Commentary

Start Your Garden Plans Now!

The weather may not be conducive to gardening quite yet, but it is still a great time to plan. We need to know what we want to plant, so we need to make a list of seeds to order. Another consideration is how much space we have, and if there is room to add even more.

To best plan for your garden, you need to have a few supplies ready: a notebook, pen, seed catalogs, and that much needed cup of hot tea, hot chocolate and a plate of cookies. (Okay. The last ones aren’t really required, but it will be a much more fun planning session if you have them!)

Here are a few things to think about when you plan:

Amnesty International (AI), which purportedly exists to fight against human rights violations, sharply disparaged Israel this week labeling Israel an “apartheid” state that should be scorned by the world.

In its Feb. 1, 2022 report, entitled “Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity,” AI disingenuously attempts to compare the treatment of blacks in South Africa during that period of racial segregation and oppression—up to the early 1990s—to how Israel “treats” Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza.

The AI report concludes that the state of Israel has “perpetrated the international wrong of apartheid” against Palestinians. The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), an organization that represents more than 2,000 Orthodox Jewish rabbis, condemned the report as “antisemitic” and a “litany of shameless lies.”

Each Valentine’s Day I’m reminded of how my husband and I met.

It was May 1999, and I was working as a writer/producer for the CBS affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama. I was 22 years old, single, and living in a one-bedroom apartment.

The station’s news director, Peggy, began to say things like, “Allie, I need to introduce you to my middle son, Marshall, sometime soon. I think you two would really get along.”

She had a photo in her office of her three sons, and I will admit I really liked what I saw of that cute middle son!

So one Tuesday afternoon, Peggy called me to her office. I assumed it was regarding a promotion I was working on for the 5 o’clock newscast that day.

I am always optimistic about the strength, resiliency, and ingenuity of the American free market economy. However, this ec onomic strength and stability depends upon government creating a level playing field for free market competition, and even more importantly, not to handicap the economy through the imposition of unreasonable laws and regulations.

One of those handicaps includes the less visible, but very real effects of inflation on goods, services, and everything else. In fact, inflation in the U.S. increased faster this past year than it has in nearly 40 years—dating back to the administration of President Jimmy Carter. So, what exactly is inflation?

Well, economists tell us that inflation occurs when consumer demand in the economy rises more than the supply of consumer goods, describing this dynamic as “too much money chasing too few goods.” In the simplest terms, the result is a general increase in prices and decrease in the purchasing power of money.

When we choose to live a Simple Life, one of the first aspects we need to learn is the difference between being busy in a healthy productive way, and busyness for the sake of being busy.

Being busy is a good thing, if focused on our own priorities, passions, and the life we have chosen for ourselves. Busyness for the sake of being busy, on the other hand, can be detrimental to our health, happiness, and goals.

A healthy productive busyness means we are filling our planners with things that help us to reach goals, find quality time with our family and friends, and enjoy our life. It also allows for much needed quiet time where we can think about what we want in life, let ourselves dream, and find ways we can turn those dreams into reality.

One time, a group of Bible students approached me in DSW Shoes on Youree Drive. They wanted to ask me some questions for a project as they filmed my answers.

Back then, I wasn’t as “prepared to give an account” (as the Apostle Peter tells us to be) as I should have been, but this encounter made me recognize that fact.

One of the questions the students asked was simply: “Do you believe in God? Why or why not?”

Initially this seems like an easy question to answer, but most people end up answering in personal, subjective way. This isn’t wrong, but I wanted to also know how to articulate an objective response.

In my reading and researching, I came across ample objective evidence for God’s existence, including the fine-tuning of the universe, the intricacy of DNA, the existence of objective moral values, and many other philosophical arguments that point straight to the Creator.

I also read the following, which really sums it up:

If there was one area and set of issues upon which both political parties could make common cause and find agreement in this highly partisan time one would reasonably conclude it would be in matters of foreign affairs and national defense.

That is why, as I watch the Biden Administration, it strikes me that every American president, regardless of party, would seemingly recognize the great dangers to our country across the globe and the desire of ruthless nations to seize the opportunity and fill the vacuum when they sense American weakness, either because we are unaware or incapable of stopping their advances and aggression. In fact, that insight and experience was a major selling point of Joe Biden, as a presidential candidate.

That is also why I find troubling the actions taken by Russia, Iran, and China in the last year.

Memories and mile-markers.

They remind us of where we’ve been; but, we shouldn’t cling to them or let them determine where we’re going.

Yes, the past and present are two things we have in common. One (the past) helped define and refine us, i.e., helped make us into who we are. The other one (the present) is an opportunity to determine where we’re going—if we’ll let it.

In this day-and-age of “Cancel Culture”. . .where some are trying to remove any remnants of the past. . .or seeking to rewrite it by their own warped point-of-view. . .it’s important for us to remember the past and learn from it.

That’s why the tearing down of all of these statues is wrong.

They’re not idols people worship; they’re simply reminders of our past—albeit good or bad—so we’ll not forget where we’ve come from and can learn how to be (or not be), as the case may be.

I love experimenting with the old recipes I find that belonged to my ancestors. This one was found in a Duo-tang notebook that belonged to my Aunt Dot. It is a cross between bread and cake and is very delicate once it is baked. The flavor is ‘soft spoken’, so adding a dollop of whipped cream makes it even more delicious.

This recipe takes a little more time, so you may want to use it on those occasions you are able to plan ahead for coffee with a friend. This is also a great coffee cake to use for a Christmas Breakfast Buffet!

How to Make: 2 pkgs. Yeast 3 Tablespoons Sugar 1 cup Buttermilk (warmed to approximately 100 degrees)

1/4 cup Milk (warmed to approximately 100 degrees)

2 cups Flour In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Add the buttermilk, flour and sugar and mix until ingredients are blended. Let stand in a warm place about 20 minutes.

1/4 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Butter, softened

4 Egg Yolks, well beaten

If you’re looking for a fun place to do a little Christmas shopping (or a lot!), Tyler, Texas is a good place to consider.

Of course, it’s about an hour and a half drive, but I would say it’s worth it.

Last Thursday, my mom, sister and I went to Mistletoe and Magic in Tyler, a three-day shopping event sponsored by the Junior League of Tyler and held at the beautiful Rose Garden Center.

There were more than 70 specialty boutiques and merchants from all over the country. Ticket proceeds raise financial support for nonprofits such as the East Texas Food Bank, the Literacy Council, and the Alzheimer’s Alliance.

After a merry time of shopping at Mistletoe and Magic (and complimentary fresh cinnamon rolls and coffee from Sola Bread Co. in Tyler), we headed out to the new shopping center in south Tyler called The Village at Cumberland Park.

You could happily stay at The Village for hours.