Christian Homekeeping

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**UPDATE: I have since established a new email program for my email newsletters.  You can read about that in this post: https://www.christianhomekeeping.com/2022/08/new-email-subscription-newsletter.html

For some reason, several notifications of new posts aren't being sent out and failed.  It keeps increasing every time I send a newsletter for email subscribers.  I'm working on getting it resolved or possibly switching over to a new email program.  So, if you are an email subscriber, please check the blog before the end of the month if you haven't received any email notifications.  I don't know what is going to happen when I take my email subscribers to a new program.  It may ask each one of you to verify you want to be subscribed.  I will try to do an update sometime this month about what I decided to do.

Also, I changed my email address a few years ago!  I haven't ignored anyone's emails because I never got them because I deleted my old email.  I've included a "Contact" button at the top of my blog if you need to reach me.  Simply leave your email and message.

I made a worksheet to go along with my other budget printables.  This one helps you budget for each paycheck, as to what gets paid with that paycheck, etc.  I made it able to print duplex (front/back) for those wanting that feature.  I also added calendars up to January 2023 in the printables folder.

Be ready for what may be coming!  Make sure you are dependent upon the Holy Spirit's leading for every aspect of your life.  Know God's Word and don't be deceived by Satan's ministers.

I had made these a few months ago and thought I would share them with you all.  They are in color and if you print to "actual size" they will get cut off some, so best print is "fit".  You can also find them in my Homemaking printables folder.

I've created a folder with the free printables so you can download them all or whichever one you want.  They are very simple, no frills and get the budgeting job done.  I also included a folder with calendars from July-Sept that I saved from Google if you need those.  

Here's what the monthly fixed expenses printable looks like:

From abortion to Christian cults to human suffering, we must remember what the Word of God says.  God has showed us time and time again that we must be about His purpose on earth to reach the lost, not to set up an earthly Christian kingdom.  We also must remember that there is not an excuse for those in cults because God has given us the Bible and His Spirit to discern false prophets and teachings.  Lastly, we must remember that suffering is universal, no one is exempt!  We must be patient in suffering and keep our hope, faith and trust in God no matter what comes our way. 

I last blogged about food prices from the end of November through March and you can see that post by clicking here.  Below are prices from March 21st through June 3rd, and you can see the price increases in yellow and the price decreases in green.  You can definitely see that things have gone up overall.  Yet, we can still purchase good food for a reasonable price I believe.  My challenge is actually finding some foods, as we have had a lot of shortages and I will have to go to Kroger to find it, or even order from online for certain items.

I didn't include items from the last list that I didn't purchase March-June 3rd on this list.

Let's look at these verses and just what unrepentant sins will not be in heaven:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 

First of all, it doesn't matter if you don't use the internet.  Yes, I'm talking to Amish, Mennonites and others who think they are "safe" from digital theft by simply not using the technology.  They're not safe, actually they're more at risk of it!  All it takes is someone taking over your identity and creating accounts in your name, anywhere literally - which can be done online in many cases.  You may not even know this is happening if you don't have the proper safeguards in place and you will fall victim to months-to-years-long fight for clearing the mess up.

Here are some of my top tips to protect your identity:

1.  Buy Identity theft insurance!  - You simply can NOT go without this.  It is vital in these times and believe me, you don't want to go through the stress, the court process and all the calls and wait times to fight to get your identity back once stolen.  Not to mention the money you will spend doing so.  Paying a good company to do this for you and monitor your identity is going to pay returns in more ways than one and protections are about a $1 million per person in your family.

2.  Make sure your WiFi is security-enabled! - This one is something most people don't pay attention to but should be the first layer of protection for internet coming in through your home.  Get a good router and make sure have good security (WPA3 or even WPA2) AND a good password for your network.  You should have a password that is more than 14 characters because you just can't afford a hack of your WiFi.  Having a router that gives you a notification when someone gets on your network is crucial too.  Keep up with technology to try and stay further ahead of the thieves!

I've shared my white bread recipe on my blog before that is very simple and easy.  Recently, I purchased a NutriMill to grind wheat berries and make my own freshly-milled wheat flour.  I was wondering how would it work in my recipe using hard white wheat as opposed to store-bought white flour.  WOW!  I'm hooked because not only did it work great with my recipe, it was way better than even my white bread!  However, it did take more flour for some reason until it licked the sides of the bowl in my Bosch mixer, so I think I used about 7 cups of the freshly-milled flour (4 1/4 cups wheat berries), whereas I normally just need 6 cups of the store-bought white flour.  I'm thinking that's because the store-bought is more compressed and my freshly-milled flour was just milled and fluffy and I sifted it some too with a whisk beforehand.  It also rose way faster than my bread usually takes, and I had to cook it quickly before it got enormous.  I'm guessing that's because of the freshness of the just-milled flour because my yeast wasn't that fresh.

Not a lot of recipes to share this week because we were on a trip, but I do have a few things.  I made Sesame Honey Chicken over rice and it was a keeper for sure!

For the past few years since moving to Ohio, so many people have told us we have to go see Hocking Hills State Park.  I even think a reader on here commented about it too.  Well, we finally went and it was breathtaking to say the least!  We hiked 7 hours over a couple of days and I am glad we were in shape and had built up for this because we got to do a lot of trails and see a lot of waterfalls.  I took about 300 pictures and videos, so I tried to choose my favorites to share with you all.

We did 5 hikes this past week, 2 very long ones and Sunday after church, one I thought I was going to have to be airlifted out of LOL.  But hey, I persevered and made it and do I ever feel victorious!  I don't have any pictures of those steep climbs because well, I was just trying to stay alive.  In order to do some of the hikes I would like to in the future, we have to keep building endurance, ability and of course muscle.  You never know, God may call us to reach those mountain people in Guatemala and Chile and I want to be ready.

Here are several meals that I made recently that all take just one pound (or less with the salmon and tuna) of meat to feed a family of 4, as do most of the meals I cook.  We usually add in a side and/or salad, breads (homemade biscuit, muffins or other bread) and dessert.

I made some of our favorite Salmon Cakes that I had forgotten about that we used to make a lot in Washington.  I also made an old recipe of tartar sauce that I found and I liked it better than the one I had been making.  We also had some roasted vegetables alongside them.  I don't know where this recipe for Salmon Cakes came from, and I can't find it anywhere online, so I'm sharing it, along with the tartar sauce recipe, in a PDF below.

We've had lots of rain, as it is April, and something I guess we have to endure in order to bring forth the beauty of spring in all its splendor and May flowers.  We've also had some absolutely perfect sunny days, which causes me to throw school to the side and embrace the day!

In continuation from my last podcast, I talk about the heart and mind of God as shown to us in His Word.  Do we have the thoughts, feelings and mind of God as Jeremiah did against the wickedness that has overtaken God's people through false prophets?  Or are we falling for the error of those who speak lies?  It's time to examine what message we are allowing into our ears and if we are being molded to be more like God or less.  God is a God of restoration and we must pray for and love our enemies that they might get right and be saved before it's too late!

Spring has sprung!  Our Bradford Pear tree is in full bloom almost and the daffodils of course had already been but they're starting to say their goodbyes.