Isn’t this a funny question? So am I a morning or evening person? I find this is more of a question of sleep patterns. When do I sleep best?
Every test I read to determine whether I am a morning or evening person deals with my sleep patterns and energy levels during the day. That’s probably a good measure. Some studies suggest that morning people are happier than evening people. When most of the world is on your schedule you would probably be happier too.
Childhood
As a child, I could sleep deeply through anything (rain, storms, morning wake-up calls, fights, etc.). I could also stay up late reading the last few pages of a captivating book. I never remember having a bedtime. I do remember being sleepy in school.
My natural tendency is to go to bed early and rise early. I am thankful that I have a lot of energy and can be flexible with sleep and other things too. When I wake up early, I feel excited about a new day. I have a lot more energy in the mornings and get a lot done. Yesterday, I woke with a lot of energy, and by noon I had accomplished a long list of things and hit 10,000 steps!
Motherhood
After the birth of my first child, Micah, I was never going to sleep the same again. Yes, Daniel Redding, all conversations lead to childbirth. Even when you sleep, there is a heightened awareness of sounds. After having 11 children in 22 years, I learned to survive on a few hours of sleep. When my children became teenagers, I couldn’t sleep until I knew they were safely home. I was up early with babies and late with teens. I treasured our late-night chats. In the 1990s, when I was pregnant every year, if I was a morning person or an evening person, I don’t know. I was surviving.
Working
In 2014 I went to work after 35 years of raising children. My early schedule meant another change in my sleep patterns. I could function at work on 6 hours of sleep for a day or two, but I usually needed at least 7 hours of sleep. I loved the early schedule.
Empty Nest
Now if I wake up in the night, it is not to the sounds of a baby crying, but it might still be my children or friends in different time zones. Or I might awake thinking about one of my children. I use this awake time to pray for my children just as I did when I was rocking and nursing them back to sleep long ago.
I am an adult now. I can sleep whenever I want to!
This is a reprint of an article I did on my original Redding Mountain blog. I thought it fit well with my last post. To see the original article click on the link below.
“If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children when these are overdone, we should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play! If she would have the courage to let everything go when life becomes too tense, and just take a day, or half a day, out in the fields, or with a favourite book, or in a picture gallery looking long and well at just two or three pictures, or in bed, without the children, life would go on far more happily for both children and parents. The mother would then be able to hold herself in “wise passiveness’ and would not fret her children by continual interference even of hand or eye – she would let them be.”
Charlotte Mason
Now if I could learn to play and take time relax maybe I would be a better mother:)
Below is a quote that crossed my path many years ago. I do not know where I first read it.
“Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,–she would see that in all God’s world, there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no others hands the sacred and holy trust given to her.” -JR Miller
My Greatest Joy
Rearing my children was my greatest joy. My children are all grown and living their own lives now. Some of my children are parents now too.
My purpose was to rear my children to know and love God. I consider this the best thing I have ever done. As I look at the adults they have grown to be, I am proud of the thoughtful, caring people they are. I thoroughly enjoyed my life as a stay-at-home mother.
As the quote above mentions, may God give every mother a vision,I had that vision. It was a gift from God. My greatest desire was to live in such a way that my children would see Jesus. To bring my children up to know and love God.
Reading the Bible and sharing stories of Jesus, serving and praying for the hurting was a big part of our days. Memorizing the scriptures: ABC verses, I Corinthians 13, Psalm 1, 23, 100, etc. Singing songs and playing and reading lots and lots of books! Cooking big meals and eating around our beautiful rustic table built by my father-in-law left a lot of memories imprinted on our hearts. We had lots of road trips and lived in several places. We are thankful for those friends the Lord gave us along the way!
What joy. We had our struggles to overcome, and we had a wonderful life. I thank God for the years I was able to stay home with my children.
Much of my childhood was spent lost in a book. I read the library of my elementary school, worked in my high school library, and participated in summer reading programs after Mrs. Thompson opened the library world to me. As I grew older visits to the Birmingham Public Library were a treat. The architecture was beautiful and the books excited me!
I learned a lot in college but it did nothing for my love of reading. After I married and had my first child, Micah. I realized how much I missed reading. Winford Claiborne came to West Virginia to do a marriage workshop. He ignited my love for reading one again. Having a new born I knew finding reading time would be hard, I decided I could read one book a month.
This week I came across some reading lists of mine. I am sure I did not include all of the books I read. Still this was fun to find. My plan is to keep a list of the books I read and listen to this year. I have started the year off with a biography of George MacDonald my favorite author.
Here are some lists from years past.
2020
Ina May Gaskin’s book on Childbirth
The Doula Book
Captive in Iran
Kisses from Katie
The Historian
Glass Castle
Educated
Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World
2021
A Long Way Gone
The Fountainhead
A Moveable Feast
A Hero of France
Fascism: A Warning
12 Rules for Life
A Woman Makes a Plan
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Beyond Order
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Younger Next Year
Fish Out of Water
Permanent Record
Alexander Campbell children’s book – The Disciple from Bethany
For this year I am switching from the NIV Bible I have used for many years. I decided to read the NKJV for a fresher look at the scriptures. Sometimes it helps me to see the scripture in a different light when I read it in different versions.
There are so many reading plans now! I haven’t settled on a plan yet though in 2023 I want to read through the entire Bible. The important thing is to get started! Read something from the Bible each day! Your life will be better!
Have a reading plan you love? Share it in the comments.
This year I have decided to use the Daily Walk Bible for my quiet time. This last year I really had a hard time keeping my focus on staying in the word. I have ALWAYS received a great benefit from much time spent in the word. I am amazed at how timely God’s word is to my life and situations. Somehow I let myself be distracted from this way too much in 2010.
In the front of this Bible I found an article. Here are some of the highlights.
Seven Benefits from Reading Your Bible
All seven are taken from Psalm 119.
1. The Bible will help keep you from sin. verse 11
2. The Bible will lift your burdens. verse 28
3. The Bible will guide your steps. verse 105
4. The Bible will bring you joy. verse 111
5. The Bible will lead you to wisdom. verse 130
6. The Bible will give you peace. verse 165
7. The Bible will bring you back to God. verse 176
Reading my Bible:
1. makes me a calmer, happier wife and mother.
2. helps me deal more appropriately with the daily trials and temptations which come my way.
3. gives me a rich supply to share from with those who need help and hope in this world.
This year I am focusing on the word for myself and the benefit I will receive from spending time with God. Reading the word alone is not enough but it is a start. I need the word daily and I need a closer relationship with God. This is a desire I am sure God will honor. I am sure he will help me apply the word and grow from it if I am willing.
Here is a great recipe that my family has used for a long time. Tried and True! My daughter Sarah and I had a great time making these and sharing them this week. I thought you might like to try it too! Enjoy!
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 sticks of margarine or butter softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 lb. milk chocolate melts (chocolate coating)
Directions:
Combine the peanut butter, margarine, powdered sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. Shape into small balls and dip in prepared chocolate and place on waxed paper covered plate and refrigerate until glossy.
Or you may want to use a small peanut butter cup mold and put a small amount of melted chocolate in the bottom of each cup and push a peanut butter ball down into the chocolate and top with a small amount of melted chocolate to cover the ball. Let set in the refrigerator a few minutes until glossy.
Gently remove from mold and place in paper cups or on your tray.
Check out my shop for a free download of my ebook, Baking for Profit. This book contains family favorites as well as goodies I sold in my baking business. Check it out.
Have some fun baking with your loved ones this month!
We have come to Malawi again. This is our fourth mission trip to Malawi. We began working here in 2018. The journey here doesn’t get easier with the 30+ hours of traveling, but the rejoicing at the end is worth it all!
Reunion
It is wonderful to reunite with friends and to see those who have become Christians in years past. All the babies have grown and there are new babies added to families. Yet, it is sad to miss those who have gone on to their reward. In just a year so many have passed. We miss their presence.
150 New Baby Christians
It’s good to share together plans to grow the kingdom of God. We’ve had several meetings to catch us up to date on what is going on in some areas of the work. Things that communication long distance fail us in. One big surprise for us was how many new baby Christians there are!!! 150 since our last trip! We’ve visited some new wells, a new church building, new businesses, and 2 new homes.
Healing Hands International Wells Bless Communities
It is so exciting to hear from each group and what is going on in their work. It’s wonderful to see familiar places and to rejoice with communities as they get clean water by receiving a well through the Healing Hands International. This is a huge blessing to communities. I look at babies and know their life will change because of this gift. They will grow up healthier because of something I take for granted every day.
Malawi Time
Life is slower paced here. Most things take a lot of time. Take meal prep. You may have to kill the chicken before preparing it. Almost everything is fresh. You are very close to your food source here. Every day we have rice or nsima, greens (rape, spinach, mustard, pumpkin, turnip), tomatoes made into a soup like sauce or mixed with other vegetables, and some fresh meat.
Transportation is a big deal. If you have a car for transport the roads are rough and sandy and very bumpy so it still takes a lot of time to get anywhere. My pedometer looks good on car days and when walking. You may ride on motorcycles like I did today to the market 3 adults on one motorcycle with rough roads. It takes a while. Or maybe you are on a bicycle. But most likely you will be on foot.
There is a certain peacefulness here, I am touched deeply by these people and their genuine hearts.
Today is Pi Day! Do you know what Pi is? In basic mathematics, pi is used to find the area and circumference of a circle. Have you ever memorized Pi? When my children were at home they had fun trying to memorize the first 100 digits of Pi. Maybe you are like me and prefer to memorize pie recipes. This occupied them for hours.
I am not sure who holds the record in my house but according to the Pi World Ranking List the world record for reciting the most digits of pi belongs to Suresh Kumar Sharma of India, who recited pi to 70,030 decimal places in 2015. It took him 17 hours and 14 minutes! That’s a long day of work.
Do you want to try this with your kids? For fun check out the bottom of the page for the first 100 digits of Pi. Maybe you can make pie while they work on this today. Here’s my signature pie recipe.
Signature Desserts
Another thing we did as a family was eat Blueberry Crunch Pie. Almost any holiday or special occasion called for it! Chances are if you have visited my house you have tasted the yumminess of Blueberry Crunch Pie. This accidentally became my signature dessert. That’s how memories are made many times by accident.
Blueberry Crunch Pie is a quick dessert to make. In fact I can make it in less than 30 minutes. While the crust bakes I mix the filling and then it is all ready to go as soon as the crust is cooled. Sometimes I cheat and put the crust in the fridge or freezer to cool it faster.
Blueberry Crunch Pie
Version 2
A few years ago I made a little change to my recipe. I still use the same ingredients I just tweaked it a bit. Below you will find the Blueberry Crunch Pie Version 2 Recipe. When my children were home I doubled the recipe.
Recipe
Blueberry Crunch Pie Version 2
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup self rising flour
1 cup nuts (divided – save 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top)
1 stick margarine softened
11 oz cream cheese
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling or homemade
Whipped topping 16+ ounces
Instructions:
Layer 1 — Combine flour, nuts and margarine. Press into 13×9 pan, bake until lightly browned about 15 minutes at 350° F or until lightly browned. Let cool.
Layer 2 — Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Stir in a cup of the whipped topping. Spread on cooled crust.
Layer 3 — Spread 1 can blueberry pie filling ( or homemade) evenly and gently over layer 2
Layer 4 — Spread with whipped topping
Layer 5 — Sprinkle with nuts.
Do you have a signature dessert? Please share it in the comments or email it to me! I love reading recipes!
Try Memorizing 100 Digits of Pi for Fun!
Here are the first 100 digits in case you want to memorize them today!
