Welcome to today’s podcast where we are having a real authentic and we pray encouraging conversation about living out a SLOW lifestyle. Filled with the purpose of returning to our roots, slowing down the schedule, living from scratch all with intentionality. In this consumer driven life, returning to a slower lifestyle brings more joy and peace. We hope you are encouraged as you listen to practical ways and steps to have a family culture of a slower lifestyle.
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When Darren and I moved to Idaho, which meant being away from family, we desired that we would begin making some family traditions of our own. One of those traditions was to have a Seder meal prior to our Good Friday Church service. We wanted this time to not only be a memory making moment for our family but also that it would be a spiritual connection that would bolster our kids’ faith.
Since we were new to the idea and tradition of having a Seder meal we went into the research phase of preparation. We wanted to recount some of the resources and recipes that were helpful to us here, praying it could be helpful to you one day as well. All at the same time knowing there will be room to grow and expand as not only our family grows but as the years grow too.
Part of the beauty of the Seder meal is that you recall God’s goodness through reading scripture, prayer, and tasting food that will help remember.
We decided to purchase Seder plates (HERE) this is not needed but helped a newbie like me. And we felt like we needed some easy, straightforward instructions for what to do as far as the order, as well as recommendations for prayers ALL WHILE having a Christain perspective. Here are some of the booklets we bought and our opinion on them:
Passover Seder: Messianic Passover Haggadah, A Guide for Christians (LINK HERE) This was our MOST USED recourse. It will literally walk you through all the steps with ease. It is a short yet wonderful resource.
Christ in the Passover: Celebrate a Christian Seder Pamphlet (LINK HERE) This is a $5 resource that is what I would consider a great overview for those not familiar with Seders.
Messianic Passover Haggadah Paperback (LINK HERE) I would consider this book as a good of how to do the Seder Meal more thoroughly. It was recommended to us by some amazing Christain friends and I can see us using it in the future.
Darren and I have a mission to not make things too complicated, so with that in mind if you are a beginner to the Seder Meal Tradition, this is a great place to start.
Ok … now on to one of my favorite parts, not only to share with you but to have a record for myself, the recipes and pictures of our very first Seder meal that I want to remember year after year.
On a Seder plate there 6 parts, (I would argue 8 parts, since two don’t live on the plate but our vital to the meal). Several of the components are easy peasey lemon squeezy. Let’s break it down.
Egg – Hardboiled
Wine – we used Red juice (not on plate)
Parsley – labeled the greens on plate, you need a sprig at least to dip into the salt water
Horseradish – Also referenced as Maror or bitter herbs. We cheated and used prepared jar horseradish, a little note – fresh probably would have packed a bigger punch but the prepared one made it easier and the kids ate it.
Shank Bone – traditionally it is a lamb bone, this part is not eaten yet rather used as a reminder. We used chicken bones from our whole chicken the night before and it was a win.
(The last three below are recipes we used, tested and loved!)
Charoset – This is an apple mixture that is representative of the mortar used in Egypt. It was the kids favorite, and using a food processor or a time saver! Literally could make this salad in minutes.
Recipe: simply mix all ingredients together in a food processor or chop apples and walnuts fine.
3 Apples
1/4 cup of walnuts (or pecans)
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
Bitter Herbs – Also called Chazeret
Recipe: similar to the Charoset, chop the onion and parsley fine, mix all ingredients together.
1/3 onion (we used red, could use any kind)
2 cups finely chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Thyme (we used this as a substitute for Ground Sumac)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Unleavened Bread – (also not on plate) This is a must and in the description of the Seder asked for 3 pieces to be broken and used during the meal, we did this and next time would make extra for samplings and the meal afterward, it was a great easy recipe we are going to use throughout the year.
Ingredients: (this makes 3 large breads)
2 cups flour
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cups of water
Directions:
Put the flour and salt into a medium bowl and mix. Cut in the butter into the flour, add water slowly until it forms a soft sticky dough. Divide the dough into 2 balls and roll them out flat like they are a tortilla (we used our tortilla press.) Turn on skillet/fry pan to high temperature. Briefly cook unleavened bread flipping 2-3 times.
Overall this was a great first year start to our hopeful new Seder Tradition. We provided a meal that was not Kosher after so we weren’t 100% true to the traditional evening but regardless as I said above we have room to grow 🙂
Why is it ACTUALLY economical to have MORE children? The world can attempt to dictate to us what our family size should be. However, if we are living within a biblical mindset, we know we need to look to the WORD of GOD to be our guide for family size NOT the worlds ideas.
If you have been following along for a while you already know how much we value children and view them as a blessing, yet the world at large has so many misconceptions and fear surrounding large families. Listen in to today’s podcast and hear a NEW take on our conviction to not let the worlds expectation of money dictate family size.
As always, we cover convictions, the character qualities that are developed within that conviction and some challenges that might arise as you walk out your convictions. We pray it is an encouragement to you.
Simply comment SIZE below and we will send you a direct link to the podcast.
One additional point we mention in the podcast but it worth mentioning here as well. This is not a podcast to cast condemnation or give anyone guilt on struggles when it comes to fertility issues, we actually (despite our family size) have struggled with our own fertility battle, so we have great compassion for those walking through that path. Instead, this podcast is to bring light to the misconceptions of those who might be on the fence whether or not to have more children based on money issues.
(Listen HERE on podbean or you can find our Raising Rices show on ITUNES and SPOTIFY)
Thanks for being part of faithfully raising households that serve the LORD.
Join us as we share some personal reflections and encouragement on the topic of Fear. This episode is packed with personal stories you might not have heard before that expose the way that our testimony can build our faith, and help us to encourage each other to walk in the fear of the Lord alone.
We pray, as always you are encouraged. Don’t forget you can listen here on the blog, or find us on Spotify or Apple Podcast.
Hey there and welcome back as we discuss what we believe is the MOST important subject in our kids education. We homeschool (and LOVE it) but this conversation is important to have regardless of the educational choices of your family. Listen in as we share our conviction, followed by what character qualities are developed by this conviction and lastly what sorts of challenges will come about when we hold to this conviction. We pray you will be encouraged and strengthened in your parenting as you work hard to raise households that serve the Lord.
As always we pray you are strengthen and encourage in your walk and mission to join us as we strive to raise households that serve the LORD!
The kids and I have been enjoying as part of our school time to work together to learn Hymns. My husband and I grew up with a few hymns but the majority of the music we sang at church and at home was contemporary. While the contemporary music was pleasing to the ear as we got older we were drawn to the depth of the hymns.
We selected Hymns of Grace as the hymnal we would use to learn and practice the songs. If you are unfamiliar to the Hymns of Grace they have some wonderful supporting videos on YouTube where they explain the history of the song as well as professionally recorded music in which the vocals are heard clearly (which is especially helpful when learning new songs.)
As part of our school we learn 3 songs each day on a rotational basis, then during our family bible time we sing the ones we know and are familiar with. Since we have been learning during school time our list of known songs continues to grow.
One of the songs my husband and I remember from childhood is I’ll Fly Away, yet, this song is not in the Hymns of Grace hymnal. So I have put together a short history informational guide for you here on this blog as well as some printables for your family to enjoy.
History of the Hymn:
I’ll Fly Away was written by Albert E. Brumley in 1929. The song was influenced by the 1924 secular ballad, “The Prisoner’s Song”.
Brumley was reportedly picking cotton on his father’s farm in Rock Island, Oklahoma. Brumley says that as he worked he was “humming the old ballad that went like this: ‘If I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly,’ and suddenly it dawned on me that I could use this plot for a gospel-type song.”
Over the next three years he worked out the song. before it was published in 1932 by the Hartford Music Company.
I’ll Fly Away has been called “the most recorded gospel song”.
This song is about enduring the trials of sickness, hard work, heartache, and grief on Earth to look forward to someday being able to be with God and your loved ones that you’ve lost. “I’ll fly away” may be a figure of speech, but it’s about going to Heaven where it will be a much better place and joy shall never end.
Verses that lend well to the songs descriptions are:
Psalm 30:5
Revelation 21:31
Revelation 22:5
I Corinthians 15: 42-44
2 Corinthians 4:17
Luke 14:15-24
As a word of caution and encouragement to parents, while some hymns are without additional explanation, I would encourage you to make sure to explain the Christain worldview of this song as it could run the risk of forgetting the WHY and the gift it is to be here on the earth until we enter glory. As with many things, having the right worldview while listening and singing this hymn will hopefully encourage your children to yearn for heaven.
Included on this blog download below is the lyrics:
A few coloring sheets:
And some Copy Work:
For DOWNLOADABLE Copies click here: PRINTABLES.
We pray this will be an encouragement and support for you as you raise households that serve the Lord.
We are super excited to talk about a NEEDED mindset when it comes to Christian parenting. On todays podcast we are discussing the long-term vision of raising brothers and sisters in Christ. Moving past this idea that we are just trying to raise morally “good” kids and understanding that we have the opportunity to be walking arm in arm with brothers and sisters in Christ, having an eternal focus and making practical steps NOW to get there.
We pray that this podcast will be an encouragement to you as parents as well as a challenge to prepare the framework for living out the long game with your parenting.
As always, our heart is to use the gifts God has given us to help other families raise households that serve the Lord. Know that it is only by God’s sovereign will that our families will indeed follow him whole Heartly, but equally knowing and living up to the calling and jurisdiction He has given us as Christian parents. If this ministry is a blessing to you, we encourage you to share it with others and if you feel called to leave a review, we would be grateful as it helps further the opportunity to encourage others as well.
With Love and Prayer,
The Rices.
If you have been following along you hear us mention that we are striving to teach a Biblical Worldview to our kids. Remembering you kids (and you) are always being taught, whether or not you are intentional with them or not, someone is teaching them something. Today we deep dive into the feet to the pavement PRACTICAL ways that we can walk out of own Biblical Worldview and thus teach our kids.
We want to encourage you as parents and believers to run the race worthy of the King, as we focus on the eternal reason why we do what we do. There is a lot of ideas, systematic approaches and reasons why we do what we do.
Joshua 24:15 As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
Love, the Rices
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We strongly believe as parents we MUST we looking to the Bible to guide our discernment and convictions. Today we share a special episode on a matter that we have strong convictions on. We all go on a journey when it comes to our passions, convictions, and biblical discernment. As we encourage parents to prayerfully consider their families choices, we also share from the bible what it says about some things the world celebrates.
The question of what do you do on October 31st, comes up a lot to us and we wanted to give an explanation that you can bite your teeth into, and not a quick one sentence response. The assumption is that families celebrate Halloween on October 31st but did you know an event that has changed the trajectory of our Christian churches and faith happened on that day. Listen in on today’s podcast as we deep dive into a timely conversation.
We pray you are encouraged, maybe challenged, and above all else have turned to prayer and the bible for whatever decisions you make as a family.
Love, the Rices
We’re BACK! Yes, it has been a hot minute, and lot of changes have occurred in our family. Listen in on today’s podcast where we talk about a VERY important conviction of making sure your FAMILY is your number one ministry before any other public ministry or outpouring in your life.
We share our personal story and experience, reminding ourselves and the listen of not apologizing for living in Gods calling on your life.
Have you ever felt a struggle or pull in different directions when it comes to ministering to your family? We pray today’s podcast will bring you the encouragement you need to keep the first things first in your life.
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From the Rices
