me!

Mulch for the Compost

2009-01-29T13:56:00.002-06:00

The month of January is almost over and until today I still had a Christmas tree in my living room. There was absolutey nothing on it, but it had not yet been discarded.

My City disposal system offers to mulch your tree and I figured since we are going to be working on our compost this year, this would be a nice way to start it off. So off I went to the place. I get there, and after seeing my tree, the guy points to a huge bin with lots of other Christmas trees. Certainly he didn't think I drove it all the way there just to leave it??

I get out of the car and speak with the lady who is from the looks of it blowing leaves or dust or whatever from the ramp that leads to the trailer.

Now before I go any further, please understand that when I read the flyer that explained this service, I pictured in my mind that I would drive up, some man would take the tree out of my trunk and put it into some heavy duty shredder, my big contractor bag would be sitting under the chute and Voila, mulch. Not so, not even close.

After another guy takes my Christmas tree and throws it on the pile with the other trees, I follow the lady around to the back to a pile of what you see in the picture above. She looks at me and asks "Do you have a shovel"? OK, this is getting stranger by the minute.

At any rate, she went to get a shovel for me and then shoveled while I held the bag. I guess the end result is the same-mulch for the compost!

Sweetheart Washcloth

2009-01-27T16:47:00.002-06:00

I am making this pattern from Susan B Anderson for Valentine's Day gifts. Here is the first one I finished. Do you give gifts for Valentine's?

Test

2009-01-26T14:40:00.001-06:00

I'm testing mobile blogging from my phone!

Field Trip to the Farm Supply Store

2009-01-21T14:20:00.007-06:00

Today the kids and I went on a field trip to the farm supply store. We really only went to buy bird food for the Great Backyard Bird Count, but when you homeschool, all random outings become field trips. :)

My children have fallen in love with the baby chicks and spent most of their time playing with them.

This visit they begged me to bring a bunny home. I rather prefer the idea of visiting them at the store. :)The nicest surprise of all was the ferrets. One of the employees opened the cage and let them hold of few of them.

Christopher had a great time riding the John Deere and running into customers. :)

MLK/Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T08:31:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I attended the MLK festivities at the Austin Capitol. My good friend George Powell sang "A Change is Gonna Come " by Sam Cooke. He sang like I've never heard him sing before, sharing through his song that he too is ready to experience the change that is coming soon.

We all felt it. The keynote speaker echoed the words of Barack Obama and encouraged us to be that change that we all long for. Her words were powerful and piercing as she spoke of things such as spending habits and "sexual choices" and education-changes that no president or any other person could ever make for us.

I remember the day Barack Obama was elected to the Senate. I watched as the confetti dropped. He stood on the stage with his beautiful wife and two daughters. I knew then that there was something about him. He stood out that night, the same way he stands out today.

As I reflect on this monumental day in history, I can't help but ask myself what spiritual parallels it has for me and for this country.

"And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:" (Daniel 2:21)

A change has come to America. Barack Obama stands upon the backs of many who fought tirelessly for the rights of equality. What is happening to day is not by chance. This journey of Obama is paved by the many mornings his mother got up early to spend time with him and to make sure his homework was done. It is paved by the years he spent at Junior College. It is paved by the tireless night he spent working on his degree, then off to law school-paved by the many hours he has spent giving back to his community. He worked hard and then his preparation met opportunity. And have you noticed that there have been no allegations of sexual impurity or marital infidelity toward he or his wife. What a witness!!!!

How does this relate spiritually? Think of Esther in the King's Court. Her preparation did not begin when she got to the palace. She was an obedient child, raised by her godly uncle. Think of Daniel who "purposed in his heart" that he would not defile himself with the king's portion.

And our Perfect Example, Jesus Christ, who was entrusted to godly parents, had great work ethic and got up early in the morning before dawn for prayer and meditation.

The moral of the story is that to be ready to meet opportunity, we must be prepared. In the story of the then virgins, five were wise and five were foolish. What separated them? The five wise were prepared.

Somewhere in Barack's life, he purposed that he would be different. As Christians, as American citizens, somewhere in our lives we must purpose in our heart to be different. -I encourage each one of us to accept the challenge to be the change that we so earnestly desire.

Looking to the hills, (Psalm 121:1)

Sorting Things Out in My Head

2009-01-06T16:01:00.003-06:00

As I work on organizing my life, I am first trying to sort things out in my head. One of my goals for this year is to become more consistent in getting up in the morning for my personal devotion. One of the things I decided is that whenever I woke up, I would get up and meditate in prayer. Well that worked fine until I started waking up at 3am. It doesn't work so well when I work until 11pm most nights.

On the other hand when I don't get up when I wake up, I tend to over-sleep and feel very tired when I finally do get up. I'm not sure what to do about this quandary yet.

We started school again today. We were supposed to start yesterday, but yesterday was one of those mornings that I woke up at 3am and went back to sleep only to wake up after 8! All I can say is that it seems like the day only went downhill after that and we didn't get a whole lot accomplished other than eating and washing the dishes. At least the kitchen was clean? Sigh...

So now we are planning what to put in our garden. So far we have come up with tomatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, carrots, onion, lettuce, beans, and some herbs. I'm sure we will add to the list as time goes on.

Enough rambling for now. :)

Are you planting a garden for the spring? Are the kids back in school? Any cool projects coming up?

Happy New Year!!!

2008-12-31T22:37:00.003-06:00

It is officially the new year. It's not midnight where I live but since "the evening and the morning was the first day" I ushered in the New Year at sunset. Every year we have communion service on New Years Eve. Tonight's service was powerful. I can't remember the last time that I sang like I did tonight. There is Power in the Blood!!

I was taking pictures of the Elder's ordination at the beginning of the service and wound up getting my picture taken. How funny is that. I am rarely ever in pictures since I am always the one doing the picture taking.

Well, I've already had my glass of bubbly (apple cider) and am off to bed. Goodnight and Happy New Year!!!

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Let your light shine in 2009!!

Catching Up

2008-12-31T10:12:00.005-06:00

Wow, can you believe another year is coming to a close?? I thank God for being able to see it. My camera has been acting a bit strange lately and so I haven't been posting much. I think I'm going to have to buy a new one. :)

Christopher lost another tooth. I love how cute kids look when they lose their teeth.

We had a great Christmas. It was low stress and I was able to get some much needed rest. For dinner, I made a Nut Loaf (I"ll post the recipe), Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables, Rolls and Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake (I substituted Sweet Potato this time) and Ice Cream for dessert.

We made gingerbread men and used them as the decoration for the tree.

I am not one to make resolutions for the New Year, but I do set goals. This year I the children and I have set a goal to memorize 300 scriptures. It sounds like a lot, but when you think of it as less than one a day, it's not so bad.

Another goal is to get our house in order, have a place for everything and keep everything in it's place. Right now I'm working on decluttering the garage so there will actually be room for the things that should be there. :)

One very important goal of mine is to be obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I hear God speaking, but I struggle with doing what He is saying!! So I pray that as He knits my heart to His, I will be more inclined to obey. :)

How was your Christmas? Do you have any goals o resolutions for the New Year?

Basic Knit Hat

2008-12-17T14:50:00.003-06:00

I am really getting into knitting the baby hats and actually prefer knitting over crocheting. I like both, but knitting is my favorite. I tried the pattern for this basic knit hat. After making it successfully trying the pattern exactly, I decided to modify it a bit to use double pointed needles. I am pleased with the results. I like the dpns because I don't have to sew up a seam when I am done.

So far over 150 hats have been turned in towards our goal of 520. Not too shabby!!

Field Trip to Whole Food and Ice Skating

2008-12-11T18:23:00.008-06:00

Today we took a trip to Whole Foods with the homeschool group. One of the first things we saw was these gorgeous apples. We made our way through the seafood department,And even got to see a man making fresh sausage. The store was festively decorated. This gingerbread house was one of our favorites. Another thing the kids enjoyed was this lady dipping items in chocolate. It takes $500 worth of chocolate to operate the machine she was using.

When we got to the deli section, we saw a woman making sushi rolls. We each got to sample one.
After the tour came the best part-Ice skating on the roof! The kids had a blast.

And I held on for dear life!

I did manage to come off of the while for a bit and actually enjoy the feeling of the ice skating. We had a fabulous time. Ice skating is something I plan to add to our list of activities. I look forward to it when it is over 100 degrees outside!

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2008-12-10T13:37:00.007-06:00

Yesterday the weather was a bit gloomy. It looked like it was going to rain. We got precipitation after all-snow flurries. Nothing major like up North, but exciting nonetheless for Texans who rarely see any white precipitation. When I woke up this morning, my rug had blown off the deck and had ice on it. My daughter gathered enough snow and ice from the back yard to make a little ball. My son gathered pieces of snow and ice until his little hands got so cold that he abandoned his glove on the deck and went inside:

Our Christmas tree is up and ready to be decorated. Yes it's real. I love the smell of fresh pine and I don't mind vacuuming up the needles. It makes the vacuum smell good! I bought some reefs and added bows to them to go on the outside windows. I have yet to put them up as you can see. Hopefully I will get to it by the end of this week. For some reason my picture keeps rotating, sorry you may have to tilt your head to see them.

Next on my list is finding a pattern for bags for this year. Last year I made bags for the kids and they were a real hit. This year I would like to make a different kind of bag. I found a really cute purse pattern here that I would love to make for my daughter. It's the bag that's hanging on the knob. Isn't that cute?? I was thinking of making one of those drawstring backpacks for my son. I found some free tutorials for those on the web. I better pick soon as time is running out!

I talked to the kids today about thinking of ways to help other families for the holiday season. I love to do things for my kids, but I want them to know that it is not about them but about Christ and when we truly love Christ it will show in how we treat others.

What plans do you have for the holidays? Do you have any special traditions? Any great recipes?? :-)

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-04T08:36:00.009-06:00

Our original plan was to be in the stores by 4am to catch all the great deals and Freebies, but a late night on Thursday helped to alter that plan. We were in the stores by 8 and still found some excellent deals. Old Navy had shirts for $5 and jeans for $10. Children's place had gloves, scarves and purses for $5 each!

My cousin works in the Ladie's shoe department in Dillard's and so we headed over there to see what they had and my Dad met me at the mall and gave me $200 to spend on the kids! Feels like Christmas already!!

Friday night we went to my Dad's house for fish. This is the one time of the year that I stray away from my Vegan diet. It's so weird, because each year, it tastes a little stranger. I probably won't be able to eat it much longer.

Saturday, instead of going to church, we went to the beach. My kids had never been to the beach in Pensacola and what a great way to connect with God through Nature. The weather was a bit temperamental, but we had a lovely time anyway. There were even people surfing! I guess they love a high tide.

Here is a picture of my Mom, me and my sister in-law Anika holding Addyson. My hair is all drawn up and curly except for the permed part on the ends which is straight. How funny. I need to go ahead and get the perm cut out.

A picture of my brother Justin with his family:

My brother Jason And a picture of the kids having a blast:Saturday night we continued our tradition of family bowling and had a blast.We left early Sunday morning to return to Texas. It took us 14 hours to get back with all of the holiday traffic, but by God's grace we made it back safely and with no incidences! God is Good!!