This past week, while taking a short family vacation DH and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a salt mine. We rode in an elevator 650 feet into the earths surface to take our tour. There is a salt flat that runs from the top of Kansas down through Oklahoma and into parts of New Mexico and Texas. They have been drilling it out for over 30 years and have enough slat to keep mining for over two hundred years. While down in the earth I was reminded of the powerful preservative power of salt. It is so good at preserving thing. There is a company who uses the mind out areas for storage. They store all kinds of records along with the original film for just about every film ever made. When a company says “they have gone into there vaults and digitally restored it.” That means they have temporarily retrieved the original from the Kansas Salt mines. They had a newspaper down from the day after President Lincoln was assassinated. It was in Pristine Condition. looking like it had only been printed a few months ago. If you have ever been to the hospital or applied for a loan or a credit card, your permanent paper records are stored 650 feet under Kansas.

It is no wonder that in Mathew 5, The Lord Commands us to be the salt and light to the world.

13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Now, on to my award. This morning when I went to put in the load of towels. I noticed that the washing machine was at the end of a pre-wash cycle not a wash cycle. That is right Yesterday, I pre-washed, dried, and put away clothes, that never got washed. Oh, well, I guess what people don’t know can’t here them. Good thing DH is a pharmacy student and not a farmer.

Tell me, what are your tricks for staying on top of the laundry?

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Every time I make time out of my day to do something she wants to do. I’m strengthening our bond of fellowship. I am still my daughters number one teacher and disciplinarian, but because of the bond that we have I don’t worry that when I discipline them that I’m going to alienate them. Each and every day I work at tieing strings of fellowship. I play games with them, sing, read stories, but I not only do fun things I include them in my work. They help me put clothes away and do the dishes, to them it is a game because we sing songs and talk about colors and see how high we can count. Big sister is already very familiar with colors and can count to nine.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says:

9) Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

10) For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

11) Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? (I like this verse by morning both of our girls are in our bed. It is nice to know that it is biblical.)

12) And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

I think these verses apply doubly for families, this is part of the reason I love large families. I’m the oldest of six children with a half sister who is 6 years older then me. Let me assure you that when we all get together the laughter and the jokes never stop rolling. Growing up it was always amazing to me how much we could all accomplish when everyone pitched in to help, we were/are a force to be reckoned with.

First let me explain what I mean by a spanking. A spanking is 2-3 swats on the upper leg if child has a diaper or on the bottom if not. It doesn’t have to be very hard, just enough to cause a little pain and discomfort. The redness should fade in minutes. I have found that the more often you spank you do not have to spank very hard to make your point. Spankings she be administered promptly with only one warning.

In the above story the two girls fellowship was restored because of a spanking. If I had only made big sister apologize without a spanking her, her aunt would have subconsciously punished her by depriving her of her attention and giving her the silent treatment. I’m a firm believer in spankings. They are biblical and help to purge a child of guilt, something that time outs don’t do. A time out might be a effective form of punishment but it has other side effects that do not come with spanking. I believe that we have a generation of adults who do not know how to handle conflict because of time outs. They have learned to give each other the silent treatment. While a child is sitting in in time out what he is really doing is brooding on how to get into more trouble. A spanking restores fellowship so that you and your child can get on to more fun things.

Beef Tacos

5/2002

Tomato sauce is sold in cans in the same aisle that carries canned whole tomatoes. Do not use jarred pasta sauce in its place. We prefer to let diners top their own tacos with whatever fillings they prefer. There’s no need to prepare all of the toppings listed below, but cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes are, in our opinion, essential.

Makes 8 tacos, serving 4

1. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, spices, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook, breaking meat up with wooden spoon and scraping pan bottom to prevent scorching, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, and vinegar; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently and breaking meat up so that no chunks remain, until liquid has reduced and thickened (mixture should not be completely dry), about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.

2. Using wide, shallow spoon, divide filling evenly among taco shells; place two tacos on individual plates. Serve immediately, passing toppings separately.

Basic Pizza Dough

4 1/4 cups bread flour, plus extra for the counter
1 envelope instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2Tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 cup water, warm

1) Pulse 4 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor to combine. With the processor running pour the oil then the water through the feed tube and process until a rough ball forms, 30 to 40 Seconds. Let the dough rest for 2 min then process for 30 seconds longer.

2) Turn the dough out onto a lightly flowered counter and knead by hand to form a smooth round ball, about 5 min, adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. transfer to a lightly oiled bowl cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Hand-Mixing Method
Whisk 4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and the salt together in a large bowl. Add the oil and water and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together and looks shaggy.Turn the dough out onto a lightly flowered counter and knead by hand to form a smooth round ball, about 10 to 15 min, adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. transfer to a lightly oiled bowl cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Quick Pizza Sauce

2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Garlic cloves minced
1 (28 Ounces) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil and Garlic in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until the garlic is sizzling and fragrant, about 1 1/2 min.Stir in the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 15 min. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Classic Cheese Pizza

1 recipe Basic Pizza Dough
Flour for the Counter
1 Recipe quick Pizza Sauce
3 cups Mozzarella, shredded
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
6 Tablespoons torn fresh Basil

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a backing stone on the rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Let the baking stone heat for at least 30 min.

2. Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, but into three even pieces, and cover with plastic wrap. Working with one piece of Dough at a time shape into a smooth round ball cover again with plastic wrap, and let rest 20 -30 min.

3. Uncover one ball of dough. Stretch and shape the dough into a 12 inch round on a piece of parchment paper. Bush the top and sides with Olive oil. Spread 1 cup of the pizza sauce over the dough,leaving a 1/2 inch edge of dough uncovered. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the Mozzarella and 1 Tablespoon of the Parmesan.

4. Slide the parchment paper and pizza onto a rimless baking sheet, then slide it onto the hot baking stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and the cheese is golden in spots 8 to 13 min. (Prepare the second Pizza while the first bakes.)

5. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board, discarding the parchment paper. Sprinkle with 2 Table spoons of the Basil and cut Pizza into 6 wedges before serving. Let the Stone reheat for 5 min before baking the next Pizza.

I understand that not everyone would spank a child so little, I can handle that. Rewarding a child with icecream to me was however completely unacceptable.  Babies are not as dumb as everyone thinks.  They can comprehend more then we give them credit for. They are very selfish and constantly looking out for number one.  It is all about what they want and what makes them feel good.

I think God in his wisdom gave parents a sense of humor and babies a cuteness factor. If we saw there first acts of sin for what they are big black sin. We as parents would be devastated. This however is not an excuse to let your children get away with there first act and experiments with sin. If we wait to correct the behavior when it is intentional and the child can reason. They will have perfected the art and it will be ten times harder correcting there bad behavior. If you stop it with a spanking the first time you will be able to correct the behavior mush sooner.

Showers today are changing. The other day I got an invitation in the mail to a baby shower. The hostess had included a slip of paper with the invitation saying that they wanted to make sure the baby was clothes for the whole year and if I wanted to get clothes to please get fall clothes in a nine month size. This really rubbed me the wrong way. Hostesses in the effort of trying to be helpful have really started to suck the joy out of giving. Another popular trend is to give a diaper shower. Yes this is nice and babies do use a lot of diapers. However diapers are something that moms tend to be very brand loyal about. My girls were/are always very sensitive so there is really only one brand I can use.

I’m very excited about planning a shower for my good friend Haley who’s third baby is go in August. I have all kind of fun ideas. She doesn’t need a lot of blankets but with three under three she does need a lot of support.

The women in my family have a very large emotional need that I like to refer to as the need to be needed. We like to believe that if we weren’t there the entire project would blow up and be an absolute failure. Having moved I am reminded that a church can function without my help. I’m replaceable!! The one place that can not function without me is my home. When I’m gone or sick the whole place often turns to absolute chaos. Even if it is just a quick trip to the store, of course at times it turns to chaos when I’m there.

Since we have moved, I have read Created to be his Help Meet by Debi Pearl. This book has changed my perspective on marriage and what it means to be a Godly wife. The first half of the book describes God’s perfect plan on how to be a wife and shows how God created men and women differently. The second half gives 8 rules to put God’s plan into practice. Following God’s plan is the only way to a heavenly marriage.

The first chapter has you make a list of ten things you would like to see change. I honestly had a hard time coming up with ten things I thought needed change. The first thing I wanted was for DH to help with the dishes at least once a week, I despise dishes. The other things were more standard you know more affection, better communication, you get the picture.

The most important thing in a happy home and marriage is thankfulness. A thankful heart produces joy. Bitterness and ungratefulness steal joy and spread quickly. As the wife it is my responsibility to make sure that we have a happy home. The old adage when mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy is very true. I have learned to be thankful for dishes because it means that we had food to eat. Dirty laundry because it means that we had clothes to were.  When every cup, plate, and spoon is dirty and the clothes are piled high, however, it is hard to be thankful. In those moments I choose to be thankful for the simple fact that my DH chose me. Of all the girls he knew some who were prettier, some who were smarter, some who could cook and clean better. Of all those girls he chose me to be his own. This is something I can always be thankful for.

In just a few weeks I can’t describe the changes that have taken place in our home they are subtle and yet very real. It took DH six months or so before we washed a single dish, but it does not matter. I’m thankful for the things that he does do around here. So even if he never washes dishes again it does not matter because instead of focusing on what he doesn’t do I have decided to focus on what he does and be thankful for that.