Have you?

Have you been reading through Proverbs 31 and Titus 2? 

Well here is another verse to add to your ponderings... Read through proverbs 31 and Titus 2 again and add this one in, Philippians 2: 14.  Do all things without complaining and disputing.  If we are complaining or disputing then we are not following our first two passages, as the complaining etc. gets in the way. 

I know it is hard to not complain or argue with our husbands especially, we think that we know a better thing to do or a better way to do it.  But it is not our place to argue with them, even if we are right. 


Today's Doings:

• Babysit for my 5 red heads
• Home to make dinner
• Family time
• Try and get packets put together for Friday night's frugal cooking/cleaning/fellowship night. 

Have a great day!! DO ALL THINGS WITHOUT COMPLAINING AND DISPUTING!!

And now back to your regular scheduled program....

I know it has been a few days.  After our day in Niagara Falls, I got hit with the flu.  My little red heads that I baby sit had been sick the week before and I guess it was inevitable that I would get it too.  I am on the mend and only mildly achy today. 

So the ponderings for this day of rest:

Break Dividing Walls

By: David Ruis

There is a place of commanded blessing

Where brethren in unity dwell

A place where anointing oil is flowing

Where we live as one

You have called us to be a body

You have called us as friends

Joined together in the bond of the Spirit

Unto the end

Father we join with the prayer of Jesus

As You are so let us be one

Joined together in unity and purpose

All for the love of Your Son

We will break dividing walls

We will break dividing walls

We will break dividing walls in the name of Your Son

We will break dividing walls

We will break dividing walls

And we will be one!

Please continue to keep my little church in LaGrange in your prayers as it goes through some tough changes. 

Plans for today:

• Church 
• Then lunch and a continuation of our bible study with some dear friends in Christ.  I look forward to these times of fellowship and oneness in our beliefs and understanding of our Heavenly Father and what he plans for us. 
• Pick up our pre-teen from his grandparents, they took him camping for the weekend. 
• Back here to the house for an evening of more good food (either Chinese or pizza) and a movie with our room mate. 

Have a blessed day of rest in our Lord Jesus Christ and renewal in the Holy Spirit for the week to come. 

Homeschool Celebration Day

Pre-Teen and I have celebrated homeschool celebration day since we started homeschooling.  What is it you ask.  All the kiddies around here start back to public school today, and we take the day off to celebrate the fact that we can take time off whenever we want.  Today's day will be in Niagara Falls, Canada. 

I pray that each of your days is celebration and that the Joy of the LORD will be your strength today. 

Servants Heart

Yesterday I talked about laboring over something for someone we love.  I also mentioned doing it with a servants heart.  What does that really mean?  How should we be reflecting that? 

A Servant is simple one who serves others.   As women, whether you are single, married, have children still at home, whatever your season of life.  God has given us as women to be willing servants to others.  The key word there is willing, not complaining that you once again have to help out that needy friend with something, or that your child made a huge mess that you now need to clean up.  WILLING SERVANT!!!!  Especially as a women spending time daily in the word we see how Jesus reflected a servants attitude in most everything he did.  Now matter how busy we are or how tired we are, reflecting that love and devotion to EVERYONE around you is a must. 

How to reflect that above all else serve others attitude.  Take time to read your bible today.  Once again read Proverbs 31, and Titus 2.  My easy reminder to my self each day is in my prayer time, I sing:

Make me a servant

Humble and meek

LORD let me lift up

Those who are week

And may the prayers

Of my heart always be......

Make me a servant

Make me a servant

Make me a servant today.

As you go out to work, start school, drive your kids to school...  Whatever you do in word or deed do it all in the name of the LORD.

Today:

Babysitting for my 5 redheads

Home to make dinner (beef stew that is from a batch in the freezer)

Family time

Have a blessed day and remember to rest in the Lord and cling not to your own understanding. 

Labor Day

Today I was thinking about all we do to labor for our families, friends and ourselves.  While we all know these are things we must do to build our relationships and keep them... what labors of love have you preformed recently for the people in your life.  I don't mean the normal mundane things, like cooking, cleaning etc.  What real act of total self-less love have you labored over? 

Take today to think of a self-less out of the ordinary act of love and something that you will labor through with a servants heart to do for someone close to you.  Knit or crochet something just to make a friend smile, bake a batch of cookies that are just for your husband (no one is allowed to share).  My goal for the rest of this year is to choose one person a week to bless with not only a small gift that will show my appreciation for them but also prayers for them as I prepare whatever it is I make.  The next part of this goal is I will not be going out to buy anything for these blessings, or as I tell Pre-Teen, random acts of kindness, it will be something that is already in my house.  Crafty, frugal and prayers, what more can a person ask for. 

Today:

8 face cord of wood is being delivered, then BuilderMan and Pre-Teen will stack it all.
A young woman that is close to my heart will be hear to share and counsel or guide or just be an ear, whatever she needs today.
Bake 2 more loaves of bread, I have a new recipe I want to try, I am on a mission to find a homemade bread that is as soft as store bought, I tend to like crusty breads my Pre-Teen likes cheap-o store bought so I am searching so he will eat more bread.  It is cheaper, and maybe will fill him up for more than 2 minutes.
Make a batch of lemon bars and brownies.  We are going for dinner to my little sis's tonight so dessert is my detail.
Make a loaf or 2 of garlic bread for dinner. 


Ponderings:

Romans 8:28 

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love GOD, to those who are the called according to HIS purpose. 

Have a blessed day and remember to REST in the LORD. 

Celebration and Worship

Be Thou My Vision

Words: Ancient Irish Hymn   

Music: Irish Folk Melody

Colossians 3:1-4

Be Thou my vision, O LORD of my heart;

Naught be all else to me save that Thou art-

Thou my best thoughts, by day or by night.

Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me LORD

Thou my great FATHER, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart.

High King of heaven my treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever be befall.

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.  

Prayer for you today:

That the Lord will bless and keep you and that you let HIS light shine upon you each day this week. 

Post your favorite Praise and Worship song!

Best Laid Plans

Ok so I like I was saying, Life is what happens when you make plans.  Almost as soon as I finished posting BuilderMan called our truck is broken and I need to go pick him up from my dad's when he was done working, which would be early today.  So, Pre-Teen and I went yard saleing in the morning and got a few necessary items.  I did get a really good deal on 5 lbs. of ground beef at Save-A-Lot, it was 4.78 instead of the 9.65 it should have been, made that trip worth more than just the milk and bagels I went for. 

We went to about 5 yard sales, but all I found was a drying rack for .50, I am hunting for some stoneware bowls for rising dough in but no luck so far.  We got back around 12 and had some lunch.  Our washer is broken, so I came home and did some laundry by hand that has been sitting wet in the aforementioned washer for 2 days.  I really dislike doing laundry by hand, by the way.  After a year in Africa of doing laundry every few days by hand, I am so done with it!

 I just finished when BuilderMan called to say he was done come get him.  He had me get a whole list of tools to bring with me so he could maybe fix it then drive it home.  So changed into dry clothes, and off I went, still no baking done.  It took BuilderMan and my dad about 45 minutes to figure out what was even wrong with it then decide if it should even be driven.  We did end up driving it home, very slowly, a 20 minute drive took us almost an hour.  But he to got it home and we are waiting on the parts to come in. 

Once I got home had to make dinner, which I had to change my idea due to time issues at this point.  So we had homemade Alfredo sauce on angel hair pasta.  By this time it was 6:30 and I was too tired to even think about baking anything. 

Today's Plans:

Bake~ Chocolate Chip Cookies, Molasses Cookies, 6 loaves of bread and 2 loaves of Cinnamon Bread. 

Clean and organize pantry.  This is just about done with the help of Pre-Teen.

Hopefully clean up all messes from baking and cooking today.  We are having our woodstove that hasn't been used since we have lived in the house (about 6 years) and I don't think the previous owners used it either, inspected.  A friend is doing the inspecting and he wants pizza from our local pizza place for payment.  So at least lunch is all taken care of. 

Ponderings for the day:  (You will notice that often my ponderings will be a song instead of a scripture at some point I will explain a bit more why this is)

This is my cry, this is my song, YOU are my guiding light, for this journey I'm on. 

 And when these sunny skies, turn shades of gray. 

I'll stay close by YOUR side as YOU lead the way.........

Jesus lead on, I will follow

Jesus lead on, let YOUR love light the way

Jesus lead on, I will follow.  Jesus lead on. 

And when my vision is clouded, by the wind and the rain

You'll stay close by my side and You'll lead my way....

HAVE A GREAT SATURDAY!!

Daily Doings

This morning after posting I will be heading out to hit some yard sales and do some basic shopping we need milk and lettuce.  Then it's back home to try and get my pantry organized some. Then to do a couple of loads of laundry by hand, my washer is not working right and BuilderMan has been too busy this week to take a look at it.  So back to doing laundry African style, ewww.  But at least it will be hot out today so everything should be dry by this evening. 

Bread making today:  my "plan" (you know the best laid plans....) is to bake 8 loaves of bread and 2 loaves of cinnamon bread and possible one loaf of zucchini bread and get most everything in the freezer for next week. 

Favorite Italian Bread Recipe:

1 Tbsp Yeast
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 1/2 cups of warm water
Let set for about 5 minutes to dissolve yeast.

Add 1 Tbsp. Salt
5-6 cups of Flour

You can then either use your stand mixer if you are too busy to knead or knead about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. 

While kneading set up warm steamy environment.  I boil water in the microwave and then either put it in my oven which I preheated and then shut off  or because I have a huge over the stove microwave just leave the water in there and place my loaf pans in.   

I then put in greased loaf pan place in your warm steamy environment.  Let rise till at the top of the pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes. 

Variations: To turn this recipe into cinnamon bread:  Add 2 more Tbsp Sugar.  Roll out dough after kneading spread on 1 cup of butter, sprinkle 1 cup of sugar with 2 tsp. Cinnamon and a few sprinkles of Vanilla.  Roll place in loaf pan and let rise as normal. 

Tip of the DAY!!!!

I bake my bread in an electric roasting pan.  Pre-heat the pan at whatever temperature your recipe calls for.  Place roasting rack in the bottom, if you don't have one you can use thoroughly washed tuna fish cans with both top and bottom cut off just place them in so that your pan is flat and steady.  Just before placing your pans inside add 1 cup water.  This will give you the perfect consitancy of chewy bread crust and soft inside that is awesome!  I also use the roaster to bake cakes, brownies well just about anything you can use your oven for and or your crockpot for!

Passage for the day:

Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also MUST do. 

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 

And let the peace of God rule in our hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 

As women we often forget that love is not an emotion, it is a choice.  One that we need to make each and every day.  That choice to love our husbands and our children and our neighbors today will draw us closer to our Lord and our Heavenly Fathers plan for our lives with is to be more like him each and every day. 

??????????Question of the day?????????

What is your favorite Hymn or Praise Song?  I would love to be reminded of some old ones I haven't thought of in years, and learn of some new things to listen to in my daily focus time. 

Read and Ponder

Ok Ladies read these passages and lets pray over them and find in our ponderings how to be better Blessed children, wives and mothers. 

Proverbs 31

Titus 2:3-5

Nope not going to type them out for you, you gotta go find your bible, dig it out from under the pile you hoped to get to later this week, wipe off the dust or jelly and read.  I know we each have our favorite translation and I don't want to restrict someone just out of convience from their favorite.  I had to find mine for church on Sunday I am so tied to using biblegateway that I never actually pick up  my bible unless its Sunday. My new goal is to step away from the computer for bible study each day and actually use my bible. 

Today's Projects, Meals....

Hem a pair of pants for our roommate.  Try and get her curtains ready to finish by tomorrow.  I have 3 skirts to do for another friend so I hope to get the cutting done tonight.  I washed a bunch of tupperware I got and hope to get my pantry all organized on Saturday.  Go with my builder husband to go get some free 10 foot plus beams that were taken out of a barn, they will either become furniture or firewood depending on their condition.  Then home to watch my husband do a floor plan for our upcoming kitchen re-do. 

DINNER:
Tacos from leftovers on Tuesday night 

2 lbs. ground turkey, ground beef or chicken
2 cups cooked rice
1 can kidney beans
1 can tomato sauce if you like your mix to be saucy
1 package of taco seasoning made according to directions
1/2 cup of white cheddar powder (I got addicted while in Congo)

Cook everything combine and throw into crock pot to keep warm till dinner. 

This can be eaten as a casserole or put in taco shells or used for taco salad it is great cold even!

Your are invited

I will be hosting an evening of sharing my homemade cleaning products, laundry soap making and from scratch frugal meal ideas and just plain hanging out!  On September 17th, 2010 at 6 pm at my home.  If you are interested please email me and let me know  homespunscarlet@gmail.com.  Please bring a couple of empty tight sealing containers such as canning jars, a good appetite and your favorite frugal recipe!

Welcome!

Homespun Scarlet, huh?  What's up with the name?  I have prayed over this idea for some time and many people ask me for my recipes and homemaking ideas etc.  So I sat down and was trying to think of a name for a blog.  I am a homemaker but that just doesn't describe what we do as wives and moms.  So my son walks by and one of his vocabulary words was homespun (a cool word meaning from scratch or home made), it really describes what we do we have to start from nothing at times to create something beautiful and fruitful. Scarlet, because of Proverbs 31:21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.  We as wives have the job of budgeting what we have and expanding and providing everything our family needs from what the Lord blesses us with.  I hope this will become a way to encourage and teach one another (Titus 2:3-5).  If you have any suggestions or questions post a comment and get a discussion going.