Ash Wednesday

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Today is Ash Wednesday, which is a really, really important holiday for Christians.

Although we celebrate Christmas every year, Jesus never actually commanded us to celebrate His birth. He did, however, command us to celebrate His death and resurrection. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, which are the 40 days in preparation for Easter, Christ's resurrection. This is THE holiday for Christians! Jesus died on the Cross to save us, and then rose from the dead -- amazing!

Over the next 40 days, we are called to spend time in prayer, reflecting on Christ's sacrifice for us. Many people have days where they fast during Lent. Catholics do not eat meat on Ash Wednesday or Fridays (I grew up Catholic). Many also choose something else to give up -- specific foods, special activities, etc. These are as a reminder to pray and feel Christ's pain.

There are many good blogs that will be following Lent very closely, including Kitchen Stewardship.

What will you be doing during Lent? How do you celebrate? Say a prayer today for Jesus' sacrifice.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight, being Sunday, will be spent with our small group from church. We aren't celebrating in any particular way. I'll keep it short for tonight.

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day? Tell me all about it!

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New Year's Day

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Happy New Year's Day!

How did you celebrate last night? Or did you go to bed before midnight? Last year (2008 - 2009), we went to bed by 10:30 or so. :) I kind of feel old!

This year, though, we had a nice dinner at home, then had a (mostly) quiet evening at home...though the kids did their best to interrupt it well past bedtime!

Coming up tomorrow are my New Year's Resolutions. I'll tell you each one and why I chose it, and you can help keep me honest all year!

Here's a little bit about what else is coming up this year:

*Details on my new cookbook project (next week!)

*A series on Godly marriage and family living

*A series on debt-free living, specifically how to get out of debt, how to stop using credit, and being financially responsible.

*More movie reviews, and some books reviews (I got some nice books on organic living for Christmas, so I'll be talking about those soon).

*Reader requests (I do take them, so if there's something you'd like to see, post below and tell me!)

Do you make New Year's Resolutions? If so, do you stick to them?

Happy New Year's Eve!

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In honor of New Year's Eve, I'll keep it short. If you haven't, try one of my alcohol-free punch recipes from last week (which, umm...I didn't post because I couldn't think of any good ones. But I will have some other cool recipes out soon)!

One thing that I've tried to do on every New Year's Eve since I was a teenager is to sit down and write out my goals for the coming year. Yes, they are New Year's resolutions. But I don't make random, typical goals like "I'll lose weight" and "I'll do better at work." No, I sit down and really think about where I am and where I want to be in a year. I have a special journal that I keep, where I write these goals. I also write how I did on the previous year's goals. Throughout the year, I refer to these goals and think about how I am doing in achieving them, and how I might be able to do better. These are real goals that I truly intend to meet.

Every year I write down around a dozen goals, and I like to think I ultimately achieve over half of them, although some -- such as be a more patient mother -- are ongoing goals, which I will always be working on. I'll never achieve perfection, so it's my goal to do a little better each year.

In an upcoming post, I'll share some of this year's goals with you, so that you can help keep me honest!

Do you ever make New Year's resolutions? If so, do you keep them? I challenge everyone to make some REAL goals this year. Write them down, make them count, and see what you can do to make them happen!

Final Homemade Christmas Update

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Our homemade Christmas was a success!!

We completed a homemade gift for everyone. I'll be blogging about some of the more exciting things separately, so that if you are interested in the projects yourself, you will have a how-to guide. But here is a run-down on what we ultimately did for everyone:

My mom -- A reversible Japanese-print vest, and a candle.

My dad -- Rice-filled heating pads (made with flannel) and some healing cream (based on the diaper-rash cream posted earlier).

My brother -- A soft, fleece throw.

Ben's mother and sisters -- Liquid face moisturizer, and body cream

Ben's dad and brothers-in-law -- A set of rice-filled heating pads (2 short, 1 long, and 1 u-shaped one for the shoulders).

Niece -- 6 doll diapers

Nephew -- Wooden blocks (all different shapes -- columns, squares, rectangles, arches, etc.) We're going to make Daniel a set too for his birthday!

Bekah -- 2 sheet sets and 6 doll diapers.

Ben -- I bought him a Star Wars Lego, because he's been wanting one. :) But I also made a series of 12 cards for him and decorated them a little. On each card is something I promise him, like "We will go bowling, just the two of us." Some promise a favorite meal at home with no kids. They are all different. I thought of this because when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said "Nothing material, I just want to spend time with you." Obviously I couldn't reveal any part of this gift earlier because he reads this blog daily!

We've already posted a how-to post on the blocks. If anyone is interested in any of the other projects, leave a comment and I'll post on those, too!

What did you get for Christmas? How was your holiday and what did you do?

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Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas!

Since it's a holiday I'll keep it short. We're celebrating today with our family, having a great dinner, opening presents, and of course, remembering Jesus. We always spend a good deal of time listening to the story of Jesus' birth and praying together as a family. We thank God for each of our family members and all of the other blessings we've received over the last year. This has become more difficult as the family has grown larger, and younger. This year we will have four kids (at our extended family gathering), three of them under 2!

We are hoping that this year, Bekah will start to grasp what Jesus' birth really means to all of us. We have a children's version of the story we'll be reading to her (as I've talked about in previous posts), and activities we'll be doing with her. She is also learning about this in her Sunday school class.

Have a wonderful, blessed holiday, and remember Jesus today! Enjoy your families!

Christmas Eve, and One Quick Recipe

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Seeing as it's Christmas Eve, and I don't have all my presents wrapped (oops!), I only have a quick recipe for you today. It's a great, fast dinner for nights (like tonight), when you're too busy to do much cooking but you want something yummy and Real Food.

Chicken and Potatoes
4 medium potatoes, chopped
2 medium chicken breasts, chopped
1/3 c. coconut oil
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. onion powder, or fresh minced onion
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. sage

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a large skillet. Stir and cook until chicken and potatoes and browned. Serves 2 - 3. (Add a quick salad and some cheese on top if you do dairy and you've got a whole meal!)

Enjoy tonight. Many of you will be heading to church, as we will. It's so important to celebrate Jesus' birth, and to teach our children about it. What an amazing story, the virgin birth of someone who is crucial to our salvation!

Starting in the new year, I'll be doing a series on living a Godly life that will last at least through February, but possibly longer. It will be up on Fridays, for those who are interested.

Merry Christmas, and enjoy your holidays and families!

Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies

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Well, the recipe I have for you this week isn't quite what I'd intended. I'd wanted the cookies to be a bit chewy, or tender and crumbly. But they're not. They're soft and very much cake-like. But they are still delicious! I don't know that they are necessarily "Christmas cookies" but they are light, vanilla little miracles...so good enough. :)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp. vanilla (I used my homemade bourbon vanilla!)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Directions:
Cream together oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, stir to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients into the wet and gently fold together. You can bake immediately, but the cookies set up a bit better if you refrigerate the dough for 10 - 15 min. first. Bake at 350 for 7 - 8 minutes.

I love this because some people say that xanthan gum and other "additives" typically used in gluten-free baking aren't so good for you. But this recipe doesn't need it. I suspect if I'd used only 1 egg and 1/2 c. brown rice flour they would have been a bit more crumbly, which I'd been intending. The coconut flour and extra egg helps to make it fluffy. I also think you could replace up to 1/4 c. of the sorghum flour with cocoa powder for a chocolate cookie, if you wanted.

And...I thought I'd give you another bonus recipe today! Here is my recipe for some yummy, gluten-free vanilla cake:

Ingredients:
1 c. sorghum flour
1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. coconut flour
1 tsp. sea salt
1.5 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
6 eggs, separated
1 c. turbinado sugar
1/2 c. coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla (bourbon vanilla again!)
1 c. coconut milk

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix flours, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl, cream sugar and coconut oil until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and coconut milk and stir together. In another bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar/oil mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Add egg whites and fold in gently. Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes.

You'll notice this recipe contains NO xanthan gum, guar gum, potato or corn or tapioca starch, etc. Some people think you need these things for gluten-free baking, but I beg to differ. I just finished eating some of this cake and it's very yummy, a nice spongy cake. Good texture. I don't think anyone would know it was gluten free. Personally, I love to combine sorghum and brown rice flours with either buckwheat or coconut flour, depending on what I'm baking, and I use eggs and baking soda for leavening and it works just fine! Let me know if you try either of these. :)

Do you enjoy gluten-free baking? (Honestly these are so good I'd eat them even if I wasn't gluten free!) What other treats are you making for the holidays?

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This blog post will be brief since it's a holiday. I hope you are enjoying all your food, and your family! And maybe a few of the recipes posted from last week. :)

How did your holiday go? Post and let me know!

Halloween

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Happy Halloween!

However, like many Christians, we don't actually celebrate. A lot of people struggle with what to do on Halloween if they don't trick-or-treat. Do they let the kids participate sort of (i.e. hand out Christian message scrolls, as some of my friends do)? Do they avoid the whole night, pretend it's normal? Do they do another fun activity? Is there a way to make it a meaningful Christian night?

Actually, there is. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed the changes to the Catholic church, starting the Reformation. This led to the modern Protestant religion. This is a really great event to celebrate because it is a major event in the church's history. It will be fun to dress up in period clothes, explore what some of Luther's suggested changes were, act out a skit about how the dissatisfied people might have felt, prepare an authentic meal, etc.

Involve your children in planning for this event: writing the skit, planning the meal, buying or sewing clothes. Celebrate what an important event this was for our history. Invite local friends to join your celebration if you have any who agree.

Here are a few resources for Reformation Day:
The Holiday Source: Reformation Activities
Teacher Activities: Reformation
Activities

How do you celebrate Halloween or the alternatives? If you try any of these ideas, let me know!