A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Scripture and a Snapshot - Have Compassion On Us

Who is a God like you,

who pardons sin and forgives the transgression

of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry forever

but delight to show mercy.

You will again have compassion on us;

you will tread our sins underfoot

and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

~Micah 7:18-19~

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Wednesday, October 23, 2024

A Healthy Habits Hodgepodge

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Monday was National Apple Day . . . did you eat an apple or enjoy something made with apples on Monday? Do you like apples? Do you prefer your apples raw, baked, or in cider? Do you have a favorite variety of apple?

I don't think I had anything with apples on Monday but I have had applesauce in my lunch at work. It was either Monday or yesterday. I like apples but they're not my favorite to eat out of hand. I prefer them in applesauce, apple butter, or apple cider. Or baked or fried. But I do have a favorite for eating raw and on its own - Sweetango. I'm not sure we have them available in Ohio, but we used to get them in Maryland. Grown in Delaware, I believe.

2. Do you think there's any truth to the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away.' Of the following healthy habits which do you find easiest to incorporate into your life and which is the most difficult for you to adopt -

adequate sleep, a balanced diet, plenty of water, eat breakfast, don't smoke, exercise, limit alcohol, include fruits and vegetables in your diet, manage stress, limit screen time

I think of that saying in terms of making healthy choices each day will mean fewer illnesses and occasions to need a doctor, so yes I think there's quite a bit of truth to it. Of the healthy habits listed, I find it very easy to not smoke since I gave that habit up decades ago. Drinking plenty of water is pretty easy for me too. Getting enough sleep and limiting screen time are the two that I think are hardest for me these days.

3. Who taught you how to drive? Do you enjoy driving? Would you rather be the driver or the passenger? Do you have a favorite scenic drive near you?

My husband - or to be accurate, my boyfriend at the time - taught me a lot, but I also took a driver's course through AAA. I was married before I got my license because I had been so terrified to drive when I was a teenager! Although I rather enjoy driving now, I would still prefer to be the passenger most of the time. I can't think of any specific scenic drives near us, but know of a lot in the area of Maryland where we lived.

4. What small habit has had a big impact on your life?

I'm having a hard time thinking of one. I mean, my coffee habit is part of my personality and my brand, isn't it? So in that sense, it's had an impact, but I'd call it a big habit. A small habit that I'd say has made a difference is having my Bible open to whatever passage is being preached and almost always taking some kind of notes during sermons. Even if I don't look back at those notes, the very act of writing things down helps me remember them.

5. Tell us about something nice that happened to you recently.

On the weekend we were in Ontario mainly for a high school reunion type of event for my husband. But we were able to get together with friends we hadn't seen for awhile, and that was really nice. We had lunch with friends we hadn't seen in several years and enjoyed their hospitality and catching up with them. The couple we went to the reunion with also had us over for dinner and we greatly appreciated their hospitality and the time spent with them as well.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Every trip to Canada includes stops at Tim Hortons (which is open until 10 or 11pm in Canada) and Canadian Tire. Not for tires, but for hockey sticks.

What are your healthiest habits? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Everyday Images #47

Welcome to another installment of my challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I find that I notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases that I'm focusing on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week. These were the prompts I assigned myself for the past couple weeks:

October Prompts - Everyday Images #47

~~~~~

at home (monthly)

at work (quarterly)

gold

dessert

leaf

travel

~~~~~

at home (monthly)

at work (quarterly)

gold - I'm stretching a bit here, but the leaves on this tree definitely had a gold tint.

dessert - butter tarts! My favorite!

leaf - I got a couple photos of trees but realized I didn't get any that were a close-up of a leaf, so here's the Canadian maple leaf on my Tim Horton's coffee.

travel - the border between Canada and the USA is marked by a lamp post on the bridge at Niagara Falls

A few more bonus photos:

These guys were very friendly and were good salesmen, but we were in line for the bridge to the US side, so we didn't take them up on their pitch. But also, I don't know what an "entarenge" is and we had a good laugh at that.

One of our visits with good friends that go way back.

I am sharing my photos every other Tuesday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

Everyday Images continues in 2024, every other Tuesday. And on the alternate Tuesdays, I'm hosting the Twenty-Six Lists link-up. I'd love to have you join me for that too!

October/November Prompts - Everyday Images #48

~~~~~

yard (quarterly)

harvest

spooky

vintage

web

inside and/or outside

~~~~~

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Sunday, October 20, 2024

Scripture and a Snapshot - Inheritance

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgivness of sins.

~Colossians 1:9-14~

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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

A Nutty Wednesday Hodgepodge

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. How did you meet your significant other? If you don't have a significant other, tell us how you met your best friend.

My hubby and I met at college in Manitoba. He was a second year student from Ontario and I was a first year student from Alberta. It was a small Bible college so after the first couple weeks you knew almost everyone by name. We had some mutual friends, and we started going out for coffee with a few other people, and it soon was just four of us, and then it was just the two of us . . .

2. It's Department Store Day (October 16) . . . do you still shop in department stores? If not do you miss that kind of shopping experience? Do you have a favorite department store? Any fun memories of department store shopping when you were a child?

I rarely shop in department stores any more. I feel like there's not many around, and those I can think of have greatly reduced the number of 'departments' they have and are primarily clothing OR home goods stores. Macy's, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor - mostly clothing, right? Is Kohl's a department store? I do shop there on occasion. There's a regional department store called Boscov's in Maryland and Pennsylvania and that one is my favorite. I usually shop there when we're in Maryland for a visit. I can't say that I greatly miss the department store experience, except when Christmas shopping. That was when the department stores pulled out all the stops with decorating and you could shop your whole list at one store. Or at least a good portion of it!

The two big department store chains in Canada when I was growing up were The Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) and Eaton's and by the time I was a teen I loved both of them. There was a smaller department store called Woodward's and it had a restaurant inside it. It seemed like a really large restaurant to me. I remember it being a real treat to go shopping with Mom at the Woodward's and get lunch or coffee at the restaurant. I have no idea what we even shopped for! But I can still picture that restaurant in all its mid-70s glamour!

3. Something you're currently nuts about?

Coffee, which isn't unusual. But my current favorites are flavored coffees that are a store brand, and that is a little unusual. Frederik's is the Meijer store brand, and we really like their Mackinac Island Fudge coffee and the Michigan Cherry coffee. It came to mind because the Michigan Cherry one smells and tastes like almonds or amaretto. It's really good.

4. What's your favorite nut and is there a favorite recipe where this nut is used?

Cashews are a clear favorite although maybe they aren't technically a nut. They're with the peanuts (which are also not technically nuts) in the "Mixed Nuts" so I say they count. I also like macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. I can't really think of a recipe that uses cashews, - maybe the chewy granola type bars that feature cashews? I love those.

5. On Wednesday we officially reach the '70 days until Christmas' mark. Have you purchased any gifts? If you don't celebrate Christmas then how about Hanukkah presents?

Oh no, I haven't purchased any gifts at all! I'm no good at planning ahead for Christmas gifts any more. At least I have a few ideas but that's about as far as I've gone with gifts for the upcoming season.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This is a busy week and I'm headed into a busy weekend too.Yesterday we went to the home opener for the Blue Jackets, and they did a special tribute to one of their star players, Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in a tragic accident in the summer. (He and his brother were struck by an allegedly drunk driver, on the day before their sister's wedding. In addition to the great tributes paid to Johnny Hockey, there were several reminders to fans to always drive responsibly and to never drink and drive.) It was a really good hockey game too, but unfortunately we didn't get the win.

So that was yesterday. Monday was full, as usual, between work and chorus. Tonight we have our usual church activity. Tomorrow we are headed out of town as soon after work as possible - going to visit my husband's sister and attend a high school reunion type event on the weekend. And we will also meet up with my Mom and Dad who are coming back with us for a couple weeks! So with all of that going on, I'll probably have a bigger challenge than usual in visiting and commenting on other blogs, but I'll do my best!

Speaking of commenting, I'd love to stop by and comment on your contribution to this week's Wednesday Quotes link-up. You can find my post here: WQ - Celebrating the Harvest

What are you busy with this week? Did you answer the Hodgepodge questions? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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