Expressions of Perceptions

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Lately, I’ve been practically obsessed with entering giveaways.  I’ve entered just about every giveaway I’ve come across.  So far, I’ve won a soil cube maker, but I’m hoping to win alot more (hey, I can hope, right?!).  Since I’ve found so many contests online though, I thought it would be greedy of me to keep them all to myself, so I’m going to share them with you.  Here they are:

Solar Hot Water System

Berkey Water Filter

Rachel Ramm Fine Art Giveaway

FBS Books Gift Certificate

Chipper/Shredder

Garden Gift Box

Paint

Savvy Teas and Herbs Giveaway

Die-cast Farm Vehicles

Tropical Traditions Oxygen Bleach

Heritage Breed Chicken Starter Kit

Lunch Tote

Heated Toilet Seat

Tooth Chips

Mantis Tiller

Baby Buttons Designs Giveaway

Solar Oven

Jar Cake

Portable Equine Fence Kit

Herb DVD’s

Soap Nuts   (I use these, and they are GREAT!)

House of Breezy Gift Card

Mobile Chicken Coop

Excalibur Dehydrator   (I have an Excalibur, and it is AMAZING, the Cadillac of dehydrators!)

Different contests end on different days, so be sure to check the entry information, rules, and details! 

Disclaimer:  None of the contests are mine personally, I’m just sharing the links to the contests that I’ve come across.  I cannot guarantee any contest or product.

Some people have heard of the word “tithe”, some haven’t.  Some people tithe regularly (I’m one of those people), and some have never tithed in their entire life.  So what exactly is this mysterious sounding word?  How do you do it?  What benefit is there to it?

One definition for “tithe”, according to dictionary.com, is “the tenth part of agricultural produce or personal income set apart as an offering to God or for works of mercy”.

A tithe is 10% of your income given to God, such as by donating to a church, charity, or other ministry.  Tithing is simply giving 10% of what you earn.

So, what are the benefits of tithing?  This is just a little of what the Bible says about tithing:

Malachi 3:10-11 (New International Version, ©2011) ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty.

Luke 6:38 (New International Version, ©2011)  ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

The Bible basically tells you that if you give to God, He will give to you.  God doesn’t want your money per se, and yes, He does want your obedience, but most of all, He wants you to trust Him.  He knows that it’s difficult for us to part with money, but He doesn’t want us to look to our money for security and provision – He wants us to look to Him for all of our needs.

Money may seem like something big to trust Him with, but as we celebrate this Easter season we should realize that we trust Him with something far greater than money: our salvation.  How can we trust God with our soul for all of eternity, yet not trust Him with our money?

In the grand scheme of things, money’s not so important, especially when looking at the bigger picture of eternity.  I trust God with my money, my salvation, my entire life.  He created me.  He knows what’s best for me.  He’s taken care of me for this many years, and I’ve got no reason to think He won’t continue to do so.

I’m a firm believer in tithing.  I’ve heard great testimonies of blessings from others who’ve started tithing.  I hope that if you don’t already tithe, you’ll consider doing so.  Just as Luke 6:38 begins ” Give, and it will be given to you.”

I hate throwing food away.  I don’t like being wasteful, and I know it doesn’t set a good example for my children.  Sometimes though, there’s food that they just won’t eat, and I don’t know what else to do with it. 

Example:  I could serve the same pot of chili for a week straight, and my children would choose to starve for an entire week rather than eat chili. 

The problem is, as their tastes change, I never know whether or not they’re going to like, or eat, dinner.  I try to include them as much as possible by asking them what they want to have for dinner, letting them help make it, and letting them set the table, but sometimes even that doesn’t work.

Food’s not cheap, and it’s getting more expensive by the day.  I hate throwing money away when I toss uneaten food in the trash, but if no one’s going to eat it, there’s no point in keeping it – unless I can “recycle” it into something else, like turning garlic toast into stuffing or rice into rice pudding.

I try to “recycle” my food as much as reasonably possible, but there still always ends up being uneaten food.  Sometimes it’s because the kids don’t like it.  Other times, it’s because there’s only a single serving left that seems like it wouldn’t be worth reheating for a large family.  In the end, it always seems like I end up throwing out food, even if only a little bit, every day.

However, I have started to realize that I’m not the only one in the world who wishes they didn’t spend so much money on food.  Now, instead of throwing food away, I save it – for someone else.  I’ve taken food to my widowed neighbor across the street.  I frequently freeze single servings of leftovers for my single mom and save them for her until she comes for her monthly visit.

Now, although my family isn’t eating all of the food that I buy, I stress less about it because I no longer view it as being wasted money.  It may not directly benefit my family’s finances to give food away, but it does benefit the recipients of the food, and it does bless them financially by saving them money on their groceries.  Besides, what goes around comes around.  The Bible says “give and it shall be given unto you”.  What better what to teach my children generosity, love, responsibility, and a giving heart than by leading by example.

It’s easy to get caught up in my own finances, but I really should take the time more often to try to help others.  After all, there’s a lot more to life than just money!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. I’ve had 3 sick kids, so my time and energy have been pretty much devoted solely to them. That’s okay though, they needed me, and I’m glad that I’m able to take care of them.

In sacrificing my personal time and things that I enjoy to spend more time caring for my children, it made me think about how often I’ve heard other parents say how they can’t wait until their kids are older so they “can have their lives back”. Personally, I wasn’t aware that children were “life thieves”. I thought they were miraculous blessings who enhanced our lives, not burdens who took from it.

So really, what is a child worth? Could you really put a value on him or her? Not a monetary value, but something you’d be willing to exchange him or her for. Would you gladly trade your child’s youth for more time to read, time to exercise, a clean house?

Maybe I’m odd, but I don’t want my children to hurry up and grow up. When that happens, I won’t be “getting my life back”, I’ll be sad that such an important era of my life has passed. Yes, there are things that I’d like to do that I don’t do because I’ve got children, but none of those things are very important. There’s no activity more important than my children.

 I can understand hiring a babysitter once in a while, but I don’t understand at all the idea of wanting your children to hurry up and get older. My oldest child just turned 4, and I think my children are old enough already! Actually, I wouldn’t mind if time stood still for a while!

I don’t mean to sound like I’m criticizing other parents. I honestly just can’t understand their reasoning. I like to read, but I can read with kids. I can read to my kids, read while they’re asleep, or sit down with them and let them look through their books while I read mine. I’d like a cleaner house, but I’d be lost without my children who I need to clean the house up after. As for exercise, chasing after kids is exercise! Want more? Exercise with your kids.

You can do practically everything with kids that you can do without them. (Trust me, I’m typing this blog post with my 16 month old on my lap.) Sometimes, you just choose not to. Yes, it may be a hassle to pack a diaper bag, but if you’re skipping out on an event because you don’t want to pack a diaper bag, it can’t possibly be that important to you anyway.

Last of all, if you want your kids to grow up so you can have some peace and quiet, maybe you should think how you’d feel after a day, a week, a month of peace and quiet. It may sound relaxing at first, but try telling that to the widow with grown children who has been living in “peace and quiet” for the last 20 years. I’m sure she’d trade you places in a heartbeat.

So, enjoy your kids while you can. They’re only young once. Your life may be full of noise, full of messes, full of chaos, but it’s also full of love, full of blessings, and full of opportunity. With children, your life is always full. That’s why when they’re gone, it’s called an empty nest.

SunOven.com is generously giving away:

2 GLOBAL SUN OVENs^{®  (1 for each of the  2 first place winners)}

3 POT & PAN PACKAGES (1 for each of the 3 second place winners) (package includes a 3-quart Granite Ware Enamel Pot, a 4-quart Granite Ware Enamel Stock Pot w/Steamer Insert and a set of two Loaf Pans)

and

5 “Month of SUNdays” Cookbooks (1 for each of the 5 third place winners)

Full details and entry details are available here.

So what is a Global Sun Oven^®?  It’s a solar oven!

What can I bake in a Global Sun Oven^®?  Anything you’d bake in a regular oven!

Can I use it in the winter?  Yes!

Oddest thing I’ve seen cooked in a solar oven?  Hard-boiled eggs without water.

Anymore questions, browse sunoven.com!

My mom lives about 100 miles away and only comes to visit us once a month.  Every time she comes, she brings us things.  She usually brings clothes for my kids, groceries, and sometimes clothes for me, treats for my husband, and toys for my children.  She really is a huge blessing to us, but she doesn’t see it that way.

When she came to visit earlier this week, she brought clothes for my children, clothes for me, treats for my husband, birthday presents for my oldest and smaller toys for the younger ones, and groceries.  While she was here, she entertained my children so I could get some housework done, babysat my son while I took my daughters to dance class, helped clean up after meals, picked up the toys in my living room while I bathed my children, and helped me get them dressed for bed.  I’m sure she enjoyed it (well, except for the cleaning part, no one would enjoy the cleaning), but it was also such a big help to me.

After all of her generosity and helpfulness, when she was leaving, she thanked me “for everything”.  I keep thinking that there’s no way I out-gave her.  All I did was send her home with leftovers!  I’m sure she appreciates the leftovers, but she’s really thankful that I let her help me, trust her with my kids, and welcome her into my family (yes, my mother is family, but you know what I mean).

That really puts the “better to give than to receive” thing into focus.  I don’t know if she’s that selfless, that loving, or both, but she is quite an example for me to strive to follow.

In thinking over that, it prompted me to look up the origin of the famous “better to give than to receive” quote.  It turns out that it came from the Bible.  (I know, imagine that!)  Acts 20:35 reads “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  (emphasis mine)

So, since it’s “more blessed to give than to receive” (It really is – Jesus wouldn’t lie!), in honor of my mother, I’m giving away a book written for moms – 100 Income Streams for Full-time Moms: Because Your Children are Your Full-time Job. 

What’s it about?  The title says it all!

How do you enter?  Leave a comment on this blog post or on the Expressions of Perceptions facebook page.  For an additional entry, suggest the EOP facebook page to others, and leave a comment letting me know that you did.

A winner will be drawn at random (literally, at random.org) on Saturday, April 9th.

Of course this doesn’t compare to how much my mother has given me, but she’s got some pretty big shoes to fill!

It’s amazing how a single person, comment, or gesture can make you feel either valued or worthless, loved or hated, cherished or unwanted, happy or sad, confident or self-conscious, safe or scared. It’s amazing how, in a world that thinks bigger is always better, it’s the little things that really matter.

I just saw a poll that asked at what age a child should be given a cell phone, and I was truly shocked at many of the answers.  8 years old, seriously?!  Justifying a 5-year old getting a cell because he already has a laptop, are you kidding me?!

Some responders said when their children could drive.  A few said when their children could pay for it themselves.  Still, I’m not on board with that.

I gave my answer, but it wasn’t a numerical one.  Call me old-fashioned (go ahead, I really am), but I don’t think kids should have one at all.  Disagree all you want, but I’m standing my ground.

First of all, do you know how much damage that radiation will do to your child’s brain?  Probably not.  It may take 10-20 years for a brain tumor to show up, but by then it’ll be too late to just take away the cell.  (See here for more info.)

Secondly, have you noticed how cell phones impact children’s social skills?  Children just sit there texting away while carrying on a conversation with you (from the amount of attention you’re getting from them, it’s clearly not a conversation that deserves their attention), never making eye contact, never looking away from the phone.  Seriously, my 15-year old brother-in-law (my husband’s 14 years his senior) can’t join his parents for a 1-hour visit at our house without spending at least half that time with his eyes glued to his cell.  (I still can’t figure out why they don’t make him leave it in the car.)  Do we really want to raise our children to be impersonal, disrespectful, detached, addicted to electronics that fail without electricity or recharged batteries, and who make others feel undeserving of their full attention?

Of course there are other reasons beyond health and relationships that could be taken into account, such as the money and “spoiling” them, but I think those are the most important.  The way this technology thing is going, I wouldn’t be surprised if couples began texting each other their wedding vows while standing at the altar before the preacher.

Sometimes, I’d like to put a big “No Cell Phones Beyond This Point” sign on my front door, but I don’t want to be a rude hostess.  I want to treat my guests with respect, but I sure wish they wanted to do the same for me.  The sad part is that I don’t think that most children realize how disrespectful they are with their phones because their parents don’t tell them.

Even worse, I have adult visitors that do the same.  I do think that it sets a bad example for my children by teaching them to not to give people the proper focus and attention.  We set a good example for our own children, but we have to use the example set by others as a “teaching experience” for them.  We have to explain what was disrespectful about their cell phone use and why.

(We are a family of 5, and we have one prepaid cell phone that my husband uses when he goes out of town – that’s it.  I know we’re “odd” compared to most of the rest of the country, but I try to be purposeful about my living.  I try to think of the reasons for and against everything in life so that I can live my life as effectively as possible.  After all, if I’m not part of the solution, I may be part of the problem.)

Well, that about ends my rant on cell phones.  In short, they contribute to ill health effects and poor social skills, so I cannot justify giving them to children.  Agree or disagree, but that is my stance.

Shelf Reliance boasts a line of Thrive Food that has been freeze dried at it’s freshest point, thus preserving nutrients.  It is then vacuum sealed, keeping it good for years.

Enter to win a Pantry Size Can of Raspberries!  Use them for baking or just as snacks.  Either way, they’ll wait for you.

To enter the contest, leave a comment on the following blog post: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/shelf-reliance-thrive-food-giveaway/comment-page-8#comment-80029

I’m buying a grain mill – if I can ever make up my mind which one to get.  What do you think?  I could really use some helpful advice!

I’m trying to decide between the Country Living Grain Mill and the Family Grain Mill.  I admit, the Country Living mill seems like it’s superior in quality, but it’s also more basic and more expensive.  The Family Grain Mill has wonderful features (can be used with the motorized base or used with the hand crank, has attachments for grinding meat, etc.), but my concern with it is that it won’t grind the flour fine enough.

The reviews for the CL mill are great, and I’m very confident that it would grind (well, it’s a hand-operated mill, so I’m very confident that it could be used to grind) my flour to a super-fine consistency, but that’s really all it would do.  The FG mill could grind flour, grind meat, flake oats, and more (by itself with the motor or with me using the hand crank).

I’ve read the CL mill reviews on Amazon.com, but I haven’t found any reviews for the FG mill.  It’s not listed on Amazon.

The FG mill replacement parts are less expensive than the replacement parts for the CL mill, but I’m not sure if that’s due to quality.

I like all the “bells & whistles”, so to speak, of the FG mill, and I’m hoping that’s not clouding my judgment.  That’s why I’m asking for your help.

So, which one would you buy, and why?  (And, no, a Wondermill is not an option.  I’m not buying a mill that can only be used when we have electricity.  I want one that is hand-operated, though I wouldn’t complain if it also had a motor base option.)

Actually, I think that writing this helped me make my decision, but I’m still curious as to what others think, so please feel free to impart your words of wisdom below.  I’d love to hear them in case you think of something that I haven’t!

Country Living Grain Mill

Family Grain Mill Combo M6