Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

Starting this weekend we will be trying a new format here at Weekend Kindness.  We’ll be giving our name new meaning as we will be posting only on the weekends!

If all goes as planned, what you’ll get is multiple posts on different topics on the weekend (like a weekly magazine) and then we can talk about the topics during the week.

I’m actually excited about this change and look forward to seeing what our great writers come up with!

Last weekend with the forecast predicting our first real heat wave of the year, I planned an icy surprise for my husband. One of his favorite summer refreshments is my mom’s citrus slush…and the past two summers, I’ve forgotten to make it until late summer. Used to be something I always kept on hand, in fact, my father-in-law who farms around us, would stop by unannounced once or twice a week to visit what he termed, “The Slush Shop”.

This recipe takes a couple of days to freeze and serve, so as I taught my girls how to make it, we planned to keep it a secret from daddy…to save it for the best possible moment when he’d appreciate it the most. Our moment came on Monday afternoon. We’d all been working on building a chicken house, and between the dust of old boards (we’re recycling) and the hot sun, slush was just the ticket. And did it ever make my dh’s day…

Here’s the recipe for you. My mom and dad taught Bible studies in the home of the lady who sometimes served this after class. Everyone loved her slush. I know you will too!

Slush

Mix this simple syrup and allow to boil until clear. Let set until cool.

• 4 cups sugar
• 6 cups water

Combine the following ingredients, add to the syrup mixture, and freeze 18-24 hours.

• 5 bananas, mashed to a pulp
• 1 large (46 oz) can pineapple juice
• juice of 2 lemons (or the equivalent of Realemon)
• 1 small can frozen orange juice concentrate
• 3 cans (from orange juice) of water

About an hour, perhaps two, before you want to serve the slush, remove it from the freezer and mash it into a slush. If you have frozen it overnight, it will require more time to become slush. Add 4 quarts ginger ale or 7-Up. Mix well. Serves 40.

The above instructions assume you are serving it all at once to a crowd. We actually keep our slush in a 5 quart ice cream bucket, already “mashed” and dip out individual servings–much as you would make an ice cream float. The initial mashing part sometimes means letting it thaw a little on the counter…then I criss-cross it with one of my long sharp cutlery knives and use a potato masher or a Pampered Chef “Mix and Chop” to finish the job. This way, at serving time, you can scoop it out effortlessly, rather than hacking at a solid bowl full of slush. Another tip, freeze it in a large bowl and after mashing, transfer it into an ice cream bucket. It makes a little too much to fit into an ice cream bucket…so you might want to serve up that extra immediately!

While I was at it, I filled a bucket for my father-in-law. Wish you could come to my slush shop too!

This is what my oldest son told me he was doing for his younger brother– whose birthday is this Wednesday.

My oldest is growing into liking to do crafts– whether it’s pipe cleaners or paper, every week when he gets home from church his paper has a new idea he wants to try.  And the names he gives things!

In any case, his latest thing is that he is going to make a paper sword because the pipe cleaner swords that he made keep falling apart.

What I love is the fact that he’s thinking of his brother, and not himself.  He knows that this is a special day for his brother, and wants to give a gift.  It’s that small thing that counts– the small thing that he wants to do to show his brother his love.

So, this weekend Virtuous Blonde and I decided to do something drastic.  For quite a while we have kept things at the house pretty much as is because we figured that the Lord wanted us out of this area, and we’d been house hunting.  However, time continues to march on, and as our youngest continues to grow, it was getting to the point where we needed to take action.  You see, the table we got as a wedding present doesn’t really seat five well, but there’s carpet in our dining room and that doesn’t work well with children eating– as I know some of you are aware.

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Being a stay at home mother, wife, and homeschooler can be a challenging position. Those on the outside tend to make comments and give nasty looks. I have experienced this many times. We are often made to feel as if we are wasting our lives and not making anything of ourselves. To be honest there are times at home when I will feel unappreciated. Thankfully, these times are rare!Often times in my household, it is usually because I am having a bad day and am reading to much into the actions and words of my family than is really there. I realize this is what I have caused myself to feel. I have let the voice of the world in rather than dwelling on the call and command of God. I found this quote from Martin Luther and think it is one of great encouragement. I hope it is to you as well.

What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. —Martin Luther

One of the toughest things I feel as a parent is the constant gaze of my children.  They see me at my best and at my worst.  They know when I’m upset, and when I’m overtired.  They have expectations that I can either meet or fail to meet.

And all these things can be a part of the person that they become.

Especially when it comes to dads and daughters.  I’m learning through Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters and through experience with my own daughter that I’m a special person in her life.  And I see how she, even at this age, reacts to other men.

This brings home what D is for Dad states clearly:

How you treat the women in your life will have a huge influence on how your little girl will expect to be treated by the men in her life.

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Gossip has a way of tearing people to shreds– and when it’s gossip inside the family, or even disparaging remarks in jest, it can wound someone on the inside and twist the knife deep into a person.

And this “harmless” disparagement of husbands among wives is not harmless either, ladies. It may seem like it’s just fun and games to put down your husband when you’re gossiping with your girlfriends, but it isn’t. Would you say that kind of stuff to his face? Would you tell your husband that he can’t take care of himself if his life depended on it, that he’s selfish and doesn’t pay enough attention to his family? If you wouldn’t, then don’t go around laughing about it with your girlfriends without a second thought. Men seem stoic and unbreakable, but they aren’t. If your husband heard you telling your girlfriends how selfish he is, how he never helps out around the house, how he’s such a mess, how he can’t take care of himself… even if you meant it in jest, I can guarantee you that it would kill him inside. And you, loving wife, would probably never even know it.  [Hat Tip: Vox Day]

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