I know that this post is probably not going to make me popular, but I have to get this out in the open – even if it just to get my reasons down in a  (somewhat) coherent  format.

Santa does not come to our house. In our house…up until this year, his name was not even mentioned to our kids. Caleb is turning 4 this year, though, and we just can’t ignore and avoid the issue anymore. “Santa” is everywhere! It drives me nuts! We cannot go anywhere without seeing a Santa image…not the grocery store or the mall, or someone else’s house…we cannot even drive down the street thanks to those pop-up air-blown lawn decorations. My children cannot talk to anyone without being asked if they are excited about what Santa is going to bring them. So – we have honestly told them the truth. That Santa is a story, just like Paddington Bear and Thomas the Train. We have not filled them in on the details, I’m sure they will figure out what this story is all about in time.

Why? Well, you may or may not agree with me on this, but I believe that this Santa thing has been taken way too far, it’s not just a white lie, it’s deception and lying – and if I expect my children to be honest with me I need to be honest with them. If I want them to trust what I say as truth, I need to say only things that are true and trustworthy.

Secondly, and more importantly, Santa should have nothing to do with Christmas, a holiday that is supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ – and the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan for the world. It’s a time to praise and thank God for his wonderful gift of grace and love to a world who is totally lost without him.

Except for Santa, we have chosen to keep the holiday in much the same way as the rest of our friends and family do, with gift-giving, feasting, time with family etc. As our children get older we would like to serve others more, and encourage them to give to the poor and needy (all year, but especially at Christmas). Some Christians have taken a very radical standpoint against Christmas in its entirety, and I can appreciate where they are coming from, but for our situation I feel that we would be alienating ourselves and building walls in our relationships with friends and family by boycotting the holiday completely – rather than showing them the love of Christ, I fear they would feel that we were judgmental, hypocritical and self-righteous.

Our traditions leading up to Christmas are focussed on Christ – this year we are doing a Jesse Tree, reading scripture together, and singing and playing lots of carols about Christ throughout the day. When I was young preparation for Christmas was about baking cookies, the Christmas shows on TV, writing to Santa, decorations, etc., and although we may do some of those things in our home – they are not the focus of Christmas, they are done more as “winter” activities.

So – are our children less-happy than those who believe in Santa? Not in the least! They are learning of the true joy of the season – God’s gift of love, His plan to save us, His unfathomable grace and mercy. They love our daily family time together reading a Bible story and creating an ornament for our Jesse Tree. My husband and I are also not frantically caught up in the materialism of the season – and are taking time to keep our own hearts where they ought to be. Our home is (mostly) a peaceful, loving place to be – and that’s a gift that keeps on giving!

I am open to your comments and opinions. I know that the choices we have made are not right for everyone – I just had to get it off my chest!

Blessings! and Merry Christmas!

Sara

Well, after the company had left, after I realized what a complete idiot I was, and after I apologized to my husband and the Lord for not holding my peace I started to think about why I got so upset in the first place. The things I said were not inherently untrue – but they were also nothing close to words that were seasoned with grace, or wisdom or kindness. *** if you are reading this, I’m sorry.

There are other things that have been bugging me too…little relational things that are driving small, but strong wedges into friendships, planting tiny seeds of resentment – and I had better be on guard before these little foxes ruin the vineyard. And all the issues, all of them, can be boiled down to expectations of all different types.

It could be someone else’s opinion of the right way to parent, or how our family MUST spend Christmas day, where I should live, whether I should give my children juice of milk in the morning….and the list goes on and on and on. And the real honest truth is I am completely tired of other people’s expectations of me!

I think there was a time when I took delight in meeting everyone’s expectations – at least for the most part. I would bend over backwards to meet them, sacrificing my own convictions in the process (maybe not directly, all the time, but by missing out on time with my husband, for example). Sometimes I would try to compromise with others, when they were willing to bend a little, and sometimes I would just suck it up, paste a smile on my face and bear it. But now, well, now I simply cannot do it anymore, and I am ready to break off the chains of expectations and do what it is the Lord is asking of me. Yes, sometimes that may mean heeding another’s expectation of me, but sometimes it might mean standing up for what I believe is right, at the sake of being disliked, mocked, misunderstood etc.

There are times to compromise and times to stand your ground. I pray that I will have wisdom to know one from the other.

What do you think? Am I totally off my rocker here? Should I try to “people-please” for the sake of a relationship – forever trying not to offend? Where can the line be drawn?

I mean putting up, like preserving…like jam and green beans, applesauce and tomatoes, sauerkraut, horseradish, strawberries…well you get the idea.

If one of my new found loves is real local food, and if I happen to live in Canada, where little grows for about half the year, then I guess I gotta become pretty good at this preserving thing. So far, we’ve got freezing down pat. I have already stored up strawberries, green beans, spinach, raspberries and snap peas in my freezer to last through the chilly winter months. I’ve got plans for swiss chard, too – which I planted a few weeks ago.

The problem is that my freezer is getting full, I have a big order of organic beef coming in next week, and I’m about the place another order for a whole pig from a mennonite family just outside of town. I won’t have space for much more produce, so what do I do?

Canning is good for tomatoes and pickles, but I am otherwise not fond of canned vegetables.

Enter the “Preserve the Bounty Challenge”  at Nourished Kitchen – just posted today by a blogger I’ve been reading regularly ( Gotta love when someone posts exactly what you need, right when you need it). I can’t wait to learn some new ways to save the harvest of summer and fall, without the freezer or the canner.

I’ll post pics of my progress as the challenge gets underway.

Oh yeah, and I’ll be writing more about our change in buying and eating habits, new recipes, a tutorial on how to freeze produce properly, and hopefully updating my blogroll. Lots to do – but right now I need a few winks.

I have lots of excuses, tons actually, but mostly I just have not been in the mood to write, or in the mood for much of anything for that matter. I find myself not even able to decide what I want to eat for lunch most days. It’s been nerve-wracking, and just not me.

And what would cause such a change in personality (besides mental illness?)…pregnancy: wacky hormones, morning sickness, utter exhaustion, and most frustrating of all - the all-encompassing feeling of complacent, apathetic, lethargy (is that redundant?).

So that’s my news! I am happily embarking on my second trimester now, regaining my sense of self, and marvelling at how every pregnancy is so different to the others.

Otherwise I have been buried in books and blogs about real traditional food. I’ve been pondering buying a farm, or making the most out of our suburban space. Oh, and napping … everyday!

I’m getting back into the kitchen with renewed interest, and hopefully will have some good stuff to post soon. FYI – there will be a lot more butter in my recipes from now on.

Hugs!

Sara

From afar I watch a funny bird (a starling perhaps?) with a blue head and black body. It looks unfriendly, but I notice its bottom shaking as it skips away and I can’t help but smile. Its chirp sounds like a squeaky hinge. What a funny little creature.  And robins that nest in our cedar skip-hop across lawns looking for a snack. I love robins.

Inside the house children sleep-on, a long two-hour nap after a busy morning. The house is far from perfect. Toys and crumbs are scattered across the floor. Laundry piles up. But, garlicky vegetable soup simmers on the stove, and I am thankful for a cool day just perfect for a steaming bowl of comfort. A feeling of contented well-being overtakes me.

A holy moment. Peace overflows. A frazzled morning is redeemed, and grateful songs echo from a joyful heart. I can feel Him here.

I have walked this road before, though, and emerged on the other side with a changed outlook on life. It is prayer, and in partcular – prayers of thankfulness that bring  about the change. Literally counting blessings. So that’s what I will do, right here, right now, and trust the Lord to change my heart, and my sorry attitude. I have so much to be grateful for:

• My babies, playing together, and making eachother laugh.
• Catching eyes with kind, compassionate women
• Small victories, like baking bread, or getting all the dishes done
• Nap-time
• Good books
• A good, long hug from my husband
• Old movies
• Neighbours laughing
• Vegetables growing in the garden, despite my inexperience
• Bedtime kisses from my babies
• Tomatoes from the market
• Hope rising
• Sheep grazing in a field
• Long drives in the country
• Dreams and plans for the future
• My name in the Book of Life

And there is more, so much more, but that last one…that’s where it all begins, and all ends.

Firstly, of how many thankless jobs there are for the housekeeper. For example, I can assure you that my husband will never thank me specifically for scrubbing the grime off the dishwasher buttons, or for keeping the dish drainer sparkling white (honestly, I spent at least fifteen minutes with a toothbrush on that thing) – but at the same time if I never ever did it, well, he’d be sure to notice (side note: please don’t hear what I am not saying, if  he did happen to notice such a task undone, he would rarely bring it up, just take mental note…only after I made mention of how grimy something was would he agree and say “yeah, I didn’t want to say anything.” He is a gracious man). I realized as I pondered the many thankless jobs that I no longer view myself as a housekeeping martyr – but rather, I clean because my family and myself are blessed by a tidy, healthy atmosphere. No more grudges. Ladies, I implore you take on the same attitude. Trust me, you will never get enough thanks for the work you do to make you feel truly appreciated, especially if you have bad attitude. So give yourself an attitude adjustment, and consider my second pondering:

Hard work with a happy heart is a blessing to your soul. The feeling of accomplishment in a job well-done, however small, is the reward for your efforts. Whether monumental or mundane, I believe that we were created to take joy in our work, and to feel the satisfaction of our efforts. Consider your mood on a day when nothing is accomplished, when lazing around in PJ’s with guilt hanging over you for all that you should be doing. Compare that mood to how you feel when you have conquered your to-do list and finish your day with accomplishment, though you may be tired. Enough said?

I only had the time for a cursory look into Proverbs on the subject while the kids napped this afternoon, but this is what I found:

“The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied” (Proverbs 13:4)

Does that not just sum it up? How many times have I lazed around “wanting” – but never getting? How many times have I been satisfied and content after completing a task I set out to do?

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
       When will you get up from your sleep?

 A little sleep, a little slumber,
       a little folding of the hands to rest-

and poverty will come on you like a bandit
       and scarcity like an armed man. (Prov 6:9-11)

Whoa! – this verse used to convict me every time I read it. To me this means procrastination (a little sleep and slumber) will lead us straight into poverty. Well, all I can say is I don’t want to live in poverty, and if all it takes it some hard work – I’m game!

“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” (Ecc 11:6)

This was a particularly helpful principle for me when I was working full time. I think most of us feel entitled to put up our feet after a day’s work, flick on the TV and zone out, but I found that something as simple as knitting in the evening is so incredibly beneficial to my outlook … I wish I could explain it better – You’ll just have to give it a try. Do something constructive during those evening hours and see if your life is not changed.

All this to say: I am not afraid of hard work. I am not afraid to be truly busy from the moment I wake up until the moment I fall into bed. I don’t want to squander the time I have been given.

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12)

Be blessed, my friends, and walk in the peace of the Lord.

I have been interested in eating well since before I got married and left home. It is a passion of my mother’s that I picked up through my teen years. When I was 17 I vowed to never eat at McDonald’s again, not for any ethical reason, but simply because I realized I always felt awful afterwards. In the last 11 years I have had only a salad from McDonald’s (when on a road where I had no choice) – and I don’t feel like I’m missing out!

Despite some level of conscientiousness when it comes to eating well, I have been very reluctant to join the ranks of the health food fanatics. You know, the ones who eat all sustainable organic, swallow several dozen supplements, and go on about corruption in the FDA on how everything on a supermarket shelf is killing us slowly. I did not have time for these people – in my opinion they were radicals who lacked common-sense.

Recently, though, I have tried to reduce as much processed food in our household as possible. I’ve been eliminating indecipherable ingredients from the pantry either by avoiding a food or product altogether, using a less-processed alternative, or making it from scratch. Basically, if I could not get my hands on the individual ingredients that were in something, I would not put it in my cart. As I have searched for recipes and ideas online I have been reading more and more about the truth about our food, and my opinion has changed. In a nutshell, I am convinced that most foods in our grocery stores are not only bad for us, but also bad for the planet. Whether its over-processed, preservative-filled convenience food,  anti-biotic tainted milk and meats, or produce that’s been doused in pesticides – there just isn’t a lot to choose from without feeling like I’m compromising my family’s health and wellness.

So – what’s the alternative? Well, I’m not sure. Eating all local, organic food would be great, but the accompanying price tag is hard to swallow. Plus, some things, like raw milk, can’t be bought, even from an organic farm (that’s a whole other can of worms, don’t get me started). The best thing to do would be to move to the country and grow all my own food (livestock included), and trust me, this is an option I am taking very seriously!

For now, though, I am bravely reading Nourishing Traditions (which up to now, I have regarded as radical nonsense), and once that is done Real Food should be available at the library.

I am not too sure where this journey is going to take me, but I cannot keep on with the “see no evil, hear no evil” mindset – I have a commission to be a steward of the earth, and to care for the husband and children God has given me to nourish. It’s time for a change to real food.

In particular I am excited about my first vegetable garden. I have been reading and planning. I have tomato seedlings growing in my window, and in a few weeks I’ll be able to plant spinach, radishes and peas - that’s when the fun really starts.

I also have a basket full of books to read, mostly on homeschooling. Goodness gracious! There is so much material available. My goal is to wade through it all over the summer, and get Caleb started, at a leisurely pace, come September. Thankfully, in JK all we need to learn is some letters, counting, how to use scissors, easy stuff that can be incorporated into everyday life. We’ll tackle reading the year after that, and Grade One is when the fun really starts. Oooh, the butterflies of excitement and nervousness!

Hopefully I’ll be back soon, with loads of inspiration and excitement for blogging. I didn’t realize when I started out how much work it would be to do it well – And if something is worth doing it is worth doing well! I started this blog with an attitude of  “let’s just see where this goes” – and now I am at a fork in the road (actually I have been here for a while). Do I keep doing what I’m doing? Do I put even more time into it? Or is this the end of this road? I’m just not sure.

Toodles for now,

Sara