It’s Monday morning, so that means it is time to stand up (don’t just sit there, do it!), stretch as tall as you can, do a few lunges, push-ups or whatever it takes to get the blood flowing to prepare you for the repetitive lifting of your coffee cup from the table to your face . . . and 1 . . . and 2 . . . and 3 . . . there, do you feel better? No? Well, repeat until you do, or until your coffee is gone. If you still aren’t awake, I’m not sure what to tell you – make more coffee, have some tea, jog in place . . . but whatever you do, WAKE-UP! It’s time to get the week started! Did you have a good weekend? We headed out to go shopping on Saturday and stayed home yesterday to get a few things done. Some baking was done, some TV was watched, laundry was washed – you know, the usual!
Verse of the Day
March 25, 2019
Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Revenge is Satan’s way of destroying both the innocent and the offender. Once vengeance becomes the motivation, the wounded party can suddenly be swept up in rage and hatred. This poison spreads to everything the vengeful person touches. On earth, we can see that we will never find perfect and complete justice, no matter the “goodness” of the judicial system in place at the time. But God will not only bring justice; he will deliver us: deliver us from the hands of the oppressor and deliver us from the poison of hatred.
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Finding Peace in Simple Moments
I have a nice sourdough starter that I feed every day, tenderly caring for it to keep it bubbly and healthy, since on our eating plan the fermented sourdough creates a bread that is allowed in moderation. In the long run, with the bread prices for the healthier breads, it is far more economical to make the bread we eat, and the recipe I use is just about perfected. Baking is peaceful for me, therapeutic if you will. My peace yesterday was my time focusing on putting all of the ingredients together and feeling the dough knead to perfection, seeing the wonderful puffiness as it rises in the warm oven, the feel of it my hands as I shape the loaves and prepare them for their second rise and the sense of satisfaction as I take the golden loaves from the oven. The final moment of “ahhhh” is when I cut into the still warm loaf, see the steam rise out of it, slather it in butter and add a touch of honey, then taking a blissful bite out of the sour, yeasty goodness. Does it get more simple and peaceful than the amazing aroma and flavor of fresh baked bread?
Feast of the Annunciation – I am not Catholic. Nor am I what can be considered Catholic Light in the form of Lutheranism or Episcopalian. I do, however, find some of their feasts and celebrations to be utterly fascinating and sometimes very touching. This would be one of them. The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. She was to name Him Jesus, which means Savior. It is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the church year. Can you imagine how that felt to Mary? She was barely more than a child herself, with estimates that I have heard being that she was 13 or 14 years old – normal marrying age for that time in history. She must have been honored, but frightened at the same time, for to be pregnant outside of marriage was no laughing matter in those days, and often ended with the woman being put to death for her behavior. The event of Annunciation is 9 full months before Christmas, which is the observed birthday of Jesus. Spare a few moments today thinking about this event and how grateful we are for Mary and her noble work for the Lord.
International Day of The Unborn Child – This one is celebrated at the same time as the Feast of the Annunciation on purpose. It was first celebrated in Argentina in 1999 under Pope John Paul II, in honor of the value and dignity of every human being from the moment of conception, and to also be a day of remembrance for those unborn children who have lost their lives to the violence that is abortion. The Pope connected the two celebrations because the day Jesus was conceived, He became an unborn child in the womb of the Virgin Mary. You don’t have to be Catholic to celebrate this one – you just have to honor life from conception. This day can be celebrated by joining a March for Life. Spiritually adopting an unborn child and dedicate yourself to praying for the baby and mother for nine months, raise funds for a pregnancy crisis center, pray outside of an abortion clinic, pass out pro-life literature or set up a “cemetery of the innocents” somewhere in your community to witness to all the lives lost because of abortion. Be prepared for public flack for evil is rampant in this world and the ones who promote and encourage the murder of the unborn have no shame.
National Medal of Honor Day – This day every year we celebrate National Medal of Honor Day, a day dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients. (Public Law 101-564) This honor day was conceived in the State of Washington and should be one of our most revered. Unfortunately, all too many Americans are not even aware that it exists. So, let’s learn about it. Why do we celebrate it today? This date was chosen to highlight this special day because on March 25, 1863, the first Medals of Honor were presented to six members of Andrews’ Raiders. Though there are some communities who do celebrate National Medal of Honor Day, for the most part this day comes and goes with very little notice. As a patriotic American there are a few things you can do to commemorate this day: You can fly your flag with pride and patriotism; Remember our heroes! Even if they didn’t get a Medal of Honor, all soldiers who have served our country honorably deserve to be recognized for their service and sacrifice. Thank one of them! Inform your local media! Many newspapers aren’t even aware that this special day exists. Tip them off to it, perhaps they will do a story on a local medal recipient! If there is a Medal of Honor recipient buried in your home town, get together a school class, a scout troop, youth organization, or other group and adopt a grave site! Taking care of the grave of one of our decorated heroes is a worthy activity for a very deserving hero.
Tolkien Reading Day – Did you know that there is a Tolkein Society? I didn’t! Well, they had their first Tolkien Reading Day on March 25th, 2003. They chose this day from the book for the reading day . . . do you know what the significance is? I didn’t think so – most people wouldn’t. In the book March 25th was the day of the Downfall of Sauron. For anyone who isn’t a fan, that won’t make a bit of sense. The Tolkien Society has provided information packs, bookmarks and posters for school that take part in this event. They provide free posters for events held by libraries and the general public taking place near the event, instead of on the 25th. With the popularity of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy making the books popular all over again, this day was set up with the hopes of getting even more people to read and discover from Tolkien – not just the Lord of the Rings.
This Day in History –
1957 – The European Economic Community (ECC) is established by the Treaty of Rome.
Food Celebration of the Day –
Vaffeldagen / Waffle Day – International Waffle Day originated in Sweden – it is called Våffeldagen. This day is considered to be the start of spring in Sweden and Europe. It became a custom for Swedish families to celebrate the by making waffles on this day. Now National Waffle Day – which we celebrate in August, celebrates the patenting of the waffle iron in 1869. Waffles date back to the 1300s in Greece. The Greeks cooked flat cakes between two metal pans. At that time, they would top them with cheeses and herbs – since pancake syrup wasn’t around back then. Waffles are eaten often as a breakfast food, or even a snack. They are also even a dinner item – like chicken and waffles. That’s something I still haven’t tried but would like to at some point.
National Pecan Day – I love pecans. They are my favorite nut to bake with and are tasty just snacked on by the handful! There are so many good things about pecans that there were TWO days set aside to celebrate them, one in March and one in April! Did you know that pecan trees are the only nut trees that are native to North America? No wonder they are so popular here! Celebrate today be cracking a few open and eating a few pecan nuts, or maybe made some pecan pie!
I’m hungry for waffles now, but its too late and I need to grab my stuff and head for work. Have a wonderful Monday, I will try to do the same, and maybe I’ll decide to make waffles when I get home. I doubt it, but it could happen. Oh, and grab that extra cup of coffee, I know I am! 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