A Response to Protests and a Prayer For Our Country

I have really struggled with what to say and think and feel since January 29 when some truckers and sympathetic friends converged in Ottawa to let our government know that they represented many who wanted mandates to end. I have made no secret of the fact that I believe a person should have the freedom to choose their medical treatments, and preventative therapies, without fear of losing their livelihood, and as such, I was happy to see a group of people coming together to make known that there were many people who felt this way.

But so many things have happened since January 27, the day I stood on a bridge and waved at the men and women driving those trucks and cars. Many things have happened that have been lawful and peaceful. Many things have happened that are unlawful and hateful. Many people, who simply want to know that the most powerful people in Canada have heard their voices, have been left standing in the cold, their calls unheeded. Many people took matters into their own hands and decided to make life harder for the rest of the city, province, and/or country. Many media reports have grossly misrepresented people on all sides of what is happening around our country.

I have watched on and off with a mixture of hope, concern, and trepidation, but I’ve tried to maintain an attitude of prayerful trust in God who is over it all, because regardless of the laws and freedoms in my country, I can still serve God with everything I have.

And while I see reports of people losing access to the money in their bank accounts, I know that everything I have comes from God, belongs to God, and is used for His glory. So I’m not worrying about whether the government’s newly approved and extended Emergencies Act powers will one day lead to problems with buying or selling or paying bills, because my allegiance lies with the Creator of the universe and He will certainly meet all my needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Rather, I continue to store up treasures in heaven by loving on those around me, sharing with those in need. Whether a person agrees with me or not on any matters of the day, we all bear the image of God and should be treated with love and kindness.

Some of you have felt a personal conviction to silently submit to the letter of the law and others have felt a personal conviction to peacefully protest a law that you see as unjust... Wherever you find yourselves, I want you to join me here, trusting all of this to God in prayer: 

 Let us pray that we would be people mindful of God’s favour and glad to do His will. That God would bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. That He would save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. That God would defend our liberties, and fashion into one people, united under God, the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Let us pray that God would endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in His Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to His law, we may show forth His praise among the nations of the earth. Let us pray that in the time of prosperity, God would fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, He would suffer not our trust in Him to fail. And let us pray all of this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen (Prayer adapted from the Book of Common Prayer – A Prayer for Our Country)

Peanuts, Woodsmoke, and Viruses

A friend recently shared a post to social media pointing out that exposure to peanuts can cause extreme harm (even death) to kids at school. As such, schools tend to have rules in place that prohibit anyone from bringing peanut products into that environment. This ensures that schools are “peanut-free zones” and those young students can learn without fear of illness.

The post went on to say that parents willingly participate in this community effort to protect the kids who may be at risk. The message encouraged parents to be thoughtful, compassionate citizens so that their children could, in turn, learn to be kind and compassionate citizens. The post ended with “Agree or disagree, but it’s the same thing [as wearing a mask.]”

Several thoughts went through my head, but I decided the best response would be to tell you about my stove.

I have a wood stove in my basement. It heats my house for most of the winter. Once a week we let the fire die out and cool down so we that can remove the ashes.  And once the box has been emptied, we start it back up again from scratch. Most of us in the house are used to doing this and understand what is needed to get it going quickly and efficiently. But every so often we get a little too sure of ourselves and think we can start it without as much paper or wood kindling as usual. Our pride takes over and we think we can coax that small flame to consume a cold log with just a couple small sticks and a piece of paper. Inevitably, we find ourselves watching the fire die out, while a growing cloud of smoke works its way through the tiny gaps in the seal of the door.

In another moment or two, with the smoke detector screaming to us the blatantly obvious fact that our entire basement is filling with smoke, we open our windows and point a fan at those windows, hoping to force that smoke outside as quickly as possible so we can breathe again.  My asthmatic daughter avoids the room, hoping to keep her lungs clear and exchanging air, as designed. It takes a while for the smoke to dissipate but eventually it does and we can breathe in that room again.

I continue to be amazed that smoke can get through those tiny spaces in the seal of the door and fill my entire basement so quickly.

And I think that reveals the truth of how masks work -  They form a physical barrier in front of the face. They are designed to keep debris/droplets from entering or leaving the facial area. But unless a person is wearing a perfectly fitted and sealed respirator (more on that below), there are leaks much bigger than the leaks in my wood stove. And that person is breathing aerosols in and out a lot more consistently than the smoldering fire in my wood stove.

Now imagine that each child in a classroom is like my wood stove with a sealed door, and that instead of smoke leaking out, it is a virus.  Are those children protected from that virus? Unless they are protecting themselves by wearing a properly fitted respirator, I can assure you that the virus is getting into their lungs in the air they are breathing.

Water vapour escaping from a properly worn N95 mask.

Back to the peanut allergy - If there was a device that a person with a peanut allergy could wear to ensure they weren’t exposed to peanuts, wouldn’t they wear it?

 Believe it or not, there are devices that people can wear to ensure they are not exposed to this virus (properly fitted respirators that can filter particles 0.1 microns in size), but very few are wearing them. Why are parents not choosing to send their children with these?

(And for the sake of clarification, I feel that it’s best to point out that a properly fitted and properly functioning respirator has gone through safety checks, is properly fitted to the wearer’s face at all times, is regularly inspected for degradation to the seal, is placed on the wearer by someone with proper training, and is worn by someone with proper training.)

Am I advocating for all children in schools to wear properly fitted and properly functioning respirators? Not at all. But if a parent has legitimate concerns for their child's health, any self-respecting school and/or health system would certainly allow for that safety measure to be put in place to protect that specific child.

In the meantime, let's stop pretending that masks are an effective means of protecting us or others from the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

Screenshot of properly worn N95 respirator taken from TikTok user @chadroyvermont's video.

For more information on how masks, respirators, and other safety measures should or should not be employed to protect oneself from small particles and viruses, check out this interview with Industrial Hazards specialist Stephen Petty.

Disclaimer: I am not an Industrial Hazards specialist, nor am I an Epidemiologist, Virologist, or any other kind of professional-ologist who has special knowledge of how to keep you safe from any particular dangers.  I'm just a Mom with a wood stove.

Birdfeeder Battles

(I just found this unpublished note from September 2016.  I'm hitting "Publish" now...)

I recently acquired some bird feeders. Before investing too much I waited to see if the birds would come. They did.

So I bought a more durable feeder and some more expensive seed that would attract colourful birds and songbirds.

Enter The Squirrel.

I spent a good portion of yesterday morning warring with The Squirrel.

He hung down from the branch and are my sunflower seeds.

I went out and yelled at him.

He left.

I went inside.

The Squirrel hung down from the same branch eating seeds from the same feeder.

I went out and yelled at him.

He left.

I went inside.

The next time I looked out the window, the feeder had its top removed and The Squirrel was shamelessly eating seeds directly out of the now-wide opening.

I went out, took the feeder down, and brought it inside. I would win this battle.

A few minutes later? The Squirrel was hanging on the other feeder (which was also now topless), shamelessly eating sunflower seeds.

More yelling.

I took that feeder down as well.

I had to figure something out.

After a trip to Home Depot, I had some 'S' hooks. I attempted to rig my feeders so that they were hanging from the tree branches, with enough lead that The Squirrel could not reach it.

I was too short.

One ladder later, I was still too short.

I needed reinforcements.

Moments later I had my youngest up in the tree, much higher than I'd want him to go any other day. He put the pieces of twine over the branches for me. I suspended two feeders with 'S' hooks and went back inside to watch.

The Squirrel attempted re-entry with no success.

I decided to count that as a win for me.

~

Later that morning I went to the backyard to check on my garden. I stopped short when I saw my second Dollar Store feeder on THE GROUND, The Squirrel flaunting his mid-morning snack in my face. I chased him away and surveyed the damage. One crack, but the feeder was salvageable. The seeds, on the other hand, were not. Many of the sunflower seeds were split open already. My bird friends would not appreciate those being scooped back into the feeder.

I fixed the feeder with some twine, hung it from another 'S'-hooked rope and retreated to a rear-facing window to stealthily watch.

The Squirrel scampered around to no avail. He could not reach it.

~

A day later, The Squirrel is still munching on his felled loot, but has not reached the feeders again.

BONUS: This morning I saw a bright goldfinch feeding in the front. We have a cardinal couple that is enjoying our seeds as well. Now that The Squirrel has been bested (at least for now) we're finally able to sit back and enjoy our bird-friends!

Vanilla Bean Scones

Vanilla Bean Scones

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Because it's fun to bake with friends even from far away...
Open up your favourite video conferencing tool and make a date to hang out and bake with your favourite people!

Materials needed:

3 baking sheets (at least 1 with sides)

at least 1 cooling rack

parchment paper or silicone baking mats

pastry blender

rolling pin

various measuring cups

large flat knife

large mixing bowl

medium mixing bowl

INGREDIENTS:

Scones:

2 vanilla beans (or 2 tsp vanilla)

3/4 cup heavy cream

3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cups granulated sugar

5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

1 egg

Glaze:

1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla)

1/2 cup whole milk

3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1) Split 2 vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise. Scrape out all the caviar inside and stir caviar into cream along with the pods; set aside for 15 minutes. (If no vanilla beans, simply add vanilla to cream and set aside.)

2) Sift together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into large mixing bowl. Incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Remove pods from the cream (if you were using them) and mix cream mixture with the egg, then add it to the flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it just comes together. The mixture should resemble biscuit dough.

3) Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it together, forming a rough rectangle. (Mixture will still be slightly crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the rectangle into 12 squares. Then slice each square in half diagonally, to form two triangles.

4) Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner and bake until cooked through, but not yet golden, about 15-18 minutes. Edges/corners should just be starting to show colour. Cool for 15 minutes.

5) Mix glaze ingredients together with a whisk in medium mixing bowl. Dip cooled scones into glaze to coat them entirely, then transfer to a cooling rack to dry and harden.  (I usually put a cookie sheet underneath to catch the drips.)

They are best once totally hardened, which takes at least 30 minutes. Good luck getting your family to wait that long.

Makes 24 large scones.  Scones can also be cut in half, before going on baking sheet, to make mini scones. Reduce cooking time if you do that.

Sunday Morning in Isolation - Do Not Fear

(I'm publishing this ahead of time for those who want to print it and use it for their Sunday morning Family Worship.)

It has been said that there are 365 verses in the Bible that say “Do not fear”. My research indicates that’s not entirely true, but the idea is certainly pervasive throughout Scripture.

Take a few moments to dig through your Bible to find verses where God is telling people not to fear. (If you are having a hard time, I’ve listed a few below.)

As you read through these verses, consider the following:

What was the person afraid of in each of the scriptures that you come across?

What was God’s response/promise to that fear?

1 Samuel 12:20 

2 Kings 6:15-17 

Daniel 10:12, 19 

Deuteronomy 20:8 

Matthew 10:26, 28 

Matthew 10:31 

Luke 5:8-10

Are you worried or anxious or nervous or fearful about anything right now? 

Whether you find a passage in Scripture that speaks to your specific situation or not, rest assured that God has not forgotten or abandoned you.  In John 14:27 Jesus tells his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Watch this video, which so beautifully puts into perspective God’s character, and his loving promises (found in Psalm 23) to be with us through everything, in the midst of our uncertainty.

Take some time to pray, confessing your fears to God and then letting go of them into His very capable hands. Pray for those who do not yet know Jesus as their Saviour, that they may be introduced to the Prince of Peace and find rest from their worries. Ask God to help you be an effective witness of what it looks like to trust God with everything.

Finally, worship with us as we sing these two songs!

Whom Shall I Fear

You Never Let Go

Sunday Morning in Quarantine

As COVID-19 wreaks havoc on our world right now, Christians are sitting at home, trying to commune with other Christians as they worship and learn together virtually. Our church is "meeting" to pray together at 10:00 am, our usual meeting time on Sunday mornings.

I wanted to give my kids a more directed and meaningful way to pray and meditate on God's word, so I wrote up the following direction for them to walk through.  Please feel free to join us as we do this on Sunday morning from our own homes.

Sunday Morning Prayer and Personal Reflection

Pray

For this world – That this world may see the Truth of who God is and be obedient to His call on their lives; that everyone may experience healing – not just in body, but in spirit.

For our country – That our government officials would turn their hearts to God and make decisions for our nation that will both protect us and help us follow God more closely; that the Christian citizens of this country and the rest of the world would stand for God’s Truth.

For our region – That the citizens of this region would experience a revival; that they would hunger for God and His Word; that as our witness directs more hearts to God, it would make a difference in the lives of all, whether rich, employed, stay-at-home, unemployed, sober, addicted, homeless, Christian, atheist, sick, or well.

For our church – That we would seek God with all our hearts, setting aside our personal goals and desires that do not align with His good and perfect will; that we would feel a connection to each other while we are physically apart; that we would be able to spur one another on towards good deeds, encouraging each other.

For ourselves – That we would draw closer to God individually, both today and each day this week; that we would spend time seeking for His will in our lives rather than pursuing our own desires; that our hearts and its desires would be transformed as we renew our minds by spending time praying, reading His word, and worshiping Him, both in song and in deed.

Personal Reflection

Jesus told the Pharisees, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

How do you struggle with either of these commandments? (Look at how you tend to sin; it may indicate which is more of a struggle for you.)

When you look at lists of sins throughout the Bible, are there any that you see yourself struggling with more lately? (Feel free to spend some time looking through the various places in the Bible that God talks about specific sins.)

How does God tell you, through his word, that you can overcome that sin struggle? (Spend time looking for God’s encouraging words in the Bible.)

What steps will you take this week to love God and others more dearly?

Finish your personal reflection with a song of love to our Great God.  Choose your own, or sing this one with us.

Grade 8 is making my head spin and it's only Day Two

In case I ever forget... I love homeschooling!

Today we started reading our Science book, dealing with the history of scientific discovery. My youngest asked if we could make water for ourselves from hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms. As I flipped 300 pages into the book to the page about the Krebs Cycle, he went on to explain about wanting to build cities on places like the moon and Mars because of "overpopulation". We ended up talking about whether the world is really overpopulated or if we just don't handle our resources well, which led to a discussion on why people live where they live, which led to a discussion on the history of human population growth, geologic features, climate in different regions, and human nature.

He couldn't stop asking questions, though. Eventually he started theorizing about creating a black hole so he could create artificial gravity which led to a discussion about what is known and what is unknown and how much of what we can really know about what we don't know... And then suddenly we were looking at dark matter and dark energy and where these concepts came from and whether it's ever been observed before...

At this point he smirked at me and remembered that in the science class at camp this year, he asked a lot of questions. "I think my favourite time was when I put my hand up to ask another question - I had to go to the bathroom. Greg seemed disappointed."

Oh this kid! There's so much to talk about!

Living in Light of Eternity

Written to share with a group of Forever-minded homeschooling parents.  Shared with all.

~

Forever

I used to be scared of the idea of eternity. I would think about it and imagine “when we've been there ten thousand years” that we would have “no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun” and it SCARED me! As a little girl sitting in church, singing hymns that were far-too-slow for my tastes, I didn't really like the idea of FOREVER. I pictured myself Singing “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain” and casting my crown at Jesus's feet... Then picking it up so I could do it all over again? It just didn't make sense to me. I knew “Forever” was going to happen and I knew it was supposed to be this great thing; I just didn't really understand what it meant.

~

Did you hear about the man who arrives at the pearly gates? The gate-keeper asks, "What's your Denomination?"

The man says, "Methodist."

The gate-keeper looks down his list and says, "Go to Room 24, but be very quiet as you pass Room 8."

Another man arrives at the pearly gates. "Denomination?"

"Lutheran."

"Go to Room 18, but be very quiet as you pass Room 8."

A third man arrives at the gates. "Denomination?"

"Presbyterian."

"Go to Room 11, but be very quiet as you pass Room 8."

The man says, "I can understand there being different rooms for different denominations, but why must I be quiet when I pass Room 8?"

The gate-keeper tells him, "Well, the Baptists are in Room 8, and they think they're the only ones here."

~

We all have this idea of what eternity will be like... Some of of us embrace it; Some of us deny it; Some of us just don't really understand it.

~

My hubby and I just came back from Greece. Near Athens, we saw many temples to different gods who were presumed, by Ancient Greeks, to have different benefits and characteristics - Zeus, Athena, Nike, Poseidon, Hephaistos, Aphaia, Apollo. And there were many other temples that we didn't go to see. The Ancient Greeks understood that there was something more... They didn't really understand it, but they tried.

Mars Hill (left), The Acropolis with the Temples to various Greek Gods (right)

While I was standing on Mars Hill (also known as the Areopagus) staring up at the Acropolis (home to several of these pagan structures), I was reminded that we all have this innate desire to worship. We know that there is something greater than ourselves. Even the Ancient Greeks and Romans knew this. Paul says to the Romans about these pagans:

Romans 1:19-23 ...what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

In Greece, these temples were the only way the ancient people knew to express this innate desire to worship. They knew there was a God and were trying to understand what that looked like for them. Their hearts understood that there was something more, but they didn't quite get it. We read the words Paul spoke while at the Areopagus in Acts 17:22-29

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”

Again, in 2 Cor 6:16 he tells the Saved from among the group in Corinth that, “WE are the temple of the living God.”

Once people understood who the One True God was, some of them became devout followers. But they still didn't fully understand what it meant. Some didn't believe in Forever – Resurrection, Life after death, Eternity.

Paul puts it to them this way in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19:
...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

If all we're living for is success, comfort, and stature in this life, then our work is meaningless.
This present life is compared to a quick breath (Psalm 39:5), wispy smoke (Psalm 102:3), a vanishing mist (James 4:14), a blade of withering grass or a fading flower (1 Peter 1:24). It's over before we realize it. We were not simply created for this temporary life, but for Eternal life – For Forever!

So, while we can certainly find Joy in this life, we must choose to live in light of eternity. Our years and days and minutes and breaths need to be purposefully spent on preparing ourselves and those around us for eternity. We need to shine like stars in a depraved world (Philippians 2:15) and to be the aroma of Christ to both the saved and the perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15)

And this discontent that we feel when terrible things happen right now is simply a tug on our hearts for the eternal perfection that awaits us.

FOREVER is not my child-hood imaginings of an eternal life sentence to “Worship before the throne forever.”

FOREVER is a new Eden... It is Joy and Peace and Perfection and a Perfect relationship with God. It is each of us living as the people that God designed us to be. It is Beautiful and Good and Holy. It is imperishable and not subject to the current groanings and imperfections of this cursed world. And it it finally seeing God's face! (Rev 22:4)

And Forever is what we should be working towards and practicing right now.

Philippians 3:12-21 sums up living in light of FOREVER for me:

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

...

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Living a purposeful life, in light of forever, means being Paul to our younger disciples.

He says it in 1 Corinthians 11:1a as well: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

As a homeschooling parent, Deut 6:4-9 is often on my heart:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

If we're living in light of eternity, the choices we make for ourselves and our families will look very different than the world's.

Colossians 3:23 tells us “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters...”

My children are not working at their school work so that they can please me or get accolades or a good job or whatever world standard for SUCCESS is set before them. They are working at it because they trust that I am leading them in honouring God with our choices and giving Him glory. As they become more advanced in their schooling, they now marvel at the stunning order that God built into His Creation. It is good and edifying for our children to be taught about God's design for us and this planet where we live.

And it is good for our children to grow up to be productive people who can support themselves... Proverbs 12:11 reminds us that “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”

Teaching our children how to be effectively functioning members of society is an important part of being a light in this dark world.

But beyond the curriculum and tests and grades, we need to be eternity-minded. We need to teach our children that this work that we're putting our all into for a moment is not meant to give us success according to the world's definition, but to enable us to better serve God.

Every prayer that I pray with my children includes a request that God would be honoured in our choices. We make choices about so many things without always thinking about honouring God... Choices about nourishment, curriculum, the way we treat each other, the way we help strangers, where - how and when we choose to worship. My prayer continues to be that God be honoured in ALL that we do.

And may our strivings, as homeschooling parents, continually direct our children to their God-given purpose – to bring Him honour and glory, Forever. May they make choices in light of who they are as Citizens of Heaven rather than who they are as Citizens of this World

1 Peter 4:7-11 says:

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

As my children grow into living out this purposeful Christian walk, I'll know that they are living in light of Eternity.

Kid laughs

I went through our week's schedule this morning with the kids. This included a brief description of the new wrestling class that the boys plan to take. My daughter did not want to do wrestling because she didn't want to kill people or have people kill her. I explained that wrestling is more about controlled movements where you move your opponent's body so that certain parts of them are on the mat, which will score you a point. She ended the conversation by announcing, "Well, I'm not good at wrestling; I'm just good at slapping people."

~

Another day, another laugh:

One Saturday morning, I was getting the kids moving, making sure they were ready for the day.  I told the youngest to get dressed.

"Why? Where are we going?"

We may indulge in this whole "homeschooling" thing a little much.  ;-)

~

Cool Garden Pasta for a Hot Summer Day

Too hot!!  Today was too hot for warm food. But alas, I had to use the stove.  In the future, I'll make this one up in the morning or even the night before.  This is great cold (for dinner or as leftovers) but we couldn't wait and ate it nearly cold.

And so, to make Cool Garden Pasta for a Hot Summer Day...

Cool Garden Pasta for a Hot Summer Day

Ingredients:
1 lb bow tie pasta
1 lb ground chicken
1 clove garlic
1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup corn
3 Tbsp olive oil
large handful of fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Boil 1 lb bow tie noodles until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water when done.  Put back in pot and place in fridge to cool.

Meanwhile:

2. Pan-fry 1 lb ground chicken with one clove garlic until done. Add meat mixture to cooling noodles.

3. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to hot pan and fry 1 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces, until dark and flavourful. Add zucchini to pasta pot.

4. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to hot pan and fry 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes until just releasing flavour. Add tomatoes to pasta pot.

5. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to hot pan and fry 1 cup corn until it has picked up all the juices from the pan. Add corn to pasta pot.

Chop a large handful of fresh basil and add to pasta pot. Season with salt and pepper. Leave in fridge to chill or eat as is.

Sleight of Hand

A few years back, my husband and I had tickets to see a magician in Niagara Falls, Ontario. His tricks required a lot of skill:

• The assistants needed to physically be able to contort their bodies into weird spaces.
• The magician needed to be physically skilled enough to move his hands quickly and adeptly to hide or reveal something.

But there's another skill that is at the heart of every magician's act - the mental art of Misdirection.

You cannot have a magic act without misdirection. The magician gets the audience to focus attention somewhere else so the magician can further the trick somewhere else. By the end of the trick, he has manipulated the props/people in such a way that we are amazed.

A classic example is the disappearing coin. This trick works because you, the audience, are expecting a certain result. If I hold a coin in the air and appear to grab it with the other hand, you will expect the coin to be in the other hand.

You can see this trick explained/revealed here.

~

As I cleaned up the breakfast table this morning (a delifghtful breakfast of pancakes, berries, maple syrup and Nutella, prepared by my three children) I noticed a label and was briefly delighted to see that Nutella has "No preservatives or artificial colours."

Always slightly suspicious, I noticed that they omitted "artifical flavours" from the list. I wondered why that was and looked at the ingredients. "Sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk powder, whey powder, soy and/or sunflower lecithin, vanillin"

Looks pretty natural, right? I can pronounce them all (although sometimes I mix up the "c" and "th" in lecithin.

Well, for those of us who aren't aware, vanillin is imitation vanilla extract. It is chemically formulated to mimic the taste of vanilla, but it contains no actual real vanilla.

But no one really notices because of their clever marketing. NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS! NO PRESERVATIVES!

(Honestly, anyone who cares about what they eat would notice the excess sugar and fat as well as the minimal protein. A conscientious consumer might be concerned about the palm oil and the devastation that its harvesting does to forests around the world.  But I digress.)

~

How else are we being redirected? I try to be aware of how marketing influences me, from Saturday morning cartoons to the evening news to free samples at Costco. What partial truths are you being told that redirect you from the greater truth that you need to pursue?

I have no answers for you. I think each of us needs to consider this question more often though before we eat an entire jar of Not-Natural-Nutella...

or vote for legislation that will "compassionately allow a person to die with dignity"...

or pass judgment on a family that has done their very best to care for the family God gave them.

What are we being told to think and what truth are we being redirected away from noticing?

There are no right answers because we all do it, intentionally or not.  Being more aware that it is happening is a giant step towards being autonomous in our consumption of ideas and principles.

Hearty Chicken Kale Soup

Yesterday was such a busy day at our house. (Thursdays generally are, through the winter.) I have to get our dinner prepared before 12:30.  Yesterday, I had a vague plan for dinner, but at 12:00 I started panicking (ever-so-briefly). I knew I wanted to make some kind of crock pot dish with chicken and kale, but I didn't yet have a recipe in mind. A quick Google-search for "chicken kale crock pot" turned up nothing that I wanted to eat.

So I decided to wing it.

I wung it. (That can't be right, but it sure is fun to say. But if someone swings a rope around and goes on to tell someone else that they swung the rope, surely I can wing a recipe and tell you that I wung it. English according to Wanda.)

So anyway, I wung it.

I put two frozen chicken breasts in a big pan and turned the pan on. I figured I needed some onions and garlic, so in they went. Hmm, maybe a touch of water to keep the garlic from cooking too much. Ah, maybe some chicken stock? Dump 1L of chicken stock in. Now what?

I knew I wanted kale, so I chopped that up and set it aside. I'd put it in when it was close to done cooking.

I took the chicken out and chopped it up because no one wants two whole chicken breasts in their soup!

How about noodles? That'd be tasty! I rifled through the cupboard, dug out some rotini noodles and decided they were WAY too big, so I spent the next few minutes breaking them in half and throwing them in the pot.

Oooh, some tomatoes would be good. But not too many tomatoes. Half a jar of crushed tomatoes would be perfect. (You can mix onion and garlic powder into the remaining tomatoes to make a lovely last-minute pizza sauce.)

I waited a few minutes for the noodles to cook most of the way, added some salt and pepper, and had a taste... Blech! Too bland. It was missing something. After a bit more salt and pepper I was still not satisfied.

Basil! I keep a paste of basil in my fridge for emergencies such as this. In it went and WOWZA! did it make a difference. I threw the kale in, decided it needed corn, threw a handful of that in, and called it done.

I put the soup in the fridge, went to our afternoon class, and rested assured that dinner was handled.

When we got home, the noodles had plumped up nicely and absorbed more of the liquid, so I added another 4 cups of chicken broth and reheated our soup.

The silence around the table, save for a few slurps and "mmms," told me this one was a keeper.

And so, after slightly more fan-fare than was necessary, here's the recipe.

Hearty Chicken Kale Soup

Serves 6
Time: 30 minutes

Fry or saute in a large pan:

2 large chicken breasts
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced

Add 2 Tbsp water or oil if necessary.
Remove chicken from the pan. Allow it to cool, then chop it into bite-sized pieces and return it to the pan.

Add:
300 mL crushed tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup corn
2 Tbsp fresh basil
3/4 cup small, uncooked pasta

(I used rotini, broken in half.)

Allow mixture to cook another 15 minutes, until pasta is tender.  Season as you wish with salt and pepper.

Add:
2 cups chopped kale

Allow the mixtures to simmer another 5 minutes, then serve.

Listen, as your 10 year-old says, “Mmm! This is one of my favourite meals that you've ever made!

Finding a Spouse, Homeschool-Style

I wrote this Feb 7, 2015. I'm not sure why it sat unpublished for over a year, but I want to remember it down the road...

~

It's so fun to sit back and just listen to my children, letting them chatter away.

The youngest needed some “board game” time with Dad the other night, so I took the older two out to the local coffee and doughnut shop. We lingered over coffee and hot chocolate while we chatted about the day, the weekend ahead of us, and life in general. On the walk home, we got into discussions about money, marriage, and making sure you make a good choice in who your spouse is, before you ever say, “I do.”

It was at this point in the conversation (which really wasn't as deep as it may sound) that the younger of the two admitted something. “When we first started talking about homeschooling, I thought that I would never meet other kids and I didn't know how I would ever find someone to marry."

The older one chimed in with, “Me too! I pictured myself standing on the sidewalk somewhere and just asking questions of people as they went by. If they answered just one question wrong, then I'd move on to someone else until I found someone who answered all my questions correctly.”

We all had a good laugh at how absurd that seemed now, busy as we are with our many "school" events. I am so thankful for the amazing, quality friends that my kids have made in the last few years. Any fears we were told to have about “socialization” quickly went out the window when we started homeschooling. I love these kids that we're getting to hang out with every week and I love the sense of culture and community that these families are instilling in their children. Yes, I'll take homeschool-socialized children any day!

Grandma's bag of marshmallows

I have to tell you one of my favourite stories of my Grandma Hazel...

When I was a little girl, I lived in the same city as Grandma Hazel and Grandpa Ralph. They often visited our house, but just as often, we ended up at their house. I have many fond memories of sitting at Grandma's kitchen table, sipping tea and nibbling toast while we played Password. (I just loved that plastic red window through which I could see my word.)

But one of the reasons I loved going to Grandma's house most was that I knew she would have a bag of marshmallows which she kept tucked away just for us girls. So thought little 7 year-old Wanda. They were there  just for us girls! So of course, I asked for a marshmallow every time I visited.

As moms tend to do, my mom saw the need to curb my uncouth behaviour, more specifically, my unabashed begging for marshmallows. One particular day, as we drove to Grandma's house, Mom told us girls, "Now when we get to Grandma's house, I do NOT want you to ask for a marshmallow. If she offers you one, you may say 'Yes, please' but you may NOT ask for one." We understood and were dutifully ready to obey.

My mind started churning and it didn't take long for me to formulate a sneaky plan.

I walked into Grandma's house that day, gave her a big hug, accepted her kiss, and confessed to her that I wasn't allowed to ask for a marshmallow, but that if she offered me one, I was allowed to say "Yes."

Needless to say, I got my marshmallow that day.

Here I am, sitting on Grandma's lap, looking like I've eaten a few marshmallows at this point.

Grandma looks on as I blow out my candles.
She's probably wondering if she should continue to support my marshmallow habit.

It's been a while since I got a marshmallow from Grandma Hazel, but she still greeted me with a twinkle in her eyes over the last few years. She may have forgotten a few things, but she always had that same smile, hug, and kiss for me when I walked in to visit her.

Last year at her 100th birthday party, she looked on with that twinkle again as her grand-daughters helped her blow out 100 candles.

100 years of memories.

100 years of lives being touched with the same sweet, gentle, and oh-so-generous spirit that we celebrated that day.

100 years of serving others, thinking not of herself, but of how she could be Jesus to someone, to everyone, really.

She was radiant, basking in the joy of seeing people whose lives she had touched, people from near and far, coming around to celebrate her.

This week, we celebrate her once more. I'm so looking forward to the stories that we'll tell. I've never looked forward to a visitation and funeral like I am this week.

My Grandma was One of a Kind. She was the person who best exemplified what it meant to be Christ-like. I never heard a word of anger or judgment or hatred or envy from her. Just love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. She was a woman with God's Spirit in her, and now her spirit has returned to God. I look forward to the day we can worship at Jesus' feet together, but until then, I'll do my best to carry on her legacy, in my own meager way.

And just so you know, if you see me with a bag of marshmallows, you're not allowed to ask for one, but if I offer, you're allowed to say "Yes."

Bereans and burritos

The youngest just inadvertently came up with the perfect mascot for our little school...

We were discussing comparing what we hear around us with what the Bible says.  I told the kids that this is what the Bereans did in Acts 17:11 - "...they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (ESV)

After a bit more chatter about the Scriptures of that time being the Old Testament, the youngest came out with something that the "Burritos" did. And then, with a sly smile that betrayed his wit, he said, "What? Is that not what they were called? What was it then?"

We all had a good laugh and I declared that we would, henceforth, have "Burritos" as our school mascot.

When you're just not sure

When the world seems to be spinning out of control and you don't know what to think, remember these simple words:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 
(Mt 22:37)

Love you neighbour as yourself.
(Mt 22:38)

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
(Ja 4:17)

And go from there.

You are responsible for the choices you make and the actions you take. Take these verses to heart and make good decisions.

Because I want to remember the silliness, too

7:30 am

The girl: "I think it's one of those days where I just want to make a lot of noise all the time."

She's singing random syllables to the tune of "On Top of Old Smokey" now.

It's going to be an interesting morning.

8:45 am

More from the girl...

She: Propaganda!
Me: Did you just say, "Propaganda!"
She: Yep!
Me: Why?
She: I don't know... It just came into my head, and I was pretty sure it was a real word, so I said it.

Now she's singing, "Wise men say only fools rush in..."

It's not even 9:00 am, people.

11:15 am

As I'm getting leftover pizza out to put in the oven...

The girl sniffs: I love today! It smells so good.

11:50 am

To herself: Thank you.

To herself: Thank you for thanking me.

To herself: Thank you for thanking me for thanking you.

To herself: Thank you for thanking me for thanking you for thanking me for thanking you for thanking me for thanking you.

To herself: Ahh, I'm so confused.

~

I'm sure this will be continued...

No time

This is the most challenging idea that I've confronted myself with lately.

I've been mulling it over for a few weeks and I'm writing about it now so that I will remember it. This *new concept will likely challenge you, too.

*Okay, it's not really that new. But it's kind of rocked my world, so bear with me in my use of superlatives.

I must warn you though:
If you like telling people how busy you are and that you just can't make time to do other things, please don't read this. You can't unread this once it's read.


There's no turning back.


Okay, you asked for it.


~



Lately I've been telling people that the biggest lie on the internet is, "Yes; I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions..." Ever since I realized this, I make an effort to read the terms and conditions of whatever it is I'm agreeing to, or at least look to see what changes have been made from last time. My guess is that we all do it, without even realizing that we are lying.

Well, I've got another one for you. One that matters a little more.

Yesterday, another oft-told lie sneaked up and punched me in the face.

"I just don't have time..."

How many times have you uttered that phrase? Once? Once a day? Five times a day? I have caught myself saying that more than once recently, to explain why something didn't get done. And it's a LIE!

Before I explain, I think it's important to re-introduce myself to you (just in case you've forgotten):

I'm a middle-aged, stay-at-home, homeschooling mother of three pre-teen/teens. My husband sacrifices his time by working a challenging, and at times stressful, job so that we can all enjoy the luxury that a stay-at-home parent affords. Therefore, I generally try to stay on top of household chores, keeping the house moderately presentable while also teaching the children and taxiing them around to different activities. I also volunteer in several capacities through church and homeschool groups. In short, I have a good excuse for saying I'm too busy to do something or to say that something didn't get done because I didn't have the time. But to say so would be a LIE.

When my husband comes home and asks if I called to schedule the oil change, I might answer, "Oh shoot, I was too busy," or "Nope; I just didn't have time today." But that's a LIE.

I have 24 hours in a day just the same as you. I can choose to spend that time eating candy or chopping veggies or reading a school book to the kids or making phone calls or lesson planning or sleeping or cleaning or playing games or raking leaves or making lists or marking tests or updating computer files... The possibilities are nearly endless. So when I say that I didn't have time, what I really mean, and what I need to start saying, is that I didn't MAKE the time.

Let me reiterate - If I don't get something done, it's not that I don't have the time to do it; it's that I didn't choose to make the time to do it. I am, in effect, saying that what I DIDN'T do wasn't as important as all the other things I did do today.

Can we agree to stare our own laziness in the face? Let's try to stop saying, "I didn't have time," and start saying, "I didn't make the time." It really is the more honest way of expressing ourselves and taking ownership of the choices that we make, whether done with full awareness or merely subconsciously.

And with that I need to log off... I still need to schedule that oil change.

~

P.S.  I'm adding this a few hours later to mention that saying, "No" is a very good thing sometimes. We just need to understand that when we say "No, I don't have time" "we are really saying, "No, I choose not to make time for that because I have other priorities at the moment."  Sometimes we have to choose not to make time for really good things.

Time and money are both precious commodities. Just like we can't give our money to every good cause, we also can't give our time to every good cause. We have to choose which cause is most important to us.  And just like money is used to purchase items that fuel us, our time is also spent on refueling ourselves.