A Few Glimpses

We've come to terms with the fact that others grow corn better than we do.  I'm okay with this.  Jamey does a good job growing some for us to eat and to add to what we get from the local farmer.  His love of corn is contagious.  Whenever we drive by a corn field (which is often) the kids go crazy saying, "Dad!  Look at all that corn!" or "Wow, that corn looks nice."  Even Miriam chimes in with "Look at all them corn!"  As you can see we (and I say we very loosely since all I did was pack it into bags) did corn this past week. 

This has to be the smallest egg our hens have ever laid.  Tears actually came to my eyes.  This is how hormonal much I love little bitty things.  Little eggs remind me of little babies- chicks, kittens, puppies, human babies- the whole lot of them- and they turn me into a blubbery mess.

Our tomatoes are coming!  Not quite fast enough to start canning, but there has been enough to add to suppers, sandwiches and, if you're Sadie, to eat in hand.  In case you've forgotten, my favorite tomato sandwich is toasting two slices of wheat bread, spreading peanut butter on one slice, mayonnaise on the other, laying in sliced tomatoes and then, well, eating it.  It's delish.

We've been stuffing our mouths with fruit this past week.  Red raspberries have started coming again, our peaches are soon ready to be picked, we've been eating some canteloupe from both our garden and the local farmstand (where we've also been picking up watermelon) and we've been buying local nectarines because we cannot wait for our order from the orchard to arrive. 

I love summer.

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Prayer {Day 4}: The World

Oh, dear Lord, help us.  What a daunting task to pray for this world.  There is so much to be thankful for and at the same time to be down-right depressed about.  It can become so very overwhelming.  How do we begin?

Well, there are broad-sweeping prayers for the poor of the world, the homeless, the orphans, the sick, the widows, the abused, the war-torn.  These are important even though sometimes it seems like, oh, so broad a petition.  I can't help but think that there might not be anyone else praying specifically for a particular homeless or abused child somewhere in this world if not for these prayers.  They need our broad-sweeping prayers to cover them.  There might not be anyone praying specifically for a particular man who is struggling to feed or protect his family in a war-torn country or for a woman whose child is dying in her arms due to starvation.  They need our prayers, too.

If these people are not personally known by a Christian who is praying for them, who will pray?  Sometimes it seems too broad, too vague to pray it, but friends, these broad prayers cover specific people that might not otherwise be prayed for, so let's not get discouraged and stop.  They need our prayers.

Taking your prayers a step closer can be meaningful as well.  Knowing about a certain need or concern somewhere on the planet can help us pray more specifically.   There are those who have experienced natural disasters, outbreaks of illness, missionaries and aid workers struggling to meet needs and spread The Good News.  There are people groups who are just opening their hearts and minds to Christ that need His protection as the enemy rears his ugly head to retaliate.  These people need our prayers, too.  One resource for praying for people groups is the book Window on the World that I've written about before which is appropriate for children as well.



Another resource is a booklet called 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World.  Each August Christians are called to pray for Muslims all over the world through this devotional. There is an adult and a kid version.  You can purchase them (the adult booklet is $3 and the kids' is $3.50) or print out the PDF version. This prayer guide can be used any month of the year- not just August.

Open Doors has a pdf you can print out called "Prayer Guide For the Persecuted Church".

 "The Open Doors Handbook of Prayer is a snapshot of the 50 countries of the world where it is hardest to be a Christian.  These are the places where owning a Bible can get you arrested, where attending church means taking a beating, where the price of following Jesus is often paid in blood.  The handbook draws on data from the World Watch List, as annual ranking complied by Open Doors researchers based on detailed information from Open Doors co-workers and key church leaders in over 70 countries.  From North Korea to Nigeria, from Saudi Arabia to Syria, from Pakistan to the Palestinian Territories, these are the places where faith costs the most."  "The information in this booklet shows that, globally, things are getting worse, not better.  Some countries, for example, have moved down the list this year.  It's not that their record has improved; it's just that other countries have outstripped them in persecution." (quoted from the booklet)

There are also excellent publications like Mission Frontiers (this can be read online or subscribed to) which are amazing resources that open our eyes to the work that God is doing in this world and the ways we can support that work through prayer and support.

Let's step even closer and pray for persons and situations in this world that we are even more familiar with.  Maybe they are issues in our neighborhood that need prayer, missionaries and service workers that have gone out from our churches and communities, the homeless man we see regularly on our streets or the disheveled child being verbally abused by his mother in the grocery store, the children (and their families) that we sponsor through organizations like Compassion International.  Maybe it's a country we've visited or the very country we were born in.

Please take a deeeeeeep breath.  In and out.

I don't mean to overwhelm.  But with these needs before us, how can we afford not to make prayer a very important part of our lives?  And I am talking to myself here as well!!  Brothers and sisters, we are called to pray.  We are called to pray without ceasing.

The Challenge:  Originally, I had intended to challenge us to pray for a half hour (straight) tomorrow.  Now, that seems just piddly.  Let's step it up and commit to praying for a half hour (straight) every day for a week (Friday- Friday) with the goal being to increase it over time.  Write it on your calendar or in your planner as if it's an appointment you have with someone you do not want to disappoint or stand up.  We would never stand up a friend.  Why do we allow ourselves to stand God up?!  Don't just say you're going to do it if you are.  Plan for it.  Look at it in a way that will help you remember and follow through.

This is a daunting challenge for me, but I cannot ignore God's call to prayer and those that need prayer any longer.  I'm committing to do this as well.

If you want to join me, please let me know in the comments below.  Let's hold ourselves and each other accountable in this way.  To God be the Glory!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstance; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

A Mini Series on Prayer {Day 1}

Prayer {Day 2}: Mealtime

Prayer {Day 3}: Praying for One Another

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Prayer {Day 3}: Praying for One Another

If you're like me, you always have a handful people that you want to remember in prayer.  Maybe it's someone who is ill, going through a tough time or maybe it's a stranger you just feel lead to pray for.  I have a prayer journal that holds the names of people I want to pray for.  If I don't write their names down and work from a list, I have trouble remembering.

Sometimes, though, I struggle with whether or not I'm praying for the right things.  How do *I* know what God's will is for this person?  Could I be praying for them on a deeper level?  Please don't misunderstand.  I'm not saying that my prayers aren't heard or valid the way they are or that prayers need to be perfect.  I'm just wondering if I could be more respectful and effective.

One way to know our prayers are right on target is by praying God's words (Scripture) back to Him.  I wrote about this back in 2009, specifically in regard to praying for our children, and still find that it is an incredibly powerful way to pray.

A couple weeks ago, my friend, Gloria, sent me an article by Dr. Will Bruce, and I found it incredibly helpful.  I want to offer up a few quotes from the article and outline some suggestions he makes for deeper praying.

A few of the sections in the article really got me thinking (he says it like it is).  There's this one...

"To be guilty of the sin of prayerlessness is to be guilty of the worst form of practical atheism. It is actually saying we can get along without His help while the evidence is very clear on every hand that we cannot. Could it be that the sin of prayerlessness stems from our unbelief that he is a living God who exercises direct influence on the affairs of men? Instead of waiting until crisis problems develop which result in panic praying for others, we need to trust God to protect them as we pray Spirit-led, thoughtful, caring prayers before the problems overwhelm them, and they are unable to cope. We need to engage in major battles, not just minor skirmishes, moving from surface praying to in-depth praying. We need to pray both defensively and offensively."

Here's another...

"We need to progress beyond, “Lord, bless John and Mary,” and be specific, thus moving from crisis praying to protective praying. For example: Fred or Jane is unemployed. We pray for a job, as we should, but what is God saying in this circumstance? What are the spiritual lessons to be learned? What are the attitudes, the frustrations, the mental depressions, the fears? How about the interpersonal relationships within and outside the family? Is God glorified in this time of stress by their actions and reactions? Many times in our very limited intercession for others we pray for deliverance from difficult circumstance, sickness, or accident. We forget to ask that Fred or Jane will take God’s more than ample provision and learn the lessons God has for both in this trial. Our concern is not necessarily for the removal of the problem but for victory in it and God’s glory. Daniel was not kept out of the lion’s den. He was kept in it!"

And, this one...

"...we must not excuse ourselves by saying, “How can I pray for them when they do not tell me their needs?” Others’ needs are often similar to our own. As we think of their needs, his word and his Spirit will lead us in prayer."

Bruce goes on to provide ways we can pray for those on our list (and for ourselves!) in a more meaningful way.  If we are intensely lifting someone in prayer, we could go down the whole list of 17, but on a day to day basis, we can chose two to three at a time.  Bruce suggests we ask that the one we are praying for...

1) ...will realize his/her present exalted position in Christ.

2) ...will present him/herself as a living sacrifice.

3) ...will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

4) ...will be regular and systematic in the study of God's Word.

5) ...will have the mind of Christ.

6) ...will grow daily in Christian maturity.

7) ...will appropriate the full armor of God.

8) ...will be alert to Satan's strategy.

9) ...will not love the world system.

10) ...will have a spirit of brokenness and humility.

11) ...will have a servant's heart.

12) ...will build a scriptural family.

13) ...will become an effective prayer warrior.

14) ...will know God's hand on him/her in physical and material things.

15) ...will engage in prayerful worship.

16) ...will be involved in an accountability team.

17) ...will reach out to the unsaved.

I'm finding these suggestions to be very helpful and they are making for a more meaningful prayer time for me.  I'm hoping that maybe they can do the same for you.

If you would like to read the article in full or read more in depth explanations of the above 17 suggestions (including Biblical references) above, please go here.

A Mini Series on Prayer {Day 1}

Prayer {Day 2}: Mealtime

Prayer {Day 4}: The World

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Prayer {Day 2}: Mealtime

Before I begin today, I want to ask you to please pray for a fellow reader and her family.  Judy's husband was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor and will see his oncologist on Friday (she shared this with us yesterday in the comments).  As we are thinking of prayer this week, let's make sure that their family is covered in it. Thank you.

*************

You're rushing around, trying to get all the components of dinner ready at the same time- food cooked, food pulled from the fridge, the table set, the water poured.  Maybe, if your children are old enough, they are "helping" set the table or pour the water which may mean you're also trying to provide instruction so everyone gets a fork and so water isn't dumped everywhere.

Maybe you have everything ready and you call your family for supper and no one comes for a good five minutes while all the hot food turns kind-of warm.  It's easy to feel insulted.  After all this work, all they have to do is come and sit down and eat and yet...where are they?!

Or sometimes, everyone is sitting at their places early because dinner isn't quite ready or is taking longer to bake than you expected.  The family is hungry and desperate to dig in as soon as it's set in front of them.

All of this (and so much more) is reason enough to quiet everyone once everything is ready.  Quiet them and breathe.  Setting aside a few moments to pause, to reflect and give credit where credit is due.  I admit, I like to hear that the meal I prepared was good, but really.  Really, folks.  If it wasn't for the plants and animals God created, the means He gives us to obtain them and the strength and health He gives us to prepare them and eat them, we'd be experiencing a very different life.

I think we can sacrifice a few moments to say thank you, don't you? And if we're really present in the moment and really turning our thoughts and thanksgiving toward God, then mealtime (three times a day) can lead to meaningful prayer time that's already built in!

Encouraging our children to pray their own prayers out loud and exposing them to our out-loud prayers at mealtimes is teaching them to pray.  It's showing them that prayers don't have to be perfect.  That sometimes, we have to tack on requests after we said "amen" because we just remembered someone else we wanted to pray for.  When we direct their attention to the ways we see God during the day, it teaches them to look for God themselves.

And yet, so many of us (me included!!) sometimes treat mealtime prayer as a formality.  As something we have to say in order to get to eat.  In the past, our family had fallen into the habit of saying a standard prayer all together.  There is nothing terribly wrong with saying a memorized prayer in unison, but I think it lends itself to robotic praying.  Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could change this?  If we could take turns praying each night (kids included) or if we all went around the table and contributed to the prayer?  If we made it a meaningful time of praise, thanksgiving, repenting and asking for help...as a family...all seated together?

And if our food gets a little cold?  Well, so be it.

A Mini Series on Prayer {Day 1}

Prayer {Day 3}: Praying for One Another
Prayer {Day 4}: The World Pin It

A Mini Series, On Prayer {Day 1}

I know that we're just coming into a very busy time where our gardens are concerned, but something has been pressing on me.  So, let's (mentally) lay down our garden gloves and canning lids for our time together this week. This week I want to do something a little different.  For a few days, I want to talk about prayer.  I know I don't fully comprehend it's power and importance.  I know I don't engage in it enough.  I know my prayers aren't always what they could be.  I'm not alone in this, right?  I want to make some changes and beef up my prayer life and I'm hoping you'll join me.

So, here's the plan.  Today, I'm going to remind us about what scripture says about prayer.  Tomorrow, I'm going to offer up some thoughts on mealtime prayer.  Wednesday, I want to talk about the importance of praying for others and some practical ways of how we can pray more effectively for them.  Thursday, we'll go out even further and talk about praying for the world.  Friday, I won't post, but I want to challenge those of you who have read along all week to set aside 30 minutes of deliberate prayer time.  Yes, 30 minutes.  We can do it!

Are you ready?!  Let's begin!  Below are some of my favorite verses about prayer and how to pray.  If you have a favorite that you don't see here, please type it out into the comments.  Let's remember that these are not mere words from an old book.  These are the words breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) by God for US- you and me- for this very day.  Let's meditate on these verses and commit our week of prayer to God, asking that He will do mighty things with our prayer lives from this week forward.

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

so that you may be children of your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:44-45a

"But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door 

and pray to your father who is in secret; 

and your father who sees in secret will reward you." 

Matthew 6:6

"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentlies do; 

for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.  

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need 

before you ask Him."  Matthew 6 :7-8

“This, then, is how you should pray:

   “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:9-13

"Then he said to his disciples, 

The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; 

therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

"Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; 

the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Luke 22:46

"So, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, 
believe that you have received it 
and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." Luke 6:28

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; 

for we do not know how to pray as we ought, 

but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." 

Romans 8:26

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18?

"...the Lord hears when I call to Him." Psalm 4: 3b

"The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective." James 5:16b

Prayer {Day 2}: Mealtime
Prayer {Day 3}: Praying for One Another
Prayer {Day 4}: The World  Pin It

The Anniversary Winners

I thought maybe I'd torture you a bit and go on and on about how Miriam pooped on the floor twice in the past couple days, how this heat is forcing us to stay holed-up inside (and we're all getting a little bit testy), how in the past week two sewing machines almost made me cry (twice), how I almost threw a sewing machine out the window and how I am now in sewing machine heaven.   But, I won't.

Instead, I'll just tell you who the winners are!

The winner of the Ball jar storage lids is... Esther L.!!

The winner of the Seeds of Character CD(s) is...Sarah!!

The winner of the Simply In Season cookbook is...Riverswamp!!

Winners, please email me your name and mailing address (and, Esther L, please tell me if you'd like regular lids or wide mouth lids).

Thanks for celebrating with me and have a wonderful weekend!!  Just please don't melt. Pin It

Goings-On

Over the past few days, there have been a smattering of little odd jobs to be taken care of.  Soon my days will be all about CORN.  Or, TOMATOES.  Or, GREEN BEANS.  But for now, it's a little of this and a little of that.  And it's been kind of nice.

We're still bringing in zucchini.  I've made 36 loaves of bread (crazy much?) and want to make one more batch.  I've also started chopping them for the freezer.  They're then ready for Peanut Butter Vegetable Soup and Chicken and Zucchini Casserole on cold nights this winter.

That handful of garlic bulbs that didn't fit into your braids because of one reason or another?  I like to chop them up in my mini chopper, cover them with olive oil and store them in the fridge.  This way, they're at the ready come tomato sauce time.  Just remember, storing it this way is a SHORT TERM solution.  (Don't keep garlic in oil for more than a couple weeks due to the risk of botulism.)

Do you know about my love for beet hummus?  Not only is it super tasty and gorgeous in color, but those beets are a good source of fiber, vitamin C and iron to boot.

Miriam is into week three of potty training.  It's going pretty well.  She still has 1-2 accidents a day and she still can't always tell us she has to go, but by setting her on the potty every half hour, we're catching almost everything.  She's learned to hold it until she sits!  Here's hoping that 5 or 6 more weeks of summer will seal the deal.

It's sunflower time!  We've been cutting and selling sunflowers for about a week now.  If you're local, come on out.  There is a bunch with your name on it:-).  The profits will be sent here.



In the midst of all these little odd jobs, we're also stopping to take time to enjoy the view.  Don't forget to take some time to do that yourself this week.  Okay?  Promise?  Okay, good :-).

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Summer Listening

Sam has been enjoying books on tape this summer.  Our radio/tape player/CD player lives in the corner counter in our kitchen.  This means that if Sam is listening to a book, so am I.  Sadie, who pops in and out, still mostly prefers playing off in another room by herself where she can make her people and animals talk where no one else can hear.  She has her own books on tape that she listens to now and then (seen below).

So far this summer, Sam has heard Anne of Green Gables, Sounder, The Swiss Family Robinson and Focus on the Family's Chronicles of Narnia radio theater (lent to us by a friend).  I've found that Amazon (once again) is a great resource for these if you want to purchase them.  The Swiss Family Robinson set I found was a retired library set of 7 cassette tapes (obviously used, but in excellent condition) for $7.

(Not hiding.  Just intensely listening.)

While I still enjoy reading outloud to the kids (I'm currently reading The Little House series to Sadie), books on tape give me the chance to get work done in the kitchen while the kids are being read to (a great alternative to TV!). 

What books on tape/CD does your family enjoy? Pin It

Celebrating Three Years With Three Giveaways

 This giveaway is closed.  To see who the lucky winners are, go here.

Three years ago yesterday (July 17th), I wrote my very first blog post.  This is my 700th.  Some things haven't changed.  I still post recipes, photographs and document what we do around here, but I've also grown bolder over time.  I am no longer hesitant to write about what I believe and how this plays out in my day to day life.  My hope and prayer is that not only will you be challenged, but that you will feel free to challenge me if I start veering off the Jesus course.  It is always His course that I long to follow.

I am humbled and over-the-top honored that you all come and read my posts as often as you do.  The support and encouragement, advice, feedback and questions spur me on and make this blog-thing, oh, so much fun.  I really feel as if you all are my extended family and I hope you consider me the same.

To celebrate this three-year milestone and you 406 darlings that follow this little blog, I want to offer you a few little tokens of my appreciation.  They're not extravagant, mind you.  I'm guessing that you (like me) aren't impressed by extravagance anyway:-).

The Giveaways:

The three things I'm giving away are near and dear to my heart...

#1 A box of eight Ball Canning Storage Lids (you choose if you'd like wide mouth or regular mouth).  I love these lids and use them all the time.  They are so much easier to cap your opened jars with instead of messing with a canning lid and ring every time.

#2  Seeds Family Worship's newest CD, Seeds of Character.  I've blogged about these amazing CDs before and want to pass along another.  Each "CD" actually comes with two CDs so you can give one away to a friend.

#3 The best cooking-seasonally-from-the-garden cookbook I've come across, Simply In Season, the expanded version.  It's divided by season and is full of excellent healthy, easy to prepare recipes that don't call for ingredients I've never heard of.

The Rules:

In the comments below, tell me which prize you'd like to win.  You may only choose one (#1, #2 OR #3).  I will randomly choose winners from each category on Friday.  For example, I will chose one winner out of those who would like to win the jar lids, one winner out of those who would like to win the CD, and one winner out of those who would like to win the cookbook.  Only one entry per household is allowed.  Please leave your name or initials in your comment if you comment anonymously.  If for some reason you have trouble commenting, please email me your entry and I will post your comment for you.

Happy choosing and thank you so much for being such awesome readers!!

You all spoil me, you know? Pin It

A Rare Occasion Indeed

If you have this image in your head of our three children sitting politely at the table, grinning, mmmm-ing and loving everything I make for dinner, let me clarify a thing or two.  There are very, very, very few meals that everyone in our house enjoys.

Jamey is my biggest fan and, thankfully, likes everything I make (or at least convinces me he does).  Unless I use too much cilantro in something.  He's not a fan of too much cilantro.  Sam, at age 8, is my most finicky eater.  He's very hard to please these days.  Sadie keeps me guessing.  Things I think she won't like, she loves.  Things I think she'll love, she doesn't.  But, overall, she's a good sport and queen of raw vegetables.  Miriam isn't a huge fan of vegetables yet, especially the green ones.  So she usually picks out the things she likes and leaves the rest on her plate.  Unless there are cooked carrots or raw cucumbers.  Those, she eats.

But I am a stubborn, stubborn woman and it is more important to me that my kids try different foods a lot (and over and over) so they learn to eat a healthy variety of vegetables than it is that they don't complain at dinner.  I mean, it's not that I like to hear the complaining.  I don't.  In fact, we've developed a system that works pretty well.  Any complaining or arguing at dinner is a 10 minute earlier bed time.  By the time they're headed for bed 20 minutes earlier than normal they hush up and eat.  We don't require they clean their plates.  We just want them to give the meal a decent chance.

All this said...the other night we had a meal that included lots of vegetables that everyone (again, I say everyone!) liked.  I think it was the cheese.  Or maybe the corn (which was sweet, sweet, sweet).  Or maybe it was the tortillas.  Whatever it was, it worked.  We had it two nights in a row and everyone ate it happily.

Super Stuffed Tortillas (adapted some from Simply in Season)
How much filling you put in each tortilla will determine how much this recipe makes.  The original recipe says it serves 6-8, but I was able to use 20 medium-sized tortillas over two nights (saving a couple each night for Jamey to take to work for lunch).  The recipe below includes my changes and should last you two nights.  The filling should be kept separate until ready for use the second night or can be stored in the fridge a few days or frozen until you're ready for round two.

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 medium-sized zucchini (seeds sliced out), diced in small pieces
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups cooked black beans
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup salsa
4 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese, divided in two (unless you'll be making all 20 at once)
20 medium-sized flour (or corn) tortillas

Saute onion, green pepper and garlic in a couple tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan or frying pan with a lid until they begin to soften.  Add the corn, zucchini and cumin and cooked vegetables until they're tender but not browned.  Add the black beans, broth and salsa and cook, covered, until the vegetables are soft.  Remove the lid and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Or, if you're pressed for time, pour the vegetables in a large colander to drain.

Transfer vegetables to a bowl and set aside.  Wash or wipe out the frying pan until dry.  Over medium heat, lay a tortilla in the pan and sprinkle shredded cheese onto half the tortilla and place a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup vegetables on top of the cheese.  Fold over and repeat with a second tortilla bedside it.  Heat the tortillas until nicely browned on each side, flipping carefully.  Keep on a warm plate until ready to serve. Pin It

It's Time to Vote

For those of you who do not want me to change my evolved-on-it's-own name, Thy Hand, I can relate.  This is a bit scary for me.  I don't do all that well with change a lot of times.  BUT, it is important to me to make this change, so I am trusting that, in a few months, I (and you) will feel at home with a new name.  For those of you who can't give Thy Hand up, don't.  I'll still answer to it, but maybe not until the second or third time:-).

{Deep breath.}

You all were so kind with your suggestions.  Really sweet people, you are.  Below are the three names I like best because I really want to strive to live out their meanings.  Please vote for your favorite in the comments below.  If you really can't decide between two, you may vote for two and each name will get a vote.  I'll tally the votes sometime on Friday (or thereabouts).  Thanks for helping me out on this.  I really couldn't do this on my own.  Seriously.  I would have a breakdown of some sort.   I would.

Selah 

pause and reflect

Faith 

to trust (via facebook suggestions)

Jane 

gracious, merciful

One more thing.  If you have trouble commenting here, you can leave your vote on facebook or email me.

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The Florida Weave

Well, we're trying something new with our tomatoes this year.  Instead of using cages or staking them and using twisty ties to secure the stems to the stakes, we're doing the Florida Weave.  It kind-of sounds like a dance, doesn't it? You can picture it- people in their Bermuda shorts and sun hats miming the weaving of wicker patio furniture.

Okay, maybe not.

The general idea is that instead of tying your plants to stakes, you weave twine around stakes placed throughout your rows.  You do this every 8 inches or so as your tomato plants grow.  The tomato plant is held between the two strands of twine (at different heights) which support them gently.

A farmer friend of ours who runs a CSA and sells at our farmer's market does his tomatoes this way, so Jamey wanted to follow suit.  It allows for easy-to-navigate rows (important in a semi-cramped garden like ours) and makes the tomatoes very accessible for picking.  I helped add the next row of twine this past weekend and am sold on the method.  Here is helpful tutorial on how to do the Florida Weave (You can't help but picture the dance, can you?) and below are more pictures of how ours look.

We'll let you know how it goes, but so far, so good. Pin It

July in Mosaic, A How To

Have you ever seen those cool mosaics and photo collages that people create and post on their blogs?  I look at them, admiringly, sigh and click away because, while I think they are so cool, I do not want to invest the time in figuring out how to make them on those fancy photo sites.  Oh, sure, for some of you they're a piece of cake, but for me, learning something new like that would take a good chunk of very quiet time when I could sit, read and really think.  Those chunks of time are few and far between (for me, cranking out posts take much less time than you can imagine- this may be evident in my writing and subject matter from time to time).

But!  The other day, I was reading a friend's blog and she mentioned a mosaic-making site, so I clicked over.  Oh.  My.  Word.  It really is a piece of cake- even for someone like me!  I produced my fist mosaic in a manner of a few minutes, no chunk of quiet time required.

Here's how to do it:

1) Go to the website Big Huge Labs here.  Look down the left hand side and click on "Mosaic Maker".

2) Choose your layout (I like squares) and the number of columns and rows you want in your mosaic.

3) Click "Choose Photo" in the box beside the number 1, then click "browse" to begin loading your pictures into the small  window.  They may ask you to create an account.  I did this because it allows you to keep on file the photos you upload for use another time (without re-uploading).  Once you've chosen a photo, click "upload" and, right away, browse again to add more.

4) Once you have the number of photos you need for your mosaic, click on a photo and it will pop over to the box beside number 1.  Then, click on the box beside number two, your photos will pop up and you can click on which photo you want to be second.  Continue until all the boxes are filled, then click "Create".

5) Your mosaic will be revealed and right above it is a button to "save" your mosaic on your computer.

Wallah! That's all there is to it:-).

In mosaic above, left to right: Sam's garden, braided garlic, Rose of Sharon, veggies and dip, Sadie's garden, wineberries, saved spinach seeds, dinosaur at the pool, and another Rose of Sharon. Pin It

Please Give Me a Name

Something has been on my mind for awhile now and my blogger-friend, Mama Pea, raised the same issue recently, so now I need your help.  I've never revealed my real name on this blog (unless it was revealed by accident and I didn't notice it), so I started being called "Thy Hand" for short since this blog has an ever-so-long name.

In some ways, this is okay.  I like the idea of "being the hands and feet" (as in a figure of speech) of God, (meaning doing His work), but that's too hoity-toity, toot-my-own-horn, not-at-all-what-I'm-trying-to-say-or-feel-like-I-am.  Obviously, I'm not His actual hand!  It makes me even more uncomfortable to think that some might mistakenly think that I'm okay with this meaning especially.

SO!  All this said, I'm ready for a new name.  I'll take any and all ideas (but please be nice).  Feel free to offer more than one suggestion.  I'll choose my top favorites and let you vote on my new name. 

As of right now, I'm "formally known as Thy Hand" and that just makes me want to dress funky, dye my hair black and grow a thin mustache.

Please help. Pin It

A Little Help

We're at the point in the year when the garden dictates our meals instead of our freezer/pantry/whims.   In case you need an idea or two, here are a few dishes that coincide nicely with the season...

Chicken Zucchini Stuffing Casserole.  Get shut of some of those large green beasts lurking in your fridge.  Double it and stick the other in your freezer for a night you don't feel like cooking or for Sunday noon meal.

Tabouli, if you can get your hands on some early tomatoes.  I love to eat it with hummus in flat bread.  It just tastes like summer and is a wonderful cool dish for these very warm days.

Use up some of your green beans in Pasta with Green Beans and Sun-Dried Tomatoes or Curried Green Beans and Potatoes or Vegetable Chowder.

If it's berries you have and you're plum satisfied with your waistline, you could make Red Raspberry Cake or Blueberry Crumb Bars or Cobbler, Southern Style.

Now, if you still don't know what to make for dinner, it might be waffle night. Pin It

Taking Advantage

Some things are making their way out of the garden these days.  There are copious amounts of cucumbers.  We aren't really pickle-people, so we're eating them up raw (dipped in salad dressing) or slicing them up for Sweet & Sour Cucumber Salad or slicing them and folding them up in flat bread with hummus (swoon).  We're still finding zucchini under all those leaves and they are making their way into zucchini bread (with blueberries or chocolate chips) as well as every. single. dinner. I make.  We're still picking wine berries and red raspberries.  Jamey pulled our garlic and it is drying out a bit before I braid it.  If our resident ground hog hadn't eaten our first planting of green beans, I'd be swimming in them right now, but instead, we're waiting for the second planting to produce.

 

So.  While there is stuff happening, it is far from as busy as it's going to get.  The beans will eventually come as will the nectarines I ordered as will the tomatoes and later the grapes.  My feet are starting to swell just thinking about it.  That said, I've been trying to take advantage of this quieter part of my summer because later...I won't get much of anything else done.  Here's what I've been working on...

~ I've organized almost all of our school stuff for the fall.  I have everything in hand, so I've been able to assign shelves- putting all of Sam's books on one and all of Sadie's on another.  I've gone through and determined how many days/lessons there will be of each subject and distributed them evenly over our 36 school week plan.  Sonlight's teacher books are behemoth, so I've made up smaller teacher binders for each child so I have four weeks of lessons at my fingertips instead of 36.  I've made copies of reproducibles and a list of supplies we still need.  We could start tomorrow if we needed to and that's a good thing because all of a sudden, with my arms up to my elbows in tomatoes, I'll realize this.

~ Sam and Miriam switched rooms.  We have three bedrooms in our house (all upstairs).  Two are large and one is very small.  Before indoor plumbing, the small room was also large, but then they added a spacious bathroom which chopped that bedroom in half.  It was perfect as a nursery, but it was time for Sam to have his own space and to put the girls together.  Swapping rooms didn't take as long as we thought and the change has (miraculously) been seamless.  I was expecting intense disruption (wondering how the girls would get along at bedtime and when waking up) so I wanted to get it out of the way.

~  I'm (gulp) potty training Miriam.  This is one of my very, very, very least favorite parts of parenting.  Once they're trained, I'm in heaven, but this process is SO time consuming and...can I say frustrating?  I initiated it because Miriam was showing signs of being ready (telling me when she was peeing or pooping and having had some successes using the potty several months ago) AND because I wanted to train her 1) when I had the time and 2) when I could let her run around in her little undies.  If I didn't give it a go now, I knew my next chance would be in the spring because being interrupted every 10-15 minutes to set your child on the potty is not conducive to teaching.

We're a week in (she's two years old) and so far, I'm able to catch most of the pee (thankfully, she's takes care of other business in her diaper as soon as she wakes up) by sitting her on the potty a lot.  I think she may be starting to hold it until I make her sit, but she isn't telling me yet when she has to go.  As a reward for peeing in the potty, I give her two berries.  You would not believe how happy this makes her.  Who needs candy when you have berries?

~  The last project I completed which I will mention is that we went through all our books and will be sending a large box off to give away.  Our shelves were bursting at the seams and it needed to be done.  This makes keeping what books we do have easier to organize and get to.

So, this is what is keeping my busy these days.  My hope is that when everything from the garden hits at once, I'll be ready. Let's just hope Miriam is potty trained by then.... Pin It

Electives

Some homeschooling parents thrive teaching "electives".  I'm putting the word in quotes because I think many of you will agree that they shouldn't be considered optional.  I'm in the same camp.  I think that art, music, physical education, foreign languages, etc. are a crucial part of a child's education.

My problem is, when it comes down to it, I tend to drop the "electives" ball.

While in my head I know that these subjects of study are important, I get so pre-occupied with the importance of other subjects like math, reading, history, Bible, and science that I have sometimes have little energy and motivation to then tackle art and music once the other subjects are finished at the end of the day.

I could put them first.  We certainly wouldn't forget about them then.  But it's math and spelling that Sam dislikes the most, so I've decided that for his benefit (and mine), they need to be gotten out of the way as soon as possible.  Sonlight has great resources for many electives, but, alas, they don't come to your house and teach them.  You still have to get out the books, discuss, give assignments, oversee and evaluate/discuss again.

What would I really love?  For someone with skills and passion in these different areas to come out to my house and teach my children for me.  For free.

Strike one.

My second choice would be to join a local co-op that would provide these subjects in a group setting.  Unfortunately, the one we tried to join in the fall is full and had to turn away 13 or so families because they are full (a wonderful dilemma to have).  A new one may be forming, but life is too full right now to join in the planning and organizing.

Strike two.

We have an excellent homeschool PE class that is taught by an experienced PE teacher that Sam has participated in the past two years, but I can no longer sign up one child to an activity (two days a week for 45 minutes) while my other two and I try to amuse ourselves.  I need activities that incorporate at least two children.  Because I'm setting higher standards on my use of time...

strike three.

So, here is where we stand this very second.  Jamey has decided that he will teach Sam how to play the mandolin.  They will have scheduled lessons.  Sam will have songs to practice.  He will have to play in church.  Some friends are thinking about setting regular times to meet at the local indoor pool, so our kids can get some exercise without them really knowing it.  As for art, I'm giving this book a try on recommendation from Sonlight so both Sadie and Sam (and I) can get in some drawing time.  Sam is still working through his Spanish Rosetta Stone lessons, although I'm getting a little resistance now that the lessons are getting more difficult.  We hope to continue it into the fall.

None of this is set in stone (although we've purchased the book and Sam is psyched to start it).  I am putting my foot down and declaring publicly that this year I will be more consistent this year because "electives" are important.  They're not everything and I dare say that they're not as important as some other subjects (you can disagree with me here if you like- that's okay), but they do help round out a person.

So, please tell me.  If you homeschool, what do you do for electives?  Are you one of those parents who thrive in their midst or are you like me- wholeheartedly on board but struggling to make it happen?  If you don't homeschool, what are the electives that your kids enjoy the most or that you wish would be available to them?

I need all the inspiration I can get.  September is fast approaching. Pin It

For the Love of Berries

For some of you, this may be an extremely boring post.  For me, it's not because it's all about berries and I love berries.  They are, hands down, my favorite fruit.  Five kinds grow on our property- strawberries (planted by us), mulberries (the tree was here), red raspberries (we transplanted "Heritage" shoots from friends which yield twice a year), black raspberries (grow and spread wild), and wine berries (grow and spread wild).  The only berries we're missing, as far as I'm concerned, are blueberries.  The second year we lived here, we planted about five bushes and they all promptly died.  We've since learned that they often take a little bit more soil prep that we initially thought.  In a year or two, we may be ready to give them another go.

Since our strawberry harvest was on the very small side this year (we only had enough to eat them fresh and make a couple desserts), we are thrilled that our other berries seem to be doing very well.  We've had lots of rain and berries love rain.

Red raspberry, black raspberry, wine berry.

Every other day, I head outside with two pint containers and pick.  Right now, the mulberries and black raspberries are fading out and the wine berries and red raspberries and just ripening.  I don't divide out the berries, I just fill my containers with whatever I'm picking.  One container goes into the freezer and the other into the fridge for eating fresh or adding to (or on top of) baked oatmeal.  If our kids didn't "help" pick, we'd probably have twice as many to freeze.  Miriam is willing to go deep into the prickery bushes for even half ripe berries.

I don't wash the berries prior to freezing.  We don't spray and I'm careful to pick out any ants or little inch worms that find their way in with the berries.  Not washing them allows the berries to stay nicely separated even while frozen, so it's easy to spoon out a cup or so here or there without having to use all of them at once.  I know some folks like to freeze their berries on cookie sheets first for this purpose, but mine stay separated well enough without this added step.

 

Red raspberries, wine berries (not quite ripe, the berries are under those fuzzy covers which will open to expose the ripe fruit).

We use the frozen berries in muffins, pancakes, homemade ice cream, to decorate birthday cakes, in cheese cake, in cake, in cobblers, crisps (apple or peach), baked oatmeal, jello salad, you name it.  They are bits of heavenly sunshine in the middle of winter and I will never, ever, ever get enough.

Unfortunately for you, this means I probably won't ever stop talking about them.

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