Confession: Leading by Example

Every night after all the teeth are brushed, rooms straightened, and pajamas are put on we gather on our bed for Bible story time. We read a story from The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth Taylor (if you haven't read this with your 3-7 year old you really should!). Next the kids pick a favorite song to sing. 

Then we lead by example. This part changes every day, somewhat by what happened that day. We might:

• talk about the best part of our day (focusing on joy in all circumstances)
• talk about something we are thankful for (helping kids to realize how we've been blessed)
• Talk about something that didn't go well & how it was frustrating (teachable moments)
• How we interacted with someone else today & how we can pray for or bless them with service
• Talk about something we learned (bible verse, history, whatever comes to mind)
• And more, but my mind is blanking right now =-)
• But tonight we confessed our sins.

Confessing my sins publicly is not something I grew up with or am very comfortable with. But I know it is Biblical and therefore important for me & important to intentionally teach my children.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

So we did just that. I asked them all to think of a sin from today. Minnie had a hard day & it was easy to point out a slew of them. Goofy had an exceptionally good day and it was hard, but he came up with one we didn't even know. My husband & I had ones too; it was good for them to realize that Mom & Dad sin too! The act of confession, followed by us each praying for forgiveness, in and of itself was beautiful to me. (Why hadn't we done that sooner?!)

But then, something else happened - a teachable moment that I had not even thought of. Goofy was pointing out that Minnie had much more sin that day & so Jesus would be more upset by her many sins. I  explained to Goofy that we "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Even if someone committed just one "tiny" sin they would still be separated from God & need Jesus' death on the cross to pay (atone) for their sins. Small or big, we all need Jesus; we all need to confess & be forgiven. He got it.

What was a frustrating, pull-your-hair-out type of day became something beautiful. With God's help, we were able to not only teach, but illustrate to our kids how to confess.

Food for thought,

Beth

Confession: Leading by Example

Every night after all the teeth are brushed, rooms straightened, and pajamas are put on we gather on our bed for Bible story time. We read a story from The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes by Kenneth Taylor (if you haven't read this with your 3-7 year old you really should!). Next the kids pick a favorite song to sing. 

Then we lead by example. This part changes every day, somewhat by what happened that day. We might:

• talk about the best part of our day (focusing on joy in all circumstances)


• talk about something we are thankful for (helping kids to realize how we've been blessed)


• Talk about something that didn't go well & how it was frustrating (teachable moments)


• How we interacted with someone else today & how we can pray for or bless them with service


• Talk about something we learned (bible verse, history, whatever comes to mind)


• And more, but my mind is blanking right now =-)


• But tonight we confessed our sins.

Confessing my sins publicly is not something I grew up with or am very comfortable with. But I know it is Biblical and therefore important for me & important to intentionally teach my children.

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

So we did just that. I asked them all to think of a sin from today. Minnie had a hard day & it was easy to point out a slew of them. Goofy had an exceptionally good day and it was hard, but he came up with one we didn't even know. My husband & I had ones too; it was good for them to realize that Mom & Dad sin too! The act of confession, followed by us each praying for forgiveness, in and of itself was beautiful to me. (Why hadn't we done that sooner?!)

But then, something else happened - a teachable moment that I had not even thought of. Goofy was pointing out that Minnie had much more sin that day & so Jesus would be more upset by her many sins. I  explained to Goofy that we "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Even if someone committed just one "tiny" sin they would still be separated from God & need Jesus' death on the cross to pay (atone) for their sins. Small or big, we all need Jesus; we all need to confess & be forgiven. He got it.

What was a frustrating, pull-your-hair-out type of day became something beautiful. With God's help, we were able to not only teach, but illustrate to our kids how to confess.

Food for thought,

Beth

You Say Tomato, I say Tomahto

Our garden is finally really starting to crank things out. It has been rainy followed by a very dry/hot season - not good for most of my veggies. But, my tomato plants have flourished!

We have 8 tomato plants this year - 6 Marzano (Roma  type for tomato sauce/canning), 1 Beefmaster (Hamburgers, salsa, etc), 1 cherry tomato (sweet eating). The Marzano have grown WAY beyond my expectations! They have topped out at just shy of 9 feet tall!!So, needless to say, I have a LOT of tomatoes to can & for my family to eat. 

9 foot tall Tomato Plant!

For anyone who has ever wanted to can - it can be intimidating, but trust me it isn't that hard. To actually preserve things you need to deep freeze them or can them. There are two main ways to can veggies - water bath or pressure canned. Tomatoes (and other non acidic items like veggies) need to be pressure canned so they don't spoil. Here is how you do it:
Our first real crop of the season weighted in at 20 pounds (We are processing 15 pounds worth).

1. Wash Tomatoes

2. Cut tomatoes into quarters

3. Put in Tomato Press (I used the Wiliam Sonoma Tomato Press I got for Christmas - $38). Turn the wheel and the the press does the work. The pulp & juice comes out one spot & the peels & seeds come out another. You dump the peels & seeds back through the machine a couple times to make sure you get all the good pulp!

NOTE: You do not need a tomato press, it just makes the job easier. If you don't have a press, here is how you do it: cut an "X" in the bottom of tomato, drop in boiling water for 1 minute, put in ice water for 2 minutes. The skin will easily come off. Cut & scoop out seeds. Boil in large stock put, using a fork or masher to break it up occasionally. Follow the rest of the instructions below. 

4. Put the tomato juice/pulp in large pot & simmer until it is reduced by 1/3 (for thin sauce) or 1/2 (for thick sauce)

5. Sterilize your canning jars, lids & lid rings either on the quick rinse cycle of your dishwasher or by putting them in boiling water for a minute.

6. Fill your sterilized jars with tomato sauce & 1 TAB lemon juice (to preserve flavor & keep from spoiling) for each Pint size (2 cups/16oz) jar. Stir with spoon. Leave 1/2"-1" room at the top.

7. Wipe off top of jar (if not the jars will be ridiculously hard to open!!

8. Put on sterilized lid & ring; tighten.

9. In pressure cooker put: rack in bottom, 3 Quarts (12 cups) boiling water, and 2 TAB white vinegar (to keep jars looking fresh). Place jars inside pressure cooker. Close lid.

10. Turn heat to high and cook until pressure indicator reads 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust heat to maintain 11 pounds of pressure.
11. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off & move pan off of heat. Allow to thoroughly cool; don't rush it or the jars may break. Once it is cool, open the pan & put jars on towel to finish cooling.

TADA! You now have delicious, fresh tomato sauce ready to use whenever. There is no BPA leaching into your tomatoes from the cans you buy at the grocery store. You are using tomatoes in their season when they are full of nutrients! And for me, this is the first of MANY times canning this season. For my $3 pack of seeds I am going to easily yield over 100 pounds of tomatoes!


Let me know if you try it! Happy Canning! Beth

You Say Tomato, I say Tomahto

Our garden is finally really starting to crank things out. It has been rainy followed by a very dry/hot season - not good for most of my veggies. But, my tomato plants have flourished!

We have 8 tomato plants this year - 6 Marzano (Roma  type for tomato sauce/canning), 1 Beefmaster (Hamburgers, salsa, etc), 1 cherry tomato (sweet eating). The Marzano have grown WAY beyond my expectations! They have topped out at just shy of 9 feet tall!!So, needless to say, I have a LOT of tomatoes to can & for my family to eat. 

9 foot tall Tomato Plant!

For anyone who has ever wanted to can - it can be intimidating, but trust me it isn't that hard. To actually preserve things you need to deep freeze them or can them. There are two main ways to can veggies - water bath or pressure canned. Tomatoes (and other non acidic items like veggies) need to be pressure canned so they don't spoil. Here is how you do it:
Our first real crop of the season weighted in at 20 pounds (We are processing 15 pounds worth).

1. Wash Tomatoes

2. Cut tomatoes into quarters

3. Put in Tomato Press (I used the Wiliam Sonoma Tomato Press I got for Christmas - $38). Turn the wheel and the the press does the work. The pulp & juice comes out one spot & the peels & seeds come out another. You dump the peels & seeds back through the machine a couple times to make sure you get all the good pulp!

NOTE: You do not need a tomato press, it just makes the job easier. If you don't have a press, here is how you do it: cut an "X" in the bottom of tomato, drop in boiling water for 1 minute, put in ice water for 2 minutes. The skin will easily come off. Cut & scoop out seeds. Boil in large stock put, using a fork or masher to break it up occasionally. Follow the rest of the instructions below. 

4. Put the tomato juice/pulp in large pot & simmer until it is reduced by 1/3 (for thin sauce) or 1/2 (for thick sauce)

5. Sterilize your canning jars, lids & lid rings either on the quick rinse cycle of your dishwasher or by putting them in boiling water for a minute.

6. Fill your sterilized jars with tomato sauce & 1 TAB lemon juice (to preserve flavor & keep from spoiling) for each Pint size (2 cups/16oz) jar. Stir with spoon. Leave 1/2"-1" room at the top.

7. Wipe off top of jar (if not the jars will be ridiculously hard to open!!

8. Put on sterilized lid & ring; tighten.

9. In pressure cooker put: rack in bottom, 3 Quarts (12 cups) boiling water, and 2 TAB white vinegar (to keep jars looking fresh). Place jars inside pressure cooker. Close lid.

10. Turn heat to high and cook until pressure indicator reads 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust heat to maintain 11 pounds of pressure.
11. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off & move pan off of heat. Allow to thoroughly cool; don't rush it or the jars may break. Once it is cool, open the pan & put jars on towel to finish cooling.

TADA! You now have delicious, fresh tomato sauce ready to use whenever. There is no BPA leaching into your tomatoes from the cans you buy at the grocery store. You are using tomatoes in their season when they are full of nutrients! And for me, this is the first of MANY times canning this season. For my $3 pack of seeds I am going to easily yield over 100 pounds of tomatoes!


Let me know if you try it! Happy Canning! Beth

You Say Tomato, I say Tomahto

Our garden is finally really starting to crank things out. It has been rainy followed by a very dry/hot season - not good for most of my veggies. But, my tomato plants have flourished!

We have 8 tomato plants this year - 6 Marzano (Roma  type for tomato sauce/canning), 1 Beefmaster (Hamburgers, salsa, etc), 1 cherry tomato (sweet eating). The Marzano have grown WAY beyond my expectations! They have topped out at just shy of 9 feet tall!!So, needless to say, I have a LOT of tomatoes to can & for my family to eat. 

9 foot tall Tomato Plant!

For anyone who has ever wanted to can - it can be intimidating, but trust me it isn't that hard. To actually preserve things you need to deep freeze them or can them. There are two main ways to can veggies - water bath or pressure canned. Tomatoes (and other non acidic items like veggies) need to be pressure canned so they don't spoil. Here is how you do it:
Our first real crop of the season weighted in at 20 pounds (We are processing 15 pounds worth).

1. Wash Tomatoes

2. Cut tomatoes into quarters

3. Put in Tomato Press (I used the Wiliam Sonoma Tomato Press I got for Christmas - $38). Turn the wheel and the the press does the work. The pulp & juice comes out one spot & the peels & seeds come out another. You dump the peels & seeds back through the machine a couple times to make sure you get all the good pulp!

NOTE: You do not need a tomato press, it just makes the job easier. If you don't have a press, here is how you do it: cut an "X" in the bottom of tomato, drop in boiling water for 1 minute, put in ice water for 2 minutes. The skin will easily come off. Cut & scoop out seeds. Boil in large stock put, using a fork or masher to break it up occasionally. Follow the rest of the instructions below. 

4. Put the tomato juice/pulp in large pot & simmer until it is reduced by 1/3 (for thin sauce) or 1/2 (for thick sauce)

5. Sterilize your canning jars, lids & lid rings either on the quick rinse cycle of your dishwasher or by putting them in boiling water for a minute.

6. Fill your sterilized jars with tomato sauce & 1 TAB lemon juice (to preserve flavor & keep from spoiling) for each Pint size (2 cups/16oz) jar. Stir with spoon. Leave 1/2"-1" room at the top.

7. Wipe off top of jar (if not the jars will be ridiculously hard to open!!

8. Put on sterilized lid & ring; tighten.

9. In pressure cooker put: rack in bottom, 3 Quarts (12 cups) boiling water, and 2 TAB white vinegar (to keep jars looking fresh). Place jars inside pressure cooker. Close lid.

10. Turn heat to high and cook until pressure indicator reads 11 pounds of pressure. Adjust heat to maintain 11 pounds of pressure.
11. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off & move pan off of heat. Allow to thoroughly cool; don't rush it or the jars may break. Once it is cool, open the pan & put jars on towel to finish cooling.

TADA! You now have delicious, fresh tomato sauce ready to use whenever. There is no BPA leaching into your tomatoes from the cans you buy at the grocery store. You are using tomatoes in their season when they are full of nutrients! And for me, this is the first of MANY times canning this season. For my $3 pack of seeds I am going to easily yield over 100 pounds of tomatoes!


Let me know if you try it! Happy Canning! Beth

Check this out from your local library - FREE!

Playaway View

So last week I came across this slick new resource from our library and wanted to share it with you. You can reserve them, check them out, and they are FREE! This nifty resource comes in a plastic case with a charging cord (the battery lasts for about 5-6 hours), are about 4" x 6", and have a spot for headphones (not necessary to use & not included). Goofy checked out The Snowy Day & other classic stories by Ezra Keets. Minnie checked out a Sesame Street one with 4 Elmo episodes. Each Playaway View provides 2-4 hours of entertainment!

What's on it?  Playaway View are either animated books by Scholastic/Tumblebooks or videos in the case of Sesame Street or National Geographic. They each contain various stories or episodes about the same topic and last 2-4 hours.

Where to find what's available at your library's website? I found it doing the following:

• My account (tab)


• Quick Lists Tab


• Scroll down to Youth Quick Lists


• Click on Playaway Views


• Or you could always ask your helpful librarian =-)

When do your kids use them? My kids thought they were great on our recent 4 hours car trip to Grandma! I can also see them being easy to take & fun while kids wait at doctor's offices, for older siblings to get out of piano lessons, etc.

What Title Are Available? At our library there are 50 and counting. Their are Sesame Street ones for the toddler/preschool crowd, classic stories like The Snowy day for the 4-7+ year olds, and educational resources for elementary age kids like Math, National Geographic, Greek Mythology, History, and the Solar System. With so many titles to choose from there is sure to be one for everyone! Here are a few of the titles available at our library:

• Adventure and imagination


• Amazing planet


• Arthur's adventures


• Caps for sale : and other storybook classics


• Dinosaur train. Come play!


• Exploring space


• Great faces and places: stories from history


• Greek mythology for students


• Hooray for reading! stories for readers


• Liberty's kids. Revolutionary beginnings


• Math for children. 3


• Mummies


• The napping house and other storybook classics


• Sesame Street. Bedtime with Sesame


• Stories about Ralph S. Mouse


• Super why! Making friends


• Underwater creatures / National Geographic


• We are family : stories about families


• Wheels on the bus: and other stories for the very young

These were a HUGE hit with our kids and kept them happily entertained during our trip to Grandma's. Hope your family can make use of this free resource too!

Beth

Check this out from your local library - FREE!

Playaway View

So last week I came across this slick new resource from our library and wanted to share it with you. You can reserve them, check them out, and they are FREE! This nifty resource comes in a plastic case with a charging cord (the battery lasts for about 5-6 hours), are about 4" x 6", and have a spot for headphones (not necessary to use & not included). Goofy checked out The Snowy Day & other classic stories by Ezra Keets. Minnie checked out a Sesame Street one with 4 Elmo episodes. Each Playaway View provides 2-4 hours of entertainment!

What's on it?  Playaway View are either animated books by Scholastic/Tumblebooks or videos in the case of Sesame Street or National Geographic. They each contain various stories or episodes about the same topic and last 2-4 hours.

Where to find what's available at your library's website? I found it doing the following:

• My account (tab)


• Quick Lists Tab


• Scroll down to Youth Quick Lists


• Click on Playaway Views


• Or you could always ask your helpful librarian =-)

When do your kids use them? My kids thought they were great on our recent 4 hours car trip to Grandma! I can also see them being easy to take & fun while kids wait at doctor's offices, for older siblings to get out of piano lessons, etc.

What Title Are Available? At our library there are 50 and counting. Their are Sesame Street ones for the toddler/preschool crowd, classic stories like The Snowy day for the 4-7+ year olds, and educational resources for elementary age kids like Math, National Geographic, Greek Mythology, History, and the Solar System. With so many titles to choose from there is sure to be one for everyone! Here are a few of the titles available at our library:

• Adventure and imagination


• Amazing planet


• Arthur's adventures


• Caps for sale : and other storybook classics


• Dinosaur train. Come play!


• Exploring space


• Great faces and places: stories from history


• Greek mythology for students


• Hooray for reading! stories for readers


• Liberty's kids. Revolutionary beginnings


• Math for children. 3


• Mummies


• The napping house and other storybook classics


• Sesame Street. Bedtime with Sesame


• Stories about Ralph S. Mouse


• Super why! Making friends


• Underwater creatures / National Geographic


• We are family : stories about families


• Wheels on the bus: and other stories for the very young

These were a HUGE hit with our kids and kept them happily entertained during our trip to Grandma's. Hope your family can make use of this free resource too!

Beth

Check this out from your local library - FREE!

Playaway View

So last week I came across this slick new resource from our library and wanted to share it with you. You can reserve them, check them out, and they are FREE! This nifty resource comes in a plastic case with a charging cord (the battery lasts for about 5-6 hours), are about 4" x 6", and have a spot for headphones (not necessary to use & not included). Goofy checked out The Snowy Day & other classic stories by Ezra Keets. Minnie checked out a Sesame Street one with 4 Elmo episodes. Each Playaway View provides 2-4 hours of entertainment!

What's on it?  Playaway View are either animated books by Scholastic/Tumblebooks or videos in the case of Sesame Street or National Geographic. They each contain various stories or episodes about the same topic and last 2-4 hours.

Where to find what's available at your library's website? I found it doing the following:

• My account (tab)


• Quick Lists Tab


• Scroll down to Youth Quick Lists


• Click on Playaway Views


• Or you could always ask your helpful librarian =-)

When do your kids use them? My kids thought they were great on our recent 4 hours car trip to Grandma! I can also see them being easy to take & fun while kids wait at doctor's offices, for older siblings to get out of piano lessons, etc.

What Title Are Available? At our library there are 50 and counting. Their are Sesame Street ones for the toddler/preschool crowd, classic stories like The Snowy day for the 4-7+ year olds, and educational resources for elementary age kids like Math, National Geographic, Greek Mythology, History, and the Solar System. With so many titles to choose from there is sure to be one for everyone! Here are a few of the titles available at our library:

• Adventure and imagination


• Amazing planet


• Arthur's adventures


• Caps for sale : and other storybook classics


• Dinosaur train. Come play!


• Exploring space


• Great faces and places: stories from history


• Greek mythology for students


• Hooray for reading! stories for readers


• Liberty's kids. Revolutionary beginnings


• Math for children. 3


• Mummies


• The napping house and other storybook classics


• Sesame Street. Bedtime with Sesame


• Stories about Ralph S. Mouse


• Super why! Making friends


• Underwater creatures / National Geographic


• We are family : stories about families


• Wheels on the bus: and other stories for the very young

These were a HUGE hit with our kids and kept them happily entertained during our trip to Grandma's. Hope your family can make use of this free resource too!

Beth