Category Archives: homemaking

Cultivating Honor in Sibling Relationships

One of the most challenging things I have been facing these days in motherhood is dealing with the relationships between my little ones. Sibling relationships can be complicated and very difficult to referee! I have been annoyed, frustrated, disappointed and clueless in some respects as to how to deal with my children and their relationships. The two older ones are both at ages (5yrs, 2yrs) where their wills and emotions are strong, stern and unforgiving. They both desire independence, attention and justice. Dealing with taddling, arguing, yelling, and sometimes hitting can be emotionally draining on me. Especially when my expectations of them are high. The Lord has been showing me lately that I am the one who needs to refresh my perspective and begin to invest time and attention into these relationships as they will be the foundation for all their relationships in the future. If siblings cannot get along it will be difficult for them to interact with other children outside the family.

I have realized that this is common for children to go through these seasons of learning how to interact and engage with others their own age and even different ages. (This is one benefit of homeschooling; my kids have to learn to spend time with eachother, not just other children their own age and mental/physical levels – it teaches patience:) My expectations, however, need to be clearly communicated AND demonstated in my behavior and engagement with them. In our house, we are cultivating a culture of HONOR, RESPECT and LOVE in our relationships. I feel as though sibling relationships are vitally important and NEED the investment of the parent to see them through. The home is a wonderful and safe place to teach and learn about how to interact with one another. It is a blessing to be able to watch our children learn and grow and be able to discipline and correct them when needed.

I have established a few core values that we go by in our relationships with one another. These are biblical principles that encourage character building and test the heart and motives of the situation. It is hard as a mother to see everything that goes on and often I do not see who started what but we always come back to these values to determine the outcome of a disagreement. I want my kids to know that the reason I correct them is because I love them and wants what is best for them. If a parent refuses to discipline or correct their child how can they really say they love them? Learning obedience, kindness and appropriate social and emotional behaviors are beneficial to children and will help them to form relationships of their own. If there is no oversight or correction the child will be unable to grow into their full potential. Making sure your kids know that discipline = love can change their perspective and help them to recieve your words of caution.

Sisters:)

Here are some of the values that we hold. I think over the next week or so we are going to make a poster board with these written on them so that they can be hung in the playroom and serve as a reminder to us all:)

1. We use kind words with eachother always. (Gal 5:22-23)

2. We treat others the way we want to be treated. (Luke 6:31)

3. We love one another regardless of how we feel. (1 Cor 13)

4. We always extend forgiveness to each other. (Matt 6)

5. Anger is not a solution, it is an emotion and we need to learn how to have self-control (Gal 5:23) when we are angry. We settle arguments before the end of the day. (Eph 4:26)

6. Obedience is better than sacrifice, obedience is our goal. (Deut 5:33)

Motivation, heart relation and relationships are more important to me than making mistakes and always being right. At the end of the day I want them to love one another and realize how special they are to God, us (their parents) and each other. I have been amazed to watch them grow in these areas this week. It has been a lot of work but slowly we are getting there, with much prayer and practice we will be a family who values our relationships as first priority! As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another. (Prov 27:17) God has given us each other to develop our character by pressing through the hard times and learning how to love as he does.

May you be blessed in your relationships this week! May to experience a deeper level of connection and commitment to each other. May you be a family who honors eachother at all times!!

Thankful for His watchful eye!

There are few moments in life when I am completely taken back and aware that I am not in control. Tonight I had one of these moments. My 9 months old is busy these days, she is constantly crawling around, putting everything in her mouth and exploring everything and everyone in her environment. We have done our best to baby proof our home, which is difficult with the small toys and collections that my 5 year old and a 2 years old have acquired over the years. We always try to remain aware of her whereabouts.

Tonight my husband was bathing the kids while I was sweeping the bedroom floors. Atirah was playing in the bathroom and had managed to get ahold of a plastic cap that goes on a bolt on the base of our toilet. It is quite big compared to her mouth. She had chewed on it before and we didn’t really think anything of it, in fact I was upstairs 3 days ago vaccuuming while she played with this same cap. Somehow tonight she managed to get it in her mouth and it got stuck and she began to choke on it. My husband immediately ran to her and with much tact and maneuvering managed to get it out of her mouth, thank God! But it was really scary! My heart was racing and Atirah was really shaken up. The first thing that I thought was; “Thank you God! Thank God that this happened when we were near, thank God that Jim was able to remove it, thank God that it didnt happen when we were not looking. Thank God!”

I think it is easy sometimes to wonder why God allows hard/scary/bad things to happen in our lives. We have a limited perspective and as a mother I am beginning to realize how small my perspective really is. This is just a small example but it is a great demonstration of how we need to be thankful in ALL situations because we do not see the end result as He does. What if this had not happened tonight but it happened tomorrow when I was alone with the kids and Atirah was out of my sight?Or 3 days ago when I was vaccuuming and couldn’t hear her all the time? Even 1 minute it could have made all the difference! God thank you for watching over my sweet little Atirah and teaching me that I am not in control. Help me to surrender always and to remember to ask you to continually watch over us. I desire your watchful eye to remain always on my family.

I humbly recognize that He is the one who watches over my children. He is the one who protects and provides for us. Protect my children Lord, help me as their mother to be watchful and dependent on you. Let me always remember that You are in control and I trust you with the lives of my family. Let us mother always rememeber the impact of our prayers and petitions for our children. You love our kids more than we do God, Thank you for your provision tonight.

May you be mindful of the One who watches over your family. May you be thankful and dependent on Him today! God grant us the grace to take care of our little ones and the humility to recognize that ultimately you are in control!!

Nutty Quinoa Salad

This is my NEW favorite quinoa salad!!! A good friend of mine introduced me to this salad a couple weeks ago and I cannot get enough of it! I tweeked it to make it exactly what I like but the nuts and dried fruits can be substituted with other nuts and dried fruits depending on what you have on hand. It can be served warm or cold depending how long you allow the quinoa to cool. The dressing on this salad is amazing, it makes the salad unique and addictive:) This recipe is full of protein, magnesium and calcuim, all of the raw ingredients make it an incredible staple for any meal!

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa (turns into about 2 cups once cooked)

1/2 cup sliced raw almonds

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup currants

1/2 cup chopped apple

1/4 cup chopped zucchini

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 avacado cut into cubes

Dressing:

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup mustard

1 tbsp raw honey

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of quinoa and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Mix nuts and fruit and dried fruit together in a bowl and add quinoa when it is cool or warm (depending what you want). Mix together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad, serve immediately!

May you be blessed as you listen and hear the voice of the Father today! Enjoy!!

Repotting Orchids

I love orchids! I have been growing them for years. They are one of the most majestic, beautiful flowers that I know. It seems that every year I accumulate more orchids plants. They come in a pot with a one or two stemmed orchid plant and they flower a different times during the year (usually once, but sometimes twice:) I had been struggle as to what to do with all of the pots when the flowers were dormant. I didn’t really want to leave them out as the green leaves are not very attractive so I had been storing them on a window ledge in my bathroom. This became a problem when the ledge began to get too small. I had SO many pots and not enough room.

I needed to contain the plants and at the same time repot them because they were beginning to outgrow their pots. I decided to go out and buy a very large pot in which I would plant several orchids. I purchased a beautiful pot and began to replant my orchids.

Repotting orchids can be daunting as they are very susceptible to changes in temperature, sunlight and even movement. I filled the bottom of the pot up with shells, (you could also use stones), anything that is good for drainage. I then filled the pot half way up with orchid potting mix, it contains wood chips and moss. I then began one at a time to add my orchid plants, I managed to fit 5 orchids in the pot. Afterwards I filled up the rest of the pot to the top with more of the potting mix. I watered them and gave them their weekly fertilizer and so far they are doing great!

One of them is beginning to flower and I was thinking it will be really nice to have at least one in the pot always in bloom so that it can be out on display.

Hopefully this helps those who had the same dilemma, I think it looks great and it easier to take care of , one pot, one water, one fertilizer many blooms!

May you experience the joy of the Father’s pleasure today. May we continue to grow in our maturity and character and we serve in our homes!

 

Quinoa Bean Salad

Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

This salad is similar to a regular beans sald but I added cooked quinoa to maximize the nutritional value, you could also add sprouted quinoa.

1 cup water

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup chickpeas

1 cup kidney beans

1 cup sliced green bell pepper

1/2 cup of corn

1/2 cup sliced avacado

1 cup diced celery

3/4 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp minced fresh garlic

2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Bring water to a boil, add quinoa, cover and simmer for 10 miuntes. Turn heat off allow quinoa to site for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow to cool.

Combine quinoa, chickpeas, kidney beans, green pepper, celery, corn and avacado and onion in a large bowl.

In a small bowl mix vinegar, oil, garlic, oregano and pepper until well blended. Add as dressing to the salad, mix well and serve immediately!

Blessings on your day!

Celebrating Passover

Our Family’s Experience

Our family enjoyed celebrating passover again this year.(Jim and I have been celebrating this feast since before we were married 8 years!!) It was a rich time of reflection and gratitude for all God has done in our lives. Passover is not a substitute for celebrating the death and ressurection of our Saviour, it just enriches it! Passover is a prophetic picture of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice here on earth. It is an amazing time that we share remembering God’s provision and protection for the people of Israel and how Jesus was our provision and protection from sin. My children are always amazed when we talk about the plagues that God sent to the Egyptians, it gives them a real reverance for God and His power! We follow through a messianic prayer book that I have called the Haggadah means “telling”, it is scripted so we know when you eat and drink and it tells the story from the book of Exodus along the way.

The Seder Plate

During the Passover celebration, we remember this great event by eating special foods associated with the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness of freedom. The entire meal is called the Seder, and it is eaten as the story of Israel’s freedom is told. There is also remebrance of the redeption of the Lord by parting the red sea and leading the Israelites with a cloud by day and a fire by night. When I read Exodus 13:9 I feel compelled to observe this feast with my family in order to remember the deliverane of God! “This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.”

On the Seder plate there are several foods that are listed in Exodus 12 as a representation of the enslavement in Egypt.

Bitter Herbs – (usually horshradish) representing the bitterness of bondage.

Shank bone of a Lamb – symbolizes the lamb eaten before they fled Egypt (we didnt have one so we used one of the kids play chicken thighs:)

Matzah – must be made solely of special flour and water (no leaven)

Haroset – a mixture of apples, nuts, grape juice and cinnamon. Represents the mortar the Israelites used to build Egyptian cities and the sweetness of a better world.

Roasted Egg– symbol of life

Karpas – (usually parsley or celery) symbolizes the new life for the Jewish people and the hyssop used to sprinkle blood on the door post. The parsley is dipped into salt water representing the tears of slavery.

Jesus is the Passover Lamb. (A Comparison)~this is very interesting!

The lamb was male of the first year. Jesus was the firstborn of God.

The lamb was set aside for four days, on the tenth of Nisan. Jesus was on public display for four days on the tenth of Nisan.

The lamb with no blemish. Jesus was without blemish.

The death penalty was imposed when the lamb was chosen. Christ came ot recieve the death penalty to free us from the bondage of sin.

The lamb was killed at 3:00. Jesus died at 3:00.

The lamb’s bones were not broken. Jesus’ bones were not broken.

The must be eaten the same night. Jesus was crucified, suffered and died in the same night.

No work was to be done on Passover. The blood of Jesus saves us, not our works.

Traditionally this meal lasts for a few hours but we have shortened it and included the necessary parts so that it is interesting for the kids and enjoyable for my husband and myself. It’s fun to have time to spend around the dinner table at the Seder and experience the meal together. We normally have Shabbat every Friday night so this was a nice change of routine for the kids. Rather than Challah we eat Matzah as we remember the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. The purpose of Matzah is to symbolize that the Israelites had to flee Egypt quickly and there was no time for their bread to rise. We also eat unleaven bread for the week after passover to remember the importance of cleaning our lives of sin (yeast) that can creep into our lives and affect everything. It is a fun change, we eat flatbreads, matzah and crackers, nothing with yeast in it. This upcoming Shabbat we will begin to eat bread again.

Hiding the Afikoman

This is one of the most amazing parallels that we learn from at Passover. There are three pieces of Matzah stacked together, each representing one of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Towards the end of the meal the leader gets us and removes the middle piece of matzah, which represents Jesus, they take it and break it in half, wrapping the broken piece in a napkin and then all the children close their eyes while it is hidden. The children then go looking for the Afikoman and whoever find it is rewarded. The kids love this!! Judah found it again this year:)

Homemade Matzah

Here is my recipe for Matzah. This year I purchased the Matzah but I have made this in the past. It is very simple to make.

Depending on how much you want to make, measure 1 part water and 3 parts flour.  When you are making Matzah make sure that you do it all at one time because once the moisture hits the flour, the clock starts to tick. There shouldn’t be more than 18 minutes from the time the water is mixed with the flour until the time the matzo is put into the oven.  Mix 3 cups of flour with 1 cup of water and quickly mix and knead into a firm ball of 1-2 inches. (Add more flour or water if needed. Roll out dough as thin as possible and poke holes in the dough. Put matzah directly in the oven at 400F. Bake for 2-3 minutes Matzah is hard and crisp.

Remove from oven and cool. Enjoy! This is great with homemade Haroset.

Haroset

In a food processor add 1 cup walnuts, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 tbsp grape juice, 1 tbsp honey and 5 apples, peeled and cored. Mix until desired texture is reached, I like mine to be a bit chunky but if you want it to be a smoother consistence then blend it for longer. Enjoy!

Telling the Next Generation

The best part about Passover to me is that it is an annual celebration where we remember the works of the Lord. Not only do we remember but we teach our children about His wonders, so that they will grow up and teach their children. Jim recounts the story of the Israelites in the book of Exodus and how they were freed from Egypt. He tells them about the 10 plagues, about the Red Sea and about the manna in the wilderness. Amazingly Judah remember some of it from last year!

It is so vital that we teach our children. Somehow in the body of Christ there has been a break in generations teaching their children about God. As a result there are many generations that will grow up without the knowledge of the Lord.

My son Judah was outside on Easter Sunday day playing with some neighbourhood friends. I was talking with them about Easter and about how we celebrate Jesus, one of the little boys asked “who’s that?” I responded, ” you don’t know who Jesus is?” and he said “No”. I couldnt believe it, this boy is 7 years old and lives in Canada, he has never heard about Jesus. He was excited that it was Easter because of all the chocolate that he recieved…my heart was heavy. We told him all about the Easter story and Judah and I are now determined to teach this little guy as much as we can about the Lord. I purposed in my heart to share God with whoever I come in contact with because we are living in times where many people have not even heard his name.

May you experience the fullness that comes in remembering our Savior’s sacrifice for our sins!! May we never forget the goodness of our God, how he had delivered and redeemed us! May we be forever grateful to Him!!

(If you have any questions about Passover or any of the Messianic Feasts please feel free to ask!)

Sprouting

Over the winter, I started sprouting seeds and beans on a weekly basis. I was looking to grow some nutrient-rich food that had not been drown in chemicals and other pesticides! Since I could not use my garden, I thought the next best thing would be to try sprouting some seeds. I had heard a bit about sprouting from a  man at the Farmer’s Market this past summer but thought it was going to be messy and tedious. However, now that I have tried it, I have realized, Sprouting is SO simple!

I had looked into buying kits to be able to sprout but after talking to the owner of a local natural food store, I was informed that you can simply use a mason jar with a thin netting over the lid and an elastic to hold it in place. I decided to take this route as the price was right, I had everything I needed. The only thing I purchased was some organic alfalpha sprouts for $1.50. I began my sprouting adventure. It worked so well that within 5 days of soaking my seeds I was eating delicious sprouts on my salad!

7 days after soaking and rinsing the alfalpha seeds

Directions for Sprouting:

1. Gather a mason jar, a mesh cover, an elastic and some organic seeds (local food store sell them).

2. Take 2 tsp of alfalpha sprouts (or whatever seed you want) and soak them in the mason jar in water for 2-6hours.

3. Drain them and rinse twice a day. When you drain, tilt the jar to make sure ALL the water gets out. It usually takes 3-10 days depending on the seed.

4. Use them in salads, smoothies, sandwiches and wraps!

Sprouts are rinsed between twice a day and three or four times a day accordingly with climate and type of seed. Each seed has its own ideal sprouting time. Depending on which seed is used, after three to five days they will have grown to 5 to 8 centimetres (2–3 in) in length and will be suitable for consumption. A popular baby green is sunflower after 7–10 days. The growth process of any sprout can be slowed or halted by refrigerating until needed.

Common causes for sprouts to become inedible:

  • Seeds are allowed to dry out
  • Seeds are left in standing water
  • Temperature is high or too low
  • Insufficient rinsing
  • Insufficient air flow
  • Poor rate of germination of seed

Sprouting grains causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvements in the contents of total proteins, fat, certain essential amino acids, total sugars, B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, amd starch. In a simply sprouted Barley seed, over a 7 day span there are increases in the crude protein and fibre content. On Day 1 the original seed contains 12.7% protein and 5.4% fibre, however by Day 7 it contains 15.5% protein and 14.1% fibre. All of this very easily absorbed and broken down by the body’s metabolic system. Sprouting is a great assest to a raw diet.

May you enjoy the blessings of new life sprouting up in your life today!

 

Making our memories of Florida last…

I had this idea while we were in Florida on the beach collecting shells that we could bring them home and decorate small jar to give away, plant herbs in, use as a piggy bank or a toothbrush holder. The kids are all over fun crafts these days and this seemed pretty simple to me. I found a couple mason jars in my cupboard and my glue gun. I covered a small area on the jar with the glue and then allowed the kids to go nuts on them with the seashells. And they turned out AMAZING!! You could easily modify these and use rocks, smooth pebbles, or pieces of wood. You could also use small pots or vases to cover instead. I think we may have enough shells left for me to do a flower vase!

Prior to doing this we gathered all of the shells that we found on the beach and I soaked them with a small amount of bleach and water. We then laid them out on the counter to dry. The kids picked out their favorite shells and we glued them on! We used a hot glue gun so that the shells would stick. A hot glue is definintely not kid friendly but we had a good little system going. I would put some glue on the jar and then they would take the shells and stick them on, one at a time. (this craft took a little longer than expected:) Once it was filled we let it dry and then the kids wanted to use them as toothbrush holders:)

It was really fun to talk about our time away with them while we were gluing them onto the jars. We also talked about how God created all the shells on the beach and even the sand on the seashore. It was a very rich experience for us to do this together! I am always in awe of how many amazing conversation comes when I allow my little ones to focus on a task and talk about what they are thinking in that moment. It is a memory I will never forget.

I pray that your day is full of rich experience with your family as we remember the death of our Savior. May you reflect on the amazing freedom that we have in Him! May you be blessed and remember that the God who knows how many seashells are on the shore, loves you very much!

Loving Laundry

I have had many readers ask me about how I manage laundry in our household with three little ones running around. I must say that it has taken me several years to learn from trial and error how to get on top of my laundry. I have been working at making laundry a simple event that is organized and efficient. On any given day our family goes through, 5 shirts, 5 pairs of pants, 10 socks, 4 pair of underwear, and 6 cloth diapers, not to mention any accidents that require extra shirts, underwear socks or sweaters. So here is how I do laundry, hopefully this may help some of you:)

Note: laundry in our household fluctuates depending on the season, winter seems to be less and fall, spring and summer there tends to be more and how many chidlren are in cloth diapers at the same time.

1. Have Laundry Days. I do my laundry twice a week, Monday mornings and Friday mornings. I have found that doing it more often is too much and I can’t do it any less, this is the minimum amount of time that I could get away with. I really did not like when I tried to do laundry depending on how many clothes were in the basket but it seemed as though I was doing a load every day or every other day. Having the two set days has helped to keep it at bay. We cloth diaper as well so I do a SMALL load of cloth diapers on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I always hang the cloth diapers on the drying rack so we save on the drying.

2. Start First thing in the morning. The sooner you can get done the better. Some people like to make it a family event or involve their children and I believe that I will one days involve my kids but because they are so young right now it is much easier for me to do it on my own. Next year in homeschool I am going to teach Judah how to do laundry but for now its mommas job and I want to be fast and efficient so that I can spend more time with my babes! I try to start my first load at 7am and when I do this I can usually be done by noon and fold it all from 1:00-1:20pm during nap/quiet time.

3. I do 3 loads on Mondays, 1 dark, 1 light, 1 cloth diapers. I do 4 loads on Fridays 1 dark, 1 light, 1 towels, 1 cloth diapers.

4. Once a month I wash all the bedding (sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers) on Monday mornings, (unless someone wets the bed which usually happens at least once a month:)

5. When springtime comes I hang out my laundry and it saves us “loads” 🙂 on the hydro bills. However, if it is raining on a day when I would hang out the clothes I still do them but use the dryer that day. Otherwise it throws my entire schedule off.

6. There are NO laundry baskets in any of the kids rooms. All the laundry goes directly into the laundry room. (this may not be feesable for everyone, our laundry room is on the same floor as the bedrooms) I find when there are many baskets it makes for more laundry and my kids throw things that are not dirty in them. I also like having all the laundry in one room because I do not have to go collecting it the morning of, nor do I find any surprises in the baskets:) I also know how much laundry needs to be done because I can see how full the basket is getting. Jim and I also have a basket in our room but that is all. Less is more when it comes to baskets!

Enjoying laundry and serving my family in this arena is something that I have grown in. I used to whin and complain about it all the time but now I laugh and enjoy this time. God has given me peace and joy when it comes to laundry. I love to serve the Lord and in this season of my life I am going to be faithful with the laundry piles that build up in my home. I am thankful that we have clothing, that I have little ones who are growing and I get to continually wash their little socks and t-shirts as I watch them grow before my eyes, I love that we have amazingly efficient laundry machines and I don’t have to do it by hand, there are SO many things to be thankful for in laundry.

At this point I find it more frustrating to try to involve my kids in the process. It become tedious and I am easily irritated and they get bored and restless, so I have decided that I work more efficiently if I do the laundry alone. However, I am also looking forward to the day when I will teach my little ones how to do their own laundry and who knows maybe one day one of them will do the laundry for me:)

May you be blessed as  you serve your husband and children by cleaning their clothes. May the Lord wash you with His word today. Bless you!

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit!

Today we tried a fun little activity for homeschool. I decided this week that we would focus on the Fruit of the Spirit from the book of Galatians in the Bible.

Mercy and Judah have been learning alot these days about loving each other and learning to serve one another. They are both at the ages now where they have their own STRONG opinions, ideas and thoughts about EVERYTHING and this leads to alot of arguing, complaining and fighting. We read the passage from Galatians 5 and discovered what the Bible says about our actions. We made a “fruit basket” with the fruit of the Spirit in it and placed it in the middle of the kitchen so we can remember to fill ourselves up with these fruit. This activity was a practical way to help me talk with them about the ways in which they can show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to one another.

He cut out the fruit and wrote most of the words:)

I gave them the example of how a fruit tree produces its own fruit; i.e. apple trees produce apples. I explained that in the same way we produce fruit according to our words and actions. This fruit belongs to either a “SPIRIT-filled tree” or a “SELF-filled tree”.They seemed to get the concept and I was challenged as well. It really made me think about what fruit I am producing in my life through my thoughts, words and actions. I desire to live a life that demonstrates a consecration to God and his Spirit!

What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? Are there areas that need to be refocused?

May you experience the abundant love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control that are yours in the Spirit. May you walk in the fullness of His plans and purposes for your life today! Blessings!!