Keepers Of The Home

Spicy Romano Chicken with Artichoke Hearts and Sundried Tomatoes

2012-02-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

We LOVE figuring out how to make a meal we like to eat at a local restaurant and make it at home for the whole family! We've done this several times in the past....here is a new one!

This was surprisingly quick and fast to make and tasted amazing! It is not hot at all, the crushed red pepper just gives it a yummy flavor! Add a little at a time, while tasting and don't be afraid to add more than you think necesssary. :0)

The kids and I sliced the mushrooms, green onions, artichokes and chicken ahead of time while the noodles were cooking. And it made the cooking go very quickly.

I will give you the original recipe and then after that what we did to change it. We made a HUGE pot of it so we would have planned leftovers of two dinners....or you could freeze the second dinner for another tasty time in the future. :0) I love cooking once and eating twice!

The Sauce:
1 pint heavy cream
4 T butter
2 t salt
1 T fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp. cayenne pepper

*For extra zip add 1 to 2 tsps red pepper flakes in addition to cayenne. We didn't do this but just added more cayenne in and it was amazing!

Ingredients:
10 oz. package bowtie pasta cooked and drained ...al dente.
1 1//2 T melted butter
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 small jar artichoke hearts....drained
1 7-8 oz. precooked sliced grilled chicken, cubed
1/8 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 oz. heavy cream

How to Make it:

For the sauce:
Melt butter in saute pan or skillet. Add cream, salt and pepper, heat to a boil. Remove from heat and fold in cheese and cayeene pepper. Set aside with lid on pot to keep warm.

For Ingredients:
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then add sliced mushrooms, green onions and sundried tomatoes. Stir for one minute. Next add artichokes and chicken. Stir. Stir in 1 ounce heavy cream and 1/2 of the sauce. Add bowtie pasta followed by rest of the sauce. Stir gently and serve.

So for our large family and to make sure we had enough left for an entire another dinner here is what we did:

We bought two jars of artichokes at Costco...and used one whole one. We drained them and rinsed them in a colander. We chopped them and set them aside.

We bought a large jar of sundried tomatoes at Costco and used 1/4 of the jar. It is so much cheaper to buy them this way. And then we have them to use in other recipes. We did not chop them this time because they were on the smaller side... but if the ones you're using are larger, then chop.

We used 3 lbs. of bowtie pasta and cooked it al dente, rinsed it, drained it and set it aside.

We used 4 lbs. of frozen, boned, chicken breasts (you could use 5 lb.) and we boiled it in a stock pot ahead of time with water. Then when tender we drain the water and cube the chicken. Set that aside.

We used one normal bunch of green onions you find at the grocery store. Maybe a dozen or so. We slice them and use both the white and dark green parts. Set those aside.

We bought the package of cremini mushrooms at Costco. Again, a really good price. We don't wash our mushrooms....we just take a clean towel and wipe them off. We sliced the whole package and set those aside.

We buy our parmesan cheese in the bag at Costco...again WAY cheaper. they sell this in several containers we have found the larger bag to be the cheapest. We buy Romano cheese in a block at Costco and then put it in the food processor when we get home and it grates it for us and we put it in a plastic baggie and store it in the fridge to use.

The Sauce:

We melted 2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 quarts of heavy cream
Put in 4 tsp. of salt
2 1/2 T of fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups Romano cheese
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
4 tsp. cayenne pepper....and then just added to taste.

This took less than about 10 min. to make. I have a large stock pot that we made this sauce in so that we could also add the veggie and chicken mixture as well as the noodles in the end to it.

I melted the butter, then added the milk, salt and pepper. But I did not bring it to a boil. We just looked for bubbles around the edge. We took it off the heat and added the cheeses and stirred to blend and melt cheese. Then we added the cayenne pepper to taste. Keep the lid on to keep warm.

Ingredients:
We melted 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter in a large skillet (we have a large one from a restaurant supply here in town)
We had a lot of mushrooms so we added those first and allowed them to cook a bit till they were tender, but not cooked all the way down. Maybe 5 min. Then we added the green onions and sundried tomatoes. And cooked for about 3 or 4 more minutes. Next we added the artichokes and chicken as well as about 4 oz. heavy cream. Cook for another couple of minutes to heat everything through thoroughly.

Then I poured the veggie and chicken mixture into the sauce and added the noodles. Stir to coat evenly.

we plated the noodle mixture and sprinkled a few sliced green onions on each plate and some grated romano cheese on top.

Amazingly yummy! This dish costs about 10.00 at the restaurant....and we could never afford to feed all 10 or 13 of us but making it at home not only fed all of us for one meal....we had an entire dinner left over to freeze for another time!

Quaker Hill Quiche Recipe

2011-11-20T07:10:00.001-08:00

Quaker Hill Quiche Recipe
Mixture for 1 pie crust:

6 eggs
...
1 lb heavy cream

salt/pepper/cayenne/oregano to taste

*Mix these in a bowl with a fork

Pre-cook crust (home-made or frozen) at high heat (400 degrees) for about 5-8 minutes until bottom is browning/sealed.

Take crust out of the oven...allow to cool a bit.

Add toppings - spinach, brocoli, ham, bacon, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, red peppers, etc.

Add cheese- monterey jack, mozzarella, goat cheese

Pour egg mixture over the top of toppings and cheese and cook at 300 degrees (approximately 30+ minutes)

Check center with toothpick until done.

This was so delicious! Enjoy!

Quaker Hill's Creamy Sundried Tomato Sauce

2011-11-20T06:00:00.001-08:00

INGREDIENTS:3 TBSP butter
5 cloves garlic minced
1.5 cups Sun Dried Tomatos - Julienned *I minced them
2.5 cups heavy cream
2.5 cups chicken broth
Chicken - 2.5 to 3 lbs
Salt / Pepper to taste
5 TBSP Veg. Oil *we used olive oil
5 TSP fresh basil minced *we used 5 Tablespoons
20+oz. fettuccine *we used spinach but wheat noodles may also be yummy and healthy!

DIRECTIONS:

In a saucepan melt butter + garlic + tomatoes + 1/2 the chicken broth
REDUCE
add cream (boil)
turn heat down to simmer until thick
add rest of chicken broth
stir in dried basil and season for taste *crush dried basil in hands before adding. We also added salt, pepper and I added some crushed red pepper and it was amazing! Just enough to give it flavor without making it scorching hot...add a little at a time.
continue to reduce until comfortable with the thickness.

Serves approximately 10 people

Hope you enjoy! It is delicious!

Yummy, Healthy Tobulli

2011-11-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

1 cup bulgar wheat (I buy this in the Fred Meyers bulk organic section)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth, hot and brought to a boil
Juice of 2 lemons, strained to catch seeds (or 1 lemon if you buy the big ones at Fred Meyers they are huge)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Put these ingredients in a small bowl, stir and place plastic wrap over top stretching to seal and let sit for 1 hour.

While wheat is sitting, chop veggies:

2 English cucumbers, quartered and small diced *If you use English cucumbers you don't have to skin them *I did however cut them in 1/2 first and run a teaspoon down the middle of each to take the seeds out first.
1 bunch green scallions, chopped ....I use both white and green parts, but cut the very bottom off
1 package cherry tomatoes *If large tomatoes cut in quarters....if smaller grape size, cut in 1/2
1 cup chopped well fresh mint *pick off leaves
1 cup chopped Italian parsley

After the wheat has sat, combine with other veggies and herbs, mix well and serve!

Homemade Pesto!

2011-10-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 Tab. diced garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I like to grind a whole bunch at one time, using my coffee bean grinder)
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Place the walnuts, pine nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. Use immediately or store the pesto in the refridgerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on the top...I use a teaspoon to spoon the olive oil over the top. This keeps it light green and from darkening while storing.

We freeze this mixture in 1/2 cup or 1 cup servings in the freezer in small, plastic containers.

*As a side note we like to take some pesto and mix it with balsamic vinegar....and this makes an amazing dressing for salads!

Amazing Home made Ranch Dressing!

2011-10-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

So tonight we are having home made sloppy joes and home made ranch dressing over bibb lettuce with sliced red onions....yum!

Homemade Ranch Dressing (to die for literally!)

In food processor place:

3 choppped scallions (cut off end and use white and green parts)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
2 Tab. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tab. djon mustard
3 large garlic cloves chopped
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Puree for 15 to 20 seconds. I like to take a spatula and sort of scrap the sides and get all the goodies back down where they should be!

Add 1 cup mayo
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (it's thicker than regular plain yogurt)
1/2 cup butter milk (you can make your own with milk and vinegar...1 cup milk with 1 Tab. vinegar let set for 5 to 10 min.)

puree in food processor.

Pour into container and put in fridge. Allow to chill. Can store for a week or so.

We like to pour ours over wedges of bibb lettuce with sliced red onions on them. Yum!

Baked Oatmeal Recipe

2011-10-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

5 eggs, beaten
5 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup oil
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tab. vanilla
1 T + 1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix everything together then add milk, mix thoroughly. Pour in greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 to 40 min. @ 350. Can mix ingredients the night before and store in fridge to bake the next morning. May need a bit more baking time if cold from fridge....or you can set it out to warm a bit.

We cut like a cake and serve with syrup and toasted nuts.

Or serve hot with vanilla ice cream over top...yum!

Pumpkin Pancakes....yum!

2011-10-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

We tried some yummy pumpkin pancakes this weekend. Mark and I want to try these for our family this coming weekend. We'll let you know how they taste! They sound amazing!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Original Recipe Yield 12 pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups milk

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons vinegar

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground allspice

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Tips from reviewer:

I love this recipe; it's a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast. The following are a couple tips for the best pancakes. Don't thin the batter with more milk. This washes out the pumpkin flavor. Instead, the batter should be portioned out with a 1/4 c. measure onto a moderately hot griddle; then the batter should be spread out slightly using a spoon or a small spatula. This creates the fluffy texture while keeping them hearty. Second, I used a food processor to mix up the wet ingredients. This makes a smoother batter as it breaks down the fiberous pumpkin. The result is a lighter pancake with a more pronounced pumpkin flavor. Third, I used a fresh, good quality pumpkin pie spice rather than measuring out the individual spices; this is an easier preparation, and the flavors were fresher (I get my pumpkin pie spice from a local spice shop that grinds and mixes it weekly for the best quality). Fourth, I got the best results either using whole milk or evaporated milk. Low-fat and fat free milk products just left the flavor dull.

Matthew Shares His Heart

2011-09-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Living in a home filled with grace

Through my years growing up there where many lessons taught and principles instilled. Having parents who wanted to show us God's grace and his love for us, helped me become who I am today. The things I learned as a child help me now as a man. Being truthful, diligent, humble, and having self- control are some of the daily teachings we would learn. Sometimes it was difficult for us to grasp these in our sin but through love our parents would continually remind us of these attributes we would need in life. The difference this has made in helping me along God's path for my life has been enormous.

Being part of a large family was a blessing. It helped me learn how to share, show compassion, learn patience, and show God's love to those around me. The experiences growing up I still cherish to this day. Our parents would always be looking for ways to bless us and make our days brighter. They would be there to lend an ear when we needed advice and support. When we needed someone to lean on they would show us true love. Having parents who wanted the best for us and who were willing to make sacrifices is something I'm still thankful for. When we made mistakes they disciplined us but had already forgiven us through grace. I'm grateful for my family as it has helped me all these years and now as a father myself.

Becoming a dad is one of my best memories and a blessing from Christ. Having someone who needs you and depends on you in every way is such an awesome responsibility. Knowing we will help shape his life and help him become who he will be, is a honor. With my upbringing, I have a head start on most when it comes to raising a family. I know we will not be perfect or always make the best decisions. Through grace and the lessons I have learned over the years Jackson will know he has parents who truly want God's best for him. Already he needs our correction and guidance to help protect him. We will be merciful but we also have to have the discernment to teach him how he was wrong. We are committed to instilling the principles in him that have helped us as Christians. We want to pass on the conviction our parents had for wanting us to find and follow God's path, to Jackson. Through Christ's mercy and grace we will be able to have a family who shines in this world.

Sincerely,
Matt Gammon (Age 27) for Shelley and Jackson

Yummy Blackberry Pie Recipe

2011-09-23T12:15:00.001-07:00

Not sure how many of you know that years ago when Mark and I were first married, we lived in a retirement community. We love it! There were so many neat elderly people living there! One of the sweetest ladies was 80 years old and lived next door to us. She shared her blackberry pie recipe with me. I still have her little hand written note in my cook book...and have used her recipe for the past 29 years. Today we made raspberry pie instead, works well with either of the berries...black or red!

3 cups fresh berries (I like to add a bit more)

1 cup sugar

2 T flour

... 2 T lemon juice

1/8 tsp. salt

1 T butter

Combine berries, sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Line pie pan with pastry and filling. Dot with butter (I divide the 1 T into little pats and spread them around berries) Cover with top crust. Sprinkle top with sugar, bake in very hot oven 450 for 10 min. reduce heat to moderate over 350 and bake for 25 to 30 min longer. YUM! YUM!

Luke sharing on Growing Godly Character

2011-09-12T07:27:00.001-07:00

Luke sharing a bit on how he feels growing in godly character has helped him.

Luke Sharing on Spending Time Daily in the Word

2011-09-12T07:06:00.001-07:00

Our son Luke wanted to share how much he feels being in the Word has benefitted him. He is 19....almost 20.

Emily Sharing Some Thoughts

2011-09-09T16:17:00.001-07:00

This is a video of our daughter Emily who is 13 sharing about things she has appreciated about her family.

Jacob Shares Some Thoughts

2011-09-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

This is our youngest child, Jacob. He is 10 years old and wanted to share about chores.

Mitchell Sharing Some Thoughts

2011-09-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

This video clip is our son Mitchell who is 21 sharing a few things he appreciated while growing up.

Marinara Sauce/Creamy tomato basil soup

2011-06-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is a very versitile recipe!

We make our marinara sauce and then freeze half, or make creamy tomato basil soup with the other half. We enjoy cooking turkey Italian sausage, combining it with penne pasta, mozzerella cheese and parmesan cheese. Bake this mixture at 350, till cheese melts. Then serve it with marinara sauce over the top. Yum! You could also take this recipe and not add the basil and make it into chili by adding cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper and kidney beans. Or take the basic recipe and divide it...making half into marinara sauce and half into chili.

Marinara Sauce:

106 oz. large can of crushed tomatoes from Costco (it costs $2.65!)
1 head of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
1 large yellow or red onion, chopped
25 fresh basil leaves, julienned or chopped
*If you don't have fresh basil you can use dried basil. About 3 tab. is a good place to start. Crush dried basil by rubbing it between the palms of your hand to release oils in it. Add more to taste if you feel it needs it.
Crushed red pepper (not the flakes....the powder) to taste. A little goes a long way...but it is a great ingredient to add...it brings a depth of flavor to this meal!
2 tsp. of salt *or to taste....just depends on the brand of tomatoes
pinch of sugar if the tomatoes have high acid content. Just taste to see if it needs a bit of sugar.
2 to 3 tab. olive oil

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Add cooked onions and garlic to tomatoes in stock pot. Add basil, salt and red pepper. (also sugar if needed)
Simmer on low heat for 30 to 40 min. If you make it a day ahead...it tastes even better! You could allow it to cool and freeze half divided into freezer baggies.

If you want to make creamy tomato basil soup.....take the marinara sauce recipe and add to it:
pint of heavy cream
2 cups parmesan cheese

*plus extra parmesan cheese on top for serving. You can also put a little bit of chopped basil on top as you serve the soup....mmmm so yummy!

If you want to make chili:

Do not add the basil to the basic recipe....instead add:

3 tab. ground cumin
3 tab. chili powder

I love cumin so I taste as I go....and usually add more than this. But you can add a bit....taste it and then add more as needed.

You will already have salt and red pepper added to the basic recipe.

Also add drained, canned kidney beans. I like to add light red, dark red, and if you'd like to you could add chili beans. Also, it's fun sometimes to add white beans as well. We used canned beans, or you could hydrate dried beans, bag them up and freeze them to use in this recipe.

If you have questions let me know. Hope you enjoy! This is a great meal that is quick, easy and inexpensive to share with other families that you want to take a meal to.

Your thoughts are welcome!

2011-05-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let all of you know that we will be posting on the blog and on the Keepers of the Home facebook account for announcements and articles that will be written. I've been having issues with my email, so I will be utilizing these two options much more often in the coming months.

I also wanted to ask for your input! I welcome you to share your thoughts and ideas on both facebook and on our blog!

I hope you have a wonderful day ladies!

remember the joy of the Lord is our strength! The job you're doing may seem not to matter all that much....changing diapers, wiping runny noses, rocking babies to sleep, teaching and training and cleaning and cooking....BUT you have a high and noble calling! The enemy of your soul wants you to become discoruaged and to think that these things don't matter....BUT they do! Do not be deceived! What you are doing to lay down your lives each day in your homes and families is the most effective way you can invest in the kingdom of God and in the future. You are raising up the mothers, fathers, leaders of our society in the next generation. What we sow....will eventually either reap a wonderful, godly crop and heritage or not! It is the "next right thing" that we do....one step upon another...each day that will truly make all the difference for us, our families and our nation! You are quietly serving....and the Lord sees what you are doing and He will reward you! The fruit is so sweet ladies...press on! :0) With much love, lori

Yummy Caramel Sauce

2011-03-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is by far my favorite caramel sauce!

It's so easy and quick! You can store it in the fridge for quite awhile too.

1/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar

put both of these in a saucepan on medium/high and stir with wooden spoon till sugar is dissolved.

Turn heat up and do not stir....only swirl the pot to mix. use candy thermometer and boil till it reaches 350. Usually takes about 5 to 7 minutes.

Swirl and allow to boil till it reaches a warm chestnut color. Then turn heat down and add:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream *I put this in a measuring cup before I start. Watch out....as it will smoke and bubble up. It will look hard and you will think it's ruined....but it's not!
Add 1 tsp. vanilla

Stir with a wooden spoon over low/med heat till it is smooth and caramel color.

It will thicken once it cools. I pour it into a gravy boat or into a little pitcher to serve. We also toasted pecan pieces in a dry pan on the stove and it was delicious over vanilla ice cream.

Yummy Beef Stew

2011-02-12T08:45:00.001-08:00

This is by far one of my very favorite beef stew recipes! I hope you enjoy it!

2 1/2 lb. beef chuck, cut in cubes
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 or 3 large bay leaves
1 bottle cabernet sovengien (red wine)

Put in plastic container with lid and put in fridge for 3 or 4 hours, but I prefer to put it in fridge overnight.

Put colander over large bowl and pour meat and marinade into colander. Reserve marinade to use later.

Put a cup or two of flour into a bowl with 2 tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.

Put olive oil in saute pan and allow to get hot over med/high heat.

Roll meat cubes in flour and then place in saute pan. Brown and turn with tongs. When browned place in oven proof casserole dish. Repeat process until all of the meat is browned.

2 to 3 onions (depending on size) chopped
1 lb. carrots diced
6 yukon gold potatoes, diced into cubes

Add more oil if needed and saute in the same pan as the meat for about 10 min. You want veggies browned and ala dente...a bit tender, but not mushy.

Take veggies out and put in casserole dish with meat.

Deglaze the saute pan with the meat marinade (wine and garlic). Pour into saute pan and scrape up meat drippings. After a couple of minutes....add marinade from saute pan to casserole dish.

Add to casserole dish:
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tab. worteshire sauce
1 Tab. Kosher salt
2 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
1 sprig of Rosemary. remove leaves from stem, and mince finely

Bake covered for 2 to 3 hours at 300 degrees.

When stew is done, remove from oven and add one package of frozen peas to casserole, stir in. Put cover back on and allow stew to "cook" the peas for about 5 min.
Enjoy!

Best Ever Burger

2011-01-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

I am not very fond of hamburgers....I know...very unAmerican! But I am married to my sweet husband who is very fond of them and so I have tried to come up with a way to make them so that I enjoy them as well. This is my very favorite!

3 lbs. Black Angus 80/20
3 tbl. Lee & Perrins steak sauce
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
6 finely minced garlic cloves
small bunch of fresh basil, whole leaves
Red onion sliced in thick slices
olive oil
garlic and herb goat cheese

In a large bowl, carefully mix the meat, steak sauce, egg yolks, garlic, salt and pepper with the tines of a fork. Do not mash...just gently mix. Lightly form hamburger patties and press lightly into shape. Press a thin slice of butter into the top of each hamburger, making sure the meat entirely encases the butter.

Carmelize the red onion slices in a bit of olive oil and butter, sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper.

Prepare the gas grill or the stovetop grill. Cook the hamburgers 4 min. on one side, turn, and cooke for 3 min. on the other side for medium-rare. remove to a plate and cover with foil. Allow the hamburgers to rest for 5 min. Meanwhile grill the buns, cut side down, for 1 minute, until toasted. Place hamburger on the bun, top with little pats of the herbed goat cheese, then top with carmelized onions, and finally with several whole leaves of fresh basil. Enjoy!

Quick Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

2011-01-22T09:03:00.001-08:00

We love this quick way to make healthy whole wheat bread. Delicious served with soups or stews!

1 1/4 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk *you add 1 tsp. white vinegar to 8 oz. of regular milk and allow to set for 10 to 15 min. to get buttermilk.
3 tab. honey
1 egg, beaten with a tiny bit of water added *Used to help dough brown while in oven

Grease a baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour , whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda. Mkae a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside. In another bowl, combine the egg, buttermilk and honey. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir just till moistened and combined. Turn dough onto prepared baking sheet (spray it with Pam or grease it with oil) pat dough with wet fingers to form a 6 inch round (dough will be soft). Brush with egg and water mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 min. If necessary cover with foil the last 5 min. of baking to prevent over browning. Makes 1 loaf.

Lentil Soup

2011-01-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

*Lentils are so inexpensive to make and so good for you. This recipe is so amazingly simple and delicious!

4 cups chopped onions
4 cups chopped leeks *Cut off dark green, then slice down each leek lengthwise, then flip over and slice lenthwise again. rinse well under running water to get all the sand out. then take strips of leeks and slice.
small bunch Fresh Thyme, chopped....could use about 1 tab. dried thyme, rub between hands to release oils.
we love Cumin, add to taste...we like lots of Cumin
2 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 tsp. Pepper
5 large cloves, Garlic, minced

Sautee above ingredients in olive oil, till tender.

Soak lentils in hot water for 15 min. while you're sauteeing veggies.

4 cups chopped celery
4 cups chopped carrots

add to veggies and continuing sauteeing.

Drain lentils (green or brown ones work) and add to veggies

add 3 qts. chicken stock to veggie mixture

Add 1/4 cup tomatoe paste to soup

simmer for 1 hour.

Add smoked Kibasa or polish sausage towards end of cooking time to warm through.

Add 1 tab. red wine vinegar with sausage.

To serve put soup in each bowl, drizzle top of soup with a bit of olive oil and fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Delicious Crab Cakes

2011-01-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

1/4 cup finely chopped purple onion
2 tab. chopped fresh, Italian flat leaf parsley
3 tab. mayo
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
1 lb. lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs *so much better than regular bread crumbs
1 tab. olive oil

Combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Gently stir in 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs. Cover and chill in fridge for 30 min. or longer.
When ready to prepare crab cakes, remove from fridge. Divide crab mixture into 8 equal parts...about 1/2 cup each. shape each into a 1/4 inch thick patty. Place remaining panko in a shallow dish or plate. working with 1 patty at a time, dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with the remaining patties and panko.

heat 1 1/2 tsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook 4 crab cakes at a time; cook 7 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 7 minutes on other side till golden brown. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tsp. oil, and cakes. Keep cakes that are already cooked on plate covered with foil to keep warm. Or could put covered cakes in 200 degree oven to keep warm till ready to serve.

These are amazing and one of our family favorites!

Yummy Wedding Pasta Salad

2011-01-22T08:34:00.001-08:00

*We've had lots of people ask us for our recipe for this yummy salad we served at Matt and Shelley's wedding. Since then it is a family favorite of ours!

1 lb. bow tie pasta
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cubed
12 to 16 oz bag use 1/2 bag to full bag depending on size of bag of fresh, baby spinach *add to your taste
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
8 oz. can sliced, pitted black olives, drained
1/2 head of garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Berstien's creamy Ceasar dressing to taste

Cook pasta till ala dente'. Drain artichoke hearts, and cube. slice tomatoes in half. mince garlic. toss all ingredients together and refridgerate till ready to serve. Best if served at room temperature.

Italian Peasant Soup

2011-01-22T08:27:00.001-08:00

One of our family's favorites!

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage. Remove casings and brown and crumble. Also good with hot italian sausage.
2 cloves garlic, minced *we always make a huge pot and so we end up doubling or tripling this recipe and using a whole head of garlic! :0)
6 cups water
5 ts. beef boullion crystals or beef broth equivilent
2 carrots sliced
10 to 12 oz. refridgerated cheese tortellini
or 8 oz. dried tortellini
1 large zuccuhini squash, sliced
1 16oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 tab. dried basil *rub between hands to release oils if using dried. Or you could use about 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
1 tab. dried oregano*rub between hands to release oils if using dry.
could thicken with a little corn starch...but we haven't felt the need to do this.

Brown sausage in a large dutch oven, add onion and garlic and sautee. Add everything else. Add zuccuhini towards the end of cooking so it will not get mushy. add tortellini 20 min. before serving.

Peach Cobbler

2011-01-22T08:21:00.000-08:00

2 sticks, butter melted
2 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
29 oz. canned peaches *could use fresh peaches. You would need to remove the skin, slice them and add 1 tab. lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar and allow to rest to form juice.
1 cup reserved peach juice

Melt butter in 13 x 9 pan in the oven. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk in a bowl. Pour into pan of melted butter....spead batter carefully to all sides...allowing butter to come up and over batter. Place sliced peaches over batter and arrange. Drizzle 1 cup of reserved peach juice over top of peaches.

Bake at 350 for 50 min. till bubbly and light brown.

Favorite Roasted Chicken

2011-01-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

1 5lb. whole, roasting chicken
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons
1 whole head of garlic, uct in half crosswise, unpeeled
extra virgin olive oil
2 large spanish onions, peeled, and thickly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock, or you can make by using hot water and chicken bouillon
1 tab. all purpose, unbleached flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Remove and discard the chicken giblets found inside the chicken. Wash chicken with water inside and out. Pat outside of skin dry with a paper towel. Place in roasting pan. Should not be bigger than 9x 13 or the onions will burn. Liberally salt and pepper inside of chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters and place 2 quarters inside the cavity of the chicken along with the garlic. Brush or use clean hands to wipe outside of chicken with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wings under the body of the chicken. Place the reserved lemons and sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tsp. of salt, and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken.

Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 min. until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan. Cover the chicken on the platter with foil and allow to rest for 10 min. while you prepare the sauce.

Place the pan on top of the stove over medium high heat. Add the wine and stire with a wooden spoon to "deglaze" the pan...while scraping up the brown bits from the bottom. Add the stock ansd sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect on the platter under the chicken and tste for seasoning. Carve the chicken onto the platter and save bones to make stock from in a seperate bowl. Spoon the sauce over the sliced chicken on the platter. If the lemons are tender enough to eat, serve them as well as the onions around the sliced chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve hot or warm.
*This recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook.

We enjoy serving this chicken with either mashed potatoes or roasted red potatoes, as well as sauteed garlic green beans or roasted veggies.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2011-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

We know that most people aren't that familiar with Brussles Sprouts or just don't prefer them...but I hope this recipe will change that! They are so yummy and so good for you!

1 package of fresh Brussles sprouts *we buy ours at Costco
3 to 4 large red peppers (could use yellow or orange as well) cubed into 1/2" chunks *we buy ours at Costco...they are cheaper
2 large purple onions, cubed
1 head of garlic, minced
3 tab. olive oil
salt
pepper

Cut ends off each Brussels Sprout, and quarter them if they are larger, or half them if they are smaller.
Place them on a baking sheet.
Cube peppers and onions and add them to the baking sheet.
Sprinkle minced garlic over veggies.
Drizzle olive oil over veggies.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper over top of veggies.
With clean hands, mix and toss veggies on sheet pan.

Put in 400 degree oven till just tender...but not squishy. Depending on your oven, you will need to watch them and you may need to turn the veggies mid way through.

Should only take about 20 to 30 min.
enjoy!

Cous Cous

2011-01-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

Sautee
3/4 cup chopped shallots in 2 tab. butter
When shallots are tender
Add 3 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 cups cous cous

Stir to mix.
Turn heat off, put lid on.
Allow to set for 10 min.
fluff with fork.
Add toasted pine nuts to your liking.
enjoy!

40 cloves of garlic chicken

2011-01-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

Put 40 cloves of unpeeled garlic in a boiling pot of water and wait 60 seconds. *I would encourage you to just do 10 at a time. Use a strainer to scoop them out of the boiling water and put in bowl, the peels should easily come off.

Salt and pepper chicken thighs.
Put in dutch oven with 2 tab. butter and 2 tab. olive oil.
Brown on all sides. They will cook through once in oven.

When chicken pieces are all browned, remove from pan and add garlic cloves to dutch oven. Cook for 5 to 10 min. till brown.

Add 2 Tab. Cognac to deglaze pan.
Add 1 1/2 cups white wine, bring to a boil.
Put chicken back into Dutch oven. *use metal tongs not a fork.
Take off heat.
Sprinkle with fresh Thyme over top.
Put lid on and cook for 30 min. in 350 oven.

Take dutch oven out of oven and put chicken on a plate. Cover with foil.
Take 1/2 cup of sauce out of dutch oven.
Put in bowl.
Add 2 tab. of flour into bowl of sauce, whisk together, until smooth.
Pour slowly back into hot sauce in dutch oven.

Add 1 Tab. Cognac
2 Tab. Heavy Cream
Cook for a couple of minutes.
Put chicken back into dutch oven.

Put in 200 degree oven with lid on, till ready to serve.

We serve this with cous cous....recipe to follow.

enjoy!

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

2011-01-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

*Could add about 1/2 to whole fresh jalepeno (seeds and membranes removed) and minced to this batter to make jalepeno cheddar biscuits.

1 1/2 sticks of COLD unsalted butter. Quarter sticks and dice butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt

mix dry ingredients in food processor until dough is "pea" sized. Turn off processor.

Whisk in large measuring cup
COLD 1/2 cup buttermilk
COLD 1 egg

1 cup shredded Sharp cheddar cheese
*Toss cheese in a separate bowl with 1 tab. flour. This helps cheese to be evenly distributed through batter.

Add cheese to food processor.

Turn on mixer to low and pour buttermilk and egg mixture into food processor through funnel at top. when mixed (don't overmix) turn off processor.

Dump dough onto floured board. Quickly knead it. You want the butter and ingredients to be as cold as you can. Move quickly.

Use floured rolling pin to roll from the middle of dough to the outside edges. Make a rectangle 10" x 5" about 1/2 to 3/4 thick.

Take a sharp knife and flour it first, then cut dough rectangle into 8 squares or rectangles. Place these on a parchment covered baking sheet.

Can store in fridge over night and bake in the morning if you'd like. Or bake right away.

Before baking, brush egg wash (one egg with about 1 tsp. of water whisked) over top of each biscuit and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over each one, sprinkle with a bit of salt as well on each biscuit.

Bake at 350. for about 10 min.....or till browned and cooked through.

Jalepeno Corn Bread

2011-01-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

3 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
1 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tab. baking powder
2 tsp. salt

stir together and make a "well" in the middle of these dry ingredients.

In a seperate bowl whisk 3 eggs and 2 cups milk together. Whisk in 2 sticks melted butter that has cooled slightly.

Pour into middle of dry ingredients.

Stir just until moistened.

Grate 8 oz. of sharp, white cheddar cheese (can use sharp cheddar that is not white)
Slice about 6 or 7 green onions or scallions. I use the green as well as the white. Just cut off a bit of the end.
Cut a fresh jalepeno in 1/2 and take out seeds and membranes, mince 1/2 of the jalepeno.

Add 3/4 of cheese to batter, saving some to sprinkle on top of bread before baking.
Add 1/3 cup of sliced green onions to batter, saving about 2 to 3 sliced green onions to sprinkle on top of bread before baking.
Add all of the minced 1/2 of jalepeno to batter.

Stir till mixed through.

Let sit for 20 min.
Pour batter into greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle leftover shredded, cheddar cheese and sliced green scallions ontop.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 min.
Enjoy!

My Continued Prayer.....

2010-10-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

Oh, Lord, You’re Beautiful

Keith Green

Oh Lord, you're beautiful. Your face is all I seek.
For when your eyes are on this child,Your love abounds to me.

Oh Lord, my body’s tired, but you keep reminding me

many holy tireless men who spilt their blood for thee.

I want to take your word and shine it all around,

but first help me to just to live it Lord!

And if I’m doing well, help me to never make a sound

except to give all the glory to you.

Oh Lord, my faith is small. And I need a touch from you.

Your book of books lies undisturbed and the prayers from me too few.

Oh Lord please light the fire that once burned bright and clear,

replace the lamp of my first love that’s filled with Holy Fear.

I want to take your word and shine it all around

but first help me just live it Lord!

And if I’m doing good, please help me to never make a sound

except to give all the glory to you.

Oh Lord your beautiful, Your face is all I seek.

For when your eyes are on this child, Your faith abounds to me.

Video of little ones picking up toys and helping

2010-08-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

Video of little one saying please nicely using sign language

2010-07-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

Video of little one saying please nicely using sign language

2010-07-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

In this video this little one is saying please using sign language and they are cheerful and willing. They are not just reaching for the toy, or whining for it. They are obeying cheerfully.

If your child is reaching for a cup or toy or food, it is helpful to teach them to say "please" verbally first before you give them what they are asking for or teach them to say "please" using sign language if they are not able to verbally say please.

video of little one not saying please correctly

2010-07-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

We sometimes feel it is helpful to see the wrong way/ then the right way so this video is of the little one not having a good attitude or obeying. Look for the other one where she does obey the right way...cheerfully and respectfully saying "please" for her toy.

This little one seems cheerful to begin with, but when asked to say "please" using sign language, which she knows how to do and usually does so well all the time, this particular time she did not want to obey. She squeaks and squeals and does not want to say "please" the right way with a cheerful heart.

Mom is is cheerful, patient and lovingly firm while waiting and working with her little one to help her obey the right way...not just get close enough. We are looking at attitude as well as behavior. Our little ones need to be cheerful and yielded when they obey.

There is another video of this little one obeying and asking for the toy nicely as she says "please."

Video of little one crawling to mama

2010-07-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

We teach our little ones to come to us when they are crawling really well. Then once they learn to walk well, we train again for them to listen and come when we call them.

We have to be able to see and hear our little ones to keep them safe and to teach and train them. So we keep them close to us when they are young. Rather than getting up and moving them each and every time they begin to crawl away out of the room we're in, or to take them away from something they should not touch...we just lovingly train them to come when we ask them to. It is much nicer to use our calm, loving, firm voice to help them obey, rather than trying to "make" them obey (which doesn't work) by feeling we must keep moving them where they need to go. We have worked with our little ones to teach them how to obey and it makes for a more cheerful mama and baby!

We have found that this training is so helpful to be able to keep them in the same room as we are. If we're making dinner, each time our little one tries to crawl out of the kitchen we just call them and have them come back to us. That way they can play nicely with their toys or pots and pans while we cook. This helps us to have fellowship as we spend time together and mama can make dinner while her little one plays nicely.
If we're visiting in a living room, and our little one tries to leave the room, we just call them back to us. We make sure they have things to play with. This is so much nicer to have them play nicely near us, instead of getting up and down many, many times each time they try to leave and we lift them and move them back to the middle of the room.

Video sister helping younger sibling say "please"

2010-07-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

This little one is learning to say please using sign language..which is either patting their upper chest, or swipping their upper chest...whichever works best for them. It needs to be done with a good attitude, no whining, no fussing. Work with them until they can say "please" with a good attitude. This little one was really good at saying "please" to her parents, but not as faithful to say it to her siblings so we were practicing with her.

Also, we're verbally saying the word "please" each time they need to say "please" so that eventually our little ones just switch over to saying "please" verbally and drop the sign language. But training them to use sign language when they are young helps them to be so much less frustrated when they are not able to talk yet, but they can use some simple sign language to communicate with us.

Video of sibling conflict when child does not obey

2010-07-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Emily tries to help her brother. He will not obey or listen. She tells him he needs to see mom. He continues to disobey and argue. What does she do? Does she get angry and yell at him? No. Does she try to make him come see me? No. Does she yell across the yard "MOM JACOB IS NOT OBEYING!" No.
We teach our children to not allow someone else's sin to cause you to sin. We've taught our children that if their sibling won't obey...they are to just calmly get up and come to us and say "dad or mom Jacob needs to see you." Then we take it from there.

We would calmly call Jacob to us. We would give him a consequence for being rude and arguing with his sister and not obeying when she was trying to help him. He would also get a consequence for not coming when he was told to.

We would end, once he was humble and willing to obey cheerfully, by having him go back and "try it again." We would have him apologize to his sister and then we'd have them practice doing what he should have done to begin with. We feel its important for them to end...practicing obeying.

This is training our children and helping them learn how to obey and be wise. We don't just give them a consequence that would be discipling not training. We instead try to train them for what they SHOULD do. Pro. 22:6

video of child helping another child do what is right

2010-07-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

It is important for us to teach and train our children how to handle conflict (which is inevitable for all of us) in a biblical way.

Instead of yelling "MOM Jacob won't obey!" through the house, there is a better more peaceful way to teach children to help their siblings.
Emily doesn't speak rudely. She is kind but firm. She does not grab him or try to force him to obey. We do not allow our children to do that. We give them tools to help them know what to do when a sibling is not obeying.
They are to try to talk to their siblings and correct them in love.
If the sibling obeys, then they have restored their sibling to God's path. They have learned how to be a peacemaker.
If their sibling continues to disobey, we have given them tools to know what to do next. They are NOT to try to "make" their sibling obey...it's not their responsibility. They simply tell their sibling to go and see mom or dad. If the child obeys, again, they've helped their sibling and they have NOT tattled.
Jacob should come to me and explain what he did that was wrong. We would have him go back and try again and practice doing what he SHOULD have done to begin with. Then he has to have a consequence since he didn't count it important to obey. For 2 year olds and up we have them sit out near us for a time till they are humble and able to go back and try again to play nicely.
But in this video, Jacobs is wrong to argue, but realizes he is wrong and he makes a wise choice to go ahead and obey.

video child correcting another and a mature apology

2010-07-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

Jacob throws Jaidon's toy and breaks it. Jaidon corrects his friend in love. He tells him that it was wrong for him to throw it and break it. He is not rude or unkind. Jacob responds correctly. He says he is sorry and asks if Jaidon will please forgive him for throwing the sword and he says that it was wrong of him. Jaidon forgives Jacob. Then Jacob does the next right thing and offers to fix the sword or replace it if he cannot fix it.

God's principle is to debate the case with your neighbor himself first. Do not be hasty to run to an authority. Speak the truth in love to your neighbor and give them the chance to obey and make things right. IF Jacob had not been humble and repentent then Jaidon would have instructed him to "go see your mom please". If Jacob obeys and comes to see me....he would only have to sit out for a time because he had not counted it important to obey. When his sit time is done and he is humble and willing to go and obey and make things right with his friend and admit he was wrong, then he can go back and practice doing what he should have done and then play. BUT if he does not come when his friends asks him to. Then he would have more consequences....for what he originally did, and for not obeying and coming when he was told to.

If Jacob refuses to come and speak to me, then Jaidon would have come to me and calmly and respectfully said "Miss Lori, Jacob needs to see you." I would have called Jacob over to see what the trouble was. If Jacob is humble and admits what he did that was wrong, he then goes and makes it right. But he would have to sit out for a time and not play because it had to get to me for him to obey. He sits longer the more he disobeys. And if we feel it is also necessary he may loose the privilege of playing all together if he has to come and see me more than once.

If he obeys on his own then he has no discipline. He has practiced being self-governing and he practiced obeying by God's grace what he knew the Lord wanted him to do. He did not need as much parental control. This helps me to know that he is growing in his maturity.

Video children Making a mature apology

2010-07-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

In this video, one of the boys had hurt the other. He needs to make it right with his friend and apologize even if it was an accident.
He is cheerful and he is sincere. He says "I'm sorry Jacob, are you okay?" If Jacob had needed some ice or a band aid, he would have needed to help his friend.

The only thing that should be different is that he should have said "I'm sorry for hitting you. Would you please forgive me?" The other child's answer needs to always be "yes". Why? Because we teach and train our children to forgive others and to not hold a grudge or be stubborn about forgiving, since we need to forgive others the way we would like to be forgiven.

video of sibling learning how not to boss

2010-07-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

In this video are two siblings, one is 4 and one is 7 years old. The 4 year old likes to tell the 7 year old that he needs to build or play the way she wants him to. She says "No Jarius! That's not the way you do it!" He lovingly corrects her and says "Gracie would you please try again." Then she says nicely "Jarius, can you take the blocks and do this with them." He says lovingly, "No, Gracie I would like to build them this way." She says "okay Jarius can you please do it this way?" Jarius is learning how to not get angry and upset with his sibling, but instead how to correct them in love and help his sister learn how to ask nicely and not boss others. We need to give our children tools to learn how to communicate wisely with one another in love. It takes practice and they will not always respond in the Spirit. Sometimes they will react in the flesh and have to make a godly apology. But the more they practice the better they will get. Especially as they look to the Lord for his grace!

Video mom checking chores

2010-07-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

What you don't inspect they will neglect!
Children need to see that we value the work they've done. We need to be faithful to check their work and when it's completed properly, we need to release them to go and play or do whatever else they need to do.

When we check their chores we have the wonderful opportunity to train them further for thoroughness, diligence, attentiveness or whatever character quality we see that they are struggling with and may need to grow in.

When we check their chores we also have the wonderful opportunity to praise any godly character we see developing! It is better to praise godly character rather than performance.

Saying "way to be diligent, you worked so hard!!" or "You were so thorough, you didn't miss a spot!" or "You really worked with a cheerful attitude today!" helps our children grow in their godly character.

When they are done release them to go and play or to do whatever else they need to do. This way a child feels freedom and knows they've completed a job well done and their gotten their chores done properly.

video interrupting properly

2010-07-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

The mom in this video is talking to her son and his friend. Her little girl hears the phone ringing and wants to let her mom know, but she knows she is not supposed to interrupt.

We teach our children to walk into a room with their eyes and their ears....not their mouth. She comes over to her mom and puts her hand on her leg and waits till her mom talks with her. "Yes, Gracie" the mom says....then Gracie says "the phone is ringing mom."

She is not to pat her mom, or pull on her mom or whine or scream and be impatient. She is to be calm and patient and wait. Her mom knows she's there and she will try to get to her in just a moment or two. The mom says "Yes Gracie" Then Gracie knows she is free to talk and share with her mom what she needed.

Our children know that IF what they need us for is truly an emergency, they are to say that loud and right away. "Mom it's an emergency!" But if it is not an emergency they are to wait patiently until we see an appropriate break in the conversation and we will make sure we see what they need. Usually it only takes them waiting a moment or two.

video taking turns

2010-07-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

The boy in the darker blue shirt asks for a turn. "May I have a turn with that sword when you're done?" The one asking for a turn needs to be patient and wait for a turn.

The one being asked needs to say "yes you may" unless it is a little one asking and what they are asking for would hurt them. He needs to be loving and take a short turn and treat the other person they way they would like to be treated. Luke 6:31

The other boy says "no, I'm going to play with this sword the whole day." The boy in the darker blue corrects his friend in love. "Is that nice?" His friend says "No, you're right, I'm sorry. You can have a turn when I'm done." Then he takes a short turn and gives his friend a turn. And they switch toys.

video bad attitude apology

2010-07-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

In this video one child by accident hits another child. The offender needs to be humble, and honest and willing to admit they were wrong. "I'm so sorry I hit you. I should have been more careful. Will you please forgive me?" The answer for the offended person is "yes, I forgive you" we forgive others the way we want Jesus to forgive us! The offender says "thank you" and they should also ask if the other person is okay or if there is anything they can do to help them.

Video children making a mature apology

2010-07-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

Two siblings are cleaning. The younger one left to go and play, while the other stayed to clean. The older one corrected his sibling and she apologizes. "I'm so sorry that I left you to do all the work. Will you please forgive me Jarius?" His answer is "yes I do" and her answer is "thank you."

A mature apology means you are willing to admit you are wrong, say you are sorry and fix whatever you need to do that is right and good. 2 Cor. 7:10 "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

We've been asked is it right to have children apologize when they may not be fully sorry? That is a great question! Have any of us needed to apologize as an adult, for something that we are struggling with being sorry for...just because it's the right thing to do? I know I have! We are to train our children in the way they SHOULD go. Even if their heart is struggling to be really sorry....just by obeying and saying they are sorry and that they were wrong, helps them to actually BE sorry! And it begins to repair relationships around them. It is wise and it is good and eventually the Lord works in their hearts and the more they love as Jesus loves, the more they will want to repent when they are wrong...out of love for the Lord and their love for others.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

video godly appeal correction

2010-07-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

While it is important for our children to know how to make a godly appeal, if they are using it each time they are given an instruction we need to revoke this privilege for a time. In this video we are showing a girl given an instruction. She makes a godly appeal to finish the section in the book she's reading. Because she's used the appeal process a lot when given instructions lately, her mother says that for now she's going to practice just obeying and then she'll be able to go back to using a godly appeal down the road. A godly appeal is to only be used once in a while, it is important for children to learn to serve others cheerfully and to honor and obey cheerfully. A godly appeal is a tool to be used wisely and sparingly. We can read about it's use in the Bible! Read Daniel 1:8-17 and Esther Chapter 4 through 5:8

Video godly appeal no

2010-07-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

As parents we try to show respect to our children. We try to say "yes" as often as it is wise. But there are times when we will need to say "no" and we need to be faithful to do so when it is necessary. In this video, the child makes a godly appeal to finish her level in her video game. The mom knows they have an appointment after dinner. So when she asks for her daughters help to make dinner, she knows that they need to get going and that the daughter needs to end her time on the video game and come help with dinner right away. The mom is not trying to exasperate her daughter. She is doing what is best.

For a child to be mature enough to make a godly appeal they must also be willing and able to cheerfully accept the answer "no" to their appeal. If a child gets upset and has a bad attitude when they hear the answer "no" then they are not mature enough to use the godly appeal system. Wait and continue to train them and try again when they are more mature. Also, if our children have bad attitudes or get angry when asked to get off video games we realize they may not be mature enough to play them. Our children have a set time to play video games. If they continue to struggle with not wanting to quit when the timer goes off, we realize that they may not be able to have this privilege for a time till they grow in their maturity. Privilege and responsibility go hand in hand.

We also suggest you not allow your child to make an appeal all the time when given an instruction. It is for the rare occasions when they are at the end of a book, or game.

Our children rarely use a godly appeal. But it is important for them to know how to use this tool, especially as they grow into adulthood.

Video how to interrupt politely

2010-07-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Mom and dad are talking.
The little boy needs to interrupt.
It is hard for little ones to know when to interrupt an adult conversation at the proper time. So the little one puts his hand on his moms arm. She knows he's there and will try to get to him in a couple of moments when there is an appropriate break in the conversation. The little boy needs to stand nicely, not patting his moms arm, or pulling on it, or squirming. He can be respectful and patient and know that she will get to him as quick as she is able to. This teaches children to have an honoring and respectful attitude. If the mom is struggling to find a break, she can place her hand over son's to let him know she will try to make it quick and be right with him in a moment.

Video father giving instructions

2010-07-02T07:31:00.001-07:00

Video father giving instructions to sons

2010-07-02T07:29:00.001-07:00

Video father calling daughter to him

2010-07-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

Video mom calling children

2010-07-01T10:23:00.001-07:00

Video of father giving instructions to son

2010-07-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

Video of a Godly Appeal

2010-07-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Mom asked her daughter to please come and help her make dinner. The daughter cheerfully makes a godly appeal "Yes, ma'am, may I say something? The mother says "yes" the daughter says "I'm right at the end of my level on this game. May I finish it up and then come and help you?" The mom says "yes you may."
The daughter would need to be mature and faithful and make sure she goes to help her mother at the end of the level which she said would take only a coupe of minutes. If she is not faithful and does not go and help, and continues to play her game, then she would not get to use the godly appeal. If she is told no, and has a bad attitude, she is not mature enough to use a godly appeal.
We encourage you to train your children to cheerfully obey, quickly, all the way with no arguing and no complaining BEFORE you give them the privilege of learning how to make a godly appeal. Each child is unique and their maturity level is unique, so there is not set age to begin to use this. We must look to the Lord as we raise our children for wisdom and discernment. On a job we would need to do what our boss asks us to do, the way he wants it done. When we have shown our respect and have done what is asked, then we could make a godly appeal if we feel we have a better way of doing something or if we feel we we know of something that might help our boss and his business become more successful.

The Blessing of A Baby

2010-05-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, our son Matthew called to share some GREAT news with us. He and Shelley will be having a baby sometime the end of January or the first part of February! We are thrilled to be grandparents!

Years ago, Matthew shared with me how much he enjoyed going to his friend's home who had many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He wished our family would have that many extended family members. I shared with him that as he and his siblings counted it important to not only be siblings but friends, that we would one day have that kind of family, Lord willing!

Today, our children are all close and are all good friends. We see the harvest coming in and it humbles us, blesses us and amazes us at the goodness and faithfulness of God in spite of us! We have truly NO greater joy than to know our children walk in God's truth! To see them learning to hear God's voice for their own lives and to follow Him is amazing and humbling and such a huge blessing!

Now we get to experience the blessing of grandchildren! When Matt and Shelley shared their news with us, we realized that this little one will have 14 aunts and uncles!!! So many people to love and pray for this little one! As we think about the multiplying math of our 8 children getting married and having children of their own, Lord willing...the numbers are amazing! There is nothing I'd rather fill our home with than our children, their spouses and grandchildren! There is not a better "decoration" a home could have!

All of us are so excited for them and so thankful to the Lord. Mark and I know we've struggled with some infertility issues, so we weren't sure if Matthew would as well. The Lord blessed them though with a child the very first month that they were trying. We're so grateful and thankful!

They've come over for dinner and we've had so much fun, talking about pregnancy and babies and looking at baby name books. We looked up on the computer what a baby looks like as it's growing in the mama at five weeks old. So amazing to me and so humbling that a baby has a heartbeat, eyes, fingers, etc. well before a mommy usually knows she's pregnant. God's design is so amazing! So intricate! It's truly a miracle each time a baby is conceived and born!

What a gift we've been given as parents. The hard days of parenting can sometimes make us forget this. Exhaustion and fatigue make us wish they would hurry up and grow up.

I remember the days when we had 5 children age 5 and under, then a few years later we had 8 children, 3 of whom were 2 years old and under. Life was busy, and full and hard. But I remember so often the Lord whispering to my heart to slow down, to REALLY look at the scene before me and to take it in. To see how VERY blessed I really was! To purpose to make the most of the moment and the opportunity. He encouraged me to hug my children often, to SMILE at them, with a 100 watt smile that went all the way up to my eyes. That kind of smile refreshes your soul and the soul of your child! He encouraged me to enjoy their childish stories and knock knock jokes. To lay on the trampoline and look up at the sky while holding their tiny hand in mine. We made mud pies, and took walks while they fashioned "guns" out of sticks. We read thousands of books, and spent many hours coloring together.

We did plenty of parenting, child training and discipline mixed in here and there. These times made the others more possible and enjoyable! We realized that training our children helped us to gain their hearts so we could build lasting and meaningful memories with them.

I'm thankful too, that I didn't look at how fast I could get them out of our home and be done. Instead, we've learned to enjoy the journey. To enjoy spending time with our children and in the process they've learned to enjoy spending time with us. What an amazing and humbling and blessed gift it is to have adult children who WANT to be with us and spend time with us. Who call us every day and WANT to talk with us! I am truly blessed beyond measure!

The time passes all too quickly. Make the most of these moments sweet friends.

More Wedding Memories To Share

2010-03-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

A quiet moment before the wedding began. Katie and Clint were both so ready and so looked forward to being married. They truly were not nervous at all...just ready to begin their new life together. God's peace and joy was filling their hearts!

Here is Katie's wedding dress. For those of you who don't already know the story of this dress, Katie had her dress from the time she was 18! Her dad and I were out shopping one day and we found this dress. One of the bridal stores in town drastically reduces their wedding dresses after the season is over. We were able to purchase this dress for $50.00!

When Mark saw it he called Katie and asked her to come and look at it and try it on. She LOVED it! It was simple and modest, which she likes, and it was so pretty on her. We bought it and it has been hanging in her closet for several years. Clint did not know she had her wedding dress already till after he proposed! We didn't want to scare him! :-)

When Clint proposed to Katie she came home from Oregon and tried it on. She still loved this dress, that her daddy had picked out for her. We had it altered and dry cleaned. It was so beautiful on her. We love this story and wanted to share it with you!

Katie loves little Gracie Knapp and couldn't wait to have her in her wedding as a flower girl. They have a really special relationship. Gracie did so well and was such a blessing!

Katie and her daddy......

We're so proud of our girl and the godly woman she has become! Great is our Lord and so worthy to be praised for the great and mighty things he has done!

We are so very grateful to the Lord for blessing us with our new son Clint!

Our new family picture!

Clint's new family!

We made these boutonniere's with the help of Sara Hyder and her sweet mother-in-law! We loved that the flowers were these beautiful paper roses, and we were able to make the leaves out
of one of Katie's favorite classical sheet music pieces that we color copied onto card stock. It made it just that much more special and a bit more Katie!

The two flower girls. Gracie was so sweet to help Clint's niece Alyse. She really looked out for her and helped her. Sweet girls!

Our girls! Katie's best friend and maid of honor is on the left, Christina Warren. Then our precious Katie and then our daughters Shelley and Emily.

The wedding party with cute little Josiah Hanson as the ring bearer. He did an awesome job! Clint had his best friend as his best man, his brother-in-law, and cousin as the other young men that stood up with him. They were all such sweet guys! It was a joy to get to know them!

We loved the expressions of all of them! What fun!

Katie walked down the aisle to music she had played and recorded...her favorite Canon in D. She also played and recorded How Beautiful that the moms and grandmas walked down to, and Prelude in E which the wedding party walked down to. We were so thankful that she could do this and again it made it a bit more special for all of us. We're so thankful to the friend of ours that helped her to record these songs. He was so patient and so kind to do this! After she recorded, she and her brother Matt made a cd to give to our guests that had several of her pieces that she played and recorded as well as the some music selections from the wedding....like the songs that she and Clint danced their first dance to, the one she and Mark danced to and the one Clint and his mom danced to. I love having this cd to play...we miss the wonderful music that Katie used to play and fill our home with. So we're thankful that we have her on cd now to play.

Mark hugging his new son, Clint. Made this mama cry!

Clint and Katie exchanging the vows they had written.

Clint and Katie's 1st Communion together. What a precious time.

Love her head on his shoulder...so sweet!

Their 1st kiss as man and wife!

Leaving with lavender....and lots of love!

Katie's brothers did an awesome job decorating her car...she wanted it to be sweet (with no funny business :-) and they kept it that way! Such sweet brothers!

Jeff Foster was so sweet to do the beautiful huge photos behind the head table for us. It made it so special to have the sweet pictures of Clint and Katie's engagements photos displayed. Bridgett Phillips and Nayibe Hanson (with many helping hands of other dear friends) did so much to make the decorating of the Rose Room beautiful and colorful...just like our Katie girl hoped for.

Seth Warren, the husband of Katie's Maid of Honor, Christina and a good friend made her wedding cake. It was so beautiful and so yummy! Clint and Katie wanted there to be some chocolate layers and some vanilla layers...so very representative of them! :-) When Katie was a little girl she would say "I'm not black...I'm chocolate!" Precious memories!

Their beautiful rings.

The toasting begins...

Cutting the cake!

They promised each other they would be nice when sharing their bite of cake! They did a great job!

Clint and Katie's 1st dance to the song From This Moment by Shania Twain and Brian White.
What a precious song. The words are so sweet!

We loved, loved, loved seeing all the adorable children sitting on the stage watching Miss Katie and Mr. Clint dance! Their faces were priceless! They love their Miss Katie and Mr. Clint so much! What a blessing to have so many precious children there to help us celebrate! We loved that the families who came we consider family and we loved having their children there with us!

Katie and her daddy dancing to Heartland's I loved Her First. If you haven't heard this...listen to it and you'll cry like I did! So precious. Katie was so excited to find this song and she felt it was the perfect one for her and her daddy to dance to. She loves her daddy so much!

Clint and his mama danced to a song from Boys II Men called A Song For Mama. Such a sweet song! Clint loves his family so much and has such a wonderful, close relationship with his mama. He chose this for her and it made her cry. She loves her boy so much!

Look at all those cute kids!!! They all were so much fun and we loved having them with us to help us celebrate!

We had sooooo much fun dancing!!! It was an awesome time. Everyone joined in and it was so fun to celebrate with good fun the wonderful things the Lord has done! I especially loved one of the little boys who was doing the robot!!! What a hoot!

Ray Beck led the chicken dance for us! What fun to see everyone up and dancing and laughing the smiles were priceless! Thank you so much Ray!!! You're the best!!!

Miss Katie dancing and having fun with some of her kids!

We LOVED seeing all those sweet kids out there dancing and having such fun! We sure do love them all!

We love our older children and it is so fun to laugh with them and to celebrate with them. Thank you all so much for your prayers and for your love and for joining us in celebrating the awesome things the Lord has done in our Katie girls life!

Clint and Katie's last dance to the song Save The Last Dance For Me.

Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Rodreick

2010-03-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo that Melanie Fitzgerald took at the wedding. Melanie is one of our Keepers moms. It was so sweet of her to do this. Thank you Melanie! I thought that all of you would like to see a picture of the new Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Rodreick.

The wedding was so lovely and beyond what we could have asked for. God is so very good and we are so very, very thankful for his grace, and mercy. Thank you for all who came to help us celebrate! We were so blessed to have you there with us! Thank you SO much to all of you who helped us. The food you blessed us with was delicious. And your help decorating and serving was so very, very thoughtful and we are so grateful for you! Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us! Your prayers were powerful and effective! We felt such peace and saw the Lord be so very faithful in so many ways. Thank you all for your love for our family! It humbles us beyond measure to see all that the Lord has done and continues to do!

We had a lot of family come in from out of town on our side and on Clint's side of his family. We tried to make the most of the opportunity and have fun spending time with them all. We planned quite a few events for the family and for our time together. This was more work, but so worth the wonderful memories that we built! We had a big dinner at our home on Wednesday night. It was so sweet for our two families to get to know one another better and to laugh and share with one another. Then on Thursday morning, we made all of Katie's bouquets and floral arrangements with the help of dear friends. Thank you girls for coming at the crack of dawn to help us! We then went to another friends home for a delicious breakfast and some pampering as they gave us all manicures! What a needed and sweet time this was for us all. Thank you friends! Then the ladies went to PF Changs for lunch while the guys went to Big Juds. Everyone met back up for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner that evening. Thank you so much ladies for decorating the church and making it look so special! We so appreciate you! Then on Friday we had a wonderful breakfast that was provided for all of us at our home. Thank you again to all who made that possible. The food was delicious and Mark wants recipes! It was a sweet time to be together and to visit and laugh before the busyness of the day unfolded. We prayed over Clint and Katie and over the day ahead and their wedding.

On Saturday we took all of the visiting friends and family to Table Rock to hike and to tour the penintenury with a picnic in the park afterwards. We had a lovely time and the weather was beautiful!

We loaded up Katie's boxes and wedding presents Saturday afternoon. (On Sunday Clint's family drove the UHaul with their things back to Oregon for them. It was so sweet of them! ) Saturday night we took everyone to Flying Pie Pizza for dinner. It is one of our favorite places to go and the food is so yummy! We again had so much fun together. Sunday we had lots of people flying out and many trips to the airport. It was also my moms 70th birthday so we took her to a special lunch out to celebrate and then had an afternoon and evening of games and food and time with the family and friends who were still in town.The last of our guests left Monday afternoon.

I can't begin to thank all of you who helped us and made this all possible. We are so very, very grateful! The time with our family and friends was so precious and so many wonderful memories were made!

Clint and Katie went to the mountains for a little time away. They said it was such a sweet time to walk together, and just sit outside together and read, and rest and just have this sweet time together at the cabin. They looked so rested and refreshed when they came home. They both enjoy the simple things of life and so it was the perfect time together for them. The Lord knew it was just what they would need. They have both been so busy in the weeks leading up to the wedding.

They will have their "real" honeymoon this summer when Clint is off from teaching school for the summer. They plan to go to Cancun Mexico for a couple of weeks together. We're excited that they'll have that time together.

They came home yesterday to see us and to get Katie's dog Lucy. We had a sweet, but tearful time of visiting with them and then watching them drive off. We have been asked if this time in our lives is hard....to have Katie go to live with Clint and his family in Oregon. It is very hard. We love her and we will all miss her terribly. I have never seen so many grown men cry so hard (her dad and brothers!) but...we all know this is God's will for our Katie. We give our children to the Lord at birth and we ask Him to have his way in their lives...whatever and wherever that might be.

While we have all been tearful, we rejoice in the Lord for ALL his goodness to Katie and to our whole family. We have not "lost" a daughter, we have gained an incredible son in Clint! We love him dearly and look forward to the years ahead and to seeing all that the Lord will do in and through their lives.

Thank you for your love, support, prayers and friendship! We love each of you dearly and are so grateful for all we see the Lord doing in each of your lives. Thank you for allowing us to share a bit of our lives with you. May the Lord be praised! May he receive all the glory for the GREAT things he has done!

With much love,

Lori

Clint and Katie's Wedding

2010-03-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

What a joy to see Mark and Katie walking down the aisle! It brought joyful tears to my eyes to think through ALL the Lord has done in us and in our Katie to bring us to this beautiful day of celebrating. It was worth it all!!!

I can't encourage young parents enough, to persevere. The road may seem VERY long at times and it's difficult to keep the end in mind, but you will NEVER regret yielding your will and laying down your life to do God's will in your home. The hardest thing we will ever do in life is to seek to build a godly marriage and to raise up godly arrows for the Lord. But you will be so very, very blessed by what the Lord alone is able to do in and through your lives. We cannot quit or grow weary or loose sight of the goal. We must keep our eyes focused on Jesus and be in his Word daily so he can direct us by the leading of His Holy Spirit. ALL glory and honor go to Jesus who makes any of us able to do his will and to follow his leading. It is all worth it ladies!!!

The precious relationship we have with our children today would never have happened had we not been willing to allow the Lord to humble us and to convict us of OUR need to change and to grow and to become who he wanted us to be as a couple and as parents. We feel so very humbled to have the relationships we have with our children. To see their love for the Lord, for us and for each other. What a joy beyond belief my friends! The harvest is so very precious and sweet!

We have needed to be willing to walk on the narrow path and through the narrow gate. We have looked weird and strange at times for following the Lord, but his will and his ways are above our ways...and we have had to learn to look to him and to trust him for his will for our family. It is only as we choose to walk through our lives, choosing to lay down our will to do God's, that we will experience the closeness with the Lord and the fruit that only he can bring. We often have failed but the Lord has continued to give us forgiveness, grace and mercy and to work out his will in our lives....it is definitely a life long pursuit....but so awesome and amazing to see what the Lord can do and desires to do if we allow him to!

What a privilege it has been to see these two lives become one. We pray that the Lord was lifted up at the wedding of Clint and Katie....that was our hearts desire. That the focus would be on the Lord and all he has done...and celebrating the fruit of two lives lived out for him becoming one life that might shine for Jesus.

Clint has waited for the bride that the Lord had for him for 26 years. He purposed to remain pure and to give his life to Christ. He has served the Lord and his family and the church. He has laid down his life and willingly looked to the Lord to do his will.

He shared in tears with us, that he truly did not think that the girl he hoped to marry existed. Someone who would love the Lord with him, and be content to be a stay at home wife and mother...to serve in her home and to serve her family, joyfully....to be his best friend and to be content in the life that the Lord has for them. Mark and I were tearful too, as we prayed with him and as we gave him permission to ask for our precious daughters hand in marriage. He feels he's been given the gift of a lifetime! He hugged us again yesterday as they left for Oregon and thanked us again in tears for allowing him to have this blessing and for giving him the most precious treasure we could give...his precious Katie.

We know they will have struggles for every couple does. Trials come to all of us. James 1:2-4 But they have each built their lives on the Rock. Their foundation is built upon the Word of God and their hope is in Him who will make them able. We have shared with our children that as we pass the baton on to them, that we hope and pray that they would run in such a way as to get the prize! That they would do a much better job than we have as they build their marriages and as they raise their children. And that they would continue to grow in the Lord and serve him through their marriage. Katie and Clint have a heart for children. Clint works with many underprivileged children and they have shared with us that now that they are married and can have children in their home that they hope to reach out to the children Clint teaches and to invest in their lives and love them in Jesus. It will be exciting to see all that the Lord does in them and through them, Lord willing.

It amazes us and blesses us and humbles us to see how the Lord is growing our family! Each of our children have chosen to marry believers who love the Lord and what an added blessing to also have their families love the Lord! Our children's spouses have parents that have been married for over 30 years! This is amazing in our society! We have prayed for the future spouses of our children and for their families for many years now. I highly encourage you to do this. What an amazing joy it is to meet the ones you've prayed for, for so long! This is a photo of our two families together. Just think about what it might look like one day when all of our children are married, and have children of their own! I pray that I will be able to see that and to share in it! Lord willing!

This is a beautiful photo that our friend Heather Kozup took. She was the amazing photographer for Clint and Katie's wedding. Thank you Heather! It was such a joy to share this very special day with you and we can't wait to see the rest of the photos you took!

This photo makes me think of the awesome, wonderful, incredible journey they are embarking upon! May the Lord bless them and keep them and may they always keep their eyes fixed on Jesus who is the author and perfector of their faith! He will keep in perfect peace, those whose eyes are steadfast on him. Is. 26:3

The shorter the better!

2010-01-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

This is Clint and Katie's official engagement photo. It was taken by a photographer in Oregon. Clint's sister gave them this wonderful gift and they were able to get so many sweet photos.

In our society today, many people wait to get engaged or to get married. Sometimes dating for many years before making a commitment to the other person.

Sadly too, some couples wait years....dating one another...only to finally decide they don't want to become married! This wastes their best years on one who was not honorable with their heart and life. How sad to have given some of your best years and to waste them on a relationship that was going nowhere. Better to know that quickly upfront!

Matt and Shelley courted for 7 months and had an 8 month engagement and we and they both feel their engagement was 2 months too long! In a relatively short time though when they met, Matt knew that he wanted to marry Shelley. He would have proposed sooner...but he was saving money to purchase her engagement ring. He and she knew though that marriage was the ultimate goal and they were purposeful in their time together to make sure that marriage was what the Lord had for them.

Clint and Katie knew in a relatively short time that they wanted to marriage each other. The Lord gave them such confirmation. They met in July. Clint stated his intentions by August. By October he was fully sure that the Lord wanted him to marry Katie. He asked for her hand in November. They will have known each other for 9 months total before the wedding. They will have been engaged for 3 months before marrying and in their case we feel it is perfect amount of time. They had originally thought they would get married in the summer when Clint is off from school. BUT, after his visit with our family in November he prayed and decided that the Lord wanted him to move things up. We actually feel it is the right timing and that it is of the Lord. We all have such peace.

He owns his own home, he is well able to provide for Katie. He is established in a church home. He has the support and great relationships with his family who will be active and involved in their lives. They are both mature and they are both ready. They have the blessings of both of their families and the Lord. There is no reason, especially with how purposeful they've been during their courtship, to hold things off or to make them wait.

A couple should not pursue courtship until they are both ready to get married. Meaning that the man has a way to provide adequately for his family and they are both mature emotionally and spiritually for a marriage relationship.

If they are both ready for marriage before they actually begin a courtship then the courtship and engagement (should they feel the Lord leading them that direction) is a pretty short process, in comparison to the world and they way most people approach marriage.

In a relatively short time of courtship, they will either feel the Lord leading them to a marriage proposal or to both parties going their separate ways. This is one of the blessings of a purposeful courtship. There are no prolonged relationships that lead nowhere and only tie up emotional heart strings and leave tons of emotional baggage behind. Courtship is a very purposeful (or should be a very purposeful) time to put your magnifying glasses on and to really seek the Lord and his will for whether this person is the one who God has for you. If you have the Lord's blessing and your families blessing then you have confidence and peace to move forward. If you don't have this peace and this blessing to move forward, then each of you are able to walk away in a relatively short time, and continue to walk with the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Waiting upon the Lord for the one he has for you...trusting him...and leaning on him for grace to wait patiently for his perfect will.

Sometimes when a courtship doesn't end in marriage we've heard people call this a "failed courtship." I don't believe that at all. I think it was a SUCCESSFUL courtship. If one or both felt that it was not what the Lord had for them and they decide to no longer court one another....then I feel this was a successful courtship! Just think if they were to happen AFTER marriage as it does so often does today!

If a couple who is courting should have their "magnifying glasses" on. They should be observing the one they're courting in a variety of situations to see who that other person is and how they truly are wired. We've often told our children to watch the integrity of the other person, and how they react in situations where honesty is needed. We tell them to observe the other person with little children. Do they invest in the lives of others? Do they enjoy children? Do they invest in the rest of your family? Do they make it a priority to get to know your parents? Your siblings? Do they pray and read God's Word as a "check it off their list" kind of thing, or is their relationship with Christ active? Thriving? Real? Intimate? Are they truly in love with Christ and living for him? Or are they just a Christian in name only? Is their life a reflection of Christ?

As a couple they should be discussing every topic they can think of and understanding each other's convictions. They should be each wanting their parents or other older, godly adults to come alongside them and also observe or get to know the person they are courting. God tells us in Proverbs 15:22 "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." Young couples often seek the approval of their friends and the counsel of their friends. I highly recommend that they also look to older, more mature counselors as well. As parents we need to take the time and count it important to build lasting, thriving, intimate relationships with our children so they will WANT our input and counsel as they get older. We need to cultivate our relationships with our children from the time they are young. Our children have friends...but they listen more to what Mark and I have to say. They value our opinion and they know we pray for them and with them. They know and have learned that wise counsel is what they want. We love them. We know them better than anyone else. We know their weaknesses and their strengths. They know that the Lord also gives parents special wisdom for their children. Thankfully, we feel SO blessed that our children want to share their lives and hearts with us. We are grateful that they've come and invovled us in their decision about their future mates and in so many other areas of their lives.

It has been so exciting to see them learning to hear God's voice in their own lives. Each of our children has learned to look to the Lord and to follow his leading in their lives. This is so important to encourage our children to do. They will learn the most from seeing this lived out each day in your own lives. But while they do go to the Lord and wait upon him...they also know that it is so important for them to have our blessing and our wisdom as well.

Our children will always need us....just in different ways. We never tell our children what to do. We do though help them work through the process and we give them wisdom and pray for them and with them. We love them and we patiently come alongside them throughout each situation that they face. We now see all of our older children doing this for one another and for our little ones. What a blessing that is! We love seeing them invest in each other, encourage each other, love one another, pray for one another and befriend one another.

I hope that this is encouraging. I also would appreciate all of your prayers for Clint and Katie as the wedding quickly approaches. We are at 8 weeks and counting! God is so good and we are thankful beyond measure for all his grace and for what he is doing in and through their relationship. Love, Lori

If a young couple does not have parents to walk through this with them. Then they should seek out an older, godly married couple that they know in their church to come alongside them and to walk through this with them.

Clint and Katie are Officially Engaged!

2010-01-01T06:36:00.001-08:00

It is wonderful to be able to share our GREAT news with all of you! Even though we knew it was coming, we didn't know exactly how or when. Clint really wanted to surprise Katie with this. When he was here in November for Thanksgiving he asked Mark and I for Katie's hand in marriage. He was so sweet and shared with us that just before he met Katie, someone asked him what kind of girl he was looking for. He said "the kind of girl I'm looking for doesn't seem to exist!" Then the Lord brought he and Katie together and he shared with us that morning that she is everything he had been praying for and so much more! Katie and we feel the same way about Clint!

They had talked about what kind of ring that she would like to have a few months ago. She really didn't mind if the diamonds were small...she likes things simple. But she did hope to have a ring with three stones. To her the signifigance was a 3 cord strand is not quickly broken...the three stones representing, the past, present and future as well as the Lord, she and Clint.

Clint spent hours and hours praying and looking for the perfect ring. He loves her so much and wanted to bless her. He did an awesome job! Her ring is beautiful.

He also went to great lengths to plan the perfect proposal. He again wanted it to really surprise her and be sweet and special and romantic! Katie loved how he proposed. We love to hear how couples get engaged! It's always fun to hear how each young man is so creative. What fun this season of life is!

When our son Matt proposed to Shelley he took her up to the top of Bogus Basin. It was February and there was beautiful snow. There is a lodge restaurant and they have a horse drawn sleigh ride. He too had it all planned with people to help him. Shelley had no idea that this was going to be her proposal night. Matt wanted to keep it a secret as well. First they went on the sleigh ride and had such a wonderful time. Then inside for a delicious dinner in front of a roaring fire. He had set it up with one of the ladies at the lodge that she would hold his camera to take a picture of him proposing to Shelley. After dinner he said that he wanted to go outside for some fresh air and to look at the city lights below. So he and Shelley walked outside in the beautiful snow and Shelley didn't realize that the lady was walking behind them. Then Matt got down on one knee in the snow overlooking Boise and asked Shelley to please be his wife, to spend the rest of her life with him, and he told her how he had waited for her all his life and how much he loved her! The picture is one of Shelley crying and saying "yes." So sweet!

On Clint's birthday (the 29th) he took Katie and his family up to a beautiful mountain lodge for dinner in Ashland, Oregon. He and Katie drove in his truck and his mom, dad, sister, brother in law and niece drove in his dad's truck. Oregon had several inches of snow that day, so on their way to the lodge, they realized the roads had been closed! Poor Clint! He had worked so hard and almost didn't make it! Thankfully they were able to go a back way that took much longer, but got them there.

When they got out of the car, Clint's sister took this photo.

So sweet! Then she told Clint and Katie to go in and save the table. She said they would stay out and change Alyse's diaper and be in, in a minute. BUT....they instead left and went down the mountain a bit to her friends home for dinner, while Clint had his special night with Katie.

Clint and Katie went into the lodge and the greeter encouraged them to stand by the roaring fire to warm up a bit. Everyone at the lodge was in on Clint's special surprise! He had planned for his sisters friend to set up everything and make sure it was ready for them and the staff of the lodge to prepare things so that when he and Katie got there, it would be ready for her. How sweet is that?!!!

The waiter (who was an accomplice) led them to their table. He took them in a round about way so that Katie wouldn't see the table Clint had prepared for her right away. Katie was looking around the whole time for their table of 7. She didn't even realize where Clint was headed or that it was only to a table for two!

She said it was just beautiful! She said that the room was decorated with lots of twinkle lights and fresh pine boughs that smelled so good. They were the only ones on that floor of the restaurant, and their table was next to a roaring fire, the huge window next to the table had a waterfall with snow gently falling. So pretty she said! When she looked at the table, she began to have tears in her eyes....he had 3 red roses in a pretty vase...again for the Lord, Clint and she....and for the past, present and future. Her ring was on a beautiful ring bearers pillow. Yes, that's right....Clint went into a bridal store and purchased it for her. It will be the one we use in the wedding and that they will keep to pass down in their family....how special and sweet is that?! He even had the waiter get up and direct the overhead light earlier that evening, so that it would shine on her ring when she first saw it and make it extra sparkly!!!

When she saw the ring and the table, she looked back to Clint and he got down on one knee and said that he had spent 25 birthdays without her, and he never wanted to spend another birthday without her by his side. He shared how much he loves her and then he asked her if she would please marry him and spend the rest of her life with him. She was so overwhelmed and so excited and while she couldn't speak....she shook her head yes! He got up and hugged her and then told her that his parents and family would not be joining them for dinner...that it would just be the two of them. He also was so sweet. He also purchased two stuffed little wolves....because he said wolves mate for life! It is so important to both he and Katie that divorce is NEVER an option. We have shared with them, how if you even think that it is an option, when things get tough in your marriage (and all marriages experience tough and trying times) you mind will go there. BUT, if you NEVER allow that to ever be an option or entertain it as an option, it forces you to cling to the Lord and allow him to help you make things work. They feel so strongly about this. So the wolves were his momento to this committment he's making to her. We just love this young man so much!

They called us right after coming down the mountain. Our whole family rejoiced and celebrated with them and for them. There is NO greater joy than to know my children are walking in truth. To see them on God's path and doing HIS will. It's so humbling because we know that it is ONLY by God's grace that we are where we are and that our children are where they are! We have far to go as do all of them! But we are thankful for the graciousness and faithfulness of God and for the new sons and daughters he is bringing into our family.

This is a picture of the happpy couple at Clints mom and dads house after their special engagement dinner they shared together. They spent the rest of the evening with his parents and his sister, brother in law and niece.

While we wish we could have been there, we are thankful that they both want to include us and to share their special moments with us. They both are very committed to family and to building relationships with both families. We love his family and feel so blessed to have the close relationships that we do with all of them. What a blessing we feel it is that our daughter will not only have Clint, but his awesome family as well when she moves to Oregon! They love her dearly and all of them get along so well! God is SO good!

Thank you again to all of you who have been praying for Katie and our family. We are eternally grateful for you and for your love!

Merry Christmas.....

2009-12-16T06:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know about all of you but I am purposing to slow down and to truly enjoy this holiday season. We have 4 birthdays now in December (we've added Clint on Dec. 29th) and normally I am comotose by Chrismtas (partly from all the sugar, but also just from the busyness of the birthday celebrations and the holiday season. Added to that this year are wedding plans.) But this year, I am purposing to slow down and stop and really be fully "in the moment. " To take the time to thank the Lord and to not just check things off my list, but to enjoy each moment. To smile more, hug more and laugh more. We have so much to be thankful for!

There have been so many sweet moments already! Lots of time playing in the snow, reading in front of the fire while we cuddle, and playing lots of board games. Mark wins the best father of the year award for so many things, but recently for pouring water on our hill out back and making the fastest, slickest sledding hill ever!

No, we're not putting up our normal amount of decorations. This was a bit hard for me I will admit. We love decorating our whole home for this season. I'm thankful though that the Lord has helped me to learn how to balance priorities and how to know when to say "no." (Well...it's a life long process, but I'm thankful that sometimes I remember this!) And one of the things I needed to do this year was to not be overwhelmed by trying to do "it all." But instead to do what I can and rest in the Lord for what doesn't get done.

This year is one of endings and beginnings in the Gammon home! It's Katie's last Christmas as a single gal living in our home and being in Boise, and the beginning of her new life with Clint, having her own home very soon in Oregon. It is the enlarging of our family, yet again. It's an exciting time and one that I am cherishing.... amidst a few tears I will admit.

I am so thankful to Bridgette for taking this family photo of us this year! We enjoy sending out a photo in our Christmas letter each year. She so sweetly came at the last minute to bless us. It's so difficult to get 11 people in one place at one time and everyone sort of looking in somewhat in the same direction. But Bridgette is amazing and we are thankful for her.

I think of what our family picture will be one day...Lord willing. Each child we hope married to someone who loves the Lord and loves them wholeheartedly. Children...lots of children we hope and pray for Lord willing!!!! There is nothing more important than our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with our spouse and our children....their children....their children's children...I pray that Mark and I may see much of this come to pass....Lord willing!

I pray that each of you is having a lovely time celebrating our Savior's birth. What a GREAT gift we have in Jesus! How do people live without the Lord?!!! Each year has so many joys as well as its share of griefs, sorrows, hardships and trials. I can't imagine trying to go throughout one day without Jesus! He makes each joy sweeter and each sorrow bearable by his amazing grace!

My prayer is that we all grow abundantly more in love with our Lord and with those closest to us in the coming year. May we serve each other tirelessly as unto Jesus and may He receive all the glory! Gal. 6:9

Merry Christmas,

With much love,

Lori

A Thankful Heart...

2009-11-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

Ps. 31:14, 16 "But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God. My times are in your hands. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love."

I hope that all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration with your families, filled with many sweet memories. God tells us to "make the most of every opportunity we're given." Sometimes with holidays making sweet memories takes more "purposing" than others and for us to allow God to give us a different heart perspective.

Ps. 42:5 "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior, and my God."

It has been a hard year for so many families. We know that each year will have its share of struggles and trials. God says that they will come to us all...but we're to "take heart!" God says that he has overcome them all and that through Him we are promised that he will use all things that touch our lives...for good! To grow us and mature us and to transform us into His Son's image!

Ps. 31:24 "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

There are things that our Father God desires to teach us through these trials, and he truly does mean them for our good. Mark and I have definately had our share of struggles and trials, but I desire to encourage you and spur you on that it is ALL worth it! God is so good and so very faithful! You will NEVER regret trusting him or yielding to his will for your life. And it probably will look FAR different than anything you can imagine right now! I know the path that the Lord had marked out for Mark and I sure looks different than anything we would have planned years ago...BUT...God's plan is SO MUCH better than anything we could have planned! We are grateful beyond measure!

Ps. 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

This year we have even more to be thankful and grateful for at the Gammon home. The Lord is enlarging our family and I am so humbled beyond measure as I look around the table at all the blessings! My sweet honny of 29 years and all the children we've been blessed with by birth, adoption and marriage. Marriage and children are one of God's greatest blessings!

Years ago, the doctors told us we would not be able to have children. Little did they know or understand the magnitude of what the Lord had planned for our lives!

Ps. 33:11 "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."

None of us knows the plans the Lord has for us, but as we choose to draw close to him and to seek his face with each choice we make....choosing to yield our will to His.... he will be ever faithful to lead us and direct us. Then as we walk through one day after another, moving along the path the Lord has marked out for us....we will eventually see ALL that the Lord had for us and rejoice over his abundant goodness!!!

Heb. 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

The struggles and trials look differently when you view them through God's grace and when they are viewed in retrospect....then you can see how good God has been and how faithful he was to you. On the front side it can be a bit scary or discouraging at times....but afterwards there is rejoicing! His plan is what we would always want if we had all the facts....but we don't so we must choose to live by faith and trust the Lord and his goodness to us.

Ps. 36:7 "How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings."

Ps. 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the dires of your heart."

So this year, my heart is so full of simple but sweet blessings of all of our "kids" big and little making candy and cookie turkeys, Katie playing on the piano beautiful music that blesses our hearts, Clint laughing with our little ones as he plays nintendo 64 with them, Mark and some of our children playing Monopoly at the dining room table laughing and enjoying one another, all of us cooking in the kitchen together, Matt, Mitch and Clint playing football with some guys from church while we watch and cheer them on. Feast food upon the table, talking, laughing and sharing, cuddling up in front of the crackling fire. These simple blessings and so many more this year truly brought tears to my eyes on several occassions as I looked around at all the many blessings the Lord has given us. Such GOOD gifts surround us!

It's about what we....choose....to see. Gratefulness is choosing to see the abundance God has given and at the same time letting all the petty inconveniences- or even the real heartbreaking situations- fall away and and become less as Christ becomes all. So my picturesque Thanksgiving was a joy, and all the other things- and the struggles and trials we are each sure to have plenty of each year....pale in comparison to the good gifts that God also faithfully gives us each year.

I hope your day was full of recounting the tender mercies of God and that your heart is moved more toward Him and away from your troubles. The troubles will always be there- but be of good cheer: HE has overcome all of those things and He will never leave or forsake His own. What a cause for Thanksgiving!

Joyful News!

2009-11-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

We wanted to share our joy...our daughter Katie is being courted by a wonderful, godly, young man named Clint. We are humbled beyond measure for all the Lord is doing and we wanted to share our joy with all of you! It looks like if all continues as planned, Clint will propose to Katie during Christmas break. He is planning a special surprise for her for how he does it and exactly when he will ask her. They've been talking rings for the past week and what kind she would like. She wants him to choose, he wanted her to give him some ideas. She likes the rings that have three small diamonds in a row. She feels that is represents to her, the trinity, and also she and Clint with God as the head of them. He loved that idea! It looks like the wedding would be early summer, here in Boise...Lord willing.

They met in a very unconventional way, but one that the Lord has used for them both. It is difficult for young people to meet other godly, people if you're busy working and serving. The Lord could bring someone in so many ways...we've seen him do it! We were encouraged by several good friends to look into e-harmony. Clint was also encouraged to look into this site this summer. He works very long hours, spends time serving and A LOT of time with his family so there was no time or real opportunity for him to meet someone. But this summer in July, they both within a couple of weeks met each other through e-harmony. They each set up their sites in a way that would weed out most of the people not seriously looking for marriage.

This is way of doing things is not for everyone. But we actually realized that there were several real advantages to using a site like this. It is a wonderful tool to be able to really, really ask the HARD, but essential core beliefs and convictions of the other without being embarrassed or shy about it. You aren't focused on the physical aspect of it at all. You see a picture (or pictures) of the other person, but you have no emotional investment in them. You are able to wisely, ask what is important and not feel scared to do so. This was wonderful! Both Katie and Clint asked very open ended questions, so that the other person would not know how the other felt. Neither of them gave pat or contrived answers. They both shared their convictions and how they came to those convictions. If one answered a question, the other one didn't say "oh yeah, that's how I feel too." instead they would also share how they came to their conviction and so far they have talked about literally EVERYTHING, and both agree on just about everything! They are very like minded. They are very evenly matched. Katie shared how wonderful it was to feel she could ask anything that was important to her and not feel shy about doing it. She looked to Mark and I and other adults she trusts for what she should ask Clint. Also she allowed her dad and I to read she and Clint's emails. The wonderful thing about this, is that we were able to get to know Clint as she got to know him. We were then able to encourage her and to continue to guide her in what topics they should discuss. She did an amazing job!

Both Katie and Clint were ready to be married. They weren't just looking for friendship...although they have become best friends through the process and both felt it was so important to marry your best friend. They are so glad that within a short time, because they were both being sooo purposeful in their emails to each other to ask the hard questions that they were able to really get to know one another and to know if they were a good match and whether they wanted to pursue this relationship further. Clint and Katie both took time to pray and to look to the Lord for direction and to Mark and I for wisdom. Clint declared his intentions of pursuing Katie for marriage after they had talked on the phone just a couple of times, but after they had emailed for quite awhile...enough to have covered many, many important and essential topics before they took the next step of talking on the phone.

Having a young man declare his intentions is wonderful. The young lady is not left wondering whether the young man is just wanting friendship or whether he is pursuing her for marriage. Declaring helps their time together to be more purposeful....you either learn quickly that you are a good match or not. It also keeps them from becoming emotionally involved and giving pieces of their heart away to people who would not be a sutiable match. Courting and doing a process like this helps each of them gaurd their hearts. Because they were both wanting to get married, they were much more purposeful in their questions and in their seeking to really know what the other person was REALLY like and to look with magnifying glasses to see if the other one was a wise choice and God's will for their lives.

The time for rose colored glasses is AFTER marriage. Unfortunately in our society today, so many young couples put on the rose colored glasses BEFORE marriage and do not count it important to really get to know the other person before marriage, and then afterwards there are many struggles and difficulties that could have been avoided had they found out these things before marriage. Sadly, many realize that perhaps they should not have gotten married. All couples will have struggles and trials. But getting to know someone and really being purposeful to ask the hard questions before your heart is involved emotionally helps you to not get involved with someone who you truly should not marry.

We have taught our children that it is wise to not date, but to instead serve and invest in family and others till they are ready to get married. Young men need to be able to provide for a wife and family. Young women should know how to care for a family and a home. They should be mature enough to take on this very important relationship and commitment. It's not wise to date or court till you are ready. Then when they are ready for marriage, be open to the Lord and to his plan.

This is a good "framework" for dating/courting to follow:

1. Don't date or court until you are in a position to make (for a young man) or accept a marriage proposal (for a young lady.) i.e. anyone past high school age.

2.Don't date or court till you are able to provide for the girl you are pursuing.

3. Don't date or court with any motivation other than to discover within a short and reasonable length of time whether the other person is marriagable.

4. Don't date or court a young man or woman who is not your equal. For believers they need to be equally yoked. We need to make sure that the person we are courting is a suitable helpmeet. A young man needs a young lady who will be able to come alongside him on the path that the Lord has called him to. For a young lady, she must consider a young man's path and pray and make sure that she seeks God's wisdom and the wisdom of her parents or another couple helping her as to whether she is a good fit for his calling and path in life.

5. Don't date or court anyone who is not in a position to extend an offer of marriage within a reasonable period of time. And don't date or court anyone who has different theories or motivations for mariage other than what is stated in #2.

6. Come up with a plan that would allow both of you to discover if you are compatible. Be wise! Enlist the help of parents or another older, wise, godly couple to help you and your potential suitor navigate through the process. Their help will be invaluable!

7. Pray HARD and often! Don't allow fear to rule. Be willing to have the other person not like you or quit conversing with you if you ask questions that are needing to be asked and they don't like it. Better to know on the front side, than far down the road! Trust God and do what is wise.

Katie asked for us to help her set up her site and to screen potential suitors and we were glad to. We helped her set up her site and as she was sent matches. E-harmony sent only believers because of the pre-prescribed info. that she sent into e-harmony. BUT...there was a vast difference between calling yourself a believer and actually truly walking that out.

It was a wonderful, safe way for us to allow her to see the differences and to help her realize and work her way through spotting character defiecencies and immaturity from these young men without her getting hurt, or emotions getting involved and there was no physical contact. She also found that having to write and give an answer for the hope she has in Christ and to also give her answers to a huge variety of foundtional truths in Christ also helped her and God used it to grow and mature her. So while it has been very unconventional, we have seen the Lord use this for so much good in so many ways in her life!

This is Clint's home. He bought it last year. He has done a wonderful job painting it, landscaping it and laying wood floors. He is looking forward to Katie making the inside a sweet, homey place for their family. Before our trip in October, he planted the sweetest flower garden for Katie to welcome her to his home! She is thrilled with his home and looks forward to sharing it with Clint!

Clint is 25 (will be 26 in December.) He and his sweet family live in Medford, Oregon...which means our sweet, girl will be moving to Medford after the wedding. Clint is off all summer from teaching school so this would give them lots of time for a honey moon, and to get Katie moved and settled before school starts again.

It is difficult to think of her leaving and not being close by...but we dedicate each of our children to the Lord when they are born and we ask him to have his way in their lives...whatever that may be. If he calls them to the foreign mission field, we want to encourage them to follow the Lord's lead. If he brings a godly mate for them that means they have to move away from home...than we also want them to follow the Lord's plan for their lives and his leading.

Clint is a public high school history teacher. He also coaches basketball and baseball. Although he teaches in the public school he and Katie hope to home school their children. He has a wonderful sense of humor, is kind, sincere, genuine, thoughtful and wise. He was valedictorian of his graduating college class. We were so blessed to hear his speech that he gave. It was one that truly honored and gave glory to God although he went to a non-Christian college. His parents shared with us that the staff and students alike admired Clint and God gave him the oppotunity to share his faith often.

We recently took a trip to visit he and his family. We stayed at Clint's home while he stayed with his parents. He was so kind and thoughtful and wanted to bless us and make us feel comfortable. We had lots of time to visit with he and his family and we enjoyed our time with them immensely! We have so much in common with our beliefs, faith and interests. Clint and Katie also had some time to be alone and to get to know one another better while they went out to eat, went for ice cream and went to the park to walk and talk. Mark talked with Katie and asked her if she felt the trip was what she had thought it would be and she said it was a millions times more than she had hoped for. She and Clint both value family so much and it was such a blessing that they WANTED to spend time with all of us. Katie has shared that Clint is more than she knew she wanted in a mate...but that God knew she needed!

Mark and I left Medford knowing that this was indeed God's will for them both. God has given us such peace and we are so thankful. His family feels the same. We are so very thankful that if she has to move away from home, that she will have a wonderful family to help support and invest in she and Clint and that they will be so close to them. We truly have come to love Clint and his precious family. Mark and I have been praying for this young man his whole life....and it is so exciting to finally meet the one we've prayed for. His parents have done the same thing for Katie and they too feel so blessed to finally meet her.

It's a wonderful, amazing thing to see God growing our family. Years ago, I realized that while we were raising 8 children, that one day we would have 16 children! In our family our children's spouses we feel are our children as well. Not just a daughter or son in law....but truly they become a part of our family and we think of them as our sons and daughters! Clints family feels the same way. We are so blessed by the children we are gaining through marriage! They are all so precious to us! Parenting is HARD WORK! It means laying down your life every day, serving as unto the Lord. Parenting is a wonderful "tool" that God uses first and foremost in our own lives ...to teach, train and grow US! It is SO worth it friends! The harvest is a sweet, sweet reward!

God tells us in Gal. 6:9 to "Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." We are seeing the reality of this in our own lives and family. I can't encourage you enough to persevere, to not give up, to not grow weary in well doing! Daily apply Phil. 3:12-14 "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not ocnsider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I PRESS ON toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." I so often wanted to quit and was SO WEARY as a young mom....but the long slow obedience in the same direction that the Lord gave us grace to walk out...having an eternal focus for how we lived out our days has made it all so worth it!

We knew nothing when we began our marriage and parenting. We were baby believers and we have made SO MANY mistakes and have had so much the Lord has needed to heal in our lives and in our marriage. He is able to transform us though as we yield to him by his grace. We've made so many mistakes but the Lord has been so gracious to us and to our children. All the good in any of our lives or families is all Jesus...none of us can boast! It's in spite of us! That is why we love the verses in 1 Cor. 1:25-31 because we truly can only boast in the Lord for his goodness, mercy and love towards us and towards Clint and Katie! May the Lord be praised and may he receive all the glory!!!

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God CHOSE the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God CHOSE the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He CHOSE the lowly things of this world, and the despised things ~ and the things that are not ~ to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom, from God ~ that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Thank all of you for praying for us and for all your love and support! We are so grateful! With much love, Lori

Closet Sanity

2009-09-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

I shared this awhile ago at a Keepers meeting. As a mom of 8 children, there was a time years ago when we had 4 children ages 5 and under. I had no idea how to be a home maker...I learned mostly from MUCH trial and error, and from the faithful encouragement and inspiration of the Holy Spirit! The linen closet "miracle" is one of the times I think God gave me divine inspiration and I wanted to share it with you!

We had 3 twin beds back then but at least 10 fitted and flat sheets per bed! I bought some new, some at yard sales and I think I inherited some from family and friends. Then we had a pull out couch queen bed and again we rarely used it but somehow I had at least 3 or 4 sets of sheets for that bed too. Then there was the two cribs we owned at this time...both set up and being used! We had at least 10 crib sheets per crib as well. That was a lot of sheets stacked in our linen closet!

Then we had just two bathrooms (Now we have 4. I'm so glad that we figured out how to control towels or we'd be drowning in towels by now!) for our children's/guest bath we had lots of mis- matched towels. Again some were bought new, some bought at garage sales, some we inherited from family and friends. I had a huge assortment of wash cloths, hand towels and bath towels. I don't know what I was storing them all for...but truth be told, that was when I rarely did the laundry and so most of the time the towels and sheets would sit dirty in huge piles out in our garage! Think life threatening MOUNTAINS of dirty laundry...yuck! I would kinda close my eyes and throw things out into the pile in the garage. Not sure who I thought would eventually do the laundry if it wasn't me?!

My linen closet wasn't much fun either! You learned to hold up your hand and expect to have "fallage" happen to you! Kind of like the show Zaboomafoom (spelling?) Those of you with young children may know this show and their famous closet. Every few months when I finally got tired of having everything fall on me, I would take an hour or so and fold every single towel, sheet etc. Matt and Katie were old enough to help me. After our hard work, it would look great and very tidy for about a day or two or three....till someone (usually a little one) needed a sheet or towel and they would take one from the stack...1/2 way down and the whole stack would fall. They would be little and they would just stuff the "stuff" back onto the shelf...and the mess would begin all over again. I am ashamed to say how VERY long it took me to realize that if you do the same thing, you get the same results! I needed to change how we stored these items.

After we got our chore chart and schedule up and running and we began to do laundry every day...we no longer had mountains of dirty laundry in the garage...all that laundry was now clean and stored where it should be. But we very soon realized our next problem...TOO MUCH STUFF and not enough room!

So we began to declutter. The linen closet was one of my favorites afterwards and it has stayed my all time favorite. Why you ask? Because it actually STAYS clean and neat and it even looks pretty...ALL of the time! Now all you moms of young children know how rewarding and fun it is when we clean something and organize it and it actually STAYS that way! Hence the picture of my linen closet....to give you some hope and encouragement too!

I began to think through "just how many towels, wash cloths and hand towels do we need? Really?" We realized that we didn't need as many as we had. We truly only needed about 6 wash cloths, 4 hand towels, and 4 to 6 bath towels for the children's bathroom. Mark and I needed less for our master bathroom since it was just the two of us.

I also realized that with our children now folding the laundry and putting it away every morning (a wonderful addition to our chore schedule back then!) that it would help them to know where to put the towels if the towels were color co-ordinated. We chose white, since it was a children's bathroom mostly and we could bleach the towels! We have been so glad over the years that we made this choice back then. We still have white towels for all the children's bathrooms. We chose pale green towels for the master bathroom. It did cost a bit of money up front...but not too much since we didn't have to purchase very many with doing laundry every day!

Next we thought about sheets. We decided to be super brave and only have two sets of sheets per bed in our home. One that would be on the bed and an extra that could be stored in a drawer in the child's bedroom. We did have two cribs set up and sometimes we'd need more crib sheets if the babies threw up or had accidents...we decided that 4 per crib was enough. Wow! Did this cut down dramatically on the amount of "fallage" in my linen closet! No more holding your breath and hoping you didn't sufficate under the fall of stuff!

We looked around our home for some cute things we could use that would be functional and pretty! I know it doesn't "have" to be pretty....but it's more fun to have some pretty, isn't it?! We did purchase a couple of organizational bins...but they were cheap and they were needed so Mark was all for more order and more organization. A good place to look for inexpensive decorations is the dollar store and thrift stores. We find most of our bins and baskets at Wal-Mart but Fred Meyers has some really neat ones too...a bit more expensive, but they look awesome! Look back in their organizational section, and also around fall...the time college starts you will find lots of organizational bins and baskets to use in your home.

We no longer had sheets in the closets...the sheets were in a dresser drawer in the children's rooms. We put a glass jar on the top shelf, and unwrapped some bars of soap. I'd go to give the children a bath and realize that we ran out of soap or the children would need a bar of soap and struggled with unwrapping it. So, I began to think outside the box! I bought some bars of soap and filled this glass jar, with UNWRAPPED bars of soap.....it lasted the whole year and was awesome!

Next shelf has a green "box" that hold wash cloths. It is wonderful for little ones who fold and put them away (you could put them lower if you have little ones, but our children can now reach this level.) The box helps the wash cloths to not "run" away or fall...it truly has been so helpful!

Next to the green box of wash cloths is a metal container with bath salts and a scooper. The children love to have lavender in their baths.

Next shelf is a wire basket for hand towels. I had this and felt guilty for not using it...so I loved that it looked fun but also used what I already had. Next to the basket is a metal "soap" dish that holds Q-tips.

The next shelf holds a small wicker laundry basket with bath towels folded in it. Again having baskets helps the hand towels and bath towels not fall over when little ones go to grab one out! Everything stays looking nice and neat.

Finally the green, plastic bins at the bottom hold our children's nintendo system and games. We needed to use the bottom area for storage and they get to play once a week...so it's a great place to store it!

I hope this encourages you. Have a great day!

Date "Night"

2009-09-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Only married couples have to be told to "date." It's something that we have to remember to do and something that we can easily find so many excuses as to why we're not doing it. We're busy. We have no money. We fill our time with no margin. But don't allow the days to slip away, becoming months or even years before you purpose to redeem the time with your precious husband. They years so quickly go by! It's been 29 for us...and we're amazed at how quickly they've gone by...truly!

Our date times (we used to call them "date nights") are no longer at night...they are whenever we can squeeze in that time together. Our carved out, special, purposeful times together just my honny and I have changed over time through the various seasons of our lives. We've dated at night going to dinner and a dollar movie. We've put the children to bed and just sat out front talking and watching the sun go down, holding hands, talking but also allowing quiet to fill us basking in the sweetness and fondness of knowing we know each other so well that words truly aren't needed to know we're communicating. We've gotten take out Chinese food (split one meal, that's what's so great about Chinese food...cheap and plentiful!) and rented a video and snuggled each other at home. We've gone for a hike and a picnic (a date which costs nothing but is priceless!) Or we've had a picnic on the floor of the bedroom, what a fun, intimate time this can be.

We've had a few years, since we've had teens and young adults at home with our little ones that we could get up at 6:00 (before Mark has to work) and go out to a local diner for breakfast once a week. This time is also special...early....but special. The world around us is not yet fully awake and it is a more quiet, slower paced time. We talk and laugh (yes, even at 6:00 a.m.) we eat and share a breakfast skillet and just enjoy each other's company. It's a time to talk about the funny things the children have done throughout the week. We talk about the weekend coming up and what we would like to do or what we need to do. It's a time to hold hands and really look at each other and remember why we love one another and why we still (after all these years) can't wait to spend time together. Sometimes Mark has to run an errand during rest time at our house (after lunch). We will have one of our teens stay with the children who are resting and we will just run to Lowe's or the bank or wherever Mark may need to go...and this too can be a date time too. I now just enjoy time with Mark whenever and wherever we can carve it out.

It reminds me of how important date times are when you are married. How refreshing and renewing it is to your marriage. How important it is to focus on each other. They remind me of why I LOVE my husband. They remind me of how great it is to start and finish a conversation without multiple interruptions and losing my train of thought. These times remind me of how wonderful it is to hold my honny's hand and to feel the strength of it, the firmness of it and to be reminded that he chose me above all others! That he is by my side, and he is mine and I am his! The gratefulness wells up in my heart again for God's goodness to me. I love to rest my head on his shoulder. I love to be close to him. I look at him and see the laugh lines and it reminds me that we have done so much laughing over our years. I recall such sweet times together and with our family! These times remind me that I actually do LIKE my husband...not just love him. That may seem silly to you...but they remind me of all the reasons we got married. He is my best friend, they also remind me how that friendship has grown over the years and deepened! These times remind me of how much I miss just the time with him alone. We love our children. We love the time we spend with them. We are so grateful to the Lord for them.

But one day (not too long from now....only about 10 years now) our youngest will be an adult. All 8 of our children will be adults. And it will just be he and I...my honny and me.

If we have failed to keep the flame burning...we will be left with just cold, dark soot when our children move on with their adult lives. I don't want this. I want smoldering, hot, embers...that often flame into desire and into renewed relationship and commitment. I want those embers still flaming and roaring to life, no matter how old we are and no matter how long we're married. But those embers take work to keep them hot and to keep them burning.

I encourage you to date...morning, noon or night...but date your honny. Purpose to redeem the time and make the most of each opportunity! You'll never regret it!

Little Ones Helping....

2009-09-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is a good friend of ours teaching her little boys to help and serve by doing chores. Not only are they learning life skills but godly character at the same time!

Establishing A Daily Habit Of Reading God's Word

2009-09-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

How To Study God’s Word:

Jeremiah 30:21 says “I will bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?”

If a carpenter is up on a ladder trying to work on a roof, does he get down from his ladder each time he needs a nail and look through the whole pile to choose just the right one? Or, does he carry the nails close to him in a belt that while he is on the ladder working he can easily reach in and grab the nearest… most available nail?

This is much of what the Lord is saying in Jeremiah 30:21. Which of us will come close to Jesus, and devote ourselves to being close to him…and available for him to use? This is the person who the Lord will use. J The Lord will use the person who is devoted to Him and who makes himself available and who yields his will to Jesus.

Proverbs 8:32-34 “Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching DAILY at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”

So, the first thing that I would encourage you to do to be close and to become more available to the Lord, is to spend time DAILY in God’s Word, praying and waiting upon the Lord and His direction and voice for your life.

There is no hard and fast “rule” about what time of day, but I have found and heard from many others that spending time with God first thing in the morning, is the best way to start your day…before your day quickly begins to “unravel”.

As I choose to count it important to draw close to the Lord, and give him the “first fruits” of my day, time and effort, He blesses it in such a way that is so amazing. We often feel as busy wives and mothers that if we get up early, we’ll never have enough energy to make it through our day. This is not what I’ve found to be true. I have instead seen the opposite be true….that the benefits of spending this early morning time with Jesus, FAR outweighs the few minutes of sleep I would have gotten had I slept in. God blesses my effort to get up, deny self and to spend time with him in ways that multiply my strength, endurance and rest!

Sometimes as young, busy wives and mothers we are told by older women that God understands that we are busy and don’t have time for spending time in His Word. They may “encourage” us to just read one verse a day or to just to read God’s Word when it fits into our lives. This would be like a mother saying to her teen child “I know you’re super busy, so only eat good, healthy food when you have time…or just eat one bite of good, healthy food a day and it will be fine.” Just as our body needs healthy, nutritious food our souls need to be nourished as well by reading God’s Word if we want a healthy spiritual life with God. If we tried to lead our lives only eating healthy food occasionally or only eating one bite a day we would be very weak and not very healthy in our physical body. God’s Word transforms our hearts and minds and it can’t happen very well if we’re only reading here and there as we feel we may have time, or if we’re only eating one “bite” of Scripture a day.

While God does understand how busy we are, he knows that we need to be nourished and that our strength comes from spending time with Him and drawing close to him each day. We want to be wise women and be careful about what advice we take from others, well meaning as it may be. When people try to help us or give us encouragement we need to be like the Bereans and study to know if the advice we’re being given lines up with what God’s Word says. Sometimes our “flesh” or sin nature likes to be told we don’t “have” to do something. That we don’t “have” to get up or we don’t “have” to spend time in God’s Word. Prayer and reading God’s Word takes discipline. Usually when we’re younger we are a bit more “fleshy” and don’t like disciplining ourselves to do something that is not easy for us. That is why God tells us that we need to DAILY take up our cross…and die to self…deny self….and follow Him. We get more of the fruits of the Spirit, by drawing close and spending more time with the Lord, in His Word and in praying.

Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me.” (Being in God’s Word daily, reminds us of our need for him daily. It also gives us the spiritual strength to deny self and to live for Christ as we should.)

Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

If we only pray, without reading God’s Word, we can be easily confused or deceived thinking we are hearing God’s voice, when we may not be. We need to combine reading God’s Word AND praying. In this way we will have the help of the Holy Spirit to guide us to have knowledge, wisdom, discernment and understanding from the Scriptures. We need to pray and ask God to give us understanding and insight into his will for our lives. It is a more balanced approach. He is faithful! Whoever asks for wisdom will get it! James 1:5

In our family we choose a book of the Bible and we switch back and forth between the Old Testament and the New Testament. For instance I just finished James and am now in Nehemiah. If you spend between 20 to 30 min. a day reading God’s Word you can easily finish the whole Bible in just one year. If you do this every year, you will begin to have God’s Word written upon your heart in a wonderful way. Just by reading God’s Word each day you will begin to memorize His Word. I have struggled to memorize, but have been amazed at how just reading God’s Word over and over “etches” it upon my heart and mind!

Sometimes we feel that God’s Word is “dry” or that it doesn’t apply or we just can’t understand it. As we just commit ourselves to doing what we know is good and right…we will develop more of an “appetite” and hunger for God’s Word. It’s much like how we train our little ones to eat good food. At first they only need to try it every time we eat it. Soon, little by little they end up not only liking it…but hungering for it! Recently our son Zachary who is 9 asked if I could pleeeease get some brussel sprouts for him next time we grocery shopped! This from the child who used to gag on them! He now hungers for them! Doesn’t this give you hope?!

His Word will become like a wonderful, godly “filter” in our hearts and minds that everything you see, hear, and read will be filtered through. All of us have MANY decisions we must make each and every day. We often find ourselves wishing we knew what was right to do and what decision would be right. The more time we spend reading God’s Word, and seeking his face, waiting upon him, knowing his principles the more we’ll know what to do that would be right, good and biblical as we go throughout our day and as we make decisions.

Each morning I pray and ask the Lord to show me what he has for me.

It might be:
Something new and more wonderful about Himself.
It might be a promise of God
It might be a direction to follow or a command to obey
Or it might be a correction, or something I need to confess and make right between God and whomever else I’ve offended
Or it could be an instruction He’s giving me

Being alert and attentive and having an attitude of studying and purposefulness (you are searching for treasure!) while I read really helps. We need to have an attitude of expectancy and anticipation while we read. We don’t read to just “check it off our list” of daily “to do’s.” We read, to deepen our relationship with Christ and to gain his wisdom for our lives. Realizing how VERY needy I am of the Lord and his work and wisdom in my life has helped me to become more and more motivated to spend time with Him and in His Word.

As I read, I am concentrating. I don’t fret or worry about what I do not yet understand instead, I focus on what the Lord does make clear to me, or what he does cause to “stand out” to me. The more I’ve read and the more I’ve tried to apply what the Lord has shown me, the more my understanding has grown! As we are faithful stewards of the small amount of truth we understand, the Lord is faithful to give us more truth, wisdom, discernment and understanding!

I don’t know if any of you have ever seen a Polaroid picture develop (maybe these are no longer around) but once you take a picture, it slowly develops and comes into focus…becoming clearer and clearer. This is kind of what it’s like as you spend time in God’s Word. His truths will slowly begin to become clearer and clearer to you, especially as you choose to think on what he’s shown you and apply it to your daily life.

As you read a section or passage of Scripture you are asking yourself 4 questions.

What is going on in this passage? What are the main facts?
Who was the book you’re reading written to originally and why was it written?
What does it mean? What are the lessons to be learned?
What does it mean to me, personally? How am I going to take this Scripture and allow it to become my flesh…apart of my life?

These three questions help us to begin to discern what God’s truths are, and how to apply them to our lives by the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit.

I love that God makes it possible for anyone who is able to read to be able to learn about Him and to know his truth and his principles. He has not made it difficult or something that we cannot attain….we just need to be willing to be disciplined and read His Word that he has so graciously and lovingly given us.

Sometimes it helps to personalize the passage you’re reading inserting the first person or your specific name.

Pray and ask the Lord to give you wisdom and discernment and show you ways to apply his principles and truth to your life. He is faithful. He says he will give us wisdom if we ask for it. James 1:5

I have been reading in Nehemiah in my morning quiet time. So, I thought I would take the verses that stood out to me this morning and show you how I would ask the 4 questions we’re talking about with this particular passage to understand what’s going on and to figure out how to apply it to my life. I read Nehemiah 1:1- 2:8.

As you ask question #1 “What is going on here?” the answer is that some men come from Judah to talk with Nehemiah. They want him to help the remnant of Jews that are in Jerusalem. They are appealing to Nehemiah for his help in rebuilding the walls and in helping the people who are living in the broken down, unprotected city of Jerusalem. The people are in distress and are troubled. Nehemiah’s reaction is one of humility and of immediately seeking the Lord. Nehemiah looks to God first, as he prayed and fasted and then he goes before the King. The king grants him this privilege. He gives Nehemiah papers so that he can get lumber from the king’s forest. So God, moved within the heart of this king to not only grant this appeal, and let Nehemiah go…but to also to provide for some of the needs in the rebuilding as well!

He mourned and he fasted…before God. He then confessed his sins and the sins of his people. He recounts God’s commands to his people and the punishment that God said would happen, if they did not obey. Basically Nehemiah’s saying we did what we knew we shouldn’t do and you punished us the way you said you would and the way you should have done. He’s being humble before God and honest and real. Then he makes an appeal to the Lord, that he would find favor before the King to go and help his people in Jerusalem. He praises God for his mercy and his love for his people.
When Nehemiah goes before the king, the king asks him what is wrong. Again, Nehemiah looks up and seeks help from the Lord first BEFORE answering…then he shares with the king in a humble, honoring way that he would like to go and help restore the walls of Jerusalem and help his people. In the end the king grants his desire, and Nehemiah realizes that it is because God’s gracious hand was upon him that he found favor with the king and is now able to go and help the people of Jerusalem.

Question #2 “Who was this book written to originally and why was it written?”
Nehemiah means “the Lord comforts.” Nehemiah is an account of a man who seeks the Lord and who obeys and honors the Lord. He is the man God chose to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem…no little feat…but one he did by God’s grace in just one year! His walk with the Lord and his seeking of the Lord, is one of my favorite stories. There is so much to learn from this incredible book!

Question #3 “What does it mean, what are the lessons to be learned?” So, for me the lessons that stood out to me, is that Nehemiah has a heart for his people.
He loves who God loves. He has a heart for God. He responds by immediately turning to the Lord and seeking his wisdom and discernment. He responds with humility. And with a desire to help. He didn’t hear about the need and wrongly think “it’s not my problem.” Or “serves them right!” or “too bad, they should have obeyed!” He has love, mercy and compassion upon the people of Jerusalem. He looks to God and he mourns, fasts and prays. He didn’t just do what he thought was best….he looked to the Lord to see what God’s directions were and to make an appeal for his people before God. He doesn’t just ask God to do what he wants him to do…he first confesses his sins and the sins of the people. He recounts God’s commands to his people and the punishment that God said would happen, if they did not obey his directions to them. Basically Nehemiah’s saying we did what we knew we shouldn’t do and you punished us the way you said you would and the way you should have done. He’s being humble before God and honest and real. Then he makes an appeal to the Lord, that he would find favor before the King to go and help God’s people in Jerusalem. He praises God for his mercy and his love for his people.

When he goes before the king, and the king asks him what is wrong…before Nehemiah speaks…he again, looks to the Lord! This is a man of prayer! Then he humbly and respectfully answers the king.

The final thing is that after the king shows Nehemiah great favor by allowing him to go and by helping Nehemiah by giving him resources to help with the rebuilding…what is Nehemiah’s reaction? He is again, humble and gives God glory! He says that the success was because of God’s hand being upon him!

Question #4 is “How can I apply what I read to my life?” We need to ask the Lord to search our hearts and to show us how this truth needs to be applied to our lives. He will give us wisdom, and discernment if we ask. James 1:5

For me, it was a reminder to be QUICK to look to the Lord when hearing of a need and to seek his wisdom first and foremost, and to wait upon his direction and leading before doing anything.

Reading this passage reminded me again and caused me to be soooo very grateful for how gracious and loving our God is! How when we sin, while he may need to discipline us….he does so out of love and he is gracious and merciful with us. He does not treat us as our sins FULLY deserve…he remembers that we are weak, that we are “dust” Ps. 103:14. He disciplines but he also gives us grace and mercy. This truth just continues to make me soooo very thankful and grateful to the Lord and it truly humbles me.

Ps. 103:8-10, 13-14 “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever, he does NOT treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed he remembers that we are dust.”

I was reminded of the importance of praying BEFORE we answer others. As Nehemiah did before answering the king. I know in my own life, I have sometimes struggled with this. It is always good for me to be reminded of the truth of needing to give thought to my answers and my ways.

Pro. 14:15 “But a prudent man gives thought to his steps”
Pro. 21:29 “an upright man gives thought to his ways.”
Pro. 21:23 “He who guards his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself from calamity.”

I need to count it important to be humble and respectful…to be conscious of wanting to honor and please God with the words I speak to others.
*I realized that I had not stopped and prayed and given thought before answering someone and I needed to go and make it right with the Lord and them. So I wrote myself a note and prayed for the grace to have the courage to repent and to apologize.

As we read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit can use the truth we’re reading to convict us and to show us things we need to confess and make right. The Word of God holds up God’s truths and his standard and his principles and then the Holy Spirit helps us to see and reveals to us sin that may be in our lives that we need to get rid of through God’s grace. It is sooo very healing. When we allow the Holy Spirit and God’s grace to help us be humble….we receive God’s help and his grace and forgiveness and it is such a sweet, sweet blessing to be right with the Lord and to have his sweet peace.

James 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace (help) to the humble.”

There is no condemnation for us as believers. As we humble ourselves and seek to make it right with God and others…we can experience God’s freedom in our hearts and souls and healing.

Also, to give God glory when things go well. When the meeting went well between Nehemiah and the king….the first thing that Nehemiah did in verse 8 was to give the glory to God. He says “And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.” It was something that was so apart of Nehemiah’s thought process…so “woven” into his thoughts and written upon his heart, that it was an immediate response…to recognize that it was the LORD that had given him favor and that the LORD’S hand had been upon him that had given him success! All the good in my life is ALL Jesus! This reminder again, causes me to have GREAT thankfulness and gratitude toward the Lord and ALL he has done and will do in my life! It brings me HUGE joy too, to think on these things!

Underline in your Bible the verse or verses that “stood out” to you. Sometimes we feel bad underlining in our Bible. We somehow feel it might be wrong. But it isn’t! J As you underline, you are helping those words to stand out so you can remember them and use them.
You may even want to write down this verse or verses on a little slip of paper or an index card each day and carry it in your pocket. See if you can remember what you read that morning 15 min. later, or 30 min. or hours later. This helps you to meditate upon what the Lord showed you, and purpose to remember it. Writing it down also helps you to apply it to your life. We can’t apply what we don’t even remember! Another helpful tool is to keep a journal, and write down daily what verses the Lord caused to “stand out” to you and write down how you feel the Lord would have you apply it to your life.

Using an exhaustive concordance, commentaries, and the Greek and Hebrew meanings of words will also help you to gain deeper understanding and knowledge. But I would encourage you to not overuse these thing, while they are important you may want to pray and allow the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and understanding first of what you’re reading in God’s Word. Then for deeper study times or to study a subject or do a word search study I would encourage you to use those other study tools. You may not want to use them every time you read God’s Word. It may “bog” you down too much. Just look to the Lord for the most part and his Holy Spirit will guide you. I will also sometimes use a dictionary to look up a certain word in the verse or verses the Lord gave me. For instance when it says for fathers to not exasperate their children in Eph. Chapter 6. I got the dictionary out and looked up the meaning of “exasperate”. If we as parents were not supposed to do this to our children, I wanted to make sure I fully understood what the word meant. I have truly seen the Lord be so very faithful over the years to help me glean understanding and wisdom as I just rely upon Him and his Holy Spirit without using a bunch of other “tools”.

James 1:22-25 has been very helpful for me in my life. It says
“Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it ~ he will be blessed in what he does.”

John 15:4-5 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither, can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me he can do nothing.”

One way to remain in Jesus is to spend time with him each day, abiding in Him. As we read his love letters to us, through the Bible and as we pray and seek his face, we are choosing to count it important to spend time with Jesus, to draw close to Him. The more we get to know Jesus, the more we’ll love him. The more we love Jesus, the more we’ll desire to obey Him.

I pray that this helps and encourages each of you. The number one thing that has GREATLY changed my life is spending daily time with Jesus in His Word and in praying and talking with Him.

I pray that each of you will be richly blessed as you choose to begin to make daily time with the Lord in His Word a discipline in your life. You will NEVER regret this time you spend with Jesus!

The more you read, the more you pray, the more you apply what you’re learning…the more you’ll understand and the more you’ll grow spiritually. It is from the constant use of applying God’s truths to our lives that we become spiritually mature. J

God bless each of you!
With much love,
Lori

Reading God’s Word with Little Ones:

How can we help our young children learn to put their faith in Christ?

Romans 10:17 , "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ."

Reading God’s Word to our children will help them to develop faith in Christ in their lives. We’ve often been asked “when should parents start doing this or begin establishing this as a family habit?” We say from the time they are married. And we should read to our children from the time they are born. When we have only one child this may seem silly. Usually families with several children never think it silly that the baby is in the room while we read God’s Word or study it as a family. The baby is just part of the family and so he or she is included. But, when we begin our family, we should also read as a family…bring the baby into bed with you and your husband as you read together out loud. Or read together after dinner as you snuggle on the couch. You may think “the baby doesn’t know or understand” but, we have read what God has to say about it. He says that it is in the hearing of God’s Word that faith is built. God’s Word is alive and active and able to do what NO other book can do in the hearts and lives of our little ones. Babies love to hear our voices. They love for us to talk to them. Why not allow some of what they hear, be our voices reading God’s Word and truth to them? Why not allow the Holy Spirit to write this truth from the time they are little, upon their hearts and minds?

God’s Word is alive and active! It penetrates our soul and spirit.

Heb. 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Paul encourages Timothy to CONTINUE in what he learned and has become convinced of….from infancy. God’s Word is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training our children (and US) in righteousness (in becoming right with God.) Hearing and reading God’s Word with our children can help make them “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

2 Tim. 3:14-17 “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

As Christian parents we desire to teach and train our children to see their need for Christ and to put their hope and faith in Christ. We desire to help them see their need for Christ and his work and redemption in their lives. We desire that our children be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” But often as young parents we just aren’t quite sure how to do this.

The verses above I hope will be encouraging to you and give you some direction. I think it’s wise to say that hearing and reading God’s Word from the time that our children are young, is something God’s Word says is beneficial and helpful for our children and for us.

Some practical suggestions for how to do this:

*Every family is unique and different. Each couple must pray and look to the Lord and talk about what will work well for their particular family. Here are some suggestions of things we’ve done and used that have helped us establish a daily habit of Bible reading.

The key is to try to make it as routine as possible to get this habit firmly established. After it becomes a habit, you could move the time around a bit more….but when you are just beginning, it really is helpful if you can choose the same time every day and the same place to read God’s Word as a family or to your children.

1. It is important for your children to see that you value God’s Word in your own lives, if you want them to value it in theirs. Do they see you counting it important to read God’s Word each day? Do they see you turn to the Lord when you need wisdom, discernment or help through prayer? Do they see you study God’s Word to find answers to life’s problems and questions? Do they see you pray before making decisions? Do they see you base your decisions upon God’s truth and principles throughout life? Do you explain what principles you’re using in life as you walk along the way with your children? Are you actively mentoring them and discipling them? Do they hear you share God’s Word when encouraging them and others? Do they hear you base your training and discipline on God’s principles as the authority in your life and in your home? Are you sharing God’s truth in love with your children? Or are you inadvertently hitting them over the head with it? Are we drawing our children to Christ, being the fragrance of Christ to them? Are we allowing them to see our failures and are we humbly admitting our need for Christ and for him to change us and to transform us?

2. When your children are toddlers or very young (pre-schoolers) not yet reading well, it is good for them to take some time each day to look through a Bible story book…and you can encourage them to start their day by looking through their “Bible” and to pray. Little ones love to do this! Maybe this is what they can do till if they wake up and mom is still doing her quiet time with the Lord. Little ones can stay in bed and do their “quiet time with the Lord” too! Before bed at night is another wonderful time for little ones to have this sweet time with the Lord.
We would read their Bible story book to them and record our voices so that at rest time after lunch when they were no longer taking naps, they could “read” their Bible story book along with our voice reading to them. You could do this with actual Scripture from the Bible as well. They could play while hearing you read the Bible to them on a recording. There are still cassettes that you can tape your voice on and now there are digital recorders as well.

3. We had lots of little children, so it was difficult to figure out a way to help them kind of be somewhat quiet so I could read God’s Word to them. We prayed and felt the Lord leading us to use the time that they eat breakfast in the morning to read God’s Word to them. I would eat my bagel or yogurt and coffee earlier in the morning when I had my own time in God’s Word, so that I could read to the children, while they ate their breakfast. I would read for a few minutes…usually a chapter is what we got through most days. They shocked me with what their understanding was and their questions and input were always so sweet and so encouraging! (And truthfully sometimes it was also hilarious!)

4. Another time we would read God’s Word to our children was after dinner. We would allow them to get a quiet toy (like a hot wheel car, or a doll) to hold and quietly play with as they sat or laid on the floor or on the couch. They didn’t have to sit still, but they did have to be quiet and not interrupt or distract others. If they could not do this, then they did have to sit still next to either Mark or I while we read. We also would allow our children to color while we read, this helped them to listen better sometimes. We were always amazed at what they heard and remembered, even when it didn’t always look like they were listening.

5. We would play God’s Word in the car as we would run errands. We had a dramatized version of the Bible. It was just God’s Word, but different people would read it and they put sounds to what was going on. For example if the section of Scripture that we were listening to was in reference to Jesus walking through a town, you might hear donkeys, carts going, people talking in the background etc. Our children loved this. We also liked Steve Green’s Hide em’ in Your Heart cd’s and dvd’s. He takes God’s Word and puts it to music. This was a fun and easy way for our children to learn and memorize Scripture.

6. As our children learned to read well on their own, we still read God’s Word as a family and studied it…but we also began to help our children establish their own time in God’s Word each morning. We purchase a real Bible for them in whatever translation your family uses. We did get their Bibles in larger print, to make it easier for them to read it. This has been super helpful for them. Then we set a timer and they get to choose the book they read. We encourage them not to skip around a bunch. We prefer that they read one book in the New Testament and then switch to a book in the Old Testament. They switch back and forth as they finish each book. By the time our children are 18 they have read through the entire Bible many times over. It is amazing how much they know and remember just by reading it over and over! It is a wonderful godly “bank deposit” that we make into their spiritual bank account every day. There have been occasions when our children didn’t want to read. But as we have talked with them, they continue. And eventually they thank us for having encouraged them to stick with it and not give up! It is a wonderful, godly habit that we pray they will keep up all their lives.

7. We also encourage our children to do word studies. We do this from time to time in our family devotion time each day. If we are focusing on the character quality of love, we may look up quite a few verses and take turns reading them and discussing them. We may choose one to memorize as a family. We also encourage our children to do this on their own as well.

8. While we feel that memorizing Scripture has it’s own life long rewards…we have on occasion given prizes out for Scripture memory. Like for instance when we had our children memorize the Brother Offended Chart by Doorposts.

9. As our children get older, we teach them to use Bible study tools like an exhaustive concordance, topical Bible and trusted commentaries to add to their studying of Scripture.
Another way to memorize Scripture is to read a portion that you are seeking to memorize. You can put hand motions to it or act it out. You can also read the section over and over several times each day to your children. As you read, stop and pause and allow them to fill in the gaps with the Scripture they’ve memorized. You can also memorize chapters at a time, by taking one verse at a time…memorize it and then review that verse while you add a new verse on to it. We have memorized Ps. 103, Ps. 119, Ps. 139 this way.

When we would read God’s Word to our children we didn’t try to go into long and length explanations. We just allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to them mostly. But if they had questions we would talk with them…or if we felt that something needed to be discussed we would explain it…or ask questions etc.

The times we’ve spent reading and studying God’s Word with our children have been awesome! We have had soooo many wonderful discussions about all of the issues we face in life. And we’ve been able to hear their hearts and we’ve been able to share ours as well. It has been a time of real bonding together and drawing close to the Lord together. I highly recommend it for every family!

Reading God’s Word and using it as the “plumb line” for what we do in life, has helped our children develop a godly world view and to know how to give a good answer for the hope they have as the Word tells us we should.

We are far from having “arrived” and there is still so much we need to learn and to know….studying God’s Word is a life long endeavor for sure! I learn new things all the time, and also it’s sooo important for us to be REMINDED of truth! Unfortunately we are quick to forget the truths that we so need in our lives. So having a daily habit of Bible reading helps us to be renewed in our thinking and washed in the water of the Word, and to be transformed in our hearts and minds. There is so much around us and our children each day that is the opposite of what the Lord would have it to be. So many thoughts and words and sights that enter into our hearts and minds through media, friendships, work, school, etc. that we need to constantly allow the Lord and his Word to “wash” us and to renew a steadfast heart within all of us!

Pro. 9:9-10 Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of the Lord (the awe and respect of Him) is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Ps. 139:23-24 “Search me O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

As we and our children read God’s Word, our faith is built, we gain knowledge and understanding, our minds and hearts are transformed, and the Lord is able to help us see ways that we are sinning or not living in a way that is honoring to Him…and through his Holy Spirit and his Truth, we can learn how to yield, trust and obey Him….to walk in the way everlasting!

I pray that this is helpful to you.
With much love in Christ,
Lori

Monthly Moms Meetings

2009-08-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce that God has graciously provided a new place for our monthly moms meetings! Starting in October. The date is October 5th. We will be meeting at Lake Hazel Bible Church on Lake Hazel Road (between Five Mile and Cloverdale). This church has wonderful, comfy chairs, a kitchen for us to hold cooking classes in, and has a more intimate feeling.

It will be on the 1st Monday of every month, so mark your calendars!

We will open the doors at 6:30 p.m. for Keepers best exchange and for a time of food and fellowship. For those of you who don't already know....Keepers best exchange is where you can bring household items to give away and then anyone is free to take home what they need from the items available. It's been a real blessing to many of the moms that attend.

7:00 Worship will begin

7:15 Teaching will begin

9:00 Q & A will begin ~ small group discussion on a variety of topics

I encourage all of you to come early and have a snack and fellowship and if possible stay afterwards for a bit for the Q & A and get to know some of the ladies in our group better. We have such a wonderful group of women and I would love for all of us to know one another better.

Announcement:
We will no longer be having Keepers of the Home at Calvary Chapel Boise. We have been so very grateful to CC Boise for blessing us and allowing us to meet in their facility! We have enjoyed the time we have had there. Lately, we have been helping Pastor Bob of Calvary Chapel Boise to establish a wonderful new group called Family of Promise at CC Boise. This group will take the place of Keepers and Leaders which used to meet at Calvary Chapel Boise.

We hope you'll check Family of Promise out. It is a wonderful monthly encouragement group for families. There is child care provided each month and couples can go and hear encouragement on marriage and parenting and other topics that pertain to family life. I highly recommend it!