Thanksgiving Tip: Cook Your Turkey Upside Down

Everyone loves a nice golden turkey on Thanksgiving but not everyone knows how to cook a turkey to make it moist enough and often times it can come out just plain old dry. Smothering it with gravy is a solution but you can get the best of both worlds if you just cook your turkey upside down!

I know that sounds silly but it is not a new technique. In fact, several popular chefs from all across the world recommend this method because they know that it will turn out fabulous. I was surprised when I did a quick Google search on this to find many different ways to cook a bird upside down -and yes, still achieve the golden look too.  

I have always used one of those oven bags to cook my 20+ pound birds and that would help keep the bird moist and tender without the frequent basting that is usually required. But a few weeks ago I made a bird upside down (yes, still using the oven bag) and let me tell you it was 100 times more juicier than I have ever made it in my life.

Now let me just tell you that I am not a bird cooking expert by any means--in fact, the day that I made it the bird was partially frozen (admit it, you've done that before too) and I cooked it twice the amount of time specified (scary, I know, but I needed to get it cooked) and it still turned out quite juicy because all of the juices dripped down to the bottom.

So see, there is no science behind this turkey thing. I know that making a perfect turkey can cause a homemaker to break out into hives especially if she is hosting-but don't worry, try something new and have the upside down turkey be your conversational piece. Trust me, you won't regret it, it will just fall off the bone.

And about achieving the golden look? Well cook your turkey right side up until it turns brown and then spin it upside down afterwards.

Easy peasy.


Enjoy!






Don't forget:

Vision Forum's Black Friday SALE IS ON! Click here to view the sales of up to 70% off and  FREE shipping on orders $95+ with code:  95SHIPSFREE and get this free gift with every $50+ order:

 Click on any banner to view:


     


    


And The Heart of Simplicity eBook is on sale at  70% off , get it at just $2.99. They make great gifts!

Stay tuned for Black Friday Sales here at the blog--Lovely Lilla Rose is having an exciting blowout sale!

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Mothers Redeemed By Grace

A Mother’s Heart

To be intentional about cultivating our children’s hearts means we must tend the garden of our own heart. When we allow the Lord to prune the dead branches and cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in our hearts, our actions will begin to reflect the work of the Holy Spirit within us. When we cling to the promises in God’s Word and approach the sacred calling of motherhood with a generational vision, our homemaking efforts will be blessed.

 Our hard work will be redeemed by grace, despite our shortcomings.

When we free up our lives in order to live more intentionally and through the Spirit, the Lord has access to our hearts, and He will prune them so that we bear more fruit. There are many things that we can indulge in or surround ourselves with that would prevent us from bearing fruit. If we strip away that which prevents us from bearing fruit, the Lord can do a work within us.


--Courtney Dunkin, The Heart of Simplicity


Friends, do you remember the ebook, The Heart of Simplicity (from which I just quoted) that I was honored to contribute to earlier this year? Well, it is now ON SALE for a limited time at 70% off!

 You can use the code "simple" to get the sale price until November 23!

Some of the fabulous sweet authors who also contributed to this treasure laden book would be: Kelly Crawford, Heidi St. John, Stephanie Langford, Marci Ferrell, Laura Coppinger, Natalie Klewja, Jennifer Ross, and more (view them here).

If you haven't purchased a copy yet, friends, this is a great time to pick up a copy!



 Oh and lookey what has just been announced!

 You can view all the Black Friday deals HERE. And they are giving FREE SHIPPING with orders $95+ using code 95SHIPSFREE. We love Vision Forum because of the many valuable resources they offer for building strong homes and the products they offer help reinforce godly character in our children. 

Enjoy and have a blessed day building up your sacred homes!

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Be Careful What Books You Read

“Be careful what books you read, 

for as water tastes of the soil it runs though,

 so does the soul taste of the authors that a man reads.”

- John Trapp, English Puritan

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Pssst----FREE SHIPPING at Deborah and Co. today and tomorrow only on orders over $75!
(on orders in the U.S. only)

Happy Birthday to My Daughter

Today is my sweet daughter, Janai's 20th birthday. I cannot describe to you what a blessing she has been to me over the years. She is growing into a lovely mature young woman right before my eyes.

But yesterday I was at the store buying some gifts for her today and I just stood there and it all came crashing down. The realization hit that my daughter is now twenty and all I wanted to do was cry. I had to fight back the tears in my eyes.

Not unhappy tears, but tears of "where did it all go?" "why did it go so fast?" and "why can't I just stop time right now?"..........

Even as I sit here typing the tears come flooding again. 

Flashes of holding hands and going on walks to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. Memories of doll playing and long talks. The years of precious childhood quickly fled my grasp like the wind.

She has the biggest heart and loves everyone. She loves when no one else loves.

Most importantly she loves HIM.

And she is His. 

Thank you Lord for this blessing of this special daughter. Please watch over her all the days of her life and help her to continue to grow in you.  Continue to give her the wisdom and discernment that she will need in this life and follow you all the days of her life. Keep her from evil and bless her with many more years walking with you.

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Coming Soon: iPad Mini Christmas Giveaway {& Wise Woman Linkup!}

Did you know there are only 40 days left until Christmas? Have you finished (or started) your shopping yet?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hold in your hand THE most in-demand Christmas gift of the year? For FREE!

Announcing the biggest giveaway this Christmas season...

Here it is...

Are you ready?

To celebrate the spirit of the season, several other bloggers and I have teamed up to host:

  An iPad Mini Christmas Giveaway!

Be sure to stop back here to secure your entries for a chance to win, starting November 28th through December 5th.

In the meantime, here are a few great features of the iPad Mini you may not already know:

The iPad Mini is 7.9 inches tall, 5.3 inches wide and is very light weight.

You can hold the iPad Mini in one hand.

Advanced Wi-Fi technology is built in.

The iPad Mini is easy to slip into a purse for on-the-go use.

There is both a front and back camera making FaceTime calls or recording video easy and fun.

The battery life is comparable to that of the full size iPad.

There are over 275,000 apps available.

You can talk to Siri, the intelligent assistant to help get things accomplished.

It’s a great tool for bloggers, college students, entrepreneurs, moms, dads, and kids.

Are you excited yet?

I can’t wait to see if one of you lovely readers will be the winner!

I hope to see you then!


Now onto our linkup:

 A Wise Woman Builds Her Home is a place to be encouraged in your high and noble calling of role of wife and mother and daughter to the King and we want to encourage each and every single reader out there to build up strong Christian homes to the glory of God.

We would love for you to link up with us---share your posts on  building up your home, homemaking, character, hospitality, femininity, family, tea, recipes, parenting, marriage, etc. we would love to have you share it with us!

 

If you link up here please use our NEW button below or link back to let others know that you have linked up here so that they might join in the fun and be encouraged as well:

<a href="http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj500/naomifuentes/wisewomanbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Wise-Woman-Builds "/></a>

                                         
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Oh and don't forget to check this out!

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Teaching Sons Manners

Boys should not be allowed to think that manners are something which women impose on men. If they do come to think this, then they will start to react like Huck Finn chafing under the constraints of civilization.  Rather, they should see manners as something which men teach boys to do, for the sake of honoring and protecting women, and for the sake of living graciously with them.

-Douglas Wilson, Future Men: Raising Boys to Fight Giants

Dear mothers, I have FIVE sons, so I know how hard it can be to be raise young men to be civilized (some days I feel we are far from it!), but be encouraged and don't grow weary on raising these young men to become noble adult men one day, it is well worth the sacrifice! You might not see the fruit right now, this is the hardest part of your work, but faithfully labor knowing that one day when you stand before the Lord you have the great probability of Him saying:
 

"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Helpful Tools: Godly Resources for Raising Sons 

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When Motherhood Comes Crashing Down

It is easy to get bogged down by the great number of things that we as mothers juggle all of the time.

We can manage to keep it all going some of the time, but for all of us, there comes a time where it all crashes.

We can't keep the schedule working, or we aren't getting healthy food on the table regularly. Our laundry threatens to consume us...

When Jesus said that we should take no thought of tomorrow , He said it for us. He meant it for today. The needs of this day are enough to handle. How are you handling stress today?  

Give your concerns to Jesus."


- Jackie Wellwood, One Hundred and One Devotions for Homeschool Moms 

As a young mom homeschooling several young ones I found two honest books that encouraged me through the daily grind and sacred work of being a mother. I don't think I have shared these in the past so here they are:

 One Hundred and One Devotions for Homeschool Moms

Some of the chapters in this one include:

Bone-Tired
A Time for Order
Distracted by Too Much
Let's Quit
I Need Support
Passing the Wisdom Test
Mothers Aren't Supposed to Be Sick
A Bit Overwhelmed?
Home Sweet Home
Yes, Mommy is Crying
A Peaceful Mom

and her follow up to this is her second book:

 One Hundred and One More Devotions for Homeschool Moms

Jackie is a mom to seven children and has also authored another book that I have enjoyed:

 The Busy Mom's Guide to Simple Living:

Creative Ideas and Practical Ways for Making the Most of What You Have

Her books are honest and simple--straight from a mother's heart. I hope you will be encouraged by her as I was.

 Some of these books are being sold for just a penny (used) on Amazon, so be sure to check it out!

 Are you encouraged here? I personally invite you to subscribe and get the latest posts sent to your inbox. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and get updates that are not posted here on the blog.





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**Are you a mom looking for modest and stylish maternity clothing? Try Deborah and Co.!**

Beautiful Lilla Rose Offers Free Shipping for Three Days!

For three days only Lilla Rose is having FREE shipping on orders over $20! They don't have these sales often so this is a wonderful time to get one if you have been thinking about it.

I know of many women who were very happy with their Lilla Rose flexi-clips and bought them for their daughters, friends, aunts, mother-in-laws, etc. They make wonderfully practical gifts! Take a peek at this precious little girl, I just love how this clip looks so sweet on her:

And to be honest, I even have a favorite one that I wear at night to sleep in. Yes, they are THAT comfortable to me. But shhhh---don't tell anyone!

The sale last from November 8th- 10th so don't miss it!

Visit the beautiful Lilla Rose website HERE.

Homemaking Holiday Sale {& Wise Woman Linkup!}

Since the holidays are around the corner (yes, I was at the store a two days after Halloween and they were already playing Christmas music!) I was wondering how many of you host Thanksgiving because I have found such a pretty set for the day that I though I would share with you. This set is especially beautiful  because it have Bible verses on it and is on SALE for 50% off ! I know us homemakers like to make the table special for our loved ones and why not minister to them at the same time?

A grateful heart around the table makes it easy to nurture other things in the soul-like joy, love, compassion, hope, and forgiveness. Thankfulness and humility, no matter our circumstance, can ignite our faith and give us the courage to look up and move on. God is ever and always in love with us and He has our best at heart. Because His heart is perfect, we can be thankful with every breath He gives. Here is the scripture on the platter:

 Let there be thankfulness to God.
Ephesians 5:4

Now half off!

Some of the other messages inscribed on the cups, plate and vase:

 "always blessed, ever thankful"

 "grateful for simple blessings"

"grateful for the gift of hope"

Many of items are half off and as low as $4.99!

Wise Woman Tip:

You can get FREE shipping on orders over $30 using discount code: shipping30

These even make nice Christmas gifts (think ahead, ladies!).

You can view the DaySpring site here.

Happy shopping!

Now onto our linkup:

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home is a place to be encouraged in your high and noble calling of role of wife and mother and daughter to the King and we want to encourage each and every single reader out there to build up strong Christian homes to the glory of God.

We would love for you to link up with us---share your posts on  building up your home, homemaking, character, hospitality, femininity, family, tea, recipes, parenting, marriage, etc. we would love to have you share it with us!
 

If you link up here please use our NEW image below or link back to let others know that you have linked up here so that they might join in the fun and be encouraged as well:

<a href="http://proverbs14verse1.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj500/naomifuentes/wisewomanbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Wise-Woman-Builds "/></a>

                                         
                                          It's easy--just copy and paste the code in this box!

Are you encouraged here? I personally invite you to subscribe and get the latest posts sent to your inbox. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and get updates that are not posted here on the blog.

Fall Crafts for Children

Need some fall craft ideas to do with your little ones? I am not the craftiest mom in the world but I will definitely try my hand at something that looks easy enough to teach 8 children. Anything too complicated as a group and we could possibly go on meltdown (not the kids, I am talking about me! haha) Here are some ideas:

Painting pumpkin seeds.

Try some paper crafts from Paper Crafts for Children. 

Or with your older ones make some simple fall notions! This would be a cute gift to give someone at Christmas!

And when you are done, treat your loved ones to something sweet for all that hard work. The Tasty Kitchen has a great  recipe right here!

Happy fall creating!

Are you encouraged here? I personally invite you to subscribe and get the latest posts sent to your inbox. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and get updates that are not posted here on the blog.  Don't forget to enter into our special giveaway!

Stop Being Religious

There are just some things I want to address here. I want to free you from the bondage of worrying about what people think of you.

First, please be reminded that the measure of a Christian woman is not how long her dresses are, if her meals are cooked from scratch everyday, makes homemade bread, sews all her clothes, and whether she homeschools or not.

We Christian women can sometimes get confused by all the voices that we hear coming at us. Even if they are good or well meaning. Sometimes it can lead us to even become judgmental, critical, harsh and not accepting of those whom are different from us.

But the true measure of a Christian woman is who she is in Christ and how much she loves. What is in her heart? 

Does she look for the lonely person and extend a hand of friendship to them (no matter how different they are?)? Or does she look down her nose at them because they are different--and not like her?

I think back to times when we have visited churches (large and small churches, mind you) and not greeted by barely anyone. Why is this so? We have even stayed for meals, or lingered after the service with barely a word said to us. My children saw first hand how the body of Christ ignored their family. I was grieved having to explain how Christians didn't make an effort to get to know us.

Are we too religious to welcome in the lost?

Maybe they don't measure up to our "standards"?

Are we too comfortable with our Christian circles?

Christ didn't come so we could be a Christian country club.

He died so the lost could be saved. 

And we are missing opportunities.

The other day my daughters asked for a friend to stay the night. We normally don't do that and they asked at the last minute. We declined because we were tired and the house was a mess. But then the Lord put something heavy on my heart. Here He was putting an unsaved child in our path, who did not know Him  and was struggling. God wanted this to happen but it did not fit into "my" schedule. Did I actually turn away someone who needed Him more than ever? I felt sooooooo convicted and set up the following week to have her over. She got to eat with us, rest and play with us, talked with us and even called our home "peaceful".  The result? She went to church  with us the next day, heard the gospel, and wants to visit again.
  
More than ever before I am learning what it takes to truly love others. I never want one person who visits our church or that God has put in our lives to go unnoticed. To eat a meal alone, to visit and not be talked to. My children also vowed that this would not happen to another either.

Even if they're different.

I am grateful for that.








What person is God nudging in your heart to show love to today?
 

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The Flowers

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please," was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;
 I wasn't watching for you."

 We were very polite, this stranger and I.
 We went on our way saying good-bye.

But at home a difference is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

 Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
my son stood beside me very still.

 As I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
 I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
 God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
 but the children you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
 you'll find some flowers there by the door.

 Those are the flowers he brought for you.
 He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
 and you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
and now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed,
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

 I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
  I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
 I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,
 and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

 
Are you encouraged here? I personally invite you to subscribe and get the latest posts sent to your inbox. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and get updates that are not posted here on the blog.  Don't forget to enter into our special giveaway!