Little Housewife Booklets

Connie's Kitchen

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. April 29, 2011.. 6:22 a.m.}

 

Dear Sisters at Home...

 

This morning I was thinking of the lil magazines I got at our Antique Shops here in our town. . It was when I was a young wife and Mother. . 

They were from the United States Government.  It was during WW2 when they used food coupons to ration out the food. . There wasn't enough food to go around as they needed it for the soldiers in the war. . So anyway, about once a month the Gov. sent out these lil magazines telling the housewife how to use less sugar and other staples. . Because for example .  . the store would get just a certain amount of sugar, So the housewife could only buy maybe 3 pounds of sugar for the month.  So these lil mags would tell the lady of the house how to substitute honey and not use so much sugar. 

These women used to cook with a lot of raisins. . . And the raisins would be the sweetness in her cookies or muffins. . . Of course the folks who lived on a farm fared so much better than the city people, as they could hunt for game and have bigger gardens etc. . 

The little magazines were 2 bucks, back then, when I bought them at the Antique Shop.  So I could only afford one here and there.  But oh how I loved those lil mags. And I would say to the Lord, as I would read them, "Lord I so wish, now days, the Gov. would still send out these magazines to encourage the mothers."

 

Love Connie

{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 

The Adventures of Being a Wife

Connie's Kitchen

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 16, 2011.}


(Part 1)

Why do we think that we should have a perfect marriage that goes along with the world without a hitch?

 Really, the Bible says that we as wives should sacrifice as Christ did on the cross. . . And the husband too is to be as Christ to the wife. . . He is as the priest of the home.  We are to become one with our husbands and one in Christ. . . And that don't come overnight.  

Jim and I really never understood each other or communicated very well in the flesh.  But in the area of faith we moved freely. . . We saw many miracles. . . Not that Jim was religious, but he seemed to understand faith for the impossible.  He pushed me in the spirit to believe and I pushed him. . . I feel I have a lot to say on this, but to put it into words?  I followed Jim. . . And even now, as he went to Heaven, I seem to want to follow him. . . Well I do follow him.  I loved him in the spirit. . . And my spirit is always with him.

We weren't perfect. . . We saw in part dimly, but in heaven we will see it all clearly.  Jim used to sing this old song.  Here are the words:  "My Prayer is to linger with you. . .At the end of the day. . . for as long as we live."  I have been singing this song this morning.  I am sure Jim hears me.  Jim always said I saved his life.   And the truth is, he saved mine too. . . We were called for each other. . .


(Part 2)


I hear many women say, "Well, I married the wrong guy.  No wonder it didn't turn out right."  But God hates divorce . . . The Lord says to stay with the one you are married to.  Why do we think our marriages have to be perfect to be blessed? We are called as helpers to each other. . . To fit into each other. . .  to fit into God's plan for our lives.  

Out of my marriage to Jim, I became a Titus 2 mother. . . Jim became a loving, endearing father.  We pushed and pulled on each other's spirit for many years.   The bottom dropped out many times. We had to believe for the possible out of impossibilities. But it was good for us.  God called us, to tell us,"All things are possible to those who CAN BELIEVE."

We were called to live out a life of miracles.  The hard times are when we learn to use spiritual muscles we forgot we had. . . Reading books on faith is a good thing.  But you can't learn how to use faith until you have to.  

I think the message here is, "All is well."  All things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose. . . Also, "be sure to dance with whoever brought ya."


Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 

Homemade Housewife Book

Connie's Kitchen

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 11, 2010.}



  I used to write my housework ideas down.  If you can make an old fashioned, housewifery book. . . it will come in handy. . . Maybe just take notebook paper and bind it with ribbon or brown string.  Make a cover for it out of maybe a brown sack.  On a Sunday night, in the evening, write ideas for the following week of housewifery.  

Make a general idea of a 7 day menu, mainly for the family meal for each day. . . Such as Monday:  goulash. Tuesday: hot dogs and beans, etc,. Just a general idea.  Then write a grocery list for your week . . Then top clean each day and do deep cleaning after naps. .  . from like 2:00 to 4:00.

 Have a special project like Monday: wash bedding. Tuesday: do extra baking, etc,.  But write down each day what the special project would be.  Just make a schedule of ideas and try to follow them or bounce off of them.  If you get distracted, at least you still have your housewifery ideas to look back on.  

  And ya know, I am just making suggestions.  If you try some of these ideas and you can't get them to work, just tweak them to fit your life.

  Basically top clean in the mornings and get the family meal started by 9:00 a.m. and the kitchen cleaned.  Then fix lunch and rest with the children.  Then, in the afternoon, do your special project, like sewing or doing extra baking, or cleaning out closets, or under your bed.  Or a special day to do extra gardening, or paint the porch.  

But by like 4:00 start supper.  Then free time after supper to do family things.  Then put the children to bed with plenty of kisses and hugs and prayers.



Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 

Faith and Homemaking

Connie's Kitchen

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 23, 2012.}


 Ya know Mary L., my mentor, was so spiritual. .  . She spent
a lot of time laying face down before Jesus' feet praying. . . She was a great woman of prayer. . . And through her I met a lot of women of prayer.  I do feel a great urgency to talk to you about spiritual things, along with the homemaking spirit. 

 I think we need to know our way around the spiritual realm too. . . Things seem to get worse by the day for our country.  We need to
be strong in the Lord and in His power.  I remember when Jim was first saved and we were trying to make it as a family.  I felt so absolutely lost. I know some of you feel that way too. . I hear ya. 

Well anyway, Mary L. started these classes called, "The Philosophy of Womanhood." We ladies would get together at Mary's house every week and listen to a tape. Then we had worksheets to do each class too. . . Every week I felt washed in the Word of God.  I wouldn't be here today, I don't think, had I not had those tapes. 

Well then later on a friend copied these tapes for me and I listened to them every day here at home.  I wore the tapes out.  I would have 2 tape recorders going: one in the kitchen on homemaking, and one in the living room on faith.  So I could hear the recordings all over the house at different times.  And that's what it is all about. . . Faith and homemaking. . . It isn't all homemaking and it isn't all Faith.  They have to go together.  And Mary L. loved her homemaking and her family.  She loved her dishes and enjoyed having folks over for a meal. She would make wonderful recipes.

She was sick for just a short while before she died at, I think, 78 years old.  But right up to the end she was cooking and cleaning, ironing and sewing.

 Russ, her husband,  still goes to work every day. . . He is 84, I think.  But when she was alive, they lived like they did in their 40's or 50's.  Every day they got up at 4:30.  Mary fixed Russ's lunch for work and a big breakfast.  While Russ was at work, Mary was at home doing her homemaking. Mary said when she would get mad at Russ, she would tell Jesus about it. . And she said the Lord would say to her, "Mary, do you have all of Russ's laundry done? Do you have all of the buttons sewn on his work shirts? And are they ironed?"  Mary was so sweet.   I sure do miss her.
 
Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 

Weak Women

Connie's Kitchen

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. July 15, 2009.}



 Weak women will have many masters, and none will treat them right.  They refuse to submit to their husbands - as Priest of the home. . . And in so doing, they will submit to many masters. . .The world will guide them. They will listen to every preacher on the radio and try to make their husbands obey the latest TV preacher .  . .the one they thought was "right on". . .Well everyone said he was the best Bible teacher alive today, so wife thinks husband should obey him, hands down. . Never mind that Husband hasn't even heard the latest TV preacher. Heck, he just got home from work. . . He ain't thinkin' of anything except, "Hey Honey, what's for supper??"

 Of course Honey don't have supper on, as she is reading her Bible being spiritual. . . And she wonders why her husband isn't saved yet.  If a wife will put her husband first, then its okay to listen to TV and radio preachers.   But these men are not your authority in your home. . . Your husband is the head of the home. . . We are to reverence and praise our husbands. . . not our preachers. . .We wives are to glorify our husbands. We are their glory and they are to be God's glory. . . Our glory is our long hair, or our covering, before our husbands. . . As we, on purpose, veil ourselves or grow our hair long for our covering, then this speaks of our meek and quiet spirit. . .This is our beauty, our submissive, meek spirits. We need to run our homes to please our husbands, to make them happy.

You ask, "okay, when do I get waited on? When is it my turn to rest and have time to myself?" . . . I don't know. . . seriously, until the last few years I never even heard a woman ask that question. . . 

Most women, since the beginning of time, pretty much knew that her work as wife and mother was NEVER done. . . "Man was to work from sun to sun but a woman's work was never done." . . . We had 6 children. . . Often a lil' one would keep me up all night. . . But then, when the alarm went off, and I had barely had any sleep, I got up with my husband to make his coffee and send him off to work with a smile. I most always walked him out to the car and threw kisses to him as he drove away. . Sometimes I pretended to race him to the corner as I ran down the street, just to make him laugh. Yeah it was a lot of work, but I was married for almost 40 years, so it was worth it. 

I never lost any of my kids.  I kept the family fed and cared for on very little income.  I worked at it, believe me. . . And my husband did praise and bless me in the end. . . and my children also. . . So yes, it was worth it.

Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 

Women of Faith and Courage

Connie's Kitchen

{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. October 2, 2010.}



Ladies this is, I think the winter we have all been preparing for. . don't you? Could we all send
in ideas about things to stock up on and ideas of how to stay warm if the electricity goes out?

Well every Fall I would stock up on as much flour and baking supplies as I could drag home, or had the money for. . And as many canned items as I could afford. Canned items will keep a long time.

I would say no matter what don't abandon the house if the electricity and heat goes off. . If you are out of the wind at home you can make it.  Just put on coats and blankets . . But if you leave the house you wont know if the pipes freeze. . If you let your faucets run a bit, they wont freeze. We have a kerosene burner for back up.  And I have kerosene stored.  Kerosene is expensive, but better than leaving to go to a shelter.  So what are you all doing to get ready for winter? 

Proverbs 31:25 speaks of the virtuous woman. . . Strength and honor are her clothing. . and she will REJOICE in the time to come. . . The virtuous woman holds her dignity intact. . .She stays confident in God.

Verse 21 says she is not afraid of the snow for her household . .for her household are clothed in scarlet.  In other words she is prepared for whatever.

 I think it's interesting that verse says her family is clothed in scarlet.  To me that means the blood of Jesus.  So the virtuous mother is strong and prayed up against the coming winter storms.

Well our country is in an economic storm now. . . but we are not afraid, right? Because we are tough.  We aren't lil fraidy cats . . We are gonna put on our big girl aprons and sit at the table with the Proverbs 31 woman of strength and dignity.  No weapons formed against us will prosper.

The virtuous woman Fears the Lord. . and not the world.. When things get tough, she stands alone on the Word of God.. In confidence and quietness she makes a home of peace for her family. .

I think to prepare spiritually is the most important thing.  . And make sure you have NO FEAR in your heart.  Trust in God with all your heart and don't lean to your own understanding. . All is well.

love Connie


{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }

* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.*