Yuletide

Ok, ok, I know....it's not even Thanksgiving! I'm truly not trying to rush through the holidays. In fact, Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. However, if I waited even a couple more weeks, you might think it too late to try to get a copy of a book I received yesterday, Christmas Spirit by George Grant and Gregory Wilbur.

This book addresses so much more about Christmas than most of us have experienced. Yuletide actually encompasses Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. The authors explain..
"The holiday season--what we generally just call Christmastime--is actually a long sequence of holy days, festal revelries, and liturgical rites that are collectively known as Yuletide. Beginning with Advent, a time of preparation and repentance, proceeding to Christmas, a time of celebration and generosity, and concluding with Epiphany, and time of remembrance and thanksgiving, Yuletide traditions enable us to see out the old year with faith and love while ushering in the new year with hope and joy. It is a season fraught with meaning and significance. Unfortunately, it is also such a busy season that its meaning and significance can all too easily be obscured either by well-intended materialistic pursuits--frenzied shopping trips to the mall to find just the right Christmas gift--or by the less benign demands, desires, wants, and needs that are little more than grist for human greed. The traditions of Yuletide were intended to guard us against such things--and thus, are actually more relevant today than ever before."
I'm excited to learn more about Yuletide and begin celebrating the Christmas season in a much deeper way. So, I'll be devouring this little book for ideas and see what I can begin using this year. I'm sure it will be a process, but I'm amazed I have never understood all that "Christmastime" encompasses.

One new idea we'll be trying this year, which I haven't noticed mentioned in this book, yet, is "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Our friends, the Allisons, did this with their family last year and really enjoyed it. Instead of giving all the gifts on Christmas Day, you would give the larger gift on Christmas and then a gift each day for the next eleven days. These gifts don't have to be expensive! The idea is to enjoy celebrating the Season on a deeper level and remembering it doesn't just end on Christmas Day.

I was reminded by my sweet friend, Linda, that Amazon sells this book in paperback for less than $9.00. Currently, they are out of stock of the hardback,though, which I was able to buy through a used bookseller for $3.49 total, including shipping. It's like new, too! If you're looking for a used copy, www.bookfinder.com is a great way to see all of your options.

Love,
Queen Mom

Every Mom Needs A....

..mother's helper! Of course, I already have six of these precious blessings living with me, but I'm actually referring to something slightly different. I have personally been blessed to have six more mother's helpers in my life, coming from three different families, the Allisons, the Heckendorns, and the Spencers. Each of these families has two lovely, older daughters who have blessed me with their time and talents when I've needed them. This past weekend, while my Mountain Men were away, the delightful Spencer girls spent time with us, helping me tackle those many jobs that never seem to get done!

Marissa came over on Friday and cheerfully worked alongside me and played with the children.
We got quite a list of things done, and I felt a weight lifted by the time she had left. We managed to:

~unpack and put away the girls' fall clothes and pack away the summer and spring outfits
~move Boo's clothing, which was in our room, to her own room
~sort through and dispose of puzzles with missing pieces
~enjoy a lovely lunch together
~straighten up the Master Bedroom
~have playtime with the Littles (Marissa did this by herself while I finished up some things. Just knowing that Little Bit wasn't eating toothpaste or clogging up the toilet was a huge help!:))

They couldn't get enough of their time with her. Sadly, I don't have one single picture of her time with us because the Mountain Men had the camera (how difficult it was to not have my camera for 5 days! I'm quite spoiled by instant pictures!)

Caity joined us on Saturday, with camera in tow! So, we took a few pictures of our adventures. While I ran a few errands, Caity and the Littles whipped up this beautiful batch of my favorite scones...chocolate chip toffee..Mmm! I even have extras waiting in the freezer for me, thanks to Caity's willingness to double the recipe.

Well, any mother knows that if you give your Littles scones, they'll want a tea party. So, after lunch, that's what we did, fine china and all. I was so thrilled with the extra help that I shocked the Littles when I told them they could have TWO scones, without even the slightest hesitation.

We also tackled my ever-growing magazine basket and managed to clear it out by two-thirds. Caity had playtime with the Littles, and then, as I thought she was heading home, she generously offered to help me get the car cleaned out. I think she felt sorry for this big-bellied Mama, knowing I'd have a difficult time getting to those back seats and realizing the vacuum needed to be used with more strength than the Littles could offer. Here she is with Boo, cheerfully cleaning up our dirt.
Why is all of this such a blessing to Moms?
~you tackle those never-ending jobs that you just don't seem to have time for
~You're humbled by having others come in and see you in "real life" (dirty vans and all!)
~you hopefully encourage these young ladies in the blessing of family life
~you benefit from the youth and energy that you often don't have as a Mom with Littles..these older girls just come in and start working...no task seems too big or overwhelming!
How can the daughters who are helping benefit?
~they see the different ways families function
~they can sharpen their skills of servanthood
~they can see the imperfections of other Moms and hopefully be encouraged when they face their own challenging days of Motherhood
~they can delight in knowing they've blessed a Mom beyond measure as they've joyfully helped her while being Godly examples to the Littles
The list goes on and on, but I'm so grateful to the Moms of these beautiful daughters who have unselfishly shared them and have taught them the importance of serving others. I look forward to the day when my own daughters, Whistler, Boo, Little Bit, and Next Girl, can cheerfully bless another Mom, helping her not grow weary in doing good.

Comfort Food~"Big Beautiful Muffins"

"Big Beautiful Muffins"
~from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

We love muffins, and this recipe is one of my favorites. Not only are these delicious, but the batter, poured into muffin pans, frozen, popped out and put into a large ziploc, bakes beautifully when you decide you want to make another batch. Simply thaw on the counter for 30 minutes in a greased muffin pan and then bake for 30-35 minutes. From this recipe alone can be made many variations..Lemon-Blueberry, Lemon-Poppy Seed, Mocha-Chip, and Raspberry Almond, just to name a few.

3 c. all purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 c. whole or low-fat plain yogurt (this makes these SO moist!)

2 large eggs

8 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

~Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan. (So, I usually double this recipe and freeze a batch for another morning.)

~Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt and eggs together until smooth. Gently fold the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined, then fold in the melted butter.

~Using a greased 1/3 c. measure, portion the batter into each muffin cup. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through baking. (I don't always rotate the pan, and the muffins are just fine.)

~Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes and then on wire rack.

~Top with lots of butter and enjoy! (That's Queen Mom's additional instruction.:))

Love,

Queen Mom

The Return of the Mountain Men - Part 1

Well, folks, the mountain men (me, Mountain Man, and Little Big Man) have returned! Yeehaw, boy did we have a rarin' good time up thar in the south... the frozen south, or at least it seemed that way to us while we been up thar! An' on top o' that, Mountain Man done got mauled by a bear, Little Big Man got wounded in a hand ta hand fight with a Souix warrior, and I done got myself shot durin' a gun battle with some renegade trappers... oh, alright, maybe I were exageratin' a mite... (sigh)... guess I'll get on with the real story...

Well, in this post, I'll record what we mountain men did on Wednesday and Thursday...

Soooooo, on Wed. mornin', Mountain Man, Little Big Man (boy, that's one looong name ta write out), and yers truly packed and loaded our belongings (in da freezin' wind), and then, after makin' shure dat Reaches Up had enuff powder and round balls to protek de woman folk, we was asayin' goodbye to all o' dem, and den we fired up the metel buggy and drove off. By da way, it be perty funny how dem newfangled travelin' devices choke an' sputter afore dey decide to move... ol' Bill (de mule) never made dem noizes ... hee hee hee...

After drivin' in dat thang fer about two an' a half hours, we arrived at our destination: Frozen Toes rondy -voo 1838... okay, okay, 2008...

Now, unfortunately fer us, we didn't get on da road real early at all, and this, with the time change, resulted in our gettin' ter the camp site at dusk... when de sun were settin'... and the wind were blowin'... and the cold was gnawin'...

Anyhoo, we scrambled ter set up da tent, and after dat were accomplished, we decided to get in the bed, feelin' too tired and cold to care about anythin' save our bed rolls. It was dark, anway, and as da mountain men usually retired when da sun set, we crawled in our beds. Mountain Man happened to look at the strange long distance talkin' device modern folks call a cell phone, and saw it were only 6:30 PM... hmmm... we ain't really used ter goin' to bed so early... so we lay in our beds fer a time watchin' the walls o' the tent flap in da wind... listenin' to the howl o' da wind... gettin' our toes froze off by the cold drafts o' da wind... (sigh)...

That were a miserable night... couldn't get warm... couldn't get ter sleep... (sigh)... o boy, it was a long night, an' no mistake (jest in case yer curious, the tempreture each night dropped to 'bout 16 degrees F.). And when the sun did come up on Thursday mornin', it weren't much better, cuz the tempreture only rose a couple degrees. Well, we got up anyhoo (one can't stay in bed ferever), wrapped up in gloves, coats, scarves, and hats (we still never got totally warm), and got a fire goin'. We was so miserable that first mornin' (seein' as how we hadn't quite gotten used to dis frigid weather), that we was about to fall into dat pit dey call sheer desperation, and were goin' ter break out somethin' people nowadays call instant oatmeal (instead o' fresh oatmeal, it came inter someone's head ter dry de oats an' stick 'em in tiny baggies... humph, dem puny thangs don't hold enough oatmeal to fill a chipmunk, much less starvin' trappers o' de ol' times...

However, we was saved from dis abominable act by our friends Longtongue and Many Scars (who I mentioned in the Cashe Le Plew posts). They invited us over ter have burritos with them, and boy were we glad to accept! :)

After breakfast, we sat around awhile, listenin' to the old timers swap tales, and den, when that were over, we got our smoke poles an' gear, an' after a long and drawn out spell when we were checkin' our shootin' bags to make sure we had da right stuff, we went off an' shot the first 15 targets o' da Rifle Walk...

30 minutes and a pound an' a powder or more later (we burn lots o' that stuff when there are three shooters in da family), we went to camp to have meat an' cheese fer lunch. After lunch, and a brief respite (all that shootin' makes ya kinda tired), we jest mosied about the camp, sittin around in da sun, listenin' ta stories an' mountain man songs... some o' the stories were true ta life, but then there was a percentage o' 'em that were, well, concocted, you might say, fer amusement - not that any o' us really believed 'em! Ha! But it were fun, anyway.

Fer dinner on Thursday, it semed that everybody in camp had brought some kind o' chili! QueenMom done whipped up a container o' homemade meat chili with corn, an' beans, an' a whole mess o' other good tastin' stuff. That night at least, we didn't eat our own cookin'! Ha! But anyway, there is one thing that goes in our favor when we do cook fer ourselves an' it jest happens to be awful: usually we eat in da dark, an' ya know dat in the dark, ye can't hardly see things as well as ye can in da light (boy, dat tookn a genius to come ter that conclusion). Usually, we can't even see what we're eatin', either! So if, as is often the case, bits of ash an' dirt find there way inter our vittles, we won't know it. And most o' the time, we don't taste it, cuz we be so monstrous hungry after a day o' fightin' injuns an' cougars dat we really don't mind what we be eatin'. On da other hand, a mite o' dirt an' ash never hurt nobody... leastways, I ain't died as yet from the sideeffects o' eatin' 'em in me food every once an' a while!

After dinner, we sat about toastin' our feet near da fire. Then Longtongue called us over ta his fire, an' we sat around with him awhile afore we retired to rest. All in all, I'll say dat da first day went perty well!

~Scribe

Quoteworthy-"A Living Sacrifice"

"The sacrifice of ourselves for the Lord is not a vague, elusive concept. Neither is it dependent on some fort of feeling. It is a sacrifice of your body as well as your mind (which is part of your body). It is what you do, however mundane every day. It is also what you think about what you are doing as well as your attitudes and motives. It may be as simple as being stopped for a red light and, yet, thanking God for the delay. It may be as complicated as the tragic and unexpected death of a loved one, and yet thanking God for the time that He allowed you to have him or her."

"A living sacrifice is holy and pure. It includes a whole heart's desire to serve and please God and to be used by Him for His purposes however He chooses. Second best won't do. It must and can only be the best because of the 'mercies of God' (Romans 12:1). God's mercies include saving us and giving us a new heart with desires to serve Him and give Him glory. They also include God's power to obey His Word and repent of our sin. His mercies include His grace to us without which we can do nothing that is acceptable to Him. Being a living sacrifice is much more than just attending church or teaching Sunday School. It is a daily sacrifice of self for what God would require of you."

~Martha Peace

Attitudes of a Transformed Heart p.120-121

(emphasis is the author's)

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Romans 12:1

Weekly Rewind 11/02-11/08/08

It's been a fast and slow week...we really missed our Mountain Men, making time seem to pass slowly, and yet we had plenty to keep us busy, causing the week to move quickly. As always, the mercies of God comforted and encouraged us.

~It was the week of "Frozen Toes." The Mountain Men had a great time and will arrive home today. There was a strong sense of community among the campers (sharing meals, etc.), and Scribe and Little Big Man were especially encouraging to some of the older campers. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of bearing the image of Christ and for the opportunity to shine for you in a very dark world.

~My biopsy came back positive, and I'll be having surgery on the 5th of December. The pain is finally subsiding from last week's cut, and the minor infection is healing. Thank you, Lord, for the prayers of the Saints and for the compassion of Your people.

~The Littles and I accomplished much around our home and had fun working together. The Lord kept all of us safe at home and while we ran errands. And....HUGE PRAISE..(for Queen Mom, that is)..there were no MICE! Yes, occasionally, they like to visit us, and I can't bear to even look at them.:) Thank you, Lord, for protecting us, providing us with fun memories, blessing us with a nice home to care for, and for keeping the mice away.

~I was doubly blessed this weekend with the help of two of my favorite girls (well, "young ladies"). That's a separate post, so I'll not go into much detail, but I will say that they blessed me greatly! Thank you, Lord, for the blessings You shower upon us through the kindness of friends.

~I've been particularly challenged by my sweet Little Bit this week. As I've struggled, I've been freshly reminded of the fact that each child God gives us is so different, and while there are, of course, principles that universally apply to training our children up in the Lord, I also need to be persistently seeking His wisdom to know how to parent according to His Word, without growing weary. Thank you, Lord, for those children who are more spirited and challenging, for we are driven to rely completely on You for our strength and wisdom and to remember to give you ALL the glory for the work you are doing in our children.

~My Dad turned 72 yesterday! Happy Birthday, Dad! Lord, thank you for the years you've given my Father, and may he live to see his grandchildren faithfully walk in your ways.

May you be encouraged to think of all the mercies God has shown you this week and to faithfully praise Him for each one.

Love,
Queen Mom for all of us

Sanctification-Part 3

Queen Mom here posting our next notes on "Sanctification" for Scribe since he's a bit busy fighting off bears this weekend.:) In this post, we'll look at the distinction between sanctification and justification.

Ryle first addresses the similarities between the two:

a) "Both proceed originally from the free grace of God." Both are God's gifts to us.

b) "Both are part of that great work of salvation which Christ, in the eternal covenant, has undertaken on behalf of His people." Pardon and holiness flow from Christ, who is the fountain of life.

c) You will find both of these in a person. You can't have one without the other.

d) Both are necessary to salvation. "No one ever reached heaven without a renewed heart as well as forgiveness, without the Spirit's grace as well as the blood of Christ, without a meetness for eternal glory as well as a title." (Are any of you thinking of the thief on the cross or deathbed conversions? Me, too. But, I would say that just as our sanctification happens in degrees, such was the case for them. They wouldn't have the opportunity we have as we continue to walk with the Lord and grow in Him here on this earth. But, it wouldn't mean they weren't sanctified at all. Perhaps Owen's work, The Holy Spirit, will expand more on this issue.)

Ryle next addresses the differences between sanctification and justification.

a) "Justification is the reckoning and counting a man to be righteous for the sake of another, even Jesus Christ the Lord. Sanctification is the actual making a man inwardly righteous, though it may be in a very feeble degree."

b) The righteousness in us from justification is "not our own, but the everlasting perfect righteousness of our Great Mediator, Christ, imputed to us and made our own by faith." The righteousness from sanctification is our own righteousness, imparted, inherent, and wrought in us by the Holy Spirit, but mingled with much infirmity and imperfection."

c) Works have no part in our justification. Only faith in Christ is required. "In sanctification our own works are of vast importance, and God bids us to fight, and watch, and pray, and strive, and take pains, and labor."

d) Justification is complete the moment a person believes. Sanctification will not be complete here on this earth.

e) "Justification admits of no growth or increase; a man is as much justified the hour he first comes to Christ by faith as he will be to all eternity." Sanctification is progressive, increasing for the rest of a man's life.

f) Justification relates to our persons, "our standing in God's sight, and our deliverance from guilt." Sanctification relates to our natures, and the "moral renewal of our hearts."

g)"Justification gives us our title to heaven, and boldness to enter in. Sanctification gives us our meetness for heaven, and prepares us to enjoy it when we get there."

h) "Justification is the act of God about us and is not easily discerned by others. Sanctification is the work of God within us, and cannot be hid in its outward manifestataion from the eyes of men."

Our final post on this chapter will provide Ryle's points for practically applying what we've studied thus far about sanctification.

Love,
Queen Mom

Burnin' Up the Trails at "Frozen Toes"

Yes, Little Big Man and Scribe, the only two young men at this rendezvous, are giving the adults quite the challenge, burning up the hawk and knife trails and the shooting range with their scores. Currently, Little Big Man, who is 11, is in first place over the entire camp in the hawk and knife competition. Scribe, 13, is tied with another adult for 2nd place and also did amazingly well at the black powder shoot, hitting 23 of 30 targets.

More importantly, Mountain Man is just so proud of them, he can't even put it into words. To God be the glory! Little Big Man and Scribe are being such a witness for the name of Christ, standing out in their behavior and speech. They truly are light shining in the darkness, and we're praying God will use them to bring some of these "old timers' to know Him.

They must be getting used to the cold, too, as they've actually been getting some sleep at night. So, they're having a great time and will return by tomorrow evening. And Queen Mom and the Littles simply can't wait!

If you show Little Bit and Boo an exercise video...

they might just work up a sweat.

Truly, these are my faithful workout partners (including Whistler and sometimes even Reaches Up and Little Big Man) Boo has even done the entire 3 miles a few times, and normally does at least 2. It's great to have little ones who keep me inspired!