White and Bright

In the early 1950s I went to work in the office at a Chemical Company that produced Laundry detergents in large 50 pound bags.

The enterprise was new, and had started in the owner’s garage, but when the business grew, he was forced to move to a larger location. The warehouse was usually full of smelly dust from the grinding machine and even though the worker wore a mask, his eyes were always red.

Our records could not be in alphabetical order because almost every customer was named Launderette, so the simple answer was to file by address.

In those days, the launderette businesses would wash and fold your clothes, using the soap purchased from our company.

The bags were heave and bulky, but after sampling the detergent, I discovered my white laundry came out much whiter and brighter than ever before.

Times have changed and now most Launderettes have vending machines with small boxes of supplies available for the customer at a price.

When I left the chemical company job, I continued to purchase their soap.

My friend asked me to care for her baby while she worked, and we were both surprised as her babies dingy diapers began to change to white and bright from the use of my soap.

In life, there are dingy wrongdoings that may cling to us, but the Bible tells us that if we come and confess to the Lord, that He will WASH us whiter than the snow.

Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

God makes it simple, just your desire to be free from the dirt and smelly filth; and to talk to him like you would talk to your friend. Tell Him all about it and ask Him to clean you with his special cleanser

It will seem like magic, as in no time at all you will be white and bright.

Revelations 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.


John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Quitting Cold Turkey - Hazel

This story was submitted to Food on Fridays at: http://annkroeker.com/  Please check out Ann’s site for some great recipe selections.  My Recipe for Turkey Squares will follow, and it is an excellent “Hot” dish for left over turkey.

Quitting Cold Turkey

This was something that I had to do. Beings it was New Years and a time for resolutions, I was impressed that I needed to give up Coffee for at least a year. I will not say that “God told me to quit.” But it was sort of like that.

I decided to quit cold turkey!

What holds you in its power? Coffee held me. I was always with a cup of coffee in my hand, and it was my comfort and stay.

I made this a quality decision, that I would quit coffee, and only drink Hot water as my substitute to begin with the New Year and to last all year.

What happened next was a surprise to me.

Wow, I never have head aches, but by nightfall, I had a dilly. For the next days and into weeks, my joints ached, and I suffered terrible withdrawals.

Only slightly I might understand those who go through withdrawals with other fixed habits when they attempt to quit cold turkey.

I made it through the entire year, and after the year, I began to allow coffee when out to a restaurant, or every now and then.  Mostly I drank tea.

One thing I desired was for coffee not to control me, and I still must watch that carefully.

Are there things in your life that are controlling YOU? One of our Bible professors once told us the secret to breaking a “Habit.” 

That was to simply DROP it to BREAK it.

That sounds like Cold Turkey to me!!

Turkey Squares
6 T butter, 6 T flour, 2 cups milk, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 4 cups finely chopped turkey,
1 cup soft bread crumbs or stuffing, ¼ cup finely chopped parsley. 1 small onion chopped 4 large eggs, salt and pepper to taste.

Make a white sauce of the butter, flour and milk and remove from heat, add the bouillon cubes and mash them up. Add the meat, bread, parsley and onion. Beat the eggs in, one at a time, stir in the seasonings. Place in an 8x8 baking dish and bake 45 min at 350.

This is a yummy way to use that left over turkey from Thanksgiving, so save this recipe for future use.

Show Me Yours’ and I will Show You Mine!

The message that Elijah gave to the prophets of Baal was clear! He challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest ! Each side would make a sacrifice to their God without building a fire. The strongest god would light the fire!

“Show my your God, and I will show you mine!” was Elijah’s strong message.

They danced! They yelled! They even cut themselves to get their god’s attention. They continued to do their “Thing,” until early in the evening, with no results! There was absolutely no fire in sight! The prophets of Baal were not able to call down fire from heaven.

When it was Elijah’s turn, he did one better! He instructed the men to dig a trench around his sacrifice. After that, he had them carry 12 barrels full of water and pour it over the sacrifice, soaking it extremely well. When all this was done, Elijah prayed a simple prayer,

1Kings 18:36 “And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word”

- - - and the fire fell! Not only was the sacrifice consumed, but along with it, all the water that had been poured into the ditch. When Elijah prayed, first the fire fell, and then came the much needed rain!

Now, wouldn’t it be lovely if we could see some of these types of miracles occur today . . . say, fire falling to devour our tightly held sacrifice of hurts and pain?

When we discover that our past has NOT been burned up by the fire of God, we still find ourselves hurting. Though we pray, scream, cry and clinch our teeth, our fists, and even our toes, there is no peace!

Is there any hope to conquer our fears and our dreaded memories? God waits for us to admit our own weakness and failure, so HE can show us His power.

Oh may I ask, Lord God, show me your face and I will show you mine!

This is my prayer today,

“Oh Holy Spirit of God, you who possess the Fire to burn away the chaff and all the misery that goes on in our thoughts and minds. I ask that you first wash us with Your Living Water, and then send the fire from above to bring us to nothing before you. As nothing, take us and re-create us to become a new person in You. May we be that one who stands bold and triumphant knowing we have now been placed INTO Christ? It is in Him we become more than a conqueror.

God, we ask that you totally burn up our weakness, and leave only the strength that is in YOU. Reduce to ashes our fears and our failures and raise up in us a person of courage with confidence, as You take our hand and lead us into Your eternal truth. May we walk and talk strong in the “power of Your might.”

They will know you by your Walk

Mother helped me stuff my blond hair into a black stocking cap to which she had attached a black long pig tail made from some old nylon stockings.

She had sewed me a black and red pajama type costume to wear for Halloween, so I could be dressed as a Chinaman.

I knew no one would recognize me even without a mask, for I was truly disguised.

At school the teacher pretended she did not know who I was, and the parade at school was all in fun.

Later that evening at it turned dark, it was time for trick or treat. Dressed in my costume, my identity truly hidden, off I went to collect my goodies for the evening.

Some of our neighbors were gathered at the end of our block as I approached. I smiled, because I knew they would not know who I was. One of them exclaimed, “Who is that?”

I was happy!

One of the other neighbors said with a loud voice, “That is Hazel, even in the dark, I know it is her, because I can tell it is her - - by her walk.”

Isn’t that the way it is in life? Friends, family and loved ones are watching the way you walk. That is by your spiritual walk, your lifestyle, and your action.

Always remember that to some of your friends, “You are the best Christian that they know.”

Can people tell that you are following Jesus, as they observe your walk?

Romans 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.


John 8:12 Jesus spoke again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Change is Good

Before we were married, my husband always took his dress shirts to the Chinese laundry where they were washed starched, ironed and tied nicely with a blue paper ribbon.

I told my new husband, I will wash and iron your shirts and we can save the money!

Setting up my new ironing board and getting the iron good and ready, I proceeded to iron his clean shirt. My new iron did not have a heat control like the current models do, so the first thing I did was to scorch his shirt really good.

Of course it was an accident, but my husband did not see it that way. He hastily grabbed his shirt, and told me in no uncertain terms, that the Chinese laundry was going to be an important part in our budget.

And so, it was for many years, his shirts went each week to the Chinese laundry.

That was until they invented wash and wear clothing and dryers that had wash and wear cycles. I hated to iron anyway, and by now I have even forgotten how ironing must be done.

In this case, “Change was good.”

Is there anything that you have ever said, “I must include this in my budget?” Maybe it is a habit or something that you enjoy for special treats? I will not go into the matter of addictions but they could be included here in someone’s budget.

Perhaps “A Change might be good.”

Swinging to the Spiritual budget, there are things that are important to include in your financial plan. First and foremost it is your giving to the Lord’s Work. Add to that contribution’s to missionaries, or your favorite organization. Can you afford not to give?

Hebrews 7:2 Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.

Then there are other items to include in your spiritual budget such as regular Bible reading and study, and a few minutes in prayer each day. Paul said he prayed without ceasing, and I believe he walked and talked with God all day as he went about his other tasks.

Good deeds and kindness to others should always be a part of your planning.  Volunteer workers are needed at your church, your hospital, and your school.

If you are not sure what to include in your “spiritual budget” ask the Lord to help you discover what will best fit into your design for serving Him.

I will add here, that some things in your “budget” are not for ever, and others are. If God is telling you to back off from your volunteer work and find another method to serve him, be open to making a change.

As they say, “Change is good.”

Tooth Fairies and Dreams

When our children were just beginning to loose their teeth, we showed them how to put their tooth under their pillow and to discover, what the next morning would bring in its place. Usually it was one penny for each year they were old.

In those days, we lived from pay check to pay check, when there was work. Saying that, you might understand that often after bills were paid, and a few groceries purchased, only a small amount of coins were left, if we were lucky.

One day a loose tooth was pulled, and happily placed under his pillow by our son. Now I was in a quandary, because it was one of those weeks I had mentioned before.

Not usually lost for ideas, I quickly arrived at a solution. The next morning, our son anxiously reached under his pillow to find nothing there. He came crying to me with his predicament. He was certain that the tooth fairy had forgotten him. I took his hand and walked with him back to his bedroom, and asked him if he had looked real good for his prize. He assured me that he had done so.

Well, I asked him, “Did you look under the bed?” He looked at me quizzically as he said, “No,” while he bent down to peer under his bed.

There to his surprise he spied six empty soda pop bottles, which was more than he expected in cash. I told him, “Maybe the tooth fairy had a bad week, and decided to have you turn in the bottles for your reward.” He was satisfied with my answer and was ready to submit his plunder to get his money back. Together we walked to the corner store to turn in his prize.

This time, our son had to wait for his expectation, and in a way, he also must work for it.

Many times in life, we look under our pillow (so to speak) and expect our dreams and ambitions to be fulfilled at once. We have it all figured out exactly what will be there when we lift our pillow.

May I warn you now, so you will not be surprised? You may not discover the exact answer you thought you were anticipating. Instead there may be a detour or another method of arriving at the prize you expected.

God does not always give us instant answers, and many times it is certainly not the solution that we wanted him to give us.

How wonderful it would be if we received $200 every time we passed GO, but life does not usually work that way.

Often, you must wait for His timing, and on other occasions, you must simply work for what you are reaching for.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights - -

Left Overs by Hazel

Do you ever consider yourself as a second choice? A cast off from the clearance rack? Or like left overs in the fridge from the day before?

It is so easy to think of ourselves of less worth and value than what we actually are. We stammer when asked a question, and turn red as we share in a class room situation.

Feelings of inadequacy are understood by me, for many similar thoughts raced through my mind as an elementary school student, when it was my turn to stand before the class and recite.

Finding a place to hide was uppermost in my mind.

The only thing that saved me was in knowing it would soon be over, and I could retreat to my spot and disappear again in the crowd.

The acclaimed author Joyce Meyer has said, in her book of the same title: “Do It Afraid.” To defeat your fear her recommendation was to do it afraid.

To me, that was excellent advice, so now when I speak, or write; it is without hesitation, and I go forward with an attitude of; “So what? Here goes anyway.” No fear!

If you find yourself with similar feelings of helplessness and fear of failure; just go ahead and do it afraid. March on, because someone needs to hear or read what you have to say!

Please find my contribution to the Food on Fridays Carnival at http://annkroeker.com/

Turkey Croquettes: An excellent method to use your Left Over Turkey

Make a white sauce from: 3 Tb butter, ¼ cup flour 1 cup milk.
Add to the cooked white sauce: ½ cup chopped onion, ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp celery salt, 1 Tb parsley, and 2 cups chopped cooked turkey, mixing well and chill.

In a separate pan, place 2 cups crushed or rolled soda crackers or crushed bread crumbs.

In another pan, beat 1 egg with 2 Tb milk.

Shape the meat mixture into 10 cone shaped croquettes and roll in crumbs then into egg mixture, then in crumbs again. Fry in deep fat 360 degrees until brown.

Trick or Treat

An empty pillow case was our container to collect our goodies as we trudged door to door in search of treasure that Halloween night.

The three of us kids were dressed for the occasion, and it was an evening of fun and delight.

The last house we ventured to, would not answer the door bell. Perhaps they did not hear us! Ringing the bell again did not bring a response. We peered inside the front window and could see a man sitting at his easy chair reading the newspaper. He ignored us completely.

My brother suggested that we should trick this household because they refused to treat us.

I had just enough meanness in me to agree to his idea. “What shall we do?” I asked my brother.

“Follow me,” he replied, as he started down the side of their house. There we discovered a fuse box and opening it, my brother pulled down a switch that turned off all the lights in the house. Darkness enveloped their abode, and my heart felt that darkness too!

Running away as fast as our legs would carry us, we arrived breathless at home. Nary was a word spoken, and we dared not share this event of trickery with mother.

Has anyone played tricks on you lately? There are times when the brightness in our life turns to shadows and darkness. Perhaps someone has pulled the switch or pressed the button, or you did it yourself. changing where there once was light, into gloom and night.

In times like these, I turn to my Bible to find solace, for I discover many others who were tricked, betrayed, and deceived but they refused to sit in their ashes of misery. David in the Bible, could find no one to encourage him, so he said these famous words, “I will encourage myself in the Lord.”

Jesus spoke and told us that He is the Light of the World, and those who follow him shall NOT walk in darkness. He was beaten, his closes friends were disloyal and yet, he forgave even his tormenters, and those who were ending his physical life.

The good news is that Jesus rose from the dead, and He now makes it possible for each of us, who will receive it, to enjoy His Light and Life within our very being.

Do not allow the temper to trick you by turning out your light, but instead turn to Jesus who brings His light onto your existence.

Trick or Treat? You decide!

Knock Knock – Who’s There?

As a very young house wife, with three small children, I was appallingly annoyed when door to door sales persons would arrive and knock on my door.

To add to that, I was also watching a forth child for my friend who worked, and I did not take kindly to interruptions.

One eventful day, two young men knocked on my door, and I hesitantly opened it to find them smiling, and seemingly happy to see me. They offered to enroll me in a free Bible course, and suggested that I might also want to purchase a nice Bible for an excellent price.

In those days, I was still learning how to be polite, but on that particular day, I decided I had to get rid of these gentlemen quickly. Honestly, I must admit that I was rude, and I told them I was not interested, and not to come back anymore. I quickly shut the door.

“Good riddance,” I whispered to myself.

Within a few seconds, a gentle knock was again at my door. I reluctantly opened the door to find these same gentlemen still standing there. One of them asked me if I had a Bible in the house. I snapped at him, “Yes I certainly did.” He then asked me to do him a favor after I closed the door, and to go and read a certain scripture. I promised that I would do that.

He handed me a scripture reference, written on a small slip of paper, and said, “Thank you and good by.”

Shutting the door, I found my Bible and opened to:

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Guilt, embarrassment, shame, remorse, self condemnation flooded over my soul, like waves dashing on the rocks below.

I knew those men were not angels, or were they?

Regardless, of who they were, I had not treated them civilly. I had been discourteous and bad-mannered.

Like a slap of cold water to my face, this was a simple lesson learned, to treat others, even sales persons with respect.

I now live in the woods, so no one knocks on my door, but I receive many telephone calls wanting me to do a survey or purchase something.

This is what I tell them; “I want to thank you for calling and giving me the opportunity to do this, but I must decline. Thank you again, and have a nice day.”

If it works for me it will work for you, and it will save you condemnation over slamming down the receiver!!

This story was entered in "One Word at a Time" tag Condemnation. Please check out this lovely site: http://www.bridgetchumbley.com/

Little Things That Make me Happy

Some silly little things still give me a thrill, for instance when I finally balance my check book, hurrah!!

Or observing the flowers I planted peek through, and begin to bud and bloom.

Working at my computer is of great satisfaction to me - - and to relax, I benefit from some of the online games, because they cause me to think and to exercise my mind.

Finding a genuine bargain, if at a local store, online, or at a yard sale is exciting to me.

I especially enjoy my dogs as they play, and they beg me to join in with a game of fetch.

My husband still enchantments me as I see him each day. He remains to me as the 20 year old man that I married 60 years ago, with only a few physical changes here and there.

A friend of mine has a list of over 100 things that bring her joy. From the sun rise, to the sun set, viewing the moon and the stars, and the first gentle rain. A babies smile, the smell of fresh bread baking. Her list goes on and on.

My mother would call this counting our blessings. Putting on paper the things that we are thankful for, that bring us a reason for happiness. It is also good to verbally share with others how much you love and appreciate them. Your voice of affection will cause them to be happy!

Happiness is a decision. We make a choice to find pleasure in all that we do and accomplish, even the chores of keeping a household together. Finding contentment and satisfaction in our work, rejoicing in our friends and family brings health to our bones!

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones.

If you have been guilty of complaining or grumbling about your daily activities, it would make life easier if you begin to view each day, as a blessing.

“This is the Day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Lest I forget, there is one more thing that delights and makes me happy, and that is when you lead a little child in the sinner’s prayer, and they receive Jesus into their heart.

Vicariously you experience their spark of new life and it is almost like you yourself are being born again at the same time as they encounter God.

Yes, serving Jesus makes me happy, and He brings me joy and pleasure in my day.

Psalms 144:15 Happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.