Ya know, in the old days, the Mothers sewed all their families’ clothes. And when a garment would get a hole in it, the holes were patched.

I raised my first 3 children in the 1970’s. And, ya know, back then the boys just had about 2 pairs of jeans “for good” that they wore each week. Little boys love to play in the floor and the knees to the jeans often wore out long before the rest of the jeans did. So I had to patch their jeans. Then, if it was a big patch, the jeans would just be for play, not for school. Then the stores came out with the iron on patches, and they were nice, and the boys could wear these patched jeans to school. But most of the mothers sewed back then and we all had to do mending. There wasn’t the garage sales, etc. like they have now, or the second hand stores. I mean, there were a few. But once you bought your children’s clothes, you took really good care of them. And we always mended socks and underwear.
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I have such a writing in my heart about courage and moxie. At the library I got this old book written in the late 1800’s. It was about the founding of America. And in the beginning after the Pilgrims first came, there was always a shortage of wives for the men who wanted to go to the new land. The men wanted to build homes and have children and get established. But many of the women died under such hard conditions. They had come from an established country, where home and extended family was near them, to a strange wilderness.

In the beginning, many of the women were Christians. But they were so sophisticated and well brought up that they were just not suitable for the wilderness living. They were not of hardy stock and died pretty quick of sickness and probably broken hearts.

So England began sending hardier women like women brought up in orphans’ homes and even women out of prison. These women were hard to crack and weren’t afraid of Indians or hard livin’. They saw a way to be free and to make a living through hard work. Mostly, this was in Maryland where anyone was welcome. But these women made good wives, for the most part, and many became Christians. They were simple and fearless and had a will to make it. They had never known anything but hell and hardship so they were mete for the match. They had learned courage and how to live in hard conditions, cold and hungry. So this was a step up for them.

One woman held an Indian down that was trying to kill a bunch of mothers and their children. This woman held the Indian down until 12 women could escape and run away with their children. I mean, these orphan women were used to being attacked all the time. An Indian wasn’t a problem. But these women learned courage, not because they were Christians, but because they had to learn it to survive. And they learned courage through living continually on the edge with one eye open — always!

But we don’t learn courage only from reading the Bible … we learn it from pressing against evil in our homes. We learn it through not giving up. We develop faith muscles through “pressing” against evil and through “opposing” continually the works of darkness in our lives. We press on and keeping pressing our spiritual muscles up against a dark wall that seems to never relent. And the Bible calls us to be stouthearted and not give up our fight of faith.

As I write, I blur between the Spirit and the flesh. But I am trying to give you a picture of the fight of faith. We best not be playin’ games. Religion ain’t gonna work in the real world — which is not the flesh world but the spiritual world where Jesus lives in heavenly places.

It may not be ladylike to wrestle an Indian, but if it will save 12 mothers and their children, heck, give it a shot. Bein’ plain ornery like Annie is good. We women are taught not to have a will or a thought of our own. And this is foolish! See, we ain’t victims that just sit here and say, “Yes Dear.” We are called of God to do a work on this earth.

Like Esther, we have an agenda, but we submit to our husbands and to the Lord. Our agenda may be on hold until our husbands see that same light. But we don’t have to give up our hopes and dreams because no one agrees with us. We are called of God, too, like Esther.

Joseph didn’t understand that Mary had become pregnant without a man until God gave him a dream. Sometimes we see things, as women, in the Spirit before our husbands. But God’s timing for our miracle to come is when our husbands give it the OK. Well, usually, it works like that in a home under God’s anointing.

I have become, over the years, more stouthearted living with wild man, as I was brought up very well. I hardly got a spanking and, believe me, I needed one. But when I married Jim, it was like “Welcome to the real world.” I knew this ol’ boy, at the time, wasn’t playin’ with a full deck and was out and out dangerous. Well, I guess I just learned to tame the beast at first.

Of course, now Jim is a wonderful Christian man, and, ya know, often folks will say, “Did Jim get saved at church?” I have to say no. See, Jim tried religion — he tried over and over to do what the church folks said to do. I did, too. But, see, Jim had to get sick and tired of being sick and tired. He had to quit listening to everyone and decide what he wanted. Then when he decided, then that was it, the Lord healed him. See, we have to decide to follow Christ. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom or a love for home and family. Once Jim made the decision, he became very territorial. He gathered us up and held us tight. Now, through the years, he has loosened up a bit. But, ya know, he was almost gangster-like once he came to Christ.

And I see more and more true men of God standing up and, seemingly, are almost underground. I think many of our men who are more rough see the truth that is going on in our world. It’s almost as if they were called to such time as this. The day of the little pansy pussies are over? Any man that will mind his wife and play nursemaid ain’t really worth havin’.

Jesus hung around the more rough folks and the Pharisees kind of made Him sick. Was it that He saw that, when these folks’ backs were up against the wall, they would know how to fight the good fight of faith? That, since they knew hardship in the physical, they could understand it when He spoke of the spiritual realm? Of demons and spiritual warfare? I dunno.

I am wondering, as I write, what the Spirit of God is trying to say. I do know if I saw a group of bikers come up to my house, I think I could handle them alone. Well, not if they snuck up on me before I had time to pray. I do know how to pray the protection of God upon myself. But I am not stupid, either, and wouldn’t invite bikers into my house for coffee. I know some of them are dangerous. But I know God is bigger. And, ya know, many were after Jesus to kill Him. But no one took His life. He gave it willingly. He disappeared into the crowds many times to get away from His oppressors.

As I stand here writing, I am so cold and I keep running back and forth to the kerosene burner in the living room to get warm. And, ya know, many of my Christian friends would think I was crazy. I just noticed a burn hole in my sweatpants from standing too close to the burner. It’s a big hole — I will have to sew it up. But ya know what? I am not giving the gas company the money we need. We could be in the street panhandling if we don’t conserve on heat. And I am not afraid because I have been here and done this before. And the folks that will get help with the heat bill from the government ain’t gonna get that much money to make a difference, anyway. I mean, hello, this is the real world. If things keep going in our nation as it has, a lot of folks will have their gas turned off because they can’t pay the bill. And this gas problem is gonna hit hard on the poor folks who are just makin’ it as it is.

I think it is really the time for us to get out our moxie and wear it like a coat. I think the Lord is saying that we need as to, as believers, get out of this passive mode and get some guts and moxie about us. I mean we ain’t livin’ in the 80’s anymore and we need to arm ourselves with stoutheartedness. We are in the middle of a wilderness and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. The time of religion is over and the times of the stout in heart are upon us. And, like Annie says, “Ya do whatever it takes.” But, ya know, the old time mothers always went back to the land. And I think this is our answer, too.

I wonder about my book coming out that talks about pioneer living. I wonder if it is a book for such a time as this? And I have to wonder that, through the many trials I have lived through in my family, has God created in me a moxie for such a time as this? I don’t know.

About what to do with children who mind others and respect others and not their mother? Well, I have been praying about this and this is what I think. I think we need to use the name of Jesus a lot around the house and often in directly speaking to the child. Make sure that you as Mother walk in the Spirit and then speak to the children out of your heart. Fellowship with the children around you — treat them like Christians. Let them know that you need them and can’t make it without them. In other words, give the children to Jesus. His name is above every name that is named in heaven and earth … every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord.

I am getting a good workout lately with my little grandson Romeo age 3. I speak to him a lot about Jesus. And I told him that he could ask Jesus into his heart if he wanted to. Later, when his mom got back, he says, “Mommy, I want to ask Jesus into my heart.” And so we prayed with him and now, of course, we tell him to be good and to always please Jesus. Then later he told John his daddy, “Gramma and me ask Jesus into our hearts.” He is really smart and advanced for his age … and ornery at times? Oh yeah! I know what you mothers go through. But we have to cast our cares and our children upon Him.

Romeo calls folks we first introduce him to “Turkey Butts.” We get so embarrassed! But I talk to him privately about not hurting people’s feelings. He says, “Ya mean if I talk silly it could hurt someones feelings?”

I said “Yes. Just say ‘Hi’ when you see someone. You don’t have to kiss them. Just say hi.”

He says, “Gramma, I am sorry, but I just can’t do that — I am afraid.” He is a little shy and he feels better about being funny and covering his shyness like that. And he wants to be funny like all of the rest of us are joking. And he don’t know when to change and be serious. But we are all working on the little guy and he will get it right.

He helps Gram with the dishes and I tell him I need extra kisses and love because I lost Aunt Mary’s baby, my grand daughter Chloe Faye. I tell him how much I love him and how happy I am that he moved to Iowa. And the boy is seriously ornery at times. But, oh, I wouldn’t trade that little guy for all the money in the world.

When he goes to the bathroom, he wants Grandpa to help him. I am standing there helping him and he will say, “Grandma, tell Grandpa to come wipe my butt.” I tell him that Grandpa doesn’t do that. Men Jim’s age never did stuff like that ever. I mean, Jim would change a wet diaper for the kids when they were little but not often.

But, oh yeah, that lil Romeo is a riot. He keeps me prayin’ and on my toes.

This morning, as I was up praying, I was thinking “Wow! It won’t be long until Christmas.” Ya know, Papa and me raised 6 children and we love Christmas. I should be writing about Thanksgiving, as it is the next holiday. But if you have a large family, as Papa and me raised, you have to think of Christmas even in October.

We had to start early to gather presents for each of our children. Mary, our sixth baby, was just 8 months old for her first Christmas, and Jimmy was in the Navy. Well, I had to send Jimmy his present early to get it there in time for Christmas. I sent fudge and Christmas cookies to remind him of the tastes of home. Shoot, we never had a lot of money for Christmas presents. But we got what we could to make each of our children feel special and loved by Daddy and Mama. We would give them one item of clothing like a warm sweatshirt. And then some kind of an inexpensive toy. In their stockings, we put candy and for the girls, hair ribbons or barrettes. And for the boys always basketball cards. I hear the little boys’ childhood voices as I write. “Daddy, you are lucky — you pick out the best cards. You always get the good ones.” Dan said he didn’t know what he wanted to be when he grew up, but he knew he would be in the NBA. Like it was a done deal. But we started packing little toys and fun things away in October to surprise the children for Christmas Day.

The children would have us take them to the Dollar Store to buy a dollar gift for each of the members of their family. They each had their own money, as they did a once a week paper route. So when David and Mary and Dan were little, and the other children were grown, we took the 3 youngest to the Dollar Store. So the 3 children represented 30 bucks, and all of them wanted me to help pick out presents. I was about cross eyed by the time I helped pick out 30 one dollar presents. And yet now, 15 years later, I would jump at the chance to do that all over again.

And ya know, somehow each year, we got a real Christmas tree for the family. We would find one for about 10 bucks. And, oh, the children’s hands would just tremble with excitement as they put the first ornaments on the tree. It was a special night to behold. I would fix chili and cornbread. And after supper, we would decorate the tree. Papa was so full of fun and loved Christmas. I tried to have some Christmas cookies made for the evening and always popcorn. After the tree was all decorated, our dog Daisey would go sit under it. One time her collar got hooked to the tree and she knocked it over, and then as we all screamed, she ran away dragging the decorated tree through the house.

One year, Mary gave me such a precious gift. She didn’t have any money of her own to spend for Christmas. She was just a wee little girl about 5 years old. Anyway, I had a precious old fashioned book that I had lost in the house someplace and couldn’t find it for about a year. I had finally given up ever trying to find it. Well about a week before Christmas, Mary found it upstairs, stacked in with some other forgotten books. And so for Christmas Day, she wrapped this book up for me and put it under the tree with a card that said “To Mom From Mary.” She has the same heart as I have and loves writing and books. So she knew how much Mama missed her book. So it was one of my favorite Christmas presents that year. I was so surprised to see it again, as I thought it was lost forever. And Mary was so proud of her little Christmas self.

If you saw this book, you would weep. It is real old fashioned from the 1800’s with a little girl about 5 on the front cover. She is praying to Jesus. And inside the book is her prayers. I have the book upstairs in the baby’s room on a shelf. Baby Rose has a sweet spirit like Mary has.

Mary, now married and 20 years old, is a lovely writer. And, of course, her heart has been cut open at so young an age by losing her first baby to crib death.

MOTHER’S CHRISTMAS GIVING

And just after Thanksgiving, I would start my baking. Then about a week before Christmas, I would make simple coffeecakes to give to the neighbor families. I would have one of the children dress up warm and deliver a few cakes to the neighbors. I would make a few a day and when they were done, they were delivered. They were made simply. I would make up a huge batch of sweet yeast raise dough. Then I would braid the dough for each cake and put it in a circle. I would put cinnamon and sugar on the braids before I wound them together. Then after they baked, I would put a light white powdered sugar glaze; then, on the top, green candy sprinkles. Then maybe red hots to look like berries on a wreath. Sometimes I put maraschino cherries on it, like in clusters of three. You can also add raisins to your sweet dough.

I would make about three Christmas cakes out of a batch of sweet dough. Then I would put the coffeecake on a pretty paper Christmas plate, and then put plastic wrap over it with a bow and a simple card “From the Hultquists. Merry Christmas.” I loved doing this to teach the children to love and respect our neighbors and to teach them the Joy of giving. Of course, the neighbors would ooh and aahh and kid the children about “if they were naughty or nice and what was Santa gonna bring ‘em for Christmas?” And when they would come back home, I would say, “Well, what did Chuck and Trudy say? Did they like the cake?” And the children would tell me what they said. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to having my grandchildren do this too, of course, when they are older.

I told Papa last week. “Thank God this Christmas we will have the grandbabies with us over the season, at least.” I was reading to Baby Rose and showing her a Christmas book Papa had gotten for her. It had a Christmas tree. I explained to Baby that we would buy a tree, too. And I told her it would be for Grandma and Grandpa’s house and she said, “And for ME?” And I said, “Oh, yes, Baby, for you, too.”

Mary asks me in such sadness, “Mom, how will I get through Christmas? I had so much planned for our little girl.”

I say, “Mary, I pray you will be pregnant at Christmas. The Lord will help you.” And ya know, I carry this sorrow and will carry it forever. I am getting better at it. I can carry it now with less effort and heartache. But I will always carry it. And this is what I tell Mary and Brandon. Time heals our wounds but the scars remain.

We as Mothers and Grandmothers learn to carry our sorrows like ladies of dignity. And somehow, in spite of our tears, we find Joy at Christmas. We make a Christmas with our hands and with our hearts. Remembering that it is a time for Joy and a time to rest and enjoy the family. We must have hearts of trust in God in order to encourage our children and, by our behavior, excite courage in their souls.

And, ya know, as a young mom, I didn’t want to make a Christmas, as I wanted to just celebrate Jesus’ birth. But to tell poor children that we would have no Christmas as the other children had, and would only celebrate the birth of Christ, was not showing our children the love of Jesus and their parents’ love. We celebrated both. And we let our children know that Jesus Christ was real but Santa was pretend, and we talked about Santa just to have fun.

And I bet I could say in my years as a wife and mother I have, without exaggeration, made at least a million cut-out sugar cookies. Maybe more! Again, here is another dough for Mother to learn to work with. I would say sugar cookie dough is like noodle dough. These cookies were a mainstay for me at Christmas. Many years, I sold them to buy Christmas presents. Mary, at 9 years old, made these and sold 40 dozen to buy Christmas presents.

Dear Kitchen Saints,

Yesterday I made homemade chicken noodle soup. It’s really easy to make the noodles, and you can use whole wheat flour to make them, too, if ya wanna. I would do half whole wheat and half white. I usually just use the white all purpose flour.

For a couple batches of noodles, get out a big pan to put salted water in, and let this water start to boil as you make your noodles. You could add onion slices or green pepper slices. So let the water start to boil as you make your noodles.

I just take a bowl and put in 4 eggs for a double batch of noodles. To the eggs, add a bit of salt and start out with a cup of flour. Stir this up good and begin adding flour to make a dough. When the dough is getting stiff, roll it out on a floured tabletop or cutting board. Just roll the dough thin and cut in slices with a pizza cutter. You can use a sharp knife, too, if ya wanna. But, boy, does a pizza cutter work good.

And I mean take control of your dough, show it no mercy. If it is sticky, it won’t roll out good, so make sure you use a good dusting of flour. So then, as you roll them out and you have a handful, throw them in the boiling water. Then cut up another handful and throw them in, etc. Stir them lightly in the pot. Don’t throw all the noodles in at once because they will stick.

Some ladies like to dry their noodles. I did that once and it was nice to have the dried noodles to use later. Just cut them and dry them on a cookie sheet that has flour on it. Don’t let them stick to the pan. Anyway, just put the pan in an out-of-the-way place and let them dry. When they are dry completely, you can store them in a paper bag. I mean, it would take a few days to dry them. And make sure they are real dry, because if they ain’t and you package them in plastic, they will mold. What I do, though, is I just cook my extra noodles and then put them in the fridge to use in a few days.

These noodles are really good with spaghetti sauce and Parmesan cheese on them. I have also made the lasagna noodles. Just cut them wide like the lasagna from the store. You can use these noodles for anything.

Also, if you are going to store your noodles in the fridge for a few days? I would put olive oil on them to make sure they don’t stick to each other. I don’t think I have ever frozen these, but I guess you could, if you use the oil to keep them from sticking to each other. Just put in some nice dried herbs and oil and let them set for a while in the fridge, or freeze them to use for later.

When the children were all home, I would make a big batch of noodles in my tall silver spaghetti pan and then, on the stove, I would have the veggie soup. I fixed it all separate. The kids would scoop the noodles in their bowls and the soup over the top.

About 3 days ago, I had the kids over for spaghetti. Then we had big bowls of salad and bread. I fixed a bowl of lettuce and then I had the tomatoes in another bowl and onions, radishes and green peppers. So the next day (yesterday), I decided to make homemade chicken noodle soup. I cooked some chicken down and then put that in my pot along with all of the leftover veggies from the spaghetti dinner the night before. It was a lovely soup. I also added a can of cream of chicken soup with it to give it that rich golden color. Then, with the tomatoes and green peppers and white noodles, the color was very stunning. I also use the coarsely ground black pepper.

Also, to my delight, I found Soup Greens at the store put out by McCormick Spices. I got a big bottle marked down for a buck. I got 2 bottles of them and I am havin’ a ball makin’ soup. I throw in a few Tbs when my soup is simmering then stir them up. They are just dried flakes of carrots, celery and other colorful greens, like spinach, etc. They make the soup look so festive with all the colors dancing about.

HOLIDAY SOUPS AND STEWS

Mercy, Kitchen Saints! The holidays are almost upon us. During these busy times, I make a lot of soups. I make them early in the morning so that I can have the day to make cookies and breads for the holidays. You can just keep your soup on the stove for the day. Then feed the family samples of all of your bakings to go with the soup. If you don’t know the housewifery art of soup making, I hope you will learn it. It is fun making something out of nothing.

Just start by cooking some meat in your cast iron pot with the bail handle. If ya don’t have one of these pots, just pretend you do. (I pretend I am in a cabin in the woods and I am cooking on a wood stove.) Anyway, just bake some chicken in the pot in the oven, or cook up some hamburger or bacon for a potato soup, to get your pan good and flavored with some sort of frying meat. You can fry on top of the stove with cast iron or put it in the oven. Anyway, get a good meat flavor going on in your pot.

Then add some water and onion and salt and pepper. Then begin adding veggies and some dried herbs. Maybe a combination of potatoes and carrots and celery. Papa has to have potatoes, so I put potatoes in all of my soups. OK?

Don’t forget: “Good cooks are always fat and jolly and are ALWAYS tasting their soup.” So get your aprons on and have a ball.

OK, if your chicken soup is a bit drab, add some cream of chicken soup from the store. And, if ya don’t feel comfortable yet about making homemade noodles, just throw in some chicken noodle soup. But at all costs, make sure the soup tastes good and is colorful. I would have never thought of adding tomatoes to my chicken soup. But, oh, the tomatoes are just what chicken soup needs.

Also, if you have left over pumpkin, just peel it and cut that up in small pieces and put this in your soup. Pumpkin in soup takes on the taste of the soup. It’s like zucchini? But the bright orange is so lovely in homemade soups. Save all of your celery leaves to use for your soup kettle. You can just cut up the leaves and put them in the freezer to use later. Also, green peppers freeze very easily and are nice to have for cooking.

Baking powder biscuits are fun to have with soup. Or it’s so easy to make up a pan of cornbread. Muffins are so easy to stir up to have with your soup. Or just use store bought crackers.

But ya know, if ya have leftover chicken from another meal, just make chicken soup. The more color you can get into your soup, the more vitamins this represents. If the family is sick with colds, then you may want your chicken soup to be more brothy with many herbs. But, ya know, I have made chicken soup with so many greens that the whole batch of soup was an ugly army green? Cant have that. It may be healthy, but the kids won’t eat it and husband won’t, either. So be sure you get a lot of orange in there, like carrots or pumpkin, along with all the good greens.

Make sure your soup is a work of art before you serve it to the family. I mean, this is just practical writing. It may not be good to use store bought in your homemade soup. But it makes it look pretty and the family won’t eat it if it ain’t pretty. I mean, let’s face it, our husbands are out there in the world, and they are used to some sort of flavors. They do compare our cooking with the local restaurants. And if our soup looks army green and sickening? They ain’t gonna eat it. So do what ya gotta do to make a soup that is gorgeous.

I have even thrown a beef gravy mix in my homemade beef and noodle soup. Or start out with a soup starter and add your own meat and veggies. I have never used this but I would if I didn’t know how to make soup. And, oh, wow! My family loves chili. I put in a package of taco seasoning mix and they love that. I just throw it in. Also with my noodle soups, I put it in the oven. And the noodles float to the top, so in the oven, they brown on top.

So what can we do
dear hearts
to change our society?
We must walk the walk
and do the deed.

We gotta be honest with God
and with our families.

Get out of this realm of the mystics.
Learn common sense
and frugality.

Christendom would have you believe
that only the rich
will enter the kingdom of God.
No, be rich in the things of God.

Be a rich mother
with children who follow
after God’s own heart.
Don’t give up
when your child does the unthinkable
when you raised him for Jesus.

Keep on goin’
keep on cookin’
keep on believin’
until you see His glory.

We have to see answered prayer.
We have to!

[Excerpt from the article "Good Mothers" in the November 2005 newsletter which is available for download in our Newsletters section.]

The gas heat just went on, so I heard it in my bed and got up to enjoy it. A lot of times, when it is so cold I don’t want to get out of my nice warm bed … well, I hate to turn the kerosene burner on and waste all the oil in the middle of the night, when I could just as well stay in bed and let wild man keep me warm. But, anyway, the heat went on accidentally and I am up and writing. Yee haw, heat!

I have a writing in my heart concerning the voice of His Spirit. Ya know, a lot of what we think is God’s voice many times is not. If we have had the devil run into us and give us horrendous grief, then Satan will feed on that. Then we get horrid thoughts and the devil tells us it is God speaking to us. But, see, what we are doing is bouncing off the memories of the tragedy in our lives.

It’s just like if you were to get hit by a car on your way across the street. Your body would be afraid to cross the street for a long time. And when our hearts are wounded, then for a long time, we want to bounce off that wound because we are afraid to go on or cross the street again. And we listen to a voice of fear as it seems so safe, in a way. But we can’t cower down in fear — we must go on. And we must sing a new song and ring another bell. We must put our hands to the plow and not look back. And God’s word is true. It is the only truth and we must again train our spirits to be brave and to look at God as the authority in our lives.

We can’t make our experience of tragedy our truth. Last night, I talked with Mary, our daughter age 20, who just lost her baby. “Mom, I don’t think I will ever become pregnant again.”

I said, “Mary, that is not God telling you that. You are only bouncing off the tragedy that happened to you. You will have many more children. The Lord will restore you and give you Joy again.” But, see, Mary is very spiritual and she thought maybe God was telling her that she would never have another child. And, see, we as women do this. We gauge the voice of God by our own experiences. But God speaks the command to us believers, “Multiply and replenish the earth.” So we know it is God’s will for Mary to have many children and I don’t doubt she will.

But, see, when we have a Mack Truck run over our hearts, we then gauge the voice of God by our experiences rather then the word of God. Also, we underestimate the devil. No, he doesn’t have the power God has. But he isn’t a sort of elf out there with the mind of a 5 year old. He is a spiritual outlaw. He has a mind like Hitler. Only, he is spiritual and plays with the mind of the believer. He is criminally insane. And he connives thoughts in our minds and then tries to develop images of evil for us to look at. He has no power over the believer. But he is hoping that you don’t know that? He works through fear to paralyze us and keep us from moving out in faith. He works through your inner court and tries to run the world through your mind. Your temple.

Satan comes easily into the inner court of a woman who is out of submission to her husband. The word says that the meek and quiet spirit is the spirit of a woman who submits to her husband. Satan gets some women so puffed up in pride that their husbands can’t do anything with them. Our Mary’s strength and her husband’s strength is that they have a good marriage. They are one in their marriage. This tragedy has caused Mary and Brandon to cling to each other as never before.

Satan wants us to fear what will happen to us. But the word of God says that we are not to fear the devil, but to fear God and His judgment. So if you have a voice inside of you that is telling you to fear your circumstances, then this is not God’s voice. This could be your imagination or the voice of Satan. But the voice of fear is not God’s voice. See, the word of God tells us to renew our minds with the Word of God. And to meditate upon the word of God. So ya take a Christian woman who has a lot of pressure going on around her. Her family is out of order and she is running wild. Satan is screeeaming bloody murder and she says, “I think God is leading me to get a divorce.” No, read the word of God — don’t judge God by your life. Judge God and who He is by His word.

So ya take this woman who has been dealt a hand of cards that is sure to lose. But she is stout hearted and loves God. She is under the gun and yet she reads the word of God and loves God. And as she meditates upon Him and His word, she hears a sweet voice and it says, “All is well — do not be afraid. God is with you. Your family will come together and be OK.” And this dear saint of God meditates on the word that says, “All of my children are taught of the Lord and great is their peace.” Well, see, this is the voice of God speaking to this dear Mother, and she can take it to the bank. It’s the truth and she can believe it, as it is God’s Word.

But it seems that many Christian Mothers are just bouncing off their experiences and saying God spoke to them to give up on their children or their husbands. This is the voice of Satan telling you that. The Bible says that it isn’t God’s will that any should perish but that all should come to the knowledge of Christ. So why would God tell you that your child was hopeless? And we do have to spend time with the Lord in order to hear His voice. And if someone tells you, “Well, God told me to tell you thus and so.” Well, line it up to the word of God. There are many voices out there to shut off or to listen to.

Honestly, I have never seen so many lying spirits out there as I have seen lately. Ya know, witchcraft is out there in full force lately. Cursing spirits are out there and they are strong. Folks do start stories to curse others and they haven’t even a smack of truth in them.

But, see, often parents will put young teenagers down because they think they are facing the truth or the reality. But say ya have a child that is always “seemingly” getting in trouble and yet he is always found innocent? And over and over again you find no evidence that this child has done wrong. And yet you have a feeling of fear over the child. Every time this kid walks in the room, you feel a fear attack. And you think, “Something ain’t right with that kid. Why do I feel fearful when he walks into the room?” Well, that is the devil cursing this child.

Fear is a power like faith. It is a spiritual thing and doesn’t have to have a physical evidence of anything to make you fear — you just do. Fear is the opposite of faith. But say someone has lied about your child and, even though he was innocent, you were attacked by a fear. The fear stayed, even though you knew your child was OK. The fear made a way into your inner court. You were attacked by the devil. He stabbed your Mother Heart. But Jesus has come to bind up the broken in heart and to set the captive free. So where there was fear because of cursing spirits from Satan, you, as this child’s mother, must meditate upon the word of God and His promises concerning the blessings of our seeds. You must cast this fear out of your heart, as it is destroying your family. And replace this fear with the promises of God concerning your family.

When I went through my bad marriage for 12 years, I saw nothing but hell for a long time. Satan tried to prove to me that God hated me. I had been left and abandoned with my children over 30 times and the hell I went through, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. And Satan thought he had me down and didn’t plan on letting me go. After Jim was saved, healed, and delivered, I was left with nothing but the past looming before me. But God told me that the devil had brainwashed me and that Jim was healed and all was well. And all was well, too. But, see, I could have destroyed my victory through the fear. The devil wanted to just kill me with fear.

So many Christian mothers are so weak in their spirits. They have a tiger by the tail and they can’t let go and they can’t hang on. The word of God is not preached to them concerning where they live and what makes their GUTS hurt. So they take nerve pills and what have ya in order to stand life. And if I get outta whack, no nerve pill will help me. I know that, so I try not to get too unglued. Both Mary and Brandon are on nerve pills. And they gave me one and it didn’t even phase me. I mean my legs got weak but that was it. I had been so grieved and hadn’t slept. They both told me that this nerve pill would put me out and it barely put me to sleep. So, I mean, if I am gonna get nervous, I will do it in a big way. So I know with me, it is His way or the highway.

But we have to learn to discern His voice and to meditate in His word. If you feel out of control and you just feel like you want to die, then this is because you aren’t spending enough time in God’s word and prayer and meditation upon Him. He is the peace that passeth understanding. We can be peaceful and content. And we can get back up, even though Satan has tried to kill us. I should know — I do it all the time. Not with my strength, but with His strength. He can come into you and give you peace.

See, right after Jim got saved, I would have days of just battling the thoughts of fear in my mind. One day, the Lord had me get this old book at the library on Joan of Arc. I read it and the Lord spoke to me. He told me to listen to the voice of God and not the voice of Satan. Well, I had been trying to do that but was so weak in faith. And then, on and on, gradually, I was healed of my fears through the word of God. But, see, we need to hear a clear call of God.

I hear so much preaching going on that has nothing to do with where most of us live. Well, Jesus is with us and is interested? He is our personal Savior and wants to speak to us. He is the healer and the comforter. The truth is that we as mothers are called as keepers at home. Now, Satan will try to lie to ya on that and get ya to worry over it, and so forth. But read the word on it. Quit looking at who did what. God is your source of peace and rest in this troubled world. Yes, many mothers have jobs and all, and they are Christians. And they seemingly can do it all … run a house and keep everyone happy at work. Well, she can do it, but what about the baby?

My friend works at a Christian daycare. And the workers there are just a breath away from calling D.H.S. and having them shut down. I would give that place about another week at the most. The woman who runs it takes off and goes shopping and forgets the whole thing. Kids are getting hurt because they have, like, one worker for 12 babies. The head of the place — this woman — fires people so she won’t have to pay them. She wants the money only. And this is so-called Christian daycare.

Read the word of God. It’s says “Every wise woman builds her house and the foolish woman plucks it down with her own hands.” Anyone who tells you to go get a job when you have a houseful of babies has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.

And, ya know, around here, if a woman gets pregnant, she has to hide from the church folks in most of the churches. Now, why would a family put up with this kind of nonsense? This is your child and they wanted you to kill it? At church? Or at least leave it in daycare. I mean, get a life and read the pure word of God. Quit trying to be like the men in the Bible, and rest in the teachings of the lives of the women who followed God through childbearing. Right here is where so many women are being deceived. They swallow this stuff about planned barrenhood and then the sky is the limit. They become deceived on every other level. They become accidents going someplace and they are their own worst enemies.

There needs to be a clear call to Mother to come back HOME. So you may ask me what I would do if Jim was out of work and I had a houseful of children and we were going under financially? Well, welcome to my life. I would stand still and wait for the Lord to rescue me. I would stand upon the word of God and expect a miracle. If the Lord blessed me with a houseful of children, I would think it common sense that He would provide for the children. I wouldn’t abandon my children and go get a stupid job. I mean the children are hurting, too, when a family falls into hard times. Then the mother leaves the home and further upsets the family?

And, ya know, since time began, Mothers were keepers at home. But with this wicked society we have started about 32 years ago, we now don’t believe Mother’s place is at home. And look at the results? Let’s go back to the bend in the road and start over and, as Mothers and wives, make homes and places of refuge for our families. And on this teaching and true standard of living, you will come more and more into the truth of the Bible.

Listen to His voice and His truth and give your life for it. To heck with what folks think. Don’t throw your heritage away for this world’s approval. Learn to stand alone on the word of God.

Dear Kitchen Saints,

Good Morning! Ya know, Barbara on our letters group sent me her new book called “The Cookie Lady” and also an older book she wrote called “The Lost Art of Pie Making.” Now, if ya all need to know how to make a pie crust, then this is the book to get. Her website is www.nativeground.com. I am still so excited that she sent me her books.

Anyway, I wanted to write about my own pie crust journey and how I finally learned to make a pie crust. I was always a good bread maker and I have made a lot of bread in my day. I mean, not with a breadmaker, just a bowl and a spoon. I just throw everything in the bowl and knead it. I mean, if I have a lot of time, I knead it on a floured surface on my big table.

But, anyway, you have to control your bread dough. And if ya don’t, it won’t turn out good. BUT NEVER try to control a pie crust or biscuit dough. I didn’t know that. You have to knead a bread dough until it is smooth and not sticky. Not so with pie crust and biscuits. So, as a beginner, I gave my pie dough a lot of good rubbing and kneading — and my results? Well, I had a beautiful pie all shaped and molded and so nice and brown … the pie was a picture. But you couldn’t hardly cut it, the dough was so tough like a board. The filling was good but the crust made me cry.

My sister-in-law’s pie tasted delicious, and my Mom’s pies melted in your mouth, and mine was the last to be eaten at the family holidays. Mom would taste my pie and roll her eyes. “Did you use a recipe for this?” Then she would tell me her recipe as she chomped on my pie. “Connie, it is 3 cups of flour to 1 cup of shortening. How do you make it?”

Well, I was putting all 3 cups of flour in at once. Mom meant that you use part of this 3 cups of flour to roll it in. And I would answer, “I make it like that, Mom.” Then one day, I was watching a cooking show and I noticed how they made a pie crust, and how their crust held together before they added ice water? Your dough should almost hold together with just the shortening and the flour. I mean, it will break up, but it holds a second, maybe. Well, to this step, you just add a bit of ice water enough to roll it out.

See, at this point, when I had my ball of shortening and flour, I would begin to knead it (like bread) and add way too much flour. I would put cups of flour on my tabletop and knead the flour in and add a lot of water. Boy, that is death to a pie crust. So now, when I make a pie crust, I go totally by the feel of it. I start out with about half shortening and half flour, then I add some more flour. I know “my way” is to work with it and try to mold it and flour it to death. So I have to be aware of that.

When ya make bread, you can do other things at the same time. Or daydream? If your bread ain’t all kneaded and the phone rings or the dog gets loose, you can throw a towel over the bread dough and get back to the dough when the dog gets tied up. Not with pie dough, though. You gotta pay attention to the feel of the pie dough and work quickly with the dough before your ice water gets warm and the shortening begins to melt into the flour.

Work quickly with the pie dough — it don’t matter if it tears apart. Just get it in the pie pan and piece it if ya have to. I mean, roll it thin but don’t overdo it. Just work with a delicate quick hand. No one cares if the pie crust looks stupid. Just get it in the pan and hurry up. Then, if it is a fruit pie, put the filling in and bake it. I bake mine in a hot quick oven for about 15 minutes, then I turn the oven down to a moderate temperature. And when the fruit filling begins to bubble over the ugly crust, then it’s done. And believe me, the family would rather you have an ugly crust and a good tasting pie then a perfect crust and break their teeth tryin’ to eat the dang thing.

But now days I can make a perty pie, after much practice.

WINTER MEAT PIES

Ya know, if you all learn to make good pie crust and flaky biscuits, you can make so many good things for the family.

The old time Mothers, after a nice chicken dinner on Sunday, would have a chicken pie for Monday to use up the leftovers. For my big family, I would take a 9 by 13 baking pan and put in it leftover chicken, cut in bite sizes. Then maybe you have some leftover potatoes and beans and gravy … just put it all in the pan. Then I would bake this until it bubbled. Then I would take the pan out of the oven and, having my biscuits all ready, I would put biscuit dough in spoonfuls over the top. Then just put this back in the oven to bake. When the biscuits are brown and the pie gravy bubbly, it is done. Just serve each helping with a biscuit or two. Papa loves this meal and fills his dinner plate full of it.

Another way to make this would be with just a pie crust at the bottom and one over the top. I used to make it like this, too. And over the top crust, I would put an egg wash. And then sprinkle sesame seeds over this, and salt and pepper. Paprika would look pretty, too. To make an egg wash, just put a raw egg in a bowl, beat it up, and add a bit of water. Then rub this on the top crust. An egg wash over the pie crust makes it look brown and crispy. I put this wash over my bread and rolls, too. Add butter to these pies, over the top, after they come out of the oven.

You can use a leftover beef roast for these meat pies, too. Or any roasted meats and vegetables. Also, you could make up your meat pie with just a bottom crust and then put mashed potatoes over the top for the top crust. Or, as in a pork dish or chicken, you could make up a stove top dressing for the top.

If you just have the leftover meat and no gravy or vegetables? Just line the pan with the pie dough. Then just take a bowl and mix the leftover meat in it with a can of cream of something soup. Also add some mixed vegetables. Stir this up and pour this into the lined baking pan. Then put crust on the top. I would bake this in a rather hot oven. Because actually you are just heating up the meat and veggies, and the crust is what ya need to tend to.

And, ya know, I used to make up a lot of Jello to go with these meals. Fruit Jellos or lime Jello with carrots in it.

The one main problem I always had with biscuits is that I didn’t preheat my oven first. Baking powder biscuits have to bake in a quick hot oven. This means have the oven heated up to like 450° when ya put the biscuit pie in. You want your biscuits to be high and light and crispy brown on the top.

It is an art to learn to make good biscuits and pie crusts. Once you learn the different baking doughs, you will be able to make many different dishes frugally. To start out, maybe you will want to use the refridgeerator biscuits and try to make a meat pie. Or maybe use Bisquick Baking Mix to start out with. But do try to learn to make these old fashioned hearty winter meals for the family. They will always remember these home cooked meals, and these meals will draw their hungry hearts home to Mother, Heaven and Family.

JELLO

I think, if you are like me, you like Jello but it’s so simple to make, you forget it? I know when we go to Mom’s for a meal, she always has cherry Jello with a can of drained fruit cocktail in it. We all love it with a meal. But once back home, I forget to make it for the family. Here are some Jello ideas.

I mentioned the lime green Jello with the grated carrots in it? Wild man’s favorite. Just make the Jello as the directions say. Then when it is half way set up in the fridge, just add the carrots or whatever. Otherwise, all of your carrots will just lay on the bottom. And even if they do, they are good, anyway.

One Jello dish I made just once, years ago, that Papa said he liked was the following. I made up a cherry Jello as directed on the box and then I added a can of cherry pie filling. Then let it set up. It was for Christmas and I put it in a beautiful antique china bowl. Let it set up in a separate bowl if you plan to do this, as it may break your china bowl if it is put in the fridge. After it has set up, then put it cold in your nice bowl. It was lovely sitting on my Christmas table.

And often, my children would ask for just plain Jello with nothing in it, especially during the hot summer days.

When I was a little girl, Mother would make a Jello like so. She would take a little plate and put a nice lettuce leaf on it. One for each family member. And then Jello cut in a square. Then on the top, a dab of Real Mayonnaise. My Dad, especially, liked Jello like this.

Sometimes, for a Jello dessert for the children, I would just put a bunch of miniature marshmallows on the top of a favorite Jello. In the 70’s, we used to make a Jello that, when it was half way set up, we mixed in whipped cream with our mixers. Does anyone remember the recipe for this? This Jello mixture made a lovely white and colored dessert. If you used red Jello, then the dish became a lovely whitish pink. It can be cut and put on dessert dishes. I think we made this like in a round pan? And then we sliced it like a pie. But with a pretty sugar cookie at the side of this dish, it would make a nice holiday dessert.

I need some new ideas. I have never made the popular refrigerated Jello cakes. But wouldn’t they be pretty to make for the Christmas holidays. Maybe a white cake with the red and green Jellos.

We had bad news yesterday. Our son John was to start his job at Applebee’s yesterday and they are just goofin’ off with him. Told him to come back in a week for orientation. John had worked for Applebee’s for 7 yrs in Missouri and was making good money as a cook. He hasn’t been out of work since he got married, so this is kinda scary for him. He and Christine will look for work today. Christine has only worked a few days at a time. Some weeks not at all. But, anyway, I will watch Romeo today so they can look for work. It’s scary for them, as they just got here and moved in, and John was sure counting on his job. But they are going through what we did. These places just mess with ya.

Yesterday MaryL gave us a lot of deer meat and fresh beef. So, of course, we will share this with John’s family. I think, “Man alive what next?”

We offered John a little money and he doesn’t want to take it. “Thanks, Mom, but no.” I know John feels bad. I pray that today he will find a good job. They won’t go under. The Lord will come through for them. The Lord will give them a miracle.

It’s a season of miracles. Jen, I fully expect Richard to walk again. And for all the wayward husbands on here to come home. It’s heartbreaking but I mean it. “If ya don’t give up, you will see His glory.”

These days remind me of the Depression Era. I mean, hard times in the country always hit the poor first. They feel it first. But what comes around goes around. And, ya know, MaryL was telling us about this woman who is handicapped and has diabetes. She couldn’t pay her heat bill so they shut her gas off. Jim says, “Well, doesn’t the state help her?”

I said, “No, Honey, they don’t do that anymore.” I mean, I know you can get some help from the state with the heat bill, but it isn’t much. So, anyway, some folks got together and gave this woman a few electric space heaters for her trailer. I hope she won’t freeze to death. And ya think that is just one woman we know of. But folks can’t pay those high heating bills. And the state can’t take care of that many people. So what are they gonna do? Shut hundreds and thousands of people’s heat off this winter?

This is what I was saying in an earlier writing. We have to trust in God! Even with two incomes, it will be hard for some to make it. It would be better to just obey God. The wife and mother should just stay home and mind the house. Wisdom is a trade like money. I mean, for a mom to stay home and to create peace. To make her own soap with what she has.

To wash clothes in the bathtub if the washer breaks down? That takes a lot of patience. But if a housewife can just put her heart into making it, she can get her clothes clean in the bathtub until the Lord provides a new washer. I did blankets and sheets and all in the bathtub if my washer broke down. Then, of course, I got a wringer washer and that worked good. I had to make my laundry soap. Someone gave me some lard and I made soap with it. And if I had to do it again, it wouldn’t bother me a bit. Well, heck, it’s honest work. Nothing to be ashamed of. I did cloth diapers, too, for the babies.

I mean, ya do what ya gotta do to make it. It’s better than going to a homeless shelter. But just make your own bread and cook from scratch. Now, I did all this, so I know it works. I never worked but maybe part time once in a while. Nothing full time. But the Bible says that there is profit in all labor. And there is. God will pay you if you work. We have to drop back and trust in Him.

This was Mary’s message to me yesterday. Mary is the older woman in my life at age 74. She says, “Connie, this is the name of the game. Trust in God.”

And ya know? Shooot, there were times when I didn’t have any soap at all to do the wash. The bath towels, I washed in vinegar. Well, ya know, often the rinse cycle don’t get all of the soap out of the clothes. So if you have to wash them without soap a few times, it won’t hurt ‘em that much, as they still have some soap in the cloth. I mean, you can’t do that often, but once in a while.

In the old days, when the children were home and we were having a hard time, I got up in the night and wrote a prayer to the Lord. I was so pressured and so fearful that we wouldn’t make it. The prayer went like this. “Lord, I am so tired of washing my clothes without soap, and I barely have a washer. I am tired of making dinner without any food.” And the writing went on. It was hilarious! I have that writing someplace and have to read it again.

I mean “It ain’t a sin to be poor but it’s mighty uncomfortable.” But I mean, ya know? Ya do what ya gotta do to keep the family going. And don’t ever let the devil see ya sweat. No one has to know you have to do the laundry without soap. Or that you have to do the wash in the bathtub until better times come. A woman of dignity is a woman of dignity, with or without her money.

I was raised in the 1950’s and had more materially than most of the kids around me. Dad had a good job and we did the family vacations, etc. But ya know? God has called me to a life of somewhat poverty. Well, that doesn’t change who I am. A woman of virtue is virtuous on the inside. No one can take that out of her. As Christian wives and mothers, we are the King’s daughters, all glorious within. We are content wherever God calls us. If it is to a life of riches or to poverty, we are the same.

The word virtue means morally strong. A morally strong woman will do what it takes to keep her family safe, warm and well. God has given her a houseful of children and she honors God by caring for the children. She respects the head of the home, their Daddy. And in this way, she shows her children how to not give up. And how to honor and respect their Father God.

MOTHER’S HEART

Mother is the star of the home. The Queen of the Home.

Mother sets her heart on victory and doesn’t look back. When all hell comes loose about her, Mother remains quiet and in faith. She doesn’t have to preach it. She only lives it in silence. Mother holds her peace.

She makes a meal for the family. A warm soup with vegetables. A soothing meat broth and a hearty bread.

In Mother’s heart and in her soul, all is well. Mother has said her prayers and is up for the day’s work. In the night, she prayed and settled her fears. Like Jesus, she prays at night and works all day.

In Mother’s heart is the Kingdom of God. And His will is done in heaven as it is done on earth, her earthly home. She is believing God that all is well. And if Mother has a vision in her heart of victory, then the victory will come.

As Mother doesn’t give up and she sees her children and her husband through the eyes of faith, then a miracle will come.

Mother is sound and strong and doesn’t waver. Her trust is in the Lord.

I am up in the night as I couldn’t sleep. Wow, what a day was yesterday! It was so crazy here. A good and fun crazy but, well, you know how it goes with family.

I cant hardly even remember what you asked me, Helen. Something about wisdom. I think what I meant was that Emily felt the wisdom of God here in our home. It’s a spiritual feeling, I guess.

And how does Jill decorate her home? Well, I think we girls decorate with more of the ideas of the Little House on the Prairie days. Ya know, the 1970’s style sorta went back to the prairie days. There was a lot of back to the land ideas that came out. Sorta the hippie era? So Jill sorta decorates like that. But she has a lot of the Victorian pictures. Dixie decorated so plain. Barely anything out at all. Jill would doodad up a blade of grass. I mean Jill is a natural.

I asked her about it when she came to visit a few days ago. She says, “Connie, my homemaking is my covering — it is my hobby and is art to me.” And I don’t know how to say this without sounding nuts, but about nothing in her house is worth anything money-wise. Like I had this old buffet, just about falling apart. And she asked me if she could have it. Well, in the process of getting it home in her car trunk, it cracked, and Jill loved it all the more. She never refinishes anything. She just decorates it with scarves and old things. And she says just about anything sparks her to create something.

You know all these magazine articles about not having anything out in your home that needs to be dusted and all? Well, if you told Jill she couldn’t have anything out like that, then she would have a nervous breakdown. Just kidding, but you know what I mean? Her home looks almost like an antique shop in some rooms. You know with the little old time electric candles and the little twinkling lights?

I think what she does is she creates what she thinks the virtuous woman’s home would look like. When you see a certain display she has made, it calls you to the Lord and to your homemaking. And no one sees her home except maybe a few relatives and her husband. I get to see it occasionally. But if she sees a home where it is real modern with no pictures or anything on the wall, she tells me, “See, Connie, this woman has no personality.” And I mean Jill will cut a picture out of a newspaper and put it on the wall. It don’t have to have a frame. If she likes the picture, then it goes on the wall.

She is a natural artist. She even decorates the barn and cleans the barn windows every fall. She has about 12 outside cats and they sleep in the barn. She names all of them. And a few days ago when she came in, we were visiting and she says something about Gloria. “Gloria had me so worried,” Jill says.

I look at Jim and back to Jill. “Who is Gloria?”

And Jill replies, “Oh, she is my chicken and she lays 2 eggs a day.” But she talks about Gloria like she is her neighbor down the road. Jill’s children are grown and so she makes her little home in the woods with her cats and her 3 chickens. Nothing is out of order on her land or her home or barn. Her gardens in the spring and summer are immaculately kept. Everything she has touched has order to it.

I asked her when she received this wisdom from God. She said it came when she received the Lord. She said that before that, she was more of a feminist in her decorating. She said she did everything the quick way as far as homemaking. But now it is like an art and a therapy to her. She said the homemaking spirit covers her like a cloak and draws her to peace and rest. As she is in her home praying, the Lord gives her ideas of how to decorate. She says money gets in her way. When her husband had money, she hated it and it interrupted her homemaking.

Actuallly, as I sat outside with Christine last evening, she told me, “Connie, all of your kids are so creative. They make things out of nothing.”

And, ya know, the Bible says in Proverbs to call Wisdom your sister and understanding your kinswoman. Now, I think Dixie had the wisdom and Jill’s gift is understanding. With Wisdom a house is built and with understanding it is established. And with knowledge it is filled.

Jill’s gift was different than Dixie’s. But what was the same about both of their gifts was this. They ran their homes and decorated them out of their hearts. I mean it was a rare person who ever saw their homes. Jill says that when she decorates, it has to minister to her first. If it touches her heart, then it will touch other family members. But it has to minister to her mainly.

And how do a lot of us decorate? We decorate for others and not ourselves. We clean to get it done so no one will think we are slobs. But both Dixie and Jill made homes that ministered to themselves and to God. Like Solomon, we must build our temples for God first. These two women did their homemaking from the inside out. From out of their prayers.

Now me, I was an accident going someplace around these two artists. I know they rolled their eyes and shook their heads many times as they stood near me. Like yesterday, this stray dog in the neighborhood got loose, and I let her run around our house until we found the owner. Right as we were to sit down to eat dinner? It was just a little dog. And here I had all this company and my 2 cats? Now, Dixie and Jill wouldn’t do stuff like that. And if they saw me do such a thing, they would pray for me. And why the Lord calls me to do anything is beyond me. He calls the foolish of the earth to confound the wise.

I am mostly ashamed of myself. I can be quiet but not for very long. I am seeking wisdom as gold. I hope before I get so old I cant do anything worth doing, I will learn the wisdom of God. And getting the wisdom isn’t the problem. Keeping the wisdom is the deal. We must put the wisdom of God in our hearts and leave it there and keep it there until it bears fruit.

And think of a diamond as it reflects light in many directions. As the Son (sun) shines upon it, the light bounces from one place to another. And Wisdom is like this. It has prisms of light and color. It reflects the Son of God in many differences of light and shades of color. Wisdom is full of light — it is royal blues and purples and the colors of gold and silver. It is electric and full of movement.

It is not worldly — it is sound and grave. When you feel the wisdom of God, you feel a solid foundation in your life. Wisdom is the platform. Wisdom is a foundation. When wisdom comes, you feel a heavy spirit of being grave and orderly. A pulling of your self to order and safety. You feel pulled into a place as keeper at home. You know this is your place of rest in God. Jill says it is a covering of God upon your life. A shelter of the spirit.