Modern Pioneering -- book review

Whether you are an avid DIYer, want to try your hand at a little gardening, want to cook food from whole ingredients, or consider yourself to be a modern pioneer, this book is a fun and helpful read. Now, Modern Pioneering by GeorgiaPellegrini isn’t a normal book. Modern Pioneering is more like a guide and cook book all in one. It is composed of various sections that cover the different areas. All the while, with lovely photographs throughout the whole book.

The first section is on The Garden. I found this part of the book to be full of lots of helpful tips and information. Thank goodness for that information on mulching, it has saved me a top of work in the garden already this summer. There was plenty of information that I will probably refer back to for years to come.

Next is the section on The Home. This section is mostly comprised of recipes. All of the recipes have clear instructions that are easy to follow. Now there are several recipes I plan to try. There are also several recipes that I’m pretty sure I would never try. Not they are bad recipes, just not something that I would eat. All the recipes use fresh ingredients that you would gather from your garden, get from a farmers market, or from your local store. There aren’t any processed foods in these recipes.

The following section is The Wild. This contains information on vegetation that you can eat from the wild. There are also recipes for using those foods. This section also contains useful information on such things like how to use a compass, survive in the wild, and such.

Lastly is The Rest. There are some recipes in here. There are some DIY projects. There is some random stuff. Honestly, most of the stuff in this section could have been left out and the book wouldn’t be lacking. The home DIY crafty stuff seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the book.

Overall, it was a fun read that gave me some good information and good ideas of stuff to try. I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

Zipporah

Zipporah is the wife of Moses. Now Moses is a very well known Bible character, Zipporah on the other hand is hardly mentioned. The small bit that we do know of her is an odd part of the story as well.

After Moses had fled Egypt because he had killed an Egyptian and knew that his life would be in danger, he fled to Midian. When in Midian, Moses rescued the daughters of Jethro (also known as Reuel) from some bullies. The girls were simply trying to get water for their flocks when some other shepherds drove them away. Moses could have minded his own business, but he stepped in and stood up for the girls. When the girls returned to their father, he inquired as to why they were finished so early. The girls told him of their rescuer. Jethro insisted that they invite Moses to come to their home. This led to Zipporah becoming the wife of Moses.

Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.  Exodus 2:21

After Moses, Zipporah, and their two sons had lived in the land of Midian for a long time, God instructed Moses to return to Egypt to free the Israelites.

So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.  Exodus 4:20

It was during this journey to Egypt that the story of Zipporah has this weird, confusing, and mysterious part.

Remember that Zipporah was not an Israelite. She did not follow the same religious practices that Moses followed. For all we know she may not have even served God like he did, we don’t know that for sure though. Anyhow, circumcision was an important practice for the Israelites. If you were a male, you were going to be circumcised when you were a baby. From this part of the story we see that Moses and Zipporah had not followed this tradition with one of their sons. Because Moses had not followed this practice it brought some serious consequences to his life.  

At a lodging place along the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said. “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)  Exodus 4:24-26

And this is where a lot of us read this story, go “huh?” and keep on reading. Yep, this is the strange part.

Zipporah knew that Moses’ life was in danger and she knew why. Surely her husband would have told her of the importance of circumcision. Immediately she acted. She knew what had to be done, and she did it. After she had cut off the foreskin and touched it to Moses’ feet, she made the declaration that he was a bridegroom of blood to her. This is a statement of her surrender to follow the Jewish custom. Some translations say that she “flung the foreskin” at his feet. This just goes to show the desperate state that she was in. It took a bold move on Zipporah’s part to save Moses from death.

At some point, Moses sent Zipporah and their two sons back to her father. We don’t know exactly why he did this. Later Jethro brings them back to Moses, and they are reunited. This is about the last that we hear of Zipporah. 

Moses' Mother, Sister, & Pharaoh's Daughter

Without the help of Moses’ Mother, Sister, and Pharaoh’s Daughter, Moses would have never survived. All three of these women played an important role in saving the life of a baby that would grow up to be a very important man to his people, and one that changed the course of their history. 

Moses was Hebrew, a Levite to be exact. Because of this fact, when he was born his life was in danger. At that time, the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians. Pharaoh, the head of the Egyptians, didn’t like that the Israelites were outnumbering the Egyptians. His solution to this problem was to have all the male babies killed. Moses’ mother knew that her baby’s life was in danger because of what Pharaoh was doing. She hid her child as long as she could. Then she took a courageous step in the hopes that it would save his life.

But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.   Exodus 2:3

I can’t imagine the anguish that this woman would have gone through to do this. She didn’t know if her son would be rescued. She didn’t know if he would be found by an Egyptian and killed anyhow. She was a desperate woman who was willing to let go of her son in order to try to save him.

Moses’ sister stood watch over her brother while he was floating in the Nile. (Side note: later in Exodus Moses has a sister we learn is named Miriam. The Bible doesn’t state if this is the same sister or not.) When Moses is rescued it is his sister that speaks up to ensure that for a little while longer he is in his mother’s care. Without her being there, Moses’ mother may have never known what happened to him, and probably wouldn’t have seen him again.

It is Pharaoh’s daughter who is the final rescuer.

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.  Exodus 2:5,6

If she wouldn’t have been in the right place at the right time, and not had compassion, Moses would not have ended up in the place that he needed to be. Being taken in by Pharaoh’s daughter put him in the right position to free his people later in life.

Moses’ mother was given another short time to be with her son. She was allowed to nurse him and take care of him as work for Pharaoh’s daughter. Of course she couldn’t let her know that she was his mother. Because of this arrangement it meant that she would again have to let go of her son and give him up in order to save him.

When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”  Exodus 2:10  

Moses’ mother loved him so much that she was willing to give him up not once, but twice in order to save his life. Now that is truly a mother’s love. 

Heart Wide Open -- book review

I first heard of this book when Shellie was doing a give-away for the release of the book. When I was checking out the give-away, I discovered the book trailer for Heart Wide Open. It is posted below for you to watch as well.

After watching the book trailer, I wanted to read the book. The book did not disappoint. It isn’t very often that I read a book in the Christian Living genre that I don’t want to put down or take a break from. Heart Wide Open is one of those books that did just that though. Shellie Rushing Tomlinson does a great job of winding antidotes from her own life, other stories, humor, quotes, and most importantly Scripture together to make a great read. This book does a good job at encouraging you in your faith and walk with God no matter what stage of your Christian life you are in. The things in this book could be applicable to a new believer just as much as a seasoned veteran of the faith.

Shellie is a southern girl from Louisiana. The southern in her comes through in her writing. In saying that I mean it feels like you could sit out on the porch with her, drink some sweet tea, and chat for hours even though you have never met her. This southern warmth comes through in her writing in a way that makes the book not seem too preachy or harsh. Instead it is encouraging and full of grace and love. One minute you may find yourself and laughing out loud at one of her stories and the next page over be brought to tears by the truth of God’s Word. All the while the purpose of the book, to encourage you to open your heart up to a life fully lived with God as a part of all of it, shines through.   

Heart Wide Open was a fantastic book to read on my own. It would make an excellent read for a Bible Study or small group setting as well. There is actually a short Bible study or discussion guide in the back of the book. I love books that come with a discussion guide included. Shellie has also put together a DVD that you can purchase to go along with the book if you are using it for a Bible study or small group.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Flower Towers

Spring (and now almost summer) has finally sprung here! That makes me think flowers. Last year I planted a few flowers in some hanging baskets, then the summer heat came and the flowers didn't make it. I decided to try again with some flowers this year. Above are the two different flower towers that I created. One for each side of the house by the doors.

After browsing Pinterest for a while I found a couple of different flower pot ideas that I liked. First, I assembled everything that I would need for both of the flower towers: pots, three plastic in various sizes and 6 6" terra cotta; potting soil; garden stakes; spray paint; and flowers.

Then, I laid all the pots out on newspaper and spray painted them all the same color. Fyi, I used Krylon ColorMaster in Oxford Blue. Had to do two coats on the pots. The terra cotta pots really soaked up the paint and were more difficult to paint. Using a primer on them first would have been a good idea. 

I start assembling the towers with the easiest one first. I filled the largest plastic pot a third of the way with old chunks of brick from our slowly deteriorating trash burner. Then I filled it another third of the way with the plastic things plants come in. There is probably some fancy name for those things, but I don't know what it is.

 Then, filled the  rest with the potting soil. Placed the next pot in the middle of this one. Again filled it half way with the plastic things that plants come in, topped with potting soil. And repeated the process for the third and smallest pot. Next, plant the flowers. (Side note: the plastic planters that I used were really affordable. The biggest one I found on the side of the road with some left over yard sale stuff. I probably looked kinda strange carrying a big flower pot down the road while walking the dog, but it was FREE! The two smaller pots I got at a second hand store for 25 cents each. Didn't matter what color they were since I was going to paint them all anyhow.) Really easy and quick. Here is the inspiration picture from Pinterest and my finished flower tower.

Then it was on the one that tried my patience. I should have read how other people made a Topsy Turvy flower planter instead of just looking at the picture and figuring I knew what I was doing. First of all, now that I have gone back to read some other posts about this type of planter they all pretty much say to use rebar for the the support pole in the middle. I think this is where I made a mistake. I used two garden poles. Which are strong, but not quite rebar strong. So, I assembled, and half assembled, this thing about 5 times before I finally got it to stay standing upright. I seriously thought a few times that it was all going to come crashing down. Tip #1: Always use rebar if you are going to try making one of these :). Anyhow, I started by turning one pot upside down to be the base, then stacked the other 5 pots on top of that one each at a slight angle. Again I put one plastic flower thing in the bottom of each pot. 

 This actually helped to hold the pot at the desired angle. After it was all put together I planted the flowers in it. When it was all together, I said a little prayer over it that went something like this, "God please keep this thing standing upright and not come crashing down. I will be so mad if that happens. Amen." So far so good, it is still standing and we have had a few thunderstorms and wind since then. Here is my inspiration picture and the finished project.

Potiphar's Wife

Potiphar’s wife is one of those not so good women in the Bible. Technically we don’t know anything of her before we meet her as part of Joseph’s story. Was she always a man chasing woman? Was this her first offense? We simple don’t know.  There are some things that we can learn from her, like what not to do.

Joseph was a servant in Potiphar’s house who was in charge of all that he had. Joseph earned this position because the favor of God was upon him. He was a good, upright, and righteous man. In Genesis it also says that he was “well-built and handsome” (Gen. 39:6b.) After a while Potiphar’s wife took notice of Joseph, probably had something to do with that “well-built and handsome” factor. She wanted him for herself, so she propositioned him. Being the righteous, God honoring man that he was, Joseph refused her. This didn’t deter her. She continued to pursue him.

And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.  Genesis 39:10  

Joseph wanted nothing to do with Potiphar’s wife because she was just that, someone’s wife. That didn’t stop her. Oh no, she just turned up her wicked ways.

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.  Genesis 39:11, 12

When Potiphar’s wife didn’t get what she wanted she twisted and turned the story in vengeance. Suddenly she used Joseph’s cloak to devise a story that it was him who tried to take advantage of her. She sullied his name by telling the other household servants and her husband this lie. Just because she was rejected she hurt an innocent man.

I’m sure we have all been in a place at one time or another when we haven’t gotten what we wanted. Do we take that out on others? Not thinking of the repercussions that our actions have on others. Potiphar’s wife only thought of herself and no one else. She obviously didn’t think of her husband and her commitment to him. She didn’t think of the disgrace that she was putting on an innocent man. She only wanted what she wanted! Her selfish desires cause Joseph to be put into prison. Thankfully, God’s hand continued to be on Joseph, and he prospered even while in prison. We don’t know what happened to Potiphar’s wife, but I can only imagine that if she continued in her selfish ways, she lived an unfulfilled and regretful life.  

Tamar

The story of Tamar is what soap operas are made of. This is one of those stories in the Bible, where you think, “That is in the Bible!” Tamar’s story doesn’t start off crazy. When we first meet her she is just the woman who became the wife of Judah’s oldest son, Er. Er wasn’t a good guy and God put him to death because of this. Now Tamar is a widow. Judah had another son, Onan. It was customary for the next brother to marry what would be his sister-in-law in order to produce an heir for his older brother. Onan didn’t want to produce a child for his brother cause he knew that it would not be considered his child. So, when Onan slept with Tamar he “spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother” (Gen. 38:9.) God wasn’t pleased by Onan’s actions and he was killed as well. Judah had one more son, Shelah, but he was too young still to take Tamar as his wife. Judah was also reluctant to give his third son to Tamar as a spouse, considering what happened to his other two sons.

Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.   Genesis 38:11 

After a long time Tamar was still living as widow in her father’s house. She knew that Judah had not fulfilled his work and given his third son, Shelah, as a spouse for Tamar. Tamar then took matters into her own hands and devised a plan to get back at Judah.

When Tamar learned that Judah would be passing through the area around when she was living, she disguised herself so that Judah would not know who she was and set out to trick him. Her plan worked! Judah thought that she was a prostitute and propositioned her.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked. “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said. “Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked. He said, “What pledge should I give you?” “Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.  Gen. 38:15-18

Tamar and Judah then went their separate ways. She put her widow’s clothes back on and he returned to his home. He then sent his friend to deliver the goat that he had arranged as payment for sleeping with who he thought was a prostitute. When his friend got to the area where the “prostitute” had been there was no prostitute to be found. He asked the men that lived around there, they told him there hadn’t been a prostitute there. So, he returned to Judah and told him that he couldn’t find her. Judah didn’t want to be made a laughingstock so he didn’t pursue finding the woman to give her the goat and retrieve the items that he had left as collateral.

Around three months later Judah was told that Tamar was guilty of prostitution and that she was now pregnant because of it. Judah’s response was to have Tamar burned to death because of her actions. Tamar was one step ahead of him though because she still had the items that he had given to her.

As she was being brought out, she sent a message to he father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See it you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”  Gen. 38:25

Judah recognized them alright. He declared that she was more righteous than he was because he had not fulfilled his word and given his son to her. Tamar’s life was spared and she later gave birth to twin boys, Perez and Zerah.

I have heard this story talked about a few times. It always seems like Tamar is made out to be the righteous one in the story and Judah is the bad guy. I don’t see it that way. When I read this story I see it in a differently. I think it is more of a story of “two wrongs don’t make a right.” Judah was guilty of not fulfilling his word to Tamar. Tamar was guilty of deceiving Judah and prostitution. They were both at fault in the situation. What is amazing though is that God can take two wrongs and make a right.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.  Rom. 8:28a

Only God can take our mistakes and turn them into something good. We are still responsible for the wrong that we do, this doesn’t give us an out for our sin. God made good out the situation with Tamar and Judah. Their son, Perez, was a part of the genealogy of Jesus. That seems like good coming out of bad to me.