I’ve stumbled upon this video before and while some might be impressed by the modern factory farms. I’m not, it doesn’t strike me as progress.
In our fast paced society, where we have to tamper with things to make them better wouldn’t it be foolish to think that the chemicals that are pumped into animals aren’t passed on to those who consume them?
I’d think that it would be much better to consume animals that didn’t have the added enhancements, right?
Listening to this unexpected duet gave me chills…
“One Jah! One creator! Yessa one father!”
Hallelujah is the highest praise!
What made it even more special since I volunteer with ministries that help the homeless. I will say, that when I listened to this I immediately prayed for Danny and hoped wherever he is, he’s still being a minister.
From Carlos’s site…
If you listen carefully at the end you hear me saying this to Danny.
“Keep trying to make it man.”
He looked me square in the eye…cocked his head sideways with a confused look on his face…and said,
“Trying to make it? No man. I ain’t trying to make it…I’m making it. Jah puts His soldiers everywhere. Jah says, Yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death… So He places some of us, in that valley.”
I love how he was quoting Psalm 23 at the end. Blessings come in many forms. Watching the video was a wonderful reminder (for me) that Jesus is accessible to anyone regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, etc., the only requirement is that you are willing to accept him. But how many are willing to do that? If we are to believe the Bible, the gate that leads to eternal life is small.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it
Matthew 7:13-15
I will say that it is very interesting to me to see a lot of the predictions that are talked about in Revelation seem to be unfolding now.
A little while ago, I stumbled upon this picture (online) and for some reason it made me think about the story my father told me about a visiting outdoor circus. This particular circus performed their act right outside of the old Baltimore Fish Market. It’s been revamped and does not look the same anymore.
One of the acts was a circus family; mom, dad and daughter that had a trapeze/tightrope act.
The tightrope was high in the air and as the daughter made her way across she stumbled (her father attempted to grab her) but she fell to her death. It’s something that stuck in my father’s mind (and rightfully so). It’s not something you see daily and he was a child himself. My father was no older than eight, so that happened almost 68 years ago. He first told me this story when I was about the same age; eight.
Now and again my father will mention it to me and each time I wonder what happened with the parents. Did they still continue or was the grief too much for them to ever perform again?
Recently (as in today) I was gifted with 9 tray Excalibur. It arrived about an hour ago. Thanks so much, T! I planned on taking pictures of the unboxing, but my Nikon D80 battery needs to be charged. Oh well, I’ll take pictures in a few hours.
The bearer of this gift, read my dehydrating post after they sent this to me. Upon my comment that I left about the Excalibur, which I’ve included below, they followed up with me and told me about the surprise.
While many sang praises for this dehydrator I was never as impressed with it. For starters it was made out of plastic. I don’t have too many objects that come in contact with my food that are made out of this material. Also, the trays seemed especially flimsy. I wanted something that was a bit more durable, but it held nine trays which was perfect for dehydrating herbs and a variety of garden produce. I chose the Excalibur, because the stainless steel dehydrators that I was looking at were much more than I wanted to spend at that time.
Fast forward to now, and I’m ready to do a lot of dehydrating once again, after a lot of research, I’ve settled on the TSM Stainless Steel Food Dehydrator with 10 Stainless Steel Shelves. As the description states, it’s made out of stainless steel and it’s made in the United States. It took a while to narrow down my search. I was impressed with the customer service for TSM aka The Sausage Maker and was pleased to see they are located in New Jersey, and I believe they have another location in New York.
Also, they told me to upgrade if I wanted to do so and I’ll be doing just that within a few weeks. I’ll be paying the difference of course. Until that time I will be dehydrating a variety of raw foods snacks for my daughter in the Excalibur and I’ll be sure to share them here. During the harvest time I’ll be drying produce, by that time I’ll have the stainless steel dehydrator.
I’m hoping the lovely Jennifer, will join me on my dehydrated raw food posts. If you haven’t done so already, stop by her virtual home and check out her experiences as a first time gardener. I’ll be posting what I make and linking to Jennifer so she can share her dehydrating adventures.
So yeah Jennifer… I’m totally pulling you into my dehydrating adventures. I hope you accept. I will say, doing this will force me to actually take measurements since I’ll be sharing the recipes on I’m Celebrating Life.
I do believe the reason why I have not made any lenten commitments within the past two years that I’ve been a member of my Lutheran church is that I make commitments and adjustments throughout the year. However seeing my members of my church family post what they were doing on Facebook got me into the spirit (I guess) and I came up with a few ideas of my own. The physical I already mentioned in a prior post and spiritually, I’m making a concerted effort to expand my time of prayer and being thankful in all things. This is something that isn’t going to end when the lenten season is over, but it will continually be something I incorporate from now on.
17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Being thankful has been on my mind a lot. I guess I’m thinking about it more because of all the unexpected things that have happened this winter; the unexpected loss of my honeybees, the delay in the planting season, the massive dent in our woodpile because of the cold weather which meant cutting down more trees, sawing them into appropriate lengths and stacking them onto one of our woodpiles, the car heater that stopped working when it was below 0. I could go on but you get the idea… yes I guess I could have a lot of things to complain about but I’m not. Even with all the unexpected surprises that life has tossed my way there is still so much to be thankful for!
The amount of weather related grumbling I’ve been hearing in real life and online, it really drives the point home and it now makes me realize how I must have looked (years ago) to one of my older spiritual mentors on the occasion when I’d feel sorry for myself. She’d patiently listen to my tale of woe, give me some advice and at the end gently remind me to be thankful in all things. While part of me wanted to tell her she did not know what she was talking about, I did not dare to do so. For one thing, I was taught to treat others with respect and deep down I knew what she said was right. Reflecting back to our conversations so many years ago, I do think she’d be thrilled that I’ve pulled myself out of the whining pit and now see things differently. Being thankful (even when I did not think I should have any reason to be happy) has opened my eyes (and mind) to unexpected blessings and I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful spiritual mentor that through her example and prayers I’m sure made me look at certain aspects of my life differently.
My lenten resolve…
Today I had some mild cravings for some pasta. No not the raw veggie pasta that I’ve been making, but that traditional cooked pasta. Since I’m adamant about standing firm with my lenten commitment I made some raw pasta instead. Besides, eating traditional pasta would not have been a good idea with my candida issues. Tomorrow, I’ll have to post what I made, once my Nikon D80s battery has charged. Oh, and I’ll be sure to post the scrumptious desert I made using frozen fruit!
This made me chuckle….
Earlier this week, a coworker told me that we are getting more snow this Sunday. I’m so glad I didn’t do a lot of planting yet. I was holding off just in case…
I guess I should be tired of snow, but I’m not. I distinctly remember telling a few folks that I would not mind seeing snow one more time before the warm weather hits.
So, if you live in a warm climate and think that telling me how amazingly warm it is where you are, I won’t be envious. I truly do appreciate all seasons. Learning to give thanks, even when at times the situation didn’t seem pleasant has helped me in so many ways. I will say that being thankful for snow, isn’t exactly hard. I do love the cold weather and yes… I love snow! But there are other aspects when the following verse was a challenge…
in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:18
So… giving thanks doesn’t mean only when things are going the way I like, does it? That verse tells me I should give thanks in EVERYTHING! Hmm… not always easy, is it? My life isn’t always bright and there are a few reasons I could think of to complain, but in doing so, I not only bring myself down (and whomever else is around me) and I’m not following Gods plans either now am I?
Applying the above verse to my own life has made me change the way I handle all issues and yes… I do find ways to be thankful even when things aren’t that great. Because if truly think about it, there are many things that are going on in my life that cause me to be thankful, even during those tough times, and I know things could be a lot worse.
This past December I posted the the Christmas version of the Piano Guys video, O Come O Come Emmanuel. I love those guys and the song is one of my favorites.
Of course, I’m drooling over some of the beautifully woven period costumes displayed throughout this video. One of my long term goals is to make some period outfits with my 32″ Kromski harp. I’m still learning how to weave so that won’t be happening immediately, but in time… we’ll see what I can create.
Anyway, in that post I commented on the period appropriate costumes that were used within this production and in my mind I was hoping that I would get a chance to do just that with our church’s upcoming Passion Paly.
Earlier this morning, I received an email from the director of our Lutheran Church’s Passion Play. Practice has already begun for that, in fact I was at the play practice last evening taking measurements.
Within that email the director sent me the video I listed below. He asked me if I could make similar costumes for Jesus and the adulterous woman. I will say that this is an answer to prayer, getting the director to have a similar vision as mine with the costumes. I want too design with appropriate cloth for that time period.
Since I’ve already volunteered my time, that should not be an issue. Also, I have plenty of time to complete the two costumes. You want to know something? I’ll even be weaving! Yep, that’s right! See the drape around Jesus’ neck? I’ll be weaving something similar.