I just HAD to share this excerpt… can’t wait to use the quote in “discussion”!
"Historically the Southern Baptist Convention has been rather joined at the hip with the public school system," Shortt contends. "But this proposal by Dr. Chapman, I think, represents the realization that the public school system is, in reality, the youth ministry for the state church of secular humanism."
The SBC and public education - what’s next? (OneNewsNow.com)
Amen!
George F. Will - The Obama Administration’s Economic Lawlessness - WHY, WHY, WHY are people not screaming this from every rooftop????? The author uses the term ukase which is so incredibly appropriate it is frightening, at least is should be frightening. Why isn’t everyone upset about this? The President promised us change and by golly he is delivering. Changing us right out of a democratic republic and into a tyranny. Pretty soon he will be borrowing moves from his friend Chavez and removing term limits (for our own good of course). Sigh. Pray for our nation, our “leaders,” and the swift return of our Lord before this madness moves further into its logical progression.
Today I am thankful for Mennonite ladies with discontinued Bosch mixer models!
Making homemade bread from fresh-ground flour seems to be helping Boo, and it really doesn’t hurt the rest of us any (except maybe the Dad and I’s waistlines since we are gobbling down warm bread on baking days..). So on average I am making 4 loaves of bread every week and will continue to do so probably forever. While I enjoy making bread from scratch including the kneading part, it presents a problem when we run out of bread and we have something on the schedule for the day. You see, from grinding the flour until the dough goes in the oven to bake it takes about 3-3 1/2 hours. So I began researching mixers that knead bread. My first choice after researching carefully was this one. It carries a hefty price tag to go along with the hefty motor that everyone seems to love for making multiple loaves of bread. With Bug’s braces, a mouthful of dental work for me, and the medical bills for Boo, plus the fact that we just splurged on the Vitamix, an Electrolux Assistent was obviously not something I could just order spur-of-the-moment. Disappointed with the fact that we are not independently wealthy, I began to research cheaper options. I ruled out pretty much everything including the Bosch Universal machines which are almost as expensive and take up more room on the counter. Plus, I certainly don’t need the blender attachment! I reluctantly resigned myself to saving up my pennies and begging my entire family to pitch in on my mixer for my birthday/Christmas present.
Well, Friday was our state’s curriculum fair so like a book-crazed good homeschool mom I headed over with a friend to pick up as much loot as possible a couple of books for next year. There in the middle of the largest building was a lovely Mennonite family selling grain mills, wheat, and Bosch mixers. Since I have been researching those very things, I began chatting with the nice lady behind the table. Come to find out this nice lady had one Bosch Concept 7 mixer which she had originally bought to try out herself and never got around to and then Bosch came out with the new Universal machine and she started selling that one instead. Apparently there are rules about being a Bosch distributer which limit you on what prices you can advertise etc., but because it was a discontinued model and we were at a homeschool show with no “advertising” she offered me the Concept 7 for $219. I called the Dad to discuss it, and his response was “Don’t you think for less than half the price of the other one you could TRY to like it?” Remember, this is the husband who cannot stand kitchen gadgets! After hanging up I went back in and told the nice lady I’d take it! It struck me at how good God is. He is providing the way for me to feed my family well and to ease the burden on me at the same time. It is amazing to me that with all the other “big” things God has to worry about that he cares about my convenience! Now I can make bread, and batches and batches of cookies, pumpkin bread, banana muffins…
Now I have a lovely new gadget sitting on my counter and I have made one batch of bread so far. There is a learning curve apparently since I ran the dough on low for 5 minutes (which I usually knead for about 15) and it was a little over-kneaded, but the bread was definitely edible, and it only had to rise once cutting my bread making time in half! God is Great!
(Sung to the Spiderman tune…)
Check out my new toy. 
I have to say after abusing using my new Vitamix for a few weeks now that it actually does do everything the Vitamix people say it does. I had ignored several demonstrations at Costco and Sam’s because of the very dear sticker price. However, with Boo’s health problems I had been considering purchasing a grain mill for a while when I stumbled upon a Vitamix demonstration at Costco. I asked the demonstrator if it could really grind grain without any other attachments and then spent the next 20 minutes with Boo getting to try various concoctions and the guy put the machine through its paces for me. Whole fruits and veggies, uncooked brown rice, and popcorn kernels (for cornmeal) were all transformed in seconds. The 30-day money back guarantee (and the fact that I could return it to Costco on day 29 if necessary) convinced me to throw caution (and at the time I thought perhaps good sense) to the wind and take one home.
Well, a few weeks, a lot of whole food smoothies, fresh ground flour, salsa, hummus, and tomato soup later I will not be returning my Vitamix. Boo seems to be doing a little better and I think that the food mashed up in the smoothies makes the nutrients easier to digest. It is really easy to mix up good whole foods with little effort and minimal time which allows us all to eat a little better.
Here are the pros and cons I’ve found.
Cons:
Pros:
The Dad has a pet peeve about kitchen gadgets that aren’t used a lot. He also has a thing about spending lots of money on things we don’t need. (Go figure!) However, he readily agreed to a trial of this machine and has agreed that its benefit will probably be worth the price tag in the long run. While I don’t think everyone needs to run out and drop $400 on a nifty new toy, if you have to blend food for health reasons (feeding tubes, etc.) long term, and/or you have or are in the process of incorporating whole foods into your diet the Vitamix is definitely worth a long look.
I simply cannot stay off my soapbox for this one - Obama’s Apparent Bow to Saudi King Outrages Conservatives - First 100 Days of Presidency - Politics FOXNews.com.
There is no way this is not a bow. There is a video from an Arab news outlet on YouTube here. There is no explanation other than that the President of the United States bowed to a foreign leader. Not just any foreign leader either. Not to the Queen of England to whom some symbolic fealty could be explained through historical ties, but to the King of a Muslim nation with known ideological and financial ties to the very radicals who proclaim from every news outlet and website on a daily basis their utter hatred and contempt for the United States and her people. At the very best it is proof that we have elected an inexperienced statesman with buffoons for advisors who failed to educate the president on proper protocol and in a feeble attempt to foster good foreign relations has again represented us as a nation with its tail between its legs. Alas, I am sorely afraid that it is, however, merely the tip of the iceberg as Mr. Obama’s actions and words clearly illustrate his own lack of respect for the United States and lack of regard for her people as he marches us at financial gunpoint towards socialism and the dissolution of our sovereignty in favor of global subservience.
The words of Patrick Henry (which I read in preparing the girls’ history lesson today) are ringing in my mind:
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!’”
