Multitude Monday: 1000 Gifts

202.) preacher husband getting accepted into college
203.) preacher husband excited about school, classes and learning!
204.) wrapping paper
205.) excited parents waiting for gift day
206.) birthday cakes
207.) Jesus' birthday!
208.) children who all appreciated their Christmas gifts...not one single complaint:)
209.) fireplaces
210.) gift-day feast
211.) Hannah's singing, "I love my mommy~!!!!"
212.) suitcases
213.) family recipes that nurture good memories
214.) Granny Manders who made recipes and attached good memories to them
215.) GPS system!  Yay, no more getting lost.  Hopefully:)
216.)

I couldn't resist wishing everyone...something, hahahaha

To My Democrat Friends: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country, nor even the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, please know that this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference.

To My Republican Friends:
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

How to pack for a family of 9

I'm in the process of packing my family's things to head "home" for about a week.  I need to take a break, so I decided to sit down and blog my process. 

1.) It always helps to start with the laundry all caught up!  Rarely do we let laundry get too far behind so this is usually not a huge problem for us but if we are behind the week before we are too leave, I work extra hard getting the laundry completely done.  Sometimes this means getting up at 3 a.m. to put the laundry in the dryer and/or start another load. 

2.) Never try to pack the day we leave or it will be midnight before we leave.  I like to start at least the day before but preferrably several days before (but not too far before we leave or we may not have enough clothes to wear at home).  If I wait to the last minute, we will invariably leave something important we need.  Like a kid deoderant.

3.) For the children, pack 1 outfit for each day, plus 1 extra.  We rarely use every outfit but we have on occassion and I'd rather have too many outfits rather than not enough.  Make sure at least 1 of those outfits is a "nice" outfit for any event that may need an extra nice outfit.  I usually try to make it a "church" outfit since that seems appropriate for almost any occassion.

4.) I don't pack everyone's clothes for them!   I pack 7, 4 and 2 year old's. My 16, 13, 10, and 9 year old pack their own.  I check the 10 and 9 year olds for appropriateness and matching but I don't go get them, put the outfits together and pack them in their bags. 

5.) I always put the outfits together for the younger ones by wrapping the pants/skirt with it's shirt.

6.) If possible, put all the suitcases in your vehicle the day before you leave. This saves us sooo much hassle and work on departure day.

7.) Pack the hygiene products the day you leave in a seperate bag.  Everyone's toothbrush goes in it's on ziploc sack for sanitary reasons.  But everything else gets thrown in one bag and we share as much as possible.  If anyone wants something different from the families, they are responsible for bringing it and returning it to home.  If it helps you, make a list of what you need so you don't forget it. I have one but I have no idea how to get it uploaded to blogspot.

8.)  Don't forget the extra's!  Towels, washcloths, bathing suits, etc.  Make a list days in advance and then check it off as you get it packed.

Celebrating Christ: Results

Tomorrow's the day. I can't help but reflect on the changes that this Christmas has made for me...in me. I have purposed in my heart this year to celebrate Christ deliberately. I've worked hard on focusing on Him who came.

So what's the results? I'm forever changed.  I'll never be the same again. This deliberate focus on Christ has drawn me nearer to Him like no Christmas ever has before. I'm so glad I accepted the challenge to celebrate Christmas differently this year! I've been more cheerful with my family. I've loved Christ more.  I've felt closer to Him as I've delved into the scriptures more both by myself and with my family. I've read my Bible and longed for more time with Him. My family...my children have learned so much from the new tradition we started which was celebrating advent with the Jesse Tree. I've seen Him in a new light as I've done the Adorenaments that teach names of Christ. This Christmas, the question that has burned in my heart has been, "What can I give Immanuel?" 

This year has been more about Him than any other year of my entire life. I hope that in the future, He will teach me how to worship him even more.

Happy Birthday Jesus. 

Multitude Monday: 1000 Gifts

Giving thanks for His many blessings comes easily this time of year. They seem so apparent now with all of the festivities, family and fun.

Would you care to join the gratitude community along with Ann Voskamp and begin listing your blessings weekly?

Here is this weeks list of graces that I had eyes to see this past week.

186.) messy home
187.) used Christmas gift, for a fraction of the original cost
188.) soup, nourishing the soul and body
189.) Christmas program at church - my soul stirred and worshipped Him who came and is coming again
190.) healing
191.) Christmas shopping almost done
192.) Jesse Tree - our first year doing this and it has been an incredible journey
193.) children who ask hard questions, i.e. "Are we literally or figuratively children of God?"
194.) Sarah's cooking
195.) slow-cookers
196.) new Pediatrician
197.) gift from Church
198.) church family who blessed our family with so many gifts
199.) preacher husband's excitement about going back to school
200.) Christmas cookies
201.) Christmas fudge

To each their own...

I guess I have a weird sense of humor.  I just read an article and listened to a short news clip about a man's Christmas display.  I actually thought it was funny.

I guess this man had a different way of trying to draw attention to Christ! 

If I lived in that neighborhood, I don't think it would bother me either.  My husband and I chose to not "do Santa" from the very beginning, so our kids wouldn't really care either.  I'm not a Santa fan, lol.

Cute blog for girl hairdo's:)

I just found a blog that is all about girlie hairdo's and I just love it.  A little background on me.  I'm the mother of 8 children.  7 live with me and one is living in heaven with God:) 

Before I had Sarah, I had given birth to 4 boys!  By the time Sarah came, I had decided that we just couldn't have girls, lol.  For at least 3 months after Sarah was born, I would literally gasp, and have a split second of panic everytime I changed her diaper!  When you're used to seeing little boy parts when you change diapers, a little girl part looks likes somethings wrong, smile.  So until I got used to having a girl...you get the picture. 

I digress.  Everyone told me that my daughter was going to be a tomboy because of her older, rough and tough brothers.  I waited a long time to have my girlie-girl, and there was no way that was going to happen!  So before Sarah left the hospital I had painted her nails, put a bracelet, daddy's-girl necklace, and a ring on her finger.  The child slept in a hairbow for the first 3 years of her life....literally!  Needless to say, she's been a girlie-girl ever since!  Though, she does remind me of the little girl kitten off the cartoon movie Aristocats.  "I don't start fights...but I will finish them!" LOL. 

Anyhow I found this adorable website that is all about girl-do's and I fixed my three princesses today copying some of the websites techniques or do's.  I've been browsing this website off and on all day. Yep.  I like little girl hair that much. 

Didn't the girl's hair turn out cute?

Celebrating Christ: Worshipping in Song

This is my son, Stephen (13 years old), playing Angels We Have Heard on High.  Make sure you pause the music player on the side bar before you play this one:)

Celebrating Christ : Worshipping in Song

Our family just finished our nightly devotions.  I must say I have especially enjoyed our Christmas devotions this year and I think my family has also.  This is the first year that we've actually done a Jesse Tree and to be honest, I've been quite pleasantly surprised at how meaningful the devotions have been for all of us. I did not expect to enjoy it this much. I did not expect my kids to learn so much from it.  I'm so glad we decided to do these!

After doing our Jesse Tree devotion, I did another very short devotion with our Adorenaments.  Each Adorenament teaches us a name for Christ  Tonight we read the scripture:

"...Behold the Lion of Judah..." Revelation 5:6 KJV

This season I have beheld the Lion of Judah!  We concluded our devotions tonight with the song, "What A Mighty God We Serve".  My heart continues to worship Him Who came and is coming again! I can't thank Him enough for songs of worship He has planted in man's heart to uplift Him.  I just can't praise Him enough!


In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
Numbers, The fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice
Judges, law giver
In Ruth, the kinsmen-redeemer
First and second Samuel, our trusted prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign
Ezra, true and faithful scribe
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry
Ecclesiastes, the time and season
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire
In Hosea, He is forever faithful
In Joel, He's the Spirits power
In Amos, the arms that carry us
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior
In Jonah, He's the great missionary
In Micah, the promise of peace
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage
In Zechariah, our fountain
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

He is, He is, HE IS!

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven
In Romans, He's the grace of God
In Corinthians, the power of love
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servants heart
In Colossians, He's the Godhead Trinity
Thessalonians, our coming King
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant
In James, the one who heals the sick.
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords

He is, He is, HE IS!

The prince of peace
The Son of man
The Lamb of God
The great I AM
He's the alpha and omega
Our God and our Savior
He is Jesus Christ the Lord
and when time is no more
He is, HE IS!

 He Is by Aaron Jeoffrey

Natural or Conventional Medicine : 2010 Resolution

Since I've been old enough to learn on my own (adulthood basically...schools NEVER let you "waste" your time on such studies) I've been interested in learning about natural herbs and nutritional health.  I own probably 15 books on health, herbs and nutrition that I really love to browse through.  I've always had a respect for the plants that God has created for our use and I thank God for them!  Many of our modern medicines today are made from plants found around the world. So I'm always amazed when doctors poo-poo herbs rather than trying to educate themselves about them.

However, for my family I've had to determine how far I'm willing to go in order to treat my family naturally.  I tried something called GOOT (Garlic Oil Ointment Treatment) after reading all the raves about it on http://www.welltellme.com/ .  Not only did I not see any difference at all, it stained my children's socks and they stunk to high heaven!  That went on my list of "not worth it" treatments.  Some of the people on that website said they used it for long period's of time....weeks, and it was like the wonder drug.  Call me crazy, but if you keep the same ailment for weeks, how is the GOOT working?  Don't most illnesses get better after "weeks" all by themselves anyhow?  But the good thing is, we didn't have any vampires trying to come kill us:) I'm not willing to let my children suffer for weeks with a potentially dangerous ailment because of an aversion to modern medicine (as I've seen some herbal health minded people do).  I've determined that I'm not willing to allow my kids to remain sick for long (more than a week) when trying to treat with herbs unless it is some simple virus that the doctor's wouldn't treat them for anyhow.  I am willing to learn to feed my family more healthily in order to increase their immune systems and overall health.

I strongly suspect that my 2 youngest children and my oldest child are gluten-intolerant.  My entire family could stand to have better overall nutrition.  So, Lord willing, I will focus more this year on indentifying my children's individual food issues and increasing my families overall nutrition. 

This feels like a monumental task ahead of me.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Just thinking,
Michelle

Trying new layouts...

Sorry if this site looks weird...I'm trying to find a new template that doesn't squish up my posts so much, making them appear much longer than even I want to read (big grin)!

Michelle

Angry Mom: Part 2

I made my big confession Tuesday.  I don't have many who read these pages and I just knew those who did would be shaking their head's in disdain at my confession.  You ladies were very encouraging though and I appreciate all the kind words. 

As much as I hated the anger and yelling in my home growing up, I never thought that it was sin at all.  I thought this was normal parenting.  In fact, I thought that I deserved to be yelled at most of the time, and I took my punishment without complaint.  Don't get me wrong...I detested being yelled at but I never thought it was wrong.  And I tried soooo hard to be a "good girl" so that I wouldn't displease my parents.

It would be real easy right now for me start making excuses.  I've often contemplated if this sin of mine is what God was referring to when God said He would visit the iniquities of the father on his children unto the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5).  I've wondered if this is the "generational bondage" that I've heard about.  Maybe it is.  My family does have quite a history with their tempers.

My mother told me a story about her mother's temper from when she was a girl.  After living a pretty tough life, Grandmother's health was failing her but her temper was still going strong.  One day, one of her grandchildren was being quite naughty and my Grandmother had had enough!  She called Steve to her so she could discipline him.  He refused to come to her saying, "I'm not coming to you and YOU can't catch me!" and he took off running.  My Grandmother had a quick temper and deadly aim when angry...or so I've been told...I never actually met her because she died long before I was born. So she picked up one of Grandpa's steel-toed work boots and proceeded to throw it at naughty Steve.  Kapow!  The boot hit Steve and brought him down!  The only problem was, she BROKE his collar bone with the boot in the process!!!  Did that stop Grandmother from spanking him?  Nope.  Steve still got his spanking.  Though I've never broken a child's bone, I still have a temper and apparently the apple didn't fall far from the tree!

So is this my excuse?  No.  Generational sin is not my excuse.  You see, the phrase "generational bondage" or "generational sin" may describe the sin that my family has struggled with for several generations but it is not a disease that I can not help.

Why is it important to understand why I struggle with anger? Understanding why I struggle with anger is important because it has revealed other sin in my life that I must take care of if I'm going to rid myself of anger.  Anger and these other sins are like the letter's "Q" and "U" in the English language...you can't find Q without U.  Likewise, I don't see anger in my life without these other things. Here are the reasons God has revealed to me as I've cried out to Him for answers and help.

• Habit - When my *very* strong-willed oldest child was 4 years old, I didn't yell or get angry too much...or so I thought at the time. I had different words for my anger back then like, "frustration" or "exasperation", but for me, it amounted to the same thing...anger in differing degrees. I digress. I had read multiple books on discipline by this point inlcuding Dobson's Strong-Willed Child, to no avail.  I remember thinking one day to myself, "I'm going to yell at him and see if that makes him behave."  And I did.  And he was so shocked, it worked!  So I began yelling by literally thinking it through. At that point, I still didn't believe that yelling and anger was sin (I still don't think all anger is sin...but certainly *this* anger is sin).  I realize that this has become a habit in my life and if I'm going to get rid of anger, I have to break the habit's of yelling and anger. Yelling and anger have gone hand-in-hand in my life.  To change one, I know that I have to eliminate the other. I don't pretend to be able to do this alone...only with God can this habitual sin be broken. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom 12:2 KJV)
• Pride - When God revealed this one to me, it was very hard to swallow.  Pride usually is.  Part of the reason I've struggled is because *I* was personally offended.  *I* didn't want my child misbehaving in public because it made *me* look bad....like *I* wasn't being a good parent.  And my husband deserved my anger because he didn't listen to *me* like *I* deserved.  He didn't value *my*opinions like I thought *I* deserved to be valued. My pride has often led to anger...which then has led me to arguments or contention. "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." (Pro 13:10)
• Lack of Self-control - This one was very "ouchy" for me to hear from God about or even admit that it was true.  I've wanted to be a Proverbs 31 woman for years...and lack of self-control is almost as opposite of the Proverbs 31 woman as one can get, except for maybe the closely related lack of self-discpline.  But really that's what it amounts to for me.  It takes self-control to keep one's mouth shut when other's are "aggrivating" you.  It takes self-contorl to not get angry when things aren't going your way. Honestly, I lack self-control.  You can see the evidence in my weight as well but that's another post. (I'm not implying that anyone else's weight issues is due to lack of self-control...only mine.) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law."(Gal 5:22-23)
• Irritation - I noticed a while back that other people....strangers....can do some things or say some things to me and I would never bat an eye.  But my family...the people who are closest to me have often been the ones who can "get away with" the least. I can get irritated so easily with them.  This is just plain wrong.  S.I.N.  This one is closely related to the other sins in my life that lead me to anger but I think it has been an epiphany for me to realize this in the past 6 months.  I don't have the right to get angry because someone left the milk out. I don't have a "good reason" to be angry because my teenage son just smarted off to me or disobeyed me.  I think far too highly of myself if I think I should always have things go the way I want them.  Don't get me wrong...I think my children should respect and obey me. But I'm told to be longsuffering.  And patient. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;" (Col 3:12)     "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." (Rom 12:3)
  

Just Thinking,
Michelle

Celebrating Christ : Homemade Nativity Set

Today, I decided one of our school activities would be to let the kids make their own nativity sets out of salt dough.


The recipe that I used is just a basic recipe...nothing fancy. I don't expect that these will last forever...but the memories, lessons and pictures will last a lifetime.


Basic Salt Dough Recipe

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup cold water
Mix salt and flour in a bowl at first. Then slowly add the water, stirring until you get desired consistency. To speed drying, bake @ 250 degrees until dry all the way through. The drying time greatly varied depending on the thickness of the figurine. Some of them started turning brown...which is fine since we planned to paint them.


So today we celebrated Christ by remembering. We remembered His sacrifice...the sacrifice of leaving heaven where He had multitudes of Angels to serve Him...all power given Him, to come to this earth as a humble, helpless baby, to be cared for not by Angels...but by sinners...imperfect human parents! What a sacrifice!
This wound up being such a fun activity as we remembered Him. Even my older kids couldn't resist forming some figures. In the picture with Josh, my 16 year old son is in the background cutting out his own gingerbread man, lol. Not exactly a Nativity figure...but isn't it nice when the "brethren...dwell together in unity"? Fun memories. Jessica's nativity people turned out so cute. She tried her very hardest and they wound up looking like little aliens....to the untrained eye, smile. Sarah, my 9 year old, did a wonderful job with her set, even building a little stable to put her people in.

Angry Mom

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" I yelled hatefully at my son.

His face immediately revealed the crush of my words. Sadly, this did not cause me to repent. Instead, I justified myself, still irritated and angry at what he'd just done. Anger felt good. He'd done wrong so it was okay for me to lose MY temper....at least that's what I felt like at the time. I'm afraid to ask if other's have ever done this. I feel like this anger sin is just swallowing me up.

I have struggled for years with my temper. I grew up in an angry home and those were my "role models". Any misbehaviour or even small mistake, childish or not, was met with anger and yelling in my home. Still I hated it! I vowed to NEVER yell at my children, to never lose my temper, and to never say unkind words to my children or husband. I suppose I set my standards to high...I was bound to mess up sometimes right?

To answer my own question, no, I didn't set my standards too high. If it's God's standard then it's never "too high" a standard to strive for. Believe it or not some people DO live their life without anger or yelling. Recently, on an episode of the Duggar family, the kids decided to give a surprise party for Michelle Duggar for her birthday. At the party, surrounded by all of her family including her "normal" niece, her niece said something that I thought was just amazing. She said, "I would still like to hear Aunt Michelle yell just one time. I've never heard you yell!" Now, this is someone that knows Michelle Duggar intimately. Someone who sees her without the camera rolling. This was a huge statement to me! Is it possible? Absolutely! Am I there yet? I want to be. I want to be soooooo badly, that I'm willing to write about it publically, even though I'm quite embarrassed about it.

So why do I struggle so with anger? There are so many answers to this. And so many excuses. Is it because my mom used to yell like a banshee woman when she got angry (and that was frequently)? Is it lack of self-control?

I want to change in this area so badly that I'm willing to open myself up about this topic. The Lord has been helping me understand some of my reasons that *I* struggle in this area. I'm going to be blogging about this topic periodically as I "journal" my thoughts about this via this blog.

Nothing like revealing a huge character flaw and sin to the world in order to hold yourself accountable to change.

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:9

Wanting to Change,
Michelle

Multitude Monday:1000 Gifts

Another Monday. Another day to publically acknowledge the many gifts He has bestowed on me. If you are interested in joining the gratitude community, please head to A Holy Experience, read up about it....and then watch your life change as you begin to recognize your many blessings.

How can I stay the same when I'm seeing all his gifts?

169. Christmas lights

170. A lovely Christmas Tree that reminds us of Him who died

171. Families that give to the community by decorating their land with beautiful lights...and beautiful messages that point us to Him who died

172. Modern medicine that helps my sick children to breathe.

173. Kind doctor's who care about my feelings and my children's

174. Communion

175. Forgiveness

176. Sanctification

177. Love

178. Dancing, twirling, singing while sick daughters:)

179. Chicken Soup....surely this is God's food, lol?

180. humor!

181. Needs abundantly met

182. Husband who willingly goes to the store for me

183. Electric Blankets

184. King who came wrapped as baby and died as a lamb and arose again as a Redeemer

185. Salvation Army Bell Ringers

He's giving me eyes to see....even so, give me more Lord, so that I may praise you more!

Learning to see,

Michelle

Sick, sick, sick

When we came home from visiting family in South Carolina last Saturday, all but 1 of our kids were sick.

For those who don't know much about our family, we have 7 children from 16 years of age down to 2 years of age. Sarah, my little princess, was the only one who wasn't sick at that point. They have taken turns with the fevers, sore throats, runny noses, etc. My older kids have recovered relatively easily but this has lingered with my 3 youngest, who have a very poor immune system. To be honest, I really have not been too worried about it though....I've seen all this hundreds of times before in the past 16 years, in varying degrees. However, my 3 youngest just don't seem to be able to shake it. Hannah, my 2 year old, would get a fever and then seem to be getting better, only to start back up with a fever again. Similarly, Jessica would also, but not quite as badly as Hannah was.

So I was quite surprised when I took Hannah (2) and Jessica (4) to the weekend clinic to check them...just in case...and the wonderful doctor there tested them for RSV and to my surprise they both had it! This is the first time that any of my children have ever had RSV. In addition to the RSV, I think my Hannah has pneumonia though he didn't say that. He listened to Hannah's lungs, low on her back, and then made the strangest face. Eyebrows raised, he said, " I think she needs a breathing treatment." So Hannah is wheezing and her lungs sound bad. He prescribed an antibiotic for her, while explaining to me that most doctor's don't prescribe antibiotics for RSV since it is viral but he's prescribing it for another bacterial infection he thinks she may have in her lungs. I feel like a terrible mother for waiting a whole week to bring the girls in! I'm so used to being told "It's just a virus...got to run it's course" spill, that I figured that's all that I'd hear today.

To be honest, I prefer natural treatments but I'm not real adept at using them. I just don't have time for the research it takes to use them safely. I'm thankful for the prescribed med's but I'm still concerned about the side effects of these drugs. Both my baby girls are on nebulizer breathing treatments, liquid albuterol syrup, Azithromycin, and Fluticasone. The potential side effects of these drugs are numerous and serious! So I'm going to try to speed along the healing process here at home by doing some tried and true remedies for my babies. I'm also thinking that I will be ordering some herbal remedies from Trilight Herbs to help prevent them from getting sick like this again.

My Home Remedy Treatment Plan:

1. Vapor Steam with Vicks Vapor Steam Liquid

2. Soup, Soup and more Soup! I believe in me some chicken soup!

Chicken Rice Soup (one of my favorite)

3 quarts hot water

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2-3 celery ribs, finely chopped

2 sprigs fresh parsley (I just use 1T. of dried)

1 clove garlic, crushed (I use 1T. of minced from the jar...sometimes 2...garlic is good for you!)

2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced

4 large skinless chicken legs and thighs (or leftover chicken.)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I omit this usually)

3 cups cooked rice

1. Combine water, onion, celery, 2 sprigs parsley, garlic, salt, carrots, and chicken in slow cooker. (You can cook this on stove top as well, if you want it done faster)

2. Cover. Cook on high 4-5 hours.

3. Remove chicken when tender and debone.

4. Stir cut-up chicken back into soup. Add 1/2 cup fresh parsley.

5.To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Add a rounded tablespoonful of hot cooked rice to each bowl. (Note: I just add the rice to the soup the last 20 minutes or so of cooking before serving)

3. Vitamin C - lots of it!

4. Gr8dophilus Probiotic - only when they are done with their antibiotic (otherwise the antibiotic will kill the probiotics!) This will help fix the damage done to their good intestinal bacterial flora.

5. Echinacea - I'm out of the "good" kind, so I will be making a trip to the Herb Shop for more. Shonda Parker, a natural herbal guru (my words for her...not hers for herself, lol), says studies have shown that antibiotics abilities are enhanced when used in conjunctions with Echinacea.

6. Lemon Water for hydration

7. Multivitamin

8. Cut back on sugar! Sugar decreases the immune system:(

9. Kefir and yogurt - extra amounts for the next few weeks:)

I'll also be looking at Tri-Light Herbs for some other herbal supports for my family. This is a Christian owned company:) I've been wanting to order from here for years and I'm finally going to try some of their products.

Blessings,
Michelle
busy mom to a lot of sick children

I'm Just a Stay-at-Home Mom

Lindsay over at The Art of Reflection volunteers to live on board a ship hospital called Mercy Ships, and many of her blogs have brought me to tears and made me examine myself. Various women over at, At the Well....In Pursuit of Titus 2, write phenomenal articles that minister to me as woman...as a Christian woman. Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience has a way with words that I only wish I could have and she ministers to other's like I will probably never be able to do. She has actually made me like poetry...at least her poetic devotions.

All of these talented women are doing so much for Christ. What exactly am I doing for Him? What is my labor of love for Him....how am I effecting the world for Him? This blog? HA! This does nothing for Him. I don't pretend to be a talented writer...more like a rambler, lol.

So when I read these other ladies and I see how they are impacting the world for Christ, I can almost get envious! I long to make an impact for God!

And I am. My God has given me a most important job! Perhaps the most important job in the world! I am irreplacable in my job, for NO one else has been called to do it. No one else has been called to be my husbands help-meet. I'm the only one who can do my job. No one else has been called to be my children's mother. I serve as the "only" one in this position as well. No one else has been called to homeschool my children. Or be my husband's lover. Or watch over our home. Or pray for my husband and children. Of course, other's can pray for them...but not as their mother or his wife.

And the LORD God said, It is not good
that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Genesis 2:18

My ministry is my home right now. This is the season that I am in and I'm thankful to be in it. When I look at the other's who are ministering for the Lord in such a awesome way, I'm so grateful for what they are doing for the Lord. But this is not my season and I choose to be content.

So for today I choose to minister to my family.

I choose dirty dishes.
I choose dirty laundry.
I choose rocking sick babies.
I choose wiping snotty noses.
I choose cooking dinner.
I choose vacuuming.
I choose stories from little Bible books.
I choose prayer for my family.

I choose obedience to the call that I have been given. And I choose to do it without longing for another "ministry" that is not mine.

...teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Titus 2:4-5

Blessings,
Michelle