Let God Decide How Many Children We Have?

Well, I have come to one of the more controversial topics in my ladies Bible Study. I am grappling with it... that's for sure, not to mention trying to talk about some of these biblical concepts with my husband.

This lie satan sows goes something like this: "It's up to you to decide the size of your family"

I can hear the gasps across the internet already. If submission to our husbands isn't difficult enough... check this one out. We, as women, have been indoctrinated by our world and culture. We actually think we have the right to limit life and reproduction. Did you know that we aren't actually re-populating the earth at a healthy rate right now? I'm talking about caucasian people, specifically. There aren't actually enough people out there to enter the work force at the same rate as people retiring from their careers. School registration is down. People are having one and two children, if any, these days.

Now, I would definitely agree that God has a different family size in mind for everyone. Not every woman is destined to bear a dozen or so children. Putting the world aside for a moment, what do we as Christian women think about this topic?

Some of the reasons which most people, even Christian families, determine their family size is often based on fear, selfishness, and natural or human reasoning. Consider the following reasons people base this decision on (taken from Lies Women Believe):

• "How will we ever provide for more children? We're barely making ends meet, as it is. What about college tuition?
• "I can't physically handle more children. I'm exhausted trying to take care of the two I already have.
• "I just don't have the patience to handle a lot of children."
• "If we have more children, we won't have enough time for us as a couple."
• "My friends (or parents) will think we're crazy if we have more kids. They already think we have too many."
• "If we were to let the Lord decide how many children we should have, we'd have two dozen kids!"

The world says children are a burden. But God's Word clearly indicates children are of the greatest blessings He can give to married couples. (Psalm 127:3-5)

I am still working through some of these truths and trying to understand how they look in my family's life. But I will challenge you, dear reader, with this. What have you based this aspect of your life on? Fear? Convenience? Understand this, God promises wisdom to those who ask for it, and the joy of the Lord WILL be your STRENGTH.

Amen, thank you Jesus!

See Follow-Up to this post

Lie: I Need a Husband To Be Happy

This post is sort of in response to a loyal reader's comments about My Kid's Father.

Believe it or not, this is a lie that many women, including myself, believe over the years. Really, we are believing that our needs will be met in human relationships. Which cannot possibly happen because we are sinful humans and CANNOT meet every need of each other. God created us with an ultimate need for Him. If you don't think you've believed this lie, well, have you never been disappointed by another person when they've failed your expectations? Of course, that cannot be the total basis of this argument, because people are often disappointed in God when He doesn't meet certain expectations. However, if those individuals are set on seeking God's will for their life and clinging to Scriptures, they will be able to trust that God ultimately has their best in mind, even if it didn't look like at the time. ("Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16-17)

However, man is unable to meet all of our needs. It's just not going to happen. Our needs our far too deep for any human being to meet them fully. (Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. Psalm 62:5)

One scripture sticks out in my mind is Jerehiah 17:5-8:

"This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Release your husband or any other human relationship from your expectations of meeting your needs. Find true rest in God alone.

Books, books, books

As my readers hopefully know by now, I love taking my daughter to the library. She could spend a long time there, picking out books, asking me to read to her. We bring home piles of books every week, and she spends many moments alone and with me reading through them and looking at the pictures. In fact, we'd probably spend EVERY spare moment reading together if I didn't have anything else to do. I struggle with this because I don't want to deter her love for books, but I just can't dedicate my whole day to reading out loud to her. Meanwhile, we read as much as we can, and she loves it! This love for books has created a slight problem though. I have been disappointed with many of the books we've randomly picked out from our local library. So many of the picture books that find their way into our house are... well, downright stupid! They lack plot, interest, good characters, sense? I do not wish to 'waste' time reading nonsense books to my children. Books that have no point to them! I have realized it doesn't take much to publish a children's picture book. It can't, based on what I've seen that's out there!

I am hoping to get my hands on a book called "Honey for a Child's Heart," which is basically lists of classic book titles for children. Good books. I have also found a great website resource KidsReads.com, and they have lists categorized by age with links to other websites of popular children's authors, such as Beverly Clearly and the Laura Ingalls series. I am enjoying this stage of picture books and simple rhymes and poems, but I am secretly looking forward to enjoying early novels with my children too.

There are so many great books out there just waiting for us to cuddle up together with.

Read to your kids!

Here are 12 of the key reasons to start (or continue) reading aloud to your kids today.

1. Build a lifelong interest in reading. "Getting kids actively involved in the process of reading, and having them interact with adults, is key to a lifelong interest in reading," said BeAnn Younker, principal at Battle Ground Middle School in Indiana.

2. Children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and perform better in school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

3. Reading to kids helps them with language and speech development.

4. It expands kids' vocabulary and teaches children how to pronounce new words.

5. Reading to toddlers prepares them for school, during which they will need to listen to what is being said to them (similar to what they do while being read to).

6. Reading to older kids helps them understand grammar and correct sentence structure.

7. Kids and parents can use reading time as bonding time. It's an excellent opportunity for one-on-one communication, and it gives kids the attention they crave.

8. Being read to builds children's attention spans and helps them hone their listening skills.

9. Curiosity, creativity and imagination are all developed while being read to.

10. Being read to helps kids learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently.

11. Kids learn appropriate behavior when they're read to, and are exposed to new situations, making them more prepared when they encounter these situations in real life.

12. When read to, children are able to experience the rhythm and melody of language even before they can understand the spoken or printed word.

First Day of Spring

Today marks another 'first day of Spring.' The long anticipated season is upon me, and it looks as dreary as ever out there! Fifteen millimeters of rain has been forcasted for today. Doesn't look like our poor doggy will get out for a walk today afterall. BUT, tomorrow's forcast looks a lot more promising with mostly sunny weather for me to enjoy and a high temperature of ten degrees! I'm afraid the long-term forcast isn't as wonderful... I see snow is being predicted for later on. Anyhow, enough lamenting about our weather situation.

Today is library day! Usually I take the children to the library on Fridays. For no particular reason, except our books end up being due on Friday's. I have ordered the book The Very Hungry Caterpiller by Eric Carle. If you've never heard of him, (as I hadn't) go to Google's website and read about him. They have honored him, with a special Google logo, as a children's book author and illustrator to commemorate this year's first day of Spring.

Being the first day of Spring, I am also reminded that I should be starting to get serious about a vegetable garden... I have to say I have never felt less motivated! If someone would volunteer to come over and set it up for me, I would be so thankful and I would gladly maintain it and look after it. Somehow planning these sorts of things is so overwhelming, and I feel not worth tackling this year... but I don't want to say, 'maybe next year,' because that's what I have said every year since living at this house with my smallish yard. I have always found something to 'come up' and get in the way. In the meantime, I will continue sprouting. I am very satisfied by these little sprouts that take mere days to produce, without too much effort either. Perhaps I am not cut out for gardening?

My Kids' Father

I have neglected my Thursday Thanksgivings for too long! And tonight, as I sat down to try and figure out what I was supposed to blog about, only one thing seemed to trump every other possibility.

My kids' father. First of all, I am so thankful that my husband had two beautiful children with me. I don't affirm his amazing fatherly ways with them as often as I should! He is so patient and steady. When I am about to throw in the towel in regards to another need to implement discipline, he's right there, stepping up to the plate himself.

I am so thankful for his handyness. Our daughter is too young to really help him with anything, but during the sunnier months, he loved having her by his side in the yard or the garage, just toodling around him and watching him work. I would often look outside to find her standing near him holding out a wrench or trying to stick a screw into a hole herself.

I am so thankful that my husband enjoys me throwing the children into bed with him in the mornings after he's slept in. They lie there under the covers and cuddle together until the kids become restless and start squirming too much. Usually, it ends with someone getting a tickle attack.

I am so thankful my husband spends time talking; talking with me, and talking with our daughter. Dear son isn't quite there yet. Hubby and I have had many late night conversations about our children and how they're doing. Times of reflection and examination. I am equally thankful my husband spends time thinking. He isn't quick to answer sometimes; and I know, at those times he is thinking it through.

Meal Planning Monday

We thoroughly enjoyed last week's meals from Sandi Richard's cookbook, The Healthy Family. Cooking new recipes makes dinner something I look forward to! And I was pleased with her simple recipe format.

On to week number 2:
Monday: Hot Beef Pasta on Caesar Salad
Tuesday: Maple Cranberry Chicken Breasts with Rice and Broccoli
Wednesday: Curried Salmon and Egg Noodle Bake with Peas
Thursday: Savory Pot Roast with Harvest Veggies
Friday: Thai Chicken Pizza with Veggie Toss

Because my husband is working afternoon shift this week and next, we will probably have these meals for lunch instead. That way we can all enjoy them together, AND mommy doesn't have to cook in the evening. ;)

Family Dog

We picked up our newest member to our family today; a Beagle about 3 years old. He captured our hearts the minute we saw him (yes, even my hesitant one).

My Daily Bread

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

2 Peter 1:3-11

I can't add anything to this, except, I hope it encourages you to press on, to persevere. To face life's circumstances in God's power! His mercies are new every morning, Praise the Lord, our God most High!

How's your nourishment from the Word been lately? I hope you aren't starving yourself. Feast on His Word today.

End of Day

Snuggling with my hubby on the couch with a warm cup of foamed milk in my hands.... great way to end my day. How was yours?

Another Frigid a.m.

Yes, it's 8:00 am and -8 degrees outside. Did I mention it's March 10th and I thought Spring was just around the corner?

Since the time change over the weekend we haven't changed the timer on our thermostat inside our house. Which means, it's just begun to heat up when we get up, instead of being warmed already. I guess I should adjust it one of these days.

My children are playing together on the floor. DS is giggling and laughing at DD's antics. I love hearing them giggle at each other. It must be the most wonderful sound to a mother's ears! Of course, playing together usually follows with mommy saying, "Be Careful! Don't pull his arms like that. Don't stick your feet in his face! He doesn't like that!"

Today's agenda is looking basically similar to most days. Except the children and I will venture out into this sunny COLD weather in search of a wedding shower gift for a lady at our church. Hubby took a sick day from work. He has caught the latest cold that has been circulating. Not surprising, since many of the men at his work have been off sick over the past month or two.

Another slow cooker recipe and tip! We enjoy steel cut oats just about every morning! I cook them in my slow cooker overnight so my hubby can grab a bowl full on his way to work and it's still nice and warm for us when we emerge from our rooms. I don't think I'd eat porrige as often if it wasn't warm and waiting for me like this. Warm and satisfying :)

Slow Cooked Steel Cut Oats

1 C Steel Cut Oats

2 C water

Set on "Warm" before bed.

You may have to experiment with your slow cooker. I find if I set it on Low, the oats go crusty by the morning. It's just too hot. Every slow cooker is different though.

Meal Planning Monday

I am so excited to start a new cookbook this week! Here's a list of dinner's my family will be sampling this week.

Monday: Crunchy Orange Curried Chicken with Potatoes and Salad
Tuesday: Asian Deer with Snow Peas and Rice
Wednesday: Moose Manicotti with Italian Vegetables
Thursday: Meatballs in Applesauce with Rice and Broccoli
Friday: Deer Burgers with Veggies and Dip

This menu plan has been taken from Sandi Richard's cookbook, The Healthy Family. I have adapted some of the recipes to suit what we already have in our freezer, an abundance of game meat!

Waiting for Spring....

Snow dusted our backyard and some surrounding trees this morning. Having begun the second week of March, I was hoping to have left the wintry weather behind and start experiencing some warmer temperatures! The birds are singing despite the weather. And I must say, it is rather pleasant to be tapping away on my laptop in my living room, listening to the birdsong and enjoying the sunlight... even if it is filtered through the windowpane.

That is my DD's little wading pool I purchased last summer. For some reason or another, it found a place in that corner of the yard, and has remained there, waiting for a decent burial I suppose. It's one of those blow-up kind, and I think there are probably too many holes to bother repairing. Not to mention, algea that needs cleaning off. Every now and then she will ask me if it's summertime, as she's heard me refer to the pool and it only being good for summer. "It's much too cold, now dear! Wait until summer." I told her over and over in the early winter months.

Where there was once a toilet, is now just a bare space on our porch. My husband has posted it for sale on craiglist for a mere $20. He moved it to the side and gave it a good cleaning. The gas stove you see, (bottom right) is also for sale. It will be so nice to have some of this items gone, as they have littered our back deck for... well, I suppose we're going on two years now. (The stove, that is.)

We continue to wait for Spring on this cool March day. I know it's coming someday. An event, I anticipate with great excitement finally came to be! We went back into daylight savings time. This means it is still bright out at 6:00pm, and it also means our days are just getting longer. More sunlight makes mommy a happy mommy.

Tot School Update

Despite the lack of posts pertaining to tot school and my adventures in learning new things with my soon-to-be 3-year-old, there hasn't been an actual lack of learning in our house. I would say it hasn't been very structured lately, but who needs structure when they're 2 right?!

We continue to visit the library frequently. If not every time our books are due back, every week or so we are in the library perusing the children's isles in search of interesting and fun books to read together. My daughter's love for books is so encouraging to me, and I can only hope my son will also foster a little love for them as well. Lately, I have tried holding him in my lap while we read, and he is content to sit and listen...sort of. Except his curious little hands get in the way a little too much sometimes. To the point of frustration for me and his sister most of the time!

I have started a little tradition in our home, which I hope will grow into a fond memory for my daughter and other children some day. Because of the incredibly LONG time it takes her to eat lunch (or any meal, for that matter) I have started reading longer stories to her, advanced picture books, beginner novels? We are working through the classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories right now, and she is thrilled. The lack of pictures doesn't seem to bother her, as she is usually pre-occupied with eating her lunch or breakfast.

My daughter has also reached another important milestone in her academic development! Recently, she has started drawing people. It all started with mommy drawing large circles and asking her to fill in eyes and nose and a smile, and then before I knew it, she was adding arms and legs to these "heads." Her little people drawings are so cute. I'm sure every mommy can relate to my pride.

She has learned how to spell her name. She has yet to identify the letters in her name on paper, but she can spell it outloud if you ask her.

So, mommy is proud, daughter is proud, and both are having fun. I am looking forward to the years of learning ahead of us. What a joy it will be to see my children learn new skills, discover stories in books, and (oh, I pray) serve the Lord with all of their hearts, souls, and minds.

Soft Chewy Homemade Tortillas

In my frugality and, let's not forget, my delight in making things from scratch, I have been searching for the perfect flour tortilla recipe. The first one I tried called for a whopping half cup of lard for a mere 8 tortillas! Discouraged at how unhealthy this yummy comfort food is, even when homemade, I began searching for a more healthful version of this recipe.

My search took a mere 5 minutes of surfing the web. I stumbled upon a delightful blog about food and this blogger was nice enough to post their take on these tortillas. This version called for a scant amount of vegetable oil instead of the fattening half cup!

This photograph was taken shortly after these came off the skillet. You can almost see the steam dancing above them. Imagine fresh fluffy tortillas melting in your mouth. They were tucked away in a warm tea towel, and my family couldn't keep their mits away from them. Tiny rips and tears were noticed in a few of these this afternoon.

This recipe's a keeper!

Chili in a Bread Bowl

This bread bowl was made using the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day method. The chili was made in my slow cooker.

Since learning about this method, I always have dough sitting in my fridge ready to be taken out and baked off whenever we're craving an artisan-type bread.

The master recipe is as follows:
1 1/2 T Salt

1 1/2 Yeast

3 C Warm Water

6 C All purpose Flour

Stir this together in a large bowl that can be loosely covered. (Not an airtight container) Stir just until there are no dry spots in the dough. This will be so wet, it would be impossible to knead with your hands.

Let it rest in the fridge for at least 5 hours before grabbing a piece to form into a small grapefruit sized round. Allow to rise for 20 minutes to an hour. Slash with a serrated knife and bake on a preheated baking stone at 450 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

This mixture can sit in your fridge for weeks! The longer it sits, the more sourdough-like characteristics it takes on.

Check out their website for more recipes using this master dough recipe.

Spring IS Coming

You may be wondering, "What's with the toilet on the porch?" We are still in reno mode... going on year #4, and my dear husband bought us a new toilet this week! This is old one; my guess is it's waiting for the dump. This old toilet uses 13 litres per flush, and our NEW one only uses 4.5 per flush, which is significant when your home uses a septic system.

Anyhow, enough about toilets.

As I type this, my DS is in my lap with fingers on the keyboard. Makes it a little difficult to type correctly. this morningwheniwok eup, i was so pleased to see the sun! even at 6:15 am it was starting to rise. I love this time of year when the days begin to get longer. I kissed my husband off to work and tried to convince my 3 year old DD that it was 'mommy's quiet time.' She cuddled under a blanket on the couch in the living room and waited for it to be 'morning.'

By accident I met a friend on facebook. She is in Africa right now serving at an orphanage/boarding school. We have had several people from our church go over to Africa and Burma in the last months, and with facebook and the limited access they have to it while they're over there, it just doesn't seem so far away now. To have up to date information about what's happening with them is so precious, and i'm sure their families appreciate it even more!

Lord, we pray for those dear children. They have access to your word and to your gospel message. May your Spirit move in their hearts and draw them to Yourself. Become real to them, and help them realize their very real need for You in their lives. Also for those ministering to them, remind them to lean on You for their strength. Blessed is the man who depends on You for his strength, who puts his confidence in You. He is like a tree planted by the water and sends out its roots to the streams. It does not fear when the heat comes, it does not worry in a year of drought. Its leaves are always green, and it never fails to bear fruit.

Snail Mail Is Fun

With the speed and convenience of internet and e-mail, snail mail becomes much more meaningful! Plus, you can't exactly send 'item's through the internet.

My friend at As a Bee has recently taken an interest in cheese making, and she mailed me my own little cheese making kit! I was thrilled to receive that in my mailbox on Tuesday. I have yet to make the cheese because I still need to buy milk and citric acid. But I am anxiously anticipating the day when my family has homemade mozzerella melting in their mouths. :)

If that wasn't exciting enough, yesterday I discovered a new cookbook in my mailbox! I wasn't expecting it to arrive until tomorrow.

This is a different kind of cookbook, in that it has 7 weeks worth of dinner plans. I have always planned our family's dinners week by week, so this concept of meal planning isn't exactly brand new. However, I was feeling in the mood for a change. New recipes and ideas are always nice to get my hands on, and grocery shopping can be downright dull when you're buying the same old same old week after week.

Beefy Mac & Cheese ... in the Slow Cooker

Slow Cooked Banana Bread

Banana Bread ... in the Slow Cooker

One might ask why would you bake banana bread in a slow cooker? Or any quick bread?
A couple of reasons:

You are heading out the door for a couple of hours
Your oven is occupied with dinner
It's summertime and WAY too hot to turn the oven on

I Have Hidden Your Word in My Heart...

I have hidden your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Ps 119:11

Memorizing Bible verses was a regular practice for me as a child. We were very involved with a children's church club, AWANA, which focuses on Bible memory. If a child cycled through this program, they may spend up to 10 or 12 years memorizing key verses of the Bible! After AWANA ran its course in my childhood, there was Bible Quizzing, another memory program that incorporated verse memory with competition and travel.

Now as a wife and mother, I have to admit I've had little time to devote to Bible memory... actually, let's be honest: I haven't made time to devote to Bible memory. Time will never come on its own; it just won't happen. A very close friend of mine has encouraged me with a new way of memorizing Bible verses. She suggested writing out the first letter of every word in the verse and then reading it over and over scratching out letters until it's memorized. I can't believe how wonderful this method works! I have been so encouraged, and blessings ALWAYS come with hiding God's word in our hearts.

A couple of websites related to verse memory:
http://www.answersincreation.org/scripturememory.htm Answers in Genesis
http://www.memoryverses.org/ Scripture Memory Connection

Baked Beans ... in the Slow Cooker

These taste just like the canned Pork n Beans that you would get from the grocery store.



These dried white beans were slow cooked in water for about 9 hours, and then for another 30 minutes to an hour with the flavorful sauce.



They were delicious on toast for breakfast this morning, and the rest have been portioned out into 1 cup containers and frozen for later uses in chilis, taco meat, or just eating plain.

Overnight Baked Beans

2 cups Dried white beans

4 cups Water

1/4 C Ketchup

1/3 C Brown Sugar (unpacked)

2 TB Cooking Molasses

1/2 tsp Onion Salt

1 tsp Ground Mustard Powder

Dash of fresh ground Pepper

Night Before: Combine beans and water in a 3QT Slow Cooker. Cover and let cook on Low for 8-10 hours or until beans have soaked up a lot of the water. Keep in mind, once the beans are completely soft and cooked there will be some water in the crock pot.

Next morning: Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Cook on High for about 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Makes approx. 4 cups.