News Clips from the past few days

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Here are some links to a couple stories and columns I found interesting over the past few days:
Demand for Organic Food Outstrips Supply
Good Trends!
Welfare Kings
Jonah Goldberg on Farm Subsidies
Hezbollah on the Ropes
Interesting insight on the reality of the Hezbollah terrorists infrastructure.
Ultrasound scans can affect brain development
I have been reading about the potential dangers of ultrasound for the past 18 years, yet another reason not to give birth in the hospital. The electronic Fetal Monitors, which can be used in labor for hours on end are in fact ultrasound.
Dads Suffering Equally with Postpartum Depression
Traumetized people, wether male or female struggle with depression. Birth can traumetize both the mother and the father.
Who Is Raúl Castro?
Ion Pacepa shares the facts about Castro’s Brother, he knew him personally.
BIG FOOT, SCOOP JACKSON DEMOCRATS AND OTHER MYTHS
Ann Coulter on Democrat Myths
Constitution threatened by homeschool case
Interesting Case developing in Europe around a home schooling family
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Jenny Hatch

Gospel Principles Lesson 23 – The Sacrament

My lesson this sunday is on The Sacrament:

The Sacrament

Chapter 23

 

31110, Gospel Principles, Unit Six: The Gospel of Jesus Christ, 23: The Sacrament, 151

 

Our Savior wants us to remember his great atoning sacrifice and keep his commandments. To help us do this, he has commanded us to meet often and partake of the sacrament.

 

The sacrament is a holy priesthood ordinance that helps remind us of the Savior’s atonement. During the sacrament, we partake of bread and water. We do this in remembrance of his flesh and his blood, which he gave as a sacrifice for us. As we partake of the sacrament, we renew sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father.

Discussion

 

•     What is the sacrament?

 

•     What is the purpose of the sacrament?

Christ Introduced the Sacrament

 

Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus gathered his Apostles around him in an upstairs room. He knew he would soon die on the cross. This was the last time he would meet with these beloved men before his death. He wanted them to always remember him so they could be strong and faithful.

 

To help them remember, he introduced the sacrament. He broke bread into pieces and blessed it. Then he said, “Take, eat; this is in remembrance of my body which I give a ransom for you” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 26:22). Next he took a cup of wine, blessed it, and gave it to his Apostles to drink. He said: “Drink ye all of it. For this is in remembrance of my blood … , which is shed for as many as shall believe on my name, for the remission of their sins” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 26:23–24; see also Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:15–20).

 

After his resurrection, Jesus came to the Americas and taught the Nephites the same ordinance (see 3 Nephi 18:1–11). After the Church was restored in the latter days, Jesus once again commanded his people to partake of the sacrament in remembrance of him, saying, “It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus” (D&C 20:75).

Discussion

 

•     Read Matthew 26:26–28. Ask class members to think about the Lord’s Supper the next time they partake of the sacrament.

How the Sacrament Is Administered

 

The scriptures explain exactly how the sacrament is to be administered. Members of the Church meet each Sabbath day to worship and partake of the sacrament (see D&C 20:75). The sacrament is administered by those who hold the necessary priesthood authority. A priest or elder breaks bread into pieces, kneels, and blesses it (see D&C 20:76). A deacon or other priesthood holder then passes the sacrament bread to the congregation. Then the priest or elder blesses the water and it too is passed to the members. Jesus gave his disciples wine when he introduced the sacrament. However, in a latter-day revelation he has said that it doesn’t matter what we eat and drink during the sacrament as long as we remember him (see D&C 27:2–3). Today, Latter-day Saints drink water instead of wine.

 

Jesus has revealed the exact words for both sacrament prayers. We should listen carefully to these beautiful prayers and try to understand what we are promising and what is being promised to us. Here is the prayer that is offered to bless the bread:

 

“O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen” (D&C 20:77).

 

Here is the prayer that is offered to bless the water:

 

“O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine [water] to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen” (D&C 20:79).

 

The ordinance of the sacrament is performed very simply and reverently.

Discussion

 

•     Read the sacrament prayers one sentence at a time. Discuss the meaning of each sentence. Challenge each class member to memorize the prayers.

The Covenants We Renew during the Sacrament

 

Each time we partake of the sacrament, we renew covenants with the Lord. A covenant is a sacred promise between the Lord and his children. The covenants we make are clearly stated in the sacramental prayers. It is important to know what those covenants are and what they mean.

 

We covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ. By this we show we are willing to be identified with him and his Church. We promise that we will not bring shame or reproach upon that name.

 

We covenant to remember Jesus Christ. All our thoughts, feelings, and actions will be influenced by him and his mission.

 

We promise to keep his commandments.

 

We take these obligations upon ourselves when we are baptized (see D&C 20:37; Mosiah 18:6–10). Thus, when we partake of the sacrament, we renew the covenants we made when we were baptized. Jesus gave us the pattern for partaking of the sacrament (see 3 Nephi 18:1–12) and said that when we follow this pattern, believing on his name, we will gain a remission of our sins (see Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 26:24).

 

The Lord promises that if we keep our covenants, we will always have his Spirit to be with us. A person guided by the Spirit will have the knowledge, faith, power, and righteousness to gain eternal life.

Discussion

 

•     Refer to D&C 20:77 again. What promises do we make during the sacrament?

Our Attitude When Taking the Sacrament

 

Before partaking of the sacrament, we are to prepare ourselves spiritually. The Lord emphasizes that no one should partake of the sacrament unworthily. That means we must repent of our sins before taking the sacrament. The scriptures say, “If any have trespassed, let him not partake until he makes reconciliation” (D&C 46:4). The scriptures also say, “Ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it; For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul” (3 Nephi 18:28–29).

 

During the sacrament service we should dismiss from our minds all worldly thoughts. We should feel prayerful and reverent. We should think of the atonement of our Savior and be grateful for it. We should examine our lives and look for ways to improve. We should also renew our determination to keep the commandments.

 

We do not need to be perfect before partaking of the sacrament, but we must have the spirit of repentance in our hearts. The attitude with which we partake of the sacrament influences our experience with it. If we partake of the sacrament with a pure heart, we receive the promised blessings of the Lord.

Discussion

 

•     Ask someone to tell how we should prepare ourselves to partake of the sacrament.

 

•     What can we think about during the sacrament to help us be more reverent?

Jenny Hatch

Pinto and Amaranth Chimichangas

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For lunch today I cooked up some Chimichangas. My children love to eat Mexican Food, and this is everyones favorite!
For the filling I used a quart size bottle of Beans that I cooked in the crock pot last week. Here is the recipe for the beans. They were yummy!
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One large Organic Beef Soup Bone
5 C Dry Pinto Beans
1 C Amaranth
1 TSB Sea Salt
10 Whole Coriander Seeds
2 Onions
1 tsp Cumin
1 TBS Flax Seed
1 TBS Fennel Seed
1 TBS Psyllium Seed
1 TBS Brown Mustard Seed
1 TBS Golden Mustard Seed
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Quarts of Water
Mix the Seeds and Spices togther in an Electric Seed Grinder. Add all ingredients to the crock pot and turn the heat up high for the first day. For the next two days cook the beans on the lowest setting. Bottle The Beans and keep in the fridge for up to 4 weeks.
Here are some pictures:
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Spices after grinding
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To Make the filling for the Chimichangas:
Brown one pound of ground sirloin beef (Sirloin has the highest protein content). Pour one quart of the bean and amaranth mix into the skillet. Add in one box of Frozen Organic Spinach, 1/2 of a quart of Sams Club Salsa (the white corn and black bean is our favorite)
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This Salsa is so inexpensive! A whole quart costs less than two dollars and is so tasty! It is chock full of beans and corn and everyone at our house loves it. I use it both in the filling for the Chimmys and also as a garnish.
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Fill a white flour tortilla with 1/2 Cup of the filling and place a slice of cheddar cheese on top. Then fold it in thirds and thirds again to make a square shape. I fry them in Olive Oil for about ten minutes. Five minutes on each side at a medium heat. Then serve with salsa, sour cream, rice, and any side dish you like. The picture at the top shows the Chimichanga with rice and a side of Chicken Livers.
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Here is a picture of them frying, you can see the white basmati rice cooking in the pan on the back of the stove.
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Why add Amaranth to beans?
Amaranth significantly ups the nutritional quality of any vegetarian foods. Even though I cooked the beans with a beef bone, which significantly improves the flavor of the beans, the protein content in the beans is significantly less when cooked without the grain.
Adding Amaranth to the beans completes the protein and gives a wonderful full bodied flavor to everything cooked with the beans like chile, tacos, chimmys, and bean dip.
The spices I added in also give a wonderful taste to the beans, and make them much more digestible.
I often get asked how I can stand to be around my family when I feed them so much gassy food. Beans, Whole Grains, etc…are known for causing excessive gas. We really don’t have that problem, and I believe it is because the seeds, herbs, and spices I cook with help all of us to digest the foods much better than if we did not eat them. When my kids eat excessive amounts of sugar and chemicals they tend to get nasty gas. But the beans and grains don’t bother them. Perhaps it is because I have always eaten these foods while pregnant and nursing and so they are used to digesting them.
The nutritional value of your food skyrockets when fresh whole spices are ground into them as you cook. The fennel especially does amazing things to any food it is put in. Flax and psyllium have been used to cleanse the bowell for generations and used in this recipe do not overpower the flavor of the food as they sometimes do in other recipes.
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Sometimes I like to eat a big bowl of beans and grains. It is a great high energy food that keeps me going for hours.
Jenny Hatch

PBS….Going, Going….gone

Pajamas Media Link
For the past year I have watched television with absolutely no cable, satellite, or digital enhancement. It was really pathetic.
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Our family made the decision last summer to stop our Satellite service to save an additional $600.00 to put down on a house. We were planning on purchasing a new home this past summer. When we made the decision to finish our basement instead of moving, one of the first questions the children asked was, “when can we get our satellite service back???”.
Over the past year we had all missed favorite channels. For me the various music stations that played 24/7 with no commercials was one of the best features of the whole set up. I loved listening to classical, opera, the blues, and BYU radio. I also watched BYU religious and arts programming, Food Network, C-Span, and Fox news quite a bit. Ben really enjoyed Noggin and Nick Jr. Our older children loved Disney, and Paul especially loved watching the sports channels.
Our main reason for getting satellite was to be able to watch General Conference twice a year in the comfort of our own home. But the many and varied services and channels made life more fun, and we all loved the DVR feature which allowed us to record a show and quickly scan through commercials as we watched as our leisure.
When we stopped our service last year, we went back to stone age television, with a nasty picture made only somewhat better with antenaes that Paul installed and only local channels to watch. When I did turn on the television, I tended to watch PBS, as they had the best arts programming. I loved watching the various musical performances.
Occasionally I plugged my nose and watched the news hour with Jim Lehrer. I supplemented this news by watching the local Denver news as well as the big three national news shows. It was amazing how those programs had the timing for the stories down so well that I could quickly flip from channel to channel and they were all reporting the same stuff at the same time during the broadcast.
It has been an interesting experiment. I had gotten so used to C-span, Fox News, and the various other cable news shows and online internet radio, that to get my tv news from just those few sources was a serious reminder of how screwy the news business is.
Especially PBS. Last night for example, while I watched coverage of the primary election the gals on news hour made it seem like the only race, heck the only issue from that election was the Lieberman race in Conn. A whole half hour was devoted to this one story. Then the station broke for a ten minute plea from the local PBS hacks who begged, pleaded, guilt tripped, and claimed the phones were “frighteningly quiet” during the pledge drive.
Then back to the humorless interviews…”we all have to be so serious at PBS….we are the REAL news”. Israel stinks, Israel is a bully, Israel does not play by the rules. Etc etc etc…No mention of Hezbolla using innocents as human shields….no just….Israel is really mean.
I was chuckling to myself as I watched. I guess the gals in Denver running that pledge drive have not heard that a news revolution has happened this past year. Why would I get my television news from “The news hour” when dozens of sources are available on cable, digital, and satellite stations (without the guilt tripping and begging for money) and thousands of news sources were available on the internet? It is true that I enjoyed seeing footage of various sound bites and stories on the television to supplement my internet reading and that is why I bothered to turn on the TV in the first place.
(Placing my tongue firmly in my cheek) I was “sorely” tempted by the “two free tickets to see and meet Jim Lehrer in person at a luncheon in Denver”….if ONLY I will contribute $1000.00 to our Rocky Mountain PBS station and become a “cornerstone” member.
Talk about old school. I want to meet Mark Steyn and Michelle Malkin. I want to hang with Laura Bush and the twins. I want to attend a luncheon with Ann Coulter and laugh my head off. I want to spend the day protesting moonbats with my Freeper Pals here in Denver, and I want to meet Condi and Pres. Bush. Phyllis Schalfly and Victor Davis Hanson and Thomas Sowell. These are the ones who have been my teachers and my mentors. These are the folks who I would like to spend time with.
Jim Lehrer??? Who goes to those events but tenured public school teachers and IRS employees who still believe Bush stole the 2000 election, there were no weapons of mass destruction, and Joe Wilson’s The Politics of Truth is on a par with the Bible.
Paul ordered our new television service this past week, and in the package we are going from really fast internet connectivity to screaming fast internet connectivity – and tomorow it all kicks in. High Speed internet and 150 channels of high quality television!!! I am really excited to turn off PBS with all the social babble and warmed over collectivist thought, pushing of immorality on preschool programming, and dissing of conservatives, and go back to the fun folks at Fox News.
I would rather watch pathetic MSNBC than PBS at this point. The news hour last night finished up with a fifteen minute overview of all of Israels mistakes in the war with terrorists, and the final wrap up….”And two more soldiers died in Iraq today”. Who needs this junk? Who would choose to watch? Over and over and over again I would turn on the news this past year, start watching the national news at 5:30 at either nbc, cbs, or abc (flipping around channels the whole time, counting up all of the pharmacuetical ads as I watched) and then if I had not turned it off in disgust, click to PBS to see how much of the news hour I could take before I turned it to Everybody Loves Raymond.
My father in law sent us a free subscription to the Readers Digest this past year, and it is like reading the New England Journal of Medicine. Ads, Ads, and more Ads for drugs. Stories about doctors, people saved by doctors, doctors, nurses, doctors….everywhere you turn doctors and hospitals saving the day. A doctor stranded in the wilds of ….has his leg amputated by fire ants…..and saves himself using the highly specialized skill of cutting off his own leg with a pair of nail clippers taught to him by the big pharma companies who enabled him to become a legalized drug pusher…
Same with the news shows. All the lies fit to print to bolster the medical profession. Immunizations, the new pink in fashion…..Medical Procedures that your insurance company is too cheap to pay for….doctor as hero, doctor as “our citizen of the year”, psychiatrist as our dude of the hour.
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It just nauseated me to see those ads for Anti-depressants. “Depression hurts….” Depression stinks….depression can be fixed with our little pills….” hurl and barf….
If anyone thinks that all those ads ensured your local, national and “the most trusted news show on television” (as the pbs groupie running that telethon called Jim Lehrers show last night) is NOT influenced by all that drug money…then I have some lovely ocean front property to sell you in Boulder Colorado.
Bottom line…I am finished. We will never be without our high speed internet connectivity again. And we will never go back to just our local channels. I appreciated seeing certain theatre productions on PBS (Like South Pacific with Reba McEntire as Nellie), documentaries, and science shows.
But I can watch similar programming on Discovery without anyone hitting me up for money or trying to “sell” me some lovely socialist or big pharma propaganda.
It has been an interesting year, but I don’t plan to go back, and as far as I could tell last night I only heard the phone ring once during the whole telethon. Perhaps that ring was the final wakeup call for those PBS hacks feeding at the public trough, using taxpayer money to shove socialism on the unsuspecting viewers. I wonder how quickly the whole set up would collapse if living under free market rules of engagement? Isn’t it time to find out???
Those glory days of the Keatons…when Conservative Alex was just so selfish, and his hippie parents were just so hip, Daddy Steven worked for the most righteous, most holy, and the most selfless organization known to man (after the United Nations, of course)….he worked as a manager for a PBS television station.
Well, the 80’s are over…a new sheriff is in town, and last I heard his name was BLOG.
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Jenny Hatch

Menu

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These past few weeks I have been preparing a menu to use through the school year which would utilyze our food storage rotation to the greatest advantage. We have a ton of food (literally) which needs to be rotated out. The oldest grains are going on fourteen years old, and we need to seriously start eating it.
Each day I plan to make some dough for bread, rolls, or scones, and also a batch of muffins and/or cracked grain cereal for my family to eat. This will help move our food storage foods into our diet and give greater variety of nutrients and foods. Because I have suffered from food allergies my whole life everything I have studied on how to prevent this in my children points towards a four day food rotation diet, where you don’t eat the same food for four days. This menu was really designed to get the greatest variety of foods in our diet. It does not demonize one food over another, nor does it depend on one food to eat each day. Most of America functions on white refined wheat flour and some form of cow’s milk dairy products. Wether it’s pizza, or cookies and milk, or cereal and milk, or cheese and crackers, so many of the foods we eat each day revolve around the denatured and devitalized wheat berry combined with some form of cows milk.
One of my goals in setting up this diet was to rotate as many foods as possible into each month of eating. With the belief that variety is the spice of life, I figure the more types of grains, beans, seeds, and milks my family eats, the more nutrients they have to develop bone, blood, and brain tissue.
I thought I would share this menu with any of my blog readers who are interested. In the coming months I will occasionally share recipes and pictures as I do the cooking.
Jenny Hatch
Monday #1 – Red Wheat and Sesame with Cows Milk
B – Pancakes
L – Sub sandwich
S – Baked Chicken-Roasted veges/green beans (2 chickens)
D – Apple Crisp
Tuesday #1 – Oats and Brown Flax with Rice Milk
B – Scrambled Eggs
L – Leftover chicken
S – Pot Roast, roasted potatos and peas
Wednesday #1 – Brown Rice and Psyllium with Soy Milk
B – Muffins and Fruit
L – Whole grain crackers, cheese cubes, and veges
S – Sloppy Joes with French fries and salad
Thursday #1 – Rye and Golden Flax with Goats Milk
B – Broccoli Quiche
L – Peanut butter and jelly
S – Pizza with garden salad
Friday #1 – Kamut and Brown Flax with Cows Milk
B – Fried Potatos
L – Turkey sandwich
S – Chinese Feast – with Egg rolls, pot stickers, and rice
Saturday #1 – Spelt and adzuki with Rice Milk
B – Waffles
L – Burritos w Rice/Nachos (Make double batch burritos)
S – Beef Stew with cornbread
Sunday #1 – Amaranth and mung with Soy Milk
B – Cracked Wheat
L – Canned Soup
S – Chimichangas with brown rice and black beans
Monday # 2 – Quinoa and basmati rice with Goats Milk
B – Muffins and Fruit
L – Burritos
S – Italian Sausage Spaghetti w/ garlic toast (Double Batch)
D – Lemon Bars
Tuesday # 2 – W Wheat and Brown Flax with and Cows Milk
B – Omelet
L – Yogurt fruit cup
S – Cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries
Wednesday # 2 – Red Wheat and Sesame with Cows Milk
B – French Toast
L – Chimichangas
S – Chicken Soup with biscuits
Thursday – # 2 – Oats and Brown Flax with Rice Milk
B – Oatmeal
L – Hoagie sandwich
S – Enchiladas with white rice and fresh shredded lettuce
Friday – #2 – Brown Rice and Psyllium with Soy Milk
B – Fried Potatos
L – Cold spaghetti
S – Greek Feast – with Spinach pie and Greek salad
Saturday – #2 – Rye and Golden Flax with Goats Milk
B – Broccoli Quiche
L – Hummus with pita and veges
S – Leek and Potato Soup with biscuits
Sunday # 2 – Kamut and Brown Flax with Cows Milk
B – Yogurt fruit cup
L – Baked ziti or casserole
S – Potato Bar with Chile (Bake double batch of Potatos)
Monday # 3 – Spelt and adzuki with Rice Milk
B – Fried Potatos
L – Spinach pie and salad
S – Beef Stir fry with Lemon Rice
D – Ice Cream Sundae
Tuesday # 3 – Amaranth and mung with Soy Milk
B – Muffins and Fruit
L – Pasta Salad
S – Macaroni and Beef Bake with Creamed Spinach
Wednesday – # 3 – Quinoa and basmati rice with Goats Milk
B – Scrambled Eggs
L – Tortilla wrap with meat and veges
S – Chicken Parmesan with fresh garden salad
Thursday – # 3 – W Wheat/Brown Flax with and Cows Milk
B – Waffles
L – Whole grain crackers, cheese cubes, and veges
S – Chicken Stir Fry with Pasta
Friday – # 3 – Red Wheat and Sesame with Cows Milk
B – Omelet
L – Stuffed pitas
S – Mexican Feast – with pinto bean tacos and nachos
Saturday – # 3 – Oats and Brown Flax with Rice Milk
B – Oatmeal
L – Canned Soup w/ Grilled Cheese
S – Indian Feast – Curry Rice, chickpeas w/ cinnamon/chapitas
Sunday # 3 – Brown Rice and Psyllium with Soy Milk
B – Scrambled Eggs
L – Pizza – Purchase hot pockets (4)
S – Beef Tacos with Spanish Rice
Monday # 4 – Rye and Golden Flax with Goats Milk
B – French Toast
L – Yogurt with granola to mix in
S – Au Gratin Potato with Roasted Turkey
D – Gingerbread
Tuesday # 4 – Kamut and Brown Flax with Cows Milk
B – Cracked Kamut
L – Peanut butter and jelly
S – Twice Baked Potato with Fresh Salad
Wednesday – # 4 – Spelt and adzuki with Rice Milk
B – Spelt Muffins and Fruit
L – Sub sandwich
S – Oven Fried Chicken with Creamed Potato and peas
Thursday # 4 – Amaranth and mung with Soy Milk
B – Omelet
L – Peanut butter and jelly
S – Lasagna with garlic toast
Friday # 4 – Quinoa and basmati rice with Goats Milk
B – Fried Potatos
L – Turkey sandwich
S – Thai Feast – with Pad Thai and Basmati Rice
Saturday # 4 – W Wheat/Brown Flax with and Cows Milk
B – Pancakes
L – Cheesy pita bread
S – BBQ Chicken with steamed asparagus and spinach
Sunday # 4 – Red Wheat and Sesame with Cows Milk
B – Cracked Wheat
L – Baked ziti or casserole
S – Super Nachos with rice, beans and roasted chicken
Special meals for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Birthdays