DEAR GOD: THANK YOU, THANK YOU AGAIN

Seems like I always have so many things to Thank You For, Dear God.  But I really mean it.  I appreciate all You do for me every single day of my life.  I have no complaints in my life.  Everything is always o.k.  Some days are harder than others, but so what.  You have always seen me through those dark times and into the light again.  So I Thank You over and over again.

Today, we finished lunch and my daughter went to her room.   She was planning to brush her teeth.  Then I set about sweeping the kitchen floor.   Suddenly, I heard this beautiful sound.  It was my daughter singing quietly, softly.  I think that was the most beautiful sound I ever heard.  Complete innocence.  Complete beauty.  Just wonderful to hear.  You see, she has had numerous problems since birth and this is the first time I ever heard her sing all by herself.  It is truly the most beautiful sound I ever heard.  She didn’t sing long, but I am sure I will be hearing it again.  How do I ever thank you enough for that special treat.

Added to that this week, we had a thunderstorm the other night.  It began about bedtime and I was waiting for it.  I have had hearing problems for years.  Got a new set of hearing aids recently and can actually hear again.  So I was waiting to see if I could hear the rain.  I sat in the darkened bedroom and just listened.  And I heard the hail hitting the house.   Then I heard the thunder as it rolled.  I could see the lightning and it all made sense with the thunder and the lightning together.  Then I heard the sound of the rain hitting the house.  It was truly wonderful hearing all these sounds together.  What a wonderful blessing to be able to hear the storm as it passed over.

So, You see, Dear God.  I have so much to be thankful for – and this is only the last few days. Just think of all the blessings I receive all the time that I never even notice.  Thank You, Thank You Again!

STUFF

Well, I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of all this STUFF going on everywhere. The national debt is just plumb disgusting.  When you think that all those people who have never been born yet having to pay off all this stilly STUFF  that these politicians have thought up just makes you sick.  And don’t think it is primarily because of the Republicans because it most certainly is not.  Those Democrats have about ruined all of us.

The so-called housing crisis started under Bill Clinton because he and his bunch lowered the rules for buying a house in order to get more of those so-called poor into housing.  Well, I’m sure that was a good thought but just look at the mess it has created.  And George Bush didn’t do anything to stop any of it either.  And then this Obama has made it far, far worse all the time.  And now the whole country is in debt up to its neck.  Stupid STUFF!!!

And now they tell us that gas prices and food prices HAVE to rise because it costs more to ship STUFF!  Well, that’s a hoot if I ever heard one.  Obviously, we have oil running out our ears around here and yet we are buying from people across the world and being told we need to not be so dependent on foreign oil.  The way I see it is God put that oil under this land for us to use so how come we aren’t using any of it.  Ridiculous STUFF!  absolutely ridiculous.

A man stopped me at a gas station one day and asked me if I felt guilty about driving a big car.   I said I most certainly did not.  Why should I.  I enjoy driving it and have been driving that sort of car for years and years and years.  He was a so-called green person and was driving an old clunker – which uses more oil and gas – and pulling a trailer – which uses more oil and gas.  More STUFF!  ridiculous STUFF!   Electric cars?  Had them in the 1930′s and 40′s.  As long as you only wanted to go around the block, they were a lot of fun.  Not for me.  Not for most people.

And why should our food prices rise.  We have enough food here in this country that we ship it overseas regularly in order to feed all those hungry people we see in the pictures and on the television.  So why should we be paying more for our food here.  Doesn’t make much sense to me.  Just more STUFF!  stupid STUFF!  In the first place, we have farmer’s markets all over the country.  Why are we shipping food in from everywhere else.  Mexican tomatoes that had food poisoning a couple of years ago.  Why not buy the local STUFF! Even Wal-Mart pushes the local STUFF!  So buy that.

Seems to me that one solution to all our problems would be to make it mandatory that a person  have a job before they can vote.  Used to be back when, a person had to own property in order to vote.  Now everyone votes, even those who have no idea what or who they are voting for.  Just follow the crowd.  Plug into the internet and do whatever you are told.   If they cart you to the polls, you vote for them.  If they provide a meal, vote for them.  Whatever works.   And now we have people everywhere who do not work, live on the handout, and vote for administrations who think that is the way  everyone should live.  So maybe if everyone had to have a viable job before they voted, it might solve some of these problems with STUFF and more STUFF and more STUFF!

 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT

Some people have asked me just why should it make any difference what religion you belong to or even if you belong to a religion at all.  Many people have the ready answer that they pray to God wherever they are and they don’t even need to go to church anywhere.  And that makes everything just hunky-dory.  But it really doesn’t.  

I grew up in a standard Protestant Church.  Almost everything was based on community, whether it was the Sunday School Class or the Wednesday Night Supper or the Young People’s Organization, or whatever.    Now, there is nothing wrong with fellowship as it is called these days.  I am a great supporter of fellowship in almost all situations.  But, I do not think it is absolutely necessary that I have a fellowship feeling towards anyone when it comes to religion.  

I don’t need to be with anyone else or to join anything in order to have a relationship with God.  I have that one-on-one every day.  And that is one of the differences between the Protestant religion and the Catholic.  Catholics go to Church to revere Christ.  Period.  There is no other reason whatsoever.  They go to worship Jesus in His True Presence in the Most Holy Eucharist.  This is the whole crux of the Catholic Religion.  Anything that interferes with this worship, this reverence, this adoration is considered to be absolutely and completely unnecessary.  That is why Catholics normally do not talk while in Church.  And why they appear anti-social sometimes.  They are supposed to be busy praying to Jesus there before them.  

There are numerous Masses offered in most Catholic Churches.  That is because not everyone can possibly attend at the same time.   So everyone has an opportunity to make sure they go to worship God at least once a week.  Many people go much more often than that.  But that is the simplest requirement.

We Catholics still have our social side, of course.  In some parishes, there are coffees between the Masses. Perhaps there might be dinners occasionally or other social functions to attend.  But these have absolutely nothing to do with the actual reverence of God, the actual worship of Him. We attend Mass for that. 

Each person is responsible for his own relationship with God.  It is up to him how he lives his life and how he follows the rules to assure the salvation of his soul.  No one is going to tell him how to live.  The Catholic  already  knows what is right and what is wrong.  He knows by simply following the Ten Commandments of Almighty God what is expected of him.   

He knows the requirements of making a good Confession once a year or certainly a lot more often.  He knows how he is supposed to act in his daily life.  He can choose to live as he pleases, but he also knows that he is the one who will pay the ultimate price for how he lives his life.  He knows his responsibilities towards his parish, his family, his job, his very life.

But with a direct relationship between him and His Almighty God, he also knows the rewards for living a good life and the penalties for living a bad life.  So, you see, in the Catholic Church, it is up to the individual to decide how he wants to spend his days.  It is not up to the fellowship crowd.  It is not up to the pastor.  It is not up to anyone else at all.  I personally wanted a relationship just between me and My God.  And this is what I have every day of my life.   I am so glad I do. 

When my life is over,  it is going to be just me standing before My God.  There won’t be a committee to back me up or a Sunday School Class to explain how good a person I am, or a group to say what I did in this life.  No fellowship at all.  Just me and God.  We are going to be the only ones there, I’m sure.  I sure hope I pass the test.  

WHY VISIT WITH JESUS

I have talked of going to the nearest Catholic Church and visiting with Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist. I have suggested in a couple of  blogs that people should do that.  But I thought maybe I should say why I believe in this so strongly.

I was having an awful life for awhile.  My husband was a terrible alcoholic.  No bills were being paid.  I had 5 young children and no means of adding any income.  I also had a handicapped child in the middle of all this.  Something had to be done!  And I couldn’t do anything except wait.   So I started going to visit with Jesus every single day.  I would pile all those kids in the car and go by the Catholic Church for only a few minutes at a time.  This was all the time I had to spare.  If we had to run errands of any kind, we went by the Church first.  I sat in the pew and thanked Jesus for all that He had given to me.  For the fact that all these kids were healthy.  And for the fact that we had enough food for dinner that night.  And then I told Him whatever was on my mind that day.  Maybe I needed to buy something for the kids, or needed more groceries, or whatever it might be that horrible day.  

I came to feel that Jesus was waiting for us to come every day.  Hardly anyone else even bothered to come by and say hello.  Jesus must be very lonely.  He gives all this stuff to mankind and hardly anyone thinks to come back and say thank you.  So I came to realize that maybe it was important that I come by.  I continued to do that every day that it was humanly possible.  Things got much better in my life over time.  Eventually, we had a very good life.  

I continued for years and years to go by every day and visit with Jesus and say thank you for all that I received every day.  I still continue to do this.  I think it has probably been about 47 years now that I have been visiting with Jesus every day.  I hope He has been pleased.

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Having raised a large number of very average children, I used to hate going to Parent Teacher Conferences.  Not because I dreaded meeting with the teachers, but because I simply did not have the extra time.  I knew what my children did at school.  I knew what they were capable of doing at school.  And I was pleased with all of them as they grew up.  None of them were of the Straight A variety, but I really didn’t care.  They were all well rounded, happy children who knew what was going on in their world, had nice friends, and were blessed with a good sense of humor.  I was a good Mom.  My husband was a good Dad.  And we had a very happy family.  No problems to speak of, ever, except the normal teaching of discipline and manners over the years.  And that usually depended  upon the personality of each individual child.  

But here come the Parent Teacher Conferences once again. Time to go sit in the hall outside the various doors and wait to be called.  

My only problem was that in each and every room with each and every teacher, I was usually told the same line – ‘If your child would just try, he could do a lot better.’  I thought to myself by the time I was through with Parent Teacher Conferences that if one more teacher said that to me I was going to go over the top of that desk.  Instead, I always smiled and acted like a lady  the way  my mother  had taught me to do. 

Maybe I am wrong in my thinking, but it would seem to me that it is the teacher’s job to make my child want to try and want to do better in her class and want to be interested in her subject.   That is what she is there for; to  teach my child her particular subject, whatever it might be.  If she does not stimulate his interest, he will not try in her class.  Period.  That is why different people have different jobs in life.  They are interested in different and various fields.  That is also true of children.  They all have different interests.  May not be science or reading, but then it is the teacher’s job to make them interested in that particular science project or that book to read.  

Sure am glad I am through with Parent Teacher’s Conferences.    I might have become dangerous. 

BREAST FEEDING AND WORKING WOMEN

I just read an article that stated that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act which means for the first time ever, ever, ever, employers will be REQUIRED BY LAW to provide nursing moms with breaks and a designated location for either breast feeding or pumping.  This Act  is included in that wonderful health care bill that was shoved down our throats earlier.  And they want your comments regarding this Act. 

I think this is probably the most ridiculous thing I have  ever heard of.  Since when is the employer supposed to provide breaks plus a place for breastfeeding or pumping  If the mother is breastfeeding her infant and the infant is that young, then that mother needs to be at home where she can care  for that young infant. In breastfeeding it is not only the milk itself that is important, it is also the caressing and the cuddling and the holding of the infant that is of vital importance.  Wake up, young mother!  Go home where you need to be and care for your new baby!  It is time for the young women of this country to understand that a baby is not like a doll.  It is a very important human being and its needs must be met in certain ways.  One of those ways is to make sure the infant gets the proper nutritional and physical care.  This cannot happen if that mother is pumping at a workplace and then taking her infant to a daycare for someone else to feed.  Not the same thing at all.

I have never known any woman whose job was that important.  There is no more important job than caring for that young infant.  This is the whole of life!  Your infant’s lifetime  begins in your arms.  Family is ‘where its at’.  Wake up and smell the flowers!  This is what life is all about, your family and the lessons that you teach in that family. Teach your children from infancy that you want them, you love them, and YOU care for them.  

I know a paycheck must be important, but believe me, you can survive for a few more months or a couple more years without an extra one in the house.  You might be surprised to find that your husband can actually do the providing if he is given the chance.  Mine did and when my first child was born, we had nothing and were living from paycheck to paycheck.  But I thought it important to stay home and care for my children.   So he learned to provide very well.  Yours will, too.  Give him a chance.

Give your infant a chance in this world.   

Go to  regulations.gov/#!home and say what you think.  I certainly will.  

SPENDING

I read in the paper last week about a lady who was having her eyelashes glued on.  It was going to cost almost $200 to do this, plus another $65 periodically to make sure they still look good.  Now, I know I am  old fashioned, but I think that is probably the silliest spending of good hard earned money that I ever heard of.  Hope she didn’t also charge it to her credit card and then have to pay interest on the bill.  

I still remember when $200 was a big house payment or a car payment or a month’s groceries.  Maybe this explains some of the credit problems in this country today.  I know the housing problems were caused because people bought houses  they could not afford and the banks and credit companies were encouraging this.  

First house we bought cost $10,000. We could have bought one nearby for $10,500 but we had our limit and $10,000 was it.  Period.  We had an FHA loan and that required $1,500 down.  My husband was a salesman and he had worked his heart out to save up that $1500.  There was no way we were ever going to lose that house.  Our payments were $66 a month.  I remember that years later,  we were required to pay a dollar more a month.  It was almost devastating to us.  A whole dollar month more!  But we managed and had a very good life there.  In fact, we lived there for several years.  Until we outgrew the house because we now had three children and were afraid we might all get stuck in the hall.  

We sold the house for $11,500 so we didn’t come out too bad.

Years later, we had another house, much larger  and more expensive.  The phone rang one afternoon and a real estate agent wanted to know if we wanted to sell it for $195,000.  I turned and asked my husband.  His answer was ‘No, because then we would just have to find another one for ourselves.’  End of subject.

A little common sense goes a long ways.  Wish more people would try using some of it.  And not be spending so much on false eyelashes.  Oh My!!!

THOSE COLD NIGHTS

I was thinking again today about those cold nights back in the 1940′s when I was just a kid.  We had a very nice house, nothing fancy, but o.k.  Houses were not insulated like they are today, though, and it was very cold on some of those nights.  We had what was available to keep us warm, by that I mean gas stoves that had to be lit.  Before Daddy went to the War, he bought a big heater for the dining room.  It sat over in the corner and we all sat in front of it.  Except for when my brother, sister and I were doing our homework at the dining table.  We all listened to the radio.  Had to be quiet to hear it.  Lux Theatre was a favorite of course.  Never missed a word of that.  My grandmother loved Gene Autry on Sunday nights.  

To help keep the house as warm as possible for living, we shut off the living room and my brother’s bedroom.  Mother’s room was also shut off.  And on very cold days, my sister and I had our room shut off, too.  This just meant we had to heat up the dining room and kitchen.  Mother crocheted every evening and my grandmother did tatting.  It was a very simple, happy life.  

Daddy also put a sheeting over the windows in my brother’s bedroom because the wind literally whistled through there.  We could hear those  sheets rattling in the wind all night most nights.  But it was a comforting sound.  When it came time for my brother to go to bed, he would quickly tell us goodnight and then run to his bed and jump under the covers.  Didn’t dare stand around in that room or you would freeze where you stood.  

I don’t ever remember having a warm coat.  All the coats I had were the best at the time, but they were still cold, cold.  All that was available was wool and a lining.  And when that lining got cold, believe me, you were really cold.  And not everyone had gloves.  Most of the time, I couldn’t find mine or one was missing.  A hat might just mess up my hair, so didn’t wear hats a lot and hoods were not invented yet.  

But we were happy in our ignorance and blessed beyond belief.  What a nice life to look back on.  

If you haven’t read my book, In The 1940′s yet, you need to.  I tell of life like it really was in the family and how we helped each other and lived that good life.  For instance, we all saved up our ration stamps so my grandmother could get a new pair of shoes because she needed them more than any of us did.  Nice life.  My books are on Amazon.  Look me up.  Thanks, Bet

TOO HOT HERE!

I guess today you were sitting in your deck chair, iced tea in hand, reading a good novel and enjoying the tremendous amount of sunshine.  Right?  Of course you were.  And I’m sure you were wearing your bikini in order to get a head start on that beautiful tan for the summer.  And after reading for awhile, you will work in the flower bed while still getting even more sunshine.  Be sure and wear your sunglasses so the bright sun won’t hurt your eyes.

That is the scenario from The Global Warming Gurus.  Whoever they are.  I think I heard on the TV that Greenland just floated down the Mississippi, too.  You know it was melting in a hurry a couple of years ago and was going to come this way soon.  Probably because of the car I drive.  I have driven big cars for most of my life, ever since I finally learned how to drive.  I drove Suburbans for many years, hauling all those kids around in carpools here, there and everywhere.  That was a way of life for me.  Probably had about 5 different Suburbans.  Then I went to the smaller  SUV’s and still drive them and am proud to do so.  I love the big car feel in case of an accident.  And I enjoy sitting up high where I can see better and dare those other drivers to get in front of me.  That is due to that feeling of superiority in that big car.  Suits me fine.

When the snow melts down enough, find your deck chair and your bikini and get on with that tan.  Meanwhile, we’ll watch to see what those Global Warming Gurus have to say about this winter.  I’ll bet they don’t have much to tell the people in south Texas and Dallas and Mississippi and Alabama who normally see a few flakes every year.  Dallas was stopped cold on Monday because of the ice and snow.  And only 23 degrees today.  Even Kansas City was stopped cold with 12″ on Monday. 

We are expecting snow showers this evening and all day tomorrow.  And you know what that means – means the weather man doesn’t know what in the heck to expect next.  If we want to know more about what to expect in the weather this winter, maybe there should be a national number to contact the Global Warming Gurus.  Then we could all have an accurate update, hour by hour.  Sounds good to me.  We will have to promote that one.

Have a fun day playing in the snow.  Can’t do much else anyway.

QUICK SCRATCH COOKING

I’m sure everyone has heard that if you cook from scratch you will save money.  This  is definitely true.  I cooked for years without ever using much in the way of mixes or shortcut ingredients.  It is easy, quick, and usually very good.  And certainly healthier.   

Recently, I was in a hurry  to get dinner on the table, so I literally threw together a good meal.  I had ground beef in the freezer, brought that out and thawed it in the microwave.  Then I  made  meatballs out of the meat, mixing it with  an egg, a small handful of oatmeal, and  salt, pepper, and garlic.  I browned the meatballs in a skillet and then poured in one can of golden mushroom soup.  I turned off the heat and mixed in a half can water, stirring until all lumps were gone.  

Meanwhile, I had retrieved from the freezer a package of frozen noodles that were cooked earlier.  I placed noodles in a casserole dish and microwaved until partially thawed.  Then I poured the meatball mixture over noodles.  I slid the covered casserole in the oven, turned it to 350 degrees and left the room.  

By the time the meatball and noodle dish was done in about 30 to 45 minutes,  I had changed from my working clothes, started a load of clothes in the washer, and picked up the den area.  

I set the table for dinner, opened and heated a can of green beans and prepared mixed frozen vegetables from the freezer.  By this time, everyone was ready to eat and I was ready to serve.

Quick, easy, filing meal costing very little.  Only real expense was the meat.   

Want to know how to prepare more quick dinners like this?    Buy  BET’S COOKBOOK, only $10.95 direct from Amazon under booksbybet.  Lots of tips in the book telling how to save time and money.  For instance, always cook up a big amount of pasta, freezing what you are not going to use at that time.  Then you have frozen cooked pasta at your fingertips to use later.  This works for all pasta as well as rice.  

Hope you enjoy the cookbook!