It is my deepest hope that you are having a better start to your weekend than we have. I woke up with a migraine that has had me in a dark room with an ice pack for most of the day and Hubby woke up feeling like he’s coming down with something. As grateful as I am that this didn’t hit us while we were traveling last weekend, it’s a real bummer to waste all of this time when we would have been doing projects. Even looking at the computer screen this morning put my brain into pain overdrive, so I decided to wait until I had a bit of relief before I even tried to get anything posted. It still hurts, but certainly not like it did.
Verse of the Day
July 7, 2018
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
—Psalm 18:30
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
God is a shield whose Word can be trusted. His way is not only true, but it is also life-giving. But, we must take refuge in him if his flawless word and his perfect way are going to be blessings and his presence is going to bless us as our shield. Our allegiance, reliance, and dependence must be voluntarily placed in him and lives must be committed to living by flawless word.
July 8, 2018
I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
—Psalm 138:2
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
For Christians, God’s temple is one of two related things: either the Christian’s body (1 Cor. 6:19-20) or the group of people who make up his Church (1 Cor. 3:16). Because of the flaws in people who make up our churches, many are hypercritical of their hypocrisy. But God’s Church is precious to him, and should be to us. Anyone who destroys his Church through division will be utterly destroyed. God’s faithfulness to his people is seen in his preservation of the Church through all the ravages and persecutions of history and his patience with the flawed people who are in his Church. But, God is still the center of the Church and he alone is to be exalted. The Church is still to be governed by his Word and not just their own will.
www.verseofthedaycom
Food for Thought
We were watching a TV show that was discussing the cloning of dogs, and other animals, from animals who had done a great job at what task they were trained to do, from search and rescue, to military work, seeing eye jobs, etc. And they took the audience into the delivery room where they were prepping a dog for giving birth to a cloned puppy and I just couldn’t watch. I get what they are doing with the cloning of these animals, even if I don’t agree with it. Playing God with a species will lead to unintended consequences – at least unintended by the originator of the science. I couldn’t stand that they were using this poor Mommy dog as a living, breathing incubator for this puppy. It just didn’t seem right. Where should science end? When does it cross over the line? In my mind, it’s when scientists try to be gods themselves, rather than depending on our Creator to make those decisions.
July 7 –
Father-Daughter Take a Walk Together Day – Some of my happiest memories are of taking walks with my Dad. We both like walking in the woods, and I truly do miss the times we took a stroll on the trails just to be able to spend more time with each other. My knee is still in the healing phase, so going out on a rutted trail right now isn’t a good plan, but it would be nice to get together and enjoy some walking time together. I’ll have to give him a call to see what we can work out.
International Cherry Pit Spitting Day – Oh my goodness, how many of us have been just waiting for THIS one to come along? hahaha I have to laugh. As I laughed I tried to find the history of this event but apparently, it’s just something that evolved over time. As people have eaten fruit with pits, they’ve always just spit them out, and human beings have a built in competitive spirit and a sport was born. What amazed me is how FAR some of these people can spit these things! I admit, I’ve never tried it, and I’m not sure I ever would . . . or not that I would admit. Check this out! I looked up the Guinness Book of Records for the furthest recorded cherry pit spit (or stone as the records call it) and this is a copy and paste of that record:
The longest spit of a cherry stone in competition is 28.51 m (93 ft 6.5 in) by Brian “Young Gun” Krause (USA) at the International Cherry Pit-Spitting Championship at Eau Claire, Michigan, USA in 2004. On the same day in the freestyle competition he spat a stone 33.62 m (110 ft 4 in).
Now, take out the tape measure and calculate how doggone far 110 feet, 4 inches is! Imagine getting that distance with a spit! It’s gross, but it’s also impressive.
Tell the Truth Day – How many of us, throughout various days of the week, find ourselves compelled to tell a little white lie? You know the ones. When someone asks us if we like their outfit and it’s honestly quite hideous, or makes them look less attractive than what they really are? What is our first inclination? We say yes, we like it. I generally try not to lie – but I will say something like – Oh, those colors are interesting/beautiful, etc. Or when someone shows you their new baby. You don’t want to recoil at the little monkey face staring out of the blanket at you, so you either lie and say he/she is cute, or you comment on “all that hair!” See? We don’t want to hurt feelings, so we lie. I’m not talking about the whopper lies – the ones that are huge! Those we shouldn’t do anyway. The most common lie is the little make ourselves or someone else feel better lie. Lying about our weight. Lying about exactly how many pieces of candy we ate when we KNOW we are on a diet. Today we have the challenge of telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No exceptions. None. Don’t hurt feelings but tell the truth. It won’t be difficult for me today – I’m home all day with hubby How about for those of you who are out and about with other people? Just tell the truth! Are you up for this challenge?
July 8 –
Coca Cola Day – Because nobody really knows the date that Coca-Cola was created, they have chosen the birthdate of the creator to dub as Coca-Cola Day instead. John Stith Pemberton was born on July 8, 1831. He was an American pharmacist and was best known for his invention of Coca-Cola. He came up with an early version of the drink in May of 1886, but before it became world famous he sold his rights to it before his death. Earliest versions of Coca-Cola did have kola nut and damiana in it, though the current recipe does not, thankfully. The inclusion does explain why so many things were said to be cured by drinking the earliest versions though, doesn’t it?
Math 2.0 Day – I was lousy at math. If it doesn’t involve a calculator, or just the simple methods we learned in elementary school, I truly struggle. I admire people who understand the more difficult concepts, but seriously don’t understand them at all. The truth is that the world runs on numbers and mathematics. There isn’t any way around it. Without math we wouldn’t have any of the technology we enjoy today! It is the basis of almost all science and technology. From what I have been reading this celebration was created in 2009 to acknowledge the contribution that math has made to people and society.
This Day in History –
July 7, 1898 – The United States annexes Hawaii.
July 8, 1796 – The U.S. State Department issues the first passport.
Food Celebrations of the Day –
July 7 –
Chocolate Day – Do we seriously need a special day to enjoy chocolate? I know as a woman I can come up with many reasons daily to justify eating chocolate. This celebration takes all of that away though because after all, we are just getting into the celebration, right? Chocolate is America’s favorite flavor. It’s the flavor of choice in candy, ice cream, cake, breakfast cereal, toppings and a plethora of desserts. It is without equal in popularity and because of that there is this day, in its honor. Here’s something you may not have known – chocolate is a vegetable! It comes from the Cacao tree found in rain forests – though in my mind that makes it a fruit – but I won’t argue with the information I found. Either way, fruits and vegetables are good for use, ergo, chocolate must be good for us! Yeah! There’s another justification for eating chocolate! I actually found a menu listed for celebration this day – and no, I didn’t come up with it myself – but I had to laugh so I’ll share it with you. Honestly, I’d have the worst stomach ache if I did THIS much chocolate celebration, but perhaps some folks with tummies made of steel may be able to go this far . . .
Breakfast: Your favorite chocolate cereal along with two or three chocolate cream-filled donuts. Wash it down with a little hot chocolate. (Ugh, I’m hurting already, and I think I just gained a couple of cavities while I typed)
Mid-morning snack: A chocolate candy bar (with or without nuts) to hold you over and give you a boost until lunch. (starting to feel slightly nauseous)
Lunch: A big tall glass of chocolate milk is a must along with your meal. Try a piece of chocolate pie or pudding for dessert. (Dizziness from too much sugar is setting in)
Mid-Afternoon: Eat healthy(???) with some chocolate covered raisins. This contains both vegetable and fruit. (unless you feel like I do that because cacao beans grow on trees that they are both fruit)
Dinner: If you are an adult, sip a chocolate liqueur before dinner. Chocolate flavored coffee is a must with dinner. Dessert is none other than chocolate cake.
Nighttime snack: Chocolate ice cream, of course!
Now that we are all in a diabetic coma and need to have our stomachs pumped, I hope you enjoyed your chocolate. This menu could just be the cure for anyone ever wanting chocolate again!
Just a note – all of the above treats can be made low-carb, but even the low carb chocolate treats would be overkill in these quantities.
National Strawberry Sundae Day – Oh my goodness, is there anything more refreshing on a hot summer day than a lovely scoop of ice cream? It’s even better if you over it in fresh strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Yum! Today we celebrate this delicious dessert – and I know a lot of folks will do so with enthusiasm. An interesting little bit of trivia, the ice cream sundae was once known as “sondhis” and “sundis” and is named after Sunday. The odd spelling was done to avoid offending Christians who might not like to have a dessert named for the holiest day of the week. Of course, if they were to name this treat today, nobody would care about offending Christians – and would likely go out of their way TO offend us. That’s the way its going lately. What better day to enjoy a sundae than on Sunday though, right?
National Macaroni Day – Most people, like myself, think of macaroni as being a shape – like the kind we get in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. What the word macaroni actually refers to is the kind of dough from which macaroni is made – durum wheat, without eggs. Elbow macaroni shape is the most common, but it can also be made into straight noodles, curved, shells or any other shape. Macaroni is used in many dishes from casseroles to soups, hot entrees and salads. I am eating low carb most of the time these days, so I have found that there are elbow macaroni shaped shirataki noodles from which I make a version of macaroni and cheese. No, it’s not the same, but I don’t think it’s a terrible thing. This picture shows a bowl of the “mac” and cheese I had last week!
July 8 –
National Blueberry Day – Blueberries are wonderful – one of nature’s candies. They not only taste wonderful, but they are filled with fiber and rich in antioxidants. They are one of the healthiest fruits you can eat, and I am glad that they are also one of the lowest in carbs, so I can enjoy them on a low-carb diet. Blueberries help promote heart health, lower bad cholesterol, reduce the risk of cancer and can even help slow the aging process! Bring on the blueberries! My Grandparents grew the most incredibly large, juice and sweet blueberries I have ever tasted. There were about 6 different blueberry bushes (or trees since they were so tall) in the backyard and at harvest time we would pick the plump, juicy berries so Grandma could freeze some, and make pies with some and we could snack on some. I just figured they really liked blueberries, which would explain why they had so many bushes, but the truth is you have to have at least two different varieties of blueberry bushes to pollinate and produce berries. I knew my Grandpa knew everything! This celebration was registered by www.holidayinsights.com in 2016 after they realized that most other foods had their own special day, but blueberries did not! So thanks to them, we now have a great reason to give respect and love to the blueberry.
National Milk Chocolate with Almonds Day – I love milk chocolate. I know that dark chocolate is better for us, it’s easier to find or make dark chocolate low carb . . . I get all of that, but when it comes down to the bare truth, I LOVE milk chocolate – I love the creamy texture, the melty creamy lusciousness of it, I love how it goes with so many different things, or just by itself. Sadly, I don’t often enjoy milk chocolate lately BECAUSE of the carbs, but I know I always will love it and have my special treat days with it forever. There are things that I didn’t know though, and thanks to www.foodimentary.com, I can share them with you now! Did you know that the protein in almonds is more like the proteins in human breast milk than all of the other seeds and nuts? I didn’t! Apparently, this is why it is the choice of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine as the base for baby formula! Also, almonds are the most nutrient-dense tree nuts, with one ounce (or 20-25 nuts) containing 160 calories and only 1 gram of saturated fat and no cholesterol. They are also an excellent source of vitamin E, magnesium, protein and potassium. It takes 1000 pounds of almonds to make 1 pint of almond oil – which explains the cost of almond oil! Take all of that nutritious almond information, dip it in luxurious milk chocolate and have a decadently not terribly unhealthy treat! YUM!
Now that it is almost time for bed, I am getting this posted. My apologies. When the migraine monster hits, nothing will allow me to plow through it without letting it run its course. And sadly, I’m not even the slightest bit tired. And this explains why I usually don’t allow myself a nap. God bless you and I’ll see you on Monday!