Butterfly and the Resurrection

The Caterpillar

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry;

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk.

May no toad spy you,

May the little birds pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

 ~ Christina G. Rossetti

"If a man die, shall he live again?

all the days of my appointed time will I wait,

till my change come."

~ Job 14:14

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word,

and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,

and shall not come into condemnation;

but is passed from death unto life."

~ John 5:24

Canning Bread & Butter Pickles the Easy Way

Bread and butter pickles are an excellent addition to the pantry. They are delicious on sandwiches as well as chopped up into tuna and egg salads. Munch on them alone for a quick and satisfying snack. Would you like to try and make some? First off, I must confess with cheating a bit on this canning recipe. I bought a mix!

Why? Because it was 99 cents on clearance two seasons ago… Now that I have the truth off my conscience, shall we continue?

First of all, sterilize your jars, lids and bands. Begin to boil your water bath water (visit here for more details on this). You should also place your jar lids in a pot of water to simmer until ready to use. Next, wash all your cucumbers ~ about 10 pounds worth (approx. 50 -3 to 4 inch cucumbers).

Now, slice them up. I used a garnisher which was a lot of fun but you can always just slice with a knife. Make sure to remove the blossom end of the cucumber because there is an enzyme in it that inhibits your pickles from staying crunchy when processed. To be safe, I remove both ends and feed them to our chickens.



Now, prepare your brine (this is where the mix helped me to cheat) by bringing all the ingredients listed to a boil. Do not use aluminum pans for this. Stainless steel is recommended for canning because it is non-reactive. The bread and butter pickle recipe in the Ball Blue Book from scratch is a lot more work and time consuming than this so I would definitely use this mix again in the future. Summer brings in so much bounty and you don't want to get overwhelmed. In this case, I just added vinegar and sugar to the bread and butter pickle mix to create the brine.

While the brine is being prepared, begin to fill your sterilized jars with sliced cucumbers leaving 1/2 inch "headspace" from the top. Stuff them in to the best of your abilitiy. Otherwise, your jar will have floating pickles instead of "packed" ones. It basically looks prettier and makes better use of your jar space.

Once all your cucumbers are inside the jars, ladle the brine inside the jars using a funnel.

You want to leave 1/2 inch worth of space from the top of the jar (aka: headspace). Remove any air bubbles inside using a bubble remover (or the other side of a thin plastic spatula). Wipe the rim of your jar when finished so that there aren't any particles on it to hinder the final seal. (Visit here for more details on this.)



Next, using your magnetic lid wand, lift lids (which should be simmering this whole time) and place directly on top of your jars after you fill each one. Follow with the screw bands. Screw each band on until just firm.

Place your jars inside the canning rack using your jar lifter since these will be hot.

Now, place your jars inside the boiling water bath very carefully. Begin timing once your pickles are submerged in the water. Process pint jars for 5 minutes and quart jars for 10 minutes. Be sure to put the lid on canner once jars are inside.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In all other canning recipes you wait for the water to come to a boil prior to timing. Pickles are the exception to this rule. You can begin timing once they are submerged in the boiling water bath.

Once time is up, carefully remove jars from canner. Let them sit for 24 hours before checking the seals. The next day, test each seal by verifying if the lid is inverted and doesn't pop up and down when touched. If it does pop up and down, store that jar in the refrigerator and eat within two weeks.

Here is a sample of my "Bread and Butter Pickles" label (cucumber picture courtesy of The Graphics Fairy). You will find the free printable HERE. You can either print them out on plain paper and affix them with a glue stick (I do this since it cleans off easier than sticker labels) or you can print them on label paper or plain sheet sticker paper (and cut to size). You can also use a sharpie and mark the contents and date directly on the lids. Happy preserving! 

All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

Reading the Bible and Narration ~ Charlotte Mason Series

Morning Devotions by Edward Prentis

"Of the three sorts of knowledge proper to a child, ––the knowledge of God, of man, and of the universe, ––the knowledge of God ranks first in importance, is indispensable, and most happy-making." ~ Charlotte Mason

The main educational goal for our children is to teach them what "right" and "wrong" is according to the God given scales in the Scriptures. Our prayer is that once they realize how unlawful mankind is, when they mature, they will see, value and (God willing) appreciate their need for a Saviour.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul?"

~ Mark 8:36

Charlotte Mason, a 19th century teacher, gave much advice in presenting the Bible to children with the understanding that the "Word" is the foundation of "real" education.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

~ Proverbs 9:10

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:

a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:

his praise endureth for ever."

~ Psalm 111:10

"And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

and to depart from evil is understanding."

~ Job 28:28

"Let all the circumstances of the daily Bible reading--the consecutive reading, from the first chapter of Genesis onwards, with necessary omissions--be delightful to the child; let him be in his mother's room, in his mother's arms; let that quarter of an hour be one of sweet leisure and sober gladness, the child's whole interest being allowed to go to the story without distracting moral considerations; and then, the less talk the better; the story will sink in, and bring its own teaching, a little now, and more every year as he is able to bear it." ~ Charlotte Mason

"What is required of us is, that we should implant a love of the Word; that the most delightful moments of the child's day should be those in which his mother reads for him, with sweet sympathy and holy gladness in voice and eyes, the beautiful stories of the Bible; and now and then in the reading will occur one of those convictions, passing from the soul of the mother to the soul of the child, in which is the life of the Spirit." ~ Charlotte Mason

"But let the imaginations of children be stored with the pictures, their minds nourished upon the words, of the gradually unfolding story of the Scriptures, and they will come to look out upon a wide horizon within which persons and events take shape in their due place and due proportion. By degrees, they will see that the world is a stage whereon the goodness of God is continually striving with the wilfulness of man; that some heroic men take sides with God; and that others, foolish and headstrong, oppose themselves to Him. The fire of enthusiasm will kindle in their breast, and the children, too, will take their side, without much exhortation, or any thought or talk of spiritual experience." ~ Charlotte Mason

What else should be done besides reading the Bible?

"The method of such lessons is very simple. Read aloud to the children a few verses covering if possible, an episode. Read reverently, carefully, and with just expression. Then require the children to narrate what they have listened to as nearly as possible in the words of the Bible." ~ Charlotte Mason

It is that simple. Have them retell (or narrate back) to you what you have just read. There is no need for an expensive Bible curriculum. The Word is sufficient…

"A child might, in fact, receive a liberal education from the Bible alone, for The Book contains within itself a great literature." ~ Charlotte Mason

What and Why's of Narration (or retelling)

Narration is having your children explain back to you what you have just read to them in the form of oral explanations, drawing (younger children) or writing (older children). The child is to process the information they have heard and communicate it to the teacher.

The act of narrating what has been read to your child enforces many skills. First, it encourages the child to retain what they have heard. Second, it develops in the mind a system of organizing information chronologically. Narration also teaches them to articulate their thoughts about that information with the use of proper vocabulary. Third, it is a tool for future composition. Once the child can think out loud, the next step would be to write those thoughts in word form. (Note: The parent is encouraged not to correct the narration but shorten the readings in the future if they are not grasping the whole picture.)

What about Bible memory?

"The learning by heart of Bible passages should begin while the children are quite young, six or seven. It is a delightful thing to have the memory stored with beautiful, comforting, and inspiring passages, and we cannot tell when and how this manner of seed may spring up, grow, and bear fruit…" ~ Charlotte Mason

What about younger children?

For younger children (ages 4-5), we love the Rod and Staff Bible Stories to Read and Bible Pictures to Color Set. Each basic story ends with a very short memory verse. We would use that verse for a copywork sentence. (The subject of copywork will come next in this series.) Then, we would finish the lesson off by coloring the appropriate picture that matched the story we read. Do not forget to have your little ones "narrate" back the simple story to you. This is an easy, pre-school "curriculum" with a Charlotte Mason flavor. Or, you can read the actual Bible to them and have them draw/color a picture afterwards which represents what they just heard.

To summarize:

The basic concept is to introduce God to your children by giving them the purest form of Him ~ His Word. The sentences in the Scriptures will begin to convict the children themselves. They are alive and will work in their souls if gently taught in special and quiet moments together. Have your children "narrate" or "retell" the passages back to you. Choose simple verses for memorization at the beginning and let them develop in maturity as your children do. Copying those verses in a composition book is an ideal way to incorporate language arts into your Bible lessons. Drawing pictures of the Bible stories read is excellent for the younger children to do when they are not able to write or communicate their thoughts.

What Works for Your Family? and Good Habits.

Of course, as a family you will find other ideas work out better. That is the beauty of home education, it is flexible to meet your needs! Glean the ideas that Ms. Mason has presented but by all means mold it into something that will make your homeschool flourish! I hesitate to follow anyone or anything to a "t" because it inhibits the creativity that our individual home requires (not to mention a cult mentality).

"The habit of regularity in children's devotions is very important…" ~ Charlotte Mason

For instance, we used board "Bible" books for our babies and toddlers in the beginning to give them an introduction to God in the cradle (this may be a "no, no" to hard core Charlotte Mason followers). By the time we started reading the "real" Bible to our children, they were already familiar with Him. We would also give Bibles according to age to read on their own during breakfast. A toddler would be given a picture Bible, a younger student would be given a Bible reader and so forth. If they are brought up with parents reading the Scriptures quietly in the morning, children will most likely assume their roles and follow suit. However, each family will have their own unique schedules, I just encourage you to have some sort of "habit of regularity" when it comes to Scripture reading.

Final Important Thought:

"Above all, do not read the Bible at the child: do not let any words of the Scriptures be occasions for gibbeting his faults. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to convince of sin; and He is able to use the Word for this purpose, without risk of that hardening of the heart in which our clumsy dealings too often result."

~ Charlotte Mason

For further reading on a Charlotte Mason education, visit here.

For our favorite Bible study curriculums, visit here {affiliate link}.

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Hearts for Home Thursdays, Home Acre Hop, Growing in Grace Thursdays, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.

Quick & Easy Deli Style Pickles for the Refrigerator {No Canning}

"On a hot day in Virginia, I know nothing more comforting than a fine spiced pickle, brought up trout-like from the sparkling depths of the aromatic jar below the stairs of Aunt Sally's cellar."

~ Thomas Jefferson

When you want a crisp, homemade, juicy pickle without all the canning apparatus, then here is an easy recipe. I scaled it down to 1/2 gallon so simply double it should you like to make a gallons worth and so forth.

First, you make your brine. Simply boil together 1 quart of water with 1/4 cup of kosher or sea salt.

"The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word pekel, meaning brine."

~ Wikipedia

While you are waiting for the brine to boil, add to your one half gallon jar, 1 tablespoon of pickling spices.

Next add a few garlic cloves (at least two or more).

Now, add 1/4 cup of cider vinegar.

Next, add a few fresh sprigs of dill. If you don't have any fresh, just add 1 tbsp. of dried.

Lastly, stuff your washed cucumbers into the jar.

Add enough boiled brine to the jar to cover all your pickles (leaving about an inch from the top of rim).

Cap your contents and let sit on your sink for two days.

Now, refrigerate and eat! :)

Slice them in fours and place pickles on your dish, right next to those summer sandwiches. Delicious! 

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these.