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Well, even if we don’t experience hard financial times, I’ve really enjoyed the extra “push” to be resourceful with our finances, something I need to be doing all the time anyway!

Since the kitchen is one of the most flexible places in the budget, I thought I’d try to share, randomly, little things we’re doing to save a dollar here and there. Dollars add up you know!

I made the kids a snack with Honey Bunches of Oats “Just Bunches” cereal and a box of raisins. The box cost $2.88 and with this $2.00 off coupon, made a cheap, healthy one!

Earlier this week, I cooked a chicken fryer ($6.38) and deboned it. I then poured half of the broth (I made a lot of broth) up for freezing–stock for another meal. I left half of the broth in the pot for soup that night.

I divided the chicken up into 2 or 3 freezer bags and froze them for a later meal–pasta or cassserole.

With the broth on the stove, I added a pack of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. I had a few frozen vegetables–carrots, broccoli and cauliflower–not really enough for soup left whole, so I chopped them up and dumped them in. I broke a half of box of angel hair pasta and threw it in as well as the last handful of shredded cheese. We served it with homemade whole wheat rolls.

This was hubby’s bowl–with a sprig of fresh parsley, grown on the front porch (by my daughter…I can’t grow a thing).

 The whole meal, though hard to figure, could not have cost much more than $2.00. Maybe not the heartiest, but hey, the added benefit is getting them used to possible lean times. *Big Smiles*

Do you have a frugal kitchen tip? Please share!

One commenter recently asked an EXCELLENT question…one that is pretty easy to answer.

“…what about all the non-Christians in America? Will there be a place for us in your ‘return to biblical values’? Should my husband and I pack up and move, or face an inquisition? How freeing is that?”

There are several misconceptions about religion.

One is that some people “aren’t religious”. Which is untrue. ALL people serve a religion, worship something and ascribe to a creed, even if he’s not aware. (We were created that way!)

An atheist worships himself–the religion of humanism–believing that he is god of the universe and therefore can make the rules.

Humanism is probably the most followed religion in the country–followed by many, even, who claim to belong to a more organized group.

The second misconception is that everyone’s religion should be equally tolerated and equally respected. Which might be true if they all “worked”.

But they don’t.

“Oh and you think Christianity is the one that works, right?” All the anti-Christians protest.

Yes, I do. And not only I, but, as Demographic Winter so clearly points out, secular academia is finally being forced to admit that the Bible has a thing or two to say about society and its ills.

“Studies are showing that the best environment for children is a traditional home with both the mother and father present.”

I’m laughing at this point because this stuff is so obvious and yet they are speaking as if it’s a Nobel Prize discovery! It’s just as absurd as if they’d said…”research shows that breathing extends the life expectancy of humans”. 😉

My suggestion is that, despite what others think, God created the universe, which makes Him the only One who knows how to run it.

For naysayers, the proof is there if one is only willing to see it.

God’s principles work, whether you’re a believer or not.

The Bible says debt is bad; live your life based on that principle and you will reap the benefits of following it.

The Bible says love your neighbor as yourself. Practicing kindness reaps rewards.

I know other religions have similar tenets…but which came first? They all reflect biblical principles to some degree because they all admit those principles work!

A return to biblical principles is good for everyone…not just Christians.

Is this not GREAT! I didn’t plan the camera trick, but as I knelt down to snap a picture of two of my favorite things 😉 the angle created a larger than life cake. My friend Kathy sure knows how to get on my good side!

A group of our friends came over to watch Demographic Winter again…we had a great time. It’s one of those films that makes you shout at the end…”OK…let’s go have more babies!” (To which the men shout…”AMEN!” 😉

Seriously, though the film is a bit grim, afterwards we had some great discussion about the opportunities that await believers as the world continues to become more ripe for answers…we have The Answer, don’t we?

I actually haven’t felt quite this hopeful and excited about what the Lord is doing in a long time.

“As arrows in the hands of a might warrior, so are the children of his youth…they will speak with the enemies in the gates.”

By the way, here is the ENTIRE film–Demographic Winter–share it with everyone you know!

If you can’t get the video to play, go to this link…Demographic Winter

So life is about pressing on toward the mark.

It’s about conversations with people, relationships, discipleship.

What is the difference in the celebrated saints of our past, whose lives mirrored the power of God, despite the weakness of their vessels, and us?

Unshakable, immovable, blind and “absurd” faith. And that faith was the foundation of every act performed while living.

“The saint must walk alone.” –Aiden W. Tozer

“If the Lord fails me at this time, it will be the first time.” -George Mueller

“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”
-George Seaton

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” -Oswald Chambers

“We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.” –Aiden Wilson Tozer

Where are you? On this journey…is it on one of the sweet little rises, where all is clear and the spanse of flowers and meadows is before you?

Or maybe not…

Maybe you are in the dip, the valley, that part of the road where you can see neither behind you nor in front. It’s the same. And it’s hard. And you don’t have companions just now, right here, in this spot.

And where is God? If He is love, then why the tears? The sighs that will not end? Where is the glorious life of the saint?

And just now He’s watching…only He can see the full road you walk. In fact, He’s laid out the road–just the one He wanted you to walk.

Shyla writes:

“Tattling. Tattling is often my hardest issue. I have six 10 and under. A few of mine have a very strong sense of right vs. wrong and feel the need to make sure justice is served. I have to make sure to differentiate b/t a sense of justice vs. a heart wanting to get a sibling in trouble, but that is often very difficult.I would LOVE to hear how other Christian mothers handle tattling.”

Boy, don’t we struggle with this one! And I am very open to your suggestions!

Personally, for a while we followed the Pearl’s idea of spanking both the tattler and the “tattlee“. But it’s not always so clear cut for me, so I struggled with that a little bit.

And while I encourage my children to work things out on their own, we all know that because each child has a different personality, it’s easy for some to bully others, always getting their way, while the less aggressive one suffers silently.

Much discernment is the parent’s best friend!

We have a general rule that you are only to tell on others if they are doing something harmful to someone or themselves or destroying property. I remind them that I am not going to referee every little incident.

I also try to see through any deception that might be going on. If the same child is tattling over the same offense from another child on a regular basis, I try to see what’s going on at the heart of that issue.

Again, here is where it really pays to stay close–within earshot of your children when possible. It helps so much to be able to hear an incident before it is reported. You can see who is exaggerating or instigating from a much more unbiased perspective.

If you are sure you just have a tattler, then assigning that child something unpleasant may be in order.

For example…tattler comes in. You say (indifferently, with no “disciplining tone”), “Well I can see that you two aren’t playing well together. So ______ (tattler’s name), I’m going to get you to help me clean the windows while Susie stays outside playing.

It won’t take him very long to figure out it’s not worth the telling. Pearl also suggests that in a true tattler situation, the tattler should be the only one who receives correction.

Monday mornings are a part of life that tests who we really are…and I’m not always impressed.
If I could just wake up expecting the bowl of milk or the glass of juice to be knocked off in the floor…
If I could just prepare for 4 different voices calling “Mama” during the clean-up…

She also found my lipstick…not sure it’s her color though.

I loved Ted Tripp’s book Shepherding a Child’s Heart, because he brought to light the truth that every misbehavior is a heart issue. We can deal with the behavior itself, but if we don’t deal with it in a way that trains the heart, we are only rearing “white washed tombs”.

That is why I’ve spent so much time talking about the foundation of sibling relationships. But when we start addressing specific occurrences, we will still need to discern what is going on at the heart level, most of the time.

When a two year old whines and cries for having something taken from him, he is doing what comes naturally–displaying a lack of self-control. It is our job to build that into him.

When a child is a “me-first” monster, he is also doing what comes naturally–being selfish.

There’s a delicate line to be drawn here…much of the natural man takes a work of the Holy Spirit to break. And yet, much of behavior and character can be shaped by habit. Ideally, we train the habits that will “meet” the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of our children.

Let’s address a “me-first” attitude. I don’t know a family who doesn’t deal with this, because, really, we are all “me-monsters”!

• Because we teach basic biblical principles like “let each esteem others better than themselves”, we simply do a lot of reminding in addressing wrong attitudes. Beyond reminding, we usually give the child the opposite of the thing he is coveting. If he’s always wanting the toy first, we remind him of what the Bible says (the above verse, or “if any wants to be first he must become last”, etc.) and then explain that someone else gets it first because he demanded it.

• Another way to deal with selfishness is to require an act of service for each selfish act–and better if the service can be directed to the other party involved. Requiring service teaches in a tangible way, what the Lord requires of us, but it also allows the child to see what a blessing it can be to serve. It can be making a bed, doing another’s chore, or creating something special for the other. Always require the opposite of the undesired behavior.

Of course discretion must always be used in determining if the heart is really struggling with selfishness, in order to determine the severity of the training session. A reminder may be all that’s needed.

A good way to tell? How does the child respond to your suggestion? If he pouts, his heart needs some additional training. (A private talk? Prayer? Scripture? Or just time to let him talk to you.) At the point a child’s behavior becomes defiance and disobedience, it is a spanking.

We really do have to balance discerning the motives of their hearts and deciding what level of training is needed. This isn’t easy stuff! We must beg God for wisdom at every turn!

In addition to giving them the opposite of what they want, and reminding them why, I find it very helpful to constantly read stories about children who chose to do the right thing. Usually you have to dig for the older, out of print books to find the good ones, and if any of you have any good suggestions, please let us know!

My favorites are:

Biographies of some of our great founding fathers

Ten Boys Who Didn’t Give In by Irene Howat

Moral Lessons of Yesteryear by A.L. Byers and Little Bear Wheeler

Grace and Truth Books

By the way, I wanted to mention a book we are reading as a family (my oldest has read it too)…Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. This book is so excellent! Written by a group of siblings, it is fun and inspiring to my children because it meets them where they are. Filled with humorous stories and heart-warming anecdotes, it also provides really practical “how to’s” for siblings trying to improve relationships.

Highly recommended by The Crawfords! P.S. If your family has read it, drop a comment!