Sing a Happy Song!

With all the rain we've had lately in our neck of the woods, several mushroom gardens have sprung up all over our yard.  Tuesday, I was cooking supper and heard a loud scream and ran out the door to find Summer Rose sobbing in the front yard, with Seth standing there with that "innocent" look on his face, holding a mushroom.  

 ...or should I say, holding a Smurf house.  Whenever Summer and I walk in the yard, every time we find a mushroom, I'll say, "Shhhhhhh!  Listen carefully," and we'll lean down and I'll quietly sing, "La la la la la la, sing a happy song.  La la la la la la, sing the whole day long."  She just loves that, and I guess has taken it a little more seriously than I thought.  She was truly heartbroken that Seth had carelessly destroyed a Smurf village!

I just love little girls!  And though I am working on making her less of a "cry baby", I love it that she can still get so upset over something so cute.

I Bow My Knees

Having a child who's nearly 15 years old has brought me to a new stage in my parenting life.  I find that I cannot micro-manage every area of my children's lives, at least their thought life, at this point.  I've always been very protective of them and their outside influences, and I still am.  Unlike conventional wisdom, I am NOT going to loosen the reigns at my teenager's critical stage of life; however, I am realizing more and more how small I am, and how dependent I must be on the work of the Holy Spirit of God to do anything good and lasting in their lives.

This post has nothing to do with me being more lenient on what kind of friends they have, or what kind of movies they watch, or what kind of books they read.  I am determined now more than ever to keep their minds pure and clean.  I will be more careful than I've ever been about those things!  I've never understood the strategy of shielding children during their young years, and then exposing them to sensual media during their hormonal teenage years in the name of "giving them space".  But because my children don't have access to computers and television and friends outside of my watchful eye, they've never even asked to watch or go anywhere inappropriate.  Thank the Lord, that's never been an issue here!

What I mean, is that I'm quickly realizing that teaching my children the ways of God and keeping them innocent....will not save them.  I am helpless to do this, and I humbly throw myself at the mercy of God on behalf of their little souls.  As I've prayed over them earnestly, God has laid a Scripture on my heart that has been such a blessing to me, and I wanted to share it:

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:14-19

This was Paul's prayer for his beloved congregation at Ephesus, and it is my prayer for my children.

Dorothy and the Militia

Let the games commence!



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The Fruits of Yesterday's Labors

...or should I say the vegetables; although, tomatoes are technically a fruit....
:-)

With what I kept in the refrigerator, I made the equivalent of 18 pints of salsa!  That should last a couple months around here.



- Posted using my iPhone

Total Security or Freedom?

- Posted using my iPhone

Canned Salsa

I'll share my recipe for delicious, fresh, homemade canned salsa.  It has jalapeno peppers, but when they are seeded, it's pretty mild.  This is a lot of work (chopping, that is), but definitely worth it!  AND PLEASE, wear GLOVES!  I learned that lesson the hard way. Enjoy!

Canned Salsa
Yield:  9 pints

15 c. tomatoes, chopped, seeded, cored, pealed* (about 20 large)
4 1/2 c. sweet peppers, chopped and seeded  (about 4 lg bell peppers or several lg banana peppers)
5 c. onion, chopped (about 5-6 large)
1 c. hot peppers, chopped and seeded (about 10-12 jalapenos)
18 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (not minced)
1 c. lime juice
4 1/2 Tbsp. sea salt
2 c. cut fresh corn (or 16 oz. can white shoepeg corn)
2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped, stems discarded (measure lightly pressed down in measuring cup before chopping with kitchen shears)


Bring to boil; Simmer 40 minutes.  Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headpace.  Process 15 minutes in water bath canner.

*Peeling large amounts of tomatoes can be a chore!  To make it quick, just bring a pot of water to a boil.  Drop the tomatoes in for 30 seconds, then straight into ice water for 30 seconds, and the skins just peel right off by hand.

Greater Expectations - No Greater Joy Ministries

I always glean a lot from every issue of No Greater Joy, and I thought this was an especially good article.  I was certainly challenged and encouraged by the article myself, but I think it also brought to light many points that well-meaning, loving parents of public school children perhaps haven't thought through to the end.  Here's a paragraph from it:

Today’s child is prodded out of his warm bed and told to dress for school. He is fed a bowl of sugared cereal and loaded into a vehicle. At school he is just one of the herd; he sits in a row, stands in a line, plays on asphalt with all the other sad, bored kids. When he gets home in the afternoon he sits in front of a screen in a dumbed-down state, watching some other kid sing, dance, have an adventure, or do something interesting or heroic. But he feels himself to be the guy outside looking in through the window. The wonder in his soul lies dormant; he FEELS that life happens to the cool kids. Adventure is not his. He never considers that he might hold a tiny frog in his hand; he can’t conceive that he might watch a snake slowly swallow a mouse. All he knows are the animals at the zoo boringly observing him observing them. It is a freeze-frame experience. Most children live regulated, packaged lives, never feeling the awe of the moment. Their young life is spent “killing time” and trying to stay out of trouble.

(read the entire article through the link below)
Greater Expectations - No Greater Joy Ministries

Birthdays and Water Balloon Fights

Here are a few pics of our summer fun.  Our little Rosebud turned 4 years old!  Such a big girl, and getting sweeter every day (really!  finally, thank the Lord!).  Also, a water balloon fight at my sister's on the Fourth of July.

Everyone waiting in line while my mother and sister fill up more balloons

Of course, Jason was always FIRST in line

Here he is reaching through, into the bathroom window waiting on balloons

And here he is, right after my mother returned a  few prank favors from over the past  18 years LOL (she threw a cup of water at him)

 

We all had a great time!

Obama Is Making Kids Gay

My poor blahg! I will resurrect it soon. It's just such a busy time right now! In the meantime, refresh yourself with a little straight talk from a 14-year-old kid.

Ronald Reagan Tribute

I'm still baffled how the same nation that elected this man to office, twice, elected a Barack Hussein Obama II just 20 years after he left the White House.  I smell a rat.

Sweet Baby Girl

HSLDA | Parents of Boy Seized by State Hopeful after Favorable Court Ruling

Still praying for little Dominick and his mother and father!

HSLDA | Parents of Boy Seized by State Hopeful after Favorable Court Ruling

Life Unworthy of Life?

The Elite Are Attempting to Convince Us That Killing Off Our Sick Grandparents Is Cool and Trendy

I wanted to share this article from the "End of the American Dream" blog (which, by the way, I highly recommend).  The topic of elderly euthanasia is close to my heart for many reasons, and I rarely speak on the topic of abortion that I don't bring in the close connection to this.  In case you think it's something in the mystical future of our country, please know that it is already here, and has been a part of our society for quite some time.  Now, it's mainstream.  Soon, it will be the law of the land.  Perhaps we will have mobile euthanasia squads like the Netherlands in the near future.

One reason I believe that the topic of euthanasia, or "good death" is so close to my heart, is because of a college interim course I took on the Holocaust when I was just 19 years old.  It was almost brutal the way the professor immersed us for 30 days in the horrors of the Holocaust (and I now question the wisdom of that), and I was forever changed in the way I view both humanity and the human heart and its capacity for evil.  What most people do not know about the Holocaust, is that it did not start with the Jews.  In fact, it ended with the Jews.  It started with the Germans.

That's right.  Germans.  Sick Germans.  Elderly Germans.  Handicapped Germans.  Mentally retarded Germans.  "Inferior" Germans.  Hitler enacted a policy of "Lebensunwertes Leben", or "Life Unworthy of Life". 


Here's a propoganda poster from Nazi Germany:

English translation:  60000 RM.  This is what this person suffering from hereditary defects costs the Community of Germans during his lifetime.  Fellow Citizen, that is your money, too.


The euthanasia program began well before World War II, and it started with the same Eugenics brainwashing propaganda that Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, was spewing out here in the U.S.  It began with forced sterilizations of the deaf and mentally handicapped, and then progressed to the outright murder.  When the inherent value of humans as Image-bearers of God is denied, there is no stopping the death mentality.  In America, it begins with abortion and progresses to Obama's death panels.  Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop warned of this in the 1970s, and everyone thought they were crazy.  Sadly, they have been proven exactly correct.


What is really scary, is that in America, Christians are the new Jews.  What I mean is, that Hitler targeted the Jewish people and characterized them as inferior.  Today, the elitists are characterizing Christians in the same manner, and Christianity is being criminalized with unnecessary hate crimes laws.  We're even being called domestic terrorists by the government!


Please take time to read the article I linked to above, and share it with as many as you can.  

"If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"  Proverbs 24:11, 12

Squash Muffins

I don't know how much time I'll have for blogging in the next couple weeks, but I'd like to share a recipe for those of you with garden produce coming in now.  This recipe is for squash muffins, and they are so delicious!  I found this recipe about 10 years ago, and my kids beg for them as soon as the squash starts coming in.  They are somewhat sweet, but not as sweet as breakfast muffins.  They go well as a side bread with supper, much like cornbread muffins (although these have no cornmeal in them).  We serve them hot with butter.  Hope you enjoy!

1 lb squash, sliced, cooked, and drained (3-4 small squash, or about 2 large)
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Spray muffin tin and preheat oven to 375.  Combine squash, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl.  Stir in sugar, then add flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir well.  Divide into 12 muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.  Serve hot with butter.   (One of these is 4 Weight Watchers Points)

"Where is the Outrage?"

Judge Napolitano has written another insightful article about the implications of drones being used by the U.S. government to spy on private citizens. It's hard to believe it has really come to this.

"Where is the Outrage" by Judge Andrew Napolitano

100 Ways to Be Kind to Your Child

100 Ways to Be Kind to Your Child

This is a wonderful read for any busy mother.  I am of the firm belief that natural affection for your own children cannot be learned; that it is a gift of God placed deep within the conscience of every woman (to be accepted or rejected); however, we can all use little reminders in our mundane lives.  I want to make childhood a special, fun, and happy time that my children will look back on fondly.  At least, I'm trying to do this with the Lord's help!

I have this printed off and placed in my Bible as a daily reminder of what really matters.

Suffering NOT a Jezebel! Yay Pastor Scott Rodriguez!

For a background on this video, you can read the Pastor's own humble account here:  Pastor Scott Rodriguez and "Pastor" Dayna, the Real Story

In a day when mainstream "evangelical" leaders embrace false teachers from the New Apostolic Reformation and Word of Faith groups and give them credibility, it's a blessing to see a pastor who is willing to stand up and call it like it is.  Just watch her facial expression change!  You can see the wolf come out!



Jesus spoke in Revelation to the church at Thyatira about suffering, or allowing, "that woman Jezebel".  Of course, in context of the church dispensations, Thyatira is the age of the Papacy, and the Lord is rebuking them for embracing the heresy of the Pope and Mary Idolatry, but the lesson is applicable today.  False teachers much be called heretics, and they must not be allowed to commit their gospel treason with the blessing of true Christians!

"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not."  

Revelation 2:20-21 

Science was really fun today!

What an awesome day we had homeschooling today!  We got up and did our Math, Language, Vocabulary, etc., and then took off with our friends, the "Orcs" ,as Summer calls them (a.k.a. the Yorks LOL) to a Reptile Rescue Show.  To be honest, the audience was very rude and disruptive, but we were able to enjoy the show in spite of them.  My kids were truly shocked that the other children were so disrespectful to the speaker. It was an eye-opener for them. (Plus they got to experience their first smelly, hot, packed public school gymnasium!)  Anyway, I think Summer Rose enjoyed it as much as the boys.

Here's the presenter being bitten by a King Snake!!

How to identify a copperhead?  It has "Hershey's Kisses" on its body.

Water Moccasins (also known as Cotton Mouths) are venomous, but not aggressive.

The deadly timber rattlesnake!  I forgot how many he said, but way too many rattlesnake bites in Georgia for me!

 Baby alligator!

 And, of course, a HUGE turtle!

I love field trips!

Remember "Class"?

Wow, I'm getting all sentimental.  It makes such a difference having a President with a history invested in our country.  Roots.  A love for all things American.

Picking and Grinning

Everyone is working hard in the garden!

 Jason had the idea to plant some extra tomatoes, broccoli, and beans in an unoccupied chicken house.  Granted, the chicken poop did wonders for the plants and it looks like the Garden of Eden inside there, but it isn't exactly the easiest arrangement for harvesting.  That's where little boys sure do come in handy!

 Today's bounty:

Mmmm!  I know what's for supper tonight!