My In-Laws House

My in-laws took me and my sis-in-law to see the house that they are set to close on in November.  This sweet little woman's selling because she's an 84 year old  widow in need of a smaller home.   Her house is perfect for my in-laws!  It  is pretty big at around 2080 sq. ft. with a big back yard that has many different kinds of  fruit trees.  The cool thing about that is before my in-laws left Venezuela to come here they received a word that they would get a beautiful house in which Miok would be in the back yard picking fruit and berries.  Jerry & Miok (my in-laws) came here from Venezuela, which was their most recent home as missionaries for over 25 years, to start a church here.  They have started over 40 churches and this will be the first one that God has called them to start near us.  It's going to be an English/Spanish speaking Church here in Mobile, Alabama.  We're all so excited!

Well, as we're walking through this woman's home I started noticing these beautiful paintings all over her house.  Some were of ocean views and landscapes and others of a place she said she goes to camp at.  She had a whole sewing room set up in her house and some crochet as well.  There was a shelf with hand carved birds cut out of it and ton of personal writings and family pictures.  Not to mention her yard had an array of different trees and different plants.  I got to peek into this woman's life of 84 years.  She was extremely talented and very spunky for her age.  I complemented some of her art and asked how long she had been doing it.  She told me about 9 years.  I was astonished, I told her it looked like she had been doing it her whole life.  She just looked at me and smiled as she said I just decided to try it.  She gave me some amazing advice that it took her many years to learn.  She told me to try everything that you think you might ever want to try.
Before we left this sweet little woman told us of some of the places she had traveled and some of the heart aches she had endured.  She had definatelly lived life and seemed to have done it well.  I'm sure that is the exact thing that God wants us to do while where here.  Try everything that he gives us the will to- without fear or questioning.  In order to live this gift of life from Him- for Him- and to do it well.  This life is too short to do things only half way.  We grow throughout our lives just like those fruit trees in that sweet little womans yard, but it's up to us to produce fruit.  What greater purpose is there than to produce that fruit as people in Gods kingdom?

Lightning

I have come across a cool verse that mentions lightening.

Luke 17:24  says, For like the lightning, that flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His own day.

Check out the video on my profile- It powerfully explains this verse.

This interested me because of all the rain, thunder, and lightening that we've been having in Mobile lately.  My kids get so scared at the loud booming that I dug a little deeper into this to find some storied from the Bible that I could share with them during the next scary thunder storm to comfort them.  My kids (like most kids I'm sure) love stories, what better way to take their minds off of something that scares them while filling their heads with pure good.  Well surprising to me, I found a total of 41 verses that mentioned it.  I won't go into all 41, however I will point out some of my favorites that go along with this.

First I will share 2Ti 1:7 for times when we are faced with fear, because it confirms that fear is not of God.  It says,  For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control.

Exodus 15:2  says, The Lord is my strength and my strong helper, he has become my salvation: he is my God and I will give him praise; my father's God and I will give him glory.

That verse confirms that we should turn to God for strength because he will help us even in times of fear.

These next couple of verses are pretty cool:

Job 28:26  and when he decided the path for rain and lightning,

Job 28:27  he also determined the truth and defined wisdom.

Job 28:28  God told us, "Wisdom means that you respect me, the Lord, and turn from sin."

Job 36:27  God gathers moisture into the clouds

Job 36:28  and supplies us with rain.

Job 36:29  Who can understand how God scatters the clouds and speaks from his home in the thunderstorm?

Job 36:30  And when God sends lightning, it can be seen at the bottom of the sea.

Job 36:31  By producing such rainstorms, God rules the world and provides us with food.

Job 36:32  Each flash of lightning is one of his arrows striking its target,

Job 36:33  and the thunder tells of his anger against sin.

Job 37:2  when I hear the roaring voice of God in the thunder,

Job 37:3  and when I see his lightning flash across the sky.

Job 37:4  God's majestic voice thunders his commands,

Job 37:5  creating miracles too marvelous for us to understand.

Job 37:6  Snow and heavy rainstorms

Job 37:7  make us stop and think about God's power,

Job 37:8  and they force animals to seek shelter.

Job 37:9  The windstorms of winter strike,

Job 37:10  and the breath of God freezes streams and rivers.

Job 37:11  Rain clouds filled with lightning appear at God's command,

Job 37:12  traveling across the sky

Job 37:13  to release their cargo-- sometimes as punishment for sin, sometimes as kindness.

Job 37:14  Job, consider carefully the many wonders of God.

Job 37:15  Can you explain why lightning flashes at the orders

Job 37:16  of God who knows all things? Or how he hangs the clouds in empty space?

Job 37:17  You almost melt in the heat of fierce desert winds when the sky is like brass.

Job 37:18  God can spread out the clouds to get relief from the heat, but can you?

Job 37:19  Tell us what to say to God! Our minds are in the dark, and we don't know how to argue our case.

Job 37:20  Should I risk my life by telling God that I want to speak?

Job 37:21  No one can stare at the sun after a breeze has blown the clouds from the sky.

Job 37:22  Yet the glorious splendor of God All-Powerful is brighter by far.

Job 37:23  God cannot be seen-- but his power is great, and he is always fair.

Job 37:24  And so we humans fear God, because he shows no respect for those who are proud and think       they know so much.

Those verses are humbling and show that we should never be self righteous, hypocritical, or judgment.

Mar 12:31  The second most important commandment says: 'Love others as much as you love yourself.' No other commandment is more important than these."

Psalms 29:7  The voice of the LORD makes lightning flash

Psalms 135:5  The LORD is much greater than any other god.

Psalms 135:6  He does as he chooses in heaven and on earth and deep in the sea.

Psalms 135:7  The LORD makes the clouds rise from far across the earth, and he makes lightning to go with the rain. Then from his secret place he sends out the wind.

 

Rev 12:7  A war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels were fighting against the dragon and its angels.

Rev 12:8  But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven

Rev 12:9  and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan.

Luke 10:18  Jesus told them: I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.

It is clear that God has control over lightening- and Satan.

Luke 10:19  I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you.

We have that power through God as well!  Praise God!

Homemade Laundry Stain Removers

Recipe #1
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
Directions:
Mix ingredients then store in spray bottles. Spot treat stains then soak overnight.


Recipe #2
2 quarts water
1/2 cup ammonia
2 TBS laundry detergent
Directions:
Mix ingredients then store in spray bottles. Spot treat stains then soak overnight.
Do not use with bleach.

A good pretreater:

Save pieces and leftover slivers of bar soaps and collect in a jar. Those little hotel soaps are ideal for this too (cut them down to small pieces).
When jar is filled half way with soap chunks, add boiling water. Mix soap bits and water until soap is melted.
Once cooled this will make a soap jelly. Use to pretreat laundry.
*Handy to gob onto stained items and toss back into the dirty laundry bag for pieces that you can’t wash right away.
Quick Tip: I’ve also used just straight liquid dish detergent successfully. Squirt a bit onto stain, rub in gently with your fingers, and then toss the garment in the laundry pile to be washed later. This is an especially easy one since you can apply the soap as soon as you notice the stain and leave the garment sit until laundry day.

Wave Of Light

WAVE OF LIGHT

1st Annual Awareness Vigil for Pregnancy and Infant Loss

October 15, 2009 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park

Birth Stories and More of Mobile is joining with the Global organization, Wave of Light, to sponsor a candlelight vigil for all families who have ever experienced a miscarriage, pregnancy or infant loss. Bring a candle to participate in the Wave of Light which has the goal of having candles lit around the world on October 15 in memory of those losses.
President Ronald Regan declared October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month in 1988. Families who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss rarely get the opportunity to express or process their grief in a healthy and safe way with others who have experienced the same loss. This Remembrance Day allows everyone to both mourn and celebrate their short lives.
We will have a remembrance banner to add names and dates, an informal and on-going candlelight vigil, silent auction and loss awareness ribbons for purchase.

Contact birthstoriesandmore@gmail.com
Info at: PregnancyandInfantLoss.org under October Awareness Activities
Visit us on Facebook under Birth Stories and More.

Homemade Fabric Softener

"I've been using homemade fabric softener in the washer for several months now. It works in the dryer and even for the clothes hung on the line.


The key ingredients in homemade fabric softener are simple household objects: baking soda, water, and (you guessed it) vinegar. All you have to do is take is two cups of white vinegar and two cups of baking soda. Slowly stir these into four cups of water.
(Remember when you made those "volcanoes" in first grade and the volcano "erupted" when you poured vinegar into the top? That's what happens when you mix your own fabric softener so make sure you mix it in the sink in case it overflows.)
When you're finished making the softener, store it in a plastic bottle. When you need it for doing your laundry, just shake up the solution a bit and add to the laundry load and continue as usual. You can also try adding half a cup of white vinegar or one-quarter cup of baking soda to the last rinse to increase the fabric softener effect.
To add a smell you like you can use a couple of drops of essential oils.&; They are sold at the flea market.

Another way to make it is:

1 bottle of hair conditioner (CHEAP.......don't remember the brand I used but it was $.79 and lilac scented)
2 cups white vinegar
6 cups water
Mix in a gallon jug. I transfer it to a used softener bottle, then use that cap as a measure for the amount to use."

How To Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap (whatever kind you like; I used Lever 2000 because we have tons of bars of it from a case we bought a while back)
- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff)
- 1 box of borax- this is not necessary, but I’ve found it really kicks the cleaning up a notch - one box of borax will contain more than enough for tons of batches of this homemade detergent - if you decide to use this, be careful.
- A five gallon bucket with a lid (or a bucket that will hold more than 15 liters - ask around - these aren’t too tough to acquire)
- Three gallons of tap water
- A big spoon to stir the mixture with
- A measuring cup
- A knife

Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, and then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.

Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, and then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, and then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool. And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used. One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry.
The ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70

For those of you who are unable to find Washing Soda:

You can heat baking soda to convert it to baking soda.  It must be heated above 140*, though the higher the temperature the faster the conversion. You need to preheat the oven to 400F and it's about two hours. Just spread it thin on a Pyrex baking dish.

Sick Kid At 3 A.M.

Well, Last night was not so fun.  My youngest son Conner, apparently climed into bed with me & my husband at 3 A.M. only to puke on us.  Nice way to wake up right!  Well after cleaning all of us up and changing the sheets he did a replay of that about 1 hour later.  This time I did the smart thing and made a pallet right beside our bed on our wood floor, which is much easier to clean up, with a through-up bucket right beside him.  Of course this time he was totally fine and didn't get sick again.  Wish I would have done that in the 1st place.  So this blog is for all mothers of kids that could get sick out of no where this seson.

Ways To Somewhat Be Prepared:

1)  Always sleep your sick child in your room with you so that there is no chance he can drown in his own     through-up. ( Really could happen)

2)  Don't let them clime into bed with you- make a pallet on the floor instead.

3)  Have a through-up bucket and some tissues near them.

4)  Avoid kisses and hugs during this time-  you will become the puke target otherwise! (Just teach them to blow you kisses)

5)  Some kids think Pepto-bismol taste like candy.  Hide the bottle after administering to your child or they may try to drink the whole thing.

6)  Make sure you hide the bottle when their not watching you.  Kids can somehow find their way into anything!