Happy Mother's Day!!

I like to enjoy a nice long nap on Mother's Day! But I am spending the day cooking some of my favorites to have on hand so that I can enjoy every day and not have to freak out trying to find some gluten free and corn free food when I am hungry. So this is a fine Mother's Day to me. Our son got me a wonderful card that says "Thank you Mom......listening, loving, caring, laughing, teaching, sharing, answering, asking........for all the ways you help me GROW. Happy Mother's Day."  How sweet of him to pick a card with all those sentiments even though he spends 24/7 with me and I know I fail each and every day as a sinful mother. I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father who sent His son Jesus to this earth to take away my sins and to teach me through His Word, the Holy Bible, to be more of a godly wife and mother each day.

Moe

How to miss a childhood.

I came across this article from a friend that use to attend our church, she has since moved and is a pastors wife. How To Miss A Childhood This was very convicting since I find myself chatting on the phone when I am driving.

Some won't understand the article or the importance of spending time with kids. I know in our homeschool there are certain times that I do not answer the phones. And I will have people tell me that they called while driving by and saw my car was at the house, they just don't get that my child is more important than chatting on the phone, they are more than welcome to leave a message and I will call back after school. It's really sad that people can't see that educating my child is of greater necessity than chatting about the weather.

I've not read anything on that blog besides the "How To Miss A Childhood" article, so I don't know where the author comes from regarding her biblical views, but for me and my house this Bible verse comes to mind.

Matthew 12:36-37 " But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

How did that blog post touch you?
Moe

How to Fix Your Husband

I'm just relaxing in the recliner recovering my my small surgery and having been corned by the meds that they gave me, I'm not up to doing much besides surfing the web on my mothers laptop. I came across this great article on a blog called How to Fix Your Husband.  Click on the link and check it out. I don't agree with all the comments at the end of the article, there seems to always have to be some joker or someone nasty on the net posting something  :O(

I thought the article had some interesting points and some nuggets of truth. After 21 years of marriage to a wonderful man, who at times has needed an overhaul or a tune up, the blog post was a reminder of some things to me.

God is always in control and after 21 years of marriage, I've found that prayer, diligent prayer and not just little "God help me!" prayers is the best help and lifesaver/life giver I've found.

"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16.

Just an added note here, notice that Scripture says "YOUR" faults and not HIS faults.  That is a real stinger ain't it?

Tell me what you get out of the article and share your thought on it here.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Moe

What is customer service?

Well I think we are so use to what Clark Howard would call "Customer No Service."  But today I got customer service from Vision Forum. Our son had saved up his chore money and placed an order last week. One of the items that he got was multi function compass survival kit and he could not figure out how to get some of the pieces out. There were no directions with it, so I posted on the Vision Forum Facebook page and asked about it. Within a few minutes my telephone rang and it was Vision Forum!!! They were calling with some tips on using the compass survival kit. Our son was outside playing and I called him in to take the phone call. He is now outside running around using all the parts to the kit.

I would highly recommend Vision Forum for all your boy and girl toys & books. Sign up for their emails and they will send you out coupons and discounts along with a Deal of the  Day. They are the first booth that we hit at the homeschool conventions and everything that we have bought has been a hit when given as birthday or Christmas gifts. We really like the Soldiering Through History series.

So if you are looking for high quality items for your boys and girls or grandchildren, look no further than Visionforum.com and they have great customer service too!

Moe
Deuteronomy 6:7
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Permission to whine?

I finally went for allergy testing, nothing for wheat (they still think that I may be gluten intolerant) showed up but corn did and corn is also IN EVERYTHING and causes stomach issues when you are allergic to it. Corn allergies can actually mimic Celiac Disease (without the villi being effected). 

So I pretty much have solved my problem with going wheat free since by not eating processed foods I pretty much cut out corn too by accident. And the 2 times that I thought I had gotten gluten last summer, I think it was actually corn. The one time I got sick I was eating Puffed Corn snacks and the other time I had Fritos.

Both Gluten and corn allergies are very similar in the way that the effect you.

So no corn, corn syrup solids, cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose and all those other fancy junk sugars, ect. Corn does not have to be labeled in the USA since it's not considered one of the top 8 allergen :O(

They can sneak it in under names that we would never think of as CORN.

I am also allergic to

watermelon

red apples
grapes
pears
peaches
bananas
apricot
strawberry
raspberry
tomato
sweet potato
corn
almonds
Scallops (I don't like seafood anyway!) YIPPEE!  lol.
Thankfully I'm not allergic to chicken or eggs! We'd have to sell the farm.  lol

So any one want to refer me to a blog about corn allergies and cooking?

Here are some interesting places that corn hides, baking powder, powdered sugar, table salt,
hot dogs, candy, frosting, cold cereal and many more things.

I'm really thinking that the Lord is working with me (feels like hammering me!) on not making food a little god in my life. I love food and I love to cook. All the years that I was sick with stomach issues (we now know I was sick with food allergies) I spent my days thinking "What am I going to eat?" Where do I have to go today & what time should I eat so that I am not sick away from home?" So pretty much my thoughts revolved around food and what and when to eat so that I could function in my daily life. There are foods that I can eat, I just need to THINK before I eat (who wants to do that?). I have the "wilderness attitude" that the children of Israel had. "I'm tired of Manna and I'm tired of quail! I deserve better than this!"  Read the book of Numbers chapters 11 & 12 in the Bible and you will understand what I am talking about.

 I would covet your prayers in learning to deal with this. I go back to the doctor in one month to try some sort of rotation diet (not sure what that is).

Moe

Thankfulness during the Pantry Challenge?

As I think about being thankful for the surplus I have and how I am able to be wise in using it, the 10 leprous men come to mind that Jesus healed.

Luke 17:12-13 ^12"And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: ¹³And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. ¹⁴And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, ¹⁶And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."

A couple of key things here, 10 guys with leprosy (some sort of nasty skin disease that is painful) and only 1 guy says "THANK YOU to Jesus for healing him", only 1 guy fell down and gave thanks and praise to Jesus, and that 1 guy was a Samaritan! Which is very key because "Samaritans were hated by the Jews as part of a complex and ancient racial prejudice." In James MacDonalds book Lord, Change My Attitude he says it like this

"The point is, no one has an acceptable excuse for ungratefulness.Everyone can make the choice to give thanks and acknowledge the goodness and the grace of God. Sadly, however, only a small fraction of the human population ever personally thanks God for His grace."

Have you taken time to thank God for His saving grace? For the things that you have in your life? Good things and things that you suffer for? Take time today to thank God and pick up a good read. Lord Change My Attitude Before It's Too Late by James MacDonald with forward by Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Our 11 year old son read this book first and then told me that he thought I should read it. I have been wowed by many things it the book. The most captivating so far is the fact that many of us, including me (gasp!) are living in the 'wilderness' like the Israelites. If you are a Child of God, you have it all (not meaning stuff either) yet you may not realize it and suffer for it.

Get out of the wilderness!
Moe

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We had a wonderful time last night, I spent the evening scrapbooking with our son, he worked on his camp pictures and I worked on his 6th birthday pictures. Around 11:00pm we both decided that we were tired and so we cleaned up our area and headed off to the living room to snuggle up and read. Dad was putting in some overtime at work so he missed out on the fun. But I packed him up some goodies in his dinner, bacon wrapped green olives, deviled eggs and some special Munchies chips.

Today we vegged out, I did a bunch of cooking and our son fell asleep on the couch from 1pm-5pm lol.....so a quiet day all the way around. I spent some time going over things for the next semester, since I may be facing a major surgery, I needed to look some things over and plan ahead.

Heard an interesting thought on Christian radio this week, it talked about waiting on God and how we need to look at it as "a waiting room experience", thought that was pretty neat. So as I wait for my medical tests at the end of January, I can just sit back relax in the GREAT physicians waiting room, it really removed some stress for me.

As you take down your Christmas decorations and pack them away, don't pack away Jesus, keep Him out this year and enjoy fellowship with Him each and every day.

Thanks for spending 2011 with me as we learned about raising chickens, butchered chickens, became gluten free, waited on the Lord, learned more from the Lord, looked through the Word of God and home educated.

Moe

We lost a chicken :O(

I was resting in the recliner on Friday morning when I heard our son come screaming around the house. Now as a mother I know the difference between a 'I broke my arm' scream and a 'something terrible has happened' scream. Well it was the something terrible type of scream. And our son ran in the house crying saying "I can't find the head, I can't find her head." Well he had gone out to do his chores in the chicken house and found one of his hens missing a head and blood all over. It was very sad. I know it was hard when Sicky Chick was ill, but we knew she was ill and then she died, but to be enjoying your day and all the sudden walk in on that, it was very hard. We thought it was a mink or a weasel, but since the head is gone we are thinking more like a dog, since the other two would have just cut the neck and drank the blood. Now on our Christmas cards I will have to cross off 14 chickens and write in 13. Sort of entertaining in a weird way, but when you have been ill, sometimes the most interesting things are funny. lol. She will be missed though.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Ecclesiastes 3:3-5
I think I have done all of these this past week. It's so wonderful that God's grace extends to all who will accept His free give of Salvation. Won't you accept this gift during the season of giving? Click here to find out more.

Merry Christmas

Sorry to be gone for so long.........

I ended up in the hospital for 5 days with acute diverticulitis. Had an incredible ambulance ride when they transferred me to a larger hospital. Those 3 guys has me laughing all the way there!
I am to be home resting and healing up so that they can do some testing. My dh's family has been wonderful!! His sister has really helped me out tons with doctors, nurses and hospitals, it can all be so confusing when you are very ill and out of your head. My church family has been bringing meals in, how wonderful is that!! It's been a real blessing to see our son step up to the plate while I as gone. He did his school work and chores, made meals for himself and dad, he also knew where all the 'hidden' meals are in the freezer......lol. I always have some sort of chili, soup or casserole in the freezer for a quick and easy meal.

Well my point for being on here today was to share something that I found from the Bible that has been a  real encouragement to me today, as I know that I am not the only person on the Internet feeling poorly today. I was pouting around this afternoon, had a very bad day reflux wise, as I am flared up from my throat all the way down to my colon  :P      Ended up on the phone with the nurse 2x and finally think I will make it through until tomorrow when they want to see me again. So here it is.

Weakness in the Bible: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
It is a paradox of Christianity that true strength is found in weakness. Jesus himself embodied the world's idea of weakness, even to the point of submitting to an excruciating death. However, just as Christ's saving power worked through that "weakness," so God's power is often most visible in the midst of suffering, humility, and weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (KJV)
“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Gospel.com

I do have a few prayer requests:
1. No more reactions to antibiotics (had 3 in the hospital)
2. Antibiotics will be effective since I am on so many stomach drugs
3. No more blood thinners, these T.E.D. Hose are driving me crazy!
4. DH can concentrate on learning his new job, lots of reading and testing along with the stress of me being ill.
5. Insurance issues won't occur, our current insurance ends 12/31 and the new job insurance is to kick in 1/1.
6. Doctors and Nurses will be competent and know what is going on with me. Since I was told that what I have has been missed for many years and severe damage has been done. I have actually prayed that the doctors would be woke in the night thinking of my case, I pray that they will be milling it over in their mind and looking at it from all sides. This new doctors even apologized for the suffering I have endured, that in itself was a real blessing to hear.

Everyone have a wonderful week!

My verse for this week

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe."
Proverbs 29:25

This is speaking volumes to me right now. It's amazing how a Scripture can be read over and over again, and then all the sudden it hits you right at the exact time you need it.

When working the crossword puzzles of life, you will find the 'solutions' in the Bible.

Author: Moe from Adoptive Mom Homeschooling An Only Child

Craving An Egg Roll & recipe

So today I was craving egg rolls, homeschool mom of a 7th grader and public school math teacher mom know exactly the egg rolls I was craving!

 "We open: what you want!"  lol.

So I called up my mom and she got my Filipino SIL's recipe, though SIL uses wheat wrappers, I had to use rice wrappers. I miss her egg rolls too.

Here is the first batch and how they turned out.

Slightly burnt.........lol  Nope they are not as pretty as our fav' Chinese hang out back in the gluten days, so I tried again.

Well this batch was mushy, but looks better than the burnt one next to it. I gave up, whimpered away, cried my eyes out and posted to my new favorite gluten-free, casein-free hang out. One of the dear ladies there Theresa recommended trying 2 wrappers instead of just one. I was done for though.

My dh had just come home from work, we chatted, shared our woes from the day and I was revived. I came back in and tried the double wrapper method. Here are the results.

Much better!! Again not as pretty as the Chinese place, but they were YUMMY!! Dh said the that the recipe is a keeper.

The recipe is super easy!!

Brown a pound of ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey with an chopped onion, drain any grease. Then add your choice of veggies, I added a can of La Choy GF veggies with baby corn, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and stuff like that, I chopped a carrot up and added some chopped cabbage. Add a few tablespoons of GF soy sauce (or make your own if you can't do soy), salt and pepper to taste. Toss all this together until warm. Get grease ready and use rice wrappers, dip them in water for about 15 seconds, drain. Add 2 tablespoons of meat mixture to the center and fold forward, then fold in ends and then fold forward again. Fry in oil until crispy and not burnt (like I did).

Now that my craving has passed I can relax, dishwasher is running, I've got one in the bathtub sleeping and one in front of the DVD watching The Sound of Music (a class assignment).

Please let me know if you make these, share how they turned out.

This entire fiasco made me think on Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Guess what? I slept in today and did not start my day with my Lord, would my attitude have been different if I had spent some time with Him? I think so.

Are  you busy? Get in the Word.

Are you tired? Get in the Word.

Are you bummed? Get in the Word.

The book of John is a wonderful place for you to start.

How is your homeschooling going this year?

When stressful days come a knockin', momma has got to figure out how to get a rockin'!

Here is my best tip for you on those tough homeschool days.

Always keep a pocket new Testament Bible in the bathroom drawer. Escape to the bathroom, AKA Teacher's Lounge. Read a few verses of scripture, cry your eyes out, wash your face and grab a fresh cup of coffee. Kiss the kids and move on...............

Moe

Old friends & Proverbs

There is nothing like a surprise of running into old friends. Today while at my sons game I ran into two mommy friends of mine, one a homeschooling mom and another a public school math teacher mom. Both I love dearly. They are the type of ladies that you don't find too often in your life: real, caring and sincere all rolled into one (well two in this case).

We are all busy with our families and we don't 'socialize' together, but whenever we run into each other it's like we have never been apart, we just start chatting. It's a blessing to share things and find that I'm not the only one to get the "Mother of the Year" award (meaning we have really had a major goof as a mom!) lol. It's nice to share a struggle or an area that needs prayer from an understanding mom.

It's exciting to see how the Lord uses each of these ladies, public school math teacher mom has an AWESOME ministry to her public school kids. She cares for each of her students, prays for them and they know that she cares about them. Homeschool mom has taught me about being more calm in addressing things with my son, having more patience in school, and not fretting over teaching to the test.

I just had to share this blessing in my life. The Lord provides people in our lives for the season we are in. 
Proverbs 13:20 "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."
Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

Have a wonderful weekend!

Interesting Bible verse

This sort of makes me think of my post on Aug 31 that was on time management. How does this relate to that post?

I came across this Bible verse today and it really spoke to me. The first version is King James.
"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you" 1 Thessalonians 4:11.

This second version is the NIV.
"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you"

WOW, it says a lot to me and makes me think on a number of things. Slow down in life, concentrate on the important things in life (God, husband, child, education), deal with your own house and get your work done.

What does this say to you?

Have a wonderful week!!!

p.s. There is nothing more convicting (besides the Bible) than listening to the homeschool convention MP3's!

Cool Freebie on my blog today!

I like the KJV of the Bible, but this sounds like it would be a pretty cool addition to our learning of the Bible.
Enjoy!
Podcast Description
The English Standard Version Audio Drama New Testament (ESV) is a unique presentation of the Audio Bible with approximately 180 different characters and a digitally recorded sound track with full sound effects. For a list of other available languages go to our website at http://FaithComesByHearing.com.The mission of Faith Comes By Hearing is to bring His Church together and make disciples from every nation, tribe, language, and people: to give every person the opportunity to listen completely through the New Testament in their heart language.

http://itunes.apple.com/lv/podcast/youve-got-the-time-esv-bible/id349510010

Some good days!

This past week our first rooster crowed!! It was a proud moment for us all. I clapped each time he crowed. He sounded like he needed a cough drop, though.....lol. I've been told it will get louder and stronger as time goes on.

Had a wonderful lunch out this week, we attended our local electric companies annual dinner and enjoyed pork chops and potato salad without getting sick!  Every year I would go and then have to run home since I was ill after eating. This year I skipped the BBQ pork sandwich and was fine! Though it looked really good, but I thought "It ain't worth being sick over!"

Our Pastor talked about the fact that nowhere in the Bible does it say that our lives will be trouble free or storm free. We will encounter hurts and hardships this side of Heaven, it's good to hear that when you are in the midst of a life changing storm.    

Philippians 4:11 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content." So according to the MIV (the Moe International Version as my DH calls it), when life gives you lemons, make lemonade and add a bit of extra sugar to make life a little bit sweeter  :O)