The resurrection...

In a recent interview, I was asked what the resurrection meant to me.  My answer...

Because of the resurrection, we can know that Jesus is who He says He is and that His Word is true. 

Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can know the truth and be set free from the power of sin in our lives.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

Because Jesus set us free from the power of sin, we can know that everything that happens in our lives has purpose.  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

Because of that freedom and purpose, we receive comfort from Him when life is difficult.  He then uses us to comfort other people because we understand what they are going through.  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;  who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Because of the resurrection, I will get to spend eternity with God and my believing loved ones, never to be separated from them again!  And I get to do that with a new body, free from pain or disease!  Hallelujah!

Now, for the final pictures of our Easter treasure hunt goodies:

These raw items turned into these:

I can't wait to see how my grands respond to the treasure hunt!

He is risen...

Christ the Lord has is risen today!  Alleluia!

Are you singing yet?

This morning, I used my scroll saw to cut out 15 wooden eggs so I can make five sets of the eggs seen in the above photo for our Easter treasure hunt.  I haven't used my scroll saw in awhile and will have to spend a little more time with the sander...

More pictures of treasure hunt items to come...

Easter Treasure Hunt...

I'm excited for our Easter Treasure Hunt this year.  The grands are getting old enough that we can talk about the Easter story with them.  Today, I will share the details of the hunt with you.

Supplies you will need:
Miniature door (Hobby Lobby)          
Brown paper egg for each family (paint them red and Mod Podge a cross sticker on each one)
3 wooden eggs for each family(2-dimensional) one painted blue, one painted yellow, and one painted green  (Write "He" on the blue egg, "is" on the yellow egg and "risen" on the green egg)
Pink and purple plastic eggs stuffed with candy
Orange plastic eggs - one for each family
Golden rule plaque for each child
Growth stick for each family with a star glued to a clothespin for each child (can buy balsa wood pieces at Hobby Lobby)

Clues:
#1 - Jesus came down from Heaven and made Himself into a little baby.  Earth must have looked so small compared to Heaven.  Look for a very small door to find your next clue.
(Give this clue to one parent for each family)

Do you remember what the unfinished door looked like?  I painted the door green and everything else gray, then put a brown wash over the whole piece to "age" it.  Doesn't it look like a door into a secret garden?  This door will be attached to either the shed or the fence in the back yard.  The #2 clue will be in orange eggs by the door, one per family.

Clue #2 - "And the Child (Jesus) continued to grow and become strong..."  Luke 2:40.  Look for a long stick with your names on it.  Your next clue will be attached to the stick.  Your parents will measure you with the Growth Stick so you can see that you are growing taller.

Clue #3 - "And the Child (Jesus) continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."  Luke 2:40.  Look for a painted piece of wood that has your name on it with the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31).  Hint:  it matches the colors in your bedroom.

Clue #4 - (tape this clue to the oldest child's Golden Rule plaque for each family)  "This is how much God loved the world:  He gave his Son, his one and only Son.  And this is why:  so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him anyone can have a whole and lasting life."  John 3:16 from The Message.  God did that for you!  Look for a red egg to see how God gave his Son to save us.

Clue #5 - (taped to red eggs/ one per family) After Jesus died on the cross to pay for all the wrong things we do and say, the disciples buried Him in a tomb.  BUT, on the third day, Jesus...  Look for a blue wooden egg.

Clue #6 (taped to the blue wooden eggs) On the third day, just as the sun was beginning to come up, some women came to the tomb, bringing spices which they had prepared to make the tomb smell nicer.  They saw that the huge stone in front of the tomb was rolled away, but when they went in the tomb, they couldn't find Jesus' body!  Luke 24:1-3.  Oh, no!  What happened to His body?!  Look for a yellow wooden egg.

Clue #7 (taped to the yellow wooden eggs) The women didn't know what to do or where to go to look for Jesus' body.  Suddenly, two men dressed in very white shiny clothes stood next to them.  They were angels!  They told the women some very important and happy news.  Luke 24:4-9.  What does your blue egg say?  What does your yellow egg say?  Look for a green egg for your answer to:  He is...what?

Clue #8 - (taped to the green eggs)  Yay!!!  He is risen!  Jesus showed Himself to his friends so they would know He was no longer dead, but very much alive.  Then after a few days, He went to a mountain with some of his friends and they watched Him go up in the air past the clouds to go back to Heaven.  He has been there ever since getting a place ready for every person who believes that He died for them to pay for their sins.  Some day, all of us who believe will get to go to Heaven and live there with Jesus and we will be happy, happy, happy!  That is such sweet news!!!  Here is your last clue - look for purple and pink eggs for something sweet to remind you that Jesus loves you.

As soon as I get at least one set of the items painted, I will post pictures.

Easter is coming...

Now that we have grandchildren, the backyard becomes the setting for an egg hunt each year at Easter.  The dilemma becomes whether or not this practice is Christian or pagan.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know my heart is to use any opportunity to teach the truth.  My grands are growing up in a world where the real truth is proclaimed less and less. 

So, of course, I will use the Easter egg hunt as a tool to teach my grands the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection.  Since they are still pre-schoolers, the clues and story will be fairly simple.  More clues and story details will be added each year as they get older.

This year, I want to start a new tradition of calling the egg hunt an Easter Treasure Hunt and we will be hunting for the treasure of truth using clues and items they are familiar with to understand the Easter story.  Next week, I will share the details with you so you can have your own Easter Treasure Hunt with your own kiddos, if you choose.

Today, I leave you with this hint - a miniature door.  Next time you see this little door, it will look like a door into an old secret garden.  Hmmm...

Say it ain't so...

Wow!  I can't believe it has been 6 months since I last wrote a post!  That's half a year...

My honey and I have continued to be busy with our lifegroup and mentoring, but that is not what has kept me from writing this blog.  Last June, God put an idea in my heart to write a Bible study for young married women based on the Proverbs 31 woman.  Since then, every extra moment I had after I finished household chores and that my honey wasn't home, was spent on studying, writing, editing, rewriting and rewriting.  Two of my young friends went through the Bible study with me once I felt it was ready.  Then, it was back to editing and rewriting with all the fall and winter holidays thrown in. 

Well, I am excited to let you all know that you will be able to get Grown-up Girls late spring or early summer from Lifeway Bookstores.  I'm especially excited that my daughter, Rachael, took the cover photo. Grown-up Girls exposes the lie that we, as women, must have perfect lives with perfect families, perfect homes, and perfect bodies; also discussing what makes us feel like broken little girls, instead of mature happy grown-up girls.  So many women I talk to are overwhelmed with lies and don't know the truth that sets them free.  Topics that are covered include:  value, marriage, work ethic, health, balance, attitudes and real happiness.

Grown-up Girls is also practical as helpful tips and forms are included for menu and meal planning, clothing, household chores and more.  Has it tickled your interest yet?  It's written in a format that would allow someone to go through the Bible study by themselves and it would also be encouraging to go through with some friends or neighbors.  I will also let you know when my author's website is up and running. 

As I have started writing the next Bible study, I will attempt to write at least one post weekly including all the same "goodies" you all have become accustomed to finding here at Nanna's Kitchen.

On hold...

I'm sorry there haven't been any posts lately.  It seems I am on hold for this month because of the many activities that are consuming my thoughts and energy.  I am going to a mining convention with my honey, traveling to our son-in-law's ordination (we are SO excited for him and our daughter as they train to be church planters), writing and teaching a Bible study, hosting a weekly Financial Peace University class with a young couple we are mentoring, attending a weekend pre-marriage class and a weekend marriage retreat where we will be mentors.  Oh, and our lifegroup started up again for the fall semester.  We keep asking our young couples if they feel like we are cramping their style, but they just don't want to cut us loose. We feel loved! Which reminds me - I better figure out what we are having for lifegroup dinner Saturday night...

How did I ever have time to work?!

Now that we are in our 50s, all our good eating has caught up with us.  My cholesterol is high and my blood pressure was slightly elevated.  I would love to drop 30 pounds.  My honey is losing weight and needs to lower his blood pressure.  We've been eating healthier and counting calories but not getting the results we want.

Then our neighbor came over one afternoon and told us that he had been diagnosed with cancer a year ago and decided he didn't want to go through chemo.  We had wondered about his weight loss because he is skinny!  But, it's not because of cancer.  It's because he went on a whole-food, plant-based diet and plans to stay on it for the rest of his life because his cancer is gone!  He told us about a video on Netflix called, Forks Over Knives.  Of course, we watched it! 

I have to tell you that we both commented on how skinny everyone was in the video.  My honey said he kinda thought they looked unhealthy.  I thought about that and asked him if it was because we are so used to seeing fat people, including us, that we think skinny looks unhealthy.  He thought that was a good point!

We have adopted the same eating lifestyle as our neighbor (I went to our library and checked out a bunch of cookbooks, picking out recipes and writing them on recipe cards - that took a week!) and my blood pressure was back down to a very healthy level in three weeks.  Yea!  I am going to make an appointment to get my cholesterol checked in a couple of weeks and fully expect it to be down to normal levels as well.  I am feeling better and have more energy than I have had in years.  That is a REALLY big deal for me!  An added bonus - no more heartburn.

We are in the process of trying out all the recipes I found and will weed out the ones we don't like as we go.  So far, we've liked everything we've tried.

Peaches and Polenta
Serves 2
This is one of our favorite new breakfasts and it is simple and quick to make.

1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup corn grits
dash of salt
15 oz can sliced peaches in 100% juice
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Bring almond milk to a slow boil in a medium saucepan.  Have the grits measured out and ready to whisk into the milk.

When the almond milk reaches a slow boil, turn the heat down to low and slowly whisk in the grits.  Continue to whisk until thickened.

Pour into two bowls and top each one with half the peaches and one Tbsp maple syrup.  Enjoy!

Each serving is 282 calories.

Politics...

To say that I detest election year commercials would be an understatement.  This year they are even more detestable than ever.  What gets me most is that the makers of the commercials assume we will believe whatever they produce if there is enough money and power behind the commercials.  

Regardless which party you adhere to, the commercials are biased and give very limited information about what the candidates believe.  That is the nature of the beast.  My remote mute button is getting a lot of use.

Instead, I would encourage everyone to study the ideology (the ideas that cause the actions) behind each candidate and their party, even the lesser known parties, and make your choice based on what you discover. 

As much as I don't like where President Obama has taken our country, he has been true to his ideology.  That being said, I will not be voting for him in November because the ideology I hold to demands fiscal responsibility (yes, I am a Dave Ramsey fan!), social responsibility (helping people make a better life for themselves and taking care of those who can't physically or mentally care for themselves - without free handouts to the lazy paid for by hardworking people), the sanctity of life, marriage defined as God defines it and the interpretation of our Constitution that carries the original intent of our founding fathers.  They were brilliant men who asked God for wisdom and our amazing Constitution and Bill of Rights are the result of that God-given wisdom. 

It saddens me that most Americans, especially the younger generations, have no idea what the Constitution says or what rights we are guaranteed as Americans that are slowly being taken away because of ignorance.  I used to tell my history students that if we don't know what our rights are, they can be taken away from us. I am very thankful for the young people who are notable exceptions!

By the way, separation of church and state is NOT in the Constitution.  That phrase was taken from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson and is not even used in the same context and meaning of his letter.  Look it up!

There is a lot that needs fixed in Washington D.C., but the most important thing that needs to happen is this example of King Hezekiah from 2 Chronicles 31:20 - 21:

And so Hezekiah did throughout all Judah (He called the priests to holiness and charged the people to give their tithe to the Temple and to serve God); and he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God.  And every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

There first needs to be a revival of lives lived in obedience to the Lord in the church, then in Washington, before there will be any lasting change and prosperity in our country.  Until then, we will get the leaders we deserve and politics will continue to stink.


Household Tip

Speaking of stink - I noticed the last few months that my washcloths and kitchen towels started smelling sour after they got wet the first time.  Eeewww...

So, I gathered them up and put them in a mixing bowl, filled the bowl with hot water and added 1 cup of white distilled vinegar.  They soaked for several hours, then were wrung out and tossed in the washing machine with detergent and about 1/2 cup of baking soda.  They smell fresh and clean again.

If you have bath towels that smell sour, you can add a cup of vinegar to the washing machine when you wash them.  Always dry your towels immediately after washing them to keep them smelling nice.

Note:  You should change your dishcloth and kitchen towels EVERY day.  Otherwise, they just become breeding ground for bacteria.  Gross!