Can We Talk About It?

Barney Fife: Yes, sir, that's one subject you just can't talk enough about... SIN.

I've seen a number of articles about "Progressive Christianity" and touched on it briefly here. This seems to be an epidemic not only in our country, but around the world. I'm not a theologian, but it is my opinion that this has little to do with real Christianity, and is more a religion of modern culture.

The more progressive churches seem leave out anything regarding salvation and, dare we even say it, sin. I would say that sin is alive and flourishing in the world and more importantly, in the church. Here is a link to a recent article in PJ Media, entitled Progressive Christianity Watch: Preaching Anything but the Gospel.

Here are a few quotes:

"I'm a pastor. Of course I believe in healing brokenness, but you will never hear about shame, judgment, or even sin at this church."

"I'm a pastor. Of course I believe we should be exactly as God designed us to be, which means that queer lives are worthy, divine, beloved, and acceptable exactly as they are. No exceptions." 

Here is the video so you can watch for yourself.

So what do you make of a Christian church that refuses to talk about sin?

According to research, the word "sin" appears in the Bible approximately 427 times in the King James Version (KJV), based on data from Bible concordances and word studies available on the web. 

To me that indicates that it is pretty important that sin is discussed and preached on in church. Apparently for progressive pastors that is just too uncomfortable a topic, and who wants to make their congregation uncomfortable?

Let me know if this is happening in your church and how you plan to handle it. Stay and stand up or leave for a more Bible-based church? Feel free to chime in with your thoughts in the comments. 

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

When Your Stainless Steel Isn't Shiny

Hello Friends,

We're still in the kitchen today, and I have a cleaning tip for you. 

Many of us cook with stainless steel everyday, and we all thought this is supposed to be stainless, right? 

Usually, but have you ever cooked starchy foods such as pasta, rice or potatoes, then tossed your pot into the dishwasher only to have it come out with a white film on the bottom? You can't wipe it off, and you wash it again only to have the bloom, as I call it, come back as soon as it's dry.

I accidentally stumbled upon the solution, and it is very simple indeed. You have a jug of white vinegar don't you? Pour in just enough to barely cover the bottom of your pot and let it sit for a few minutes. Rinse or wash to get rid of the vinegar smell and dry. Your pot will sparkle like new.

How did I discover this? I was tired of washing and rewashing trying to get rid of the bloom, so I sprayed it with my counter cleaner, which consists mainly of vinegar. Voila! I have also noted that cooking something with tomato sauce will result in sparkling pots, so I expect it is the acid that does the trick.

Let me know if you have tried this and if it worked for you.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Instant Pot Eggs

 Hello Friends,

We're switching things up today, and I'm going to share with you my new best way to boil eggs. For years, I did it this way, and it worked great. 

But now I use my Instant Pot and make the best "boiled" eggs ever, at least in my opinion.

Plug in your Instant Pot and insert a steamer basket if you have one. If you don't, there should be a rack that came with the pot. Add your eggs and one cup of water. Then set the pressure to high (I always use high for everything) and set the timer for 5 minutes. When the pot beeps to signal they are done, then set a timer for 5 more minutes.

After that, release the remaining pressure - there shouldn't be much. Remove the eggs and place them into a pot with a lid. Add cold water and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Drain the water, replace the lid and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Unless you started with really fresh eggs, which naturally are more difficult to peel, these should just about slide out of their shells.

If you note the picture above, one did actually shell itself.

I hope today's post finds you well, and gives you an alternative for boiling eggs.

For Mom's on Mother's Day

Whenever I see a lost person and think, "There but for the grace of God, go I," I realize that the grace of God was my mom. - Robert Brault

Moms do so much more for us that we realize, way beyond fixing our meals and patching up our boo-boos. They put us on the right path with their advice, wisdom and prayers.  I truly appreciate this.

Happy Mothers Day, Mom!

If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Ever Heard Of Atrazine?

Subtitled: What's in your water?

Atrazine is a pesticide that can be found in your drinking water. Typically this occurs from run-off where the contaminated water works it's way into the ground water. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was interviewed on Joe Rogan's podcast and it was reported in a video clip that Atrazine was found in Texas drinking water in 2018.

Here is a quote from Kennedy's interview about an experiment that was done, I am assuming, as a test for "safety".

“Probably the most disturbing endocrine disruptor, and this is something we should all be looking at, is atrazine. What is atrazine? It's in the water. It's a it's a pesticide.

They took atrazine, and they put it in a tank with 40 frogs. They put it BELOW the exposure levels that EPA considers acceptable to humans. 

They were all male frogs 

- 30 of those frogs were chemically castrated 

- 4 of them TURNED INTO FEMALES and produced fertile eggs 

Toxic herbicide found in drinking water — we're subjecting our children to exposure to that every day.”

You know, what does this do to sexual development in children?

 Nobody knows but we know what it does to frogs.”

Now, I don't know how long this experiment took, but for a chemical found in drinking water to turn a male frog into a female frog is some serious stuff. It sounds like something from a science fiction novel, but it has been well documented...for years.

Alex Jones brought this to light back in 2015 on his show, and was labeled a quack, which is interesting because there have been studies done at least as far back as 2011.

So why is this still in drinking water? If you are interested in this, please click the link above and read through the comments. This is REAL.

Here is a more scientific look at the frog study.

More about where you might find Atrazine in the water supply.

"Several states have reported atrazine contamination in their water supplies, exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) legal limit of 3 parts per billion (ppb). Texas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois are among the states where water utilities have reported atrazine spikes higher than the federal legal limit." Full article here.

If you want to know what's in your water, click this link.

Note: If you research Atrazine, you will find that is an herbicide. Herbicides are a subcategory of pesticides.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.