Kathi and I will be posting our PantyPantry Raid "after" pictures tomorrow. I hope Kathi's are good. Cuz mine are pretty boring.But it DID take me the better part of Saturday. Because, once you get going, JUST the pantry isn't enough...(I am glad I don't have to take pictures of the rest of the kitchen now!)
Tuesday: Spaghetti (make my own "never the same twice" sauce in crockpot)
Wednesday: We've been using this recipe for years. It is so easy and one of our family faves too! Sausage Skillet Supper (we use our own canned tomatoes and make our own beans. I also use 1 full cup of salsa so everything is easy to remember. Then you know you use ONE of everything)
Sorry I am so late -- just in case droves of you were all lined up to post your link. I am working on my pantry for Pantry Raid "after" pictures for Monday and lost track of time.
My soup for today used some of the chicken broth I posted about last week. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I did.
Happy Fall Squash Soup 1 squash of your choice (I used acorn squash), cooked and pureed 1/2 brick cream cheese about 6 cups chicken broth (more or less to desired thickness. Can also thicken first with flour or cornstarch) 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon chili powder salt to taste
Heat all together until it is hot and cheese is melted. Serve with toasted pecans, cilantro and sour cream on top. I also added cabbage cut very small and some chicken pieces.
"... and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.. Revelation 21:4b
This beautiful painting is available for purchase here.
"This is what it means to be held How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. This is what it is to be loved and to know that the promise was that when everything fell We'd be held" (see song at end of post) Isn't being held most comforting when we are crushed and broken? Have you ever heard something on the news that really almost just haunted you? Something MORE than heartbreaking? Something unimaginable? Something that, although it happened to strangers, leaves you grappling for some shred of peace?
That happened to me today. I heard it this morning. I remember the last time I struggled deeply with this. I had just had my baby so I am sure I was a little emotional anyway. But it was something that, to this day, I wish I'd never heard and I wish I could forget. I almost cannot bear the thought of it. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed at the sadness in this world. I feel so insignificant and useless. Then I am reminded of the words of Jesus in John 16:33 that say "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."There is peace and rest in those words.
Then into my mind comes the words "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28, 29, 30). Isn't the Bible such beautiful poetry? It soothes and comforts me to remember God's promises. He will shelter us under His wings.
I remember reading once (in the book "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn) that for those who are going to be with Jesus, this earth is the closest thing to Hell we'll ever see. Some days, when I see or hear about heart wrenching things happening to others, I can really see how that is a true perspective. Heaven will be such sweetness and such peace.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee. The darkness is no darkness with Thee, but the night is as clear as the day. The darkness and the light to Thee are both alike. God is light and with Him is no darkness at all. Oh let my soul live and it shall praise Thee. For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for evermore.~ Samuel Sebastian Wesley (a compilation of Bible verses) John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."
Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
Maybe I WILL sleep tonight... This (paraphrased) scripture from Revelation 7:9-17 is so beautiful to think about -- and so comforting to know this will really happen.
After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb.
They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, as they shouted, "Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb."
The angels who stood around the throne knelt in front of it with their faces to the ground. Then they all worshiped God and said, "Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!"
One of the elders asked me, "Do you know who these people are that are dressed in white robes? Do you know where they come from?" "Sir," I answered, "you must know."
Then he told me.
"These are the ones who have gone through the great suffering. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and have made them white.
And so they stand before the throne of God and worship him in his temple day and night. The one who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
They will never hunger or thirst again, and they won't be troubled by the sun or any scorching heat.
The Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to streams of life-giving water, and God will wipe all tears from their eyes."
Did you see that? GOD HIMSELF will wipe away the tears!He is gonna take care of all of those who have gone through "the great suffering".He's going to spread His tent over them. He's going to make it all okay. They'll be held.
I hope the people in the situation I heard about today can call on Jesus and find peace and rest. I hope they will know what it means to be held.
I am inspired by so many brave people who are fighting cancer. They would never choose this battle. And they would never say they are strong, since only they know how close they come so often to falling apart. My heart goes out to each of them. And, being a Fix-It type of person, I wish there were more ways to show them I care and to show them my support.
These pretty stretchy braceletsare a nice gift to a loved one fighting cancer. And a sweet way to show your support as well.
Each time a chemo treatment is completed, you move one to the other arm.There are eight bracelets in each set.$10.00 per set.
I don't know anything about this company, but I sure do love this idea.
Do your kids speak Pig Latin? My 9 year old is becoming quite fluent. I am trying not to become quite annoyed. After all, he is being quite polite and obedient.
When I ask him to do something he says "Es-yay Om-May".
I'm considering asking him to learn sign language instead.
Join us for a Pantry Raid!!! To find out more, go here.
Post it girl -- or GUY if you are the Chief Pantry Stocker and Organizer!
Now.
No hiding your half eaten, not sealed bags of Rice-A-Roni. No pulling things from other places in the house to make your pantry look full, or moving things to make it look better. AS IS.
I have 8 people in this house, all of whom mess around with the pantry for different reasons. I buy in bulk, including big bags of granola,rice flours, etc. I cook mostly from scratch so have lots of ingredients on hand. If I can, YOU CAN.
This is for BEFORE pictures. Not the perfect ones. And if you want to do this to get you motivated, and you don't have a blog, email me your "before's" and I will post those too.
Our Pantry
Told you I was posting as is. This is the picture I took a few weeks ago, which got me to thinking about what I'd really like to do in there. It wasn't ideal, but not too bad. It's definitely been better. And, oh so definitely -- it's been much, much worse! With summer just ending, most of my cabinets and the pantry are pretty full due to produce I have canned.
This is the view as you look in and to the right. With so many people getting things in and out, well, it changes quickly.
(Pics to come of view to left and door, upload issues)
Top Shelf: holds serving bowls too large for standard sized cabinets, sweets given to us as gifts which we haven't eaten yet, other misc. serving pieces and special shaped cake pans.
Second Shelf: Tupperware containers with bulk items such as flours, sugars, baking soda, etc. Bins with baking chips, sprinkles, etc. Spices in Tupperware on lazy susans.
Third Shelf: holds jars of bulk food items, with extra shelf to provide more area.Bin with bottles of vinegar, honey, Worchestershire Sauce and the like, corner holds extra jars of peanut butter, tahini, large jar of coconut oil, some large spice containers, then spices in smaller containers in bins. Also, an additional rack that hangs from the shelf above holds some Costco sized spice containers.
Bottom Shelf: canned goods in order (first section is bean and tomato products, second section is soups and broths, corner is canned meats, fruits, veggies and misc., such as milk and coconut milk. I don't use store bought canned produce much so there aren't a whole lot of those). Then there is a long Tupperware container made for storing celery and carrots. But it works perfectly for packets.
On The Floor: Metal racks with pull out drawers hold misc. items I use occassionally such as extra ketchup, jello and cake mixes for recipes, tapioca, plain gelatin, etc. Many of these have been in there for quite some time since I don't use those types of products much anymore. Also potatoes, pastas and crackers. Box of Cream of Mushroom soup that wouldn't fit on the shelf.
In the corner are bottles of water and juices I keep on hand for making punch for parties, as well as boxes of Ziploc bags, and other things purchased at Costco that come in multiple boxes. Gallon of vinegar (I use in both cleaning and cooking). Hansen's Organic Soda no one liked so will also use for punch. I use the buckets with lids for bulk dried fruit and extra baking supplies that didn't fit in their containers, as well as other items we buy in bulk (25 pounds at a time) such as flours, granola, beans and rice.
So you can see I try to make the best use of the space we have for all of the items we keep on hand!
Hopefully next week we will see some improvement...
Now it's your turn. Please don't make me have the worst pantry!!!
And don't forget to come back next week and show off what you do to make it prettier, nicer, cleaner, and/or somehow improved.
I just saw my first full out (not just hinting at) Christmas commercial of the season. It was for HSN (Home Shopping Network).
I love Christmas because of the birth of Christ and what He means to this world. I enjoy giving gifts to loved ones too, but it makes me sick to see the commercialism. It's as if they have to get their claws in early.
"Pick me! I know you are going to spend loads of money cuz that is what is important. May as well spend it with me."
So distorted.
I recently saw this car in the parking lot of a strip mall. I wonder if this person is preparing to give or keep.
Either way, there was even stuff on the driver's seat. Whomever was driving it must have held it on his or her lap while driving.
Or was it a prank? Could it even be real?
I hope it was someone out buying things to give to a charity event of some kind.
I am sure I will be posting more about Christmas and Commercialism soon. Tis the season.
These represent the levels of full curriculum we have done within Sonlight's Program. It is a literature based curriculum we use in our homeschool. We LOVE Sonlight!
