We are halfway through the week and I can’t believe how fast it is going by! Sort of boggles the mind. I work today and tomorrow, then will be off with my friend on Friday, which will be our one day to hang out and explore our area before she has to go home on Saturday. After 13 years of not seeing each other we have been able to spend time visiting, and since she is an AMAZING massage therapist, she has been working the kinks out of our ouchie muscles, but we have had other things to do, places to go and I’ve had to work. We have a lot to cram into a day, that is for sure. Now we just have to get there! Two more days!
Verse of the Day
October 3, 2018
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
The great truth about Jesus’ empty tomb is not that just that he is risen, but that he is living! His victory over death wasn’t short lived, it was ultimate. He now lives to make intercession for us until he can return and bring us to his home. Our life is hidden with him so that no one and nothing can take it from us. When he appears, we will get to share in his never-ending glory. How can we not praise God for such grace!
Food for Thought
I am stunned by how vicious women are being, or at least the most verbal ones, against men – ALL men – these days. Seriously, all of us have fathers, many have brothers, cousins, sons and friends who are men. Do you REALLY think you would believe some person who came out of their far distant past, threw around a handful of statements that can’t be backed up or supported, over someone who has led an exemplary life and against whom NOBODY who knows him or has worked with him has a bad thing to say? Seriously? Just because a female says something does NOT mean that it is the truth. I know horrible people who happen to be women who don’t mind lying, being bitchy and awful all of the time for no reason other than they CAN! Heck, I used to work with a few of them – maybe they weren’t tossing around sexual assault allegations, but it didn’t take much for vindictiveness, lies and venom to drop from their faces. They brought acidic hate with them wherever they went and let me tell you, I am grateful to have them out of my life. I had NO idea how much stress they were bringing in each day, and how it was negatively affecting me. Take a moment, look at your history, go way back if you are getting up there in years, and examine your behavior in high school. Can you TRULY say you would be a clean slate and have nothing for which you would be ashamed? NOT A SINGLE THING? Yeah, I didn’t think so and if you said you are an open book and never did anything wrong, I can tell you right now I wouldn’t believe you. You would be LYING because we are all imperfect and do imperfect things. This is how we learn, how we grow, how we become responsible adults. If you are going to run around throwing stones, please, throw them at the ones tossing around the lies. Duck while you are doing it because someone could be throwing them right back at you.
Balloons Around the World Day – This one is always held on the 1st Wednesday of October. Is there anything quite as magical as balloons? Watching someone create balloon animals or sculptures is fascinating. The balance between watching someone use all of that creativity, while standing back expecting an explosion as they twist, bend and fold those balloons just brings a bit of magic and wonder to the whole process. Balloons Around the World Day is about sharing happiness, giving smiles through the act of giving and sharing balloon art. If you aren’t inclined to risk bursting balloons in your face, maybe present someone you care about with a bright and colorful helium balloon. It will naturally bring a smile to everyone’s face. A word of caution though – releasing balloons into the sky because it’s pretty is dangerous for birds, so please don’t do it!
National Boyfriends Day – For anyone who is a boyfriend, or who has been in the past, it’s not easy, is it? You have to keep so much in the forefront of your mind – anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, what your girlfriend likes or doesn’t, keeping the toilet seat up or down, and being sensitive to your girlfriend’s feelings, while being strong for her too. Well, it’s like being a husband, only you keep the polite face on all the time, where husbands can feel confident in their relationship enough to let down their guard. Boyfriends need appreciation too, so today is that day. Ladies, or I guess gentlemen too, if you have a boyfriend who just is amazing, and you appreciate them, let them know! They deserve the recognition.
Pet Obesity Awareness Day – Any of us who have pets know just how easy it is to reward them with too many treats or put out too much food! Like people, some pets just don’t know when enough is enough, leading to an estimated 52.7% of cats and dogs in our country being overweight or obese. Today is a day intended to urge pet owners to take their furry friend’s health seriously. Like humans, overweight pets can be at risk for many health risks like Osteoarthritis, Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease and more. Take some time to discuss this issue with your veterinarian and follow his/her guidelines to slimming down your pet today. It could save their life!
Techies Day – Is there a techie in your life that you appreciate? Where I used to work we had an IT guy that we could call/IM/email or text if something went even slightly wrong with our computers and odds were, he was going to be able to fix it from wherever he was, with his phone! OK, now that’s pretty doggone cool and though I don’t have a clue HOW he did it, I’m glad THAT he did it. It makes me wonder sometimes how we ever ran offices without computers. Does anyone around here remember those days? I do, and sometimes I miss them – mostly I don’t though. To be fair, even though when we think of techie we think of computers, this day is for ALL technicians, not just those who work with computers. There are many technicians in many fields who deserve our appreciation and admiration for all they do. When you get your car fixed, do you appreciate your auto tech? They have to know how to fix all of the cars that are brought into their shops, no matter what those cars are – old, new, with computer chips, without computer chips, they have to have a huge assortment of tools, because all cars need different tools, and they are treated like dirt if they don’t know immediately what “a funny click” is in someone’s car and actually want to be paid for the time and effort of figuring out the problem and repairing it. If it were easy, you could fix your car yourself, so show a little appreciation for talent and skill! No matter what type of techie you have in your life, let them know their skills are necessary and that you are glad they are around when you need them.
Virus Appreciation Day – This is another of those celebrations that makes you scratch your head and say “why?” No, really . . . WHY? Why would anyone want a day to give respect to nasty viruses? I’d rather just dose them up with something to make them go away! The people who created this day didn’t bother identifying themselves. They didn’t make a list of the kinds of viruses we are supposed to be appreciating either. Human, animal and computer viruses spring to mind as being of concern . . . and we worry that animal viruses can jump over to affect humans – like the bird flu. I suppose, since actually appreciating a virus doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, we can appreciate that they can be very serious, if not deadly, and take measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones from them. For example, always remembering to wash our hands – often – with hot water and soap; covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze, keeping our immune systems healthy with good food, exercise, vitamins and supplements; and if we DO get sick, staying home rather than risk infecting the people we work with, etc. Honestly, I don’t know what the creators of this day intended, but maybe it would have been a better idea if the day were titled Virus Awareness and Protection Day.
This Day in History –
1974 – Frank Robinson becomes major leagues baseball’s first black manager for the Cleveland Indians.
Food Celebration of the Day
National Cinnamon Roll Day in Sweden (Kanelbullens Dag) – Cinnamon buns are almost a daily part of Swedish life, but today is their special day. The tradition of celebrating Kanelbullens day is a 18-year old tradition, though it fits in perfectly with Swedish culture and tradition. Cinnamon Bun Day was started in 1999 when staff at Sweden’s Hembakningsrådet (‘Home Baking Council’) were looking for a way to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. The idea was to create a day to celebrate Sweden’s home baking tradition by highlighting a traditional and much-loved pastry. The autumn harvest is high season for baking in Swedish homes, so it was the perfect time of the year for a festive day with a baking theme. It was important to keep with Swedish culture and choose something that everyone could participate in – which was easily done. Go into any bakery in Sweden today and you will find cinnamon buns in aBUNdance. (sorry – I couldn’t resist) We may not be in Sweden, but you can easily celebrate this day by going to your local bakery and getting a cinnamon bun in honor of this special tradition. FYI, for anyone eating low-carb, you can make a delicious batch of cinnamon rolls using mozzarella dough! Try out Carolyn Ketchum’s cookbook “Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen” She has a wonderful recipe in there! I’ve made a batch using a similar dough recipe and it was quite tasty! Head on over to Amazon and place your order today – food will take on an entirely new sense of adventure for you!
National Kale Day – We have so many food days that we celebrate, that it just makes sense to set aside the bad for us food (that tastes OH SO GOOD!) like donuts, hot dogs and cheese puffs, and give some focus on something that is very good for us! It’s only fair, right? Today we celebrate the 4th annual day for Kale – the curly-leafed green that doesn’t get enough credit for being a versatile food. This day was created by Dr. Drew Ramsey, the co-author of the cookbook “50 Shades of Kale”. For people who shy away from eating leafy greens, what exactly IS Kale? It is a member of the cabbage family, with only 33 calories per one cup serving. That one cup packs a powerful punch though, providing 134% of your daily vitamin C needs, 684% of your daily vitamin K and 204% of your vitamin A. It also gives you 3 grams of protein! It’s been called the king of green vegetables! Being rich in fiber and flavonoids, kale has been shown in studies to lower the risk of certain cancers and helping with weight loss. It can lower cholesterol, is high in antioxidants that lower a person’s risk of developing cataracts and macular degeneration. The Kale plant is also very durable! Its growing season starts in early spring and continues to produce into late winter! After a frost kale actually becomes sweeter. When you buy, or grow, kale, make sure that it is organic. Kale makes the Environmental Working Group’s “dirty dozen” list of the top 12 foods with the most pesticides. Another thing that I found to be unique about cooking kale is that while most nutrients are leached out of vegetables during cooking, kale stays nutritious for up to 15 minutes at high heat, or 35 minutes at lower heat! It can be eaten in salads, smoothies, soups or even eaten on its own. Personally, I love making kale chips, getting the kale crispy in the oven. It’s so versatile though that it can be cooked in many ways, so experimenting is very easy and delicious. Try some today and let me know how you prepared it!
National Taco Day – Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi — famous for his Nathan’s hot dog feats — also holds the record for most tacos eaten. He polished off 106 in 10 minutes in 2012. Alright, now that just makes my stomach hurt. I love tacos, but seriously? That’s just gross.
Today pray for our nation, pray for our leadership, that they show wisdom in the decisions they make. Pray for our President, for no matter whether or not you voted for him, if you are a citizen of this nation he IS your president, and as our Commander in Chief, everything he does affects us as a nation. Personally, I think he’s doing a wonderful job, but I know not everyone does. That does not preclude him from needing prayer as he performs the duties of his position. Pray for Brett Kavanaugh and his family, for they have been dragged through the mud and to hell and back. May our nation get back on track – it needs Judge Kavanaugh – which is one big reason those who hate our nation are fighting so hard to keep him off the Supreme Court. May our leadership be protected and know God’s peace. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.
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Celebration list sources:
www.verseoftheday.com www.brownielocks.com www.holidayinsights.com www.thenibble.com www.foodimentary.com