Feeling Corny! (or, how to freeze corn for the winter)

Free corn, just picked that morning!

 
The father of a friend of mine works with an organization called Second Harvest to help secure food for local food banks.  He calls around to local farms to see about crop donations and occasionally winds up securing more than the food bank (or the local mission) can use and calls in the troops to come haul it away.  Which we are only too happy to do.  ahem.

My sister-in-law, Melissa, and I were able to put away enough corn for the winter on Monday, thanks to that farmer's generosity.  We had such a good time praising God together while we worked to see that our "lamps don't go out at night!" 

Everyone helped shuck the corn.  What a great opportunity to teach the concepts of working with a happy heart, finishing a task, and working together as a family to help take care of each other.  (This is also one way we teach our boys that they will someday be responsible for providing for their families.)

Roman and Jonah keeping at it

 

Lily, Annabelle, Jonah, Roman and Mary-Beth

Grandma (my mother) came to help with round two, after a lunch break

Blanch the corn for 3 or 4 minutes.

Cut corn off of cobs, then measure it into freezer bags.  Fill until just covered with water, then seal, doing your best to remove all the air.  The water will help combat freezer burn.

Even baby Ellie-Anne did her best to help.

I think this was my favorite part of the whole day!

Look at God's bounty!  Isn't that wonderful?  What a blessing it is to be able to put away this much corn.  We all had the sense that something more important than "free corn" was going on, and the children knew that they were a part of it.  And more importantly, they knew Who provided it and were more motivated to help, learning their first tangible lesson about giving God the glory. 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Jonah's first original composition...

And how it made her feel...

Some just can't see the forest for the trees

More of what I was talking about Tuesday.  Only she says it so much better! 

Child rearing is soul winning... or not (an article at the LAF website.)


The more I hear, the more I read God's word, the more I realize how little I know.  This issue of just how deep is the job of child rearing is heavy on my heart lately.  There's so much more to it than just making sure the children get breakfast, naps and Jesus, not necessarily in that order, keep their rooms clean, darken the doors of the church twice a week and recite all their AWANA verses perfectly.

No, it's so much more! 

I'm trying not to be militant about it, realizing that God in His vast tenderness brings us all to the same point but at different paces.  He doesn't expect us to have it all figured out (thank you God!) and He doesn't expect us to affect a complete black-and-white transformation in EVERY area we're not getting all at once.  (Super duper thank you, God!)

No.  Can't be militant.  But it's SO important!  Please read this woman's article, you'll see what I mean.

The buck stops here!

How many Christian parents know that religious instruction is our responsibility?  A responsibility that cannot be handed over to a church, a school, a Sunday school teacher.  It is our job, folks.  Ultimately, it is actually the father's job, but we mothers spend far more time each day with our children (especially we homeschool mothers) and so we should take on a share of that responsibility as well.

One thing I'm going to be starting in our homeschool is The Child's Scripture Catechism.  You can find it here at the Bluedorns' website, Trivium Pursuit.  We usually pray, then work on our AWANA sections, and then go straight to reading/spelling.  I think now we'll put the catechism before the AWANA sections.  Or maybe we'll do it just before bedtime?  I don't know for sure.  I haven't had a chance to discuss it with my husband yet, I'm still thinking about it.

A few sample questions...

1.  Who made us?
...the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground...  Genesis 2:7

3.  For what are we made?
...glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's...
1 Corinthians 6:20

17.  How can we learn to do what is right in God's sight?
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?  By taking heed thereto according to thy Word.  Psalm 119:9

66.  Is the Holy Ghost in Scripture called God?
...why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost... Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.  Acts 5:3,4

118.  In whose name must we pray?
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.  John 16:23

I'm thinking of memorizing one or two each week, with discussion about what they mean and a search for more Scripture on each topic.  I'll be using either NIV or NASB because those are the versions my children are memorizing.  In situations where the meaning, flavor or intensity/gravity of purpose seems to be too different from the original languages and/or the KJV, I dismiss the contemporary translations and stick with the trusty KJV.

Here's a good article on the LAF website (which prompted my post) that talks about the importance of teaching your children the basic tenets of our faith.  She uses a different catechism, which looks like it covers all the bases, but with the notable exception of leaving out Scripture references on which to base the answers.

I'd love to hear from you all about how you incorporate religious instruction into your daily lives!

Such wisdom.

"Peter Pan and Wendy Float Away Over the City" - find it here

Mary-Beth (my Kindergartener):  Jonah?  What do you do in 1st grade that you don't do in Kindergarten?

Jonah (my 1st grader):  Pretty much the same thing, except that you live your life more.

I have no idea what that means.  It amuses me, though, because they're both sitting at the same table during school time.