Once a Month Cooking

I have never been a big fan of once a month "grab it from the freezer" cooking. My Mom tried it once when I was a teenager and the result left our entire family less than enthusiastic. My Mom, sister, and I have decided to try again after reading an ebook, Grande Cooking. (Visit our ebooks webpage for more info.) We are going to spend a day preparing all the food together and see what the taste testing results are after being pulled out of the freezer. If you don't have family to try preparing all of it with maybe a group of friends, or church ladies, would be interested in giving it a try. Or better yet see if there is a Social Suppers in your area. At Social Suppers you can go in and prepare the food from your meal choices. You buy the food for the meals from them but in return you don't have a messy kitchen to clean up! Sounds great to me!

SuperDad Vitamins: Companion to SuperMom

Recently the SuperDad Vitamins were added to New Little Blessing. My Dad was happy because he was tired of being a "SuperMom". :-) We have created suppliment sets for your convenience and savings. We have a SuperMom and SuperDad set that will last Mom and Dad for 3 months.

Why SuperDad Vitamins? What’s the difference between SuperMom and SuperDad Vitamins? Good questions! Super Dad is very similar to SuperMom in formulation. The primary difference is unlike SuperMom Vitamins it does not contain Iron (something Mom’s need!) and it also contains a broader range of minerals than SuperMom. It is more specifically slanted to a guy’s needs while having the same basic formula premise as SuperMom. If your Husband is anything like my Dad he will want to tell people he’s a “SuperDad” not a “SuperMom”!

The companion product to SuperMom. SuperDad 180 Tablets (3 month supply), high potency multi-vitamin with Spirulina and green superfoods.

Multiple vitamins help to bridge the nutrient gap in our daily diets. In today's world of processed foods and fast-paced lifestyles, many of us do not get the daily recommended allowance of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Multiple vitamins can help fill in the areas lacking in our diets, and are formulated to provide a broad range of nutrition in a synergistic manner. SuperDad contains a huge array of vitamins and minerals essential for good health. SuperDad also contains Spirulina which increases the potency of the vitamins.

Conservative, Liberal, or Christian?

I went to the polls to vote on Tuesday. I was disappointed with voter turnout here in Mo. I believe in this free country it is our duty, responsibility, and blessing to have a vote and choice of leaders in government. However, I don't always have much trust in those running for office! I was listening to a FOX news station on the radio the other day. A popular conservative Republican host was speaking for some time about his opinions on various political topics of the day. His show reminded me of this article by Randy Alcorn. I read this article several years ago. As a registered conservative Republican I thought it was so excellent! Randy Alcorn is sharing a perspective not many Christians seem to mention or discuss. As I read it again today I note the truth of what he is saying. If you want to read more articles by Randy Alcorn visit Eternal Perspectives Ministries.


Conservative, Liberal or Christian?
by Randy Alcorn
Conservatism seems to be getting more popular in America. In the moral realm that encourages me. In the political realm, I have mixed feelings.
While it was still unpopular conservatism offered many necessary correctives to the liberal status quo. I'm not sure, though, how it will stand up under greater power and popularity. Conservative politics as usual may prove not much better than liberal politics as usual.
When liberalism was popular it became arrogant and presumptuous and sunk to its lowest levels. I fear the same could happen to conservatism. And I fear it not only in society , but in the church.
The largely liberal philosophies that have dominated American media and politics for years have failed us miserably. Some recent elections testify to the fact that America is fed up with the lies and half truths of liberalism. While the media are still much more liberal than the country as a whole, even they have been penetrated. Rush Limbaugh and a host of other conservatives jam the airwaves with their ideology. Millions of Americas, including many Christians, are taking notes and saying "Amen."
But what about conservatism? Does it have its own dangers? Or is "Conservative" simply a synonym for Christian?
Many people I have talked with and many articles I have read seem to equate a return to conservatism with a return to the Christian faith. "Rush is Right" bumperstickers share space with "Jesus is Lord" bumperstickers, as if both are undeniable truths existing on the same plane.
I get the feeling from excited politically-oriented Christians that voting Republican is equivalent to falling on your knees at a revival meeting and getting your life right with God. It's like if America gets more conservative it's the same as drawing near to God.
The possibility of a Republican controlled House, Senate and White House may have some merits (it's hard to imagine things getting worse in Washington), but it's hardly on the level of the Great Awakening.
Though they are too slippery to allow simple definitions, the words "conservatism" and "liberalism" contain hints as to their essential nature. Conservatives want to conserve for society what is right. Liberals want to liberate society from what is wrong. To this extent, both philosophies are in theory right and biblical. Unfortunately, in their practice both are capable of being thoroughly unbiblical.
Liberals want to change the status quo. That's good when the status quo is wrong. Liberals desired to change from the status quo of racism in the 60's and they were right. Even though I oppose most of what it does today, I thank God for what liberal groups like the ACLU accomplished in the racial arena.
But liberals didn't know where to draw the line. They seemed to want to change everything, as if the notions that society once held (including that abortion and adultery and the homosexual relations are wrong) are restrictive and unhealthy, demanding liberation.
But it is wrong to seek liberation from all norms. It used to be that marriage was much more sacred, divorce was much more rare and abuse was much less common. Children learned how to read, achievement scores were much higher. Life was more sacred, religious values more respected and upheld.
Liberals have done much to "liberate" society from what is right, removing the guard rails that kept Americans on the road. In so doing they have enslaved while claiming to liberate.
Too often politically liberal Christians end up being liberals first and Christians second. They redefine compassion according to current political correctness. They act as if you either have to hate and vilify homosexuals or you have to say their behaviors are right. As if these are the only two alternatives.
They need to read Ephesians 4:15 about "speaking the truth in love." We are not to choose between being loving and being truthful. We are to be both. Jesus loved the woman who committed adultery. He loved her the way she was, but loved her too much to let her stay that way. His love didn't compel him to say "adultery is okay, you don't have to change," but "Go and sin no more."
Conservative Christians, on the other hand, like to conserve and hold on to the existing or past norms. In a society they believe to have been recently ruined by liberalism, they want to go back to the way things used to be, i.e. the old status quo. They want to go back to when America was a Christian nation, when there was prayer in public schools, when abortion and homosexual behavior were illegal and known to be immoral.
Conservatives seem to want every-thing the way it used to be, like it was when kids weren't bringing guns to school and killing each other in gangs and dying of AIDS and when television wasn't filled with garbage (which many of them watch, despite their complaints).
Well, that all sounds good. But you have to qualify what you're talking about. "The way things used to be" includes women being unable to vote. "The way things used to be" includes slavery. In the post-slavery era it included notoriously racist Jim Crow laws and segregation. And frankly, to their shame, many, even most conservatives wanted to conserve these unjust practices.
Many conservatives today want to go back to the days when prayer was allowed in the schools. But they forget the same schools that allowed in prayer did not allow in black children. To be nostalgic without qualification about times that were racist and demeaning to many Americans is unjust and insensitive. Politically conservative Christians can thus end up being conservatives first and Christians second.
As undiscerning liberalism tries to liberate us from not only the bad but the good, undiscerning Conservatism tries to conserve the bad along with the good. Liberals live under the false notion that change is always good, conservatives under the equally false notion that change is always bad. ("Who do those northern agitators think they are comin' down here and stirrin' up our niggers?")
So when conservatives talk about going back to our godly roots, theologically conservative but socially liberal Christians (both black and white) are understandably skeptical.
"You mean go back to those godly roots where black people were enslaved and beaten and raped and had their families torn apart by plantation owners who were deacons in their conservative churches? Or back to those days of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver, where you wouldn't let black people in your restaurants and theaters and schools, and you wouldn't let us drink out of your water fountains?"
I know conservative evangelicals who are selective in standing for what's right. They may want the schools to be more hospitable to truth and Christianity. But they may not bother intervening on behalf of the unborn. Or they may be active in pro-life work but ignore or minimize the issues of poverty and racism. In the 50's and 60's, while defending the Scriptures, a very good thing, they defended institutional racism, a very bad thing. As some liberals have no discernment as to the fact that some people are poor due to laziness and need to be required to work, likewise some conservatives seem to have no heart for the truly poor, those who are not at fault for their poverty and who given opportunity and training would work hard to escape it.
Some conservatives seem to think that free enterprise (in which I believe) solves everything. They seem to have no ecological concerns, as if a sense of stewardship of the earth God has entrusted to us is restricted only to "environmentalist whackos."
Some conservatives serve the god of patriotism. Their Christian faith is dangerously intertwined with their faith in America. Ours is a great country, as countries go. But countries only go so far. Despite its flaws, America deserves our respect and loyalty. It deserves neither our uncritical endorsement nor our worship.
I know politically liberal evangelicals who are as quick to disregard the rights of unborn people as many conservatives were quick to disregard the rights of black people. To them, pro-life efforts are just another "white middle class right wing agenda."
Some liberals, even professing Christians, equate animals and trees with human beings and defend preborn eagles while advocating wholesale destruction of 1.5 million preborn humans each year.
Liberal solutions to economic problems are stealing (via taxation) from other citizens and indiscriminately passing out the money to the poor, creating a permanent underclass riddled by no sense of personal responsibility and by bitter resentment. Often liberals are more concerned about appearing to be racially sensitive by throwing people's money (others, not their own) at ineffective programs for minorities, including the largely (though not exclusively) debilitating welfare program. As black economist Walter Williams has said, "If I were the Grand Imperial Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan and my goal was to destroy black Americans, I could not have come up with a more effective plan than America's welfare system in our inner cities."
I have in front of me the evangelical but socially liberal magazine The Other Side. It professes to believe the Scriptures. Over the last thirty years The Other Side spoke out against racism and advocated racial reconciliation in America when most conservative Christian magazines had nothing to say, and by their silence perpetuated injustice. Yet in my current issue of The Other Side there's a full page worth of books endorsed by the magazine, which advocate "Christian" homosexual relationships. One book, which I've read and reject as blatantly unbiblical, is described this way: "From an evangelical Protestant perspective, the authors argue for the validity of faithful, permanent, same-sex relationships." In their attempt to be compassionate, the editors of The Other Side sacrifice the revealed truth of the Scriptures.
I get tired of being told I have to choose between conservatism's emphasis on truth and liberalism's emphasis on compassion. Why can't we oppose injustice to minorities and to the unborn? Why can't we embrace biblical stewardship of creation and the primacy of human beings over the rest of creation? Why can't we oppose the greedy destruction of the environment by some businesses and the anti-industry excesses of New Age environmentalism?
Why can't we affirm the biblical right to the ownership of property (along with the command "thou shalt not steal") and emphasize God's call to his people to voluntarily and sacrificially share their wealth with the truly needy?
Why can't we uphold the truth of God's condemnation of sexual immorality, including homosexual practices, and reach out in love and compassion to those imprisoned in this degrading lifestyle, as well as those dying from AIDS?
The answer is, we cannot do all these things if we are first and foremost either liberals or conservatives. We can do all these things only if we are first and foremost followers of Christ. We can do them if and only if we are governed not by temporal political affiliations, but by eternal allegiance to Almighty God. Our governing document must be neither the Humanist Manifesto nor the Contract with America nor even the U.S. Constitution (great a document as it is), but by the authoritative Word of God.
Neither the judicial, legislative nor executive branches of our government is the ultimate solution to America's problems. Isaiah 33:22 tells us the solution--" For the LORD is our judge (judicial), the LORD is our lawgiver (legislative), the LORD is our king (executive), it is he who will save us."
May God preserve us from a liberalism hell-bent on liberating us from what is good. And may He preserve us from a conservatism hell-bent on conserving for us what is bad.
Let's change the bad and preserve the good. In doing so we will sometimes look like conservatives, sometimes liberals. But what we look like to men shouldn't matter. What we look like to God, the Audience of One, should. (He is neither Republican nor Democrat. He rides neither on elephants or donkeys. He is the ultimate independent.)
God doesn't care about conservative and liberal, he cares about what is true and right and just and compassionate and biblical. (He does therefore care about political party beliefs, platforms, moral positions and policies. Before standing behind any party we better be sure these harmonize with his Word. That's part of being a Christian first.)
So, when the status quo is right, let's conserve it. When the status quo is wrong, let's get liberated from it.
Is Jesse Jackson right about some things? Sure. About everything? No way. So if you defend Jesse Jackson, you better qualify your defense. If you attack him you better qualify your attack.
"Rush is right" cries out for clarification. Right about what? Some things? Sure. (Keep this in mind if you're a Rush basher. Better qualify your attack.) Most things? Maybe. All things? No way. So if you defend Rush Limbaugh, you better qualify your defense. After all, Rush is no more God than he is the devil.
I happen to believe that despite its limitations, conservatism is right more often than it is wrong. Still, it is sometimes wrong, it often does not resonate with the compassionate heart of God, and it never saves the soul.
"Rush is Right" is only true sometimes. "Jesus is Lord" is true always. "Rush is Right" requires qualification. "Jesus is Lord" does not.

by Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries, 2229 E. Burnside #23, Gresham, OR 97030, 503-663-6481, www.epm.org

Angel Dry Diapers Review

My sister Caroline wrote this review for New Little Blessing's August Ezine:



Stephanie from Angel Dry Diapers sent me one of her diapers to try. These diapers are of great quality and workmanship!She has a really cute website. I would encourage you to stop and visit Stephanie’s prayer forum located on the website. Stephanie sent me a hemp diaper. Wow, was I impressed! What sold me were the snapson this diaper! It has a full row of sturdy high quality snaps. I can adjust the snaps for a perfect fit. The diaper will grow right along with my baby! It is also nice and thick. Read this description of the hemp diaper:“It is constructed out of 2 full body layers of hemp fleece or sherpa with an additional layer sewn into the wet zone. A 2 layer, bi-fold, soaker allows for better cleaning and faster drying. An absorbent 7 layers ofhemp fleece in the wetzone. Gentle elastic in the back and on the legs contain even the worst messes within the diaper. Snaps are closer together for super adjustability.” The hemp diapers retail for $14.99 a piece. These are all from a Work at Home Mom!

Angel Dry Diapers has the following categories in their store for your cloth diapering needs:
All in Ones and Pockets
Fitted Diapers
Wool Covers
Packages
Doublers and Inserts
Things For Mom
Diaper Accessories
Gently Used and ClearanceDiaper Fabrics

I would recommend a visit to Angel Dry Diapers!

Cloth For Your Angel-Cloth Diapers Review

My sister Caroline wrote this review for the New Little Blessing's August ezine:

I bought a wool diaper cover from a Work at Home Mom off E-bay, and was very impressed with it. She has an E-bay store, Cloth For Your Angel, where you can find all different sizes up for sale. They sell for $15.00 each. Sometimes they are up for bid in an E-bay auction. What I liked most about them, is the leg gussets. They are much wider than the Bumpy wool covers, making them a better fit around the baby’s legs. If you have bought Bumpy wool covers before, be warned, the wool is not as thick as Bumpies.These wool covers are supposed to wash them on gentle cycle only. Unfortunately, I forgot. I washed all my covers on a normal cycle once, and it made a big hole in thecover and I had to throw it away. I had washed it on gentle cycle several times before without a problem. If you are on a budget, and still want to use wool covers, these would be good. You can visit this great ebaystore.
Cloth For Your Angel has the following categories in the store for your viewing:
Fitteds (25)
Wool Wraps (46)
Sets (33)
Baby Blankets (1)
Cloth Diapering Accessories (7)
Embroidered Wool Wraps (5)
Organic Baby Clothes (5)

Fitteds Cloth For Your Angel: Fitted Diapers Product Description:
“My fitted diapers are 2 layers of high quality unbleached flannel plus a cute patterned flannel outer layer. Soakers are made from 6 quilted layers of natural cotton batting fleece for great absorbency and quick drying. Diapers have elastic around the legs and across the back for a great, trim fit. Newborn size diapers all come with a cross over tab at the waist for tiny new babies. Closures are quality Aplix, which holds up great with extended wash and wear. Laundry tabs on every diaper make washing easy and keep your diapers nicer for longer.”

Cloth For Your Angel: Wool Wraps Product Description “Wool covers are great for heavy wetters and nighttime use. Wool covers are either one layer of heavy wool or two layers of lightweight wool flannel. All are in beautiful colors and come to you lanolized and ready to use. CYA Wool Wraps fit well over our fitteds as well as other brands and prefolds. Elastic in the leg gussets and back waistline are great at controlling leaks and provide a comfortable fit.”

August 8 Primary Election

A freind reminded me at church last night of the August 8 Primary Election. In the flurry of busy work the past few days I lost sight of it. If you aren't registered to vote yet now is a great time to do so. If you register now you can vote in the November election! I hope everyone makes it out to the polls. :-)

A quick Sunday Dinner Meal

Crock Pot Lasagna from Rebecca Inglis
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Brown these 3 ingredients together and drain

1 can 29 ounce tomato sauce (can use 4 8oz. cans and go a little less on the water
1 cup water
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
Mix all these ingredients together to make meat sauce

9 lasagna noodles
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 12oz. carton small curd cottage cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
Mix all chesses together in a small bowl
Spread a 4th of the sauce in a 5 quart slow cooker. Top with 3 noodles. Spoon a third of the cheese mixture on top, top with neat sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.

Caesar Dressing from Lisa O’Neil
Prepare the dressing and place fridge. Make a salad and toss in Caesar dressing and croutons before serving. You have a delicious and quick salad!
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup mayo
½ tsp pepper
1 small garlic clove minced

Fruit Salad
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups pineapple bits
1 ½ cups seedless or red grapes, halved
1 ½ diced peaches or nectarines
1 cup fresh blueberries
Begin adding ½ cup vanilla yogurt and continue adding yogurt until you have consitency desired. Add more sugar is needed and refrigerate. This fruit salad needs to be eaten up the day it is prepared1

Amy Middleton’s Tea
2 or 3 peppermint tea bags
3 Celestial Seasonings Tangerine Orange Zinger tea bags
Juice of 4 lemons
Honey to taste
Make the tea first in a tea kettle and steep. Add tea to a gallon container. (If your container is plastic allow tea to cool and add ice and cool water. You can add extra water and keep tea bags in container.
Add lemons and stir in honey to taste
Simply add more tea bags if you want it stronger. This is a refreshing iced tea. Normally I don’t like to drink tea, but I love Amy’s tea!

These cookies are a family tradition. My Grandma makes these cookies for special family meals and holidays. They are a soft white cake type cookie. She always adds white frosting to the cookies.

Grandma’s Cookies
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp. vinegar to sour)
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Cream eggs, butter, and sugar together. Add milk and vanilla. Combine 2 cups flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl then add to creamed mixture and stir. Add remaining 2 cups flour and mix gently. Do not over mix! Drop on cookie sheet by the heaping teaspoon
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.
Makes 50 to 60 cookies

What a day

I don’t like shoes. I avoid wearing them when ever possible. I’m a bare foot woman when I’m home! Although I live in the country I’m always running outside bare footed. I happened to have sandals on this morning. I went outside to water the flowers by the house. I stepped on something and looked down thinking it was the black garden hose. No, I had stepped on a snake! It was just a thin long creature and it slithered off quickly. I don’t think I hurt it. I will be thinking twice before I head outside without shoes!

I had such high hopes for today. There were many things I planned on getting done. :-) I came over to my sister Caroline’s house. I was missing her and my nephews. Everything could be done on her computer. I didn’t factor in 2 little nephews who are very distracting. While Caroline was taking care of baby Israel I helped Mosiah. He is being potty trained. After false alarm number #12 within 30 minutes, alarm # 13 was for real. Aunt Jenny didn’t get him to the bathroom in time. Mosiah got a quick bath then back to work I went. I stopped to fix lunch, play basketball with Mosiah, hold the baby while Caroline typed letters, and look for glass shards after Mosiah knocked two glass bowls on the floor. Now we are off to WalMart to buy some needed supplies for an orphanage in Liberia. Today is the deadline to get items in the barrel. Just think of what I would have missed today!

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

A friend of mine sent me this recipe today. I would like to try it for lunch soon. It sounds yummy.

Thanks Rebecca!


Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Make a thick white sauce using butter, flour, salt and pepper, milk--or
better--cream. Add lots of grated cheddar cheese, and chopped cooked
chicken.

Optional: Sauteed onions and peppers, a little salsa, broccoli. Wrap in
a tortilla, stick with a toothpick and bake until the tortilla is browned
and crispy. Serve with Ranch dressing. You could make extra cheese
sauce and pour it over the tortillas before cooking--that would probably
be a "true" enchilada.