Author: Sylvia Britton (Page 2 of 110)

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3-5 (NASB95)

This is a familiar passage, especially to most Christian women. It’s the passage that instructs women on how they are to live.

Let’s look at the word kind in this passage. The KJV uses the word good and we’ll consider these two words to have the same meaning.

Adjective: kind; comparative adjective: kinder; superlative adjective: kindest . Showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature.

Kindness is lacking in our society, would you agree? The intentional showing of generosity and consideration to others is rare online especially.

You’re aware I’m sure that people tend to be rude and vulgar to others online because of the perceived anonymity of  being hidden behind a phone or computer.

Women will talk to each other online as if only they know the truth and must have the last word in a conversation. It seems like whoever can be the wittiest, offer the best one-liner and say the most cutting thing is the perceived “winner” of a conversation. Those who do try to offer up kind, conciliatory words are often virtually shouted down.

This has trickled into our face-to-face interactions as well. Think of how people treat each other in the market place, in offices and in public places. This has definitely changed for the worse.  This worsening disrespect and unkind behavior shows online now more than ever from people who aren’t even attempting to hide their identity.

I regularly read posts on social media from professing Christian women that are decidedly not kind or even civil. Think of places like Twitter where many women and men put their cutting, sometimes shocking or rude thoughts out there to attract attention not caring if their words reflect the kindness they are called to.

Somehow as a whole Christian women have decided that it’s more important to make an impact and cause shock with their thoughts and opinions than to offer up kindness and consideration.

God, on the other hand, has His own plan for how a Christian woman should speak and type out her thoughts.  It can be said that He also has instruction for how we speak and how we think. Specifically, In Titus 2:5, He tells us that older women are to be kind and teach kindness to other women.

If you’re not careful you might skip over the command to be kind. It’s there in the middle of several other adjectives that we’re commanded to be like sensible and pure. Sometimes I wonder if we’re just so accustomed to the word kind that we miss the fact that being kind is a firm command. Just as firm as the command to be pure, sensible and subject to one’s husband.

Kindness is one of the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22. This lets us know plainly that we aren’t told to reach down in the depths of our souls to find some vestige of kindness to show others when we’d rather offer up a good lecture filled with biting rhetoric and told-you-sos.

The Holy Spirit in us produces kindness. If you’re not allowing the Holy Spirit to move in you like this what does that say about you? About your relationship with God?

The last sentence of Titus 2:5 should give us pause.   We are to be these things, including being kind,  under the influence of the Holy Spirit and teach these things so, ” ….that the word of God may not be reviled”.  When was the last time you heard the Word of God reviled because of how a Christian was acting or speaking? Yes, me too, just this week in fact.

Kindness eludes us so often. It's as if it is a kindergarten word and something we teach children, not women. We're more kind to animals than we are humans sometimes. Click To Tweet.

Yet kind/kindness is exactly what God expects us to be and to teach. Even when we must be firm and steadfast, we can be kind. It takes more effort than spewing words without thinking. And more prayer.

Such a simple word. Such a simple definition. Seemingly so difficult to show.

When my children were home and I was home educating them, I had a routine that served as my workhorse tool to keep me on track and get the things done that I wanted to get done. Now that it is just me and my husband at home, and… Click To Tweet

I found myself letting routines slide away with the pandemic and all the social upheaval reactions to it. 
Things have calmed down considerably for us now and I find that I need my routines again.

Feel free to copy my routine and change it up to suit yourself. Check out my posts at the end of this one for routine ideas when you’ve got a house full of people or are home educating. 

• Up around 5 a.m. to feed cats and dog and take care of my duties at CHK. I like to get up to a clean and uncluttered kitchen. It doesn’t always work out that way but I prefer it!
• Coffee and start breakfast around 6:00 a.m.
• Granddaughter arrives about 6:30 a.m. and we have breakfast. When it’s nice outside we eat on the deck. 
• from 7:00 until about 9:00 I work online. I have a job with Traditional Cooking School. Then if I finish up there I work on this blog and the Facebook group. I also hang out clothes that I washed the night before.
• 9:00 – 11:00  I work on writing, correspondence and Bible study. I usually take time to talk and play with granddaughter at this time. I find that I have to set aside time to write the devotionals I write for other ministries and Bible study or I just don’t do it consistently.
• 11:00 – 1:00 Usually lunch time and free time where I do whatever I want to do.  Sometimes I do housework, organizing and decluttering and sometimes I read. I usually sweep a few rooms and wash more clothes at this time, too. 
• 1:00 – 3:00 More online work if needed, house work, laundry, play with the grand baby. Sometimes I sit on the deck and work while she plays.
• 3:00 – 5:00 I usually play with my granddaughter at this time. All throughout the day I play with her, interact, talk to her and we do little projects together. 
• 5:00 – 6:00 I take clothes off the line and fold them, start supper, sweep the kitchen and then wash dishes after we eat. I feel like I have to wash the dishes if I want a good start to the next day! 
• 6:00 – 7:00 Most of the time I shower and do my skin and personal care at this time. Then I might find a book to read until bedtime. 

My school years routine is here:  Do You Have A Routine?

Tips For Rising Early

Work Smarter, Not Harder, Why a routine can help you get things done.

Homekeeping 101 eBook

 

I know it’s not the usual time to share a pumpkin recipe but I shared it with a friend today and thought, why not? It is perfect for a cold winter day.

I grind wheat berries to make whole wheat flour for this recipe. I think you could use plain flour for this but it won’t have that toothy, chewy delicious texture that you get with whole wheat.

You’ll need 2 cups of whole wheat flour for this recipe which is about 1 1/2 cups of wheat berries.

The Bars
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar (or for a richer flavor, use Rapidura)
1 cup vegetable oil or you can use lard
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) I use home-canned pumpkin that is well-drained or  2 cups of cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

The Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions for the Bars

Heat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan with shortening or lard or coconut oil. 

Now, most people don’t have a 15x10x1 inch pan, so you can substitute a 9×13 inch pan…. but your bars will be thicker.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  I use a 15×10×3 inch half sheet cake pan and it works nicely.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth. I use a stand mixer on medium speed.

Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 2 hours.  If you are using a 9×13 pan you can increase the baking time to 30-35 minutes. Use the touch test to see if it’s done. If it springs back when lightly touched in the middle it’s done.

It is important to cool it completely so it won’t melt the cream cheese frosting.

Directions for the Cream Cheese Frosting

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable.

Frost the bars…. Make a double recipe if you’re crazy about cream cheese! 

To give some color to the frosting, dust some nutmeg or even cocoa powder over the top. 

Refrigerate bars til firm, then cut into rectangular bars. Keep refrigerated.  If you want to freeze the bars, do so before you frost them. Allow them to defrost at room temperature, then frost before serving.

If you are a member of the CHK Facebook Group you know I’ve talked about Bethel and their bad theology.

Here are an interesting few videos by Jesse Westwood about his time at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. He talks about applying to the school, his first week and what he was taught there. He has since walked away from Bethel and the charismatic church.

Every now and then, maybe 4 times in the past 30 years that I have had the Christian Homekeeper domain name, website or blog, message boards and Facebook groups, I have felt it was necessary to mention what CHK is all about.

What CHK is and what I try to do here:

This blog and the FB Group, called Christian Homekeepers, is for women only as are all the Bible studies I present here and at FB.

My goal is to help women be better stewards of their homes and families and to grow in Christ. I want CHK to be well-rounded and to be all about encouraging and teaching women and I do that in a lot of different ways.

Some of the ways that I like to do that online include; teaching Biblical principles and topics to women, encouragement, teaching life skills like homemaking, sewing, cooking, child care, primitive living, money management, preparing for emergencies and preparing for disasters. There are a lot more.

Some of the things done on a regular basis at the blog are:

Seasonal challenges for cleaning and decluttering.

Challenges to improve one’s self by reading, studying and healthy living.

Instruction in a specific home skill.

Instructional videos and tutorials.

Bible studies for women.

What Christian Homekeeper is not:

We’re not a Church, by any stretch of the imagination.

I am not a preacher or pastor. I am a mentor and teacher to women only.

I don’t discipline FB Group or message board unruly members and I don’t ban them unless they’re really causing trouble. I do try to teach and educate.

So that’s CHK and what I do in a nutshell. If you have questions, let me know!

I’m on a self-imposed break from Facebook including the CHK group and I have to say … I am enjoying it tremendously! I do miss talking to all the CHK friends though. February will be here soon enough and I’ll go back. The really wonderful thing about it is that I have a lovely long-time friend who is moderating and taking care of everything this month so I can refresh.

Today I’m making banana pudding. The old fashioned kind from scratch. I know some of you probably like the kind made with sweetened condensed milk and Cool Whip, I like it too actually. But, there is nothing as good as homemade banana pudding warm from the oven. Except maybe homemade rice pudding. Or chocolate pudding.

These puddings are things I made when the children were all at home. I educated all 5 at home and on snowy or cold rainy days I’d make something special like a home cooked pudding. It really is a sweet memory for me because they all enjoyed it so much.

I used a 2 quart Corning Ware round casserole dish for this recipe. You can use whatever you need to use as long as it can go in the oven to brown the meringue and hold 2 quarts of food. Meringue recipe is at the end of the pudding recipe.

Ingredients:

4 bananas peeled, sliced and tossed with a sprinkling of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. I toss the banana slices around in the juice.

About 50 Vanilla Wafers, I used a whole box save about 6 cookies which grandbaby #4 and I ate with coffee and Ovaltine.

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup plain flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks, save the whites for the meringue

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup whole milk

12 ounces evaporated milk

In your casserole dish, layer the wafers and bananas. I also put a few wafers around the top of the bowl to look pretty.

In a heavy medium sized sauce pan combine the sugar, flour, salt, both milks and egg yolks using a whisk.

Put the pan over medium heat and stir constantly. It will burn if you get it too hot or stop stirring.

It takes about 7 or 8 minutes for it to get thick. Once it is thick remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Pour this cooked mixture over the bananas and wafers in the casserole dish.

Now make the meringue.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring.

Beat the egg whites on high and add the sugar a little at a time until stiff peaks form. Once the peaks are formed, add the vanilla, stir well and then spread the meringue over the pudding in the casserole dish.

Bring the meringue to the sides of the casserole dish and seal it to the sides using a spatula. This will keep the meringue from shrinking and pulling away from the dish.

Bake at 350*F just until browned.

If you’re in a hurry, you can put the pudding with meringue under the broiler, watch it carefully, until browned.

I prefer baking it at 350*F because it heats up the pudding as well as browning the meringue.

If you try it, I hope you enjoy it!