good morning from my very cool neck of the woods. the coolest I seen this morning was 27*, but I believe it got a little cooler than that. I'll have to see what the cold has done to the rest of my garden. I have some bed covers ordered for my 4 large raised beds that have garlic in them. I hope they get here soon. the cold weather is not supposed to hurt them, but I will feel better if I have some protection on them. I hope where ever y'all are today that you get to enjoy some of the great outdoors, even if it is cool. we'll go for a walk in alittle while and then we'll get our day started. it won't be but just a few more walks till the month of Nov will give way to Dec. I hope I can finish Nov strong and start Dec with a lot of energy. I still don't know where this year has gone. I can say that I'm truly thankful for getting this far into the year without any major events, for both myself and my husband. lots of set backs with arthritis, back issues and other aches and pains, but I'm so thankful it's no worse than it is. I try to praise God thru it all. blessings on us all as we go thru the blank canvas of this day. may we let God paint a beautiful picture with our lives.
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I don't know if I've shared this one or not. if I have, please forgive me.
hey y'all, let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen with me". it's this time of year that I start looking forward to later on in the growing season. after the garden is planted, I start checking my tomatoes. not necessarily for ripe ones, but the good sized green ones. we love fried green tomatoes. well, I should say that we love "air fryed" green tomatoes. last year I put up several pks of ready to air fry green toamtoes and we have enjoyed them every so often. this may have been my last pkg. boohoo anyway, the pictures tell the story.
when I package them for the freezer, I take 1 good sized tomato and slice it in about 1/4 inch slices. then dip in egg wash and then into cornmeal seasoned with a salt and pepper. I tear off a portion of freezer paper and lay out 3 slices, make a roll then put 2 or 3 more slices and then make one more roll and put the rest of the slices on top and then roll and fold and tuck all the edges and tape the bundle and pop in the freezer. when I take the little bundle out, I unwrap it and they aren't stuck together or covered in frost, which can and has happened in the past. wrapping the coated green tomatoes with a layer of freezer paper between each layer assures me easy unwrapping. when I get them unwrapped, I leave them on the freezer paper for a minute while I spray all the pieces with just a dab of avocado oil, then I flip the pieces and spray the other side. this is what helps with browning. I put them in the air fryer set at 400* for 12 minutes. when it goes off, I gently turn the tomatoes and set for another 8 minutes. 20 minutes and these are about as close to perfect as I would hope for. they were delicious. this is what we look forward to in the coming months. more green tomatoes. now, air fryer green tomatoes, get in my tummy!! hahaha
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today is a day of sharing some of the stuff that God showed me early on. when I came across all of this, I started not to share it. but I believe in being honest about how I relate in this world. it's obvious I don't relate to well to the events of the last few years. I try to look at things thru the lens of how God looks at these events and that's not popular. I started to ditch all of these posts that I had previously made on facebook, but I didn't want to lose all the ways that God shown me His will and His ways. so I thought I would go ahead and share them, real, raw, and as honest as I know how.
the next few sections below are from 2020. each one had a particular event or happening that made me write down my take on them. this is all it is, my take on the situations, as I try to view the world thru the lens of how God views the world. so read on, or not.
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###This particular message came about in the early days of covid and all the uproar of people wearing masks. at some point in time, I'll tell y'all my real experience with wearing a mask.###
This is a long read. read it or not, makes no difference to me, I'll never know either way. This is just where my heart led me on this particular morning.
-Philippians 2:4 ESV Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
-Philippians 2:3 ESV Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
-John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
-Romans 12:2 ESV Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
-Romans 8:5 ESV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
I have a lot freedoms when it comes to this life I live. I have the freedom that comes from being an American. I understand that things are not as grandiose as they used to be, but we still have it pretty dog gone good. I am proud of the freedoms that I have being an American. I have family members that helped fight for those freedoms and I don't take that lightly. I can get up as I please. I can go anywhere I please. I can attain any level of accomplishment in my life that I desire. I even have the freedom to kill babies and be in good standing with the government! What more could anyone want?
The freedom I am most pleased and excited about is the freedom I have in Christ. Christ alone, bled and died for those freedoms. My greatest freedom in Christ is too love others. Is that easy? Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. There are a lot of things that I can do in my freedom as a Christ follower and be in right relationship with my Lord.
The scriptures above is just a SMALL sampling of how we, as Christ followers, are to actually live in the world in which we do live. We are going thru some hard times. People are having to find new norms and it's difficult. I admit and confess to my Lord right now, that I am struggling. I also know that I am not the only who is struggling. But Christ died for me and He knows what I'm struggling with.
When I read all the scriptures above and MANY more, this is where I am finding how, as a Christ follower, I should be carrying myself.
At one time, some people in KY were complaining about seeing TN license plates in KY WalMart and saying the state line should be closed and blah blah blah!!!! At any given time, in Springfield, you see about as many KY license plates as you do TN. Why is that, because people from KY work in TN and people from TN work in KY. So, before you gripe about seeing TN cars in WalMart, think about that, please. It's easy to say that, if all your family is near by. When I hear those statements or read them, I know that there is no compassion behind them.
So, if and when you see me, I "WILL" have a mask on. At least for the foreseeable future. I will be wearing it to protect those around me from possible sickness. I will also be wearing it to protect me from those around me that are sick and not wearing a mask and don't have symptoms yet and don't care. I will be wearing it because I am compassionate and I do care about the people around me. Even if I don't know your name, you're my neighbor and I try to be compassionate.
One of the things that blows my mind is that one day you will see people thumbing their noses at wearing masks. vowing and declaring they will not wear a mask and the very next day those same people are encouraging and asking people to wear masks to support certain businesses. Some even said they would leave and not support a business if expected to wear a mask. the next day they are asking people to wear masks to support the struggling businesses of their friends. if it wasn't for their friends, they would be leaving and not supporting other businesses that ask for people to wear masks. It's more mind boggling than what comes from the DC area. Do we or don't we? For some or for all? Who knows, I'm sure by tomorrow those standards will have changed. I think the term is a "flip flopper". and obviously, it all depends on who their friends are.
So, if you see me in a mask, just know that I am not under duress from the government to wear it, yet. I'm not being forced to wear it, yet. I wear it because I have compassion for my neighbor. I'll wear to help keep you and me safe. There are other ways to thumb our noses at the governments interference in our lives besides putting people we love and cherish in harms way and possible death. but evan at that, we called by God to live as peaceably with our neighbors as we can, especially when that peace depends on us as Christians.
Now would be a good time to hone up on the Bible that those of us who are Christ followers say we live by and put them into practice. just some of my ramblings on that particular day.
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###this goes along the same vein in which the above was written. it was about the same time in 2020.###
this is what's on my mind this evening and thought I would jot down my thoughts. these are just my thoughts, that's all. but my thoughts can be dangerous for me sometimes and these were. kinda made me take a second look at me. the images are everywhere. oh, you may not even pay any attention to them now, we've seen them so much here lately. but when I see the images, I see something I don't like. what are the images? if you have read this far, you may be curious. the images of the "upraised clenched fist". when I see them, it almost makes me sick to my stomach. and I seen an image this afternoon and it just stuck. I knew I would have to knuckle down and make sense out of why it just makes me sick. like I said earlier, this is my assessment and I'm not asking for anyone's approval of my thoughts or comments either.
a little digging and this is what I learned about the upraised clenched fist. it signifies threat, rejection, arrogance, exclusion, refusal, ready to fight, anger and violence. I think we've seen a lot of all of these traits in the last few weeks. we've seen the clenched fists out in the streets committing heinous crimes. I don't know about anyone else, but it has just about made me sick. sometimes, I would like to know how people could have so much hate on the inside of them. then, I remember that at one point in time, I had just as much hate on the inside of me as the people we've seen of late, still have on the inside of them.
then a little more digging also showed me what the open hand means. it means friendship, help, peace, sharing, humility, communication and connection. to be honest, that's something we've not seen a lot of these days. that's what's missing these days. it's not missing because the church doors have been shut due to the pandemic. the church is not the building. the church is each of us who claim to know Him. where I am, there is the church. where you are, there is the church. that is only true if you know Him.
when I think of an open hand, I actually think of 2 open hands. the 2 open hands of my Savior that was nailed to the cross for my sins. all of the sudden, that's when I realized why the clenched fist makes me sick. go back up and read the traits of the clenched fist again. they have nothing in common with the open hands. other than that fact that all open hands, were indeed clenched fists until they had an encounter with Him.
the open hands of my Savior had all the traits and so many more as described by the open hands. I am so thankful for His open hands on my behalf. if He would have had a clenched fist, life for all of us would be so different. the truth of the matter, my Savior had the choice to make; clenched fist or open hands. after all, He was fully human and capable of making a decision opposite of what He made. He had a choice. He chose me. He chose you.
so, I have a choice to make and I have chosen Him. does that make me perfect? laughably, absolutely not. it makes me a sinner saved by the grace of open hands. we all have a choice to make. it's not easy being open handed all the time because people think you are weak and beat down among other things. but at this point in my life, I could care less what people think about me and just pray that people start thinking more about Him. when we take our eyes off the open and nail scarred hands of our Savior, it's easy to start to getting clench fisted and full of hate again. my hearts desire for myself is that in all my activities from this moment on in my life, I pray that my Savior sees me living my life with open hands. that is the choice that I make, and I will fully rely on Him. we all have a choice to make. I can only make my choice.
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###this is just something that came about as I was doing my bible study one morning and I'm so thankful that God showed me what He has shown me thru this ordeal.###
back on March 20th, 2020, when I was having time with the Lord, He impressed upon me a series of questions. 3 questions, as a matter of fact. I wrote those questions down and have tried to be real with myself and answer those questions at least 3 times since the world changed. here are the 3 questions:
Thoughts for the day March 20th, 2020
1. What will be your greatest lesson learned from this ordeal?
2. What will be your greatest sacrifice through this ordeal?
3. What will be your greatest blessing on the other side of this ordeal?
those have been some powerful questions for me and really hard to answer at times. these questions run thru my mind almost constantly. I haven't been able to get them out of my mind. He put those questions there for me for a reason. as I struggle to answer them as honestly as I possibly can, I must say that it is hard!!!
for #1, I have to say that learning peoples true nature has been the hardest for me to deal with. there have been many wolves in sheep's clothing exposed. the expression "fake it till you make it" doesn't work with entering the kingdom of God.
for #2, I've always said that in all honesty, I know nothing of sacrifice. I grew up in a time of abundance and luxury, face it, most of us did. no, I've never had the best of anything, but that's not sacrifice, that's being petty.
I've never had to go off to war for my country knowing that I may come home in a body bag like millions have. that's sacrifice!!! I've never got up and put on a uniform and walked out the door knowing that there's people on the streets that I'm charged to protect that value my life less than that of a sick stray dog. that's sacrifice!!! I've never walked into the hospital knowing that today may be the day that I walk out with the disease that will kill me like it has so many other drs and nurses, but it's my job and I have to do it. that's sacrifice!!! I've never gotten behind the wheel of a big truck hauling food and meds to other places across the country and wondering if today is the day that someone kills me because they are evil people with evil intentions doing evil things. that's sacrifice!!!
I could go on and on, but I won't. most people I know are just like me, they haven't sacrificed much for this country. and for those that have, "thank you for your sacrifice" you have my utmost respect!!
so I guess the greatest sacrifice that has been asked of me up to this point in my life has been to wear mask to help protect other people. I haven't made excuses. I haven't beat my chest like a war drum screaming about my rights. I haven't been disrupting the lives of others. I haven't been claiming it's all a hoax. I have been trying to do as the Lord has asked of me, to live as peaceably as I can with others, when it depends on me. when I'm out, I wear my mask. I haven't done a whole lot of shaming others for not wearing their masks. I certainly could have done a whole lot more than I have, but I haven't.
those that have been complying with being asked to wear a mask have been called sheep. and that my friend, is one of the highest compliments that could ever be said about me. Jesus knows His followers and His followers know Him. what about the wolves in sheep's clothing? well.......................what about them???
for #3, my biggest blessing thru this and on the other side has been and will continue to be my constant. that has been knowing that God has been in control. God is still in control. God will continue to be in control. for that, I can wake up each day, knowing that no matter what my day brings, God has ushered it in for me and has allowed me to be a part of His creation for another day. I am of the mindset that God IS our only way thru this life. He will make a way in a barren desert. He will make a way thru the raging river. He will provide shelter when mountains are falling down around us. The "I Am" will provide and make a way!!
God IS, All IS Well!!!!
This is something I decided I would reshare with y'all. With all the trouble in the world, I thought I'd share a short story that I wrote back in 2012. It is based on an actual dream I had when I was 13 years old. I don't write with proper English, I write like I talk and that ain't proper. hahaha So, I hope you enjoy this little short story.
The Best Day of My Life
This day started off like the life of any new day. Just getting up and getting the day started was the first goal of the day. For any thirteen year old, that was easy enough. The hard part was containing the excitement that was building within. This day had been marked in red on my calendar since the beginning of the year. As each and every day came and went, it was marked off with a black marker.
I had first marked off days, then with the days came weeks which led into months. The first five months of the year had come and gone with great anticipation for the month of June. Then the days started being marked off, then very soon two whole weeks was gone. There was one day left to mark off, and then all of the sudden, what do you know, that BIG red-letter day! It was my birthday! Along with that event came the pleasure of doing absolutely anything I wanted to do, within reason, of course. The first day of the year I had said I wanted to spend the day with Maw. She was my mother's mother. If you was a child and knew her, she made you feel like the icing on her cake. Just imagine how she made me feel, her own granddaughter!
The time came for me to go to my grandmothers house. I do not even remember how I got there, I just got there. She had been cooking all morning for my special lunch with her. Just the two of us. You don't even know how hard that is to accomplish. Because everyone wants to be with Maw! But, today was my day to be with Maw!
Well, she made the biggest fuss you ever did see, and guess what, I loved every second of it! Maw knew I loved her meat loaf, so that was the main course, yummy! also had butter beans, mashed potatoes, and homemade yeast rolls. She could make the best bread of all time! My favorite dessert is "Vinegar Pie", so she made that with a candle on the side for me to blow out and make my wish. I told her my wish was being lived out as we spoke. I told her also that today was already marked in my diary titled "The Best Day of MY Life". She asked me how I knew it would be that. I told her that simply spending the day with her made it so!
After we ate lunch and got the kitchen cleaned up, we went to the bedroom where she had her special trunk. She said she had not gone thru it in a while and asked me if I wanted to see what all was in it. That had been a dream of mine for as long as I could remember, just to get to take a peek inside that trunk. Now I was getting, not only to see what was in it, I was getting to touch some of it also! Another goal accomplished! As she took out bits and pieces of materials, laces, buttons, photos, and pieces of paper you could see the sentimental value of all these little treasures all over her face. Each and every item had a wonderful story behind it. As she sat telling me story after story, I kept wanting more. Some of the stories were sad and you could see the sadness in her beautiful face. But some of the stories were just down right funny, and those were the best! Anything that made Maw laugh was what I wanted to hear. But even if I could see a tear rise to the corner of her eye, I still wanted to hear her voice, simply because I knew my time with her would be short, even if it was a whole day, it just would not be enough! She told me how I reminded her of my mom when she was my age. Always wanting more stories and to see the treasures in the treasure chest. She said my mom couldn't get enough of that, and I can't either.
She told me stories of her brothers and sisters, back in the "olden days", that was what I called it, anyway. They had a really hard life, she said, but "I wouldn't take nothing for it. Those days made me the person I am today. Just knowing that God was the sustaining factor in our lives, made every day worth living to the fullest, even if it was hard." She told of her love of cooking, and sewing, and reading, and working in the garden, of rearing her children to the best of her ability. She also threw in that she loved Paw a whole bushel and a peck, and laughed one of those laughs that I loved to hear. I was laughing right along with her, just as loud as she was laughing, and suddenly, in the distance came an oh so familiar sound, the sound of an alarm clock!
NO! I don't want to say good bye! The alarm clock was unrelenting and it was time to get up. That awful clock ruined everything. It brought me back to reality and awaken me from the sweetest dream of a lifetime! But, one thing for sure, that dream put a smile on my heart that had not been there in such a long time. As a matter of fact, my heart had not smiled since she went home to be with the Lord five years earlier. I look so forward to having more of those sweet dreams of being with my grandmother and hearing that wonderful laugh and having another day with her that I can call "The Best Day of MY Life!" (written by:pjg-2012)
I hope you enjoyed this story and maybe, just maybe, it helped you remember your grandmother, or another loved one, who has since left this life and gone home to be with the Lord. Sometimes remembering is painful, other times, it is just the thing that can cheer ones heart. Go ahead, let yourself explore some of those memories and dreams of days gone by. Ask God to be a part of all of it and, more than likely, it will end up being a blessing to you and those you share it with.
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this happened a few years ago when we had to have the HVAC man come and look at our air unit.
Wanna see something fun? Well, the ac/heat guy was at the house this afternoon just doing a tune up and he went under the house and came out with this!!!! I went out on the deck as he was talking to my husband, and the ac/heat guy told me I wasn't supposed to see it. I said "too late Ethel, I'd already been incensed!!" He just about cracked up. I said "you come out from under there with just the skin, you get yourself back up under there and don't come back out unless you have the snake in tow!!" He didn't know whether to run or laugh!! But hey, I was kinda serious. I don't like the idea of a snake under my house. Better under than in it though. But I am wondering if I will find one in the house now!!! If it was built the way my Dad and brothers used to build houses, you wouldn't find anything like that under a house, much less in a house. But the way builders do today, it wouldn't surprise me to find anything in or under a house. Anyway, if you are squeamish, "don't look Ethel"!! Notice that the skin is as long as regular length broom! EEK!!!
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