Seeds

A garden cultivator with steel fingers.  A large rectangle of freshly-turned earth raked smooth.  Long furrows drawn in straight rows.  A hoe, a cardboard box full of seed packets.  Tomato plants and a bucket of water.  Fertilizer.  The anticipation of seeing seeds come to life and push through the soil.  Prayers for rain -- but not too much rain.  An aching back, quivering hamstrings and sweat.  A prayer for a cooling breeze.  Blisters.  A prayer for cloud cover.  A cup and a picnic jug of ice water.  The tamp, tamp, tamp of the hoe seating the gently-covered seeds of corn, beans, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes.  The chop, chop, chop of the hoe digging holes deep enough for tomato plants.

These are pictures that spring to mind as I re-live the planting of my vegetable garden years ago.

I am reminded of Jesus' teaching about seeds from Mark 4: the importance of good soil conditions so plants can thrive and produce a good harvest.

I am also reminded that our words and deeds are seeds we sow every day.  The kind of harvest we reap will be up to us.  Our words and deeds come from the thoughts we think.  No wonder God tells us to "guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) 

The words we say from our heart are very important, as James 3:2 -12 (NIV) plainly tells us:  "We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.  When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.  Or take the ships as an example.  Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder whenever the pilot wants to go. 

"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

Given the importance of the tongue in determining what kind of life we'll have even after we asked Jesus to be our Savior from sin, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).  As we read the Word of God, it's important that we agree with it and ask the Holy Spirit to transform us.  Affirming God's Word out loud is a very important part of taming our tongue.  The Word of God is alive and powerful, and will effect transformation in us by the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Our tongue is like a rudder for our life.  What do you need in your life today?  Sow the seeds of God's promises that cover your situation into unseen soil and reap a good harvest.  Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season you will reap if you don't faint.  (Galatians 6:9)  Through faith and patience we inherit God's promises. 

Mark 4:26-29 tells Jesus' parable of the growing seed.  "This is what the kingdom of God is like.  A man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.  All by itself the soil produces grain -- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.  As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy

Sugar and Spice. . .

There's just something about the scent of cinnamon that evokes feelings of warmth, comfort, homey-ness and welcome.  We don't really care that cinnamon has been around from ancient days or that Egypt imported it as early as 2000 B.C.  It's interesting, though, that cinnamon is mentioned many times in the Bible.  It's found in Exodus 30:22-25 in the recipe for anointing oil from God, and Solomon loved the spice as well (Solomon's Song 4:12-14).  In Proverbs 7:17, a lover's bed was perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Native to Sri Lanka, cinnamon is the spice obtained from the inner bark of a tree, and is used in sweet and savory foods.  In Mexico, cinnamon is often mixed with chocolate in their cooking and baking.

And we do love the taste of cinnamon, don't we?  Who can forget the taste of those cinnamon rolls made by a mother or grandmother?  The first cinnamon roll was baked in Sweden where October 4 is celebrated as National Cinnamon Bun Day.  Who knew?  Cinnamon rolls are also called cinnamon buns, cinnamon swirls, and cinnamon snails.  Snails??  Interesting.  I wonder who the person was that first thought of the idea of making this tasty treat.

I used to watch my grandmother Olive make cinnamon rolls, and used her recipe for many years.  Then several years ago my uncle's wife, B J, shared a recipe with our family for "Quick Cinnamon Rolls".  That's the recipe I use now.  But I kept the icing recipe from my dear friend Catharine Sommers who graduated to her heavenly home a number of years ago.  She used to bake cinnamon rolls to sell at a bake stand by the roadside stand of Benny's Greenhouse near Salisbury, PA.  And her icing was just the best!  It is with pleasure that I share my recipes for this fragrant and sweet treat with you.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

1 box yellow cake mix

2 tablespoons dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

5 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, salt and yeast.  Beat in water with a mixer; then, using a sturdy wooden spoon, mix the flour in by hand.  Cover with a cloth and let rise till double.  Punch down and store in refrigerator (if desired) or make right away.  Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and place 1/3 on floured surface.  Roll into a thin rectangle.  Spread with half and half to moisten, top generously with brown sugar, spreading out to edges.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.  Roll up like jelly roll, moistening and sealing edges.  Cut into 12 even slices, and place in a greased 13 x 9 aluminum cake pan, placing in rows 3 crosswise and 4 lengthwise.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes, or until light golden brown.  Let cool, then spread with icing.  You can cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze until needed.  Makes 36 rolls.

Catharine's Cinnamon Roll Icing

1 stick butter

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups 10-x sugar

Melt butter in medium saucepan, add sugar and stir 2 minutes.  Add the milk and bring to a boil.  Add vanilla, then cool mixture completely.   Beat in the powdered sugar and spread on top of the baked rolls.  Enjoy immediately or freeze!

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy

Mother's Day Card

A mom's love is like a beautiful sunrise over the ocean that shimmers, shines, and dances like many glistening facets of a diamond.  A mom's love is but a small reflection of the love of God for us.  How blessed I am to have a Christian mom who reflects the love of Jesus to me and all our family.  A love that believes the best of each of us, encourages and forbears.  A world without a mother's love would be a dismal world indeed.  Our family was at Nags Head in 2006 and we took the following picture at sunrise.

I post here the Mother's Day poem I wrote in a card for my loving mother, Elva.

               Mother Dear

M  is for the miles you walked
     in tending to our needs.

O  is for your open heart
     filled with kindly deeds.

T  is for the treasured days
    you made so long ago.

H  is for your helpfulness
     that always overflowed.

E  is for your easy smile
    that brightened up my way.

R  is for the ready love
    that always was displayed.

These simple words cannot express,
Nor loving memories end,
Or give the praise that you deserve --
My Mother Dear, my friend!

            I love you , Mom!
          Happy Mother's Day
              May 10, 2012
                   Elaine

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy

Mothering Regrets

Who of us mothers has not experienced regret regarding our parenting?  No mother is perfect: not even the ones that made it into the record of Scripture!  A mother is the Bible's most honored woman; mothers have very great influence in shaping the lives of their children.  God has given the male position, or leadership; He gave the female influence.  Someone has said she is the neck that turns the head.  (Just look at Eve in the Garden of Eden!) :o)

Speaking of Eve, she was the first mother, the mother of all living people on this planet.  One of her sons turned out to be a murderer.  She experienced the pain and loss of her beautiful home when she and her husband were driven out of the Garden of Eden.  I'm sure she was filled with deep regret.

Sarah tried to help God out in bringing about the promise of an heir for her husband, and gave her servant Bilah to him.  Ishmael was born, but in God's timing, He brought about the supernatural birth of Isaac, the son from the promise of God.  Because Sarah acted out of fear that God's promise wouldn't come about, (and Abraham's compliance) we still have conflict to this day between the people of Ishmael (Arabs) and Isaac, (Jews).  Do you think Sarah regretted her actions more than once?  Oh yes.

Rebekah was Isaac's wife, and played favorites with her son Jacob.  She finagled to have him receive the eldest son's birthright even though his twin brother Esau was the oldest.  Do you think she regretted deceiving her husband and the family break-up?  I would say so.

Rachel was Jacob's wife, and her son Joseph was Jacob's favorite.  What a mess that household must have been, what with two wives and the rampant jealousy between Rachel and Leah her sister.  Leah bore Jacob 10 sons and 1 daughter while Rachel only gave him two sons: Joseph and Benjamin. 

Jochebed was a good mother to her three children: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  All three of them were used of God in delivering the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage.  It's interesting to me to note that Scripture says Jochebed was not afraid of the Pharoah's edict, and then as an adult, Moses was not afraid of the Pharoah's anger either.  (Hebrews 11:23-25) Jochebed kept Moses hidden for 3 months until she could hide him no longer, and then, trusting God, put him in a little basket she carefully fixed and set him among the bulrushes in the river, asking Miriam to watch what happens to him. 

In reading the Scriptures surrounding this story, I am convinced that Jochebed taught young Moses well in the faith of his fathers before he had to return to the palace and the princess who found him in the river among the bulrushes.  She was a mom who lived under severe oppression of the ruler of the country, yet she kept her faith in God and taught her children well.  Moses declared he chose to suffer the afflictions of the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

Hannah, the mother of Samuel, was a godly woman who taught her three-year old son how to worship God and gave him to Eli the priest to minister at the temple.  (I Samuel 1:28)  What a sacrifice!

Bathsheba was a good mother in spite of the bad beginning with King David's sin and the death of their first child.  She and David dedicated Solomon to the Lord.  Proof of that is found in Proverbs 31:1-9.  The Hebrew name King Lemuel means "the king who was dedicated to God".  Proverbs 31 begins with the words: "The sayings of King Lemuel -- an oracle his mother taught him:"  I believe verses 10-31 are Solomon's honoring words about his mother.  Ah, to be a Proverbs 31 woman!

Mary and Joseph dedicated Jesus at the temple.  We read that Mary was a very godly young woman who was highly favored by the Lord.  She guarded her tongue.  She pondered her thoughts in her heart and was trusted by God to raise His Son for Him in the earth.  But even she had her faults as a mother.  She and Jesus' brothers went to a house where He was teaching and doing miracles to get him out of there, to bring Him home, because they thought He was "beside Himself". (Mark 3:20-21, and verse 31.)  Mary was influenced by public opinion and the opinion of her family in spite of all the things she had hidden in her heart at His conception.  I believe a sword piereced her heart more than once.

Salome, a sister to Mary the mother of Jesus (it is believed) was mother to the disciples James and John, whom Jesus referred to as the "sons of thunder".  Since they were family, she and her sons were very close to Jesus, and she was very ambitious for prestige and wanted her sons to be given the positions of honor at Jesus' right and left when He comes into His Kingdom.  Can you imagine along with me the embarrassment (or maybe anger) she must have felt when Jesus told her "No"?

Eunice, Timothy's mother, and his grandmother Lois, were women of faith who had great influence on his life.  Thank God right now for your mother and those women who influenced your life for godliness.

You can read of mothers in the Old Testament whose sons became king and were godly even though their fathers were evil.  Those mothers would have had to be the influence for good to them; what a tough job that must have been, because mother and father were not in agreement.  Other kings turned out badly even though their mothers had taught them well. 

Your children still must be responsible for their own actions; you can't make choices for them, much as you might like to sometimes.  Pray for your children; God can do more in ten seconds for them than you can do in a lifetime of trying to control them.  Control drives them away from you.  Teach them to seek what pleases God -- not people.  Give them freedom to have their own boundaries, to make their own mistakes, to say "yes" or "no", but love them no matter what.  God gives us grace, and the goodness of God leads us to repentance, Scripture says.  Trust God to work in their lives as He has worked in yours.

My opening statement begs the question: how do we deal with regrets in mothering?  One thing that has been very healing and helpful for me is to go to my children and ask their forgiveness for wrong parenting.  They have been most gracious, even saying they don't remember the incidents as I do.  Telling God honestly and exactly what we did that was wrong and asking His forgiveness is very healing and freeing.  Jesus' blood washed away all our sins at Calvary, and He remembers them no more. 

Sometimes we mothers have to forgive our children for ways they have hurt us, too.  Forgiveness is a gift you give, not just to them, but also to yourself, because it frees you.  Someone once said, "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping your enemy dies."  It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. 

Dear mother, whoever you are reading this post, be blessed with the freedom and joy that comes from knowing that Jesus has forgiven all your sins and mistakes.  Don't be so hard on yourself; sometimes we are our own worst enemy.  God can redeem anything, and in all things He works for our good if we belong to Him.  He can even cause your mistakes to turn out well.  God can unscramble an egg, untangle the strings of our lives.  Take heart!  Don't let the enemy, Satan, steal your joy, love and peace.  God loves you unconditionally, without reservation.  Believe it, and be free from regrets! Don't mother them.

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy

A Tribute to Moms

                 "Just" A Mom
You have no boss, no pay for hours,
No title on your door.
God sees you rock that child at night;
He sees you pace the floor.

Your work may seem de-valued,
You're unnoticed, feel alone --
Thinking of the endless cycles --
Seems your work is never done.

Be not weary in well-doing
In your care of little ones.
Train them well that they may be
God's own daughters and His sons.

Never underestimate your worth!
Have you ever stopped to think
Of services you do each day,
As you stand there at your sink?

              by Elaine Beachy
              May 10, 2012

Consider what "just a mom" really is:

A counselor
A dietician
A short-order cook
A baker
A chef
A hostess
A cleaning lady
A laundry service
A motivational speaker
A nurse
A teacher
A taxi service
An interior decorator
A purchasing agent
A playmate
A trash collector
A singer
A banker
An accountant
A hair dresser
A librarian
An arbitor/judge
A prayer warrior (if Christian)

These are some things I've thought of; can you think of others?  Let's hear it for "just a mom"!

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy

Baking Bread

Who doesn't enjoy a thick slice of warm homemade bread with butter and maybe a bit of jelly?  I have fond memories of my grandma Ollie and her homemade bread with yellow "grandpa" butter and elderberry jelly.  They bought their butter from local Amish farmers who churned it from sour cream.  It had a distinctive color and flavor like none I have found since.  But even she didn't have to labor to produce this staple of life as her ancestors did.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House on the Prairie" series, said her mother had a very organized week: wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, mend on Wednesday, churn on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, and rest on Sunday.  My, my, how times have changed from those "pioneer" days where just keeping yourself and your family alive was a major challenge.

I did some research on cooking and baking in Colonial times;  the preparation it took to prepare the ingredients to make simple biscuits or cornbread for dinner was staggering to me.  They had to grind the corn first to make cornmeal, for example.  To bake a cake, they had to dry their own spices and herbs in front of the fireplace, then grind them to a powder and store them.  Life truly was hard.  And if you wanted butter for your bread or biscuits, you had to churn your own butter from cow's milk.

If a community was fortunate enough to have a baker who operated a bake shop, it freed up much time for the womenfolk to do other things for their families.  After all, what housewife wouldn't want more leisure time to pursue creative hobbies that brought rest and refreshment to her?  Or devote more time to her children and husband and not be so "survival-oriented"?

Baking bread was done in a brick or stone fireplace: a far cry from the convenience of today's ovens and electric bread machines.  One had to know how to build, keep, and bank a fire just right so bread would bake properly.  If a fire happened to go out, a child was sent to the nearest neighbor with a "fire spoon" to bring back live hot coals to start a new fire.  From what I read, it seems the Dutch oven was used a lot for baking bread because you could set it right in the coals and even put coals on top of the iron lid.  I can't imagine having to learn the skill of using a fireplace for my baking. 

Here is a link to view how cooking and baking was done years ago: http://colonial-american-life.blogspot.com/2009/08/early-american-fireplaces-and-cooking.html  Of course, after the iron wood-burning stove was introduced, baking became easier; but a lot of skill was still needed to get the oven to the right temperature.

I started baking my own bread last December, and consistently bake bread about every two weeks or so, using a recipe my mom passed on to me that I've tweaked a bit and made my own.  I want to experiment by adding 1/2 cup powdered milk to the water.  I've used 1/2 cup sour cream, and it makes nice bread, but more flour is needed, making the loaves a bit too big for my 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5" pans.

The fruits of my labors on "bread day"

Elaine's Whole Wheat Bread

2 tablespoons dry yeast

2 cups lukewarm water

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons honey

2 and1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 1/2 - 4 cups white flour

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  In a separate small bowl, beat egg, oil, sugar, honey and salt.  Add to dissolved yeast.  Using a mixer, beat in whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur).  With a wooden spoon, mix in 3 cups of the white flour (I use Robin Hood).  Turn onto floured surface (I use my countertop) and work in remaining 1 cup of flour using a kneading motion.  Lubricate your hands with a little vegetable oil.  Add more flour as needed until dough no longer sticks to your hands.  Spray your mixing bowl with non-stick spray and place the dough back into it to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1and 1/2 hours.  Punch down the dough, shape into 3 loaves using both hands.  Be sure to "spank" the bread to get the air bubbles out.  Place (rounded side up) in greased loaf pans, and using a fork, prick the shaped loaf across the top in about 5 places to allow air to escape.  Let rise again until dough is crested above the top of the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush the tops with butter; then slide loaves out onto parchment paper or paper towels.  When cool, use an electric knife to slice your loaves; then store or freeze your homebaked goodness in heavy-duty bread bags.  I buy mine online: http://www.marmeesbreadmarket.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=10&zenid=10aefd27e97839ee08c4bbb40f2b5b6f

Which reminds me: I need to order bags.  Homemade bread makes a nice gift for someone who isn't afraid to eat bread that's been made with clean, bare hands.  I always clean my nails and wash my hands twice with antibacterial soap before handling the dough.

Happy Bread Making!

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy

Mayday!

A few months ago I suddenly heard the obnoxiously loud sound of a Mack truck's jake brake coming down the street in our usually quiet and sedate neighborhood.  I wondered why a huge truck like that would be roaring through our area. I looked up and down the road through the dining room window, saw nothing, and the continual noise was disconcerting, to say the least.  I went into the laundry room to look out that window that also faced the street, and was shocked to discover it was the washing machine on the spin cycle!  "Mayday!  Mayday!"  (That's from the French venez m' aider, meaning "come help me!")

I quickly turned the washer off as our son Doug, who lives downstairs, came bounding up the stairs, pretty upset because he was on a conference call with work at the time.  Yikes!  He said it shook his pipes downstairs (I'm sure it shook him up too!).   I explained I thought it was a Mack truck's jake brake, which did little to mollify him.  He asked me not to do laundry between the hours of 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.  on any day because that's when he's on conference calls.  Cramped my style!

However, I complied, and the machine worked fine for weeks after that.  Thinking it must be okay again, I did my wash without thinking too much about the time of day. 

Yesterday I put in a load of sheets, went about some other housework, and my jake brake machine went off again!  I dashed to the laundry room, quickly shut it off and decided "This is it!"  Doug came bounding upstairs again and thankfully this time he wasn't on a conference call.  He heartily echoed my sentiments about getting a new washer, offered me the use of his machine to finish my remaining 3 loads of laundry, and even carried the baskets up and down the stairs for me. 

Below is a picture of the offender:

This beastie was also rusty on the inside all around the top and even the tub had rust around the holes that created rust spots on sheets and pillowcases if I didn't remove them from the washer promptly.  Time for a new machine, I said to myself, even though it was only eight years old.  During our married life, we had one washer for 15 or 20 years with no rust and never a problem like that.  They just don't seem to make them like they used to; Doug says they design them to create repeat sales. :o)

My main cirteria for a new washer was a top-loader that had a stainless steel wash basket and an agitator.  I went online and did some research on washers and found one on Home Depot's website, so I e-mailed that link to Dave at work with a request for a new washer. Dave said "yes" to the request, but "no" to Home Depot.  He informed me that since they openly support the homosexual agenda he prefers not to purchase from them.  So we didn't.  I found the same machine on Lowe's website, so when Dave came home, we went there and then ended up buying a different machine. 

We bought an on-sale, high efficiency, top-loading  Maytag Bravo without an agitator and with reinforced hoses for under $600.  I asked the salesman how it gets clothes clean, and he explained there is a washplate that does the job.  It also spins at 800 rpm's so the clothes are mostly dry by the time they are ready for the dryer, cutting drying time to less than half.  (Rust spots are fair game, but I hope it doesn't spin the patterns right off my pillow cases!)   It also uses only 14 gallons of water compared to the 45 of my old washer.  We also bought a 1-year Maytag warranty and a 2-year in-store warranty for $69.00. 

Goodbye, old buddy; Lowes was just here and took you away.  Rest in peace.   A new machine has now taken your place.  Now I'm praying the ad about the "lonely Maytag repair man" is true.  :o)

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy