Sugar Cookies

This old family favorite evokes memories of my grandma, Clara, baking cookies on frosty-cold winter mornings up north.

1 C butter
2 C sugar
1 C sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
5-1/4 C flour (about)

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add sour cream with soda dissolved in it.  Add well-beaten eggs.  Add baking powder and vanilla extract.  Add flour.  Mix well.  Roll out on waxed paper.  Cut out cookies with a round cutter.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Alternate:  If you plan to frost the sugar cookies, omit sprinkling sugar on the cookies before baking.

Are you smarter than your computer?

NOVA (PBS) recently aired a program about a team of researchers at IBM that were building a computer to compete on JEOPARDY! They named the computer "Watson". "Watson" competed against Jeopardy's top winners and won. But don't despair. Computers can recall facts with a great deal of accuracy but have real problems with the nuances of language. The human brain is fearfully and wonderfully made. So celebrate your human smarts and enjoy these tricky word plays!
Watson can't laugh!

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.

A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, UCLA

The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.

The batteries were given out free of charge.

A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

A will is a dead giveaway.

If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.

You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a
rest.

Did you hear about the fellow whose whole left side was cut off? He's all
right now.

If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.

A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count
that votes.

When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds

The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

The optometrist who fell into the eyeglass making machine made
a spectacle of himself.

He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Acupuncture: a jab well done.

How to choose a nursing home for your loved one...

Caring for a loved one at the end of their life is both privilege and responsibility. If you have been named the health care representative you will be choosing your loved one’s long term care facility. Your guiding principal should be the golden rule. Care for your loved one as you would want to be cared for. As health care representative you have been entrusted with your loved one’s life. This decision is often made quickly and with little guidance as to what to look for in a facility. I would like to offer some helpful suggestions.

1. Take some time. Know that you can request a 48 hour extension to pick a facility.

2. Look up all facilities that you are considering on the internet.
www.medicare.gov.
Go to resource locator
Then click on nursing homes

Google: (your state’s) Department of Aging and Disability.
Find the Consumer Information reports.

These two resources will help you get a general idea of what the facility care is like but it certainly does not give you the whole picture.

Quality of care should to be looked at carefully. Medication errors and actual harm dings are really bad.

3. Go visit several facilities. This will help you make a sound decision. Do not just pick the closest nursing home or the one that your neighbor said was good. Nursing care can be great one year and poor the next. If a key person leaves the job then nursing home can quickly go from good to bad. Breakfast time is a good time to visit because it is the hardest for the nursing staff. If they have their act together at breakfast they probably have their routine down pat. You should expect faces to be clean, beds made up, and patients alert by 9 or 10 a.m.

4. Find the survey. Read it carefully. Surveys have to be easily found by the public. You should not have to hunt or ask for the survey. Surveys are usually in the lobby area at the main entrance
Interpreting the survey...
Quality of care. A-D ratings are generally not a cause for concern.
G level or above are REALLY BAD.
Medication errors are BAD.
Actual harm errors are BAD.

5.Questions to ask…

How was your last survey? May I see it?
Observe the staff persons response. A well run facility will not be threatened by your questions.
What is your staff/patient ratio?
Different department should have different ratios. Departments where more care is needed should have a lower ratio.
What is your percentage of pressure sores this year?
Don’t look at the number look at the percentage. The percentage should be less than 5% unless they are specialists in healing bed sores.

6. Observations during your visit.

What is the general atmosphere?
Is the staff happy? What is the general attitude of the staff? Are they snotty and cold or warm and caring?

Is the facility dark and depressing or is it warm, cheerful, and homelike?

Is there a lot of odor? Spot odors may occur due to accidents but in general the whole place should smell clean and fresh.

Is the staff checked out? Someone should stop you and kindly inquire as to whom you would like to visit.

Is the staff working? or are they down the hall talking?

Are the patients being fed? Patients should not be staring at a plate of food. Meals should be brought when someone is available to feed them.
Are patients being encouraged to eat?

Are patients alert? Patients should be alert and not drugged or tied into a wheelchair.

Is the facility restraint free?
Bolsters, scoop mattress, and M bars are all good.

Beds should not have side rails.
Side rails are dangerous as people can become trapped in them.

Talk to a resident… what do they say?

7. Listen for these buzz words.
Eden Alternative
Person-centered care
Culture change

Research each of these philosophies.

While these things do not indicate the quality of care they do indicate that the nursing home is focused on patient choices. These will also give you some sense as to the nursing homes underlying philosophy of care.

Two more things you can do…
Ask for daily skilled service. (this will ensure that an R.N. will check on your loved one on a daily basis)
Ask for a lawyer name that specializes in Medicaid.

Remember to look at the big picture…
Any short term disruptions or inconveniences that you experience will be rewarded by the satisfaction that you did right by your loved one. You are their friend and advocate.

Mom's top 20!

1. Follow Christ everyday and make sure your life reflects that you are a disciplined disciple.
2. Be good to your family. Make sure they are your first priority.
3. Love yourself. Love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t look to others for approval or love. Some people just don’t have the capacity to love others.
4. Truly love others and demonstrate this with acts of kindness and service.
5. Be kind with your words.
6. Hear and heed correction when it comes your way.
7. Don’t marry someone that is selfish or self centered.
8. Have a big family and raise them right.
9. Hang on to your money. Be a vigilant saver and a wise spender.
10. Stay out of debt.
11. Splurge once in a while. Your kids will be delighted.
12. Pay attention to your money. Know how much you have and how much it is earning. Educate yourself on investing. No one cares more about YOUR money than you do. Be careful whom you trust.
13. Don’t waste much time in front of a screen.
14. Work hard. Be polite. You will go far.
15. Eat your fruits veggies. Organic if possible.
16. Exercise and get some sunshine everyday. It will keep the blues away.
17. Count your blessings. Maintain a positive attitude.
18. Don't waste your time, effort, money, or emotional energy on people that don't appreciate you for what you are.
18. When going through troubles know that “this too shall pass.”
19. Take care of your stuff and don’t keep excess. Stuff can really burden your life.
20. Collect memories!

I wish you enough...

King Uzziah becomes King of Jerusalem when he was 16 years old. He started out as a good king. You will find his fascinating story in 2 Chronicles 26. The Bible describes King Uzziah’s life as: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success”.

Things go along quite well. King Uzziah is a busy and successful man. The Chronicler describes his many activities which include successful military conquests, building towers, fortifying city walls, and building catapults. King Uzziah’s favorite activity was farming and the Bible describes him as “having much livestock in the foothills and the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil”.

But then things go south…”But after Uzziah become powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense”. This was a job that only the priests were to do in the temple. The priests confronted King Uzziah and asked him to “Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God”. King Uzziah gets really angry and while he “was raging at the priests…in the Lord’s temple leprosy broke out on this forehead”. Whoa! The King quickly leaves the temple now and spends the rest of his life living in a separate house as a leper.

It’s hard to stay focused on God when we have too much. So with this story in mind…
I wish you enough…

o I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
o I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
o I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
o I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
o I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
o I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
o I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

"...give me neither proverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say,'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God". Proverbs 30:8b-9

Yes...but

Have you ever prayed for someone that had a problem in their life that just never seemed to improve? Are you met with “Yes… but…” when you offer suggestions or good advice to this person? There are people who ask for healing, pray for healing, but don’t really want to be healed. I will share an entry from Dan Miller of 48 Days that is a great insight to this “problem person” (and “person with problems”) in your life.

"Sometimes there’s a comfortable misery in predictable, repeating failure.

There was a pool in Jerusalem near the sheep market that was believed to have special properties. The belief was that every so often, at an unexpected time, an angel would stir the water, and then whoever managed to jump in first would be healed. In John 5 in the Bible, we read where Jesus was walking by and heard the whining voice of a guy who had been coming there every day for 38 years. Jesus walked up to him and asked, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (Dude, do you want to get well?) The guy was probably offended and thought to himself “Of course I do. Haven’t I been coming here every day for 38 years?” (John 5: 5-9)

But we know Jesus could see through to the heart. The question was a legitimate one. “Do you want to get well?” I suspect that enjoying poor health, hanging around at the pool, receiving other people’s sympathy and handouts had become this guy’s profession. Of course he had reasons to complain. Can’t you see how bad things are? He had probably long since lost any hope of changing his situation and created his own private little welfare system.

Seeing into his heart Jesus said “Get up and walk!” A little confused by the authority the guy actually found out he could stand up and walk. Whoa! No more comfort of self-pity, no more sympathy from friends, no more of the predictable familiarity of justified whining and complaining. What do you suppose happened the next morning when this guy’s mom and day suggested he go out and get a job?

How many people do you know whose anger, resentment and “victim” mentality has become their identity? “If I got a job, my disability checks would stop.” “If it weren’t for this pain in my leg, I’d be willing to go to work.” “You know the economy is bad-there aren’t any jobs available.” “I’m suing the company because they fired me after only four days of being late.” Not everyone who is “down and out” wants their life to change. There’s safety in being down and out. The real test and responsibility come with being healthy and well. Thus the question, “Wilt thou be made whole?”

Sometime I fear we sabotage our own success because the familiarity of the known is more comfortable than the uncertainty of the unknown possibilities. If you were offered the chance for a better future, would you take advantage of it? Is there any “sickness” that you are hanging on to?"

Priorities

What are your priorities? Do you know? In other words what is most important in your life? You need to have this one correct in your life because it has very long term effects.

Here are some examples of wrong priorities:
A minister that values the needs of his church over his children's needs.
A husband that values only his wife's beauty.
A father or mother that climbs the company ladder at the expense of their children.
A parent that allows a hobby or interest to take priority over their family.
A missionary that sets aside their own children's needs for the needs of others they are bombarded with.
A wife that simply pursues material possessions and gets caught up in "keeping up with the Jones".
A father that wants to make his child a sports star at all costs.


Our priorities determine how we spend our time and money. This has a huge impact on how we live our lives.

The Bible gives us clear guidance on this question in these two statements.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind".
"Do unto others as you would be done by and love your neighbor as yourself".

First we should love God.
Second we are to love ourselves.
Third we are to love others.

Loving God with our heart, soul, and mind gives us a worldview that is larger than ourselves. Our human perspective is very, very, limited and it would be easy for us to fall into a hedonistic*, self-centered lifestyle.
* hedonist- living for pleasure, seeking self gratification.

Loving ourselves does not give us permission to simply live for our own selfish interests. However, loving oneself is quite necessary for us to be able to love others. Self hate leads to a crippled life complicated by self-doubt, guilt, and an unhealthy body. We are UNABLE to serve others if we do not love ourselves.

Loving others is a great investment. Our families should be the number one "others". Your children will know where your heart is. Missing this one has very long term consequences. If you love God and take care of yourself you will be able to raise children that will put God first in their lives and love God with their heart soul and mind.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well". Matthew 6:33