Pickin up stiicks after the storm.

Yes, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is still on the map.  A little battered and worse for wear in some places, but still very viable and strong.  There was some damage  here and there along the Ohio, and a couple of injuries, but nothing on the scale of what has occurred west of here, a bit to the south and some to the east of "here."  And as usual, I slept through it.  Sometimes it is better not to be aware or to know, what Mother Nature is up to.

I have been cutting up chicken and removing the skins and fat.  The cut pieces are back in the refrigerator and I will can the  meat tomorrow.  The fat, skin and bones are cooling in the pressure cooker.  I will also can homemade broth from the remnants of this chicken caper.  The hardest part is done and the big canner will do the rest.


It got up to 70 degrees today, yet I felt cold and clammy from the dampness and humidity.  When we get strange weather like this I become aware that I have two plates, 5 pins and a screw in my right arm/elbow.  In other words, it annoys me.  Poor little me.  Now the temperature is dropping to a more sane level for this time of the year.  However, there is another storm coming...just like the one that just blew in and out again.  Mother Nature has truly lost all her marbles.

I haven't done a lot today.  I watched TV more than I should have because of all the weather havoc.  About the only thing I did today, other than mutilate 10 pounds of chicken, was to wash a load of cloths and wash dishes.  Oh, I did clean up the mess I made when I preformed surgery on our poor feathered friends.  Messy me. Now I am a chicken surgeon.  Watch out, chickens of the world!!

****

JESUS ANSWERED THEM

(speaking to the Jews)

"AMEN, AMEN.

I SAY TO YOU,

EVERYONE WHO

COMMITS A SIN

IS A SLAVE OF SIN."

St. John 8:34

This is just one verse in Ch. 8 where Jesus is speaking to the Jews, those that believed in him and wanted to follow him.  Read all of Chapter 8 if you can.  Oh, go ahead, it won't hurt you.

END 



Vessels of Clay

I had all my testing done at the eye doctor's today.  I have lost a little of the peripheral vison in the upper part part of the right eye, but nothing drastically so, that I can't drive or see  what I need to see.  I am getting a new pair of glasses, too.  I have not changed my glasses for quite some time and the lenses are getting old and the transitional coating is coming off.  Basically, the new glasses are pretty much the same prescription as the one's I wear.  I will also get new lenses put into the old frames that I wear now, as a back-up pair.

I did go to the Golden Coral for a late lunch after I was finished at the doctor's office.  Tomorrow it will be back to the diet.  Even though I eat out occ. I do not stray to far from my dietary path.  It takes a lot of discipline and effort, esp. when I see all those good deserts.

My doctor and I got to talking about his missionary trip to Guatemala.  He has been to every country in South America except for Bolivia.  We talked about Jamaica, too, and my friend's trip there.  He has never been there, either.  He is now thinking about making that his next mission trip as another Dr. has invited him to go there several times.

So, that is what and where my day has been spent and doing.  Not too adventure filled and nothing exciting.  Somehow the time passes rather quickly in spite of my innate laziness.  And the weather today has me thinking about a garden...just thinking about it is hard work!

 ****

BUT WE CARRY

THIS TREASURE

IN VESSELS

OF CLAY, TO SHOW

THAT THE ABUNDANCE

OF POWER IS GOD'S

AND NOT OURS.

Corinthians 4: 7

Here, Paul is saying that the Christian ministry is carried and preached by frail human beings-that's us. Read more of Paul's letter for a better-clearer understanding.

END

A crown of spaghetti

OK, I did it.  I didn't mean to do it, but it was the funnest thing I  have seen all week.  I took a dish of leftover spaghetti out to the "next door dogs."  Just as I was about to drop the spaghetti over the fence...the Brown Lab rushed in and got a head full of spaghetti.  I couldn't help but laugh.  The poor dog was crowned with a head full of spaghetti strands.  And then it became even funnier.  Have you ever seen a dog slurp-suck up a strand of spaghetti? I just hope the people next door don't figure out why their Choccolate Lab was wearing a spaghetti sauce hat.  But...it was just too halarious!  Poor dog!

Not a very busy day and I wasn't looking for things to do.  Tomorrow I do have an appointment with the eye doctor to check on my gluacoma and I will probably have a lot of tests done that are due about every six months. So, I will be obedient and go get the works done and over with.  It will be a boring afternoon, but after that I may go somewhere to eat.  Then I won't have to wash dishes!  Or cook! 

Yesterday I burned the sweet potatoes nicley and the house still smells like burned food...sigh.  I didn't pay attention to what I was doing, but I got the chared stuff cleaned up.  Back to boiled egges: they are easier!

"NOT EVERYONE WHO SAYS TO ME,

"LORD, LORD," SHALL

ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN:

BUT HE WHO DOES THE WILL

OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN

SHALL ENTER THE KINGDOM

OF HEAVEN."

Matt.8: 21

END

The road most traveled

I have been looking a the status graph/bar and for some reason it never says the same thing, which is confusing to me.  I must be missing something here.

I went shopping this afternoon 'though it never really warmed up.  My front yard is full of papers and sale bills.  I don't know if they actually blew in or if the mail carrier dropped them.  Either way, I will still have to pick them up.

I did get milk and put 2 qts. in the freezer and 2 qts. in the refrigerator.  Also, I got the sweet potatoes that I wanted, plus onions.  Things are just better with onions!

The price of gas went up...again.  It goes up every day...just like my alarm clock.  At least I can turn my clock off, but not the spiraling cost of gas.  The oil companies and O-you know who-bama, are kicking this nation in the knees and driving it down.  I wish O-would get off his bama and do something positive for a change.  O, I forgot he was and is, bringing about "change," change you can count on.

I dropped another pound.  If I can get seven more off...I will set a new goal.  I can now get into a few cloths that have been hanging in the closet and "almost" into a few others.  I will be a lot healthier if I make the target goal, but it has taken a while to get this much off.  I won't say where I started or what the ultimate goal is yet.  I probably won't lose much more until I can get out and do some yard work and be more active.  It is easy to put the pounds on, but a lot harder to get the weight off.

Last Sunday as I was getting ready for church I heard a local preacher on the radio say, "There is one road to Hell, but no road out."  I found that to be interesting concept, 'though I am not in complete agreement with his statement.  I am inclined to think that there are many roads to Hell, and the most traveled road is the highway that no one believes they are traveling.  If you don't believe in Hell...then you don't believe in God.  If you don't believe in God you are most likely to do whatever you want and "to hell with the consequences." 

"HIS WINNOWING

FAN IS IN HIS HAND,

AND HE WILL

THROUGHLY

CLEANE OUT

HIS THRASHING FLOOR,

AND WILL GATHER

HIS WHEAT

INTO THE BARN;

BUT THE CHAFF

HE WILL BURN UP

WITH UNQUENCHABLE

FIRE."

Matt. 3:12

There are several references in Matt. if anyone wants to look them up.  These references validate the teaching of hell.

YUM

It's a little chilly.  I cranked up the furnace, turned on the oil filled electric heater and and started the Edenpure, a little giant of a warmer.  Good little Edenpure.  I am finally warm and feel human again.  We didn't get snow, but we enjoyed a day of cold, high winds.  Your right.  I stayed in...close to the heaters.  The wind has settled now, but the temperature is to go down into the twenties.  Tomorrow I may venture out as it warms up in the afternoon.

I did some more odds 'n ends in the house.  I put some pork shoulder blades in the pressure cooker and had one for supper.  They are tender when cooked in the pressure cooker.  I have a desire for sweet potatoes, but don't have any in the house.  I may pick one up while out shopping.  I have two filled saver cards so I can get two quarts of milk for $1.50 each and put one jug into the freezer.  I have done that before, but used up the frozen milk.

When I stay in there just isn't much to write about.  No one cares about how cold it is here when Europe is so much colder.  So...again, I will keep this short.

WHAT HAS BEEN,

THAT WILL BE;

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE,

THAT WILL BE DONE.

NOTHING IS NEW

UNDER THE SUN.

Eccl. 1:9

***

I HAVE SEEN

ALL THINGS

DONE UNDER

THE SUN,

AND BEHOLD,

ALL IS VANITY

AND A CHASE

AFTER WIND.

Eccl. 1: 14

***

END

Judge not...but I do...darn!

This week is traveling so fast that I have to run along side the calender in order to keep up with the days as they swiftly move along.  And I am not a fast runner.

I finally pulled a ten pound package of chicken legs out of the freezer, to thaw out.  It will get a little cooler and I will can the chicken.  I don't trust the coming season and don't want to lose all the meat in the freezer(s).  We have had several tornado watches up in the past few days and it isn't even March yet.  I want to can as much as the meat as possible.

Now that it is Lent I am getting more things done that needed to addressed.  Not that I have taken up "work" for a Lenten penance, but it all seems to fall into place, which is good.  I think I should have Lent all year long!

I finally got some of the Christmas wrappings put in to the back store room and am going through more things to take to the Salvation Army.  Several decorative tins will find a way out of here as they serve no purpose and take up needed space.  Someone else may have a use for them.

This afternoon was so nice that I went out and picked up all my neighbor's trash that has blown into the yard.  The plum tree is trying to bud and a few volunteer onions are sticking up out of the ground.  I saw a beautiful red, female Cardinal in the grape vines picking off the tiny, leftover grapes from last fall.  And the Crocuses are trying to bloom, too.  All of these things are just a little early, but nature can not be deterred and will do what it wants.

I will soon remove myself from face book as it is a huge waste of time and not very "private."  It is actually a gaping invitation for anyone to find you and invade your personal privacy and space.  If I can find your name or the name of your friends, I can then, with the aid of a couple of programs track you down an find out everything about you.
Don't really want that.  In this technical world, there are no secrets or personal privacy.  Nothing is sacred and everything about a person can be reveled.  So, don't do anything that I wouldn't do!

I have been trying to work up the courage to take some pictures of my neighbor's yard.  Now I know why some people call us "rednecks."  It is more than interesting.  Opposed to the pictures that were posted last night, they are not "poor," but perhaps poor in spirit. In a few days (when they are away) I will try to get some pictures.  I guess I shouldn't judge, but is is hard not to.

DO NOT JUDGE

THAT YOU

MAY NOT

BE JUDGED.

Matt 7:1

END

•  

If you think your poor....

Ash Wednesday is over.  I got smudged.  Church was packed.  All of us sinners were there!  I heard it was packed for the 7 A. M. mass, as well.  Now it is forty days and forty nights...

I am a little tired so I guess I will got to bed early...well, early for me, anyway.

There was a little hale in parts of KY.  I did not really feel the earthquake.  It was like a little bump in the night.  I thought I heard thunder, and then the bump.  I turned over and went back to sleep. I guess the quake was felt in 13 states.  I am something of a pragmatist: if God's gonna get me, God's gonna get me.

A friend just came back from a mission trip to Jamaica where she and 11 others spent a week building chicken coups and supplying baby chickens.  They also went to a nursing home where they take in throw away elderly people.  It is a home in desperate need of anything and everything.  Jamaica is an extremely poor country.  Our poor are rich in comparison.  We are a nation of complainers for the most part.  We do have our poor, but seldom do we throw away the sick, infirm and the old.  Makes  you think.

HOME, SWEET HOME

END

Fat Tuesday

Today is Fat Tuesday-or was, depending on when you might be reading this.  Tomorrow is the start of Lent and Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence.  I took myself to the Golden Corral for a late lunch or early dinner.  I didn't pig out as you might suppose and I won't be partying all night, either.  I guess I have a different idea about what Lent is or at least what it is to me.  I know what I will do for Lent and what I won't do, but these are private so I won't go into detail.

Anyway, the time is here and here it will be for the next 40 days.  Actually 46 days as Sundays are not "counted."  As stated before, on Sundays you don't have to fast or abstain or fast unless you wish to do so.  Remember, the body does need proper nourishment, so keep that in mind on Sundays and eat good meals that day.

Tomorrow is also known as Ash Wednesday when we have the symbolic ashes in the form of a cross placed upon our forehead.  The ash is from the burned palms of last years celebration of Easter Sunday.  It reminds us that we come from dust and to dust we will return and also of mourning and lose of the physical torments of Christ, as well as that Christ himself went into the desert fast and pray. As Christ was tempted in the desert, so shall we be, also.  I know that I will be; I know full well that I am far from perfect.

"YOU THEREFORE,

ARE TO BE PERFECT,

EVEN AS YOUR

HEAVENLY FATHER

IS PERFECT."

Matt. 5:48

***

"TAKE HEED NOT

TO DO YOUR GOOD

BEFORE MEN,

IN ORDER TO BE

SEEN BY THEM:

OTHERWISE

YOU SHALL HAVE

NO REWARD

WITH YOUR FATHER

IN HEAVEN."

Matt.6:1



Those verses tell us we really shouldn't be telling what we intend or will be doing during Lent, or at any time unless there is a good reason, for it is between you and your/our God.

END



Never on a Monday

Never on a Monday.  It is the start of the week and I never have much to post on a Monday.  There just isn't all that much to write about until the week gets going. So, I will not add much.

"IF YOU ABIDE IN ME

AND MY WORDS

ABIDE IN YOU,

YOU SHALL ASK

WHAT YOU WILL,

AND IT SHALL BE DONE."

John 15: 7

END



A little posting

OK, what do I post when there is nothing to post.  Nothing. 
I stayed in today.  It is clammy cold and cloudy.  It was supposed to get up to fifty today and the weather man said it did, but he must have been standing directly under a sunbeam.  I wasn't.  It did get into the mid forties, but I don't know how the red line on my thermometer crawled up that high.  My furnace has been running all day and it is still clammy.  Yuk.

I made another big pot of spaghetti this eve.  I just don't know how to cook in small portions so I guess I will freeze some of it.

We are supposed to get a possible light dusting of snow overnight, but the weather man has his hit and miss days.  I know the there is a big storm moving from the south west toward the north east.  This is an unusual direction for a snow storm because they usually come out of the west or north west. We will see what happens and where it goes.  I just don't want it around in the morning.

I started using a sinus de-congestion tablet.  I don't have anything bad yet, but I am going to nip it in the bud, or in this case, the nose, before it gets a grip on my little nares and sinus cavities.

Very little to write about and I know that no one is really all that interested in my stuffy nose...so it is time to quit...right?

TRUST IN THE LORD

WITH ALL YOUR HEART

AND LEAN NOT UNTO;

YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.

IN ALL YOUR WAYS

ACKNOWLEDGE HIM,

AND HE SHALL DIRECT

YOUR PATHS.

Proberbs 3: 5-6

END

LOTH-DIVINE OFFICE AND OTHER THINGS

OK, now I seem to have a mild sinus infection, something I probably picked up over at the nursing home last week.  I will start working on relieving the symptoms right away.  Actually I have started: I just blew my sinuses out with a mild vinegar and water nasal spray. If you should try this at home be well aware that vinegar, even in a mild spray, will sting.  So will OTC sprays because they are salt based.  So, throw caution to the wind and make it yourself...just don't say I didn't tell you up front!

This day was a shopping day and getting a few things on sale.  I got Chicken Noodle soup for .50 cents a can and dish detergent, 2  large bottles for $5.00 bucks.  Also got some candy for 88 cents a bag.  The candy will go to some of the residents over at the home...not for me.

As I did not sleep well last night and have a sinus kind of headache tonight, I guess I will go to bed "early."

I LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE MOUNTAINS:

FROM WHERE SHALL COME MY HELP?

MY HELP SHALL COME FROM THE LORD

WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH.

Ps. 121: 1-2

The above psalm-vs. is only part of psalm 121 and is found in the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hour, also known as LOHD.  Oh yes, it's in your Bible, too.  Imagine that!

END

  

CD's and such

The CD is safely out without damage, but the CD player is out any good.  I have only used the CD player a few times and only used the CD that was stuck once.  I never leave a CD in the player.  I may try using an old CD in the player to see if will eject, but  as this little episode cost money...think about it before I try it.  The audio tech. said this is a common problem and had to remove the radio to get to it.

Today I washed a heavy bedspread and sheets, plus a few other things.  I wanted to flip my mattress, which I can not do with one poor arm, but I did manage to get the mattress turned, top to bottom.  Everything is put back together now and waiting for me to jump into it tonight.

I had been promised help in turning the mattress months ago, just as I was promised help to hang some pictures way back in August.  Well, you know how people keep promises.  I will try to do the picture hanging myself in a few days.  Usually when I find that I have to rely on my favorite arm...I pay for it latter in an uncomfortable way.  So be it.  I am tired of waiting on the good intentions of others.

I had my hair trimmed this afternoon.  It needed it.  It gets really thick in the back and I don't care for messy hair in the back around my collar.  The top didn't need much done to it.  Now, it looks a lot better.

So, I did make this into something of a work day...with lots of jobs waiting to be done or completed.  I started to clean out the bottom shelf of the cabinet and that isn't finished, but everything is pulled out and needs to be restored to the proper places.  I'll get it done soon...LOA!  All these little jobs would be a good discipline to get finished during Lent, don't you think?  Actually, this should have nothing to do with Lent; they are things that just plain need to be done...woe is me...I am so lazy!

BUT WHEN THOU PRAYEST

GO INTO THY ROOM,

AND CLOSING THY DOOR,

PRAY TO THE FATHER

IN SECRET;

AND THY FATHER

WHO SEES IN SECRET,

WILL REWARD THEE.

Matt. 6:6

 

Kneeling for prayers was not unknown among the Jews, but the common practice was to pray standing, as is even done today at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

END

I would like to say that I am a fountain of knowledge and wisdom, but I am not.  And there isn't much to write about, either.  So, I took myself out to eat and did very little this day.  Tomorrow, I really should get it together and get a few things done.


I have it in mind to shut the TV off for Lent, but then I wouldn't know all the news that is news.  But...but, when is the news ever good, anyway?

I did go to the garage to see if they could get the CD out of the CD player in the van.  They couldn't.  They told me to take it to the Audio shop and see if they could retrieve it.  So, that is on the agenda tomorrow...and the shopping I didn't get done today.  And yes, I did go to bed before mid-night last eve. so I have no excuse for being lazy today. 

So, this is a short post.  I need some inspiration as well as ambition.  Does anyone have some to spare?

THEN JOB SPOKE AGAIN

 AND SAID,

WHAT HELP YOU GIVE

TO THE POWERLESS,

WHAT STRENGTH

TO THE FEEBLE ARM!

 Job 26: 2-3

As you can see, the computer wants to do what it wants to do.  I am just going to let it be...for tonight.

END

Brain Drain

I wrote enough yesterday to give me a fuzzy brain today so I have decided to give the gray matter a rest and put it to bed early.  You know that thinking is hard work for me.

We had a little snow overnight and it melted off around 9 A.M.   The temperature has risen a little and now it not so cold.  It may get just a few degrees "above normal."  What is normal these days?

I may go shopping tomorrow, but don't really need much.  I have what I need and then some.  "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want"...you know the rest.

So, it is off to dream land for me-to rest my tired head.

END

Attributes

A friend just recently asked me what I meant by "attributes" during Lent.  The dictionary will  refer to the word attribute as defining one's character.  I explained it to my friend as going a step further as to....refining...one's character.  Penance during Lent is good and commendable, but to build and enhance your personal virtues and graces is highly desired.  If you can delete a bad behavior or action from you id-inner self, that is a special grace to receive and give back to the Lord.  If I give something up or do something worthy for 40 days and then go back to what was before, I don't know how acceptable that would be to God.  God told Abraham not to sacrifice his son on the alter; He was testing him to see how obedient and loving Abraham would be. 

Recently I was tested.  I hope I responded in an acceptable manner.  Inside myself, I was lived and my blood pressure went into outer space and beyond.  That was not an acceptable attribute and now I am over it, but I know that I could have and should have done a better job in controlling my thoughts. 

Just because I didn't write or verbalize what I was thinking doesn't mean it was a good attribute.  Definitely a flaw in my nature and inner-self: something I need to work on.  No matter how old you get there is always room for improvement or ways to do better.  So, I can make all the sacrifices and penances I can think of, but if I don't build something upon these with actions, then it would be just 40 days without good reason or much merit. 

You may also think of attributes as graces or virtues.  Not all of us are so well gifted to be born with all the virtues and graces that is desirable to the Lord.  You can earn what you learn-sort of self educational.  To be loved you must love.  To have all the necessary ingredients to make a cake you need some sort of spiritual recipe.  Most of the great saints needed  a good recipe to go by, also.  Sometimes making something good is finally achieved through trial and error, having the cake fall flat or even burning it around the edges.  We can all use a good cook book and it is called The Holy Bible inspired by chief God, maker of all good things.

Of course the last few sentences are meant to be an analogy or an alliteration, but you understand...or I hope you do.  Poor writer that I am, I will acclaim that I too, need the aid of a few good recipes and seek a more than just a few attributes as well.

"BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING;

BUT IN EVERYTHING

 BY PRAYER

AND SUPPLICATION

WITH THANKSGIVING

LET YOUR REQUESTS

BE KNOWN UNTO GOD"

Philippians 4:6

END

Job(e)

I braved the bitter wind and cold and went to the store.  I didn't need a lot.  I bought milk, buttermilk, coffee creamer and cottage cheese.  I think I will overdose on calcium.  I did get a couple other items that I know I can use.

Tonight I am going to bed early...I really am.  I will get up early in the cold and I won't like that.  Not that my house is all that cold, by dragging myself out of a nice, warm bed will make it seem that way.

I should count my blessings: It seems like much of Europe is in a little ice age and it is taking it's toll.  It wouldn't be the first time that a little ice age has embraced the northern continents.  At one time ice sheets and snows came as far south as Chicago and even lower.  The great glaciers sculpted the land and formed the Great Lakes.  Here, in the Ohio Valley, there once was great bodies of water, and still are some pretty deep and awesome rivers.  The Ohio River does not start in Ohio.  If I remember my geography, I think the Ohio starts up in Pennsylvania. with the Monongahela and lots of little tributaries, that be become very big tributaries, that become one big river, the Ohio.  However, don't trust my memories of geography.  It has been a while since I was in school.

I have a CD stuck in the CD player in the van and don't know how to get it out.  It just will not eject.  If it were my own  CD it wouldn't be so bad, but it is from the library and part of an expensive set.  I guess I will have to take it to the shop and see if they can get it out without damaging it or my dashboard.

I think the next few days will be a good time to get some things done inside because I'm not inclined to go outside.  no, I am not.

THERE ARE THOSE .

WHO ARE REBELS

AGAINST THE LIGHT;

THEY KNOW NOT

ITS WAYS;

THEY ABIDE NOT

IN ITS PATH.

Job 24: 13

Job was a sad sack kind of fellow, depressed and felt down trodden, yet he persisted in his faith.  He was a righteous man and the devil challenged God, who protected Job.  When God lifted His protection from Job and let the devil place Job under and into many trials and tribulations, Job held fast..

  

Yes, he moaned and groaned, complained and questioned God, but he never lost his reverence and fidelity.  We all have had, at one time or another, many of the same symptoms of Job: I hope we...I...never succumb.  Never let go of your foundation and faith in the Lord.  We will all need it in the days to come.  Now, that being said, I will admit that I am a weak person in all aspects.  I can only say that I try.

END

C-O-L-D

I told you it was coming-cold weather.  It was a cloudy, windy, cold Friday.  More of the same for tomorrow and it spitting snow.  Now there is a four letter word that I don't like: s-n-o-w.  Sunday is going to be cold. also.  So, when I go out the door Sunday morning I will freeze my nose off: another four letter word!  Well, darn, I am just spouting a lot of four letter words here!  N-o-s-e, c-o-l-d, and d-a-r-n!  I think I'm on a  r-o-l-l here.  OK, I well s-t-o-p.

I burned my steak and smoked up the kitchen.  It didn't hurt the flavor, though.  I finished all the spaghetti so now I have to think about and cook something else.

I did make it to the Salvation Army with some things, but I came right back home where it is warm.  I still have things to go, but not for a few days or in warmer weather.  I have that little Edenpur heater running flat out trying to supplement the furnace.

Otherwise, there just isn't much to "write home about."

"CAN A MAN BE RIGHTEOUS

AS AGAINST GOD?

CAN A MAN BE MORTAL

AGAINST HIS MAKER?"

Job 4: 17

END

Would You?

Oh well.  I wanted to watch the show "Preppers" last night, but I missed it.  However, I typed in "Preppers" into my search box and it all came up on Utube.  I watched some of it , but I have seen most of it before.  I did find some funny stuff and not so funny stuff and some videos that were just plain crazy.

So, this has been another chilly, inactive day.  I did get to the library to pick up what I had on reserve.  That should keep me busy for a while.  I didn't get to the Salvation Army.  I am still gathering things to go.  If I have not worn or used something-it is going.  I did find the Golden Corral, though!  You know "Man doesn't live by bread alone!"

CAST ALL YOUR CARES

UPON HIM

FOR HE CARES FOR YOU.

1 Peter 5:7

I have a question.

The church-all churches,

are under attack

around the world.

Will you take a stand

for your beliefs...?

Would you?

 END

'Sgetti

I made a pot of spaghetti.  I haven't had 'sgetti for a while and and was craving starches.  So, I made a big pot of starch...with sausage.  The thing about making spaghetti with sausage instead of hamburger is the high fat and cholesterol content.  If you do make 'sgetti with sausage or even hamburger, cook the meat first and then rinse the grease out with very hot water, through a colander or strainer.  Then you can put the meat back on the stove and add the ingredients in for making the sauce.  Everyone makes their sauce differently, so do what you like best.  To make a really good sauce let it simmer on low heat for about an hour or so.  Then it is yum and the craving for starch is .mollified...maybe.

I think that sometime soon I will get a big package of chicken out of the freezer and can it.  Canning meat will change the texture a little, but it will be very tender and good.  As the weather is so unpredictable, canning is a better way to preserve meat instead of relying on the freezer(s).  I look for a strange spring and summer.  We may be becoming tropical and Europe may be in the throes of a little ice age..who knows.  Read a book entitiled  "LIGHTS OUT."

As I have stayed in for a couple of days, there isn't much to say or write about.  Tomorrow I do need to be out and get a few things done, make a trip to the library and take some stuff to the Salvation Army.  You all get off easy tonight-no scripture.

END

Tattoo your forehead

There is a war being waged right in our own country, in case you haven't noticed.   Right now it is about religious freedom and separation of church and state.  It started years ago with the legalization of abortion.  It has kind of coasted along without anyone bringing out the big guns.  Now the big shooters are blasting away and undermining the tenants of the constitution, the basic moral code of all Christian beliefs and the forced imposition of a government infringement into the lives and fabric of most conscientious followers  of the Ten Commandments.  This would be forced upon American Jews as well as any Christian Church or Religious employers.

So, how do you like your Presidential mandates that shred the Constitutional freedoms of religion, freedom of speech, the Ten Commandment, sit in your bedroom, pick your pocket, protect high-up criminals and punish the lowly?  How do you like them now?

Abortion is legal.  Smoking pot is not.  You don't get punished for the snuffing of the tiny sparks of life, but you will go to jail for puffing away on a MJ.  Do you enjoy the unequal weights used in the scales of justice?

OK, the first run was for abortion.  The second run is in the works right now in the overt interference by your present leaders.  In the next 30 years or so, it will...or may be government euthanasia.  That would be a neat way to cut spending, wouldn't it?  Zap the elderly, the mentally and physically infirm and save a ton of big bucks.  Send the best and the brightest off to wars and keep the military occupied while the war machines are well oiled and running.  George Orwell's 1988 scenario, a little late, but moving along.

Of course, it is up to us, the presently "free citizens," to take a stand and voice our opposition to what is tossed into our gullets, the forced feeding of an ideology that is senseless and only serves the purpose of the rich, powerful, and corrupt individuals that spin the wheels.
Do you need to have some one reminding you of the Ten Commandments?

Or do you need to have "Freedom of Religion" tattooed on your forehead? 

How about the precept of separation of church and state?

We, as a nation, have been so "dumb downed" that we hardly know how much of our basic freedoms have been eroded.  I include myself in the stupid pot.  If you can't see it, voice your opposition to what is slowly and methodically worked into system and into you/our cerebellums, then I guess we will get just what we pay for...

The other day I wrote that we still have freedom of speech...but do we?

END

  

I won't write much because this has been a quiet day.  The only thing that I will mention is that our government has mandated that abortions be payed for or covered by all Christian employers, like it or not.  All tax payers will be paying for abortions though taxes, something that Obama-AKA-government, promised never to do.  Another promise broken, probably never intended to honor, and is being rushed and mandated before the next election.  If you are  against paying for abortion though your payroll taxes...then you better call or notify your congressmen and fight like H**l to prevent it.

Also, I will not share my post on Face book anymore.  If anyone wants to read it in the future the will have to go to:
LivingLesson-meb@blogspot.com
and find it, bookmark it or RSS the blog.
Facebook is not very well moderated really not a very "social net work" anymore.

END

FREEDOM TO WORSHIP

Everything is about the Super Bowl tomorrow in Indy.  I guess, if I were a football fanatic I would be cheering for the NY Giants.  Some one has to win, so it might as well be the NY Giants.

It's been raining and misty most of the day.  The temps are moderate, more like spring time, but not.  Winter has not arrived-just late.  I am sure we are in for at lest one surprise.  I know some people are starting some of thier seeds now.  I think I will wait until mid-March.  I still have not decided if I will put in a garden, but tomatoes are a "must have."  There isn't much to write about, so I won't make a big effort to come up with something.

"FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD

ARE OVER THE RIGHTEOUS

AND HIS EARS ARE OPEN

UNTO THEIR PRAYERS,

BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD

IS AGAINST THEM

THAT DO EVIL."

1 Peter 3:12

While I know that there are those that hate religion or anything that has to do with God-Christ, but this is my post and I am free to write what I wish and believe in.  So far, we are still a free nation and cont. to have freedom of the press.  God bless America and all who seek to worship without fear of retaliation, be it verbal, physical or psychological.  YES!

END



VERBLE CRUCIFIXION

My early thoughts and inclinations were not to bother with this post today.  Today was a day of verbal crucifixion, persecution and hate, directed right to me...and all because I said that I hated the usage of the famous four letter word.

These are the times we find out how strong our faith is...or weak.  I am certain that the three individuals from facebook would have nailed me to a cross, if at all possible, and joyfully pounded in the spikes  Their attacks upon me and what I believe in were pretty bad and foul in language and content.  I was really hit hard by the verbal abuse, more so because they are "family."  I can't really tell you how vicious they became.  I have deleted them and banned them as harassing, which they were.  I decided that no one was going to run me off and I will stick to my conviction that facebook is not the place for vulgarities.

So, I was really feeling pretty low until my big brother in Texas called and gave me moral support.  He saw what was written and was upset that "family" could be so vicious.

Will I get over it?  Yes, but I think it will take awhile.  In the meantime I will continue to hate that four letter word that is used so frequently and without thought of its meaning.  I think the so called "now or me" generation has really fell far from any spiritual or inner awareness.

No, I am not shocked by that particular word.  I grew up in house with six brothers and four sisters, so I have heard it all esp. in the working world.  It is just so inappropriate in mixed company or in any social setting.  Even if you have a PhD in street life or academics... you don't sound any smarter when you limit your vocabulary.  You know the adage of computer users: garbage in, garbage out.

So, this is my sad story of the day.  I made myself smile, turn on the computer, and write this post, bearing in mind that Christians all over the world are being attacked in one form or another...often in a violent, deadly manner.  No, I don't like it, but I accept it and consider it one small station on The Way of the Cross.

END

For those in need....

For the sick,

the injured,

the suffering,

the lost,

and the poor.

HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE

WHICH JESUS HAS SHONE

HE CAME FROM ABOVE

FROM HEAVEN'S

BRIGHT THRONE

THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER

HIS CHILDREN

FROM HELL

AND TAKE THEM FOREVER

IN GLORY TO DWELL

HE DIED ON THE CROSS

AND POURED OUT HIS BLOOD

TO BEAR THEIR DREAD SINS

MAKE THEM FIT FOR

OUR GOD

FOR LOVE SO AMAZING

HIS NAME WE ADORE

AND TO HIM BE PRAISING

WITH SAINTS EVERMORE

****

I PRAYED TO GOD

HE HEARD MY PRAYER

AND TOOK ME

 INTO HIS

LOVING CARE

WHEN I WAS SICK

HE HEALED MY PAIN

AND GAVE ME HEALTH

AND STRENGTH AGAIN

OH, LET ME NOW

HIS GRACE GRACE IMPLORE

AND LOVE AND PRAISE

HIM EVERMORE

****

 authors unknown

****

1 Peter 5:7

"Cast all your cares upon Him

for He cares for you."

We learn of our frailties and weakness through various, trails, troubles and sorrows.  No one promised us a rose garden, but we can nurture the roses where the thorns once grew.  With Christ we sand-without Him we fall.  "Into your hands, Oh lord, I commend my spirit."  Have you?

End



LENT COMES SOON

It comes.  In 20 days, depending on where and when you are reading this, Lent begins on Feb. 22, 2012-Ash Wednesday and ends on April 8th, 2012.

Lent isn't about hunting for Easter eggs or wearing the latest fashions, but they are a part of the tradition of the church.  Lent is a time of reflection, penance and prayer.  Christ went into the desert to pray and fast and was also tempted.  It is also a time to remember that we too are tempted and in need of reparation and re-generation of our spirits.

We think of Lent as 40 days and forty nights of spiritual rejuvenation, but there are actually 46 days of Lent.  Sundays are not counted because they are when we are to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  Sundays are free of fasting and penance and Christians are forbidden to to deprive or do penance.  Sundays are days of joy and hope and thankfulness for what the Lord has done for us and what he has given us.

While Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, it is a day we are reminded of our own mortality through the sign of ashes on the forehead.  It is a day of personal mortification through fasting, prayer and penance.  Most Catholics try to attend mass on Ash Wednesday.

The ill, the infirm, the aged and young children do not have to fast.  There are rules that cover those that can not  practice or comply with the demands of Lent.

I could go on and on and write a lot more, but you can look up most of this on your own, and should.  Think of Lent as something like good transportation.  You need to have a repair and maintenance schedule for you inner workings-the spirit.  If you don't take care of your transportation-soul-something is bound to go wrong.  I hope readers can makes some sense of what I post because I try to keep it simple.  I often run out of ideas to write about and how to present it.  So, you see, I need a little rejuvenation-or maybe a lot-myself.

END