Homemade Gravy

My Aunt gave me my grandmothers old cookbooks. 1 of the cookbooks is Quick Dishes for the woman in a hurry. In the cookbook it is called medium white sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine (shortening works fine too)
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• few grains pepper (I like a lot of black pepper in mine)
• 1 cup of milk (water is a great substitute that I normally use)

Directions:

1.  Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper.
3. Heat until mixture bubbles.
4. Remove from heat and add milk (water) gradually.
5. Cook rapidly, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. (If it because too thick, add a little bit more water)
6. Use for gravies and creamed mixtures. 

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Fish sauce Supreme (Tarter sauce)

 

My Aunt gave me my grandmothers old cookbooks. 1 of the cookbooks is Quick Dishes for the woman in a hurry. 

This recipe is from this book. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup pickle relish

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley or 2 teaspoons of dried parsley

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon horseradish

2 drops of hot sauce (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients together. 
2. Put into refrigerator to chill and allow flavors to blend for about 5 minutes. 

This makes about 1 cup of sauce.

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Fruit of the Spirit

 The fruit of the spirit is not talking about actual fruit. It is talking about our actions and behavior. 

Galatians 5:22-23 King James Version 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

• Love: We are to show love to everyone including our enemies.  Matthew 5:43-48 - Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

• Joy: This does not mean we are happy all the time. This is talking about whether we have a good attitude about the situation.  Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

• Peace: try hard to keep the peace Romans 12:17-19 - Recompense no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,saith the Lord.”

• Longsuffering: take a deep breathe before jumping straight to anger. Show love and kindness to those that do you wrong Ephesians 4:2- With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

• Gentleness: be gentle; don't be so gruff about everything. Gentleness does not mean being weak. It takes a strong person to know when to back down. It is OK to smile and show emotion when something is nice, beautiful, sweet, good. It is good to say I love you to your family. 

• Goodness: be good 

• Faith: Keep faith in Jesus Hebrews 11:11- Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

• Meekness: be humble, don't take credit for being better than you are. Colossians 3:12 - Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

• Temperance: keep your head. Definition of temperance
  
  
  
  

  1: moderation in action, thought, or feeling : RESTRAINT

  
  

  2a: habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions

  b: moderation in or abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages

Wash Your Hands

 

Is hand washing important according to the Bible? There are around 100 scriptures on washing. Many of those scriptures mention washing hands. Here are some scriptures that deal with hand washing: 

•  James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

• Exodus 30:17-21 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

• Psalms 24:3-4 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

Washing of hands and feet is symbolic of making yourself clean for God. 

Today we know many reasons for washing hands. When God made the rule is said we were to wash hands so we would not die. 

Washing hands prevents illnesses and spread of infections to others

Hand washing with soap removes germs from hands. This helps prevent infections because:

• People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.
• Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.
• Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, tabletops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.
• Removing germs through hand washing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections.

Teaching people about hand washing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Hand washing education in the community:

• Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 23-40% 
• Reduces diarrhea illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58% 
• Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 16-21%
• Reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%

Not washing hands harms children around the world

About 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die each year from diarrhea diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the
world.

• Hand washing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia.
• Although people around the world clean their hands with water, very few use soap to wash their hands. Washing hands with soap removes germs much more effectively.
• Hand washing education and access to soap in schools can help improve attendance.
• Good hand washing early in life may help improve child development in some settings.
• Estimated global rates of hand washing after using the toilet are only 19% .

Hand washing helps battle the rise in antibiotic resistance

Preventing sickness reduces the amount of antibiotics people use and the likelihood that antibiotic resistance will develop. Hand washing can prevent about 30% of diarrhea-related sicknesses and about 20% of respiratory infections (e.g., colds). Antibiotics often are prescribed unnecessarily for these health issues. Reducing the number of these infections by washing hands frequently helps prevent the overuse of antibiotics—the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world. Hand washing can also prevent people from getting sick with germs that are already resistant to antibiotics and that can be difficult to treat.

God knew about germs before we did. He created a law that involved hand washing to save His people from deadly disease. 

People are People

 

My daddy was a long-haul truck driver. He traveled all over the continental states, a little into Mexico, and a little into Canada. This was mostly during the 1990's and early 2000's. He was born in the 1940's. 

As a child, I asked him what the people in other places were like. I lived in a small town. 

I still remember his answer. People are people. Some are good. Some are bad. It doesn't matter where you go, you will find people that are nice and people that are mean. Skin color doesn't matter either. People are people. 

The Boat Ride

 

Many years ago, it rained for about 1 month. My grandfather (Marcus) was just a boy. He was the youngest of his siblings. He lived in a 2-room house with his parents (Berry and Pearlie Mae) and his 3 sisters. Yes, I said 2-room house. There was a kitchen and a living room. They cooked and ate in the kitchen. They lived and slept in the living room. The bathroom was in the outhouse behind the house. 

During this month of rain, they all went stir crazy. The only excitement was counting the chickens through the floorboards. They didn't own a television. 

On the day that the sun finally came out, Berry suggested that they go on a boat ride. Pearlie Mae agreed. She fixed a picnic Lunch. They all quickly got ready. Now they didn't own a vehicle, so they got the small boat and the picnic basket and started to the flooded Pearl River. 

They put the boat into the river. They put the basket into the boat. Pearlie Mae gets into the boat. The 4 children get into the boat. Lastly Berry gets into the boat. The boat is barely above the water. They row around on the river for about 2 hrs. While on the river, they eat lunch. Water keeps splashing into the boat. 

Finally, the come back to shore. A man runs up to them. He is so relieved. He had been there since they had gotten into the boat. He explained that he had not taken his eyes off of them so he could tell rescuers where the boat went down. He had been so afraid that the boat, which was barely above water, would sink from the weight of the 6 people and 1 large picnic basket. 

My grandfather, Marcus, told this story many times. He said that God takes care of children and crazy people. 

It still amazes me that 6 people could even fit into a boat that size. The boat was only about 5 or 6 foot long and about 2 foot wide. 

Friday Night Church Service

 

My great-grandmother was a youth leader and a Sunday School teacher for many years. She finally had to stop teaching because of age related health problems. A few years before she passed away, the church was talking about not having church services on Friday night anymore. They thought that having church services on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night would be enough. 

My great-grandmother did not agree. She said that if you quit having church on Friday nights you might as well close down the church because the youth needed something to do on Friday nights other than get into trouble. If the youth didn't come to church on Friday night, they would eventually stop coming to church. She was very vocal about this. Everyone knew her position and thoughts on the matter. 

The church still voted to stop having Friday night youth services. This was in the early 2000's. Has anyone noticed the current state of the churches here in the United States? Here is a link to an article about youth and church attendance. Church Attendance Dropped Among Young People, Singles, Liberals - Christianity Today The youth has now mostly left many of the churches. 

Maybe my great-grandmother was right.