Somehow the best laid plans seem to take a detour on the weekends. Saturday morning, I woke up with a bad headache and by the time it was feeling better we realized that there were things we needed at the store, so we got around to go. Yesterday I did things around the house that I typically would have done on Saturday, so once again, didn’t take the time to sit down at the computer and do anything. Now the weekend has gone by in a blur and I’m heading back to work for the week. Yikes! I wish time would reverse itself and week days would whip by and weekends would slow down! Wouldn’t that be nice?

Did anyone else watch the lunar eclipse last night? We had a perfect view from our front porch. It was pretty awesome. It was the “Super Wolf Blood Moon Eclipse” and was beautiful! It’s so rare that we have a clear sky on nights with these events! We were going in and out of the house so we could watch the progression without staying out there and getting too cold. We were able to see full eclipse before the clouds rolled in. I was pretty excited.

Verse of the Day

January 19, 2019

We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

—Hebrews 10:39

Thoughts on the Verse of the Day

I love this description of God’s people that precedes “the faith Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11). When you look at God’s people over the centuries, they are not a bunch of wimps, crybabies, and cowards. Yes, they do have their bad moments. But all in all, they are not those who quit on their quest. They are those whose faith has endured and found God’s great victory of salvation. This verse excites me because the Holy Spirit does not say “we can be those who don’t shrink back,” instead he is confident in us, our endurance and our faithfulness. We’re not “shrinkers,” we’re believers!

January 20, 2019

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

—1 John 4:18

Thoughts on the Verse of the Day

While I approach God with reverence and awe because he is the holy and majestic God, I don’t have to fear his presence. Because of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I know God is my Abba Father. He longs for me to draw near him. He has shown me his heart by sending Jesus. He has shown me his love by having Jesus die for me. If he loves me that much, then I can trust that his desire is to save and bless me. I don’t have to fear his presence or his judgment. As his child, his love has driven fear from my heart and replaced it with love from his abiding presence, the Holy Spirit.

January 21, 2019

[Jesus] said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

—John 6:20-21

Thoughts on the Verse of the Day

Jesus comes to his disciples to comfort them in their worst nightmare – a storm on the sea. He literally tells them, “I Am, do not be afraid.” Two key things are here for us to notice. First, Jesus uses a name (“I Am”) that identifies himself with God who delivered Moses and the Israelites from Egypt. Second, he uses a surprisingly frequent command found throughout the Bible: “Don’t be afraid.” When we are willing to invite Jesus into our lives during the middle of our storms and messes, he not only says, “I Am, don’t be afraid!” but he also helps us find our way to our most important destination, ultimate deliverance.

www.verseofthedaycom

Food for Thought

The March for Life was on Saturday. This is the annual march in support of the rights of the unborn that the mainstream media always ignores. CNN reported that “about 1000” people attended. Um, no. They were there, taking pictures and doing their “reporting” hours before the event even started as the first early arrivals got there. The truth is that 100’s of 1000’s of people were there, supporting the unborn and speaking out against the atrocities of murdering babies via abortion. Of course, Sunday was the “women’s” march. Those attendees and women of that ilk do NOT speak for me, nor do they speak what is in my heart. They are a hateful, murderous, screeching band of harpies doing their best to malign the President, all conservatives, God and anything good and right in our country. And of course, the media was all over that. Keep praying for our nation, for our President and for the precious babies. May God help this administration win the war on the most helpless and vulnerable among us.

Saturday – January 19

Robert E. Lee Day – This controversial figure was an American and Confederate soldier who was best known as a commander of the Confederate States Army. He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War from 1862 until he surrendered in 1865. Regardless of your personal and political beliefs, this man was an integral part of our history, and history, no matter how hard you try to change it, just IS HISTORY! You can’t! You can try to wipe it out from people’s memories, you can stop teaching it to children, but it doesn’t change it. Recently a whole bunch of cry baby idiots have been tearing down Robert E Lee’s statues and complaining about the Confederate flag, which represents southern pride to so many people. By destroying these symbols, they believe they are changing things, but all they are doing is being destructive and illiterate. It doesn’t change a thing. Today study up a bit on Robert E. Lee. You don’t have to like him, what he stood for or what he fought for, but he is still an important person in American History and that will never change no matter how many statues or flags are destroyed.

Tin Can Day – On January 19, 1825, Ezra Daggett and his nephew Thomas Kensett received the first U.S. patent for storing food in tin cans. More specifically they got the patent to “preserve animal substances in tin”. According to “Today In Science” they had been canning seafood, including salmon and oysters, since 1819. Aluminum, which is a more abundant metal than tin, has replaced tin in industrial applications for cans. So, what canned food do we routinely buy? What DON’T we get in cans? I can’t think of anything! I remember my Grandpa K. saved his tin coffee cans. He stored everything in those things! Nuts and bolts, fishing stuff, seeds, you name it. I remember all of those cans lining the shelves of his shed, cellar and attic. Did you have those toys as kids that were two plastic upside-down bucket looking things with strings attached – you stood on the buckets while holding the strings tight and walked around making stomping noises. I forget what they are called. I remember Mom taking tuna cans, cleaning them out, having Dad punch holes in the sides, attaching strings and making homemade whatever-they-weres. Cans come in handy! Ah, memories.

Sunday – January 20

Camcorder Day – I am SO aging myself when I say that I remember when home video cameras first came on the market . . . I remember when Dad had one of those cameras that used actual reels of film and he had to set up the screen in the living room, along with the huge projector. Now, anyone with a cell phone carries around a mini-video camera with them. On the one hand, I like that since I can catch spontaneously cute things that the grandkids do, on the other hand, anyone who wants to film something they shouldn’t, can. We’ve all heard those stories when people film up some poor, unaware girl’s skirt! With so many cameras everywhere, there are all these programs that revolve around the footage caught by all of these people, some silly, some embarrassing, some dangerous and some downright naughty . . . I find it to be a little too much intrusion . . . but apparently there are enough fans of it out there that they have enough audience to keep putting them on the air. Today’s celebration is a attribute to videography of all kinds, whether someone is a professional enjoying shooting footage of wildlife, or an extreme sports fan who puts a video camera on their helmet before jumping out of a plane. Some folks just like recording memories they can cherish forever, which is the sort that appeals the most to me.

National Disc Jockey Day – Everyone has been to a party that has had a DJ, and I’m sure many people KNOW one, and more probably profess to BE one – even if they only mix music in their living rooms on their home systems. This day is all about celebrating the hard-working entertainers that bring energy to dance floors all over the world, from weddings to huge, celebrity parties. What is the exact definition of a Disc Jockey? It’s a person who selects and play recorded music for an audience. That doesn’t mean that just anyone can do it – a good DJ has to have infectious energy and enthusiasm for what they do – which is making people want to get up and have fun.

Celebration of Life Day/Sanctity of Life/ Pro-Life Day – This celebration is a critical reminder that we are called to honor children, as they are each precious gifts from God. They deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, love and a nurturing care. The entire month of January is Celebration of Life Month, with the 1st full week being Celebration of Life Week. Honestly, this shouldn’t be limited to a single day, a week or a month out of each year, but something we do every day as a commitment to the children in our lives. This one was important to me before, but the births of Miss B and Baby R have reinforced it for me. Watching that child come into this world, such a precious little human being, every cell in her body a testimony to the creative genius of our Creator. Every blink of their little eyelids, every expression, every sound they make . . . I cannot gaze at them, whether peacefully sleeping, or crying for reasons they aren’t even aware of, and have any doubt that we are blessed by their very existence. Then I have to wonder how anyone could willingly, voluntarily and with such cruelty wipe such a blessing out of this world before they have a chance to draw breath. Life begins at conception, each one known by God before they were created, and as such we are obligated to uphold the rights of each and every single one, doing everything in our power to end the travesty of pre-birth genocide that is occurring at an ever-increasing rate of speed, with an always expanding set of parameters. Today I lift up the children, born and unborn, to God our Father. Please protect them, hold them close in Your loving arms, and gather the ones who are gone from us far too soon into Your embrace.

Penguin Awareness Day – We’ve all seen the cute penguin movies, and even the educational ones, so we know that they deserve their two celebrations each year. Today is Penguin Awareness Day, but there is also World Penguin Day on April 25th. Today we can learn a little more about these adorable creatures and their endangered status. Did you know that not all penguins love snow and cold? The Galapagos Penguins live near the equator. Penguins are a kind of amphibians, their wings, over time having evolved into flippers. They live in a diet mostly made up of fish, squid, krill, etc. I’m sure that everyone who just read that and has seen Happy Feet, just got a mental image of those funny krill from the 2nd movie. I know I did – put a smile on my face. Anyway, The Emperor penguins are the largest, with the largest getting as tall as 3.61 feet and 77.1 pounds! That’s a big bird! The tiniest one is the Little Blue Penguin, only growing to a miniscule 1.3 feet and 2.2 pounds. Awwww, so little! Today is the perfect time to learn something more about these natives of Antarctica, so grab a book or find a website and do a little research. You could also go to the zoo or aquarium where they have a penguin habitat and watch them play. They are highly entertaining, and incredibly intelligent. have fun!

Monday – January 21

Martin Luther King Day – I’m torn on this one. I don’t really like celebrating the BIG ones here, unless they are religious, or family oriented in nature. And, to be quite honest, there are conflicting reports about Martin Luther King, Jr. However, that can’t take away from what he did do to try to unite the country; something that was systematically torn apart during the previous administration. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 while he was making a speech from the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, TN. His birthday became a National Holiday by an act of Congress in 1983. His actual birthday was on the 15th, so they must have settled it on a Monday, so a lot of people get 3-day weekends. I am not one of those people, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Like I said, I’m torn on this one.

National Hugging Day – Hugs are pretty awesome, aren’t they? Today is a day for both giving, and receiving, hugs. I have to say that of all the hugs I’ve ever gotten in my life, hugs from my son are the most enthusiastic, at times to the point of feeling like my ribs are going to crack, but still the most enthusiastic. When someone gets a hug from G, they KNOW they have been hugged completely. My daughter gives good hugs, but at least they don’t cause loss of breath or vision from lack of oxygen! There are days when I miss my kids so much that I would give just about anything to get one of their hugs right then and there. Right up there with hugs from my kids are hugs from the Grandkids. It’s pretty special. Recently Baby R threw himself at hubby, kissed him and grinned his gappy new-teeth grin . . . that was amazing! Honestly though, I can say without reservation that the greatest hugs I ever did receive were from my Grandma K. You’ve all heard about her many times but get used to it. She was such a huge influence on my life that you’ll always be hearing something or another about her. When Grandma opened her arms, it was like coming home to walk straight to her and feel them wrap around your body. She always smelled of the powder she wore, ham, cherry pie, and various spices. She smelled of comfort and peace, her love came off of her in waves of compassion, acceptance and endless love. Once bundled up in one of her hugs, it was a place you never wanted to leave. If I close my eyes and think about it, I think I can breathe in deeply and smell the special fragrance that surrounded her, feel the soft gentleness of her touch, and hear the soothing caress of her voice as she told me she loved me. I hope for everyone to have someone in their lives that makes them feel that way, and I pray that I can be all of these things to my own grandchildren as they grow up . . . that someday they will look back and remember the hugs and love. Today give a hug to someone, it’s almost a guarantee you’ll get one in return. Hugs are loving, therapeutic and caring. Hugs are celebrations that make you feel good inside!

Squirrel Appreciation Day – Today is an opportunity to really enjoy our little tree climbing, nut gathering neighborhood squirrels. This celebration is held in mid-winter when the squirrels’ food sources are scarce. It’s true that squirrels spend all fall gathering and hiding their food away, but they may just not have enough, and the variety they are able to gather is limited. A great thing to do today is give them an extra special treat to brighten up their winter and supplement their winter diets. Not everyone is fond of squirrels. They are fun to watch running around the yard, and up and down the trees, but they get aggressive at bird feeders, and have been known to tip them over and spill the seeds in search of the ones they want. In the fall they have even been seen attacking the pumpkins on people’s front porches trying to get the seeds from inside them! Sometimes they dig up flower bulbs out of gardens and may eat some of the fresh veggies growing in our garden plots. When you look at it from that perspective, perhaps mid-winter is the best time to appreciate the squirrels! They provide more entertainment, and less frustration this time of year. We had these little squirrels who would run back and forth in our yard a couple years ago – we’d put out corn cobs for them to nibble on. I haven’t seen them for some time though – it’s a little sad not to see them out there. Not sure where they went, but I hope wherever it is, they have plenty to munch on from their foraging this past fall.

This Day in History –

Jan. 20, 1964 – The Beatles release “Meet the Beatles”, their first album to the U.S., sparking a new “English invasion”.

Jan. 20, 1981 – At 69 years, 349 days old, Ronald Reagan becomes the oldest person to become U.S. president.

Jan. 21, 1915 – The first Kiwanis club is formed in Detroit.

Jan. 21, 1950 – Science fiction writer George Orwell dies.

Food Celebrations of the Day –

January 19

National Popcorn Day – The earliest form of domesticated maize, popcorn has turned up on archaeological digs in the American Southwest, making it, perhaps, America’s oldest snack food. I know that around our house, popcorn is one of the go-to snacks, even when we are dieting. It is high in fiber and you can have a pretty substantial amount without worrying about overdoing it.

January 20

National Buttercrunch Day – Somewhere between caramel and toffee lies buttercrunch — and its name has become synonymous with cookies that also bear bits of its sweetness. Get a buttery crunch fix with one of these crowd-pleasers.

National Cheese Lovers Day – Cheese is amazing, isn’t it? It can take a good dish and make it great! It can take a great dish and make it nearly transcendent in the world of food. Just like many things are better with bacon, cheese elevates even the simplest and most basic of our meals and puts smiles on our faces. There is something about the ooey gooey stretchiness of mozzarella on pizza or in a grilled cheese sandwich, or the bite of a great, sharp cheese on a cracker to make our taste buds sing.

National Coffee Break Day – For anyone who works, we are all familiar with the term coffee-break. Not all states mandate that two breaks a day are required for employers to give to their employees, but in my state, two 10-minute breaks and a half hour lunch are required by law for every 8-hour shift. I never gave much thought to where this practice got its start though, so what I found out surprised me. We have working housewives back in the 1880’s to thank for coffee breaks. These women were working for a Stoughton, WI tobacco warehouse and would take mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks to run home to check on the kids and do some chores. Nearly 20 years later the first US companies started giving coffee breaks to their employees as a benefit so the workers could get away from their work stations and visit with other employees. The term coffee-break didn’t come into being until 1952 when a coffee company ran an ad campaign encouraging workers to give themselves coffee breaks throughout the day. Enjoy a cup of coffee on a break on this 107^th anniversary of this celebration!

January 21

National Granola Bar Day – Toasted oats, nuts and fruits (and sometimes chocolate chips) make granola bars a favorite energizing American snack. Buy a bar to celebrate or try making your own at home. I found a recipe last year on All Day I Dream About Food that I made that day. Here is the pan of granola bars while they were cooling. They were DELICIOUS! Here’s the recipe. Low carb, healthy and YUM!)

National New England Clam Chowder Day – There is something so comforting and satisfying about a big bowl of creamy, delicious clam chowder. The history of chowder dates back to the 16th century in the fishing villages of England and France. Residents would prepare large kettles of soup and then wait for the fishermen to return and add whatever they had caught that day. The question for people who aren’t fans of chowder, or who perhaps don’t live near the sea where clams are fresh and easily available, what exactly IS chowder? Most chefs have their own recipes with their own secret ingredients, but they all start out basically the same. It’s traditionally a rich cream soup that has onions, potatoes, and usually some sort of fish or shellfish. Since today is Clam Chowder Day it would be a great day to stir up a batch of your own! I may do just that, only I make it low-carb. Instead of potatoes I will use a combination of radishes and celeriac root. Rutabaga would work nicely also. I will follow the basic recipe for Fish Chowder from Carolyn Ketchum’s blog “All Day I Dream About Food” and switch up the seasonings to suit our tastes and instead of 2 cans of clams, use 3. Thickening it up with cream cheese, then topping with bacon is great too. and I thickened mine up a bit more with cream cheese. Oh, and more bacon. Always more bacon.

Sorry to toss three days at you all at once. Since I don’t get any money for doing the posts – affiliate links only bring in money if someone clicks on them and buys something – so I decided to just be relaxed and if I have time, great. If I don’t, well, I’ll catch up at some point. This is me catching up! And now, this is me grabbing my coffee and heading out the door. Have a great day! God bless you and I’ll try to 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

Did You See The Blood Moon, Wolf Moon, Full Moon, Lunar Eclipse? It was pretty awesome!

Verse of the Day

Food for Thought

This Day in History –

Food Celebrations of the Day –

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