Can You Stand Another?

yep another Vision Forum giveaway!
the place to go, as you know, for "Christian Books" is Vision Forum. They have dvds, cds, toys and more.
go HERE to enter

i want to win!!

Giveaway – Cover Your Hair $25 Surprise Box – Ends 12/11/11

go HERE to enter!!!

i want some new snoods- what about you?

Sharing

My Story

I was eleven years old when I first heard about Jesus. My family was not Christian and believe it or not, I had never really heard about God.
 Anyway, my parents sent me to a private Christian school, starting in the sixth grade. It was not so I would learn  about God but rather, it was a safer choice then the public schools in my area. You see, at the time, I was to start sixth grade there were several stabbings at the school I was to attend, so my parents choose elsewhere for me. It was at this school that a teacher told me the plan of salvation and asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus. I did and I prayed that day. Later on in the week, when I was angry about something, I thought about God and what the teacher had said and it all became very real to me. I attended church with whomever I could get a ride from for the rest of my school years.
 When I graduated from high school, I lost contact with all those rides from church and still not having a Christian family to fall back on, I lost my way.
Fast forward a few years. I was a very lost woman, in search of somethingand a single mom to boot.Drugs and drinking filled a good portion of my time. I was working all day and hardly ever saw my little girl. The Lord orchestrated everything so I would find a job with the man who was to become my husband in the future!!
Again, fast forward. I was married and still working. I became pregnant again and my husband  told me i should probably quit my job and stay home since we would have a newborn as well.
I did and 6 months later I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I dug out my bible - from a box buried in the closet!- and started reading it with fresh eyes. I had done  this for a few days when my husband asked me why I was doing it. I told him I didn't know but was it bothering him? He responded with a no but it seemed strange to him , since in all our years together I had never talked about God and neither had he. BUT now I was reading the bible and a woman was witnessing to  him at work and it was all coming together!
We began going to church with the only friend we had that went to church and remained there for 7 years. We were very involved there but after awhile our faith grew to include embracing the gifts of the Spirit and our church felt they were over with. So we reluctantly left there and searched for a new homechurch.
We have since moved to Texas and felt we had found a new homechurch  but alas they closed the place down!! A lot of problems internally and so everyone felt best to leave. A very sad day indeed.

So we are still searching a new place to worship but we are doing our best to live for and glorify the King!!

Can You Believe It?

ok normally i would say you are sick of these posts BUT considering who reads my blog and what the response has been i will post another one!!!
another Vision Forum giveaway!!! you can win $600 in gift cards!   yes this time Generation Cedar is hosting the event and you can enter HERE

you all know how much i love Vision Forum for "Christian Books", dvds and more . so if you have not entered (are you crazy?!) then do so now!

also after entering to win if you want to purchase anything during their fantastic Black Friday event- use button on top right sidebar, you can click that button or the catalog button below it and i will get credit from you! and i'd appreciate it very much :)

Oh Boy Oh Boy!

oh boy oh boy! another Vision Forum giveaway!! go to Raising Olives and enter here also to win $600 worth of gift certificates to Vision Forum!!!
you know the drill! i love Vision Forum for their Christian Books and dvds and cds. i have a long wish list!!
so what re you waiting for? go enter !!

Another Vision Forum Giveaway!

oh my word! another Vision Forum giveaway!! go to Smockity Frocks and enter here also to win $600 worth of gift certificates to Vision Forum!!! i am so excited!!
as you know i love Vision Forum for "Christian books" and dvds and toys! did you know i am an affliate for them also? so go to Smockity Frocks and enter the giveaway and come back here to order thru me by clicking the catalog on the right sidebar or the Vision Forum affliate badge a bit down on the right sidebar.

A Vision Forum Blowout!

i try not to link giveaways here unless they are something i feel you will really enjoy and i have found one you will love!!

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home is having the most wonderful giveaway!




you can $600 worth of gift cards to Vision Forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i go here for Christian books all the time- and dvds too. and the cds are fantastic for listening to while cleaning house!

My Thoughts over the Weekend

I just thought I'd share a few thoughts I've had over the past few days

I live in Texas, where we are having a drought. I had a garden but with no rain, I lost everything. I tried watering it myself but it just got to be too expensive.
So now, I was left with nothing to can and store away for winter/hard times.

So I am buying produce at the store and freezing it or canning it. It's not as good as homegrown but in my area the drought hit everyone and there are no stands on the corner selling their garden prizes. Even if there was, it has been my experience here that the prices are much much higher then the supermarket. A girl's gotta do with a girl's gotta do.

I am also preparing and freezing soups. It's not much but every little bit helps.
I also buy extra milk when it goes on sale and I freeze that and I make jam and freeze it as well.
This added to the canned goods that I keep rotating in my food storage and I'm getting quite the nice little larder.


Have you ever thought of comparing yourself to a soldier in the army? A soldier goes to a foreign country and fights for that country. While he's there adapts to his surroundings BUT he never becomes a citizen of that country, That is how we should be. We should never become so entrenched in this world's culture that we are indistinguishable from the world. Our home is not here and we are an army sent by God to fight. The way we fight is by spreading the gospel.

Quick dinner tonight- bean burritos , carrot slices, black olives and spinach. :)

Are you getting ready for Christmas? This year we are celebrating and with a happy heart. I know and understand why others don't ( and have been on "that side" myself) but for my family and what we are dealing with in our lives it is best if we go all out "Jesus- style" No santa. No rushing up and down aisles looking for any toy that lights up or speaks mama. (if i wanted that I'd have another baby!lol )
But rather presents that enable our children to grow as individuals (think lotsa art supplies for one thing, and tools for the boys) or allow them to exercise their compassion for others (think picking out a gift for World Vision using their gift money). We want to glorify God, not fill up on useless junk.

This leads me to my next thought- I am getting rid of most of our stuff!! I want us to have only what we absolutely need and what we truly value. Things that only create stress are outta here! I have schoolbooks for sale if anyone's interested. Bob Jones Science 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. $2 each plus shipping. They are like new. I am looking up websites that "teach" minimalism for inspiration.

God has told me loud and clear that the dream I have had for a few years will not be happening. It is a hard blow but after much begging on my part He has revealed the reason why and that makes it easier. Not a whole lot but some. It takes some adjusting I must say. I have a few irons in the fire so to speak so we will see what comes of all that. I won't discuss any of it here unless something happens. But God told me to get a new dream so I am trying!

How was your weekend? What thoughts did you have? Please share! It makes me smile to see comments. :)

if you missed it

here is a link to a post kitchenwitch wrote about the co sleeping ads making their way around the web. i am linking you instead of writing it myself because i still can't see straight thru the anger i feel. notice who sponsors the ads- CRIB MAKERS!!!! by the way - i coslept with all 7 of my children. sometimes 2 (or 3) at a time. click HERE

Frugally Sustainable: Returning Home: 6 Tips To Help You Discover Your M...

you MUST read this terrific article !Frugally Sustainable: Returning Home: 6 Tips To Help You Discover Your M...: My Story Six months ago I intentionally left my full-time job as a Registered Nurse to stay home and raise our 3 children. You see, for...

what is your THanksgiving meal plan? mine is as follows.

turkey
mashed potatoes
sweet potato casserole
stuffing
green bean casserole
homemade cranberry sauce
homemade apple pie
homemade pumpkin pie
homemade bread

comment with yours :)

Clean Up with this Giveaway!

i'm always looking for giveaways that i think you ladies will be interested in and i have one today! it's a Special Homemaker's Norwex Giveaway!
A Wise Woman is giving away a fall cleaning pack that will include a Microfiber Enviro Cleaning Cloth, Polishing Cloth, and Dusting Mitt to one of my special readers. This is valued at over $50.
so go HERE to enter :)

Contrast Everything With God's Word.

i read an article today-The Evolution Of The Housewife and i couldn't help but contrast it with God's Word.


We are all housewives. We would prefer to be persons." Jane O'Reilly, in the 1971 premier issue of Ms. magazine.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

in the words of Stephanie Coontz, the author of "Marriage, A History.--" Sure enough, its stars(speaking of the show Housewives of Beverly Hills etc) tend not be great contributors to society. And that is what housewife has always meant.
Pro 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Up until the early 19th century, both men and women were the housekeepers, because there was no real separation of home and work. Everybody had to help out. "Prior to the industrial period, housewife made no sense," says Kathleen Gerson, author of "The Unfinished Revolution."
Luke 17:35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ( where are the women? at home)
Luke 17:36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (where are the men? out of the home in the field)

But slowly, housework became women's work. In the postwar years, new-found prosperity made it possible for women to stop making money altogether. Middle class families packed their bags and moved to the suburbs, the father working in the city, with a salary attached, and the woman laboring inside the home, without one.
Pro 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. (her salary)

"It wasn't until the 50s that you get the height of the family form where the woman didn't have to produce," says Sharon Musher, who teaches the course "Meanings of Motherhood" at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. "And she was cut off from the world."

Pro 31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
Pro 31:14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
Pro 31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
Pro 31:16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
Pro 31:18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. (she is selling her merchandise!)
Pro 31:19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
Pro 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
Pro 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. (how are they clothed if she wasn't productive?)
Pro 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
after all this don't tell me she wasn't productive!!!

Women were told to get all their satisfaction from making a beautiful home. To stop nagging, and get dinner on the table.
"This propaganda was so widespread that many women really believed it," says Musher.
propaganda?
Pro 31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. (she is providing meals)
Pro 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. (coverings here means bed coverings)



"I deeply resent the implication that I am lazy, shallow, or just plain crazy for staying home," wrote an anonymous woman in a 1978 letter to the editor of the Washington Post. "For all that has been written about the decline of the American family, society is increasingly intolerant of those women who wish to devote their lives to its support."

We are only in the middle of a 70 or 80 year trend, according a study published this year. Supposedly women and men will be doing an equal share of the work by 2050.
Ecc 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.


linked with

read with a tissue

The story goes back some time ago, a father punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the little girl tried to decorate a box. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Father."

The father was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. Father yelled at his 3-year-old daughter, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present (gift), there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Father, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Father."

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of his little girl. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of his little girl who had put it there.

Moral of the Story: Our tongue, and the words that come from it, has incredible power. Words have the power to hurt or to heal, to tear down or build up, and to curse or comfort. So use it very carefully.

~ Author Unknown

Blessed Homemaking: So You Think You Should Go to Work?

i haven't posted much lately but i have had time to read something great and i wanted to share it with you.
Blessed Homemaking: So You Think You Should Go to Work?

i was thrilled this week to receive a sofa from my neighbors!! they are moving and simply gave it to us- that and a bed for my oldest daughter she needed a new one desperately and we had nothing to sit on in the living room lol. now we have 2 chairs from a friend of mine and a sofa- all in coordinating patterns. :)
i was also thrilled this week to earn a $25 american express card! i can't wait to use it for christmas. i have started shopping finally and i was able to buy a tool box with a few tools for my son. i already have a game put away for him. i shop all year long , putting things away and my giveaway winnings are a huge help but i usually need to pick up a few things and money was tight so we didn't get much put away yet. so now i'm off! ~smile
i had a good deal at walmart tonight. cans of broth on sale for 50 cents each! i bought all of them and stuck them in the emergency cabinet.
any good deals for you? please comment and let me know! i love hearing from you :)

Homemaking-A Divine Assignment

i wish i could say i wrote this but i didn't - i took it from HERE.

Homemaking-A Divine Assignment

Keeping the home is God’s assignment to the wife-even down to changing the sheets, doing the laundry, and scrubbing the floors. In Titus 2:3-5, Paul admonishes the older women to teach the younger women, among other things, “to love their husbands and children, … to be busy at home” (oikourgous, Greek, literally “home-workers”).
The home was once described as “… a place apart, a walled garden, in which certain virtues too easily crushed by modern life could be preserved,” and the mother in this home was described as “The Angel in the House.”
A 1982 Gallup poll showed that more than eight out of ten respondents (82 percent) assigned top priority on an eleven-point scale to the importance of family life. Families, health, and self-respect all were rated as more important than the possession of material goods.

Few women realize what great service they are doing for mankind and for the kingdom of Christ when they provide a shelter for the family and good mothering-the foundation on which all else is built. A mother builds something far more magnificent than any cathedral-the dwelling place for an immortal soul (both her child’s fleshly tabernacle and his earthly abode). No professional pursuit so uniquely combines the most menial tasks with the most meaningful opportunities.

The Book of Proverbs is for me the most practical book in the Bible. No other book is more saturated with home and family and the relationships therein. No other book has any more to say to women specifically.

Proverbs 31 contains a full-length portrait of a godly heroine finished in minute detail. The passage is significant not only for what it includes but also for what it omits. There is no mention of rights or pursuit of self-serving interests; neither is the husband assigned to domestic pursuits. In fact, his occupation with other tasks is clearly stated, “Her husband has full confidence in her. … Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land” (Proverbs 31:11, 23). This beautiful and perfect ode of praise to womanhood is written as an acrostic with the first word of each verse beginning with one of the twenty-two successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

This description of God’s “Bionic/Wonder Woman” is often labeled an “Alphabetic Ode,” “The Golden ABC’s of the Perfect Wife,” “The Portrait of the Wife of Many Parts,” “A Paradigm for Brides-to-Be.” Perhaps its literary form is designed to make the passage easier to commit to memory, or its acrostic style may be a literary device used to emphasize that these characteristics describe God’s ideal woman-committed homemaker, chaste helpmeet, upright and God-fearing woman of strength. Though no woman can match skills and creativity perfectly with this model, all can identify their respective talents within the composite, and all can strive for the spiritual excellence of this woman of strength. This passage is recited in many Jewish homes on the eve of Sabbath, not only setting the high challenge for wife and mother but also expressing gratitude for her awesome service to the household.6

At least half of Proverbs 31:10-31 is occupied with personal and domestic energy. The New Testament, too, is clear in its emphasis on a woman’s needed and necessary energy and efficiency in managing her household (Titus 2:5; 1 Timothy 2:10; 5:14). When Jesus reprimanded Martha, He did not condemn the vital housework she was doing; neither did He decry the gracious hospitality extended to Himself (Jesus did not say only one thing is needful but pointed to the one thing Martha had omitted). He did admonish her not to be encumbered or burdened by her work to the exclusion of spiritual sustenance, which Mary had so faithfully sought (Luke 10:38-42). One is never to neglect spiritual preparation-not even for the joy of serving others.

The best way to make homemaking a joyous task is to offer it as unto the Lord; the only way to avoid the drudgery in such mundane tasks is to bathe the tasks with prayer and catch a vision of the divine challenge in making and nurturing a home. Brother Lawrence, a member of the barefoot Carmelite monks in Paris in the 1600s, set a worthy example: “Lord of all pots and pans and things … Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates! … The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen … I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”

Many people are surprised to discover how much time it actually takes to run a household and care for a family. Having a career was far easier for me than being a homemaker! None of my former positions required my being on the job twenty-four hours every day. None of my varied professional pursuits demanded such a variety of skills and abilities as I have exercised in homemaking. Automatic, labor-saving devices save much physical work, but increased mobility and multiplied outside activities add to the overall time demands so that the preparation and care of the family shelter are important enough for God Himself to assign that responsibility. Of course, much of the world would agree that being a housekeeper is acceptable as long as you are not caring for your own home; treating men with attentive devotion would also be right as long as the man is the boss in the office and not your husband; caring for children would even be deemed heroic service for which presidential awards could be given as long as the children are someone else’s and not your own. We must not be overcome by the surrogacy of this age, which offers even a substitute womb for those so encumbered by lofty pursuits that they cannot accept God-given roles and assignments.

sharing my want!!

you can win this drying rack!!!!



to enter go HERE

please if you win give it to me!! :)

my not ideal menu

i have been asked before how my family of 9 lived on $16,000 a year. well it wasn't fun!! buy it was doable. here is a sampling of a week's worth of menus. we ate spaghetti A LOT. this is by no means ideal - no food police please-but we were poor and we had to eat and this is what i did. we still live below the poverty level but things are much,much better now.

mon- lunch was pb&j. supper-chili- $2 pinto beans, $1 red beans, $1 tomato sauce, garlic seasoning and chopped onion if i had it and $4 worth hamburger if we had the money.

tues- lunch would be baked potatoes topped with leftover chili. supper - spaghetti- $1.50 for noodles and $2 for sauce. if we had the money for meat i'd add $2 worth of hamburger.

wed-lunch- supper would be tacos- $1.44 for shells (i bought a bigger package so i could make cinnamon chips from the ones left over) and $4 worth of hamburger. 1 large chopped tomato and lettuce and cheese.

thurs-lunch-mexican casserole made with leftover tacos and 1 can of refried beans added. ($1) supper was potato soup( 1 bag of potatoes and 4 cans of cream of chicken soup) with a salad.

fri- lunch was brown rice topped with brown sugar ( just a dollup!) then i used more rice to make chicken and rice for supper.

snacks were mainly bananas and apples but sometimes other fruit.. watermelon in season. homemade cookies and cakes. a jar of peanuts sometimes. and yes i added fruit and salads to as many meals as possible! i just didn't list each time .
remember - this wasn't the greatest menu , it was simply what got us by for 2 years on that salary.
and do you know that Jennie from what the 4h brought over $200 worth of groceries for us?!!! what a blessing!!

linking with

linked here

Thank You

well! thank you so much for all your kind words. i really appreciate the emails and comments. i guess what's so hard is that there are no like-minded women around me except on the internet!
i am still wearing dresses only- a brown prairie skirt and black top today- and i am still wearing a head covering- tho not today. i still question myself on wearing one when i am "alone" in my marriage.
i have prayed about my homeschooling - again! lol - and decided on something and that's that! ~smile.
i still believe that women belong in the home. i am not sure how to communicate that without seeming rude so i don't know how to handle that.
i am still pro homeschooling and truthfully don't mind debating that lol

after all that , what else? well today the children so nicely broke the railing off the porch. praise the Lord it was easy to put back on!( a.k.a before dad found out!)
i gave 2 old dressers to the children for their clubhouse.(hence how the railing came to be broken.) now i busy trying to figure out where to put all the stuff from those dressers!
i watched cheaper by the dozen with the littles. for the 20th time!

chili made up last night's dinner and chicken tacos was tonight's.

that about covers it. i am busy searching for more great reading material about being a keeper at home for the series- hope you have been reading! and i will post what i discover when it's more put together.

again- thank you for the kind emails and notes! :)

i am having a crisis

yes i am having a crisis, not one of faith but rather of which faith!

it seems i am labeled one way by some and another way by others and neither is right.

but i myself don't know which is right. and it is really starting to bother me!

for example- i wear dresses only. i don't hate someone because they wear pants or think they are going to hell. my girls love dresses but they prefer pants when they play outside and since their dad doesn't care one way or another i let them. i don't like it tho. but i was told i am being too legalistic. ( by a fellow christian)


i like wearing headcoverings because i feel Scripture says to. i could be wrong. but that is what i get from my studies. but then again i am told i am reading it wrong .and i don't wear one all the time because i want to fit in.

i don't believe women should teach men about the bible. it says it plain and clear but .... did i misunderstand it?

i homeschool but even after 21 years i doubt myself. am i too strict? or not strict enough? am i teaching the right things or am i screwing my children up for life? depends on which blog you read.
but i also don't understand how anyone , once they know what goes on, can send their child to public school. i had one woman say horrible things to me because i said that in my opinion sending your child to public school and telling them not to listen to their teachers about ungodly things is the same as sending them into a drug dealer's pit and telling them not to do drugs . just take the good and leave the bad. crazy right? i really feel that way! am i wrong?

i don't believe women should work outside the home. you can't imagine how much flack i get for that!! or the scathing letters! i mean , some of them make me cry! i truly can't imagine anyone putting their child in daycare, no matter what. BUT of course the hateful emails descend when i say that! i hear "sob stories" about how some women have to work and you just about laugh when you read their list of "needs". or some , who don't have a crazy list of "needs" but refuse to accept any other way but their own as the answer. i lived that life- ask me!
this is by far the biggest hate mail getter! it has been so hurtful to me that i have stopped telling anyone in town about my blog because i don't want them to know i feel this way!

i am still deciding how i feel about the Torah etc. i have been sent horrible commenst on both sides. i have lost friends because i was "following the Old Testament laws." not because they save me- Jesus did that- but because they are good common sense to follow.

i stopped celebrating holidays and upset my family. i felt God nudging me to start back up again. i was almost shot at by those who disagreed.

i read the KJV bible. if you want to read the other versions- you can. i did for 20 years. but i learned things that made me change my mind. why if i study a subject and tell you what i learned i am practically branded a criminal? study it yourself! and if you won't, shut up! ( strong words but nothing next to what i am called)

what i am getting at is that i had my beliefs and now i doubt all of them. after all i don't fit in and i have lost friends and ladies . i am just human.

so what's the point? none really. i just wanted to say that i am tired of being "condemned" for my beliefs. i am tired of the hate mails. i am just human.

am i wrong? to be dresses only, wearing a headcovering, reading the KJV and believing women should not teach men or should not work outside the home? is it ok to have those beliefs but not share them? never let anyone know ? because there are so few that agree with me and none of them live in my town!!

i am at the point that i hide my beliefs. so now i doubt them.

what i am hoping i win!

Sowers of Hope Giveaway

the one i am dreaming of!!!
but he winner will be able to choose their fav tichel!


go HERE to enter!