I've been thinking about the statement that I heard most often as we began homeschooling a year ago. "Ali, you are giving up your life!"
Oh how I agreed with that statement. I felt that all my dreams and desires were being cast aside for the greater good. Or at least what I hoped would be the greater good. My dream of sending the kids off to school and then sitting in a sunny spot with a cup of coffee and my Bible in a quiet room was no longer something that would happen. I would never have a wonderfully clean house and time for friends to come over for a visit during the day.
Instead, my priorities and dreams have had to shift. But I don't consider this a bad thing.
Voddie Baucham's book, Family Driven Faith, has this wonderful quote: "Time is precious, and you only get one chance to raise your children. They are only young once, and they are only in your home for a short while. Once they are born the clock starts ticking, and there is nothing you can do to stop it or slow it down. Your only hope is to make the most of the time you have." I have to agree with Voddie. I can already see how quickly my children are growing up and how ridiculously fast the hours, days, months and years rush by.
So, as a parent, what is to be our priority? Here's what the Bible says in Deutoronomy 6:4-9 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
This comes just after the 10 commandments are given. So, we are to be teaching our children about the Lord and how to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That sounds like a full time job to me!
Now, I'm not trying to advocate for homeschooling. I think each family has to decide what is best for their children and for their family. However, this should have serious application for our family life in general and our home life specifically. What are you doing to teach these things to your children? Beyond sending them to church or AWANA? Did you know that the majority of kids brought up in the church will leave it by the time they are teens?! That means that the Church itself is not the answer. You, parent, are the one who must teach and train your children!
So, as I consider my life and look at my priorities, I must continually be asking myself if what I am doing lines up with this mandate from Deuteronomy 6. And if it doesn't, perhaps my priorities and dreams are not the best they could be. We'll all have time once our kids leave the nest. Right now, we have a short time to mold and train our children. And so I ask myself, "How can I best do this?" For me, the asnwer comes in homeschooling, family devotions, relinquishing activities that are just schedule fillers, realizing my potential as a mother by teaching my children what is most important. These are all really hard decisions to make. But will they pay off? You betcha! For there is truly no greater privilege than raising children who love the Lord. What changes do you need to make?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Marching in the Infurry
For posterity's sake, I wanted to record my son's favorite song and how he sings it. Normally when we sing this song, he belts it out at the top of his lungs and brings smiles to all around:
The Lord's Army:
I may never march in the infurry
Ride in the calorie
Shoot the atillilly
I may never zoom o the enemy
But I'm in the Lord's army (Yes sir!)
Oh how I love kid speak! I just don't have the heart to correct it. :)
The Lord's Army:
I may never march in the infurry
Ride in the calorie
Shoot the atillilly
I may never zoom o the enemy
But I'm in the Lord's army (Yes sir!)
Oh how I love kid speak! I just don't have the heart to correct it. :)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Humble Pie
We have a good friend who works at our local Christian radio station. We love to hear her cheerful voice on the radio and always listen in when Ann is speaking.
So today, as we piled in the car and drove from guitar lesson to the grocery store, we turned up the radio and let Ann's voice fill our car.
I was particularly interested in what she was saying. She was relating to listeners a story about how her oldest child had once showed his anger by sitting outside and refusing to come in for dinner or bedtime. Of couse, as we all know, toddlers rarely stay angry for long and are often ruled by their stomachs. So the errant child quickly came in and resolved his differences with mom.
But then Ann began to share about a friend who's son showed some of the same tendencies and decided to nonverbally declare his opinion. I know several of Ann's friends and figured I might know who she was talking about. But even if I didn't, I still was anxious to hear about this stubborn child and to feel a little less lonely in my own struggle with stubborn children.
As Ann told the story, I listened carefully, waiting to have a good chuckle. She described a little boy who was angry with his mom. A little boy who chose to show his anger by ... PEEING on his mother! {Gasp!!!}
Imagine my shock!
It wasn't shock over what you think. Yes, it's horrible that a child would willfully pee on their parent to vent some anger. But my shock was that it was MY child that Ann was referring to!!!
You see, a year or so ago, just after potty training our youngest, he went through a (thankfully) very short phase of peeing on me when he was angry. You could actually see his body tense up as he forced himself to empty his bladder. Yes, you could see it coming, but never be quick enough to escape it. And I was the only lucky beneficiary of said behavior. Yuck.
I had a hearty laugh as I remembered that particular streak of subbornness in my child. And I had a bit of humility forced upon me as well. Here I was, all ready to laugh at someone else's expense, and instead the tables are turned. At least I'm glad people are enjoying the struggles I've gone through in raising this particularly ornery child! Oh my, how he enriches my life!
So thanks Ann, for the reminder of something that I really shouldn't forget (I'll make sure he knows that he deserves every ornery act that his children someday dish out!), and for the laugh from days gone by.
So today, as we piled in the car and drove from guitar lesson to the grocery store, we turned up the radio and let Ann's voice fill our car.
I was particularly interested in what she was saying. She was relating to listeners a story about how her oldest child had once showed his anger by sitting outside and refusing to come in for dinner or bedtime. Of couse, as we all know, toddlers rarely stay angry for long and are often ruled by their stomachs. So the errant child quickly came in and resolved his differences with mom.
But then Ann began to share about a friend who's son showed some of the same tendencies and decided to nonverbally declare his opinion. I know several of Ann's friends and figured I might know who she was talking about. But even if I didn't, I still was anxious to hear about this stubborn child and to feel a little less lonely in my own struggle with stubborn children.
As Ann told the story, I listened carefully, waiting to have a good chuckle. She described a little boy who was angry with his mom. A little boy who chose to show his anger by ... PEEING on his mother! {Gasp!!!}
Imagine my shock!
It wasn't shock over what you think. Yes, it's horrible that a child would willfully pee on their parent to vent some anger. But my shock was that it was MY child that Ann was referring to!!!
You see, a year or so ago, just after potty training our youngest, he went through a (thankfully) very short phase of peeing on me when he was angry. You could actually see his body tense up as he forced himself to empty his bladder. Yes, you could see it coming, but never be quick enough to escape it. And I was the only lucky beneficiary of said behavior. Yuck.
I had a hearty laugh as I remembered that particular streak of subbornness in my child. And I had a bit of humility forced upon me as well. Here I was, all ready to laugh at someone else's expense, and instead the tables are turned. At least I'm glad people are enjoying the struggles I've gone through in raising this particularly ornery child! Oh my, how he enriches my life!
So thanks Ann, for the reminder of something that I really shouldn't forget (I'll make sure he knows that he deserves every ornery act that his children someday dish out!), and for the laugh from days gone by.
If you make a mom a bookcase ...
If you make a mom a bookcase ...
She'll need to clear a space for it.
And if she needs to clear a space for it ...
She'll realize the carpet looks dingy.
If she realizes the carpet looks dingy ...
She will have to clean the carpet.
And if she's cleaning one carpet ...
She might as well clean them all!
If the carpets are going to get cleaned ...
The walls should be washed.
If the walls are getting washed ...
The dusting should be done.
To accomplish the dusting ...
The clutter must be decluttered.
For the clutter to vanish ...
Mom will need a new bookcase.
Happy fall cleaning week to us! (And thanks, honey, for the bookcase.)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Pumpkin Goodness!
It's pumpkin season and I've decided to try cooking and freezing my own pumpkins this year. It adds such richness to any pumpkin recipe to have it fresh instead of using the canned stuff.
To cook a pumpkin:
1. Buy pie or cooking pumpkins. These are generally smaller and can be found at veggie stands and in some grocery stores.
2. Slice the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds.
3. Place the pumpkin halves peel-side up in a baking dish and add about a 1/2 inch of water.
4. Cook the pumpkin in the oven at 450 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Once out of the oven, scoop the meat out of the pumpkin and place in a blender or food processor.
6. Blend until smooth.
7. Pumpkin freezes well or can be kept in the fridge for about 5 days. {I had planned to can pumpkin, but read that it's not recommended since pumpkin has a lower acidity level and bacteria can grow even after canning. However, I'm not 100% certain on that, so do your own research!}
I've had several people request the recipe I use for pumpkin cookies, so here it is. This is a recipe from Josh's Grandma and is a favorite amongst all Brumbaugh men!
Pumpkin Cookies:
1C shortening
1C pumpkin
1C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream these first five ingredients together until smooth.
Add:
2C flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix well and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. These should come out soft!
Once the cookies are cooled, make the frosting.
Frosting:
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp milk
1/2C brown sugar
Boil these three for two minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Then add 1C powdered sugar.
This should be slightly runny - not like normal frosting. Frost cookies and enjoy!
Of course, no pumpkin blog would be complete without a great pumpkin soup recipe. This soup really gets it's greatness from using fresh pumpkin, so if you have it on hand, I highly recommend it!
Creamy Pumpkin Soup: (Serves 8) prep: 10 min Cook: 20 min.
Ingredients:
1 ½ Medium Onion Chopped 3 Cans Chicken Broth
3 Tablespoons Butter 2 ½ Cups Sliced Peeled Potatoes
2 ½ Cups Canned Cooked Pumpkin 2 ½ Cups Milk
¾ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg ¾ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Pepper 1 ½ Cups Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Parsley 4 Bacon Strips, cooked & crumbled
In a large saucepan, sauté onion in butter until tender.
Add the broth, potatoes and pumpkin; cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat; cool.
Puree half of the mixture at a time in a blender or food processor until smooth; return all to the pan.
Add the milk nutmeg, salt and pepper; heat through.
Meanwhile, combine the sour cream and parsley.
Spoon soup into bowls; top each with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with bacon.
Happy Pumpkin Eating!!!
To cook a pumpkin:
1. Buy pie or cooking pumpkins. These are generally smaller and can be found at veggie stands and in some grocery stores.
2. Slice the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds.
3. Place the pumpkin halves peel-side up in a baking dish and add about a 1/2 inch of water.
4. Cook the pumpkin in the oven at 450 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
5. Once out of the oven, scoop the meat out of the pumpkin and place in a blender or food processor.
6. Blend until smooth.
7. Pumpkin freezes well or can be kept in the fridge for about 5 days. {I had planned to can pumpkin, but read that it's not recommended since pumpkin has a lower acidity level and bacteria can grow even after canning. However, I'm not 100% certain on that, so do your own research!}
I've had several people request the recipe I use for pumpkin cookies, so here it is. This is a recipe from Josh's Grandma and is a favorite amongst all Brumbaugh men!
Pumpkin Cookies:
1C shortening
1C pumpkin
1C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Cream these first five ingredients together until smooth.
Add:
2C flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix well and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. These should come out soft!
Once the cookies are cooled, make the frosting.
Frosting:
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp milk
1/2C brown sugar
Boil these three for two minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Then add 1C powdered sugar.
This should be slightly runny - not like normal frosting. Frost cookies and enjoy!
Of course, no pumpkin blog would be complete without a great pumpkin soup recipe. This soup really gets it's greatness from using fresh pumpkin, so if you have it on hand, I highly recommend it!
Creamy Pumpkin Soup: (Serves 8) prep: 10 min Cook: 20 min.
Ingredients:
1 ½ Medium Onion Chopped 3 Cans Chicken Broth
3 Tablespoons Butter 2 ½ Cups Sliced Peeled Potatoes
2 ½ Cups Canned Cooked Pumpkin 2 ½ Cups Milk
¾ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg ¾ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Pepper 1 ½ Cups Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Parsley 4 Bacon Strips, cooked & crumbled
In a large saucepan, sauté onion in butter until tender.
Add the broth, potatoes and pumpkin; cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat; cool.
Puree half of the mixture at a time in a blender or food processor until smooth; return all to the pan.
Add the milk nutmeg, salt and pepper; heat through.
Meanwhile, combine the sour cream and parsley.
Spoon soup into bowls; top each with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with bacon.
Happy Pumpkin Eating!!!
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