I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.
–Mark Twain
Saturday Sayings – 2
Tag: postaday2011
But We Still Have Freedom of Religion, Right?
Been checking, out there, reading sites that discuss homeschooling, and noticed a worn out question: Do homeschoolers have to be religious freaks?
Nah. You can homeschool and hate God. But . . .
. . . those who made that point in the responses “had a hard, hard, hard time of it,” they said. They did not stay the course, they said. They had toddlers who were rampage runners, they said. Hmm.
Who is it that gives us strength if we joy in Him? We have the joy of the Lord as a natural fruit of our connection to Him, and it is our strength, almost like the life-giving sap that runs through the vine. Even when we notice ourselves tiring, often we immediately realize we forgot to rejoice. What a difference it makes when we drink of joy!
Who is it that gives us perseverance and makes us complete, as faith overcomes life’s obstacles? We have this gift of faith, this knowing that we know things we cannot see, and every time it goes for a test drive, it matures, broadens, making us feel like we can do anything. And we can always go back to the source for more, in times of great need. It emboldens us.
Who gives us the owners’ manual regarding the rearing of children? The way is set clear before us; we have no trouble knowing “What to do! What to do! What to do!”
We capture our thoughts instead of letting them run amok, we stand up with electrified backbones, we jut our chins with a grin, and make progress. But that’s not religion and we’re not freaks.
We are war orphans and were slated for annihilation, but our Captor adopted us, feeds and clothes us, lifts us up, and plans to bequeath us all He owns. But that’s not religion.
We’re grateful. We adore Him for His kindness and generosity. We’ve discovered, in Him, Someone so fascinating that we actually enjoy conversing with Him. Medical science has discovered that those who do so get sick less, heal faster, live longer, period. Since we do need to live long enough to finish what we started, it works for us.
But it’s not religion.
The End of the End
Not the end of the world, but just the last of the snow.
This is my little car, just before I had to go to town. We were out of milk, bread, t-paper, and birdseed. Which of those disasters is worse? I don’t know, but I had to make that trip.
Since driving and allowing your icy jetsam to smash into oncoming windshields is dangerous, I had to remove all that beautiful snow. It made me sad and cold.
I wore a jacket, but debris kept falling on my legs and feet. I needed a ten-foot handle on my broom. The broom wasn’t exactly working, anyway, because this snow was soft only in the middle, after days of sunshine and nights of freezing.
One of my kids had mentioned chopping the top ice into pieces, then scooping the entire business off in gobs. I kept brainstorming until I came back outdoors with what might have appeared to be grill-time gear: spatulas and oven mitts. Now everything was perfect. My hands were as comfortable in that cold as they would have been in the oven. My largest plastic spatula was excellent for chopping out sections of the snow layer and then scooping it off, exactly like serving huge slices of a huge cake.
When the snow is dying, I don’t care what I look like. Besides, we homeschool, so everyone already thinks we’re kooks and usually admires us, anyway. Handy.
What I like about homeschool, though, is that we used our heads and figured a way to do what we needed to do without buying something first. That’s good, since I couldn’t go to the store. Necessity is a great thing, and the mother of many other great things.
Necessity caused us to homeschool in the first place. That’s also good, since I couldn’t go to the…
Another Day Off!
The workers will get our roads safe and everyone back in their places eventually. In the meantime, we play in the snow.
The day begins with Dad shoveling snow and bleary-eyed offspring wandering into the kitchen to ask, “What is that noise?” Ha. We so seldom have the pleasure.
Now our snowman stands watch. Our cars are decorated with snow objects. Lots of hot cocoa has slipped down. I enjoyed the crazy antics of our two remaining adult kids, playing in the snow as if they were grade-schoolers. How thankful I am for the snow! Realizing they can still find joy in each other’s company is bliss to this mom.
ALSO—here comes the fun part:
- They can put on and remove their own wraps!
- They can heat their own water and stir up their own hot cocoa!
- They can hang all their wet things to dry!
- They remember to shut the door!
- They think about not tracking the whole house with snow and mud!
I get all the same fun as when they were younger, but have none of the work.
Another amazing thing: No one grumbles today that the Internet is “down-ish”. We all have decided to do traditional snow-day fun and forget about the rest of the world. I love it. Board games, non-electric musical instruments, laundry hanging on wooden racks by the wood stove, homemade food, and watching birds have risen to the top of our most-selected activities list and everyone is content.
And I wonder: How is it in other homes? I hope you and yours enjoy a great day, today. I pray God grant you peace and contentment.
And snow.
Snow! And Ice! And Slush! Oh My!
Whew! What a treat this blast of winter has been!
We just returned last night from visiting our Texas granddaughter for her birthday. Now our fires are rebuilt, house is re-warmed, chicken water is thawed, and icy crud on the car is knocked off. We literally had to plow our way through winter precipitation along a three-hour drive.
In four hours.
I was surprised and blessed at how excited our passengers were. Our adult offspring, home on winter break, were like little children as they recalled rare snow days from their past and giggled in excitement over the frightening but beautiful scenes around us.
We all learned much about snow tires, black ice, legalities, and travel safety in snow-slush-ice. My husband, born in Iowa and raised in northern Missouri, practiced every safety tip he knew, as he drove us home. Since we were experiencing his expertise first hand, he used it for a teachable moment, in hopes the rest of us could somehow be safer one day, should we have to drive in such conditions.
We probably won’t drive anywhere today, though. When universities and government buildings close, it’s time to stay home.
Instead, we will build a snowman. The snow will be perfect and it is deep, from our southern viewpoint: six inches. We will make snow angels and have at least one good snowball fight, although, YES, we’re all adults. We’ll have a huge breakfast with meat, and I’ll cook chili for lunch. Of course, we need more hot cocoa mix, so I’ll stir that up, too.
It’ll be a family day off. Why not join us?
Hot Cocoa Mix
3 cups instant non-fat dry milk
1 cup sugar (OR 1 teaspoon stevia powder)
1/4 cup pure cocoa powder
Place all in blender and blend on high until pulverized and thoroughly mixed. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix for each serving hot water.
Chili
1 pound ground beef
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder (or less, to taste)
1 quart whole tomatoes
1 pint cannellini beans
1 large can Mexican style hominy
Black pepper to taste
Fry beef in oil until browned. Add onion and fry until clear and soft. Stir in rest, bring to boil, and serve with corn chips and grated cheese.
See ya’ tomorrow!
Sunday Scripture
May the Lord bless thee and keep thee.
May the Lord make His face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee His peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Saturday Saying
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Home's Cool! 