Big Universe, Small World... ©2013-2020

...Severity that is not thought to be severe, is severe, when one lives with the difficulties thereof daily, compounded by the ignorance of those who do not understand... Do not seek to make judgement against that, or upon that, which you cannot understand.

No, We Can’t, by Robert Stearns and published by Chosen Books, is a book that seeks to explain the myth of coexistence between Christians and Muslims. As the world continues to change, Christians must remain steadfast in their devotion to the word of the Lord and to Biblical principle. As believers we need to be deeply concerned with the affairs of our world and care about the culture clash that is occurring and will continue to occur. One thing the Bible call Christians to do is to be truthful. John 16:13 states “ But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”   You must be vigilant to be truthful in all things. The author of this text would lead the reader to believe at one time that there existed in this world a greater emphasis on tolerance being more important than truth. This is where I choose to disagree. To be tol...

The Essential Guide to Healing: Equipping all Christian to Pray for the Sick, written by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark, is a guidebook that explains to Christians how to apply Biblical principle and word to the ministry of healing. The Bible is full of stories of how people are inexplicably and miraculously healed. The Lord still moves in this manner today, as he did then. This book serves as a guide to inspire and lead Christians in applying the scripture and prayer to become a healing force. The 253 page paperback text is published by Chosen Books, with an ISBN of 978-0800795191. Though there are many books written and published on the topic of prayer healing and evangelists that can heal, this book should be thought of as an authority on this topic. If you are a Christian who has an interest in studying divine healing through the Lord Jesus Christ and in His name, then this book will become a great asset to your personal library of developing an understanding and appreciation for he...

I got a metal chicken !!!   A big, metal chicken!! I got this chicken from the famous Chicken Man artist, Ernest Lee , from South Carolina.   It is about 4.5(+/-) feet tall. We will have to secure it better in the ground, so eventually it will be moved to another yard location. And, no, I did not get another real chicken... The metal chicken will be able to keep the goat company!! And the metal fish yard art the hubby bought for me might need some friends soon as well! :) 

A few weeks ago, when I went to get my allergy shots, the nurse called me a 'hippy, Mother-Earth loving, tree hugger.'   I have been called many things in my life, but never one of those things and never all together as that day. It made me think long and hard about if this is the way people really view me?  I do love the Earth, and we do much to recycle, compost, reuse, and be green in the household. Most of the time the effort is more about me calling out to other family members: 'That is recyclable!' or 'That can be fed to chickens /go in the compost/go in the recycle bin.' I could even see the tree hugger part perhaps. I refuse to buy anything any longer if it will become a waste product. If it is not something we will fully consume or use, eat, feed the leftovers to the dog or cats or chickens , recycle, or put into the compost...I try not to buy it at all. As such, our recycling is overflowing each week and there is almost nothing ever in the trash for t...

So, technically Shabbat was yesterday...but, we are just getting to it today!  After a weekend of feeling ill and resting for most of the time, finally at midday, we become a somewhat useful family again. We used the leftover buttermilk from last week to make buttermilk pancakes for brunch (more like lunch). I had to use unleavened flour for these, so I had to add the baking powder, a bit of yeast, and some salt to cook them properly. We had some raw peanut butter the child and I had ground and made about two weeks ago. It went well on the pancakes! Yummy! I noticed yesterday that the jar of honey has began to crystalize. I boiled it down this morning while the pancakes were cooking. I removed the comb and poured off the honey into one of those left over cute plastic honey bear containers. The last step of this process - which will have to occur later, as in not this morning - is to extract the remaining honey from the comb and melt it down for the wax within f...

What we are using this year...the child recently finished 7th grade and has started lessons for a combined 8th grade/high school curriculum. For literature, we are reading classic novels and completing literature unit studies as we go. Vocabulary and spelling is built off of these and comprehension strategies and skills. I use educational websites, EdHelper, and published curricula novel unit studies with these. We get all the books on in electonic format from RFBD or LearningAlly or in an audio reader from the public library. These are exceptionally useful for the dyslexia and reading learning disabilities. Some of the ones we have chosen to read this year are: White Fang Call of the Wild Tom Sawyer Huckleberry Finn War of the Worlds The Hiding Place Treasure Island Journey to the Center of the Earth Island of the Blue Dolphin The Pearl Currently, we are reading Treasure Island . He also chooses novels for independent reading time and completes those at leisure. He has r...

People have asked how we homeschool a child with Aspergers...to me it seems like a stupid question, but living and working around the quirks of this disorder are now second nature to me and it just seems like a normal part of life. When I talk to others, I learn, often to my surprise, that what I often accept as normal is not what can often happen in other households. Other children do not apparently experience some of the sensory things others do. Now, I should know this. My older son was an NT (neurotypical). But it seems like a lifetime ago since the eldest was small. The boys are 7.5 years apart. It is often like I have raised two only children. They are so different. One could never compare the two. One thing we did recently, was to get what we refer to as the swing ...   This is something we have thought about getting him for about three years now. We have always stated we could not afford it and moved forward. This past fall, we went to the fair and s...

Ideas I like or think I would like to try in 2012:       Baked eggs in turkey cups .     Canvas portraits .      I can't find the link to this project, but I am so going to make this for next winter...or maybe, for this one. Isn't it adorable?     I saw this one with a suggestion from someone to spray paint a clear coat on it for protection and to add the bow to match your home decor. That way...it could hang year round on the wall in any room in the house. Too cute.   Saw this on pinterest...bananas covered with peanut butter and chocolate . I wonder if you can freeze these babies?    Chicken bundles recipe .    Repurposing a yucky looking mirror ...DIY.    Okay, so it will prob not happen that I will get one of these in my house in 2012...but what a nifty idea for storage space. :)  Could not find a link for this one. I do so like this idea though. ...

  Use it in any bread or bread type product that calls for the addition of water or milk. Freeze it for later use. I like to make whey ice-cubes to freeze it in easy to use pieces. It can be used in stews and soups in place of some broth or water. Can be used in place of milk when making mashed potatoes. Can be used in homemade smoothies and frosties. Can be used to pour over chicken feed, cat food, or dog food for extra pet treat! Diluted with water, it makes an excellent feed for your plants and helps your compost when added to it. Use it to make ricotta cheese. It is the base of ricotta. I have not tried this yet, but it will happen soon. Use it as a meat marinade...great when combined with pressed garlic and onions.  

Some friends and family members have emailed or commented a want to know some of the recipes we have been using. So here are some of the easier ones... Some people have laughed at how we came to doing this in this family...but, oh well!  Butter...so very simple. :)  This was just something I wanted to try at first. We have made several batches by now. It gets easier each time. I use heavy whipping cream. I have used ultra-pasteurized, and organic, with the same results. We made butter for cooking and used the fake vegetable oil spread stuff for many months. One night there was left over fake stuff on the spoon and I threw it in the sink to go to bed and to deal with the dishes in the morning. I left them in the sink to soak. In the morning when I got up, the fake butter was still in solid form on the spoon after soaking all night in hot, soapy water. It made me think about my arteries and how the stuff did not break down. Yuck! So, I became committed to having to use real ...