This book is geared equally towards men and women. The format is easy to read, and Tripp writes in an engaging manner that relates to everyone, not just professors!

The underlying theme of this book is how we are our own worst enemy, but for the grace of God! Marriage starts out with plenty of passion and wonderful intentions, but our sin natures will cause it to implode if we’re not careful.

He talks about how marriage is a war of sorts, and that it is extremely important for you and your spouse to be on the same side!

Tripp presents several real counseling situations in order to show the different ways that marriages can get into trouble. When the situation seems to be going sour, we should look at our own motives to see how much of the situation is caused by us.

Tripp doesn’t say we should never talk to our spouse about something they’ve done wrong; quite the contrary! However, did your spouse really do something wrong, or did they just not do it the way you wanted them to?

When you feel upset over how your spouse is treating you, is your displeasure biblically justified, or is the situation upsetting because they didn’t treat you the way you thought they should?

This book was a big eye-opener for me, and helped me to realize my particular faults that would be likely to cause problems in a marriage.

You can find this book online from many sources, including Amazon.

Whether you are single, engaged, married, or divorced, you NEED to read this book.

Then….

Wheat Berries!

Grinding the wheat berries into flour….

The wheat gets hot as it is ground into flour!

Next….

Freshly ground whole wheat flour

Now for the bread!

Ingredients!

Warming the milk in the microwave...

Use a BIG measuring cup for the yeast mixture!

Honey will feed the yeast!

Mmmm, yeast!

Stirring the yeast into the warm water/honey mixture...

Yard egg!

Grapeseed oil...

More honey!

This is why I said use a BIG measuring cup!

EEEEK! It's ALIVE!

Don't forget to add the milk!

Add some flour...

Then the yeast (Which had filled the 4-cup measuring cup completely)

Dough dough dough dough........dough dough dough dough DOUGH!

When the dough looks like this, then....

Sprinkle some of the remaining flour on a clean countertop...

A very important note about bread dough: Please don’t ever just dump a pre-measured amount of flour into the dough. Work it in, little by little. Finished dough should be tacky, but not sticky. Make sense? The more flour that gets beaten into the dough, the tougher and denser your bread will be. This is especially important to observe when making bread with freshly-ground flour, as whole wheat bread is naturally more dense and heavy than “regular” bread. Unlike pie crust, bread dough LOVES to be kneaded, and it actually makes for a better texture in the finished product. So knead away! Just don’t add too much flour in the process.

Let the dough rest for a few minutes...

Grease your loaf pans! I like to use glass for visibility while the bread is baking, plus it seems healthier.

After the dough rests, it needs to be kneaded again.

I like using a scraper to cut the dough!

Press the dough into your loaf pans...

I forgot to take pictures of the baking, and of the finished bread. Sorry! I’ll have to remember to do that next time. I hope you enjoyed the photo story!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ~ John 1:1-5

Merry Christmas!

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

~ Phillipians 4:7

To us, Christmas is NOT about how many gifts we get, nor how many decorations we spread around our home. It is about the birth of Jesus Christ, plain and simple.

I recently found this webpage that talks about the objections some people have to Christmas, from a biblical point of view.

Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?

My dad also wrote a blog post on Christmas that has a slightly different viewpoint.

Fast Day, Feast Day

I welcome comments on the subject of celebrating Christmas, but please keep them polite. I will not approve angry or derisive comments, nor will I post comments that contain links to such sites.

Cutting it in pieces...

Lots of sections!

Pumpkins are about 91% water!

Roast in the oven in a little water..

Scoop the softened pumpkin out of the skin (Sorry, no picture of that).

Cook it down in the crock pot...

We removed the water as it rose to the top over about 4 hours. If you don’t do this, you’ll need to cook it for a longer time so the liquid can cook off as steam. Stir about every 1/2 hour.

Puree in small batches..

Pretty, isn't it?

Add sugar and spices to taste...

Cook the sweetened, spiced pumpkin puree further in the crockpot, until thickened to just the right consistency.

Fill jars with warm pumpkin butter!

Delicious, homemade pumpkin butter!

We did not process the jars to seal them, but you could certainly do this if you wished. Be sure to refer to a canning guide for low-acid foods.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! I had fun taking them.

Since Sunday is always a “tired” day for us (a good tired, but tired nonetheless!), I decided to do a book review of a book I just finished.

The Family – God’s Weapon for Victory

By: Robert Andrews

This book is one of the best I’ve ever read on the subject of family. That also means that some people would think it was very controversial. That’s ok, I enjoy a bit of controversy, as long as the discussion is edifying.

Mr. Andrews goes through all the “layers” of a family. In his first chapter named “Laying Foundations”, he talks about how important it is for parents to set a good foundation for their children, and how different kinds of outward influences can hurt them. He is not the “shelter children from everything outside the four walls of our home” type, but he does caution that parents should be more careful about what their children are exposed to.

Throughout the  rest of the book, he talks about dating/courtship, marriage, and waiting on the Lord in that respect (something I need to read every day!), the importance of having children, and child discipline.

I just finished this book for I think the third time, and it helps me every time I read it! It is so hard to find solidly biblical teaching on family and everything surrounding it, so I consider this book an important resource!

Just a note: there are parts of this book that are not appropriate for younger children. I recommend that parents read this book first and let their teenagers read it with careful guidance.

You can buy it here: The Family – God’s Weapon for Victory, on Amazon. (I don’t receive any compensation from Amazon. I just enjoy buying books from them! )

If you’ve read this book, I would love to read your thoughts on it!

Most homeschooling families, both parents and child(ren) have been asked this question: What about socialization?

I’ve always wanted to ask public schoolers this same question. All the homeschooled kids I’ve known have been happy to interact with people of all ages. Most of the public schoolers I’ve known have only wanted to interact with kids their own age. How is that good socialization? I would rather my kids learn how to play with and talk to people of all ages, from babies to senior citizens. As a child, I rarely played with anyone who was my own age. A lot of my friends are younger than me, even today!

Sometimes when people ask about socialization, they mean extra-curricular activities. I don’t have much of an opinion on these, as long as they don’t take over a family’s personal life. Almost every homeschooler I’ve known has been involved in some sort of activity! I, personally, did not partake in many outside activities as a homeschooling child, but there certainly wasn’t a lack of things available, should I have desired to participate in something.

I apologize for not posting sooner. I got busy and couldn’t formulate a blog post to save my life!

Homeschooling has always been near and dear to my heart. I was always homeschooled, and felt that it helped me be able to learn at the right speed for me, and learn more than if I had been in public school.

My mom isn’t a certified teacher. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard or read someone saying that they “weren’t qualified” to teach their children. That just doesn’t fly with me, or with the vast majority of homeschoolers I know!

Homeschooling doesn’t take a degree in rocket science. You know your children the best, and you know all their little quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. Not every child is wired to learn to read at age 5. Some begin reading at age 2, while others don’t grasp reading until age 10 or even later! Personally, I began reading at age 6-1/2, after working on phonics with my mom for many months beforehand. Just 6 months later, I was reading at a much higher grade level than where my age would have placed me!

The same can be said for the child who learns complex things at a very early age. If your child learns to read at age 2-3, and you put them in kindergarten at age 5, they will be bored stiff. Homeschooling doesn’t have this problem! It’s also handy if your child is at different grade levels for different subjects.

Another reason for not homeschooling that I’ve heard many times is “I could never homeschool. My kids and I would be at each other’s throats all the time!” This one in particular makes me sad, because if you can’t get along with your kids, you need to evaluate how you’re disciplining them. If their behavior is so bad that you can’t stand to have them around you every day, then something is wrong.

The last reason I’ll give in favor of homeschooling is this: as parents, you are responsible for what your children are taught when they are at their most impressionable ages. I recommend the book “The Harsh Truth about Public Schools” by Bruce N. Shortt for an eye-opening account of what goes on in most public schools now.

If you want to start reading up on homeschooling, I highly recommend anything written by Mary Pride! She has written many excellent, helpful books on homeschooling (as well as a woman’s role in the home…but that’s another post! )

I am always looking for websites that are supportive of homeschooling; please feel free to comment with your favorite homeschooling links!