Family Bonding and Ground Turkey Haystack Dinner Recipe

I'm going to type two versions of this recipe. The first one is for the busier households, which calls for two cans of canned soup. Both my husband and I, along with Peter, have enjoyed the homemade version immensely, though two of our children put their noses in the air at the mushrooms and ate very little of anything but the meat and rice. The texture and rich taste from the brown rice and the homemade, non-salty flavor from the soups, married with the turkey, made the dish, so I can't vouch for the taste with white rice and canned soups. I've prepared this only three times but I think over time the children will get used to the mushrooms. I don't put them in other dishes often so it may take 15 or 20 offerings.

The recipe title comes from the concept of stacking. The bottom layer is rice; the meat, mushroom, soup mixture goes on top of that, then either peas or corn on top of that, ending with a dusting of grated cheese. It's delicious, trust me.

As you can see from the contrast in the recipes and in the preparation involved, a whole-foods lifestyle is about a more traditional notion of serving the family and about togetherness, rather than about a busyness that comes from carting the family around here and there. The idea is that the richness of life comes not from the events the family is taken to, but in the interaction that occurs while meals are lovingly prepared together, prayed and talked over together, and cleaned up together. The meal and the interaction are the events, and bonding and strength of character, mind, spirit and body are the fruits.

This manner of feeding the family and body and spirit stem from the belief that the family is the primary means by which God prepares parents and children to change the world for Christ. The nuclear family is primary, and the church family is secondary, with the secondary church family taking over, ideally, when there is no primary family available.

Thus, we open our homes in hospitality as much as we can when someone is missing a primary family for whatever reason. All the more reason to be home.


Haystack Dinner

original recipe here with photo

Ingredients (non whole-foods version)

2 lbs lean ground turkey
1 - 10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1-  10 3/4 oz. can cream of celery soup
2 T milk
2 cups (16 oz.) cooked peas or corn
2 cups uncooked rice
Finely shredded cheese for topping

Directions

In a large pot prepare your rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, brown ground turkey in a large saucepan, then add both cans of soup and the milk. Stir until well combined and creamy. Cook until warm.

To serve haystacks, put some rice on a plate, top with meat mixture, then top with peas and finally top with shredded cheese. If your peas are warmed, the cheese, if finely shredded, should melt over them, but if not you can stick the plate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Enjoy.

Whole Foods Haystack Dinner 

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground turkey (brown with minced garlic if desired)

2 cups uncooked brown rice & 2 T. butter (quick brown rice doesn't quite compare in texture and taste)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup finely diced celery

1/4 cup diced or sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (Homemade Broth: Water and celery & carrots or assorted veggies in stock pot on simmer all day, or for several hours.)

1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used 2%)

2 cups cooked peas or corn

Finely shredded cheese for topping

Salt and pepper to taste at the table

Directions

Brown Rice preparation: In a large pot bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add 2 T butter. Stir in 2 cups brown rice and turn heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 - 50 minutes. Let stand five minutes and fluff with fork before serving.

Meanwhile, brown ground turkey in large pan. Your pan needs to be large enough to add the soups to later. I added 2 tsp. jarred minced garlic to the turkey as I browned it since I wasn't using much salt in the recipe.

In a separate large pot, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add celery and mushrooms, saute both until tender. Whisk in 1/2 cup flour and let it cook for a minute until bubbly. Whisk in the 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth and allow mixture to come to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute until thick and creamy.

Add soup mixture to ground turkey and stir until well combined and creamy. Cook until warm.

To serve haystacks, put some brown rice on a plate, top with meat mixture, then top with peas or corn, and finally top with shredded cheese. If your vegetables are warmed the cheese, if finely shredded, should melt over them, but if not put the plate in the microwave for 30 seconds. Enjoy!

top image

sharing with Works For Me Wednesday

Simple Woman's Daybook 6/17

Outside my window...

On this partly sunny day, the children are having a picnic lunch on the front lawn...PB&J, peeled and sliced Jonagold apples, iced Country Time Lemonade. I would be sitting here, my heart all a glow as I listen to their funny sibling banter from the playroom window, except...

...Except that I just finished cleaning up a huge mess, over which I really felt like crying. Am I the only one who would cry over fixing four large cups of iced Country Time Lemonade on a tray for a lawn picnic, only to spill it everywhere, all over the floor and cabinets and floor boards, because I tried to open the door with one hand while carrying the tray with the other? And I was so anticipating their smiles, on this hot, humid day! After this disaster, I had just enough lemonade on hand to give each child only half a cup. Yes, I did overfill with ice to hide this fact.

I'm getting over it now, anyhow, even though sugary lemonade ranks up there for disastrous messes, along with chocolate milk. Writing always helps. :)

I am thinking...

...that my children can be loud when they play and I wonder if the neighbors smile at the wonder and magic of childhood when they hear my gang's childish schemes and games and sometimes arguments, or if they roll their adult eyes and wonder when quiet will invade this corner of the neighborhood.

I am also thinking what a jack-of-all-trades a mother is. Our van has been failing to start at times and our mechanic had it over a 3-day period a month ago and started it 40 times successfully, so he couldn't troubleshoot it. With dread over the cost we thought it was a slowly failing fuel pump, because it would turn over but not start, only this would be intermittent, as I said, characteristic of a failing pump. It was oh so inconvenient for the kids and me, as we went to appointments and errands, as you can imagine. I prayed about not getting stuck in a parking garage at the Children's Hospital for hours, but we had to keep running it out of necessity.

Finally, the van issue began to worsen Mary's anxiety; she hasn't wanted to leave the house at all. Thunder isn't all I've been dealing with. Other little things began to bother her too, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder began to look like a real possibility, which runs in my family and which Peter has, but his improved after age 10 when he began his med for OCD. There was no way I was going to put Mary, at age 7, on anything, so I began in earnest last night to study 2003 Ford Windstars via the Internet and try to find the answer to the problem. Ford Windstars have a lot of issues so they get a lot of Internet press.

Mothers do that. They get to the bottom of things, by golly. Whatever the kids truly need, we try to deliver. Not just discipline and kisses and vegetables and books...but everything in our power. I think because there's plenty that isn't in our power, we want to do our best with what is.

So, last night found me learning about the Ford Windstar. I learned typical stuff that will make some of you smile, if you have dads who bothered to teach you a few things. Such as, that to start a car you need a fire, of sorts. Fire requires three things: air, fuel, and spark. I really didn't think it was the fuel pump because our personal mechanic arrived at the pediatrician's office yesterday where we were "stranded" and started the van for me with a trick, and he noticed the fuel pumping through a line as it should. It wasn't a blown fuse either. He was stumped as to what the problem was, but at least he got me out of that fix, while Mary cried in the back seat. It was a hot day.

Now, if something creates an air vacuum in your vehicle's system then the fire necessary to start your engine won't happen. As I read about the things that could create a vacuum, I thought about the gas cap that has been somewhat faulty for a few months, which we've been too preoccupied to replace (we can be dumb that way). Then I searched for whether a loose gas cap could make a car fail to start. Half of the mechanically-inclined people answering said no and half said yes, because it can create a vacuum. Next I read that when your gas tank is empty or nearly empty, it creates more of a vacuum, and BINGO, it dawned on me that the last few times the van has done this the needle was not on empty but near it. I rarely put more than $20 in the van's tank at a time, so there you go.

Of course we are replacing the gas cap tonight and asking our mechanic's opinion about whether this might be the only problem (he's extremely honest and rooting for our family). Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of the issue and Mary will build some trust in her parents, building upon her trust in God...and our mechanic. She trusted the mechanic all along, but not us, when it came to car issues. Smart girl.

The battle against fear is her's, not mine, but she should know that when Mommy takes her for a ride in the van, Mommy, as the adult, will have some control over how long the trip will be.

I am thankful...

~ for the two lovely-spirited little girls here

~ for summer lawn picnics and sprinklers on hot, humid days

~ that Mary is all smiles today

~ summer breezes

~ a nice mechanic who is willing to rescue us (and works for himself)

~ children excited about the garden they planted

~ Peter's and Paul's diligence in learning how to make and plant their own seed potatoes (don't know if this climate will work, but it's an experiment)

~ loving husband

~ Peter growing into such a nice big brother for his siblings

~ Beth making great strides in speech (I see a day coming soon when speech will not be necessary for any of them. We are taking the summer off with the therapist's blessing.)

~ No more physical therapy sessions for Beth for her three arthritic joints. The methotrexate and naproxen are working to keep her functioning very well. The plan is to withdraw the naproxen first, as soon as she goes a whole year without any flares or swelling, which hasn't happened yet, by a long shot. Once that occurs and no problems arise from the absence of naproxen, they will then try pulling the methotrexate. A long process ahead of us, in other words. She has a stubborn case of arthritis.

I am wearing...

...long jean skirt, pink tee, heeled clogs

I am reading...

Lois Lenski's Strawberry Girl, a 1946 Newbery Medal Winner. While this is a fourth- to fifth-grade book, the content is mature, as you will see from the review below. As I choose summer reading novels for the boys, I find it's hard to look at Lexiles and reading levels because if you rule out books that are below grade level, you miss out on some memorable books that children may not have had the maturity to grasp earlier--when they matched their grade. This book is heart-wrenching for me, as an adult, to wade through! That's not to say it isn't good. It's excellent!

Synopsis/Review (Children's Literature): Birdie Boyer is Strawberry Girl in this delightfully classic tale of frontier life in Florida. As newcomers the Boyers' so-called uppity ways clash with the Slaters, their fence-hating, land-squatting, free-cattle-ranging neighbors. Birdie helps her Ma and Pa battle the Florida sun, drought, and sandy soil as they attempt to put in strawberry plants and tend to their orange trees. Problems abound and tempers flare as the Slaters and Boyers meet with trouble; fences are cut, hogs are killed, a mule is poisoned, and a raging fire is set. The Slaters are beset with tribulation due to the drinking, gambling, and irresponsibility of their husband and father. Mrs. Slater and her children find themselves indebted to the Boyers by a life-saving act of neighborly affection, which changes the heart of Mr. Slater. Lenski intersperses historical spice and appeal throughout her story, while illustrating the hardships and trials of life on the frontier in early twentieth century Florida. (orig. 1945), Harper Trophy/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 10 to 18. 

I'm reading trade books to the girls as well, including Betsy, Tacy and Tib by Maud Lovelace. We're still reading 1 Corinthians in the mornings for devotions. It's not an easy book to explain to children, but we're learning a lot and I'm very appreciative as always for my Life Application Bible.

I am hoping...

...I spoke to my father for Father's Day and learned a little more about his father. He died at 54 years old from cancer due to working in a coal mine all his life. And he drank, which I knew, but I didn't know any details. My father downplayed the drinking, saying his father didn't drink that much, in typical denial fashion. My own father, like me, hates alcohol and doesn't want anything to do with it. My mother had begun to drink before they divorced, when I was 3. When I think about each of my father's many brothers and sisters, I see the consequences of their father's drinking. Many siblings either married someone who drank, drank themselves, or married someone who was dysfunctional--even in the cases where there are second marriages. (My father is on his fifth marriage). It doesn't take daily drinking to make drinking a dysfunctional parental activity. It only takes covering up for the drinker to bring on the dysfunction, or denying that the drinking exists and makes the family different. Everyone takes on a role in the drinking family, and the roles continue as the children all leave home and marry. Tragic.

If only we wouldn't live in denial and shame. If only we wouldn't assume that polite people don't talk about that. If only it didn't have to be a secret, we could learn how to undo the patterns, and it wouldn't insidiously poison each new generation.

I may be breaking my mother's heart in not having any contact with her until she goes to rehab and is no longer in denial, but I must do it. I must say No! to any more of this dysfunction in my life and in the lives of my children, for I can raise them the way I was raised, secondhand, if I don't know where I'm going wrong and where my thinking is faulty. I am only just now realizing the subtle ways that my thinking has been faulty, even though I've never been a drinker, I'm not married to a drinker, and I don't have any friends who drink.

For me it's about the patterns of behavior that were established and my lack of understanding about them, due to denial for so many years (thinking that my mother was a "problem drinker", not an alcoholic). There isn't much difference between the two, in terms of the way the children are raised.

Just this week I had to stop taking the calls of one of my "friends" who I began to recognize as a manipulator. Why couldn't I see it before? I knew she had problems and I was trying to do my best for her while still putting my family first, but why couldn't I see that she was manipulating me, and that I cannot minister to or be a friend to someone who is manipulating me?

I see things differently now that I have put (probably) permanent distance between my mother, step-father and myself. It wasn't obvious right away, but the more I stay strong, the more I see the damage caused by my upbringing. And I see how much the Lord protected me! It could have been far worse. The more layers I peel away, the more new anger I experience. I thought I had forgiven, but there's still more to forgive. I have to keep my heart clear of bitterness so as the layers peel, I need to keep the forgiveness flowing, while still not making contact with them.

It all stems from the sin curse, but beyond that, it comes from this word...denial. Oh, Lord. Help us to live in truth. Search our hearts. Make known to us our iniquities and may we live side by side with you, in truth.

Scripture to Share...

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Weekly Homeschool Wrap-Up 6/13

Good Friday night to you. It's with a deep sigh of relief that I sit down here after such a day. Suffice it to say that Mary's fear of thunder and Peter's OCD made for an exhausting day, part of which was spent at Children's Hospital for a rheumatology office check and blood draw. Yes, Mary did bring her Easter-candy-turned-throw-up bucket and carry it all through the hospital, while also having her fingers in her ears in case of thunder. We were in a hospital so it wasn't all that shocking to passersby to see a pale face, tears, and a throw-up bucket, although the fingers in the ears did throw them for a loop.

Normal is far from my daily experience and some days I just look at the pile of laundry and think of the meals that still need to be prepared, and the school that needs to be taught, and the dirt that needs to be wiped away, and I ask God, "What are you thinking in giving me anything else? Surely I'm already stretched beyond my capacity?"

Back at home in the late afternoon, I sent them all outside because my head was going to explode, dwelling on all their not-so-normal problems in the midst of all their noise. The sun was temporarily shining through the clouds and Mary was temporarily in control of her emotions, and Peter was no longer thinking that he was going to commit suicide with the garden shovel (called an intrusive thought in OCD--physically harmless but very emotionally disturbing for him).

Trying to calm down, I looked out the window, watching them. They were giggling and running each other vigorously around in the wheel barrow, looking as typical as the naughty rabbits in Mr. MacGregor's garden.

They looked beautiful...so full of life and love and vitality.

Grace.

The Lord always provides grace after particularly intense periods in my day...and it flows just like this. Unexpected and beautiful.

Sometimes on the toughest days I don't know if there's going to be enough love and patience and humor to wipe another bottom (just the five-year-old bottom these days) or apply another bandaid with ointment and kisses and tenderness.

But somehow, there is. God supplies faithfully, as though he's right there shadowing me, knowing precisely what I need, and when.

Why do I ever doubt? By now, I understand that His mysterious way is to provide grace enough for right now, give answers enough, money enough, direction enough, for right now. He asks us to pray for our daily bread. He asks us to rely on Him daily, hourly, to walk with him step by step.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Now on to homeschool....

As I mentioned, the boys, ages 10 and 12, are done with Sonlight for the year, so they had nothing lined up for language arts, history, or science for the summer months. We have Sonlight World History Part 1, and the next Sonlight Science package complete and ready to go, but it just didn't feel right to start them before the official start of the new school year, which isn't until mid Sept. Each new school year should feel fresh and new, with a brand new emphasis. I don't want to mess with that sensation.

One of the reasons I use Sonlight is that trying to put together book lists and curriculum takes up a great deal of my time, and leads to far too much computer time and too little mother-child interaction time. Whenever I have these gaps to fill, I am so grateful to Sonlight for saving me so much work. 

I do very much enjoy educational research and curriculum development, but my intention was never to be a working mom, and that's what I feel I become when I have to put learning packages together for the kids. It takes countless hours of careful work--more than I can do just at night--and the kids are neglected in the meantime, as well as the house, and that leads to behavior issues. A distracted mother is the worst kind of mother for this house. I have to remain engaged to do my best mothering. Lesson learned the hard way.

I do have a Christian book on my shelf to help me, thank goodness. I've shared it before with you.

Honey For a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt

Part Two of this book is entitled Best-Loved Books for Children. She provides lists of titles with authors, along with a brief synopsis for each book. Among the age categories are ages 9-12 and ages 12-14. For Paul, who is 10, I am using the 9-12 category, for which she uses the following breakdown:

Classic Children's Novels: Ages 9-12

Stories for Animal Lovers: Ages 9-12

Historical Novels: Ages 9-12

Fantasy Novels: Ages 9-12 

Newbery Medal and Honor books are marked especially, as well as Horn Book awards, Boston Globe awards, and Coretta Scott King awards.

Thanks to Sonlight having such good taste in literature, we have already read a good number of Gladys Hunt's Best-Loved picks, but there are plenty more to choose from. Paul requested books about the Revolutionary War, and I found some on her list, and supplemented more from here.

We are obtaining the following books from the library for Paul. 

Peter Pan by James Barrie

The Magic Bicycle by John Bibee (and maybe the sequels)

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Borrowers by Mary Norton 

Waiting for the Rain: A Novel of South Africa by Sheila Gordon

Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Toliver's Secret by Esther Brady

George Washington's Socks by Elvira Woodruff

Sarah Bishop by Scott O'dell

He will look through them and decide where to start. He'll pick one for language arts and one for history, to read each day. Both boys already have some science picks lined up from the library. I have all the books on a six-week teacher loan card.

We'll see how many weeks of summer this list will take Paul, and whether or not he totally rejects some of these. Scott O'Dell might be hard to get through for him, and Swiss Family Robinson might be too wordy as well. He likes his books straightforward with a smooth flow.

There's only one section for Peter, age 12, called Young Adult Novels for ages 12-14. A great many of the books in this age category had girls as the main characters, and I skipped most of those titles for now.

Obviously his list still has some growing to do and some are Christian and won't be available at the local library, but we're this far in choosing for Peter, age 12:

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (We read a biography of Corrie this year, but not this book)

"Every experience God gives us . . . is the perfect preparation for the future only He can see."—Corrie ten Boom
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler's concentration camps, and one of the most remarkable evangelists of the twentieth century. In World War II she and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis, and for their work they were tested in the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil.

Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
Excellent fantasy, well-written, and based on Welsh legend.

The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas 

A Roman soldier, Marcellus, wins Christ's robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene's robe-a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity and is set against the vividly limned background of ancient Rome. Here is a timeless story of adventure, faith, and romance, a tale of spiritual longing and ultimate redemption.

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (Research tells me it's grade level 5.5, but Lexile is 1200. Quite a discrepancy.)
A Polish family in the Middle Ages guards a great secret treasure, and a boy's memory of an earlier trumpeter of Krakow makes it possible for him to save his father.

Captain Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

First published in 1897, Captains Courageous tells of the high-seas adventures of Harvey Cheyne, the son of an American millionaire, who, after falling from a luxury ocean liner, is rescued by the raucous crew of the fishing ship We’re Here. Obstinate and spoiled at first, Harvey in due course learns diligence and responsibility and earns the camaraderie of the seamen, who treat him as one of their own. A true test of character, Harvey’s months aboard the We’re Here provide a delightful glimpse of life at sea and well-told morals of discipline, empathy, and self-reliance.

Preacher's Boy by Katherine Patterson
It's 1899 in a small town in Vermont, and the turn of the century is coming fast. According to certain members of the church where Robbie's father is the preacher, the end of the century might even mean the end of the world. But Robbie has more pressing worries. He's sure his father loves his simple-minded brother, Elliot, better than him, and he can no longer endure the tiresome restrictions of Christianity. He decides to leave the fold and decides to live life to the fullest. His high-spirited and often hot-headed behavior does nothing to improve his father's opinion of him, nor does it improve the congregation's flagging opinion of his father. Not until the consequences of his actions hurt others does Robbie put a stop to the chain of events he has set off and begin to realize his father might love him after all.

For Science Peter will do some middle school lessons from the Future Farmers of America site.

L.M. Montgomery's Theology and Later Anne Literature

Oh, no. She's not going to write about L.M. Montgomery again, surely?

Well, yes, I'm afraid I have to. When you immerse yourself in a literary series, you can't just drop the characters with the snap of your fingers, anymore than you can drop your best friend.

Nor, I'm finding, can you drop the author quickly. One needs closure.

Montgomery and Her Critics

While the reading public, and some other writers, loved Montgomery's material, especially her Anne, literary critics didn't agree that Montgomery was amazing. Anne's character, they complained "was the same at the end of the novel as she was at the beginning." Critics love a character who evolves, not just one who delights and charms your socks off.

The critics dismissed Montgomery's work as "mere children's literature", as though that were a bad thing. Never mind that some of her genius, like some of Mark Twain's, manifested in the writing of dialogue. This woman could weave a tale, flesh out multiple unforgettable characters, and make them say the funniest things, page after fascinating page.

And to me at least, her dialogue never seems contrived, though it's often funny or profound social commentary. Her work displayed plenty of genius...and what's not to love about children's literature, anyway? It certainly isn't second-class literature! Critics can be downright pompous.

Montgomery didn't disagree with her critics. She thought her work was well done for what it was, but not deep. The one great novel never came for her, in her opinion. If it didn't, possibly it was because she was a true working mother, and needed to produce work that would generate a regular income--thus, her 500 short stories, in addition to her 21 novels. Her family needed her income, especially during the Great Depression. The pressure and her husband's mental illness, and her own depression, stifled some creativity, I'm sure, but personally, I find her work fulfilling and excellent, and meant for adults as much as for older children.

Later Works in the Anne Series (there are 9 Anne of Green Gables books)

Lucy felt her talent was in writing young characters, so books 7 and 8 barely mention Anne and Gilbert. I've finished books 7, Rainbow Valley (about Anne's 6 children growing up at Ingleside and meeting new friends), and 8, Rilla of Ingleside (about their youngest child, Rilla, who starts the novel at age 15) of the Anne of Green Gables series, which were not quite as wholesome as the earlier ones, but still plenty moral. (I'll explain the bit of unwholesomeness further down.) They are for older teens and adults.

The 9th and final book The Blithes Are Quoted, was delivered to the publisher on the day Lucy died, April, 1942, but the publisher felt the anti-war sentiment was too strong to warrant a publishing during World War 11. After the war, the manuscript collected dust for years in a vault. (While I've read numerous reviews, I don't have this 9th book yet).

While Rilla of Ingleside (book 8), a World War 1 novel, was patriotic, Lucy apparently changed her views by World War ll, and a futility-of-war sentiment made its way into her final volume. It was finally removed from the vault and published in 1974--32 years later--in a highly cut form, entitled The Road to Yesterday. Only in 2009 did Lucy's original work come out in an unabridged form with the original title, The Blithes Are Quoted. It's a Canadian issue book and will not be easy to find (more expensive); nevertheless, I do want it for closure.

Not a traditional novel, The Blithes Are Quoted is a collection of many poems attributed to Anne and her son Walter, as well as numerous short stories that mention the Blithes as distant neighbors, but are not about the Blithe family. Most of the poems and short stories were previously published in magazines, but Lucy put them together in this format, connecting them to the Blithes in some way. Weaved around the short stories, which are darker in theme than her other works, Anne reads her or her son's poetry to members of her family seated around her, and the family discusses the poems and reminisceses. That's how the reader catches up on Anne and her children, and learns about the grandchildren. Anne and Gilbert end the book in their seventies.

Not so satisfying as a novel--not the same level of detail about the character's lives--but an original format and an attempt from Lucy to branch out with different literary styles. There are some problems with the piece in that dates don't match up and children's names aren't quite right, so it's somewhat apparent that Lucy was under the influence of prescription drugs when she wrote it. The name and date inconsistencies were not edited out, but perhaps in a later edition they will be.

Montgomery's Theology

After a little more research, I've learned that L.M. Montgomery was not a Christian. In fact, she had a conflicted relationship with religion all her life, having been raised by very strict religious grandparents who were all rules but no heart.

In conjunction with the religious conflict, Lucy Montgomery, among many others in the early 20th century, became intrigued with occult-like ideas, such as playing with Ouija boards and contemplating ghosts and apparitions. A lot of Lucy's later books have premonitions/apparitions and "prophetic" dreams in them--enough to make the Christian in me squirm. In fact, I won't let my children read beyond book 7 until their late teens. I've read recently that Montgomery's Emily trilogy also has some ghostly themes, although I'm sure there's plenty of wholesomeness in it too. The Blithes are Quoted has some ghost tales as well.

Montgomery's books are moral, but not Christian. She intersperses Scripture and theology in them, but if you read carefully, you see that absolute Truth is not upheld; there's definitely some humanism in there. She became more disillusioned with religion and faith as she aged; the two World Wars may have had something to do with that. She took them very hard.

To be fair, the years from 1914-1918 (World War One), followed by the Great Depression from 1930 to the end of World War Two in 1945, were some of the darker times in world history. They were bunched together, not giving people much time to recover their hope and joy. Not to mention all the death from disease during these same years! I can't imagine living through these decades unscathed. Even those who weren't clinically depressed could easily become so while trying to survive.

The Roaring 20's weren't so roaring for those who mourned a son, a husband, a brother, or a sweetheart from the war.

Back to Lucy's theology....If you read carefully, you see religious conflict in her books. Most of them poke fun at church-goers, specifically at the hypocrisy and the emphasis on outward appearances rather than the heart. She did not raise her two boys as Christians, and she only married a clergyman because he was a B.A., which meant something really grand to her. She didn't love him, but she started out with respect for him. Her own education didn't include a B.A., and that's something she always regretted.

If you need proof she wasn't a Christian, you'll find it in her personal journals, which have all been published. I am saddened by reading this, as you will be. One can only wonder the beauty that could have been, had Christ released her from darkness. If you are saved, be thankful. Our open eyes are such a gift. I don't understand why some and not others, Lord, but I trust you.

Here is an excerpt from her journal entry dated Tuesday, February 3, 1920:

Lucy Maud Montgomery's words:"I believe in a God who is good and beautiful and just - but not omnipotent. It is idle to ask me to believe in a God who is both good and omnipotent. Given the conditions of history and life the two things are irreconcilable. To believe that God is omnipotent but not purely good - well, it would solve a good many puzzling mysteries. Nevertheless, it is a belief that the human soul instinctively shrinks from. Well, then, I believe in God who is good but not omnipotent. I also believe in a Principle of Evil, equal to God in power - at least, at present - opposing hideousness to His beauty, evil to His good, tyranny to His justice, darkness to His light. I believe that an infinite ceaseless struggle goes on between them, victory now inclining to the one, now to the other. So far, my creed is the old Persian creed of the eternal conflict between Ahrimanes and Ormuzd. But I did not take it over from the Persian. My own mind has compelled me to it, as the only belief that is in rational agreement with the universe as we know it.

I believe that if we range ourselves on the side of good the result will be of benefit to ourselves in this life and, if our spirit survives bodily death, as in some form I feel sure it will, in all succeeding lives; conversely, if we yield or do evil the results will be disastrous to us. And I admit the possibility of our efforts aiding to bring about sooner the ultimate victory of good.

That victory will come - perhaps not in the time of our universe - perhaps not for the duration of many such universes - but eventually evil, which is destructive, will be conquered by good and remain in subjection for age-long duration. Perhaps forever; and perhaps all eternity devoid of all evil would be tiresome even to God, who, like us, may find in struggle a greater delight than in achievement - a greater delight in contest with his peers that in unquestioned supremacy over vanquished foes. Perhaps alternate light and darkness - the alternate waxing and waning of evil must follow each other through the unnumbered, the unnumberable cons of Eternity, even as night and day follow each other in our little system.

This is my creed, it explains all which would otherwise puzzle me hopelessly; it satisfies me and comforts me.

Orthodox Christianity says reproachfully, "Would you do away with my hope of heaven?" The hope of heaven is too dearly balanced by the fear of hell and the one thing implies the other. I believe in neither: but I believe that life goes on and on endlessly in incarnation after incarnation, co-existent with God, and Anti-god, rejoicing, suffering, as good or evil wins the upper hand. To me, such an anticipation is infinitely more attractive than the dull effortless, savorless existence pictured to us as the heaven of rest and reward. Rest! It is a good thing; but one does not want an eternity of it. All we ask rest for is to gain fresh strength for renewed effort. Reward! Even in this life reward once tasted, soon loses its flavor. Our best reward is in the joy of the struggle."
 

 

More on Lucy Maud Montgomery (Updated)

* This piece was updated at 10 AM to include one more article on the end of Lucy's life, placed at the end of this blog post.

Below is a repost of a Guardian article revealing Lucy Maud Montgomery's suicide, which the family kept a secret until 2008. Lucy's granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, reveals the suicide in a long article for Canada's Globe and Mail.

Below the Guardian article, I post the "suicide" note itself. It doesn't look like a suicide note to me. She was an isolated person, and I don't know how well her family--her husband and her two sons--knew her on the inside. Would they have known definitively that it was a suicide note? I do know that her husband's condition had deteriorated terribly, and that her oldest son was living in her basement at the time, so things were not good at all. She was greatly burdened, after having covered for her husband in the ministry for years. I imagine he had retired for some years though.

I didn't emphasize before that Lucy achieved international success as a writer. Almost immediately, Anne of Green Gables became a bestseller. She had an active fan club, which she participated in readily for years, until her breakdown in 1940. Many famous writers are not appreciated until after their death, but Montgomery was well aware of the affect her work had on young women and girls. She did have some bright spots in her life, to be sure. How many women achieve such fame? Her fame is even greater now, of course, as her heroines have endured and surpassed 100 years.

Lucy was a Presbyterian so she may or may not have been an evangelical Christian. Perhaps there wasn't a saving relationship that could have brought her hope no matter her circumstances. We can never know without reading her personal journals, and even then, still perhaps not. Depression can come from a brain glitch, and if hers did, a suicide can result from it regardless of faith...especially in an isolated person. A very sad fact.

If you ever feel depression, either because you inherited it, or because of hormones, don't isolate yourself. That makes it too easy to wrap yourself around your own thoughts, which are toxic to you. If you can't talk about it, write about it and send your writings to someone. Don't compare your life to anyone else's. Stop that thought process immediately. It's sin and it's toxic. Keep a running gratitude list, and watch your sleep habits. Sleep neither too little nor too much. Read the Psalms, read inspirational biographies, read good stories. Trying to live a routine life will help you fight the depression.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/sep/23/booksforchildrenandteenagers
The granddaughter of Anne of Green Gables' author Lucy Maud Montgomery has revealed that her grandmother killed herself with a drugs overdose at the age of 67. LM Montgomery, who died in 1942, is one of Canada's best-loved authors, and wrote 19 other novels as well as the hugely popular children's classic.

Kate Macdonald Butler, daughter of Montgomery's youngest son Stuart Macdonald, made the long-kept family secret public in an article for Canada's Globe and Mail. "I have come to feel very strongly that the stigma surrounding mental illness will be forever upon us as a society until we sweep away the misconception that depression happens to other people, not us – and most certainly not to our heroes and icons," she wrote.

Macdonald Butler was also prompted to break the family's silence by the heightened focus on Montgomery this year, which marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables.

"Despite her great success, it is known that she suffered from depression, that she was isolated, sad and filled with worry and dread for much of her life," Macdonald Butler wrote. She said that Montgomery had to cope both with "her husband's mental illness and the restrictions of her life as a clergyman's wife and mother in an era when women's roles were highly defined".

The family, which was consulted before Macdonald Butler wrote her article, has never spoken publicly about the extent of Montgomery's illness before. Hiterto, it was generally understood that she had died from heart failure. "What has never been revealed is that LM Montgomery took her own life at the age of 67 through a drug overdose. I wasn't told the details of what happened, and I never saw the note she left, but I do know that it asked for forgiveness," Macdonald Butler wrote.

Montgomery's most famous literary creation was the redheaded orphan Anne Shirley, who is sent by mistake to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert on Prince Edward Island, where she declares: "My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes." Macdonald Butler said the lament had always been especially poignant to her, as she imagined her grandmother must have felt the same sadness at times in her life.

"The fictional Anne went on to happiness and a life full of love and fulfilment. My grandmother's reality was not so positive, although she continues to inspire generations of readers with her books, which reveal her understanding of nature – both in matters of the heart and the world," she wrote. "I hope that by writing about my grandmother now there might be less secrecy and more awareness that will ease the unnecessary suffering so many people experience as a result of such depressions."

An article on the front page of the Globe and Mail Lucy suffered unbearable psychological pain reproduces the following scrap of paper found on Montgomery’s bedside the afternoon she died:

This copy is unfinished and never will be. It is in a terrible state because I made it when I had begun to suffer my terrible breakdown of 1940. It must end here. If any publishers wish to publish extracts from it under the terms of my will they must stop here. The tenth volume can never be copied and must not be made public during my lifetime. Parts of it are too terrible and would hurt people. I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best.
 

Here is one more entry about the end of Lucy's life, which gives some insight about her "suicide" note and why it may have just been directions for her family in regard to her personal journal, specifically journal number ten.

http://www.lmm-anne.net/archives/2008/author/the-end-of-l-m-montgomerys-life.html