Cool Tricks

I found some of these first aid remedies that you can do at home to be
pretty good ideas…now if they work, that’s another story.

You Have a First-Degree Burn

The trick: Smother it with onions. Icing cuts circulation, and you need
healthy blood cells for healing, says Martin Ehrlich, M.D., of Beth
Israel Medical Center, in New York City. Instead, expel excess heat by
running cool water over the burn for several minutes, then cut an onion
in half and let it rest on the wound. Onions contain a mild analgesic,
says Dr. Ehrlich.

Your Hand Is Full of Thorns

The trick: Coax them out with candle wax or duct tape. Light a candle
and pour melted wax on the hand, let the wax harden, then peel it off,
says Dr. Tallman. This should free the more stubborn spines. Then use
the sticky side of duct tape or roll a lint brush over the area to pick
up the stragglers. Gently, of course.

Your Tooth Is Killing You

The trick: First, make an appointment with your dentist. Then suck on a
clove near the throbbing chopper. The oil in the clove acts as a mild
local anesthetic, says oral surgeon Richard Crinzi, D.D.S. Plus, it will
freshen that dragon mouth.

And the best one, which I will definitely try….

You Feel Like Puking

The trick: Make a golf-ball bracelet. Sailors swear by ginger to
suppress seasickness and general nausea. But there’s an acupuncture
trick that works just as well if you’re feeling queasy, says Dr.
Ehrlich. Find the pressure point “pericardium number six”: From the heel
of your palm, measure three finger widths toward your elbow. In the
center of the wrist area, tape a golf ball snug against that point, and
your stomach should calm down.

Stained Glass Masquerade

Stained Glass Masquerade
by: Casting Crowns

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the heart again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

I was listening to this song today on the way to work and I always sing along with it but never really listened to the lyrics. It’s a powerful message and all too real. I don’t know about you, but there are many times that I’ve felt like this, just wanting to hide how I feel and putting on a good face for everyone. Putting on this act is just what the song says a “masquerade”, you put on a mask to cover your true feelings and in doing that you never really let anyone in. On the flip side, we are so used to people asking how we are out of a basic courtesy but not truly meaning it so we just say “good” and both go on our way…this has taught us to keep our feelings inside and hide them. We think to ourselves, “They don’t want to actually know how we feel, so why tell them. We might scare them off.” For me, it’s not that, okay maybe sometimes, but mainly its just the fact that I don’t want to burden anyone. But that’s why we have family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. They are there for us no matter what and let us know we can be ourself and take off the mask. Are you the type of friend whose friends know they don’t need to wear a mask around you? I think I am and I hope my friends know they don’t need any kind of mask around me, ever! We need to get off the stage, put up the masks and just be ourselves.

This is Awesome

Okay, the science nerd in me is coming out here. I wish I knew how to
do this growing up, it would have been an awesome science project. I
just need to teach Jr. High science, that would be awesome.

Ever looked up in the sky and wondered just how clouds are made? Bill
Nye explains the science of clouds and how you can make one at home.

Get a clear plastic water bottle or soda bottle. Most
sizes–half-liter, one-liter, or two-liter–will work fine. Put just a
few drops of water inside. If you started with a full water bottle, the
water drops left over as you finish drinking will do the trick. Have the
bottle cap ready; set it on a nearby table, for example. Light a couple
matches; the kind from a regular matchbook will work. Blow the matches
out. While they’re still smoking, drop the matches into the bottle.
Immediately screw the cap on tightly.

Now for your cloud: Squeeze the bottle, right in the middle. You can
squeeze pretty hard; then let go. A thin cloud will form inside. When
you squeeze it again, the cloud will disappear. Let go again, and the
cloud will re-form. It will work for several cycles. After a while,
though, the bottle leaks, and the smoke particles stick to the inner
wall. The cloud will no longer form. But while it’s working, the effect
is quite striking.

How this happens: The droplets of liquid water in the plastic bottle
ensure that the bottle’s enclosed atmosphere carries water vapor, as
well. The smoke from the matches provides thousands of particles for
nucleation. In order for the water vapor to become a liquid, it has to
be cooled. Molecules at any temperature above absolute zero are always
in motion, jostling into one another. When you squeeze the bottle, you
compress the air inside; the energy of the moving molecules is squeezed
into a smaller space, and they warm ever so slightly. When you let go,
they cool. And in this demonstration, they usually cool enough to change
to a liquid.

You might wonder why the cloud doesn’t form the moment the match smoke
is introduced. It almost does, but the atmosphere in the bottle is too
warm–by just a little bit–to allow this to happen. That slight, slight
cooling does the trick. And you may notice that the trick doesn’t last.
After you form the cloud the first time, the heat of the molecules
spreads out again from the smoke particles to the droplets to the
surrounding air, and the liquid water goes back “into solution,” as it
is said. The cloud goes away.

Isn’t that cool!

OOOPS!

I’m so sorry but someone just reminded me of these activites that I forgot to add to the 10 activities to do during the holiday season.

“ice skating, Bethleham Revisited, the Candlelight Home Tour and more in beautiful, historic Waxahachie”

I can’t imagine who would have told me that! 😉

Top 10 Things To Do This Holiday

For some of you who aren’t sure what to do this holiday season, let me
help you out. Here are 10 activities to do in the Dallas area:

1. Christmas Celebration
Multiple Dates –Meyerson Symphony Center
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and friends play holiday favorites.

2. Holiday at the Arboretum
Multiple Dates– Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
Dallas Arboretum celebrates the holidays with a Christmas tree maze and
500 nativity scenes.

3. Christmas in the Stockyards
Dec 3, 2006 –Stockyards National Historic District
The sound of spurs at the Stockyards is drowned out by the sound of
sleigh bells.

4. Dallas Metropolitan Ballet Presents: The Night Before Christmas
Dec 17, 2006 2:00 pm –McFarlin Auditorium
The Dallas Metropolitan Ballet presents the classic tale about a visit
from Santa.

5. Stephan Pyles Holiday Cooking Class: Holiday Entertaining
Multiple Dates– Stephan Pyles
Chef Stephan Pyles shares recipe techniques and demonstrations,
including a four-course meal or holiday buffet with matching wines and
beverages.

6. The Holiday Market
Multiple Dates –Market Hall
A Holiday arts and crafts bazaar featuring over 200 vendors offering
hand-crafted gifts, jewelry, food, clothing and home decor.

7. 37th Annual Candlelight
Multiple Dates –Dallas Heritage Village at Old City Park
Hundreds of gently glowing candles line historic Heritage Village, with
live entertainment, food and a visit from St. Nicholas.

8. Ice skating at the Galleria
Skate around a giant Christmas tree and try not to fall on your bum.

9. The West End Marketplace
Take a carriage ride through Downtown, okay mainly the west end but
it’s still downtown.

Okay, I know I said there were 10 in the Dallas area but who can forget
this one: the BEST thing to do but I have never been able to go at
Christmas is……….DRUM ROLL
PLEASE……………………………..

10. Go see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
New York, N.Y.

Now did you really think it would be anywhere but NEW YORK!!

On Friday we can officially start playing Christmas music and put up
decorations…not a second before that. YEAH!!!

Passion

When you think about your passions, what do you think about? Is it spending time with your family or doing something you love?

This past Sunday I had another opportunity to go down to Austin Street shelter to pass out clothes and blankets to the homeless. We were so blessed to get the amount of clothes and blankets to pass out…there were about 20 full boxes. Not only were we blessed with the amount of donations that were received but with the amount of people that showed up to help. This is such a great opportunity to minister to the people of Dallas. They are so gracious for anything we give to them and just taking the time to talk to them. I like listening to their stories and some of these guys have amazing stories but you would never know it unless you took the time to talk to them. Some of the people that went down there with us on Sunday go almost every Sunday. They are so passionate about it and have a heart for this ministery. I have to be honest when I say that I really do like going down there and talking with the people and getting to know them, but it’s not my passion…I’m not that passionate about it. The things I am passionate about and love to spend my time doing are building/painting houses for Habitat for Humanity or organizations like that and doing things with kids in children’s homes. I have a passion for kids who don’t have families. Every child should feel the love of a parent, it’s hard to think of someone growing up without that. I would love to be a foster parent but then I would probably end up getting too attached and wanting to adopt like 10 kids. I would love to adopt a child at some point. My passion has been to go to a children’s home in Russia and some day I WILL go! I might bring a child back, but I will go. Anytime you have a passion, you should follow through with it, I think if you don’t, you’ll regret it later down the line.

Today’s Funny

I got these from my mom and they are HILARIOUS…These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

1. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

2. “Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don’t forget your husbands.

3. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

4. Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.

5. For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

6. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

7. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October! 24th in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

8. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

9. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 p.m. – prayer and medication to follow.

10. The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours.”

And my absolute favorites:

11. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 p.m.. Please use the back door.

12. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.