In Due Season

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Gal 6:9

      Today my life seems much easier than it did yesterday! Back when the children were all small and the work load was large, I remember kind ladies (like me) :) encouraging me by telling me things such as "just wait" and "it will get easier" and "you've got some good help on the way". I don't know when exactly any of these well-wishes came true but they did!
      I guess I realized it all over again when I came home the other day. I had gone to "work-out" after school. Not in the garden. Not pushing a stroller. Not at a 9 to 5 job, but at an actual "work-out" place. While I was gone, the bread was baked, the house was cleaned (up), groceries were brought in and a few children finished their school work. Once home, I soaked in a hot bath while dinner was made,the table set and firewood hauled in. After dinner, I prepared lessons for the next day, while the dishes were being washed and the kitchen cleaned.  Later,we relaxed and watched a video together (drive through Ancient Greece) :)
      I took stock of how nice this was and am sharing it not to brag in any way, but to simply acknowledge that the ladies were right! And to encourage young Moms who are in the busy and sometimes tired years. Most of all I want to give God the Glory!  
      It's no mistake that we have our babies when we're younger and enjoy the companionship of our children when they get older. We've so much more energy earlier on. It's hard for me to believe that after 27 years:  there are no diapers to change, I (usually) stay in bed all night and in a few months my "baby" will have no more car-seat!!
      My life isn't really any easier though, not really. I have different burdens to bear now...not quite as much physical labor, thus the "working-out" but a lot more to "worry" about. Now, my job is to translate that worry into prayer. 

      The other night I lay awake and thought to myself that I was much like a mother hen, checking her eggs; rolling them over one by one, in my mind, in prayer. They are all over the place; one in Wyoming, one in Utah, one in S.Cal. And that's always changing. Next time I turn around they'll be in different places with different people doing different things. They don't all follow me around the yard anymore...so I must keep track through watching and prayer. How thankful I am for my Heavenly Father who knows all, sees all and is right wherever my children are, always. 

In Sickness and in Health

It's a good thing that I like taking care of sick people, for that is just what and pretty much all that I did last week! Eight of our nine children at home were all sick at once, which is preferable to having just a couple succumb each day and the whole routine going on for a couple of weeks. It was a horrible virus; severe headache, fever, chills, aches accompanied by a sudden onset tight chest cough.

Our living room/sick room

Thankfully, neither I nor Jeff ever got the bug! Little Peter didn't either (until Sunday) and was quite lonesome and wondered why no one wanted to play with him. His usual energy and antics quite irritated the convalescing ones. Happily his neglect was well rewarded when he did fall ill, he reaped the  sympathetic caring of all those on the mend.

This bout was on the heels of a head cold that went around the week before and so when James started with this awful cough and temperature of 103 degrees, I suspected he might have walking pneumonia...so I prayed and watched him closely and started him on hot lemon with honey, broth with lots of garlic and cayenne, vitamin C, vapor rubs etc. I also mixed up a batch of Elderberry Syrup which is an excellent antiviral and started everyone on about 3 TBS a day. I was actually relieved when Joe showed the symptoms the next day, for then I knew it was a new virus and that James was alright.

Extra time with big brother

By the next day, everyone had taken ill and moved from our cold basement into the living room, near the wood stove.  Right away I made a huge pot of turkey and noodle soup with lots of onions, fresh garlic and cayenne. We also happened to have a couple of cases of Knudsen's Recharge which I served liberally. This is a great way to supply electrolytes and avoid dehydration.  Everyone wanted something cold for their sore throats. Rather than buying expensive popsicles full of artificial coloring and sugar we froze Recharge in cups for slushies.  Another thing that really helped was putting frozen fruit through our Champion Juicer, which comes out just like ice cream without the cream and sugar...they loved that! And of course our trusty vaporizer was running full throttle the whole while. I'm also a firm believer in rubbing Vicks or Mentholatum all over the backs and chests of the sufferers to help loosen the stuff in the chest.

Kleenex on a roll :)

The whole living room became a sick ward. We watched lots of movies and read aloud. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and we were able to open the windows in the afternoons and I could go for walks and refresh myself.  I was really impressed at how peaceful things were. Everyone realized that bickering and balking would only make things worse (or maybe they just didn't have the energy) or most probably, since they are ages 10 and up they took it in stride like we would expect they should.

I got to thinking about how seldom in the course of raising our family over the past 27 years we've  been to the doctor. Our first four children had many more doctor visits that the other seven have had combined. In fact, our youngest three have never been! They are 5, 8 and 10 now.

Ruthie reading on her floor bed

  A look at how our lifestyle has changed over the years sheds some light at why this might be. While the first four were young we took them to every prescribed check-up, and got the recommended immunizations. While I did stay at home with them, we dropped them off in the church nursery on Sundays with lots of little guys who spent most of their time in daycare. Too much sugar, white flour and junk foods became a concern about that time so we began grinding and baking our own wheat bread, using whole wheat in most of our cookies and things and halving the sugar in most recipes. Since then our diet and health has been steadily improving!

All that remains of a half gallon of honey and a bottle of lemon juice.

Along all this way I've been slowly learning and trying home remedies and herbals. For instance, I read that a drop of warm olive oil in the ear can alleviate an earache. I've practiced that for 20 years and never had to have anti-biotics for an ear infection. I'm sure that the realization of how important it is to avoid anti-biotics, coupled with the experience of enduring illnesses and recovery made me willing to "tough out" alot of  incidents. I believe that every time we "fight through" a dis-ease on our own we strengthen our body's immune system.

 These are just my thoughts and observations.  Above all God gets the Glory for keeping us safe and healthy and giving us Wisdom through the years.

Grace's new foam filled "bean bag" made a great extra bed this week.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5


We make what we call "Hot Lemon and Honey" by the potful. Simply bring water to a simmer and add lots of honey and preferably fresh squeezed lemon juice or bottled lemon juice. This is an all time family favorite which soothes the throat and spirit. I tried adding grated ginger but the flavor was too "warm" for my family and they preferred it without.

I Fail...God Never Fails

"We are a word-formed people. Our children are word-formed people. We as mothers must be very careful what we speak into our children. They will become what we speak into their lives. Our words will determine the course of their destiny - for greatness or for destruction. Children will shrivel up with negative words or they will thrive on our encouragement. As they grow, we will reap the reward of the words we have continually spoken into them".

These wonderful words, penned by Nancy Campbell in her excellent book "The Power of Motherhood" I read recently one morning before everyone else was awake. I intended to let the words sink in and to take heed...but...

Here's what I did just a short while later - I snapped - at bad behavior consisting of non- immediate obedience and proceeded to pour out a vile tirade on all of my precious treasures. Quite a tongue-lashing, blame session it was, resulting in tears and confusion and one little boy simply unable to think at all. If you can't imagine how mean I can be- ask my family. They, being full of God's love and quite resilient have forgiven me and probably wouldn't want to disclose my sin, but would at least agree that I can be quite mean.

I had to abandon the school table, go away and cry and seek God...again. Naturally He brought back what He had given me already that morning. So it was that I needed to and did apologize to my family.

What I really want to teach them is Jesus; to be like Him, love like Him and walk like Him. But sometimes, admittedly far too often, I get a full head of steam concerning all that must be done and how I intend to do it and full of my own thoughts- "There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof are ways of death" Proverbs 14:12. My gracious God, because I am leaning on my own strength rather than His arms, does the loving thing and lets me fall. It from this position that I can look up. And so I do and always He forgives, strengthens, binds up and renews.

It is not the fault of my children that they do not respond obediently to me. That is my fault and a result of me not responding promptly to my Father, God. All of the times that I have: ignored their disobedience, felt too busy or too lazy to address their behavior, looked the other way because discipling children is never "fun" ...I was not obeying the one to whom I am responsible. I'm the one who deserved the raging tirade, not them.

Thanks be to God, whose mercies are always new, I was able to go back, apologize and let Him redeem the time that day.