My Poem for Today "A Lost Leaf"

Lady of Light

Super Bowl Sunday is here! In NJ, we have a perfect, mild weather day so I am going to go out and stretch my legs before tonight's game. You might think I should write a Super Bowl poem but I could only come up with some sing song rhyme that didn't sound to good. ..
"The meatballs are cooking in the kitchen, there's a pile of chips,
Mom is in there making all kinds of crazy dips!!
Soon the players will be on the screen,
It's going to be the most exciting game you have ever seen!
May the best team win!
They usually do,
We'll find out which one is really true!
Enjoy the time with family or a friend,
Route for your favorite team til the end!"

Now, I will print my usual Sunday poem - I wrote this about 10 years ago and it kind of fits in with winter. When I go walking, I still see a few stray leaves on the ground:

The Lost Leaf

A lost leaf, drifting around in the winter wind

Blown out of a tree,

No longer connected to the branch,

Plucked away to a new location,

Still possessing the beauty of the coat of color

Painted by the fall season's sun.

A misfit on the winter ground, surrounded

By shriveled leaves,

Discovered by another leaf whose fate was

Similar.

We found each other and we parted,

A lost leaf, drifting from the past to the future -

New ground.


God bless you, have a great day!

Lady of Light

Super Bowl Sunday is Almost Here!

I am sure by now you are prepared to order your favorite pizza, make your favorite meatballs, dip or cheese and crackers - our supermarket had gargantuan scallops, crabs and shrimp. Don't forget my one dish stew, chili and ziti on previous posts. I thought I would share a few special sweet treats out of the ordinary to have throughout the day or after the game. It should be a very exciting game - we do have two good teams competing . The Giants and The New England Patriots which are my team as those who know me know I was born in New England and always root for the Patriots.
I am just glad for the opportunity to relax with my husband and view the game on TV in our comfortable living room away from the crowds. Try the following recipe suggestions:

3 Interesting Desserts

Pumpkin Bread

Combine: 3 cups sugar
1 cup corn oil
4 beaten eggs
Add: 1lb. can of pumpkin
2/3 cup water
Sift together and
add to the rest: 31/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. clove
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
Grease and flour 3 bread pans . fill half full and bake for one hour at 35O0

Mom's 24 Hour Salad

16 Marshmellows
2 Tblsp. strawberry juice
1 cup fresh strawberries (sliced)
1/2 cup crushed drained pineapple
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup heavy cream (whipped)
2 oz. cream cheese
Also, if desired: walnuts, grapes, cherries (chopped)
1. Melt marshmellows and juice over low heat.
2. Fold in the fruit.
3. Blend cream cheese and mayonaise until smooth .
4. Fold into other mixture.
5. Ford into whipped cream.
6. Refrigerate 4-24 hours (Serves 10)

Yorkshire Pudding

Bake in a round dish for 35 - 40 minutes at 400 degrees

Combine: 1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup salt
2 eggs
1. Use meat drippings or melt butter in the dish first
2. Pour mixture into dish and bake
3. Variation: add cooked bits of sausage and use the drippings

I like the Yorkshire pudding . It's easy, sugar free, made with ingredients you usually have in the house, and goes with a meal or by itself as a warm treat.
The pumpkin bread can be frozen in loaf or slices if left over and makes a great coffee treat or snack for the children. The salad is a nice way to get a few servings of fruit and is a little different than the ambrosia I gave you last week.

Enjoy the recipes and the game! God bless you!

Lady of Light

Immigration - A Difficult and Complex Issue

At the Republican debates, there was a discussion of immigration, and of course, when John McCain showed confidence about knowing how to build fences and tighten up the borders, that sounded like a sensible and possible thing.

However, when talking about what to do with the 10 million illegal immigrants that are already here, this is more complex. Kennedy's solution of having each pay $3,000 and they can stay for the rest of their lives actually is probably the least costly in the long run. Now that they have TIN numbers and can pay taxes, they would be contributing to the country and we would not have the expense of finding all these people and deporting them! They way Governor Romney spoke , it sounded like we would have some kind of a bill where we would review each case individually to decide if and when each person would be asked to return to their country.

This could be a very costly process. I have a friend who went for her food stamp reevaluation which is a relatively simple process, and it took 3 hours to be seen and to complete the process.
If every immigrant had to be reviewed for one hour, by one person who was paid $1.00 an hour, that would cost $10 million dollars and we know you would need a larger staff for more money, in addition to the expense of deporting these people. Then, as Governor Romney pointed out in a previous speech, UPS has a better system of tracking packages than we do of tracking immigrants!

I understand the concerns that many people have about this problem, but I didn't really hear a viable solution from any candidate. Fining employers who don't comply with regulations makes no sense since these immigrants are allowed to have TIN numbers and pay taxes now. They will never be able to keep track of all "under the table" jobs.

I have no real answers, but it doesn't seem as if anyone else does either!

Would be interested to hear your comments or suggestions. What candidate do you think has the best plan or what plan do you think is the most viable?

Lady of Light

Republican Debates Provide Information to Voters

Lady of Light

Well, last night I watched the Republican debate - I learned something about each candidate. Isn't it amazing the way God gifts different individuals with special gifts? John McCain has full confidence with his military background, states that he put his politics on the line to keep us in Iraq and to support the surge. He also states that he has knowledge on how to build fences to tighten our borders which is an important issue in this campaign. I like his confidence and his forthright manner, but was disappointed at the way he handled himself with Governor Romney, bringing up something that was misunderstood and also spoken 10 months ago. Governor Romney mentioned the fact that this was a negative political maneuver on McCain's part to dredge this up 3 days before the Florida Primary when Romney would have no opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding.

Governor Romney is gifted in the area of business and economics. He pointed out that McCain misquoted statistics and misunderstood the meaning of a recent economic study. While he has no military experience, he seemed to me to have an accurate picture of the world situation and was able to explain it in such a way that I could understand it. He is a good communicator.

Governor Huckabee surprised me at his humble response when asked if he thought that President Reagan would endorse him. I felt that he answered the questions with wisdom and he certainly made the most of the fact that he has been a Governor longer than any of them and that running a state government is like a microcosm of the federal government, mnemonically speaking..

Ron Paul also made some interesting comments, but I realize that it doesn't appear that he will actually be in the running.

If McCain is elected President, he will have economic advisers. If Romney is elected President, he will have military advisers and if Huckabee is elected, he, too will have whatever advisers he needs. Each candidate has his strengths and weaknesses. It will be interesting to see what happens on super Tuesday. Which one would be the best candidate? It is really a matter of personal preference.

My feeling is that McCain is the strongest. We are most concerned about military affairs and this does have a long range effect on the economy. However, he admits that it was the Republicans who did the overspending and we need a solid economic plan. He mentioned that some of the men on Wall Street need to be punished. He didn't elaborate on this, I don't know if her was talking about insider trading or what.

I just hope that whoever is elected will use their gifts to the good of the citizens of this country and in the best interest of the United States. Time will tell!

Lady of Light

Government Legislates Religious Matters in the Book of Daniel

Lady of Light

I am going to be writing from time to time about the concept of Separation of Church and State in sofar as what the bible has to say on this subject. I would like to begin this topic by a discussion of events in the Old Testament Book of Daniel. Various decrees were made during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, Belshazzar, and Darius concerning religious issues.

The first decree came about when none of the wise men were successful in being able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He then ordered that all the wise men of Babylon were to be slain, including Daniel. (Ch. 2:v.13)

However, secrets were revealed to Daniel in a night vision, and Daniel became blessed of God in heaven. (Ch. 2:19) He was able to satisfy the king in terms of giving him the interpretation he desired. Consequently, King Belshazzar made Daniel a great man - ruler over the whole Providence of Babylon and chief of the Governors over all the wise men of Babylon.(Ch. 2:4*)

The king then set up a golden image for them to worship. He then made a decree that every man shall worship the Golden image (Ch. 3:10). He threatened to cast Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego into the midst of a burning fiery furnace and asks who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? (Ch. 3:15)

They answered him that "Our God will deliver us." (Ch3:17)

When the king observed the men in the furnace, they saw for men - one like the Son of God -all unharmed. (3:25) Nebucanazzar spoke "Blessed be the God of Misach, Shadrach, and Abednego - deliver them - charged the King.

Then a religious decree was put forth "Anyone who would speak against the God of Mishach, Shadrach, and Abednego would be cut in pieces." (3:28) This was, in essence, a law dictating what people were allowed to say and think regarding God.

Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego were then promoted in the Province. (Ch. 3:30)

Under Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was promoted to the third ruler in the Kingdom.

King Darius set Daniel as first President over 120 princes. (Ch. 6:12) All of those under Daniel tried to find fault with him and could find no fault or error in him.

In order to trap Daniel, they made a decree that whoever asked a petition of an God or man except the king would be put in the lion's den. They got Darius to sign the decree. Once again, a religious law was being made.

In spite of the decree, Daniel went to his house and prayed to his God on his knees, three times a day as was his habit. As a result, the king was forced to put Daniel in the lion's den. When King Darius discovered the following day that Daniel had not been harmed and that an angel of God had protected him, King Darius made another religious decree that everyone must serve the God of Daniel. (Ch6:26).

So you can see, that in those days, there was no separation between what the government could say about religion. They were forced by decree to do certain things regarding their belief in God.
It is interesting that God, himself, superseded anything that man tried to do to prevent those who believed in him from worship ping him.

We can observe the confusion and disruptions that occurred in those days because the government got mixed up in the personal affairs of men concerning religion. In our country today, we have a policy of separation of church and state and the government cannot legislate or dictate certain things. Man is afforded a protection that they did not have in the days of Daniel.
It is this freedom that the citizens of our country cherish. The complications that arise when the waters become murky in legislation when religious views get mixed up with government can be seen in our world today.

Future forward, we will take a look at some of these things. Questions like"Should government insist that a woman give birth to a child or should this be between a woman and God?" Opinions and platforms differ on this issue as well as others.

We need to examine what has happened through time in the role of state, church and religion as put forth in the bible and will continue in a series of articles to do so.

My Poem for Today - Thank You For Your Angels

Lady of Light

I have selected this poem that I wrote after a mysterious ocurance where I believe an angel was sent by God to save my life. I was riding on Rte. 22 (New Jersey). If anyone knows this highway, they know it is busy and sometimes dangerous. I was in the left hand lane niext to the divider going 50 MPH. The hood of my car flew opened in the wind and my vision in front of me was obscured. I tried to steer and slow down, but I really was thinking I would crash. I called out to Jesus, and all of the sudden, in all of that traffic a very tall blond man had jumped through the traffic and pushed down the head of my car. When I looked to the side of the road to see him, he had disappeared! I believe he was one of God's angels. (When I had my oil checked at the gas station before I got on the highway, the gas station attendant didn't close the hood of my car properly and it opened as soon as I sped up on the highway.) What a miracle! Thank God!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANGELS

Lord, your statutes are great,
Your promises so good and wonderful.
I shall claim them, just like you knew I would.

Thank you that you send your angels to camp around me,
God of all mercy, God of all comfort, God of all love.
You reign from above - help me to experience that.

How, with your mighty hand, you calm life's storms,
With the balm of heavenly healing and that you take
Control of my every feeling.

Thank you for giving me a heart to praise your Holy name,
And for always being the same God.

(Partially based on Psalm 91:11-12 "For He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.")

Have a blessed Sunday!

Lady of Light

Easy One Dish Weekend Recipe: Baked Ziti and Ambrosia: Easy One Dish Dessert

Lady of Light

Another weekend has rolled around. I am fortunate that I don't have to cook Sunday because I am getting together with children and grandchildren for a long awaited belated Christmas celebration at a restaurant. However, for those of you who will be at home with family and/or friends, I am going to share two recipes - one for dinner and one for dessert.

The first is a delicious baked ziti - for this, I use a disposable rectangular foil pan but you can use any pan that can go in the oven.

BAKED ZITI

1 large rectangular pan - oven safe
11/2 jars of Francesco Rinaldi Traditional Spaghetti Sauce
(or a sauce of your choice)
Parmesan cheese
1 pound of ziti (uncooked)
1 16oz. package of mozzarella cheese (Part Skim)
1 8 oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 pound (8 pieces) of sweet Italian sausage

1. Brown sausage in fry pan - add a small amount of water - cover and simmer for about 20 minutes
2. Drain sausage and slice it.
3. Boil water with 1tsp. salt in large pot for ziti
4. Bring water to boil and add ziti, stirring occasionally cook until done
(10 - 12 minutes)
5. Drain ziti and run cold water on it to remove starch
6. Slice mozzarella cheese in thin slices
7. Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of the rectangular pan and then add a layer of ziti; put a layer of sauce on top of the ziti and sprinkle Parmesan cheese all over it lightly coating it.
8. Dot with a teaspoon spaced around the pan some ricotta
9. Place pieces of mozzarella cheese on top of that
10. Put slices of sausage spaced around on top of cheese
11. put a layer of ziti, then sauce and repeat process
12. Repeat until ingredients are used up - cheese and sausage should be on the top
13. Cover and bake in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.


AMBROSIA

1 can of crushed pineapple
1 bag miniature marshmallows
3 cans of mandarin oranges
1 cup shredded coconut
1 8 oz. container of sour creme

1. open cans of mandarin oranges, drain juice
2. Dump in large bowl with marshmallows and pineapple
3. Stir in coconut
4. Fold in sour creme
5. Mix well, cover and chill at least one hour and serve

I hope that you enjoy these two recipes. The advantage, besides being one dish items, is that they can be prepared in advance of company or sports games on TV.
The ziti can also be done in the microwave for 5-10 minutes if layered in a covered casserole that is suitable for the microwave. Ambrosia can be spooned into individual dessert dishes or served from a large bowl.

God bless you - have a nice weekend.

Lady of Light