“Today you are You, that is truer than true.
There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Dr. Seuss
Love Is…
Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous, boastful, proud, or rude.
It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
I Corinthians 13:4-7
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hugs and Kisses
Hugs
Reduce harmful physical effects of stress;
Calm deep pressure on children, tantrums, and mellows moodiness;
Help the body’s immune system, cures depression, and induces sleep;
Invigorate and rejuvenate
Increase heart rate and stabilize blood pressure;
Give a positive emotional state;
Bring out a surge of serotonine and dopamine, which are known as “feel good” brain chemicals.
Relieve pain, make you healthier and happier;
Help to overcome fear
Kisses
Good for the heart, as it creates an adrenaline which causes your heart to pump more blood around your body.
Stress-reliever, lowering your cortisol ‘stress’ hormone.
Endorphins produced by kissing are 200 times more powerful than morphine.
Reduces anxiety and stop the ‘noise’ in your mind.
Increase the levels of oxytocin, an extremely calming hormone that produces a feeling of peace.
Great for self-esteem. Make you feel appreciated and helps your state of mind.
Those who kiss quite frequently are less likely to suffer from stomach, bladder and blood infections.
Those who kiss their partner goodbye each morning live five years longer than those who don’t.
OXOXOX
Happy New Year!
Christ The Savior Is Born!
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given” Isaiah 9:6
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him,
should not perish, but have everlasting life. ”
John 3:16
One Night Before Christmas
There was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religious holidays like Christmas. His wife however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and, His Son, Jesus, The Christ, despite his disparaging comments…
One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. “That story is nonsense!” he said. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!” So she and the children left, and he stayed home.
A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese.
Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.
The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn’t catch on.
Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.
“Why don’t they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?” He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud.
Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn–and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.
He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!”
Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese–blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son Jesus, to become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized.
As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ, the Messiah had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: “Thank You, Jesus, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!”
Author Unknown
Holiday Popcorn Brittle
Had to Share This! Yum! 🙂
While replacing the nuts in brittle with popcorn certainly removes a lot of fat, it also results in a wonderful hybrid–part caramel corn, part brittle.
The brittle is crunchy and sweet, with just a hint of saltiness. About 1/4 cup kernels yields the correct amount of popcorn. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 5 1/2 cups popcorn, popped without salt or fat $
- 1 1/2 cups sugar $
- 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon butter $
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Line a baking sheet with foil; coat foil with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place popcorn in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Crush popcorn using a meat mallet or rolling pin; set aside.
- Combine sugar, syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 270° (about 8 minutes). Stir in molasses and butter; cook until thermometer registers 290° (about 5 minutes). Stir in baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir popcorn into boiling syrup mixture. Working quickly, pour popcorn mixture onto prepared pan; spread to 1/4-inch thickness using a wooden spoon coated with cooking spray. Cool completely; break into large pieces.
- Note: Store brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days
Recipe from “Cooking Light”
Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids 