A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Scripture and a Snapshot - How Beautiful on the Mountains

How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace,

who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation,

who say to Zion,

"Your God reigns!"

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;

together they shout for joy.

When the LORD returns to Zion,

they will see it with their own eyes.

Burst into songs of joy together,

you ruins of Jerusalem,

for the LORD has comforted his people,

he has redeemed Jersualem.

The LORD will lay bare his holy arm

n the sight of all the nations,

and all the ends of the earth will see

the salvation of our God.

~Isaiah 52:7-10~

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Friday, March 8, 2024

Five Minute Friday - Dedicate

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

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I remember listening to the radio when I was a teenager and very often the DJ would play requests that a listener had dedicated to a loved one. Remember America's Top 40 with Casey Kasem? He did a regular segment that was called Long Distance Dedications. I wondered about the people who wrote a letter (snail mail!!) to AT40 telling their story and hoping that their dedication would be the one chosen. Did the AT40 team contact them and let them know when to listen for their feature? How disappointing would it be to make a long distance dedication and then NOT be listening the day it was on the air! If mine was being played, I'd want the person I was honoring to listen, and I might even have wanted to be prepared to hit the "record" button on my cassette player so I could save it to replay. (Who else remembers making "mix tapes" by recording songs from the radio? Spotify is the ultimate mix tape, am I right?) Sometimes the dedications were love songs, sometimes they were songs in memory of a loved one, and the stories ranged from heartwarming to heartbreaking.

My first gift and my last, to you

I dedicate this fascicle of songs -

The only wealth I have:

Just as they are, to you.

~from Dedication by Robert Louis Stevenson

The idea of dedicating music or writing to someone or something goes back thousands of years. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning dedicated poetry to each other. Many of Shakespeare's sonnets are declarations of love and devotion. A dedication is a common sight at the beginning of novels and in the notes of an album of music. J.S. Bach famously dedicated all his music with the letters SDG which stand for Soli Deo Gloria. Latin for "Glory to God Alone". Bach wanted to be clear that his music was intended to bring glory to God, not to himself or to the performers.

And of course, there is a dedication at the beginning of many of the Psalms. Psalm 30 has a specific title stating that it's a song for the dedication of the house. I don't think scholars know for sure, or agree, on what exactly this means, because the temple wasn't built until after David's death, though he was very involved in planning for it. Maybe it was meant for the dedication of David's house or for his family. Whatever the occasion, David's purpose is clear - he is pointing towards God and expressing his gratitude and praise for God and all he's done.

PSALM 30

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,

And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O LORD my God,

I cried to You for help, and You healed me.

O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;

You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,

And give thanks to His holy name.

For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for a lifetime;

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

I don't write poetry or music or novels, but living a life dedicated to bringing glory to God seems like the least I can do in gratitude for all he has done for me. I need a daily reminder though. Soli Deo Gloria.

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A long time ago, I made the commitment to dedicate at least one song per album to God. He has been very good to me, and never for one minute do I want Him to think I've forgotten, because I haven't. ~MC Hammer

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This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Dedicate".

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Thursday, March 7, 2024

Currently . . . March 7, 2024

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At the beginning of each month I've been participating in the "Currently" link-up hosted at Overflowing With Thankfulness. Our hostess Jennifer posts a set of action verb prompts for the month and writers respond. So, without further ado, here are this month's prompts and what's happening currently . . .

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Loving - Things I'm loving right now include:

Longer days and signs of spring. I love that I don't have to allow time to scrape the frost off my windows in the morning, and that it's not dark when I leave the house and return at the end of the workday.

I do enjoy the sunrise and sunset, even though it bugs me when I have to drive directly into a glaring sun low on the horizon, and it also bugs me when there's a gorgeous sunrise but I can't take a picture because I'm driving!

I got these morning and evening photos right outside our door recently.

Looking forward to - Hopefully getting my hair cut sometime very soon! In last month's Currently post I mentioned needing to change my hair and being overdue for a cut, and I still haven't been able to connect with my hairdresser, so the situation is getting dire. Haha.

Also looking forward to attending a hockey game next week, and hopefully a couple of birding walks on Saturdays coming up. And definitely looking forward to the kids coming to visit at the end of the month!

Planning - for the kids' visit? Not much active planning, since it's still weeks away, but we're putting some thought into what we want to do while they are here. And I have adjusted my work schedule so I can have at least a half day off.

I suppose we'd better start planning for our summer vacation soon!

Wearing - my usual jeans and t-shirts most of the time, and still usually wearing my shacket or a sweater. I find that I'm going back and forth between "yes I need the sweater on" and "I'm comfortable without the sweater" while at work! I've switched to my lighter weight spring jacket instead of my heavy leather coat. I'm not ready to switch my sneakers for flip-flops yet (and can't do that at work anyway) but the day is coming!

Eating - mostly very quick prep meals these days. I'm trying to do a better job meal planning so we both know what's for dinner on weeknights and whoever gets home first can kind of get things started. It doesn't always work, but it's going okay. On average, we eat out once every weekend.

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Here's a very abbreviated version of the Coffee Break Reading list . . .

Reading - currently reading these:

A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

Ticker by Lisa Mantchev

Wimpy Weak and Woke by John L. Cooper

More reading news and recent reviews are at Just A Second.

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Quotable (I've enjoyed hunting up little quotes to add to my Five Minute Friday posts, and I do a weekly Wednesday Quotes post based on interesting quotes, but I've still got such a collection that I have to keep sharing them!):

The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. ~Michel de Montaigne

As you get older and wiser you realize that when people are given anything without having to earn it (unless they are physically or mentally utterly incapable of earning anything), they become ungrateful and lazy. They also become less happy. ~Dennis Prager

There are people who can neither find happiness in their own lives nor permit those around them to be happy. The best you can do is get such people out of your life. ~Thomas Sowell

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Some fun things I've found during coffee breaks:

It's coming! And I hate it.

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What's currently happening in your life? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post will be linked at this month's edition of "Currently" hosted by Overflowing With Thankfulness.

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Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Wednesday Hodgepodge - A Collection of Thoughts

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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. Has March come in like a lion where you live? If not a lion then what animal would you use to describe the weather in your area this first week of March? Does the weather affect your emotions? When did you last feel 'under the weather'?

Not like a lion, but I'm not sure it's been like a lamb either. The easy answer would be that the weather is like a duck, but it really hasn't rained that much. I'm going with a turtle. We've had some rain but not overmuch, and the sun has been making some appearances and warming things up. So I picture it kind of like a turtle poking his head out of the shell while sunning on a rock, but ready to duck back inside when the rain comes.

The weather does affect my mood and emotions to a certain extent. I tend to feel sleepy and listless when the weather is gloomy. The last time I felt 'under the weather' was a bit over a month ago. I had an oral surgery procedure done and within a couple days after that I got bronchitis. Not a good week.

2. Do you know what your name means? Does the meaning of your name fit with your personality? Do you like your name? If you have children did you consider the meaning of their names before choosing them?

The basic meaning is Royalty. The English origin meaning of Kimberley is "from the meadow of the royal fortress". I've said before that my only claim to royalty is that I'm the Coffee Queen. But when I picked out this custom name meaning mug from CrossTimber for a review several years ago, I realized that I am, in fact, the daughter of the King of Kings! (See that review at Homeschool Coffee Break: Name Meaning Gifts from CrossTimber) I like my name, but I haven't always. I didn't like being one of about half a dozen Kims in my classes at school, so I decided when I was a teenager that I'd spell it with a Y instead. Funny that it doesn't change how it sounds, but it changed how I felt about it. Sort of like Anne with an E, I suppose. I did consider the meaning of the names I chose for my kids but that wasn't the primary reason. I just wanted to make sure I didn't name them something with an offensive or embarassing meaning! My daughter, Kennady, might argue that a bit, since one of the meanings of her name is "ugly head" and that is the nickname she uses in one of our family message groups! (We actually named her Kennady Anne because it sounds like the French pronunciation of Canadien, her dad's favorite hockey team and it's a nod to our home country too.)

3. It's National Sauce Month . . . what's your favorite sauce? Last thing you ate that used a sauce?

I love all the barbecue sauces! And Chick-Fil-A sauce too. Last thing I ate with sauce . . . we had pulled pork in barbecue sauce recently. I did put Chick-Fil-A sauce in my breakfast burrito on Sunday too.

4. Something you've seen, tasted, done lately that you'd describe as 'awesome sauce'?

Nothing is coming to mind, but that's because what does come to mind when I hear 'awesome sauce' is a family favorite dish that we call Waffles and Awesome Sauce (find the recipe at Homeschool Coffee Break). The Awesome Sauce is almost like a thin vanilla pudding that we use instead of syrup. So good!

waffles recipe

5. What kinds of things do you love to collect?

Books by my favorite authors, and of course - coffee mugs! Especially Tim Horton's mugs.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I've got nothing. I'm really tired and still need to put the laundry away, make coffee for the morning (I'm writing this on Tuesday night), and I have papers to finish grading. I wish I could do some of the things during my lunch break at work, but at this point I'm just using my break time to read. I've got a list of phone calls I need to start making during lunches though, maybe starting on Friday.

Weird coincidence related to the 'under the weather' question . . . My Twenty-Six Lists this week is "A Feel Better List". What we do to get ourselves feeling better when we're sick or just down. Add your thoughts to the linky if you'd like!

How did March come in where you live? What do you collect? 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, March 5, 2024

Twenty-Six Lists - Feel Better Soon

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Welcome to Twenty-Six Lists! I hope you'll join me in this simple link-up, where I share a writing prompt for some kind of list, and invite you to share what's on your list. Your list can be very simple or include lots of explanation; short or long; a bullet point list or essay style. Interpret the list prompts however you like, depending on how much time you have to spend, and how much background you'd like to share.

When you're feeling really down or under the weather, what are the things you do to feel better? Do you turn to comfort foods when you're a bit sick, or are there some little luxuries that are a treat to cheer you up? Your list can be anything that helps you feel physically better or cheers you up when you're sad, or both!

Here are some things that help me feel better when I feel yucky . . .

When I Don't Feel Well:

When I'm not feeling well, I just want to sleep! And I kind of want to be left alone so I can sleep. Even a ten minute nap is sometimes enough to get me recharged if I'm dragging or have the beginning of a headache.
Relax with a good book. If I am not sleeping, reading a good story helps get my mind off whatever is hurting, so if I'm achy or sick, I might alternate snoozing and reading to pass the time. I guess the exception would be if I have a headache.
I love a hot bubble bath to soothe aches and pains and help me relax. A hot bath can clear a stuffy head too. I like to relax in a bubble bath and read for a bit every now and again anyway, but if I'm feeling achy or sniffly, it's part of my feel better routine.
I'm all about the comfort food if I don't feel good. Basically I eat whatever appeals to me, and don't worry much about how healthy it is. After all, when I'm feeling sick, I don't have much appetite, so getting back to normal means eating what sounds good if I'm actually hungry.
Medicine when necessary. I'm not opposed to medicine, but I try time and rest and maybe something in the line of a natural remedy before heading to the medicine cabinet. I do have GERD, and this past year confirmed that I have some gallbladder problems and a small hernia, so I have my share of heartburn and stomach upsets to cope with. I take a daily prescription medicine, but I also have learned what foods to limit and to limit when I eat, and keep it under control that way.

When I Feel Really Down:

Fresh air and flowers. Although I'm not really an outdoorsy person, I know it's good for me to get outside for even a short walk to the mailbox. If the weather is okay, maybe opening a window to get some fresh air. I wish I could go sit on the porch for a bit, but that's not an option here. A few years ago I realized how happy it made me to have a vase of flowers in my dining room, so I decided that I was going to make that a habit. So I almost always have some kind of fresh flowers in the dining room. Spending a few bucks on a cheap bouquet every week or two has been totally worth it. Last year when I was really struggling, I made sure to have my flowers in the dining room, and sometimes had to force myself to go outside for a walk. I didn't feel always feel like it, but it was what I needed for mental and emotional health.
Someone to talk to. Loneliness is a real bummer. I believe we all need a good friend to talk to, whether it's a serious talk to work through what's on our hearts and minds or just catching up and having a good laugh over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. When there's no one to sit in the same room with, isn't it great that we have the ability to call someone? Being able to phone my mom, my daughter, and good friends from time to time has saved me from total isolation and despair.
Scripture and prayer. I am listing it last, but obviously it's the most important. Reading the Bible every day and talking to God about anything and everything that hurts my heart - if I don't do those things, nothing else would make much difference.

What makes you feel better? Please share.

The link-up is open for two weeks, with a new prompt every other Tuesday.

If you'd like to think further ahead, you can find the list of all prompts for the 2024 Edition of Twenty-Six Lists on A Fresh Cup of Coffee here: Twenty-Six Lists - Accomplishments and Goals

Bonus List: The next few list prompts so you can think ahead!

March 19 - My Lucky Days

April 2 - Favorite Candies and Sweet Treats

April 16 - Favorite Childhood TV/Games

April 30 - Flowers

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Monday, March 4, 2024

WQ - Collecting Memorabilia

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I'm participating in the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write. I had great plans for getting this written up several days ago but, as so often happens in my world, I got busy with a bunch of other things. Besides, I really wasn't all that sure what I'd write about. The prompt is Memorabilia, as Things that Inspire.

When stumped on a prompt, sometimes a definition helps. Memorabilia is defined as "objects kept or collected because of their historical interest, especially those associated with memorable people or events". So . . . souvenirs, keepsakes, antiques, family heirlooms, and basically anything you'd see at a museum, I guess.

At first, I thought I probably haven't got much in the way of memorabilia around my house these days. After all, I tried to pare things down when we moved and not bring clutter. I used to keep a lot of memorabilia - concert ticket stubs, sports event programs, yearbooks, souvenirs, Coca-Cola collectibles, and all sorts of odds and ends that reminded me of interesting places and events.

I used to keep the ticket stubs for every concert and every hockey game, and who knows what else. I think the only ones I still have now are these from the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988. And honestly? I'm not sure where they are at the moment - in a photo album, I think.

Not only did we attend a few events, I was in a mass choir that sang in the Olympic Arts Festival and in the Opening Ceremonies. (These photos are from a coffee table book about the Calgary games. I added an arrow showing my approximate position in the choir!)

And I have this nice sweater . . . that is a couple of sizes too small for me now. But I've kept it, as well as that black wool robe, because it's really cool memorabilia.

My life is cluttered with the most wonderful memorabilia. And wonderful creative experiences. ~George Stevens

History nowadays is recorded in memorabilia. If you can't purchase a shopping bag that alludes to something, people won't believe it ever happened. ~Elizabeth McCracken

My husband and I started collecting Coca-Cola memorabilia right at the beginning of our relationship, It was a fun hobby, but we made the mistake of not limiting our collection to just one type of object. If we'd decided we were only going to collect trays or glasses or signs, that would have been smart. As it was we wound up with a wide-ranging eclectic collection that quickly outgrew our ability to display it to advantage. We decorated several rooms with Coca-Cola pieces and our entire kitchen and dining room was Coca-Cola themed, but we had so much that it didn't have meaning any more, and we started paring down. If we couldn't enjoy having it by using it or displaying it, maybe we didn't need it.

I have stuff from 1979, 1980 in my collection. But I also have things from 2012. So I don't know if it's memorabilia as much as it is holding on to things that I find relevant that most people might not. ~Ian MacKaye

One collection of items I still have that I consider memorabilia is my coffee cups. Oddly, I had a lot of Coca-Cola coffee cups! But I also started collecting the Tim Horton's coffee mugs that came out at Christmas, and the family knew that was a gift that I would really appreciate. I also picked out coffee cups as my souvenir of choice a few times, and we have some coffee cups showing off our favorite sports teams. I like Starbucks mugs too. This is memorabilia that is useful, although my husband insists that I have too many coffee mugs. (He is wrong. 😉)

Mugs with Frank Lloyd Wright artwork

Calgary Olympics memorabilia mug!

My Tim Horton's chalkboard mug for
Back to School 2017, with my husband's
reaction! I haven't stopped, but I've cut back.

As I was rambling through this post, I realized we don't even have ticket stubs for sporting events and concerts any more, because our tickets are all on our phones. But we do have the photos, and sometimes the t-shirt! And concert experiences would be a whole post of its own. I was thinking about it because two of the best concert experiences I've had were seeing Twenty One Pilots with my daughter and her friends, and a couple days ago they released a new single. A new album is coming out soon, and that means there will be a tour, and I assume my daughter and I will go. What will it look like this time? What memorabilia will we have to remember it?

I don't collect any memorabilia. I wish I'd have kept everything I had. But who knew you had to keep it. Just gave it away. And we lost so much and we didn't look after a lot of it. ~Ringo Starr

Wednesday Quotes 2024 is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #162: Things/Memorabilia/Month-End Review

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Sunday, March 3, 2024

Scripture and a Snapshot - Ask the Animals

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;

or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

or let the fish in the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

In his hand is the life of every creature

and the breath of all mankind."

"To God belong wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are his."

~Job 12:7-10, 13~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments, and at Selah hosted by A Spirit of Simplicity.

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