Home making

When Your Homemaking Skills Turn Into a Curse Rather Than a Blessing

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She could make a mean Roast Venison. It was juicy, tender and perfectly flavored with just the right herbs added. When Rebekah added a side of crispy potatoes and warm bread dipped in olive oil, her husband Isaac was no doubt a happy man! What a wonderful cook he had been blessed with!

Rebekah had been brought from her homeland to be Isaac’s wife and he couldn’t have been more pleased with God’s choice. Not only was she beautiful, she was also a wonderful homemaker.

Her presence comforted. Isaac who had been grieving his mother’s death. She eased his sorrow as he turned his love and devotion to her, his precious wife.

And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. Gensis 24:67

It is so touching that Rebekah was a blessing to her new husband, but as you continue to read their story in Genesis Chapter 27, things change. I see in Rebekah a warning about how wives can turn their homemaking skills into a curse in their husband’s life, rather than the blessing it should be. Here’s how:

  1. When we love others more than our husband.
    It happens. It could happen when children come along, and the husband is pushed to the background. Our love for them exceeds the love for the man we married. We show it in our preference of their needs over his, just as we see Rebekah arranging for Jacob to get the blessing Isaac had promised to Esau. Words like, “Don’t tell your father…” are a sure warning that the child is in a place of prominence over the husband.
    If it’s not a child, it could be our parents, siblings or friends. We might not say we love them more, but our actions prove it, just as we see in Rebekah’s life. When we spend greater time with everyone else, and leave our husband out of our plans, another flag should go up.
  2. When we put people or things first – Rebekah is clearly putting her son before her husband. She’s thinking about how she can help him succeed, rather than putting herself under the loving authority of Isaac. You and I can do that by making a schedule for our week without consulting our husband. We can make time to use our homemaking skills for grandchildren or friends and never consider what his needs might be. Our job or a ministry could get our best and be allowed to smother the marriage relationship. We should regularly be asking, “How can I serve and help my husband succeed today?”
  3. When we don’t stop to pray and consider our husband’s needs. Rebekah didn’t stop and ask the Lord how she could best be Isaac’s helper here in this chapter. She obviously doubted that his desire to bless Esau was best. Rather than acting on it with her own scheme, she should have first prayed about it and then spoken to Isaac. Isn’t it easy to rush on and do what we feel is best without considering why our mate is responding the way he is? We could instead inquire about what he’s doing and ask how we can help.
  4. When we are insensitive. Poor Isaac was nearly blind to the point that he couldn’t distinguish faces! Rebekah used that weakness against him instead of having compassion towards him. It’s easy to let a weakness be a frustration.
    Hearing loss is one I’m adjusting to in my marriage. Repeating something over (and then maybe over again) can be frustrating, but if I’m sensitive to Dale, I’ll answer in a sweet tone, because I have compassion towards his weakness. We need to get under our husband’s skin to try to empathize with his difficulties. We will then be more inclined to have compassion on him.
  5. When we serve with selfish motives. Rebekah made the venison she knew Isaac loved, but purely out of selfish ambition. She only cared that the meal brought a desired result. If we cook, bake or serve in our home in any way so that we will get what we want, it’s not done as a blessing, but a curse.
    If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. I Corinthians 7:3

Rebekah’s homemaking skills started out as a huge blessing to Isaac, but in the end, they turned into a curse. Her home was never the same after that meal of venison was prepared. Jacob (her favorite person) was gone, Esau rebelled after seeing his mother’s preference and no doubt, she created a distance between herself and Isaac.

No matter how limited your homemaking skills may be, use them to bless the husband that God gave you.
Love him most.
Put him first.
See his needs.
Be compassionate towards him.
Serve unselfishly.

Fast meal · Pasta

Baked Pasta With Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese

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Years ago I found a pasta dish on Cooking Light that is the perfect blend of pasta, tomatoes and cheese. The Italian sausage added to the tomato mixture is just heavenly! This comes together so quickly, and it makes a LOT!! I usually split the recipe into two containers so I can share one with someone else.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese

  • 1 (1-pound) package uncooked ziti (short tube-shaped pasta) – I used macaroni because I had LOTS on hand
  • 1 pound hot turkey Italian sausage links (I use mild)
  • 1 cup chopped onion 
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese 
  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Step 2 Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.
  • Step 3 Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Step 4 Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Easier and faster than Lasagna, but super delicious, this pasta dish is a great busy night meal. You could even mix the whole thing up the day before and just pop it into the oven to heat it up! I served it with this Broccoli Salad and French Bread.

This is one of those recipes that you could put on repeat and no one would complain. Do you have a pasta recipe that you use make frequently?

Managing Your Home To Make Your Work Easier
Home making · Kitchen Tips · organization · refreshment at home

Managing Your Home To Make Your Work Easier

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home·mak·er

hōmˌmākər/noun NORTH AMERICAN – a person, especially a housewife, who manages a home.

I think the reason many women don’t enjoy cooking is simply because their work space makes it difficult. This is a clear sign for the need to manage that space in order to maximize your homemaking efforts.

Yesterday I was sweeping the floor and opened my pantry door to see if it could use a swipe through. Yep. Onion skins around the produce basket and a sprinkling of little crumbs at the baseboards told me it needed some attention. I pulled the basket out, and then my flour tin. “Oh, might as well pull everything out and give it a good sweep” I thought.

Two hours later, I was leaving the kitchen! Why? Because once I began working in the pantry, I found more and more areas that needed some management.

Homemakers definitely need to constantly guide the affairs of the home. Without it, tasks are disorganized and difficult.

When I’m working on a space, I ask myself,

Does this space make it easy for me to do my work?

If the answer is no, I work until I feel like I’ve fixed the problem!

Here are some suggestions of ways I do that ~

  • Move frequently used items to shelves I can reach without having to pull out the step stool.
  • Fill jars with items I use frequently – oatmeal, brown sugar, confectioners sugar, chocolate chips and rice. It is so much easier to scoop those ingredients from a jar than to open up bags and boxes.
  • Seldom used items are place up high and out of the way.
  • Frequently used utensils are within my reach.
  • Salt and pepper are at my hand near the stove for ease in cooking.
  • All baking tools are in one area, keeping me from going from one spot to another to gather rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons.
  • All baking ingredients are also easy to get to.
  • The trash can is in a spot that is accessed easily.
  • I also always have a “garbage bowl”out when I’m cooking or baking. It’s a container that sits on the counter and holds the trash – egg shells, onions skin, potato peel, empty cans and anything else that is needs to be thrown away. It all goes in there and gets dumped when I’m finished cooking. It saves me steps while I’m working.

How about walking into your kitchen and asking yourself, what area makes cooking burdensome, rather than easy? Then set to work to fix that problem. Managing your home well will make your homemaking work easier! You might even find that a task you disliked isn’t so bad after all!

What area in your kitchen is most frustrating to you?

The Perfect Treasure
Dealing with hard times · Grandparents · Parenting · salvation

The Perfect Treasure

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Walking along the shoreline of the ocean begs for shell-seeking. As you walk along, you are blinded by glimmers of colors pressed into the sand. You hear the crunch of the buried bits under your feet and an inquisitive mind wonders what treasures could be revealed just under their sandalled foot.

We bend down and scour the sand. What are we looking for? The perfect shell. Not one that has been walked upon, like we just did moments before! No, we seek for one that is unbroken; one that is completely whole with nothing missing or cracked. Those finds are rare. They are discovered by the early morning seekers, donned in water boots, standing ankle deep in the ocean’s foam to make their find before the lazy beachcombers awaken.

As I surveyed the beach on a mid-morning walk last week, I saw a shell in all its beauty! It appeared perfect! I snapped a picture to document my perfect find!

As I bent down and inspected the shell, I was reminded of how we also seek perfection in the children that would enter our home. “As long as they’re healthy, that’s all that matters!” we say. And what do we do if we find that there is a problem – a crack, if you will?

  • What if a piece is missing, causing an illness or an unwanted diagnosis later on?
  • What if their make-up is strong-willed and stubborn?
  • What if there are special needs?
  • What happens if there is a learning disability?
  • What if rebellion comes with age and maturity?
  • What ever will we do with the brokenness that displays itself at the time when we are most embarrassed by it?

The truth is that every child is broken. It comes as a result of being born into a sinful, broken world that has put sin in their nature. That “crack” will be seen in each child in different ways and different times, but it’s there. The blessing isn’t from overlooking the imperfection, but acknowledging it, for then we can find the Hope needed to comfort and restore.

That hope is the grace of God that brings salvation. As sure as the ocean’s tide will cover that broken shell on the shoreline, God’s grace will cover our child as they hear the message of the Gospel. Their greatest need isn’t to be “fixed,” but to be saved. If their weakness, brokenness and imperfection will point them to Jesus as the Savior for their sins, would it not be a treasure for which we did not ask?

What about illnesses, weaknesses and deformities and struggles that put hardship on the parents? God’s grace is as deep as the ocean, and it is sufficient for each day’s burdens and struggles. As the grace of God is witnessed by His daily strength to help, His wisdom to know how to move forward, and His provision that supplies for needs, that weakness glorifies the God who made that child and formed them in the womb. Surely He also puts in our hearts that this is not forever. One Day wholeness will come.

As I watch the waves roll in, one at a time, the Lord reminds me that that is how grace is given to us – one need at a time – not before we need it, or less than we need, but when we need it, and in sufficient amounts.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. II Corinthians 12:9

After careful examination, it turned out that the “perfect shell” I found wasn’t perfect after all. Lovely as they are, I also saw early on that my girls were also broken, just like their parents! Praise God for the saving grace that has been applied to their lives and that is continually working in each of us as we look forward to that day in heaven when we will be like Jesus! That’s when we will see perfection!

Oh, how God’s heart rejoices at those that go looking for the broken! That refers to those that need the Gospel. With whom are we sharing the Good News of Christ?
Are you pouring the Gospel message into your children every day, weaving its message into all of life? As parents, it’s your responsibility!
If you don’t have children in your home, are you teaching the Gospel to your grandchildren or to your friends, neighbors and the people with whom you interact?

Let’s not be looking for what our hearts think we need (perfection) and instead, purposefully look for the brokenness around us that needs the tidal wave of God’s saving grace! There is no greater Treasure!

How Reverse Menu Planning Saves Money on Groceries
Saving money on groceries

How Reverse Menu Planning Saves Money on Groceries

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Last week when I shared about ways to save on groceries, my strong admonition was to buy what’s on sale. Today I want clarify and detail what that looks like.

The bread and avocados were grocery store mark downs and made for a delicious breakfast this week!

Of course you want to look at the store’s sites/ads and see what items they have marked down this week. This enables you to purchase items when they are marked at a lower price. You can establish a menu around those items, BUT WAIT!

When you’re at the store, go deep diving into each section of the store looking for their Marked Down items. This would be their
Clearance aisle, the corner of the meat section for meat that’s ready to expire, and also items on shelves that have sale stickers on them.
Kroger and Ingles are two places where I often see these kind of sales.

For example – A couple weeks ago I walked into Kroger’s produce section and found these bags in a large cooler…

The date was for a few days out! They also had the salad bowls for 25 cents! I purchased what I knew we could enjoy before they went bad. Obviously, I hadn’t known to add this to my list, but it was nice to incorporate that into my menu planning when I got home!

Often I find bananas marked down, or yogurt, or beef. Then I go home and make up my menu using those items. If I needed a cake and I found the bananas marked down, I’d make this Banana Cake, rather than one that calls for all kinds of extra ingredients that I would have to purchase at full price.

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This is called Reverse menu planning (thanks for the term, Money-Saving Mom!). I’ve been doing this all my homemaking life, I just didn’t know what it was called!

This kind of shopping and PLANNING is totally opposite of not having a plan and then running to the store to buy needed items for a recipe.

Reverse menu planning is buying what’s on sale and/or marked to clearance, then using what I have on hand to make up the week’s menu.

Here’s a sampling of what’s on my menu next week because I went shopping and got these items when they were marked down!

I always have frozen and canned vegetables on hand for side dishes, though I do purchase fresh fruits and veggies at regular price.

If you are in a place where you only order groceries on-line, you can still get the benefit of the advertised sales, and that will help your grocery budget. But if you’re able to go into the store, keep your eyes open for those good mark downs and don’t be afraid of them. They’re still good for purchasing and consuming!

Have you heard of Reverse Menu Planning? Maybe like me, you’ve been doing it, but didn’t know what to call it?! Tell me about a deal you scored recently!