150720 La Cucaracha and Mercy

Most people think of cockroaches as quarter-sized vermin that run from the light. In San Antonio, our Asian imports are 2 to 3 inches long and have no fear of sunlight, nor of screaming, stomping giants. Saturday, I read that they hated peppermint and cypress essential oils. After sprinkling some around my bathroom, one ran onto my foot. It took about half a second for me to punt that miscreant into the wall while screaming like 1950s horror movie queen. Instead of dying, it skittered drunkenly out the door. I'm convinced that I reached my target heart rate during that little exercise.

I'll be taking a break from posting until September. Although I submitted my resignation last week, it was not accepted. My Branch Coordinator reminded me that the Church Epistles all start with grace and peace, but the Leadership Epistles include mercy. Above all, leadership needs to include mercy. I'll be working my tail off for the next five or six weeks. Perhaps this will encourage the stomach and thighs to shrink, too. ;)

Actually, my muse has not been that consistent, so in effect, things might not look all that different on the blogs! We'll see. Sometimes pressure of time makes the brain work more efficiently.

150719 Tired

Still alive, but tired. I'll be rather busy for the next month or so, but will probably live. If you don't hear from me, the activity has consumed my time. I'll be back in September.

150712 Lying Liars Lie, So Choose

The art of politics concerns lying convincingly. Politicians lie. Who knew? Therefore, I encourage everyone, both young and old, to choose a standard, make a hard copy, and refer to it frequently. From an early age, I took an interest in politics. I was ten when I followed my first presidential election. Yes, at age ten I read about Humphery, Wallace, and Nixon. I have opinions on today's issues, but they pale when compared to the standard I have chosen.

My standard is God's Word. If God said it, that settles it. Most people have no idea what God really said, but often those same people are not shy about proclaiming what they think He meant. God claims neither side of any political debate despite what any person or group or historical society may claim. God supersedes politics. God transcends political boundaries. God takes care of those who trust in Him despite any political affiliations. Trust God. Humans lie. :(

How does one trust God? Study His Word. There were deliberate forgeries, but they can be ferreted out and overcome. God's Word is perfect, so any 'mistake' is glaring. Some people hate Christians. They yell and scream, but not from the mistakes. They hate when the perfection shows. That's because there is an Adversary, as noted in 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 4:4, The Book of Job, Genesis 3, and the Gospels. God loves it when we study, 2 Timothy 2:15. It's how we get to spend time with Him.

150707 Cream, No Coffee

Have you ever read the book, Eat Right 4 Your Type? A lot of nutritionists and natural food affectionados hate it, because it challenges everything we 'know' about food. I found it compelling, but the author said that Type Os that followed the Type O diet would find it so. I have type O blood, and I used to be a vegetarian. I was sick all the time. ER4YT convinced me to go on the Atkins. My personal diet looks like Atkins meets Bullet Proof. (Sorry - got busy and quit posting it.)

Type Os have to eat meat and must avoid grains and dairy products. When I did that, my lifelong eczema cleared up. I had smooth skin for the first time in my life. Itching stopped. Flatulence stopped. The ringing in my ears stopped, and I gained energy. The list of foods a person can and cannot have is detailed and perplexing, so one must carry the list everywhere. My ex and my elder daughter have Type A blood, so they had to eat opposite what I did. It made meal times complicated. She prepares her own vegetarian fare while my other daughter and I consume our carnivorous delights. My ex has to eat what they give him.

This brings me to coffee. I miss coffee. Coffee is bad for Type Os. We can have tea. We cannot drink tea with impunity. We must confine our tea drinking to green tea -- small amounts of green tea. Apparently, caffeine is bad for us. Type As, however, thrive on it. They may have mass quantities of strong, hot coffee! It is considered to be HIGHLY BENEFICIAL for them to drink coffee. My daughter lives off of the stuff. She drinks coffee like a marine, i.e., black, no sugar, and strong enough to stand without the cup. I miss coffee.

150706 All's Well

The party went well. My brain is tired and unwilling to post. Talk to ya later.

150702 Sweet Tea Controversy

My dad's birthday party is Sunday, but his actual 90th birthday is on Monday. He's in very good health, walks two miles every day, and takes only one medication. He delivers Meals on Wheels to "old people" who happen to be younger than he is. He didn't want a party, but my older sister insisted. Sigh. I'm not big on parties, either. Here's an incomplete list of tension inducing conditions:

1. People to invite: Dad refused to reveal the identities of his friends. My little sister deviously went to the Senior Center and asked people there, but is that everyone?
2. Where to house out-of-towners: It's the Fourth of July Weekend! There are no hotel rooms. Ten or so relatives thought they could stay in the guest bedroom at Dad's house. Cozy.
3. Menu: Big sis wants a blowout. We have to make everything ourselves, and it has to be perfect.

This is my worst nightmare, and the menu is where the major arguments have started. We don't normally argue. My immediate family has been a shining example of how the diverse personalities of siblings should get along. My brother died when my little sister and I were still in high school, so we simply quit bickering and became best friends.

Who knew that iced tea could be such a divider? My little sister volunteered to make iced tea. I asked if she would be making sweet tea. She said that she was making tea and would bring sugar. I told her that the rules of the South applied here. There needed to be sweet tea. She repeated that people could add sugar if they wanted their tea sweet.

That won't fly.

Both of my sisters left Texas in the 1970s, and have spent all of their adult lives north. I've lived in the South for more than forty years! A decade of that included rural Virginia and Tennessee. While I don't always agree, I do know a thing or two about Southern taste buds. We need sweet tea.

Sigh. I went to H.E.B. and bought some sweet tea. There's not room enough to discuss the okra controversy. Church's Chicken makes fried okra, which I will dump into a serving dish before we get to the party location. I hate big parties.

150701 Headache Hunt

150701 Headaches

For three or four days, I have had a headache wax and wane. If I know what causes it, I can change something, but this one is somewhat of a mystery. This mystery hasn’t received my full attention until today. Yesterday, I ate too much protein, so this morning’s blood glucose was 108. Though not really bad, it is more than usual. Right now, (just before lunch), it has dropped to 84, but that is within normal range. The previous days’ readings were also very close to normal. Blood sugar isn’t the cause.

Allergies can cause headaches, but I have not eaten anything unusual. The allergens outside usually cause rhinitis and ear itch, not headaches. Allergies do not seem to be the cause.

 Ah. Pressing on the neck muscles relieves pain. We may be looking at a tension headache! What? Me worry?

Well folks, I need to prepare a teaching for tonight’s fellowship. I usually get Sundays, but this coming Sunday is my dad’s 90th birthday celebration. I’ll be with him. He and I both wanted something private and low-key, but my two sisters decided that he needed a big party with all his friends and relatives in attendance. This means that there will be no peace. Therefore, tonight’s teaching will be on the peace of God. An except:

“It doesn’t matter how much of the Word you know, but what you do with it. Our thought go where we allow them to go. We are the ones to decide what it is we are going to stay our minds on.”

Isaiah 26:3  
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”