Birch Tree Tapping

In April, I had the opportunity to take a class for teachers about teaching environmental subjects - habitat, resource preservation, environmental impact. These were all aimed at elementary kids, and when we completed the class, each of us was given a collection of curriculum for teaching these things to K-12. It was really neat. The class was centered on birch tree tapping, which I had always wanted to know how to do. Infact, most of my interest in ever visiting New England was to learn how to tap maple trees! I was thrilled to be able to learn how to use the trees in my own area, and how to get my kids involved and interested, from a scientific perspective. Explanation out of the way, here are some pictures of our first attempt at tapping birch trees!




From top to bottom: My group-mates at the class, Betsi and Kathy;
Betsi with Cal and Ed, tapping our first tree after the class! ;
Cal tasting the fresh sap;
one of our tree set ups.

I learned a lot about making syrup and tapping trees. Initially, we used my wine making supplies to collect the syrup. We now know that glass, while sterile, will heat up in even a small amount of sunlight, which makes the sap cloudy. Sap needs to be kept cool, and collected daily. Only use food grade buckets for collecting! Second, we were able to keep our taps from the class, which gave us three, and after all the cooking down, everyone ended up with a pint or so of syrup (divided four ways, collected for a week, about 3 gallons collected daily). We did find that it was a higher sap-to-syrup ratio than we had expected, partly because you cannot cook birch down to the consistency of maple or table syrup without sacrificing taste. Cooked down at just under 200 degrees F, it was pretty time consuming. We also discovered that the recommended tapping times vary greatly by area - farther north in the Matsu Valley, they tap in April, and southward in Haines, they tap in early March. We figure that for the peninsula, we should start no later than mid-march and finish mid-April. We caught the season a little late this year (and we had an especially warm spring) and so only tapped for one week.


Recently, my family used up the last of our syrup (goes pretty fast with 5 people eating pancakes!) and it was DELICIOUS! I am ready for next year, already planning how many taps, buckets and hoses to order, as well as planning a better set up for cooking it down. I am addicted! I cant wait to work this into homeschool - data collection, cooking ratio's, charts, charts, charts!




If we get a good amount of syrup, maybe I can even give some away next year :)

"Stop being the minority!!"

So I just got an email forward, most of which I dont have time to read, but this one was titled "Who reads the Bible?" It was about a gentlemen who sent ABC an email regarding their pro-homosexuality programming and the response he recieved to his letter. Basically, the representative told this man that he should stop reading the bible or using it to direct his moral compass. He said " You are in the minority in this country" and recommended the man follow United States documents, which "clearly" say he should be more accepting of what he thinks is wrong.

Um, correct me if IM wrong, but doesnt our constitution defend the minority? Its so sad that we live in a country where it is wrong for us to discriminate those who are in a racial minority, but its okay for us to offend people's religious beliefs? Isnt that as much of who we are as our skin color? Our gender? When did it become okay to trample other people in pursuit of your own rights? It shouldnt be American, but it has become the norm. It's definitely is not biblical!

What was that all about?

Right now I am really happy that no one really reads this blog. Mostly because I have something to get off my chest, but also because then I dont have to answer any questions or worry about stepping on somebody's feelings (I hope).

SO I posted, um, a year ago or so about a boyfriend from high school that I had just recently come back into contact with. I wasnt sure how I really felt about it, how I was going to handle the situation, etc. So I did what I thought was best and cleared it with my husband first. He said "Sure, you already know whats wrong with him, whats the harm?" I laughed, said yeah, I guess, and then just tried to be polite and friendly, since at one point, we were friends. That was good.

Then came the opportunity to witness to him! Or so I thought.... Just to be clear, I have never really shared my faith with someone. I mean, I have given advice to non believers based clearly on scripture and my relationship with Jesus, but I dont think I have ever set out to discuss my faith with someone in depth and try to share its true meaning. This was especially difficult because, apparently, he had NO idea I was a christian when we had dated! WOW. That says a lot right there, about both of us. He had some questions. He is "atheist" It seemed like this could be an interesting path that God was taking me down and I decided to try to be faithful and let the Lord lead me in how to respond to questions, even taking time when I needed it to really reflect on things before answering. Months go by, and who knows, but it kind of feels like it was just another situation of an atheist interested in proving THEIR point, not really learning. Funny how people so wrapped up in "intelligence, understanding and open mindedness" can NOT be any of those things!

After that, our conversations again became polite exchanges of what we were up to, etc. I was informed he would be coming to visit in my area, since his family still lives here, and would I be around to visit? Hmmm. Hard to answer that. I didnt think it would be, but it was! Did I really want to see this person? Could I handle the possible temptations that might surface, seeing him after so long (I know, shocking). Could I bear the humiliation of being so completely physically repulsive, even though I have no physical interest in this person and am blessed to have a caring, attentive husband who loves me head to toe? Lets be honest here: No one wants to meet an ex-significant in less than perfect circumstances. My vanity definitely holds me hostage sometimes. Beyond all that, I could not obviously expect my husband to accept this person as a friend of mine. How can I have a friend, male, that is not approved of by my husband? Where was this friendship going? Did I really expect it to flourish, given history?

In the end, I asked my husband what to do and he very simply said that he was very uncomfortable with the situation and would ask that I not meet with him. So thats what I replied. And the response I got was... hurt. I did not visit him while he was here. I was tempted, but I remained faithful, praise God.

I only regret that I may have hurt him. Even after all that I went thru with this person, I have some strange pity for him. Some distinct sympathy that I can't quite define. I think that I feel sorry that I even corresponded with him and lead him to believe we were genuine friends, and then failed to be there. And a part of me suspects that this has happened to him before. I seriously doubt that I will get any more emails, and thats okay. I will keep praying for him though. If all that passed between us was only for him to hear the gospel, or help him answer any of his questions, then its not for nothing. I said that once a long time ago. But I know better now. Nothing is an accident. There is purpose in all that has happened, good or bad. It has shaped who I am, how I have responded to God's leading, and for that I feel blessed. I will trust that the Lord will show me how to handle any future correspondence...

A REAL Life

There is something to be said for tradition. " Traditiooooooon!" Okay, no fiddler on the roof here.

What I mean is, there is something to be said for Jewish tradition. Hebrew culture. More to the point, there is something special about how they lead their lives. The life and daily task of an observing jew is one that is drenched in tradition, steeped in God's word and prayer, observant of the smallest of God's laws. They cannot pass thru a doorway without remembering God and His protection and provision. They wait, expectantly, for the fulfillment of God's word. They say a blessing before every meal, before every reading of the torah. Their relationship with God is beautiful.

Most Americans are taught that Christians and Jews are followers of the same God. That we started in the same place, with the same hopes, as one people. But why are the lives of Christians lead so differently? Rather, why is the relationship between us and our God so different? It is such a struggle for us to keep God in our lives - we have our lives and we are constantly seeking to have more of Him in it. WE have the lives, and He is secondary? The way I see it, a Jews life is in HIM and the rest of their life is the filler. Im starting to think that the Christian life is backwards! It is so hard for us to keep in contact with God, to pursue that relationship, to follow His plan, when it should be so easy! We have the Messiah! We have the very deliverance that God promised to His people, yet we are the ones struggling!

Okay, so its not easy for anyone to keep that in perspective, no matter what religion you put yourself under. ALL THIS, what we call "our lives" is actually Gods! And we are blessed and fortunate to be in it. How I wish that I could make that the point of every day for me. I want more of that - serve Him, love Him, trust Him, and the rest is extra. Not the other way around. Sigh. I want my life to be IN Him, not just about me and how I relate to God. Does that make sense? I would welcome some comments and even some accountability in this. Keep praying.

Preparing for the Passover

I have spent the last week cleaning my house top to bottom. It is the first night of Passover, and it is not exactly done. Im not Jewish, so why do I worry? I dont know. I thought that this would be a good time to do spring cleaning and to observe some of the laws and decrees set forth in the old testament by God. I am seeking to know more about why God established them and also to find the fulfillment of those traditions and customs in the fulfillment of prophecy and redemption thru Yeshua, the Messiah. I know him as my savior, but I want to know him as he was revealed before his advent. Anyway, that is some of why I tried to clean my house for Passover.

I finally finished my kitchen today. I understand now why it takes an orthodox Jewess 3 weeks to clean her home! In under a week, I have done 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, the living and dining room, and after 2 days, the kitchen. We did manage to get all the leavening out of the kitchen, which I consider a success in itself. Maybe next year we will get the other rooms done - the offices and garage. It was a good practice run.

Thru this week, one of the things that I meditated on (while cleaning) is the idea that if the Messiah appears at my door for dinner tonight, on Passover, I want my home to be ready - cleaned, welcoming, fit for a king. I dont want anything to be repulsive or detestable. I did fail in that this year, but it was something to think on. In Jewish tradition, the feast of unleavened bread (Pesach, i.e. Passover) is a time to eradicate our homes, our domains, of all leavening, which represents sin. The yeast or leavening is a symbol of pride and hidden, fermenting sin. Again, I failed to do that in all rooms in my home. I know that any one of us would be understanding if our neighbor failed to clean every room in their house to perfection, but would Yeshua? Does God tolerate sin in our hearts, even the ones we claim we cant see? I was reminded that even the corners I couldnt reach or the backs of shelves that no one would see, God sees. Yeshua would know that filth was there. I know that filth is there, and I have a responsibility to remove it. Traditionally, after the ceremony of "searching out the leaven" , a prayer would be said that asks that all leaven that was overlooked be considered null and void.
I am so grateful that I have that too! That even the sins that I dont see or cant understand or refuse to acknowledge are forgiven, covered by the blood of Messiah. Thank God that the blood of Yeshua covers all sins, if only we admit it and ask for that forgiveness.

Another drive to preparing for Passover was the idea that should we be raptured tonight, my house would be clean. HA ha ha ha! Didnt quite happen that way, and if it had, would I even care that my house is dirty? I doubt it!

Im going to continue to clean my house over the Passover, seeing as I am nearly finished :) Im looking forward to a leaven free diet for the next week. I am so excited that the celebration of the resurrection of Yeshua falls in Passover, as his death and resurrection occurred during Passover.
I pray that you all will see more of the Messiah this week, that you would feel the weight and importance of his sacrifice, the blessing and peace of his gift of salvation, and rejoice and celebrate in the occurrence of his resurrection - each a piece of the merciful, eternal grace of God we have been given.

Will the sickness never end?!

Ahhh... I finally find a moment of relative peace to catch everyone up! For the last nearly two months, we have been sick! Okay well, thats not all we have been doing. Ill give you a quick synopses:
Brody turned 3 in February, but we didnt do much. We stayed home and opened gifts, and had carrot cake cupcakes, per his request.
In March, following the stomach bug, we had a nasty cough that lingered for weeks!
Eddie turned 7, but we were still sick, so again, not much happened.
I went to Anchorage with one of my sisters, for a girls night out and a day of shopping to celebrate my 29th birthday! :)
We cancelled the BIG birthday party we had planned with our family, for all of our kids who have birthdays in February and March, because everyone was sick! And we havent rescheduled...because we are still sick!
I signed up to coach indoor soccer for Eddie's team - and so far that is going really well...except for that game we played in practice that got one of my kids beaned in the head. I should have had better judgement :(
Eddie came down with the chicken pox! Not a terrible case of it though. And Cal had a mild stomach bug.
Okay.

That catches up the last 2 months.

One last piece of information.... Im pregnant! Yay! We finally announced that we are expecting baby number 4, due in late October, on April 2nd. We waited for what seemed like a very long time to tell everyone. We feel really blessed to be able to do this again. Keep us in your prayers!

Im glad I got this chance to catch up, it may be a while before I can get on here again... Tonight, after soccer, Brody and Eddie seem to both be dealing with another stomach bug :( I blame the cat! We have never been so sick, this often, ever. I know it is purely coincidental, but we have only had the cat for about 3 months, so its awfully suspicious!

Take care. We hope to see you eventually!

Tu B'Shevat: The Fruit of the Spirit

It is so hard to get going with school on Mondays sometimes! Yesterday I was reading thru the book Walk thru the Year with Y'shua, planning ahead for how we would observe the next holy day, when I noticed a holiday that I had never heard of before: Tu B'Shevat! I looked online and imagine my surprise, it was today! In Jewish tradition, it is the New Year for Trees - a time to prepare for spring and planting, and to observe how we all grow by Gods leading. In my book, which is aimed at Messianic Jews, it is a time to reflect on how we are nurtured in Gods word and how all of our lives bear fruit when we abide in Christ.

We were really blessed to be able to use this day to accomplish things around the house and complete several subjects for school while observing this holiday. We talked about how trees are alive and how they change during the seasons, what trees mean to people for food and air, and how we are branches of the vine (a tree in our lesson) of Christ. We had figs, raisens and pistachio's for a snack (all fruits!), we made a HUGE tree on our dining room wall with contact paper and then decorated it with heart shaped "fruit" (like valentines... :) ) which we wrote the names of fruits of the spirit on (Galatians 5:22). We even split my suffering aloe plant into new pots, with the hope that they would thrive and we could give them away (kind of like the fruits are meant to be shared..... are you seeing the pattern?...ha!) Does anyone know - does aloe grow in the desert in Israel? LOL

Right: Our tree with "fruits of the spirit"!

While we were cutting out our heart fruits for the tree (stay tuned for the tree decorated for a myriad of holidays and occassions this coming year!), Brody, who has been very sick since Saturday evening (his fever broke early this morning, praise the Lord!) had a short burst of energy and insisted in participating. Maybe it was the promise of using scissors! Anyway, Brody wanted to cut out hearts for our fruits. I helped him trace the first one and then left him to cut it out. He was able to cut around half of it raggedly, but then began asking for help. I put my hand over his and we finished it together, a nice smooth cut.

It struck me that this is much like the help we get from the Father. Without His help, our efforts are sincere, but not nearly as perfect (or completed) as it is WITH Him. How much we need His help to grow perfect fruit! He instructs us, guides us and is the one to nurish us and the result is a fruit more perfect than we can ever accomplish on our own. I dont think we will be overlooking Tu B'Shevat again!

I pray that all our lives will be fruitful this year, that we will seek to grow in God's ways and we will abide in Christ.

Suggested reading: John 15

Right: Boys repotting aloe, Brody sleeping!

By the way, that HUGE rubber plant behind the boys needs a home... Any takers!?