Words

Last Sabbath we took a trip to visit a church in Canada.  The sermon was on the words we speak and how we have an influence on others.  How do we speak?  Are our words clean, pure, and do we have a good attitude?  What about the look on our face...sometimes that speaks louder than words.  Do we look sober, happy, angry, irritated, cheerful?  We all have an influence for good or ill.

Matthew 12:34 tells us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  I like the way Colossians 4:6 directs to let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.  Food can taste rather flat without salt.  People avoid those who are always negative and down on most everything, but folk who have a sunny smile and see the good things about them rather than the bad, usually have more friends.

It has to be a inside job, on our hearts.  Like Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, blessed are the pure in heart, and we might add "speech".  Many don't realize what they are really saying when they utter expletives and euphemisms.  Expletives are described in the dictionary as words added to fill out the sentence or thought, an interjectory word.  Euphemisms are words in place of another word.

It was interesting to see what the following expletives and euphemisms meant:

My goodness = My God     (Jesus said there is no one good but God. See Matthew 19:17)
For heaven's sake = Put hell in the place of heaven.
What the heck = Heck meaning hell.
Darn = Damn
Gosh = God
Golly = God
Gee = Jesus

Rather than dwell on the negative, follow the admonition in Philippians 4:8, and think of whatever things are true, noble just, pure, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived tells us in Proverbs 17:28 that even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace.

Does it seem to hard to speak good words, especially when you hear bad ones all around you?  Cheer up, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13), and you can be an uplifting influence to those around you.

Easy Biscuits to Make

One of the first things a child can learn to make is biscuits.  It can be a fun time with children and grandchildren alike, doing things together.  It's good for boys to learn to cook as well as girls.  A simple recipe I have adapted from my first cookbook given to me by my mother is fast, easy and delicious.  The ingredients are:

2      cups flour (1/2 unbleached, 1/2 whole wheat)

1      tablespoon baking powder (the kind without aluminum)

1      teaspoon salt

1      cup milk (or water)

1/4   cup oil (first cold pressed virgin olive oil is best)

Preheat the oven to 400℉.  Stir the first three ingredients together.  Stir the last two items together.  Mix the two just enough to make a soft ball.  Place on lightly floured board or mat.  Gently press together and then flatten to about 1 inch thick.  Cut with a cookie cutter (straight up and down with no twisting).  Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Some variations are:  Add a tablespoon of honey.  Add caraway seed, basil, and Italian seasoning--about a teaspoon each.

So get together with the children in your life and have fun making these easy biscuits.

Five-In-A-Row

I first saw the game Five-In-A-Row being played before a Saturday night program at college.  To get a good seat, one needed to go early, like even a half hour.  One professor would occasionally bring along a square peg board and two different colored golf tees to play the game with either a family member or another earlybird.  It looked like such fun that I purchased a peg board myself and some white and blue golf tees.

Two to four people can play, four people playing as two teams, helping one another without telling the other team member any move to make.  As the title suggests, the object of the game is to get at least five tees or more in a row.  A point is given for each five and also any tee added to the row of five.  The points are marked by a golf tee put in the holes on the edge of the board.

Of course, the opposing person or team tries to stop the other person or team from getting five tees in a row by blocking either end of three tees or more in a row while still trying to place five tees in a row without being blocked themselves.

Here at home, we support the peg board with four books placed under each corner.  Our family has had fun playing Five-In-A-Row with each other or others.  It's a good game for young and old.

Miss Lawton and HULL GULL

When I was around nine years old, days could be boring when there was no school and Mama and Daddy were at work.  But it was always fun to go see Miss Lawton.  The landlady rented a bedroom to her and provided her meals in the kitchen.

Miss Lawton's small bedroom was upstairs with a window view that overlooked Second Street.  She had a charming way of making me feel welcome, and I enjoyed listening to stories of her childhood.

One day she introduced me to the game Hull Gull.  We sat facing each other, I on her bed and she in a chair.  Each of us had an equal amount of marbles in our laps covered by a towel.  She cupped her hands around a chosen number of marbles, brought them out from under the towel and said, "Hull Gull."  I was to answer, "Handful," and she then asked, "How many?"  I would guess how many marbles were in her hand.  If I guessed the right amount, she would give me the marbles.  If I guessed too many or not enough, I would give her the difference from my marble stash.

Then it was my turn to do the same as she had done, asking her to guess how many marbles I had in my cupped hands.  Sometimes we would have no marbles in our hands, especially if we had given them all away.  The game ended when the one who guessed wrong couldn''t give the difference to the other player.

I never forgot that kind, elderly lady who took the time to play with a lonely nine-year-old.  Why don't you try playing Hull Gull with the children or grandchildren in your life and have fun with them.