Category Archives: Family

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Matthew 28:1-7  1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Mark 16:1-8  1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

John 20:1-9   1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Need bags..

For any locals – just a quick plea for plastic grocery bags. Never thought we’d run out, but we are close. If anyone has any extras laying around, we’d be happy to take them off your hands… THANKS! 🙂

Creaky floors…

This morning I realized I’m thankful for creaky floors!  Mike & I wake the boys up at 7AM.  We allow them 30 minutes to:  get up, get dressed, do bathroom stuff, make kefir shakes (Paul), tidy TV room (Michael), and be seated around the table for our family devotion at 7:30AM  If they take longer than 30 minutes, their consequence is going to bed at 8:30PM that night.  For each minute they are late to the table, that’s another minute BEFORE 8:30PM they go to bed.  BELIEVE ME, this is “torture” for our boys, lol!  (Funny, I actually LIKE this bedtime for myself!)  Anyways…back to creaky floors…by about 7:20AM, I find myself listening for signs that the boys are up and moving.  Following through on a punishment is definitely NOT a “fun” part of parenting, but we understand why it’s necessary.  I was sooo thankful today when I heard our upstairs floorboards squeak!  It inspired this poem:

 

Kefir Shakes

Thought I’d share a bit about our mornings around here.  Every morning, we drink kefir.  A wonderful, probiotic, lacto-fermented beverage made from raw milk.  Here’s a link to get you started on research, if you’re interested in learning more about kefir.   🙂  Here’s a pic of what you normally see on my countertop, everyday.  At minimum, I make 1 quart/day.  As you can see, right now, I’m making 1/2 gallon/day.

After 24 hours +/- (totally depends on weather and humidity), the kefir grains change the milk into a thick & sour tasting drink.  Here’s a pic of the strained grains.

I always measure the weight of my grains with each straining…partly because I’m weird & LOVE to notebook progress (hard to believe, I know, lol…), and also because then I know when to thin my grains.  These grains LOVE our milk & grow very well for us.  Just let me know if you ever want any grains for yourself – I always have PLENTY!!  🙂

I keep a piece of masking tape on the tile under my cupboards where I log the date & weight.  Can you tell I’m a lefty?? 🙂

Then I add more raw milk over the grains, cover with a rag & rubberband, and we’re good to go for another day!  Since we are a seasonal dairy, we rely on our frozen milk from last year during these winter months.  🙂

While we CAN drink it straight, we all MUCH PREFER to turn it into a kefir shake.  🙂  Paul is our “official” kefir shake maker!  He LOVES food, and does have aspirations to become a chef some day…  He got a blender for Christmas, and makes a tasty shake for us every morning.  Here’s his recipe:  1 quart kefir, 7 banana chunks (we buy them when they’re super ripe & on sale, & then chunk & freeze them), 5 ice cubes, 1 T vanilla (we make our own), 1T jam (we make different kinds…strawberry, pear, peach – all with evaporated cane juice as the sweetener, FYI).  We are all out of our honey right now, or we’d use that instead.  Paul says we use a “4 second drizzle”, when we have that, lol! 🙂

Now we are ready for our family devotion time.  Thank you, Lord, for building our immune systems up through the many health benefits of kefir!  🙂

What do you like to drink while you read your Bible?

Here goes…

Welcome to our family’s blog.  My name is Dawn, and you’ll probably mostly be hearing from me.  You can learn more about me in our ABOUT page.  I am brand new to writing a blog, so bear with me as I learn.  Here’s the link to our ABOUT page for more info on that.  For years, I have been keeping a “pile” of notes, quotes, inspirations, Scripture verses, etc., that have made an impression on me.  I always thought that someday I’d either put everything in a scrapbook or perhaps even write a book…  BUT, honestly, I don’t think I should begin yet another new hobby, like scrapbooking, because I KNOW that I’d love it.  Problem is, there are soooo many things I love to do!  🙂  Other problem is, my “pile” is overtaking the box I’ve allocated for it… This year, I will be turning 40, and it seems the Lord has really been placing it on my heart to focus on the “legacy” I can leave behind for those after me.  Since I don’t know how many more days He wants me to work for Him here, I will use this blog as motivation to create a virtual “scrapbook”.  We will also use this blog to share snippets of our daily life, as well.  With that intro, I’ll leave this first post with a poem the Lord inspired me to write last Easter season…