Bishop Ordination

Since we live here in this community, we have twice experienced a bishop ordination. The first was soon after we moved here in 2007. 

At that time Dan Stoltzfus and Elmer Glick shared the lot, meaning both were deemed eligible, by vote of the church, to be bishop. The Lord was allowed to decide between the two by a "throwing of the dice".

We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. Proverbs 16:33 NLT

The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:33 KJV

No, dice weren't thrown, but a slip of paper was placed in a Bible. The slip of paper was placed in such a way that no one knew which Bible it was in. There were two Bibles on a table and the two men each chose a Bible. The one who chose the Bible containing the paper was the one who became bishop.

At that time Elmer was the one chosen to take this responsibility. He led out in the administration of church life. Now he is ready to hand the responsibility to a younger man; so we had another ordination.

This time both Dan and our deacon Winston Miller were chosen as eligible men for this position. Sunday evening (Dec 9th) "the lot was cast" and Dan became our next bishop.

We thank the Lord for His working and trust Him to give Dan His Spirit for this great work. I appreciate how our leaders work with the lay members to sense the Lord's leading. They are not dictators, but true servants.

Here's a picture of the family. I took a picture of a picture. :)

Pray for our church as we move forward, seeking God's will for our purpose here.

Spinach Salad

Our family really enjoys spinach salad. Yes, these GUYS love spinach salad. Amazing. Most times one thinks of spinach-and-fruit salads as a girl kind of thing. To my surprise I've served this numerous times and there's still a fight to clean out the dish.

Ingredients-
Spinach
Fresh fruit - apple, pear, strawberry or whatever you like
Cheese- feta preferred, but you can use any kind
Lemon
Olive oil
Maple syrup
Nuts
Butter (or coconut oil)
Salt, optional
Pepper, optional
Poppy seeds, optional

Use a whole (8 oz) bag of spinach. I use Aldi's spinach- $1.19 @ bag. Tear it into smaller pieces, wash and spin dry.

It has a strange color because I accidentally grabbed
the grapeseed oil instead of olive oil. It's still good.

Juice a lemon. Make a dressing using equal amounts of lemon juice, maple syrup and olive oil. Add a bit of salt and pepper if you like. Poppy seeds are good but we seldom use them. 

Add fruit (an apple or two, cut into small slices, sliced strawberries or pears) to the dressing.

With the spinach in a serving bowl, spoon the fruit and dressing evenly over the top.

Sprinkle with 2- 4 oz of cheese.

Put 1/2 - 3/4 cup of nuts (sliced almonds, walnuts or pecans), a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of maple syrup in a cast iron skillet. Heat over low heat, stirring to spread butter and syrup evenly over the nuts. Watch it carefully, stirring once or twice. Spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan after every stirring. 

When it is nicely toasted, turn the heat off and immediately remove from the pan. I usually sprinkle it directly onto the prepared salad at this point but you could put it in a small dish and break it up when it's cool.

Thomas says there's only one thing wrong with it. There's never enough!

The Five Senses

I hear-
The washer is rattling with an unbalanced load. The dryer is humming over a load of polo shirts, socks and underwear. The youngest clears his voice as he lies on the couch reading. The keys click under my fingers as I inform you of all these things.

I see the fourth son walking down the hill with an ax on his right shoulder and a knife in his left hand. He is speaking convincingly to the air before him of an unknown (to me) subject. 

There is a pile of ice on the ground beside the water trough that sets not far from the window next to me. There is a pile of receipts and the draft of this week's menu beside me on the table, waiting for me to work on them.

The sky is varying shades of gray, white and blue. The trees are bare and brown, the grass looking more brown than green. 

I feel-
The house is pleasantly warm. No sweater needed and flip-flops are my choice of footwear today. It has warmed up this week outdoors. Tuesday morning the temperature was in the lower teens and this afternoon it is in the mid 40's. 

I taste the lingering mixture of garlic, onion and dates. For lunch I ate leftovers of this 'n' that. Caesar salad, tossed salad, melon, pizza, sugar free cookies. 

There are no outstanding smells currently. 

What are you experiencing today?

Problem Solved

In my last post I mentioned that I was puzzling over the problem of the chickens needing shelter. 

A thought came to me as I was watching a video on homesteading. I saw someone lift the lid of a tote and they said it was a chicken nest. Well! I have lots of unused totes sitting around. I kept rolling this around in my mind. How could a tote be successfully used as a shelter?

Then I searched YouTube for ideas. After watching a few videos with Melvin and Christopher, their wheels started turning. So I just turned them loose to build whatever they thought up. This is what they came up with. They set it inside the privacy fenced garden and moved the chickens on in. 

Now the chickens can take on the job of getting the garden tilled and fertilized by spring. Yay! Praise the Lord!

 

November 29

Outside my window...

It is a beautiful, sunny day. Yesterday it was so cold and windy but now today the weather has moderated and we are not so intimidated about stepping outside the door.

I am thinking…

...about how to get shelter for the chickens. All good homesteaders say to get your infrastructure in place before you get your creatures. Wise advice!

I am thankful for…

...a warm house. When I hear the wind blowing strong and cold I think about the people who have cold houses or no houses. And I feel guilty in my nice warm dwelling with plenty of clothing and covers. 

From the learning rooms…

We are still studying Paul's letters to Timothy. We're instructed to be soldiers for the Lord, not side-tracked or weighted down by the affairs of this life.

...chosen him

We just finished These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder as our daily read-aloud. We are considering reading the Little Britches series after this.

Otherwise, the boys are challenged to have their own reading goals in the Bible and otherwise. Melvin is reading Sherlock Holmes stories. 

Christopher read a few "new" books I pulled off the shelf for him. He's also wanting to read Josephus for the reward I offered him but he thinks the reward should be higher. He read a bit from the beginning of the book.

From the kitchen…

Here's the menu plan I set out this week but I haven't held to it entirely. 

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Egg sandwiches Yogurt	Leftovers	Deep dish Taco squares Green beans Lettuce salad
Spinach quiche Yogurt Granola	Goulash	Rice with Alfredo Spinach salad Apple crisp
Muffins Yogurt	Leftovers	Taco soup Cornbread Lettuce salad
Potato quiche Yogurt	Leftovers	Potato bar Peas & carrots Chinese cabbage salad
Baked oatmeal Yogurt	Penn Valley	Penn Valley
Penn Valley	Penn Valley	Mifflinburg
Scrambled eggs & sausage Yogurt	Leftovers	Veggie roast with sausage Lettuce salad

I am wearing…

...a head covering, an old lavender dress, ankle socks. I shed my purple sweatshirt after a morning workout.

I am creating…

Nada. Nix. Zed. Zero. 

I am going…

...to Pennsylvania to be with Stephen Saturday and Sunday.

I am reading…

...the Mitford series by Jan Karon.

I am hoping… 

...that life will get more reasonably busy for my dear husband.

I am hearing…

...wood chunks falling into the garden cart as Melvin and Christopher fill it and haul loads up the hill to stack on the pile.

Around the house…

The house kitchen (we have two kitchens) has gotten a coat of paint on two sides. The new color begs the cabinets to be white. 

The windows were washed on the outside of the house and I'm now working my way, little by little, around the inside. 

And, little by little, I'm taking care of stacks of things around my desk. I'm determined to declutter (auto correct thinks this isn't a word) and organize this house to the nth degree.

One of my favorite things…

A meal around the table with the family. 

A few plans for the rest of the week…

Continue life as usual. Cook, clean, do laundry, pack lunches, go shopping, and whatever else needs to be done. I need to figure out how and when to get the steer to the butcher.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing….

Do you ever feel awed by patterns in nature?
Even the swirl in the cooking pan? I do!

Week Past

A pen drawing by Christopher

Last week Tuesday Stephen came home from Penn Valley for the rest of the week. He didn't come to our house until evening, stayed long enough to get supper and then went out again and stayed with a friend overnight.Thomas was also gone for the evening (at a meeting) after a hard day of work.

Melvin and Christopher were with the school children at an event called Turkey-in-the-Hole that started between 5 & 6 pm and lasted until noon the next day. They roasted a turkey underground overnight and then had a turkey meal the next day. They made other foods to go with their turkey.

On Wednesday Thomas, Austin and Matthew went to work. Stephen and the younger ones came home about mid-day. Melvin went right to work on a bird feeder he is repairing for Grandpas. Christopher went straight to sleep on the couch and slept all afternoon.

I spent the day doing cleaning, laundry and cooking. Cleaning out refrigerators. Washing windows. Making bread (that flopped because I was trying to do too many things at once). I don't remember what else I did. I just know I was going full steam ahead all day.

Of course, Thursday was Thanksgiving day. Thomas and sons spent the forenoon cutting a dump trailer load of firewood. The boys had some time to help me with housework before they went to do the wood. Austin was actually not feeling strong in his back so he stayed here and helped a lot.

My parents, Thomas' mom, my sister and family, a Mexican friend of Stephen's and a local community boy* were here for the feast at 1:00. Everyone helped with the meal so all I made was cranberry salad, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Why in the world do we make so much food on Thanksgiving day? Has that question ever crossed your mind? I asked one party not to bring sweets to the gathering and was told it isn't Thanksgiving without sweets. We've lost a vision I do believe.

We spent the afternoon sitting and visiting, eating more, playing games and etc. Thomas with some other manly help built racks or shelves in his newest job trailer- one that is more suited to the door business.

Friday had Thomas and sons going back to work, putting in garage doors. Stephen had his own agenda while at home, detailing and replacing brakes on his "new" car, doing online projects and doing a paint job for someone. 

Melvin, Christopher and *our young friend Christopher (we call him Chris) helped me peel and cut up some apples to can as applesauce and chunky applesauce.

Saturday was another busy day with Thomas and sons going off to another job while the two youngest, Chris and I held down the fort. We didn't try to do too much. Finished laundry, cleaned up the house, did some cooking and cleaned the church basement.

On Sunday we met with our fellow believers for singing, Bible study and preaching. A lot of our congregation was gone for one reason or another. Our Bible study was in Psalm 109. Check it out. What do you make of it?

We had a restful day, ate lunch, napped, read and just enjoyed some down time. Thomas has been so busy with his work that I scarcely know him anymore. He took Chris home in the afternoon. 

We are scheduled to sing at a church in PA this coming Sunday so we also took some time over the past week to do some song practice.

Monday was another day with most everyone being around here. Thomas had some work away. Austin and Matthew were repairing the job trailer. It was a beautiful day.

Basketball game

In the evening the men had a meeting at church, leaving Melvin, Christopher and I here for the evening. Stephen left from there to return to his duties in PA.

A whole week gone just like that! How was your week?

Menu Plan

Another week of menus. You're welcome.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Potato quiche Yogurt	Leftovers	Cheesy chicken (turkey) chowder Lettuce salad
Scrambled eggs & sausage Grits Yogurt	Leftovers	Pork chops Fried cabbage Scalloped potatoes Waldorf salad
Granola Yogurt	Turkey Potatoes/sweet potatoes Salads Dessert	Tomato soup Hot dogs
Cheesy baked supper omelet Fruit salad	Leftovers	Chili soup Veggies and dip
Pancakes Sausage gravy	Leftovers	Chicken patty sandwiches French fries Rhubarb crunch
Apple nut muffins Yogurt	Haystacks Baked apples	Popcorn Apples
Scrambled eggs & sausage Biscuits Tomato gravy	Leftovers	Black bean soup Cornbread Apple crisp