Every Day At The Hopkins House

Moving Day!

Hello reader! I'm so thankful that you are visiting my blog. I would like to announce that this blog has moved to deirdrehopkins.com

I made the move based on some advice I recieved from fellow and more experienced bloggers. They said if there was one thing they wished they would've done differently is start out their blog on wordpress. I decided to heed their advice and so we've MOVED! Please visit us at our new home.

Homemade Yogurt

We drink raw milk because we believe so highly in the properties of the raw milk. It's hormone free & lactose intolerance friendly. I make homemade yogurt in my crock pot weekly.
It is the easiest recipe I've found by far. I don't love spending time in the kitchen so trust me when I say, it's a cinch.

Step 1- pour 1/2 gallon of raw milk into a crock pot and heat on low for 2.5 hours. Turn off crock pot and allow to cool for 3 hours.

Step 2- gently whisk in a 1/2 cup of Dannon plain yogurt and cover the crock pot with a towel for 8 hours.
(The Dannon yogurt adds the live bacteria needed for immune health.) This is the final product.

This recipe will yield 2 pints of yogurt plus a small breakfast bowl for the day! I store my yogurt in pint size glass jars in the refrigerator. The consistency of the yogurt can be slightly thinner than store bought yogurt, but I've found if I allow it to sit on the counter longer than 8 hours it seems to thicken a bit.

Credit for this two step method to the easiest homemade yogurt goes to Heartland Renaissance.

Healed {one year later}

The power of the grave is something no one overcomes on their own. Death meets us all eventually.
What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave ? Psalm 89:48

Organizing my medical paperwork prior to mtg. w/the specialist

A year ago I was facing kidney failure, until one morning while talking to my Creator I was healed. Go here to read the full story. God healed my kidneys, and still one year later they are fully functioning without any signs of decay. In February, I retested for that life insurance policy with new lab work. Simultaneously, I also had a wellness visit and blood testing done with my midwife. Both test results from independent sources were normal. His love never fails.

As we approach Good Friday, we must pause to remember that Jesus also faced Death. He died. We materialize the celebration of Easter so much that sometimes we get caught up in all of the preparations. Dear friend, let us not take on the role of Martha this year. Let's pause to remember that Jesus was a man with a bone-y muscle-y body like you and I. He rubbed his eyes in the morning as he woke up. His tendons in his feet popped and cracked as he descended the stair wells. His belly growled. He really walked on the dirt. At the moment of his death, his family's hearts were crushed. They didn't see the hope that you and I have today.

Hope, is the belief that what is to come is better than what is now. Hope does not disappoint us, when it's foundation is in Jesus. We have hope because He died and was resurrected. Easter is the celebration of hope and a gratitude of remembrance for what Jesus did.

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope. 1Peter 1:3

Is there a situation that you are you facing today that feels hopeless? Maybe you are still searching for a job after that sudden layoff. Maybe you are still fighting for your marriage. Don't loose hope, God is the God who sees. Hagar calls him that while talking to an angel of the LORD in the desert in Genesis 16. He sees your pain, and He's the God of second chances. There is hope for healing.

Spread out the Load

Do all of your bills fall within a two week span like mine do? As sleep deprived mother's, we usually have the intelligence but not the brain power to solve the problem.

So I'm here to remind you that some of your payees will allow you to move the scheduled "due date" of your monthly bill. Last week I called my insurance company and requested that the date of my car insurance bill be moved from the 16th of every month to the 27th.

I spread out the load because the current situation was leaving us unbalanced. The middle of the month was the due date for a majority of the larger utility bills along with our health insurance premium. By moving just one of them, I was able to give our checking account a more balanced inflow and outflow of cash.

Beautiful Creation

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

Cod Liver Oil Success

Do you struggle with getting your kids to take their Fermented Cod Liver Oil?

I do, along with every other mother in America I assume, until I concocted this recipe:

1/4 C. Raw Fermented Peppermint Cod Liver Oil (Green Pasture)
1/2 C. Raw Honey
1-2 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil
1 ice cube tray

Mix the ingredients together and spoon into the ice cube tray to freeze. Once frozen, divide the ice cubes into halves. My two year old loves them and he doesn't even know he's taking his cod liver oil. The mixture is a bit too sweet for my taste so if this recipe is for adults I would add less honey. Enjoy.

Warning: Extreme Minimalist Lives Here

I have often felt more comfortable having less, than having more. Less pictures hanging on the wall, and more bare drywall painted the color of my choice sets my mind at ease. Less clothing to sort through as I make decisions everyday as to what to wear. Less is more in my book. But, maybe I took it too far this week?

Exhibit #1, my refrigerator.

There are popsicles in the freezer and a steak and some frozen butter. The fridge has more to offer with it's milk, condiments, tortillas, and ice tea. There's not much in there folks. (Don't worry Mom, grocery shopping day is tomorrow.) This does not bother me. Does it bother you?

This is my cupboard where I keep the bulk of my non perishables. It's empty minus rice, peanut butter, crackers, and baking staples. Is this uncomfortable to look at? Do you want me to rush out right this instant and fill that empty space? (As a mother, I know I would say yes to those questions so my Mom is exempt from this question.)

I've been reading a new book called Craving God: A 21 Day Devotional based off the original book Made To Crave. The author addresses this thinking point-

We were made to crave God, an unquenchable thirst deep in our soul. When we use other vices to quiet that thirst for Him, we are cheating ourselves from a bigger satisfaction.

After fasting 6 different topic areas for the past 6 weeks, I have a pretty good idea of what I crave. If you don't know what it is you crave, try fasting or going without something for a week. When we remove things from our lives, we quickly find out how important they were to begin with. For some of us it's food, others it's stuff and spending and still others it's control. But, what I would challenge you with today is that our primary desire in America is comfort in all of it's forms. What we want most in America is to have all of our wants and desires met so that we don't ever, ever feel uncomfortable.What if the Creator of the universe wants to meet all of our needs? What if the gospel is true and when we empty ourselves like it says, we find the One who loves us more than we can imagine. It's the upside down, inside out gospel. Go down to be lifted up, give to invest treasures in heaven, die to yourself to find true life. Constant comfort is the enemy of these things. When we go about our day with the priority of comforting ourselves with food, entertainment and stuff it leaves little room for God. Do we crave Him or these things in lesser form? It's a necessary question to challenge ourselves with. My comfort does not come in the form of a full fridge, or even the knowledge that tomorrow is grocery day. My comfort comes from the truth that Jesus cares about me more than the birds in the field and when I empty myself, there is more room for Him and His love.

P.S. I made this delicious looking salad with the scraps of lettuce, sunflower seeds, croutons crumbs and bottom of the jar olives that I found.