Lessons in Kombucha

Everyone who follows my page via social networking knows which subject the tide of my attention has turned upon: fermented foods. Particularly, Kombucha. And beet kvass. And homemade yogurt. And dairy kefir. In fact, it has become an obsession, really. Why?

Well, for one thing....as a glass lass, my heart is to share transparently what knowledge He gives on this journey of Truth, including the art of fermentation---because appreciating the temples that He gives enables us to appreciate His care in design-details even more than before.

We'll start with Kombucha. It's an ancient, probiotic elixir that, like all fermented foods, helps the gut to absorb the vitamins that you are consuming. Many people sadly have the misconception that healthy foods are the end-all of good health. The truth is...that's not true. Healthy foods must be accompanied by absorption---and that's exactly one way that kombucha aids. While you can buy Kombucha in-store (still a good alternative), it is much more potent at home....I look forward to guiding you in the benefits and easy-at-home steps in unraveling posts!

If you are interested in purchasing a Kombucha kit, I sell them for just $20 plus S&H. Kits include SCOBY (mother culture), high-quality Puer Tea, and starter tea. Contact me at: dotsonmanor5@gmail.com.

The Glass Lass AKA "The Kombucha Doula"

The Man I Prayed For

The Man I Prayed For: Ruth Bell Graham

Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid
(as we're inclined to do),
I do not need a handsome man
but let him be like You;

I do not need one big and strong
nor yet so very tall,
nor need he be some genius,
or wealthy, Lord at all;

But let his head be high, dear God,
and let his eye be clear,
his shoulder straight,
whate'er his state,
whate'er his earthly sphere;

And let his face have character
and ruggedness of soul,
And let his whole life show, dear God,
a singleness of goal;

Then when he comes
(as he will come)
With quiet eyes aglow,
I'll understand that he's the man
I prayed long ago...

Miss Potter

One of my favorite movies ever, and very family-friendly (and educational). A biopic about an English artist, the lovely Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit and his world. Some friends recently pointed out the similarity between Miss Potter and myself---directing, I assume, to my admiration for God's nature and tendency to dabble in my "own little world." I take the resemblance as a compliment :).

~ Whitney

P.S. You may want to push the pause button on my MixPod playlist before viewing this trailer as sound from both will intermingle and confuse :)!

A Schoolhouse of Trees and Sunshine...

My fondest memories in homeschooling were definitely the hands-on, less-rigid curriculum choices, and involved Scripture (of course), James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, Christian Liberty's Nature Readers, and summers sitting under back-yard trees and by bubbling brooks listening to my mother read scientific description and habits of butterflies; we caught many and sketched them in journals. To this day, I find myself still labeling different species---proof to show that tangible education encourages retention! In those elementary years, I had an academic experience very much along the lines of Beatrix Potter, with a tutor not unlike Charlotte Mason---only exceptionally better as Mrs. Dotson perceived all first and foremost from a clearly Christian, biblical worldview. The analogy between the relationship of blood-circulation to us as humans and sap to trees, the habits of the mud wasp, and the singing of the katy-did still ring in my memory. I had a joyous childhood in which reading and being read to fed my mentality without exhausting it---"tasting" knowledge and whetting an appetite without stifling creativity and originality was the key, I believe, to my present appetite for learning. Any success in my homeschooling is due to a mother who took the Bible seriously, and perceived understanding in its due perspective. She knew that unless knowledge includes the fear of God (Proverbs 1:7-8), it effectuated a puffed-up mentality.

I was also blessed incomparably and in addition with a father who provided all that was needed (finances and liberty of choice) in all academia involved :).

I have honestly never known anyone to put so much life, energy, and love into educational planning as my sweet mama. For her example, I plan to do the same someday with the children He blesses me with...though nothing will replace those memories of catching literally twenty-something eastern tent caterpillars and observing them with wonder burst from their cocoons into plain little moths all in one very small aquarium! I loved learning because I had a teacher who in turn loved learning---and loved me even more.

“Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality.” ~ Beatrix Potter

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." ~ Proverbs 1:7-8

~~~ Whitney 

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Reminisce...

This is a memory of a little art work around 14 years ago---Autumn time with a Veggie Tales pumpkin, and my sweetest friends in the world. Joshua (around 2), and Ashley (around 8).

I will never forget this very sweet time in our lives---I was definitely big sister then (even in height), and we had the best times being "savage Indians" outdoors, as well as serene little home scholars at our small, cozy house in LaFollette.

Sherry as an infant, drawing by Whitney

Blessing / Devotional For Baby Girl





Little One:

You are God’s reward (Psalm 127:3). Before you were formed, God knew you (Jeremiah 1:7).

You are fearfully and wonderfully made, ordained for a purpose (Jeremiah 1:5).

When darkness blanketed you and your substance was concealed from your parents’ eyes, God covered you, and knew your thoughts (Psalm 139:4, 13).


Little Girl:

May your earthly father reflect the everlasting Father. May he be to you a refuge and a fortress. May he impress God’s Word upon your heart; may he speak of It when he sits at home, when he walks along the road, when he lies down and rises (Deuteronomy 6:7-8).

May your mother reflect the woman you shall become. May she clothe you in the expectations of Hannah, in a little coat of strength and honor (Proverbs 31:25). May you know that charm is deceptive, that beauty is fleeting, but the woman who fears the Lord is greatly to be praised (Proverbs 31:30).

Do not say that you are only a child, but be willing to go wherever He sends you, and say what He commands you to say (Jeremiah 1:7).

Honor your parents, listen to their voice (Exodus 20:12). May God give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him (Ephesians 1:18), to love Him with your entirety---heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).

Be consecrated, be set apart, be His.


Little Woman:

Lovely One, may you grow in favor with the Lord and with men by following the paths of Wisdom, Charity, and Purity:

Fear the Lord above men (Proverbs 31:30), may your tongue be an instrument only of kindness (Proverbs 31:26).

Remain in God; may your husband’s heart trust safely in you (Proverbs 30:11).

Have compassion upon the unwell; stretch out your hands to the spiritually and physically poor, and reach out your hands to the needy (Proverbs 31:20).

May you marry a Boaz, who provides for all of your needs, and protects your heart and reputation. May he love you as Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself up for Her (Ephesians 5:25).

May your womb be blessed with life and the expectation of Life (John 14:6). May your children arise and call you blessed, and your husband, also (Proverbs 31: 28). Be always content in their praise even as your husband is known at the gate (Proverbs 31:23 ).

In accepting these blessings, Dear One, you shall be a true daughter of Sarah, Ruth, and Esther; they found true beauty in a gentle and quiet spirit, and hoped in God (1 Peter 3:4).

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies (Proverbs 31:10)!



How Are You Clothing Your Children?  Corresponding Devotional by Sherry

"But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer yearly sacrifice."
I Samuel 2:18-19

"Hannah's motherhood experience revealed purpose; not only did she realize that children are from the Lord, but are FOR the Lord. Unlike what secular counselors typically excuse as the "unaccountable" years, Hannah's expectations for her son were wholly and only to wear a little ephod---to minister unto the Lord as His own servant. What raiment of expectations have we clothed our children in today---are they aspirations of worldly success, or a "little coat" of what he or she may become in the Lord?"

"...Much bounden are ye unto God, your Creator, and always in every place ought ye to praise Him, for that He hath given you liberty to fly about everywhere, and hath also given you double and triple rainment; moreover He preserved your seed in the ark of Noah, that your race might not perish out of the world; still more are ye beholden to Him for the element of the air which He hath appointed for you; beyond all this, ye sow not, neither do you reap; and God feedeth you, and giveth you the streams and fountains for your drink; the mountains and valleys for your refuge and the high trees whereon to make your nests; and because ye know not how to spin or sow, God clotheth you, you and your children; wherefore your Creator loveth you much, seeing that He hath bestowed on you so many benefits; and therefore, my little sisters, beware of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praises unto God."

~ Saint Francis of Assisi - c1220


"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

~ Matthew 6:26