Monday's Devotion: How Did I Miss This Before?!

Ephesians 6: 10-18 (The Message): And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

I have been in the church all my life. I have heard these verses over and over again. I have even done a Bible study on these verses in college where I "made" a belt of righteousness and other props showing how to put on the full armor of God. It wasn't until last week I was doing my morning devotion when the verse hit me in a way that it has never hit me before...

I have been through turmoil. Life has been this roller coaster of really good things switching places with the not-so-good. Having my house for sale for 3 years while I moved my family in to my parents' house would be a good example. Another would be shortly after having  my first child, my husband and I went through some major financial problems. We were literally living off of rice and ketchup (my poor man's version of red rice) so that my son could have food to eat. Those years are what I call "the dark years"....and I got through them. 

So how did these verses suddenly open my eyes? Well, we are going through right now what I recognize as "times of peace". We are able to eat, drive to places, and provide for our children. My kids are asking about the Lord, and my husband and I are spending daily time in prayer. The Lord has been placing on my heart a lot lately that those times turmoil will come again, and  I need to be prepared. Suddenly "putting on the full armor of God" has taken a new meaning. I used to read those verses and say, "Okay, got it. Read the Bible, memorize verses, be prepared to fight against what Satan is going to throw at me." Now, as I read them, I realize that God is saying, "Jana, train. Train now for those tough times that are going to come again. You can't expect to run this race if  you have not been training. You can't expect to defeat Satan and all his nastiness (financial problems, relationship issues, health issues, etc) if you are not waist deep in My word, love, and protection." 

So here I am, a 25 year "Christian Veteran", seriously taking God seriously. I'm  not waiting until I hit rock bottom to dig deep in His word anymore. I'm not going to church and taking notes just to not review them later anymore. While things are going great, I'm storing up piles and piles of verses that will help remind me that God is in control. I'm turning a new leaf with the Lord while I currently have the strength to grow. No more am I going to not train only to let Satan beat me up. I'm putting on that Armor, daily, and know that God and I will defeat Satan when he rears his ugly head again. 

New Blog Schedule (Tentative)

So if I don't already have a ton of things to do, I've been thinking of structuring my blog a little differently. I've been trying to post something at least once a week, but it's been if I can think of something to post. So, much like the rest of  my life, I am going to try to add some structure to my writing. A friend of mine (McG!!) recommended me to be a web writer for Bounty, and I've applied for the position. I would be doing exactly what I do here. I figured if I can get myself organized on here, it would make the Bounty web writing position easier. Here's what I'm thinking:

Mondays: Devotion
Tuesdays: Baking ups and downs (including recipes I've tried recently, and explain what has worked and what hasn't)
Wednesdays: Cleaning ups and downs (trying to find creative ways to get the job done quickly and efficiently and share what I've found)
Thursdays: Crafting (this includes sewing projects)
Fridays: Curriculum review

What do you think? Anyone with more blogging experience have any advice or opinions on this schedule? Would you read on a regular basis? Do you suggest another topic I didn't mention?

Thanks for following me so far, yall! When I started this blog, I never thought people would actually listen, and it has taught me even more about web etiquette that I didn't know before! Looking forward to serving you. :)

Summer Curriculum, week 1: "Orderly"

So I've started this summer's curriculum (details on what I've done and what I am doing this summer in a previous post). I normally wait until the first week of July to get things started. This is to give me some time to let my brain rest from a year of teaching before I begin teaching at home, but since I've been home, I wanted to jump right on this. I have a lot to cover, and there's no way to get it done before school starts back in August, especially if I wait until July to begin. I love the structure I have had at home with the other two, so I wanted to continue that with all three.

The first few weeks will be trial and error for me. I will need to adjust to what has worked and what doesn't work as we go. I almost didn't post this past week's progress because I just didn't pull it off as smoothly as I wanted, but I promised a post, so here goes: (note: all my curriculum comes from http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/weeks_1-4.html#attentive)

This week's character trait is "Orderly". This has been perfect since I've established a new chore chart in my home. Not only was I able to motivate them to clean (they woke up begging for chores this morning...I am not lying about this!!), but I was able to show them scripture that stresses how God is a God of order and he expects us to be responsible for what we have. The key verse came from 1 Corinthians 14:40, "but everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."

Our letter for this week was "A". I thought next's week's letter would obviously be "B", but I have seen that it is "M". Why? Because next week we begin family words..."am". Smart! :) So Jed and J practiced writing the letter "A", while Abigail colored a picture that focused on that letter.

Our focus words this week were "We" and "Will". They had a booklet they colored that has phrases such as "We will write". There was also a page for the end of the week where they cut out the letters and words, put them all in proper order, glued them on a special sheet, and then wrote the words out. J obviously breezed through this, but Jed did surprisingly well.

I have been impressed so far with the progress the kids are doing. Hopefully I will be a little more on the ball with this week's curriculum. I was supposed to take them outside and such last week and look at examples of God's order. Because it was a crazy week (Memorial Day and a death in the family), and it was stinkin' hot, we just didn't do that. I did, though, have a tie-dye Friday for them to show them that even though at times things look chaotic, the end result of what God has planned for us is beautiful. :)

Abigail reading to me. 

The boys (including the neighbor kid) putting on a play for me. 

Tie Dye Day! On our new swing set!!

Their hard work displayed. 

Establishing Order

This week's lesson (which I will do a separate post later this week) includes the character trait of "Orderly". Since J is home during the summer, and I have been trying numerous things to get the kids motivated to be respectful, be responsible, and ready to learn (thank you, Flowertown Elementary for this!). I have established two new things in our household. The kids have really embraced both of these, and my household is better for it.

1. Chore Chart:

Kids love games. And kids love rewards. AND my house needs to stay clean. My children are old enough to be doing chores and have basic responsibilities, so I established a chore chart that is almost a game. They have basic responsibilities every day (Make bed, put on clothes, and brush teeth). After breakfast I give a list of chores that need to be done that day (wash windows, clean base boards, wipe walls, dust, clean back yard, clean bathroom, etc). They can choose one. If they do any extra, they get an extra "point", but they are only responsible for one. If they do a chore every day, they get to choose a reward. It has been working really well this week. Hopefully this will help establish a good routine.

The rewards are:
1. Choose movie (we normally watch one Friday nights)
2. Decide Saturday's dinner
3. Pick dessert (to be served the next week)
4. Plan family activity (go to the park, movies, go canoeing, etc)
5. Receive allowance
6. Choose 1 thing at the Dollar Store
7. __________ (they can suggest something...and it can be negotiable)










2. Discipline chart (Prayer/Praise Chart)
My children have all been having difficulties lately following directions and being respectful. I'm about at my wit's end trying to discipline them. I've decided to explain to them that we need to pray for good behavior and then praise God for when we have followed directions. If they fail follow directions or I have told them countless times to do or not do something, it goes on the "prayer" side. That evening during the family worship time, we discuss all the prayers and pray about them for the next day. They also put additional prayer requests on there as well. If they followed directions or did something extraordinary or FINALLY did something they have failed to do, it goes on the "praise" side.

This has helped in more ways than I ever thought. Each child gets a different colored sticky note. It helps them to visualize what they have done during the day. It is also helpful for me. If I see more stuff on the "prayer" side, I work harder to praise them for good behavior. It is so easy for me to constantly complain about their behavior. I don't want to be that type of mother. I want them to know I will be proud of them for ALL accomplishments, big and little. When they see one of their siblings getting a "praise" note, they are then spurred to do well. I have really loved doing this with them, and it has helped all our prayer lives.

     Sorry about the "naked" detail, but that has been problem. For some reason the boys like to get naked and then dance in front of the open front door. SO not cool, dudes!

Lemon Souffle Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup

I found this recipe last summer when I wanted to make some lemon pancakes. It was GOOD! Last year I just used powdered sugar instead of sugar (a usual substitute in our house), but I thought a fruity syrup would be good today. It calls for a raspberry syrup. I didn't have any raspberries (frozen nor fresh), but I did have strawberries. And voila! Yummy breakfast!

Lemon Souffle Pancakes (found http://www.bhg.com/recipe/breads/lemon-souffle-pancakes/) 

• 2.            cups frozen lightly sweetened red raspberries
• 1
  cup maple syrup
• 1
  cup all-purpose flour
• 2
  teaspoons baking powder
• 2
  teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
• 1/4
  teaspoon salt
• 1
  egg yolk
• 1/4
  cup butter, melted
• 3/4
  cup milk
• 3
  egg whites
• Butter (optional)
• Fresh raspberries (optional)

1. To make raspberry syrup, thaw berries but do not drain. Place the berries in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until berries are smooth. Press berries through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Discard seeds. Cook and stir juice over medium heat until just heated through. Stir in maple syrup; set aside.

2. To make pancakes, in a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside. In a small mixing bowl beat egg yolk slightly. Stir in melted butter and milk. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).

3. In another medium mixing bowl beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Gently fold egg whites into flour mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white*. Do not overmix.

4. For standard-size pancakes, pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. (Or, for dollar-size pancakes, pour about 1 tablespoon batter onto hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.) Cook over medium heat 2 minutes per side or until pancakes are golden brown. Turn to second side when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with raspberry syrup, butter, and fresh raspberries, if desired. Makes 8 (4-inch) pancakes or 20 (2-inch) pancakes.

*Note: When folding egg whites, use a rubber spatula. Cut down through the middle of the mixture and sweep upward; give the bowl a quarter turn before repeating. Continue until mixed.

Making Bread

I have been getting on a bread making kick lately. I don't know what it is about summer, but I had the same desire this time last year. I am really going to try to make fresh bread at least once a week from this point out. So here are two I have made in the past week.

Country White Bread (from http://avirtuouswoman.org/?s=Challah)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 3 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

The next is the Jewish Challah bread (made for the Sabbath). This bread is so good! I cut the recipe in half to find a perfect fit for my family, so this is still a work in progress. (Found at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/challah-i/Detail.aspx)

• 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.
2. Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead each half for five minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting sticky. Divide each half into thirds and roll into long snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch the ends of the three snakes together firmly and braid from middle. Either leave as braid or form into a round braided loaf by bringing ends together, curving braid into a circle, pinch ends together. Grease two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each. Cover with towel and let rise about one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each braid. Sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing. 

(This is my large round stone...and remember I cut the recipe in half. TONS of bread!)

Pampered Chef: Baked Alaska

Here is a cake that I LOVE to make, but haven't done it in a while. Joe asked me to make it for an office party today. I have a picture of the outside and can hopefully get you one of the inside soon.

And here's the recipe: 

"Baked Alaska" Cake

1 package devils food cake mix, plus the ingredients to make the cake
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 package (8 ozs) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large container (16 ozs) cool whip, thawed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease and flour the Pampered Chef Classic Batter Bowl.

Prepare cake mix according to box directions and pour into batter bowl. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let stand 15 minutes. Run a knife around the outside of the cake and gently turn the cake out of the bowl onto a cooling rack, large side down. Cool for at least 3 hours.

Meanwhile, I like to prepare the "mousse" and then toss it into the fridge while the cake cools.

Chop 1/4 cup of the chocolate morsels using a food chopper. Set aside.  Place remaining chocolate  into a bowl and microwave on high 20-60 seconds or until melted and smooth. Add cream cheese to a bowl, whisk until smooth, add powdered sugar and whisk again. stir in melted chocolate and mix well.  Fold in 2 cups of the cool whip and the remaining 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips into the cream cheese mixture.

Place the large end of the cake down onto a serving plate/platter. Using a serrated bread knife, trim the large end of the cake to make it level. Usually the cake comes out of the oven with a "bump" on the top, and often I just trim off the bump, to taste the flavor of the cake and make it level, even if it isn't "flat" on the bottom of my plate. Slice the cake in four equal layers. First slice horizontally in half and then slice each half into equal parts.

Spread the bottom layer of cake with about half of the filling, forming a 3/4 inch layer. Repeat with the remaining layers and filling ending with the top layer of cake.

Spread any remaining filling over the outside of cake to create a smooth surface. I do not do this, I use all the filling for the inside of the cake. I often put a very thin layer of cool whip on the outside to seal in the crumbs.Frost cake with remaining whipped topping.

To form decorate peaks, press a knife into the topping and pull away. Repeat over entire surface ofcake. For easier slicing refrigerate cake at least 30 minutes.

To easily cut cake into servings, cut cake inot eight wedges from top to bottom. Insert a pie server horizontally into each wedge, dividing into two equal portions.

Makes 16 servings.

Filling Variations (I have used the middle layer as the Mint and the rest chocolate. YUM!)
Strawberry Splash: Omit chocolate morsels. Add 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened strawberry drink mix (sugh as Kool-Aid) to cream cheese mixture. Stir 1/4 cup chopped strawberries into cream cheese mixture.

Magnificent Mint:Omit 1/2 cup melted chocolate. Add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and 3-4 drops of green food coloring, if desired, to cream cheese mixture.

And maybe even some "big kid" cake variations with Kahlua or gringing coffee beans and adding them to the cream cheese!