The Dishwasher's Prayer

The Dishwasher’s Prayer
By Elise Hooper

As I begin my morning chore, and dishes start to clink,
I ask that You would join me here next to the kitchen sink.
I’m feeling cross and kind of rushed–there’s so much here to do!
This job is never ending and there’s sweeping to do, too!
When all my heart cries out against this work I do each day,
I pray that You would bless me in a very special way.
Grant me a smile as I begin, infuse my heart with joy!
Guide me as I clear the plates and wash where little boys
Left fingerprints for me to wipe and crumbs to sweep away.
May I remember as I serve my loved ones every day
That You began this fine display of service to your friends
And most of all, you serve me, too, and your work never ends.
Today as I am standing here, my hands in sudsy water,
I’m thinking of a time when I’ll be standing with my daughter.
Shall I be cross and pouty then? For surely she will see
That Mama has a sour face and she will mimic me.
Shall I wish to be somewhere else? Or shall I sweetly do
The work my family makes for me? Oh, yes, I’ll serve them too.
So as I wrap my apron round and put away the food
I pray that You would sit and rest and let me serve You, too.
For I know when I do these things for those surrounding me,
I’m also doing them for You. Ah! You have helped me see.


I really like this poem! I need to memorize it and recite it while I'm washing dishes :)


Well Happy New Years soon!
- Madi

Christmas baking

We've had lots of fun lately with making Christmas gifts, shopping, etc. but especially liked decorating a gingerbread house, and making/decorating lots of spritz cookies! Here is a sample of our work : )

Have a very merry Christmas! God bless you!

~Madi

Frosty beauty

                                        An early frost left everything in beautiful little crystals!

Light After Darkness

Light after darkness, gain after loss,
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears,
Home after wandering, praise after tears.

Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain,
Sight after mystery, peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast,
Rest after weariness, sweet rest at last.

Near after distant, gleam after gloom,
Love after loneliness, life after tomb;
After long agony, rapture of bliss,
Right was the pathway, leading to this.
By Frances R. Havergal

This poem made me think of Romans 5:2: "Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
After this life of darkness, fears, and sorrow, we will see Jesus glorified, and we will be with him in paradise. What a wonderful thought!

An addition to my "I'm thankful for..." list

News story in the Lyerla house today:
A couple minutes after Dad left for work, we saw him pull up again! We went to see what was wrong (he was already going to need to hurry to make it to work on time). Turns out a big buck ran across the road as he was going by, and decided to try to jump over his car! It didn't make it over very smoothly (to say the least) and so dented his car and took out two side windows, and covered Dad and his car with glass! We are so thankful Dad is okay, with just a couple pieces of glass in his hand : (
So, thank God Dad is okay! (Hopefuly we can get the car fixed now).
~ Madi

Overruled

I just finished watching this movie on parental rights and the UNCRC, made by Parentalrights.org. This is so important! Please take time to watch it with your family and pass it on. Go to www.overruledmovie.com to watch it.
Thanks!
~Madi

The weather outside is frightful....

It's our first snow this (2nd half of the) year! Aiden woke me up way too early for a Saturday to tell me, but I got over that when I saw what he woke me up for. :) It's nothing too special, but we all really enjoyed going to Nonni and Papa's house for burgers, and playing in the snow with Henry (our cousin)! Have a blessed week!
-Madi
(sorry for such a short post, more to come......hopefully)

Crying Wolf

Today I went to both our Generation Joshua and Toastmasters Gavel club, and had a great opportunity to meet a homeschool graduate and Christian film maker, J. D. King. His film "Crying Wolf" addresses the wolf (over)population issue, and environmentalism. It was neat to hear his story, how God showed his hand all the way through the making of the film, and hear a little commentary on the first part of his film. Hurry and check out the movie free on his website, and buy the movie to share with friends! (That's my personal advice!) Visit www.cryingwolfmovie.com to check it out!
God Bless,
Madi

November blues

Prayers appreciated....we all got the flu yesterday, all at the same time! Thankfully we're almost all over it, except for Dad (who was supposed to teach tomorrow!). I guess that's one bad thing that sometimes accompanies this beautiful cool weather :(
Until next time,
~Madi

A must see....

I know I'm nuts for posting this many times in one day, but I couldn't resist. Our family just got the movie IndoctriNation in the mail yesterday, and we've watched it twice already, (even my brothers like it!). It's about christianity and public schools in America, it's really eye-opening and very well made. So, if you can get your hands on it in anyway, please watch it, I know everyone will learn from it!

That's all for today!

~ Madi

My latest project...

Thought I would post a picture of my latest sewing endeavors;

I made this long shirt to go over jeans, and I think it turned out pretty good. (I used a pattern out of the book Sew Serendipity, which I love. :) 

*Thank you Mom and Nonni for all your priceless help in discerning what the directions were talking about in some spots!* I'm excited to be posting more projects (which I hope I will have gotten done) in the future, but that's all for now!

Our Door :)

Happy Reformation Day (yesterday)!

Fall Canning

Here is a picture of some of our canning adventures so far this year....

We canned pizza sauce (with fresh tomatoes, and a lot more than there is in the picture,) pear sauce, and peach butter. We've also got 4 pumpkins which we're still working on processing :) I'll have to post more later, but there's that one little update.

P.S. we got our first eggs from our chickens today!

Pumpkin Scones!

Oh my goodness! It has been so long since I've written on my poor neglected blog! But now that it's finally fall, I couldn't possibly neglect it!

So here is a good recipe for pumpkin scones we just tried.....unfortunately they were all eaten before I could take a picture though.

1 cup all purpose flour 

1 cup cake flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp each of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger

6 TBS butter

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup cream

6 TBS brown sugar 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 large egg

1. Whisk the dry ingredients and put them in the freezer (while you mix the wet ing.)
2. Mix wet ingredients, and put in freezer. (Take dry ing. out)
3. Mix butter into dry ingredients with a pastry blender. 
4. Blend the dry ingredients into the wet ing.
5. Put the dough onto parchment paper, roll out, and cut into triangles. 
6. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes. (Makes 1 dozen....so make a double!)

White Frosting:

1 cup, 1 TBS powdered sugar

2 TBS milk

Spiced Frosting (to go on top):

1 cup, 3 TBS powdered sugar

2 TBS milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 pinch ginger

1 pinch cloves

.....let the white frosting dry before you put on the spiced in a zigzag line. Try not to eat them all at once!

Persevere!

One step and then another,
And the longest walk is ended;
One stitch and then another,
And the largest rent is mended.

One brick and then another,
And the highest wall is made;
One flake upon another,
And the deepest snow is laid.

So little coral workers,
By their slow and constant motion,
Have built those pretty islands.
In the distant dark blue ocean.

And the noblest undertakings
Man’s wisdom has conceived,
By oft-repeated effort,
Have been patiently achieved.

Then do not look disheartened
On the work you have to do,
And say that such a mighty task
You never can get through;

But just endeavor day by day
Another point to gain,
And soon the mountain which you feared
Will prove to be a plain.

Rome was not builded in a day,
The ancient proverb teaches;
And nature, by her trees and flowers ,
The same sweet sermon preaches.

Think not of far-off duties,
But of duties which are near;
And having once begun to work’
Resolve to persevere.
- Author Unknown

A quote...

Lord,  I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to thee to be Thine, forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.

~Betty Stam

May this be our prayer too!

Hello all!
As I'm trying to get another blog started I decided to write some more to keep you updated. Two things are of a bit of significance.
1: Sunday afternoon my brothers Liam and Aiden were playing football in our yard, and Liam was diving for the endzone but hit his leg on a rock. He ran inside crying with his leg all bloody, and so we pulled out the first aid kit and cleaned him up, but it took a good piece of his leg :( Today Mom called our doctor, who suggested we come in and get it checked out. Liam ended up getting 8 stiches. (He seems to get beat up a bit....when he was 5 he had to have his head glued after an encounter with the corner of a wall, but that's another story.) Good thing he's a tough cookie!
2. My (iPad) keyboard has not been working for quite some time now, but last night I decided to try and see if it would work. I went to settings and turned Bluetooth on. I closed my eyes and prayed, "Dear Lord, I pray that you would make this keyboard work, I know that you can make it work, and I fully expect that you will. Amen." or something like that, anyway, when I opened my eyes a message popped up on my screen that said it "found" a keyboard, and did I want to use it? It has been working ever since. (In fact, I'm typing with it right now!:)Wow! that was a huge blessing!
So, those are the two things I had to share. I hope to post again soon! ~Madi

My first backpacking trip!

This last Saturday/Sunday, my dad took Aiden, Liam, and I on our first backpacking trip to Upper Priest Lake in N. Idaho. (About 2.5 hours away). We had a great time together, and got a good amount of exercise too, (6 miles to camp and 6 back). So here are some pictures!

Well, these pictures are just a little taste....blogger is kind of making them blurry, and it hasn't been very easy to work with at times, so I think (yeah I know, AGAIN) I might switch to a new blog, same Journeys In Girlhood, but using a different web address, etc. Hopefully, I will be able to tell you what it is soon.

For now, enjoy the rest of your August!

~ Madison

Yet another good recipe!

This is a great chocolate cake, using mostly honey and maple syrup to sweeten it. [Although, instead of coconut/palm sugar we had to use brown sugar :( ] I made it into cupcakes for my brother's birthday, and it made 24. They're moist and easy to make too! You can find the recipe here at The Nourishing Apron.
Side note; I didn't make the frosting given in the recipe, we just used Buttercream Frosting. And by the way, if anyone has a brownie recipe that uses honey instead of sugar, please let me know!
Enjoy your cake!

Soaked Bread Recipe

Mom recently found this bread recipe online, while looking for a bread recipe with soaked flour. It's a little bit like sourdough, and needs to soak overnight, but its really simple and easy! It's also delicious and is quickly becoming a family favorite! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

No Knead Bread Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water

Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel...something that can go into a 450F oven.)
_____________________

1. Mix dough: The night before combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until dough just comes together, it will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape and preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky, and bubbly. With a wet spatula dump dough onto a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge into a ball shape.    (You can use your hands just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick.) Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. when you've got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, turn over and dump wobbly dough into pot, using your hands to get the dough off the towel. Doesn't matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and cool on wired rack.

Delicious bread, baked by Mom.

 Recipe taken from: 2007 Steamy Kitchen, Inc. http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html

Some pictures.....

Here are some fun pictures I found, and thought I'd post (note: definitely not in order of time).....

                                    From L to R; Dad, Aiden, Mom, Liam, and Me in Moscow

      

                              Me with Danek as a newborn in our apartment in Spokane

                                              Grandma and I on Christmas....a long time ago

Owen about 1 year old; he's just so cute!

    

                                                       Left; Mom and I in our apartment in St. Petersburg    

Right; Liam, Me, and Aiden at Bleendonald's, our favorite donut place in St. Petes!  

Reading to Danek and Owen

Danek and Jackson

Owen, Danek and Liam

Owen Danek, Liam and our Dog Dudeman

                                                               Eleanor's 2nd Birthday

                                                                    Olivia and Eleanor

                                                                  Danek and Olivia

Some flowers at the UW campus when we took a trip to Seattle

Enjoy!

      

Rooster!

A while ago we bought 3 beautiful Black Ausrtalorp chickens, hoping to get some eggs. We had some suspicions about the handsome devil in the picture, but taking into account his extreme gentleness and quietness, we took 'him' for a 'her'....until we heard him crow at sunrise that is. Unfortunately we can't keep roosters where we live, and are hoping to find him a home where he (preferably) won't have to become dinner (at least not ours anyway). If you are interested in having a really great rooster, then let us know!

Praise the Lord!

Just wanted to share praise that Aiden, Dad and I passed the WDFW hunter's safety class after a long week of classes, and will Lord-willing have a chance to hunt together this fall! Thank you to mom (and others) for all your prayers!

A poem

First of all Happy Birthday to my wonderful brother Liam who's turning 9 today! I love you soo much and you are always a joy to have around! From the first "what shall we name the baby mommy?" 'till now, as we play and work together, and forever I love you a ton!!!

Second of all here is a poem I wrote while I was doodling around yesterday and started thinking.....



One day I looked up in the sky
And then I asked myself, why?
Why can't I be so pure and true
Like the sky so clear and blue

And then I looked upon a tree
And saw a picture opposite of me
The trunk so straight, pointing to God on high,
And I asked myself, why can't I?

At night I looked upon a star,
And asked 'Why am I so far,
From shining a light in a land of dark,
And leaving on it God's mark.

My eyes fell upon a frail flower
It seemed to be yelling 'God has power!'
To protect such a tiny thing as I,
And I asked myself, why can't I?

Why can't I seem to do enough,
To make it through a time that's tough?
Because only Christ can make me whole,
Make me a light, and save my soul!

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday Jackson! We all miss you ( and Liam asked the other day "Do you think Jackson misses us?") I can't believe you're already 1! We hope to see you soon. Here's a poem I wrote awhile ago.....(I guess it's not for you, just fits the 1st birthday occasion!)

Babies!
Baby boys, baby girls,
Baby toys,baby curls,
Babies are here, babies are there,
Babies are crawling everywhere!
Babies whose eyes, give you replies
Especially when wet with cries. Babies who smile from ear to ear,
They trust in us, they have no fear.
But soon those babies will be gone,
Making dinner, or mowing the lawn,
So be fond of those babies, be fond!

I wish we could've celebrated your birthday together, but Lord willing we will next year. (And maybe I can figure out how to upload all those cute photos of you!)
Love you and miss you cousin!
P.S. Happy birthday to Nonni too!

Happy fathers day Dad!

Here is the poem I wrote Dad for Father's Day:


My dad is like Noah, who listened to God's word
And though many looked at him and thought he was absurd,
With faith he built an ark, to save his family from disaster
And shared God's word with those who hadn't heard, but now did from their loving pastor

My dad is like Abraham who journeyed into the unknown
And though it was not in a 'comfort zone' a promised heritage was shown
With sacrifice he's willing to use his 'all' for the benefit of God's plan
And steps out, trusting in faith 'till God reveals his plan

My dad is like Moses, who rejected worldly pleasures
And though obeying God requires often trying measures
With steadfastness and humility brings church and family our father's law
In such zealous pursuit of God's word that people rarely ever saw

My dad is like David, a man after God's own heart and will
And though many times he feels alone, on God's path he stands, still
With eagerness and willfully, he musters troops and trains men to fight,
To equip their families in the word and always defend what's true and right

My dad is like Paul, a faithful servant to his master
And though many times he found himself alone amid disaster
With kindness and passion he does rebuke and spur on
All around, when there was trouble, and it seemed all hope was gone

My dad is like many great men of old
He is brave and strong, godly and bold
And there are many other men whose stories have been told,
His is a great one, yet still continues to unfold
One of the few who on God's principles have a hold
This kind of man is worth more than gold!


Love you dad!

A few verses...

Dear all, I have not had time to write anything this week, but I thought I would share some verses I was challenged by this week.

4May all who seek you
   rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
   say evermore, “God is great!”
5But I am poor and needy;
   hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
   O LORD, do not delay!
Psalm 70:4-5

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is high; I cannot attain it.

7Where shall I go from your Spirit?
   Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
   If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9If I take the wings of the morning
   and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10even there your hand shall lead me,   and your right hand shall hold me.
Psalm 139:6-10

15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1John 2:15-17

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:7

I hope these verses are an encouragement/help to you as they were to me. I hope this week is a blessing to all of you.

Some things I have learned this week

Here are some lessons I have been learning this week.
~Life is short and we must use every minute to glorify God, we cannot afford to spend any time doing things that only please ourselves. There is no point where there is nothing to do, there is always more ground for the kingdom of God that needs to be taken.
~We need to find joy and hope that Christ Jesus paid for our sins, that He wil never leave us or forsake us and He is always here. Sometimes it is especially hard for me to be joyful in certain situations, but then I ask myself "Why should I not be joyful?" And then I find I have no reason and that the enemy wants me to be discontent, feel alone and not turn to Christ. I am continually thankful to God for helping me to remember these things when I am in need of them.
~I should not worry about things that are a concern. I find my mind going off into "what-ifs" and "what am I going to do about _" And then I realize I can't do anything about it, only God can, and we must be content with whatever part of his plan he has revealed to us.
25“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God* above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:25-34

~ "16Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants[5] of God. 17Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." 1Peter 2:16-17. One thing that really popped out to me when reading this was what seems to me to be on of America's problems, using freedom as a cover-up for evil. Many people say that since we are a free nation, they can do whatever they want. This verse was an encouragement to me to remember to be a servant of God instead of someone who takes their liberties and uses them to please themselves.
There are lots more great lessons I learned this week, butI thought I'd just shre those with you!

Welcome!

Dear reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. My hope and prayer is that this blog will be an encouragement to everyone who reads it, and an honor to my heavenly father. This is a 'continuation' of my other blog also titled Journeys in Girlhood (which I wasn't able to access to edit) that I started a coupl;e years ago. I hope you enjoy the following posts.
     For God's glory, Madison Lyerla