Homekeeper’s Journal ~ January 12th

This week’s Homekeeper’s Journal is about TIME……

In My Winter Kitchen its time to ……….
BAKE!!!  The kitchen used to be a frightening place for me in which things just would not turn out right.  Underdone pizza (I had followed the recipe to a T, but it turns out the oven was fritzy and I hadn't been warned), under cooked chicken, to pizza so overcooked the smoke set the fire alarm off...  However, recently I have come to love use of the stove top and now even the oven in the pursuit of making delicious breads and treats - and since the baking helps warm the kitchen it is a double joy.

My biggest Time-Waster seems to be ……..
The TV.  When the marathon's come on of my favorite shows it is all too easy to sit and watch for hours without realizing it.

I do/do not view Time as a gift from God and here is why……
I see time as a precious gift from God, but alas I tend to waste it doing things that do not matter much.

When others are slow or dawdle I ………
Tend to get flustered.  While I realize that I need to show patience for there are times that I do the same, it is a mental struggle.

One way that I make good use of time in my household is …..
Having a schedule. Having it there helps me keep on task by letting me regularly switch activities which fits my short attention span, but still get things done

Homekeeper’s Journal ~ 1/12

Answering Muslims - ABC's Islam Deception

Answering Muslims is a great resource for Christians to learn the truth about Islam; it is also good to learn ways to refute the lies and half truths given in the media.  One such instance was a little while back ABC had a special on Islam... I had no idea that it was possible for a network to make so many blatant lies and twist a language in one program.

America's First Line of Defense Against Terrorism

Raisins or Virgins in Paradise?

Were Adam and Eve Created Equally from Dust?

Are Men and Women Equal in Islam?

Muhammad and Religious Tolerance

Paul Washer - a few wonderful videos of his

I gathered these videos from Youtube in one of my children's church classes.  Granted not all of them were used do to time restraints, but I still found them to be wonderful - as Pastor Paul's sermons are - and bookmarked them.  

Now I'd like to share them:

The True Gospel Sermon Jam

Joel Osteen, it's just the Truth

Jesus Christ is Everything

Lord, Lord - I never knew you

A Call to Wonder

Do you desire God?

Homemaker's Journal: Winter

Today’s Journal is all about Winter and what you do to make your home warm, inviting, comfortable and the things you struggle with in the Winter.

In my Winter Kitchen…
Stews and chili make regular appearances once the Christmas leftovers have left the scene.  The oven becomes a mini heater for the kitchen, making it a tad cozy when washing the dishes.

The hardest part about Winter for my household is ….
Staying warm...  While the house has a lovely wood stove that is quite capable of heating a house a good deal larger than this one it stays unlit until the evening - the wood costs less than electric but don't want to waste what we have either.

My favorite Winter time meal is….
My "Turn or Burn" chili with red velvet cake covered in cream cheese icing and crushed strawberries for dessert.

I Do/Do Not (choose one) tend to be depressed in the Winter…..
I do not tend to be depressed in the Winter: I love cold weather and the snow, whenever it actually does snow.

A favorite Winter time activity my family enjoys is ….
Playing games with my family would top the list along with watching a good movie or two.

To help my home look and feel inviting in the Winter….
There are fleece blankets on the chairs to curl up under and in the evening a fire going in the wood stove.

How I dress to stay warm ……
Layers are my friend to stay warm along with my fleece lined skirt, wool chemise, and turtlenecks. 

One really important health rule for the Winter time I’d like to share ….
Drinking water is essential during the winter - the dryness of the air will dehydrate you, not just your skin.

The Homekeeper's Journal

A Year Gone

Looking back, quite a bit has occurred in 2010:

1. I lost the job I had since junior/senior year of high school - I was getting close to having worked there for 5 years.
2. I lost 2 members of my family whom, as practitioners of Christian Science, I have little hope of seeing in heaven.  I still hold on to hope of a death bed salvation, but it is little more than a slight hope...
3. I passed both semesters of nursing, leaving me with just one more left until graduation. 
4. While the loss of my job was far from pleasant it has opened a few doors: aiding friends, having extra study time that would have been an impossibility working retail, and learning medical transcription
5. I gained a wonderful boyfriend who is strong in the Lord and a faithful witness
6. I ran the crafts program of my church's VBS program and have taught Sunday School for almost 2 years now.

This new year will be interesting to be sure as it comes time to take the NCLEX and find a nursing job in a market that while in need, is not hiring.  Hopefully I will be able to do a type of job shadowing of the children's director this year as well - she welcomes the idea, my prospective schedule of job searching is not so courteous.

Gaither (Church in the wildwood) - The Peasall sisters

I heard this song a few days ago and found it a wonderful comfort. "Father along, we'll understand it. Farther along, we'll understand why." These lines resonated with me for a couple different reasons; the first being that at the beginning of this semester I was crying to the Lord "What have You let me do?!" I had registered for what I thought was the pediatrics floor of a hospital but was in reality was a "rehab" facility. It was a facility full of children in varying states of mental awareness, tracheostomies, and wheel chairs. In essence a unit full of heart-breaker children. I could not understand how God could permit me to sign up for a facility I was sure I could not work at because I was certain I would have a breakdown each day. The beautiful thing was that once I started work there I loved it: the children, the staff, my instructor, and the tasks. I loved them all. God used that time to teach me that He had wired me to do things I had never dreamed myself capable of.

On the other hand I am still waiting to see why He had me fired. It was a job I held for four years and now I must start the search again without a reference to aid me. I do not understand it. However, I have learned through many things that often God shows me why He had me do one thing or another; yet I also realize that I may not ever understand it on this side of the veil.

Awesome Autumn Giveaway!!

Two lovely giveaways to be found at A Corner Pillar from September 22-30

Here's giveaway number one

Here's giveaway number two: