Comfort.....

~Today, the Lord taught me a great lesson on 'comfort'. The equal importance of giving comfort and receiving comfort. The analogy was used that comfort comes from God thru Jesus to us...and then, out of us to others. (for more notes on this sermon, please see my daughter Meghan's blog at justasiam-meghan.blogspot.com )

Among the many lessons that I am absorbing today, is not having to always be 'strong'...to receive the Lord's comfort, to rest in His love...and His plan for me each day.

And...in so doing, I have thought a good deal today on extending that 'comfort'...that 'grace' to my children. My goodness, parenting is hard! LOL
I think we, as parents, need to walk such a fine line between not being consistent to discipline and curb those 'heart issues'....sin issues...and wanting (oh, with my whole heart!) to overlook, extend grace and comfort....and yet...without consistency, these issues can rage out of control.

With the winter we've been having around here...illness for 10 weeks, myself being sick and exhausted...I've found myself overlooking a lot of behavior that should not be overlooked. I've found myself not being consistent with discipline or in a routine...and I see where that is so necessary! But...my mother's heart is to comfort, to laugh and enjoy my children....so I've found myself crying out to the Lord today for guidance as just how to do that. To teach them, to have a workable routine around here, to be consistent with my children...and to laugh more with them, to comfort them more (it is hard to learn to die to self...to surrender their wills)...to extend grace more. Just to listen to their struggles, and to sympathize more....not necessarily try and fix them.

As God is pouring out His comfort on me, thru my wonderful savior, Jesus...so I should be a conduit of His grace and comfort first to my family...then, letting it flow out to those around me...extended family, friends, neighbors, church family...and to any hurting heart who needs comfort and hope.

So, for this mom....I will be learning to 'rest in His comfort' more...to extend that comfort and grace to my hard-working husband and wonderful children...and to be still...and listen to His voice, and know that He is God...my God of all comfort! ~Sue~

Showers of blessings....

"I will send down showers in season, there will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26 I am so unworthy of so many showers of blessings...and lately, I've been feeling a little 'blue'...I suppose I could blame it on the never-ending coughs and illnesses going around here....or the 40+ inches of snow this month...or no sunshine....or just being tired, but lately, the Lord has been showering me with blessings....and using my friends and family to do that.

The above picture of my CUTE red tea kettle was a surprise gift today from a friend...and it whistles, too! She surprised me with the gift of a visit today, along with this tea kettle and some special flavored tea. (tonight, it is decaf. chocolate hazelnut when the little ones go to bed!) Then...a couple of hours later, she returned with 2 big bags of 'goodies' for me. One huge turkey carcass for me to make soup out of, 3 ham bones and (best of all) 3 huge ORGANIC, grass fed beef roasts! They are not her favorite cuts of meat, and she knows they are MY favorites...so she blessed me! (Thanks, Rhonda!) Wow! I am still shaking my head in awe!

Yesterday, the elderly neighbor across the street from us and I were talking when he said "Hold on....I have something for you"...so he brought out the above new gardening book for us! He said it is his favorite book and wanted us to have one...then proceeded to tell me the best way to put our gardens in this year and expand them. He is such a blessing to us! He will 89 on his next birthday, and we are all grateful for his friendship.

Recently, I had commented that my food processor had broken and I really missed it...and a friend of a friend read the blog, and gave us a Cuisinart food processor! I love it so much and have used it daily since then! (Thanks, Dianne!) I had also blew the safety valve on my pressure cooker, and another friend (Thanks, Jolyn!) brought a brand new one no one was using! Add to that a friend from church who regularly gives us bags and bags of dried beans (Thanks, Jill!) and family members (Thanks, Lor!) who save us ham bones (with lots of meat on them) , pass along coats (Thanks, Pam!) and clothes to my kids, and parents who like to 'treat' us....and I am overwhelmed with God showering blessings on us!

I feel as if He is showing us, once again, that He will always provide! He will provide for our needs AND bless us with special reminders of His love and care of us.

Even though we are going on week 10 of sick little ones...and we are going to have 3-6 more inches of snow AND high winds...I can see the sunshine...I can see light at the end of this tunnel....Ronnie and Anna are improving, Ron is amazingly calm and trusting in the midst of job uncertainty, Meghan & Sara are working so hard and helping so much....I am so blessed! I thank an amazing God for my many blessings...blessings of family, friendships and His love and provision! Thank you, Lord!!!

Evenings with Victoria Botkin

I'm posting this as an entry to a contest to win this that Joyfully Home is sponsoring

My daughter's new blogs...

We started this blog in December 2008 as a family blog....as another way to keep in touch with family and friends...and as a creative outlet for our thoughts...we love writing!

Now, my two lovely daughters have started their own blogs...with our blessings. They have proven to be responsible with their schoolwork and chores...helping with the menu planning and cooking....and....they love to write! I had to chuckle....each of their blogs so reflects their individual personalities....I have the most wonderful daughters! So, without further adieu...may I direct you to the newest Gorecki family blogs!

Meghan's Blog: http://justasiam-meghan.blogspot.com
Sara's Blog: http://scribblingsofsara.blogspot.com

Enjoy our newest "additions"! ~Sue~

Chepatis and Curry!!!

We've been trying to cut down on our meat consumption, still eat healthy and make everything from scratch AND gluten free....so I pulled out my "More with Less Cookbook" and discovered Chicken curry and Chepatis! First, I had to figure out how to make it gluten free...turns out, it was so easy! This will become a staple around here! Lightly frying the flatbread in the skillet....to be kept warm in the oven...

Look how wonderful my Chepatis turned out!!! Oh, it tasted so good!

The chicken curry recipe called for homemade broth, chicken, lots of onions, garlic and carrots and garbanzo beans...along with the spices and curry powder....everyone loved this! So....some of the meals we will be having in the coming weeks are mexican chili, pork fried rice (with just a little leftover pork from a roast that I have frozen), Greek spinach, feta and millet casserole....a long with lots of salads, hummus and stirfries.....

If you don't already have this cookbook, it is a must in our home! This is one that I will make sure all of my daughters have and will set one aside for my future daughter-in-law as well someday! I love the creativity of feeding my family of 6 on a tight budget, from scratch and healthy as well....not only is it good stewardship of my children's health, but it honors my husband by using his hard earned money wisely and creatively! ~Sue~

Humbled Lessons Learned....

There have been so very many lessons learned in our family over the course of the winter...this very interesting winter.

The Lord has answered our prayers...He has humbled us. Brought low by illness that never seem to end...and challanges that only He can make right and only He can provide....we are called to be hopefull and to trust during this time. And, we are called to support each other in our family thru this journey called life. Many of the lessons the Lord has shown our family is the area of 'activities'....It is pretty clear that He doesn't want us to have very many outside activities at all. We are to work together, being busy at home...to work and help our friends and family and community...and to do it together...a family effort.

I, as the mother of almost a senior in high school as well as a junior....only 1 more year for Meghan and 2 for Sara....are needed by them to be WITH THEM...to teach, train, disciple them and LISTEN to them...to share with them and help make their dreams come true..and to teach them that our family comes first...before anything that would capture their time, talents or imangination....it would have to fit into the Lord's plan for our family. Working together to run this family the way God wants it to be. I'm glad I am honoring Ron's wishes in a lot of areas...and I'm glad the girls are as well. It is amazing that all 6 of us are on the same page, and value the same things. We are all putting our family lives at top priority....Jesus first, our family second. I am anxious to see what He is revealing next to us! I know that He will honor and bless us if we are in agreement with each other and in His will. Thank, you , Lord Jesus...for leading us, for your provision....you are worthy of our trust and faith in you ! So grateful that we are a family! Thank you ,Lord! ~Sue~

My Friend Autumn

"Autumn is here!" We all heard that from Anna as she raced downstairs to open the garage door. That could only mean one thing: no it isn't fall yet, but my dear friend Autumn has arrived! We always have so much fun! Lately, we have been emailing back and forth and talking on the phone, but technology cannot equate to running into their house, announcing "We're here!" and giving them a big hug. That is what happened last friday. (Since my mother and sister keep posting about food and knitting, I can never find the time to do a post!) We chatted, we started a music video (Autumn and her friend Kylie made a video, so we are trying to do another with a new song, You Belong With Me), and we played out in the snow. I found out that Autumn hates snowballs! She loves to throw them, but hates to be on the receiving end of them. So after I pelted her a few :-) we declared a truce and threw them at Meghan! Man, it was a hoot! She would fall backward into the snow and we would restock our snowballs. She would get up, and BAM! We showed her no mercy *EVIL LAUGH!!!* Anyways, after our snow war, we came back inside and played on Anna and Ronnie's scooters (Those wonders can hold up to 225 lbs!) and we loved it! Once she got the hang of it, she could zoom! She is like a sister, and we always have a ton of fun! I commented that we have only known eachother for less then a year! It feels like forever, which is a sign of a good friendship.

Being the camera hogs we naturally are, we decided to video tape ourselves on the scooters. We got 16 minutes of footage of us acting nuts, and I decided to clip it and make a music video. I set the footage to a Fracesca Battistelli song called, "Free To Be Me"... so after editing it and adding special effects, I wanted to publish it here on the blog! Here it is:

ENJOY! LOVE YA AUTUMN!

Learning to knit...

Tonight, while my little ones soaked in warm tubs....and hubby was here to lend a hand, I decided that I was going to try to learn to knit. Now, I know how to crochet and love the feel of a wooden hook and the yarn in my hands...but, I am of the humble opinion that knitting is so much harder and slower than crocheting!

It took me forever to get the hang of casting on....and after that, making the stitches wasn't too hard, simply switching from one needle to the other...but, boy, is it slow going! I am determined to master this, though....knitting uses 3 times less yarn than crocheting and I have 2 scarves that I have 'special' yarn I want to use and want to make the most of it..and I do like the look of a knitted scarf....I'm just using leftover yarn to make a starter scarf right now...in between crocheting my other projects! LOL I love having something in my hands while talking with the kids, or homeschooling my little ones (who require me, for the most part, to sit at the table with them while they do their work ) or watching a movie...it is very soothing to me (except learning this, right now!), and I just got done reading an article about keeping your brain "exercised"...and knitting as well as crocheting work both sides of your brain at the same time....I figure, the older I get, the more help I can use! LOL Off to knit a few more rows while waiting for my daughters to come home from a church game night. Any knitters out there...any tips for a beginner?! ~Sue~