AN APPLE A DAY - DAY 128 OF 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE - WHAT IS FOR DINNER?

STILL GETTING ORGANIZED IN ORDER TO STAY HEALTHY - THIS WEEK: DINNER (PART ONE)
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

  

What’s for dinner? 

How many times have you heard that question?  

You can’t take it too lightly though; dinner is a very important meal.  Ronald Reagan once said; “All great change in America begins at the dinner table!”  I think he had an excellent point.  Of course, Diana Vreeland made another equally valid point when she said “Poor, darling fellow – he died of food.  He was killed by the dinner table.”  We can’t be too careful with what we eat or what we serve at our table.  No matter how much we love some foods; health really matters!

The planning in this article is to help you achieve this delicate balance in an easy, comfortable and inexpensive way. 

Are you just plain tired of rushing home to unhealthy and unplanned dinners? 

Do you feel you have absolutely no time to cook because you often work late on the weeknights? 

We’ve all said this and I’ll say it again.  There must be an easier way to have dinner on the table every night!

I’m happy to tell you that good news is finally here!  This blog post presents a wonderful and workable plan just for you.   

In our on-going effort to get our food organized in order to live a healthier lifestyle I’ve come up with 30 Days of healthy dinners, including easy, quick, convenient menus and grocery lists, that are all spelled out in easy to do baby steps so together we can make our daily lives less stressful and much easier as we travel down the lonely and rocky path toward more healthy eating. 

Ready to get started?

Just follow what I have listed below and you are on your way to easy dinner preparations for two weeks worth of healthy and nutritious meals. 

This week we are still building on the same cumulative food organization plan we began implementing a few weeks ago.  First we did 30 days of breakfast, then 30 days of lunch, now we are working on the first two weeks of dinner.  The last two weeks of dinner will be available in AN APPLE A DAY 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE on next Friday.   

Did you miss those first few discussions?  Don’t worry if you just joined in with us.  It is very simple to catch up on the plan.  If you missed the first baby steps for efficiently preparing a healthy breakfast just follow this link:  http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-apple-day-day-125-of-365-days-toward.html  and it will help you to catch up with us. 

If you missed the lunch information contained in Lunches - Part One – just click this link: http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-apple-day-day-126-of-365-days-to.html; and if you need to review healthy Lunches – Part Two – just click here:  http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2017/03/an-apple-day-day-127-of-365-days-to.html. 

After our last session on dinner, I will complete a summary of everything for you and post it in the last meal-organizing blog-post so that you will have the whole 30 day plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus grocery lists and recipes for a whole month in one convenient article.  For now we are taking things a few steps at a time and building on those steps.  Life is much simpler that way.

Below is the total list of kitchen equipment you will be needing in order to cook three meals a day for 30 days.  I have added only one item to this ever-growing list for the next two weeks of dinner menus.  That item is a slow cooker/crockpot.  Who could ever be without one?  You will find these new slow-cooker meals VERY easy and convenient to prepare and serve at the end of a long busy day.  So smile and read on!

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR PREPARING ALL MENUS

Food Processor:  buy one that will process food and mix smoothies too according to the setting you use.  If you have a smoothie blender, and want to chop your other food by hand, that will work too.

5 old fashioned Ice trays

1 large roll parchment paper

1 large roll of aluminum foil

3 large cooking trays that will fit inside your freezer, about 1 inch in depth (not flat, but with a short section around the sides.)

Plastic spatula

Wooden spoon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray

12 small canning jars with lids that seal

Muffin Tin that makes 24 mini muffins

Muffin Tin that makes 12 regular sized muffins

Pepper grinder

Cheese grater (if your food processor doesn’t do this for you)

Sharp knives in different sizes for cutting, slicing and chopping

2 boxes of gallon sized freezer bags (zip-lock is good)

1 box pint sized zip-lock baggies

1 large biscuit cutter

1 skillet (any type you like)

Muffin/cupcake liners (regular size and mini-sized)

Waffle Iron

1 large mixing bowl

1 medium sized mixing bowl

1 small mixing bowl

Set of Measuring cups

Set of Measuring spoons

1 gallon sized glass measuring cup with a pour spout

Tote bag for carrying food on the go (if you can get one that is insulated that might be nice.)

Black permanent marker

Whisk

Pastry brush

Chopping board

Bakers wire cooling racks

Thermos with detachable cup to drink and serve soup from.

Pizza wheel for slicing

Small insulated zipup lunch box that will hold ice packs

Small ice packs for keeping things cold in insulated lunch box

1 Salad Spinner – the size that will conveniently fit your refrigerator shelves.

1 large crock pot (slow-cooker)

Please don’t be overwhelmed with the list of equipment.  Chances are you already have most of it; but if not – these items will vastly improve your life and give you a lifetime of happy kitchen organization.  Trust me.  This will be worth the extra up-front effort and expense in the long run.

As explained in the past posts leading up to this one, we are following an eating plan where you alternate fast days (only eating vegetables and fruits) with moderate days ( adding some dairy, a small amount of meats and grains to the vegetables and fruits, but still leaving off most sugars and flours and any type of oils except for extra virgin olive oil) with a feast day happening every seven days (when you can eat absolutely anything you want (within reason) – including sugar and flour.)

DINNER MENUS – FOR WEEK ONE

Day 1 - Fast Day:  Vegan Lintel Soup  

Day 2 - Moderate Day: Pot Roast And Carrots with Mozzarella and Tomato Salad (Already prepared and waiting in the refrigerator from preparing lunch menus.)

Day 3 – Fast Day:  3 Bean Minestrone Soup (Already prepared and ready  in the refrigerator from preparing lunch menus.)

Day 4 – Moderate Day : Ice Cold Celery Salad (already prepared and waiting in the refrigerator from where we prepared the lunch menus) and Beef and Broccoli.

Day 5 – Fast Day: Lemon with Collards and Pasta

Day 6 – Moderate Day: Spicy Sundried Tomato and Pasta Salad, (already prepared and waiting in the refrigerator from where we prepared the lunch menus) with Roast Beef and Horseradish Wraps ( already prepared and waiting in freezer from where we prepared lunch menus)

Day 7 – FEAST DAY! –EAT OUT ANYWHERE YOU WISH – IT IS YOUR FEAST DAY!

GROCERY LIST FOR WEEK ONE: (Note:  If you have followed the lunch and breakfast menus already, be sure to check your pantry in order not to duplicate.  You may already have purchased many of these items:

Extra virgin olive oil

3 onions

1 bag carrots

1 jar minced garlic

Ground cumin

Curry powder

Dried thyme

1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes

Brown or green lentils

Vegetable broth

Sea Salt

Red pepper flakes

Peppercorns

Collard greens or kale

2 lemons

2 lbs. beef shoulder roast (boneless)

beef bouillon granules

soy sauce

Garlic powder

1 pkg.  dry ranch dressing

Dried parsley

Dried onion flakes

Fresh Dill

2 lbs. sirloin tip steak, trimmed and sliced

Corn starch,

Brown sugar

Ground ginger

Beef broth

Fresh broccoli florets

Whole wheat spaghetti

Pine nuts

10 ounces Parmesan cheese

RECIPES FOR WEEK ONE:

VEGAN LENTIL SOUP

Ingredients:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped fresh collard greens or kale, tough ribs removed

Juice of 1 medium lemon to taste

Directions:

Warm the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.  Once oil is shimmering add chopped onion and carrots and cook, stirring often until onion has softened and turning translucent (approximately 5 minutes).  Add the garlic, cumin, curry powder and thyme.  Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly about 30 seconds.  Pour in the drained diced tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often in order to enhance their flavor.  Pour in the lentils, broth and water.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Season generously with fresh ground black pepper.  Turn up heat and bring the mix to a boil.  Cover pot and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender but not falling apart.  Transfer two cups of the soup mix to a blender.  Puree until smooth.  Pour puree back into the pot and add the chopped greens.  Cook for 5 more minutes until the greens are soft.  Remove the pot from heat and stir in the juice of half a lemon.  Taste and increase or decrease according to your desire.  Add more salt and pepper if you wish.  (This can be cooked ahead on cooking day and stored in air-tight jars or containers until time to eat – simply heat and serve.  Also any leftovers will keep for 4 days in the refrigerator and will freeze for up to three months.  Thaw before cooking after frozen.   Why not make enough for a few months worth of meals on cooking day and just heat and serve when dinner time comes around?)

POT ROAST WITH CARROTS:

Ingredients:

2 lb. beef shoulder roast (boneless)

1 bag of carrots peeled and chopped

1-1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil

4 Teaspoons beef bouillon granules

1 teaspoon soy sauce

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 pkg.  dry ranch dressing

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes

¾ teaspoon dill

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low setting for 8 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.  Shred meat and return to slow cooker to mix it with juices.  (You can freeze these ingredients together inside a gallon sized plastic freezer bag for up to three months.  On cooking day just dump previously thawed bag over roast into crock pot and cook as instructed above.  You might want to prepare a few of these ahead on cooking day and freeze the bags and the covered roast inside another larger bag together.  Thaw together overnight and cook in crock pot the next morning.  Everything will be delicious and ready when you arrive home.)

BEEF AND BROCCOLI

Ingredients:

2 lbs. sirloin tip steak, trimmed and sliced

4 cloves garlic minced

1 onion, chopped

3 tablespoons corn starch,

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground ginger

½ cup beef broth

½ cup soy sauce

½ teaspoon pepper

1 pound fresh broccoli florets

Directions:

Add steak and broccoli to crock-pot.

In a bowl combine remaining ingredients and pour into crock-pot.

Cook on low heat for 6 hours. 

(This too may be frozen ahead on cooking day and cooked later (everything but the broccoli which needs to be fresh.)  Label a gallon-sized freezer bag and add all ingredients except for the broccoli.  Remove air and seal bag.  Freeze for up to three months.  Thaw in refrigerator overnight the night before cooking.)

LEMON WITH COLLARDS AND PASTA:

Ingredients:

8 ounces fresh collard greens

½ package whole wheat spaghetti

3 tablespoons pine nuts

Extra virgin olive oil

2 small cloves garlic, minced

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

10 ounces Parmesan cheese

½ a lemon, cut into wedges

Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.  Drain.  Cut the center rib out of the collard greens.  Stack a few greens at a time and roll them up into a cigar shape.  Slice across the roll as thinly as possible.  Shake up the greens and give them a few chops so that the strands of collards are not too long.  Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium heat and toast the pine nuts until they turn golden and fragrant.  Set aside to serve later.  Return the skillet to medium heat and pour in one tablespoon of extra pure virgin olive oil.  Sprinkle in a pinch of red pepper flakes and the garlic and stir.  Toss in the collard greens.  Sprinkle all with sea salt and stir for about three minutes.  Remove from heat and put greens into the pasta pot and toss adding a little bit more olive oil.  Divide into plates and top each plate’s serving with pine nuts and Parmesan shavings.  Serve with two big lemon wedges per person.

MENUS -  FOR WEEK TWO

Day 8 – Fast Day: Chicken Noodle Soup

Day 9 – Moderate Day:  Orange Ginger Chicken with pear halves and shredded cheese.

Day 10 – Fast Day:  Cobb Salad (prepared ahead with lunch) and cold honeydew melon slices.

Day 11 – Moderate Day:  Beef, Lime and Cilantro Chili with Melted Grilled Cheese on Wheat and Avocado Slices (no recipe – self explanatory)

Day 12 – Fast Day: Avocado Watercress and Pineapple Salad (Prepared ahead with lunches), Two boiled eggs with bacon bits sprinkled on top (no recipe – self explanatory).

Day 13- Moderate Day: .Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Day 14 – FEAST DAY!: YOU MAY EAT OUT AND HAVE WHATEVER YOU DESIRE.  THIS IS YOUR FEAST DAY!!!!  CONGRATULATIONS  ON MAKING IT THROUGH TWO WEEKS OF NUTRITIOUS DINNER PLANNING.

GROCERY LIST FOR WEEK TWO: (Note:  you will be reusing left over spices and oils from week one instead of buying more – double check your pantry for duplicates before going to the store.

1 pear

1 avocado

1 block of cheese

1 loaf whole wheat bread

1 dozen fresh organic cage free eggs

Real bacon bits

1 honeydew mellon

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 bag carrots

1 bunch celery

1 bunch fresh dill

2 onion

1 Quart Low sodium chicken broth

Wide egg noodles

Frozen peas

orange juice

honey

1 pound lean ground beef

14.5 ounce can tomato sauce

14.5 can petite diced tomatoes with juice

2 cans black beans drained and rinsed

1 lime

Chili powder

Cilantro

Shredded cheese

Tortilla chips

2 large eggplants

Panko bread crumbs

Italian seasoning

1 Jar Marinara

12 ounces mozzarella cheese slices

Grated Parmesan

Fresh Basil

RECIPES FOR WEEK TWO:

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP:

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

4 medium carrots cut into pieces

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

3 large sprigs fresh dill

1 onion chopped

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 cups wide egg noodles

1 cup frozen peas

Directions: 

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place at the bottom of a crock pot.  Top with carrots, celery, garlic, onion, and 2 sprigs of dill.  Add the chicken broth and cook covered until the chicken is cooked through for about six hours on low heat.  Remove chicken and let cool, then chop.  Remove dill stems.  Add noodles to slow cooker, turn to high and cover until noodles are tender (15 minutes. ) Stir in peas and then chicken.  Garnish with dill leaves when serving.)  This soup can be stored in the refrigerator and used again for lunches for up to four days.  

ORANGE GINGER CHICKEN:

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 cups orange juice

4 Teaspoons ground ginger

½ cup honey

½ cup olive oil

Red pepper flakes (just a pinch)

Directions: 

On cooking day mix all the dry ingredients together, then mix all the wet ingredients together.  Place the chicken breasts inside a gallon bag.  Mix the rest of the ingredients with each other and pour into bag.  Freeze.  Pull out the night before using for dinner and thaw in refrigerator.  Next morning dump all into crock pot and cook for 8 hours on low heat.  (I would mix up two or three of these at one time and freeze ahead for the next few months.  Be sure to label and date the bags.  This is so easy!)

BEEF LIME AND CILANTRO CHILI

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef (browned)

14.5 ounce can tomato sauce

14.5 can petite diced tomatoes with juice

2 cans black beans drained and rinsed

1 small yellow onion minced

Zest from 1 lime

Juice from 1 lime

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Fresh chopped cilantro (for garnish)

Shredded cheese (for garnish)

Tortilla chips (for garnish or side)

Directions:

Add all ingredients (except cilantro) to slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.  When serving top with shredded cheese and crumbled tortilla chips. (This can be labeled and frozen in gallon bags if you have extra left over.)

EASY EGGPLANT PARMESAN

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants sliced

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 cups marinara

12 ounces mozzarella cheese slices

1.2 cup grated Parmesan

Fresh basic for garnish

Kosher salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Place eggplant on paper towel lined baking sheet and sprinkle each piece with salt.  Let sit for 30 minutes and pat dry.  Spread about a third of the sauce in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Whisk together Panko bread crumbs, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Season with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of eggplant in eggs then dredge in bread crumbs.  Lay an even layer of slices into a slow cooker.  Top with more sauce and mozzarella.  Repeat layers 2 more times. Cook on high 4-5 hours.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and garnish with basil when serving.  (This too will freeze for up to 3 months, just label and date and you have extra meals on hand whenever you need them.)

I hope you enjoy these first two weeks of the dinner menus, recipes and grocery lists.  I will continue on this same subject of organizing more healthy dinners next Friday in AN APPLE A DAY – 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE.  We will complete the last two weeks of dinners at that time, then we are aiming to combine our whole 30-Day Plan into one easy-to-follow instruction article for 30 days of meals and a once a month grocery list.  Won’t it be great when we are able to cut down on planning time, grocery shopping time and meal prep?  The effort to get there will be well worth our up-front organization.

I am excited about these new dinner menus because they are tasty, yet easy to prepare!   

I truly hope they make dinner planning and grocery shopping  easier and healthy for you.

Don’t forget those words of Bob Ehrlich that we all should be able to relate to:  “Some of the most important conversations I’ve ever had occurred at my family’s dinner table.” 

Let’s forget about the work and put our effort into making those very important conversations happen.  Now that we are organized – dinner may turn into the most stimulating part of our evenings! 

Enjoy.

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 160 - MORE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE WILDERNESS TABERNACLE

THE CHERUBIM, THE COLORS AND THE GOLDEN CLASPS 

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Can you imagine walking unexpectedly upon a temporarily settled camp of multitudes of people living out of tents in the middle of the wilderness with an amazing tabernacle being constructed piece by piece and transported in their midst?  

What would be your first thought?

A beautiful design of cherubim was woven inside each white linen panel of the walls of the inside of the tabernacle.

Cherubim are the celestial angels who live in the spiritual realm of the heavenly places.  When Adam sinned and had to be cast out of the Garden of Eden, God placed cherubim in front of Eden to guard it with swords.   More than just guarding the garden; they were there to guard the way to The Tree of Life.  These angels represent the righteous government of God and they are God’s officials who execute and carry out His judgments. 

The blue, purple and scarlet designs of these cherubim that were woven inside the linen curtains which covered the holy place and the most holy place, were visual reminders to the priest serving in the tabernacle of how holy God is and how careful they should be in their actions and their thoughts and their worship before God in order to be able to carry out the duties of their ministry with purity.  They were expected to look to the holiness of God and imitate His perfect holiness in all that they did.

Fifty golden clasps allowed the ten curtains to be brought together and made into one.  This action of how they came together is a perfect picture of how Christ prayed to the Father for us to be One in Him and for All to be One in God.  We can read the words of Christ in John 17:20-22  and as we listen to the sincere loving words of this prayer for unity of God’s people into one body, we can also think of the symbolism of how intricate the ten white linen curtains of the tabernacle formed together into one curtain. 

John 17:20-22; I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me and the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. 

One could not see any of these things, (the white linen curtains with the beautiful cheribum and the blue loops of the curtains with the gold clasps that held them all in place) from the outside; it could only be seen from a certain place inside the tabernacle.  Until one repents and believes on the name of Jesus and accepts Him as their Savior; one cannot always see the things of God or the inside of the Kingdom of God.  You must look for God from inside your body (your tabernacle) from the place of your heart in order to find Him.  You can try using your mind, your eyes, your hands, your feet; but your search will be incomplete until you have found a way to see God through the eyes of your heart.  God’s dwelling among the people of Israel reflected this.  Those who believed and acted on their unseen faith could sometimes begin to see with the eyes of their hearts the purposes for mankind that God was beginning to accomplish with the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. 

The colors also spoke in symbols.  The colors that made up the cherubim design were blue, red, and purple. 

The sky blue, resembling the color of the sky, was to remind people of the heavenly; the high and lofty and holy things unseen by the world that are only visible to one who has been shown the invisible world of God’s Kingdom.   This comes to us through The Holy Spirit who works in a similar fashion as the white linen curtains and the golden clasps; forming many pieces into one unified body of worship before God’s throne, represented in The Holy of Holies as The Mercy Seat.

The cheribum, again were acting as something invisible, something that someone with no knowledge or covering of God’s atonement would ever be allowed to see. You could only see these from the inside rooms of the tabernacle, from the holy place where only the Israelite priests could enter.

 

The finely woven linen threads dyed in the color of red were symbolic of the blood of atonement; the sacrificial covering of Christ.  We see the suffering servant aspect of the life of Christ when we look upon the red colors worn by the cheribim in the deepest inside room of the tabernacle.

We can also see this aspect of Christ when we look out from the inside room of our heart that resides from within the living tabernacle of our own body, from which we are blessed to walk and live and breathe surrounded by the love of God.

 

We look upon the purple color dyed into the twisted threads of fine linen within the design of the cherubim and we think of royalty.  This rich color is symbolic of the Kingship of Christ. The time is fast approaching when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is King.  He will come again and reign forever and ever.  This mystery is hidden deep inside the folds of the white linen curtains in the inner walls of the wilderness tabernacle.  The curtains are teaching us lessons we need to know in order to live within the laws and grace and mercy of God’s kingdom.

God told Moses to make the fifty clasps of gold and to couple the curtains together with the clasps so that it would be one tabernacle.

Immediately we are reminded of Ephesians 4:16; “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.”

Each little golden clasp must do its part to hold the pieces of linen cloth together.

Each one holds a piece of the inside and each one holds a piece of the covering. When each piece holds its part; the walls of the inside of the tabernacle work well.  Together they achieve functionality and beauty.

If one clasp breaks; they all fail; but the others hold the weight of the one until it can be mended and restored, keeping complete failure from happening to anyone.

If all clasps succeed; they all succeed together in doing the job that God designed for them to do.

The simple job or each individual clasp seems insignificant at first; but let one little part be broken and all of the very holy inside places of the tabernacle are affected and disturbed.

Each clasp is individually important in doing a very effective, yet unseen, job in the tabernacle.

Our lives are like this.

God gives us quiet, unseen jobs that the world will not notice; yet they are still very important to the body as a whole.

When we all work together and follow God’s design the holiness of God is protected in this world, and we are blessed with His Presence that desires to dwell among us.

For the tabernacle to work correctly, each individual clasp must do the job that they have been designed and equipped by God to do.  One clasp not working creates a great strain on the other clasps.

So you must think of the ten curtains as two divine sets of five, one facing the holy, and one making this possible because it is a covering. Each set of five being fitly joined together with fifty loops of gold; making the two act simultaneously as one.

I have spoken of how the golden clasps sometimes act like the believers of our churches today, in that what each of them does affects the whole witness of the church. Others have noticed that the fifty gold loops could also stand for the fiftieth year, the year of Jubilee in which all captives are set free and all debts forgiven in Israel. I can see that analogy too; since everything about the tabernacle symbolizes Christ and He has provided our freedom and brought forgiveness for our sins.  He has paid our debts.  He has brought us to our Year of Jubilee.  It is a golden time for rejoicing together!   We owe our Jubilee of freedom to Him and Him alone.

I can also see how the fifty golden clasps work like the fifty days leading up till Pentecost when God's Holy Spirit came and united the body of Christ, bringing all together in unity.  Fifty is a very significant number.

Let’s stay inside the tabernacle for awhile; let’s sit quietly reflecting upon the holy place.  Later we will discuss the outside, and then go even deeper within the inside to see what God told Moses about The Holy of Holies. 

Right now let’s reflect on these first instructions that God gave to Moses for building the inside of The Holy Place.

Can you imagine being Moses and hoping to please God with all of this? It must have required a great amount of trust and total obedience and courage. He had learned over the course of time from leaving Egypt and coming into the wilderness that what seems impossible with us as human beings is always still possible when God is at the root of the project.  

All things are possible with God.  Knowing this helps us to understand how such a magnificent structure could come to be designed, built and carried on a long winding journey through the rough, lonely, deserted and dangerous parts of the wilderness.

We will talk in the days to come of how God helped Moses to properly organize the people to achieve all of this; but there are still more instructions about exact construction to absorb.

An awesome plan for a magnificent tabernacle is coming together into one amazing blueprint right in the very heart of the wilderness.  Who would have ever imagined such an event?  Only God could have planned such a thing.

THE HOUSE DOCTOR - MY HOME, MY HOBBY

WHY DO I WRITE THE HOUSE DOCTOR?
(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)


I will freely admit it; my home is also my hobby!  I don't feel a bit guilty in saying that to you - not even materialistic, because of the way that this hobby has evolved in my life.  I didn't chose it; it chose me.

I've lived in these walls I call "home" for many years now, and at one point I actually contemplated trying to give them up.  I spent much time in prayer about that and God changed my mind for a number of reasons; for this season of my life anyway.  Who knows what plans await later?   I have so much of my heart and soul tied up in the process of making a house a home here, that it just didn't feel right to give it all up; at least not yet.  

It took a long time after we first moved into this house for the walls and the floors to start to look familiar. 

 I would walk inside the door and say to myself "Do I really live here?"  Then one day my soul began to feel safe and secure about the place, and I had that "knowing" feeling that one should have when they cross their own threshold. It was that feeling that says "Home."     I knew the time I had always longed for had finally arrived.

Not so many years ago, we (like so many others in America) traveled through some really rocky financial territory that lasted for a period of several years.  My husband was unemployed for a few years, and my own working hours were cut back to almost-part time instead of full time.   When it came down to actually being able to keep our home or learning to live in a drastically different way, we had to make some very hard and very practical decisions.  In the process of working our way through this unexpected "bump in the road" we totally changed our standard of living and learned to live on much less.  

We now eat differently by cooking mostly home-grown nutritious and healthier meals at home instead of spending so much time eating out.  

We have also learned to work and play different.  We are not traveling as far or as often as we used to, but have come to appreciate the areas around where we live by rediscovering all the activities and entertainments our own home town has to offer.  We have a whole new appreciation for the wonderful nearby parks and quaint local landmarks, not to mention the wealth of activities and things we have discovered we can do right in our own front and back yards.  

Living more local has us walking and exercising more often.  Enjoying our outdoor spaces has us drinking in that good old vitamin D that keeps us smiling more often and makes us happier people.  

We have found It is just more convenient to plan most things about life in our own space and with our own local community.  

History has come more alive to us during this transition, especially the history of our own hometown.  There is a lot to be said for community and knowing your neighbors.  The extra time we were forced to enjoy at home made us slow down enough to really learn a few details about the lives of the people living in our own subdivision.  We had previously been too busy rushing back and forth to work to actually notice many of them.  We actually took time in those days to invite them inside our home just to enjoy a cup of coffee and/or a long conversation in the kitchen, living room and outside on the back deck.  We suddenly realized how many interesting and unique people surrounded us, and we became even more thankful to be living right where we were at the time.  

We also felt very blessed to have slowed down enough to take the time to enjoy some of the many outreach programs and entertainments offered by several of our local schools and churches.  They are wholesome, entertaining and fun! Most all of them feature activities the whole family can enjoy together; yet most all of them are good for a single person too. Most everything available showcasing all the local talent has been free or very low priced.  The fellowship we have shared by participating in these local events has been wonderful. 

We had not even thought of these local outlets as resources of activities for our family in the past; except for normal church attendance with our own groups and our own church.  We branched out and explored all of the local gatherings.  We crossed all denominational lines and cultural boundaries and explored those little places and gatherings we had never had time to notice before.  The libraries and community centers and events opened our eyes to new ideas and hobbies.  My freelance writing world expanded and my husband became more interested in designing our outdoor areas and planning little gardens for us to enjoy around our house and yard.  We found new friends that shared much of the same interests.

Adjustments were made out of necessity that turned into good lifelong habits. We have even been carpooling (with each other) to work.  One vehicle is much more efficient than two; you simply have to adjust your schedules a bit.  Now we save energy by better planning as we combine our trips to the stores and our errands about town.  We have found the extra time this creates for us later to be a great blessing.  We can go to the library, or curl up with a good book, or watch a movie with our neighbors, or spend time with our own grown kids and grand kids.  

We now shop locally and look for bargains.  We tend to think of necessities; not desires.  We would much rather put money in the pockets of our local neighbors than spend at a big glitzy department store chain.  We recycle whenever possible.  Why waste anything when it can be recycled and reused?  

We carefully compare quotes on services for insurance and home repairs and other such "routine maintenance" things that are necessary before we pick up the phone to order services.  It is amazing what you can save if you just take the time to look around and compare prices.  It is also amazing what you can educate yourself to do on your own.   We spend time making our own repairs or doing preventative maintenance instead hiring others.  We make it a habit to deal with things as they happen and not wait until the cost will be much higher.  In other words we are paying more attention to our immediate needs in daily life, and this is cutting down on the little disasters that could happen in the future.  Small things stay small and do not tend to escalate because we have learned to pay attention to them and take care of them while they are still small things.  

We now take our lunch to work and save that much gas and food money all through the working week.  Because of this, our health is better.  We have more time for other things and often use our lunch hours to run those routine errands instead of wasting our weekend family time on chores.  We save money too by eating healthier and leaving off the fast-foods.  

We have enjoyed learning to frequent second-hand stores and stores like 2nd and Charles who barter.  We found our clothes budgets can stretch a long way and be so much more cost effective when we simply organize our  clothes closets in a way that leaves everything coordinated and easy to find when it is needed.

We are trying to transition to container gardening.  That will help our grocery budget and preventative health maintenance even more.  

We've incorporated money-saving techniques into every area of our spending, and that has allowed us not only to survive within our home; but the thrive.  We seem to be living a lot better on a whole lot less than back in the days when we actually had more to waste.  It seems that God used this unexpected motivation to find ways to afford to keep our home to teach us better ways to live; ways we should have been living in the first place.  So sometimes when I think of the blessings of my home, I consider the things and life-lessons the home has taught me.  I am often amazed when I stop to think about it.

   

After needing to be on the receiving end of things for a few years, we learned so much about appreciating and taking care of what we already have, and find ourselves being so much more grateful for every little blessing that comes along and surprises us.  Now it is our goal to be helpful to others going through the same situations.  Life has been FULL of pleasant surprises in the middle of all the unexpected adjustments.  

We looked up one day and realized we were really making good progress, and we had enough hope after that to set a goal to keep ourselves debt-free enough to be on the giving end of things going forward.  God has blessed that attitude.  Our main motivation was keeping home ownership, or staying in the place that we felt God had led us and to keep living in the spot where He had helped us to plant roots.     

In all of this learning process, I've discovered a whole new joy in the blessing of having a home-base, be it ever so humble, flaws and all.   

Whatever state you find yourself living through, home IS home, and there is a sense of security that comes from having a place to call "home," a place that belongs just to you, no matter how large or small or old or new.

The moment we made the solid decision to stay put in our home, I knew I would probably live out my days here; surrounded by what makes life what life is for us.  None of the THINGS do that, but I am speaking about the memories that we have made here, the smiling faces, the story telling, the meal sharing, the friendly gatherings, the love that is shared in a million little ways daily in this place and space that we call home.  

In all of this loving and sharing though, there are some "things" that seem more meaningful to us than others. The things we have kept in our home are symbolic of the things that really matter to us in our life.  

You see, my home is more than my home; it has always felt like my castle.  Contrary to what many believe a castle doesn't have to be large and majestic to be a castle.  It simply has to be owned by a loving owner who takes pride in the ownership.  Your castle can be large or small, owned or rented or shared with others.  It is still your castle; the place where you make a difference in the world.   I would have a castle anywhere that my family chose to live, so this could all change at a drop of a hat and I would STILL have my castle.  It isn't actually even the physical place; ;but the attitude of the place.  My castle is simply the most current place where my family lives, loves and plays.  For right now, it seems we are staying right where we are.  Hence, the hobby of making a home continues, and it is possibly evolving into the  never ending hobby of making my house a home forever.

Arnold Bennett once said "Only a very exceptionally gifted mind could cope singly with all the problems which present themselves in the perfecting of a home."  I couldn't agree more!  There has been nothing perfect about our "nesting" experience.  

Mr. Bennett  expressed more of these opinion's in his book called "The Home As A Hobby."  In this book he describes the different aspects of a home and one line of his writing says "A hundred things are just a little wrong and a few things are dreadfully wrong!  But no matter.  The apparatus somehow works.  The desire after perfection has failed.  The home has become immutable.  There the home is, it will do, it must do!  But for the true artist with real life as his or her canvas, a golden opportunity awaits!"  

This describes exactly why my home is one of my hobbies, and why I love to write about that hobby in this section of my blog called THE HOUSE DOCTOR.  A "house" needs to be "cured" by love and care until it can become a "home."  That is what a house doctor practices.  It isn't exactly the science of decorating; it is the science of loving a house into a home. I look upon all the imperfection of the place as a golden opportunity to express the art of living life.  

The unfinished things are simply symbolic of the promise of a new day. 

Any outsider might step inside the door and only see the problems and the flaws, but I see the possibilities that exist in this very personal space.  

This is an instinct I was born with, and I am of the opinion that most others are also born with the same trait.  

With careful thought and consideration anyone can develop this way of life. I think Jesus must look at us all in such a way.  He most likely does not see the flawed, sinful people that we actually are today, but I think He sees the wonderful, loving, living, thriving people that God has destined us to be. He must see us through eternal eyes.   I want to look at things inside my home in that way too.  

Art is expression, and your home can be your canvas.  

Mr. Bennett also said:  "Nobody has the right to be bored in a half-made home.  A home which is not a fair expression of us at our best, a home which lacks what it might have, a home which is in any part more ugly or in any part more uncomfortable than it absolutely need be." 

So I have approached my home as a hobby, and not a chore.  

It is also a luxury, not a necessity.  

I have this temporary tabernacle that I walk around in that is my PERMANENT home on earth.  It has everything that I need; but my home is like the icing on a cake.  It brings more pleasure.  

I could do this living that I do anywhere (a hotel room, an apartment, a tent, a cardboard box under the overpass), so I'm not idolizing this particular place; it is simply the place where God has chosen to put me right now.  I have a feeling I could carry on the same hobby if I lived in an alley in the street.  My part of the alley would take on a certain charm of its own, I'm sure! 

 Perhaps you can identify with these feelings.  I hope so.  I've seen many living examples of this illustration and they never cease to take my breath away.  Some people have an art from within their soul that just spews and doles out beauty where ever they exist. I am blessed with friends and family who do so.   I pray for this quality to be more developed within in my own life! 

So; making a home isn't about collecting things and spending money, it is about recognizing the souls and spirits of those who live inside a space and perform the daily act of coming and going and living their lives there.

My husband now has a fairly stressful job working long hard hours.  He comes home tired and ready to rest in the evenings.  When I ask that same question that probably a million other wives ask their husbands at the end of each day; "How was your day?" I love his untypical answer.  He doesn't say a thing about how hard his day was; he simply smiles and says "I'm home!"  That makes me feel like we are accomplishing some worthwhile goals in our place of residence.  You know you are making progress when you can smile at the end of the day and say "I'm home!"  

Like many who love sharing their homes with others, I find myself with this never ending desire for pure unadulterated hospitality, such as Abraham showed the Holy Trinity when he was first visited at his tent.  

Abraham brought forth his best, even when it was inconvenient and unexpected.  

He was always prepared to do so, at any moment, at the drop of hat.  I just feel my home must be that way too.  I don't always achieve this, but I hope to get better and better at it as time goes by.  I look at this trait in other people and consider it to be a wonderful form or art.

So many of us approach fixing up our homes as a feat that requires too much physical labor, psychological exercise, and financial resources.  I try to reverse that thought and instead of making these things a dreaded and expensive chore, I think of them as a continuing work of art.  

It is a hobby, not a chore. 

 It is organic and evolving.  

Progress is never overnight, and I expect that things will never be finished and tied up like a pretty little package with a bow on top.  

A home is a life-long, ever-evolving project that never ends.  

It is a life-process and not something that has to happen all at once in one day, or week or year.  Some of the projects in our home have been evolving for twenty years now.  Progress is more like a metamorphosis than a planned event.

The art of making a home is simply a way to enjoy the abundance that God grants to us.  This abundance of life is free for the taking.  It isn't something that you go out and buy.  It is more about activities than spending, and it is a whole new way for your mind to think about change.  You can resist it, or you can relish the beauty and refreshment of it. This is not about spending money, but this is about having quality inside all minutes of your day; in all circumstances of your life.  YOU bring the quality; not the things.  YOU make the place a home not a house.  It is all about caring and being thankful for what you have been blessed to have and reaching out to share with others along the way.

You can chose to take the easy road and allow yourself to become materialistic in this venture.  You are almost guaranteed in this case to eventually get bored with your choices; or you can chose to be gently caring for your home, and always feeling refreshed from the slow, steady, constant process of moving ever forward.  

For years now I have been cleaning out a building full of accumulated junk.  Just things that have piled up over time, but this building, once empty will help me to keep my house fresh and alive.  

That may sound strange, until you know the concept that I've been slowly building over the years.  

I have collected decorative items that express the different seasons of each year that God has given; spring with all it's holiness and bright colors, then the red white and blues of Memorial Day that lead into Pentecost and Independence Day, then summers with patio fun in the sun and times at the beach, then fall with those lovely colors of the changing leaves and expressions of thanksgiving.  Last, but not least the lights of Hanukkah and the splendor of a traditional Christmas that celebrates the conception of Christ and The Incarnation.  I love all of these seasonal expressions of beauty in the times that we go through in our daily lives each year.  

As I'm working on that building, cleaning and organizing, I'm also subconsciously letting God work on my life.  He is cleaning, changing and organizing right along side of me.  Whatever happens to my home seems to happen to my soul too.  God is always teaching me to enjoy the "seasons" of life. 

Now, I've finally put each season's expressions into labeled boxes to be stored in their own section of that storage building, until it is time again to bring them out each year in their own season.  I see this sort of like the memories we make in life.  Sometimes you remember them and fondly pull them out of their boxes and they make you smile and cheer up your day.  

More than that, I've got those memories from seasons where I have used these things with my family and friends over the years now etched over my heart. 

It is not the things that matter, but it is the excuse that the things present to enjoy time with others and the reasons to develop relationships through times spent together in every season of life.  

It is not at all about hoarding, or buying, or storing up like a squirrel getting ready for winter.  It IS all about sharing and loving all the special moments that life presents. 

I tucked this plan into the back of my mind years ago when I chose the main furnishings for our house, I kept the colors neutral with creamy white sofas, beige rugs, simple straight lines, wooden floors, white walls with traditional art for the main spaces that do not change.  All of this blends with everything else I chose to add during each changing season.  The neutral backdrops make this easy.  Seasonal pillows against solid colored bedspreads and white sofas, just loving and making full use of the effects of the freshness of whites and using solid black in some furnishings and tabletops just the same way.  Grays and beige here and there make decorating easy and natural.  All of these neutrals make a perfect backdrop for any season's decor.  The house becomes the canvas to paint the changing seasons of our lives upon.  The artwork is constantly changing just like the seasons of the year.

So every season I pack up the things from the past season, label appropriately, and store until the next season comes along.  I do this year after year.  Each new season I pull out the next season's things and enjoy them for the next several weeks.  It works beautifully.  I feel like I get a whole new house every season. Each time I pull out the seasonal decorations I feel like I'm greeting old friends I haven't talked to for awhile.  

When I first started this particular decorating process I had no grandchildren.  Now  I have three!  This has turned out to be a fun way to help the grand kids to enjoy our home when they visit.  

I've especially loved watching my granddaughter from infancy till almost three years old walking around the house every time she comes to see whatever G-Ma has changed this time, and to learn more about what season of the year we are enjoying. It becomes a great teaching tool for holidays, holy days and family traditions.   If she catches me in midstream decorating when I've taken out all the old and not yet brought in all the new, she seems to get worried until I finish.  She is always watching to see what is next.   It has been so much fun watching her reactions.  She gets so excited to see all the new seasonal changes as they happen.  This year it has been fun to watch and see that she DID remember what we had last year and she loves knowing she gets to do that season all over again.  It will be interesting to see what she does with her own home one day.

For many people all of this packing up and pulling out might feel like a dreaded chore and seem to be a lot of extra work.  For me though, it is like Christmas all year round.  

The pulling out of new and boxing out of the previous season occurs gradually, a little at a time the old season dissolves away, and slowly the new season appears and we follow on with the paths of our lives.  

The idea is to LIVE into each season and to grasp and appreciate it's own unique beauty.  

It really doesn't take a lot of effort this way.   I don't have to run to the store every time I want to be "seasonal" either, I simply reuse the same items over and over each year.   

Some nails in the wall are good for switching items each season.  My door wreaths and welcome signs in the foyer change with the seasons.  Some tabletops are good for changing decor when the dates change.  Some dishes are perfect for a time, then their seasons change too.  (This makes cooking the same old recipes over and over a lot more fun and inspirational.)  Of course, I have also created my own "seasonal" cookbook too that (you guessed it) has special recipes for each season. of the year.   I've incorporated photos into the pages of the seasons that our family has enjoyed certain seasonal foods and I've printed out those recipes with those photos.

Everything always feels fresh and new, and if you follow this process over the years just adding a piece at a time here and there, it is very cost effective and inexpensive. 

And so it is that I find myself still focusing on this old hobby of finding inexpensive and creative ways to make a house a home.  I love writing about it and sharing those adventures with others. I never seem to run out of ideas, and I just keep on sharing them with all of you, in this blog called THE HOUSE DOCTOR.  

If you find it all interesting too, just keep reading "THE HOUSE DOCTOR" articles that I always post on Tuesdays.  I'll be posting pictures as the seasons come and go and things change at our place.  I'll also be posting guest posts of other people's houses that are enjoying being "seasonal" too.  Sharing these seasonal ideas and concepts in our homes is so much fun.  

I would love to hear about your ideas and suggestions too!   

What are your seasonal ideas for making a house a home?  Each person I speak with has a new and exciting angle for accomplishing this.  It is truly a fun form of art to explore and share together.