Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

17 phone calls

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As of this month, I am now 38 years old and have been married to my beloved for 17 years. Speaking of my beloved (because it’s more fun to avoid talking about how old I am and to instead focus on my anniversary) – do you want to know what Matt did for me on our special day?

He was out of town all weekend at a soccer retreat with the college team he helps coach, making it impossible for us to be together on our anniversary. (Don’t worry, the story gets better.)  We’d decided to celebrate later and I happily supported his decision to go be with the team. His cell phone broke while he was gone (no really, the story gets better), so he was unable to call without borrowing a phone and going to a little extra trouble. He called in the morning to wish me a happy anniversary, and then later in the evening when he had a moment. And that’s when the fun started.

No sooner had he and I hung up from our conversation that the phone rang again. It was one of the soccer girls, Isabelle, calling to wish me a Happy 17th Anniversary. I hung up with Isabelle and the phone rang again. It was Katie, another soccer player, calling to wish me a Happy Anniversary. Then Jen called. Then Jordan. Then Anna, then Macy, then Hannah, then Morgan. And so it went for 17 phone calls.

Yes, my husband had arranged for 17 soccer gals to call and wish me a Happy 17th Anniversary. It was the sweetest thing ever. The girls kept saying things like, “Coach Copp has been talking about you all day.” and “Thanks for sharing your husband with us this weekend.” It totally made my night (and totally kept me from washing dishes because who can wash dishes when the phone rings 17 times in a row?).

And that is why I made him a peach cobbler when he got home with 17 peaches from our peach tree. (Okay, just kidding, I don’t really know how many peaches I used, but 17 peaches sounded more romantic.)

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The Busy Week (with a partial menu plan)

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The week has arrived. The YC soccer teams are in town, enduring three-a-day practices, and I have the privilege to help feed the ladies’ team! Last year I fed them six meals – this year I’m only needed for three – so it seems “much easier” this time! :)

Added into the mix this week is a Baby Shower I’m helping host on Thursday. Also, a dear friend from church went to be with Jesus last week after battling cancer. Therefore, I’m helping provide a meal for her family on Monday, plus helping with food for a congregational meal following her funeral on Tuesday. We feel very blessed to serve in this way and have been having fun cooking all weekend in preparation! Yes I’m a little tired, but no I’m not overdoing it. If you didn’t know this already – I love cooking. Put me in a kitchen with a bunch of ingredients and I’m a happy girl. Our boys have also been a tremendous help! (They’ve also had the good sense to scram and make haste to the trampoline during the harried moments when Mama is carrying a huge pot of sauce across the kitchen, while the oven timer is beeping and the pasta is boiling over, which has also been very helpful.)

My goal while feeding others (especially in large crowds) is to keep the meals as simple as possible, while at the same time providing very tasty dishes so that the recipients know they are loved by our family.

Friday, we bought half of Walmart then went home to brown hamburger meat, bake cookies and put together lasagnas. You should have seen my shopping cart – I was wishing I had my camera with me! I don’t think I could have fit one more item in without it all falling out over the cart.


We unloaded groceries onto the floor of the kitchen and then worked together to get them
organized and put away. This is about half of what I bought.
As you can see, I do compromise when I’m cooking for a large crowd,
making most of the food from scratch but buying a few boxes and cans too. ;)

Cookies, cookies and more cookies. The sugar over-floweth from my kitchen this weekend.

The following menu plan probably won’t offer you much in the way of suggestions for feeding your family this week, unless you personally have 43 children (in which case, I beg you to please let me come help you wash dishes sometime). But, I needed for myself a very thorough “feeding the masses” plan so that I’m able to knock this week out efficiently. I’ve typed out everything I’ll be making and serving for others, but I didn’t actually take the time this week to type out the remaining meals for our family. For meals that include just the six of us, we’ll likely be eating leftovers from the larger meals or scrambled eggs, pancakes, hamburgers and veggies from the garden.

Sunday, August 14

Meal for Soccer Team (50 people) – Tammy’s Chicken Pasta Salad (x7), Grapes, Angeled Eggs, Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (x4), Sugar Cookies (x2)

Monday, August 15

Lunchtime Meal for the P family (15 people) – Sloppy Joes (x3), Cheese Slices, Angeled Eggs, Sliced Watermelon, Carrot Sticks with Ranch Dressing, Frosted Brownies (these brownies, this frosting)

Dinnertime Meal for Soccer Team – Lasagna (x7), Tossed Salad, Green Beans, Honey Whole Wheat Bread (x4), Butterscotch Bars (x3)

Tuesday, August 16

Take to Funeral Meal – 4 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies

Meal for Soccer Team – Beef Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, Gravy, Cream Cheese Corn, Homemade Dinner Rolls,  Apple Crisp with Homemade Ice Cream

Thursday, August 18

Take to Baby Shower – Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, Coconut Flour Muffins, Lemons (for water), Diapers, Cards and Gifts

(Yes I know diapers and gifts are not part of a menu plan, but I don’t want to forget anything so they’re going on this list!)

All other typically accomplished tasks such as science lessons and laundry folding are pending this week. I’ve mentioned before that it is more important to us that our children learn to serve than for them to learn their states and capitals. They’ll still find some math and reading time this week I’m sure. And really, matching socks are over-rated, don’t you think?

I love making lasagnas assembly line style – so easy!!

My posts may be irregular this week as I haven’t been able to spend much time this weekend writing. I do have a guest post and some fun giveaways lined up, as well as a big sale in the Heavenly Homemakers Shop to tell you about!! Watch for news on that soon. :)

 

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Tattler Lids and Flying Knives

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If you recall, I was sent some reusable Tattler canning lids to review several weeks ago. I wrote the review based on positive feedback I’d heard from my friends about Tattler, but I’ve been waiting for my tomatoes to finally turn red so I could actually can something myself and use my new lids!! Finally, last weekend I was able to play with my new “toys”.

I’m very excited to share, in response to many of you asking about Tattler lids, “Do they really work?” YES! They really work!

Because I was so giddy with excitement over my first canning experience of this season, and because based on this happy jar sealing experience, Tattler and I are going to become extremely close friends, I got a little bit camera happy.

Here we have my Tattler lids sealed on tomato sauce jars with okra, peppers and cucumbers in the background:

Here we have an extreme close up of the Tattler lids sealed on the tomato sauce jars. I think their smiles look so nice in this one, if in fact Tattler lids can smile (and I think we would all agree that they can, indeed, smile):


Here they are again, sitting next to their box with my water glass to the right, and my bouquet of last week’s birthday flowers in the background:

And here is a picture of three of my boys painting last Tuesday. While I love my Tattler lids, I love my children more. Sometimes I’m guilty of snapping pictures of weird things like butter splattered on pineapple and taking umpteen pictures of canning jars at a variety of angles, and I fail to take pictures of my children painting dots with q-tips.


We have been studying Australia, and came across a special painting style the Aborigines use:  Warlpiri. We decided to try it. Unfortunately, all of our paint colors except red and yellow were dried out and crusty. Therefore, my kids got to paint Warlpiri art using only red, yellow and orange for color choices. All of our paintings looked kind of like an Australian sunset, but it sure was fun.

How does the picture of my boys relate to Tattler and canning tomato sauce? It doesn’t. Although, if you look real close at my pantry doors right behind Elias, you can see a plastic knife stuck through the door handles. I first noticed that Malachi had parked his “weapon of the day” between the pantry door handles while my arms were full of freshly canned tomato sauce jars, which made it impossible to open the doors with my foot, which had been my original plan. After setting all of the tomato jars back down, I may or may not have yanked the knife out with a grimace and flung it into the living room so that I could resume my task.

I bet you didn’t know that sometimes finding my boys’ toys in precarious places all over the house causes me to fling knives into the living room.

Although now that I see a picture of it here, I find the knife through the pantry door handles rather endearing.

Remind me of this cuteness tomorrow after I’ve just tripped over a lightsaber.

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Be Intentional

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~Appreciate Your Spouse~Buoyancy in Marriage~Consult Your Partner~
~Dream Together Part One ~Dream Together Part Two~Empower Your Spouse~
~Have Fun With Your Spouse~Give to One Another~Honor Each Other~

Be Intentional

A Conscious Choice – Matt’s Thoughts

Jim Collins wrote a business book called Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t (HarperBusiness, 2001). Good to Great shows that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance; but largely a matter of conscious choice and discipline.

In a healthy marriage, both the husband and the wife are intentional about improving the health of their marriage.

If you wanted to get healthier physically by toning your muscles and improving your digestion, but continued to sit on the couch and eat junk, then your health will not improve. The same goes for your marriage relationship.

A plan must be made, action must be taken, accountability should be in place and a regular check-up/evaluation brings it full circle.

Following through with positive choices can help your marriage shift from good to great.

Meet George Jetson; Jane his wife. – Laura’s Thoughts

Our kids have a couple of Jetsons cartoon DVDs (remember this?!), which are always good for a chuckle. The head of the household, George Jetson, complains that while during a particularly “busy” day at work, he actually has to reach up to push his button an entire three times, if you can possibly imagine this exhausting type of assignment. His wife, Jane, is a homemaker. She punches the family’s dinner menu order into her dinner machine thingy, and tada – and out comes dinner. Clean up after dinner happens with the push of another button and when she needs to vacuum? Well there’s a button she can push for that too. Their lives are about as simple and easy as a life can be, with robots and machines doing all of their work. (And yet, good grief, they still complain about having to push so many buttons. Are people – or um, cartoon characters – never content? Yes, I suppose that’s another post for another day.)

I think most of us would prefer life to be as simple and easy as possible. We plan to grow up and meet the man/woman of our dreams. We get married with plans to live happily ever after – the end.

My question would be:  What part of your “plan to live happily ever after” actually contains a plan?

Like the Jetsons, we’d like to push the “happily ever after” button in life and sit back and let the happiness happen. But a healthy marriage – a marriage full of the joy God intended – doesn’t just happen. You must each be intentional about working to create and maintain a healthy marriage.

Stop sitting on the couch eating the junk food of an unhealthy marriage (selfishness, pride, bitterness, laziness). Stop trying to push the easy button in life, waiting for that happily ever after picture you have of a healthy marriage to just fall into your lap. Stop waiting for your spouse to step up to the plate while you continue to grow more and more discontent.

Your happily ever after begins when you become intentional about being what God calls you to be as a husband or a wife.

Ladies, we know you’re reading here more often than the guys. ;)  We’d love husbands to read this article as well. If you feel so inclined please send the link to your husbands, or if it’s easier, we’ve created a downloadable article for you to quickly print off and share. Healthy Marriage Tips  from A to Z – Be Intentional

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Do You Have Time to Home School?

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How do I find the time to home school my kids?

This is a question I’ve heard quite a bit recently from some who are considering home schooling – or from several who looked at our home school schedule for this year and felt overwhelmed.

Yikes, I sure didn’t mean to overwhelm anyone. Nor did I mean to make you picture me slaving away beside my children all day. I simply shared my schedule because many requested to see it, and because I personally needed to outline my day for the sake of my own organization.

What you need to know is that while we try to hold to this “ideal routine”, there is lots of wiggle room in there. I schedule in thirty minutes each day to read History/Geography to my two middle boys, but sometimes it only takes ten minutes of my time before they take off on their own to finish the lesson. Sprinkled all throughout our routine is plenty of dish washing, cooking, laundry folding and other household chores. I just school my kids around and during our daily life activities. And guess what? They are home to help me with these chores, which means I can actually accomplish more while we home school than if they were away at school!!! Mwoohaha – their laundry folding ability is the real reason I like having them home with me all day. (Not really.)  (Except that it really is nice.)

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I truly don’t believe that home schooling has created extra work in my life. Yes, it is work. Yes, I have to put forth the effort and spend dedicated time educating my children.

But I’ve been reading to and teaching my kids since they were newborns, and I didn’t consider that “home schooling”. I considered it parenting.

When our oldest son became a home schooled kindergartner, not much changed in our lives. We continued to read together and squeeze in all varieties of lessons and activities during the days, just like we had done before – working around nap times and meal times and play times and grocery store visits and all life activities.

I do have to schedule home schooling into my days, so that we can be more productive. But what I don’t have to schedule in? Getting my kids up and out the door with matching shoes and combed hair each morning by 8:00 (or earlier). Driving my kids to and from school. Preparing and packing lunches. Figuring out how to be a room mom (especially back when I had napping babies at home). And homework. When I hear my friends talk about how much time they spend helping their kids with homework at the end of each school day, I often think, “Wow – we spend the same amount of time (or less) on our entire school day.”

Because we’re so flexible and laid back about our home school routine – I actually consider my life to be quite “cushy” and easy compared to moms who have to get up at the crack of dawn to get their kids off to school, and stay up late with them finishing the reports and projects have to be turned in. I personally consider my home schooling life to be easier than the alternative, simply because I get to run the day the way I want to run the day.

So yes. I have time to home school, and it’s not because I have more hours in my day or more patience with my kids or more energy than any other mom. I am simply doing what I’ve always done with my kids – except for instead of reading books about shapes and gingerbread men and the little engine that could, we’re now reading about the constitution and the way a marsupial feeds its young.

I love it.

P.S. Did you know that you could fit twenty baby opossums onto a teaspoon? That’s how tiny they are when they are born before they crawl into their mama’s pouch to continue their development. We read about that just today. See how smart I’m getting to be?

This post was written in an effort to dispel some of the many misconceptions or fears people might have about taking on the task of home schooling. As with all my home school posts, my intention is to simply share my thoughts and offer encouragement – not to convince everyone that home schooling is the best and only way to educate your kids. You do what you do, and I’ll do what I’ll do and we’ll all do it to the glory of God!

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Whole Wheat Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

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Finally, we can eat a guilt free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookie. Made with real-food ingredients and homemade butterscotch chips, we don’t have to worry about hydrogenated oils or empty calories. These are so good for us, we could almost eat them for breakfast. Well, except that the butterscotch chips add extra sugar – which is maybe not the best way to begin our day. Shucks.

What if we eat them for breakfast with scrambled eggs?

And fruit.

Okay. I’ll stop.

Oatmeal Butterscotch CookiesYum

3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/4 cups sucanat or brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat flour)
1 cup Homemade Butterscotch Chips

In a large mixing bowl, stir together melted butter and sucanat. Add egg, baking powder, vanilla and baking soda. Stir in oats and flour until the dough is well combined. Fold in butterscotch chips.

Drop by the teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake in a 375° oven for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

If we drink a big glass of milk with our scrambled eggs, fruit and Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies – then could we count it as breakfast?

No really. I’ll stop.

Share your opinion! For breakfast or not for breakfast?? :)

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Gratituesday: My Son, My Brother

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With tears in his eyes, Justus, our 11 year old, came to us on Sunday and said, “I want to be baptized.”

Matt and I spent a good part of the next three days discussing and studying with Justus about this decision. Without exception, each time the subject came up, our tenderhearted boy’s eyes welled up with tears. He knew exactly what he wanted and he definitely understood the commitment he was about to make. Justus was ready.

And so, Wednesday night Matt baptized Justus. It was a beautiful evening.

A friend of mine captured the event on video. While it’s difficult to hear much of anything (except for the rejoicing afterward!), we’d like to share the video for you to watch:

He came up out of that water a new man. He let the tears flow while he was hugged by so many of our church family and friends. We are so proud of our son and his decision to follow Jesus.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it 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!

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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Our Whole Foods Pantry, Freezers and Refrigerator

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Real Food Ingredients Resource Page

After several hours of list making, link finding and price figuring, here is the resource I’ve been promising for such a long time! I’ve tried to include everything that typically can be found in my fridge, freezers, pantry and bulk storage. I obviously don’t have all of these items on hand all of the time, but I do try to keep a good stock of most of these items so that I am flexible to put together a variety of healthy meals, as well as open our home to guests frequently.

I’ve included prices I prefer to spend on each item, but prices vary depending on which site is offering a sale. Keep in mind that prices are going to vary depending on where you live as well. Because I live in a small town with very few whole foods/organic food grocery store options, I buy most of my food from local farmers, from online shops or from Azure Standard, depending on where I find a better deal. (Plus, I try to save up most of my Swagbuck earnings to purchase food occasionally for “free” from Amazon.)

I buy almost all of the listed items in bulk quantities because I know we’ll use it. I also try to purchase just about all of the items in this list in organic form if possible.

Because you are all reading from different locations, I also recommend that you read through the comments on this post in order to find a health food co-op or whole food resources in your area. Also, check out LocalHarvest to find meat, milk, eggs and produce in your area.

Hopefully the linking system I used in each section is user friendly!

And now, without further ado, here is my very long list of grocery items I love to have on hand:

Dairy

In addition to the following products, occasionally I make butter and mozzarella cheese, if I have enough milk/cream/time.

Milk – I am blessed to buy raw, organic milk from local farmers.
Cream – I buy this raw from our milk farmers.
Buttermilk – Homemade
 Kefir – Homemade
 Yogurt – Homemade
Sour Cream – Homemade
Butter – I usually purchase a case of Willow Made Sweet Cream, Salted Butter from Azure Standard if I can get it for $3.50/pound or less. Otherwise, I just buy real butter from the grocery store.
Cheese – I purchase raw organic Landmark white cheddar cheese from Azure Standard. It is $5.50/pound if purchased by the case.

Meat/Eggs/Beans

I purchase most of my grass fed beef and free range whole chickens from a local farm – NorthStar Neighbors. Occasionally, I will get it from Tropical Traditions if they have a great sale.

Hamburger Meat
Cube Steak
Stew Meat
Beef Roast 
Chickens (whole) – I try stretch these to feed my family six meals!
Chicken Breasts – I typically purchase Smart Chicken brand when it’s on sale at our local grocery store for $4.0o/pound or less.
Deer Meat – from local hunters who like to share
Tuna (canned) – I buy Natural Value Yellow-Fin by the case either from Amazon, Vitacost, or Azure Standard, shooting for $1.50/can or less.
Salmon (canned) – Rubinstein’s Wild Alaska pink salmon from Azure Standard or Roland’s from Amazon
Frozen Fish, sometimes – I live in Nebraska, what can I say? We don’t have fresh fish here. I don’t necessarily trust frozen fish from a regular grocery store, but occasionally I will buy some tilapia or salmon.
Eggs – I buy these from my friend who raises free range chickens.
Red Beans –  Azure Standard – $1.00/pound
Black Beans – Azure Standard – $1.40/pound
Pinto Beans – Azure Standard – $0.88/pound
Garbonzo Beans – Azure Standard – $0.85/pound
Lentils – Azure Standard – $0.49/pound

Grains

Hard White Wheat – I buy this in bulk from Azure Standard – $0.83/pound.
Whole Kernel Corn – Azure Standard or Tropical Traditions – $0.68/pound
Popcorn – Azure Standard, Tropical Traditions or Amazon – $1.25/pound
Rolled Oats – Azure Standard, Tropical Traditions or Amazon – $0.80/pound
Brown Rice –  Azure Standard, Tropical Traditions or Amazon – $1.80/pound
Whole Wheat Pasta – Tropical Traditions or Amazon – around $2.00/pound

I sometimes have Kamut, Millet, Buckwheat, Spelt and/or Barley on hand – purchased from Azure Standard or Tropical Traditions – all less than $1.00/pound.

Baking/Cooking

Coconut Flour – Azukar Organics through Amazon (best price!) or Tropical Traditions when it’s buy one get one free – $3.50/pound or less.
Sucanat – Azure Standard, Vitacost, or Amazon – $2.50/pound or less
Raw Honey – I purchase from a local bee keeper – or I buy it from Azure Standard
Grade B Maple Syrup – Farmers Market, Vitacost, or Amazon – $17.00/quart or less
Cocoa Powder – Azure Standard or Tropical Traditions – $4.25/pound or less
Vanilla Extract – I make my own; read how you can too!
Corn Starch – Azure Standard, Vitacost, or Tropical Traditions – $3.20/8 ounce box
Arrowroot Powder – Azure Standard – $2.57/pound or less
Aluminum Free Baking Powder – Azure Standard or Amazon – $2.65/pound
Baking Soda – Azure Standard or Amazon – $1.00/pound or less
Shredded Coconut – Tropical Traditions– $17.50/gallon pail
Chocolate Chips – Homemade, Vitacost, or Amazon – $4.50/package or less
Butterscotch Baking Chips – Homemade
Active Dry Yeast – Azure Standard or Sams

Herbs and Spices

These are purchased either from Tropical Traditions, Azure Standard or Mountain Rose Herbs. I didn’t link to any specific site for these – where I buy these depends on who has the best price at the time.

Redmonds Real Sea Salt
Garlic Powder
Turmeric
Minced Onion
Onion Powder
Onion Salt
Oregano
Basil
Cayenne Pepper
Black Pepper
Chili Powder
Paprika
Parsley
Cumin
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Condiments and Sauces

Ketchup – I make homemade ketchup or purchase Muir Glen Organic Ketchup from Amazon, Vitacost, or Azure Standard – $2.70/bottle
Mayonnaise – I like Hain Safflower Mayo from Azure Standard or Vitacost – $5.50/jar or less
Mustard – Azure Standard – $2.35/bottle
Worcestershire Sauce – Azure Standard – $5.00/bottle
Soy Sauce – Azure Standard – $5.50/bottle
Liquid Smoke – Walmart  ;)
Salad Dressings – I make my own, recipes are found here.
Jams and Preserves – Azure Standard, Vitacost, or Tropical Traditions – $3.00/jar
Peanut Butter – I make my own, recipe found here

Fats

Coconut Oil, Virgin (tastes like coconut) – Tropical Traditions, Amazon, Vitacost, or Mountain Rose Herbs – $18.00/quart or less
Coconut Oil, Expeller Pressed (flavorless) – Tropical Traditions, Amazon, Mountain Rose Herbs – $13.00/quart or less
Olive Oil – Azure Standard, Vitacost, or Tropical Traditions – $17.00/25 ounces or less
Butter – Azure Standard (Yes, I’d already mentioned this in the dairy section, but it’s also a fat. Apparently, I love butter enough to mention it twice.)
Palm Shortening – Tropical Traditions, Amazon

Fruits and Vegetables

Tomato Sauce, Tomato Soup, Tomato Juice – we grow and can our own supply for each year or I get them from Vitacost when we run out of our home canned goods
Green Beans, Sweet Corn, Peaches, Strawberries, Applesauce – we grow or buy from local farmers and preserve these ourselves each year.
Frozen Peas – Azure Standard – $7.70/5 pounds
All Other Fresh Produce – Azure Standard or local grocery stores

Nuts

Peanuts – Azure Standard or Amazon – $3.70/pound
Pistachios, Cashews, Almonds – Braga Organic Farms 
Dried Fruit – Azure Standard or Braga Organic Farms

Cereal and Chips (purchased rarely)

Cornflakes – Amazon or Vitacost – $3.00/box
Rice Crispies – Amazon or Vitacost– $3.00/box
Corn Chips – Amazon or Vitacost – $4.00/bag

So that you will always and forever have easy access to this resource list, I have added a link at the top of my site called Whole Foods Resources. I’ve also added this pantry button to my side bar, which will link to this post:

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Menu Plan for the Week

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Our peach tree is loaded this year – it’s awesome! We picked peaches for the first time yesterday and you’d better believe we’re going to have peach juice running down our chins all week long. :)


I also picked a lot of produce from our friend’s garden. They were out of town and told me to help myself – and so I did.

I’ve never really been successful with eggplant, so I’m going to do a little searching online to see what recipes I come up with. Do you all have some eggplant ideas?

I finally was able to make tomato sauce last night – so exciting! I’ll share more about that (because I learned a new trick!) soon.

Here’s our menu this week:

Sunday, August 7
Easy breakfast casserole, peaches
Roasted chicken, carrots, potatoes, gravy
Sloppy joes on homemade buns, watermelon, carrot sticks with ranch

Monday, August 8
Simple soaked pancakes, applesauce
Popcorn chicken, fried okra, green beans
Black bean and rice bowls with salsa and kreme fresh, cucumber salad

Tuesday, August 9
Blueberry streusel muffins, peaches and cream
Pizza pockets, strawberry orange smoothies
Tacos (with homemade tortillas and fresh tomatoes from the garden!), death by chocolate dessert (with guests!)

Wednesday, August 10
Scrambled eggs, creamy orange cooler
Sweet bean casserole, corn bread muffins, something with eggplant?, peaches
Taco salad, watermelon

Thursday, August 11
Coconut flour muffins, apples
Meat and cheese burritos, fresh pineapple
Lasagna casserole, tossed salad, sweet corn

Friday, August 12
Homemade poptarts, applesauce
Grilled cheese sandwiches, chips and salsa, carrot sticks
Homemade pizza, watermelon

Saturday, August 13
Giant breakfast cookies, plums
Leftovers
Hot roast beef sandwiches with gravy, peas, tossed salad

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Honor Each Other

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Honor Each Other

My Queen – Matt’s Thoughts

On your wedding day, did you (your name here) promise to honor (your spouse’s name here) above all others for as long as you both live? I’ve heard that phrase at several weddings and whether you said it or not…it is implied. What does that look like in a healthy marriage?

My first exposure to the concept of honor was as a child being taught the commandment “Honor your father and mother.” I was taught that it was by my actions and speech that I honored or dishonored my parents…whether I was with them or not. In the presence of one’s parents, a child often has the fear of punishment that keeps him in line. Thus, there is a greater impression made regarding honoring or dishonoring one’s parents when the child’s parents are not present.

Similarly, it seems to me that one displays the greatest honor or dishonor to their spouse when they are not with their spouse by the way they act and ESPECIALLY talk about their spouse. Therefore, any chance we get, we need to speak positively of our beloved. It is easy to get caught up in negative talk. Yes, your spouse has annoying habits, imperfections and character flaws – just like you and every other married person – but let’s steer clear of the gripe sessions others are having even if we know we can relate. It’s like a pig pen where neither you nor your spouse will get away without getting muddy. Instead, be the one who shifts the conversation from pitiful me to praise for my life-long love. Usually, then, either the crowd disperses or another person pipes in with something positive about their spouse.

Let’s shower our darling with presents when they’re not present by speaking highly of him/her.

I have much room for improvement, but in her presence I try to treat Laura as my queen, and when we’re apart I aim to let everyone around me know by the way I talk about her that she is my queen.

 

Do Unto Others – Laura’s Thoughts

Here’s a question:  What do we possibly have to gain by talking negatively about our spouse to others? Besides the fact that it’s sinful, it actually has the potential to make you look bad. After all – you’re the one who married this person of whom you have nothing nice to say.

There are times I may need to share something about our marriage with another person in an effort to obtain advice on how to handle a situation – but I have to be super careful to do this in a way that still honors Matt. And I have to prayerfully choose the person I confide in.

These are the some of the things I try to consider regarding how I talk to my husband or talk to others about my husband which I adapted from a post I wrote a year and a half ago called Make Him or Break Him:

  • Would I want him/her to talk to me like this?
  • Would I want him/her to look at me this way when he’s/she’s talking to me?
  • Would I want him/her to talk to his/her friends about me like this?
  • Would I want him/her to talk to me in front of other people this way?

If the answer is “no” to any of those questions, then with all due respect, I have to suggest that you just hush.

Or on the flip side, as Matt talked about, if instead you are intentional about saying honorable things about your spouse to others, you will be amazed at what a rewarding experience this is!

Ladies, we know you’re reading here more often than the guys. ;)  We’d love husbands to read this article as well. If you feel so inclined please send the link to your husbands, or if it’s easier, we’ve created a downloadable article for you to quickly print off and share. Healthy Marriage Tips from A to Z – Honor

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