Godly Woman

It has always been a struggle for me to learn what it really means to be a godly woman. I still struggle today. I wasn't raised in a godly home. Growing up we lived with my grandmother because my mom and dad divorced when I was 5. The home was unkept, we were mostly lazy, neither my mom or grandmother cooked much, and my alcoholic "grandfather" lived in the home even though he and my grandmother weren't married. My mom dutifully took my brother and I to our Catholic church each Sunday, but I never got much out of it.  My grandmother and "grandfather" as well as my mother aren't living anymore, but my brother is still living now as we were then.

When I became a Christian I didn't have anyone to take me by the hand and help me learn and grow as a Christian. I've only had one lovely women in my life who reached out and taught me some of what it means to be a godly woman, she is with the Lord now. Most everything I've learned about being a godly woman, wife and mom hasn't been from human example like in Titus 2, but from my own research and Bible study. Right or wrong, everything I've learned about keeping a home I've pretty much taught myself. It's been a hard road to break the bad habits I've been raised with and to re-learn a better way. I'm still working on it. It's a daily process. I continue to pray for the Lord to send a wonderful godly Titus 2 woman into my life, but in the mean time I rely on lovely Christian blogs, studying the Bible and listening to the Lord. He is the ultimate teacher after all!

This weighs on my heart and I so desire to be the godly woman I didn't have in my life to other young Christian women who are going through what I went through. It's heartbreaking that there aren't more Christian women in today's churches who are living out Titus 2, but also more younger women who are willing to receive such a mentor.  I hope that you will pray about reaching out and touching the lives of younger (spiritual or physical age) Christian women, and that you will pray about allowing older (spiritual or physical age) Christian women to reach out and mentor you.  It's not a suggestion for a few, it's a command for all...and we all need it.


I am linking this post with the Modest Monday posts over at The Modest Mom Blog. I'm off here so I can get back to caring for my family and taking care of my home. Have a lovely day that our amazing Lord has made.

Titus 2:1-5: But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things--that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Our Time Is Short

Yesterday morning I was browsing posts online when I came across one that encouraged everyone to grab a cup of coffee and your favorite devotional book and spend some time with the Lord.  I love to be encouraged that way, but the post kind of rubbed me the wrong way.  My response was to skip the devotional book and just dive right in and soak in God's Word instead.

2 Timothy 3:16-17  
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Bible study/devotional books are nice, but most are designed to draw out the point that the author is trying to make. Some are good, some not so good.  And the Christian bookstores are full of books on how to be a better Christian, how to understand this, learn more about this. Religion is one of the most popular category of books.  Christian retail sales are in the billions and most authors are writing for profit first and foremost.   Again, these authors may be writing about the Bible or Christianity, but it is still the word of man ABOUT the Word of God.  Most Christians will happily pick up a popular book by a popular author, but few will be like the Bereans and take these books and scrutinize them against the Bible...like the Bible tells us we should.

Acts 17:11
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The Bible is not a hard book to understand.  It is not a book that has to be interpreted by a select few so that the majority will know what it says.  All scripture is inspired by God, and the Word will interpret the Word.  There are parts that are easy to read, there are parts that are not.  The more you read it, the more you study it, the more you understand it.   

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

There is a place for Bible study/devotional books, but they should never take the place of digging into the Word and studying the Bible for yourself.  The majority of your devotional/study time should be spend in the Bible itself, not in books about the Bible.  Quite honestly, I'm not interested in what the next best selling Christian author has to say. I need to focus on what God has to say in HIS Word, lest I get deceived.  I'm not going to rely solely on what a pastor tells me...but I'm going to study it for myself in the Word. Pastors are human too. I worry that many people who consider themselves Christians today will either be led astray by someone tickling their ears or will find when it's too late that even though they were leading a Christian lifestyle that their heart really wasn't in it. If you aren't sure if your heart is right, or if you have never made that commitment before...I hope you'll read my page "If You Died Today...", or you can call 1-888-need-him if you would like to speak to someone in person.

Working In The Garden

Have been doing a lot of work in the garden, trying to get it ready to plant.  I'm waiting until Monday or Tuesday to plant tomatoes and peppers since Sunday night it is supposed to be near freezing.

Genesis 8:22
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

I usually start seeds but this year I just didn't have the gumption to do it.  I had everything ready except me.  I had planned on having an all heirloom garden this year, but unless I can find some heirloom plants here locally I will work with what I can get and save my seeds for next year.  I can still plant my heirloom bean seeds, cucumber seeds, squash seeds etc., just not the things that need to be started early.

One of our past gardens.  Currently it's all dirt.

Since we have a problem with rabbits we finally put up a fence around our garden.  No more rabbit buffets!  Since our little castle homestead is right in town, rabbit stew is not possible.  So the fence will have to do.

Ready for planting!

The king has decided that he doesn't want to plant corn again.  Since we had a hot summer and terrible drought our corn didn't do well last year.  The kind wants to focus on the vegetables that are more costly for us to buy.  One that we use most often is spinach.  So I plan on plants lots of that this year and hopefully freeze enough for the winter.  Right now the only things that are planted are potatoes and onions.

Finally, this weekend is our town-wide clean-up.  The town sets up huge dumpsters and you can take all your big, unwanted trash and get rid of it.  We are loading up the trailer with everything we want to dispose of and the king and prince will take it to the dumpsters tomorrow. 

Genesis 1:29
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Breakfast For Dinner

Makes a cheap and easy meal. Tonight we are having pancakes. The recipe I use is from one of my favorite cookbooks "Feed Me I'm Yours" by Vicki Lansky. Yeah, it's a cookbook for babies and toddlers...but there are lots of recipes (like the pancake recipe) that I still use. So it stays on my bookshelf.

I have been soaking all my grains for a few weeks now and quite honestly I haven't noticed a difference. It seems to be very easy to adapt most of my recipes to soaking and that includes this recipe:

Buttermilk Beauties
1 cup flour (white, whole wheat, or a combination)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon shortening (melted) or oil
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt, plus sweet milk or water, to make 1 cup liquid)

Mix dry ingredients. Add milk and shortening to egg and mix. Combine the two mixtures until they are just moistened. Bake on a hot griddle, browning both sides.

My changes: First of all, I double this recipe. I take the 2 cups of wheat flour and mix in 2 cups buttermilk or yogurt. I let this set overnight if I'm making it for breakfast, or I make it in the morning and let it set all day if I'm making it for dinner. When I'm ready to make them, I mix the rest of the ingredients (I use coconut oil instead of shortening) together and add them to the flour mixture. Sometimes I need to add more water if the mixture seems too thick. I think I may add a banana to the mixture also since I have one that is begging to be used!  Yum!

Back Blogging

I had planned on starting my royal blog back up at the beginning of March, but things didn't seem to work out until now. So I start now!

I'm not blogging to any particular audience, and I'm not blogging for income, I'm blogging for enjoyment and sanity.  I don't want this to seem commercial but I'll be blogging about all sorts of topics relating to struggling with be a Proverbs 31 woman and aspiring to be a Titus 2 woman...faith, family, home and everything in between.   I pray that even though I share my thoughts, opinions, successes and struggles, that God will be glorified. 

Amish buggies at our local kite festival.

Our little castle is in a small Northern Indiana town that has a very large Amish population. We are surrounded by corn fields and Amish buggies.  This is much different from the big city life of Metro Detroit where we are from.  Unfortunately because we live right in town we do not have the space or privilege to raise farm animals, but we do what we can on our small to have a more natural, sustainable living.  It isn't because we are trying to save the Earth or reduce global warming, but because we want to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.  Besides, as Christians we believe we are here to save the souls of people and store treasures in heaven, not try to save material things here that will eventually pass away. 

The name Queen Ann's Place is a play on one of my favorite flowers, Queen Anne's Lace.  Many people see it as a weed, but I see a lovely flower.  It reminds me of how God sees me.  While the world might see all my flaws, the King of kings lovingly sees me as a new creation through Christ Jesus, and His child and heir.

Galatians 4:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.


I'm very glad you stopped by today!  I'm happy to share my walk with you and hope you will visit often. 

Stay Tuned

I'll be back blogging here soon, stay tuned!

Matthew 24:29-31 - “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

We are not just in the last days, we are in the last hours. Are you ready?

Welcome to my castle blog!

Hello! I'm Ann, queen of my little castle homestead here in the quiet Amish country of Northern Indiana. I have many royal titles...I am wife of 18 years to my beloved the king, mother and homeschool teacher to our only child...the prince, keeper of the castle, maker of meals, tender of the gardens, reader of cookbooks, pursuer of simplicity, stretcher of budgets, worker of hand crafts, chaser of dogs, watcher of birds, sipper of tea, drinker of too much coffee, student of the Scriptures, lover of Jesus, struggling Proverbs 31 and aspiring Titus 2 woman. I'm passionate about it all! Philippines 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Unlike other blogs, my blog isn't a source of income. I blog here for my own enjoyment and therapy. I don't seek any advertising and I don't get compensated for things I mention. I pray that even though I share my thoughts, opinions, successes and struggles, that God will be glorified.

Finally, while I am queen of my little castle, this is my blog and I am queen here as well. I am not like everyone else, I don't fit in anywhere, and chances are pretty good that we will have different views or opinions on things. I'm all right with that...really...as long as everything here remains pleasant.

I am blessed that you took the time to stop in and visit. May our great King of kings and Lord of lords richly pour out His blessings on you as you seek and follow Him.