Questions about our country

I have been thinking and mulling over our country’s recent events in my mind and have to admit I am confused. 

First- I am a Christian. I believe in what Gods word says, all of it, that a man was beaten to death on a cross and raised to life three days later, for me. I am a sinner and needed Jesus so I can be washed clean, because ALL have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. 

I also believe what is says about marriage – one man, one woman. No adultery, divorce, loving your wife as Christ loved the church, respecting your husband. 

Marriage is a promise between two people and God to stay faithful to one another through all parts of life’s ups and downs. When there are so many laws already in our country and civil union laws for people to receive benefits, child custody laws, and more why do people who are not Christians want to get married? Who are they making promises to besides each other? 

If homosexual marriage is legal, why isn’t polygamy?  I mean really, if it is all about what people want to do and “it does not affect others” why is it not legal?  Just a side note, getting married does not make one happy. A successful marriage for life is a commitment to a person and requires works and selflessness. 

The White House had rainbow lights celebrating the equalialty movement and gay rights, but we are not allowed to display the 10 commandants?? If one group of our citizens can have their beliefs displayed, why can’t Christians? It is confusing.  I thought we as a country pride ourselves on freedom?  

In the United States, we love our American flag. We understand what it stands for, the colors red, white, and blue have a significant meaning. The stars, the stripes have meaning. So, why, is it ok for the gay pride celebration to have a huge flag with the stars and bars, but changed into a rainbow.  As veterans, as children of veterans, and as Americans that is, that should be, offensive.  

Speaking of flags, the confederate evokes such emotional response from many.  Some see it as a representation of southern pride, others as racism.  There is much history to the the flag we recognize as the confederate flag, and again, the symbols and colors have meaningful significance.  I very much understand both sides of the argument, flags have meaning. Period. Some parts of our country the Mexican flag can represent not just a cultural and country pride, but violence, especially to caucasian.  Flags have deep meaning, and often different to each individual. Why would a person with evil deep rooted in his heart not be to blame for all the murders he committed but a flag is to blame?  That is so confusing.  Taking down the flag, removing it from iconic TV shows, not allowing the sales of anything showing the confederate flag, does not remove evil from ones heart. Evil in a heart is only removed by the Holy Spirit. 

Parental rights……it is good, it is important, it is vital to have people who are fighting for the safety of our children.  Some of the craziness that children are subjected to because of unfit parents is sickening.  However, do parents have rights? Parents can’t spank it is abuse. Parents can’t expect children to work on the farm with them it is child labor. Do not sleep with that sweet baby, it is called abuse by some.  And now, parents in California can’t chose to not have vaccinations (any or some of the mandated ones) or they are not admitted to school, Forced to homeschool (trust me not all parents should be homeschooling) I get the need to protect the masses, but I also believe in parents rights.  Parents who do not or chose an alternate/delayed schedule for vaccinations are not doing so without having done research.  They want to chose what they feel is best for their children.  Wild – some parents even have one child receive a vaccine that another doesn’t, because they are trying to do best for their own children. Shouldn’t parents have the freedom to make parental decision? 

I am confused. I am concerned about the future. Freedoms seem to be only for select groups. Separation of church and state seems to mean you can only have church as the state declares acceptable.  Parents can have children if they do it how some deemed right.  Confused. 

Babies 2015

I love spring time in the country.  The new life that springs forth every where.

This year we had our kids born on the same day as my newest nephew – how cool is that?!?

we could not agree to name them the feminine version of his name. 😉

Aren’t the so cute?!?

Mama could escape the babies…….for a limited time anyway

Hi!

Responsibility

Responsibility is a trait we all must possess. In homes we often see chore charts, showing who is responsible for which chore, when you have pets, a family member is responsible for the well being of that pet.
If we are processing faith in Christ, if we have repented and accepted Christ into our hearts, the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you, meaning you have responsibilities that are unique to being a Christian.
When you are young, you are riding on the faith of your parents, but you still have responsibilities.  You have been gifted with parents that are just right for you.  God knew what parents would be the very best for you, you are responsible for listening to them, obeying them, and learning from them.  God gave them to you to help you grow in ways no other parents could, and that is a gift.  Just as parents, you have been gifted a ministry hand picked just for you by God in your children and spouses, you are responsible to remembering that ministry first.
As you grow older, so does your level of responsibility.  You start to ‘own your faith for yourself’ which means you are not just riding on your parents faith, but you begin to understand what it means to be a Christian. You are responsible for choosing to honor what you have been taught, and not watch movies that are not rated or approved according to your parents, because you are understanding how it can influence your thinking.
As young people you are responsible for walking the narrow path, that means you have to make decisions that are not always the cool or popular things.  For example, when your friends are talking about the opposite gender in ways that are less than honorable…..your are responsible to yourself, your friends, and that person to say this is not OK.
Parents, we also have responsibilities, not only to be raising our children up in the way of the Lord so then they are old they will not part from it, (which btw is not a promise, but a warning to how we are rearing children), to work at being a blessing to our spouse, AND to one another.  We are responsible to encourage one another, to support one another, be real, but also to hold one another to standards God has set for us, as Christians.  Being real means we are real, period. Not over sharing or putting your spouse down, but real in that we struggle.  Our children are not perfect, our homes are work, we can’t always have a happy face. When we are not real with one another, we leave an impression that we have it all together and leaves others grasping.  It is especially important in homeschooling circles, as homeschool parents, we put so much pressure on ourselves, unnecessary, but there, and when we pretend we have it all together, when we are afraid to admit we are struggling, not only with spelling or algebra, but with keeping up with life, with the feelings of depression or failure, we rob others of the truth that this is hard, but we can call on first God, and next those who are in the trenches with us.  Those who have been in the land of homeschooling for a while, you really do have a responsibility to the newer homeschoolers.  Think of the Titus 2 women.  This is true for parenting in general as well.
Often we do not want to say something to a sister or brother…because we need to treat them with love, but God is the ultimate example of love and He tells us in His word, He disciplines those He loves.  When we are seeing a sister or brother in Christ carrying on in a way that is in-Christ-like, we are responsible to that person to lovingly share what we are noticing. As uncomfortable as that might be, we need to be responsible, and need to love enough to talk to our family in Christ.

A quote I heard not long ago said, “A real friend loves enough to meddle”

Recently I was convicted about some complaining and negative talk I was allowing to go on and on, that afternoon I allowed it again!  Well, God reminded me what he had convicted me….and allowed me to lose a night of sleep.  I had to tell my Christ sister that I could not continue the discussion, as it was not of any benefit to anybody, and remind her, as God did to me the night before of the positive points.  It was not easy, but it was my responsibility.

Responsibility, is sometimes equated with accountability.

As a Christian we are responsible for our actions, words, taking all thought captive, and for holding each other accountable.  Not always easy, but always right

“I support our Military personal…”

Every Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day people across social media proclaim their support of our men and women in the Armed Forces.  Pictures are taken or shared of various sayings, of various tributes, of various cemeteries decorated with American flags.  Some folks even participate or watch ceremonies or go to a cemetery to  pay respects.  It is wonderful to see the strong support the American citizens show to our military men and women, past and present.

The support is so often given….when it is not close to home & heart…..Yes, I said it.

Mamas, are you willing to support your son or daughter who comes to you with the desire to serve their country instead of going to college? Will you help them study for the ASVAB? Find a good recruiter? Get physically strong? Or will you panic? Have a fit about throwing their opportunities away? Will you tell them how dangerous it is?  How they will be too far from home?

Spouses/girl/boy friends, do you fully support the desire to serve? Do you say, we will get through separations? Do you refrain from asking why they would leave  you? Do you complain about having to leave family and what you have always known? Or do you see the adventure you can take together? Do you say, I can serve my country by supporting you fully and completely?

Think, honestly about that for a minute.

It is a scary thought to have your child go into the military, no doubt.  I would even venture to say it is a bit scarier to have a child in the military than to be Active duty or a spouse of a military member. As parents we want the best for our children, and fear the worst possible situation in every situation.  It is in the blueprint of parenting.  However, if your child is of the age to go into the military and has a desire to serve, that says you have taken the time to teach them about serving their country, to have love for their country, and to appreciate the sacrifice of our military members.

The danger aspect if often forefront of a parents apprehension to give their blessing for entering the military.  The reality is the percentage of deaths from military war, training, and mishaps are much less than from car accidents alone.

Often we will hear parents say the military to turn my child from God.  Deep breath……..

If your child had/has a true relationship with Christ, nothing will pull them away, instead everything will draw them nearer to Him.  One of the unique things about the Christian military community is the ability to reach young people in a way I have yet to see elsewhere.  People worldwide come to minister to our military people, speaking a language the military folks (personnel and family) understand, sharing experiences they understand, on a level they GET. I have seen more folks come to know the Lord on bases than any where else……..add an overseas assignment to the mix where they are removed from the comforts of familiarity (even if it is an accompanied tour) and people really seek His face.  So perhaps, just maybe, going into the military will strengthen a walk or lead to one.

When a spouse fully supports their active duty (or active reserve) other half, it truly supports our country.  Think about it, a husband is deployed and leaves a wife with a baby back at their duty station.  If she whines and groans about how hard it is, he will be worried about her and not able to fully engage his mind on the mission.  If she says, I will miss you, but we will be OK, and figures out how to fix the plugged (AGAIN) kitchen sink (even if it is with a fork not the ‘correct’ tools) and gets the yard mowed (despite having to borrow a mower because something about oil and gas and now hers is not running) and waits until he returns to mention such inconveniences.  Deals with child rearing issues and leans on friends who are in the same boat, without sending emails, texts, letters of discontent, etc.  That supports the mission – we spouses say we are serving at home so he can better serve our country.

The friendships forged within the military community are often stronger than those lifelong friendships.  That is priceless.  Yes, it is hard to have a spouse in the military but it brings great rewards.   I have been Active Duty, Reserve, and spouse, being a spouse has been the hardest emotionally.

So when you say you support the military, but when someone close to you comes forth with the desire to serve in the Armed Forces, think about it.  Do you really support the military? Or do you need to say, “I support the military as long as it is not close to my heart?”

Grace

I have been thinking about the grace we claim to extend one another.  Often we are quick to say we need to ‘give grace’ give grace to one who is in sin; give grace to the unsaved sinner.  Grace….acceptance?
Are we called to love one through sin? Yes? Are we called to look the other way? Not if they are professing faith in Christ.  We are called to lovingly take our brother/sister aside and share our concerns about their sin, then hopefully we will be able to walk them through the repentance, love them through the hurt they will experience.
BUT what about our brothers and sisters in Christ who carry colorful baggage of past sin.
Sin before Christ? We are so often quick to accept the renewed person.
Sin in the past even as a believer? They are redeemed and can share how God has used that past to give shiny new testimony…..are we a willing to say we accept the renewed person? Sure if it is not too close to home……what if a woman has a baby out of wedlock? What if a man has an affair? What if there was substance abuse? Is it a little more scary to accept fully the person is renewed?
Sin, today, in the life of a believer?  Do we extend grace when they are admitting a struggle? Do we promise to hold them accountable, or do we judge? It is easy to say quickly “sure, I will hold you accountable” but when it hits close to home???
What if a married sister in Christ admits she is struggling with an attraction another man? What if that man is close to you?  What if a man admits his struggle with pornography? It is so easy to cast judgement and not turn our backs on our sisters and brothers when they need us most.
How about in parenting….often we excuse child training as children will be children and just need to be taught, and encourage with love and maybe suggestions.
What if it is more ‘scary’ you hear one of your friends daughter has engaged in sexual activity at 14? Or a teen son is caught drinking? Do we extend love, support, encouragement, grace to those parents? Or do we judge them, throw stones, and ‘protect’ our kids from such influences?

Grace, love, support, encouragement all are part of what it means to walk with Christ.  Do we give it? Do we give it from our true hearts or from empty words because that is what you are supposed to do? Each one of us has burdens and luggage, we are not to carry others burdens, we are to help the  release those burdens to Christ.  We are called to live victoriously, we are called to be wise, exercising caution, we are called to support one another, we are even called to love a sister / brother enough to tell them when we see a sin.  We are NOT called to turn our backs on one struggling, to judge unfairly, to live in fear.

FEAR

What does fear look like? Often we think of fear as the boogey man jumping out and scaring us, or walking through a dark forest lost and alone, or even the loud clap of thunder….fear. On a daily level though, what is fear? As parents we have the daily fear of something terrible happening to our children. We fear the worst, as one of the littles once said to mom here, “You always think of the worst possible things.” Yes, moms have a ‘gift’ for imagining the worst. This video from the Skit Guys, called “Mom googles” is a hilariously accurate of how moms see things. https://skitguys.com/videos/item/mom-goggles

It is an unfortunate truth that moms respond to the concern for our children with fear. Fear is not trusting God with all areas of our life, especially our children. Homeschooling can be a wonderful time of learning and growing in relationship with children, but when the choice to homeschool is done out of fear it is robbing parents of the sweet blessings that can be had. When we homeschool because we are fearful that our children will: see skimpily dressed people, might learn about other religions, will face a bullying situation, be victim of a school shooting, be kidnapped, coerced into illicit behavior, be tempted by drugs and alcohol, possibly turn from God….we have taken the faith we claim to have in God, and given way to fear. By the way, homeschooling alone does not stop any of those things mentioned.

In many families who homeschool, parents strive to have a sterile environment, where they children are not exposed to the sins of the world. Not over-exposing our children is a good thing, fearing any exposure is not. A healthy fear is ok, but even better is fear that has said its prayers: FAITH.

Moms (and dads) we need to trust that if we are homeschooling we are doing it because it is what God has called us to do, not because we are allowing satan to have his way with our minds and we are responding to fear. We cannot control every aspect of life, we cannot predict what our children will see, we cannot predict how our children will be tempted, and we cannot even decide if our children will chose to walk with the Lord. What we can do is have faith. Have faith that if God has called you to homeschool, you can do it successfully. Have faith that we can teach our children in the way they should go, so when they are old they will not turn away from it. Have faith that we can teach our children to have grace with those who might not understand the value of their own bodies (news flash, sometimes those skimpily dressed individuals do not even realize they are dressed in ways that could cause one to stumble, or view modesty differently than you, but still love the Lord) Have faith that God loves those children even more than you! So hard to comprehend that, but it is true. God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and sound mind (II Timothy 1:7) Having the power from God alone, gives us the confidence to walk in faith, the sound mind keeps fear at bay.

How do you keep fear away? Stay in the word of God each day! You do have time, you do have time. Every mom has time, ask God, He will show you, you do have time.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by homeschooling, take some time, and pray….really pray and listen….ask God if He has called you to homeschool or if you are doing it out of some fear. I do believe in homeschooling, but not every family is called to homeschool. There are some amazingly strong Christians in our schools, youth and adult.

If you know God has called your family to be part of the homeschool world, are you allowing God to come first, marriage second, family third, home duties fourth and curriculum later?

Not fear of…anything….in the equation…rather faith!

 

Carnal vs spiritual Christian

Carnal – the first image that comes to my mind when I hear that word is a pack of wolves or coyotes going after their kill and ripping it apart, shredding the meat, and ruthlessly eating at the carcass.  Not a pretty picture, but one of the reality of the circle of life.

Carnal Christian can be thought of in a similar way.  A carnal Christian is one who digs into the word of God, seeks knowledge, wants to see the ins and outs, A carnal Christian may even travel to various parts of interest mentioned in the Bible, learning about and seeing first hand where Jesus walked, searching for evidence of Noah’s ship, learning and growing in knowledge.  This is awesome, this is amazing, it is something gain from such a learned Christian.  BUT, are they trusting in the awe inspiring truths? Are they looking to fill a fleshly desire for knowledge?

A spiritual Christian is one who just walks on faith, resting in His peace and trusting His truths.  A spiritual Christian knows the loves of Christ, and loves the personal relationship experienced by KNOWING and FELLOW SHIPPING with Christ. The spiritual Christian may not have all the answers, may not be quick to quote scripture, but knows it and will find the answers.  A spiritual Christian is not arrogant with knowledge, but sweet in spirit. This is the person seeking to honor God in all they do.

The Marine here is such a Godly example, to which I am so thankful, and challenged.  He is a wonderful example of a spiritual Christian.  He came to know the Lord in his 30’s.  He never knew anything about the Bible and the truths it is embedded with.  He came to know the Lord after years of living for his flesh, giving in to all sorts of sin, experiencing the heart ache that comes with those choices.  After our son was killed, he was able to witness his wife (me) growing in a peace, and he did not understand it, but knew he wanted it.  God placed amazingly tough men (other Marines and Sailors) who were also wonderfully strong Christians in his world…..he accepted Jesus!!  What is so amazing about The Marine, is he grew in his faith by leaps and was so bold in his faith.  He was, and is, quick to be honest about his lack of knowledge or understanding of subjects related to Christian history, walk, or some scripture.  However, he walks in truth on the path which is lit for him by Christ.  He is quick to offer help to anybody, not judging people at all.  He is bold in his faith in a way that does not make one feel inferior.  He wants to do what he feels God is calling him to do……even when it is not easy, convenient, or enjoyable.  Often he will help another at his own expense, wanting only to be a blessing, and if the person does not know the Lord, to see them come to know the Lord….He invites everybody to Church.   He is a spiritual Christian.

I have seen this theme come up several times over the weeks, carnal vs spiritual Christian.  I love to study the word of God and I pray that I am growing more and more as a spiritual Christian, not just one with knowledge, but love, and awe of the One who breathed those words.

Waiting…..

Waiting. Waiting is so hard, it requires so much patience. Waiting for a baby to be born….I have decided it is so much hard to be the one waiting that the one expecting.  I have had three babies, I never fully appreciated the position my husband or my support crew was in until I was the support person.  Waiting for friends to go into labor so I could go to the hospital with them, as a help to mama and dad or as a surrogate husband…..that was the most stressful time for me to have a baby.  Every time the phone rang, I was emotionally geared up to see a baby born.  Even when I was not in the delivery room, those I loved have had babies, and what a time of excitement and anxiety.  Love the miracle of babies.

Well, now that we live on a farm, we get to wait for a different kind of baby……baby goats!  The excitement is here, maybe not quite as much as one of the new human babies, but still rather exciting.  Last year we did not breed our girls because we like them to be a full year before breeding, so we have not had a baby goat for two years! Can you imagine the excitement?  I check her regularly for signs, when ever I do not see her in her pen for a few  minutes, my heart begins to race, and I wonder.  We  now have the binoculars close by so we can look more closely and not bundle up to check on her.  She is huge, and I feel for her.  This is her first freshening, she will be such a great mama.  Did I mention she is huge? There must be 3 or 4 cute little babies in there!  Oh, the excitement, the anticipation, the waiting……….

Will be sure to share picture of the babies, whenever they decide to come…..for now, we will wait.

B.U.S.Y

Busy, that is a word used by so many. Busy, that is what parents are. Busy, that is how we keep kids out of trouble. Busy. Busy. Crazy Busy. It seems we, in general, are so busy any more. Too busy to stop over for a cup of tea or coffee and chat. Too busy to go visit grandparents. Too busy for a lazy afternoon. Too Busy.

I have been there, so busy I wonder if I will make it through the week. I am selfish, too, though. I do not like being too busy to enjoy dinner as a family. I enjoy conversations with my family. I love to take a walk or bike ride together. Geocaching, what a simple, inexpensive time to explore the outdoors. Cooking real, whole, nutritious food. So many simple things, we cannot enjoy when we are ‘crazy busy’

I have been thinking about this lately, felt challenged by God to say, what can I do to slow the pace? Does my pace create peace in my home? Can I welcome visitors, expected or unexpected? I do, within the depths of my heart, believe in fellowship with one another, is something we are called to do. But, that is another topic.

Busy….what does the Word of God have to say about busy? Of course, those who have been around the Church and teachings for more than a month know about Mary and Martha. Jesus came to their home. Martha was all flustered with the stuff to do, such as food, serving, etc, yet Mary was listening, investing her time in being with Jesus. Martha had a melt down because her sister was not helping with the preparations, and she was scolded by Jesus, who explained Mary was focused on that which is important, Jesus. That which is eternal.

As parents how does that help us? We just know that if our children are not involved in a sport, or two, every season, we are not helping them to get ahead. If they are not in dance, drama, music, youth group, AWANAS, Scouts, etc, we are robbing them. We are made to feel guilty for keeping the out of stuff, we are reminded how important it is for our kids to be in debate, so they can learn to get ahead in the corporate world. It is expected, it is normal, it is ‘life with kids’ to have something every night of the week, sometimes even a few things on the same night, mom and dad play tag team driving kids from one activity to another, teaming with other parents to get kids where they need to be. Many sports have games on Sunday, so Church is missed, “but it is just for six weeks” (What is the message, what is more important?)

It is what we have come to accept as normal, but is it what is right in the eyes of God?

Look at this passage from Haggai 1:5-9 ESV

Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

When we are so busy running kids, are we sowing into them? Are we remembering our first and most important ministry, the one hand picked by God? Are we able to take time to enjoy His creation? His art work? Are we able to enjoy dinner together as a family?

Last fall one of my sons played soccer, practice was the same night as Boy Scouts. I had made the comment, I don’t know if we will make it or how I will pull it off. A friend told me, you just get used to it, the driving, the going, the rushing, after a couple weeks, you just get used to it. She is a friend who has children involved in multiple activities at all times, she is used to it. Soccer season came, and went, and we survived. We went as a family to games, he and I did not always make it back to Scouts. We did it, but it was not without sacrifice. We did not have time to slow down to clean house, get decent meals cooked, or just enjoy this farm which God has blessed us with. Hmmm….

Sports are a great part of life for those who enjoy them, so let’s not get sidetracked on a topic not being brought up, please.

Busy…busy…When we are so busy, are we able to build up the house of the Lord? Busy.

Our family has chosen another path, one that does not keep us so busy. Yes, we have plenty of activities, yes, we have things we do, but we elect to slow down, to know our kids will be ok if they are not in music, or drama, or sports, if they do not do every camp. We chose to say no to stuff that can be good. We chose to have family first, so that means extra camps, even Church ones are not attended, we chose to have time together so that means activities are chosen carefully.

Recently, during a discussion about being busy, somebody told me the acronym for busy: Being Under Satans Yoke.

Ouch, that is true, when we are so busy, satan has us just where he wants us…….too busy to seek first the kingdom of God.

Are you b.u.s.y.?

RootBeer Cookies – Gluten Free

It was never the intent to have so much kitchen fun on this blog, but I supposed that is much of what farm life is about – growing your own food, then what deliciousness you can create from all that which you have grown. Add to the fun of food crafting, the desire to eat real food, the enjoyment of blessing others with little gifts or meals, and a need to cook in a new way, and you have lots of kitchen stuff to share about.

Today, the frigid outside temperatures have again keep us inside more than any of us care to be. We have clean out some closets, done plenty of school work, picked up the house too many times, cleaned another closet, we needed to find something else to do…..cookies!

Actually, the cookie project began as a gluten free licorice making project. My youngest minion, who is allergic to wheat, loves Twizzlers. The second ingredient in Twizzlers is wheat! Really! I was surprised as well. I thought licorice was just sugar, flavoring, and coloring. It is amazing what is in processed food, really, take time to learn about what you put into your body, learn about where your food comes from. Ok, back to licorice…..so I gathered the ingredients, let the minion pick out the flavor he wanted and started to get stuff ready……only to realize condensed milk is one of the necessary ingredients. A few searches proved all the recipes needed the canned, sweet, yummy, milk, and we had NONE, and it is 10 miles to the store, and did I mention is just bitter cold. Since the gluten free flour and salt were already mixed, I figured it had to be used. Cookies!

My guy wanted me to try making some root beer cookies (he has some interesting taste buds). I started playing with ingredients and came up with a good cookie. The dough had a definite root beer flavor; the baked cookie had a banana flavor. The finished cookie is very soft, I think it would be better baked a bit more crisp.

I beat one stick of butter with a half cup of maple syrup and half cup of brown sugar (I think raw sugar would be great) Really, I could stop here, butter and maple sugar, what else do you need? However, a cookie cannot happen with just butter and syrup. The gluten free all-purpose flour and the Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gf flour were mixed, equal parts, to make two cups ad about ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of baking soda, mix up those ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients with the butter/syrup mix, add about 1 teaspoon of root beer flavoring (I am not keen on flavorings, but have not found a pure root beer flavoring) We added a banana, as there were some ripe ones begging to be used, and banana works as an egg replacement. Two handfuls of oatmeal to the pot, and mix well. What a yummy way to blow the healthy eating I have been doing lately.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes for soft cookies, 15 for a crisp cookies.