It is so easy to lose track of days while not working. I spent all day yesterday thinking it was Sunday, even though I knew fully well it was Monday. My internal clock is a mess! I left asking Hubby what day it is because I don’t think I’ve ever had a Monday that felt less like one in my life. I’m happy to say that I got a call back for a 2nd interview for a job that sounds very interesting at the end of this week. A big part of me is really enjoying not working, but another part knows I truly need to go back to work. If I have to do it, it may as well be for a company that will appreciate me, and so far in the process it sounds like these people will.

Verse of the Day

Tuesday – July 3, 2018

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

—Proverbs 14:34

Thoughts on the Verse of the Day

Wow, what an indictment. When we vote our pocketbook more than character and when we excuse the indiscretions, infidelities, and illegalities in the leaders of both political parties, we have reached a very sad state indeed! But before we rant and rave about the sad state of morality in our public officials, let’s make sure we’re honest in our own daily lives — that we don’t say cruel things about others, that we remain faithful to our marriages and our purity vows, and let’s make sure that we expect of ourselves higher standards than we do of others.

www.verseofthe day.com

Food for Thought

Often, I take a look around and dread the future of our country after looking at what the youth of today thinks, and how much they expect to receive for free, and I worry about the future. Yesterday we met a young man who, at 24, bought a business and is working to get it moving in the right direction. He is intelligent, has great conversational skills, and I hope and pray he works the kinks out to make it work. Someone his age who has that level of drive, is staunchly conservative is very sadly not often that common to find.

 

Compliment Your Mirror Day – My first thought the first time I saw this one was, huh? But once I read a little bit it makes more sense. The idea is to stand in front of your mirror with your eyes closed. Put a big smile on your face, now open your eyes. The person in your mirror is beautiful / handsome. That’s not always easy for us to admit. For many years I managed to avoid really looking in the mirror. I’d go through the motions of getting ready and look at the individual part I was working on – hair, eyes, etc. But I never took the time, or wanted, to look at ME. I didn’t like who saw looking back at me. A few years ago, I lost a lot of weight and I learned that I didn’t mind looking in the mirror – it took me awhile to recognize who was in there, and after a lot of tears, I started looking and liking who I saw. I’ve gained much of the weight back again and am dealing with some health issues that are making it difficult to get back off again, and to be quite honest, I got complacent. I’m starting to find myself reverting back to not looking at myself, avoiding the reality of what and who is there. This isn’t a healthy attitude. I have been blessed with mostly good health, and most of my body functions more-or-less the way it is supposed to, and rather than filling my head with negative thoughts, I must start being positive again. It’s not easy, and it all starts with today. So, go ahead. Stand in front of your mirror, put on a big smile and really take a look. God doesn’t make mistakes, and the person you see is truly beautiful. Pay your mirror a compliment for having the ability to display that beautiful person!

 

Disobedience Day – The only thing I could find about this one was speculation and conjecture. The most common thought is that this is a day for civil or social disobedience as an act of protest. This is not a day to endorse or encourage kids disobeying their parents, teachers or other authorities, so it would be a good idea to learn about civil disobedience before setting out to act on it. Every time we turn on the news we see examples of people making their opinions heard through various acts of civil disobedience. In the past, it always seemed to be people I disagreed with – for instance when I was little I remember people protesting the nuclear submarine base. They would do the silliest things! Climb the fence to the base – even though the signs clearly said that trespassers could be shot. Flinging themselves in front of the train bringing in the – well, whatever it is they were bringing in – to stop it. They obviously didn’t research it well – they should have known that trains can’t stop that fast! And the silliest one I saw – going out in a rubber boat – a SMALL rubber boat, in some ill-advised attempt to stop the submarine. Seriously? A rubber boat stopping a sub? Lately though I’ve been seeing instances that really give me grave concern. People are being bullied about having the American Flag in their yards or on their homes, wearing symbols of patriotism is considered to be hate speech, and Heaven forbid you mention God in a Christian context or someone will come unglued. Sometimes standing up for ourselves is worth the effort and perhaps we will encourage someone else to do the same, so if someone tries stomping on your freedom of religion or speech, your 2nd amendment rights, or anything else that isn’t causing anyone else harm but just “hurts their FEEEEELINGS” stand up and say NO! Enough is enough and I don’t care what you tell me to do, I will NOT do it! I WILL stand up for my rights, no matter what.

 

International Plastic Bag Free Day – Each day many of us stop at the store, buy our food, clothes, or whatever it is we are getting, and the items we get are put into a plastic bag (unless we request a paper one or take our own cloth bags) and out we go. In our house, we reuse these bags for various things, but many people just toss them into the trash without a 2nd thought. Did you know that it takes 100-500 years for one of these bags to break down and be gone from our landfills? I didn’t either! I often take my cloth bags with me to the store, at least when I am not forgetting them at home, and though I do re-use my paper and plastic bags at home for things like kitty litter clean up, or recycling, I am going to be more aware of how many plastic bags I use. By the way, there are many crafts you can make, including floor mats, out of plastic grocery bags. Hop onto Pinterest and check it out!

 

Stay Out of the Sun Day – With all of the outdoor activities going on in the summer, this is a great one for us to celebrate not just today but every day! Stay cool in the shade and give your skin a rest from the hot, damaging rays of the sun after getting enough for your Vitamin D dosage. A nice porch swing sounds good on a hot sunny day, or even a hammock hung between two shady trees. What’s your favorite way to stay out of the sun, yet still enjoy it?

Food Celebrations of the Day –

Eat Beans Day – Inexpensive, versatile and full of fiber — what’s not to love about beans? The USDA recommends we eat 3 cups of beans a week. Have an extra serving today! Since I have been eating low-carb, and beans have a LOT of carbs, I haven’t had many, but there is ONE brand of black soy beans that have 1 carb per serving – they are from the brand Eden’s Organics and I can only find them at Safeway or online. They are a nice addition to stews and soups.

• Ground Beef & Garbanzo Bean Casserole
• Liberian Black-Eyed Pea Soup
• Greek Potato, Zucchini & Bean Stew
• Vegetarian Bean Pasta
• Spicy Slow-Cooker Pinto Bean Chili
• Korean-Spiced Kidney Beans
• Chinese Sesame Limas

National Chocolate Wafer Day – I am sure that most of us have seen chocolate wafer cookies by Nabisco in the stores. They have sold their Famous Chocolate Wafer Cookies since 1924, but they weren’t the originators of these wafers. Chocolate was a drink for centuries, but by the end of the 17th century there were some cooks beginning to put cocoa powder (ground up cacao beans) into puddings. Nobody knows the name of the first person who made chocolate cookies (though we should all be very grateful that they did), in the 1800s chocolate was being put into cookies and cakes. The cookies that were made in that time period were very simple and somewhat like shortbread. Even though MOST of the wafers were made by home cooks, when they became commercially available, the convenience was very appreciated. Wafer cookies paved the way for candies made with them, such as KitKat – one of my favorites. I miss them sometimes, but I know there are great low-carb sweets alternatives. Here is a recipe from Gnom-Gnom Paleo for low carb Oreo cookies. I’ve made them and can honestly say they are delicious. If you want just a chocolate wafer cookie, make the cookie portion of these and don’t fill them with cream! Yum! https://www.gnom-gnom.com/gluten-free-keto-oreo-cookies/

Well, it’s time to get our day started, so I’m going to do just that! I challenge you to do the same. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.