I'm Eating What?

          I saw a related article to this one a few months ago. When I saw it again I decided to share it here. We really need to know these things. They're not things we want to know,that's for sure. But, it's necessary. I'm sure you'll agree after you read this and the other linked articles. Make sure you watch the video too. I found it interesting and appalling at the same time.
         This is the direct link to the article below.....
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/seven-million-tons-8220-pink-slime-8221-beef-180500764.html 
         
Seven Million Pounds of “Pink Slime” Beef Destined for National School Lunch Program

By Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger | Healthy Living – 7 hours ago

• Email

"pink slime" burger?McDonald's and Taco Bell have banned it, but now the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is buying 7 million pounds of beef containing ammonium hydroxide-treated ground connective tissue and meat scraps and serving it up to America's school kids. If you thought cafeteria food was gross before….

Related: What You Need to Know About the New Meat and Poultry Labels

According to TheDaily.com, the term "pink slime" was coined by microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein, formerly of the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service. He first saw it being mixed into burger meat when he was touring a Beef Products Inc (BPI) facility in 2002 after an outbreak of salmonella. "Scientists in D.C. were pressured to approve this stuff with minimal safety approval," Zirnstein told The Daily.

"Pink slime," which is officially called "Lean Beef Trimmings," is banned for human consumption in the United Kingdom. It is commonly used in dog and chicken food. Celebrity chef and safe food advocate Jamie Oliver featured the substance and called for its ban on the April 12, 2011 episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which may have influenced McDonald's to stop using beef patties containing the filler.

Reportedly, Zirnstein and his colleague Carl Custer studied the substance and classified it as a "high risk product." Custer, who worked at the Food Safety Inspection service for 35 years, says, "We looked at the product and we objected to it because it used connective tissues instead of muscle. It was simply not nutritionally equivalent [to ground beef]. My main objection was that it was not meat."

Another issue is the ammonium hydroxide, a chemical that is used to kill pathogens such as E. coli. The FDA considers it safe for human consumption but a 2009 expose by the New York Timesquestioned its safety and efficacy. Some food advocates are asking for meat containing "pink slime" to be labeled. It's used in about 70% of ground beef in the US. "We don't know which districts are receiving what meat, and this meat isn't labeled to show pink slime. They don't have to under federal law," Bettina Siegal, a writer and mother of two who created TheLunchTray.com told NBC. Siegel has started a petition to demand the USDA stop using the product in the National School Lunch Program.

Would you allow your kids to eat ground beef mixed with "pink slime?" Let us know in the comments below. 

McDonald's won't allow "pink slime" in its beef

Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.

It's Just About Spring Time!!

       I am so glad winter is just about over! Now, if we get a snow storm after I've said that don't look at me ok? This winter has been so tame. I keep looking over my shoulder waiting for that snow storm. Today we were in the 60's. WoooHooo. Tomorrow more of the same.                             

         Despite the cold I have I went out there anyway and started planning a new spot of the yard. When it's done I'll post pictures and pictures of the progression of growth through the season. I can see it already!

        Here is a great,cheap way to get started even if it's still snowing in your area. Or if we do get that March snow storm. You can adapt this and plant vegetables instead of flowers.

              http://www.gardengatenotes.com/2012/01/03/sowing-seeds-in-milk-jugs/  

Willy's Victory

        Here's something that Ashleigh shared in an email. I asked her for  permission to share it here. To see her original post...

                                              http://fromacorntooak.blogspot.com/2012/03/willys-victory.html 

Thank you again, Ashleigh for letting me share this great story.

  Willy's Victory 

Years ago I read a story that made a deep impression on me and I also want to tell it to you.

Willy was a young boy of fourteen years old.  His father had been killed in the war and his mother was a weak, sickly woman who died of her heart as a result of the shock when she heard of her husband's death.

Willy stayed behind alone and he did not know where to go.  One of the chief officers in the Army was a friend of the family and he invited Willy to join his regiment.  Willy's job was to make shine the buttons of the officer's uniforms and polish the shoes.  In the band he also was the drum player.

In spite of the fact that Willy was still a young boy, he had already made a decision to be an honest Christian.  He slept in a tent with three other soldiers.  They were very careless and swore and drank a lot, especially one of the three named Jim.  Willy felt very sorry for him and often talked nicely to him when he had sworn so much.  Usually Jim laughed at him and sometimes gave him a slap.

Next time Willy tried again to let his light shine, but Jim accepted nothing.  "Imagine that I should believe such a silly story that someone died for me on the cross"  and ha-ha-ha Jim laughed.  That night someone caused a lot of damage in the camp.

The next morning the soldiers had to appear before the Chief Officer.  "Are you guilty?" the chief officer asked everyone.  One after the other answered "no" and passed.  At last it was Jim's turn.  Willy knew that Jim was the guilty one, and wondered what he was going to do.  "Are you guilty?" the chief officer asked and Jim answered: "No Sir, I know nothing of the whole business!"

Willy was surprised that someone could tell such a lie, but he kept quiet.  Thin and pale he stood there and looked at everything.  He was a very weak and sickly young boy.  The Chief Officer was desperate: " Nobody admits, who will step forward to be punished?" he asked.  All was silent.  Again he tried: "If somebody does not come now to get punished, I'm going to punish everyone."

Suddenly Willy got an idea: Jim has never wanted to believe that Jesus Christ bore the punishment of his sins on the cross.  Today he has the opportunity to show Jim a slight picture thereof.  Quickly he stepped forward and stood right in front of the Chief Officer.

"And what do you want?" asked the chief officer. "Sir" said the thin boy, "I come to bear the punishment."

"But Willy," the chief officer said quite embarrassed, "I'm sure that you are not guilty!  You are indeed an example of faithfulness and honesty to all of us."

"Yes Sir, but that doesn't matter now," said Willy. "You have just said that if somebody does not come to bear the punishment, then you are going to punish everyone, and now I have come to bear it, then everybody else is free!"

"But Willy.....," and the Chief Officer still wanted to argue but Willy was already taking off his big jacket, one he had received from one of the Soldiers to keep him warm.  He stood there with his naked back; he did not even own a shirt.

"No Willy" (the chief officer told the story himself and said he hadn't been in such big trouble before) but Willy just said: "I'm ready, the others can go free!"  The person that usually gave the punishment stepped forward with his cruel cane.  Now everything was deathly still and tense.  The soldiers looked as if they could not move.  The first lash fell, the second one - the thin face became deathly pale - the third lash - and suddenly they heard a swear, a cry and a sob, and the next moment Jim jumped forward and grabbed Willy in his arms.

"I'm the guilty one" he cried, "do not lash this child any longer, lash me," and he bent to receive the next lash.

"Oh no, Jim" it came softly over Willy's pale lips, "they may not lash you, I bore your punishment," and he fainted in the Chief Officer's arms.  They carried Willy to the Hospital tent where the doctor tried everything in his power to save his life, but he was too weak.  As the sun's last rays died away, Jim slipped quietly into the tent.  He knelt before the bed and took the small cold hand in his big, rough hand. "Willy, Willy why did you do it; you surely knew that I was guilty!"  Willy opened his dying eyes for the last time and said: "Jim, I just wanted to help you understand what Jesus did for you on the cross!"  and he blew out his last breath.

Jim cried aloud like a small child.  Jim, the godless hard-hearted Jim!  He pressed Willy's eyes shut and said: "Willy, Jesus Christ died for my sins, and you died for my sin, and by His grace I promise to go to heaven one day and thank Him and you for ever for what He and you did for me!" After this experience Jim had been one of the best soldiers in the Chief Officer's army until the day he died.

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes inHim, should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Now read you own name in the place of the underlined words (the world, and whosoever). 

Love: Dennis Hugo

Be Encouraged

        My dear friend Lisa sends me good stuff all the time in her emails. I decided to start sharing some of them. I added some scripture at the bottom. Hope you enjoy.

God is with you, for you,
Behind you, and ahead of you.
And even if you lose your way for a bit,
even if you grow weary,
even if you don't know which direction
to go at times,
His purposes will prevail.

For the LORD your God [is] he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you .

Deut.20:4

From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah  Psalms 61:2-4

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  

Isaiah 40:29-31

My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. 

Psalms 119:50

God's Wisdom!

       Greetings on this dreary Saturday! Rain,rain,no sun, rain,rain,rain...you get the picture. hahaha

 I'm so glad I went through my emails earlier than later today. It helps to get a little perspective on these non-sunny days.

      One of the Yahoo Groups I'm a part of has "Scripture Saturdays". We share each week what scripture has touched us that week. Isn't that a great idea? After responding to the email this morning I thought I'd share a little more here. The scripture this week that spoke to me the most is...

      2 Timothy 3:16-17 (New Century Version)

 "All Scripture is given by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults,and for teaching how to live right. Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be capable, having all that is needed to do every good work."

     2 Timothy 3: 16-17 (Amplified Version)

  " Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction,for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), 

     So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work."

       Reading this scripture is like me flipping through a mental scrapbook. It reminds me of the many times God has directed my steps,keeping me on the straight and narrow. Times where He's given me clarity of vision when I was surrounded by clouds of uncertainty and doubt. I love what Jesus says in Matthew 7:7-8,"Ask, and God will give to you. Search,and you will find. Knock,and the door will open for you. Yes,everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And everyone who knocks will have the door opened."

       So many times in my life I have sincerely come before God's face and asked Him for direction. It has been at times when I've been faced with new areas in my life. The only thing that matters at those times is that I do the right thing. Especially since I have no idea what I'm doing! At those times you feel as though you're in a wilderness,doesn't it?

    

    "To change and to change for the better are two different things".-German Proverb

        I hope to always learn and change guided by the Holy Spirit. When I see all the things that are in the Bible for us I am in awe. I'm struck with how much He loves us completely. The more I fall in love with Jesus. Along with the natural feeling of inadequacy when comparing myself to God's holiness and goodness.

        As long as I continue to come before God asking for His wisdom and direction and being willing to follow I will always be provided and cared for!

     

God's Will And His Knowledge

                  Hey Ladies! You know how every so often you get blessed and want to pass it on? 

             This is one of those times. I read an email the other day that I had to share with you all. I asked for permission to share it here and Clevsea was gracious as always and granted it. If you are blessed by this like I was you can go to her blog and leave her a comment. I will not add a thing to her writing, I even used her title. Here it is....

This just popped out of me yesterday and perhaps it will help someone here:

Today I was walking alongside a beautiful creek which is swollen with winter rains.

I paused at the edge and was taken by how clearly I could see the bottom with all of its rocks and sand.

I strained my eyes to see up stream and could not really see much at all. What struck me is that the clarity of the water was only effective for the area right there in front of me. Right where I was.

The clarity was not possible 50 feet away. In fact there was no other clarity than what was right in front of me due to the reflection of light on the current of the water.

As I looked at all the other water passing there was only one part of it I could see. That was the surface. How ironic that life is like that. We often only see the surface of things and cannot not perceive the deeper parts.

The deep parts are there---it's us that can't see ---unless we pause and truly look.

I also noticed that the creek had a bend up ahead and I could not see around that. The Lord can, I cannot. I can only see what I need to see, what I need to know.

As I continued to walk I came to other parts of the creek that were clear and all the details were revealed when I again paused and looked.

As I crossed over the creek I thought about how I was once smaller than one droplet of water. That is all the bigger I was at one point.

 What does a droplet know? Does it know much about the rest of the creek? Does it perceive that it's on its way to the ocean? Has it heard of the ocean? Why would I ask a droplet about the ocean? I would not and neither would you.

 When we have questions and we are seeking direction we often turn to our fellow droplets and ask them for wisdom. That may or may not be helpful. But if a droplet were able to access all the oceans, and all the other droplets of the world and gain valuable information then it would be a fool to check with only one droplet.

That is what we do when we rely on others. Why do we do that when have the all knowing God would created all?

He sees through all the water of the creek. The reflection of light doesn't obscure His vision. He sees upstream and downstream. And that's important too.

 As I moved along the creek today I tried to look back at where I first was able to see the rocky creek bed. I could not. I would have had to go back there to see there. 

Not so with the Lord. He sees all, the past, the present and the future. We can't even perceive our own past with true accuracy, we have to rely on a fallible memory to do that.

Let's rely on God who is infallible, who knows all about our path along the creek.

Clevsea

: )

          Isn't that great? Remember to go to Clevsea's blog and tell her how much you liked it. She did mention to me that she hasn't been on there for a long time. But, that's o.k. by me. We read books that have been written years ago right?  All that matters is the content. Trust me, if Clevsea wrote it, it is good wholesome content. Enjoy. 

Time to Worship!

    I am getting better at setting time aside to simply worship God. It makes a world of a difference for me. You know how life gets so crazy sometimes. I don't know about you but I sometimes find myself on a fast moving train I don't remember getting on. lol 
   Taking time to be quiet and focus on God alone for who He is, is vital to me. I thought I'd share some songs with you.