More Thanksgiving

Another week is almost gone…Thanksgiving is another day closer! We as a family are traveling, even while I’m writing this. We have several stops planned in NC and TN traveling to share about the needs and work in the Philippines, along with some pics of Floyd’s late trip there.  I am thinking, “thanksgiving” all around us we are being blessed, always. Sometimes our outlook in life is dimmed by trials, frustrations, and lethargy of our own making. Namely, the neglecting of spiritual food for our souls, and taking responsibility for ourselves. When we begin focusing on God, taking that time every day to have that get-in-the-closet time, our senses become heightened, our mind clearer. We also are alerted to being more grateful for the blessings in everyday life. Just last night, I realized the *beauty* of having a good bed. In fact sleeping so well that I didn’t wake up once!  We teach our little ones early in life to say please and thank you. This has far reaching effects for the rest of the child’s life. Getting to the place in life where are minds are geared to be “Thankful” may be easy for some,but a real undertaking for others We are commanded “To give Thanks in everything”  Not necessarily FOR everything. When we open our heart to being supple in Gods’ hand, we begin to see the *terrible* in our trials are actually a blessing in disguise. In other words, as through our prayer time we are submitting to what our Heavenly father wants, we also  begin to think more like Him.”His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts better then our thoughts”

Umm, how does this connect with saving bread crumbs, and being frugal?     It all starts with thanksliving…On the morning of Thanksgiving, I toast the bread cubes. Set aside to cool. Peel a medium carrot, and shred. Place in a 4 quart bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped celery,1 tablespoon of chopped onion. Melt 2 tabespoon butter in a saucepan, and saute vegetables. In the 4 quart. bowl beat 4 eggs, add 2 teaspoons poultry seas.,1/2 teaspoon sage, 1 teaspoon chicken boullion, 1/4 teaspoon black ground pepper. Add 1 quart hot  broth from your poultry broth.    Next add, 6 cups toasted bread cubes. Mix all together. Pour half of the melted butter into your baking dish, than add the stuffing mixture. Top with remaining melted butter. Bake covered at 350  for approximate 25 min. then uncover for the next 10 minutes. This is the most important part of Thanksgiving dinner besides the turkey! That’s our family’s’ opinion 🙂

No matter, where you find yourself, or what you will be eating on Thanksgiving day…the most important thing is the people you are with, whether friends or family, count it as a wonderful time to be together, and be ye Thankful! God bless your day.

–Luella

Traditions: Gift of Service

Recently, my kids and I had the privilege of watching a Christian kids dvd that I’ll soon be reviewing on my blog. Part of this video had to do with a fun Christmas Eve tradition the family kept, where they drew names on Christmas Eve morning to give a gift to one other person which they would open that evening. It’s the one gift they get to open “early.”

What I really loved about this was that NONE of the family members spent any money on the gifts! Don’t misunderstand; that wasn’t part of the game or the rules, that they not spend money, it appeared to just end up that way. They did discuss the fact that gifts mean the most when they come “from the heart” and that this means they don’t necessarily cost a lot of money. It just tickled me that not a single one of them spent a given dime for this tradition.

That said, I think we are going to implement this tradition starting this year. I think it’s great not only to help the kids understand about the joy of giving, but also it gives them opportunity to really think about what the other person would really enjoy. It’s about considering the feelings of others, and what it is you can do or possess that someone else can benefit from having. It’s about relationship.

I think we have found a fun and meaningful new tradition and I’m excited to get going with it! What traditions does your family have for this time of year?

Teaching Kids the Value of Giving Thanks

I want to take a minute to welcome and tank Kelsey Clark for guest posting here at Finding Beauty today!  I’ve enjoyed reading your article today and I know my readers will as well.  Thanks again Kelsey!

As parents, we feel it’s our job to teach our kids all of the important lessons in life. There are the little lessons, like teaching them to tie their shoes, showing them how to brush their teeth, and helping them learn how to pick out clothes that match. And then there are the big lessons, like teaching them to be upstanding citizens, telling them to always put their best foot forward, and showing them how to be compassionate to others. One of the biggest lessons we can teach our kids is the value of giving thanks every day. Learning to approach each day with gratitude is one of the best things we can impart on our children, and we can help them learn to approach life with appreciation by doing the following:

Get your children involved with those who are less fortunate.

You can tell your kids ‘til you’re blue in the face that they need to finish their meal because of the starving kids around in the world, but if they’ve never seen people who are truly less fortunate than they are then how can they ever empathize? Instead of harping on them about those who are less fortunate than they are, get them actively involved with people who have less. Volunteer at a local food bank or take old toys to a homeless children’s shelter. Let your kids see first-hand that there are people in the world that have much less than them and they’ll likely have a renewed appreciation for what they are blessed with.

Incorporate being thankful into conversations with your kids.

Before you tuck your children into bed each night, have them tell you one good thing that happened in their day, big or small. Taking time to reflect on all of the things that you’re thankful for will help your kids develop a bigger appreciation for those moments, and will teach them to recognize them more readily.

Model thankful behavior through your own actions.

Live the life you want your children to live. If you want them to be thankful, you have to be thankful as well. Children often emulate the behaviors of their parents, so make it a point to express appreciation to your spouse, your kids, your family and your friends. Celebrate the little things. These actions won’t go unnoticed by your children, and they may pick up the same habits without even realizing it.

Make it a habit.

By making expressing gratitude a habit, you’re likely to instill a sense of thankfulness in your children for a lifetime. Don’t just teach them to say thank you, teach them the value of meaning thankfulness. Your children’s actions largely start with you, so model the type of behavior you want to see, expose them to situations that demonstrate true gratitude, and regularly talk about the things in life you’re truly thankful for.

About the Author

Kelsey is the editor in chief for www.findananny.net/. She loves to write article and ideas that parents & nannies would be interested in hearing. She helps society on giving information about nannies through nanny services. She is a professional writer & loves writing on anything.

Thanksgiving at a Discount

Fall is here. I am thinking pumpkin pies, pumpkin bars, pumpkin spice cookies, even pumpkin spice dip for a fruit platter. By the way, Pumpkin isn’t the only thing I think of at Thanksgiving time. God does have unique ways for us to get our Vitamin A. In the summer we have carrots. I can just about live on carrots, juice that is. Of course your skin may discolor as well, mine did. The liver processing the juice begins to show itself in your skin color. Back to thanksgiving preparation day. How can one have the traditional Thanksgiving meal as a low-priced meal, where any frugal housewife or even a penny-pincher like me can enjoy and be creative?

About 3-4 weeks prior to Thanksgiving begin saving your bread crusts from bread pkgs. or any half pieces that the kids may have discarded in favor of something more tantalizing. These can be cubed and frozen as you come across them. Now to pumpkin pie: You may not be able to buy a pumpkin or even to spend 1.78 for a can of it. Did you know that often carrots are less expensive and can be used in place of pumpkin? If one does not know, it is very tasty, seasoned just as regular pumpkin pie. On the mission field where we were stationed, pumpkins were hard to come by, they were raised for winter cow fodder, and not considered to be “people’ food.

If you can afford only one box of the mashed potatoes, Dollar Tree is the best priced all around. we raise corn in our gardens, so there is usually plenty till Thanksgiving time. I’ve found the turkey is usually the priciest part of the meal. But as I look at it, that *blessed turkey* will make us more than one meal! I can usually count on a 12-15 lb. turkey will make no less than 4-5 meals for us. I am counting on them being as low-priced as .68 a lb. Our family usually enjoys a jello salad as well for this special meal, again if you frequent Dollar Tree you will be blessed to find 3 pkgs. inside one large box.

How much is this *frugal* meal I am describing? You are looking at an approximate figure of $ 16.98 Mashed taters 1.00, jello 1.00( includes spec. ingred.)Stuffing 1.00, sweet corn 1.00, turkey 12-15 lb. 10.68, pie 2.00 If your pie has whipped topping, that would change the price a small amount.

In the coming weeks I will share how to make your *stuffing* from scratch. I will share a pie crust recipe, some possible ways to spruce up that” instant” mashed potatoes. Always cooking with fresh raw items is healthiest. This is not to discourage that, but rather sharing some tips on enjoying Thanksgiving at a discount, because its what you need to do as a family.

-Luella

Why We Don’t Celebrate Halloween

We don’t celebrate Halloween as a family for many reasons. But, let’s start at the beginning, we have to go back to when I was in high school. Somewhere around my junior and senior year, I became interested in things such as ghosts and other “scary” things. I reveled in watching the newest horror movies and read all sort of scary books about ghosts, demons, vampires, etc. I was the first in line at the haunted houses. I loved frightening myself. I was the kind of kid, that when I was allowed to stay at home by myself at night…I’d watch a horror movie to scare myself. I also enjoyed scaring other people…which at Halloween time, I was able to do and I would do it often. I was slowly becoming obsessed with the darker side of the world. This started becoming a real problem when this obsession started bleeding over into the activities that I would do after hours with my church youth group.

The Halloween when I was a senior is a prime example. After youth group meeting, we would usually all go and eat at McDonald’s or something, I often drove a lot of the younger kids so they could go…often having a car full of them. That Halloween, I thought it would be fun to scare them and I often did that by telling them local ghost stories and driving them around spooky places. Also during this time, I got really interested in the history of a local graveyard, which had all sorts of spooky rumors about it, as well as about a rumored witch’s coven that was supposedly in the area. Not realizing what I thought was harmless fun, was actually Satan working in my life to spread his lies. To make a long story short, my actions that year gave the youth director ammunition against me and armed with that and a number of falsehoods, he was able to turn most of the parents of my friends against me and I suddenly found myself an outcast. No one ever even came to me and asked if the rumors were true…they automatically accepted them as truth, because the lies were mixed in with enough truth to make it believable.

I left the church and very nearly gave up my faith at that point…but I DIDN’T give up my love for Halloween. I was so hurt by the lies, but it took me a LONG time to come to terms with my part in the whole incident. By my actions, I gave the youth director the extra ammunition to make his lies believable. But, for many years after that, I still celebrated Halloween. When Marty and I got married and bought our first house, I reveled in decorating it for Halloween…the spookier the better!

By the time Colt was born, I had started growing out of my obsession with Halloween. We still would let Colt dress up and trick-or-treat. We’d carve a jack-o-lantern and things like that. We never let Colt dress up as anything really evil or scary. Also, by this point, I couldn’t watch those horror movies any longer…they just would tear at my soul. We would pretty much just trick-or-treat or take Colt to a church Halloween party. But it wasn’t until after Riley was born that we totally gave up all celebrations of Halloween. We decided to stop celebrating for several reasons.

While the Halloween of my childhood seemed innocent enough, modern Halloween has become an evil day.

It’s all about blood and gore, Satanism and just plain old evil. I cannot believe the evil portrayed in some of the costumes that parents let their children wear. Why would any parent in their right mind let their child dress as the currently popular movie serial killer is beyond me. Halloween has become a day to honor murder, mayhem and evil.

Even pretend evil is evil.

Satan revels in it. He loves that what we think is good innocent fun is actually promotion of him and his. This goes for movies, TV, books and Halloween. He uses these things for his glory. I honestly think that books such as the Twilight series and TV series such as The Vampire Diaries are not just good innocent fun…they promote evil and make it seem more mainstream…but it’s still dealing with evil, witches and Satanism.

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” –Galatians 5:19-21

This scripture simply shows that witchcraft is evil, along with all these other things. If you participate in any of these things, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. I believe that when you read and watch these types of media that is the same thing as promoting evil. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” –I Timothy 4:1

The types of evil that Halloween promotes have gotten more and more mainstream in our world. I do believe that these things are seducing our children and teaching them things that are far from Godly.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” –Philippians 4:8

Everything we read, watch, and participate in should be measured by this rule. If it doesn’t fit this standard, then the Christian should not participate in it.

Halloween encourages inappropriate dress.

While I am always shocked by the blood and gore that comes with Halloween now days, you can’t over look the costumes of little girls that reveals much more skin than is appropriate. Or the kids dressed up as such heroes at “Bratz”, “Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana” or her equivalent. There are entirely too many “sexy” costumes for young children. Even some of the “Disney” princesses have bared bellies.

We spend all year telling our kids not to talk to strangers, but forget that on Halloween.

This one really gets me! Everyday, we tell our kids not to talk to strangers, yet on Halloween, we send them out, in costumes none the less, and tell them to knock on stranger’s doors and take candy from them. With all the child abuse, murders kidnappings, etc in the news this is FAR from wise. While many parents escort their children from door to door, many do not. They just send their kids out on their own with no supervision. This is a danger I’d just assume avoid.

Do your kids REALLY need all that sugar??

I know mine don’t! I would just assume that the candy stay out of my house and I certainly don’t need to send my kids to the neighbor’s house just so they can get a sugar rush. Not to mention that all this candy is highly unhealthy for your children.

So, how do we celebrate Halloween?

We simply don’t. Halloween is considered just like any other day for our family. Even with it being shoved down our throats at every turn. You can’t go into any store without seeing some sort of Halloween themed ad….it’s everywhere. To our kids, we acknowledge that the majority of our nation celebrates this holiday, but because of the reasons above, we feel that this is not “God’s Best” for our family and we simply don’t celebrate or acknowledge it.

Linking To:   Modest Monday, Mama Moment Mondays,  Better Mom Mondays, Titus 2sday,  Domestically Divine Tuesday, Thankful Homemaker,  Titus 2 Tuesday, Loving Our Children Tuesday, Women Living Well Wednesday, Homemaking Link-Up, Encourage One Another, Friday Homemaking Link-Up,  Big Family Friday, Faith Filled Friday,

A Thrifty Christmas

Yep, I’m thinking about Christmas in July! That’s something you do when you have a large family and not much money!

But even if this doesn’t describe you , you can still glean some thrift ideas on how to celebrate the holiday and hopefully save some money. (and who doesn’t need to do that? )

Trees are expensive! Try buying a smaller one and placing it on a table that you cover with a red or green tablecloth. . Place the gifts on the table or on the floor around it and still look pretty but save about $15. Works great if you have little ones who steal the ornaments off the tree too!

Use fabric or the funnies section of the newspaper as gift wrapping. Plain paper works well too, if the kids take crayons to it and draw special pictures on it! Bows can be made of raffia, yarn, or even twine if need be.

Bake your gifts for friends and family.Cookies and sweet breads make marvelous gifts and are a great way of using up some of the fruits you canned from your garden this past harvest.

Hit up the dollar sections and the arts and crafts sections of the stores. Grab the items that you think will appeal to your child and put them all in one box. My kids love the “dollar boxes”. and they don’t cost much.

Give gifts that fill a need. No I’m not talking about underwear! A sewing kit makes a terrific present for a young lady and it’s something she can really use throughout the year. A basket filled with bath items (especially homemade ones!)  or a shaving basket makes a perfect gift for a gal or guy.

Thrift shops and yard sales  can be your best friends! I have found buckets of  Legos , baby dolls, clothing,trucks, games and more for less than half price . Start early because not all sales are the same! Stock up when you find something. (My husband’s closet is always off limits to the children because that’s where I hide my stock- up!) Remember to hit the after Christmas sales for the same reason.

Speaking of dolls, instead of spending money on a new one- have you priced those things lately?- make clothes for their favorite doll instead.

My oldest daughter knits so she makes socks and hats , scarves and totebags for everyone. My son builds so he made a nightstand for each parent and a shelf for each sibling. Put your talent to good use!  My 2 younger  daughters made barbie clothes for each other (with help from big sis) and I made candy with my husband for all our friends. My younger sons all cleaned the house real well for mama and believe me I loved that gift!! Pray about what would be the best gift for each person.

Your meal doesn’t have to be super-fancy. A turkey is nice but maybe that’s not in the budget. Why not start a new tradition and have Christmas soup? Tomato based soups are red!  If soup isn’t your thing, try a pizza. Or whatever your family LOVES to eat. It’s the time spent together, not the food you are eating.. Heck, one year we had just moved into our rental and had no money and no appliances yet! We had turkey lunch meat sandwiches and chips for Thanksgiving! Best holiday ever!

However you spend Christmas, remember it’s not about the money it’s about the family and worshiping the Lord. Don’t get hung up on money, get hung up on HIM!

Illustration by Breezy Brookshire, used with permission

isn’t this card gorgeous? You can find it at a Bowl of Moss and Pebbles drawn by my friend Breezy. She has many other beautiful cards and prints for sale also.

Thankful All Year Long

This is an updated post that was originally written in November 2011.

I know it isn’t almost the Thursday in November that is allocated as Thanksgiving Day, as it was when I first wrote this post, but I have still been thinking of taking the time to be thankful for what I have and who we know, etc. There isn’t anything wrong with taking a day {or the entire month} to reflect on being thankful for what one has.

I had been seeing many different Thankful Trees online before Thanksgiving, and wanted to make one {I think that is what they are called}. But I was too lazy. Yes, yep, that I was. Too lazy. I didn’t want to print out the leaves and then cut them out and color them {or possibly trace them onto construction paper to cut the step of color}. Then to make the tree, with branches {or without}, and affix the leaves.

Seriously, it seemed like a lot of work to me. The funny thing is that we already had leaves to use. And as for ‘making’ the tree- what was I really thinking?!

Awhile before the kids and I had gone around the block and collected colorful leaves. Then Lee {my dd} and I had pressed them for a few days to be able put them between contact paper. Originally we were going to string them up around so we could enjoy the colors of fall. Well…since I hadn’t followed the instructions quite as I should have, I had to press my leaves again after laminating them.

And then I forgot them.

Thinking about our ‘traditions’ for the holidays last year is what got me thinking again about the tree. {Which is what I’ve somewhat been doing again and why I’ve reshared this post} Maybe I could make the tree after all… as long as the kids wanted to help. I enjoy doing crafty things but it’s much sweeter when my kids participate as well. Otherwise, for me, it just seems like a pointless activity {it’s just me, I’m sure}.

We had attended a Thanksgiving dinner at our church the previous Sunday {before Thanksgiving} and although there was a lot of food that was reminiscent of traditional “Thanksgiving Day” feasts, it wasn’t about the food or about the Pilgrims or the supposed history of the day. It was a time to be specific about what we are thankful for and praise God for it. It was a time to be thankful for the people we are surrounded by, the church family, our family, etc.

The service that Sunday was about Thanksgiving as well {appropriately} but it focused on giving heart-felt thanks to God, most importantly, and to others. As parents we teach our children to say “thank you” when given something or when helped by someone. There are some who will say, “You don’t have to say thank you,” to the child but if we want our children to learn to be thankful, they do need to say it.

It needs to be something that is a constant. It needs to be throughout the day, throughout the week- all year, every year of their lives. It will not guarantee that they will be thankful individuals {they learn by seeing others, by example, but also their hearts will determine this} but it will give a good foundation for it to grow.

I asked the kids if they would be interested in helping me put up the tree. At first they were doing it out of obligation {because they were occupied with something else} but by the time we were done, it was evident they enjoyed it. Lee made the tree trunk, Fox {my ds} suggested the branches. Using the laminated leaves it makes it easy to use this again and again. I chose to use wet eraser markers so that it will stay put until we wipe it off.

 

I had not intended on taking our tree down for awhile. No reason to pack it away the day after Thanksgiving. And you know what? It is July and our tree is still there.