{Home} is where the heart is...

Considering that we probably miss an average of 8 weeks per year for holidays and sick weeks, we have been hosting a weekly gathering in our home for roughly the last 300ish weeks. (That's almost weekly for about 7 years, so you don't have to figure out the math.)

My response when I did the math:

Nuts! That's crazy!

Joel and I believe greatly in the importance of meeting in small groups (especially within a church body) to really walk out all week what we hear with our ears and profess to believe on Sundays and so we *mostly* willingly open our home each week.

I tell you this only because there have been roughly 300 weekly opportunities for my heart to grumble and complain and even as I think about tomorrow being Wednesday there is a part of me that thinks "alright, here we go again." While I love opening our home, I definitely grow weary at times. I read the post below this week at girltalk and was reminded once again of the reason we open our home each week.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling." 1 Peter 4:8-9

How do we practice hospitality cheerfully instead of begrudgingly? We remember the why: We practice hospitality because we have first received hospitality.

“Grace is the hospitality of God to welcome sinners not because of their goodness but because of his glory,” explains John Piper:

“The ultimate act of hospitality was when Jesus Christ died for sinners to make everyone who believes a member of the household of God. We are no longer strangers and sojourners. We have come home to God. Everybody who trusts in Jesus finds a home in God.”

If we have trusted in Jesus, we have found a home in God. We were once strangers, alienated from God because of our sin. But through the suffering of Jesus Christ, we have been brought near to God. We are not strangers anymore.

We have received the ultimate act of hospitality! How can we not, in turn, show grace and love to others by extending hospitality to strangers?

When we truly understand the gospel, the amazing, undeserved love that has been shown to us, we will find a powerful incentive to show hospitality that will conquer every hindrance or reluctance. Reflecting upon Christ’s lavish hospitality will compel us to joyfully show hospitality to one another.

Reflecting upon Christ’s lavish hospitality will compel us to joyfully show hospitality to one another.

In the midst of the 300ish weeks of having an open door, I was convicted at about the 250ish mark (yep, I'm slow to learn) that so often while our door may have been open, my heart was dead-bolted shut. I was deeply convicted that the state of my floors was inconsequential when compared to the state of my soul and that when I hurried past an early-comer without even making eye contact so I could finish my "to-do's" of tidying and putting children to bed, I was missing much more than a moment of kindness. I was missing the entire point.

Once the gracious God who opens His door to faithless sinners like me gently showed me my hardened heart, I found really practical must-knows and tangible to-dos to prepare my heart and our home for welcoming whomever comes a knockin' each week:

• I Prepare. Expect the unexpected. There is not continual grace for being unprepared and in a hurry. People have been coming to our home for 7+ years; I should not treat this fact like it is a weekly surprise.  The unexpected will happen every Wednesday. It should be expected: a child will need extra attention, the husband will have a meeting that goes late, dinner will take longer to cook, something will break, messes will fall like manna.  It took over 5 years for me to realize that in order to make sure my heart is in the right place come 7:30pm on Wednesday, preparation needed to begin days before hand.
• I keep it simple. I make a weekly menu, let a slow-cooker or soup pot cook for me. I try not to plan anything extra (like play dates, errand running, etc.)  
• I know that people are creatures of habit. They will most likely sit in the same seats each week so as I put out our folding chairs, fluff pillows on the couch, or setup a playpen in the spare room, I start preparing my heart by praying for those who will be seated hours later.
• I try to engage children in the preparations. I have our girls help cook, tidy, and pray for our friends.  And by God's grace, I do it with a happy heart so they learn by example that opening one's home is a joy!
• I've started to delegate. That guy that comes early? Taught him how to grind coffee. (We love you, Tyler!) I call for help when I don't have time to make goodies or (gasp!) sometimes we don't have an edible treat. And you know something? People still come back.
• I know that there have been and will be weeks when nothing but the love of Jesus and the some good old fashioned solitude are the only things that will get our family to Thursday. So we cancel, reschedule, or change locations. And when the temptation to cancel indefinitely arises, we pray, thank God for the dear souls who grace our home each week and start preparing in advance for the next week.
• Penultimately, I remember that people aren't going to notice whether or not my floors are spic and span, or if I've dusted this week season. They will however notice my shoulders sagging, impatient tone with my family or flustered demeanor.
• And ultimately, in all things, I hope to remember that the why is much greater than the how.

We remember the why: We practice hospitality because we have first received hospitality.

“Grace is the hospitality of God to welcome sinners not because of their goodness but because of his glory,” explains John Piper:

“The ultimate act of hospitality was when Jesus Christ died for sinners to make everyone who believes a member of the household of God. We are no longer strangers and sojourners. We have come home to God. Everybody who trusts in Jesus finds a home in God.”

Until we are home for good, may our homes be glimpses of what is to come.

Pearl #3 Mastering the Snack Time Conundrum

A couple years ago I was inspired by this dear Kingdom-sister-friend to get a grip on snack time at our house.  There are days, mainly those I enter with little forethought, that leave me tired, overwhelmed and feeling like my lot in life is to stand at attention at my kitchen sink washing. And washing. And washing some more.

My children not only have the gall to want to eat breakfast, lunch AND dinner, they need snacks as well. And to top it all off, I have some strong convictions about what goes in their little bodies--we as mothers are called to look well to the way of our households which includes the health of our husbands and children, yes?

Until I read her post with snack ideas, I had fallen into a pattern of leaving my post at the sink only to stand with an open refrigerator door or open pantry to stare endlessly into the I have no idea what to make you abyss. Her words gave me just to hope and encouragement I needed to master snack time.

I started simple, and we always have at least three of these five items in our house as well as fresh fruit:

Morning Glory or Banana Muffins
Homemade Granola Bars
Yogurt & Granola
Cheese & Crackers
Pita Chips & Hummus

When I bake muffins or granola bars, I immediately freeze half so we have enough for a couple weeks.  If I'm really on top of it, I have both kinds of muffins in the freezer so we have variety.  I've previously posted my Morning Glory Muffin recipe and below are recipes for granola bars and banana muffins.



Banana Muffins
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (I use soft white whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 T espresso powder (optional)
Combine above ingredients

In another bowl (I use my kitchenaid bowl for this)
6 T softened butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c yogurt (I use plain or but vanilla works as well)
1 1/2 c mashed bananas (I use four over-ripe and then frozen bananas)
Cream the wet ingredients.

Stir in the dry ingredients just until everything is mixed--do not over-mix. You can add chocolate chips if you'd like! Pour into muffin tins.

Bake at 375° 20-25 minutes (Makes about 1 dozen)

Voila! Yummy, moist banana muffins

And  for my personal favorite:  Homemade Granola Bars. Why make them, you ask? For three reasons: store bought granola bars are expensive, who really knows what goes in them, and these homemade bars  are scrumptious!

Homemade Granola Bars
Mix thoroughly (I cream these together in the KitchenAid, but if your butter is soft you can do it by hand):
2/3 C softened butter (also good using coconut oil)
1/2 C honey
1/3 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
(Optional: if you want peanut butter granola bars, add 1/2 C peanut butter here)

Add:
1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 C rolled oats
AND any fillers (chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, coconut, etc.)

Our favorite combination is dried papaya chunk, craisin. raisin, chocolate chip, crushed cashew, toasted coconut



Press firmly into 9X13 pan. Bake at 325 for 20 mins. Let cool 10 mins and cut into bars. Wait until completely cooled before removing from pan or they will fall apart.

I intended to have a photo of the finished product but I forgot and we ate the last ones this morning.  My only real tip in making the granola bars is to stick to the recipe pretty exactly.  Most of the time I cook "a little of this and a little of that and oops that was a few extra tablespoons" and it works out ok. My approximating does not work for the granola bars. If the wet & dry ingredients aren't measured properly, the bars will fall apart and you'll have delicious snack crumbles instead of bars.  If they are too crumbly, never fear, the result is called granola and is equally delicious served in yogurt or with milk.

There you have it--Pearl #3 Mastering the Snack Time Conundrum.  And I must be honest, both of the recipes are not my own but ones I gleaned from a very wise friend who has taught me much about how to look well to the ways of my household (especially their bellies!)  So we can thank her together. 

 
Isn't she cute?

And I can assure you, that with all these baking pearls going around, she wouldn't want you to forget the most sacred pearl.  And neither do I.

Pearls #342-344 (Preparing for Rest and a couple recipes!)

Remember the pearls I promised awhile back?  They're coming!  Only in order to simplify my life I'm going to arbitrarily number them so I don't have to keep track of where I'm at.

Which leads us to today...the first (or 342nd) of many pearls.

Pearl #342 - The Sabbath is for Rest.  There are entire sermon series and books written on the subject so I'm not going to elaborate other than to say there are different types of rest, both physical and spiritual, and as a family we attempt to Sabbath in both senses on Sundays.

On weeks that I am on top of things, almost without fail, we arrive at church with hearts ready to worship, bellies full and a bag and attitude prepared for anything. On weeks I don't prepare, almost without fail, I end up frustrated, running for the car with children tucked under each arm like footballs, hoping I have everything I need (including all three children.)  It can take the entire car ride and sometimes longer, to seek forgiveness for not doing well in the "leading by example," a heart rested and prepared for worship.

For quite some time my knight has gently been prompting me to think ahead and prepare just a tad so we have an even greater potential for rest on Sundays but sometimes getting me to change my ways is a bit like turning a a large ship. However, his kind encouragement has been a little tugboat for my stubborn soul, and well, I'm turning. In order to honor my husband (and because, well, it really is the very best solution) I'm working to be diligent on Saturday to prepare for Sunday.  To do this, I have to remind myself over and over again that when God created the world He did not stop at 5pm on the 5th day and declare "it's the weekend, I'm finished."  He kept working right on through the 6th day.

Many Saturdays I've tried to prepare a few things but left "t's" uncrossed and "i's" not dotted, resulting in not-so-very restful Sundays.  This Saturday I made a short list of Saturday must-do's and actually implemented: 

• Decide what Sunday's meals are on Saturday and cook and or prepare ahead of time.  
• Put together our church bag (snacks, the girls Bibles, diapers, etc)
• Lay out clothes for the girls
• Tidy the house

I am so grateful I didn't stop short; yesterday was truly an altogether restful day.

So there you have it.  Pearl #342 --Prepare for the Sabbath, so you can Sabbath.

Pearls #343-344?...

The recipes I have just deemed Sunday and Monday breakfast.  I got them from this great lady and modified them just a bit for our family.  In a nutshell, I'm steaming steel-cut oats all night Saturday so they are ready Sunday morning.  Make sure there is a cup extra and save it to make delicious steel cut oat scones on Monday.  Yum, yum, yum.  The recipes below feed our family (2 adults 2 children for breakfast Sunday and make 8 large scones for Monday.  For larger families, visit Kendra's site for her quantities and steps)

Saturday night (I did this right before bed so 10pm-ish):

• Measure one cup of steel-cut oats (not rolled) in a glass bowl and add 3-4 cups of water/milk (I use at least 1 cup whole milk but you can use all water if you'd prefer) The discrepancy in water amount is because you'll need to add more water if it will be cooking for more hours. If you actually get to bed early, add a smidgen more milk or water.
• Set the bowl in a slow cooker or roaster and pour water around the bowl- enough so that it reaches about halfway up the outside of the bowl of oats. Turn the slow cooker on low and go to bed. (If you have a slow cooker that cooks "hot" you can use the warm setting and it should work as well.  And yes, you really put the bowl inside your slow cooker.)
• In the morning the oats are ready to eat!  I just add a splash more milk, a dollop or two of real maple syrup, a pinch of brown sugar and maybe some dried fruit...but only if I"m feeling generous.
• Reserve 1 cup of the cooked oats and refrigerate for your scones Monday

Monday Morning Scones:

Oatmeal Scones Jenny Sanders

Serves 8-12

2 T butter
2 T honey
1 cup reserved cooked oats
2/3 cup milk or almond milk (I use 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup sour cream)
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Melt the butter and honey together, and mix into the cool, cooked oatmeal. Mix in the milk, half at a time. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the oatmeal. The mixture is quite moist, but if it can’t hold its shape at all, add more flour. Roll/pat into a circle or scoop into balls and flatten to 1″ with dampened hands. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Today I made a glaze with an ounce or two of cream cheese, powdered sugar and a drop of orange oil but you can use any combination of powdered sugar and something- either vanilla, milk, lemon juice, lime juice, cinnamon, maple flavor or orange juice.

On a Monday morning there is nothing quite like warm, nutty, hearty scones, a cup of coffee and a bit more time, resting.

The beautiful thing about the sabbath is that God instituted it as a weekly reminder of two things. One is that all true blessing comes from his grace, not our labor. The other is that we hallow him and honor him and keep the day holy if we seek the fullness of his blessing by giving our special attention to him on that day...So Jesus didn't come to abolish the sabbath but to dig it out from under the mountain of legalistic sediment, and give it to us again as a blessing rather than a burden. It is a day for showing mercy and a day for doing good. It should not be governed rigidly by narrow definitions of what is work and what is not. It is a day to focus on the Lord. And now Jesus is the Lord of the sabbath, so it is a day to focus on Jesus. And it is impossible that a day focused on Jesus should be a burden to the believing heart—"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest!" ~John Piper

A tale of 3 women and the woman I want to be...

Once upon a time there was a young woman who was a San Franciscan city-girl and after her teen years away, returned to city life for school and a career.  Unexpectedly, she met there a cowboy.  A real cowboy whose hands bore the evidence of years of hard work and his body already the weathered marks of a man whose heart beat for the land and the animals on it.  They fell in love, married and that cowboy moved the city girl to the middle-of-no-where cattle country of Montana to make their start.  Now this city girl who had only cooked with canned chili and boil-a-bag meals found herself miles and miles from a store, with a freezer full of elk and Angus, a milk cow in the barn, and chickens in the yard  And this city girl learned to churn and bake and could whip up quite a meal with nothing at all, because truly they had very little. And she became a cook that that cowboy would rave about for years and years to come.  That city girl is my mother.

And not too far away, just one state over was another young woman who found herself a single mother with a toe-headed toddler who worked hard to ensure there was food on the table, even if they did eat turkey and rice for many a meal.  And this young woman met a man and they had one more small boy and they both worked hard to provide for their family. And to make sure that those two little boys received an education that was deeper than their ABC's and had eternal weight in its content, that mama started her own bread business and would bake away her Thursdays and Fridays to sell her prized goods at the local farmers' market on Saturdays.  And her baked goods became cherished to locals, requested around the region and her boys not only wrote words but learned to write His Word on their hearts.  That flour-dusted mama is my mother-in-law.

And there was yet one more woman, many states away who by God's grace found the man she was to spend her life with at a very young age and they married and were blessed with children soon after.  And this couple worked hard so that the mama could stay home with her children always and on one salary they fed eight children, four of which were very hungry boys.  And there are stories of how this mama stretched butter and sneaked lentils into some  most meals but her hard-working husband and children were never hungry. Now this kind woman already had eight children but decades ago I adopted her because truly, a girl can never have too many great women in her life and really, if you have eight children, why not have nine? That mother of nine is mine in spirit.

Each mother is mine by grace.

Now these three woman lived different lives, in different states but had the greatest thing in common.  On each woman's heart was written the mark of her Father and though it wasn't always easy, she listened when the Lord whispered

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ~ Matthew 6:25-34

I am humbled by my mothers' perseverance, their hard work, their trust. You see the closest my knight and I have come to poor was one day just after Hurricane Katrina when women from another religion came knocking at the door of our little first home on a street more "miss" than "hit."  In their leather and diamonds they came to tell us that God loves the poor. And it wasn't until they left that my husband and I turned to each other and laughed with realization, "They think we're the poor!"  Didn't they know I had a beef-stocked freezer from my father just like my mother did at my age?

So in the world's eyes, and in ours, we are far from poor but the economy is changing and regardless I am called to look well to the ways of my household. And on days like today when my husband forwards me this article from the Wall street Journal I am reminded  that even the cost of food rising is in our Father's hands.  While He holds tomorrow, I am still called to be a good steward of today.  I realize that I have been given much, especially by my three mothers as they have lavished me with pearls, pearls of wisdom that can help me steward my days. It's time for me to take their wisdom and my husbands encouragement seriously.

Last week I had the privilege of sharing some meal planning tips at a Titus 2 evening with women at our church.  In the days to come, I hope to share a few pearls with you; there is so much to share--gardening, weekly menus, long term food storage, so very many pearls! Please feel free to share your tips and secrets as well.  And like my mothers-three and the many faithful women who have gone before us, we can help one another look well to the ways of our households.