I wanted to share with you an inspiring Christian novella written by Raquel at God's Daughter. The story is called Life's Choices and deals with some of the most pressing issues to today's young Christian.
My fifteen year old sister read it in one day and was inspired to more diligently work at her writing studies. It filled me with joy to see a young blogger who was called to write something moral, inspirational, and to share it with the world.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Thank you Raquel for allowing me to post this - and for fans of the story, you'll have to email Miss Raquel for the conclusion!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
My Favourite Cooking Blogs
A woman's chief pride is as the keeper of her home. This means cooking, cleaning, managing any bills she is given responsibility for, and keeping the children happy and well taught.
Cooking is one of the easiest, most essential skills a young lady should learn, and yet, we live in a culture where frozen pizza and condensed soup are ubiquitous.
I've taught myself to cook through several cooking blogs, and through watching The Food Network/Viva Channel. Many of these blogs have a secular focus, but all of them share a love of wholesome food made with love - something any father, brother or husband can appreciate!
Pioneer Woman - The original 'cowgirl' blog, with a stay at home momma who homeschools, helps her hubby's business, and cooks with lots of cream and butter! Try the Springy Shells!
The Smitten Kitchen - A bit more 'urbane' than I can usually manage, but the recipes are delicious and I like that she's honest and shows us the failures, too. Try the zucchini latkes!
Orangette - It's more 'informative about food' rather than in depth recipes, and very secular, but the articles are super informative. I like the fingerling potatoes recipe from August '08.
I also used to like Mark Bittman's blog "bitten" for the NY Times, but it's now been rolled into an enormous polyblog of several subjects, most of which seems to involve urbane and outlandish alcohol mixtures, so I can't recommend it.
However, if you see his books on sale, pick them up. They're reference books more than cookbooks, and will teach your younger sisters or daughters the basics of cooking everything from snapper to salsify!
Cooking is one of the easiest, most essential skills a young lady should learn, and yet, we live in a culture where frozen pizza and condensed soup are ubiquitous.
I've taught myself to cook through several cooking blogs, and through watching The Food Network/Viva Channel. Many of these blogs have a secular focus, but all of them share a love of wholesome food made with love - something any father, brother or husband can appreciate!
Pioneer Woman - The original 'cowgirl' blog, with a stay at home momma who homeschools, helps her hubby's business, and cooks with lots of cream and butter! Try the Springy Shells!
The Smitten Kitchen - A bit more 'urbane' than I can usually manage, but the recipes are delicious and I like that she's honest and shows us the failures, too. Try the zucchini latkes!
Orangette - It's more 'informative about food' rather than in depth recipes, and very secular, but the articles are super informative. I like the fingerling potatoes recipe from August '08.
I also used to like Mark Bittman's blog "bitten" for the NY Times, but it's now been rolled into an enormous polyblog of several subjects, most of which seems to involve urbane and outlandish alcohol mixtures, so I can't recommend it.
However, if you see his books on sale, pick them up. They're reference books more than cookbooks, and will teach your younger sisters or daughters the basics of cooking everything from snapper to salsify!
Friday, July 2, 2010
UnTraditional Families - MSM says it's better than Mom, Dad and Kids
Warning - adult content, inappropriate for children under 18
This post will discuss an article I recently read on lesbian women who have children. That said, use your judgment in reading my post.
My cousin, who is quite liberal, sent me a link to this article from Time:
Kids with Lesbian Parents May Do Better Than Their Peers
I took a double take - what? Is there some scientific proof now that lesbians raise children better than the Biblically-advocated family, the family that's worked for millennia?
The answer is - of course not. On some psychological measures, children of lesbian parents scored better on 'self esteem' scores when contrasted against children of 'heterosexual parents.' Now, ignoring the difficulties I have with the cult of self esteem and modern psychology in general, let's look closer at the research.
This study was incredibly flawed, but Time flouted it as if it proved that the conservative agenda produced dysfunctional families and misery.
So, what was wrong with the study?
The authors didn't control for major demographic factors, for instance, race. Black and Hispanic Americans were included in the heterosexual families. But they were underrepresented in the gay families. Racism hurts children's self esteem.
The total gay-raised childrens' sample size was 78 children. Why so small? Currently, there are 270313 children raised in America by homosexual parents.
Lesbian parents also have the money and planning capability to become pregnant without a husband. They thought carefully before having children.
The study also noted that the gay parents "communicated frequently" with their children, as opposed to heterosexual parents.
So why not compare apples to apples? If I were to redo this study, I'd make the heterosexual group:
- 78 children being raised by traditional two-parent families.
- I'd make all 78 children have the same race as the gay parent families.
- I'd select parents who talk frequently with their daughters and sons.
- I'd choose parents who wanted their children, parents who believe that children are a blessing, and that it is their parental duty to raise them up in an appropriate, loving way.
Now this is not meant to single out the children of homosexual parents, or even the parents themselves (even if I disagree strongly with their choices). This is about scientific propaganda and a subtle media attack on Christian values.
This article takes the fundamental building block of society, the nuclear family, and presents it as unnecessary - in fact, an imperfect model of family. A second best. The authors cloak their findings in scientific wording, and send news releases to magazines so that the flaws in the study are more difficult for the average Jane or Joe to find.
It's articles like this that remind me to be ever vigilant, ever critical, and to always turn your mind to - what's wrong with this picture? Because if something is antithetical to the Bible - it's generally antithetical to logic and common sense, too.
This post will discuss an article I recently read on lesbian women who have children. That said, use your judgment in reading my post.
My cousin, who is quite liberal, sent me a link to this article from Time:
Kids with Lesbian Parents May Do Better Than Their Peers
I took a double take - what? Is there some scientific proof now that lesbians raise children better than the Biblically-advocated family, the family that's worked for millennia?
The answer is - of course not. On some psychological measures, children of lesbian parents scored better on 'self esteem' scores when contrasted against children of 'heterosexual parents.' Now, ignoring the difficulties I have with the cult of self esteem and modern psychology in general, let's look closer at the research.
This study was incredibly flawed, but Time flouted it as if it proved that the conservative agenda produced dysfunctional families and misery.
So, what was wrong with the study?
The authors didn't control for major demographic factors, for instance, race. Black and Hispanic Americans were included in the heterosexual families. But they were underrepresented in the gay families. Racism hurts children's self esteem.
The total gay-raised childrens' sample size was 78 children. Why so small? Currently, there are 270313 children raised in America by homosexual parents.
Lesbian parents also have the money and planning capability to become pregnant without a husband. They thought carefully before having children.
The study also noted that the gay parents "communicated frequently" with their children, as opposed to heterosexual parents.
So why not compare apples to apples? If I were to redo this study, I'd make the heterosexual group:
- 78 children being raised by traditional two-parent families.
- I'd make all 78 children have the same race as the gay parent families.
- I'd select parents who talk frequently with their daughters and sons.
- I'd choose parents who wanted their children, parents who believe that children are a blessing, and that it is their parental duty to raise them up in an appropriate, loving way.
Now this is not meant to single out the children of homosexual parents, or even the parents themselves (even if I disagree strongly with their choices). This is about scientific propaganda and a subtle media attack on Christian values.
This article takes the fundamental building block of society, the nuclear family, and presents it as unnecessary - in fact, an imperfect model of family. A second best. The authors cloak their findings in scientific wording, and send news releases to magazines so that the flaws in the study are more difficult for the average Jane or Joe to find.
It's articles like this that remind me to be ever vigilant, ever critical, and to always turn your mind to - what's wrong with this picture? Because if something is antithetical to the Bible - it's generally antithetical to logic and common sense, too.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
A Lesson In Humility via Vegetarianism
My father has been instructed by the doctor not to eat meat, save white chicken and fish, from now on. Butter, eggs, and pretty much anything extra delicious are also out the door.
Us... vegetarian (or at least, mostly veg)? I despaired of never cooking a juicy meatloaf or burger again. What an annoyance! But I continued to think about it, and realized - perhaps this is actually a lesson to me. Perhaps it's a reminder from the Lord to count my immense blessings.
Meat - and butter, eggs, fish - are a luxury, one that we've acquired a taste for in the 20th century. It takes over 10,000 gallons of clean water to produce the average pound of beef. It takes 10 calories of grain to produce 1 calorie of beef. In many parts of the world, it isn't even an option to raise beef cattle - they would praise the Lord just to have access to that much clean water and grain.
Now I'm in no way becoming a vegetarian - heck, I'm planning for a girls' lunch at Wendy's on Friday. But the doctor's order was a gentle reminder to me. Often, when God interrupts our expectations, it's a time to step back and consider - is there any reason I really should expect this? Is there a hidden lesson here? Have I become complacent or prideful?
Oh... and if anyone knows what to do with tofu, let me know.
Us... vegetarian (or at least, mostly veg)? I despaired of never cooking a juicy meatloaf or burger again. What an annoyance! But I continued to think about it, and realized - perhaps this is actually a lesson to me. Perhaps it's a reminder from the Lord to count my immense blessings.
Meat - and butter, eggs, fish - are a luxury, one that we've acquired a taste for in the 20th century. It takes over 10,000 gallons of clean water to produce the average pound of beef. It takes 10 calories of grain to produce 1 calorie of beef. In many parts of the world, it isn't even an option to raise beef cattle - they would praise the Lord just to have access to that much clean water and grain.
Now I'm in no way becoming a vegetarian - heck, I'm planning for a girls' lunch at Wendy's on Friday. But the doctor's order was a gentle reminder to me. Often, when God interrupts our expectations, it's a time to step back and consider - is there any reason I really should expect this? Is there a hidden lesson here? Have I become complacent or prideful?
Oh... and if anyone knows what to do with tofu, let me know.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
On Being Sheltered
"She's so sheltered," one of my cousins whispered about me. "Honestly, it's like talking to someone from another planet sometimes."
Of course, that stung a little. But then I got to thinking... what's wrong with being sheltered?
What's wrong with being insulated from the bullying of unkind children, the unChristian ideas espoused within schools, from crime and drugs and alcohol?
The prince, after all, chased down Rapunzel, the beautiful girl in a tower - not the barmaid who worked at the tavern down the road from his castle.
Maybe that's not convincing enough. After all, I can't join in when my cousin chatters away about American Idol (the name itself is pretty terrible), or the latest troubles of Lindsay Lohan. I can't really say much when she talks about taking cosmetology classes and welding-shop at high school.
But I can cook a low fat and high Omega 3 meal for my father's heart problems. I know how to get out ring-around-the-collar. I can change a tire, know to plant spiky bushes around our corn garden to keep the deer from eating it, and have taught not one, but two children to read. I keep track of the bills, pickle the wild melon in our backyard, darn socks, and still manage to get my math work done. My skills, my focus, my everything is on loving and serving my family. For me, the alternative, that expectation to throw your daughters to the hardest realities of life, seems cold and cruel.
So yes - shelter me! Expose me to people who believe in kindness, grace and hard work, so I would expect nothing less from people and nothing less from myself. My cousin can have her cosmetology classes... and I'll just stay right here, enjoying homemade pickles, next to a warm fireplace, typing away on my laptop.
Of course, that stung a little. But then I got to thinking... what's wrong with being sheltered?
What's wrong with being insulated from the bullying of unkind children, the unChristian ideas espoused within schools, from crime and drugs and alcohol?
The prince, after all, chased down Rapunzel, the beautiful girl in a tower - not the barmaid who worked at the tavern down the road from his castle.
Maybe that's not convincing enough. After all, I can't join in when my cousin chatters away about American Idol (the name itself is pretty terrible), or the latest troubles of Lindsay Lohan. I can't really say much when she talks about taking cosmetology classes and welding-shop at high school.
But I can cook a low fat and high Omega 3 meal for my father's heart problems. I know how to get out ring-around-the-collar. I can change a tire, know to plant spiky bushes around our corn garden to keep the deer from eating it, and have taught not one, but two children to read. I keep track of the bills, pickle the wild melon in our backyard, darn socks, and still manage to get my math work done. My skills, my focus, my everything is on loving and serving my family. For me, the alternative, that expectation to throw your daughters to the hardest realities of life, seems cold and cruel.
So yes - shelter me! Expose me to people who believe in kindness, grace and hard work, so I would expect nothing less from people and nothing less from myself. My cousin can have her cosmetology classes... and I'll just stay right here, enjoying homemade pickles, next to a warm fireplace, typing away on my laptop.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Disappointment
We (being my sisters, brother and I) were supposed to drive to the Christian bookstore in London yesterday, but the rain made it way too dangerous to drive that far.
I love to read, but as my father has pointed out, I need to develop more discernment in my book choices. I really need to branch out from Elsie Dinsmore (I still read them occasionally - sad or cute, I'm not sure), cookbooks, my Victorian magazine collection, and the occasional foray into Sense and Sensibility. Going to the Christian bookstore tends to constrain my impulses to buy books like Tasty Tapas or Basic Thai Cooking, which are interesting to read but will simply sit on my shelf, waiting for the day that Food Basics starts stocking salt-cod and kafir lime leaves.
Ah well. I'm sure we'll get to the store soon enough!
I love to read, but as my father has pointed out, I need to develop more discernment in my book choices. I really need to branch out from Elsie Dinsmore (I still read them occasionally - sad or cute, I'm not sure), cookbooks, my Victorian magazine collection, and the occasional foray into Sense and Sensibility. Going to the Christian bookstore tends to constrain my impulses to buy books like Tasty Tapas or Basic Thai Cooking, which are interesting to read but will simply sit on my shelf, waiting for the day that Food Basics starts stocking salt-cod and kafir lime leaves.
Ah well. I'm sure we'll get to the store soon enough!
Friday, May 28, 2010
On Skirts
I have a friend who asked me, “Why do you wear skirts all the time?”
The truth is, I don’t think dresses and skirts are 100% required for a lady to be good Christians. There are a few places in the Bible where proper women’s dress is described – for instance, Deuteronomy 22:5, where women are told not to dress like men; and 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and 1 Peter 3:2-5, where women are told to avoid ostentation and instead, dress with modesty, propriety, and to make an impression with their good works.
So then, why do I dress in long skirts? Several reasons…
• Modesty: A long skirt and polo shirt is not unfashionable; it’s as modest as one can be in our culture without appearing to be an odd extremist. You don’t come across as unwelcoming or isolationist; you don’t distract those around you with your body; you dress simply and in a way that would never be mistaken for a man.
Dressing ‘overmodestly’ can be a sin, as well – when it becomes a prideful badge of honour, or a modesty competition. But it’s clear that it is a lack of modesty that is most pervasive in our society.
• Comfort: Skirts have lots of room to move around. They can be flouncy or girly, maternal or serious, they’re cool in the summer, and easily paired with some leggings if you get cold.
• History: There’s something very comforting and solid to me to know that I’m wearing what my foremothers wore; what women have worn for centuries, both poor and rich, maidens and old matrons.
• It’s ladylike! What other comfy piece of clothing could you pull on and instantly look more like a lady? Much more graceful than the sweatpants and Ugg boots I see on many of the college girls in my town, but just as comfortable!
I know some will disagree with my view – I know many Christians who interpret Deuteronomy 22:5 much more strictly than I do. But this is just the way I was raised, it’s the way my father prefers me to behave, and I must say, I like dressing this way.
Related…
Feelin’ Feminine
The truth is, I don’t think dresses and skirts are 100% required for a lady to be good Christians. There are a few places in the Bible where proper women’s dress is described – for instance, Deuteronomy 22:5, where women are told not to dress like men; and 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and 1 Peter 3:2-5, where women are told to avoid ostentation and instead, dress with modesty, propriety, and to make an impression with their good works.
So then, why do I dress in long skirts? Several reasons…
• Modesty: A long skirt and polo shirt is not unfashionable; it’s as modest as one can be in our culture without appearing to be an odd extremist. You don’t come across as unwelcoming or isolationist; you don’t distract those around you with your body; you dress simply and in a way that would never be mistaken for a man.
Dressing ‘overmodestly’ can be a sin, as well – when it becomes a prideful badge of honour, or a modesty competition. But it’s clear that it is a lack of modesty that is most pervasive in our society.
• Comfort: Skirts have lots of room to move around. They can be flouncy or girly, maternal or serious, they’re cool in the summer, and easily paired with some leggings if you get cold.
• History: There’s something very comforting and solid to me to know that I’m wearing what my foremothers wore; what women have worn for centuries, both poor and rich, maidens and old matrons.
• It’s ladylike! What other comfy piece of clothing could you pull on and instantly look more like a lady? Much more graceful than the sweatpants and Ugg boots I see on many of the college girls in my town, but just as comfortable!
I know some will disagree with my view – I know many Christians who interpret Deuteronomy 22:5 much more strictly than I do. But this is just the way I was raised, it’s the way my father prefers me to behave, and I must say, I like dressing this way.
Related…
Feelin’ Feminine
Thursday, May 20, 2010
An Excerpt from my Homeschool Studies
I'm currently researching what I consider a great Christian lady of Canadian lore - Laura Secord. I thought this was interesting...
Laura Ingersoll, as a twenty two year old woman, met James Secord at the local dry goods store in Queenston, Ontario. James, several years older than Laura, owned the shop. She found him friendly and kind. She noticed how he went out of his way to lift heavy items into the wagon. She grew to enjoy seeing him when she went into town with one of her ten siblings to buy supplies. He would seek her out at church and at the shop - did her family enjoy the new sewing needles? Was she going to cook for the church ladies' luncheon?
Townspeople whispered about them - would James ask Laura's father for permission to court her? Laura, at age 22, and with several married sisters, was already labelled an old maid. Several young women - younger than 'old maid' Laura - actively attempted to capture James's attention.
Several months passed, full of earnest conversation between them, either at church or the shop - at least, until early May. Laura went for her weekly supply run. James was not behind the counter - not in town at all. His brother said that James had left to source shop goods in the United States.
Laura wrote him letters - a dozen letters - but did not get a response. In the first month, she prayed that he would return quickly. And after six months, she prayed for his safety. After a year, she prayed that God would show her if her devotion was misplaced.
Nearly two years to the day he left, James Secord arrived back in Queenston. He traveled directly to Mr. Ingersoll's farm. He knocked on the door; Laura's father answered.
"Mr. Ingersoll, I have been away for two years, and in that time, I have often thought of your daughter, Laura," said James. "I'd like to ask your permission to court her."
They wed shortly after; Laura became mother to 7 children; she helped drag soldiers from the fields of the War of 1812 and nurse them back to health; and she nursed her own husband for nearly a year after James was accidentally shot.
Laura Ingersoll, as a twenty two year old woman, met James Secord at the local dry goods store in Queenston, Ontario. James, several years older than Laura, owned the shop. She found him friendly and kind. She noticed how he went out of his way to lift heavy items into the wagon. She grew to enjoy seeing him when she went into town with one of her ten siblings to buy supplies. He would seek her out at church and at the shop - did her family enjoy the new sewing needles? Was she going to cook for the church ladies' luncheon?
Townspeople whispered about them - would James ask Laura's father for permission to court her? Laura, at age 22, and with several married sisters, was already labelled an old maid. Several young women - younger than 'old maid' Laura - actively attempted to capture James's attention.
Several months passed, full of earnest conversation between them, either at church or the shop - at least, until early May. Laura went for her weekly supply run. James was not behind the counter - not in town at all. His brother said that James had left to source shop goods in the United States.
Laura wrote him letters - a dozen letters - but did not get a response. In the first month, she prayed that he would return quickly. And after six months, she prayed for his safety. After a year, she prayed that God would show her if her devotion was misplaced.
Nearly two years to the day he left, James Secord arrived back in Queenston. He traveled directly to Mr. Ingersoll's farm. He knocked on the door; Laura's father answered.
"Mr. Ingersoll, I have been away for two years, and in that time, I have often thought of your daughter, Laura," said James. "I'd like to ask your permission to court her."
They wed shortly after; Laura became mother to 7 children; she helped drag soldiers from the fields of the War of 1812 and nurse them back to health; and she nursed her own husband for nearly a year after James was accidentally shot.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Rose-petal Curd for a Victorian Tea
What could be lovelier than a mid-afternoon tea? A table laid with freshly baked scones, a pot of hot Irish Breakfast, a vase of early-spring pink hyacinth, and sweet fellowship - what a perfect afternoon!
A recipe I recently created was a rose-petal curd. Lemon curd is a sweet spread, lemon flavoured, that was common during the Victorian era. But why limit yourself to lemon? Another traditional Victorian dessert flavour is rose. Rose sweets aren't perfumey - they have a delicious candied vanilla flavour that took me entirely by surprise!
This recipe makes one small jar of sweet, delicately-pink rose curd, perfect for spreading on scones or petit-fours.
Rose-petal Curd
Ingredients:
1 tbsp rosewater or .5 tbsp rosewater extract
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar, honey, or Splenda
Equipment:
Double boiler or a metal bowl placed over a pot full of water (a makeshift double boiler!)
Whisk
Method:
Fill the lower half of the double boiler with water so that the water almost touches the bottom of the upper half. Place all the ingredients except butter in the upper half of the boiler. Turn up your burner to HIGH.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, and flavouring. Keep whisking as the water on the bottom begins to boil. The steam will rise up and gently begin to cook the eggs. Keep whisking until the mixture turns thick. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter to make the curd shiny.
Keeps in the fridge for about a week. Add a few drops of red food colour or strawberry juice if you'd like it pink (it's naturally yellow!)
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