Heart to Heart Newsletter
Posted by: standandsee <standandsee@...>
Heart to Heart Newsletter
The Heart to Heart Newsletter created in 1999 by Lois Breneman, was sent around the world for almost sixteen years to ladies in all fifty states and sixty-two countries. The current editor is Michelle Gill. The purpose of Heart to Heart's origin was to encourage women and create biblical values in their day to day living, and so that intention remains. Lois continues to post on http://heartfilledhome.blogspot.com and http://heartfilledhomerecipes.blogspot.com and contribute to our newsletter.
Please see our new website for additional articles and how-to videos that will compliment each newsletter. Michelle will also be sharing more of her personal life stories there, so come and visit us! If you would like to unsubscribe, please email Michelle at standandsee@outlook.com.
October 2014 Edition
Hello there!
I am so excited to have the privilege of compiling the Heart to Heart Newsletter and to share myself with you. From the age of sixteen, God gave me a heart for home, as a wife and mother. But I did not marry for the first time until I was thirty-four! Many lessons were learned in those years. Marriage was definitely designed for our sanctification because I believe I learned more in the five years of my first marriage than in the eighteen years of waiting for it.
My first husband passed away after five years of marriage. Our daughter was four at the time. I went through two years of intense grief, as God had told me in a dream before my husband got sick that I would. God loves to talk to us if we would only listen, doesn't He? Then God brought back one of my best friends from years before and we are newly married. I love being married but I learned during the three and a half years in between, what it is like to be truly wed to Jesus. He is my Ish. It is the Hebrew name for husband. And I can't wait to share the joy with you that He gives me!
Names mean a lot to God. I laugh when I think of what my new name means because He is so fun! My middle name, Ranai, means "reborn" and my new last name, Gill, means "joy". Reborn Joy! Isn't that what God's about? Redemption. He has recreated my life in more ways than I could possibly tell you in one sitting. First, He recreated my spirit by the filling of His Spirit and second, by bringing Mark into my life to redeem my family. Mark also brings a lot of laughter into our lives, which is a bonus. My joy has truly been reborn, and that same joy is available to you as well no matter your circumstances!
I am looking forward to sharing life with you,
Michelle Gill
Homemaking
Extreme Meal Planning
Used by permission from The Dollar Stretcher - http://www.thestretcher.com
This is for all you grocery shoppers out there who want to save money on your food bill without using coupons. There is no clipping or subscribing. Instead of buying a lot of prepackaged meals with coupons, I have found it less expensive and healthier to cook from scratch. The biggest way you can save money is with meal planning and putting some thought into your list.
Plan what you are going to eat each week and make an appropriate list. Buy only the items on your list. Cutting impulse spending can save you $20 to $30 a trip.
Plan around sales. Take the time to peruse the store ads to see what is on sale. If hamburger is on sale, plan meals that use hamburger, such as spaghetti and meatballs, Salisbury steaks, or tacos. One night you may want tacos. Instead of letting leftover lettuce go to waste, plan salad for another dinner. Mushrooms go bad quickly. If you want mushrooms on your salad, that's great. Use up the rest of them to make stroganoff, which also uses your sale hamburger. You can also buy extra of sale meat and freeze it in meal-size portions to use later on.
Plan inexpensive meal nights. Pasta is cheap and filling (and you can often find coupons for pasta, if you like to use them a little). Use less meat by making a casserole or soup. For a family of four, a casserole might only take two chicken breasts instead of cooking one per person. This can save you $2 to $3 per meal. Use bread as a filler. Bake a loaf of homemade bread for pennies, and you will have a happy and satisfied family.
Plan to bake from scratch. Baking can provide you with breakfast pastries, snacks, and desserts. A bag of flour and a bag of sugar cost roughly $6. Two packages of cookies can cost that much. You can bake a whole lot more cookies for the same price, and they will taste so much better than store-bought, saving you about $3 per batch of cookies.
Plan to stock your pantry. Take inventory of items you use on a regular basis, such as flour, sugar, baking soda, pasta, dry beans, pasta sauce, oils, and so on. Do not let your pantry items run out as most of these items will be the base for many of your meals. Pantry items will vary from family to family.
Plan to at least try the store brand over the name brand. You can save up to half the cost on some items. Even with coupons, sometimes the store brand is still cheaper. Many store brands taste just as good, or if they don't, most stores have a money-back guarantee or will replace the item with the name brand.
Plan to not throw anything away. Put bread crusts in the freezer to use for stuffing or bread crumbs. This saves you approximately $2 to $3 per batch. If vegetables, such as carrots and celery, are beginning to look a little lifeless in your fridge, wash, chop, and freeze to use in soups, stews and casseroles. Pull them out as needed instead of buying more fresh vegetables, saving you $2 to $3 per meal. Instead of throwing away the little bits of food you have left after a meal, package the leftovers in convenient one-serving containers. On busy nights, everyone can choose what they want to eat and simply heat it up. This can save you $10 to $20 for one meal.
Plan seasonally. Don't expect to pay the same price for fresh strawberries in the fall as you do in the spring. Get your fill of strawberry shortcake in the spring when berries are in season. The same goes for summer squash in the summer and oranges in the winter. Although you can often find these items year round, you will notice a definite difference in the price. Save some of your grocery money to shop at farmer's markets for fresh produce. Where the store would charge $1.69 per pound for tomatoes or yellow squash, I found homegrown for $.69 per pound.
Plan to stock up when certain items are on sale. Many baking products are on sale around the holidays. Buy extra as many of these types of items will last for months in your pantry.
A little planning can go a long way to saving you money on your grocery budget, and you didn't have to clip one coupon.
Encouragement
Stand and See
- Michelle Gill http://www.rebornjoy.com
II Chronicles 20:17 – You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.
In things small and great, II Chronicles 20 is rich with practical instructions. I have used these lessons many times in my life, especially during spiritual warfare. In my most traumatic events and even in day to day living, I have found I can try to control the situation in whatever way I come up with but the circumstances don't budge. When I give up and plant myself in Him, I get the most fun opportunity of watching Him do His mighty thing. Isn't it truly exciting in the end to watch Him pull out victory in a hopeless or frustrating situation?
In verse 3, after Jehosophat received the news of many coming against him, his immediate response was to be afraid. Emotions are natural signals for us to choose our actions, not a dictator of what will be. Then, he chooses to turn to the Lord and tell others to do the same.
The Lord's response is, "Do not fear or be dismayed. This is not your battle, but Mine. You won't need to fight. Station yourself. Dig deep in Me. Stand. See the salvation of the Lord on your behalf." Jehosophat responded by bowing down and worshipping. He chose his perspective.
Before the battle, Jehosophat appointed some to walk before the army singing and praising. Do you get that? The soldiers, skilled in combat, walking into battle, are following those who are praising, not leading them. Praise enters the fire first. Things happen beyond our understanding when we choose praise (Phil. 4:6-8).
Verse 22 says that, when they began singing and praising, God set ambushes for their enemies. They moved first in their faith in Him. As a result, when they walked into battle, all they saw were corpses. The Lord had indeed fought the battle for them. They blessed the Lord and all around them, and people saw and feared God (Rev. 12:11). Then God gave them rest (verse 30).
Our response is so important, isn't it? I have to choose my thoughts constantly in every situation. Our main responsibility is to truly believe Him. Focus, praise, believe Who He is, dig into Him, do what He tells you, and then stand and see Him do His thing!
Healthy Living - Information, Recipes, and Oils
Elderberry Syrup
- Michelle Gill http://www.trailessentials.us
2/3 cup dried elderberries
3 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp. ginger root (shaved or grated)
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 cup raw honey
I bring the elderberries and water to a boil and then I add ginger, cinnamon, and cloves and simmer for an hour. I take it off the heat and cool. Pour through a strainer. Add the honey and stir until dissolved. I have about 2 pint jars of elderberry syrup in the end.
It is great for immunity. I give my daughter 1 teaspoonful before school each day. If we catch a cold or something, we take it every 3 to 4 hours. It keeps for several months in the fridge. (I order my elderberries from http://www.iherb.com. Use the coupon code WES681 to save $5-$10 for first time orders. I am sure you could also get them at your local health food store.)
Horrifyingly Healthy Raw Pumpkin Patch (from Reboot with Joe)
http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/smart-sweet-healthy-pumpkin-patch/
(site encourages sharing of recipes)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups/360 g. cashews
1/2 cup/110 g. goji berries
1/4 cup/75 g. rolled oats
2 Tbsp./30 ml. pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp./30 ml. coconut oil
Pinch of Himalayan salt
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
2 parsley stems with leaves
Directions:
1.) Combine cashews, goji berries and rolled oats in food processor and process on high until a fine crumble forms.
2.) Add cashew, goji, oat mixture into large bowl and then add maple syrup, coconut oil and salt.
3.) Mix all ingredients together well until a dough forms.
4.) For half of the mixture, roll small spoonfuls into little balls, then shape them into pumpkins (that resemble candy pumpkins) by adding in little crevices with a sharp knife.
5.) Then cut celery into skinny stems, about 1/4 cm. wide and 1 in. tall. Place the celery into the top of the pumpkin with a small leaf off of the parsley stem. TIP: This was easiest when I kept a little stem on the leaf. Then I placed the stem on the middle of the pumpkin and used the celery to stick it in.
6.) For the other half of the mixture, make these into the “carved” pumpkins. First, roll a small spoonful of dough into a ball, similar to the above, then flatten the sides and bottoms of the balls and shape into pumpkins, as you see in the picture.
7.) For the face, slice a thin disc-shape from a large carrot, then use a sharp knife to carve a mini pumpkin face. These do not have to be perfect. As you can see from my picture below, they definitely look homemade but that gives them character!
8.) Stick the carrot face onto one of the flat sides of the pumpkin then add a skinny celery stalk to the top.
9.) Place all pumpkins in the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes before serving.
Peppermint Essential Oil
by Michelle Gill - http://www.trailessentials.us
What do car sickness, spiders, and headaches have in common? Peppermint Oil. My daughter is seven years old and for the last year on random occasions she will get car sick. One night I knew we would be driving a bit up a mountain so I tested doTERRA's Peppermint Oil. I put it behind her ears, on her wrists, and her tummy. Of course, I turned up the wrong mountain and around and around we went and since the bluegrass concert was not on that mountain, down and around, down and around, we had to go. She did not even complain once, which is simply amazing. It really works.
If you are like me and spiders are not your "fav," then get a spray bottle and fill it with 4 ounces of water and 10 drops of Peppermint Oil and spray the cleared out area. As long as the Peppermint is there, the spiders won't be.
Next time you have a headache try putting a drop of Peppermint Oil on your temples and your forehead and see if that doesn't work. If it is a sinus headache, swipe a drop across your sinuses. (Your eyes will water so don't think you're dying!) If it is an allergy headache, swipe your sinuses with lemon, lavender, and peppermint. Those three essential oils are known as the allergy trio and can also be taken orally.
If there is one essential oil to start with, it would be Peppermint Oil! There are simply so many uses!
Feel free to contact me for more information about oils: standandsee@outlook.com
Sewing & Craft Ideas
Do you hate seeing your ugly electric cords attached to your lamps? Here is a simple way to help them blend in with your décor.
ELECTRIC CORD COVERS
1 - Measure length of cord.
2 - Cut piece of fabric 3 times that length. Width should be wide enough to wrap around the plug with 1/2" seam allowance.
3 - Hem ends with 1/2" seam allowance.
4 - Sew with right sides together along the length of fabric.
5 - Turn right side out and feed the cord through it.
-Contributed by Mary Westmoreland, my mom (tutorial video and pictures on website under the sewing tab)
Precious Gems
Thank so much, ladies, for your permission to include these cute quotes from your children and grandchildren! ~ Lois
At dinner, Brooklyn (4): "Mom, Chloe Beth (4) is cool! Her so pretty. And her knows her mom's password. We gonna buy stuff." ~ Lauren in Virginia
Logan (6) to little sister, 10 month old Peyton: Mmm you smell like a hot dog, pickles and a genie! Mommy she smells so good! ...she just had a bath, and smells like none of the above. ~ Amanda in Virginia
I thought I had forgotten to pack my makeup bag. I said to Lucy (3), "Good thing I found my makeup."
Lucy says, "Yeah, 'cause that would be disgusting!" ~ (Grandma) Beth in Virginia
Mom: "Do you remember what the other story that we read last night was about, Liam?"
Liam (2): "A draaaagon!"
Mom: "Yeah, and what was the knight's name.? Saint . . .?"
Liam: (In a deep, gravely voice) "Darth Vader!"
(This kid hasn't even watched Star Wars yet . . . ) ~ Kristen in Virginia
The other night Maverick (3) and his daddy were sharing a dessert after dinner. Maverick stuck the last piece with his fork and looked at his dad and said, "Too slow, Dad." ~ Leigh Ann in Virginia
Lexi (4): That is Un-acceptable!
...when I told her that Daddy and I were going to stay home for our anniversary... ~ Vera in Virginia
Me: Brooklyn, you are old enough for Upward Basketball this year. You make the cut-off by 3 day!
Brooklyn: (4): Yessss! I've waited my whole life to play ball! I gonna shoot the ball and then dance everywhere when I win! ~ Lauren in Virginia
Bedtime chats with a 2 year old (Liam):
Liam: "Mama, is God in church?"
Mom: "Well, sort of. God's in heaven, but He can see everything."
Liam: "So is church heaven?"
How to explain this . . .
Later ... I discovered that part of the confusion may have arisen from the fact that earlier, his daddy, Kirk, told Liam that church was God's house . . . So now Liam wants to know if he's there. ~ Kristen in Virginia
This morning while my 2nd graders were looking up this week's Bible verse, one of my sweet little girls said, "The book of Psalms is FULL of Bible verses!" ~ Cindy in Georgia
Sharing Our Favorite Things!
Each month I will add new goodies to the Favorite Things section. This month are some of mine. Please send us some of your favorite things to share! (send to Michelle at standandsee@outlook.com)
Numi Organic Earl Grey Tea - the best Earl Grey that I have found!
Jesus says, "Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28b-30 I love the Message's version.
Iced Latte - 2 shots of espresso with 1 teaspoon of raw honey, then add 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk and ice - Yummy!
Bethel Music's "You Make Me Brave" album
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