Home. What do you think of when you hear the word 'home'? Some pepole think of their house, others think of the things in their house and others the food they eat at there house.

What I think of when I hear the word 'home' is Family and that's what I think makes a house a home. FAMILY is one of the most important things in life.

What makes a house a home? Is it your family? In my opinion, yes, that's part of what makes a house a home.
Another part of what makes a house a home is the way it's decorated. For example if a house is very dark shades
and it's the cleanest house you have ever seen then it's probably not going to feel very comfortable.

Maybe it's the things you do at your house that makes it your home. For me it wouldn't be a home if we didn't spend time as
a family, read the Bible, eat together, clean together, and The MOST important- loving one another.

Also, family can't be the only thing that makes a house a home, For example; when you go on a trip with your family and you've been staying in a hotel or cabin then you might say when you walk in the door-
"There's no place like home".
Now you have just been with your family for a week. If family WAS home then that wouldn't happen. 

Where do you spend the most time? On an average day our answer would be; in our home. BUT just because we spend most of our time at home does NOT mean we don't do anything. We do school, cooking, cleaning, canning, sewing, knitting........

So.....do family and home go together?
I think the answer is yes.

       Until next time
                Lydia

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Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the ant, you slacker!
Observe its ways and become wise.
 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
 it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.

I once read that for every minute of winter eating, it takes thirty minutes of summer canning. Though that might be a bit of an exaggeration, sometimes it feels that way.
When we got home last week, we had several boxes of red tomatoes waiting for us.

After those were taken care of, on Thursday a neighbor blessed us with two boxes of green tomatoes.
I looked up several recipes for canning green tomatoes and finally settled on trying four different recipes.One reason I like to can is because it gives me the chance to serve my family and spend time with my mom or one of my sisters.

Green Tomatoes for Frying
Everyone has heard of fried green tomatoes, but usually you can only have them when they are fresh in the summer. This recipe was very easy to follow and I am looking forward to frying a few slices in the middle of winter. The only ingredients were green tomatoes, salt, and water. 

Green Tomato Jalapeno Relish
We first tried this recipe last year, my dad really enjoyed it so we made some more this year. The combination of apple cider vinegar and jalapenos does not smell very good when it is cooking so every time someone walked into the kitchen they commented on the smell.
The recipe says it make six pints, but my recipe made around ten pints.

Green Tomato Apple Relish
A new recipe for me, and kind of strange, it has apples and jalapenos (oops, I was really tired when I made it and forgot the jalapenos, so we will have to add them when we open the jar)
I am looking forward to trying this with tacos, on some chicken, or in a bean soup.

Green Tomato Apple Pie Filling
This recipe was also new. If I make it again, I will definitley need more helpers, chopping so many green tomatoes and apples made my hand stiff. Reviews said it is yummy as a pie filling and also good with roasted meat.

I hope this encourages you to try an unusual recipe.
Naomi

All of us are waiting- Whether we are waiting for a loved one to come to the Truth, waiting for test results to come back, or waiting for an exciting event to take place- everyone everywhere is waiting. 
 
While we wait our spirits should be still, resting in God’s will. Yet God provides plenty of things for us to do while we wait. 
 
I got the idea for this blog post because I am waiting right now for several things. Sometimes the waiting can seem like an eternity even though it’s only been a week!

Keeping busy while I wait helps pass the time. For example; Un-packing from Sukkot, writing this blog post, and
fixing meals- not to mention we’ve been up to our elbows in tomatoes all morning! 

In the song I posted you will hear the line “I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in obedience, while I’m waiting”. 

Waiting on God is not an excuse to do nothing. We should be moving forward and trusting all the while that YHWH knows His plan for us and He is in control. 

Waiting can be boring or fun, it all depends on what we do while we wait. Are you wasting your time on frivolous activities that lead nowhere or are you busy with productive activities that the Lord has for you today?

                                                                                                                                          -Bethany-