Great Advice

Here is some advice from Pastor Tim on weight loss..

1.Weigh yourself with clothes on, after dinner...as well as in the morning, without clothes, before breakfast, because it's nice to see how much weight you've lost overnight.

2. Never weigh yourself with wet hair.

3. When weighing, remove everything, including glasses. In this case, blurred vision is an asset. Don't forget the earrings, these things can weigh at least a pound.

4. Use cheap scales only, never the medical kind, because they are always five pounds off...to your advantage, of course.

5. Always go to the bathroom first.

6. Stand with arms raised, making pressure on the scale lighter. (Waving them is optional but occasionally helps!)

7. Don't eat or drink in the morning until AFTER you've weighed in,completely naked, of course.

8. Weigh yourself after a haircut, this is good for at least half a pound of hair (hopefully).

9. Exhale with all your might BEFORE stepping onto the scale (air has to weigh something, right?)

10. Start out with just one foot on the scale, then holding onto the towel rack in front of you, slowly edge your other foot on and slowly let off of the rack. Admittedly, this takes time, but it's worth it. You will weigh at least two pounds less than if you'd stepped on normally.

Big

Carmi's photograph theme this week is "big."  When Ella was here in June, we visited Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, and she had the opportunity to feed a giraffe. I walked up on the platform with her, and standing close to the giraffe, realized just how big they are...big beautiful brown eyes, that long tongue that reaches so far to take hold of leaves, the long neck and legs.

Giraffe

A giraffe came by the willow tree
Stopped to gaze and talk to me.
For he was very lean and tall
A pillar, a column, a walking wall.

And as he looked down upon my face
His eyes were wide two pools in space,
As they engulfed, the countryside,
The sky above, held me inside -
Their special height and slant of things
Their special view of every thing,
And I could see by looking up
The wealth within his loving cup
That thinks and drinks the sun and sky
And watches us from way up high.

And yet I found it sad to see
That he could never reach down to me
For he was too tall, too much ideal
And I was too small, too much the real.

So, this angular figure, graceful and wise
Of astounding vision and cool clear eyes
Watched the sun rise, then watched it set
Looked down on me and seemed to forget
That I was as much a part of this scene
As the sun in the sky, the oak in the green.

Then the willow tree watching standing near by
Saw the distance between us and started to cry
she bowed down her head touching the ground
And from that day to this,
it's the way she'll be found.

Author Unknown

 

Monday Morning Manna

Are you amazed by God? We often look at present day "miracles" and say, "What an amazing God we serve."  We look at the miracles in the Bible and think "Wow." Scripture says that people were amazed out our Lord's sayings.
God did an amazing thing in the family of some of Don's relatives during this past month.

In July, one of Don's great aunts died. Her youngest son and his family had flown out to Arizona for the graduation of one of their boys from motorcycle mechanic school.  Doris died while they were there.  After graduation, the son wanted to accompany his family back to New York where the service for his grandma would take place.

His dad went online, and there was one ticket left for the flight they were taking home. That was amazing, but the even more amazing thing was that it was right by the rest of the family.  When it came time to change planes in Atlanta, they again sought a seat for the son.  Where was it? You guessed it...right with the family.  This family was impressed with God's interest in the little details of their lives, and I think amazed.
Take time to day to be amazed by God.

Looking for lunch

When I pulled into my driveway yesterday, instead of pulling into the garage, I stopped outside.  When I got out of my car, I heard a loud rat-a-tat-tat, so I knew there must be a woodpecker nearby.  It was much too loud for him to be on a tree, so I looked at the utility pole across the street from my house, and there he was way up at the top, pecking away.

We often see pileated woodpeckers in our neighborhood, and this one appears to be a young one.

One day a few years ago, I walked outside and saw four young pileated woodpeckers on the tall Washington palm that is in the yard next door. That was exciting to see!

When Sarah was in kindergarten, she learned this poem about woodpeckers.  Seeing this woodpecker on the pole reminded me of that poem, so here is your literature bit for the day.

The woodpecker pecked out a little round hole
And made him a house in a telephone pole.
One day when I watched he poked out his head,
And he had on a hood and a collar of red.

When the streams of rain pour out of the sky,
And the sparkles of lightning go flashing by,
And the big, big sheels of thunder roll,
He can snuggle back in the telephone pole.

Elizabeth Roberts

Punny

To err is human; to purr, feline.
To err is human; two curs, canine.
To err is human; to do nothing, benign.
To err is human; to quit, resign.
To err is human; to howl, lupine.
To err is human; to solve, design.
To err is human; to moo, bovine.
To err is human; to soothe, calamine.
To err is human; to pretend, pantomime.
To err is human; to bloom, columbine.
To err is human; to prance, equine.
To err is human; to add, combine.
To err is human; to befriend, pal o' mine.
To err is human; to woo, Valentine.
To err is human; to horrify, Frankenstein.
To err is human; to straighten, align.
To err is human; to drown, Clementine.
To err is human; to twist, serpentine.
To err is human; to love, sublime.
To err is human; to cut in, go back in line!

Thanks, Pastor Tim

cybersalt.org

Monday Morning Manna

Every new day brings new reasons to praise God. With each dawn, the wonders of creation and God's grace are evident anew.

from biblegateway.com

                     

A Room With a View

I recently returned from a trip to the Maritime Provinces of Canada. A group called Tropical Harmony from Sweet Adelines takes a tour each year, and they were sorely needing another person to complete the tour, so I decided to go. I didn't sing with the group, simply went along for the ride, and what a ride it was. We landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia and from there visited Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The photos in this blog post are from near the end of the trip. We stopped in Baddeck, Nova Scotia and visited the Alexander Graham Bell museum and stayed two nights in the Silver Dart Lodge.

Bell, most famous for the invention of the telephone, had many other inventions, as well.  Visiting his museum was one of the highlights of the trip.  His mother began losing her hearing when he was a boy, and then he married a lady who was deaf, and so he was very interested in communication and how to make it better for the ladies of his life.

Although most famous for the telephone, he would not permit one in his laboratory because of the interruptions it would bring.  Whatever would he think of all of today's different forms of communication.

The museum contained a special section for children, quite appropriate as the above quote and the photo below surely show that he had a great love for little ones.