In joyful love and amazement the young Eve’s heart lurched
As she gazed at the infant she’d just brought to birth,
And the depth of her love took her quite by surprise
As she looked at Cain’s face with its big blue eyes.
How tiny each feature, how perfect, how flawless-
How soft was the skin still wet from the waters
That protected and comforted him just moments ago
When the world still had no babe nor mother to know
A mother’s love…

Joy swept through her previously unknown;
Eve knew it was the same joy God towards her had shown-
Feelings of elation in the life of a new living being
And possibilities of shared love previously unseen;
Deep feelings of protection and for the nurturing of
This delightful new creature and object of
A mother’s love…

This love felt so strange as it burst in Eve’s soul
And she knew that as a woman she truly felt whole,
For she sensed that as a mother she took a part in creation,
And thanking God, full of thankful celebration,
She lifted her son to the Father above,
Amazed by the strength and power of
A mother’s love…

All through the ages this same love formed in Eve’s heart
Has been passed down to her daughters as they take part
In the greatest of mysteries known to man,
The strong feeling of partnership in God’s plan
Of the birth the nurture and the survival of
God’s most precious of blessings so needful of
A mother’s love.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

“ I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” Genesis 4:1

I realise that over 90% of the things I fretted and worried over never happened.If you offer food to a young child and they don’t eat, they will not starve!

That the time flies by so quickly that you should make time to enjoy your children- don’t be left with regrets in the future

It is best to keep a house that is clean enough to be healthy but dirty enough to be lived in- it will be too clean when the kids have left for good

A self-willed child will often grow up to be a very conscientious hard worker and a loving person

The naughtiest kid really needs the most hugs- sometimes it’s an attention seeking thing

It is more important to make your life rich in love than rich in possessions

There is no safer place for a little child to bloom than in its own home

A Bandaid strip and a kiss means much more….it’s that Mommy loves me and cares

A rested Mother is the best Mother she can possibly be

Taking time out for yourself some time during the day or night is good- Mothers shouldn’t stop dreaming

Heated disciplining arguments from the chiefs are never productive in front of little recruits- they will soon play one off against the other

It is not unloving to encroach on your kids ‘rights’ and choose his friends for him- you can save yourself and him a lot of heartaches later on

To make too much of each child is inviting disaster- soon they will make you the children and they will be masters of the house

Stay united with your spouse in front of the children- a house divided will fall and you will come down with it

Two heads of the house does not work- allow and encourage your husband to lead

Pray without ceasing - we mothers need all the help we can get…and that goes on all our lives

Seek to find snatches of joy everyday as you battle through Mt Laundry etc - you will reach the mountain top all too quickly and will remember the valley as the best journey of your life!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

“In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge’ Proverbs 14:26

Childbirth is not the most severe pain you can experience as a woman- I believe being the mother of a prodigal child is! Even more so when they are now adults! The pain the mother of a prodigal suffers never goes away, for the love that God placed in our hearts for them from birth rarely dies. The natal cord still remains long after a child’s birth- the invisible cord of love and bonding that make up a mother’s love for her child. Only a prodigal child can touch your heart and leave it raw and still have you love them. The love that endures from its conception is usually only severed through the mother’s death. No matter how much we deny it, or try to divorce ourselves from them, it is exceedingly difficult to find that love for your child completely dies. A woman can divorce her abusive husband and eventually recover- the divorce of a prodigal child is virtually impossible. And often the wounded mother’s heart is still bleeding as another onslaught of pain appears! To me, it is like a perpetual labour of the soul. I have been through the gamut of emotions prodigal children bring- from self-blame and introspection, guilt, regrets and despair to hope that after a trial he or she has finally learnt their lesson and grown up! I have found after many years, that it was their choices that cause them to be prodigals, not some defect in my mothering or love. It is a hard lesson to learn. It is harder still to distance yourself and mean it. For despite the best of intentions, a plea for help will summon the maternal desire to aid your child, and all good intentions for your own survival and mental health go down the drain. I have placed my children in God’s care and have found that most times it has been more a learning experience in trusting God for me rather than for my children. I am devastated to find that after all my trouble with my son yesterday and over the last few weeks, he still hasn’t learnt his lesson, and has been driving his car unlicensed. I am resigned to hearing that he has been taken into prison as the Judge warned him. I hope it doesn’t happen- but I fear it will- and no amount of my praying will help him this time. The fault is not mine or God’s, but his. The pain is ongoing- and I vow to myself to distance myself from him should it happen- yet God knows that I will suffer those pains only the mother of a prodigal can understand, when it happens. So to all mothers of prodigals, I have written this poem- a prayer really! And a plea for understanding for all those mothers blessed with basically good children. Please pray for me and all those mothers who continue to suffer through no fault of their own- except to be mothers of prodigals…

‘When the mother of a prodigal prays’

Somewhere the poor mother of a prodigal son cries,

Her eyes reddened and not taking in much at all,

For she’s seeing her son through the eyes of love

Not how the world sees him at all…

For every thief is some poor mother’s child,

He has captured her heart in love’s ransom-

Yet to her she still sees the son of her youth;

But he’s stolen all of her dreams…

Desperately and frantically the murderer flees

Yet from this one thing he can’t ever flee-

The love of his mother bowing in sorrow,

Bemoaning a love he can’t kill…

For every trembling junkie finally taking a fix

There’s a hurting mother just wondering why

The life that she gave him just isn’t enough;

And she bows her head slowly and cries…

The gavel thumps and the sentence is passed

She is ushered out as her son’s led away.

As tears flow down each side of her face

She still finds the strength to pray…

So for every news article that you ever read

Of sons that have gone their own way,

Remember that he has a mother who cares

And lift her to God when you pray…

For somewhere the mother of a prodigal prays…

O how this poor mother prays.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks 2005

“Bear one another burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” Galatians 6:2

Last updated: 9-18-06

by Wardeh Harmon

Ahh… the aroma of fresh-out-of-the-oven, mouth-watering, whole wheat bread. Not another smell in the world has the same effect on my family. We follow an informal rule that from every fresh batch, one loaf must be consumed right away. Of all the changes we’ve made in the last 4 years to eat more healthily, my family most appreciates and enjoys the shift to homemade whole grain breads.

Did you know bread dough has a personality that varies from day to day, or season to season? Its character depends on the humidity, the weather, the warmth of the kitchen, or the temperature of the ingredients. This changeability can make bread baking challenging, but not impossible. I am thankful for my bread-baking friends who helped me learn to adjust to these factors and still turn out scrumptious whole grain bread.

This tutorial is a basic guide, a starting place, for you to develop your bread baking skills. It follows the recipe for Whole Wheat Bread. Other equipment, such as other brands of grain grinders or mixers, can be used. The bread-making method will be much the same, with the exception of adjustments made for operation of the alternative equipment.

If you ever have questions, comments or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to ask. You can write to me at wardeh@t2chk.org.

Equipment

• Vita-Mix with dry container — to grind the flours
• KitchenAid Professional 6-Quart Mixer — for the kneading
• 2 or 3 stainless steel bread loaf pans
• 4-cup measuring cup
• measuring cups and spoons
• plastic or wooden spoon
• plastic wrap

Ingredients

• 6 cups hard white wheat berries
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon SAF yeast
• 4 cups filtered water (not all of it will be used)
• 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon raw agave syrup or raw honey
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• olive oil spray or additional extra virgin olive oil

1. Grind Whole Grains into Flour

To ensure having enough flour for the Whole Wheat Bread, grind a total of 6 cups of hard white wheat berries. Store in gallon-size freezer bags.

You will end up with a little remaining flour. Store in the freezer in labeled, sealed freezer bags to use throughout the week for making muffins, pancakes, cookies or other baked goods. Or freeze it for the next time you bake bread — but bring it to room temperature prior to using it.

Put 2 cups of grains at a time in the Vita-Mix dry container.

Grind the wheat berries for 1 minute and 15 to 20 seconds on HIGH.

Transfer flour to a labeled gallon-size freezer bag. Repeat until all grain has been ground into flour.

2. Make the Sponge

Put 3-1/3 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon SAF yeast in the mixer bowl.Fill a 4-cup measuring cup with 2 cups cold filtered water. Bring about 2 cups filtered water barely to a boil in a pot on the stove. Add 2/3 cup of that to the 4-cup measuring cup and give it a stir.

Pour the now warm water into the mixing bowl with the flour and yeast.

Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon until it is a thick batter.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise until it is pretty big and bubbly. This should take 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the temperature of the kitchen.


When it is big and bubbly, take off the plastic wrap, put the bowl into the mixer base, and add the dough hook. Raise the bowl and turn mixer on to “Stir” speed for a few seconds to punch down the dough.

3. Knead the Dough


Add 1-1/3 cup whole wheat flour, 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey or agave, 2 teaspoons sea salt, 1/4 cup poppy seeds and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to the mixing bowl.

Start kneading on “Stir” speed. When mixture looks barely incorporated and while mixer is still kneading, add 1 cup more whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl.

About now, or when mixer sounds like it is working hard, increase speed to Speed 2 (dough setting). Add 1 to 1-1/2 cups more whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup at a time.While mixer is kneading and keeping fingers clear of the hook, feel dough. If it is sticky or feels wet, add more whole wheat flour as needed, 1/4 cup at a time. The dough should be springy, but not sticky, and the sides of the bowl pretty clean.

Let it knead for up to 5 minutes longer, or until dough is wrapped around the hook and the hook cannot rotate any longer (it will still be going around the bowl, but not spinning itself).

Turn off the mixer immediately, or you may damage the mixer’s gears. Lower the mixing bowl, release the dough hook from the mixer, pull the mixing bowl out of the mixer base and then pull the dough hook out of the dough.

4. Prepare Warm Oven for First Rise

Move racks of oven to bottom rungs, so that during the First Rise (step 5), the mixing bowl will fit with a few inches of clear space above the bowl. Turn oven on to 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Go on to step 5 while you wait for the 5 minutes to finish. After oven has been on for 5 minutes, turn it off. Open the oven door to let most of the heat escape, until it is warm and cozy, but not uncomfortably hot. Close oven door.

5. Put Dough in Warm Oven for First Rise

While lifting the dough up with one hand, use other hand to spray the base and sides of the bowl with olive oil spray. Rotate the dough around to coat the entire surface of the dough with oil and to make sure the entire surface of the bowl is coated.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the gently warm oven for about 30 minutes to an hour, or until it is doubled in size.

It will be swelled to fill the bowl and have risen to the top. Take bowl out of oven and remove plastic wrap. Close oven to retain warmth for Second Rise.

6. Shape Loaves for Second Rise in Warm Oven

Spray 2 large bread loaf pans (for large loaves) or 3 regular bread loaf pans (for regular size loaves) with olive oil spray.

Spray a clean countertop with olive oil spray.

Turn dough out onto the clean and oiled work surface. Punch down dough gently.

Separate the dough into 2 equal parts (for large loaves) or 3 equal parts (for regular loaves).

Shape each portion into a tube shape that is about 7 inches long and 3 inches wide and 2 inches tall (large loaf dimensions). These are the loaves. See Shaping Whole Wheat Bread Loaves for more information.

Put each loaf into a prepared loaf pan. Cut into each loaf 3 times diagonally along the top, about 1/4 inch deep, with a serrated knife.

Place the loaves in the oven and close the oven door.

Let rise for about 30 minutes to an hour, or until the loaves have swelled to fill the pans and come up over the top about a half inch to an inch.

7. Bake Loaves

While loaves are still inside the oven, turn it on to 350 degrees.

Bake loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. The loaves will sound hollow when tapped.

Remove pans from oven and turn off oven. Take loaves out of the pans and let cool on a rack. When they are cooled, put each loaf in a bread bag and secure with a twist tie. Leave 1 loaf out for immediate use and freeze the other(s). Remove frozen loaves from the freezer 4 to 8 hours before needed.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon. Used with permission from the author.

When I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s the majority of mothers stayed home with their children and didn’t baulk at being there. We grew up with Mother always being home when we got home from school, offering us milk and cookies, supervising play and homework, cooking dinner and folding up the laundry. If she wasn’t home when we got home it felt as if the world had turned on its axis! Mom was our world and we pitied the few kids at school whose moms worked outside the home! Mom being there was our anchor of security and it is one of the memories of childhood I have where I felt happy and secure.

Gradually I noticed that more and more of my friend’s moms were working outside the home and I remember one friend in particular who would go home from school, set the dinner table, feed the dogs, and play with me until her mother came home, which was my sign to make tracks home because my dinner would just about be ready. I would skip home glad to know Mom was there bustling around the kitchen or putting her day’s laundry over the airer in front of the fire. It was a routine that was as predictable as the setting of the sun.

How sad I felt for my friend coming home to an empty house. She may have her gold bracelets and an Osmond’s fountain pen that we couldn’t afford- but young as I was, I knew which side my bread was buttered on- and as far as I was concerned, I would rather have my Mom home than the pink and white bedroom suite and carpeted bedroom my friend had all to herself. I would gladly share mine with my sister and have Mom where she was. I still feel sad for her today- to my mind she had everything except the most important- a stay at home mother.

Today’s world has changed so much. Often mothers have to work to provide for their children- and they do a wonderful of job of balancing motherhood and career. But an awful lot of women who could stay home with their children have been hood-winked into believing that they don’t contribute to society by staying home with their children! They do not see the value in teaching and training of their children, and they are blind to the infinite blessing of nurturing to the spirit of their babies by just being there- at home!

Never before has motherhood taken such a pounding by feminists, employers, TV commercials urging us to consume more and more whilst leaving the most precious of things- our children, under the care of daycare centers and people who give good care but no real love to their children. How I long for those mothers to catch a glimpse of their children’s spirits as they are left day after day in the care of people who only see nurturing these children as a job, not a priviledge. They are being deprived of the security of knowing that Mom is with them all day, in their own home. They don’t care that the house may not be the biggest, they are just as warm in K-mart clothes as designer labels, but they do care that they are deprived of their Mom’s time- they just can’t express it yet!

How do you know they care that their Mom isn’t there? you say- I know because I have seen children woken up at early hours from warm beds or cots to be bundled hurriedly into cars to be taken to daycare! I have seen their looks of bewilderment and seen how long it takes for them to settle- granted initially at first- fortunately for them, children are amazingly resilient. And I have seen the look of delight when they see Mom come to pick them up, and I have seen too the little head nuzzling into Mommy’s neck soaking up the scent of Mom and her body warmth! Heaven in a child’s world!

I have seen little ones clinging to carers who are forbidden to attach to one child for too long in case they bond- thus making it difficult to cope with said child if that carer isn’t available on any given day! I have seen misery inside those gaily painted daycare centers where all care is taken- but no bonding is allowed. What a stage setting for bonding problems in the adult kids!

If a mother could just see inside her child’s heart for a moment she would reconsider her position as a working mother. She would stay at home with her children and cut her cloth accordingly. Her education would not be wasted for there is a great challenge in balancing finances on one wage, being a wise mother, cook, nutritionist, nurse, play supervisor, educator and above all else, companion and guide to little ones eager to emulate her. She would find true happiness in herself as she is less pressured for time, and she would have the enjoyment of knowing that she has made the most of the few precious years we have with our children.

Our young children want their Mommies, and our older children are looking for something that is lacking- something in their spirit that is empty- the joy of being wanted- and nurtured and loved. Before the car, the house, the clothes, the toys. Before the holidays, the big Christmas presents, the expensive lap-tops.

They are hungry for love and bonding. Don’t let that be with strangers who offer them acceptance and belonging as they ply them with drugs! You be the one! You are the one they long for! Take back the house keys and stop them being latch-key kids before it’s too late. Just be there, Mom. Make a decision in faith that God will provide for your needs- this is His Will for all mothers- it is part of His great plan! If you ever needed to be needed, it’s now! Don’t think your boss can’t get by without you- he can, but your kids can’t. Not if they are going to be godly, loving, confident adults and parents, they can’t. But it starts with you. Will you be a part of God’s plan in motherhood? Will you trust Him to meet your needs? But most importantly, will you just be there for them?

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Phill 4:19 ” But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”