Dear Kids 5

Dear Kids,

Send the "Hoarding..." film crew home and bring me all the empty hangers from your closet.

Love,

Mom

Dear Kids 4

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus

1000 Avocados

I read this story online. I am not the author, but wanted to share it with you.

1000 Avocados

A plantation owner, somewhat foolishly accustomed to bartering with God, prayed for a good harvest. He pleaded thusly: "Dear God, if You would please bring me a great avocado harvest, as a service I will give You 1,000 avocados from the harvest." God granted him a great harvest.

Thus, the plantation owner loaded up a thousand avocados in his wagon and had his foreman deliver them to the temple. Along the way, the foreman was pestered by two little beggar boys who pleaded for an avocado to ward off their hunger. "Shoo, shoo, go away," said the foreman, knowing that the plantation owner had loaded exactly 1,000 avocados.

The hungry little boys ran alongside the wagon and continued to beg. Finally, the hired hand relented and gave each of them an avocado. He thought to himself, who would count all these avocados and know that two are missing from a thousand?

But the plantation owner had warned the chief overseer of the temple to count the avocados to make sure that the foreman had not sold some along the way. He found out that two were missing and had been given to beggars and the plantation owner fired the foreman. That night the plantation owner had a dream. In his dream, God came to him and said, I have granted your prayer for a great harvest, but you have not kept your agreement.

The plantation owner pleaded his case, But God, I took the avocados to you just as I said. God replied, Well, I am sorry that you are in error my friend, because so far, I have received only two.

Dear Kids 3

Dear Kids,

USPS "Track & Confirm" is not a substitute for a properly written thank you note.

Love, Mom

Sowing and Reaping

A friend who, for years, had a lowly job has now come into a better financial position. She told us of an incident that happened years ago whereby she was treated in a rather dismissive way by a real estate agent at a social event. Her husband also had a story to tell of how he was snubbed by a financial planner at a social event, because the planner wanted to "work the room." This husband and wife, as I said, are now in an enviable position of requiring the assistance of a real estate agent and financial planner, both of whom stand to reap substantial commissions in an economy where it would be most welcome. Guess who they're not going to call? The seeds were sown long ago. The agent and planner will reap an empty harvest, because they were more interested in money than relationships. People will not remember what you say. They will not remember what you do. But they will never forget how you made them feel. Don't forget to be kind. Some have entertained angels unaware. 

Optimism

Yeah, it's hard to stay positive in the face of adversity, but without hope, why would you even get out of bed in the morning?

No reason to. If it doesn't get any better than this, what's the point?

I'm looking forward to better. I know better days are coming. They always do.

Life is full of hills and valleys. Just when you think you're as low as you can go, it gets lower. Then higher. And when you think it won't get higher, it does. And then low again.

Stop basing your happiness on your circumstances, on the degree of highness & lowness in your life. Start making up your mind before you ever get out of bed that it's going to be a great day. Then see what happens.

To what will you look forward tomorrow morning?

Chocolate

The Easter candy is gone.

The Mother's Day candy is gone.

I'm declaring Summer Solstice a chocolate-buying holiday.

Don't Feed the Kitten!

Before the flames begin, I have nothing against kittens. We own two cats (or maybe they own us?) and they are members of our family. I love them. I take care of them. As every mom knows, every pet a family acquires is one more job for mom. "Oh, but I'll take care of him - I promise!" only carries water until something more interesting comes along. Sigh. But that's not what I'm talking about today. If you're a suburban or small town family, you might at one time or another, have a stray cat wander around your neighborhood. If you feed the kitten, what happens? Feeding a kitten doesn't make him go away, does it? He knows where he got food last time, and he'll be back tomorrow (or sooner) for more. It's said that the person more likely to do you a favor is not the person who owes you a favor, but the one who has done you a favor. H'mmm. So if I do the kitten a favor and feed him, he won't do anything for me, but come back and expect more? Makes me want to stop feeding the kitten. I have friends who are kittens. They want, they need, they know who is a sucker for a sob story. The problem is, the circumstances (poor choices and excuse-making) that caused the need in the first place didn't change, so therefore the need is never ending. By enabling the friend not to change, I am doing her a disservice. She won't grow up - why should she? I expect better behavior out of my children. Why do I tolerate it in my "friends?" As I drove to work a couple days ago, I saw, on a corner of a busy intersection, a small (dirty) white little kitten. Licking its paw, it was cute and pathetic. I wanted to throw my car in park, run and scoop up the kitten and take it home, and then be late to work. Fortunately, wisdom won out. My intuition said "Connie, you cannot do everything I want you to do, if you let yourself be drained by the kittens." I heeded the wisdom, and drove on to work. I got the message. 

Give Us Barabbas

It seems that people end up in a bad place because of bad choices. They give up the thing they want most for the thing they want now. I want to save for college, but I want this Coke & fries right now. I want a long and happy marriage, but this coworker is very attractive. I want to lose weight, but one donut won't hurt, and besides, I've been so good - I'll reward myself! The crowd in Matthew 27 shouted for Barabbas to be released, not Jesus. Pilate went along with them. Each of them wanted to be popular, to fit in, to go along with the crowd (mob.) What did they give up? Probably something they wanted most. 

Dear Kids 2

Dear Kids,

No, I will not join Cityville so I can "send" you stuff. If you've got that much free time, please vacuum the living room.

Love,

Mom

Dear Kids 1

Dear Kids,

Send the "Hoarding Buried Alive" film crew home, and bring all the empty hangers from your closet to the laundry room.

Love, Mom

King Cake

NOTE! You may NOT prepare and serve this before Twelfth Night (Jan. 6) or after Mardi Gras Day!

If you're not in New Orleans and you don't feel like mail-ordering, you can always make your own. Here's an excellent King Cake recipe, provided courtesy of Chef Emeril Lagasse.

• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1-1/2 cups warm milk (about 110°F)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 4 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 plastic king cake baby or a pecan half
• 5 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Purple-, green-, and gold-tinted sugar sprinkles

Combine the yeast and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the melted butter and warm milk and warm water. Beat at low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the egg yolks, then beat for 1 minute at medium-low speed. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest and beat until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball, and starts to climb up the dough hook. If the dough is uncooperative in coming together, add a bit of warm water (110 degrees), a tablespoon at a time, until it does.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a bowl with the vegetable oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of the confectioner's sugar. Blend by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your fingers, pat it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Spread the filling lengthwise over the bottom half of the dough, then flip the top half of the dough over the filling. Seal the edges, pinching the dough together. Shape the dough into a cylinder and place it on the prepared baking sheet seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring and pinch the ends together so there isn't a seam. Insert the king cake baby or pecan half into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough.

Cover the ring with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Brush the top of the risen cake with 2 tablespoons of the milk. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the icing. Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons milk, the lemon juice, and the remaining 3 cups confectioner's sugar in medium-size mixing bowl. Stir to blend well. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing evenly over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals, alternating colors around the cake.

The cake is traditionally cut into 2-inch-thick slices with all the guests in attendance.

YIELD: 20 to 22 servings

Let Nice People Be Nice

Nice guys want to be helpful.

Guys generally want to be heroes.

If you need a guy's help, then accept it graciously. I don't have upper body strength, and so welcome manly muscles when I have to turn a stuck screw or lift something heavy. I welcome the help of someone who has abilities I don't have.

Being prideful ("I can do it myself!") doesn't help you, and it cheats him out of the opportunity to use the gifts God gave him.

Being a good receiver is as important as being a good giver.

Whose help will you receive today?

Setting Goals, Part 2

We talked about setting goals that are within our realm of priorities. Now let's think about setting achievable goals.

Look at Miss America. I admit, I wanted to be Miss America when I was a little girl. Having acquired wisdom, however, I see that it was not ever going to happen in my lifetime. Anyway, Miss America always says in the interview that her lofty goal is "World Peace" "End Hunger" "End Illiteracy."

Is Miss America going to achieve world peace? No. Not for lack of wanting, but that's not in her sphere of influence. Can she be at peace with God, her neighbor, herself? Yes. Can she end world hunger? No. Can she shop for a food pantry or work on distribution day? Yes. Can she end illiteracy? No. Can she teach a 5 year old to sound out a few consonants and vowels? Yes.

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. And what I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do. - Edward Everett Hale

Your goal should be within your sphere of influence. Maybe I don't have time to clean my entire kitchen, but I can clean out the pencil drawer. Broken into smaller chunks, an "impossible" task becomes entirely doable.

What achievable goals will you set (and accomplish) today?

Setting Goals

"Many people go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after." - Henry David Thoreau

"How many men spend the young years of their lives trying to climb the corporate ladder and when they get to the top, they realize their ladder's leaning against the wrong building." - Joyce Meyer

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." - George Harrison

Do you know the difference between urgent and important? Most people get so caught up in the urgency of life, living from crisis to crisis, that they fail to see what is important, yet neglected.

Slow down. Refocus. What will bring satisfaction, at the end of your life: taking care of urgent things, or important things? The phone ringing, or the child who is anxious to tell you about her day? The deadline at work, or the awards ceremony in which your child is recognized?

Set your goals thoughtfully. Don't sacrifice the thing you want most for the thing you want now. Urgent things have a way of distracting us from what's important.

On what important things will you stay focused today?