Hello the Fire

I recently purchased some concrete blocks for the purpose of building a fire pit in our backyard. I don't know if any of you own or have seen any of those convenient, pre-manufactured fire pit bowls that are available at Home Depot and such places. Well, I'm sure they meet some people's needs and wants but they seemed too pricey and too small for my liking. So, the Reed family now enjoys a rugged concrete block fire pit that has already been used 4 times in just a week. What a joy! We have enjoyed 'smores' with neighbors and friends, we've shared Bible stories with the girls, and I've had one of my most rewarding photo shoots in recent memory. I took in plenty of smoke to get some very satisfying shots. I hope the selections posted on this blog give it justice. All to say, just like I have said with the Lentil Soup (thank you for the votes thus far) you are invited to join us at the fire as well. I should also comment that on your way in from the outer darkness, "do holler 'hello the fire' so I don't up'n shoot ya wit ma shotgun" (or newfound weapons:), thinking you're a beast threatening my territory.

Ruth and Naomi

What a privilege it is to teach our children about God's Holy Word and to train them up in the Lord! Hannah and Lauren's favorite time of day is after dinner when they have "Bible time with Papa." Every night after dinner Hannah says something like, "Can we go brush our teeth and then have a Bible story?" As you can imagine, that is music to our ears as parents. Tim is an amazing teacher and is a master at explaining things. It blesses my heart to watch Hannah's eyes fixed upon her Papa's eyes as he shares with her about stories from the Bible. Many times tears of joy fill my eyes and a huge smile covers my face as I observe what is going on. The girls are learning about the love of their heavenly Father through the love of their Papa.
During the days, the girls and I do a variety of learning activities in preparation for official homeschooling one day, and I tell them Bible stories some days. They are also learning Bible verses. They have memorized many verses that are put to song, and we are now working on saying the verses without the music. Last week they learned the following verses: 1) "Do everything without complaining and arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God" and 2) "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." At one point last week, Hannah said, "When we fight (referring to when she and Lauren don't share sometimes) our bones dry up. I want to have a joyful heart." :)
One of our recent Bible stories was about Ruth and Naomi. The picture you see for this post is Hannah dressed up as Ruth and Lauren dressed up as Naomi. It is so much fun to have precious children and to train them up in the Lord! We are blessed, indeed!

More SC State Fair Pics.

SC State Fair

We had a great time at the South Carolina State Fair with Grandma. The weather was actually pretty warm, even hot, not like the usual chilly fair weather. We watched a pig race, a horse show, ate an elephant ear,cotton candy, turkey leg, and fiske fries, rode the fun rides, and enjoyed some good music. Hannah and Lauren loved cheering on the pigs during the race, and Lauren had a great time riding a pony. They both enjoyed watching the miniature horses during the horse show and getting on a tractor. A great time was had by all!!

Pumpkin Patch

The girls have been looking forward to going to the Pumpkin Patch for weeks now. They ran and played among the pumpkins and finally got to choose a mini pumpkin to take home with them. I had lots of fun doing a photo shoot with my three precious cuties and now know how hard Tim works to get good shots - it's a lot of work but well worth it. We had a blast!!

Mama and Babies in the Hammock

These hammock pictures are becoming "classics" in the Reed home. One of my favorite things to do with my babies after they are born is to relax in the hammock in our backyard with them. Pictured above in order is Hannah (2004), Lauren (2005), and Timothy (2007).

Handsome Reed Boys

Of course, I (Allyson), the happy wife and proud Mama came up with the title of this post. :) Just had to show off the handsome men in my life. Timothy is now 3 1/2 weeks old and growing so fast. He was 8 lbs. 5 oz. when he was born, and he now weighs 11 lbs. He is such a sweet baby, and we are so happy to have him in our lives. Hannah and Lauren love helping us take care of him too.

We love Timmy

New Jr. Cowboy pictures

Pop's Lentejas (Lentils)

My one and only claim to fame in the kitchen is my belly warming lentil stew. It had been a classic dish in the Jim Reed home since we were little boys. It was a favorite for dad to cook when it was his turn to cook for the boys. It was a cheap and healthy recipe, and a filling satisfaction for a growing group of boys. After all, “Beans, beans are good for your heart...” It consisted of a plate or wide bowl of white rice and a generous covering of lentils often smothered in ketchup. Spanish sausage (chorizo) was often included, making it all the more satisfying.
Back to the present, Allyson will admit that her tastes had never been challenged until she met me. In fact, she was downright simple in her culinary experience and would never stray from the “chicken Caesar salad, or chicken sandwich” when we went out to eat. That said, please don’t get the impression that I consider myself a culinary expert either, but I guess I was conditioned, where she was not, to taste and for the most part enjoy whatsoever was set before me. And as you know, I’ve been around. So, when it was time to tempt, or rather convince Allyson to taste the ‘brown mush’ that was set before her just a few weeks into our marriage, it was a sight to behold. Indeed, her declination to taste and much less partake of what I had excitedly cooked was not even acknowledged. That cute little bride was not only going to taste but was even going to like what she saw as nearly repulsive. She finally consented and was pleasantly surprised. Ever since, her appetite has broadened to include many more delicious dishes and she has become an accomplished cook in our own growing home. Maybe some other time she can expound on the fact that what she feared most about getting married was ‘cooking’.
My lentil soup has since become a favorite in our home, more often than not, it is suggested by Allyson and cheered for by the children. It has also become our favorite recipe to enjoy with big table of guests and thankfully we have enjoyed nothing but positive feedback. In fact, in many cases it has been exalted to ‘favorite’ status and at least half of those who have dined with us have asked for the recipe.
I was going to start this phrase by saying “Well, for some reason…” but now I guess the reason is clear. “… I have found myself wanting to exalt the recipe from a ‘classic’ status to a ‘legendary’ status, and I have thus found myself adding spicy and hearty ingredients to make it so.” I suppose the ultimate success of the recipe is the overall experience. It is eaten at home, among family, among friends. It is the perfect ‘hungry man’ stew, it is warm and dreamy on a cold or rainy day, but best of all it brings people together, most of whom want second or third helpings and all end up with a feeling of satisfaction, a feeling of “we did not just eat here today, we have ‘shared a meal together’ and have lingered to retire from it.” For those of you who have tried it before, do come sit with us again. And for you who have not tried it before, do come hungry.
I cannot conclude without including you in my quest for a worthy name for this (Classic, hopefully someday legendary) dish. You see, I am very dissatisfied with what I have been calling it all of this time. Names as generic or simplistic as “Spanish Lentils”, “Lentils”, “Lentejas and rice”, “Lentil stew”, “Lentil soup”, and even “Spanish gumbo”. But I want to call it something more unique and intriguing. Could you help me? Maybe I can make a few suggestions and you can help me narrow it down. For instance I can’t stop thinking of the idea that this might have been the stew that Essau sold his birthright to Jacob for. Alas! I just found the passage( GENESIS 25: 29-34) and have so pleasantly confirmed that it not only mentioned a red pottage (stew?) but in fact it specifies that it was actual LENTILS (ha ha ha, laugh at me or with me, but I am so thrilled) Yes, my friends, the name of this dish has definitely taken a specific direction. Please refer to the poll to help me narrow the name down to its worthy acclamation. Shall it be “Jacob’s Stew” or “Birthright Stew” or “Essau’s demise” or “Birthright Lentils” or “Feed me for I am faint-Lentils” or “Hunter’s grub” or “Lentejas a la Jacobo” or “Lentejas primojenitas”. Have you any other suggestions? Growl, people! It is lunchtime and I have no “Lentejas” to speak of. How about “Genesis 25 Lentils” “Birthright Lentil Soup” “Birthright Lentil Stew” “Essaw’s Lentils” “Inheritance Lentils” “Red’s Lentils” (Essau was redheaded) “Reed’s Red Lentils”...

Missing Ingredient

Allyson and I have been weighted down with a mutual desire to not only govern our house well but to help others do the same with theirs. At this point we are gathering wisdom and resources to better assist ourselves and others in this important task. In a world where the concept of home and certainly the concept of family is being challenged, we desire to establish and run our household in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Home is where the heart is.
Our consuming thoughts really do focus on parenting. We consider the fallenness of our world. How 37% of children are born without a father in the home, how 50% of all marriages end up in divorce. How the homes that do have two parents are merely drifting along. We dwell on what the Lord would have us do considering these things: Homeschooling, child training, divorce and remarriage counseling.
Just today we were both having a very difficult time with the children. They were being ‘kids’ and we were finding ourselves to be overwhelmed by the noise, the chaos, the delayed obedience. At one point, far into the day, I expressed my frustration to Allyson and she admitted that it was the same with her. Thankfully we were on very good terms with each other at the time, but nevertheless we found ourselves overwhelmed with the lack of peace, order and joy within our home. Allyson suggested that we pray, and I responded by saying “what a humbling shot, huh?, to be so ‘on top of things’ with child training and then finding ourselves in trouble” She laughed in shame and we immediately convened the children. We sat in a circle on the floor holding hands and we confessed our sins to our children.
“Hannah and Lauren,
Mama and papa want to confess something to you. We have not been very consistent with you today and we are very sorry. We have allowed ourselves to get frustrated and irritated and instead of spanking you when we should have, we yelled at you instead. Mama and Papa want us to have a happy home. We love you with all our hearts and we want to obey Jesus most of all. We know what we ‘ought’ to do most of the time, but we have left out the most important ingredient of all: prayer.” We then proceeded to confess our utter need for the Lord to be our wisdom, our strength, and our peace. We admitted our inadequacies and we acknowledged our dependence upon Him.
Such a pleasant turnaround.

To my brothers

Hi Jamie, Matthew, John,
I think of our dad often. I always have. I think of him concerning the past, what I knew of him, what he did, what he was like. I think of him concerning the things he is missing out on, our wives, our children, our accomplishments. I most certainly think of how I miss his heart-felt hugs. I'm sure we could all write lots of things along these lines but what I would really like to mention in this post is his refusal to compromise. I suppose you could call it his integrity.
Now, I know that I think incredibly fondly of him and one could easily say that I am making him out to be better than he was; exalting his good side and neglecting his bad one. But that is why I am addressing you guys. You know exactly what I mean, and you also know who he was.
I am both sad and honored to say that I have hardly met anyone like him. Sad in that I wish there were more people as "integro" as he was, and honored because I had the privilege of not only knowing him but also of being his son. His refusal to compromise was never accompanied by pride or stubbornness but rather grace and compassion. He must have settled in his heart at a younger age that he would not compromise his testimony nor the Word of God. He trusted God with his life. He trusted God with his family, his ministry, his belongings. He trusted God with his reputation. He believed, understood and lived the Scriptures stating "do it unto the Lord and not unto man."
Brothers, do you truly remember what a remarkable man he was? I ask this as an adult. More than anything, this post is meant to be a challenge more than a remembrance. As four adults that we are, as heads of household, are we holding true to the biblical principles we were raised with? Are we being men of integrity in our journey through life? We all have different jobs, callings, personalities, occupations. But are we refusing to compromise the Word of God in everything we do?
I have had the amazing privilege of interacting with Pastor Joe Webb over the past 2 and 1/2 years. In that time I have slowly realized that most of what he teaches, much of the way he talks and much of what he holds dear has been achingly familiar to me. It is vague in that many years have passed, but it is also familiar because it was what our dear parents taught us since tots, that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
I have shared this with Pastor Joe and he has reminded me that he was dad's youth pastor and a VERY close friend of his over the years. I have told Allyson that he is one of the painfully few people I know who have such a respect for God and a desire to honor Him above any man. Mom has also told me, or maybe I read it, that Grandpa Reed was the sweetest man she ever knew and I have a feeling that would include his fear and integrity before the Lord.
Brothers, although I praise these men, I acknowledge that without the grace of Christ in their lives, they are as filthy as the worst of men. I certainly praise and glorify God above them. May they simply be examples as men who came and went before us who followed HARD after the GOD who IS and that we would refuse to compromise even in the smallest of matters. That we would accept, believe and obey the Scriptures which are graciously given to us. The WORD will judge us someday and it is here for us to read, let us NOT be caught in slumber. Have your lamps ready my fellow 'virgins' (Matthew 25:1-13) and govern your house well. In Jesus' Name. I love you.

10 Days Old and Oh So Cute

Having two little girls, I wondered what it would be like to have a little boy. Of course I am still new at being a "boy Mama", but I am loving every minute of it! I am learning how to master the task of changing a boy's diaper and doing quite well so far. :) We are still trying to decide who little Timmy looks like. What do you think?

Making Pineapple Pizza

Two cute girls and a handsome little baby boy.... home alone with Mama for the first time. The girls and Mama decide to make pizza together. We gathered all the ingredients, mixed them together, kneaded the dough, spread the pizza sauce, sprinkled the cheese, and topped it off with pineapple. Then, it was into the oven for 20 minutes before we sat down to a yummy pizza dinner. We sure did have fun! It's wonderful having three little ones now.

Girls in Green