Mom’s Organizer

A couple of years ago I discovered this calander tool called Cozi.com.  I tried using it but I was not much of a computer person.  I still struggle with using the internet for all of the great purposes it has but I am getting better.



Anyway, I just rediscover Cozi.com and I absolutely love at least one of the features.  They have a meal planning section where you enter your recipes and the plan you have for the week.  I know there are millions like that but, this one you can cut and paste recipes from anywhere on the internet and then it will make a grocery list for you or even just add it to your meal planning schedule.


I have never wanted to get into having a place online for all of my recipes until now.  Really just about any recipe you have, you can find on allrecipes.com.  Then you just cut and paste and it is in your box.


 Kraft.com and Tasteofhome.com are 2 of my other favorites.  These two have simple everyday family food and great ideas. 


Cozi.com is also has a calender, a to do list maker (for everyone in the family), shopping list maker and it also has a place where you can keep a family journal.  Then all of this can be linked to Facebook if you want.  I should really be asking for advertising dollars from them don’t you think.  But really I just thought it was cool and I may actually keep up with this one.  Check it out!

How Do You Do a Word Study From your Bible?

• This is one of my favorite ways of studying the Bible and also one of the simplest.
• Either in the back of your study Bible ( a study Bible will specifically say study Bible on the front.  It has paragraphs of explanations of the verses on every page.  Very cool!  If you do not have one I would highly recommend getting your hands on one.) or in a Concordance( a Bible concordance has every word used in the bible and every place that word is used and the scripture references of where to find them.  Another cool thing to have.)
• Look for your word.  You could study the word HOPE if you need some, or PATIENCE if you need that(You’re a mom why would you need that?)
• Once you find the word you are looking for look up each verse that is listed.
• As you do this take notes, or even write out each of the verses.  I have found that writing them out helps me to really read them so that they sink into my brain and my heart. 
• When you are done with the study, especially if you use an Exhaustive Concordance, you will know everything that the Bible has to say about that topic.
•   Don’t forget too that as Isaiah 55:11 says God’s word will not return to Him empty and will accomplish what he desires and achieve the purpose for which He sends it.  In other words you will be blessed!

Jeannie

Wishing you a…

Happy Thanksgiving !!!


Jeannie

Q of the Week?

Alright, tomorrow is the big day.  What is your favorite dish that you will either eat or make on Thanksgiving day?

Jeannie- Mine has to be homemade noodles with turkey gravy that my grandma and mom made for years and now my daughter and I make every year.  Yummy!

Melissa-My answer would be not the food… but I look forward to the table all decorated... I love seeing the table set with china and it looking beautiful. It reminds me of when I was little and seeing my mom work hard all morning to provide this awesome meal for the family. It created anticipation seeing that table set so early in the day while all the food was cooking.

Although… if I must give a food… it would be my mother-in-laws “sweet potatoes with apples”. It is a delicious recipe that was able to get me, who typically did NOT like sweet potatoes, to eat this vegetable. My kids love this side dish. I will have to put it on the website for all to try. It is super yummy!!

How about you?

Is Marriage Really Worth All Of The Work?

Our marriage has had some incredible strains over the years.  We have dealt with death, illness, financial trouble (some self inflicted,some not), moves and all of the other stresses that are involved in being married.  I have been sick of being married and I know that he has.  I have grown when he hasn’t.   I was a believer when he wasn’t.  I  have questioned why I married him. 
Was it worth fighting through all of those things?  Oh yes! 
Because of all of those issues, not despite them, we are closer than I ever thought two people could be.  I live with, eat with, sleep with and raise children with my very best friend.  Oh yes! It is so worth the fight.
Praise the Lord He taught us to stick it out.

This is a saying that is just above our bed.
Jeannie

First Time Obedience

 When our oldest son was about 7, his teacher was having trouble keeping him on task in the classroom. Her first thought was "he must have ADD". Well, as a mom I knew better but we were having discipline problems at home as well. So, we went to a pastor at our church for advice. He was very well respected for his family and parenting wisdom.
The pastor suggested that we begin to practice "first time obedience" with our son. He went on to tell us that what that involves is expecting your child to obey your requests the first time you ask. For example, you ask your child to pick the wrapper from the granola bar up off of the floor.(I know that most children thoughtfully throw wrappers away, but you know.) When you come back 5 minutes later and it is still sitting on the floor, you need to discipline them in a way that you had previously discussed with them.
To some of you this may seem very extreme. You know what, it does seem extreme when you look at it from our cultures perspective. Take a look back in history or better yet take a look at what the Bible has to say about this. Proverbs 19:18 says, "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope;do not be a willing party to his death".  Proverbs 23:13-14 says, ”Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death”. Wow! Death, that sounds extreme. Is it? Not disciplining your child will lead to them not being respectful of you or any other authority. Not being respectful of authority means teachers, the law and God. I can see how not having respect for those leaders can lead to death, even the death of your soul.
I know a lot of families have a problem with spanking "the rod". You can find other methods. Many other methods work for many children. Some will not obey under any other punishment than spanking. You and your husband have to decide beforehand, how you will discipline.
With our son, we sat down and discussed the consequences of not obeying us when we ask, the first time. It didn't take long for him to realize what was going on, and it also affected his behavior in the classroom. He needed to understand the idea that when a respected grownup in his life asks him to follow the rules he needs to follow through and obey, the first time.
When our next two children were around one year old,  we started practicing first time obedience. There are a few things to keep in mind. Remember your child's age and what they are physically capable of doing. Also, be sure to lay down the rules and consequences ahead of time. Don't forget to be merciful, we don't want to be a push over but, we also don't need to lord over our children making them fearful.
Lastly and most important, seek the Lord on this issue. He loves your children and knows what they need even more than you or your husband. Here are a few more scriptures involving parenting that you can look up. Ephesians 6:2, Exodus 20:12, Proverbs 22:6. I'll be praying also for God to give you guidance.
God Bless.

Are you wasting your life?

 I just read such an inspirational post at Heart of the Matter blog.  I have felt at times that staying at home and not "contributing to society" is such a waste of my time and talents.  After reading this article, this is the fourth time this week I have heard "NO, I am not wasting my time or talents".

• Why would I ever think that raising 4 children is a waste of my time?  Someone needs to raise them, they can't raise themselves, I know and love them better than anyone (except DAD of course). 
• The Bible says that we are to pass our heritage (our faith) onto our children and talk about our faith:
• when we rise 
• when we walk along the road  
• as we lay down. 
• I want to be the one walking along the road with them.

If you need a reminder that you and all that you do is so very important to our society, go to the heartofthematter.com and read and be inspired.  You are raising the next leaders of our country.

Jeannie

Mini Meatloaves from 2 savvy gals

I am not a big meatloaf fan.  Something about that big hunk of meat.  But, these were just so stinkin cute!  I might just have to try them.  Stacy is my friend and I know she is a great cook so I feel I can present them to you with out having tried them.  They just won me over on the cute factor.

Here is what she used:

And here is where to find the recipe: 2Savvygals.blogspot.com
You try them and I will try them and then let’s get back together and share.
Jeannie

A New Use For A Freebie.

A little while ago Johnson and Johnson had a coupon for $1 off a first aid item.  They also have this little first aid kit that is just $1.  Free! 

The container for this first aid kit is very sturdy and I just couldn’t throw it away.  We have a few pencil sharpeners that are manual and the kids leave the shavings everywhere. 

We put the sharpener into the box and close it up till needed and then the kids leave the shavings in the box. 
Plus, this box is bigger than the actual sharpener so we don’t lose it.  If you have any great repurposing ideas leave a comment and tell us about it.

Jeannie

First We Must Pray For Our Husband’s wife- Us

In the book, Power of a Praying Wife this week, Stormie said, (unfortunately), in order to effectively pray for our husbands we need to start with that girl in the mirror, with her attitude and agenda.
Instead of always praying “Change him, Lord”, we need to first pray “Lord, change ME”.  Dying to self can be painful but as Matthew 10:39 says “He who loses his life for My sake will find it”.

The other subtitle that struck me was “Shut up and Pray”.  In other words, when we have an issue with our husband, we need to start with prayer and wait for the Lord to lead us to speak or to stay silent and continue to pray. 
This chapter was so full that I will bring you more tomorrow.  Be in prayer for the Lord to lead my words and for the hearts of the readers to be open to God’s truth.
Jeannie

The Power

In this first chapter titled The Power , the author honestly talks first about how she did not rely on prayer as a source in her marriage. 

The next thing she talks about, that I had never thought of, is that praying for your children is much easier than praying for your husband.  Your children are born into this world looking so cute and having no ill will towards you.  You and your husband may have a rocky past/present and this may make it difficult for you to pray blessings over him.

She said a great blessing came when God revealed to her that her husband was unable to be different than he was because he was caught in a web from his past.  But, through the power of prayer God could use her as the instrument for his deliverance.  If she would consent.  She said that she would have to confess her own hardness of heart.

I was in this same place years ago.  Once I realized this, things didn’t change in him right away but they were changing in me.  When things were bad I would come to him in peace and ask him if everything was ok, or I would pray that God would reveal to me what was wrong or what I could do.
She also asks us not to write off our marriages.  As long as one of us is praying for the marriage to be restored there is hope for that restoration.
Lastly she urges us to find a prayer partner or two that we can confide in and draw strength from. 
Next chapter is titled His Wife.  Yep! She means us. First we need to pray for ourselves.
Jeannie

Learning through fun.

I have two kids learning about letters right now.  My preschoolers is learning what they look like and how to write them.  My 1st grader is learning the sounds of letters and sometimes needs a break for the books and worksheets. 
So, we found some shaving cream and started having some fun!

I just spread some of the shaving cream  ( the cheapest you can find) onto a cookie sheet and let them first just mess around because that is what they are going to want to do anyway, you may as well let them have at it.

After a few minutes show them how to write a particular letter or number with their finger.  You could put up cards with letter on them for the kids to copy as well.

Be ready for some clean up but remember it is basically soap and cleans up easy.

Have fun!!
Jeannie

My Mom on the Radio!

Just wanted to share with all of you that my mom and post editor is going to be on the radio, giving her testimony along with her husband.  The program is called Words to live by.  You can go here to hear the recording that will air soon.  She is such a blessing to me and so many others that I wanted to share a little bit of her with you.  I hope that you are blessed.

Jeannie

Power of a Praying Wife.

My husband and I are in a small group. We just started reading both, Power of a Praying Wife and Power of a Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian.  He is reading the one for husbands and I am of course, reading the one for wives.  I am so excited to see what God does in our lives through this, because I know that praying this way has great power. 

Ten years ago I read this book and prayed these prayers. Now, I have the kind of husband that will actually be willing to join a small group, read a Christian book and pray for me.  For the first part of our marriage, my husband would have said he was a Christian but, he was really lacking in the fruit department.  He was very much like Stormie’s husband was.  He was easily angered and could be insensitive toward the kids and me.  After reading the beginning of this book, I realized that as a wife, I was not helping him, but hurting our marriage, by fighting back.  Through this book God was able to show me my faults and show me how I could build our marriage up instead of tear it down.

I soon started to pray the prayers in this book for my husband.  At about the half way through the book, we were looking a new church.  We found the one the Lord wanted us to go to.  This church had a basketball league (we didn’t pick it because of the basketball).  The men who played were good, godly men who showed my husband that having a relationship with the Lord can be exciting and rewarding.  Now, this was all a set up by God, because within 6 months the kids and I were going to be baptized.  However, my husband thought that it was not necessary for him.  But, here is the set up, two days before the baptism we went to see The Passion of the Christ at the movies.  God used  this to show him what was missing in his life and he was baptized with us on Sunday.  You may have your own beliefs about baptism.  I don’t believe that you have to be baptized to be saved, I just believe that it is a public display of your faith which I think gives power to that faith.

So, here we are 10 years later, and I have a different husband than I married.  He is still the man I love, but now he is the man that I am joined together with in Christ.
I am going to share with you as I go through this book.  I will also let you know if my husband has any comments about his book as we go through them. 
I will have more tomorrow on the first chapter of the book.
Jeannie

Recipe Storage

I have four ways that I keep my recipes handy.  It seems like there are just so many yummy recipes and you have to keep track of them somehow.  Here are a few of my favorite ways:

• Inside the kitchen cabinet door- these are some of my most frequently used recipes.
• Inside a photo album- my mom gave this to me for Christmas one year.  They are all great family recipes. I love it.  Need a Christmas gift idea!
• In file folders- these are all of the recipes that friends give to me and also recipes that I tear out of magazines.  I have them categorized so that I can find them quickly.
• In a cabinet of their own- all of the recipe books that I have been given over the years (most of them from my husband should I be offended) are all stored together in a cabinet so that I don’t clutter up my counter top and so that I don’t lose them.

You can see pictures below of all of the ways I store them.
In the kitchen cabinet door:


In the photo album:

In the file folders:

In the recipe book cabinet:

Hope you find this helpful in organizing you recipes. Of course, I  am a paper person so I like this.  Some of you are more high tech and may prefer a online recipe site.  I find that I don’t have the time or desire to transfer all of my recipes.  You may love that so go for it.
Jeannie

French Toast Strata -Yummy!

For Breakfast this morning I made this yummy recipe I got from my sister-in-law.  She made it for us when we went to visit.  I won’t waste anymore time with details here it is.


French Toast Strata
(great for holidays, potluck brunches)
Bring to boil in small saucepan
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup



Pour into a 9" x 13" pan, tilting it to coat evenly.
 
My kids don’t care for nuts.  We skipped that part.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts on top then allow to cool.
Slice Challah or Brioche or Vienna or Sourdough (any crusty bread, we've tried them all) into 1 1/2" slices. Arrange bread in pan on top of syrup.

Whisk together then pour over bread:
8 eggs (can use Egg Beaters)
1 1/2 cup milk
1 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Refrigerate covered overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 min. or until brown and puffy.

Here it is this morning.  It was funny, it came out of the oven with a giant bubble on the top.  You can kind of see it here. So, I poked a hole into the top and it deflated by the time it was time to serve.  Everyone loved it.  I love when I can find a recipe that the whole family will eat.
Jeannie

Praising the Lord from the Corner!

The other day little Franklin was being naughty and was standing in the corner in our kitchen as punishment.  I don’t remember the reason he was there.  It must have been a minor offense.  I was talking to my mom on the phone when this happened and started to do some laundry.  From the kitchen corner I heard the sweetest thing.  Franklin was singing at the top of his lungs.  “He came from heaven to earth to show the way.  From the earth to the Cross. From the Cross to the grave.  From the grave to the sky. Lord, I lift Your name on high”.  I just cracked up and held the phone up for my mom to hear. 

Franklin and his best buddy Max

How wonderful to be in the middle of a punishment and still finding the joy to sing to the Lord.  I need to learn a lesson from this little guy.  We need to continually praise the Lord in all circumstances, not allowing the storms or discipline of life steal our joy.  I Thessalonians 5:17-18 says “Pray continually.  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Jeannie

Q of the Week

Our Question of the Week is:

What's for Dinner at your house?
I have a neighbor that always asks me that question when I see her.  I love that because talking to her about this always gives me good ideas for future dinners.  So let us know what is for dinner at your house.

At Jeannie's house they are having Spaghetti and Homemade meatballs (so easy) and of course my super simple homemade bread.

At Melissa's they are having leftover chili that Melissa made a few weeks ago and then froze.  Smart thinking!

What about all of you?

What is Happiness and Do We Deserve It?

A friend of mine called me today and asked me if we deserve happiness.  She knew what I would say because we had talked about this before, but she has a close friend of hers who she has been counseling in marital trouble.  The friends main trouble in her marriage is that she is not happy.  This is such a common reason for divorce, so many marriages split because they are not happy with each other and grow out of love for each other.  I am going to be blunt here and say that if you leave a marriage for that reason you are being selfish. 
Back to the title question, What is Happiness? Happiness is circumstantial. It is based on the circumstances that come into our lives.  Do we deserve it?  No.  One hundred years ago people did not think that they deserved to be happy.  If you had a great day or had a special thing happen to you that made you smile, then you were happy and you had much to be thankful for. Now keep on reading before you get mad at me.  The thought before that until now, was, as Jesus says himself in John 16:33, “In this life you will have trouble…”. True, but in the next, if you know the Lord, you will know no trouble. That entire verse says “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.  In this life you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.” 


Joy!  Now joy is different.  Joy is a state of mind, a contentment in all circumstances.  Joy is what gets you through the tough days.  Have you ever run into a friend who tells you about many of the things going on in her life and you think “Wow, how did you even get out of bed today?”.  Yet, that person is still peaceful and full of joy.  If you can lay down the idea of being happy and pick up the idea of joy and contentment in all circumstances then you can be this way too. 
How and where do you get this kind of joy?  First, by inviting Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior.  Second, accepting His gift of joy to you.  Nehemiah 8:10 says “…Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  I challenge you to do a word study on the word JOY.  After this study you will have a very good understanding of this gift of joy that your God has given you.  Start today by searching out His joy.  This is another way that you can add that third strand to your life.  Invite God as your third strand in all the circumstances of your life.
Jeannie

Sorry I didn't know

Apparently, our comments we set wrong and so if you wanted to leave a comment it would ask you for to much info.  But thanks to Melissa that is now fixed and you can leave comments very easily now.  Sorry this is completely my fault but it was just a lack of know how on my part.  Thank you for being patient while we learn and grow into this blogging world.
Jeannie

I wanted to let you know that Courtney over at Womanlivingwell.org is having a blog bash.  Bloggers can link-up with other bloggers and share ideas and inspiration.  Also, check out the website itself it is full of inspiring content. 

Melissa and I are new in the blogging world but are enjoying the ablility to share with others the gift we have found in weaving God, our third strand into everything that we do. 

I hope you get a chance to go over to womanlivingwell.org and if you have come here from there WELCOME!! 

Jeannie