The BLESSING prayer

Prayer is powerful... it moves mountains. We all know that, but somehow it is easy to get busy and not finish our prayer list. I have found that the BLESSINGS prayer helps me stay on track... Helps me to really cover my husband in prayer. We could make one for our children, too! This way if I am praying and get distracted I can jump back in where I left off.... helps this scatter brained mama stay on track! :)

B-L-E-S-S-I-N-G-S prayer!
B= Body (health, strength, any physical issues)
L= Labor (all career and job issues. Favor with those he is around)
E= Emotions (ability to express, cope and thrive)
S= Sexual Fulfillment (need I say more! This is also a prayer for us wives)
S= Spiritual life/growth (A reminder that WE are NOT our husband's holy spirit)!!
I= Intimacy in marriage (communication at all levels)
N= Needs Met (A time to lift up particular needs)
G= Guidance and wisdom (As he goes through his day and makes decisions)
S= Social connections (godly friendships and hobbies)



Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Weekend Wanderings...link love

Weekend wanderings! This weekend I will be wondering through a local small town festival with the kids on Saturday and then on Sunday butchering up a hog. (yes, we will be missing church, but when our neighbor friends and pork producers called to give us an injured hog that couldn't load on the the semi we had to jump at the chance.) My husband has to work all weekend and so the entire butchering will be up to my brother-in-law, sister and me!! I think we can, I think we can, I think we can..... We have had plenty of butchering experience, but we have NEVER actually killed, gutted and skinned the pig without Chris (I have always just been his trusty assistant). So, you know I am going to be BUSY over the weekend..... I will leave you with some cool links to check out!

• First of all, don't forget to sign up for my Simple Family Supper MONEY WISE E-book give away!!!!
• Way cool chicken house!!! Perfect for a town dweller or a country dweller only wanting a few hens. (I don't have anything so cute, but I did order a new batch of chicks that will be here in a couple of weeks!)
• Pectin! Make your own!! Wow, I will just have to try this... one less thing to buy and just knowing HOW to make it on my own is so cool!!! I make so much jam that the cost of store bought pectin does add up.
• Soap Nuts! Huh??? My new favorite all natural (totally renewable) "green" cleaner. You can use it with everything from basic cleaning to laundry, in the dishwasher to the carpet cleaner. Read this great article!
• Hand stitched greeting cards look like a great winter time craft project. With a little help the kids could make these, too!! Go here to see tutorials on several patterns. Who wouldn't love getting one of these in the mail. I really like getting hand written notes in the mail... they are so special in our modern high tech world!
• Helicopter Parenting: Another reason I DON'T want to be one!!
• Former president of Proctor and Gamble writes a letter to Obama. I received this via email, but you can read it here, on "snoops"... it totally checks out..... INTERESTING!

UPDATE: Today is MONDAY and the we did NOT butcher the pig...... this one just wasn't for us!! LOL!!! He died overnight Friday night!! YIKES!! Good thing we didn't eat him... something was obviously more wrong with him then a pinched nerve! So, we did go to church and enjoyed the final church picnic of this summer season. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!!!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Money Saving Menu E-Book Give Away!!

In honor of releasing my Simple Family Supper MONEY WISE menu E-book I am hosting a give away! I am going to give away 5 copies of this budget blessing E-Book. To enter just leave a comment. To earn another entry simply let your readers know about the give-away and post a link to your blog post in the comment section. I will draw 5 random winners on Wednesday, September 16th. Enter today!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Money Wise Menu Plan

Choosing Simplicity:
Eating at home is a HUGE way to save money, eat healthier and build memories. The family meal is a powerful way to bless the family finances and family relationships.

The problem: Time, organization and kitchen skills.
It takes time to plan the menu, gather the recipes, make the shopping list and prepare the meals. It can be intimidating if you don't have much kitchen experience and we all lead such busy lives.

The solution: My Simple Family Supper!! Money Wise Menu E-book!! Eliminate the "What is for supper?" question from your life. I created this E-Book to help you simplify your life! Print off your copy today... Choose Simplicity!!

Money Wise Menu E-Book contains: (27 pages)

• 4 weeks of EASY to prepare, budget friendly menus (I mean EASY)
• All the simple to fix, family friendly recipes
• Detailed and organized weekly shopping lists
• Bonus desert recipes
  

Start saving money, reduce supper time stress and build family memories around the supper table!!

Simple Family Supper
Money Wise Menu E-book only $7.95

Menu Includes:

1. Dijon Pork Chops
2. Cheese Burger Pie
3. Smoked Sausage Chowder
4. Lasagna Soup
5. Roasted Chicken (The EASY way)
6. Chicken Tenders
7. Open Faced Pizza Subs
8. Melt in Your Mouth Meat Loaf
9. Sloppy Joe Potatoes
10. Easy Chicken Pot Pie
11. So Simple Salsa Chicken
12. Kids will Love it Chili
13. Carolina Pork
14. Chicken Tender Salad
15. "Meat Ball" Subs
16. Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
17. Almost Lasagna
18. Cheesy Potatoes with Sausage
19. Baked Subs
20. Buffalo Chicken Soup
    

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

New Chicks on the way!!!

I got rid of my OLD flock of chickens (so old they had given up laying) a few weeks ago with the intention of waiting till spring to get in a new flock. Ha! I missed them SO much!! I have had chickens for the last 5 1/2 years and LOVE them... crazy, I know! My husband kept telling me to go ahead and order chicks now.... it will be warm enough for the next couple of months to get them off to a great start and by spring we will have fresh eggs. So...... I ordered them! 25 hens... variety of breeds will be here in TWO weeks!!!!

The first time I mail ordered baby chicks it seemed so weird that they were coming via the mail!! The post office holds them and calls for me to pick up right away. I'm so excited... we are going to have babies in the family!


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Depression Era Chocolate Cake

I'm needing a chocolate fix and want to make something sweet for my hard working husband. Problem: No eggs! Brownie mix is therefore out of the question.... Oh, yeah!! The Depression Era Chocolate Cake doesn't take eggs (or milk or butter for that matter)!!! Bingo!! It is a frugal recipe that women could make during the great depression without using precious eggs, milk and butter.... it does use sugar, but rations were saved for a special treat like this. For me it comes in handy when I am out of eggs!

Here is the recipe... I have made it MANY times and it is always a hit... no frosting needed it is moist and yummy just by itself. Just double the recipe for a 9x13 pan.

Moist "depression era" chocolate cake:

Makes a 9x9 cake.

Sift Together

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add

1 cup cold water,

1/3 cup oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

(you won't taste the vinegar... it reacts with the soda to make it rise)

1 teaspoon vanilla.

Mix till smooth and pour into an 8" or 9" square pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 325* to 350 degrees F.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Harvest and "putting up" ** Plus an unusual recipe!

Harvest time = "Putting Up" time!! It is a busy time of the year, but oh how good it will all taste as the snow flies over winter. I have to tell you that it just does my heart good to see the shelves filling up with beautiful jars of produce and the freezers gaining their share as well. My Aunt Edna blessed me on Friday with 14 doz ears of corn which equaled 24 stuffed quart bags of corn in the freezer (plus the MANY ears we ate while I was "putting up")! Thank you, Aunt Edna!!

I will not lie.... Some days are LONG when I am "putting up" the harvest and attempting to keep up with everything else.... attempting being the key word because my husband said this morning "Any chance I could get some clean work pants and underwear for tomorrow before work?" OOPS!! He is such a patient man... even rubbing in bengay into my aching back last night.... I think I am officially OLD!! LOL

One of the new crops I raised this summer is Spaghetti Squash. It grew great and has been fun cooking with. We LOVE making spaghetti bake with it and for fun I just had to try this Mock Coconut Cream Pie recipe. Guess what! We really enjoyed it!!! I used cold processed coconut oil instead of the called for butter (cold processed keeps the coconut flavor in the oil) so the pie really did taste like coconut!!! Way COOL!!! I'm sure I will be making it again and plan on raising even more of this yummy squash next year. I love that coconut oil is GOOD for you! I have been trying hard to incorporate more and more into our everyday diet. I will post some links soon on the goodness of coconut oil. If you are the adventurous sort (or just like to try unusual recipes) give this one a try... (by the way, a serving of Spaghetti Squash only has 35 calories!!!!!)

Mock Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (or BUTTER), melted (cold processed coconut oil tastes like coconut)
  
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups cooked, shredded spaghetti squash
• 1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked (I used a graham cracker crust)
  
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
  
• 1 1/2 cups whipped cream for garnish (optional) (We didn't use this)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Beat the sugar and eggs together in a mixing bowl until light and frothy. Beat in the butter, lemon juice, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the spaghetti squash. Pour the mixture into the prebaked pie shell. If desired, dust the top with nutmeg and cinnamon.
3. Bake the pie in preheated oven until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack before serving. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Choosing Simplicity... EASY healthy crustless quiche

Reduce fat, prep work and money by simply skipping the crust the next time you make a quiche. This easy (and high protein) recipe can be used for any meal... I usually use it for supper. We eat "Breakfast" for supper on a regular basis.

We are having this recipe for supper.... we have had it several times and really like it. You can make it with ou without meat. My husband preferres it with meat so I generally add either diced and browned bacon or browned sausage, but I like it without added meat just as well. You could also add some veggies (broccoli or spinach) but my family would think I had lost my rocker if I did such a thing!!! LOL!! Something I would like to try is to bake it in a muffin pan or mini muffin pan.... Have you ever done it that way? I think that it would be great for kids and easy to warm up for a hot breakfast later in the week.... Next time I will have to try it.

EASY Crustless Quiche
*This recipe can be easily doubled*

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup shredded cheese
salt and pepper to taste
onion/garlic pepper OPTIONAL
Browned bacon or sausage OPTIONAL

Directions:
Put all ingredients except meat in blender and blend till smooth.
Stir in browned optional meat.
Grease a deep dish pie pan and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Pour batter into pie pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until center is set.

*If you double the recipe it will take longer to bake if you do it all in a pie pan. You could also bake a double batch in a 9x13 baking pan and it won't take more time*


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Picture from www.allposters.com

After the storm....

We had a storm blow through this evening complete with a trip to the basement due to the Tornado warning. All is well and really had no damage. Later as I was tucking the kiddos into bed I looked out Wes' window and had to run downstairs, grab my camera and capture the amazing light shining through the clouds. My new view does give me some thing to photograph. Enjoy!! I guess that the "Gold at the end of the rainbow" is a wind turbine!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

CUTENESS!!!

Thank God He gave me at least ONE girl!! With 3 sons my daughter and I at least have each other!! Robyn is past the age of dressing in totally "cute" clothes, now she has moved on to beautiful. Each season is wonderful and must be enjoyed to the fullest! A local gal I know sews the most ADORABLE clothing! Please check her site out, you will not be disappointed! If you have a young girl she you will love the way she looks in these quality, handmade items!!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Dancing the night away!

Whew... are we out of shape! We did have a BLAST on our country western dancing date night last night (Thank you, Melissa for keeping the kids over night!)!!! We danced, we laughed and we remembered that we USED to know how to dance. Some of it did come back and I was very excited to still remember one of my favorites, the sweetheart scottish (although the super fast and LONG song about winded me for the rest of the night)!! I REALLY need to get back in shape! It was nice seeing some of our old dancing buddies (read way back before kids when we used to have a social life, friends).

There was this couple there that is in their early 70's and they were on the dance floor for almost EVERY song.... unbelievable the moves they could make!!! What an inspiration. We are going to try to go a couple of Fridays/month. I think it will be good for us... both our marriage and our bodies!! We have a teen baby-sitter now!!! That is HUGE! The kids are also getting older so we NEED to make our Date nights a priority... I want to have some FUN with my husband... alone!

Well, have a blessed weekend... while I hobble around with sore muscles!! No, not that bad, just a little stiff!

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Urgent Notice

My home based menu planning business, www.simplefamilysupper.com
is TEMPORARILY shutting down.

I have to work out some technical difficulties and want to make the system more efficient for all involved.

I sent out a notice email with the next FOUR months of menus attached to all current subscribers. If for some reason you are a paid up member and did not recieve the email please let me know right away. simplefamilysupper @ ffni. com I have canceled all active subscribers so that no one is charged anything while I am temporarliy closed.

The website will be back SOON.... Better than ever and with some NEW services and options!!! If you have any questions regaurding this please email me right away.

Thank you,
Heather
simplefamilysupper @ ffni. com

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

Love my "country life" morning sounds!! The sounds of our rooster crowing his morning song, the chirps and whistles of birds in the trees, my son on the back porch playing with our kittens are the music of my early morning life!! The windows are open, the screen door letting in light... Choosing Simplicity is taking the time to just LISTEN to the beautiful sounds of life all around me. I almost think I can hear the garden growing... at least I hope I can hear the tomatoes turning red! LOL! In all seriousness, it is so easy to rush through everything and miss wonderful moments in life! Not today. Today is for ENJOYING all the simple and beautiful things that God created.

Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

One more BIG step!!

We are working our way to 100% DEBT FREE!!!!
Today we completed refinancing our house.... we now have replaced our 30 year mortgage ( with 23.5 years remaining) with a 15 year one. We saved 8.5 years and 1.32% interest!!!! All in all this shaves of something like $50,000 in interest over the life of the loan!! YEAH!!!! We are hoping to pay it off even sooner, but just knowing that we have already shaved off 8.5 years is a WONDERFUL feeling!!!!


Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather

If only I had a maid!!

This past week has been a week of facing weariness. Life is not easy, even when making deliberate choices to "Choose Simplicity". The fact is we live in a fallen world full of difficulties. However, my God is more than FAITHFUL!!! With God all things are possible and we can live victoriously!! Anyway, I was encouraged and challenged by the following article and thought you might enjoy it, too. Have a wonderful weekend.... we are off to hit some yard sales.....! My idea of a FUN Saturday morning!!!


If I Only Had a Maid
by Blair Massey

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10:40 (NIV)

Have you ever felt like Martha? You look at all the things you need to do and think, "How can I get this done by myself? Oh, if only I had a maid!"

If you've looked at the woman in Proverbs 31, you've seen that she was someone who accomplished a lot. I remember thinking to myself, "How is she able to get so much done? She has the same 24 hours in a day that I do, how come she is able to be so productive? "

After many years of studying the Proverbs 31 woman I can tell you that there are five things she does that guarantee her success. Let's take a look at a few of the passages pertaining to the Proverbs 31 woman to see what we can learn from her.

1. She Worked Early.

"She rises while it is yet night and gets food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks." Proverbs 31:15 (Amplified Bible)

Yes, that's right. She was up early in the morning. Not only was she up early, she was "working" early. Notice that she was busy preparing breakfast for everyone in her household. In today's world we don't have to get up before dawn to make breakfast, but there is much that we can accomplish when we get up early.

Oh, I can just hear some of you moaning, "I'm not a morning person." Well, I understand how you feel. I felt the same way myself. Then I realized that God thought it was so important that He put it in the Bible. This is the kind of thing you have to put into practice before you have a change of heart about it. It was that way for me. The Lord had to show my stubborn heart over and over that I need to get up early before I understood its benefits.

Now, I get up early with a joyful heart. I am able to have my quiet time with the Lord, shower and get ready, put in a load of laundry and get organized for the day. When I do these things early I am ready for just about anything that comes my way that day because I have prepared my heart and my mind.

2. She Worked with Strength

"She girds herself with strength and strengthens her arms." Proverbs 31:17 (NKJ)

The Proverbs 31 woman was no couch potato. She understood that in order to do all that she had to do, that she must be in good physical shape. She knew that her family depended on her and therefore her health was important to her.

It is easy to get busy with taking care of your family and end up neglecting your own physical well-being. Making sure that you are eating right and getting enough exercise is important. How else are you going to be able to pick up your crying toddler, vacuum the house, clean out the car, play with your children and still have energy left to have a romantic time with your husband (if you get my drift)? You have to be in good physical shape.

3. She Worked Smart

"...and assigns her maids their tasks." Proverbs 31:15 (Amplified Bible)

I remember when it hit me that the Proverbs 31 woman had maids working for her. I thought, "How unfair it is that she had maids and I have to do all this work on my own (pout, pout)."

Then the Lord opened my eyes. He helped me realize how many maids I actually had! There was the washing machine and dryer, the vacuum cleaner, the dish washer, the microwave, the slow cooker, the oven, the toaster, the coffee pot and my favorite -- the bread machine. When I stopped to think about it, all my appliances were performing services just like the maids of the Proverbs 31 woman. How convicting. No more pouting for me!

Now I use all my maids, I mean appliances, to their full potential. I finally realized that I needed to work smarter not harder. Delegation was the key. After all, the Lord had blessed me with theses machines. Why was I not using them as I should? Now, on any given day you will find that I have my bread machine, slow cooker and my washer and dry going so that I am free to be productive in other areas of watching over my home.

4. She Worked Carefully

"She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness." Proverbs 31:27 (NLT)

This was a woman who was on top of things. She understood that what went on in her home was her responsibility. She carefully watched over everything and made sure that whatever needed to get done got done. She didn't let anything distract her. She had a plan and she worked her plan.

5. She Worked for the Lord

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

The Proverbs 31 woman did have one secret weapon in her home management arsenal. Today, that secret weapon is available to all Christian Homemakers. What was her secret? She had a healthy fear of the Lord.

She feared the Lord not because she was afraid of Him but because she had a healthy respect for the Him. She wanted to do what was right in His eyes because she loved Him. What she did, she did whole-heartedly out of love for the Lord.

She also knew that she could rely on Him to help her with all that He had asked her to do. This woman didn't run around fretting about getting things done or complaining that her load was too great. She got her strength from praying to the Lord.

We all have times when we feel overwhelmed by our responsibilities. Many times I have thought how nice it would be to have someone come in and take care of things for me. But that is not what managing a home is about. If we take the time to learn from the Proverbs 31 woman we will see that although she had a lot to do she was wise about how she did it. We can all be as productive as the Proverbs 31 woman if we put these five principals into practice.

© 2002 - 2009 Blair Massey


Christian Lifestyle expert Blair Massey publishes the popular Christian Homemaking Newsletter with over 20,000 subscribers. If you're ready to get organized, manage your time better, and provide a peaceful, beautiful home for your family, sign up for her FREE newsletter now at www.christian-homemaking.com