Category: Humor

Pour out

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Book quotes, Faith, Humor, medical treatment, Nature, Praise, Prayer, Rest, Surrender, Trust, Yield

Worm

Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 41:14 NIV

I spent many years in Bible study reading commentary by Mathew Henry. He has helped me with difficult passages and furthered my understanding with passages. Henry teaches strongly about humility and I think he is right to do so. We are slow to take the lessons about humility, and too often think too highly of ourselves, blinded by pride and haughty attitudes.

Commenting on this Isaiah passage Matthew Henry wrote: God speaks with tenderness; Fear thou not, for I am with thee: not only within call, but present with thee. Art thou weak? I will strengthen thee. Art thou in want of friends? I will help thee in the time of need. Art thou ready to fall? I will uphold thee with that right hand which is full of righteousness, dealing forth rewards and punishments. It is the worm Jacob; so little, so weak, so despised and trampled on by every body. God’s people are as worms, in humble thoughts of themselves, and in their enemies’ haughty thoughts of them; worms, but not vipers, not of the serpent’s seed. Every part of God’s word is calculated to humble man’s pride, and to make him appear little in his own eyes. The Lord will help them, for he is their Redeemer. God has provided comforts to supply all their wants, and to answer all their prayers. Our way to heaven lies through the wilderness of this world. The soul of man is in want, and seeks for satisfaction; but becomes weary of seeking that in the world, which is not to be had in it. Yet they shall have a constant supply, where one would least expect it. I will open rivers of grace, rivers of living water, which Christ spake of the Spirit, John 7:38,39. When God sets up his church in the Gentile wilderness, there shall be a great change, as if thorns and briers were turned into cedars, and fir-trees, and myrtles. These blessings are kept for the poor in spirit, who long for Divine enlightening, pardon, and holiness. And God will render their barren souls fruitful in the grace of his Spirit, that all who behold may consider it.

Henry considers our position as worms as God sees us. Isaiah calls us “little Israel” not mighty nation. He is not trying to belittle us but call us to right thinking. We are the little lambs of the Mighty King.

Amy Carmichael wrote in Rose from Brier, chapter entitled Worms. “There is a feeling I( can only call it worminess) that can come, between 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning, when all the fight seems to be drained out of us  It is really a very horrid feeling, but the word of our God is equal to anything- even to this. At such a time, clear through the fog and stuffiness and the oppression of the enemy, the worminess, came this Fear not, thou worm!

“It was startling; it was so exactly it. There was no smooth saying that things were not as they were. They were wormy. I was wormy. Well, then, “Fear not”; He who loves us best knows us best; He meets us just where we are.   But He Does not leave us there. There is power in the word of the King to effect what it commands. In the Fear not of our God (a word repeated in one form or another from Genesis to Revelation) there is power to endue with what at the moment is most lacking in the one to whom it is spoken, be it courage, or the will to endure and to triumph which so easily slips away from us, or the love that we need so much if we are to help others, the love that never fails, or the wisdom which is not in us, and which we must have if we are to make right decisions, or just common hope and patience to carry on in peace and joyfulness of spirit. O Lord, I am nothing before Thee, a worm and no man.”

Here is an audio of the passage from minute 1:23 to 3:07

The photo below brought forth guffaws of laughter from me early one spring. The birds had made a mess of the office window. I went outside determined to clean it off. When I looked down, trying to be careful not to crush the crown of a fern, I saw this worm moving. It was almost the exact color of the spent fronds. I hurried to get my phone to snap a photo. It had emerged from the center of the crown and was digging its way back into the earth.

Isn’t the camouflage amazing? Had it not moved I would never have seen it!

I am God’s little worm. The Godhead has promised to provide courage, the will to endure, power to triumph which is sorely lacking in at 2AM. The promises are there for love and wisdom, hope and patience and fortitude to carry on in peace and with joyfulness of spirit.

Rest in the Presence of this holy Trinity and absorb what you need to carry on. I am now taking three medications for hypertension and the side effects are lousy. For me, perhaps the worse one, is increased muscle pain. Fibromyalgia already makes chronic pain an ugly companion of mine. These meds seem to trigger it to a more potent level. So I am resting in God, crawling through the mud of side effects, and awaiting the medical plan for my next step. I am trusting in the word that says my Redeemer will help me. I hope my appearance, like that little worm, might bring someone surprised laughter!

Posted on in Aging, Challenge, Faith, Humor, Praise

Yikes!

If you want to take your mind off your situation, try tearing up your office! We have talked for a year or two about replacing the nasty contractors white carpeting in our office and putting in vinyl flooring instead. It is difficult to roll our office chairs on this rug. And the rug now has stains of various kind on it.

Bob decided the beginning of this year was ideal to have it done. We went to the hardware store to pick out flooring. They arranged for someone to come measure with his handy dandy electronic measuring device. It took him maybe 5 minutes total?

They shipped the flooring to the house and put it in our garage. Later, via email they told us it had to come to room temperature in advance of installation. We asked Grandgirl Ellie, who is super strong from her gym workouts, to come help move it. She gladly did.

Our snowbird neighbors have been letting us use their empty garage throughout this storm. We are doubly grateful now since we need a place in our garage to put all this STUFF! So far, sounds simple, right? The closet floor is a major storage area for us with many tubs of items including two cases of printer paper. All of that needed to be cleared. (We rolled the larger case of paper to the garage on an old chair with wheels.)

Just the closet floor things here

We set up tables in the garage for the books. And I mean books! We have a lovely Amish built bookcase, but we had to empty it for the installers to move it out while they work.

Lamp and fans had to move, too!
Did I mention there are cookbooks, too?

There are two printers to dismantle as one was dying and we went ahead and bought the new one. As you may know, I call my husband “Mr. Tidy” because his living area is always tidy, including his desktop. My desk, on the other hand, is likely to be 3-6 inches deep with stuff.

So I will be busy and distracted the next few days. Might not get all the blog entries written between today (Saturday morning) and the times they usually post. This is my note from home.

Nothing like a huge mess to make you realized you do not need to keep some of that stuff! The new flooring will be wonderful! The dismantle and reassemble, not so much. But I am truly grateful for the distraction and the results will be great! So glad we do not have to remove the photos from the walls. That would be an undertaking, indeed!

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Humor, Music, Rest, Trust

Humor and His Hand

Walking the dog I sometimes listen to podcasts and often the NPR news. On a podcast recently the presenter was telling about talking with her granddaughter about mastering the hula hoop. The child said every time she tried it just fell to the floor. Grandma asked her how she finally got it to work. the child responded, “I pursed my verance.” I love that!! The child had been introduced to the concept of perseverance even though she could not pronounce it! She pursed her verance. Hoping this finds you pursing your verance, too.

My sister was telling her daughter about giving a baby shower on an upcoming date. Her grandson was listening to the conversation and finally asked, “Grammy, how do you give a baby a shower?” Don’t you just love it?!?

On the news there was a report that the march to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was held early in Washington DC because of all of the activities surrounding the inauguration. They quoted one speaker saying,”We will not let King’s dream die. We will go forward when we put our hand in the hand of the Man.” (Of course, I did not catch the speakers name.) Whew! That was like an old time flashbulb went off in my mind. I had not heard that song for many, many years. I offer it here for your encouragement. The speaker hit me just exactly where I am living this moment!

Lyrics by Gene MacClellan likely written 1970

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself, & you can look at others diff’rently
Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee

Every time I look into the Holy Book, I wanna tremble
When I read about the part where a carpenter cleared the temple
See those buyers and the sellers were no diff’rent fellas
Than what you & I profess to be
And it causes me shame to know that man is not what he should be

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself, & you can look at others diff’rently
Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee

Hey, my mama taught me how to pray, before I reached the age of seven
When I’m down on my knees, hey, I’m close to heaven. “
My daddy lived his life with 2 kids & a wife
& you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do
But he showed me enough of what it takes to see you through

This is what he used to tell me…

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea
Ya got’a take a good look at yourself, & you can look at others diff’rently
Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Book quotes, Humor

Rosamund Young

I think I heard about his book on NPR? You know by now my love of nature so when someone tells me about a good new book I try to remember the title so I can find it. The Wisdom of Sheep, Observations from a Family Farm had my full attention.

When we were in Ireland, the first morning in Glendalough, we took a walk. I could hear a lamb bleating. It was like a beacon of sound calling to me. We walked through the tiny neighborhood and suddenly there was a fenced area around one house with lovely sheep. We watched them for a bit. Bob had his camera out and got a few good shots. Once he stored his camera one little lamb, sneezed so hard she rolled part way down the hill. It was hilarious! Her photo before the sneeze is below.

photo by r m dutina

Published in 2024 by Penguin Press, New York I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a gentle read. She writes about the cattle they keep, the sheep and local flora. To give you a little taste of her work, I have copied one little chapter entitled Gamboling by Night.

At fifteen minutes past midnight one late October evening I saw to my astonishment two lambs playing in the moonlight. The big moon had come up and seemed to linger for a minute on the horizon before rising slowly and lighting up the night sky.

We’d finished supper just before midnight but then Gareth heard a lamb calling. I decided to go and investigate. At the very least, I thought, one of them must have got stuck in a fence, or was trying to wriggle under one. I homed in on the sound, torch in hand, in case the moon’s rays were insufficient. Cry, Cry. I spoke to them: Dandelion? Daphne? And zoom, two missiles were at my feet to be cuddled. Nothing wrong at all; very unusual.I stayed for a little while, enjoying the affection; as I turned to walk away, they stayed by the orchard fence. Suddenly I was ‘attacked’ from behind. Daphne had run full tilt into the back of my leg, nearly throwing me off balance, I remonstrated and walked forward. They both followed in glorious, jumpy bursts of speed all the way to the gate. I climbed over and they began a game, racing and chasing each other in circles, ellipses and all sorts of other shapes.

What could I conclude? They had been as good as gold all day, eating, and now they wanted some fun. But why did they call again and again and again, until I went to see them? Well, I could invent a reason but, luckily, I shall never know for sure. They played and I saw them; that’s enough reason and a perfect way to end my day. I am wondering how long they will continue.

This is a perfect example of her book. I got mine from the library and made it my lunchtime read. Bob reads his newspaper on his iPad and I read a book. I am sorry this one is finished. Once a librarian told me that you know it was a good book if you find yourself wondering what the characters are doing when you are not reading it!

Posted on in Faith, Humor, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Obedience, Praise

Banana

If I do not keep a steady glucose reading through the night, the Continuous Glucose Monitor wakes us up with an alarm if my glucose drops too low. Doc says low glucose is more detrimental than high glucose if not addressed.

Did I tell you I have found an 85% successful method to keep my glucose steady through the night? I eat an under-ripe banana, smeared with reconstituted powdered peanut butter. On occasion I even top it with Breyer’s frozen dessert which has very low carbs. The photo below sort of describes how I am feeling after many months of doing this!

My bananas look beat up like her head after being the fridge!

When I have no appetite I tell myself this is just part of my medication routine. Eat the banana and be glad. So with the Minions I cry, “BANANA!!”

Thank you, Lord, for under ripe bananas to treat this disease. It sure beats another needle!

Posted on in Aging, Cooking, Faith, Family, Humor, Memories, Praise, Thanks

Even the Smallest Blessings – Might not have posted?

I wrote this last week. It never showed up for Bob. Few seemed to see it, so I am posting it again! No clue what happened.

We can learn to rejoice in even the smallest blessings our life holds. It is easy to miss our own good fortune; often happiness comes in ways we don’t even notice.

PEMA CHÖDRÖN

I recently shared a recipe with a friend for making Thanksgiving dressing. I learned from my sister’s mother-in-law that if you shape it into balls and bake it is much tastier than if you stuff it in the turkey. Stuffed dressing always seems soggy to me! My friend made and served dressing balls at her Thanksgiving feast and they were a hit. We love them, too!

DRESSING BALLS 1 bag=4c, 2 bags=8c Makes 20 balls
Saute 1/2 cup margarine 1 cup chopped celery
1 small onion diced
Add 4 Tablespoons dry, chopped parsley 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper 1-1/2 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme 1 cup chicken or turkey broth

Put 2-14 oz. bags of dry bread cubes in very large bowl.
Pour hot spice mixture over cubes and begin to stir. Gradually add 3 more cups of broth until you can form bread cubes into baseball sized servings.

Spray oven-proof glass pan with oil. Form and place balls in pan. Pour some broth over for heating. Cover with foil. Refrigerate. When ready to serve, heat 10 minutes covered and 5-10 minutes uncovered at 325°.

After my mother died suddenly in 1975, I was furious when I realized just how many of her recipes she never wrote down. It took me years to try to find recipes similar to what she made. I made it my practice to write my recipes out so my kids could have them when I was gone. When we got our first computer I put the recipes into the computer and printed out copies for me, and my children. To this day I continue this practice.Oil the pans. About 2 hours before baking, cut off amount needed and return rest to fridge. Shape while cold. Cover and let rise on counter  1-1/2 to 2 hours. Brush with melted butter.

I learned to make yeast rolls that can be refrigerated until you are ready to use the dough (several days). Then you shape the rolls or coffee cake and let the dough rise before baking. Makes those holiday meals less hectic and they are SO tasty. Beats every store bought roll we have ever had. Eventually the arthritis in my hands said NO! to forming that cold dough. Caused me a lot of pain. First Emily took over the rolls, then eventually my husband took it over when Emily left home. He realized that I had not written out the step where you let the dough rise on the counter. Oops. I just assumed. This year he realized I did not write out, grease the pans. Another oops.

The other day Emily (daughter) called and said she had given her recipe to a friend, but forgot to copy the backside of the recipe card. How to shape and bake them. (LOL) I updated the recipe saying to GREASE THE PANS and sent her a copy.

What touched me with a small gratitude was that she not only liked my recipe, but shared it with a friend. That might seem small to others, but to me it was huge! “Even the smallest blessings.”

Have you been keeping up with a gratitude list? Perhaps you can make this a week of noting even the smallest things?

The hard frost we have had for several nights has finally killed off the nasturtium vines that are trailing all over the garden. Did not have the heart to pull them earlier as they were blooming right up to the end. I was pondering when it might warm up enough to get those vines into the trash. Then I realized I could simply remove them from the porch and let them disintegrate in the flower bed! Genius tiny blessing. If I wait until it warms up those vines will be soggy and ugh!

Elephant Ears beginning to succumb to wintry weather. They are now totally dead.

One more small blessing. Bob was telling friends about me making dressing balls. It was a small gathering of people who knew each other well. Suddenly the 82 year old at the table asked, “I just have one question. Would someone tell me what turkey balls are?” The table went quiet. Eventually one guy began to giggle. Then the table erupted in laughter. Oh my. The woman placed her hands over her mouth and turned red as she realized what she had said. My sister’s mother-in-law likely would not have approved, but they found it hilarious and could not stop laughing. Bob explained I would shape the dressing into balls to serve with the turkey.

Keep looking for treasures, even tiny ones, for your gratitude list!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Humor, Nature, Thanks

Reading One Late Afternoon,

I looked up from my book. Startled, I told Bob to look out the window slowly. We had a visitor who seemed to be asking, “What are you doing in there?”

Never knowing if it would be startled, I captured another shot.
It came closer for a better view.
“Oh my goodness! Those are people in there.” It turned and bounded off to the back yard!

Sitting quiet and still has so many benefits! Understand now why we are NOT impressed at seeing a white tailed deer in the Great Smoky Mountains?

Joy might just find you!

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Humor, Just do it, Music, Obedience

On My Way to Get An Injection …

for DPT I heard this. Took me days to find it on line! Yes it was from my mother’s era! There is no longer an account at the grocer and if you are late on rent today you might get evicted with no notice. But one line is certain: “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!” And at least, Bob and I are still having fun!

Ain’t We Got Fun?

Doris Day

Every morning 
Every evening 
Ain’t we got fun 
Not much money 
Oh, but honey 
Ain’t we got fun 
The rent’s unpaid dear 
And we haven’t a car 
Oh, but anyway dear 
We’ll stay as we are 
Even if we owe the grocer 
Don’t we have fun 
Tax collector’s getting closer,(au) 
Still we have fun 
There’s nothing surer 
The rich get rich and the poor get poorer 
In the meantime 
In between time 
Ain’t we got fun

Every morning 
Every evening 
Ain’t we got fun 
Not much money 
Oh, but honey 
Ain’t we got fun 
The rent’s unpaid dear 
And we haven’t a car 
But anyway dear 
We’ll stay as we are 
Even if we owe the grocer 
Don’t we have fun 
Tax collector’s getting closer 
Still we have fun 
There’s nothing surer 
The rich get rich and the poor get poorer 
In the meantime 
In between time

Ain’t we got fun

Even if we owe the grocer, don’t we have fun 
Tax collector’s getting closer 
Still… that they are around again 
There’s nothing surer 
The rich get rich and the poor get poorer 
In the meantime 
In between time 
Still we’ve got a lot of fun

Written by: Richard Whiting, Gus Kahn, Raymond Egan

And to keep up-to-date I also need the RSV immunization and a DEXA Scan. Thank You, Lord for the miracles of modern medicine! Keep me singing as I fulfill the doctor’s wishes!

Posted on in Challenge, Cooking, Faith, Humor, Praise, Thanks

Get a Load of This!

The local Kroger chain had an offer for purchase a certain amount of groceries and get a Turkey for 49 cents a pound. I bought one. Whew are having dinner with 9 people. I had a turkey in the freezer and was not absolutely certain when I thawed it that it would be okay. So I cooked two turkeys! And they both look and taste great. We will certainly have leftovers!! Saved a turkey leg for our grandson who likes to pretend he is eating like a caveman!

Well, I had to be in Kroger again and now that there is room in the freezer I just could not resist that great price. I picked up a turkey using the plastic mesh and put it in the cart. At the checkout I left it in the cart and use the bar scanner to ring it in.

Took it out to the car and once I had a place cleared I again used the mesh to put it in the back of the car. When I got home I lifted it out of the trunk using the mesh, but on the way to the freezer I also supported the weight with my other hand. The thing was not frozen!!

What?!? I know it takes 3 days to thaw a frozen turkey in the refrigerator and even then there might be ice in the center. How long had this thing been thawed? I might never know. Was it safe to refreeze it? I did not want to know. I was worried about if it was even safe to consume. I had also bought it at a Kroger not close to my home. Grrr.

I had been running errands for hours and decided to take at least a short rest before I dealt with this.

I went to my local Kroger to see what could be done. My receipt had a time stamp on it. I figured I was good. There was a long line at the service desk. I had promised myself an afternoon Starbucks coffee. I purchased that first to ease the long wait.

The poor guy at the customer service desk looked as if he had been tortured for hours by angry, unhappy, nasty, customers. I gave him a smile. Told him to take a deep breath and told him my almost unbelievable saga.

He told me to go find a turkey as close to the weight of the original one as possible. When I returned to the line he was having an even worse day and had to call in someone in to deal with one outraged customer. Some shopping service had doubled the items on her shopping list and charged her bank account. She was livid.

I told him I found one within one pound of the unfrozen turkey. I told him I thought I owed him about 49 cents. He took my receipt, scanned the two turkeys and at first was so flustered he thought I owed him $7 and something. Then realized he forget to enter the reduced price and eventually said, “Yes, ma’am. that will be 49 cents please.”

This turkey was frozen solid and now lives in my freezer. I prayed for the poor fellow all the way home. In fact writing this I am moved to pray for all the retail workers who are having to put up with bad attitudes from customers. Kindness and gratitude cost us nothing. We should spend it lavishly! We are mostly an ungrateful bunch with “first world problems.” Stephen summed it up just before he was stoned for speaking truth.

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” Act 7: 51-53 NIV

More than once God calls His people stiff-necked and ungrateful. Lord, please forgive us.

We need to get a load of gratitude. Perhaps this day is a time to begin a new habit that will benefit us always. Research says that listing at least 3 things we are grateful for each day can do us a world of good. So I urge you to begin today! What a great way to finish out the year!!

I think I likely need a small toy dump truck as an object lesson to myself about spreading a dump truck of gratitude every single day!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Humor, Music, Nature, Praise, Prayer, Surrender, Thanks

Seeing and Being Grateful

This is the time of year when there is much talk about giving thanks. The election made many of us question so many things. Perhaps it is time to get away from politics and back to the basics of faith?

How do we see the world as sacred again? By radical noticing. Looking for awe in all of life. -Lucy Jones

Regardless of whether your candidate won or lost, the world is still sacred. The majority of human beings are still kind. We were in traffic the other day and there were two other drivers actually letting folks turn left in front of them. We were delighted to witness that people can still be kind after all the ugly rhetoric that has been flying.

“Radical noticing.”

The leaves have finally all fallen from our spindly little oak tree out front. There is a nest that remains. Occasionally a bird will perch on the edge of the empty nest awaiting its turn at the feeder. I do not know who lived right in my front yard, right outside my window in our office where I write this blog. I find that amazing! I thought I was observant. Looking for awe in all of life, I missed that one! If I had a drone camera I would send you a picture of that architectural wonder nestled right along the trunk of that oak!

“Looking for awe in all of life.”

I asked Alexa to play music by George Winston during dinner the other night. Suddenly the theme from a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving came on. I thought, “Stupid Alexa. I asked for George Winston.” Ha! There is a George Winston collection called Thanksgiving and it not only has that song but also the Great Pumpkin Waltz and others. I had no idea, I just know I like his arrangements and compositions.

Time to take notice of the little things in life that have gone right past me. Eyes off politics and back to the wonders of creation and music and the Word of God.

Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat. John 6:11

Be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Ephesians 5:18-20

In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

My friend Dan posted the photo below. Love it!