Joyfull Living

The one fear that America is missing is a fear of the Lord. Today is Halloween.  Although I love fall, Halloween is not something we celebrate.  Opinions and family values vary greatly about this day and from one extreme to another. A recent article from Vision Forum brought out some sobering thoughts along with truth on some 'scary things' and the admonition to flee from evil from a biblical standpoint. The Five Scariest Things You Can Do This Halloween include: 1.  The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to not make light of evil. Halloween was conceived in evil and has remained a celebration that uses children to promote a fascination with darkness and superstitious fear...The fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil (Proverbs 16:6). 2. The scariest thing you can do this Halloween is to not be fearful. The media wants you to be afraid of everything from overpopulation to global warming. The politicians want you to be afraid of the economy and politica...

During this time of the year, words that we use to describe our homemaking duties include things like 'keeping the home fires burning' and being a 'keeper of the home" bring to life memories of coziness, warmth and love.  When it turns cool outside, the warmth of home beckons us.  Now, we know that fires don't stoke themselves and likewise the home fires don't burn without some tending to. Our family just finished little league football which kept us out of the house almost every weeknight for months and this weekend was jam packed with homecoming parades, a big church activity, birthday parties, sleepovers, etc.  With all this busyness, our home fires are burning low! This week should find us at home more and I plan to do a little rekindling to fan the flames of the home. A few things I"m hoping to do this week include: Baking some treats A good clean up! More time deliberately spent enjoying each other Enjoying outside time Cleaning off the ba...

I’m not a Supermom!  I cannot do it all and when I try to do it all, I fail, get stressed and make a big mess of things! But, I am learning to be an Abiding Mom.  A mom who knows limitations, but also where true strength, grace and hope comes from. Here is a free printable to remind us to be Abiding Moms!

Although I'm nowhere near an expert gardener, it is fun to experiment and gain knowledge in this area.  However, since there is much to learn, I'm hesitant to read about and then go out to purchase items (usually expensive) which are supposed to be 'vital' to enhance my plants, flowers and garden!  Our local newspaper shared some tips recently on how to use natural, old fashioned techniques to enhance growing plants.  Tea Bags:   Working tea bags into soil of roses adds a touch of acidity, which roses love. Epson Salts:   Our area is low on magnesuim and sprinkling some Epsom Salts around flowers and shrubs will add vigor to them. Coffee Grounds:   Work coffee grounds into the soil of plants adds nitrogen to the soil.  Plants will bloom bigger and better than ever! Dish Soap :  If aphids are a pest in your garden, spray a solution of dish soap, water and vegetable oil on the plants. This is a natural remedy for garden pests. I'm already ...

Family dinners have always been a priority at our home.  When our boys were young, most nights found us eating a meal together around the table.  As the boys grew and we began to juggle school, jobs and daddy's shift work hours, and now dinner around the table is not as frequent.  Often we eat in shifts and sometimes (gasp) in front of the TV.  Eating together is important and worth the effort to pull together.  Conversation is important also.  In our early years, I remember 'teaching manners' at the table which mainly consisted in me correcting and analyzing their behavior. I have since learned, the dinner table is NOT the place for correction!!  It is to be a pleasant time, hopefully of sharing together. Sometimes, teenage boys need a little help in sharing!  Their minds are on boy things - trucks, friends, girls etc.  Conversation can sometimes be stilted and often takes great effort. HOW DOES SHE is a web site I rece...

In the movie Courageous, the main theme is the important roles that fathers play in the home and lives of their children.  One of the main quotes was the desire of a father to  "Call out the man in my son".   This was a powerful reminder that the power of life and death is in the tongue or in the words we use. Our words can be used as a blessing or can cause great harm.  Words are powerful!  Now "calling out the man in my son" is truly a father's role.  No one can fill the gap of a father's role in a son's life.  But as mothers, our words and tone hold great importance also.  A mother's voice has the power to settle jangled nerves and maybe even reach through the fog of a coma to bring a brain-injured patient back to consciousness, according to a pair of new experiments.   Mom's voice is surely special. I clearly remember over 20 years ago when I had my first child.  I came home from the hospital on a weekend. ...

My youngest son fits the true model of the lastborn  (baby) of the family!  He is coddled, spoiled and loves his mama! But, one day he will grow into a man and will need some tough characteristics.  This summer he expressed an interest in playing football.  Knowing this would be good to help develop and mature him, we signed him up.  Not only is he the lastborn,  but he is a bit small – only 60 lbs!  But both he and Mom are loving this experience! There he is…on bottom recovering a fumble!  Preparing for kick off! It’s turning out to be a great season!

This spring, I tried my hand at home canning.  Although it was hard work, it was well worth the effort.  The garden is long gone, but I have shelves of pickles, relish, green beans, pear butter, jellies and others.  Since the garden produce comes in fast and furious, the time to research is NOW!  One of my favorite places for frugal tips, cooking inspiration and home keeping ideas is Hillbilly Housewife. She is offering a free resource Canning 101.   This is a short report going over the basics of canning and has some great information for those considering giving canning a try.  If you like it, she has many other resources to help!  Canning can be fun, done quickly and efficiently and is a great blessing to the family and way to extend homemade kindness.   Take advantage of this freebie to learn more!

Marriage is one of the favorite things of mine to write about.  This area is where the Lord has brought me from being raised in a home with a turbulent marriage to perfectly matching me with a husband that through the years, I continue to be amazed at God's grace in blessing of him.  Marriage has stretched me, challenged me and allowed me to see God's faithfulness on a daily basis. Marriage Monday offers topics for marriage that challenge hearts and minds and cause to search deeply within the heart.  This week's topic is Infertility, Miscarriage or Adoption and the effect that it has on a marriage.  Our marriage has been blessed with three sons, but there was also the struggle of three miscarriages.  These were difficult times to go through, but, with God's faithfulness, and grace, He mended our hearts and strengthened our marriage through this. It is a known fact that men and women grieve differently.  A woman feels the pain of a miscarriage ...

What's beating in your heart?  I loved the end of this!!  Have a great weekend.

I recently learned a lesson about selfishness!  A hard lesson, that involves some deep training: “…if we don’t think before we respond, and if we don’t train ourselves to be like Christ, then we won’t be like Him and we won’t respond like Him. It doesn’t come naturally, this being like Jesus. It takes training, discipline and perseverance.” I'm talking about it over At the Well.

There is this little food trap I fall into quite often. At our local produce stand, they sell beautiful, big, perfect potatoes which make fantastic baked potatoes. Every time, I try to buy just enough, but they are so big, there is always leftovers. Since I can't seem to buy the right amount and have some that need to be used up, I've found a few things to do with them. Make Potato Salad: This used to intimidate me, making potato salad, but it is one of those recipes you can add this and that and measure to taste. Begin with mixing mayonnaise, ground mustard, a dash of vinegar, selected spices - parsley, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper etc., add hard boiled eggs, pickled relish, some cooked bacon, onions and green peppers - all of those or only some of them! Mix well and add chopped cooked potatoes, stir until well coated. Baked Potato Soup & Skins: Make loaded potato skins and baked potato soup. Cut 4 large baked potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the fles...

There is this potato trap I fall into quite often.  At our local produce stand, they sell beautiful, big, perfect potatoes which make fantastic baked potatoes.  Every time, I try to buy just enough, but they are so big, there is always leftovers. Since I can't seem to buy the right amount and have some that need to be used up, I've found a few things to do with them. Make Potato Salad: This used to intimidate me, making potato salad, but it is one of those recipes you can add this and that and measure to taste. Begin with mixing mayonnaise, ground mustard, a dash of vinegar, selected spices - parsley, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper etc., add hard boiled eggs, pickled relish, some cooked bacon, onions and green peppers - all of those or only some of them!  Mix well and add chopped cooked potatoes, stir until well coated. Baked Potato Soup & Skins : Make loaded potato skins and baked potato soup.  Cut 4 large baked potatoes in half lengt...

It's been said " what you are at home...is what you are."    Those are true words, home is where we can lay back and be ourselves. That encompasses a wide variety, some good, some not so good and every now and again, some downright ugly!  But as women, wives and mothers, we have the unique responsibility and power to influence our home.  What our family sees day in and day out is what they consider normal.  Our words, attitudes, actions, routines are not only being watched, but are being imitated and ingrained in hearts and will be passed along one day as new families spring forth from us. What if we would rise to the challenge to be deliberate in our 'normal'?  In many areas, the values of a Christian are in direct conflict of the ways of the world. A few comparisons include: Speech Clothing Values Music Entertainment  If we strive to display Christ likeness in our home, our children take that to heart.  In the above areas, by us making del...

Is your son successful?  Most every mother would answer a resounding YES to a question like that!  But, who defines success?  What does success look like?  What does it take to be successful? My oldest son is now 20 years old.  When he was young and in school, he was surrounded by a group of diverse boys he went to class with, was in clubs with and played sports with.  These were a great group of boys all with different backgrounds and circumstances.  I watched through the years some of these boys develop great intelligence and educational vision and purpose, some become great ball players and others grow some great personality and integrity.  Now that these boys are graduated, they are just as diverse.  Some attend college and seem to be well on their way to success, some still live in our small town and are entering adutlhood and the job force.  But the measure of success is not always as it appears.  Looking at the boy who ...

FALL IS HERE!!! Although the calendar has said fall for a few weeks, the weather has been hot and humid here in the deep south!! But this weekend, the first taste of fall weather arrived! Also this time of year brings the Making Your Home A Haven Challenge ! Our homes were designed to a haven for our family. A place where we come to after the stresses of the day zap our energy and constantly pull our peace from us. A place to unwind, relax, be renewed and recharged to do it all over again!! Home calls to us with memories of love, welcome and family. Today's modern families may not actually 'be home' very often with the hectic schedules of work, activities, church etc. This challenge encourages us for that time that we are home, to make deliberate, intentional efforts to make our home a true haven. This week's challenge is to " Go buy an extra large candle and light a candle everyday in your home. Each time the candle catches your eye, say a prayer for peace i...

Yesterday, my dear husband came home with a cold. Since that time of year is approaching, it is bound to happen.  Tonight's dinner will be chicken soup, a salad and homemade bread.  Chicken soup always seems to make you feel better.  I did  a little research on soup and found some interesting facts: Chicken soup is a favourite healing soup all over the world. It has often been called Jewish penicillin and scientists have spent time and money examining the actions of chicken soup on colds and flu. It’s no surprise that they’ve found evidence of the way chicken soup combats the symptoms of a cold. Soup has anti-inflammatory properties that helped sore throats and helped stop the movement of neutrophils (white blood cells that encourage the flow of mucus that accumulates in the lungs and nose). steam is a real benefit. Sipping the hot soup and breathing in the steam helps clear up congestion. This can also be said for many hot soups. Spices that are often a...

When reminiscing about how the roles of woman have changed through the years, there has been some remarkable progress to help  how women fulfill their duties of wife, mother and keeper of the home.  Appliances, creative and in genius household helps and every imaginable tool are a few of the modern conveniences. But, although the techniques have changed some, the tasks haven't.  With all of the improvements in our day and time, we are busier than ever and rush frantically from here to there.  Although it may not be feasible for many women to stay home and keep house all day, there are a few ways to bring some of the older, meaningful ways of old into the home and keep some traditions alive.  A few things I enjoy doing are cooking from scratch when possible, hanging out clothes on the clothesline, baking bread (using a bread maker!) and even wearing aprons.  A friend passed along a cute email about aprons and their history.  Here is a trip down ...