Cultures

I've really wanted to blog more but between my son, husband, home, and projects I have not had the time.
One of those projects keeping me busy is cultures.
No, not cultures of the world but fermentation.

About a year ago my sister started talking to me about Kombucha.
It sounded like a lot of work so I just smiled, nodded, and went on my merry way.
A few months ago I was at the grocery store when I saw they had GTS Kombucha on sale. I bought the guava flavour and tried it.
At first I thought it had turned but the flavours settled out to be a kind of sweet, vinegary, guavaish flavour.
After that first bottle I decided I could take it or leave it- it wasn't fantastic or anything and I have better uses for our money.
About a week went by and I started craving it.
It would come into my mind randomly and I felt like I just needed some.
I went back and got the guava and mango flavours.
Thus, my love of kombucha took off.

Okay, so what is kombucha?
It is a fermented tea- usually made with black or green teas.
The fermentation process, which involves a Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast (aka SCOBY), takes about 7-30 days and leaves you with a sweet and sour effervescent drink.

Why drink it?
It's healthier than soft drinks
It aids in digestion
It helps ward off diseases by alkalinizing the body

How did it help me?
My cycles have become more regular (TMI? sorry)
I have more energy
I'm not bloated all the time anymore
I do not crave pop, coffee, or any other sweet drinks that are no good for me
My appetite has gone from ravenous to controlled- if I am too hungry to wait for dinner I just have a glass of kombucha

You can read more about the benefits of kombucha on these sites:
Sarah Ramsden
Cultures for Health
Kombucha Kamp

I've been brewing my own kombucha for a few months now. It was kind of tricky when I started, and of course you have to wait a little bit before you can taste it. I personally love a strong and sweet black tea flavour so I let my kombucha brew for a little over a week.
I think I've got my method down now. I am blessed with a warm kitchen that allows me to have shorter brewing times and healthy scoby's.
I bought a beautiful glass beverage dispenser at walmart ($24.99!!!!!) and I'll be attempting a continuous brew in the coming week.
If you're interested in trying this lovely, sweet, and living drink, Safeway carries some flavours and Whole Foods carries lots of flavours including original.
If you like what you taste, try to brew some yourself!
I used Sarah Ramsden's method to grow a scoby and Cultures for Health has video tutorials, expert articles, and all the information you need to start brewing your own!
Cultures for Health also sells dehydrated scoby's if you'd like to obtain one that way.

Homesteader's Emporium is a Vancouver, Canada based store that sells scoby's and everything you need to brew kombucha.

Sourdough
My husband looooooooves sourdough.
I'm not too into bread. I like sandwiches occasionally but I don't care for toast or buttered bread with my food.
Anyways, I've been long convicted (yes, God does have an interest in our personal well being) that I needed to start baking my own bread.
I've had no luck with bread in the past. I've tried making my own sourdough starters but those failed.
I finally came across the Homesteader's Emporium (link above) website that sells Cultures For Health dehydrated sourdough starters.

I ordered a San Francisco sourdough starter from Homesteader's Emporium and activated it as soon as I got it.
It took about two weeks from activation, to feeding, to generating enough starter to make bread.
I DID IT!
Yesterday, after two proofing periods, I was finally able to pull out successfully baked sourdough from the over.
My husband loves it.
It's moist, mildly sour, just the right density, and chewy-ness.
I used the basic sourdough bread recipe on Cultures for Health and watched the video on how to make it three times.

If you don't like sourdough or are ambivalent about it, consider these things:
It is easier to digest (better for your waist line) because the sourdough breaks down gluten
Simple sugars are consumed during the fermentation process
If you'd like actual science and more detailed description of sourdough benefits see here: Sourdough Introduction- Cultures For Health

I hope this was a blessing to you in some way.
Cultures sure are a blessing to me. They do take some work but it is completely worth it!

God that giveth the increase

I went to Costco this past Saturday.

I did not want to but I was prevented from going earlier in the week.

My son and I went to our church's outreach at 10 then headed over to Costco.

The parking lot was full so I pulled forward to wait for a car to drive out of their spot so I could back in.

As it happened, another car, who arrived after me, was waiting to drive into that very same spot.

Well, we both started moving at once, I was further in then he was when we both stopped at honked at each other.

The man in the other car jumped out and thundered toward me yelling that it was his spot since I had pulled forward.

I angrily replied that I was there first and I wasn't about to drive into that particular spot.

Well he yelled at me and I shut my window.

I sat in my van for a minute contemplating what to do.

Should I just spite him and continue backing up, or should I just give it to him despite his aggressiveness?

Normally I like to punish people for being mean but I felt very very strongly that I needed to give up the spot. (By the way, I am never right to punish people who aren't my children for being rude. It's up to the Lord.)

I drove out and took a spot a few cars down.

I was pretty shaken by the experience and the man's violent yelling so I called my husband to calm down.

I did my shopping- it took longer then usual since I couldn't focus- and went out to the van.

As I was loading the van the man came up to me and said, 'mam, I'd like to apologize for my actions earlier. It wasn't right and I'm sorry.'

I sort of just stared at him since he had startled me and I was pretty jumpy since being yelled at.

He continued, 'I'm a Jehovah's Witness and that's not the kind of thing I'm supposed to do. Please forgive me,' and held out his hand.

I smiled and said, 'you're absolutely forgiven,' shook his hand, and he left.

I continued to load my van when the Holy Spirit pointed out that I had tracts in the van from the outreach and I should give one to the man.

I took a tract and gave it to him just before he pulled out of his spot.

You know, as I was in Costco, I wondered if that man would ever know that I was a Christian, and now I know that he knows.

Just being able to give him a tract, having had the right testimony (despite responding angrily to him at first) was worth the frustrating trip to Costco on a Saturday.

I may never know what that man does with that tract. Maybe it gets lost in his car and he finds it when he really really needs the Lord and salvation, maybe he got saved on Saturday, maybe he's read the tract, rejected it, and thrown it away. I don't know.

I do know, that the Lord put me in that position to test me. He put me right there to teach me to put my emotions under my command and do the right thing.

It's my prayer that I get to meet that man and his family in heaven. The fact is, everything I bought at Costco on Saturday will eventually be destroyed. That man's soul is eternal, and if my simple act of obedience helps him to heaven, then I have something that will never be destroyed.

I often pray for God to give me good chances to hand out a tract and lead someone to Christ.

Well, He came through, didn't he.

Praise the Lord!

So then neither is he that planteth any

thing, neither he that watereth; but God

that giveth the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:6

Where Our Heart Is

I love my husband very much.

For some reason, however, I have trouble obeying him.

That some reason is the fact that, despite five years that prove otherwise, I think I know better than him.

I really really don't.

He tells me, put Oxyclean in every load of laundry.

I think 'well, it's expensive, we want to conserve it, do Bo's clothes really need oxyclean?' and poof, I don't obey him.

Now that is a very very simplistic example but if I can't obey him in the simple things, how am I going to obey him in the big things?

There are expectations in marriage that are unspoken but they are there.

Keeping his name clean and bringing honour to his house for one.

Right now, though, I am thinking of the things my husband is responsible for that are placed in my keeping.

The way a family works is a partnership between the parents. The way a family is structured is a single head.

Family Structure:

God- final authority

Husband-leader, responsible to God for those under him (Ephesians 5:23, Ephesians 6:4)

Wife- third in command, responsible to her God and her husband for those under her (Colossians 3:18, Ephesians 5:22)

Children- responsible to obey God and parents (Ephesians 6:1-3)

Day to day family:

God- watches over us

Dad- works to provide (1 Timothy 5:8) + Mom- trains the children and keeps the home (Titus 2:5)

Children- grow and learn (Colossians 3:20)

In my keeping is the well being of my husband, our child, home, and, to a small extent, finances.

Each of the above are a world in themselves.

For example:

He expects me to feed our child, clean him when he's dirty, make sure he's safe, and so on.

He also expects me to train him up to obey, teach him about Jesus, and keep him away from worldly influences.

I've known a family where the father's job meant he was constantly traveling and his wife, tired, gave up training her children. Most of their children stopped following Christ and the father went through deep heartbreak because of that. I'm not saying it was completely the wife's fault, but she clearly did not take her role seriously.

So I look around my home and realize, there are a lot of things my husband gives importance to, that I do not.

I buy him his favourite apples and make sure there's chocolate in the house, but do I make sure that the oven is clean, vacuum the floor every day, wipe the inside of the fridge, and ensure the counters are spotless, knowing those things are important to him? (As a chef kitchen cleanliness is very important to him)

What about money?

Am I careful with his hard earned money? Do I save it rather then spend it?

These are subtle, simple things, but they are the difference between debt and monetary freedom, between having him comfortable in a clean home, or unhappily irritated that we live in a dump.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price

is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in

her, so that he shall have no need of spoil

She will do him good and not evil all the days

of her life.

Proverbs 31:10-13

I do not want to be another 'child' that my husband needs to look out for and 'take care of'.

I need to be a steady hand to help him. One he can 'safely trust'.

Adultery is not the only evil you can do to your husband. I need to make sure he's secure in all areas I am able.

Now there's God.

Do I put importance where He puts importance?

In some things yes- reading and studying the bible, prayer time.

In spreading the gospel- no.

This is where my love for God fails. I am more concerned about my own comfort than pulling a sinner out of hell and hiding a multitude of sins.

All this makes me realize that my treasure is myself.

For where your treasure is, there will

your heart be also.

Matthew 6:21

Before I think of God or my husband I think of myself. That cannot be. I will not be a fruitful Christian or a fruitful wife if I just think of myself.

I hope this was a blessing and a help to you. 

Train Up a Child

I am momma to a very sweet little boy named Boaz. We call him Bo.
I'm not saying he's sweet because he's my son. I'm saying he's sweet because he is sweet.
The child makes almost everyone smile. He flirts with cashiers at the grocery store, he waves at trucks, he smiles and chats with waitresses, and he plays well with other children.

He's always been a very happy child. I was once told that it was a result of my being very calm during pregnancy. I was calm during pregnancy (maybe too calm?) but I cannot verify this statement.
I want him to retain that happiness. Life won't always be easy for him. He will, Lord willing, grow up to have responsibilities and challenges. As his mother, I want him to enjoy the time he has as a carefree child.

Here are a few things I do to make sure my son is happy and content:
1) Spend quality time with him- Since his birth I've learned that I need to take time, sit on the floor, and play with him. Sometimes we sit on my bed in the dark and play with flashlights or create pillow mountains to climb over. Sometimes we play with his cars, sometimes we read or do puzzles.
He knows he is loved because I give him my time. It's not just quality ten to fifteen minutes here and there. It is a few hours here and there. Quantity is just as important as quality when it comes to your child.

2) Training- If you want a confident child, train them. Boaz does not melt down when I don't do something for him right away. Why? I've trained him to wait.
If I am folding laundry or making dinner and he comes up to me wanting a drink I do not stop what I'm doing to accommodate him. I make sure he knows I've heard him but I finish the task in my hand before I help him. (I help him right away in emergencies, if you were wondering)
This encompasses every area of life- sitting still for more than a second, eating, being quiet, listening the first time- your child will be much happier when there are established rules they can be guided by.
Training starts at home. Don't wait until you're at the mall to start teaching your children what you expect from them.

3) Be consistent- sometimes I am lazy and I just want to let things go. It never ends well. My son needs me to consistently lay down the rules and correct bad behavior.

If he misbehaves in the morning and receives swift and just punishment, I usually don't have to correct him again that day.

It is never too early to teach our children about the consequences of sin. It is paramount in their path to salvation.

I've heard other parents say it- the earlier you start and the more consistent you are: the less you will need to correct their behavior as they grow. It will be trained into them.

4) Do things just for them- I always stop at construction sites so Bo can watch what's going on. He absolutely loves it.
I let him play in those mini-mall-rides because he loves it- especially the Lightning McQueen at the Walmart we go to.
I always share my dessert with him.
I say yes whenever I can.
I give him freedom to choose when I can.
When possible, I let him roam free and explore.
I take him to the park to play everyday.
I've known a lot of parents who say no for no's sake. I've seen first hand how a deprived child dives right into those forbidden things and ruins their lives in them.
Life is short and childhood is fleeting. I try to let my son fill up on the good things he loves.
A lot of being a toddler is being told 'no' and 'stop'. As adults we don't like that, our children are no different. It just creates rebellion in them. By allowing them freedom when we can, we give them an outlet for all the things we can't give them.
Most of the time, when it's time to leave the park or stop what we've been doing, he's okay with it. By now he knows that we didn't have to stop to do this or that for him. He knows that we give him these things when we can and that there will always (Lord willing) be a next time.

5) Teach them from the Bible- The fact is, we are fallible. The Bible is not. By teaching our children that we are subject to an infallible authority, we are teaching them that we are accountable for what we do as parents.
If we can show that we are ruled by the bible and are humble enough to be corrected by it, our children will learn to trust us and be more open to listening to us.

I could probably go into more things but the five above are the things to focus on when your child is young. Establishing these things early helps create a good environment for you child and makes it the 'norm' around your home.
Remember:

A happy home is the closest thing to heaven on earth.

And remember too:

Train up a child in the way he should go:

and when he is old, he will not depart from

it.

Proverbs 22:6

That there is a promise but you have to put in the work.

Don't leave it to the world, school, church, and chance to train your children.

She looketh well to the ways of her

household, and eateth not the bread of

idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her

blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth

her.

Proverbs 31:27&28

There. Right there in God's Word it tells us that if we 'look well' to what our children are doing, our children will grow up and call us blessed.

No it's not easy but it is so worth it.

Who has Taught Us?

I am very grateful I have a mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunties, and other experienced moms in my life.

I know that I could have easily been lacking a mother and I appreciate the blessing of growing up with two parents and an extended family around.

What I am about to write is something I've thought about for a long time. I do not mean to be hard on women and I certainly do not want to slight any of the mothers in my life. I do want to make known a terrible disease in our world today

One of the worst things about being a young girl is the lack of truly Godly influential women to look up to. There is no biblical training.

There are things I cannot talk about to some of the women in my life because, frankly, they failed at it.

Marriage, for example, is a big thing. It is a LIFE thing. A marriage that will succeed needs to be tended to like a garden- weeds need pulling out, there must be fertilizer, watering, sowing, fruit bearing, growth, purging, and everything that comes with a healthy garden.

I do not remember once being taught about marriage.

I thought love was a feeling- what the other person makes me feel. I've since learned that true love is completely selfless.

Marriage needs working through.

I have grown so much in my marriage. I am not perfect but I know I have matured a lot.

I once tried to express some of these things to a woman in my life but I had to stop lest I offend her.

Why?

She did no such thing in her marriage. She was a continual dropping to her husband.

Our men drive us nuts sometimes, but most of those things can be processed internally and handled with grace. Most of those things can be dealt with by the Lord.

Nagging, disrespect, disobedience, turning their children against them- none of that is justified before the Lord.

It is not up to us to change our men.

It is up to God.

Fortunately, I have a sister. She, like me, is working towards a lasting and healthy marriage. We are able to talk to and encourage each other in this endeavor.

I don't understand: we train people for jobs, why can't we train people for life?

Don't our children deserve to have a fighting chance?

I think people assume the child will figure it out on their own. By God's grace, some do, but I'd say most don't.

We're brought up to be selfish- to make ourselves comfortable at the cost of others.

We're brought up to unleash our feelings and emotions despite the consequences.

We're brought up thinking we are always right- the way we do things, the way we think, and what we believe.

We are not taught to edit ourselves. We are not taught to change.

This is why marriages fail- people are selfish. We are consumed by our emotions.
A wise preacher once said that bible believers should 'live by principal and not by feeling'.
We have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to guide us. Is it really that hard to listen?

One thing I desire is to always be close to my children. They will grow up and leave me but I pray that they will always be comfortable coming to me for guidance, comfort, help, or maybe just to talk.
I pray they will be able to trust me- that I've done what is best for them as they grew. That I stood by their father, supporting him, loving him, trusting him, respecting him, and reverencing him.
I cannot expect my children to obey me if I am not obeying God and my husband.

I just don't understand why some women make their own lives miserable by fighting against the things God put in place to keep us happy.

If you are a mother to a daughter you are blessed.

I would love to have a little girl.

I hope you are taking the time to train her.

Not just in marriage, but in life. I hope you are taking time to teach her what is important, what it is to be a lady, what it is to have honour.

Young girls need good role models. Not just at church but at home. They will not find it in the world.

They need strong women who they can go to for help. They need to know that Hollywood does not produce anything even remotely close to true love.

Young girls need to know that marriages can last if they put in the work. They need to see you do it. They need to be taught.

Training Them Up- Church Nursery Time

I've been blessed with a Sunday School class!
Actually, I suppose it's more of a nursery class since it is during the main service and only involves children too young to sit for the preaching.
I have four regular students and two more that come occasionally. There are two 2 year olds and two 4 year olds.
Since they are young children, the main purpose of this time is to get them ready to sit through a sermon. We do fifteen minutes of free time, fifteen minutes of songs and a story, then a craft.
Currently, I am going through major events in bible history with them.
My first lesson was about Moses' mother placing him in the basket.
Last Sunday, I taught them about the burning bush. Since they are young, I decided I'd make a felt board to emphasize the story:

The children loved it and it got their full attention. My goal is for them to use these visuals to remember valuable bible lessons.
The felt was very easy to work with. It is very inexpensive and you can buy it at Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Michael's. Michael's has the most variety of colours and even some different textures.
I made a stencil for Moses and I'll be using it to create more people figures. The only sewing I did was Moses' and the sheep's eyes. I want to be able to use the Moses' body for other people so I did not glue the clothes onto him.

We also did a burning bush craft that involved lots of glue, tissue paper, and shredded paper:

It was a lot of fun but more than that: it was a blessing.

This Sunday, Lord willing, I'll be teaching about Moses and Aaron approaching Pharaoh and doing a mother's day craft.

If you have a group of children during the main service at your church, please consider adding some structure to it. Even if you have really really young ones, make a point of singing a song and having them sit through a short story.
Children thrive on structure and it will be a good start in preparing them to sit with the adults.

Show Him you Love Him

I'm not exactly Wife of the Year.
I make a lot of mistakes and they all boil down to selfishness and pride.
I've picked up a few hacks in my four in a half years of marriage and I thought I'd share them for anyone reading. These are all tangible ways to show your husband that you love and consider him. They go hand in hand with pursuing peace by not nagging him.

1) Get up and greet him
It occurred to me one day that I used to always get up and greet my husband. Between breast feeding and cooking it got lost and I found I was waiting for him to come over and greet me.
Now no matter what I'm doing I always stop to go to him and give him a kiss.
I know this may sound ridiculous to a newly wed but any experienced spouse knows: after the honeymoon life takes over and you get busy.
Make sure to give him a good kiss when he gets home. It may be the only one you get a chance to give him until you go to bed.

2) Shave your legs
This is something my husband really appreciates. He does not like spiky legs. He does not mind if I let my armpits go, but my legs are another story. I need to clarify: He is not grossed out by unshaved legs and he does not get angry if I do not shave them. He likes soft legs, who can blame him? And honestly, I don't mind shaving my legs in the middle of winter just for him. I know it's not a waste of time. This is kind of like someone holding the door for you- it's considerate and you appreciate it.
My point here is: find out what your husband likes and make it happen.
He likes you wearing makeup- wear it
He likes a certain scent- make an effort to spray it on
He likes long hair- let it grow

3) Cook his favourite food
This is kind of tough sometimes because it might mean barbeque chicken with potato salad and macaroni and cheese. Fat, sugar, and carbs all rolled into one. Your man will love it though. After a hard day's work, coming home to find you made a dinner completely inspired by him will erase 99% of his stress.

As wives it is our job to build up our husband. Our marriages will not last if we are selfish. Small things like those mentioned above will make a world of difference in your marriage. Letting your husband know he is appreciated and important to you will help your marriage to last.