Good news--bad news--about baby carrots

Lorraine may be her own worst enemy?? I'm a BIG consumer of baby carrots. Read the email message I received from a friend. Thanks Nancy. Maybe my recent illness could be attributed to chlorine poisoning?!?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for IGA, METRO, LOBLAWS, etc.

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots. Most people probably know this already.

What you may not know and should know is the following: Once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in your pool). Since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine.

You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots, this is the chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic?

We do hope that this information can be passed on to as many people as possible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed. Chlorine is a very well known carcinogen.

Please let us make this information available to as many people as possible. If you care about your family and friends, pass it on.

Why Jesus Is Better Than Santa Claus

Friends are so gracious about sending messages that I would **never** have found on the Internet. Sincere thanks to Debbie for this one!! ~~ Thumbs up for Jesus; thumbs down for Santa!!
~~~~~~~~~



Why Jesus Is Better Than Santa Claus

* Santa lives at the North Pole - JESUS is everywhere.
* Santa rides in a sleigh - JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
* Santa comes but once a year - JESUS is an ever present help.
* Santa fills your stockings with goodies - JESUS supplies all your needs.
* Santa comes down your chimney uninvited .... JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart.

* You have to wait in line to see Santa ... JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
* Santa lets you sit on his lap - JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
* Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly - JESUS has a heart full of love.
* All Santa can offer is HO HO HO - JESUS offers health, help and hope.
* Santa says "You better not cry" - JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."
* Santa's little helpers make toys ... JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.

* Santa may make you chuckle but - JESUS gives you joy! that is your strength.
* While Santa puts gifts under your tree - JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

The Silent Monks

Please take a few minutes to enjoy The Silent Monks and their presentation of The Hallelujah Chorus.

Weather report: Orlando, Florida

My sympathy to friends and family that are experiencing snow and misery in their home states. "The South" has received an Arctic blast that has citrus farmers working around the clock to protect their orchards. Strawberry fields, and lettuce fields, are being covered in a effort to save the berries and produce. It's 42 degrees as I write this (5:55 PM). The weather forecasters say it will be 18 degrees at 7 AM tomorrow morning. The current temperatures are the coldest since 1989.

Last night we had cold, rain and wind. The patio lights rattled against the side of the T@B, due to the wind, and kept me awake. My TV antenna was on the ground this morning, with a broken base. It had been sitting on top of the electricity post.

The strangest thing happened last night: My two clocks that receive a signal from a satellite were grossly inaccurate this morning. When I checked, during the night, I recognized that they were wrong so didn't rely on them to get me out the door on time this morning. The weather, indubitably, but so curious.

Fortunately, gratefully, I'm warm with the little ceramic electric heater. Today I dressed sensibly in layers so did not suffer during my walk to and from work, or in the office.

~~~~~~~~~
Postscript, 12/14/10: I did not enjoy getting out of a warm bed (at 6:15), in a warm trailer, to hike over to the shower!! The thermometer--sitting on the picnic table--said 30 degrees (at 6:45)!! The TV weather forecasters were saying "Factor in the wind and it's in the teens." Twenty-six degrees at 7:20 (at the picnic table). I'm not complaining: Al Roker (NBC Today show) was reporting from Dunkirk, New York, (on the shores of Lake Erie) where it was 12 degrees!! (Read my blog regarding my visit to Dunkirk in May 2010.)

A horse of a different color !!

It's Sunday and my choice of worship is Family Radio. I'm repeatedly invited to accompany an RVing neighbor to their church. I explain that I don't attend the institutional church. "I listen to messages on a web site via the Internet and WiFi." Briefly I share that God my Heavenly Father has led me on a journey that opened my eyes to revelations not widely accepted by most denominations. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 14: 12)

Those of you who have followed my blog know that I'm a woman of faith and have traveled for months relying on God's itinerary. Many times, I didn't know where I'd be the next day or the next week. Other RVers couldn't grasp my lack of devotion to an established route. They had their plans well defined. ~~ Even as I write this, I don't expect everyone to understand. But, I feel led to share "where I'm coming from." I listen to a different drummer.

God is my pilot; He speaks to me!! (There was a time when people were institutionalized because they "heard voices.") At this writing I've been at Wycliffe in Orlando, Florida, for one month. ~~ Next week????

This specific sojourn started in New Brunswick, Canada, approximately three-and-one-half months ago. I watched whales jumping in the Bay of Fundy; I saw the ebb and flow of the highest tides in the world. I might have visited Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia but heard the Holy Spirit say "We're going to Escapade." My response: "Oh, I hadn't planned to go that far West. But, OK!!"

Indulge me, please, as I take you through the individual steps that ultimately brought me to Orlando. (1) At the Escapade, I visited with several groups that were recruiting volunteers: Sowers, Nomads, Doves, etc. Talking to the Sowers, I was told "We only take couples." A man walked up and was listening to the conversation. He said: "Wycliffe Associates takes singles." Within hours I had accessed the website and filled out the preliminary application. (2) Amazon(dot)com was another institution that was on-site recruiting Workampers. I listened to the presentation but did not make a commitment. (3) Quite frankly I believed I was being led to volunteer at the Galilean Children's Home in Liberty, Kentucky. That did not materialize (I was willing but not called).

(4) I was hired by Amazon(dot)com. While waiting two weeks to actually start work, I organized and reorganized. During that time I had such an intense desire to listen to Christian music and hear Christ-centered teaching!! Via WiFi and the Internet, I found Family Radio (programming I had listened to for over forty years, in California). I left Campbellsville--and potential employment with Amazon--when I learned I might be handling X-rated and pornographic items. (5) I kept praying for direction about where God wanted me. Should I go to Escapee's headquarters in Livingston, Texas, and volunteer at their CARE center? (6) I had a phone interview with Wycliffe Associates but was told there were no RV sites available in Orlando. Perhaps their location near Dallas, Texas, could accommodate me?! I continued to trust that God my Heavenly Father would reveal my volunteer destination. The call came on Wednesday, November 10, 2010.

(To digress for a moment: I'm now working in the recruiting department and see that it is a **MIRACLE** that I'm "here"!! The screening process is quite detailed but I did not provide the references they require. I didn't list a minister. I didn't specify years of work experience, and/or variety of jobs held during the years. In my humble opinion, God shortened the process and cut through the paperwork!! Thanks in-part to the recommendation of a dear Christian friend in Clayton, Ohio.)

If the reader will go back a short distance in the blog, you'll see that I have a campsite in the exceptionally nice Wycliffe Associates RV Park. I have an excellent WiFi signal!! I can listen, endlessly, to Family Radio. Yes, I'm back to the topic of my choice of medium for worship. I'm ultra conservative about the music I listen too. I don't like the contemporary music in many of the churches; I love the beautiful old hymns of faith. I prefer the King James Bible versus the modern translations.

In the six years since I left California, Family Radio has, by God's grace, been broadcasting Judgment Day of May 21, 2011. Disagree with me (that's OK) but I believe God my Heavenly Father wanted me to hear the message and prepare for the day when Jesus will return for the believers. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17) ~~ Question: Where would I be if I had not listened to "that still small voice" in New Brunswick??

Please see my blog Where will you spend eternity?

I'm not finished. Just as I was ready to hit the "publish" button, the Holy Spirit said "Tell them about your faith." ~~ There are large, beautiful motorhomes and 5th-wheel trailers parked near me. Some of my neighbors question how I can live in such a tiny trailer. Honestly, it isn't difficult to "live" in these tiny quarters. My needs are simple!! My desire is to live humbly and be counted as one of the five wise virgins with oil for [her] lamp when the Bridegroom [comes]. Read the parable in Matthew 25:1-13.

~~~~~~~~
Eight months ago today I drove away from Shelby, North Carolina. Eight thousand, seven hundred sixty-five (8765) miles. What a ride!! ~~ I praise God for keeping me and my vehicles safe!!
~~~~~~~~

Let's say THANKS to a member of the armed services

A dear friend, with a father that is a decorated veteran and was a POW, sent the following message. Perhaps you, too, would like to send a card to our military serving overseas.

~~~~~~~~~
XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a "thank you" card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq/Afghanistan. You can't pick out who get's it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them.

This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank yous.

Thanks for taking to time to support our military!
~~~~~~~~~

Burr, it's cold !!

Only three days ago I wrote: "I'm grateful for sunshine & warm weather!!" I started this blog at 9 o'clock and it was 36 degrees outside! The weatherman said "feels like 26 degrees." I haven't ventured outside!! I'm so thankful for the little electric heater. (I will be working until 8 or 8:30 tonight so won't start until noon.) The temperature may only reach 55 degrees today. ~~ It's very windy, but bright sunshine.

Did I hear a question? Staff in our department will be making phone calls so have to schedule our work hours later in the day. At mealtime we'll fellowship over pizza.

Speaking of phone calls: Via the phone and computer, I've been doing virtual travel. I mentally recall my last visit with grandchildren in Bend, Oregon. ~~ I reminisce the fellowship with a lifelong friend living in Eugene, Oregon. ~~ Ashland, Oregon, is where I visited maternal grandparents. ~~ San Francisco is where my third son was born. ~~ The list is long, the memories are precious!!