FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY

Some folks might not consider chocolate a "food."

But....on a recent Monday's rain spitting, dreary morning when my thoughts were in a downward spiral, chocolate was the choice. Chocolate with a message. (And all of this was AFTER I had a quiet time.)

After the 3rd chocolate I glanced down at the message. "Quote your dad." Hm-m-m-m, that was a thought to ponder. It became a spiritual one.

As far back as I can remember, Daddy said, "I thank the good Lord for every day He gives me!

It was a come-uppance I needed.

Thanks Daddy, my earthly father,  for the memory.

Thanks Lord, my heavenly Father, for giving me another day. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

CHOOSE: "REAL" GOOD NEWS

These days its often hard to discern "fake" news from real news and frankly none of the news seems to be of the "good" variety!

But God....blessed my heart yesterday when I opened Sunday's Commercial Appeal business section to "GOOD" news!

Plan on heading that way soon to patronize our "new" novel.---our locally owned bookstore.

My "Dove" message sealed the deal---at least, it made me smile and enhanced the chocolate treat.

It's fun to choose "real good news" one day followed by choosing some dark chocolate a day later that reinforced my decision to "shop local." Not that I ever need too much nudging to visit a bookstore or library.

CHOOSE: EXTRAORDINARY

Chocolate is probably not the ordinary breakfast food chosen by the average person.

But.....somedays need a little boost and dark chocolate is healthy. 

Plus, today's morsel had one of those "just for fun" messages. 

Treat Tuesday like Friday. The fine print adds.....choose less ordinary.

What does that mean exactly? Are Tuesdays considered ordinary days? I've pondered this throughout the day. So I decided to choose extraordinary (corrected by me) and when autocorrect separated the one word to two, (extra ordinary,) the meaning was totally lost. I didn't want more of the ordinary! No extra same-o, same-o!

I wanted the compound word, extraordinary (But.....with auto correct, I had to make that happen myself! Think retyping more than once. 

Extraordinary---remarkable, amazing, incredible, exceptional. 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:17)

Why can't a Tuesday, as well as a Friday, be that kind of day? A special day unto the Lord? (Romans 14:6)

Partake each day with thankfulness...(1 Corinthians 10:31) and then await, with expectation, all the extraordinary things the Lord will do.

Quo-TEA-ble

Ubiquitous Quotes. 
A-men. Quotes are every where! On license pates. In my chocolate. 
In my throat lozenges. 
Yes---even Halls™wants to leave me a message.
Their "well-being/well-meaning" messages  are a little self-centered for me. It's hard enough to get my focus off of self when I'm having a "sore throat pity party."

It's NOT all about me----but I did try to remember how to do the "soul strut" the 1968 Capleville cheerleaders taught me  when I read the "Put a little strut in it" message.

The BEST quotes for me are straight from scripture.
But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory and the lifter up of my head. (Psalm 3:3) 
Calming quotes---best ingested with a cuppa chamomile.

Life is short---

Life is short----it is indeed! That's scriptural. "A mere handbreath." (Psalm 39:5)

Mother, who had such a sweet tooth, always finished that adage, "Life is short".....with the wise words of...."so eat dessert first." Which was fine for her because she was 5'8" and weighed 108 at her heaviest.

Maybe that's scriptural, to an extent, as well, according to King Solomon. (Ecclesiastes 8:15)

For the last few days I've tried to "live out" my mother's "sweet tooth rules/dessert first" wisdom. 

Making a hospital "run" Thursday with a friend, I sought butter rolls at "Miss Peggy's Homecooking (on Cleveland) and when those were unavailable, I made a bee-line for the Trolley Stop Market (on Madison) for the "cake lady's" caramel cake from Westside Bar-B-Que, located in New Albany, MS.

The next day, friend Beth served an unbelievably delicious amaretto freeze, topped with REAL whipped cream. I could eat REAL whipped cream by the spoonfuls. I blame that on Mother as well---it's all she served. Of course, back then, we didn't have Reddi-whip or Cool Whip---only dream whip in a box that never graced our pantry shelf.

 Saturday lunch with hubby at Stoney River (Saddle Creek in Germantown) ended with key lime pie. That was his fault---key lime is his fave and even the crust was delicious in their version. However, I commandeered the REAL whipped cream that topped it off!

Yesterday, the sweet tooth saga continued with bread pudding at Second Line in Overton Square, their only dessert. Though it didn't offer whipped cream, fake or otherwise, this warm pudding with caramel sauce and sugared pecans was topped with homemade ice cream. Oh my!

Can one OD on sweets? This morning I decided to "come off" my sugar streak as I savored a Dove dark chocolate morsel---which is "healthy."

Looking at the wrapper, I saw this message, Quote your Daddy!"

So....here it is......

"I thank the good Lord for everyday He gives me." (Clifton T. Adams, 1922-2011)

That's oh so scriptural (1 Thessalonians 5:18)----regardless of the number of days we are given or the circumstances we are in, we can always say, "Thank you, Lord." 

Thank you Daddy, a man of few words,  for that memorable quote!

Digital Destiny

The way we communicate with others seems to be changing---even with family and friends. There seems to be a "need" to be plugged in or connected virtually, even while you are sitting with others.

Text messaging sometimes seems preferred over face to face conversations.

We've all seen it---the cartoon of two at a table together----heads buried in their iPhones  The joke caption implies they are texting each other. 

Recently, as I headed out the door, I got a mouthful of yummy Dove chocolate before I got an eyeful of wisdom. It was a great reminder to detox from the digital device for some one-on-one time with a friend.

Leave your phone behind. Revive the art of conversation.

It carried over to "dinnertime" when dining with several friends at TOPH. 

Same message. Different messenger. 

Our "trip hostess" asked that we all put our phones down, except for our "trip" photographer. How grateful I am for her wisdom. Her courteous reminder. 

A  2^nd reminder of the day----we control our digital destinies in our relationships.....

.......Not giving up meeting together (maybe just giving up the device for a while)....encouraging one another....toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:25, 24)

SWEET REMINDERS

"Mind the Message"
Dove Chocolate. Yum! 1/2 price after a holiday.Yum!! Yum!!

All have "messages." A melt in your mouth kind of message.

February messages seem to have many "heart" messages. (RX----2-a-day)

Recent ones were worthy of thought. Heart shaped truths.

• Listen with your heart. 
• Hold hands firmly, hearts gently.

Mind (heed) the message for your heart.

**Just found this in my drafts---and since I'm still eating on that candy,  it's still pertinent.

I'm prepping for a procedure, so it was a lucky find---fingers feel too weak to type.

Message to jumpstart meditation......

9/30/13 OK I know I shouldn't be noshing on chocolate before noon----BUT all that retreating and resting at this past weekend's women's retreat wore me out. I thought one little Dove piece would jumpstart my day.....never thinking it would jumpstart me to meditation.

A message to stir meditation is what I received. God indeed can move in mysterious ways. (Disclaimer: please never assume that Dove messages are a source for spiritual meditation---they're more like a positive fortune cookie which are not intended to have real (in the Christian sense) spiritual value.) 

 But God.....often uses things at hand in my life to draw me back to Him and seeing His hand.

The message inside took me back to a reference in yesterday's blog entry as well as to my notes on "The Sacred Present." Time is a gift, not a possession," as Cynthia Heald reminded us. Enjoy the time at hand. 

Meditate on James 4:14 with that thought in mind.

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. (New Living Translation)

FOG BOW... a rare picture b/c the fog dissipates so quickly
Little Cranberry Isles, Maine, Summer 2013,
Robin Smith photo, via Soos V.'s FB

Message.....

9/26/13 Message.....from a piece of chocolate. Today I opened a "treat" of Dove chocolate.

There was a message inside. A reminder that I needed this morning.

Tomorrow I travel to Pickwick to attend a Women's Retreat to hear Cynthia Heald teach on "Becoming a Woman of Simplicity." Maybe I'll gather more info on "being rather than doing."

If so, I'll share the "message."

Simply be rather than do.