Perspective on Wealth

Check out this article from the Get Rich Slowly blog for an interesting perspective on wealth.  It will leave your more grateful for what you have right now.

May Monthly Update

Alright, it has definitely been more than a month since I have written any type of update, but none the less. here is one now.  At the very end of March, we moved to Village Manor to be closer to the seminary.  The smaller space is worth being close to school and we gained a lot of green space for the kids to play outside.  I'm also loving the wood floors.  They are so much easier to clean with kids.  The first semester of James being back in school full time has been successfully completed.  Things are slowing down for the summer since James is just working.  Madison is one now and is walking.  Marissa will be turning four next month on "June nineteen" as she loves to tell anyone who will listen.  Makayla is doing well too and has started talking non-stop.  Her favorite thing is playing with all their little animals and people.

Easter Baskets

As I mentioned before we don't use the Easter bunny as part of our celebration.  However, like Christmas stockings I haven't give up Easter baskets for the kids either.  It can be difficult to avoid the Easter bunny paraphernalia when looking to fill them.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on candy and little trinkets that would quickly lost and broken.  Plus, I know they'll be getting candy at church during the Resurrection Egg Hunt.

 We found our filled baskets on Etsy from Green Mountain Wee Woolies.  The girls will be able to use their baskets from year to year and they each have a few simple, lovely items in their baskets.  The contents shown are from Marissa's basket and the other picture is of wool covered soaps that I also got to add to their baskets.  Each girls basket is different in color and the contents are slightly different.  (I feel I need to say that the seller was wonderful and did a custom baby friendly basket for Madison and each of the girls' baskets had something extra stuck in that wasn't part of the sale.)

Christianity Today has an article with ideas for a Christian themed Easter basket at the bottom of this article.  We didn't go for strictly Christian themed baskets.  I'm okay with gift giving being a part of the whole celebration and don't feel that the gifts need to necessarily have a spiritual significance.

DIY Resurrection Eggs

Many of you have probably seen sets of Resurrection Eggs used at church egg hunts and for sale in Christian book stores.  Resurrection eggs are a set of plastic Easter eggs with a small object inside that is used to tell the Easter story to children.  Mrs. Wilt at The Sparrow's Nest has a wonderful post on making your own set.  Enjoy.

Preparing for Easter

I have spent a lot of time this year thinking about our Easter celebration, and our celebrations in general.  James, I'm sure thought I was crazy when talking about Easter in January.  I want to be purposeful in planning holiday traditions that honor God and reflect what we claim to be celebrating.  We've never done Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny with the kids, but have sometimes struggled in thinking of better traditions to fill our celebrations with.  I read, Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper, and it is full of just those things.  You can see a photo of the book to the right, and read the whole book free online here.  Take the time to at least read the Easter section. 

The girls are already beginning to remember what is special about certain holidays.  The know birthdays involve cake and Christmas is about baby Jesus.  As Christians, Easter should be our most celebrated holiday as we reflect on Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross and the victory of His resurrection.  

I hope to share with you ideas throughout the month on celebrating Easter with your children in a way that brings them to the cross and an empty tomb, not just bunnies and colored eggs.

A General Update

After a long bit of silence, I thought a general update was in order.  February was quite crazy for us.   After a trip to the emergency room, I was admitted to the hospital and had my gallbladder removed.  And since mom in the hospital wasn't interesting enough, we got hit with the flu at the same time.  Even when I finally was released, neither James and I were in good enough condition to take care of the kids.  Our wonderful pastor and wife, took care of  our oldest two for three days.  Being in seminary away from family, what a wonderful thing it is to be able to rely on fellow believers.  We are all much healthier now.

I am enjoying taking SWI classes for the first time in a long while.  I am finishing up SBC I & II and am taking Old Testament and New Testament Survey starting next week.  James is excited to be back in classes as well.  He'll be hitting mid-term time next week and be getting into paper writing more heavily as well.

The girls are all doing well.  Madison can stand up by herself now.  She falls down pretty quick too.  Its funny to watch her bob up and down in the middle of the living room.  Makayla is starting to talk so much more clearly.  Marissa can write most of her letters now, and that's her new favorite hobby.  If she's not writing them on paper, she's tracing them in the air, or with her foot in the dirt.

A Humbling Experience

Interviewing with churches for potential ministry positions is quite unique.  In no other situation, that I can think of, is the entire family part of the interview process.  For whatever reason I had taken particular care this week to make sure everyone was dressed appropriately and that we had all the extras for the kids like snacks, juice boxes, distractions for during the interview etc.  I had spent a lot of time in prayer for James, the sermon, and the congregation throughout the week, but I had also spent time taking care of things that would allow us to make a general good first impression.  We left quite early Sunday morning to allow for a long commute and plenty of time before Sunday School began.  All seemed to be going well as we spotted the church without a problem and had time to spare.  Then as we pulled in to the church parking lot a car sick child vomited.  Marissa emptied  the contents of her stomach, and everyone except the baby ended up with some on them.  We needed our extra time to change the kids clothing and get ourselves and the car cleaned up the best we could.  It was a humble reminder for me that many of the things I had spent time on this week didn't really matter and that the situation was completely in God's hands.  The message brought from God's word was excellent even if the man brining it still smelled a bit like soured milk, and I have nothing but peace about the situation now. 

Easy Alfredo Sauce

This is a very easy and very yummy recipe for an Alfredo sauce.  It can be modified to use low-fat cream cheese and milk to be healthier.

Ingredients

• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• 1 Cup Milk
• 3 Tbsp Parmesan or other hard cheese (We've use mozzarella too.)
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1 Tbsp Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Parsley
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil

Directions

Combine in Blender until smooth. Warm in sauce pan for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring as needed. Cook for last 2 1/2  minutes on medium high heat for a thicker sauce, stir continuously.

Other Notes

Fresh or dried herbs can be used.  This recipe provides plenty of sauce for a half pound of pasta which is what we use for two adults and two kids. Additions make it a more nutritionally complete meal.  We've used this recipe with chicken, canned tuna, chopped bacon, and spinach. Breadsticks make a nice addition to get all the sauce off your plate, and trust me you'll want to get all the sauce off your plate.

Time Management Part 2: Rising Early

Rising early is often proclaimed to be one of the keys to getting the most out of your day.  We see the examples of rising early in the Bible by the excellent wife of Proverbs 31 and Jesus.

She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household.(Proverbs 31:15)

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.(Mark 1:35 ESV)

One of of the chapters in Shopping for Time is entitled Joining the 5 AM club.  What I appreciate about this chapter is that it acknowledges that rising early is going to look differently for those in different places in life.  Getting up at 5 AM is no where near practical for me.

With three children under the age of three, it is not unusual for me to have been up with one or more children in the night.  My husband is often up late working or studying, and I almost always stay up with him.  In the past, we have put our children's bed time later to accomodate daddy's work schedule while making sure the girls have gotten to spend time with their daddy.  I am not a morning person, and it is not and ideal time for me to do serious Bible study or prayer.  Rising early for me is going to mean getting up at a consistent time, before the kids, so that I'm ready to start the day practically and spiritually.  While I'm not going to do my meatier Bible study when I first get up, I am going to spend some time in the Word to get my day off on the right foot.

Things to Consider About Choosing a Waking Time

• What do you want to have done before your children rise?
• How long do you anticipate those activities taking?
• What time can you get up that allows for adequate sleep?
• What waking time will best serve your husband and family over all?  (Starting your day at 5 AM simply because it is early does not glorify God.)

TIme Management:Part 1

I've never gotten into creating new year resolutions, but the starting of a new year provides a great opportunity for reflection.  One thing I have been convicted about is better managing my time.  James beginning classes, homeschooling, and other coming changes in our lives will make it even more necessary that time is well managed.  There are many scriptures that speak to managing our time and work.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV)

I received Shopping for Time by Carolyn Mahaney and daughters for Christmas, and this was the theme verse for the book.  A review of the book is available here.  As part of my planning or "looking carefully"  of how to manage my time I am considering the methods layed out in Shopping for Time as well as Managers of Their Homes by Titus 2 Ministries.  I have used Managers of Their Homes and the companion book, Managers of their Chores, successfully in the past.  Both are wonderful resources for Christian women and are full of scripture to guide you.  Shopping for Time lays out Biblical principals while acknowledging that they'll look differently in the day to day lives of individuals.  Managers of Their Homes (MOTH) walks you through creating a daily schedule that allows you to block out time for everything you need to get done.  You'll need to be very disciplined to succeed with your MOTH schedule, but the reward of doing so is great.  As I decide how we move forward, I'll be sharing along the way in hopes it will be a blessing to you in your own journey of walking wisely. 

My First Etsy Purchase

After admiring items on Etsy many times, I finally made my first purchase.  For those of you who don't know, Etsy is an online marketplace to buy and sell handmade items.  I am very much for the idea of buying local rather than supporting large companies such as Wal-Mart, but it can hard to find items locally made or even items just sold by locally owned companies.  The internet makes it possible to support small businesses and individuals even if they are not literally just around the corner.  Etsy is particularly neat because items are handmade.  There are a myriad of items available on Etsy, from wooden toys to stuffed animals to clothing to decorative items.  It is surprising what is available.  I ordered a set of ponytail holders with decorative fabric buttons shown in the photo.  I told James, "They're ponytail holders for grown-ups."  Shipping was quick and I even received a personal note with a silver plated bookmark for being the seller's one thousandth customer.  Before you run out and purchase something from a large corporation, why not see if its available on Etsy.