I shout, "Grace, Grace!" to this Mountain

In my quiet time this morning, reading James 4:7-10

7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

My hearts prayer was to truly walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. My heart cried, Abba Father! All glory and praise to You for loving me through my tears and grief over my transgressions. Thank-you for Your joy that comes in the morning, Lord! Help me, Lord, to rely fully on Your power, to truly walk in Your Spirit always.

As I then went about my morning, I went looking online for the scripture prayer website that I frequent. I had in mind a specific prayer for loved ones that I wanted to share with a friend. That accomplished, the Lord lead me to another beautiful site and I found the prayer below. Praise God, you've just got to love those immediate answers!

The prayer is based on Zechariah 4:6-7.
Zerubbabel has struggled to build the temple amid all many and means of problems. An angel comes with encouragement and wisdom:
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
“Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit”
says the Lord of Hosts.
Who are you great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”

Basically, the message to Zerubbabel and to us is that some problems are beyond our ability to fix, no matter how powerful or talented we may be. Where our power fails, the task is completed by the Spirit of the Lord. He gets credit. We do not!

So here is the prayer in all its simplicity:

Lord, this day I take authority over the thief regarding (the situation)
(John 10:10)
And, I shout “Grace, grace!” to this mountain. (Zechariah 4:6-7)

How to pray it:
• Pray it each day, taking authority over the thief for this day.
• Any time during the day when the situation comes to mind, pray the prayer again.
• Pray this instead of fretting.

Part of the power of this prayer:
• Recognizing and confessing that the problem is too big for you, but manageable by God is a big step. You roll the burden of the problem onto the Burden Bearer, just as Jesus instructed. (Matt 11:30)

• As you repeat the prayer instead of allowing fear to grip you, your mind is renewed. You begin to think like God regarding the situation. This increases faith tremendously and when you have faith the size of a mustard seed, “you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt 17:20)

HERE is the link to the website.

Time To Get My Blog On!

Well, hey there bloggy world! It's been a while, how have you been? I am happy to report that life here in Miltyville is good. Better than good, it is fabulous, praise God, and we are looking forward to summer vacation starting in just a few days. I will be officially hanging up my babysitter hat and maxin' & relaxin' with both LilMiltys and Princess Milty. You can read about our family name game HERE

This school year flew by! Did it for you too?

A Simple Woman's Daybook for Monday, April 13

Outside My Window... beautiful live oaks and palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze

I am thinking...how thankful I am to be counted among God's people

I am thankful for...the opportunity to see dear old friends last week, it was a wonderful visit

From the kitchen...homemade ketchup that will be put right into the Heinz bottle, think the kids will notice?

I am wearing...black peddle pusher sweatpants and a pink tee

I am creating...something, anything on my new sewing machine :-) I have to figure out how to use it first...

I am going...to the amish farmers market this afternoon

I am reading...Nicholae from the Left Behind series and The Makers Diet

I am hoping...to get my home blessing done and work on changing my daily lists and routines to better reflect the season we are in

I am hearing...my daughter sing to herself

Around the house...the kids are really enjoying arts and crafts, especially since they can see everything we have to create with

One of my favorite things...hearing my children say "I love you" to each other, just melts my heart

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: to visit a local farm where we can get fresh milk, practice my sewing, re organize the master bdrm closet

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


Brotherly love. This was a few years ago, it is one of my favorites, aren't they cute?

Want to see more Daybooks and maybe join in yourself? Visit A Simple Woman's Daybook

Everyone in Miltyville Has a Name

If you missed the beginning of this story, you can read it HERE.

I got so many great suggestions! Thanks everyone for your input. Our middle guy got to choose which nickname he wanted and he chose.......drumroll, please.......



LilMilty


I know, I know, I thought he needed a different nickname of his very own, but the little guy wanted to be just like his beloved big brother. How sweet is that?

So, the tradition continues to the next generation. Two LilMilty brothers, just like their were two Milty brothers, kind of cool, huh?


The Milty Brothers with our 1st LilMilty


And the LilMilty Brothers

Kind of sounds like a rock band....hhhmmmm......

Welcome to Miltyville

The time has come to officially introduce my little family. In keeping with the fun bloggy tradition, We will all use our official nicknames. Now, when I say official, I mean it. When I married my husband, Milty, I didn't realize the legacy I was marrying into.

You see, Milty is not our family name.

Surprised?

Most people are.

The nickname began with hubby's dad, who was "Uncle Milty" to all his college buds. Having a last name that sounds sort of close and sort of looking like Milton Burl, he really had no choice in the matter. But he wore it well and with honor and proudly handed the name down to his sons and daughter.

The next generation dropped the Uncle and went as simply "Milty". A very cool handle that both boys pulled off well, even when in the same room. Their beautiful sister was, you guessed it, MsMilty, and she still is!(beautiful and MsMilty that is)

But what happens when Milty marries and has children? Well, Milty becomes BigMilty and his wife becomes MamaMilty.

Now, some of you already know me as MamaMilty and in the interest of simplicity, I will be using my ultra cool nickname by marriage from here on out. So when you get a comment from MamaMilty, don't be confused, you know me, Hi, Its Me Jen!

And what about the kids, you ask?



Well, our oldest, the blonde on the left, has been LilMilty all his life and he likes it, he will carry on the family moniker with aplomb.

But what to call his younger brother and sister?

That is the question!

It doesn't seem right to name our middle guy who is so full of personality and actually taller than his big bro Lil'rMilty, now does it? MiddleMilty just isn't good on so many levels....


What should we name this little guy???


And last, but certainly not least, our little princess.....could she be anyone else besides PrincessMilty?

Running a close second would be DiapeeHeadMilty, but for longevity, we thought we ought to go with the other one, what do y'all think?

So that is our story.

Welcome to Miltyville, our little corner of the world where we know that with God, All Things are Possible.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY March 23, 2009



Outside My Window... The sun is shining and the sky is a brilliant blue

I am thinking...Lord, let me have a gentle spirit as I live this day with my potty training 2y/o and into everything 20 m/o and rambunctious 4 & 5 y/o's and inquisitive 6 y/o


I am thankful for...Coffee! I stayed up way too late last night and the morning comes early no matter what


From the kitchen...cleaning out the fridge and getting healthy fruit and veggie snacks ready for little hand to get all by themselves....gulp.


I am wearing...my fav. yellow tee with a sparkly heart & flowers & butterflies over an orange tank with a khaki cotton skirt

I am creating...an inviting, orderly home that is a haven for my family

I am going...to take the 2 middle boys to preschool for the morning

I am reading...Joshua

I am hoping...to get the whole pile of clean dishes spilling our of 2, yep, 2!, dish racks put away today

I am hearing...the sound of children play elevator in the closet

Around the house...we are learning Ephesians 2:8 as our memory verse this week

One of my favorite things...the lovely aroma of chicken roasting in the oven...we will be enjoying that delicious treat for the senses later this afternoon

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: to re-organize my jars and glass containers, to make marinara sauce to freeze, to get outside and bike with the kids, and finish our family project of listing ways we can each show love and kindness to each other

Here is picture thought I am sharing...
You are invited to visit The Simple Woman to see more daybooks...

Wordless Wednesday

Just a few short years ago, I had 2 in cribs...oh, how the time flies by. They are 5 and 6 now.
Be sure and visit 5 Minutes for Mom to see more Wordless Wednesday.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

What does this holiday really signify?



With so much talk of leprechauns and pots o' gold going on at school, I thought we better bring things back to what's truly meaningful about this holiday.


Inspired by fishmama's beautiful post, I hurriedly put my plan together in the few minutes before we picked up our oldest from kindergarten.

With their bellies full of yummy shamrock shakes, we sat down to make 3 leaf clovers, just like the ones Patrick used to tell people about the Holy Trinity. Since we had three shamrock to make, we also looked up names of Jesus and put 3 names along with the scripture on the other two.



As I wrote it out, the kids told me the three persons of God, how cool is that? Thank-you, Jesus for giving my beloved children ears to hear. Then we talked about all the different names of Jesus. As I wrote a name on the shamrock, my oldest looked up the scripture and read it to us. I love how he refers to the gospel of John as "Plain John" and first John as "One John".




Then we strung our beautiful creations on a string of shamrock beads and adorned our chandelier. What a lovely reminder of Patrick's wish, to point one and all to Jesus Christ.

May the Lord richly bless you and yours on this St. Patrick's Day.

Around the Kitchen Table

The kitchen is the heart of our home and I love that.

We pray together, play together, share our meals and snacks, color and create all around our kitchen table. Homework is done, letters are written and the bible is read all around our kitchen table.

When we first moved into this home, I attempted a more grown up decor, but as we live in this little space, functionality continually wins over decor. So, I am doing my best to create beautiful function that compliments our lifestyle and promotes organization. Easier said than done, let me tell you! I tend to complicate systems in my need to have things precise and neat. The result is that I am the only one in the family that can keep the system going and that does not work when there are 5 (and sometimes 7) of us living here, making a mess.

Hopefully, I have struck a balance in our kitchen, only time will tell.

These were my goals:
1) Have the napkins, S & P shakers, memory verse & daily prayer cards and bible neatly available on the table.

2) Create a space for all the arts & crafts supplies that allowed me to keep things like scissors & glue out of reach but still in sight and allowed free access to pencils, paper, activity books, etc.

3) Organize a homework station (goodness they bring a lot of paper work home and they are only in Kindergarten and Pre-K)

4) Hang a clock so we could start learning how to tell time.

5) Plant a kid friendly herb garden.

6) Display their artwork in a way that gives it the honor it deserves.

7) Create a spot for our new goldfish, Goldie, my bible study stuff and the treat jars for the dog and the kids.

I accomplished all of my goals, want to see?


I used the backside of restaurant tent cards to write the verse and prayer on. Hubby calls on restaurants for work, so he has stacks and stacks of the things. Simply folding card stock paper would work, too. This really helps us all learn our bible verses as a family and keeps us centered on Christ whenever we come to the table. Having the kids' bible readily available really reinforces the lesson that we can and should go the Word in all things. I love the Adventure Bible that we are using, it makes morning devotions so simple, yet interesting for all of us.


Here is our arts & crafts center, I am pleased to tell you that as each of the children first saw it, they gasped in surprise and then with lots of oohs and wows thoroughly investigated it, then promptly sat down to create. I would call that success, wouldn't you? The clock makes bird calls on the hour and was given to us by Nana & Papa right off their kitchen wall after they moved away. It was hanging in the laundry room and has been in need of a battery for some time. I am tickled to have it back up, every time I hear a bird singing I just smile and think of my wonderful parents. I think I need to add some numbers around the edge before I attempt to teach the kids, though.


Here is the homework station. I really, really needed this. I am amazed at how much paper comes home every day. Some of it needs immediate attention, some needs to be saved, some is to do at a later date...so confusing. And big stacks of paper just do.not.work. I have had the kids stuff all over the place in various forms and I still managed to miss something on a regular basis, hopefully this will work since it is at their level and they can help manage it. They each have an inbox for things that are ongoing like a pad of writing paper for homework, books I've read cut & color pages to turn in, etc. The "In" and "Out" folders on the wall are for parents paperwork. The drawers have papers, stickers and stuff for projects.


Here is our little window box of herbs. We have dill, sweet basil, sage and cilantro. I want to add chives, parsley, rosemary and thyme, but we need to figure out a hanging basket or something....
The kids are my big helpers on the whole watering thing, I tend to forget...or rather, think of it and then get distracted my the twenty-nine chores I do between thinking of watering the plants and actually doing it.




I could gaze at this all day. There is nothing more beautiful than my children's artwork...except maybe my children themselves! I wanted to have a few different options for displaying, so in one frame I strung string with little clothes pins and in the other I put cork. Then on the little wall I hung cork and put several smaller frames with space to hang a 3-D creation that I know will appear soon. I want to get a small shelf as well, to place items on.

We talked about all their pieces this morning at breakfast and their smiles and looks of pride in accomplishment were just precious. It also gave them an opportunity to compliment each other...let's just say it was a love- fest this morning!


And finally, a neat spot for our newest member of the family, Goldie. He/she (the kids keep changing their minds on that one) came home last night as a fifth birthday present. By the time hubby and I went to bed poor Goldie wasn't looking too peppy and this morning he/she was um....sleeping. That's what the kids decided anyway and I felt like I dodged a bullet. The last thing I wanted to do this morning was tell them that their new beloved Goldie was dead as a doornail. So, Goldie "went to the Dr. with Daddy" and came back all healthy.

I also needed a spot to plop my bible study and my FlyLady Control Journal and a new home for the dog treats and kid treats. The kids are responsible enough to be able to reach the dog treats themselves and the kid treats are a new addition. We are implementing a reward system for random acts of kindness, going to the potty (for littlest ones, mine & the one I sit) and special accomplishments like writing your own name (for the middles, mine & the other one I sit). Right now it is filled with organic, grain sweetened chocolate chips & raw almonds. They can have one each time. I intend to switch the treats between edibles and stickers and such.



And that completes your tour of our newly designed kitchen. I loved showing you around the heart of our home and I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Wordless Wednesday

The Dr. will see you now....







I love it when they play pretend all together, it just warms my heart.

For more wordless wednesday head over to 5 minutes for mom

When the kids get the camera...

I was sick all last week, and I barely remember it...it's just a blur of throbbing, dripping, coughing, yuckiness. I am finally feeling better and it is already the end of another week. As I have dug us out from the catastrophe that is our home, I am finding some real gems. The following is what happens when mom is too sick to notice and the kids find the camara:


Hhmm....could be one of two culprits.....


Okay, now I know who the mystery camera man is. I think this was supposed to be a self portrait. I will have to teach him about things we don't photograph, like that box of hair color for mommy's naturally chestnut brown hair....


I'm still trying to figure this whole picture of a mirror in a mirror perspective. I think the boy on the left is the original reflection of him as he takes a picture of himself in the mirror and the boy on the right is the reflection of that image reflected again in the other mirror on the opposite side of the bathroom....make sense?


And so this pic must have snapped as he was getting down from that position and he got his daddy's sink that he was standing on....

I just found this so funny when I found it, hope you enjoyed it, too.

Wordless Wednesday

And he danced with Cinderella....

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.

Sincerely Fro' Me to You

This is my 1st time participating in sincerely fro' me to you carnival. It is just too good, how could I not? I mean, pictures that will never see a scrapbook? Hello. I've got loads of 'em. I didn't even have to try very hard. I just opened up ipic and scrolled for half a second. So here ya go:


Where did everybody go?

We were all out front when he woke up from his nap.....

Morning Devotions

I dearly love our morning devotions. My children love them, too. Here is an excerpt from this morning:






Me: Let's talk about how to pray. God would love us to make a habit of talking to Him everyday. Can you tell me what a habit is?

Them: Something you do all the time!

It's going well, huh?


Me: I have a habit of talking to God the very first thing when I wake up and then I keep talking to him all day long. How about you all? Do you have a habit of talking to God?

Them: Well, what if you can't think of any good stuff to ask for?

Me: Well, then you can thank Him for good things you already have, or ask Him for help if you need it.

Them:What if God gets into a battle with a big giant that is bigger than God?

Me: Nothing is bigger than our God.

Them: What if the giant stomps on my head?

Me:That would hurt.

Them: What if a monkey jumped on your head?....Yeah, like those cavemen!"

Me:
What kind of cavemen? The kind of people that live in areas where there are caves to live in or the silly monkey men you see on TV?

Them: Giggles all around and lots of ooh-ohh-aah-aah's, the silly monkey men!! Like when there were dinasaurs on the land! More giggles...

Me: Well those aren't real. Some people think we came from monkeys. Isn't that silly?

Them: More giggles and monkey noises...

Me: Did God create us as monkeys first?

Them: NO!

Me: Who were the 1st people?

Them: Adam and Eve!

Me: Not monkeys?

Them: NO! giggles...

Me: If anyone ever tries to tell you that we evolved from monkeys, even if they are an authority, they are not correct. They think they are, but they just don't know the truth. You know the truth. We find all truth in here, God's word, the bible. If you ever have a question, you will find the answers in here.

Them: Like the answer to a really hard math problem?

Me: Um....let's pray.

Go to Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursdays.

Wordless Wednesday

Our little monkey...

See more: Wordless Wednesday

Rise & Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory!!

Good morning!

The Lord work me up early this morning....

...and I tried to talk with Him a little while laying in my nice comfy bed,...

...but He had more for me today,...

...and I am so glad I listened.

Thank-you, Lord Jesus.

I am still in my 31-Day Challenge with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I actually had to stop for a little over a week, waiting for new printer ink, but whether it takes 31 or 301 days, God is really using these teachings to show me where I have work to do.

I had the pleasure of reading 2 lessons this morning and I want to share my prayer for the day, taken from Nancy's:

Lord, I pray for Your wisdom and discernment and good judgment to know how to live the kind of life that will make Jesus attractive to my children and my husband.

I pray that You'd show me issues or areas of my life where what I'm saying and what I'm doing are two different things, and that I may be honest and humble enough to agree with You, to repent, and to let You change me so that my life can reflect the beauty and the wonder and the goodness of Your will. I pray this in Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Amazingly, after such a wonderful time with Him, my household was still sleeping. Wow, God! What else do you have for me today?

I must admit, I took some time to throw in a load of laundry, make myself some coffee, set the breakfast table....and still, a sleeping household!

So over to the computer I came, checked email, then opened my blog and THIS is what I read.

Good is Good, y'all! May the Lord richly bless you today as you go about loving your on family!

Delicious Honey Oatmeal Whole-Wheat Bread

I had to post this recipe. This is the most delicious bread I have ever made. I have been trying to find the right balance to please my family's palate and this one is it. And let me just say that I was shocked, SHOCKED at how much sugar goes into bread! Some recipes called for 1/4 cup of the stuff. I tried making those recipes with sucanat or muscavado and while those sweeteners have their strengths, the breads we baked were slightly tougher than we like.

I found a book at the Goodwill bookstore the other week called The Bread Machine Bakery Book by Richard W. Langer and this recipe has become our family's every day bread. When I say every day, I mean I make a 1 1/5 lb loaf everyday.

1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp honey
2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup whole- wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal (rolled oats - not instant!)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste...I palm it)
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Follow your bread machine's instructions for loading the ingredients and set it to whole-wheat. Easy as that and oh-so yummy. A nice soft and tender bread with just enough crustiness. Delicious!

Nourishing Fudge...Fudge Y'all!!

Doesn't that look scrumptious? Let me assure you, it is. I was reading one of my favorite blogs written beautifully by Lindsay and found this yummy, healthy treat. (You will need to follow her link to the blog she got the recipe from...another one of my fav's.)

I did it just a little differently...because, well...I just cannot follow a recipe exactly, what fun would that be? Where would the drama be? Anyway, I used local honey instead of the coconut palm sugar, but I will be adding that to my growing supply of nourishing sweeteners, tout suit.

Instead of a food processor I used my Magic Bullet. Are you laughing? Don't laugh. We got this as a gift a few years ago and I kind of snickered (sorry Lys), but I have grown to LOVE it. I use it several times a day. It makes our smoothies, grates parmesan cheese, makes fresh salsa, blends vinaigrettes, puries a few cups of beans to make soup nice and smooth, and this time, it served as a food processor. I love my bullet.

So, as I was watching the chocolate fudge mix, I started thinking, hhhmmmm, I bet peanut butter would work, too....so I tried it:

1/2 cup natural peanut butter - I dug down to the bottom of the jar where its nice and dry.
slightly less than 1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup local honey

That's it! dumped it all into the bullet, turned it on for a minute or so and presto! peanut butter fudge. :-) I even got lazy and just poured it into a little round pyrex and popped it into the freezer w/o using the parchment.

When they were set, I pulled them both out and cut them and wow are they yummy. We sent some to school this morning for the kids' Valentines Day party and the teacher was thrilled that it was made with wholesome ingredients and no refined sugar.

And yes, Papa, we can make this when you come to visit!

Fly Report - Hot Spot Alert!

This is the top of my fridge. In FlyLady speak, this is a hotspot.

*sheepish grin*

This spot is on fire, actually. I rarely clean it off. So I am using you good people in bloggy world to shame me into pulling out the stool, fighting off several children who want to climb the stool with me, and getting up there and cleaning the stinking top of the fridge.

I promise. But not right now....

You want to see it upclose? Okay, here ya go:




What is all that stuff, you ask? Well...

a dvd book of kids movies
a pack of chalk (confiscated for misuse)
tape (the only place R can't find it and try to tape the whole house)
a cute little baseball bat hook thing that the boys keep taking off their wall and bopping each other with
valentines crafts & candies
the whole door shelf thingy from my freezer door that hold batteries that I can't figure out how to get back on
a dog leash
a flash light
a plastic candy cane (confiscated)
a few random game pieces (probably confiscated)

It probably took me longer to write this post than it would have to just clean it off.....

More Homemade Cleaning Products & A Review of the Others

I am digging my homemade cleaners! I am thrilled with all of them except one so far and that is a far better average than I can claim with the expensive, chemical laden, store bought versions.

Today I mixed up:

Laundry Soap
1/2 cup pure soap flakes (I used a bar of Ivory Soap and only needed a third or so of the bar)
1/2 cup baking soda
1/4 cup washing soda
1/4 cup borax
1 clean 16oz container w/lid (I used a recycled kefir bottle, it is perfect!)

Grate the soap & mix with other ingredients in a big bowl, then transfer to container. Use about 1/2 cup per load.

This is fantastic! I used it along with white vinegar for softener on the energy saver setting on my washer and my clothes came out great. it even washed pee-pee sheets & quilt nice and clean. This is a keeper. Next time I will make a bigger batch though, I am almost out after 3 loads.

Automatic Dishwasher Detergent
Equal parts borax & washing soda.

TERRIBLE!

All the glassware was cloudy, ick. I will keep looking for a better recipe, probably a liquid.

Microwave Oven Cleaner
1 1/2 cups water
3 tbl baking soda
mix in a microwave safe bowl and stick it in the mic for 3-5 minutes (I did 4 min)
carefully remove bowl, use hotpads, it will be HOT! Wipe down with a damp cloth.

Worked like a charm! I really had my doubts, but I didn't even really have to scrub very hard and my mic is shining,

See!



And I used the Fresh Smelling Multipurpose Cleaner I made last week to clean the outside and to my great surprise the stainless is sparkling, woo-hoo! I really disliked my stainless appliances because they were so hard to keep clean without have to use something special...which hardly ever happens! Now I can just spray away with my new favorite Multipurpose cleaner and clean everything in my path, YAY!



I also must comment on my new love affair with washing soda.

Am I the only one that didn't know about this stuff?? I mixed it with water & white vinegar to mop the floor and it made such a difference in how easily the stuck on schmeg spots came up. I can't wait to see what else I can do with this! Stay tuned.