Poem to Share

SERVICE IS NOT SPELLED SERVE-US

Prepare my heart for serving,
Let my spirit heed Your call;
In obedience to the Father,
Our Lord and King of all.

Fill my thoughts with You, Lord,
Renew my mind today...
I give you full control,
In the things I do and say.

Take these hands You gave me,
And use them for Your good...
To glorify Your Kingdom,
In the ways I know I should.

Remove all doubt within me,
Lord, I trust You'll find a way,
To mold me in Your image...
As I walk with You today.

~Author unknown~

Spring Cleaning

It is rainy here today and I have the windows open and can hear birds singing. ~smile~ I am hoping that the rain we are expecting today and tomorrow may get rid of our snow for us or at least some of it!

Since it is very spring like here at long last I have started thinking about spring cleaning. Here is my basic spring cleaning checklist.....

Spring Cleaning Checklist
- Wash windows inside and out, wash screens.
-Vacuum, wash and iron or dry clean curtains and valances. Dust blinds.
-Room by room, dust tops of woodwork on doors, around windows and baseboards. wash as needed.
-Wash Vents.
-Clean outdoor furniture.
-Repaint house if needed. (We do need to repaint the porch and various trim around the outside as well as several rooms inside!)
-Open windows in basement to freshen and ventilate.
-Clean all trash from yard.
-Inventory winter clothes, get rid of what you no longer wear. Unpack, sort through spring and summer clothes.
-Wash and store winter blankets.
-Place all items you no longer want in box to donate or for a yard sale.(Already in progress)
-Vacuum beneath heavy furniture.
-Sweep and mop under appliances.
-Wipe down walls with a mop covered in soft flannel.
-Reorganize closets.
-Have chimney cleaned.
-Have roof and gutters checked for damage.
-Rake out gardens.
-Rake yard.( The snow came before our leaves all dropped so we have alot of raking we need to do!)
-Have lawn swept.
- Various other in house cleaning and chores like completely removing everything from a storage room downstairs and reorganizing it.

Happy Cleaning!

Blessings,
Liisa

What We Can Learn About Women From The Scriptures

I was going through some of my notes yesterday and came across this. I don't remember where I found it but I thought it was worth sharing.

Proverbs 31:10-31
- She should have noble character.
- She is valuable.
- Her husband should be able to have confidence in her.
- She should only do good to her husband.
- She should create things with yarn and fabric.
- She should look around for the best deals.
- She gets up early to look after her family.
- She is smart about business about her family.
- She should work hard.
- She works into the evening.
- She works to create things for home and sale.
- She should help the poor and those in need.
- She makes makes sure her home and family are ready for winter.
- She makes bed coverings and her own clothes - she dresses well.
- She makes things and sells them.
- She is strong and dignified and ready for the future.
- She thinks before she speaks and says good things.
- She isn't lazy and she looks after her house.
- Her children will love her and so will her husband.
- She loves God. Titus 2:3-5
- She shouldn't put people down, gossip, lie or pick on others.
- She shouldn't get drunk.
- She should teach what is good.
- She should love her husband and children.
- She should be self controlled and pure.
- She should be busy at home.
- She should be kind.
- She should listen to her husband. 2 Peter 3:1-6
- She should be submissive to her husband.
- She should live with purity and reverence.
- She should worry more about the person she is inside than the one she looks
like outside.
- She should have a gentle and quiet spirit.
- She should put her hope in God.

Elsewhere
- She should not be angry and nasty.
- She should build up her house and those in it, not tear it down with nasty
comments, name calling, arguing, being mean etc.

Blessings,
Liisa

Stay at Home Moms

I know many of you have likely seen this before but I just came across it on Salary.com and it made me smile so I thought I would share...

What mothers are really worth
Stay-at-home mothers wear many hats. They're the family CEO, the day care provider, accountant, chauffeur, counselor, chef, nurse, laundress, entertainer, personal stylist, and educator. Based on a 90-hour work week, Salary.com has estimated that a fair wage for the typical stay-at-home mom would be well over $90,000 for executing all of her daily tasks. Factor in overtime, and the appropriate salary takes a leap of around $25,000.

"Mothers are responsible for the mental and physical well being of the family - putting a price on that isn't easy," said Lena Bottos, compensation market analyst for Salary.com. "But we looked at it as what you would have to pay other people to do the same work if the mom weren't there."

Even if these mothers were getting paid what they'd be worth on the market, Bottos added that they still wouldn't be adequately compensated. "When you take into account that it represents a 90-hour workweek, and doesn't even begin to factor in that they are on call 24 hours a day, it's not so large. Plus, stay-at-home moms get no benefits in terms of pension or 401(k)."

Mom jobs

Job title Annual salary
Child Day Care Worker $20,259
Teacher $44,824
Taxi Driver $27,346
Facilities Manager $73,239
Short-order Cook $27,477
Laundry Attendant $17,917
Janitor $22,440
Counselor $27,638
CEO $545,268
Administrative Assistant III $37,143
Accounting Clerk III $34,842
Licensed Practical Nurse $38,111
Plumber I $33,155
Automotive Mechanic I $30,725
Cake Decorator $21,340

Jobs listed in order from largest to smallest component of a stay-at-home mom's job. All salaries are national averages. Source: Salary.com, 2004.

The estimate composite salary calculated by Salary.com's team of compensation experts for a stay-at-home mom is based on a 90-hour work week, consisting of six 14-hour days and one 6-hour day. Job titles, responsibilites, and qualifications were considered and weighed on a scale of importance, frequency, and average time spent on tasks per day. Hourly rates of pay corresponding to the 15 job titles in the above table were applied to the 90-hour model and multiplied by 52 weeks a year to determine an annual salary. It assumes the mother has two children of school age.

Stay at home Mom was listed as a dream job - I agree! You can find the entire article here.

Easter Weekend

It was extremely busy but a good weekend none the less. Saturday afternoon's Family Time was so much fun for the children (and adults) that were there thanks to the hard work of my wonderful friend Lisa. She thought of everything and I know she must have spent countless hours pulling it all together. *Thanks Lisa!*
When the children's portion was over we set up tables and decorated for the breakfast in the morning.

Saturday night I went to a memorial service with a friend and it was very nice, but I was a bit rushed getting out the door with so much having gone on in the afternoon.

Sunday's Easter pancake breakfast went well too. We had several new people and it was a good time of fellowship, fun and food! My friend Nancy worked so hard and there were many others who generously donated juice, fruit and syrup as well as helping in the kitchen. My sincere thanks goes out to them all! It never would have happened without each of them.

We took pancakes, sausage, syrup and muffins over to the hospital's emergency room and nurses station with a little note wishing them a Happy Easter from our church and thanking them for being willing to work on the holidays to help others. It was very well received!

Breakfast was followed by a moving Easter service in which one of our men sang a song for the congregation. It moved me to tears. He sings with such feeling. The sermon was wonderful as well and we had several visitors.

All in all a great weekend, but it is nice to have things starting to get back to a slower pace. By the end of the month things should be getting back to normal.

Blessings,
Liisa

Good Friday

He died for me, I live for Him.

Homemade Pizza

Last night for dinner I made pizzas. This was the first time I had made pizza from scratch with a yeast crust and it is just one more reason to love my bread maker!
My hubby said it was better than any pizza you can buy in town. My son loved it too. I was quite happy...I am always nervous when I try a new recipe and hope they will enjoy it. My hubby is the kind of man who will tell me if he doesn't like something so I was pleased he had such high praise for it. ~smile~

Here is the recipe I used...

Pizza Dough (Bread Maker)

1 cup plus 2 tbsp. water (80-90 degrees)
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
3 tsp. vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Put in bread machine in order given.
Set on dough setting and start.

When it is done cut in half and stretch to fit pans. Top as desired and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until light brown. (Ours needed 30 minutes)

Makes 2 medium pizza crusts.

Pizza Sauce

14 oz. can of no salt added tomato sauce
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Italian herb blend
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. olive oil

Blend well.


I topped our pizzas with fresh mushrooms, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, crumbled cooked sausage, sliced green olives and shredded mozzarella cheese.

It was easy to make a much less expensive than ordering pizza so this recipe is one we will be enjoying often!

Blessings,
Liisa