This week, my daughter Mary, AKA The Cleaning Lady, and I are working on cleaning/organizing all the kitchen cupboards and the hall closets while she enjoys her homeschool Winter Break. Mary is the unusual child who actually enjoys the peace and order of a clean and orderly home and eagerly works hard to help me each week with routine cleaning.
Not every child or mom, as you know, enjoys cleaning and de-cluttering. In her book, The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized, Karen Ehman talks about how her methods and gentle guidance tranformed her daughter, “the messy”, to appreciate orderliness and take responsibility for the up-keep of her room.
Regardless of your children's gifts for orderliness, I believe it is critically important for moms to train ourselves and our children to organize and maintain our homes and bedrooms. Whether or not your home and your children's rooms are in need of serious de-cluttering and organization, I hope you will join our Continuing Education For MomsSeminar with author and speaker Karen Ehman tomorrow night.
Karen, homeschool mom of 3, is also a speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries, and has been a guest on the 700 Club. She has written four books that I know of which are: Homespun Gifts From the Heart, Homespun Memories for the Heart, A Life that Says Welcome, and her newest book, The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized, which is our topic on Thursday night.
Here is the contact information:
Date: Thursday, February 21, 2008
Scheduled Start Time: 9:00 PM EST, 8:00 CST, 7:00 PM MST, 6:00 PST (Adjust for your time zone, please.)
Dial-in Number: 1-605-475-4150
Participant Access Code: 754074
If you have never participated in a phone seminar before, here is how it works:
1. You dial in the phone number below to the seminar. (You pay only for the phone call.)
2. Key in the seminar access code.
3. Introduce yourself, it you wish.
4. Bring a notebook to take notes, a cup of tea, and have your questions ready.
5.Don't worry about background noise, we will mute that out.
miércoles, 20 de febrero de 2008
What I Wish I'd Known
ON MY HEART by Marilyn Moll
Last week I was the speaker for Cindy Rushton's Talk-a-Latte discussion program with the ongoing theme of “What I Wish I'd Known” program. Cindy is doing a 12 week series inviting a variety of guests to speak on this subject, including yours truly. (You can join Cindy for this study at this link: talk-a-latte.com/newstudies.html -Look for JUST WISH I'D KNOWN)
When Cindy's first told me what the topic would be, I thought, “What a great topic. This will be easy to talk about!” First I will talk about how to bake bread and why its so great, how to get organized, how to homeschool on a shoestring, what I wish I had known about child training and all the other homemaking skills I have learned over the years.
Then lots of scripture verses came into my mind that God has used to mold me, direct me, and encourage me over the years. My talk turned out to be more about my spiritual journey and what I wish I'd known spiritually. Possibly many of my newsletter subscribers might be more interested in “What I wished I had known spiritually” rather than what I know about baking bread, menu planning, cooking for wellness, etc.
For example, I talked about what I wished I'd known about ungodly perfectionism. What I know now, is that allowing perfectionism and comparisons to go on in our mind is quite a prevalent and insidious, maybe even rampant problem among Christian women.
Regardless of your personal struggles, I believe it is very hard for women to see that an effective tool in the enemy's arsenal is designed to keep our eyes off of God and on our circumstances.
This evil attack takes place in our minds and seeks to destroy us, our families, our joy, and our peace just through our thoughts.
Here is my working definition of Perfectionism:
A sense of drivenness
Continued feelings of not being good enough.
Deep underlying need to control one's life.
Excessive striving after reward and recognition.
Perpetual jealousy of others and a making of comparisons. Again, it is the idea that so and so has more money, better husband, nicer house, higher achieving kids, gorgeous clothes, great figure, she's a great cook and on and on it goes.
It robs our peace, It can put us into a depression.
The thoughts go through our mind over and over, accusing us and discouraging us. These thoughts can literally make us sick. Click here if you are interested in reading the text of my presentation, What I Wish I'd Known, or listening to a complimentary recording of the presentation with follow-up discussion.
In addition, Cindy has generously offered to share her Mommy Care Package Just for Mom, a complimentary collection of six talks by Cindy designed to pamper and encourage moms. Great listening for your Ipods and MP3 players!
Last week I was the speaker for Cindy Rushton's Talk-a-Latte discussion program with the ongoing theme of “What I Wish I'd Known” program. Cindy is doing a 12 week series inviting a variety of guests to speak on this subject, including yours truly. (You can join Cindy for this study at this link: talk-a-latte.com/newstudies.html -Look for JUST WISH I'D KNOWN)
When Cindy's first told me what the topic would be, I thought, “What a great topic. This will be easy to talk about!” First I will talk about how to bake bread and why its so great, how to get organized, how to homeschool on a shoestring, what I wish I had known about child training and all the other homemaking skills I have learned over the years.
Then lots of scripture verses came into my mind that God has used to mold me, direct me, and encourage me over the years. My talk turned out to be more about my spiritual journey and what I wish I'd known spiritually. Possibly many of my newsletter subscribers might be more interested in “What I wished I had known spiritually” rather than what I know about baking bread, menu planning, cooking for wellness, etc.
For example, I talked about what I wished I'd known about ungodly perfectionism. What I know now, is that allowing perfectionism and comparisons to go on in our mind is quite a prevalent and insidious, maybe even rampant problem among Christian women.
Regardless of your personal struggles, I believe it is very hard for women to see that an effective tool in the enemy's arsenal is designed to keep our eyes off of God and on our circumstances.
This evil attack takes place in our minds and seeks to destroy us, our families, our joy, and our peace just through our thoughts.
Here is my working definition of Perfectionism:
A sense of drivenness
Continued feelings of not being good enough.
Deep underlying need to control one's life.
Excessive striving after reward and recognition.
Perpetual jealousy of others and a making of comparisons. Again, it is the idea that so and so has more money, better husband, nicer house, higher achieving kids, gorgeous clothes, great figure, she's a great cook and on and on it goes.
It robs our peace, It can put us into a depression.
The thoughts go through our mind over and over, accusing us and discouraging us. These thoughts can literally make us sick. Click here if you are interested in reading the text of my presentation, What I Wish I'd Known, or listening to a complimentary recording of the presentation with follow-up discussion.
In addition, Cindy has generously offered to share her Mommy Care Package Just for Mom, a complimentary collection of six talks by Cindy designed to pamper and encourage moms. Great listening for your Ipods and MP3 players!
What's happenning with Grain Prices?
Some of you may know that the wheat market has recently been better for farmers than the last thirty or more years. You may have heard wheat prices are skyrocketing. Or possibly you are just noticing frequent price changes in the grocery store.
There are many factors affecting wheat prices. One major factor is the world -wide shortage of wheat due to poor harvests in South America, Australia, and other wheat growing regions in recent years. For awhile last year, the United States was the only country with wheat available for export.
Wheat market analysts had hoped that southern hemisphere markets would have had a better than expected wheat harvest this season. Unfortunately, the harvest in those areas, particularly in Australia was “very disappointing”. Again this is continuing to cause upward pressures on wheat pricing as well as availability in certain markets.
Another variable contributing to the wheat price equation has been ethanol. A percentage of farmers have pulled significant amounts of acreage out of wheat production in favor of corn. Some forecasters are predicting current inventories of wheat to run out on or before the 2008 harvest comes in.
Meanwhile, our wheat supplier has raised our prices about five times in the last six months, and found themselves having to adjust their prices, sometimes almost daily, to keep up with the wheat market because of the above pressures.
One customer suggested to me that possibly they should wait on purchasing grain supplies for another year and see what happens. I do not have a crystal ball and do not know what tomorrow holds. Even if worldwide harvests should improve over the next year (which is greatly debatable due to the past few years' track record), the ethanol connection will continue to affect crop plantings and affect prices and availability. My personal view is that now is the time to buy wheat before the prices go any higher and to ensure that my family has a supply of wheat and other grains on hand.
I believe home reserves of wheat, other grains, and even canned goods is a consumer's best protection against higher food prices. Last fall I remember noting that our local commercial bread price had gone up about 25%, and that only a portion of that increase could be attributed to the cost of the grain due to increased transportation and other energy costs.
In fact, there hasn't been a better time to purchase home grain mills and bread baking equipment which not only invests in your family's health but helps to mitigate against ever higher food prices.
“Coincidentally”, my daughter Mary's memory verse last week was from Proverbs 6:6-11 - “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from our sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond, and want like an armed man.”
What this verse in essence is saying is that preparedness, planning ahead, is a plan to succeed. Fail to plan, and you plan to fail. I haven't talked about preparedness for quite a few years, but the setting aside of a portion of what I have today for future needs is a timeless principle found in the Bible.
Consider the story of Joseph, who through interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, was led to put aside enough grain in the good years to carry the Egyptians and citizens of other countries, including the provision of his own extended family, through a long period of drought and scarcity.
I hope you will read the article by Kathie Palladino that originally appeared in New Harvest Homestead entitled Learn From the Ant. None of us are exempt from possible economic uncertainties, catastrophic weather such as hurricanes and tornados, or potential crop failures.
One more point I'll make is that one must never be motivated out of fear. Jesus said over and over, “Do not fear”. We must be motivated by faith; faith that God will provide and use us as a blessing.
There are many factors affecting wheat prices. One major factor is the world -wide shortage of wheat due to poor harvests in South America, Australia, and other wheat growing regions in recent years. For awhile last year, the United States was the only country with wheat available for export.
Wheat market analysts had hoped that southern hemisphere markets would have had a better than expected wheat harvest this season. Unfortunately, the harvest in those areas, particularly in Australia was “very disappointing”. Again this is continuing to cause upward pressures on wheat pricing as well as availability in certain markets.
Another variable contributing to the wheat price equation has been ethanol. A percentage of farmers have pulled significant amounts of acreage out of wheat production in favor of corn. Some forecasters are predicting current inventories of wheat to run out on or before the 2008 harvest comes in.
Meanwhile, our wheat supplier has raised our prices about five times in the last six months, and found themselves having to adjust their prices, sometimes almost daily, to keep up with the wheat market because of the above pressures.
One customer suggested to me that possibly they should wait on purchasing grain supplies for another year and see what happens. I do not have a crystal ball and do not know what tomorrow holds. Even if worldwide harvests should improve over the next year (which is greatly debatable due to the past few years' track record), the ethanol connection will continue to affect crop plantings and affect prices and availability. My personal view is that now is the time to buy wheat before the prices go any higher and to ensure that my family has a supply of wheat and other grains on hand.
I believe home reserves of wheat, other grains, and even canned goods is a consumer's best protection against higher food prices. Last fall I remember noting that our local commercial bread price had gone up about 25%, and that only a portion of that increase could be attributed to the cost of the grain due to increased transportation and other energy costs.
In fact, there hasn't been a better time to purchase home grain mills and bread baking equipment which not only invests in your family's health but helps to mitigate against ever higher food prices.
“Coincidentally”, my daughter Mary's memory verse last week was from Proverbs 6:6-11 - “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from our sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond, and want like an armed man.”
What this verse in essence is saying is that preparedness, planning ahead, is a plan to succeed. Fail to plan, and you plan to fail. I haven't talked about preparedness for quite a few years, but the setting aside of a portion of what I have today for future needs is a timeless principle found in the Bible.
Consider the story of Joseph, who through interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams, was led to put aside enough grain in the good years to carry the Egyptians and citizens of other countries, including the provision of his own extended family, through a long period of drought and scarcity.
I hope you will read the article by Kathie Palladino that originally appeared in New Harvest Homestead entitled Learn From the Ant. None of us are exempt from possible economic uncertainties, catastrophic weather such as hurricanes and tornados, or potential crop failures.
One more point I'll make is that one must never be motivated out of fear. Jesus said over and over, “Do not fear”. We must be motivated by faith; faith that God will provide and use us as a blessing.
miércoles, 6 de febrero de 2008
Making More Meals with Less!
My new blog contest will be discussion about how you are keeping your grocery bills under control while food and grain prices skyrocket. I want you to talk about how you are stretching your food dollars by making MORE WITH LESS.
More with Less has been one of my most favorite cookbooks, next to Sue Gregg books that I have been using for over twenty years. I like the way they have time saving recipes and lots of "gather up the fragments" ideas to use up a little or this and little of that. Nothing goes to waste. The food is delicious and nutritious.
To get you started, I will tell you I have been making a game of using up dribs and drabs in my freezer and on my pantry shelves while improvising recipes as I go. I have only bought eggs, milk, fresh veggies, yogurt, butter and cheese for the last three weeks. My goal is to keep going until the shelves need restocking!
For example I made Stir Fry with vegetables on hand and a small amount of leftover roast beef (about two servings of beef) that fed six last week. Tomorrow night I'm making leftover Chili Soup with the following ingredients I found in my freezer today: Leftover pinto beans, baby sausages, and frozen corn. I will be adding onion, cumin, chili powder, garlic, Monterey Jack cheese salt and pepper and a dollap of sour cream in the soup. I used corn chips as a compliment to this soup.
When my husband saw this soup he thought, "What is this?" But it came out quite well, after adjusting the seasonings. Our friend Laura joined us for dinner and thought it was great. I surprised myself it concocting something yummy with leftovers.
Prize winners will be judged based on creativity and originality of their ideas. Specific ideas with pictures and recipes will get top ratings. (Email digital photos in jpg format to marilyn@urbanhomemaker.com so I can post them.)
I will be awarding a copy of my ebook, Fast and Healthy Menus for Busy Moms to the top 10 Winning posters.
I will award a Grand Prize of all four of my ebooks to the best overall entry: Fast and Healthy Menus for Busy Moms, Breakfasts for Busy Moms, Sensational Summer Salads, and A Beginner's Guide to Baking Bread. (A $34.00 value)
More with Less has been one of my most favorite cookbooks, next to Sue Gregg books that I have been using for over twenty years. I like the way they have time saving recipes and lots of "gather up the fragments" ideas to use up a little or this and little of that. Nothing goes to waste. The food is delicious and nutritious.
To get you started, I will tell you I have been making a game of using up dribs and drabs in my freezer and on my pantry shelves while improvising recipes as I go. I have only bought eggs, milk, fresh veggies, yogurt, butter and cheese for the last three weeks. My goal is to keep going until the shelves need restocking!
For example I made Stir Fry with vegetables on hand and a small amount of leftover roast beef (about two servings of beef) that fed six last week. Tomorrow night I'm making leftover Chili Soup with the following ingredients I found in my freezer today: Leftover pinto beans, baby sausages, and frozen corn. I will be adding onion, cumin, chili powder, garlic, Monterey Jack cheese salt and pepper and a dollap of sour cream in the soup. I used corn chips as a compliment to this soup.
When my husband saw this soup he thought, "What is this?" But it came out quite well, after adjusting the seasonings. Our friend Laura joined us for dinner and thought it was great. I surprised myself it concocting something yummy with leftovers.
Prize winners will be judged based on creativity and originality of their ideas. Specific ideas with pictures and recipes will get top ratings. (Email digital photos in jpg format to marilyn@urbanhomemaker.com so I can post them.)
I will be awarding a copy of my ebook, Fast and Healthy Menus for Busy Moms to the top 10 Winning posters.
I will award a Grand Prize of all four of my ebooks to the best overall entry: Fast and Healthy Menus for Busy Moms, Breakfasts for Busy Moms, Sensational Summer Salads, and A Beginner's Guide to Baking Bread. (A $34.00 value)
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