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Hello Central: Get Me Heaven
By Janice LaQuiere
It was a warm September day and I stood at the
edge of the gravesite, glancing from my grandpa's casket to the
widening hole. The exhaust from the back-hoe and the noise of the
loud engine belied my somber heart. The large shovel grabbed a
handful of dirt and came up, scrapping against the cement burial
vault of my grandmother's grave. I gasped and tears rushed to my
eyes. Even though my grandma had been dead for three years, again I
was near her; the cement wall separating us seemed to me to be the
doorway to heaven.
Several months later I rushed through the
garage to answer the ringing phone. On the end was the familiar
southern drawl, the little chuckle and a friendly, "Well, hi there!"
I was speechless, and almost blurted out, "Grandma, where are you
calling from? Do they have payphones in heaven?" At once I realized
that it wasn't my grandma, it was her sister, but for an instant I
felt so near to the one I lost. Even though she is dead my heart
knows that Grandma is living, and I anticipate seeing her again. Our
separation is only a matter of logistics.
When Jesus was asked about the resurrection He
answered saying: "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have
ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is
not the God of the dead, but of the living.
God told Moses, "I AM THAT I AM." That is the
present tense, the here and now. Because He is the God of the
living, my grandmother still "is" also. She is present tense. Her
life is not something that happened, but something that happens.
She likes raisin bread, gardening, and giving to glory to God. As we
love and long for those who have gone on before us, let us remember
that "they are", because I AM is the God of the living.
Matt 22:31-32, Exod 3:14, 1 Cor 15:54-55, Acts
7:32, Heb. 11:16
One
Mean, Clean, Machine!
As the weather warms it's time to think about
Spring Cleaning. Here are a few tips to get you started.
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Wear comfortable clothes, you're going to
get "down and dirty".
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Gather together your cleaning supplies. Make
sure that you have everything you'll need.
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Break your house down into zones. Assess the
needs of each zone: Windows, walls, furniture, floor.
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Turn off the TV, crank up the music.
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PICK UP everything that's out of place, PUT
AWAY everything in it's proper place. WASH DOWN windows and walls.
WIPE UP furniture and knickknacks. Vacuum.
Other Hints:
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Use a Microfiber cloth: What is
microfiber? Microfiber is made with a combination of polyester and
polyamide. Each fiber is only 1/100 the diameter of a human hair,
and the cloth soaks up to 7 times it's weight in liquid. Use it
wet for strike free cleaning of counters, windows, and shiny
surfaces. Treat it with furniture polish for tables and moldings.
A great tile and grout cleaner:
Pour into labeled spray bottle:
½ cup baking soda
1/3 cup ammonia
¼ cup white vinegar
7 cups water
Shake to mix. Spray and wipe. Do not use in
conjunction with bleach or where bleach has been used.
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Sunday Breakfast
Casserole
1/4 c. chopped onion (optional), browned
1/4 c. chopped green pepper (optional), browned
2 c. cubed ham, bacon or sausage
1 c. grated cheese
1 doz. eggs
1 c. milk
1 (2 lb.) pkg. frozen hash browns, thawed (the chunk kind not
grated)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Mix onion, green pepper, meat and cheese. Mix together eggs and
milk. Add hash browns, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients
together. Pour into a buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with 1/4 cup
more grated cheese (and sprinkle top with parsley flakes if
desired). Bake 30 minutes until set at 350 degrees. Serves 12.
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