True Beauty

This 8 CD audio set encourages each of us, young & older, to seek to bloom for God's Kingdom. True Beauty is after all, all about how God sees us and wants us to live.

Though recorded at a Father/Daughter retreat in 2008, there is something for everyone:
Father's learn how to establish a godly relationship with their daughters based on truths gleaned from God's Word, discipling her & protecting her through childhood to virtous womanhood. Daughters are encouraged by daughters who have been there how to honor their fathers.As Mothers listen, they are exhorted again to live and exemplify the Proverbs 31 woman. Brothers can learn how to treat & encourage their sisters & Mothers for the Lord. For everyone aspiring to establishing a godly marriage someday, there are timely truths shared to prepare young women for that potential which are also the virtues that young men will do well to seek in their prospective wife in their futures.

The speakers also share examples of godly, dominion-oriented womanhood from the young pioneer girls of the nineteenth century.

This set is available through Vision Forum anytime.

Piles of Opportunity

There are piles of opportunity everywhere.



Five of our young men are back in action catching gophers - that perfect enterprise for little guys.

AND ... its multi-tasking!

They're:
- earning pocket money,
- helping us and a neighbor improve the pastures and hay fields,
- feeding the cats & dog
- learning business "skills"
- getting extra exercise 2x/day
- learning money & math (at least the littlest guys are)

Gotta love that!

Work From Home

I think I've stumbled upon a work-at-home opportunity that each of us can do...so I'll share it with you:

Early in April I mailed three letters to three different companies. These short letters were kindly letting the companies know my experience with their product. I used the same format for each letter - short and to the point, with a gracious tone.

Here are their responses (click on the picture to make it big enough to read the fine print):


- One diaper company sent two coupons to cover the FULL price of two packages of their new improved diapers (which they are already in the process of developing - they gave me the new product code to watch for) = approximately $25 retail savings.

- Another company sent a coupon for full retail of my choice of their products (a thank you for taking time to send them my results) = approx. $15 retail savings.

- The third company sent a $15 cheque to compensate me for their unsatisfactory product.

So, for a few minutes of my time and few cents spent on stamps I have been compensated with approx. $55.00 !! If I would consistently make that three or four a week? That could add nicely to our household expense budget -- how about yours?
Each of the above reviews were "negative" reviews, in that the product did not perform as they stated and/or I just indicated how the product could be improved upon.

Each company responded with gratefulness to me for the time I had taken to let them know my view of their product.

We are all product testers "in the field". The companies value our opinion!


Designate a time in the week to do this and see it if can benefit your family too. I've made-up sort of a form letter on my Word program so that makes it easier & even less time spent. I keep a running list of products around my home to review and then record when I've sent off a review and what the compensation is, if any. That way I can be careful to only review each product one time. In time, I may run out of products to review, however there are so many brands of each item I doubt that will be anytime soon (every chain store has their own company product) ... I guess we may well be using products that we do not like sometimes. We'll have to see if we can live with that.

I am trying "positive" reviews as well to see how well that is received by the companies. I expect they will appreciate hearing positive product reviews, but they may not "reward" the effort with product coupons?? Still a positive review can potentially brighten someone's day so it would be a good & Godly thing to do.

So, I'm thinking I can use my already budgeted dollars for cleaning, cooking or whatever to purchase items I already need and use ... in fact, I can just write up reviews of products I already have in my home -- and get "paid" for having tried them. Then next time I can buy a different label and review that item.

All of us already are product testers. Try it - Submit a review & wait to receive a reward. Work from home - for yourself & for a myriad of production companies. You be the boss. Your overhead is already in your budget except for the few cents it will take to buy stamps and send off the letters air mail.

Perhaps these reviews could be sent by email. I haven't tried, simply based on my theory that a hardcopy opinion by letter will be perceived as carrying more "weight". For now, I'm enjoying reaping the benefits of product testing this way. If you try the email route please consider sharing your experience with us here? Thanks.

Now if you're thinking you don't use diapers or whatever, think again -- you could use some of those kinds of things to give as gifts, make up gift baskets or diaper cakes. Either way, we can use what God has already blessed us with to bless others and save our family dollars.

Win, Win all around!

A dollar saved is a dollar earned!

Ready? ... Set? ... LAUNCH!

Click on the banner or click here to view our farm website.

Thanks to Corbyn for a job well done!

Creative energy busy elsewhere ... creating a Klasse Woods website. Watch for it!

Anyone for a Snack?

Have you tried these yet? They're good!!!

Go here to get a coupon for a box of Kashi bars.

Resurrection Rolls

Great Aunt Mary blessed our children with delicious resurrection buns that she had made using her regular bun dough. She then brushed the tops with butter and sprinkled them with cinnamon & sugar mixture.They were delicious and perfectly formed.
Thanks Aunt Mary - you blessed us with your thoughtfulness.

I found the following quick & easy version on the Boyer's blog. Our young men really enjoyed this little project. Next time we'll be more careful to seal all the edges and bake it a little longer:

Resurrection Rolls


Use this object lesson help children understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This fun recipe uses Crescent rolls and a disappearing marshmallow!

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend like it was three days!)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Now read Matthew 28:5-8

Explain: At the tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw an angel, who told them not to be afraid. No one had taken Jesus' body, but He Had risen from the dead! The angel told the women to go and tell the disciples what they had seen, that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were so excited, they ran all the way home to tell the disciples the good news! He is risen from the dead! Alleluia!

After that Jesus appeared in person to Peter, then to the 12 disciples and after that, to more than 500 people. Jesus' appearance to eyewitnesses, those who saw Him with their own eyes, would give support and prove that Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved once and for all that He was the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the Chosen One, and the Lamb of God. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus did what no other had ever done before. As both God and man, He overcame sin, death, and hell. And now because of what Jesus has done, these things no longer have any power over those who believe in Jesus and allow His Spirit to lead and direct them. Rather than being slaves to sin and death, Christians ( those who love and believe in Jesus) are free to obey God and do good ( Romans 6:17-18). The Bible says in John 8:36, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

However, we will only obey God if we listen to the Holy Spirit our helper. He enables believers in Jesus to do the right thing. It is important that we read the Bible (God's Word) because one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us obey God is by reminding us of what He says to us in His Word. God's Spirit will never go against his Word. In fact, when we read God's Word, we are listening to the Holy Spirit. Of course, you won't always do the right thing; the Bible says this ) 1 John 1:5-10). But that is why we need to continue to confess our sins knowing that God forgives us, based on what Jesus did on the cross. This is also a reason we need to spend time with other believers in Christ so they can encourage us in our faith.

May you have a blessed and meaningful Easter!

- Author Unknown -

Enjoy!

Happenings of Spring @ Klasse Woods

Sorry it's been so long since my last post ...

Early last week we had another final snowstorm which left us with another 15-20 cm of heavy wet snow. This week it is melting quickly.

The same day, Corbyn, our eldest young man celebrated his birthday:


Then for the weekend our family traveled to Saskatchewan for a Wiebe family Easter gathering. It was a fun time had by all ... but like these things go - it was too short.


Baby Faith travels well - she enjoyed naps, books and family singing times best of all during the trip ... the rest of us enjoyed those things too!

We enjoyed introducing Faith Mattaya to many of our family and friends.

Around the farm, we've seen many summer birds returning now ... robins, meadowlarks, and marsh hawks to name a few.

Brayden snapped a picture of what we think must be tulips emerging from their winter beds:


Spring is all around us now ... we welcome it with joy though we enjoyed winter to its fullest as well!

Thank you, Lord for the seasons.