Prairie Oak Homestead

We had great sleeping weather here last night! It was nice and cool outside after having a whole week of near 100's. Cool breezes swept across the bed. It was just sooo nice. :) I slept like a rock! The day seems to be a busy one. I have things to do at church this morning, the feed store, grocery store, and then to get bedding for the coop. It's beautiful outside and should be good for errands. I have no air conditioning in my car so it's usually a bit rough. Not today. :) I spoke to my Mennonite friend, Esther, Saturday on the phone. She had left a message in my front door on Wednesday, but I didn't find it until Saturday. She comes to town every Wednesday to tutor at the women's prison in town. She goes by my turn off every time and says a little prayer for me when she does. I am going to see her next week sometime. It should be interesting. I haven't really talked to her since I stopped wearing a headcovering and dress/skirt. I'm intereste...

It was such a pretty day that I thought I'd take a few pics from around the homestead. It's incredibly hot here, but at least it hasn't rained this week and my husband has been able to work everyday. Summer is a wonderful time of year and it's just getting started. lol. This is one of my hostas. This is one of my lillies. These are some of the blackberries turning. This is Ooster and one of his ladies. ;) And last but not least, the cat that adopted us. lol. It's not really ours, but it's here all day and we feed her. But, she's not really ours. Really. We would never admit to having a cat. Even if it was just a mouser. ;)

Proverbs 31:11 - Beautiful Truth is Beautiful Trust Pictured above is a unique flower called, "Beautiful Truth". It was discovered in South Korea by Song Kihun (the grower) who named this rare beauty after his beloved daughter. Although extremely delicate in appearance, with it's strap-like petals that are only a 1/4" thick, it is a very hardy flower that is also very well behaved...unlike others of it's species. This is one of the distinct qualities that make this exceptionally beautiful flower so treasured by it's gardener's! As I happened upon this photo today, I was intrigued by the design of this flower. I'd never seen nor heard of it before. I found it very interesting that the petals looked like delicate ribs that wrap around the "heart" of the flower where the sweet nectar is. This little flower peaked my interest enough that I began looking up it's history, how it grows, where it grows and if it'll grow in my garden. I...

Proverbs 31:10 Morsel to Chew On "The woman described here is of priceless value. She has physical strength, mental strength, moral strength and spiritual strength. Above all she loves God deeply and reverently. She is characterized in this section six ways, and I'll point them out to you as we just look together at the Scripture...six ways. Her character as a wife, her devotion as a homemaker, her generosity as a neighbor, her influence as a teacher, her effectiveness as a mother and her excellence as a person...the sum of all of that makes the excellent wife. And I might add that this is no woman in particular but this is the woman that every woman should seek to emulate. She is rare, look at verse 10, an excellent wife...by the way, the word excellent in Hebrew means force, a woman of force, a woman of substance, a woman of strength would be another way to characterize her. It's excellent in the sense of her strength spiritually, morally, mentally, physically. She ...

Yesterday we went fishing for Father's Day with some friends. My husband really likes to fish and he hasn't gotten to do it the past few years. I enjoy it, too. Most times. lol. It's better with friends. My son is starting to enjoy it, too. He catches bluegill and has learned to take them off the hook. I had a pretty good time, too! I caught a lot of bluegill. But, I like the action. lol. I'm not much for fishing for catfish, unless I just want to rest. :) But, I have to say, this was the best part of the day! Be still my beating heart! I need some butter for those buns! ;)

As I was driving down the road the other day, I looked over at a farmer's field. This is what was whispered in my ear. I am like a speck of dirt in a farmer's field. I can't see anything but my immediate area or maybe just my whole field. I can't see the next field over. God has a pilot's view and can see my field, the surrounding fields, and the WHOLE world. He knows best. He can see what's coming in the next field over before I can. When I can't see the next field over, I can't understand why things are happening the way they are. So I get frustrated. Then there are times when I can see the next field over and then I get scared. :) In BOTH situations, I just need to TRUST. That is a very hard thing for me to do. Why? Not sure. We serve a great big God. Sometimes I forget that. His point of view is soooo much greater than ours. I just need to remember that I am a speck of dirt and He sees all, knows best, and His will is perfect even if w...

Proverbs 31:10 - More Precious Than Jewels (Photo of Hope Diamond taken by Dane Penland of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.) An excellent wife is very hard to find. Her rare, inner beauty is so exquisite, that she alone (on earth) can have the greatest influence on her husband. The gentle and quiet spirit (biblical submission) of an excellent wife also captures the heart of the Lord God Almighty who not only deems her submissiveness as her greatest strength, but finds her inner strength, most precious in His sight (I Peter 3:1-6). The definition of excellence is "to possess outstanding quality, superior, surpassing others with good qualities" . But what is God's standard of excellence? We find it in! Corinthians 12:31b "And I will show you a still more excellent way." The above Scripture verse proceeds the most noted, quoted and often used in wedding ceremonies - 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the "Love Chapter". 1Corinthians 13 goes ...

Difference Between Submission and Obedience submit (v) : 1) to give over or yield to the power or authority of another; 2) to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others: to submit a plan; to submit an application; obey (v): 1) to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of; 2) to comply with or follow (a command, restriction, wish, instruction, etc.). As you can see, by definition, submission is a far greater thing than obedience. Submission requires love, respect and a wiling yield to another. Obedience on the other hand doesn't require any personal relationship between the one giving the "command" and the one obeying the command. For example, a Private in an army might obey his Commanding Officer, but may also hate and disrespect his Commanding Officer by talking negatively behind his back or even plotting to do evil. The Private's motivation to obey his Commanding Officer may be out of fear ...

I found this wonderful prize at a garage sale this weekend. It's a Schlemmertopf clay baker. I just love it! This is the chicken meal before I baked it. This is the meal after it was done. It browned so nicely. It browns with the lid on and the meat stays moist. It's really neat. You don't need any fats or oils or anything. Just put the meat in there. The house smells wonderful good! :)

My husband and I went on a bike ride with some friends through a conservation park. It was a wonderful ride until the very end. (more on that at the end). We saw some neat things this time such as the baby deer below. We also saw a cute little squirrel while we were resting before riding back to where we started. Then after this we went back to where we started and some people were having a little reenactment from the late 1700's. Well one guy decided he was going to wear chaps and a shirt and that's it. Nothing under the chaps. It was the grossest thing ever! I couldn't believe it. I'm not sure how he got away with his hiney hanging out. But the bike ride itself was good. :) Nice day, nice friends, and no sore muscles. :) And, no, I didn't get any pics of this. Thank goodness. I hope you all are having a blessed day. I am. I am feeling pretty good today, which has been few and far between lately. So I am grateful for this day.

These are some pictures that my son took. He really loves the Barred Rock rooster and the Buff Orpington hen. They are really gentle and fun to have. I can't wait until the girls start laying! I know I keep saying this, but they are so much fun to have. I just love to hear the roosters crowing! It is just so wonderful. It brings down home, country living to mind.

I will probably have two lessons a week. These are very convicting and need to be "mulled" over. They need to be put into practice and that takes time. So I will have two lessons a week. If you miss one, just go to the yellow tab on the right side of my blog under "biblical submission." This particular lesson was very convicting for me. Please pray for me as I realize how important the "rib" is in a marriage. A Modern Day Rib in Action! Yesterday we covered the make-up and the basic function of the rib. Where it is located on the man's body (by his side), the delicacy and strength of the rib and what it protects (heart and lungs). Today we will discover what it looks like to be a modern day rib in action (in other words, a Biblically submissive wife living in a modern day world). And how this modern day "rib" protects her husband's: Heart: his very life-blood, which is his vigor Lungs: the air he breathes in and the air he breathes o...

I'll be posting some things from this study. You can click on the box on the side of my page to do it yourself. It's pretty interesting and something I need to hear again. :) The wife and the rib God made man on the sixth day. And when He made the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve), they were the only ones of their kind in all creation. All of creation was spoken into existence, except for Adam and Eve. Adam was "formed" out of the dust of the earth and Eve was formed from one of the ribs from the man, Adam. That is why Adam said of Eve: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Have you ever wondered why God used the bone from the man's rib to form the woman? I have. I used to wonder why God didn't use a piece of bone from the man's head so the wife could be over her husband. Or why God didn't use a bone from the man's shoulder so the wife could have ...

I almost ran the poor guy over on the way to the store today! We've been seeing them lately running around, but never really up close. He's got a nice beard. You know, if you went turkey hunting, you'd never see 'em. lol. They're just taunting us. That's ok. They're funny to watch run. Funnier than watching chickens run! There were two of them. The pictures aren't the best. I was hiding behind a fence post! lol. Sneaky. I know. Bye, bye turkey. :)

I made these today for a cookout we are having at the house tonight. I wanted to make sure I'd have a dessert to eat that I knew was gluten free. These are wonderful! They require no flour, so they are fairly cheap to make and naturally gluten free. :) Try 'em! Gluten Free Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies ( You may have to double this if you want several ) Cookie 1c peanut butter 1 c sugar 1 egg Mix this together. Roll into balls and press with fork. Bake 350 for 9-10 min. Filling 6 oz cream cheese 1/2c peanut butter 1/4 t vanilla 1/3 c powdered sugar Beat together. Spread on flat part of cookie when cookie is cool. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy!

Hunter started having facial tics when he was about 3. I didn't think anything about them. He had eye squinting and also a facial grimace. It wasn't until years later I realized it was here to stay. He has always been quirky. When he was little he would line up his cars with the wheels lined up precisely and wouldn't feel comfortable until he did so. He always had one thing he would know everything about and talk about it constantly. At 2, he knew his alphabet and could recognize the letters. At 4, he learned to read. At 5, he taught himself Math using the Hungry Hippo game marbles. He would put some in one pile and put some others in another pile and then add them up. So at 5, we started homeschooling him. (have ever since) He has done wonderful! One exception has been Math this year. He struggles with visualizing how to do a problem. So long division was a little hard for him. We are continuing that through the summer. He was diagnosed with Asperger's l...

It's such a peaceful morning here in central Illinois. The birds are chirping and there is a slight breeze. It's so nice to sit and look out the window at the country and the animals scurrying about. I love to see little peeks of sunshine shimmering on the leaves on the trees. They seem to dance. Living this life is such a joy to me. It brings me such peace. Living simply and staying home to complete duties here are so rewarding. To be able to sit on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea and read a book is wonderful! It's relaxing. It's not fast paced. It's being able to enjoy the small things without being overwhelmed by life. I am so blessed to be able to do it. Having a disorganized house throws a wrench in it for me. :) The last few weeks I haven't felt too wonderful with my Myasthenia Gravis acting up. It has caused me to lose the desire to get things done. Then I get overwhelmed when I look about the house and see the job before me. ...