Jello salad on the table!

You know how Jello is the mysterious 5th Food Group? Well, yesterday while driving home from Virginia, we put on the Blue Collar Sirius XM station just for fun. My husband, the Swell guy and I burst into tears when we heard a comedian talking about Jello and where it comes from. You see we had just stared down a molded Jello salad for days while in VA.

The comedian's name is Robert G. Lee and he finally told us exactly what cow hooves are used for.

Googling Jello ingredients this morning turned up this handy information which confirms what we heard on XM.

I wish I could say that there will be less versions of Jello salad served at church functions and family reunions, but I can't. For the hilarious routine by Robert G Lee go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7XRkiC6U-M

For everything you wanted to know about JELLO and more go to: http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/jello.asp

December Memories

It seems that this month has been filled with wonderful Christmas memories. Here are just a few of the Ziegler Family highlights.

The Throne

Airport bathrooms are nasty. Germs abound and I for one don't want to touch the toilet seat. Thus we women squat, while you men get to stand. So not fair. But there is a new invention out there that may be comforting to some women on occasion. It's called the Sani-Seat, the Hygienic Toilet Seat System. After all, "It's an established fact that people are afraid to sit on public toilet seats," states the maker of this product. I discovered the Sani-Seat in the Chicago airport and was impressed.

A long sheet of plastic wrap covers your seat and is automatically changed when you wave your hand in front of a sensor. My questions are as follows: Where does your used plastic wrap go when you leave the bathroom? Is it recycled or sterilized for the next end user? Is each individual guaranteed a clean throne to sit on? All you see is that it goes behind the wall of the toilet. Hmm. http://www.cleanseats.com/frc=google&rfrt=googleTS2&gclid=CIDp1Luj4J4CFcZM5Qod4jxrKA

Go to this website for more information. I like the idea, but somehow I'm still afraid of public toilets. I realize "The Sign" says that the old plastic cover is destroyed and NEVER used again. I still want to know exactly where the plastic film goes and how it is destroyed. My fear is that it runs on a continuous 20 foot loop and is never really changed. Nah, I don't really want to know and neither do you my friends. But hey, the sign is also bilingual; I mean, how cool is that?

When I Grow Up

This post is about me deciding what I want to be when I grow up. At age 45, I think I have finally figured this out, but God is still revealing to me His plan for my life. My pastor often tells the teenagers at NC not to be so concerned about what college they go to, or what career path they should choose. He states that it is far more important as a follower of Christ to listen to what God says is His will for your life. Kids today are forced to declare a career "path" at such an early age! How many of us adults can say we stuck to the career we chose at 18 or 22 when we graduated from college? I know of very few adults who are in that situation, with the exception of a few teachers, and business professionals. Otherwise, for them and for me, life has taken them in a completely different direction. And a lot of them would say that that now it has become about God's will and not necessarily their will. Surrendering has led to new opportunities they never dreamed of.

Item #27 on my 101 List says: Decide what I want to be when I grow up!!!!!!!!!!! A medical assistant or something better? I am listening to my pastor when he talks to the young people in our church. I am listening intently---and I am no longer on a quest to decide what I want to be. I have been a medical assistant off and on for more than twenty years, a freelance writer, a medical transcriptionist, Girl Friday for my husband's office, mother of two and a wife of 25 years. I have volunteered in countless ministries and served as a Nursery Director, youth worker, cafeteria aide, etc. in the church at large. Each of these roles has been fulfilling in its own way.

But it is not about a particular career path for me anymore. It is now a matter of listening and serving when there is a need, be it with children, teens, women my own age, my grown children and more importantly, the downtrodden, the outcasts, the widows and the poor and needy. I am finding so much joy and fulfillment here in this place. I am growing up and loving the ride my God is taking me on. So, it's time to cross #27 off my list because I am finally at peace with being Denine, wife, mother and servant. Living for Him is just way better.

churched

So, I'm going to recommend a book at the risk of offending a few friends, neighbors and fellow church-goers who may have grown up with a fundamentalist upbringing. The book "churched," written by Matthew Paul Turner gives a child's perspective of being raised in an independent Baptist Church in the Bible Belt, aka God's country.

In 1978, when Matthew was only five, his parents left one denomination to join another, because God was clearly no longer moving at the church they'd been attending. Sound familiar? His story will resonate with those of us who have church hopped even just a little, for the sake of following a preacher, or the moving of the spirit. Matthew never intends to offend with his memoir, only to take friendly jabs here and there as he relates the number of times he ran to the altar rail of salvation and how he was secretly afraid of being alone with the pastor because he was sure that such a man of God could see right through him!

Matthew received his first real haircut (aka the Baptist cut) in a Barber shop when his parents decided to obey one particular church rule. After all he says it was because, "long hair on a woman is glorifying to God, but on a man, it's an abomination." His hair had actually begun to touch his ears! And when he was invited by a friend to attend a mega church's annual Harvest Festival one Sunday, his friend told him, "You'll love it. Please come. God always shows up on Harvest Sunday."

He burned his secular music and toys along with the rest of the youth group because they were "of the devil." No Barbie dolls, He-Man, or Transformers were allowed in this here church! No sir. And certainly not any of that Jesus rock-n-roll (Petra) some people listened to either, uh-uh.

I believe the only reason Matthew is a believer today is because he challenged the status quo. He questioned whether Christianity was about following a set list of rules, or about following Jesus. And because he wrote his memoir with such humor and candor, I can sincerely recommend this book. The title again is "churched," one kid's journey towards God despite a holy mess.