The Architect and The Artist: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Stained Glass Hearts by Patsy Clairmont

Have you ever felt that life just leaves you broken? I recently read Stained Glass Hearts by Patsy Clairmont. Patsy uses art (she starts with stained glass and mosaics) to talk about our broken lives and how we need a new perspective to help us deal with the pain. The first half of the book is about the condition of our lives and the brokeness we endure. The second half of the book talks about different things that helps us deal with that brokeness: prayer, poetry, books, nature, etc.

What I appreciated about Patsy's book was her keen wit and positive perspective on life. One unique part of her book is that each chapter ends with art suggestions (whether they be paintings, music, or other books) to investigate that fit the topic of the chapter. This would be a perfect book for someone who loves and appreciates art and may be dealing with brokeness at the same time. I don't know a lot about art, but I sure enjoyed Patsy's suggestions!

We all have stained glass hearts and need to find the beauty in our brokeness! This book connects the two. Check it out!

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it. I am not required to give a positive review. All my opinions are my own.

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 1 comments

Labels: Book Sneeze

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Be a Screen Door, Not a Doormat!

Sometimes we just need to be a screen door, letting all those hurtful comments and actions blow through us. Not allowing them to sit in our souls so that we develop a spirit of bitterness. How does one go about this when the ache is so great? The offense is so deep that it threatens to rip a person apart? By the Grace of God. Giving people grace (unmerited favor) is the only way to be a screen door.

The danger in being a screen door is that we don't become the doormat in the process. You know a doormat when you see one, right? The person that people walk all over and abuse because she won't stand up and set some the boundary..."You may not walk all over me."

Jesus was a screen door.

He said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." {Luke 23:34} He freely forgave those that offended Him...even those that murdered Him! And yet...

Jesus was no doormat.

This is written of Jesus after He cleared the temple by turning over a few tables and getting angry, "But Jesus would no entrust himself to them, for he knew all men." {John 2:24}

The greatest challenge of my life has been to know when to be the screen door and when to not be the doormat...or better yet, how to do both at the same time. There is a delicate balance between setting up boundaries and yet being gracious at the same time. I am still in the process of learning to let the hurt blow through without being stomped on.

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Faith, Word of the Year

Monday, August 29, 2011

Gratitude is a Holy Experience

{1,692-1,707}

The smell of fresh carrots and dirt
When a son makes breakfast for us
Tomatoes on the window sill
Sunny afternoons
Checklists
Morning walks
Getting a dentist appointment over with
Food to share
Cat-sitting job for the boys
Pumpkins ripening on the vines
Being able to finally understand algebra at age 40
The start of a new school year and Spanish lessons
Being mentored
Taking time to care for young children
A smile on a baby's face
Compassion from a friend

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Multitude Mondays

Friday, August 26, 2011

Homeschool Mother's Journal: Getting Our Feet Wet

In my life this week…I have been harvesting a lot of our garden (lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes) before we get hit with frost. I am also eagerly awaiting the ripening of the pumpkins in the garden...hope they make it in time!

In our homeschool this week…We are "getting our feet wet" so to speak with our new schedule. I, in particular, am realizing that school is taking longer for my high schooler. I guess that should be obvious though! I am realizing how much work homeschooling can be!!!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…For high school math, I am realizing that my son still needs tons of guidance. It helps to work out problems together...not only for him, but also for myself. I finally understand alegebra after all these years!

My favorite thing this week was…pulling carrots from the garden and watching my dog eagerly begging for a nibble. Our dog is carrot-crazy!

I’m reading…The Last of the Mohicans

I’m cooking…did some freezer meals this week: carrot bisque, vegetarian Thai curry, eggplant parmesan, and spicy pinto beans.

I’m grateful for…see this post.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share… In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.Robert Frost

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 4 comments

Labels: Homeschooling

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Beth Moore's New Study

I recently read that Beth Moore's new Bible study will be out in November! I am so excited for it and have been waiting a long time. I have done all her other studies and just can't wait for the next one. This past summer I wrote out the book of James in a small book and have been trying to memorize the whole book! Much to my surprise, Beth encourages us to do this with this study! I am already well on my way! I was hoping to be able to memorize it all before the study came out, but I am currently working on chapter two. There are five chapters so I don't think I will make it in time. Regardless, this is going to be a rich study for me considering that I have a big chunk of the book memorized. So excited!

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Bible, Faith

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

A Place for Grace

{This is a re-post from earlier this year...}

Sometimes you get more than you bargained for...

Like choosing {Grace} as your Word of the Year and being given way too many opportunities to extend it.

Giving grace can be painful...excruciating. But maybe that is where grace always is....in the place of pain...

He didn't want to follow through. He would have begged to be able to walk away from it all. He did beg. Yet, He knew what He had to do...take the insults, the false accusations, the lies, the disrespect, the injustices and absorb them all. That wasn't all...there was physical agony, too. Why? Because He deserved it? Hardly.

How did He respond? GRACE. {Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.} He would forgive them...He would beg His Father to forgive them all on the basis that they didn't have a clue. But maybe that was the point. They would never know the depths of the pain their own sin had caused...He would shield them from it. He would pay the price. They would never truly know.

I will follow His example. Does my enemy understand the depth of pain she has caused? No. Will she ever get it? Probably not. Is it important that she does? No. The only thing that matters that there is Grace in the Place of pain.

{Father, forgive her, for she doesn't know what she is doing.}

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 3 comments

Labels: Faith, Word of the Year

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Meal in a Roll

Last week a friend and I went to lunch and starting talking about prepping food at home and trying to save money. I told her about the pepperoni rolls (basically like cinnamon rolls except filled with pepperoni and cheese) that I make and freeze before baking them. I can then pop them in the oven and bake them for a quick lunch or meal. Well, our creative juices started flowing and we came up with all kinds of ideas of what you could put in a roll...and then this post was born!

We use this roll recipe. This will make about 60 rolls! I freeze most of them unbaked without doing the final 2 hour rise that the recipe calls for. You can use your favorite dough recipe if you like. I like this one because it makes a ton all at once.

First let the dough rise the first two times according to the recipe. Then take a chunk of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle.

Put your toppings on it. The picture above are Hawaiian pizza rolls.

Here is a cinnamon roll-type filling that tastes like pineapple upside down cake. More on that later.

{Two types of rolls above-Hawaiian and Pepperoni}

You then roll the dough starting at the long end. Seal the end to the roll. I cut these rolls with dental floss. You put the dental floss around the "log" and cross the two end to pinch and cut off a roll. This works much better than a knife. I place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and then put them in the freezer. Once they are frozen solid I bag them in Ziploc bags.

{Two types of rolls- more pepperoni and jam and sugar}

When you want to eat them, just pull them out and put them in the oven and bake according to the directions. You may have to bake longer if the rolls are frozen.

Ideas for Meals in Rolls

{Here are some filling ideas}

Pepperoni-chopped pepperoni, shredded mozzarella, italian spices. Serve the rolls with pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce.

Hawaiian Pizza-chopped Canadian bacon, shredded mozzarella, drained crushed pineapple (works better than the tidbits for rolling up the dough), italian spices. Serve with pizza sauce.

Ham and Cheese-shredded cheddar and chopped ham.

Cheese and Broccoli-shredded cheddar and chopped, cooked broccoli

Cinnamon rolls-butter, brown sugar, cinnamon

Pineapple upside down cake filling-butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, drained crushed pineapple.

Jam-leftover jam and a sprinkle of sugar.

Pumpkin Pie-pumpkin pie filling.

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Recipes

Monday, August 22, 2011

All is Grace

He extends grace upon grace to us. Grace received must transform into gratitude...

{1,679-1,691}

Finding our lost puppy
Veggie chowder (with veggies from the garden)
The start of school
Homeschool magazines
Clean curtains
Finding sales
Eggplant Parmesan
Sticky notes
Rain
Gentle breezes
Start of School cupcakes

New Spanish students!

Meals in the freezer

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Multitude Mondays

Friday, August 19, 2011

Homeschool Mother's Journal: The Start of School

In my life this week…I have done some major bulk cooking and general prep work for school.

In our homeschool this week…This is our first week of school after a break. We started out light and haven't tackled all our subjects yet.

I am inspired by…Pinterest! I recently got an account and am enjoying seeing all the ideas out there!

My favorite thing this week was…getting my hair highlighted and cut.

Things I’m working on…Memorizing the ENTIRE book of James. I am currently on chapter two.

I’m reading…Nothing! This is very strange for me as I tend to read a lot, but I just haven't had time.

I’m cooking…lots of veggies from the garden. Made eggplant parmesan from eggplants that I grew!

I’m grateful for…that we found our dog! The boys lost him earlier this week!

I’m praying for…a great school year.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

We have a tradition in this house of starting out the school year with cupcakes. This year we decided to get "technical"!

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 3 comments

Labels: Homeschooling

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Oreo Moon Phases

Isn't this such a cute idea??? Here are the instructions.

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Homeschooling, Science

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Starting School Again- A Tradition

We have a little tradition around here to start the school year off right. This year we have decided to get technical! My oldest is very much into computers and gadgets so we decided to make little computers on the tops of cupcakes! Here is what we came up with...

{Notice that some of them have broken keyboards! LOL}

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 2 comments

Labels: Family, Homeschooling

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Salsa!

This past weekend someone gave us about 25 pounds of vine-ripened tomatoes! I have never seen so many tomatoes in my life! I have also never had an opportunity to can anything with tomatoes. The problem is that we live in Alaska. Frankly, the tomatoes in the stores here are like cardboard (red cardboard!). You have to grow your own and lots of them to have decent tomatoes.

So with all these tomatoes I decided that I would make salsa and spaghetti sauce! It took me two full days to get it all done, but now I have two batches of salsa (24 cups) and about 45 cups of spaghetti sauce! Wow, I am thankful that all that work is done! Here is the salsa recipe that I found that seemed to work really well. To can it you need to heat up the salsa to about 180 degrees (Fahrenheit) before putting it in jars. It needs to be water bath canned for about 20 minutes.

Here is the salsa recipe that I used...I got it from this site.

Fresh Cilantro: 1 bunch

Green Onion: 2-3 bunches

Fresh Minced Garlic: 10 cloves

Yellow Onion: 3 medium

Jalapeno Peppers: 5

Lime Juice: 2 Tbs

Salt: 1Tbs

Crushed Red Pepper: 2 tsp

Chili Powder: 2 tsp

Tomato Paste: 6 oz can

Tomato Sauce: 15 oz can

Whole Peeled Tomatoes: (2) 28 oz cans- drained

(or fresh from your garden)

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop all fresh veggies, place in large bowl

2. In a separate bowl, mix spices with tomato paste and sauce until mixed thoroughly.

3. If using fresh tomatoes: remove stem, blanch, peel, core.

4. Dice tomatoes.

5. Stir veggies, spice mixture, and tomatoes until mixed through.

NOTE: This makes a pretty hot salsa. I only used four jalapenos and no crushed red peppers.

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 2 comments

Labels: Homemaking, Recipes

Monday, August 15, 2011

Heaps of Blessings

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2
{1,651-1,678}

Prayer partners
The ability to pray for our enemies
Spaghetti squash growing in the garden
Peaceful music
A fun puppy (cuddling in the coils of a stuffed snake!)

A clean bathroom

Boys that mess up a clean bathroom

Pasta primavera with veggies from the garden

Two gallons of blueberries

Memorizing God's Word (in the second chapter of James)

Healing of old hurts

Recovering from a cold

Busy days

The start of school

Friends that help out in a pinch

Tim's birthday!

A new doorknob for the bathroom

Clean sheets

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Multitude Mondays

Thursday, August 11, 2011

When Life Gives You Cucumbers....

Make Pickles!

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Recipes

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Booking it with the Classics

Booking It at Life as Mom has totally motivated me this year! My goal in reading for 2011 was to read a lot of the classics that I missed in high school and college. I went to three different high schools so I missed out on reading some of the best literature out there because of all our moves. I also wanted to read some of the classics in order to be able to pick the ones I want my oldest to read during his high school career. He is going to be a freshman, and we homeschool. So it is up to me to pick out some of his reading.

So far this year I have read...

To Kill a Mockingbird (a new personal favorite!)

A Tale of Two Cities (another favorite!)

The Count of Monte Cristo (another favorite!)

Fahrenheit 451

Up From Slavery

Wuthering Heights (a re-read for me)

My Antonia (have to admit this was not one of my favorites)

A Christmas Carol

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

So what have you been reading lately?

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 2 comments

Labels: Books

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Multiplication Clock

A few years back I posted about a multiplication clock that Noah and I made. This year Noah is reviewing through five minute drills his multiplication and division facts. So we are still using our clock. We have gotten the most use out of this item than almost any other thing that we have created for homeschooling.

It looks like a lot of work and that it is complicated, but not really. Here are the instructions. It is pretty simple to make. Probably the hardest part is the coloring of the clock. If I remember right it took Noah quite a bit of time to finish that part. I did draw the clock for him (the instructions tell you how) and write out the numbers so that they would be clear (he was much younger when we made it). But he did the coloring. It was well worth it to have such a awesome study tool!

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Homeschooling, Math

Monday, August 8, 2011

Many Gifts

{1,635-1,650}

Raspberry syrup
Homemade pickles
An abundance of zucchini
An obedient dog
Successful craft class
Praising Him even when I don't understand what He is doing
Trusting Him even when I don't understand what He is doing
Caramel-frosted Zucchini bars
Getting ready for another school year
Friends that reach out
The concern of friends
Feeling blessed even in the trials
A cuddly puppy
A plethora of FREE tomatoes from a local greenhouse
Salsa from the tomatoes
Spaghetti sauce from the tomatoes

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Multitude Mondays

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Homeschooling: How We Stay on Track

A schedule is always good, right? It keeps you focused on what you should be doing each day. For the past several years I have used these types of schedules (see below) with my kids. Each day they know what they need to do and they mark off each item as they finish it (I lamenate the sheets to use over and over again). This way we don't forget what we should be working on. A schedule has been vital in language arts/English since there are so many components to work on and we don't need to do each component every day. I don't use a box curriculum so it is a challenge to remember everything! The first schedule you see is Noah's (5th grade). This schedule allows him to be pretty self-sufficient. There are a few items on the list that he does need help with (i.e. writing assignments).

The next schedule will be Zach's for his first year of high school! EEK! Such a scary thought, but I think we can manage. For his, I just want to give him a general idea of a schedule. Because high school is different from elementary (we are talking credits and grades counting in his future schooling) I may sit down each week and schedule out how much he needs to accomplish on each day. Just giving him an hour to work on English doesn't necessarily mean that a plethora of work will get done. Ask me how I know (remember, I am a former public high school teacher!). So I may need to give him more specific goals instead of timeframes. I am thinking I will do that by using a "row planner" for each week.

So how do you keep your homeschooling life together? Do you use a schedule? If so, how do you set it up?

Posted by Debbie at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Homeschooling

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

God is Our Paperclip

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

A few weeks ago I did a craft class for the teen girls at my church. We used clips to make photo holders...

{This "photo holder" has a recipe card instead.}

For our devotional before the start of the class I talked to the girls about how God is like our paperclip or binder clip. He holds us together when we feel like we are falling apart. We can't hold ourselves together. We are merely the mess of paper lying on the floor. It is God that becomes our paperclip. One of the girls in the class made this...