Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

How to Find Quiet Time With God When There is No Quiet Time

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I remember the days. And I remember the guilt.

So let’s just stop a minute and talk together about how to find quiet time to spend with God when your days are filled to the brim with fussy babies, dirty dishes, needy toddlers, muddy preschoolers, full-scheduled teenagers, work and ministry commitments, spilled oatmeal, missed naps, doctor appointments, broken washing machines, unexpected company, puke on the couch, arguing siblings, burned gunk on the stove-top, and poop that didn’t quite make it to the toilet on time.

How do we find time for God when it seems our prayer life consists mainly of, “Help God! I can’t find my keys and please give me patience so I don’t scream at my kids again and could you please make them obey me so that I don’t have to scream again but seriously, I can’t find my keys!!”

It doesn’t help when we read that others are getting up early to watch the sun rise while they have precious devotion time with the Father (after they exercise, spend quality time with their darling husband before work, journal, and balance the checkbook). When?? How?? Do these people never sleep? I must be doing something wrong. My priorities must not be right. I am failing. My relationship with God is not where it should be. Oh, but I’m so tired. Weary. Discouraged.

My dear reader:  You are not failing. You are not “less-than.” The other women don’t “have it all together” better than you. None of them. Don’t listen to lies and become discouraged.

Getting a healthy amount of sleep (or at least as much as your season in life will allow) is as important a task as anything you can do. Without sleep, everything else is harder. So sleep. Rest. The dust on the picture frames is not important, nor is it a big deal that your kid occasionally wears the same shirt (with a dried-on booger smeared across the sleeve) two days in a row. 

Give yourself grace. God does. If that’s not permission to relax, I don’t know what is.

Understand that time with God happens all day long. He is with you and hears your cry for help. He rejoices with you in your moments of triumph and cheers you on. He understands how full your day is and how hard you are working. He understands your need for quiet, and will provide it for you when you ask.

Did you hear that? He will provide.  He wants quiet time with you as much or more than you want it with Him. 

Grab hold of those few minutes you might find while you’re stirring the sauce for dinner. Everyone playing in the living room while you’re washing dishes? Sounds like you just found yourself some God time! Taking a quick shower before hubby heads out to work? God’s listening. Nursing the baby…again? Close your eyes, breathe, and spend some time in prayer (if you can stay awake). Running your pre-teen to sports practice? Crank up the Christian music and worship. Or better yet, turn the music off and enjoy the few minutes of silence. Can’t seem to find any time alone, ever? Then read the Word out loud to whoever is in the room with you. Pray aloud. Share that time with your kids. 

Some day soon, you might find yourself in a season that allows for pulling up a chair and having regular times of quiet God time. It’s beautiful and it’s necessary. In the meantime, pray for God to provide you just what you need so that your soul will be refreshed and your heart will be at peace.

And if you fall asleep during your prayer again, take comfort, knowing that there’s no better place to find rest.

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Why I’m Thankful to Know How to Cook Gluten Free (Plus 115 Healthy Gluten Free Recipes)

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My family eats gluten. 

I buy wheat in abundance and grind it several times a week to make flour for our baking needs. We eat regular oats frequently, and the occasional barley or rye. We experimented with eating gluten free a couple of years ago to see if it would help our son’s eczema. (It didn’t.)

But thanks to that experiment and the time I’ve spent learning from my friend Kim (who has been cooking gluten free for several years and who helped me put these books together) – I am well informed about how to prepare gluten free foods. I know how to keep food safe for those who can’t have gluten. I have in my head a big list of food options that are gluten free. I have many foods on hand in my kitchen at all times that are just fine for serving to the gluten sensitive. It’s really not difficult.

I really hadn’t thought much about the importance of having gluten free recipes and knowledge until last week. 

We had invited some college students over for a meal after church. On Saturday, I had prepared in advance two big dishes of Italian Pasta Bake, and a double batch of Whole Wheat Butterhorns. The next morning, right before we left for church, Asa came down and said, “Mom, you know what I just realized? I remember from camp that one of the girls coming over today can’t have gluten or dairy.” 

Yum

Umm…Italian Pasta Bake and Whole Wheat Butterhorns are both very full of gluten and dairy. I knew that at least she could eat the salad and green beans I had planned to go with our meal. But what else? And with that thought in mind…we headed off for church.

We caught the young lady after worship to let her know we were so glad she was coming and we asked about her food sensitivities. She told us not to worry about her and assured us that she was used to not eating when she went places and that she’d just come hang out.

Oh nonononono. Not at my house. I aim to please! Thou shalt not eat a meager little salad and a few green beans when dining at my table if I can help it.

Without even having to try, and because I had Tinkyada rice pasta on hand (yay!), I was able to quickly throw together a gluten free, cheeseless Italian Pasta Bake for her while I was tossing the salad and baking the rolls. I was very careful not to cross contaminate any of the foods (because Kim taught me well). I loved being able to present her with plenty of food that day so that she didn’t have to just sit there and watch us all eat.

That’s just one story to explain why I am so thankful to know how to cook gluten free foods. I can’t tell you how often this knowledge comes in handy. We’ve got friends coming to stay with us for several days this summer who can’t have gluten. When we were in Denver last month, staying with someone who couldn’t have gluten, I was easily able to help cook. Our boys have a gluten sensitive friend who has come over for a birthday party and I was able to have food for him. I made gluten free food when I hosted bunco because one of my friends in the group has Celiac. And on and on it goes. It is not hard to cook gluten free food once you know for sure which foods to avoid.
 

Chocolate Mint Soother

In preparation for our guests this summer, I recently took the time to update my Gluten Free Recipes page. Would you believe that 115 of the recipes on my site are naturally gluten free?? Naturally – as in, that’s how I make those recipes on any given day when I’m not thinking about gluten or non-gluten. There are no special ingredients or products needed. You can make many gluten free recipes with the ingredients you already have in your kitchen!! I love this.

Check out my Gluten Free Recipes page, and bookmark it or pin it so that you have easy access to it. Then you will also be well prepared to serve food to someone who can’t have gluten. Feel confident, knowing that many, many regular pantry and refrigerator staples are naturally gluten free. My page of 115 recipes proves it!

How comfortable do you feel preparing gluten free foods? Have any gluten free recipes to share?

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Homemade Grape Nuts Cereal

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A huge thank you to Michelle for telling me about this recipe idea!!

High Five Recipes 2

First of all, I have to ask – because I know you’re all dying to know the answer to this as well:  Why is this cereal called “Grape Nuts” when there are neither grapes nor nuts included in the list of ingredients? Haven’t you always wondered about that? Who named this cereal? And why, if they were going to call it something random like this, did they not call it “Pickle Sprouts” or Olive Berries?” How about “Banana Seeds?” I mean, if we’re going for titles that don’t make sense…

Yeah, don’t waste much time pondering that paragraph.

At the Colorado Springs Meet & Greet, we talked about everything from kids and media time to cereal. When Michelle told us she made a cereal like this, we all got super excited!

Homemade Grape Nuts

Looks like the real deal, huh? This cereal is pretty tasty with berries!

Homemade Grape Nuts is super easy to make, and I personally think it tastes better than the boxed stuff. Can you guess my kids’ first question when I introduced them to this at breakfast? “Looks good, but why is it called Grape Nuts?” I don’t know, Son. I don’t know.

Homemade Grape Nuts CerealYum

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
1 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
2 cups buttermilk (or milk mixed with 2 Tablespoons vinegar)
2/3 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all ingredients together, beating well until smooth. Spread mixture onto a parchment paper lined (or well buttered) cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes in a 375° oven. Remove cereal from the oven, and cool completely. Once cool, grind in a food processor until it becomes “crumb like.”

Return crumbs to cookie sheet or a large baking pan. Bake in a 250° oven for one hour or until crisp, stirring every 15 minutes.

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I found it easiest to bake the crumbs in a dish with sides (my 10×15 pyrex) so that I could stir more easily.

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Cool the cereal and store it in an air tight container in the pantry (for about two weeks) or freezer (for up to two months).

5.0 from 3 reviews
Homemade Grape Nuts Cereal
 
Save Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 3½ cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
  • 1 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
  • 2 cups buttermilk (or milk mixed with 2 Tablespoons vinegar)
  • ⅔ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together, beating well until smooth.
  2. Spread mixture onto a parchment paper lined (or well buttered) cookie sheet.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes in a 375° oven.
  4. Remove cereal from the oven, and cool completely.
  5. Once cool, grind in a food processor until it becomes "crumb like."
  6. Return crumbs to cookie sheet or a large baking pan.
  7. Bake in a 250° oven for one hour or until crisp, stirring every 15 minutes.(I found it easiest to bake the crumbs in a dish with sides (my 10x15 pyrex) so that I could stir more easily.)
  8. Cool the cereal and store it in an air tight container in the pantry (for about two weeks) or freezer (for up to two months).

The geek in me decided to do the math to see if this was not only a High Five Recipe, but a Real Food Dollar Menu recipe as well. Sure enough! It took about $2.00 to make a batch of this cereal – using all organic ingredients. This makes about twice as much cereal as you would find in a regular sized box of Grape Nuts. When’s the last time you were able to buy a box of whole grain, organic cereal for a buck?

Looking for more meals on our Real Food Dollar Menu? Here are the recipes I’ve shared so far:

Tell me you’ve always wondered where Grape Nuts got its name.  And by always, I obviously mean, “Yes, I’ve pondered that for a second or two once in my life.”

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Helping Your Kids Develop Their Talents

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Special thanks to 10KtoTalent for sponsoring this post. Matt and I have been so appreciative of all we have discovered on this site!

This has been on our minds for months. Our oldest will be a junior in high school in the fall. {gulp}  The questions have already started: “Does he know where he’s going to college?” “What is Asa interested in doing in the future?” “Has Asa taken the ACT yet?” It’s enough to make me get out the baby book (that I failed at putting together while in the midst of not sleeping, breastfeeding 25 hours a day, and diaper changing) and wish for those tongue in cheek “simpler years.” 

It’s humbling to realize that we just have two years left to prepare our child for independence. As Asa seeks direction for his future, we have been praying specifically that God would reveal to him where his passions lie, what he is the most gifted at doing, and where we should be focusing as we develop his school plan through graduation.

10ktotalent

It was in the midst of this that we heard about 10KtoTalent. It is said that “it takes 10,000 hours of talent development for someone to reach a world class level of performance in any particular field of human endeavor.” The site 10KtoTalent is a resource that helps you, as a parent, explore this with your kids. We love this because it is something we should all be intentional about with our families. Having this site as a guide to walk us through how to do this is so valuable!

We’ve been working our way through the free First 100 Hours Guide that Jonathon Harris, founder of 10KtoTalent has put together. We definitely don’t plan to only use it with our oldest. All of our boys will benefit from this – starting now. What a blessing it will be for us as parents to offer so much guidance and specific focus for our kids as they develop the abilities God has given them! We are thankful that this resource is available to offer guidance to us, the parents. :)

The 10KtoTalent free resource First 100 Hours Guide is available to everyone who subscribes to the newsletter. No matter what your kids’ ages: get this resource. It’s free, and the newsletter will be a continual service to your family. You may also want to follow 10KtoTalent on Facebook. 

Do you feel like your kids are aware of their talents? (The talents that are in addition to eating a huge stack of pancakes in five minutes and retelling an entire two hour movie in detail…)  How do you help them develop these talents? 

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Gratituesday: Pull Up a Chair

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I’m not good at just sitting. I love working hard and keeping busy, so it’s hard for me to just sit and do nothing. (As you can imagine, I am a joy to travel with. Cooped up in a car, seatbelt on, can’t cook, can’t exercise, can’t do anything but make long to-do lists for tasks that can’t be done anytime soon. It’s pretty.)

But lately, I have been learning that sitting doesn’t necessarily mean that I am doing nothing. I’ve been choosing to sit each morning (if possible) before I hit the day head on and take time to reflect and find refreshment in God’s word, simply by sitting still in His presence. If this doesn’t work in the mornings, I try to find time in the afternoon. 

With our official school schedule on pause for the summer, I have realized that the “extra” time this affords me must be spent in this way. And come August, when school and soccer season come back in full force, somehow I’ve got to continue finding time for this. My health and heart need this.

I am beginning to understand what Martin Luther said hundreds of years ago: “I have so much to do that if I didn’t spend at least three hours a day in prayer I would never get it all done.” I’ve never understood what he meant. But now I can say: Yes, yes, yes!

Three hours, you ask? Well, I can’t say that I’m sitting that long each day. :)  But taking time to stop, sit, be still, breathe, and listen to God absolutely does not take away from my work time or limit me in what I can accomplish the remainder of the day. On the contrary, it empowers me, energizes me, and allows me to more peacefully serve my family and others throughout the day. And in fact, I am finding that being more in tune with what God wants, the more I am able to wisely pick and choose how He’d like me to spend my time. God writes a much better “to-do” list for me than I can ever write for myself.

Having difficulty finding time to “get it all done” each day? Take time to sit with the Father. Ask Him how you should be spending your time. Listen for His answers. Breathe. Reflect. Pray. That’s the only way to tackle your to-do list. I am so grateful to be learning this.

Share how God is working in your life on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for! Please read through the Gratituesday Guidelines so that you understand what kinds of posts you can link up to share here. Posts that are linked but do not fit our Gratituesday theme will be deleted.

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday, please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Here is what I said to my boys one morning last week:  “You are brothers. That means you are on the same team. Stop treating each other like enemies, be nice, and for Pete’s sake, stop all that ridiculous arguing!!!!!”

Oh wait. That is not the quote I meant to share. Goodness.  What I really wanted to tell you is that one morning last week, I was able to say this to my boys:

“To go with your breakfast, you can have cherries, blueberries, kiwi, apples, raspberries, pineapple, clementines, pears, strawberries, nectarines…or a banana.”

Yes, we actually had eleven different varieties of fresh fruit in our fridge or on our counter-top. Can you say spoiled?? (Our family – not the fruit.) It is unbelievable to me how blessed we are in America to have all of these wonderful choices. I love how many great fruits are in season right now – filling my kitchen with goodness. Truly, we are so, so blessed. 

And then, there are all the wonderful frozen fruits in my freezer:  strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, and blueberries. These Pineapple Mango Smoothies have been rocking my world. They are perfect on a warm afternoon when we all need a snack to hold us over until dinner.

pineapple_mango_smoothie_2

The fun is just beginning as fresh garden produce will begin making it’s way into our house. Ahhhh summertime. So much to love.

Here’s what our menu looks like this week:

Sunday, June 9
Easy breakfast casserole, nectarines
Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, grapes, sweet peppers, baby carrots
Leftovers

Monday, June 10
Cranberry white chocolate chip breakfast cookies, apple slices
Black bean salsa, pineapple mango smoothies, baby carrots
Italian cream cheese chicken, asparagus, tossed salad

Tuesday, June 11
Honey cinnamon muffins, scrambled eggs, grapes
Chicken patty sandwiches with fresh spinach, and tomatoes, baby carrots, pears
Pizza boats, watermelon, tossed salad

Wednesday, June 12
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries, whipped cream
Chicken salad on homemade pitas with lettuce and tomatoes, strawberries
Cheesy salsa enchiladas, tossed salad, pineapple

Thursday, June 13
Almond flour muffins, fried eggs, kiwi, strawberries
BLTs, grapes, sweet peppers, baby carrots
Teriyaki chicken with rice and veggies (broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, and carrots)

Friday, June 14
Pancake sausage muffins, nectarines
Salmon patties, potato wedges, green beans, cherries
Homemade pizza, tossed salad

Saturday, June 15
Flaky cream cheese pastry, blueberries
Leftovers
Grilled marinated chicken breasts, baked potatoes, asparagus, sweet peppers, tossed salad

Have you been enjoying any sibling arguments fresh fruit lately?

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Our Family Service Trip Journal, Day 6: Rockies vs. Diamondbacks

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I just realized I’m behind in sharing the final days of our Colorado family service trip! Be sure to check out Day One: SEVENS Ministry, Day Two: Handing Out Food to 100 Families, Day Three: Purple Door Coffee and a Wedding, and Day Four: Church in Colorado Springs, Meet and Greet, and Garden of the Gods

You may have noticed that I went from Day 4 to Day 6. What happened to Day 5?  Not to worry – I will be sharing about that soon. :)  It was a very special day in which our family was able to meet face to face and work with the people behind a ministry all of our families can take part in. Details coming soon, I promise! There are some technical difficulties that are still not worked out that are causing delays in my ability to “reveal” it to you. 

For now, I’m going to share what we did on the final day of our trip. After several days of traveling, working, and visiting with many people – we were all happy but tired. We chose to take our final day off, spending several relaxing hours with our friends (that had been kind enough to let us stay with them for an entire week), hiking, and playing lawn games. 

Late that afternoon, we headed to a Rockies game. This had worked out so perfectly! We are friends with Brad Ziegler, a pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. It just so happened that the two teams were playing against each other in Denver on the last day of our trip. It was a no-brainer. Tickets were purchased!

We arrived early to the game so that we could watch batting practice and try to catch Brad. 

bball_game_2

He was watching for us and came over for a short visit. He signed baseballs for the boys – always a fun treat!

bball_game_1 
Since we still had time before the game started, we headed up to the “mile high” row of seats in the stadium.
 bball_game_4 
It was quite the trek. Matt and I decided to prove how difficult it is to breathe up there at such a high altitude.

bball_game_6

Okay, just kidding. We were really fine. (mostly)

bball_game_5

The game was a blast and we loved watching Brad pitch a perfect inning!

bball_game_7

Side note:  They should totally have a “visitors section” at the stadium. We felt like the only Diamondbacks fans in a sea of Rockies fans. Awkward.  ;) 

It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip. God blessed us so much as a family and we pray we were a blessing to everyone we visited with and ministered to.

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What to Do With Coconut Flour

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There’s been some conversation over on my facebook page about what to do with coconut flour. After all, if you take advantage of this great deal on coconut flour at Amazon, you may need a few recipes to go with it!

Coconut flour does not substitute one-for-one with wheat flour. Coconut flour is quite dry, therefore recipes usually require quite a bit more liquid (such as milk, water, or eggs) and less flour than you may be used to in wheat flour recipes. For instance, in my Coconut Flour Muffin recipe, I use just 1/2 cup of coconut flour to make 12 muffins. For a typical wheat flour muffin recipe that makes 12 muffins – I typically use 1 1/2 cups of flour. This means that even though coconut flour costs more than wheat flour, it will go much farther, keeping the overall cost quite similar! (Especially when you can get it for just $2.23 a pound. I am so thankful to know about this deal. Thanks again for your email, Heather!)

Here are the coconut flour recipes you’ll find here at Heavenly Homemakers:

And if you head over to the Tropical Traditions website, you’ll find tons and tons of recipes that include coconut flour.  From pancakes to chicken fingers to crepes to pizza crust – and everything in between. That page is a great resource. One more reason to love Tropical Traditions!

If you have any great recipes or links to recipes that use coconut flour, please share them in the comments of this post.  I’m excited to play with all of my coconut flour and to discover more great ways to eat it!

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Essentials for Your Kids’ School Trip

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The following is a guest post from Sara. Consideration was received for the editing and publishing of this article.  

School trips are a major part of your kids’ school life and something they deserve to have as not only a learning experience, but also as an essential good school memory.

A good bunch of friends, good management on the part of the school and an interesting place of visit may be the key ingredients in making the trip a success, but some other smaller bits and pieces might add to the trip being fun as well as safe.

These things depend on your part in the trip, which involves getting the essentials for your kids to take along. Here are some of the things you should consider getting them:

Travel Backpack

To carry most of the items you’re going to get your children, they need to have a travel backpack to stock the things. Travel backpacks are not much different in terms of design from the regular ones, but are bigger, have more space and compartments for keeping items safe and undamaged.

Children’s backpacks for trips are also designed with their height and weight carrying limit in mind. They are also bound to be useful for family trips, so it’s be a good investment for school use as well as for family excursions.

There are a variety of travel backpacks you can choose from and you also have the option to get one for your kids based on their favorite TV shows. For example, if your kids love watching Sesame Street, a backpack portraying its theme won’t be hard to find with so much Sesame gear available from online.

Snacks

Trips also involve a lot of walking and moving around. Lunch time is always fixed to a certain point, so with some snacks in their own backpack, your kids can just reach for a juice or a packet of crisps if they feel hungry or thirsty in between.

However, don’t pack in too many sweet things, especially candies and soft drinks. These are only likely to make them thirstier and nurture their sweet tooth rather than abating their hunger.

Umbrellas and Hats

Before you send children off to their school trip, remember to check the weather forecast for that day so you know what kind of gear they should keep at hand or wear to be comfortable.

If they’re going to go to a place where chances are it’s going to rain, get them an umbrella. You don’t have to worry about the space or the heaviness of the umbrella as there are plenty of folding umbrellas out there that are small in size and light in weight. Remember to instruct your child on how to use one.

On the other hand, if the weather report says it’s going to be quite sunny, you can give them hats for protecting the sun rays from making contact with their eyes. You can also go for a DIY hat for your kids. Another option is to get them sunglasses if they agree to wear them.

There is always something extra that you might want to pack in just in case, but don’t overburden your children’s backpacks so they spend more time trying to tug it around rather than having fun. Keep in mind the kind of trip it is, indoor or outdoor, overnight or day trip, and help them pack accordingly.

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Perfecting Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola

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I consider myself to be a pretty good cook. I’m not bragging. I’m simply stating that I really enjoy cooking, I can throw together meals and snacks quite efficiently, and when people eat my food, they often say, “Yum, this is good.”

But for the life of me, I can’t make a No-Bake Cookie. It’s the recipe most ten year olds can make and the cookie even those who hate cooking can create without issue. But me? I can’t get a No-Bake Cookie to turn out no matter what I try. I’ve turned that job over to our 16 year old because he has the method down pat and makes perfect No-Bake Cookies nine times out of ten (even though I think he’s really only made them six times in his life but who’s counting?).

So would you believe that last week, while I was making a batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola – I turned out a perfect batch of No-Bake Cookies?! Yes. I cannot make them when I try, but when I’m trying to make something different, I actually master the blasted cookie. So let’s review:

1. I stink at making No-Bake Cookies. I have attempted making them at least 14 times in my life and have had success…never.

2. Asa is great at making No-Bake Cookies. The job is his.

3. A few weeks ago, Asa was making No-Bake Cookies but they got crumbly so we turned the mixture into Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola. That was his one time out of ten (or six or whatever) that he didn’t get them perfect. 

4. The granola was delicious, I reduced the sugar and posted the recipe because everyone needed to have access to it.

5. I then tried making the granola again, and turned out the best No-Bake Cookies ever.

Unbelievable. You’ve got to love the lame irony. But hey, we’re talking about peanut butter, chocolate, oats, butter, and vanilla – all favorite ingredients of mine. I’m not whining too loudly.

So just in case you want to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola, but end up with No-Bake Cookies, I will share with you how I solved my “problem.” I added a few extra oats to soak up the liquid (which did not help the mixture turn into granola – just really oaty cookies). Then I spread the mixture on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and baked it at 250° for one hour, stirring occasionally. The granola got nice and crispy (and made my house smell amazing).

I will now go edit the Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola recipe page to share these suggestions in case you too accidentally find yourself with No-Bake Cookies. If only all mistakes in the kitchen were this delicious. :)

pb_choc_granola_2

Yum

How are you at making No Bake Cookies?  I think I might be the only person on the planet who can’t make them. ;)

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