A single, homeschooling, web designing mom
“Ma was busy all day long, cooking good things for Christmas. She baked salt-rising bread and rye’n'Injun bread, and Swedish crackers, and a huge pan of baked beans, with salt pork and molasses. She baked vinegar pies and dried-apple pies, and filled a big jar with cookies, and she let Laura and Mary lick the cake spoon.”
—Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods
That wonderful season Autumn has been teasing us here at Hidden Pines. A couple of weeks ago, we had some cooler temperatures, but the hot weather returned soon after. This morning was cool again, but it was in the 90s again by afternoon. It is a pleasure to sit on the porch having my devotions early in the morning when it’s this cool. Pine needles have been falling since July and other leaves are following suit. I am looking forward to being able to do yard work without sweating and fighting insects. I am looking forward to open windows and doors. I am looking forward to seeing the cat and dogs tear through the yard with the bundles of energy cooler temperatures bring.
We are in our second week in our new homeschooling year. We are starting out slowly so as not to stress ourselves. We are reading The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom as our read-aloud. It is one of my favorite books. We did not get to read it last year when studying World War 2, so we are reading it now. If you’ve never read this book, I think you should drop what you’re doing now and order it. (Order from ChristianBook or Amazon
Here are a few quotes from the book that I love.
“There are no ‘ifs’ in God’s world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety—O Corrie, let us pray that we may always know it!” —Betsie ten Boom
“Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings, Corrie. It’s something we make inside ourselves.“—Mother ten Boom
When Corrie had seen a dead baby as a child, she was terrified of her father dying.
“Corrie,” he began gently, “when you and I go to Amsterdam—when do I give you your ticket?”
I [Corrie] sniffed a few times, considering this.
“Why, just before we get on the train.”
“Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need—just in time.”
I got my free DVD series of the History Channel’s The Story of Us today! It was free for educators, including homeschooling teachers. I’m so excited to get it. These DVDs will greatly bless our school.
A wonderful, almost magical thing happened to me recently—I was invited to attend the local pregnancy center’s annual fundraising banquet. To get an invitation was truly a gift from God. As a country girl, I was very nervous about attending something so fancy. It was fancy indeed—I’d never had a meal that had so many spoons and forks at my plate.:) The food was delicious, the atmosphere very special, and the message was powerful. I was most excited about hearing the speaker—Bro. Voddie Baucham! I’d long been a “fan” of his, but got to hear him in person this time. His message was powerful and God-honoring. I got to meet him before and afterwards, and got to purchase 2 of his books, which he signed. My pastor and his wife, along with another pastor friend were in attendance, too. It was sad that there were not more Baptist pastors there.:( I believe abortion is the Holocaust of our times, and we must all do all we can to help save little lives and meet the needs of scared mothers.
My oldest daughter who just graduated has started selling things on e-Bay. She is learning a lot from The Selling Sisters. My daughter is very excited about the possibilities. She is also learning sign language online and is trying to get a job in town. She has some needs that I’m not able to meet at this time. I’m praying for God’s perfect will in her life. Ultimately she wants to be a wife, mother, and homemaker, and doesn’t mind telling this to folks that pressure her.
Supper tonight was delicious chili and homemade bread. I was able to purchase a brand new, sealed in the box bread machine from a yard sale for just $10 a few weeks ago. What a blessing it has been to us! While the chili was simmering, I cut up all the onions that came in the package and put them in the freezer. It will help save time later. I do this for garlic and peppers also. Daddy gave me some deer meat recently. He is cleaning out his freezer for the upcoming deer season. We were so grateful to get it. Groceries have gone up, so every little bit helps.
My oldest daughter and I go for walks around the woods and pond almost every night. Sometimes the other girls will join us. Our sweet girl Missy loves to go, too. She just gets so excited when she hears the words “ride” or “walk”. My daughter and I shot a water moccasin the other night when we were on our walk. Missy found him, but knows to stay way back when she sees a snake. She is the smartest doggie! We are so glad of her caution, for there are tons of poisonous snakes here.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
After
Before
After
After
Last week we made a special trip into town to purchase the Fireproof DVD on the day it came out. We have been anticipating it for months, ever since we saw it in theaters. Back in the fall, my sweetheart had taken me to see it as a surprise, and I took my girls, my parents, and my parents’ neighbor a few days later. We were just blown away by the movie. It contains something for the whole family: action, romance, and comedy. It encouraged me greatly to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ presently so clearly on the “big screen.” We have watched it numerous times since purchasing the DVD.
Since watching the Left Behind series, my girls have been big “fans” of Kirk Cameron, who starred in Fireproof. They have loved the stories I’ve told them of how extremely popular Kirk was when I was a teen girl. My daughters are amazed at how God worked in his life and saved him. It still amazes me. I recently read Kirk’s autobiography Still Growing. I cannot tell you how much his testimony encourages me in my walk with the Lord. My middle daughter got to it and read it before I could.:) Now, my oldest is reading it, sometimes aloud to her baby sister.
Here is the official Fireproof trailer.
We have seen all the movies made by Sherwood Baptist Church. We pray for God’s continued outpouring of blessings and protection on this humble church, who just want to honor God.
—Thyra Ferré Bjorn, The Home Has a Heart
Although the above quote is for those who have lost a loved one through death, this also applies in other times of sorrow, like a divorce or in our current time of economic uncertainty. There is so much fear being spread through the news and elsewhere these days, but I’m reminded that what I’m doing here in my home is so very valuable and needed. Doing my job with poise and dignity brings much comfort to my family and myself. I also gives us courage.
—Phyllis C. Michael
Afterward I asked her, “Do you think I’m wrong in holding on to my wishes about moving? Surely Kermit should consider my feelings, too.”Aunt Miriam gazed thoughtfully out the window for a few moments, then turned back to me and said, “I once heard the saying, ‘A man’s home is his castle.’ I believe that is the truth because God planned it that way from the beginning. The man is the head of the home and his wife must fit herself into the blueprint of his dreams. If she doesn’t and insists on having things her way instead of what her husband desires, she is a usurper to the throne, and I don’t believe that usurpers are ever happy.”
… “But surely the wife has a right to her dreams even if they differ from his.”
Aunt Miriam nodded. “You know that Kermit loves you and that if you don’t yield he will give up his own dreams bit by bit and give in to you. But in doing so, both of you will be weakening the foundation of your life together. A wise woman will never let that happen.
… “Tell me then, what is the answer when a husband and a wife want different things.”
Aunt Miriam’s smile was gentle as she replied, “The wife has a castle, too, a wonderful castle in which she reigns as a queen. It is strong and secure from without, but very fragile from within. She is the only one who can tear down that castle, for it is a living thing which must be nurtured and tended lovingly, or it will decay. A wife who is content to rule only within the bounds of her own castle can be gloriously happy. When she steps out of her domain, she is apt to be unhappy. God has given women a power that is noble, queenly, and good if rightly used. She remains in her castle only by accepting her husband’s plan for their life together, and by seeking to nurture and lovingly build her own private castle strong and sure.”
… On the way home it dawned on me what Aunt Miriam meant. The castle was the wife’s love of her husband. His happiness, virtues, faults, dreams, and dislikes must be accepted and hallowed by her love because these things make up her own secret castle. She must tend it lovingly, and in so doing will add a glory to the home of her husband’s choosing.
Suddenly, I made my decision. Kermit should be able to realize his dream of working in the outdoors under the big, blue sky.
Carrie Bender, Forget-Me-Not Lane
“After Laura and Mary had washed and wiped the dishes, swept the floor, made their bed, and dusted, they settled down with their books. But the house was so cosy and pretty that Laura kept looking up at it.
“The black stove was polished till it gleamed. A kettle of beans was bubbling on its top and bread was baking in the oven. Sunshine slanted through the shining windows between the pink-edged curtains. The red-checked cloth was on the table. Beside the clock on its shelf stood Carrie’s brown-and-white-dog, and Laura’s sweet jewel-box. And the little pink-and-white shepherdess stood smiling on the wood-brown bracket.
“Ma had brought her mending-basket to her rocking-chair by the window, and Carrie sat on the footstool by her knee. While Ma rocked and mended, she heard Carrie say her letters in the primer. Carrie told big A and little a, big B and little b, then she laughed and talked and looked at the pictures. She was still so little that she did not have to keep quiet and study.”
“The clock struck twelve. Laura watched its pendulum wagging, and the black hands moving on the round white face. It was time for Pa to come home. The beans were cooked, the bread was baked. Everything was ready for Pa’s dinner.”
On the Banks of Plum Creek, p. 301-302
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
–Archdeacon Farrar
Quoted on page 17 of Dora’s Diary: Millstream Orchards Family by Carrie Bender
Quoted in Making the Most of Life by J. R. Miller
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