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3 years ago
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Sunday, 31 January 2010
My Web Wanderings (weekly)
I was actually looking for reviews of books from a Christian perspective whne I came a cross this website. Considering how hard it is to judge a film by its rating, this website looks very useful.
How Fluoride Harms Rather Than Helps Teeth- Second Opinions, UK
A very interesting article. I have no idea how accurate it is but it is certainly something I intend to look into.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday, 17 January 2010
My Web Wanderings (weekly)
Is Lacto-Fermented Homemade Ketchup Worth the Trouble? | Kelly the Kitchen Kop
- Results from large, long Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification
Trial shows no effect on heart disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer,
or weight.
HOME-SCHOOLING: Socialization not a problem - Washington Times
- One of the most persistent criticisms of home-schooling is the accusation that home-schoolers will not be able to fully participate in society because they lack "socialization."
- Since the re-emergence of the home-school movement in the late 1970s, critics of home-schooling have perpetuated two myths. The first concerns the ability of parents to adequately teach their own children at home; the second is whether home-schooled children will be well-adjusted socially.
- the Home School Legal Defense Association commissioned a study in 2003 titled "Homeschooling Grows Up," conducted by Mr. Ray, to discover how home-schoolers were faring as adults. The news was good for home-schooling. In all areas of life, from gaining employment, to being satisfied with their home-schooling, to participating in community activities, to voting, home-schoolers were more active and involved than their public school counterparts.
- Until recently, "Homeschooling Grows Up" was the only study that addressed the socialization of home-schooled adults. Now we have a new longitudinal study titled "Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults" from the Canadian Centre for Home Education. This study surveyed home-schooled students whose parents participated in a comprehensive study on home education in 1994. The study compared home-schoolers who are now adults with their peers. The results are astounding.
- When measured against the average Canadians ages 15 to 34 years old, home-educated Canadian adults ages 15 to 34 were more socially engaged (69 percent participated in organized activities at least once per week, compared with 48 percent of the comparable population). Average income for home-schoolers also was higher, but perhaps more significantly, while 11 percent of Canadians ages 15 to 34 rely on welfare, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income for home-schoolers.
- The results are a great encouragement to all home-schooling families and to parents thinking about home-schooling.
- Both "Homeschooling Grows Up" and "Fifteen Years Later" amply demonstrate home-school graduates are active, involved, productive citizens. Home-school families are leading the way in Canadian and American education, and this new study clearly demonstrates home-school parents are on the right path.
2009 study confirms abortion-breast cancer link :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Garlic, Honey and Coconut Oil Cold Prevention/Remedy
The last two years within a week of my husband starting his Christmas job, all three of us seem to have come down with really bad colds. This has resulted in disturbed sleep and has made it much harder to deal with the change of routine and extended working hours.
This year we decided to be proactive in trying to prevent this so he and Little Girl both took a mixture of garlic, honey and coconut oil at least once a day. (I didn't take it because it causes me to spend the next twenty minutes in the bathroom because I feel like I'm about to throw up and anyway it's always them who gets the colds first and then pass them on to me.)
About two weeks in, I had the mildest sore throat I've ever had for a couple of days and my husband had a very mild cold about the same time. Right at the end of the month, Little Girl had a cold and slight cough for five days which did make us think that it hadn't been that effective but then two weeks after she caught it, the children she had caught it from were still obviously quite ill and all had terrible coughs so we concluded that it had had an effect after all.
How we make it:
- Put 1-2 tbsp coconut oil in a jar and melt it either by leaving it on a radiator or putting it in a bowl of hot water.
- Add 2-3 tbsp honey and stir in.
- Add 3-4 pressed cloves of garlic.
- Put jar in cold water and stir vigorously until mixture is emulsified.
- Store in fridge.
At the moment, Little Girl usually has one or two teaspoons a day and my husband has anything from one to four depending on how he feels and whether he remembers at the right time. It has to be taken on a full stomach because otherwise it makes you feel sick.
Since it makes me feel sick regardless of when I have it, what I usually do is wait until I think I may have a cold coming on and then I press half a clove of garlic onto my dinner plate before dishing the dinner out. Even though this is more garlic than I would have in a teaspoon of the garlic/honey/coconut oil mixture, it seems to be fine so I presume the difference is that it is more dilute when I mix it into a meal but obviously it is less convenient which is partly why I haven't been doing it all the time as a preventative measure.
Find more tips at Works For Me Wednesday.
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
"The Sweet By and By" by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck
I received The Sweet By and By through the Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger programme. The story is about 29 year old Jade who is about to get married to the man of her dreams. It follows her in the run up to the wedding and her relationship with her semi-estranged mother through a combination of "present day" commentary and flash backs to relevant past events.
Although I didn't hate this book, it wasn't that great - indeed I only completed it because it is a requirement of the review programme to do so. I realise that it can take time sometimes to set the scene but more than half way through the book I was feeling bored and waiting for it to get to the point. Maybe they were trying to create suspense or something but it didn’t work for me.
I felt that a lot of the Christian bits in it seemed contrived almost as if someone had been deliberately trying to find every opportunity to put things in rather than them flowing into the story naturally.
When the story ended, I wasn't satisfied. The story was complete and it stopped at a natural point but it just all seemed to end a little too nicely especially considering what had gone before. It was just all a bit too syrupy for me. Perhaps if you like reading "chick-lit" you would enjoy it but it wasn't really for me and I would hesitate to recommend it.
Sunday, 3 January 2010
My Web Wanderings (weekly)
This will be really handy for me as I often prefer to measure things by weight - especially when all my measuring cups have been used. Not sure I'll be making much use of the kangaroo meat conversion though!
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Thursday, 24 December 2009
A Two Year Old's View of Christmas
I did say I wasn't going to do any more posts this year but I just had this conversation about Christmas with Little Girl which made me smile so I thought I'd post it:
Me: Tomorrow is Christmas Day - what do we do on Christmas Day?
LG: We eat Christmas cake.
Me: Yes, and what else do we do?
LG: We eat little Christmas cakes. [Christmas pudding]
Me: Yes, we eat Christmas pudding. What else do we do?
LG: We eat goose.
Me: Yes.
LG: We eat dinner.
Me: Yes, we eat Christmas dinner.
LG: We eat goose and Christmas dinner.
Me: That's right, we have goose for Christmas dinner. And we give...
LG:...thanks to Him and pray.
Me: Yes, we always give thanks to God don't we. Do we do anything else?
LG: We eat pineapple. [drink pineapple juice]
Me: Pineapple? Oh yes - we're going to have pineapple juice at breakfast time. And what do we give?
LG: We give presents to Daddy!
Me: Tomorrow is Christmas Day - what do we do on Christmas Day?
LG: We eat Christmas cake.
Me: Yes, and what else do we do?
LG: We eat little Christmas cakes. [Christmas pudding]
Me: Yes, we eat Christmas pudding. What else do we do?
LG: We eat goose.
Me: Yes.
LG: We eat dinner.
Me: Yes, we eat Christmas dinner.
LG: We eat goose and Christmas dinner.
Me: That's right, we have goose for Christmas dinner. And we give...
LG:...thanks to Him and pray.
Me: Yes, we always give thanks to God don't we. Do we do anything else?
LG: We eat pineapple. [drink pineapple juice]
Me: Pineapple? Oh yes - we're going to have pineapple juice at breakfast time. And what do we give?
LG: We give presents to Daddy!
Christmas Card 2009
This will be my last post of the year (apart from a possible auto post from Diigo if I boomark anything) so I thought I'd close with a copy of the front of our Christmas card this year along with the text from the inside cover.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.Romans 6:20-23
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.John 1:14
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemnedJohn 3:15-18a
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Annual Newsletter 2009
As we come to the end of the year, I thought it would be nice to share our (slightly modified for being online) annual newsletter:
Our most exciting news this year is that in May we bought a house. We are two miles away from where we lived previously and we now have the benefit of a garden for Little Girl to play in. The house needs a lot of (mostly cosmetic) work done to it but it is nice to no longer be at the mercy of a landlord both in terms of what is done to the house and whether we are allowed to stay. Our new village is well provided for as it has all the amenities we had in our old village within five minutes (adults) walk plus additional shops and (to Little Girl's great delight) a part time library.
Hubby continues with his gardening work and Susan looks after Little Girl at home.
Last year Little Girl learned to walk; this year she has learned to talk and is quite a chatterbox when not pretending to be shy. She retains her love of books and requests to go to the library almost every day.
Little Girl enjoys reading, drawing, painting, going for walks and pretending to be Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Postman Pat and whoever else she thinks of. Horses frequently pass our house which always provides plenty of excitement as do the weekly bin lorries.
Little Girl is a great helper and she loves to cook and clean (either real or pretend) although sneaky sampling tends to be the most popular part of cooking. She also enjoys helping Daddy outside in the garden although this "help" usually involves picking flowers while Daddy does all the work.
 | Sinner Saved Family News |
Our most exciting news this year is that in May we bought a house. We are two miles away from where we lived previously and we now have the benefit of a garden for Little Girl to play in. The house needs a lot of (mostly cosmetic) work done to it but it is nice to no longer be at the mercy of a landlord both in terms of what is done to the house and whether we are allowed to stay. Our new village is well provided for as it has all the amenities we had in our old village within five minutes (adults) walk plus additional shops and (to Little Girl's great delight) a part time library.Hubby continues with his gardening work and Susan looks after Little Girl at home.
Last year Little Girl learned to walk; this year she has learned to talk and is quite a chatterbox when not pretending to be shy. She retains her love of books and requests to go to the library almost every day.
Little Girl enjoys reading, drawing, painting, going for walks and pretending to be Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Postman Pat and whoever else she thinks of. Horses frequently pass our house which always provides plenty of excitement as do the weekly bin lorries.
Little Girl is a great helper and she loves to cook and clean (either real or pretend) although sneaky sampling tends to be the most popular part of cooking. She also enjoys helping Daddy outside in the garden although this "help" usually involves picking flowers while Daddy does all the work.
Monday, 21 December 2009
Whoops a Daisy (slightly not using freezer stash)
Although I was supposed to be not buying meat at the moment due to my rather excessive stock of it I managed to buy a 2kg (4 1/2 lb) leg of lamb on Friday. It was reduced to £3.50/kg because it was going out of date on Saturday and that is a very good price for lamb (plus I didn't have any lamb in my stash) so I figured it was worth it. I cooked it overnight in the slow cooker so we could have it for lunch and then I made stock from the bones (also in the slow cooker) some of which I used for the spaghetti bolognaise I had already planned to make with some mince and liver from the freezer. We ended up with five meals worth of spaghetti bolognaise in the freezer (i.e. 5 x 2.5 portions) and a huge heap of lamb to use up before Christmas so this week's plan features a lot of lamb:
Mon: Ham and lentil soup from the freezer.
Tues: Lamb and spinach risotto.
Wed: Lamb, mashed potato (with parsnip in) and veg.
Thurs: Lamb pasta.
Fri: Christmas Dinner: Salmon and cream cheese parcels. Goose, sausages wrapped in bacon, carrots, sprouts, peas, potatoes roasted in the goose fat. Christmas pudding.
Sat: Same as Friday.
Sun: Freezer meal.
From the freezer stash this will use the goose and the sausages in bacon (both of which we specifically bought for Christmas obviously) and probably some frozen veg depending on what fresh veg we pick up. Other than the usual rotation of home made bread and fruit loaf, we shouldn't be adding anything to the freezer this week which will be good.
Friday, 18 December 2009
Snow!
This is what we had yesterday:
Then today there was even more. It's still less than two inches but you never know - it might be all we get this winter. Little Girl was so excited this morning she wanted breakfast straight away so she could go and play in the snow. She was planning to make "scrambled egg on toast, pancakes and porridge" but since we already had baked porridge from yesterday we went for that.
Apparently she is "digging like a man". (I think she means digging like the workmen who are replacing the water pipes in our street.)
Then today there was even more. It's still less than two inches but you never know - it might be all we get this winter. Little Girl was so excited this morning she wanted breakfast straight away so she could go and play in the snow. She was planning to make "scrambled egg on toast, pancakes and porridge" but since we already had baked porridge from yesterday we went for that.
Apparently she is "digging like a man". (I think she means digging like the workmen who are replacing the water pipes in our street.)
Monday, 14 December 2009
A Funny Old Week
Last week my husband had extra work on Monday and Tuesday which meant he finished his Monday shift at 0200hrs on Tuesday and then started his Tuesday shift at 1000hrs. So that he could sleep in on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, he slept in Little Girl's room when he got home and when I went to bed I took her to sleep with me. Unfortunately the first night she took ages to go to sleep and then by the time she got sleep I couldn't sleep so I ended up with only three hours sleep that night.
By Thursday we were all pretty much recovered from all the sleep disturbance but we didn't have water on those two days so we tried to go out in the mornings to minimise the time at home without water. (I say "tried" because we were unsuccessful on Thursday due to the car having a flat battery but we managed to jump start it on Friday.)
Between sleep disturbance, going out and not having water my menu plan got thrown out the window a bit although I did manage to use everything which needed to be used and make a nice big batch of lentils and rice. On Saturday I did manage to bake bread, fruit loaf and muffins most of which I somehow managed to jam into the freezer and amazingly despite the lack of water I managed to keep up with the washing.
Since everything has been so busy recently and the freezer is still somehow overflowing (despite the fact I've only spent £20 on food this month most of which was milk, eggs and fruit) I've decided to make this week a freezer meal week instead of doing "proper" cooking and a menu plan.
By Thursday we were all pretty much recovered from all the sleep disturbance but we didn't have water on those two days so we tried to go out in the mornings to minimise the time at home without water. (I say "tried" because we were unsuccessful on Thursday due to the car having a flat battery but we managed to jump start it on Friday.)
Between sleep disturbance, going out and not having water my menu plan got thrown out the window a bit although I did manage to use everything which needed to be used and make a nice big batch of lentils and rice. On Saturday I did manage to bake bread, fruit loaf and muffins most of which I somehow managed to jam into the freezer and amazingly despite the lack of water I managed to keep up with the washing.
Since everything has been so busy recently and the freezer is still somehow overflowing (despite the fact I've only spent £20 on food this month most of which was milk, eggs and fruit) I've decided to make this week a freezer meal week instead of doing "proper" cooking and a menu plan.
Monday, 7 December 2009
Menu Plan Monday (Operation "Use Freezer Stash" #2)
Mon: Chicken, potato, cabbage and squash.
Tues: Cheesy pasta and veg.
Wed: Veg casserole with lentils & rice and fresh salsa.
Thurs: Chicken, potato, cabbage and carrot.
Fri: Meatloaf, potato, carrot plus other veg as yet undetermined.
Sat: Same as Wed.
Sun: Freezer meal.
From the freezer stash this uses one chicken, 1/2lb mince some frozen veg and three freezer meals (Wed, Fri and Sun) but probably creates two or three 1/2lb portions of lentils and rice depending on the size of the soup.
For more details, you can click to view my paper menu plan:
NB. The start of the week is changed from Thursday because when we had a veg box delivery it was on Wednesdays so I used to plan Thursday to Wednesday.
Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
My Web Wanderings (weekly)
- There are many items you could donate to BONNIE BABIES
WOOL
BUTTONS
LACE
RIBBON
WEDDING DRESS'S
DONATED WEDDING DRESS`S HAVE BEEN USED BY BONNIE BABIES MEMBERS FOR SOME YEARS
TO MAKE TINY BURIAL OUTFITS
All items donated are very much appreciated and help us in making
many tiny items
TO SEND DONATED ITEMS
BONNIE BABIES
PO BOX 9269
CAMPBELTOWN
PA28 6WS
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Faith and Pop Culture by Christianity Today
I received this study guide through the Thomas Nelson Book review blogger program. Although it is designed to be used as a study guide for a small group, it is perfectly readable independently. I was very interested to see what it had to say about how Christians engage in popular culture. In addition to the obvious subjects such as films, TV and books, the book also looks at the Christian response to sport, entertainment, the place of violence in entertainment, our entertainment based culture and the place of Christians within the entertainment industry.
I found this book very useful and interesting as it challenged my views in a number of areas and made me think about certain issues I had not particularly thought through. Each section started with a question to address (e.g. "Must all entertainment Christians enjoy be "family friendly"?) followed by Bible references, an introduction to the issue and then an essay putting forth a particular Christian viewpoint.
After this there was a study to work through which led the reader (or small group) through the issue in a way which made them think about the issue with reference to the Bible without dictating answers. Although I did not always agree with the views which expressed, the clear aim was to help people look at issues from a Biblical perspective and it certainly helped me to do this and has made me more open minded about certain issues.
Although it is meant for a small group study I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants to think through these issues from a Biblical perspective.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Menu Plan Monday (Operation "Use Freezer Stash")
Mon: Pasta, Ratatouille, cheese.
Tues: Ham, potato and cabbage.
Wed: Ham and lentil soup.
Thurs: Spaghetti Bolognaise.
Fri: Ham, potato, cabbage plus other veg as yet undetermined.
Sat: Ham and lentil soup from Wed.
Sun: Freezer meal.
From the freezer stash this uses one gammon joint, some frozen veg and two freezer meals (Thurs and Sun) but probably creates two or three freezer meals depending on the size of the soup.
For more details, you can click to view my paper menu plan:
NB. The start of the week is changed from Thursday because when we had a veg box delivery it was on Wednesdays so I used to plan Thursday to Wednesday.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
My Understanding of the Five Points of Calvinism
This post is partly in response to someone asking for an explanation of Calvinism and partly because I have been meaning to write down what I mean when I say that I subscribe to these points so that I can reference it when having online discussions. It is a description of my beliefs/understanding and is not intended to be telling anyone else what they should or should not believe. I have not provided supporting Bible references for the points because I am just describing what I understand them to mean - not trying to argue their case.
Total Depravity
I think this term is open to a lot of misunderstanding as most people would understand "total" depravity to mean the worst and most extreme depravity. Also depravity tends to be used as a description of the worst sins of man. My understanding is that depravity is being used to describe the badness or sinfulness of man. The quantification described by the term "total" is saying that man is sinful rather than perfect (i.e. you can't be partly sinful - you either are or you aren't) rather than quantifying how sinful we are. Clearly everyone is not as sinful as is possible to be but this is not what is meant my total depravity.
The way I understand it, this phrase is making the point that because man is entirely sinful (as opposed to partially sinful), we are unable to earn our salvation. Because of our sin it is impossible for us to be good enough.
Unconditional Election
To me this means that our salvation is not conditional on our actions. We cannot earn our salvation through our works but gain it only through the work of Christ on the cross. (This does not however mean works are wrong - I would consider works to be fruits of faith.)
Limited Atonement
Christ's sacrifice did not pay for everyone's sins. It paid for the since of those who were elected by God to receive the gift of salvation. An opposing view is that Christ died for all but some people choose not to avail themselves of it. Another view is that after we die, those who did not accept Christ's sacrifice will have another opportunity to do so that all will have been atoned for in the end. "Limited atonement" disagrees with both of these ideas.
Irresistible Grace
This is the idea that if God chooses to save you by his grace then you cannot resist it. I find this particularly difficult to explain but I know that I cannot choose not to believe any more than I can choose not to believe in gravity or that the grass is green. I like the way Delirious? put it in one of their songs which says, "I believe I've chosen you believing that you've chosen me."
Perseverance of the Saints (aka "Once Saved, Always Saved")
Pretty much, this means that if someone is saved, then they cannot become "unsaved". If someone makes a profession of faith and appears to be a genuine believer but at a later point in their life becomes apostate, it is reasonable to assume that they were never truly saved in the first place. Of course, someone who is saved will still sin though so just because someone who professes to be a Christian commits a humongous sin does not automatically mean that they must not really be saved. Unfortunately, this particular point has been known to lead people to try to judge whether someone is saved or not which can then lead to people trying to "prove" their salvation through works. Personally, if someone professes to be a Christian and their life so far as I can tell does not clearly contradict that profession, then I will accept them at their word.
Total Depravity
I think this term is open to a lot of misunderstanding as most people would understand "total" depravity to mean the worst and most extreme depravity. Also depravity tends to be used as a description of the worst sins of man. My understanding is that depravity is being used to describe the badness or sinfulness of man. The quantification described by the term "total" is saying that man is sinful rather than perfect (i.e. you can't be partly sinful - you either are or you aren't) rather than quantifying how sinful we are. Clearly everyone is not as sinful as is possible to be but this is not what is meant my total depravity.
The way I understand it, this phrase is making the point that because man is entirely sinful (as opposed to partially sinful), we are unable to earn our salvation. Because of our sin it is impossible for us to be good enough.
Unconditional Election
To me this means that our salvation is not conditional on our actions. We cannot earn our salvation through our works but gain it only through the work of Christ on the cross. (This does not however mean works are wrong - I would consider works to be fruits of faith.)
Limited Atonement
Christ's sacrifice did not pay for everyone's sins. It paid for the since of those who were elected by God to receive the gift of salvation. An opposing view is that Christ died for all but some people choose not to avail themselves of it. Another view is that after we die, those who did not accept Christ's sacrifice will have another opportunity to do so that all will have been atoned for in the end. "Limited atonement" disagrees with both of these ideas.
Irresistible Grace
This is the idea that if God chooses to save you by his grace then you cannot resist it. I find this particularly difficult to explain but I know that I cannot choose not to believe any more than I can choose not to believe in gravity or that the grass is green. I like the way Delirious? put it in one of their songs which says, "I believe I've chosen you believing that you've chosen me."
Perseverance of the Saints (aka "Once Saved, Always Saved")
Pretty much, this means that if someone is saved, then they cannot become "unsaved". If someone makes a profession of faith and appears to be a genuine believer but at a later point in their life becomes apostate, it is reasonable to assume that they were never truly saved in the first place. Of course, someone who is saved will still sin though so just because someone who professes to be a Christian commits a humongous sin does not automatically mean that they must not really be saved. Unfortunately, this particular point has been known to lead people to try to judge whether someone is saved or not which can then lead to people trying to "prove" their salvation through works. Personally, if someone professes to be a Christian and their life so far as I can tell does not clearly contradict that profession, then I will accept them at their word.
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