Dandelion Jelly

***Since we're having an early spring this year, and the dandelions are abundant, I decided to re-post this...for any of my new readers who might be interested  in trying this recipe.***

One day while looking out the window and seeing the carpet of yellow flowers in our yard, I remembered a recipe I had, but never tried: dandelion jelly.

I knew that my hubby was going to put some weed killer on the lawn within the next few days, so I knew that if I wanted to try the recipe, today was the day!

So I went outside and gathered the blossoms. And thus began my first experience of making jelly from what so many people consider a weed. What they might not realize is that dandelions are very nutritious. They have more vitamin C than tomatoes, more vitamin A than carrots, and just as much iron as spinach. The leaves are most tender and flavorful in early spring, before the first flower buds appear. The blossoms have their sweetest flavor when picked early in the season as well.

                                                  Dandelion Jelly
                                            
                                             2 cups dandelion blossoms*
                                             1 quart water
                                             1 pkg. powdered fruit pectin
                                             5 1/2 c. sugar
                                             2 T. orange or lemon extract
                                             4 - 6  drops green or yellow food coloring, optional


In a saucepan, bring the water and blossoms to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes. Strain, reserving 3 cups of the liquid. Discard blossoms. In a large kettle, liquid and pectin. Stir well. Bring to a full, rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar all at once. Return to a full rolling boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add extract and food coloring.. Skim off foam. Pour the hot liqiud into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace. Adjust lids. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water bath.    Yield: about 6 half-pints.
* When harvesting dandelions, please be sure they have not been treated with chemicals. Also, thoroughly rinse and dry them before cooking.

I was a little concerned that my family wouldn't like the jelly simply because it's made of "weeds", but I was wrong. They love it!  Next on my list: rose petal jelly!

Genesis 1:29 :  "And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth. and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.'  "
                                            
linking up at Deep Roots At Home

Have a blessed day, friends!

                                    

I Can Do It Myself!

How many times have I heard one of my little ones tell me, "Mom, I can do it myself!"?

I am the self-reliant type, so years ago my first thoughts as a soon-to-be-homeschooler were
1. have an organized "school" area
2. get the textbooks
3. set up a schedule
4. teach the material

I decided homeschooling would be a breeze. Teach the material, test the children. No problem.

And it did work well...for a while. But the error in my way of thinking soon became obvious. I realized that the Lord had to be the center of our homeschool. And that from the beginning, the Bible should have been the foundational curriculum for us. All other material should have been considered supplemental. How unfortunate that I, as their mother and teacher, had missed this! I knew that I needed to rely on the Lord to successfully teach my children.

And after 17 years of homeschooling, I am still in no way sufficient to teach my children. There is not enough time, preparation, books, or anything else that can change my insufficiency.

No matter how prepared I am, I can't do this myself. No matter how organized I am, I can't do this myself. No matter how easily my children learn, I can't do this myself.

Some days are smooth sailing, and I wonder what the big deal is anyway. But other days are very demanding and I seem to barely make it through them.

Either type of day requires my reliance on the Lord, and not on myself.  Demanding days especially require the guidance and perspective that only the Lord can offer me.

Not just with homeschooling, but in all areas of my life, I am so thankful for my all-sufficient Heavenly Father.

2 Corinthians 3:5 :  "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God."

this post is linked up at Titus 2sday @ http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/
                                                                 http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com

Like A Vapor

Today makes 4 months since my father-in-law (who was like a father to me) was suddenly called Home to be with the Lord.  

He was one of the godliest men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. And he was a humble man. He was always concerned about everyone - except himself. He was a man of prayer. And that's one of the things I miss the most: the comfort of knowing that Dad was praying for me and my family. James 5:16 describes Dad well.  He effectually and fervently prayed for his family and others.

He was called Home so unexpectedly, but I was hoping that I would eventually adjust to his absence. And that, as time passed, it would get easier. But it has only gotten harder.

Yes, it gives me great comfort to know that Dad is in the presence of the Lord.

Yes, there is joy in knowing that I will see him again someday.

And yes, it gives me peace to know that Dad's physical suffering is over.

But the fact remains: he is gone and we are left behind....

...without his daily prayers covering us...without his godly counsel...without his fellowship...without another opportunity to tell him how much I love him.. without.....him.

One thing that I've learned from his sudden passing of Dad is that we are not promised another tomorrow.

So I'm hugging a little tighter, listening a little longer, laughing a little louder...just trying to cherish every moment.  Time is fleeting. There may be no tomorrow.

James 4:14b  "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little and then vanishes away."

These Little Lights of Mine

 Can our children's behavior in public be a testimony?

One of the employees at our local pharmacy must think that our family is very interesting. No matter where we are in the store, she is watching us.  We are under her constant "surveillance" til we exit the door.

She is also very unfriendly to us. I have seen her smiling and chatting with the other customers, but her countenance does a 180 when we get to the check out. She doesn't even speak to me, much less the children, or make eye contact while I'm paying for my things. I've always smiled and tried really hard to be friendly to her, but it didn't work.

I was beginning to dread going into the store and  I even considering changing pharmacies. Then, not long ago, my doctor called in prescription for me. When the children and I went to pick it up, guess who was at the check out?  

"Oh, no!" I thought. "I don't want to deal with her today!" But I breathed a prayer for help and headed her way. She saw me coming and put my prescription on the counter. As I was paying for it, she was her usual no eye contact, unfriendly self...even glaring at the children, who were standing obediently beside me. Before I turned to leave, she leaned over the counter, looked me in the eye, and said, "Tell me the truth...you threaten them before you come in here, don't you?"

So that was it!  She apparently was watching us to see if the children would misbehave. Her question caught me off-guard. I'd never been asked that before. But I heard my voice saying," No, I don't threaten them. We just discipline them the way we're supposed to, and they know what's expected of them."

She responded, "Well, they certainly are well-behaved."  As I left the store that day, I was hoping things would be different from then on. Wrong. She's still hovering close by the whole time we're in the pharmacy. But that's ok. She's watched us enough to know that my children are going to behave themselves, and they aren't going to ransack the place. The next time she decides to talk to me, I'll be ready to share why we train our children as we do.

And I consider that, at least to a very small degree, shining the light.

Matthew 5:16 :  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

This post is linked up @ http://raisingmightyarrows.blogspot.com
                                          http://www.homemaker-by-choice.com

Genesis 22

Genesis 22 is one of my favorite passages in Scripture.

I love the 2 wonderful symbols of the Lord Jesus in this chapter:

1. Isaac - an only son, loved by his father, willing to do his father's will, and, in a figure, raised back from the dead

2. the ram - innocent victim died as a substitute for another, its blood was shed, it was a burnt offering, wholly consumed for God

Someone has said that, in providing the ram as a substitute for Isaac, "God spared Abraham's heart a pang He would not spare His own."

May we consider our Savior's resurrection every day, and not just at this time of year.

2 Corinthians 5:21 : "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Teaching Our Children

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 :
" And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes.
  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "

I chose these verses as the theme verses of our homeschool over 17 years ago. The Lord is telling us to teach His words to our children  while we're sitting in our house, walking by the way, lying down, rising up. In other words, we should incorporate the Scriptures into our daily lives - at every opportunity. I was really challenged by these verses in the beginning. I struggled trying to find ways to apply Scriptures to whatever it was that I was doing with the children that day. But practice makes perfect, and over the years it has become easier. And the children seem to love the Scriptural applications. For example, when the children were helping me make bread, I asked them when leaven (or yeast) is mentioned in the Bible. They quickly tried to come up with an answer, which led to a discussion about it. I have gradually learned that there are ways to apply Scripture to everything that happens in our daily lives.

But we can't teach our children unless, according to verse 6, we know the Word, and have it in our "heart".   Daily devotions are a must. I have mine in the morning before the children wake up and the house gets noisy.  But I know some people who have them at night before bed. What's important is that we have them, not when we have them.

May the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), so that we may teach our children and have "godly offspring". Malachi 2:16                      

Spring Cleaning

We're in the midst of spring cleaning here at our house. And with the urge to clean also comes the urge to de-clutter; everything from books to clothes to toys to household items. Anything not being used gets put into the bag destined for the local thrift store. For some reason, I feel as if have to de-clutter each room of the house before beginning to spring clean it. It's as if all the clutter is weighing me down, preventing me from making any progress in the cleaning department.

It reminds me of Hebrews 12:1: "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."  The children and I were discussing this verse last week.  I explained to them 2 things. First, I told them that the writer of Hebrews compares the Christian walk to a race. Second, I asked them which type of race would be easier to run: one where each runner had a to carry a weight (like kind their dad uses when he lifts weights), or a race where the runner doesn't have to carry anything. They knew the answer.

The Greek meaning for laying aside is to "cast off". The New Testament commentary by William McDonald says, "We must strip ourselves of everything that would impede us." And "weights are things that are harmless in themselves, and yet hinder progress; they could include material possessions, family ties, the love of comfort, etc.."  and the sin mentioned in this verse is "..sin in any form.."

So, what about us? Are there things in our lives that we need to "lay aside" in order to grow spiritually and "run with endurance"? Let's cast it off, and "press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)