by Tessa | Faith
I have often tried to live by Paul’s word to “Be content in all circumstances.” I’m not. Content that is. There are certain things that I am content with and others things that I wish I could change (or fast forward). It’s very difficult to find the balance between being content and striving to move ahead. I also believe that dreaming and goal setting is important.
One of my goals is to increase my scripture intake over the year. I have been reading Exodus lately. I read the part when the Israelites were grumbling about not having any water. (Ex 17:22-27) In my mind it seems like a legitimate complaint. They were in the desert and hadn’t had any water for 3 days. I’d be thirsty too! The part that really stuck me today was the part where it says that the Israelites were not grumbling against Moses. They were discontent (to say the least) with their circumstances and complained to Moses. But God said that their grumbling was to the Lord. That was a bit of a slap in the face to me. How often do I complain about certain circumstances in my life? Right before I wrote this (and during the writing of this) I have complained and grumbled. Some internally and some out loud. It doesn’t really make a difference who hears it because the One who it is against hears it all.
So here is my prayer:
Dear Lord, Please forgive me. I try to be content in the circumstances and situation you have put me in but so often I fail. I really need your strength to stop grumbling and please extend Your patience toward me as I take steps backward. Help me to appreciate every day the gifts you have bestowed on me. Lead me to the balance of contentment without complacency.
Amen.
by Tessa | Faith
I have all but given up on rising early. I know that the early bird catches the worm and I would love to start my day with an hour of Scripture and prayer but it’s just not happening. Instead of trying to guilt myself about it, I’ve found another strategy.
I really like the idea of morning quiet time with God. I used to be an early bird. Then I had children. I now really love (and need) my sleep. I still sleep-share (co-sleep) with my littlest and he has a sixth sense. As soon as I try to leave the bed in the morning he will wake up and want to nurse for an hour. So I remind myself that he’s only young once and we snuggle in for an hour of dozing/nursing.
Here are some alternatives to rising early yet still getting into God’s Word in the start of my day:
- Set an alarm and go to bed on time. For me this means at 10:15pm my phone starts jingling and I start getting ready for bed. This is often step one to getting a good start the next day.
- Set an alarm for the morning (mine is at 7am). This one drives my husband crazy because he’s usually the one turning it off while I roll over to go back to sleep. But every once in a while he will be unavailable (i.e. outside working already) and I have to jump out of bed to turn the alarm off. Most of the time the littlest wakes up, but sometimes he doesn’t. And by that point I’m out of bed anyway so I (try) to stay awake and read.
- Another alarm perk: they are on my smart phone. My smart phone also has a Bible app. Since I have my phone in my hand anyway I can flip open the app and start my daily reading while laying in bed.
- Sleep through the alarm and wake up around 8ish with the kids. This has been my usual routine as of late. They run around in jammies while I grab my already made coffee (did I mention I have the best husband ever?) and sit at the table.
I have started grabbing a journal to jot down my thoughts on my daily reading and I click “play” on my phone and Max Lucado reads the Bible to me. Sometimes it takes me half an hour (or more) to get my 15 minutes of reading in. Sometimes they play so nicely that I allow myself a bit of extra time to delve further into a verse that really spoke to me. Or write a quick blog post to tell you that, even if you have little ones and sleep is too precious to wake up early (can you say “multiple night wakings?”), you can still start your day right, with the Lord.
C is now back in the house and will be wanting some breakfast (or probably a cookie as I gave Biscuit one while he was playing outside to buy me a few extra minutes) so I’m off to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door to do chores.
Do you have any other tips for getting in a few minutes of God-time before you start your day? I’d love to hear them!
Make sure you don’t miss any posts by subscribing to my weekly blog newsletter!
[mc4wp-form]
by Tessa | Motherhood
I have some great posts that I want to write but my time is not my own these days. Currently my little ones are watching a show so I can type this out really quick and then head to my sewing machine to get some stuff ready for a trade fair that I’m attending this weekend. My house is in disarray, I have frozen lasagna for supper (and that’s the best supper my family has had in the last while!) and I feel like I’m running on fumes. Coffee fumes that is.
Quick update: The farm renovations are nearing completion. Another couple weeks and (Lord willing!) the barn will be ready to go. Which means that I have some more packing to do. God is really showing us His hand in things and, though His ways are hard to understand, I try to remember that He is in control and will take care of His children.
Bought a 20 book set about science and C and I started reading them as soon as they were out of the car. He is learning new words and absolutely loving the books.
Both boys are enthralled with the new kittens in the barn and are learning to be gentle with them. They are the first tame kittens we have had in quite a few years. Their mama is tame but usually she hides her kittens so we can’t tame them. I think that God knew we needed some soft, snuggly kittens in our lives right now.
Motherwort is being tinctured right now, echinacea wil be tinctured in the next couple of days, and herbal teas and vitamins are ordered. Hoping we’ll be able to make it through cold & flu season without any chemical drugs.
Care to share any of your favorite cold & flu remedies? I’d love to add some more natural methods to my arsenal!
by Tessa | Homemaking
I don’t often require childcare for my children but, when I do, I know where to find it. If I’m desperate (like the time my friend called to tell me she was in labour and I needed to get to her house right away) I know who I can call. If I need help folding laundry, I know who to ask. I know who would be willing and able to bring my family a meal if I was sick and unable to cook. I even put out a request recently to one of my local groups to help support a friend in her business and the result was absolutely incredible! I have built some pretty amazing friendships in this area and have never had to feel like I’m in this battle journey of motherhood alone.
The value of support has really hit home this last week for two reasons: First, it occurred to me that we could be moving as soon as 2-3 weeks; and second, a mom posted in a local group about how she didn’t feel like she had the support and encouragement she needs. (The group really stepped up with such an accepting and non-judgemental attitude that I believe this wonderful Mama found the love and support she was missing.)
I know that many of my friendships will stay strong even after I move away but things will change. They physically will not be able to support me in the same way (and I won’t be able to support them in the same way either, which is an even harder thought!). There is something to be said for having a neighbor nearby that you can count on.
Though I’m a little nervous about reaching out and developing a whole new local support system, I need to make it a priority.
A local support community isn’t something that just happens. Bake a pie, head over to your neighbors’ house and introduce yourself. Take some time to get to know them and learn what’s important to them. Then offer help with no expectations that they will return the favour because, in most cases, they won’t. And that’s okay. Because most people don’t even understand what community is anymore. If you want community, you need to show those around you what a community is. Community is about going the extra mile to make someone else’s life easier. Keep doing that and you’ll eventually stumble upon someone with the same mindset. It takes time and you may frequently need to step out of your comfort zone. But it will be worth it. And for those of us who are not the type of personality to throw a community BBQ, we can build it up one person at a time.
I read a lot of books about the Amish lifestyle and one of the most admirable things is their sense of community. The women have quilting bees and if someone’s barn burns down, the community gets together and has a barn raising. What have you done to show those around you the value of community? Any tips for me? Also, do you know who would come out to help when you need a barn raising?
by Tessa | Homemaking
I have a crab apple tree. It is nestled comfortable between my maple trees. For four summers I have watch those tart little apples drop to the ground and sit there, undisturbed, while they compost throughout the winter. I planned to let the same thing happen again this year because I didn’t think they had any purpose other than to feed the birds. Then I had this wonderfully terrible thought: why don’t I “Google” it?
Crab apples make very good crab apple butter. I was recently given a jar of apple butter by a friend and it tasted like apple pie on toast. I LOVE apple pie! (If you are local and want to give me one I won’t turn you down!)
Here is the story of my quest for apple butter:
1. Go to Google to find a recipe.
2. Google how to get the apples off the tree and discover that I’m supposed to shake them off. They make it sound so easy. It is, in fact, quite a workout. Put on a long sleeved shirt (the branches scratch something fierce!) or hire someone with strong, energetic arms (I told my husband that it would be a great family bonding activity). Plus get a couple of adorable little boogs with buckets to pick them up. Dump trucks work too. 
3. The recipe told me to cut off blossoms and stems: You could probably just take a shortcut and leave the blossoms. You’re going to strain them out anyway. And give yourself some time! Estimated time: 3.5 hours.
4. Cover with water and cook till really mushy: Make sure that the correct burner is on so you don’t accidentally burn your nice bamboo mixer. Estimated cooking time: (not including the burner mistake) 2 hours.
5. Strain: Wow There has got to be an easier way! The recipe called for a “coarse” sieve so, naturally, I grabbed my fine metal one. Decided it was taking too long so I upped the ante: my blue coarse pasta strainer. That one was not sturdy enough for me to mash through. Grabbed my big metal colander. Worked decently but took forever! The holes were in the wrong spot. So I downgraded again to my blue one. Nope, still not sturdy enough. Back to the fine mesh metal one. I should have just stuck with this one because it ended up being the simplest to use. Grabbed my spatula and started mashing. Then went to bed, woke up, did chores, and mashed some more.
Estimated time to strain all the apples: 4 hours
6. Spice, sugar and cook: I figured it was all downhill from here. All I had to do was add some spices and cook it, right? Well, I have a few tips:
- It splatters. A lot. I managed to get burned. Several times. (Then I got smart and started using an oven mitt while mixing it). I’m so glad that my aloe vera plant managed to recover from it’s near death experience after I first bought it. It’s coming in really handy.
- Also, the recipe told me it would need to simmer for 2 hours. That’s a little off. Mine simmered for a total of 24 hours. Note to self (and anyone else who makes it this far in their quest for apple butter): If it still looks like apple sauce, don’t try to can it! I was super excited after two hours to get out my jars and have my first try at canning. I had my pots all ready, tools within reach, filled my jars, and then had a thought: What is the difference between apple butter and apple sauce? So I Googled it. The difference is very small: To make apple butter you add spices and simmer longer. Much, much longer. I poured my apple sauce back into my pot.
- You get a much better texture if you blend it. I used my stick mixer but you can use whatever you have on hand.
7. Canning: The simplest way that I could find to tell if the apple sauce has turned into apple butter is to put a teaspoon on the counter and wait for 5 minutes. If there is no water pooling around it then it’s ready to can. Since I had never even seen someone else can anything I needed to give myself a quick tutorial. So, of course, I went to my trusty friend, Google. I was lucky enough to find out that somewhere along the way I managed to acquire some tools for canning (jar lifting tongs and a metal rack for the bottom of my pot). I still have no idea where they came from but I’m glad that I kept them!
8. Enjoy: I used 2 cup jars and have 7.5 of them. I’m not ready to look at them yet. Maybe when my burns heal and the rest of the crab apples fall of the tree I will be ready to move to this stage. I thought I might give the jars as gifts but, as much as I don’t even want to look at them right now, I’m going to be selfish. I worked hard for that butter and one day I’m going to enjoy it!
Make sure you don’t miss any posts by subscribing to my weekly blog newsletter!
