Planner University: Homemaking - Part Four

We ended in the last installment in this series with the Emergency Quick Clean page. I showed you a picture of mine, in my current planner. The page facing it is what we are going to look at now, so take a look below:

The page after the Emergency Quick Clean is a page with a little stick on page flag/tab. I also opted to decorate this page a bit, by using some washi tape and a journaling card.

I have this page set up like this, because if I turn that page, the next page is my menu plan for the week. This way, if I want to check what I'm supposed to cook for one of the meals for the day, I just need to open up my homemaking section, then grab that little blue tab, and it flips me right over to my menu for the week.

This cute little page works to divide the homemaking section into two parts. The first part of the homemaking section was completed in the last installment in this series. That section was mostly cleaning and schedule related. The second part of the homemaking section is largely food related.

Take a few minutes and create a cute, tabbed page, to divide between the cleaning, and cooking sections of your homemaking section.

The Weekly Menu

Which day of the week do you get your groceries? A lot of ladies get theirs on Fridays. Each day before your grocery day, sit down and write out your menu plan for the next several days. If you get groceries on Fridays, then sometime each Thursday, sit down and write down all the breakfasts, lunches, and suppers you plan to prepare for the up coming Friday through Thursday.

Take this time to plan meals that are healthy, but also ones that your family enjoys, and that are fairly cost-effective, as you want to be a good steward with your husband's hard-earned money.

Think about any days where you may have specific out of the home activities going on. Are those days when you need to have something slow cooking in the crock pot all day, so that you come home to a yummy smell, and a cooked supper waiting in the crock pot?

What about afternoon outings? Do you need to plan out packed lunches for those times?

Just write out each day of the week, and write your planned breakfasts, lunches, and suppers on it. I usually just use either Arc or Martha Stewart discbound filler paper for this. I fill one side of the page with the week's menu. When I am done with that side, then I take the paper out, flip it upside-down, and then put it back in, so that I can then fill up the other side of the paper, before I either file the menu, or throw it away.

Sometimes you may end up making a super-good menu. In these cases, keep those menu pages in the back, or Notes section of your planner, or somewhere in the back of your Homemaking section. Then, every once in a while, pull out that menu, and put it in your menu section to use again.

If you can't think of very many things to put on your menu plan, or you don't know how to make many things, grab a cookbook, or look at recipes online, and try some of those. In fact, it may be fun to have a whole week of all new recipes to try. Then, you can keep a list of the recipes you all like, to have again, in the future.

Meal Ideas

The next few pages should be meal ideas. Have a section for breakfast ideas, a section for lunch ideas, and a section for supper ideas. I like to keep Post-It arrow flags on these pages, to mark where I'm at on these lists, as I often reference them when making my weekly menu plan. This way, I can ensure that we aren't repeatedly having the same things too often.

Below are some sample meal ideas, to get you started:

Breakfast Ideas

Homemade granola

Smoothies

Grapefruit and peanut butter toast

Scrambled eggs

Oatmeal

Muffins

Cottage cheese and fruit

Pancakes

Fruit and homemade yogurt

Baked oatmeal

Store bought yogurt cups

Fruit and cheese

Cantaloupe halves

Banana bread

Egg casserole

Scrambled eggs with cream of mushroom soup in them (Campbelled eggs)

Cinnamon toast

Biscuits and gravy

Polenta

Eggs 'n Oats (Scrambled eggs with some oats, cinnamon, cayenne and paprika mixed in)

Lunch Ideas

Salad and fish

Homemade tomato soup

Legumes and cheese

Buttered pasta

Tuna sandwiches

Fruit and veggies with yogurt cream cheese dip

Homemade macaroni and cheese

Stir fry

Canned soup

Egg salad sandwiches

Chicken wraps

Quick black bean soup (made with canned black beans)

Salad and chicken

Avocado toast

Quick homemade veggie soup (made with canned or frozen chopped veggies)

Quick spaghetti (spaghetti sauce and noodles, no meat)

Breakfast burritos

Supper Ideas

Seasoned chicken breasts

Lentil stew

Omelettes

Pot roast

Cowboy beans

Beef stew

Salmon loaf (meatloaf made with salmon meat, instead of beef)

Black bean soup (slow cooked in crock pot all day)

Spaghetti (with meat)

Potato soup

Meat loaf

Chili

Parmesan salmon

Split peas and biscuits

Reminder: try a new recipe

Homemade pizza (consider doing this every Friday or Saturday night)

Hamburger stew

Lasagna

Zucchini casserole

White chicken chili

Chicken pot pie

Eggs 'n hash

Sides

After your meals ideas pages, you should have a page that lists ideas for side dishes. I suggest you do fruit sides with breakfast, fruit and vegetable sides with lunch, and vegetable sides with supper. Try to aim for at least 1 cup of fresh fruit a day, and at least 1.5 cups of fresh veggies each day.

Master Grocery List

The next page should be a master grocery list. Imagine you have absolutely no food whatsoever, and you need to completely stock your pantry, cabinets, fridge, and freezer, completely from start. This is where you will have a list of everything you'd put in the pantry, cabinets, fridge, and freezer. Divide your Master Grocery List into sections. For example: Dairy, Meat, Fruit, Vegetables, Baking, Dry Goods, Canned Goods, Frozen Foods, Condiments, Husband's Favorite Stuff, Other Items.

If you've never made a Master Grocery List before, then this may seem daunting. If you feel overwhelmed, then I suggest you do an internet search for 'master grocery list.' You will likely find several. Some will be blank forms you can fill out, while others will be other people's lists. Use these for ideas, or just print out someone else's Master Grocery List, if it's pretty close to how you and your family eat, alter it where needed, and use it.

Putting Together a Menu Plan and Grocery List

1) Look at your Meals Ideas and Sides pages, and use those to help you make a menu plan for the week

2) Whenever you run low or out of something around the house, write it down on some of the scratch paper at the front of your planner. When you are planning your meals and making your grocery list for the week, look at this list on your scratch paper, and transfer its contents to the grocery list you are making.

3) Look at your menu plan, and write down anything you need, that you already don't have on hand.

4) Look through your Master Grocery List. Read quickly over each item, and when you see something on that list that you are low or out of, add that item to your list.

5) Now, re-write your list in the order of the aisles in your store. Start by writing all your non-food items first, then all dry good foods, then all produce and meat, then dairy and eggs, and end with frozen items. Keep your completed grocery list as the first page in the scratch paper section in the front matter of your planner.

Recipes

That last part of your planner's homemaking section should be recipes. Decide if you want to take the time to type up all your recipes on a file on your computer and print them out for your planner, or if you just want to put in some filler paper, and hand-write your recipes in.

Write down recipes for things that you cook regularly, but don't have the recipe memorized. Any memorized recipes don't need written in your planner. Don't worry about alphabetizing your recipes, but do put them in an order of all breakfast recipes first, then lunch, then supper, then desserts, then treats, then specials, etc. Leave a few blank or lined pages of filler paper after your recipes, so that when you want to write in a new recipe, you can.

If you decide to type up your recipes in a file on your computer, then you can print them out in booklet form. This will already have them printed out on double sided half sheets of paper, properly collated. You will just need to print, fold over, as if making a book, then carefully cut off a sliver of the spine/fold. Then, just punch, and put in your planner.

Put a little tab or flag on the first page of your recipes, so that when you need to access your planner for a recipe, you can open the Homemaking section, then grab the little tab sticking out for your recipes, and turn right there.

Build Your Foundation on the Rock of Salvation

The terms "Christian" and "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" have been thrown around so much, that for many people, they have lost their original savor. What is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it going to church? Is it being a "good person?" Is it via doing certain rituals, or following certain traditions? No, it is so much simpler than that.

Jesus says:

"Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me." -Revelation 3:20 CEB

Let Jesus into your heart and life. Put your faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone.

Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth? He came to pay for our sins. Have you ever broken any of the Ten Commandments? Did you know that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that just looking at someone with lust in your heart is the same thing as committing adultery in your heart?

Many people will say I'm a good person. Sure, I've stolen a few paper clips in my time, and I've told some lies, but I've never killed anyone, so I'm good enough for heaven. Don't be so sure. Have you ever felt hatred toward someone? If so, then you are guilty of committing murder in your heart:

"Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them." -1 John 3:15 CEB

If you have stolen, lied, lusted after someone, hated someone, loved someone or something more than God, etc., then you have broken at least 5 of the Ten Commandments. Do you really think you'd make it to heaven? Not according to God's Word:

"Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CEB

But there is good news:

"That is what some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11 CEB

We are all sinners:

"All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory" -Romans 3:23 CEB

Even Mary, the woman chosen by God to be a vessel that would carry Jesus in her womb, was a sinner, and in need of a Savior:

"In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior." - Mary said this in Luke 1:47 (CEB). Only sinners need a Savior, and Mary also accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.

We are all imperfect, fallible sinners:

"This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." -1 John 1:5-8 CEB

The blood of Jesus Christ is what cleanses us from all sins. Jesus came to this earth to die to pay for our sins. You see, Leviticus tells us that 'the life is in the blood,' and that it takes spilt blood to atone for sin.

When we choose to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and to live our lives for Christ, then Christ's spilt blood cleanses us from our sins:

"Come now, and let’s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow. If they are red as crimson, they will become like wool." -Isaiah 1:18 CEB

Jesus tells us this:

"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son." - Jesus said this, in John 3:16-18 (CEB)

Paul gives us a simple "step by step process" on how to be saved:

"Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation. The scripture says, All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame." -Romans 10:9-11 CEB

Jesus is our one and only mediator:

"There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus" -1 Timothy 2:5 CEB

Jesus is our High Priest:

"Also, let’s hold on to the confession since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, who is Jesus, God’s Son; because we don’t have a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin." -Hebrews 4:14-15 CEB

We are to follow the Lord and the Bible, not traditions of people:

"Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you?" -Matthew 15:3 CEB

Jesus is God:

"Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory." -1 Timothy 3:16 CEB

If Jesus isn't the Lord of your life, then I hope that you will let Him into your heart and life this very moment.

"But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8 CEB

Have you built your foundation on the Rock of Salvation?

Jesus is the way. If you would like to receive Jesus into your heart and life, then let Him know. Pray to the Lord, telling Him that you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for your sins. Tell this to God in your own words, from your heart.

"The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23 CEB

Believe, and Receive:

"You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ." -Ephesians 1:13 CEB

When you believe on Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. You are sealed as a child of God.

If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, to pay the death penalty for your sins, and that Christ rose from the dead three days later, and you are ready to let Him lead your life, and you will live for Him, then you are saved, and born again.

You are now a saved Child of God, with the Holy Spirit living within you. Dedicate your life to the Lord, and live for Him. Please get a Bible (I suggest the Common English Bible - CEB) and turn to the Gospel of John. That is the fourth book in the New Testament. If you don't have a Bible, then you can read it for free, online - here.

After you've read the Gospel of John, go on to read Acts, and then Romans. These three books will bring you through the Gospel, the early church, and basic Christian doctrine. After you've read these three, then turn to the beginning of the New Testament, and read it all the way through. After that, read both the Old and New Testaments.

You should also follow the Lord and get baptized in water. A Believer's Baptism doesn't save you. Only faith in Christ saves you. A Believer's Baptism is an outward showing of your salvation. It symbolizes you being born again. When you are lowered under the water, it shows you dying to your old self, and when you are raised up out of the water, it symbolizes you being born again, as a new creature in Christ. This is called a Believer's Baptism, because, according to the Bible, a person is supposed to get baptized after they have believed on Christ. Anyone who was "baptized" before having faith in Christ just got wet - nothing more. You don't need to find a church to get baptized in. Any born again Christian can baptize you in any acceptable body of water - even a public swimming pool.

Find a good, local church congregation to attend. Search in your area for a Nazarene church, Foursquare church, or non-denominational Full-Gospel church.

Immerse yourself in the Bible. The Bible is God's love letter to you. It is also your Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.