1. Brine it:

2. Inject it:

Inject your turkey with a combination of ½ cup melted butter, ½ tsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, ½ tsp fine ground pepper and ½ tsp salt.  You’ll need a meat injector for this. Here are some more great Turkey Injection tips.

3. Fill it:

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place the turkey breast up on a rack in a shallow pan.
• Insert an oven-safe meat thermometer into the thickest part of the inner thigh just above but not touching the thigh bone.
• Roast uncovered or loosely covered with foil.
• Baste your turkey by collecting some drippings and pouring them back over the turkey. Once an hour is enough. Opening the oven will lengthen the cooking time.
• Roast turkey for about 20 minutes per pound, until the meat thermometer reads 170ºF.  Remember that a brined turkey will take about 30 minutes less to cook.
• Remove turkey when cooking is completed and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before you carve it to allow the juices to settle.

5.  Amazing “Cheater” Stuffing:

• Chopped Apples
• Chopped Celery
• Chopped Onion
• Craisins (Dried Cranberries)
• About ½ cup to 1 cup extra chicken broth.  Mixture should be thoroughly moist, but not soggy.

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June Cleaver was presented as a flawless housewife cheerfully running a home: baking cookies, stuffing celery with peanut butter, vacuuming in high heels, preparing meals, greeting her husband with a kiss when he arrived home from work, and tucking in her two adorable sons at night.  June was kind, gentle, loving, and ever-patient. She was known for her signature line, “Ward, I’m very worried about the Beaver,” whenever her younger son got into trouble or seemed despondent. June’s life revolved around her family. Though college educated and capable of a career, she was happy and content in her role as a wife and stay-at-home mom. And therein lay the rub.

In the early sixties, a landmark book, “The Feminine Mystique,” burst onto the scene. It claimed that women were NOT happy as housewives—at least they shouldn’t be happy in that role!  Those women who were content as wives and moms simply hadn’t had their eyes opened to the extent of their oppression. Men had duped them to believe that a June Cleaver-type of existence was worthwhile and satisfying, when, in fact, such a role was subservient, and demeaning. As this feminist message spread, women in the sixties and seventies began to vilify Billingsley’s June Cleaver ideal.

Fast-forward the tape fifty years. A whole generation has had its consciousness raised to believe the idea that homemaking and caring for family is demeaning to women. The June Cleaver “Leave it to Beaver” ideal for womanhood has been replaced with a Carrie Bradshaw “Sex & the City” one. We’ve denigrated the value of marriage, children, home, self-sacrifice, and morality, and elevated the value of independence, career, self-indulgence, and sexual freedom. And our marriages and families have suffered as a result.

Today’s women have realized the feminist dream of being freed from the June Cleaver feminine mystique. But studies indicate that they are more miserable than ever before.

So what are we to do?  Should we start playing “Leave it to Beaver” re-runs and tell women they’d be happy if they followed June Cleaver’s example? Should we encourage them to start wearing high heels and pearls while vacuuming?  Should we run advertising campaigns that glorify the value of ironing, or disparage women who can’t bake cookies from scratch?

Some people romanticize the fifties, and believe that women would be happy if they squeezed themselves back into that mold. But woman’s happiness does not come from checking off all the boxes on someone’s “perfect woman” list. According to the Bible, happiness flows out of a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Until the spiritual aspect of a woman’s life is in order, her happiness will remain an elusive goal.

That said, the folks in the fifties did get some things right. They placed a high value on character, marriage, children, and morality. They recognized that God created men and women with differences that, when honored, contribute to the well-being and stability of the home. Though not the ultimate foundation of happiness, every woman knows that when her marriage, children, home and relationships are doing well, she feels a whole lot happier than when they are not.

Barbara Billingsley said in 2000, during an interview for the Archive of American Television. “June was a loving, happy stay-at-home mom, which I think is great.” Asked to compare real-life families to TV families, she responded, “I just wish that we could have more families like those. Family is so important, and I just don’t think we have enough people staying home with their babies and their children.” She maintained that “women who stay at home to care for their children may find in it the best — and most important — job they’ll ever have.”

Whether a woman ought to pursue an education, career, or have a job outside of the home is not at question here. The question in my mind is, “Do we as a society believe that family is so important that we uphold caring for home and children as the best and most important job a woman might ever have?”

Let’s just hope that this quintessential June Cleaver-ish idea hasn’t died along with Barbara Billingsley.

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The last of the True Woman conferences was held this past weekend in Ft. Worth, TX. Tim Challies was among the blogging team there and he brought his wife, Aileen, with him. It was a pleasure to meet Aileen after reading about her for years! You can check out what Tim posted (on momentum and on the definition of a true woman), as well as what others on the True Woman blogging team posted. But even better: the True Woman team has posted all the messages from all three events online! You can even create a True Woman event for your own church or small group by downloading the leader’s kit.

I left the Ft. Worth conference thinking about something Dannah Gresh said during our panel discussion. Dannah encouraged us to begin teaching our girls at a young age about modestly, purity, and serving—and not to wait until they are young teens to guide them in forming godly values. She emphasized that the grade school to ‘tween years are the prime time to shape the value systems of young girls. So I decided to be intentional about discussing the True Woman event while visiting afterward with my three nieces, who range from age 8 to 13. (They get this perspective from their mother, too, but I wanted to add my auntie input.)

With their mother’s permission, I introduced my seminar topic about the challenges girls face in developing nations. I gave an overview of the issues (skipping some of the more graphic problems), and then focused on how some girls aren’t allowed to go to school for either political or economic reasons. We then watched a short video produced by the New York Times about girls in Swat Valley, Pakistan, who were banned from attending school by the Taliban. I prepared them for the sobering images of Taliban justice, but I thought it was important they understand how valuable their own education freedom is in this nation. (During my seminar, I mentioned I had sent this link to them, but they hadn’t had the opportunity to see it.)

Then we talked about why God wants women to manage their homes and what kinds of ministry can take place in the home–and why that’s important in light of eternity. I told them how you can go much deeper in conversation in the privacy of your home, as opposed to being in restaurants, and about how the Bible portrays the home as being a discipleship center and mission field. We talked about all of that over a home-cooked meal of beef brisket (a yummy pot-roast style recipe from the New Basics Cookbook), mashed potatoes with sauteed mushrooms, steamed garlic broccoli, and pistachio pudding. The girls were all involved in creating the meal–trying new recipes together is one of our traditions. Then the next day, we invited a friend over for dinner and a home-cooked pumpkin pie with spiced hot cider. As we prepared, we talked about how to create ambiance and make a guest feel especially welcome.

I wasn’t sure how much was sinking in, but I discovered even my youngest niece was listening closely. After church on Sunday, I took them to Starbucks for more discussion time. As we sat down with our drinks and muffins, I mentioned how fun it was to have this special girl time together. Abigail shot me a knowing look and said, “But shouldn’t we do this at home?”

Busted! But it was worth it to know they heard me.

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1. Read the fifth point of contrast between a Wild and a Wise Thing (Pages 71-82)
2. Download and complete the Chapter Questions for Personal Reflection
3. Post your comments on the Blog

• Why is it important to attend to your private world first?
• Do you agree that God created women with a unique bent for the home? Why or why not?
• Why do you think culture devalues the importance of a woman’s unique connection to the home?
• What important habits and disciplines does a wise woman incorporate into her life?
• What areas of your private life do you have a tendency to neglect?  Can you share any ideas or suggestions for habits that have worked for you?

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3. Book Blog 1: Have you been swept off your feet?

Now, sit back and note this: Noel is the biggest secret in the Christian world. She’s amazing. (Sorry, John—or Johnny as she calls you in my favorite book penned by her,—she might be even more exciting to me than you. At least, she’s more practical for this woman trying to be a great mom!) The book that I love is what is on my mind as I approach Christmas. It’s called Treasuring God in our Traditions. It has caused me to look at everything I do—from unpacking the attic full of dusty boxes to mixing up another batch of Christmas Wreath Cookies to taking the much-too-long annual trek into the mountains to chop down a Christmas tree—with new meaning. I had no idea the POWER that was in these things.

The book starts with she and John sitting at the kitchen table during their first visit to her future husband’s family. “I lifted the fork for my initial taste of breakfast cake,” she writes. “‘Wait.” Johnny stopped me. ‘This is the way we eat it.’ He dunked his chunk of cake into a cup filled with milk. Then he raised it to his mouth and, with white drops rolling down his wrist, bit off a big soggy corner.” A while later, having mastered the art of the proper-Piper-breakfast-cake-eating-skills she asks “Ma Mohn” for the recipe. “”Recipe? You can watch and write it down.’ So, I watched and wrote: ‘Four handfuls of flour, a walnut-sized lump of butter…” Thus began the Piper family tradition of Ma Piper’s breakfast cake for birthdays and holidays.

The book stays that yummy (and includes recipes like that famous breakfast cake), but what I really learned is that God treasures the traditions of my family. He was the author of traditions as we orchestrated them for his people throughout the Old Testament. He still invites us to His Table every so often for the sacred tradition of communion. Why? Because traditions are the equivalent of super-powered-family-glue. The keep us together and identify us as “belonging.” As I write this, I’m in the process of talking three teenagers into a day of Christmas-tree adventure. Didn’t take much. For all the times they beg me to be out of something so they can be with friends or just “veg”, they were up for this long day of trudging through the forest in the cold to carry a heavy tree with the promise of a mug of hot cocoa waiting at home. They’re willing to climb into the attic and pull out Douglas the Singing Fur, the crumbling nativity set my mom bought the day I was born, and probably a dead mouse or two. It will be a day of hard work followed by my famous ham, green beans, and potatoes. As always, we’ll pick a Christmas classic to watch when we are exhausted. This year’s winning flick: Elf! This is our family glue. I’ve seen reports that family’s who have the simple “tradition” of eating together raise kids less likely to engage in sex, abuse drugs and alcohol and struggle academically. This stuff is important!

True confession: before Noel’s book, I grumbled a little about the dusty boxes. I pressed Bob to “just get a fake tree.” I didn’t understand why I had to mix up a batch of Christmas Wreath cookies once a week in December. (Wasn’t once enough?) What was I thinking? (Could someone remind me that at about 4:PM on Christmas Tree day when everyone else has commenced with the “tradition” of tuckering out while I finish? Ah, what would it be without that lull before the ham, green beans and potato feast?) Grab one Christmas gift for yourself this year: Noel Piper’s Treasuring God in Our Traditions, and start gluing your family together with new passion…and a freshly made batch of Ma Piper’s Breakfast Cake. After all, the recipe isn’t really made of flour and walnut-sized lumps of butter…it’s main ingredients are a good dose of family memories, a little bit of edible love, and a whopping dollop of family tradition!

© Dannah Gresh

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