SUNDAY PRAISE -- ADAM, EVE, AND THE FALL

 

Hello, friends!  Happy Sunday.  Hope you had a good day.  Mine wasn't all that good.  Joe and I went to church but I felt sicker and sicker.  After about 30 minutes I left and Joe stayed because we were having our annual meeting after church and since he's an elder he had a part in it.  Once I got home, I ate some crackers to settle my stomach and took my medicine.  Then I turned on the TV for some background noise, laid down on the sofa and halfway through "Leave It to Beaver" I fell asleep.  When I woke up I was feeling better.   That's when I turned on YouTube and watched Pastor Jesse's message from Paradise Bible Fellowship Church.  Pastor Jesse is a gifted speaker.  I had my Bible on my Kindle and followed along.  That was my church for today.

There was a luncheon after the business meeting.  Joe had made a beautiful green salad last night for it.  I had gotten four bottles of soda.  That was our contribution.  My friend Kathy brought potato salad and sent some home for me.  I was very hungry when Joe got home and ate it.  I didn't get sick, but had to run to the bathroom, so I guess I'm not out of the woods yet.

In any case, here is the Sunday Praise lesson for today.  And I'm sure you're all familiar with the story -- Adam, Eve, and the Fall.

The Garden of Eden was a beautiful place.  Adam and Eve enjoyed everything God had made.  One day, when Eve was walking through the garden she heard a snake calling her.  It was Satan in disguise.

Satan convinced Eve to try the fruit God warned them not to eat.  Eve thought the fruit was tasty, so she called Adam to taste it.  Adam liked the fruit and thought that it was good.

But then Adam and Eve began to feel unhappy.  They were ashamed.  They knew they had done something very bad.  When God came to speak to them, they hid from Him.

They covered themselves with leaves to hide their shame.  But they still felt sad.  They told God what happened.  God said that they would have to leave the perfect garden.  But God promised someone would come to save them.

Of course these stories I share with you are meant for children so they are very simplistic.  But we can still learn from them.  Think back to when God created the world.  He said over and over that things were good.  Then He made this beautiful garden and put man there.  It was perfect and Adam and Eve were happy there.  Best of all God came and walked and talked with them in the cool of the evening.  This could have gone on forever.  But then things changed.

The important thing we need to learn from this lesson is the consequences of the choices we make.  God did not make a bunch of robots.  We don't love and obey God because we have no choice.  God gave Adam and Eve a choice.  They could eat anything in the garden except for the fruit of one tree.  They could obey God or turn their backs on Him and disobey.

There are always consequences for our actions.  Everything we do will have either a good or bad consequence.

But even though God disciplined them, He did not stop loving them.  Just as we discipline our children but continue to love them.  In fact, God loved them so much that He promised to send a Savior.  This is the first promise in the Bible of the coming of Jesus.  Accepting Jesus as our Savior is the only way we can restore our relationship with God.

And that's the lesson for this week.  A lot to think about.

Have a great evening.  I'm going to get some more sleep.

Until later...

Kathy

JUST WONDERING -- WHY DO WOMEN AND MEN BUTTON THEIR TOPS DIFFERENTLY?

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are enjoying your Saturday.  I have been fighting a stomach virus for the last three days, but I am feeling much better this morning.  Hope I've seen the last of it.

Today I am starting a new series called "Just Wondering."  I realized the other day that there are a lot of things I wonder about. I thought, "I'll bet other people wonder about these things too."  So I thought I would do this series -- at least for awhile.  Please let me know if there is anything you are wondering about and I will try to find out for you.  Today I'm going to begin with something that hit me the other day.  Joe had a bunch of sweaters he didn't want any more.  They fit me, so I took them to wear around the house.  They button the opposite to the way I am used to and that made me wonder about why this is.  So here is the answer.

Look at men's and women's shirts.  Women's have buttons on the left side and buttonholes on the right.  Men's have buttons on the right side and buttonholes on the left.  The reason is historical.  

Buttons were invented in the 13th century and only wealthy people could afford them.  It was new technology (imagine that).  Before then clothes were pulled over the head and held together with cords or sashes.

Back then wealthy women did not dress themselves.  They had a lady's maid to do this.  Since most people were right- handed, it made it easier for someone standing across from you to button your dress if the buttons were on the left.  The tradition stuck and so we have this today.

As for men's shirts, there are several theories as to why the buttons are on the right side.  Most people think that this dates back to the military.  Again, because most people are right-handed, and access to your weapon was paramount, a firearm tucked into your shirt or worn under your jacket would be easier to reach from the dominant side.

An interesting note from history:  In the 1880s it was fashionable for women's clothing to look masculine.  But it was illegal in many places for women to wear men's clothing in public.  So having the buttons on a different side proved that the women were indeed wearing feminine clothing.

Now I know.  And so do you.  Hope you found this interesting.  See you next time.

Kathy

CHINESE NEW YEAR -- THE YEAR OF THE WATER RABBIT

 Hello, friends!  Happy Friday.  And Happy New Year (a couple of days late).  This year is the year of the Rabbit.  The Water Rabbit to be more precise.  Not only is the Lunar zodiac divided into twelve animals, but it is also divided into four elements.  So it takes 48 years to go through each of them.

Let me tell you a little bit that I found out about the Water Rabbit.  Google is a wonderful resource.  

The Rabbit is a gentle and beloved animal that signifies vitality, wit, caution and good luck.  It is also a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity.  The rabbit is a tame animal and can move swiftly.  

People born in the year of the Rabbit have a pleasant relationship with the people they are around.  They are not irritated easily and get along with the people around them.  They also avoid quarrels as much as possible.  They are also quiet and calm.  These people usually have good ideas and are respected by those they work with.

In Chinese culture the Rabbit year (2023) is predicted to be a year of hope and a quite interesting year.  This year represents peaceful and patient energy.  It is a year of diplomacy and building bridges in both professional and personal relationships.

And now you know more about the Water Rabbit than you ever hoped to.  Ha, ha!  Of course you know I think this is all a bit of fun and don't believe in the zodiac or luck or any such thing.  But it has always been a fun holiday for me.

Joe and I called out for Chinese food.  For lunch we had an egg roll and fried dumplings.  Dumplings represent money purses and people eat them to be prosperous in the coming year.  I found out though, that I like steamed dumplings a lot more than fried ones.  Thought I would try it for a change and now I know.  For dinner we had pork lo mein.  Long noodles represent long life.  It was so good.  There was not one bite left.

Hope you enjoyed this bit of fun.  I will see you again soon.

Until later...

Kathy

GOING TO VISIT MY BROTHER

 Hello, friends!  Welcome back.  Hope you are having a great day.  It is a busy day for me, but I wanted to touch base with you and catch up a little more.

My brother Larry's birthday is just five days after mine.  I was 16 when he was born.  My sister and younger brother had birthdays one day apart in July and so I was happy to have a baby brother to share my birthday with.  Larry lives about 20 miles from me, but we are both so busy that we don't get to see each other very often.  But we made plans to go out to lunch together to celebrate our birthdays.

So on a Saturday morning that is just what we did.  Joe drove to his house and I drove home.  That way it wasn't a lot of driving on me.

We exchanged Christmas and birthday gifts and had a lot of fun playing with his dog Schnitzel and cat Smidge.  They are so cute.

We went to a nearby diner that I have been wanting to try out for years but never got there.  The food was very good.  Larry and I got burgers and Joe a Reuben.

My burger.  Just a plain hamburger with fries.

Joe's Reuben sandwich.

Larry's cheeseburger.

After we ate we went back to Larry's house and watched some TV.  He had bought a year's subscription to Britbox for Joe and me and was showing us how to use it, search for shows, etc.  But finally we decided we had to leave to get home before it got dark.  I will be so glad when it is light later at night.  And I know that is coming because it gets lighter longer each day.

Schnitzel didn't want us to leave.  Or else he wanted to go with us.

It was a good thing we left when we did because even with the Waze we got lost.  I would get in the wrong lane and it would tell me to turn and I couldn't.  At one point it told me to get in the left lane.  So I did.  But it meant the left lane that went straight, not the turning lane.  So we drove around for about 15 minutes until we got back onto the street we were supposed to be on.  Oh well.

It was so fun getting together.  We have to do this more often.

See you all later.

Kathy

CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR

 Hello, friends!  Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday.  I am still trying to get caught up with all of you.  I am so far behind.  Hopefully this week I'll be up to date.  Today let me tell you about the coming in of 2023.  I almost wrote 2022.  Now that would REALLY be catching up.

New Year's Eve was a really low key day.  I don't think I did anything except lay around and watch TV.  Not that I didn't WANT to, but I have been having a lot of headaches and if I remember correctly, that was one of the days.  I do remember that I was saying to Joe that it felt like just any other day.  And I do remember falling asleep on the sofa about 7 p.m.  Joe woke me up at midnight with a kiss and I went right back to sleep.  Yeah, real exciting, right?

New Year's Day was better.  Of course, it was a Sunday and Joe and I went to church.  We talked about going out to eat afterwards, but ended up just stopping at 7-11 for chicken sticks and then going home.  We were going to have snacks and toast in the New Year with cranberry juice, but of course I slept through the whole thing.  So we had our snacks for lunch.  Salami, liverwurst, several different cheeses and different kinds of crackers.  It was fun and so good.

I had gotten these fun paper plates and napkins for Christmas but we never used them, so I used them at New Year's Day.  Aren't they cute?

Here is a picture of my plate.

I also had chips and an iced tea.

As you can see, Joe liked everything too.

For dinner we had a pork roast and veggies.

It was a nice relaxing day, just the way holidays should be.

And that, my friends, is that for New Year's Day.  I'll be back later with even more catch-up posts.  See you then.

Kathy

MY BIRTHDAY

Hello, friends.  I started this post yesterday, but I am having so much trouble with my computer.  It kept crashing over and over and finally locked me out.  I had to wait until today to get in.  And even then I had problems.  But I am here now and I want to tell you about my birthday the end of December.  I promise you I will catch up soon!

It really wasn't much of a birthday.  I wasn't feeling all that great and slept most of the day.  Joe and I were going to go out to Yamato's for lunch, but I was just so tired that I couldn't do it.  Instead, we called out for lunch to our local Chinese food delivery.  I opted to have Egg Foo Yung.  I have not had it in so long.  Years probably.  But I just had a yen for it.  And I'm glad I did.  It was so good!  A great choice.  And here is what my fortune in my cookie said.

In the afternoon there was a knock at the door and a guy handed me a box.  In it was the most adorable bouquet I think I have ever seen.  It was white carnations in the shape of a cat with other colored flowers around it.  It looked just like a cat in a garden.  The holder it was in looked like a wicker cat bed.  So cute!  It lasted a long time too.  Almost two weeks.  Joe certainly got his money out of that.

He also gave me a bottle of Gloria Vanderbilt perfume (my favorite) and two pair of jeans.  Oh, and a new square griddle pan which is wonderful.  Nothing sticks to it.  Also a 9 x 13 pan with a snap on lid, and a set of measuring cups and spoons.  I think he wants me to cook. (ha, ha)

The rest of the day?  Well...  I fell asleep and slept all afternoon.  I didn't feel like cooking dinner, either, so we called out to Dominos and got a pizza for Joe and chicken wings for me.  We also got garlic bread and brownies.  Yum!

Not much of a birthday, huh?  Well, not every year is great.  But hopefully this year will be better because I have a big birthday in 2023.  But you will have to wait a year to hear about that.

I have a video on YouTube about my birthday.  Here's a link to it if you want to see more.

And now it's time for me to make dinner.  Bible study night so I have to have it earlier than we usually do.  Besides, I'm hungry.  Talk to you all later and thanks so much for stopping by.

Kathy

 

SUNDAY PRAISE -- Adam and Eve

Hello friends!  Hope you are all having a great weekend.  These weeks just seem to fly by, don't they?  Here it is the middle of January already.

I wanted to be sure to give you this week's lesson.  We are continuing on with the creation story and today we are focusing on Adam and Eve.

A long time ago God made the heavens and the earth.  When God had finished making all things He said, "Let us make man in our own image."  He made man just like Him, out of the dust.  The man was called Adam.

Adam took great care of all the things God made.  God gave Adam a job to name all the animals He had made.  But Adam was alone, and God saw that was not good.  God knew what to do.

God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep.  While Adam slept, God took out one of his ribs.  God used Adam's rib to create a beautiful woman.  Her name was Eve.

When Adam woke up, he saw Eve.  Adam was happy to see her.  Adam and Eve lived in the garden God had created.  They enjoyed a relationship with God and with each other.

Today children are taught that they are here by chance.  That people evolved from lower creatures.  We want our children to know that we are God's creation.  We are special.  We are created in God's image and are made for a special purpose.  God wants us to have fellowship with one another.  And He wants us to have fellowship with Himself.

God did not make us animals.  He made us different and special from animals.  He made us in His own image and when He looked at Adam and Eve, He said it was good.

God gave Adam a job to do.  He was to name all the animals and look after the garden.  We all have gifts, and we can all serve God in some way.

The only thing we hear God saying was not good was that Adam was alone.  And so Eve was created.  God doesn't want us to be alone.  He gives us families, friends and others to talk with us, be with us and care for us.  We should thank God for those people in our lives.

God would often meet and talk with Adam and Eve.  What does that tell us?  God loves it when we speak to Him in prayer.  He loves it when we listen to Him as we read our Bibles.  God gives us a way to have a relationship with Him.

Let's remember to thank God for loving us enough to want to have a relationship with us and for making us special and unique.

That's all for this week.  See you tomorrow as I continue to tell you about my Christmas season.  I have to get a move on before it is next Christmas!  Have a great night everyone,

Kathy

THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

 

Hello, friends!  And welcome back.  I don't know where the time goes to.  I blink my eyes and it's a week later.  But I wanted to continue to tell you about my holidays.

The day after Christmas Joe and I went to Northern New Jersey to visit with my sister.  She had to work on Christmas Day, so this was our Christmas get together.  Let me tell you, it just did not feel like Christmas without a visit with her.  We left mid-morning and got to her house around 12:30 p.m.  Joe did some of the driving to help me with the pain I've been experiencing in my legs.

As usual, her house was decorated so beautifully.  Maybe someday I will get my house cleaned up enough and fixed up enough to decorate as she does.  We brought everything in and played with her dog Ace for a bit.  Ace loves his tennis balls and almost always has one in his mouth.

We opened our gifts.  We got such beautiful things.  Elaine gave Joe two big jars of almonds with little Santas (or elves?) on the lids.

I gave Elaine two books she had been wanting.

Elaine gave me this beautiful Murano glass candle holder with a wonderfully scented candle in it.  I burned it last night and it scented the entire living room.

She gave Joe a wonderfully warm blanket.  So nice.  I might be stealing sharing it.

And for my birthday she gave me three tops and two pair of pants.  With the three pair of jeans and pair of black pants Joe gave me, I have lots of new outfits to wear.

We visited for a while and then had an early dinner.  I wanted to get onto the road and home before dark.  I hate driving in the dark.  Especially up there with country roads and no streetlights.  Dinner was so good!  Ham, roasted potatoes, green beans, Hawaiian rolls... and homemade cookies for dessert. We were stuffed!  And of course, we pulled our Christmas crackers before we ate and we wore our crowns while we ate.

Elaine's jade plant is blooming.  She thought at first it was because it was so large (and old) but even her little one is blooming.  Neither of us have ever seen a jade plant bloom.  Do any of you know anything about this?

All too soon it was time to go home.  

I started the drive.  Joe was going to switch out with me part of the way, but I just kept on going.  I was, as I told him, "a woman on a mission."  I wanted to get to I-95 before it got dark.  And I did.  And I just kept going and drove the entire way.  I paid for it the next day.  My legs were killing me.

It was such a great day.  We had so much fun.  And now on to the rest of the holidays.  I still have a lot to share with you.  But that's for another day.

Hope you are having a great day.  It is warm here today, but is supposed to get frigid tomorrow.  It figures since we plan to go to the funeral of a dear friend who passed away last week.  But I will get through it.  I'm just going to dress warmly.

See you all next time.

Kathy