Good morning and greetings to whom ever read this.....
I thought it would get up and write something fancy. Of course the pleasure principal... I couldn't really decide what I wanted to say. Of course I wanted it to be clever, and inspired. But as I began to type and delete and type and delete I had to remember I INITIALLY wanted to write about GOD. So I began writing to GOD. But as I typed I thought, well I think I want that to stay between me and GOD. It should be more of a personal relationship, you know. It finally came to me, uh duh if you want to write something that is uplifting and inspiring and pleasing to GOD -uh why don't you seek his needs, seek his desires for you today. Basically turn to the WORD! Now I always use the King James Version of the Bible. I love my Bible ap on my phone. Nevertheless, I open up my phone and low and behold the versus for today is this: Philippians 2: 3-4 3."Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4. not looking to your own interest but each of you to the interest of the others". That pretty much summed it up and put it in perspective for me. I couldn't figure out how to start or what to say because I was thinking about me and how to be awesome sauce ( I love that commercial). Side bar- saying I love that commercial makes me want to note that I have not had cable or "live tv"-since probably that commercial so about one to two years??? I don't know I stopped counting. Anyway, let me not be lead astray..... I don't think I really have a point that I can share with you, which sucks because my blog is about content mattering, and yet I have found it hard to put on here content that matters. I have been stalled-EXCEPT TODAY, today I really thought about the LORD-when I really thought about the LORD, and it showed. When I assumed I was thinking about the LORD, I found myself doing it on my own. Trying to figure out how I was going to make this post today. I was really thinking -OK I have to do this for the Lord, make sure it's something people want to read, and blah blah blah, -so many thoughts I couldn't get started. Then as I have learned, and with no choice- I thought, more like sought help from the Lord Jesus Christ, and my soul motioned me to the word and in the word, was my heart. Philippians 2 versus 3 & 4 showed me that DO NOTHING FOR SELFISH AMBITION OR VAIN CONCEIT-and let me just say even in the face of the LORD. You know some of us, truly don't care what other people think, however we do care what Jesus Christ and our mothers think (just seeing if you have a sense of smile). So we think, yeah, this is what Jesus wants, and so many people will be inspired. YEAH! Nothing in vain conceit, the word said. Let not your heart be fooled. It was only when I sought Jesus, the word showed me how to "do me"- Ironic almost, but not. I have to go. So the word for today is : Look not to your own interest, rather do, act, respond with humility that values others above yourselves. Short story... Yesterday I had my son do a Easter egg hunt for the small children on the block. He had a couple of his friends come over and help him fill up the plastic Easter egg. As they were filling them up, I heard his one friend say, I'm going to fill this one up with all of the nasty jelly beans (you know the black licorice candies). I immediately said No, and if you do, I will make sure you get that one. Would you like that? "NO", he said quick.... I said that's what I thought. Think about how you would feel if you got that one, we do unto others as we like done unto us in this house........ Can I be that strong today? I will let you know. Today's Prayer for my family: Lord I have family that is struggling today, trying to deal with life and death in its true form. We celebrate Easter because you have conquered death for the spirit, the soul and the mind, yet we here have to give in gracefully to it. Give us strength to understand that this battle is not ours. The lost of flesh and bones is not our battle, it's not our purpose, even as our lives intersect with it from time to time. Give us strength in what we can not comprehend and courage to keep the understanding that you are GOD alone, and your grace and mercy is sufficient. Today is not creating a tomorrow our minds want to bear. But you would not burden us with a weight we could not carry. I was reminded yesterday at church how you are with us always and even more important, just like with your disciples, and the angel of the lord told Mary Magdalene, Jesus Christ has risen and he goes ahead of you..... That verse resonated with me, it made me think Jesus Christ is before me, Jesus Christ is holding my hand or carrying me right now with me. And Jesus Christ has my back. . SO be strong family, be strong Cousin. God Bless and he is with you always. I love you Auntie Dean-
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I MAY NOT REMEMBER WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, BUT I NOW KNOW WHY MY FAMILY SHOULDN'T CHEW BUBBLE GUM.... I often find it better to cook at home, rather go out to eat. But sometimes that can be hard when it comes to dealing with a sweet tooth. You can easily make a burger or stake, just the way you want it. And I swear nobody cooks chicken like little ole ladies from the Church. But who do you know that makes their own Now-N-Laters, or jelly beans? Now I know home made ice cream has come a long way. So much so, kids are making their own ice cream and pudding snacks. But seriously, how many of us can make the hard candies like Jolly Ranchers; or the gummies like gummy worms or chewy candies like Mike-n-Ikes? Granted I have some bias because I am not a baker and so candies fall into that category for me. Nevertheless I try to bake every now and then for the practice. But because I don't bake I often find myself looking for recipes. You know the real simple ones, that generally require the items you normally keep on hand. In my search for different recipes, I came across a YouTube video on how to make bubble gum. Let me just say STOP EATING GUM RIGHT NOW. I am normally the type to say "NO, DON"T READ ME THE INGREDIENTS, I DON"T WANT TO KNOW". Who knew there should have been a disclaimer before showing the making of bubble gum. WELL LET ME TELL YOU, THIS IS ONE RECIPE YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF; ESPECIALLY SO CLOSE TO HALLOWEEN. I think it is already understood that GUM is primarily SUGAR. What you may not know is the base of GUM, which use to be made from Tree resin, is now made from PLASTIC AND RUBBER. YES! PLASTIC AND RUBBER, and if you knew that already I hope you told someone. Now, the use of rubber and plastic is said to make the gum chewy. They DUMP THE PLASTIC AND RUBBER INTO A MIXER, THEN THEY ADD RED FOOD COLORING AND MIX IT TOGETHER. AFTER THAT COMES THE SUGAR. GLUCOSE IS ADDED TO MAKE THE PLASTIC AND RUBBER SOFTER. THEN THEY ADD POWDER SUGAR (DEXTROSE). The mixture is heated until it becomes the consistency of dough (bread dough). I don't think I need to go further into the process for you to get the picture. GUM is not good, not even to chew and spit out. What kind of plastic and rubber are they using, better yet, what type of plastic and rubber are they ALLOWED TO USE? That is the more scarier question. I had to call my son into the room. I wanted him to see this for himself. When it comes to the parent child relationship, children generally think their parents are either making things up to scare them; exaggerating; or don't know what they are talking about. To be fair sometimes we as parents are so worried our children won't pick up the obvious hints let alone the subtle ones that we deny them a chance to make mature decisions. It becomes easier to tell them what they can and can't eat; where they can and can't go; and who they can and can't hang around. It generally backfires,-for the first fiver or six years... But hang in there. We have to give our kids the benefit of the doubt and sometimes place them in front of tough decisions and see how they respond. So I showed him this You Tube video. I was quite as they went over the history of Gum and how they use to make it. You should have seen his eyes light up when they talked about all the sugar. How eager he was to chime in to what he "knew". But then, they got to the part where they actually discuss how they make gum TODAY. SIDEBAR: Now I'm not sure if there is any "original" gum still out there, but I doubt it; and I do appreciate how the video was made. It did take the time to inform the viewer that in the beginning companies use to use Tree resin and now they use a synthetic base made of plastic and rubber. Nevertheless, when my 12 year old son heard the man say, first we start with the gum base which is a synthetic made up of PLASTIC AND RUBBER, his smile instantly dropped. His jaw dropped and he said UUUH, that's disgusting. Although it wasn't the best look on his face, it made me proud. Of course with him being 12, and he could loose that ah ha moment I nurtured the thought by quickly following it up with YEAH, WE HAVE TO STOP CHEWING GUM BUDDY. HE AGREED. Of course as kill joy can spread, I instantly heard DAAAAD! We have to stop chewing bubble gum.... LOL( can you use LOL in a blog? I guess I will find out. LET ME KNOW-Can you use LOL in a BLOG or is that just for TEXTING?) Well let me just say Knowledge, PASS IT ON. As parents we are always looking out for the unknown person that may harm our kids or give them something that is bad for them. Lets be more informed as parents and make sure we are not helping the bad guy... |
C. AlexanderSharing daily ups and downs is not easy. But it is important when the world feels so alone. Content matters when you need a friend. Helping you get things done through words that create movement. Archives
December 2022
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