It’s easy to behave as a Christian should when we are in worship services with our fellow Christians.  It’s even fairly easy to behave as a Christian in our everyday lives as long as things are going well for us.  However, things do not always go well for us!  I have been thinking about how Christians act when we are dealing with other people.  I wonder sometimes if we truly maintain the selfless demeanor that Christ wants us to have.  I wonder if we really look at other people and consider how we can influence them to be Christians, as well.  Many Christians talk about how valuable our influence is, and what a good teaching tool we can be if we set a good example for others.  But, if we are really going to be that good example and take advantage of opportunities to influence people, we must act as a Christian should at all times!  That is the challenge.

Do you get impatient waiting for your food in a restaurant, and fuss and complain about your wait?  Do you yell at the server who makes a mistake in your order?  Do you make a scene and yell at the hairdresser who doesn’t do your hair the way you wanted her to?  Do you storm out in a huff when the store doesn’t have what you were looking for?  Now, what if that server or hairdresser sees the church’s ad in the newspaper and walks in the door on Sunday morning.  Or, what if you are distributing gospel meeting invitations and you knock on that store owner’s door.  What kind of impression do these people from your community have of the church and of Christians in general?  Consider what Paul wrote in Phillipians 2:14-15: “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…”

Jesus did get angry at times, but he got angry at sin, not at simple mistakes made by people.  What do others see when they see you?  Do they see one who is blameless, harmless, without fault, and shining as a light of goodness?  Or do they see one who is impatient, angry, short-tempered, and selfish?  You can not shine as a light for Christ if you are not reflecting the One who is the source of the light.  Think about your behavior and what others see.  Look at each person you encounter as someone you can influence with your attitude and actions.  And remember that you are a representative of Christ if you call yourself a Christian.

We made applesauce muffins today.  I had a recipe that I tweaked a little bit, and the muffins are wonderful, if I do say so myself!  This recipe made 2 dozen mini muffins and 1 1/2 dozen regular muffins.

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups plain flour, sifted

2 tablespoons apple pie spice OR 1 tablespoon each of cinnamon and allspice

2 cups oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar; add beaten eggs and vanilla.  Heat applesauce; stir in baking soda.  Add alternately with sifted flour and spices to creamed mixture.  Stir in oats.  Bake in greased or lined muffin tins for 20 minutes.

If you don’t care for oats, you can omit them and use 4 cups of flour.

When I read the original recipe on which this is based, I wondered why it said to heat the applesauce and mix the baking soda with it.  I followed the directions, because I thought there must be a reason for it.  (I just warmed the applesauce in the microwave for a minute, by the way).  Then I decided to see if I could find out the reason, and I found the following on How Stuff Works: “Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) is alkaline.  When it comes in contact with an acidic ingredient like applesauce, buttermilk, or lemon juice and is moistened, the alkali/acid combination creates carbon dioxide.  This carbon dioxide expands the air bubbles previously formed by creaming, and makes the baked good rise.”  I’m still not sure about the reason for heating, but my guess is that it forms some air bubbles and helps the baking soda dissolve.  And I thought I would never use what I learned in chemistry class!

I am posting some pictures, just to make you want to try these…if you do, I hope you like them!

I have been using a slow cooker a lot more over the past year, and I really enjoy it.  Slow cookers can be very helpful in allowing you to prepare a good meal even on an extra busy day.  They are very energy efficient, too.  I have learned several things about using slow cookers that I thought might be helpful to you.  These are not original ideas with me, just things I have picked up from others.

1. Fill your slow cooker at least half full for the best cooking results.  Food tends to overcook if the pot is less than half full.

2. You can use cheaper cuts of meat in a slow cooker.  The slow, moist cooking method results in tender meat, even from tougher cuts.  I’m not saying you can cook a brick in there, but it doesn’t have to be prime rib, either.

3. Remember that liquids do not “cook down” in a slow cooker, so don’t add too much liquid.

4. One hour on high equals 2 hours on low.  You can use this tip to adjust your cooking time.  For example, if I put a meal in the cooker at 11:00, and I want to have supper at 6:00, I have 7 hours of cooking time.  If the recipe calls for 8 hours on low, I would cook it for one hour on high, then 6 hours on low.

5. You can overcook food in the slow cooker.  I have rarely found that anything actually needs to cook all day, as some recipes recommend.  You will just have to experiment with your recipes and your slow cooker to see how long they really need.  I have been told that newer cookers are hotter than older ones, so that may account for the discrepency in recommended cooking times.

6. Don’t lift the lid…at least not very often!  Lifting the lid allows the heat to escape, and it takes a slow cooker about 20 minutes to recover.  However, I would rather lift the lid occasionally than overcook my food.  I actually burned ham in a slow cooker once by cooking it according to a recipe’s recommended time and not checking it.  I quickly lift the lid and check to avoid this problem, but usually only once or twice.  (And I fuss at anyone else who lifts my lid !)

7. Use slow cooker liners for easy clean up.  I buy the Reynolds slow cooker liners, and they are wonderful.  I get them for $1.98 for a box of 4.  The time and soaking water that I save is worth the 50 cents per meal to me.

I’m sure there are many other things that more experienced cooks would think of, but these are a few things that have helped me.  If you don’t use a slow cooker much,  I suggest giving it a try.  After you accumulate some good recipes, you’ll be hooked!

I found a chest of drawers on clearance recently, and we really needed one for my daughter’s room.  I bought it and brought it home.  The box sat in the living room for a few days, and finally my husband and I decided we needed to bite the bullet and put it together.  He opened the box, and we stood looking at the stacks of boards and bags of assorted screws, nails, and other sundry items.  We decided it was best to get the kids into bed before going any further; toddlers and large numbers of screws just didn’t seem like a good combination.  After about 2 hours of sorting, drilling, screwing, and complaining about the incompetency of the instruction writers, we had it put together.  We got it into her room this morning and put the drawers in.  The last time we bought furniture that had to be assembled was about 5 years ago…and now I remember why!

Today we tackled another project; building a doghouse.  My husband did most of the work, of course, and I held things.  I held boards while he sawed, drilled, and nailed.  I didn’t even do that exceptionally well!  Everytime we do things like this, we remember why we are not carpenters.  But we did accomplish it!  I told my husband that he should write up the plans for the doghouse and sell them.  As part of the instructions, he should advise people not to wait until the weather is actually cold to build their dogs a house for cold weather.  If you wait (as we did), then you and your dog are standing out in the cold.  And the dog is the one with the fur coat.  The funny thing is, we were standing out in the cold weather last year about this same time building a doghouse!  We built one for all three dogs last year, but now we need a separate one for our oldest dog.  We procrastinate too much.  Will we ever learn…

There was an article in today’s paper that caught my attention.  The title is “Cabell parents seek advice on helping kids in school.”  About 25 parents of students in Cabell County attended the Parents’ Academy held Saturday morning at the county board of education office.  School counselors explained how to read test results from a student’s standardized test, then “pushed parents to make sure they received items such as test results.”  The purpose of the day was to motivate parents about their children’s education and to educate them about resources that are available.  Counselors also discussed the importance of maintaining an achievement plan, broke down what the achievement tests are, and explained what a GPA is and how honors classes affect the scale.  One counselor is quoted as saying, “As parents, you are still the number one person that sees that your child gets an education.”

I have some observations about this.  First of all, if only 25 parents attended this event, apparently the rest are already very involved in their children’s educations or there is a need for further motivation.  Are parents really so far removed from their children’s educations that they have to be pushed to get test results?  Can you have a child in high school and not know what a GPA is?  Can you have gone to high school and not know what a GPA is?  Just in case you don’t, it is grade point average.  Now, I can understand needing some explanation about how honors classes affect the grading scale; we had a weighted GPA scale when I was in high school, and it was a little confusing even for the honor students themselves!  However, it didn’t take a half day workshop to explain it.  The point here is that parents have to be motivated to take an interest and be involved in the education of their own children!

So, we have the public school system practically begging parents to get involved (which I agree is extremely important).  We even have a counselor saying that the parents bear the primary responsibility for making sure their children are educated.  Why is it, then, that when parents go to the ultimate level to take the responsibility of educating their children, and choose total involvement in their education, they are criticized by a large number of people?  Obviously I am not speaking for the person quoted, or any particular person in the Cabell county school system.  I know nothing of their opinions about homeschooling.  But, there are many people who accuse homeschooling parents of neglecting their children.  Homeschooling parents know everything about their children’s educations.  They are motivated by their own desires to teach their kids.  They put in hours of unpaid work to develop lesson plans, search for materials, make their own materials, keep documentation and grades, and actually teach their kids.  This is on top of all the other work they do for their families.  They don’t have to be pleaded with to find out test scores or taught what GPA stands for.  They design and implement the “achievement plan” themselves.  Meanwhile society as a whole continues to view public education as the only legitimate option, and tax dollars are spent to explain to 25 of the thousands of parents in a county why they should take enough interest in their own kids to know their test scores.

There are a lot of parents whose kids go to public schools who do a great job of being involved, and know exactly what their kids are doing and how successful they are being.  These parents don’t require the kind of motivation that this article is talking about.  My own parents were like that, and I know many who are.  The sad thing is that this workshop is just more evidence that fewer parents are the involved ones, and more are the uninvolved.  I also know this to be true from my own experience working in schools.  However you decide to educate your kids, be the responsible one.  Be involved and know exactly what is going on with your kids’ education. 

October 18, 2006  Davidson County, NC USA 

October 19, 20 and 21 – Women in home businesses all across America will be joining together to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

WAHWomen.com is excited to announce their First Ever THINK PINK Vendor Party Extravaganza!  Over 25 different companies will be represented by work at home women during this spectacular three day event. 

Well-known names include Tupperware, Arbonne International, Pampered Chef, Creative Memories & AVON. 

Women owned business such as Marlo Quinn and Thirty-One Gifts and many business that offer specialty gifts made by work at home moms & women such as Life’s Little Gift Shop and Old Fashion Dreams will also be showcased. 

All vendors will be donating 10 – 50 percent of their sales during the event to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

Misty Kearns, site owner of WAHWomen.com stated “We are beyond excited about this event & so thankful to the women who have offered to participate as vendors- donating both their time and a portion of their sales to the Komen Foundation”. 

“We expect to have a huge turn out for this event and are looking forward to being able to allow our guests a unique & fun way to shop from home while supporting both Breast Cancer Awareness and women in home businesses.” added Kearns. 

The three day event begins on Thursday, October 19 and conclude Saturday, October 21. The parties will start each evening at 6pm EST in the WAHWomen.com chat room. 

In addition to the vendor presentations, all guests will be entered to win prizes including t-shirts, bracelets and grand prizes such as tote bags, each including over $40 of merchandise donated by the THINK PINK Party’s sponsors. 

To attend the party and access the chat room visit- http://www.WAHWomen.com/chatroom 

Online vendor fairs/parties are similar to local vendor shows/exhibitions except they are held online in a chat room. The fairs last for a day or evening and as in this case, often continue for 2-3 days as a special event.  Online Vendor Parties have become a successful and unique way for women (and men) who have home businesses to share and present their businesses, to increase sales and network with potential customers, clients and business recruits. 

Many web sites offer online vendor parties. WAHWomen.com is in the Top 10 rankings in Google for the search term “vendor parties”. This is a high achievement as the site launched less than three months ago. 

Other ways you can support Breast Cancer Awareness through WAHWomen.com include purchasing merchandise such as an exclusive T-shirt and THINK PINK & SURVIVOR bracelets.  Colleen Hoffman, owner of Creations by Colleen is also offering hand-painted wooden photo frames with sayings such as “Think Pink” and “Survivor”. 

All proceeds from the sales of these items also go to the Komen Foundation. 

Kearns said her motto for this event has been “What better way to start your holiday shopping than by supporting such a worthy cause as Breast Cancer Awareness at the same time!” 

To learn more about WAHWomen.com’s THINK PINK Campaign visit: http://www.WAHWomen.com/thinkpink 

WAHWomen.com was launched on August 1, 2006 as a place for work at home women, women looking to work at home and a place to shop with and support women in home businesses.   For more information, please contact- Misty Kearns at admin@wahwomen.com

Copyright, 2006- Misty Kearns, WAHWomen.com, All rights reserved.    

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