Happy Thanksgiving!

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Have a truly happy and blessed Thanksgiving! May God continue to bless you today and in the future.

from the entire Godfrey Family: Marty, Susan, Colt & Riley

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. —Psalm 9:1I

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Which "Team" Are You On?

 

I've had something on my mind for weeks in regard to the whole "Twilight" phenomenon.  Quite frankly I just don't get it.  I haven't read any of the books, but I did watch the first "Twilight" movie to see what the big deal was and found it inane and dull.  First of all I guess I don't understand why so many Christian women are reading these books and watching these movies.  I guess I don't get why Christians can celebrate and support a book/movie which makes something/someone evil be the hero.  Edward is still a demon, he is still evil and while he chooses not to take human life, that still does not make him the ideal hero or even a flawed hero that should be celebrated.  And, to top that off, what it's teaching young women is so off base!  I mean a whole generation of young women are choosing sides...hmmm...is it "Team Edward" the vampire or should I choose "Team Jacob" and go with the Werewolves?  They are choosing sides, but both are ultimately evil.  I think I'll choose "Team Jesus" thank you very much!  These books/movies are also teaching young women a skewed view of love and romance.  You know that little Bible school song "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See"?  That really does apply in real life.  What you watch, read, listen to, etc all that information goes into your brain and never leaves.  Once you've read it, watched it or listened to it, it stays there.  Sure you may not be able to recall it in it's entirity, but it's there somewhere in the back of you mind.  We, as Christians must be careful what we let into our minds.  I try to always apply this verse to things before I watch them, read them, listen to them, etc.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." --Philippians 4:8

I simply don't think that the "Twilight" books and movies fit in with this verse.  Neither do other popular "vampire" themed shows and books, such as "The Vampire Diaries".  No matter how well behaved they are, they are still evil. And yet, thousands of young girls and young women are all aflutter over them.  They are putting these ultimately evil creatures up on pedistals and bowing down to them.  They all want a guy like Edward, an evil and very flawed creature.  They don't want the nice, polite Christian young man, they want the dark and mysterious bad boy.  Why is it that so many women are drawn to the bad boy, do they think they can save them like the heroine does in books?   This is where this sort of fiction can be very dangerous, it tricks our minds into thinking that love and romance will be just like it is in the books.  The woman with a heart of gold always saves the dark and dangerous hero.  The sad fact is, that most of the time this is not the case.  As Christians, we should look for mates who exhibit Christ-like attitude and actions.  I've seen too many cases of where women marry a bad boy thinking they can save them, but instead it ends in divorce, or worse yet, a life long abusive relationship.  We can not save the bad boys, only Christ can do that.  It's a choice they have to make and no amount of a woman trying to change them will do it.  Sure, pray for them, but as a Christian you shouldn't get romatically involved with them.  Prayer does amazing things and I've seen it save people who I thought were totally lost and a hopeless case.  As badly as you may want to, you can't "love" a person into making the choice.  Romance is nice, but the romance in books is often over the top and unrealistic and as such it can mislead a woman into thinking that this sort of romance is the norm.  Romance is not the by-all-end-all of a good relationship as it's portrayed in books and movies.  I haven't been married to my husband for nearly 20 years just because of romance.  I've been married to him for nearly 20 years because of respect, companionship, a bit of stubborness and a lot of love...my husand is not the hearts and flowers type.  Yet, everyday, he shows me in some little action or deed that he loves me and respects me.  He values my opinion and my companionship.

Here are a couple of good articles to read in regards to the whole "Twilight" phenomenon, written from a Christian perspective.  I hope you'll read them and consider what they have to say.

• How Twilight is Re-Vamping Romance
• Vampire Craze

Stepping down from my soap box now...

 

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Monday Monday and Linky Love

It's been a busy few days around here!  Saturday, we went to my Father-in-Law's house for Thanksgiving with my husband's side of the family.  Had a good time catching up with folks we don't see very often and ate lots of good food.  The rest of the weekend, we just kind of hung around the house and tinkered.  Today, I'm trying to catch up on laundry so we'll be prepared to visit my parents for Thanksgiving.  We're still planning on going to Homestead Heritage on Saturday (11/29) and maybe also on Sunday (11/30), so if you're planning on being there on that day, leave me a comment and let me know and we'll try to have a sort of informal meet-up.  

So, it's a pretty normal Monday around here...basically catching up from the weekend on laundry and that sort of thing.  I'm not going to do any canning this week...it's just too hectic with all the travel and back and forth.  BUT, the Blueberry-Pomegranate Jelly I made last week has been a big hit with everyone who's tried it.  We've all decided that it's perfection and now our family's favorite =)

Well, it's lunch time and I need to feed the kids, so I need to get off here, but here are some links I ran across today that I thought I'd share!  Most of them are yummy recipes, I guess it's just that time of year to post recipes!

Linky Love:

• Creamy Cranberry Salad (With a Dairy Free Version) (NT Friendly)
• Butternut Squash Pie
• Double Chocolate Pecan Pie
• How To Make Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner
• Apple Spice Simmering Potpourri
• Project: Family Rules Canvas
• Concequences Pyramid
• Concequences Pyramid Update
• Cranberry-Apple Casserole
• Tangy & Savory Mexican Soup
  

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Canning Frenzy

Want to know what I've been doing this week??  I've been canning!  I've canned 32 jars of pickles and jelly over the past 3 days:

2 quarts  & 4 pints Spicy Dill Pickled Green Beans
3 quarts & 5 pints Lime-Cumin Pickled Green Beans
5 half-pints Cinnamon Spice Apple Jelly
5 half-pints Pineapple-Mango Jelly
5 half-pints Blueberry-Pomegranate Jelly
1 pint Lime-Cumin Pickled Garlic
1 pint Lime-Cumin Pickled Jalapeno Slices

A total of 31 jars of food put up!  We're looking forward to some yummy additions to our meals in the future!

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Lime-Cumin Pickled Jalapeno Slices

 

Lime-Cumin Pickled Jalapeno Slices

Makes six 1-pint jars.

4 cups white vinegar
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon canning salt
2 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Jalapeno Peppers,sliced, enough to feel 6 pint jars


Sterilize six 1-pint canning jars. Simmer lids for 10 minutes. In a medium pot, mix together the water, vinegar, salt, lime juice & cumin. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Mix well to make sure salt dissolves and cumin is distributed evenly. Fill the jars tightly with the Jalapeno Peppers, leaving enough room to remove with ease. Bring the brine back to a boil and then pour into the jars until Jalapeno Peppers are fully covered. Put the lids and rings on the jars and tighten (don't over-tighten). Place the jars into the boiling water canner, which should boiling. Make sure the water in the canner covers the top of the jars by 1-inch. Once water begins boiling again, heat the jars for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner and place on a wire rack to cool. Let cool 12-24 hours. Store 4-6 weeks before serving.

NOTE:  I didn't make 6 jars, but I had left over brine from pickling green beans and used that to pickle my extra Jalapeno Peppers in.  I also just added the brine, so this recipe reflects that.  You can see the complete recipe for the Lime-Cumin Pickles here.

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Lime-Cumin Pickled Garlic

 

Lime-Cumin Pickled Garlic

Makes six 1-pint jars.

4 cups white vinegar
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon canning salt
2 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Garlic cloves, peeled, enough to feel 6 pint jars


Sterilize six 1-pint canning jars. Simmer lids for 10 minutes. In a medium pot, mix together the water, vinegar, salt, lime juice & cumin. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Mix well to make sure salt dissolves and cumin is distributed evenly. Fill the jars tightly with the garlic, leaving enough room to remove \with ease. Bring the brine back to a boil and then pour into the jars until garlic ais fully covered. Put the lids and rings on the jars and tighten (don't over-tighten). Place the jars into the boiling water canner, which should boiling. Make sure the water in the canner covers the top of the jars by 1-inch. Once water begins boiling again, heat the jars for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner and place on a wire rack to cool. Let cool 12-24 hours. Store 4-6 weeks before serving.

NOTE:  I didn't make 6 jars, but I had left over brine from pickling green beans and used that to pickle my extra garlic in.  I also just added the brine, so this recipe reflects that.  You can see the complete recipe for the Lime-Cumin Pickles here.

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Blueberry-Pomegranate Jelly

 

Blueberry-Pomegranate Jelly

1 cup apple juice
4 cups blueberry-pomegranate juice
1 cup sugar
1 to 1 ¼ boxes no sugar needed powdered pectin.

In a stockpot, bring the juices and sugar to a boil. Add the powdered pectin and stir to mix well. Return mixture to a full rolling boil, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim off foam with a metal spoon. Quickly pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars, filling to 1/4 inch from top; wipe jar rims. Cover immediately with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process jars in boiling water bath 5 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 pints & 1 half-pint or 5 half-pints.

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