| HOMELIFE OCTOBER 2001 Dear Sisters Remember how I told you that Andre had given me the 'go ahead' to get help for our computerised small business accounts? Well, Kristin came over to help. She was here for the whole day ~ eight hours. My girls cooked and cleaned and made a delightful lunch of toasted sandwiches with salad; lettuce, tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, red onion ~ with salad dressing and sesame seeds sprinkled over the top. This was followed by Sarah's apple muffins and sticky date pudding. When Kristin left she thanked us for a wonderful day. For me, not having a mathematic, book-keeping 'brain' by nature, it was a long and tedious one. After hearing how much she had enjoyed being with us, I became concerned, as even though Kristin had enjoyed herself, (and I hadn't!) fortunately, by the grace of God, she hadn't 'seen' my attitude. It wasn't her; it was the figures bouncing around my mind's eye! Too many of them! hee hee.....I thanked Kristin for all her help, kindness and consideration, as she had travelled over 120km to come and help me. By the end of our session, I told her that her private and business name were floating around the email system, read by women from all over the world! Oh, she was delighted at this "Thanks for the business, Helen", she chuckled. I then asked her if she thought I was a bit "thick". She laughed again, and said that no, all she could see was a very tired lady...... Three things that I learned from this experience were ~ * Always give compliments when they are due * Be honest ~ always. Sometimes hard when you worry about another's feelings, but in the long run, they will respect you for it. * Embrace hospitality! Even when you aren't feeling very hospitable. It will create a lasting impression to your visitor, and well worth it, as a good witness for Jesus Christ. A lot of time, many mothers at home feel they are doing 'nothing' in their Christian walk. Hospitality in your home is your witness, Sisters! I took Sam to see a naturopathic therapist. She was a delightful lady and dedicated to helping pregnant women, babies and children. She spoke so sweetly to Sam. In his true 'young man' fashion, he became shy, yet delighted at her attention. The result? I have to change much of Sam's diet, and that this and another factor, contributing to his headaches is tight muscles in his back. I was amazed at how this lady, ~ Karen is her name ~ knew many things about Sam (physically) without me telling her. I was amazed at how spot on she was with her diagnosis. I was amazed at the wondrous blessing of the Lord's leading to the exact type of person I desired for my children. "If we can detect these things early, Helen, it cuts out so much trouble for our children later". Praise God!~ Here's what I did for a rush-dinner when we had an unexpected guest: I put potatoes and sweet potatoes into a casserole dish, with some olive oil drizzled over the top. This went into the oven, which had been pre-heated to 220 degrees. Carrots and broccoli went in the steamer. (All vegetables are cut into the same size chunks so that they're finished cooking together). I cut an onion and lightly saut�ed it. Into a hot, non-stick pan went the steak. (We didn't have enough steak for everybody, so I added sausages, too). The sausages we cooked in a separate pan. Because the oven-baked vegetables went in earlier, all the food was ready at the same time. There are so many lovely books that are recommended by a variety of ladies, that I tend to forget who recommended what. Here's what I've started doing. When I see a book recommendation I highlight it, copy it and paste it into a new email. I save this email in my draft folder and click on it whenever I have a new one to add to it. I have started a new course of study from my Bible ~ especially for my children. I am dividing it into two sections. I am highlighting all parts of the new testament which teaches what we are to do/ how we are to be, with help from the Lord. Secondly, I am recording all instruction on courtship and marriage, for my children's future. So often, we will discuss different issues, as they arise, and I become frustrated that I cannot remember the verse to direct my children to. Now that I am going over the New Testament and writing down what is relevant, I can issue them with their personalised Bible study. I have been collecting recipes from some wonderful ladies on a home-making list I am on. We've been cooking and baking up a storm. One dessert that we've made again and again which is so scrumptious is the Candy Bar Cake. Here's the recipe: Candy Bar Cake 1 pkg Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix 3 Butterfingers 1 jar Butterscotch Ice Cream Topping 1 Large container cool whip Freeze Butterfingers*. Crush with rolling pin while candy bars are still in wrapper. Unwrap and put in container and place aside. Bake cake according to package directions. Poke holes in cake and pour ice cream topping on cake. Let cake cool. Sprinkle half of crushed candy bars on top of cake. Spread Cool whip on top of cake and sprinkle remaining crushed candy bars on top. Chill overnight for best results. * We do not get Butterfingers in Australia, so we used Crunchie bars, mixed with butterscotch sweets, all crunched together. On one occasion, instead of topping the cake with the candy bar, we topped our cake with crushed chocolate biscuit crumbs. I have also been searching www.allrecipes.com for some wonderful 'tailor made' meals that suit our family. This site actually lets you print out recipes to suit whatever size cards you may have, so that you can create your own recipe file. My daughters cut out and pasted recipes onto cards which I printed from this site. You can select either metric or imperial measurements. We have been making curtains! For Sarah's room, she chose a purple/ pink/ mauve fabric with gold patterns. At the top of this curtain, Sarah draped a mauve voile material, and twisted it over the curtain rail, making two 'roses' each side of the window by scrunching the voile with tiny elastic bands. For my room, I chose buttermilk fabric with a large cabbage rose design, as I hope to change my bedroom to an English country garden/ romantic country style. Andre and I have a chuckle about this. He isn't fussed that he will be surrounded by English roses, he says. Now I know why I married him! hee hee.... Since my husband has moved his business to our home property, we have had lots of visitors. At first, it was a shock to our systems, as our house felt as if it was being 'invaded'. We wanted to cater for these people the Lord put in our home, yet we weren't used to so many folk passing through. I asked the Lord to let me serve Him whichever way He deemed fit, even though, at the time, I doubted that I could. Silly me! It isn't about what I can and cannot do. It's the Lord helping me in whatever I do. It's about my change of attitude, with a sincere heart to serve Him. And so now when I 'feel' that old familiar panic, concern, inconfidence coming on ~ I remind myself of all that my Saviour can and does do for me and you know what? We've all had some good times with our visitors and I know that they leave, feeling relaxed and happy. Praise God! I have found that what adds to our visitor's relaxation are the little 'extra' touches. During the day, we are making drinks for them and taking them out to the workshop. Sometimes, when making instant coffee, we mix the coffee and sugar, add milk and stir before adding the boiling water. Then, we top the steaming coffee with whipped cream and sprinkle Cadbury's drinking chocolate on top of the creamy mound. It doesn't matter that the chocolate spills onto the saucer. It adds to the presentation! If we have no cream in our fridge, we add biscuits or a piece of cake to the saucer. If time or inclination permit, we also added a stem of lavender! Many times, my husband's visitors stay for lunch with us. Many times I have panicked as to what we can make for them to eat! The Lord has shown me, trained me in this area. We often refer to the sandwich and lunch suggestions I sent to you previously. Pretty sandwiches, either plain or toasted always go down well with a large, colourful salad. We try to make sure that we always have salad vegetables in our refrigerator. Sometimes, we add sesame seeds to the salad, or crunch other types of nuts over the top. (For those of you going through the cooler weather, soup with the sandwiches is always enjoyed!). Although we prefer to have our 'main meal' at midday, this isn't always practical when we have visitors, so Mr Flexibility steps in and we switch the meals around! Another little 'touch' is to always have a tablecloth on our kitchen table. Yes, I know that it is time consuming ~ washing and ironing extra items to an already 'full' load. Our tablecloths go in with the 'whites' when washing and I delegate the ironing of the tablecloth to one of the girls as a regular chore. Added to our table (or kitchen counters) we have been adding a container of flowers. Whether in a vase, a jar, a bucket or pot ~ flowers add so much! They tell their own story! If there are none in our garden, we 'treat' ourselves to a bunch (from the supermarket) which can last up to two and a half weeks. ** A note on flowers. I have found that after this period of time in water, some types of flowers are still strong and colourful. I snip the bottom of their soggy (and sometimes smelly!) stems, then bunch them together, tie them with raffia and hang them upside down from our kitchen beams. Needless to say, my bunches of dried flowers are increasing!** If our guests comment on how they have enjoyed the food we have shared together, they end up taking some home. They are delighted with this and it often shows on their faces! Well, Sisters, as you can see ~ we have been doing lots of entertaining. I am learning all the time. I am learning more recipes, more variation, quicker methods, time saving tips ~ not from lists, but as I go. You probably know the type ~ tips you learn as you stumble onto them, that are oftentimes applicable to our own homes. May you all enjoy your homes and the guests the Lord puts before you. My love to you all. Bless you, dear Sisters! Love, Helen |