Farmer's Market here I come!!

Tomorrow will be the FIRST day for a local 2011 Farmer's Market and it will be the first day of my first season as a vender!!  I am very excited and a little nervous.  I will be selling produce from our garden (as soon as we have some) and flowers from my many flower beds.  However, I am specializing in Baking Mixes and Seasoning Mixes.  I LOVE to cook and bake from scratch and I believe that eating whole foods is best for our bodies and for our families.  I want to help others enjoy whole foods by helping them with some of the work.

Pray for me!  I really want this to be an opportunity to meet new people, develop new skills and also earn some income for our family.  I want to continue to be a stay at home housewife/mom so a job like this is perfect.


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

My addiction is broke! I am FREE!!

"You had an addiction?"  I hear you asking.  Yes.  Addicted to myself.  My SELFISHNESS led me to a computer addiction, an escape from real life!  YIKES!!! 

When I felt God calling me to give up recreational computer use for lent I was sure I was hearing things wrong.... but I finally decided to follow HIS leading and give it up... for an entire lent season.  Let me tell ya.... the first week was HARD the second week was still hard and after that I had days that were hard!  I was so used to plopping myself down in front of this ol' thing and disappearing into a world beyond my own four walls and my own four children.  I had made my daily escapes from home such a habit that when I felt such strong withdrawal pains I had to admit the truth.... I was addicted to this 'escape' method.  I was feeding my selfishness rather than LIVING the life that God has given me.  I was trying to escape from the mundane parts of life (dishes, laundry, homework, sibling rivalry, etc).

I know it sounds horrible.... but I had so many nicer words for my addiction.... such as connection, learning, research, relaxation, fun, friends, and even more holy ones such as ministry, encouragement, insight and learning.   Ha!  Hogwash!!  The truth was is that I have used the internet as a selfish tool more than I have used it for good.  I selfishly waste time, energy and precious moments I could have with REAL people by leaving home via my computer.  Even if I physically stayed home all day, my heart and my mind were off somewhere else way too much!!


As the withdrawal symptoms reared I spent a lot more time in prayer.  I had to give these feelings to God.  I was sacrificing this selfish part of my life to him as an offering.  I wanted Christ to work in my heart.  He did!!  My prayer life deepened and I have felt His presence so much more.   I spent a lot more time listening to praise music, more time reading the Bible and other good books, more time baking and doing projects and more time talking and having fun with my children and husband.


My life is far from perfect, but I tell ya FREEDOM is a wonderful thing.  Lent finished as we celebrated Christ's ultimate sacrifice for us.  Celebrating LIFE in JESUS!!

Now that lent is over and I can technically get back on the computer I have to tell you I don't have much desire.  FREEDOM is wonderful and I don't want to end back up in bondage......  I want to live my life free from addiction of any kind.  (ok... I might still have a few such as chocolate and fountain sodas!!)  Whom that the SON sets FREE is free indeed and I want to stay that way.  I know myself... if I'm not careful I will allow my flesh to get sucked back in.


I will be VERY, very limited on my recreational computer usage.  I want my time on the computer to bring my savior glory, not feed my selfishness.   So please don't take it personally if I don't visit your blog as much or write here too often.... just know that for right now I am learning to deny my flesh and follow Christ.

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING! Heather

Making some tough choices....

Lent.   This is a relatively new thing to our family.... we did not practice lent as I was growing up.  However, I believe that fasting is a very important thing to do and that  lent is a deliberate time of fasting and focusing on the gift of salvation that Christ gave us.  For the past couple of years each one of us in our family has given something important/something that we hold dear.  Usually, I feel God call me to give up sugar.... I have a huge sweet tooth.  However, this year I feel Him calling me to something different.... something tougher.

Computer.  Blog.  Facebook.  What!!!!  Really God?? Really??  What about all the things I learn?  All my readers??  What about all the friends I have online??  YIKES!!  As I have resisted giving up computer I realize that the computer has become a very ME, MY, I kind of thing.  I spend time on here that should/could be much better spent serving my family, playing with my kids, reading to my children,  praying, reading my bible, reaching out to others, helping at my children's school, and the list goes on.  If I'm really honest (which is a little tough to do when confronting ones own weakness) I spend WAY too much time on the computer.  The computer is a great resource for me.... I look up countless things from recipes to questions about my chickens, to growing potatoes to which president is on the US nickle.  All kinds of wonderful and interesting things to be found!!  I also have connected with some amazing Christian women and am encouraged, inspired and convicted by posts I read.  It has been a tool for growth in my life, one for which I am very grateful for.

However, on the flip side I use it to ESCAPE the mundane responsibilities of homemaking, of life.   I use it to escape the realities of real life...the parts that are not so pleasant..... like doing dishes and dealing with attitudes.  I use it to COMPARE myself, to judge my abilities... this is both good and bad.  Usually I end up falling short of all the cool things others do and have.  The computer has become a too big a part of my daily life.  Yikes!

Giving up the computer for lent will not be easy... I know that my flesh will be going through withdrawal... I will have to LEAN on Christ rather than on computer breaks.  My energy, my refueling will have to come from HIM rather than gleaned inspiration from others. 

I will miss ya all!!  But I answer to the call and am going on a computer fast.  I have done other fasts from the computer and they have been very beneficial in my life.  I always loose 'readers', but I gain much more in my heart.  When how many readers I have becomes too great a worth in my life I know it is time to re-evaluate.  So, I bid you all a LENT farewell!  Taking some time to FOCUS on our Savior and what HE wants for my life!!


Participating in lent is a growing experience.  As always, why am I surprised that when we DENY our FLESH we are able to HEAR Christ more fully??  Why does my FLESH cry out so selfishly for the ME, MY and I things??  Maybe this time I will really get it!!  My prayer is that during this no computer time my Spirit will be zoned in on hearing my savior!  That I will GROW in HIS love!!


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather
What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Getting myself straighted up!!

I look around and my eyes automatically head straight for the "undone" things... the basket of laundry needing folded, the games at the bottom of the stairs, the boots sitting out..... My ears prick to the whining, to the disrespectful tones.   My fleshly nature is to see and hear the negative, the undone, the frustrations.... the total opposite of how I want to be!!  It takes a deliberate effort to focus on the positive, the good, the fun, the right.   However, I know I am not alone and I know that she has also found the wonderful antidote to this heart matter.... gratitude.

CHOOSING simplicity = CHOOSING to focus on the GOOD!!  This is not automatic in my life... yet.. but as I CHOOSE this way of life it is getting easier and easier!!

This morning as I was getting myself and the kids (plus the 2 children that come for before school childcare) ready for the day my mind was at battle within my.  My silent litany on all the things I should have gotten done over the weekend, the things I need to do, the ways I'm not 'good enough', etc.  I was working myself up in a tither... why????  Why do I this to myself.  Finally, I had enough and deliberately CHOSE to change the direction in my mind and start telling myself all the good!!  There is a TON of GREAT things about the last several days and as I focused on them my heart began to relax, my mind began to have peace and my Spirit thanked me for following the way of gratitude.  Ahhh... so much better!!

So what kind of GOOD things do I have to focus on??

Thursday mornings I spend with a fantastic group of ladies as we are working our way through Elizabeth George's book A Woman's High Calling.   You all know how much I value real life friendship and this new group of ladies is a HUGE blessing in my life!!  I have been a part of a Women's Bible study for the past 4 years.... it is vital to me.  However, I felt God calling me to start a new group at my house with local ladies from my own rural area and small town.  (the group I was in before was in the "big town" about 30 minutes away)  It was hard to pull away from my previous group... such a fabulous group of women after God's own heart!  In fact it took me nearly 6 months to follow God's leading.  God's growth sometimes requires us to step out of our comfort zone!!

On Friday I spent the morning with a friend teaching her how to make bread.  We laughed, we talked, we kneaded dough!  We had a blast and we enjoyed a big cinnamon role fresh from the oven.  Another day of friendship and fun time in the kitchen... two of my favorite things!!

Friday evening my husband and our only daughter, Robyn(age 11),  joined other Dads and daughters from Robyn's Bible study group for a Daddy Daughter date night at a nice restaurant followed by a movie.  They both got all dressed up and had a great time together.  Robyn enjoyed it so much and she felt so special.  It means so much to a girl to hear her Dad tell her she is loved and beautiful and to be treated like a lady.  It fills her heart so that she doesn't need to be out looking for other guys to tell her these things!!  I am so thankful that my husband does a good job of telling her she is pretty, loved and valuable.

While Chris and Robyn were out Friday evening the boys and I ate FUN food (corn dogs and french fries), played rounds and rounds of UNO and then watched two movies.

When I start to feel the pressure of so much to do (there is always a ton to do) I CHOOSE to focus on all that I did get accomplished over the weekend:

• Planted seeds inside by our south window in preparations for the GARDEN!!  Yippee!!  I planted peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, sage, chives, leeks and a flat of aster flowers
• Planned menus for the next two weeks and wrote out the shopping list
• Went shopping with my daughter... fun time... haven't been shopping with her in a few months since I normally shop while they are at school.
• Unloaded and put away all the groceries with a bunch of help from my family.... :)
• Finished up our new black board wall (I will write a post about that soon) and filled it with a BIRTHDAY drawing in celebration of our Ethan's 8th birthday this week.
• Made a big batch of "Better Butter"
• Packaged up individual baggies of things for packing school and work lunches (this makes the moring rush so much easier).
• Made a batch of cookie bars (didn't turn out as good as I hoped, but we are not having any trouble eating them)
• READ for several relaxing hours!!!!

I do have SO very many wonderful accomplishments to focus on and I also need to remind myself that my VALUE does not come from what I DO... It comes from WHO I am in CHRIST!!

Well... I need to get OFF the computer and start my day strong.  I have an extra special task today: baking cupcakes for our Ethan to take to school tomorrow in celebration of his birthday!  I'm also going to brown up 10 pounds of ground meat to freeze for later use (Efficient Cooking) and have a mountain of laundry to tackle.  I am CHOOSING to have a GREAT day and a day full of living out the plan and purpose God has for me.  Doing laundry, cooking and baking cupcakes are all MINISTRY work that God has given to me as wife and mother!!  Praise the Lord!!



Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Discover What your LOVE Language is.....

 Taking this 5 Love Language assessment from Gary Chapman is easy and fun!  They have one for husbands, wives, singles, teenagers and children.  My husband and I took it a couple of years ago and I learned that his love languages are NOT what I thought they were!!  Man, and after all that effort that could have been spent more wisely and effectively.....  Oh, well... any effort to show love is good, but hitting the mark with their love language is much better.  We found that we actually have the same primary love language: Words of affirmation.  Learning this has helped me focus on SPEAKING and writing  words of respect and encouragement to him.  It is also easier for me to express this love language because I know how much I love it.

Anyway, I'm going to have my 2 oldest children take the assessment..... I wonder if I have them figured out correctly!  I'm all for learning how to better love my family.

Have you taken this assessment??  What did you discover was your primary love language??

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

I discovered a VALUABLE resource!!

Homemakers by choice has been around for a long time..... but I just found them last week.  I have been listening to  podcasts while I work around our home.  Let me tell you I have been BLESSED.  What an incredible source of encouragement, inspiration and an occasional swift kick in the....  Folding laundry and doing dishes has been a great time for me to soak in these powerful messages.

Have you ever heard of this ministry??  If so, what is one of your favorite messages.  If they are new to you, too.... check them out and then let me know what ya think!

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather
What is for supper?? Eliminate this daily stress from your life! http://www.simplefamilysupper.com

Helping my children WALK with Jesus!!

Keys for Kids!!! We LOVE it! Growing up it was a part of our family devotions. I loved the stories as a child and learned so much about God. Today, I am the parent helping my children learn to WALK their everyday life with Jesus and we use Keys for Kids as part of our tools.

We have used Keys for Kids for five years and this year we started using the PODCAST version. After all those years listening to MOM (me) read (the printed version of Keys for Kids) the kids find it MUCH, much, much cooler to listen to Uncle Charlie! I have to admit, hearing his voice brings back wonderful memories of listening to the Children's Bible Hour when I was young.

The stories in the Keys for Kids really make WALKING out the word of God come alive. The stories are very relate-able, realistic and interesting. The Godly principles taught will last a life time.

So, what do my kids have to say??
My oldest son Wesley (age 13), says that Keys for Kids is a good devotional to use because "the stories are good and apply to real life even though I am getting a little old for them". My daughter, Robyn (age 11) enjoys Keys because "It helps helps me get through the day because they help me learn what to do". My son Ethan (age 7) says he likes Keys for Kids because "I love God and they help me learn about my life and what to do." My son, Nate (age 6), says Keys is good because "we love God and it helps us to learn not to say bad words and other bad things and it helps our heart".


If you are looking for a way to help FEED your children's SPIRITUAL life you might enjoy Keys for kids, too!! If you are already using Keys, what is your favorite thing about this devotional?? Did you use Keys for Kids when you were growing up??

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Babies on the way!!!

25 Baby Chicks to be exact! They will be here the middle of April.... really ready for spring, now!!
We haven't had any chickens since last fall and I'm ready for farm fresh eggs again. Nothing compares to an egg collected right out your back door. Here is a picture of my old flock... so much enjoyment!

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Take advantage... FREE February eddition of Simple Family Supper

The month long give away is winding up.... MARCH is almost here!!! You have no idea how much I look forward to SPRING!!! Ok.. off subject. DOWNLOAD your FREE copy of my February Simple Family Supper Menu Plan Kit E-book today.

ENJOY some wonderful SIMPLE suppers with your family. This menu plan does not have dates.. you can jump in anytime, any month of the year.


Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Choosing Simplicity: Choosing to ENJOY what we have

Sometimes it is easy to think that living a "simple life" is all about giving things up. To some extent that is very true. We have chosen to "give up" many things that a majority of Americans live with. Some of the things we live without are a bit more radical (such as NOT using our furnace) and some are pretty easy (such as not eating out much). My favorite thing to live with out is DEBT!! We only have our very affordable mortgage and a SMALL work truck loan that will be paid off soon. Talk about less stress than when we began our journey to simplicity 6 years ago!

Instead of focusing on giving things up we choose to focus on enjoying what we choose to keep. For example, my husband and I both LOVE coffee. We do not buy coffee out, but instead choose to ENJOY good coffee made at home for a fraction of the cost. I even splurge and buy real half and half to put in my coffee. Every morning we enjoy a nice cup of coffee together in our own kitchen and Chris packs a thermos to go along with him to work. We have travel mugs that we put to use also. We ENJOY the coffee we make at home and don't lament about "not being able to stop at starbucks". I have also experimented with some great coffee recipes and make a mean Frozen Mocha Frapachino!

Choosing Simplicity is about BALANCE! Some things you give up, some things you keep. The bottom line is that we really ENJOY and appreciate the things we keep in our life. We choose to have a POSITIVE attitude and focus on ENJOYING life rather than have discontentment for all the things we don't have. There are days that one of use will slip into discontentment, but it doesn't take long to get back on track when we are reminded of the many wonderful blessings of living a simple life.

Last night my husband and I went out on a date! We did eat out (!) and we ENJOYED it!! However, we also enjoy our times out when we eat at home before we leave. It really is all in the way we CHOOSE to enjoy it.

ENJOY what you have in your life and CHOOSE carefully what you keep. I have been surprised by how much sheer delight I can have in the most simple of things.


Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather


ENJOY supper together with your family!!!! Download your FREE copy of my February Simple Family Supper menu plan kit E-book today!

It's OK to have some convience foods in your kitchen!!

Really, it is OK!! Big weight off the "cook from scratch" shoulders.

Perfection is a killer. We too often hold ourselves to unrealistic expectations. Yes, I want the BEST for my family. I want them to eat healthy and yummy food. However, ultimately what is BEST for them is having a CHEERFUL Mom!! When I get over stressed I'm not always so cheerful... in fact we had some extra stress this week and some things had to give.

There are days that convenience food is PERFECTLY perfect for our family. This week we had cold meat sandwiches and frozen pizza!! Yep, and they were yummy! Yesterday was a more "normal" day and I was able to get some yummy bacon, cheddar and veggie chowder in the crock pot. We sat at the table and ate a made from scratch, whole foods meal. Know what?? It was great food but the time together at the table is what matters most! Whether it is a frozen pizza, PB&J's, cereal or a made from scratch meal it is the FAMILY time that matters most!!

So, let me give you some encouragement.... it is OK to have some convenience foods in your life. Your kids NEED a smiling mom!

For the LOVE of FAMILY I want to help you be a smiling MOM! Download your FREE copy of my Simple Family Supper Menu Plan kit E-Book today!!!! It has everything you need: 4 weeks of menus, easy to prepare recipes and detailed shopping lists.


Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Choosing Simplicity... Back up Coffee maker

Paradise = Morning Coffee!!

Back up comes in VERY handy when the coffee pot decides to be DONE! I knew that our coffee pot was on its last leg but I wasn't worried about replacing it just yet because we have a CHEAP extra one stored in the basement.

This week our well worked coffee pot decided to completely QUIT. My husband woke me up at 5 am in distress.... "The coffee pot is dead!". I calmly reminded him about the extra one and we didn't have to fumble our way through the day without our morning jump start!! Yeah, for the extra one!

We have now replaced the daily use coffee pot and the extra (mega CHEAP) one is back in its box to be used some other day. We also use this extra coffee pot when we have company and we need both regular and decaf.

Happy coffee drinking husband!!


Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather


For the LOVE of FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!
Download your FREE Simple Family Supper E-book today.

Sometimes I'm a grump....

Yep. Grumpy. Not pretty.

Not good.

Not cute.

What to do about it??

Admit what is really at the root.... what is really bothering me?? Sometimes life is HARD!

Should I really take it out on my family? NO!

Oh, Jesus, forgive me!! Family forgive me!!

Deliberately CHANGE my attitude.. yes, that can be done. Hard, but very, very possible.

Rest in GRACE, move on.

Smile, be thankful, be content.

Give a hug, receive a hug.

Eat some chocolate!

Turn on some praise music

Get some extra sleep.

How about you?? How do you handle the grumps??

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Don't be grumpy about supper!! Download the FREE Simple Family Supper menu plan kit E-book today! For the LOVE of FAMILY!!!!

A very special #100 indeed!

How exciting 100 followers... and #100 is a very special lady in my REAL life!!! Brook and I have been friends for 11 years. She is a fantastic woman of God, wife, mother to 6 and friend. I am blessed to call her friend, one I can always count on! Thank you, Brook, for being such a good friend. Visit Brook's website... she is a very talented seamstress and I have been blessed by her handiwork many times. She specializes in all things baby.... adorable, quality and practical.

Have a BLESSED day,
BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Download your FREE copy of my Simple Family Supper February Menu Plan Kit E-Book... For the love of family I am giving this e-book away for the entire month! Grab your copy today and let others know!!! Thank you!

I'm at 99 followers.... Who is going to be the amazing 100??

Crazy... 99!!! Wow! Who wants to be the special #100?? Click the link in the sidebar to 'follow' to be the one.

Don't forget to download your very own copy (FREE for this month) of my Simple Family Supper February Menu Plan Kit E-book. Enjoy some stress free suppertime memories with your family.


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather