God's peace, preparedness...and the coming economic storm

First, let me say that I've always, since a little girl been fascinated with old-fashioned ways and time periods. I've had many people jokingly tell me that I was born in the wrong time period. I love cooking and baking from scratch...I love hanging my clothes on clotheslines, I love a garden, I love fires in the fireplace...I love, love, love fiber arts! Quilting, crocheting...now I'm learning to sew and spin. I love "Little Women", "Little House on the Prairie" and I love the "Waltons"....wish I lived at the foot of Walton's mountain! LOL I'm fascinated with the Amish way of life as well. So...all this to say that I love studying how they lived during these time periods, and wonder if I could as well.

Many years ago, when I stopped working outside the home when my first daughter was born, I discovered "enforced frugality"...then, after having my second daughter 2 years later....I discovered the Lord....and what living life trusting in His provision was like. I could give example after example of God's provision in our lives then...and since. I also discovered what I found to be very interesting...God wants us to trust Him for our needs, but He wants us to do it joyfully...and creatively...using the gifts that He has given us. I've learned a lot over the years, and still love learning as much as I can.

Usually, and I can't explain it any other way...before some "storm of life" happens in our family, I can sense an impending " storm"....I truly believe that God prepares us for impending "storms of life"....and yes, He wants us to trust Him completely...but He will also lead us to prepare in ways according to His will.

I feel a "storm" coming. I feel, after much prayer ( and will continue to seek His will) that He is calling me, as the Keeper of our home, to prepare for a "storm". My husbands contract with work is up in 1 year...it looks like the company is leaning toward selling or contracting out the work...as for many, the job situation is tenuous, at best. But, God is faithful! He is showing me ways to preserve food the "old-fashioned" way....to culture it, to can and dehydrate more. To little by little, put away a few extra cans each time we go to the grocery store...a few extra bags of rice or lentils or beans. And to give more of these same items to the foodbanks who are hurting more and more lately...with no relief in sight. I've been reading more of natural nutrition so we dont' HAVE to depend on supplements...although buying a little extra of these and putting them away. Paying down/off debt...a little at a time. Making gifts and cards rather than buying them. Even having extra wood for the fireplace and an extra tank of propane for the grill ( that has a burner on the side) I've discovered very inexpensive, but healthy ways to make laundry soap and not use fabric softeners...and if necessary (if no electricity) how to do laundry by hand for 6 people.

This morning, in my devotions, I was reading this in 'Streams in the Desert'...."God is in the midst of her. She will not be moved.God will help her when morning dawns." Psalm 46:5 Here are portions of the devotion: 'Will not be moved. Is it possible for us who are so easily moved by earthly things to come to a point where nothing can upset us or disturb our peace?! The answer is yes..and the apostle Paul knew it. When he was on his way to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit warned him that trials and prison awaited him. But he could still say " But none of these things move me." (acts 20:24) If we only allow God to have His way with us ( not our will, Lord, but yours be done) then, like Paul, neither the stress and strain of little things,nor the great and heavy trials of life will have enough power to move us from "the peace of God , which transcends all understanding" (phil.4:7) God declares this peace the inheritance of those who learn to rest only on Him. When God is the center of a soul, although disasters may crowd in on all sides and roar like the waves of the sea, there is a constant calm within. The world can neither give nor take away this kind of peace." " What is it that causes people to shake like leaves today at the first hint of danger? It is simply the lack of God living in their souls, and having the world in their hearts instead." R. Leighton ~ This is such a wonderful, comforting, encouraging, exhorting devotional! I encourage everyone, if you can to get a copy. You can get them really inexpensively on CBD or amazon.

The church that we go to is a part of Sovereign Grace ministries and produces a lot of their own music. Yesterday, was 1 year since our son, Ronnie, had his first major surgery...another storm over. It will be 2 months since his last surgery...again, another storm done. When he was in the hospital and again when he came home, when the pain would be so bad, he would start to panic and would ask me to sing..."Jesus Loves Me" was one of his favorites, but 2 more that really blessed me that he would ask for went like this " The Lord is...the Lord is my shephard. I shall not want"...and "So God, we trust in You...when fears are great and comforts few, we hope in mercies ever new, we trust in You."....Oh, how faithful He is to comfort and calm us! His love, provision and comfort are constant....He IS faithful, He IS merciful....and He WILL provide for our needs.

As our family prepares for the coming "storm"....we don't know if it will be a little, short storm or a long, devestating storm....but we rest in the knowledge that our God ALWAYS provides. We will continue to pray for His leading...and quietly go about obeying and preparing as He leads. May you all be blessed, calmed and comforted in the knowledge of His love and care over you! How mighty is our God!!! I want to leave you with some encouraging lyrics from a Chris Tomlin song. (I'm sure you can listen to it somewhere on the internet...but I don't know how to do that!) LOL Have a blessed day! ~Sue~

Mighty Is The Power Of The Cross lyrics

What can take a dying man and raise him up to life again?
What can heal a wounded soul?
What can make us white as snow?
What can fill the emptiness?
What can mend our brokenness?
Brokenness

[Chorus:]
Mighty, awesome, wonderful
Is the holy cross
Where the Lamb laid down His life
To lift us from the fall
Mighty is the power of the cross

What restores our faith in God?
What reveals the Father's love?
What can lead the wayward home?
What can melt a heart of stone?
What can free the guilty ones
What can save and overcome?
Overcome

[Chorus]

It's a miracle to me [2x]
And It's still a mystery [2x]
It's a miracle to me
The power of God
For those who believe

Mighty, awesome, wonderful
Is the holy cross
Where the Lamb laid down His life
To lift us from the fall
Mighty is .......
Mighty is.......
Mighty is the power of the cross

Thank You for the cross [2x]
Love the cross [2x]
So Powerful...... ohhhhh yeahhh
What can take a dying man?
And raise him up to life again?

Worship You Jesus
By your wounds we are healed
By your wounds we are saved
Mighty is the power of the cross [2x]
Thank You Jesus for the Holy cross

Giveaway!

*Updated: This giveaway is now closed. The winner will be picked Friday January 30th 2009,Thanks to all who entered!*

*Trumpet Blast* Hear me, hear me: My Simple Blessed Life is hosting it's very first give-away! I am so excited! This is the very first thing we ourselves are giving away to a random commenter who comments on this post. What we are giving away: a tangerine bracelet (L, XL), a pair of orange earrings, and a pair of clip-on orange earrings. These are completely original, made my me especially for you readers! One lucky commenter will win this homemade, "Tangerine Blossom Set" so hurry and comment! Giveaway ends January 3oth, 2009 which gives you 5 days to comment. Here are the pictures of what you could win:The bracelet is slightly large, but if you're careful it won't fall off... I love the color!These are the clip-on earrings. They remind me of Gatorade somehow... these turned out awesome!
These are the earrings I made out of normal earring posts. They aren't very big and are quite nice.

So if you're interested, comment and email me at: sara(dot)gorecki(at)gmail(dot)com with your address so we can ship it to you. By the way, select your preference: pierced or clip-on. Have fun, and I hope people comment!

Cancelled....

Looks like God cancelled all activities over here! No one is going anywhere tonight due to snow/ice/snow. So...we are actually very happy to be all staying home, hubby decided on chicken and dumplings since he got called into work tomorrow and will miss dinner....we'll light a fire, pop some popcorn...and enjoy the warmth of our home, our fire and our family. Hope you all are warm and peaceful! ~Sue~

Award!

Over at Tia's blog, she was awarded the Kreativ Blogger Award. Well, since she said anyone who checks her blog regularly (I was her first follower) could steal the button, I wanted to put it on our blog. So, indirectly, we were awarded! Here is the beautiful first award!The directions are, link to the person who gave you the award, then give it to 10 readers of your blog. Well, if you click on the link at the begining of the post, you can go to Tia's blog. So here are my ten bloggie friends I think deserve this award:

1. Ella
2. Dani (I Move)
3. Lydia
4. Bekah
5. Mrs. Gardner
6. Lane

Well, I have run out of bloggie friends to award, so enjoy!

Busy day....and presents waiting!

Whoo! What a busy day! But...a good one! This morning, I drove Meghan over to my sisters to be a 'mothers helper' today as our little Ty seems to have caught my cold and Lori didn't want to take him out in the cold...poor little guy! Then, close friends of ours are flying home from vacation tonight and I knew their little guy had the stomach bug and wasn't sure if anyone else got it...so after I called, ( and everyone has it), I ran to the grocery store to pick up some things and drop them at their home so they would have them tonight...and wouldn't have to go out in the snow tomorrow or Wednesday! After that, a quick stop at the health food store for some more Elderberry syrup...nothin else in it, but elderberry...and I've been out. Seems to quickly help us feel better...I got 2 bottles! Stopped after that to pick up some baby cereal and teething biscuits for Ty at 'Babys R Us'...they have wonderful baby cereal that is organic, and has probiotics right in it....recommended by Dr. Sears...and gluten free teething biscuits with all natural ingredients...Ty loves them! Below is a picture of what Sara and my little ones were doing while I was gone....'Gym class'! They had so much fun!

Doesn't Sara look like an aerobics instructor from the 80's?!

Then it was home to make some gluten free pizza. I love Carol Fenster's books! As you can probably tell by the stained pages, this is a favorite. As we try not to do a lot of yeast, this makes a yummy GF pizza crust that everyone likes.

What does Rachel Ray say? " Need it twice, make it once" ...I need a GF crust for this weekend, so will freeze one of these.

Here are my talented assistants!

Doesn't this look good?! It tasted even better than it looked!

I had a wonderful present waiting for me when I got home. My friend, Patti, in Idaho sent this package up...I've been waiting anxiously for it! Her son,Garrett, works with wood and has a business. These are their black walnut salad tongs. I love them! You flip them over and that engages the spring action....only 1 hand needed! Every mom should have a pair!

They included this really cool toothpaste squeezer....Sara tried it right away (sceptically, I might add) and was excited to exclaim how well it works! ( I need 3 more!)

But this....this is what I have been waiting for! A size R crochet hook that Garrett made from zebra wood! I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to hold and work with! This size seems rather large, but for the 2 afghans that I have planned, it will be perfect to work up quickly. It is also the recommended size to crochet strips of fabric together...to make tote bags or rag rugs...especially from old cotton sheets from the thrift stores. I love it! I want to order a couple more in slightly smaller sizes...then I'll have all the sizes I'll need! The wood is so beautiful, smooth and warm!

Here is Garrett's website: www.3gwoodworks.com I encourage you to take a look at the other things that he makes. ( I'm not sure if any other crochet hooks are pictured or not) A certain someone who lives here...actually a couple of certain someones would love to have needle cases and seamrippers....will be placing an order in the near future! Again....I really wish everyone I knew (especially if you have children!) had a pair of these salad tongs...they are the coolest things I've tried! Now...if I only had a wooden salad bowl to go with them?! Hmmm....Garrett, do you make bowls, too?!

Now....after I go make some strawberry kefir smoothies....I'm off to REST for just a little while, enjoying my crochet hook before starting my chili for dinner! Tonight, after dinner, I'm going to our local homeschool group meeting. Haven't seen these ladies in a while...I'm looking forward to the encouragement and fellowship! Have a blessed day! ~Sue~

Menu plan Monday!

I'm finally posting this menu plan on time! LOL We have a particularly busy week this week, so I'm glad I was able to plan this ahead of time...nice, too, to know what to make on the days when we have obligations in the evenings. Here's this weeks menus!

Monday
Hot millet with apples and cinnamon
gluten free pizza, cucumbers
chili, cornbread and salad

Tuesday
gluten free pancakes with blueberry syrup
chicken and rice soup
gluten free veggie lasagna and gluten free parmesean breadsticks

Wednesday
Veggie omelets and potatoes
taco salads
deer chops, sweet/sour red cabbage, brown rice

Thursday
cereal and bananas (out the door early)
gluten free macaroni and cheese, salad
chicken and GF dumplings, green beans

Friday
GF pancakes with strawberry syrup
veggie omelets, potatoes
minestrone soup, cheddar garlic GF biscuits

Saturday
cereal, bananas ( out the door early again!)
GF banana nut bread, pineapple
GF philly cheesesteak pizza
(we have my sisters birthday party!)

Super Bowl Sunday! (Go Steelers!)
Oatmeal and fruit
'Good Sunday' soup
GF pizza and salad
parmesean popcorn (for the big game!)

I just wanted to mention something for a moment. While trying to save money, and eat healthy...like I mentioned before, we are trying to culture a lot of food...drinking kefir smoothies everyday and juicing. Along with that, we usually only used stevia, pure maple syrup and/or raw honey for sweetening. Well...after going to Costco on Friday, we discovered that pure maple syrup there went from 1/2 gallon at around $18 to only 1 quart for the same price...we couldn't justify it. But...as homemade GF pancakes are a staple here for breakfasts ( and to put peanutbutter and jam on for sandwiches) I was stumped as to what we could do. After looking thru some old 'Great Depression' cookbooks, I realized that I could make fruit syrups to put on without any sugar! Aldi's (my favorite store) sells bags of frozen strawberries that have no sugar...simply strawberries. If I thaw them, puree them and thicken with some water and cornstarch....I'll have a syrup....maybe a little stevia to sweeten. Well...the kids were so excited! ANd...I'll do the same with blueberries. So much cheaper...and actually healthier! Just thought I'd mention that. Have a blessed day!~Sue~

Duggar wedding

Ok...I had to do a quick post! The girls and I just finished watching the 'Duggar wedding' on TLC. I praise God for the courage that He gave this family to not be afraid to live their lives according to His word and His guidance...and to be on national television. The fact that Josh and Anna Duggar followed a chaperoned courtship, and their first kiss was at their wedding was inspiring. Not that they themselves were inspiring, but the fact that they obeyed God's leading in their lives and their famililes was inspiring. They are an example of so many families all across the U.S. who are conservative, Bible believing, homeschooling families...obeying God for the size of their families and not ashamed of the gospel.

Based on some conversations that I've had with different people, watching this family on t.v. has allowed a better understanding to friends and family members of ours as to why we live our lives the way we do...according to His leading. Seeking to simply obey Him...out of love and gratitude for His saving grace! Praise you, Lord! Thank you for saving us, guiding us, teaching and correcting us...and for your word...your letter of love to us...your guide for life for us.

And....thank you to the Duggar family for putting your family out there...and for not being ashamed of the Gospel! Goodnight! ~Sue~

"jewish penicillian" and God's blessings....

I'm sick. I seem to have caught what others in my family had...a bad chest cold that just drains you to exhaustion, makes your muscles and head ache....and gives you a nasty cough! As the day progressed yesterday, I just felt worse....some ibuprophen and a hot shower helped...but I caught it anyway. I've spent the past 3 days resting.

I managed yesterday to make 20 quarts of chicken stock....I think I put in at least 13 large cloves of garlic! I had heard that a Jewish grandmothers chicken soup would cure anything that ails you...and I've been making it for years! I only got up from resting to strain the broth, cook the rice and finish the soup. Delicious!

One huge blessing today, was that I was reunited with an old friend from my childhood, Jolyn. She and her family lived behind us when we were growing up, then they moved to Ohio. The last time I saw her, was in 1992 when Ron and I met she and her husband, Mike, for dinner. Then, we lost touch. I was overjoyed to hear that she found my sister thru the internet, then she and I emailed. When I saw her email address, I was thrilled...and immediately thought "She's a believer!"

Yesterday, she called me. She, also, was sick with a bad sinus cold...so we both climbed into our beds to rest and talked....and talked and talked! We talked for almost 2 1/2 hours! And probably could have talked much longer! We told each other our testimonies, the things the Lord has done in our lives, our struggles, all about our children, our churches...we laughed! We can't wait to get together! I found out that she is only about 40 minutes away from another friend of mine in Ohio! What a wonderful coincidence. I will be visiting both of them this summer.

How the Lord cares for me!!!! He provides the means for hot, healthy soup, He has blessed me with a wonderful, hardworking, caring husband and children who love and care for me when I'm sick(the girls helped with the Littles, and Meghan made yummy coffee bars that both girls brought to me in bed)...and He has been bringing me fellow 'sisters in Christ' as new friends a lot lately...as well as deepening and strengthening old friendships. He is so good to me!!! I am abundantly blessed! Now...to rest with my little ones and enjoy His blessings! Have a blessed Sabbath rest! ~Sue~