Liberty Cabbage

There is sauerkraut fermenting in my kitchen cabinet. Through my research into healthy diets I have come across a book called Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. Mr. Katz writes about our bodies' need for traditionally fermented foods. Foods that have been fermented without heating hold on to their nutritional value and aid digestion by cultivating good bacteria. Commercially canned food is basically dead, he says. Yes, it gives us calories, but that's about it.

So I am making my own sauerkraut, Katz style. I chopped up a head of cabbage, and sprinkled salt on it each time I added some to my big glass bowl. I also added a little pepper and some onion powder. Then I punched it down with my fist, and set another bowl on top with two pitchers of water inside to weigh it down. The next day as the "brine" (or water that the salt had pulled out of the cabbage) had not covered the top of my cabbage, I added some salt water as per Mr. Katz directions. Then I set my sauerkraut on the counter to ferment. It is supposed to take about a week.

The evening of the second day, Craig came home to me wandering through the house trying to find a dirty diaper that had been left behind somehow. I had repeatedly asked Calvin if he needed to go to the restroom, so much that he was getting irritated with me. I had checked Evie's pants so many times, she started backing away and saying "No, Mommy!" whenever I walked by. But still there was this faint odor, and I couldn't figure it out. Craig dropped his briefcase and said, "Meg, it's your sauerkraut."

Since that second day, the house has been fine though. I put the kraut in a cabinet so it would be out of the way, and when I open it up to check it, it smells wonderful! I even made another batch from red cabbage that is currently being weighed down by the first batch. It all should be completely fermented by this weekend, so I can take it to my parent's house to share my homemade/fermented kraut with my family. I wonder who will be brave enough to try it...

Resolutions

(Ebie with her Christmas tea set, it is made of recycled plastic)

It is interesting to me how we go through seasons of life, even seasons within seasons. Right now I am in the "running around taking care of babies and needing the entire day just to get everyday life done".
Even though I don't get much outside of everyday chores and taking care of babies done, I have resolved to find time to read. That resolution was made at New Year's, but I reserve the right to resolve to do things after the first of the year. So far my New Year's resolution has been going well, it helps that it is enjoyable. Whoever said resolutions have to be tiring, right. So far this year I have read 41/2 books that I have always meant to read. Most of my time for reading comes when I am putting Ebie to sleep and would have to be sitting there anyway. Although when the book gets particularly good I read through her entire nap as well.

Walking every week day is another resolution I made at New Year's. That one isn't going as well as the reading, but I will not give up! No excuses will be made, although I can think of several that are pretty good.

Resolutions are very important to me. I made several resolutions in mid September of last year and only one has stuck. But the one that did stick (by the grace of God), has blessed me far beyond words. That one resolution was to have my own time in Bible study every week day. At first it was just part of my to do list, now it is a time I look forward to.

Have you made any recent resolutions?

My recent Bible studies have been about Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament covenant designs. Most recently about Him being our priest-king, in the order of Melchizedek. And being the fulfillment of God's promise that the office of priest and king (by one of David's sons) would be filled well after the time of the exiles.

I Hate Litter.

(Calvin playing in a house made from a box my dad gave us earlier this summer)

At the same moment I paused to look out our front window today, a car stopped in front of our house. I watched the woman who was driving finish a Capri Sun and throw the package out the window. "She did not just do that", I said. Yep, she did. She was a full grown woman. I sighed, put on my shoes and walked outside to pick it up out of the street. I hate litter. While I was out there I found two aluminum cans though. Jackpot!

I like to recycle. My big project has something to do with recycling. Not in a save the world way though. More in a good steward/serving way.

Question(s) I am pondering today: Has the day been a success if the house is a mess? Or, has the day been a wash if the house didn't get cleaned? Wondering. My nerves scream no.

Isaiah 19:16-25 Although the Egyptians were enemies with the Israelites, God says there will be a day when all nations will be at peace and worship Him. He will call all nations to Himself and He will be glorified. "Come quickly, Lord Jesus."

Drawing Lines

I am naturally pretty laid back when it comes to parenting. My kids are not on a strict schedule. They normally eat whatever I am eating, run around bare foot all the time (even have been known to be naked occasionally) and are free to try to do things themselves. Sometimes I feel irresponsible because I don't have special rules for them to follow. Unless there are clear signs of impending doom, I usually let them roam, play and generally figure things out on their own. My mother says I parent as if Calvin (my first) was my fifth child. I believe my parenting style mostly comes from being the second oldest of 6 kids, and experience tells me that the majority of the things little ones do won't kill them. They usually end up learning something from all their shenanigans. Yeah, this way of parenting is pretty groovy to some, but I feel like most of the time I am seen as lazy or apathetic.

Lately though there have been several times where my laid-back-ness has allowed some hurts and very near catastrophes to happen. So I have been interested in tightening up the reins on my own parenting style. The problem is I don't know where to draw the lines so to speak. Are there clear lines between irresponsibility and hyper-parenting? I just don't know when to say, "Yes, now I am responsible enough." Sure there will always be times when I feel like I am not as good as a parent as I should be. But there is always room for improvement too. Just wondering where to draw the line. It can't all be hazy, can it?

It's Not Easy Being "Green"

(I don't have a picture to go with this post, so here is Evelynn with her first Oreo. It was mint)

We do our best to cut down on waste in our house. We don't leave lights on. We reuse plastic bags, put kitchen scraps in the compost, use a water saving shower head, take anything that can be recycled to the nearest recycling bin, donate unwanted things to VOA, and recently I have started making things from old worn out clothes so they don't just go to the landfill. It is not our desire to be "green". Truthfully, we had been doing the majority of these things before it was cool to do so. Being Christians, we have a desire to be good stewards of the home God has given us.

I have a big problem with the "green" movement that is going throughout our nation, and our world. I am not meaning to be dramatic or anything, but I see it as Satan's newest way of diverting our attention. It is the new hip religion in a way. With this movement we basically become mini-saviors to ourselves and the world. But God has made it perfectly clear that one Savior is sufficient. We can not save the Earth. God is in control of it. That is not to say that we should live in a wasteful way, destroying it and its beauty. On the contrary, we have been called to take care of the earth, but we are also called to have dominion over it. God has designed all of creation for us to use to His glory. That means we should be doing all we can to reduce our waste, and keep the earth unpolluted, but we also should be using natural resources God has given us, just not in a way that ravages the earth.

I don't mean to be a killjoy, but I have met other Christians that feel the same way, that something is "just not right" with being "green". The movement can actually give me kind of a creepy feeling sometimes. I am always cautious when claiming that God is telling me something, but I do think this feeling comes because He is reminding me that the movement is man-centered and not meant for His glory.

In these times, I believe Satan does his best to disguise his work. Just as Charles Baudelaire said, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist." He tries to make things seem harmless. But anything that takes our focus away from God is not harmless. So I believe getting caught up in the "green" movement can have eternal consequences. Do your best to take care of the earth, but do it to the glory of God. Don't fall into the trap of thinking we can save ourselves.