Families Growing in Spirit, Soul and Body
THOUGHTS ABOUT CHILDREN
All your children shall be taught by the LORD
And great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression,
for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Isaiah 54:13,14 NKJV
Winter Fieldtrip
By Glenda Anderson
On a cold and frosty day
Our family came to play
In Wisconsin’s snowy lanes,
On her hills and on her plains.
We had traveled, not too far
When we stopped the family car
To see houses covered in white.
Oh, it was a beautiful sight!
Our footsteps crunched the snow.
My face had a ruddy glow.
My children’s faces, too
Had face of rosy hue.
We stamped our boots at the door
To keep the snow off the floor.
We entered into a room of charm
Where our hands and hearts were made toasty warm.
We had stepped right into time long past.
Where my soul had a rich repast.
The sights and the scents were like my grandmother’s own
And my heart felt it was finally home.
We toured the big house where the rich did dwell
And the furnishings grand make a poor heart swell,
But my heart remained in the small home next door
Where the warmth and love stay forevermore.
Road Trip to Wisconsin
Out of the city
And to the town.
Passing small villages every few miles.
We go on the road
Across the countryside:
We go through the woods,
Over the river,
On top of and
Beside the hills
Of a cold snow-covered land.
All of these I see
As we travel to the town
Of New Richmond.
I say the north
Is a lovely sight.
By Ben Fournier
You are who you are for a reason.
You're part of an intricate plan.
You're a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God's special woman or man.
You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You're just what he wanted to make.
The parents you had were the ones He chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.
No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you'd grow.
You are who you are for a reason;
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!
This is a poem by Russell Kelfer in The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
SPREAD LOVE EVERYWHERE YOU GO:
First of all
In your own house.
Give love to your children,
To your wife or husband,
To a next-door neighbor...
Let no one ever come to you
Without leaving
Better and happier.
Be the living expression
Of God's kindness;
Kindness in your face,
Kindness in your eyes,
Kindness in your smile,
Kindness in your warm greeting.
Mother Theresa
On the Wall
To my husband, Gary, who keeps me sane.
I saw a flower on the wall turn
Into a mother with children, it seemed.
One boy and one girl in her lap as she read
Of happy childhood dreams.
Then I saw the kids pull away from their mother
As tears filled her eyes and mine.
How lonely a mother without her children
To hold with love Divine
But this was just wallpaper,
A sad little play,
Why was I so sad?
My teenagers will not long be with me
Already it hurts so bad!
May God grant me grace to let them go
To the safety of his embrace
I'll just be there when they need me
With so much love in my face.
Glenda Ruth Anderson
Copyright ©2003 Glenda Ruth Anderson
Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Yet in everyday living we are tempted to follow our own reasoning and trust in our own judgments. How much better we would be if we sought God’s will in every aspect of our lives and trusted Him to meet our needs. He even promises to give us the desires of our hearts when we find our joy in Him. So simple, just trust God, the Creator of the universe. Believe He is wise enough to direct our paths and loving enough to plan good for us. Remember that God is wealthy enough to abundantly supply all our needs beyond what we even ask for. Just trust the God of our salvation to keep His Word. Simple, but profound.
And this is food for soul and spirit.
FOOD FOR THE BODY
Glenda's Spaghetti
4 6 oz cans tomato paste
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2-4 diced bell peppers all colors
1 diced onion
1 clove garlic smashed up and chopped finely
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
4 oz baby Portobello mushrooms sliced
Grated Parmesan
Olive oil
Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Spinach Spaghetti 16 oz
Start 4 quarts of water boiling in large pot. Add 1 tsp salt and 1/4 cup (or less) olive oil to the water.
Brown the ground meat with the onion, garlic, bell peppers and mushrooms in the skillet. Add the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and oregano and continue cooking.
In a large pot combine the tomato paste and diced tomatoes. You may want to add some more seasonings to the tomato mixture as using the seasonings at separate times really enhances the flavor.
Add the meat mixture to the tomato mixture. While you cook add water until the sauce is of desired consistency. From 1-2 cups of water usually works for me.
Put spaghetti in boiling water stir vigorously until water begins to boil again. Cook 9 minutes or until desired consistency. Drain, but do not rinse. (Rinsing lower vitamin content).
Serve with Parmesan cheese. My kids like to add pizza pepper. It is very spicy so use your own judgment on that.
Glenda’s Chicken Stew
Ingredients:
6 Chicken breasts skinned and cubed
5 stalks of celery diced
1 pound of carrots kitchen sliced
6 medium potatoes cubed
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 medium onion diced
Olive oil for browning Chicken
½ cup whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons Canadian chicken spice (or other poultry seasoning)
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Mix together the flour, seasoning, salt and pepper. Wet the chicken with water. Put in a bowl with the flour mixture. Coat thoroughly. Brown in olive oil. Combine all ingredients in crock-pot and cook on high for an hour. Then set it on low and leave for overnight or while you’re away for the day.
If you prefer, you can cook on top of the stove. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer until the veggies are tender, maybe two hours.
Serve with homemade rolls and butter. What a treat!
Glenda’s Meatloaf
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
2 mild Italian sausage links (check for sugars if you are detoxed)
2 cups oats plus maybe 2 more cups to make right consistency
1 cup soy protein (or protein powder of your choice)
2 eggs beaten
1 cup milk of your choice( soy, oat, almond, cow’s)
4 carrots grated
2 medium to large potatoes with skins grated
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
(I also added some leftover tomatoes I had diced, maybe ½ cup)
½ cup finely diced red and green bell peppers
1-2 tablespoons onion flakes or 1 small, diced onion
1 teaspoon sea salt (maybe a little more)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red peppers
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Put everything into a huge bowl except extra oats (oatmeal). Mix with clean hands. (I know you all wash your hands, this is in case you have a child who has to be told everything.) J
While you are mixing it up with your hands you may find it is too liquid. Start adding more oats until the mixture feels like you can make a portion of it into a ball, but it still squishes through your fingers. Mix thoroughly so all the seasonings get into all of it.
I put mine mixture into 2 greased (with butter) bread pans. I cooked them for 1 hour and 15 minutes. When I put a knife in the center it was a little moist after 1 hour so I cooked them for the extra 15 minutes and they came out perfect. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then carefully turn upside down on a platter. (One platter for each loaf). Wait until it cools a little if you want the slices to stay together. Serve with my tangy ketchup.
Glenda’s Tangy Ketchup
Ingredients:
3 6 oz cans tomato paste
1 to 1 ½ cups balsamic vinegar
I Tablespoon flax seed
¼ cup olive oil
I tablespoon pickling spice (chilies, coriander, cumin, ginger, black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, bay leaves, brown mustard, yellow mustard, cloves and turmeric)
Freshly ground cinnamon maybe 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1½ teaspoon crushed red peppers
¼ cup jalapeno mustard
Directions:
Put all the ingredients except the vinegar and 2 of the cans of tomato paste into a blender. Blend well, adding ½ the vinegar. Then scrape all the contents of the blender into a mixing bowl. Add the other 2 cans of tomato paste. Mix, adding vinegar until the ketchup is of the consistency you desire. Enjoy.
Healthy Protein Shakes
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons flax seed
2 Tablespoons millet
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
2 Tablespoons rolled oats
¼ cup cashews
(or 2 Tablespoons peanut butter)
1/3 cup soy protein
½ tray ice cubes
2 Tablespoons flax seed oil
1 frozen banana (slice before freezing)
1/3 cup frozen fruit of your choice
(Berries are best and amount is to taste)
1 to 1 ½ cups soymilk
(Other milks such as oat or rice are acceptable,
but don’t offer the benefits that soy milk does)
2 Tablespoons plain unsweetened yogurt
Mix the first 4 ingredients in a blender on its highest speed until they form a flour. Add the protein powder. Blend again until well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients in order and blend well on your blender’s highest speed. Stop occasionally and scrape the edges and force the fruit and ice down to the bottom of the blender. Blend on high until smooth. Place in freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to make frosty cold. Try it with banana as the only fruit and add nutmeg or vanilla for a very special taste.
Beth's Blueberry Muffins
1-cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2-cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
a sprinkle of yeast
1/2-teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1-cup milk
1/2-cup honey
1/4-cup olive oil
1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
1 cup frozen blueberries
Sift the flours together with the baking soda, salt and yeast.
Make a well in the center.
Combine egg, milk, honey, oil and the lime peel;
add all at once to dry ingredients,
stirring just until moistened
(batter should be lumpy).
Stir in the blueberries.
Grease muffin tins with butter.
Fill 2/3 full.
Bake in a 375-degree oven about 20 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.
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Charlotte Mason Education
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Great Homeschool and Crochet site
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