Elevation of the Holy Cross

Each year on September 14 the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of “The Elevation of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross.” This is one of the great feasts of the Church year, and one which has an important historical background. To learn more about this important feast day visit here: http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=88

May you all have a blessed Feast Day.

My New Hobby

A lot of my Texas friends already know that I am very into my food! I love to eat, but not just any food, but good, full, rich, nutrient-dense foods. What a lot of my family and friends elsewhere may not know is that learning how to prepare these foods has become my newest hobby. It may be surprising to some who remember me as a picky eater, or remember my days of eating disorders, but I have found a way to connect with my food and feel good about the choices that I am making in my diet. Before I share one of my favorite snacks (and how to prepare it), I want to share some movie titles that are a must see and a blog everyone should visit.

First, you must watch The Future of Food and then King Corn, then visit www.foodrenegade.com. Just so you know, I was already changing our diet before watching the movies, so no, it wasn't a scare tactic that changed things.

Actually, what did change things was finding out in January that my daughter has Celiac disease. She can't have anything containing gluten and the funny thing is that before we knew what was wrong with her I kept feeding her wheat products believing that they were healthy. Well, for Celiacs it is horrible (and for many other people as well). Gluten can have an effect on many conditions, including endometriosis and Restless Legs Syndrome.


Now, back to one of my favorite snacks: Crispy Nuts
You should always properly prepare nuts before eating. By soaking nuts and seeds, you release toxic enzyme inhibitors AND increase the life and vitality contained within them! So, how to prepare them:

1.Soak almonds or walnuts in water with 1 TBS salt for 12 hours.

2. Drain and dehydrate on a baking sheet in a warm oven*
until crispy (about 12 hours).

You can do this with virtually any nut; cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, and pine nuts are all particularly good!

*To dehydrate in the oven, set oven at lowest setting and keep the door slightly ajar if over 110 degrees. You can also use a dehydrator or if it is warm enough set outside in the sun.

A New School Year has Begun

We have officially started our school year! FJ is in 9th grade, JC is in 4th/5th grade and JP is in 1st/2nd grade. Yes, only homeschoolers can give various grade levels. This year is different for many reasons. First with a high school student in the house, I am making sure that we don't veer from our schedule too much. FJ has a pretty big schedule. She is taking Early American Literature & Writing(Eng I), Algebra I, Physical Science (w/ labs), Church History, American History, Greek, PE, Art and Music. The boys have a lighter schedule but still pretty vigorous.
We have been blessed to have several friends that we school with. FJ has two other girls that we do Eng I and Physical Science with 2 days a week. She has a couple of friends that she does PE (horseback riding)with every week. The boys do science with their friends once a week and will be doing art with a couple of other friends. We do miss our friends who recently moved to Germany. They were an integral part of our schooling and it won't be the same without them this year. Some of the pictures that I have posted show all the kids having a good time schooling together.

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna is a child's treasure with 33 pages full of animal facts.The pages are large and colorful and full of information about really interesting animals, some you have heard of and some you may not know. Along with the book comes a DVD of Jack Hanna bloopers.
We were very excited to receive this book. My kids ages 14, 9 and 7 have always been animal enthusiasts. They were very interested in reading about animals such as the Naked Mole Rat, the Tasmanian Devil, the Lion and the Blue-Footed Booby. I found the book itself to be a great book and very worthwhile. The DVD was however not as impressive as the book. Overall this is a very good find. Kid's of all ages, including us adults, will love reading about these animals in this book.
For more information: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400311403

The American Patriot's Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb

The American Patriot's Almanac is a book of daily readings on America. This book is filled with great stories of America's history and her founding. In addition to the daily readings there are informational sections which include flag etiquette, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States, just to name a few.

I found this book to be an excellent reminder as to what the people of this country have done in the past and present in order to give us the freedoms that we hold dear. Many of the readings are heart-wrenching and inspire a deeper sense of awe and patriotism. Some of the stories brought a tear to my eye and was a reminder that we can only imagine what it was like to be a signer of the Declaration, or fighting in the Civil War, or fighting for civil rights.

The author seems to have performed extensive research for each of the daily readings, including the timeline snippets at the end of each story. I really enjoyed learning something new everyday. I would highly recommend this book to all who enjoy history, or who just love America.

For more information visit http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595552677

Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom

The following was posted by Rod Dreher on his Crunchy Con blog at http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/04/the-paschal-sermon-of-st-john.html

Just reading it again after hearing it during Liturgy is amazing. Christ is Risen!

The Paschal sermon of St. John Chrysostom

In all the Orthodox churches of the world on this most holy night of Pascha, the following sermon will be preached, as it is every Pascha. It was written by St. John Chrysostom (347-407, the Archbishop of Constantinople. Christ is risen!:

Are there any who are devout lovers of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary from fasting?
Let them now receive their due!

If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their reward.

If any have come after the third hour,
let them with gratitude join in the feast!

Those who arrived after the sixth hour,
let them not doubt; for they shall not be short-changed.

Those who have tarried until the ninth hour,
let them not hesitate; but let them come too.

And those who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let them not be afraid by reason of their delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
The Lord gives rest to those who come at the eleventh hour,
even as to those who toiled from the beginning.

To one and all the Lord gives generously.
The Lord accepts the offering of every work.
The Lord honours every deed and commends their intention.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike, receive your reward.
Rich and poor, rejoice together!

Conscientious and lazy, celebrate the day!
You who have kept the fast, and you who have not,
rejoice, this day, for the table is bountifully spread!

Feast royally, for the calf is fatted.
Let no one go away hungry.
Partake, all, of the banquet of faith.
Enjoy the bounty of the Lord's goodness!

Let no one grieve being poor,
for the universal reign has been revealed.

Let no one lament persistent failings,
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death,
for the death of our Saviour has set us free.

The Lord has destroyed death by enduring it.
The Lord vanquished hell when he descended into it.
The Lord put hell in turmoil even as it tasted of his flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, were placed in turmoil when he encountering you below."

Hell was in turmoil having been eclipsed.
Hell was in turmoil having been mocked.
Hell was in turmoil having been destroyed.
Hell was in turmoil having been abolished.
Hell was in turmoil having been made captive.

Hell grasped a corpse, and met God.
Hell seized earth, and encountered heaven.
Hell took what it saw, and was overcome by what it could not see.

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are cast down!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life is set free!
Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead.

For Christ, having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Christ be glory and power forever and ever. Amen!

Christ is Risen!

We celebrated Pascha (Orthodox Easter) this past Sunday. We had a very nice Holy week and attended as many services as we could. Holy Friday morning we had to brave the weather and take our hour trip down to church in thunderstorms. They were expecting severe weather all day Friday and most of Saturday. We were very blessed in that it seemed to pretty much skip over us. We attended Royal Hours Friday morning, Descent from the Cross Vespers at noon and Lamentations Friday evening. In between the services the youth girls decorated the bier (tomb of Christ). At 11pm Saturday evening we arrived for Rush service, Orthos and Pascha Liturgy. I always enjoy the moment when the church lights are all out and we are standing in the dark and the priest takes light from the vigil light and gives it to the faithful, who are holding candles. After Paschal Liturgy Sunday morning we had our Pascha baskets and red eggs blessed and feasted! We did not arrive back to our hotel room till 4am. Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

Forgiveness Sunday

Today is Forgiveness Sunday and the beginning of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church. We attended our first ever Forgiveness Vespers today. It was a beautiful vespers service that ended with a extremely touching moment between parishioners. At the end of the service our Priest begins by asking all those in the church for forgiveness and get on his knees and makes a prostration. The congregation then goes through the line doing prostrations and asking forgiveness of each and every member present and responding to those who are asking forgiveness, "God forgives and so do I". It was very touching to see and to ask everyone to forgive me if I have offended them in any way. Also, I must say that my body will remind me of this service for days to come. I am very sore after doing at least 50 prostrations. It is a great reminder for me to ask those who were not with me today in church for forgiveness as well. May you all have a blessed Lent.

Many Blessings

Today I am posting about something other than school. I just want to say how thankful I am to be surrounded with the friends that God has blessed me with. I know that His timing is everything and I was reminded yesterday how He puts people in our path for a reason. My daughter FJ was diagnosed with Celiac disease in January. She has to be on a strict gluten-free diet. On the surface that doesn't sound so hard, but when you get into all the foods, ingredients, additives, and contamination issues it's a little harder than it sounds. Not to mention expensive if you would like you child to have pancakes, muffins, bread, cake, cookies, cereal bars, donuts, pastas, etc... Anyway, a dear friend mentioned yesterday that I was lucky to have another friend (who moved here only a few months ago) living nearby who follows this diet faithfully. She has been very helpful with shopping and recipes and food!! Not to mention a few other friends have contributed to our initial filling of our pantry with gluten free flours and goodies. I just wanted to say Thank you to all my dear friends.

What's been happening in 2009

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything. It has been rather busy around here since the first of the year. Between our car problems, doctors appointments and additional children in the house, I hardly have time to sit down and write. Anyway, an update to our schooling is due. I prepared a new schedule for the kids that we started working with at the beginning of the New Year following The Well-trained Mind model. It has been working very well and I am very proud of the work that each of the kids are doing. FJ is such an independent learner and is very good at researching information that is needed for her projects. Her writing abilities have soared this year and she even writes some of her own Poetry. JC is working independently on a lot of his work as well, which is quite a change from last year. He is showing quite a bit of maturity. JP is working very hard with reading, spelling, grammar and math. He loves to get his work done. I am still not using my camera like I should, but will try to remember so that I can post more pictures soon.