A Few Things To Ponder

Why? .....do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Why?.....do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

Why?.....do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Why?.....do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes?

Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Don't Quit!!!

I've been reading through the book of Judges in my Bible reading and on Wednesday night at our church, we've been studying 2 Chronicles. It has struck me that many of the mighty kings and judges did very well and were mighty men for the Lord, but then after their great victories, they made bad decisions and tried to do things on their own which got them in a whole heap of trouble.

Gideon was so humble when God first came to him that he thought their was no way God could use him. God use Gideon and his arm of 300 to bring down the Midianites who had an army of 135,000! Then we see that Gideon made an ephod which became a snare unto him and his house. He also had 70 sons "for he had many wives". The next chapter tells of how one of his sons killed all his brothers except one so he could rule the land.

Jehosphat was a king in Judah who had a great kingdom, got rid of the idols, was blessed with peace from God for most of his reign. However, he decided to have an illiance with Ahab (Israel's most wicked king) and then chose to go to battle with Ahab against the prophets advice and it was down hill from there.

This reminded me that we have to be SO careful that after times of victory spiritually or prosperity we need to be extra careful that we are staying in God's word and continue to rely on Him, NOT ourselves or we are sure to fall and get ourselves into a lot of trouble. One bad decision can reap consequences for the rest of our lives! Don't quit reading your Bible, obeying God's Work, praying, asking for God's wisdom, attending church, etc.!!!

Easy Meatballs

Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef

2 eggs, beaten

1 c. rolled oats*

3/4 c. parmesan cheese

**2 tbsp. parsley

2 minced garlic cloves

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

* I use anything from rolled oats to whole wheat bread crumbs to wheat bran and oatmeal, etc. I also throw in ground flax seed sometimes--depends on what I have on hand. :o)

**You can add what ever spices would be most appropriate for the recipe you are going to put the meatballs in.

Directions:

1. Mix together all ingredients well.

2. Divide and shape into meatballs. (I usually make about 24 meatballs.) You can use a cookie dough type scoop to help keep them uniform or dump the meat mixture on a flat surface, shape it into a rectangle and then divide it into 24 sections with a pizza cutter, then shape into the meatballs.

3. Place the meatballs on a broiler pan. Cook in 400 degree oven for ten minutes or until done. ***This is SO much easier than trying to cook them in a skillet, I tried that and always ended up with glorified ground beef! It also allows a lot of the grease to be cooked out! You can let them drain on paper towels to decrease the grease even more.

When I buy ground beef, I generally double this recipe and cook them, then put them in the freezer to use in spaghetti, make Swedish meatballs or pizza meatballs at a later time.

For more great Kitchen Tips, visit Tammy's Recipe at: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/3159

Adventures at the Mall

Yesterday, I took the boys for their pictures. We got some of together and then singles. Thanks to Grandma, they had coordinating John Deere shirts that made picking out clothes easy. THANK YOU grandma! Picking out clothes is the toughest part of pictures to me. The boys did great and had fun. It was pretty tough to pick out which pictures to buy! We had a great photographer.

We also did some shopping (which the boys absolutely loved) and found some good deals. I needed to find some dress clothes for "T", so we went upstairs in JC Penney, all went well until the escalator back down. I thought that "Z" did okay with escalators in the past. "T" and I got on, and were starting down, however "Z" was still standing at the top with a panicked look on his face, putting out one foot, then the other in the air ABOVE the step, but not putting a foot on the step! Have you ever tried to run back UP the escalator? It is a bit tougher than it looks! Gives new meaning to two steps forward, one step back! I managed to get back up to the top (I was not quite 1/2 way down), and helped "Z" on the escalator. Of course, when we got to the bottom, he wanted to ride the escalator AGAIN! We did not.

A Little Bit of Sunshine

A LITTLE BIT OF SUNSHINE
Author: unknown

She's a little bit of sunshine,

She's a smile to light your days,

She will steal your heart and keep it

with her warm endearing ways,

She's your precious little daughter,

With a sweetness from above

Who will fill your years with laughter

and your lives with lots of love

Congratulations to my friend Sarah and her family on the arrival of their little girl. She joins three older brothers! May she be tough enough to give them "a run for their money", and sweet enough to win their hearts. :o)

How to Find True Happiness

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn' t have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred and bitterness.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

What a little wisdom from God does

After much prayer and heart searching, I spoke with my employee and am happy to say that things have been worked out and all is well. Amazing what happens when you leave God in charge. :o)