Thursday, March 29, 2012

Just a tidbit from a friend

My friend, Nicole, over at http://nicoleslifeafter20.blogspot.com/ , posted this a few days ago and I just had to share it! Thanks, Nicole!

“A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies - whether he has health, or whether he has sickness - whether he is rich, or whether he is poor - whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offence - whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish - whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise - whether he gets honour, or whether he gets shame - for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing, and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory.” J. C. Ryle

What is swallowing you up today? Is it money? Possessions? Entertainments? Activities? Busyness in out- of- the- home responsibilities? At the end of the day when all is said and done, whom or what have you spent your day zealously pursuing? One can never go wrong with God when following and pursuing Truth. Everything else just wears you out and wears you down, but Christ said, Come unto me and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you...my burden is light.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

FERMENTATION: big word. 

Did you know that fermentation can take place in four different ways and that fermentation does not always mean alcohol or wine? 

Guess what... *sssshhhh....don't tell the neighbors** I FERMENT my food and drinks!!!!

AAAAHHHH!!! I'm an alcoholic!!!! HAHAHAHA.....not so:-) If you thought THAT then you must also THINK that Jesus created alcoholic wine for the wedding in Canaan;-)  N.O.T!!!! **side note...if He did than HE IS NOT GOD. God did not create alcohol. Man took the individual ingredients that were created by God and combined them in specific amounts in a controlled environment to produce something that causes them to sin. God is not the Creator of sin. So to say that God created sin and then handed it out to the guests at the wedding for them to drink and get drunk with, is to say that God is NOT God!** Just my thoughts:-)
Fermentation of vegetables, fruit, and milk products is actually very very good for you! Now, I broke it down into four categories to better help you understand each, AND here they are!!!

  In a general sense, fermentation is the conversion of a carbohydrate such as sugar into an acid or an alcohol. More specifically, fermentation can refer to the use of yeast to change sugar into alcohol or the use of bacteria to create lactic acid in certain foods. Fermentation occurs naturally in many different foods given the right conditions, and humans have intentionally made use of it for many thousands of years.

The earliest uses of fermentation were most likely to create alcoholic beverages such as mead, wine, and beer. These beverages may have been created as far back as 7,000 BCE in parts of the Middle East. The fermentation of foods such as milk and various vegetables probably happened sometime a few thousand years later, in both the Middle East and China. While the general principle of fermentation is the same across all of these drinks and foods, the precise methods of achieving it, and the end results, differ.

1. Beer is made by taking a grain, such as barley, wheat, or rye, germinating and drying it, and pulping it into a mash. This mash is then mixed with hot water, and some fermentation begins. After being further treated, the liquid is transferred to a fermentation vessel, where yeast is added to the mixture. This yeast “eats” the sugar present in the mash and converts it into carbon dioxide and alcohol. After a few weeks of fermentation and a further period of conditioning, the beer is ready to be filtered and consumed.

2. Wine is created using a similar method that also involves fermentation. Grapes are crushed to release the sugar-rich juices, which are then either transferred quickly away from the skins or left to rest for a time to absorb some of the flavor, tannins, and color of the skins. This explains why you have white wine and red wine. Yeast is then added, **this is very very important to understanding the making of alcoholic wine. A Processed yeast MUST be added to the grapes along with a specific amount of sugar in order for there to be a intoxicating beverage. Grapes on their own will NOT turn to alcohol. They will turn to vinegar. I know because I've done it. It doesn't take a few hours, it takes a few weeks...3 to 4 to be exact. They get sour just like apple cider vinegar!!! **and the grape juice is allowed to ferment for a number of weeks (not 6 hours), at which point it is moved to different containers and fermented at a slower rate, and eventually aged or bottled.

3. Pickling foods, such as cucumbers, may be accomplished by submerging the vegetable one wants to pickle in a salty water solution with vinegar added. Over time, bacteria create the lactic acid that gives the food its distinctive flavor and helps to preserve it. Other foods can be pickled simply by packing them in dry salt and allowing a natural fermentation process to occur. I've done this as well! The lactic acid provides lactobacillius to preserve and break down the hard-to-digest parts of fruits and vegetables, making them digestable and preservable without compromising on the nutritional aspect.

4. Milk can also be cultured, and people have been using fermentation with dairy products for nearly 5,000 years. It is speculated that early fermented dairy, such as yogurt, was the result of a natural process of fermentation that occurred when the milk was cultured by bacteria that dwelt in skin sacks used to store dairy. Yogurt these days is made by adding a number of special bacteria, such as L. acidophilus and L. bulgaricus to milk and keeping it at the proper temperature. The bacteria begin converting the sugar in the dairy to lactic acid, eventually creating what we know as yogurt.


Did you know that when you make homemade bread and you combine the milk, yeast, and sugar, and then add it to the flour that you are creating the same atmosphere that wine and beer are made in? If you let that bread dough sit out for over 24 hours, OH MAN, the stink of alcohol would make you quite faint:-) It stinks!! I know, because I've accidentally done this too!!! As a mom, you don't always get everything done like you should and you FORGET to finish things you start:-) 
Alcohol fermentation does not produce anything beneficial to the body. It produces ROT. It is the smell of decay! For a good homeschool experiment you could mix equal parts of yeast, sugar, and crushed fruit in a bowl, cover, let it sit for 1 week, uncover and see what you have!! Why in the world do you think it has to be flavored and sugared to the point of insanity? If you didn't, the smell alone would kill you:-) Lacto or Lactic fermentation produces beneficial bacterias, minerals, and acids that are necessary for the function of the body and the consumption of it does not induce one to become intoxicated.


Hope this helps you understand a little better the processes of fermentation and how when ingredients are combined they either produce alcohol, vinegar, or lacto fermented food like yogurt!


Now I need to go check on my raw kombucha... :-)
 

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

What's in Your Milk??

http://www.foodrenegade.com/the-basics/real-milk/

People have asked why we would spend $6 on a gallon of milk.....I say, "why would you spend $4 on a gallon of PUS???"

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Ephesians 4:32

"Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

I was reminded today in my meditation time that I've been forgiven so much! I cannot be as the unjust servant who was forgiven a great debt to only turn around and imprison a weaker one for a lesser debt.

We cannot say that we love our God if we cannot forgive our brothers and sisters. God is just, but He is also kind. Our relationship with Christ grows stronger as we exercise on others the same love that He bestowed upon us! 

No fountain can spew forth bitter and sweet waters, nor can a tree yield forth two different kinds of fruit! Wouldn't that be a sight to see:-) The thought came to mind of a little song Patch the Pirate wrote... "Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks LOUDER than your talk talks. You cannot hide what's inside, it's sure to get out. Your words may whisper but your actions shout...Hippo critter, hippo critter! You say one thing and do the oppo-sitter! It's a funny life, full of empty glitter. God's NOT PLEASED with a counterfeiter!" Funny how those little songs get stuck in your head...good reminder though! 

So today as I go about my day, may I remember who I am, where I came from, and what I've been forgiven! May the Lord help us to not just speak His words, but live His words!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Birthday Bash!

This is the cake I made Mom for her birthday


Our big birthday boy!

Farm toys from my childhood:-)



Daffodils blooming the first of March...crazy, but beautiful!

Caleb's birthday cake made by Mommy....I love making my kids cakes!

Improvised barn since the top piece fell apart due to high humidity...cardboard to the rescue!!!

Papa's vintage Farmall Tractor and some more toys from the past:-)



He's such a big boy now!



We had such fun celebrating Caleb's and Mom's birthdays and I have two videos from Caleb's party that I will have to get Stephen to post later because I DO NOT know how to do that:-) Computers are NOT my thing. 

Caleb loved eating his cake  ( as you will see in the upcoming video) and today he received his first "big boy" haircut:-) Don't worry Aunt Jenny, Mommy saved the curls:-)

I have some pictures of Adalyn's big day today...turning six is a big deal!!!....but that will have to wait till tomorrow:-) Stay tuned for the videos!