Canning Dialogues....

My family and I have taken a new road of canning this year trying new things and techniques. No longer do we can only apple sauce, peaches and the occasional pear or apple pie filling, no that wasn't quite enough!! We added a pressure canner to our collection of kitchen gadgets which has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities, so far we have only canned corn and green beans and some stewed tomatoes with it, but the possibilities are endless!! Hehe :) I have tried my hand at pickled beets, green chili sauce, rhubarb raspberry sauce, some new jam blends and pickles as well. So far I am receiving rave reviews as things are opened up and tried for the first time. Yummy's abound!
I must say that my garden this year has been fruitful. Not only did I increase (with the loving help of Jason) the size 4 times to a whopping 40x60 but I added some new plants to the mix as well. We did 3 rows of Corn, 5 rows of Green beans, 3 rows of sugar snaps, Beets, Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Broccoli, Bok Choy, Carrots, Lettuce, Cucumbers Pickling and Salad, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, Sunflowers and radishes. I have the tomatoes, sunflowers, pickling cucumbers and some of my herbs over in the chicken planter that wraps around the chicken yard. All that to say, boy 5 rows of green beans may have been a bit much :)!! Hubby and I canned 35 quarts tonight that added to our current number of 57 quarts! What does that add up to, I'm going to have to stop typing for a minute so I can figure it out as my poor brain is being stubborn...... 92, is it 92, really?? OMGoodness.... 104 would be enough for 2 quarts a week for a year! Good thing we like green beans :)
The corn is getting ready, the lettuce is about done and the beets are ready for their final harvest as well. I think the carrots need to be thinned and canned as well.... But we are starting school tomorrow, so my canning ventures will have to wait for afternoon at least, or perhaps the weekend. Ugh.... too much canning. I always look back as December approaches and think "Whew, am I glad that canning season is over....." But this year will take the cake for the most canning we have ever done. I have purchased some new jars, and have had a few given to us.... And I am officially out of regular mouth quarts, thanks to the green beans.... I need to get more jars so I can do my apple sauce and the box of peaches that are ripening on top of the fish aquarium :)
Hubby also built me a really nifty canning closet to store all of our canned goodies! There was no way that all these jars were going to fit in my pantry, nice as it is! Sorry if this is a bit scattered, it's getting late and I am finishing up those silly green beans! But, I'd better go for now.

Long Time no write....

Sorry everyone!! Yes, all my peoples.... he he, yeah like maybe 1!!

Lets see, I am going to keep this brief because I am typing with one hand :) I had my first Carpal Tunnel Release done last Thursday. Yeah! So far I am doing great and haven't been having too much trouble getting things done. But that is mostly thanks to my beautiful kids and husband! Wrist number 2 will be done Sept. 24th. I have only missed one week of playing at church and miss it tremendously already. I can't believe that it will probably be almost November before I can start playing again. :( I love sharing that gift, and feel useless with out that chance.

I have finished serving the Thomas Family, however, which has allowed the kids and I to have a fairly relaxing August to prepare for our upcoming school year. I know that this lapse of non-service will end before too long, as God always has a new challenge in store for me! But for now we are looking forward to a great year of schooling together as a family, as well as AWANA and Martial Arts. I am so looking forward to a more intimate year than was permitted last year. I can't wait to snuggle on the couch for morning bible studies with coffee and cocoa :)

We begin school next week with a unit study on Explorers, Navigation and Sailing. The kids all helped pick that out.

Better go for now, hopefully it won't be so long next time!

Jason's Dad did this!

Ha Ha Ha!!! too funny!

http://67.192.181.179/clip/?hid=610b7d26a324cc2ea0231be3d6e7e3c7

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from Jason's Parents and us: Jason, Tify, Cayleb, Noah and Sarah Rose!!

Darkness

Why is it that I feel the closest to God when it's dark outside? I can pray for hours, meditate on his words and find the simplest answers to questions in the middle of the night! But as soon as I see the sun rising, I feel this close bond fading away a little and things begin to not make as much sense anymore?? Is it that we allow the sun to compete with the Son?? We take the physical warmth and let it overtake the emotional warmth, we take the physical light that our eyes see and let it overtake the spiritual light? And somehow we even let the majesty and beauty of the sun diminish the value of THE SON on our minds for the time being??

A great realization.....

I have realized something great these past few days. I have discovered something amazing. Now that I can understand it, it has opened a whole new way of thinking for me. I think, how silly am I that I didn’t figure this out before. It all began as I was thinking about Christianity in the Country.

Really, it’s not just a religion, it’s a “label.” And there isn’t just one label, there are several and it’s very basically, stereotyping. You see a large percentage of Americans in general consider themselves to be “Christian” then there are they types that call themselves “Born-Again Christians.” There are also countless other names that define these label even more. Mostly it’s distinguishing between the different types of churches themselves. Some would say “I’m a Baptist” or “I am Lutheran” or “I’m a Multi Denominational.” These labels don’t really matter that much to the world around us, they are just categorized in the “high strung, nuisance, preachy person” category of personality types. I try very hard to live my life as an “example” of Christ. I want people to get to know me and know that there is something different about me; I want them to wonder about it, but I don’t want it to be so obvious that I am labeled as a “fanatic.” There is definitely a place for “fanatic” Christian’s in the world. I am not trying to put them down however; I think that sometimes that approach isn’t the right one for some people. Some people can be turned off by it, and thus lost to Christ all together. One encounter, one snide remark, one judging glance can harden a persons heart forever. How is it that even some pastors can’t seem to distinguish between nudging in the right direction, and pushing someone away? They try so hard to “lay down the law” that Christ’s heart of Love is extinguished in them and they turn into a fundamentalist nag to everyone around them.

1 Timothy 1:3-7 “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.”

I do think that Christ wants us to preach his word, I know it actually, and it’s biblical truth. Christ wants us to go throughout the world and spread his message of Love.

Romans 12:9-21 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[a] Do not be conceited.

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"^[b]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."^[c] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Where in there does it say to smack people upside the head with your religion?? It’s the hypocritical Christians out there that talk the talk but don’t walk the walk that are ruining the chances that the rest of us have for actually bring people to the truth about this Earth! Do us all a favor, if you want to be considered a Christian,

Luke 10:27
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

So, all that said, that part really had nothing to do with what I realized the other day! I realized that Christ is the ONLY perfect person, man that has ever lived on the Earth! No, that actually isn’t what I realized, I knew that part…. what I hadn’t put together yet was that because of that fact, I CANNOT expect anyone else on the Earth to be perfect! We are not capable! When I get upset about some minimal imperfection in someone, I need to accept it as just that, no one is perfect. If I want to have a relationship with someone who will never let me down I have to have that relationship with Christ Himself. So, after all these years of perhaps “substituting” humans for that need of a perfect person in my life I have suddenly come to the realization that I was looking for perfection in the wrong place. Shame on me. I should have known. After all it is clearly written that:

1 Peter 1:18-20 (New International Version) For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

So, here’s to a new way of looking at my life and the lives of others around me. I also hope that others will grant me the same liberty. I have really always known this, and it probably sounds stupid to some, but I just hadn’t thought of it in this exact way before. That being said I am feverishly aiming towards a better relationship with Him, and I know that I will NOT be disappointed! I hope that anyone who reads this and doesn’t know Jesus yet, to think really hard about this and what He promises to do for you. It’s not just a matter of salvation, though that is the point of Him coming, it’s a matter of a life long companion, a relationship that will never let you down, His cell phone batteries are never out of juice!!

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

---

Carolyn Carty, 1963

Obama Rant

I recently received a Gadget that was supposed to be a “tax calculator” for Barak Obama….. It said I would be getting a check if I voted him into office. I ran through their little calculator and was amazed at their supposed figures. Hmm, let’s see. Our country is in the biggest financial downfall since the great depression, our national debt is higher than it has ever been and they want to bribe me with money that could be paying down our countries debt. I understand the concept of incentive checks and stimulating the economy with it, but, hey it didn’t work last time, are we really going to throw away more of our countries money so that people can go pamper themselves again?? How about passing out checks to families willing to pay down their accrued debt instead of flaunting it in peoples faces as they go out and buy a new “toy.” Sarcasm ahead-Lets make the people actually trying to stay out of debt feel even worse about telling their kids that they can’t afford extracurricular activities yet again because they are trying to stay financially wise and not go screw up their credit score! So, here we are trying to be good stewards of our money and other peoples kids are bragging about going to the mall and having a shopping spree for those new trendy clothes, or that hot new electronic game! Instead of stimulating the economy, our country is bound and determined to push people into more and more debt. Lets take out another loan against our house, it’s okay, the government will bail us out if we can’t make the payments! Sure we don’t even make $4000 a month to cover that new higher interest only loan payment, but we can just skate along until it hits us and then bail and leave mortgage companies to foot the bill. Better yet, how about not helping those mortgage companies that are failing right now because they encouraged Joe Shmoe to take that “new and improved, top-notch, best in the business loan!” Let’s let them figure out how to pay for that house, the one that they encouraged those unsuspecting, clue-less mortgage patrons to buy that was WAY out of their price range!

Sure, this guy is full of hope and he’s making all these claims that he’s just going to re-allocate government funds, and that the country won’t be going into more debt to do this whole stimulus/rebate check thingy. But even the blindest person, has to admit, that if there is debt, even a re-allocation of funds, isn’t a good excuse to go buy that new car. Wake up people! There is a difference between need and want. I NEED groceries, but I don’t need that new toy just because I want it. What happened to saving these fun purchases for holidays and rainy days! Why is it that our nation is so impatient, that they can’t even wait for Christmas anymore!? We need to STOP! DROP! and ROLL!! We are on fire here and if we don’t start paying some of our money for attention, we are going to BURN! This country has ADHD!!

Signing off,

Tifany