How to raise a spoilt child

Here are the links to two great articles that I read earlier today. I hope you enjoy them.

How to raise a spoilt child.

Ask yourself this question if your children don't obey.

"Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman" by Anne Ortlund

I bought the book "Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman" a few weeks ago and read it through in a couple of days. Written from a Christian perspective, it offers encouragement and practical ideas to help women plan their time and activities to be most effective in their work for God.

This book is easy to read and the author has a friendly and humble style of writing. It's not a to-do list that details one way for every Christian woman to live, but includes stories from the author's life that show what has and hasn't worked for her in regards to time-management, keeping up with different roles and responsibilities, maintaining a positive and hard-working attitude, organising Bible study notes, influencing and encouraging other women for Christ, and even taking care of our appearance.

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My favourite part of the book has to be the author's passion for being a good witness, remaining accountable to other Christians in her own walk, and looking for opportunities to share the Gospel with unbelievers. Here is a quote where the author is describing what our life will hopefully become once we have been saved:

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"Let's presume (and I pray it's really true) that all of us now, I writing and you reading, are safely one the bank. Here's where "cream-puff religion" - no strain, no pain - has deceived many, leading new Christians to believe that once they're out of the canoe onto land, they're in heaven! So a few months later when they still have problems, they're disillusioned.

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Actually this is the time when we brush ourselves off, set our eyes on that distant City, and start walking. Cross country, woman. Realise what you were saved from, and know that that place is so fabulous it's worth hiking over over hills, through thorns, through rivers up to our lipstick, over cliffs - anything to get there."

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Over the last few weeks I have read this book from start to finish again and also opened it up to read just a chapter or two when I had a few minutes to spare. Every time I read some of it I come away feeling inspired and encouraged.
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I'm not sure if this book has been re-printed recently as not all online bookstores sell it but you can find it at Amazon, The Book Depository and Booktopia.

Website of the Week

If you love ordering books online but hate paying huge shipping costs then have a look at The Book Depository. They have FREE shipping on all books to anywhere in the world. Most of the books that I've looked up have also been cheaper to buy than at other websites. Enjoy!

Radical

About a month ago I started listening to a series of sermons online from a pastor at a church in Brook Hills, Birmingham Alabama. The title of the series is "Radical" and it's about the radical choices Christians are called to make. The sermon titles include:

* The Gospel Demands Radical Sacrifice.
* The Gospel Demands Radical Compassion.
* The Gospel Requires Radical Urgency.
* The Gospel Requires Radical Giving.
* The Gospel Requires Radical Abandonment.

It's an excellent series and I recommend it to all Christians. Click here to listen to it yourself.

If you think you will go to heaven because you're a good person .....

then you really need to watch this video. (It's the first video on the page).

The Way of the Master

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/

This website has a lot of great resources that teach Christians how to share the gospel with non-Christians. There are free videos that show you how to answer difficult questions and how to point people to their need for a Saviour. You can also buy tracts and books and even get personal training at the Evangelism Training Academy.

I've been so inspired after watching some of the videos on this site that I decided to write down a few points about the gospel and give it to a neighbour across the road who is moving to another state this weekend. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous but when I saw his car pull up yesterday afternoon I ran out of the house with Baby Bee on my hip and called out to him. At first he looked a little wary when I told him that my husband and I were Christians but he seemed to be okay with me giving it to him and said he would read it. If you could pray that God would use it to lead him on the path to salvation I would appreciate that.

Six Years Ago

Last night I was laying awake in bed at 2am and for some reason I remembered that it was about this time six years ago that the Lord started turning my heart to Him. I had just returned from a trip overseas and had such a strong feeling that I needed to find out what it meant to be a Christian. I went to a few churches in the area until I found one that I felt comfortable with. Previous to this time I had only been to church about 5 times in my life and had grown up in a non-Christian home. Over the next few months God put other Christians in my life to teach me and encourage me and at the end of September 2004 I was baptised.

Since then God has taught me a lot and of course I am learning so much more every day. I feel like God is leading me down a new path that involves sharing my faith with others so hopefully I'll be able to talk about that a bit here on this blog and get some ideas and encouragement from others who know so much more than I do in this area. And maybe eventually I'll be able to encourage other Christians to share the gospel too.

Trifle

This is a really easy and delicious trifle I took to our family Christmas gathering.

Ingredients

1 packet of jam rolls
1 packet of jelly
1 vanilla pudding mix
Cream
Strawberries
Bananas

Method

1. Make the vanilla pudding and jelly ahead of time according to the instructions on the packets and put in the fridge to set.
2. Whip the cream using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Place the jam rolls in the bottom of a large bowl.
4. Place the jelly, then the vanilla pudding on top of the jam rolls.
5. Put the whipped cream on top of the vanilla pudding, then decorate with bananas and strawberries.

We are reading .....

The Christmas Story, by Jane Werner

With Christmas just a couple of weeks away we have been reading "The Christmas Story" almost every day. This book is written in simple language and tells the story of how Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem where Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus in a manger. I hope that reading this book together will become one of our family traditions that we do at this time every year.

Choc-Orange Cookies

I bought some orange m&ms for movie night on Saturday night and since we had quite a few leftover I decided to make some Choc-Orange Cookies, using Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookie Recipe. I changed a couple of the ingredients to suit my taste and they are so good!! Here's my recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup oats

1 cup orange flavoured m&ms

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl and add it to the dry ingredients.

4. Soften (but don't melt) the butter in the microwave and add it to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

5. Form the mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on a greased baking tray.

6. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Baby Signing DVD

Not long after Baby Bee was born we were at a baby shop and we came across a DVD called My Mealtime Signs. We bought it along with a couple more called Bathtime Signs and Bedtime Signs. The mealtime one has always been her favourite but we don't like her to watch too much television so she's only been watching it once or twice a week.

The first sign she learnt how to do was the sign for "all gone" because when she finishes her dinner I always say "All Gone!" and do the sign. Yesterday however I was reading her a book and one of the pictures in the book was of a bib so I said the word bib and she did the sign for bib all by herself. Of course I was over the moon and made a big fuss about it.

Then last night at dinner she ate a piece of toast and I said "More?" and she did the sign for more - all by herself. It was hilarious. We had to go and show Daddy straight away and she was so proud of herself. It's so exciting to able to see her trying so hard to communicate with us.

Sweetopia

If you've never been to the Sweetopia site it's definitely worth taking the time to go and visit. Marian has lots of information about baking cakes, cookies, gingerbread houses and desserts. One post that I found particularly helpful was this one below on decorating cookies with Royal Icing. She has a step-by-step tutorial with gorgeous pictures. Enjoy!

http://www.sweetopia.net/2009/09/how-to-decorate-cookies-with-royal-icing-top-10-tips/

A Trip to the Bookstore

Last weekend my husband, Baby Bee and I went to a Christian bookstore and had so much fun looking around the aisles. As usual, we spent more money than we had planned but we came away with some really good buys.

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We bought the Fireproof DVD (neither my husband or I had seen the movie) so we took it home and watched it that night for our "Saturday Night Movie Night" date. We both loved it!! It had such a good storyline that we just want to give it to everyone we know. If you haven't seen it, you should, it is really good.

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We bought a DVD for Baby Bee called Sunday School Songs and it has the cutest little kids singing about 15 different songs. I think my husband and I like the songs just as much as Baby Bee does because we've been singing them all week.

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I bought a book for myself which is actually three books in one - The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Parent and The Power of a Praying Woman, all by Stormie Omartian. I've read the first few chapters of The Power of a Praying Wife and it is really good. If you are married and you struggle to know what to pray for then I'm sure you'll find this book helpful. It's broken into 30 short chapters, each one focusing on an area of your husband's life that you can lift up to God in prayer.

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I bought this book because I felt that for the last few months I'd just been rushing through my prayer time, saying the same things over and over again. I feel so much more refreshed and focused now that I've started reading this book and I'm hoping that the other two books (especially the one about praying for my children) will be just as helpful.

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Anyway, after the bookstore we stopped at the cafe for a hot chocolate and went to visit my nana who lives nearby before coming home. What a perfect day.

Butterfly Party

Last weekend we held a party for my daughter's first birthday. Unfortunately the day turned out cold with a light rain, but lucky for us my husband had thought to hire a marquee and some tarps from a party store. There was no way all of our guests would have fit in our living room so they were nicely protected out in the backyard.

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We had lots of fun seeing all our family, some of whom we haven't seen for quite a few months. Baby Bee got lots of nice presents and I made a butterfly cake.

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I also made some butterfly cookies but with all the excitement of the day I forgot to take any photos. It was lots of fun and I can't believe that I now have a one year daughter!

The first rose of the season

Summer Salads

If you're looking for some yummy salad ideas here are a few of my favourites:

Caesar Salad
I think Caesar Salad is probably my favourite salad of all time and this recipe is one of the best I've come across.

Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is always a favourite at barbecues and lasts for a few days in the fridge. I use extra dressing if the mixture is looking too dry, and my dad's secret is to use couscous instead of bulghur for a finer texture.

Grilled Turkey Salad
This is a great salad to make with left-over turkey breast.

Greek Pasta Salad
This is a fast and easy recipe for a healthy meal or side-dish.

Tuna Salad
I love eating cold tuna in Summer and this recipe works well as a complete meal. I leave out the basil and rosemary as I find they can be too strong with the other flavours.

Potato Salad
This is my husband's recipe:

Ingredients
5 large boiled potatoes
1 lime
5 boiled eggs
1 cup whole egg mayonnaise
100 grams finely diced bacon
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons horseradish
2 shallots chopped

Method
1. Steam Potatoes for 20 minutes or until cooked but still firm. Rinse Potatoes thoroughly in cold water to stop cooking process. Once rinsed and still cooling splash with Juice of 1 Lime and let lime infuse as potatoes continue to cool
2. Hard boil 5 Eggs. Cut eggs in half and extract solid egg yoke into a small mixing bowl. Using a tablespoon from the mayonnaise mash egg yolks into paste.
3. In a pan fry pan thoroughly cook bacon and then allow to cool in fridge
4. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix remainder of mayonnaise, sour cream, egg yoke paste and horseradish.
5. In another large shallow mixing bowl cut potatoes into large cubes and add quartered boiled eggs (without yolks). Drizzle potato salad dressing over potato and egg mix and gently fold through.
6. Sprinkle shallots and bacon pieces over mix.

Fruit Salad
Chop your favourite fruit into bite sized pieces and mix together in a large bowl. Chill before serving. I like to use apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries, grapes, and mandarins. If you prefer a sweeter recipe, try this one.

Crepe Wheel

Crepes are like a really thin pancake that are usually served folded with a sweet or savory filling inside. Here are the instructions on how to make this yummy crepe pinwheel.

Ingredients

2 eggs

150 ml milk

150 ml water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

125g all-purpose flour

Method

1. Combine the eggs, milk, water and melted butter in a bowl and beat using an electric mixer.

2. Add the salt, then pour in the flour slowly while the mixer is still running.

3. Refrigerate the mixture for 1-2 hours.

4. Heat a fry pan on medium heat and melt about 1 teaspoon of butter in it.

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5. Pour in enough mixture to make a large, round shape. Move the pan around slowly to help the mixture run along the sides. (I used an electirc fry pan but a regular one on the stove top is just as good.).

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6. Cook one side until bubbles start to form on top then flip it over.

7. Cook the other side until it is golden brown.

8. Remove the crepe from the pan and place it onto a chopping board.

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9. Cut the crepe in half and spread your filling across one half. I used ham, cheese and pineapple although in this photo I think I'd only added the cheese.

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10. Fold the crepe in half by bringing the side without any filling across the other side, on top of the filling. .

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11. Fold the crepe in half again.

12. Lay the crepe on a plate and repeat the process with the other half and with more crepes.

Makes approximately 6 crepes (or 12 pieces for the pin wheel).

A few links

If you, like me, are a fan of the Duggar family then you'll be excited to know that Michelle Duggar now has a blog. Click here to go and read what she has to say.

If you haven't yet discovered The Pioneer Woman then you really need to go and have a look at her fabulous website. She takes the most gorgeous photos and her recipes are soooo good. And she's hilariously funny too.

Also, below is the link to the blog of an American girl who is working in an orphanage in Africa. She shares some very moving and heart-breaking stories.

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

A Party Dress

I went shopping last weekend to find a dress for Baby Bee to wear to her 1st Birthday Party next month. At the first shop I went to I saw the most adorable dresses - for $45! They were a bit out of my budget so I went to a couple more stores and found the perfect one for $24. It even has matching knickers.

I brought the dress home and one day last week I washed and ironed it. I had it hanging over a rail in her room, ready to hang up, until I saw this.....

Daddy decided that teddy could wear the dress until Baby Bee needed it. Haha!

Sugar Cookies and Birthday Parties

There's only one month until my daughter's first birthday party and we're planning a butterfly theme. I'm going to make a butterfly cake and some butterfly cookies like these ones. I'm not the best cookie decorator so I decided to start practising early. I made these sugar cookies to take to playgroup earlier in the week.

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I used Peggy Porschen's sugar cookie recipe with royal icing.

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Sugar Cookies

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Ingredients

200g unsalted soft butter
200g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
400g plain flour, plus more for dusting

Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until well mixed and creamy.
2. Add the egg and continue beating.

3. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms.

4. Put the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it briefly. Roll it out to about 5mm thickness.
6. Use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes and place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
7. Put them back in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
9. Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes until the edges become golden brown.
10. Let the cookies cool completely before icing them.

Royal Icing

Ingredients

2 egg whites

4 cups icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

water

food colouring

Method

1. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

2. Add the cream of tartar and beat a little bit more.

3. Pour in the sifted icing sugar slowly while continuing to beat the mixture.

4. When it's all mixed through test the consistency of the icing by running a spoon across the top. If the icing falls back into shape within 5-10 seconds it's ready to use. If not, start adding a teaspoon of water at a time and mix it through until you get the right consistency.

5. Add the food colouring and stir through.