I grew up with the saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned." On a recent morning television broadcast, I heard how to save almost painlessly over $600 in one year. On day one, put one penny in your savings jar. Thereafter, each day add one more cent toward your daily savings jar deposit. In … Continue reading A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned
There are numerous sayings I grew up with. One of them, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” was a favorite of my mother as she instructed our family to wash our hands before eating to rid them of germs. But also, after eating to keep our house furnishings clean. It was a good practice then and … Continue reading Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness
Thank you, my blog readers, for allowing me to have some of your time this past year as I shared my thoughts on various topics. I hope you picked out the posts that interested you and maybe found something you could benefit from—whether it was humor, crafts, recipes, activities for children, poetry, music, or reflections on … Continue reading Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthful New Year 🎉
Have you ever started out on a road trip knowing the highway you were going to take, but not quite sure how many miles you were going to travel, or exactly what would become your final destination? This was the kind of journey the “Magi,” or Wise Men from the East” found themselves on as … Continue reading A Journey Full of Hope
I don't think anyone reading my blog today would disagree with the statement that our society has become less and less civil. As information is spread so quickly through mass media, we make snap judgments which may or may not be based on truth. Consequently many allow their perceptions of what is right or wrong … Continue reading A North Star Worthy of Following
As I was recently going through some old family documents, I came across a United States Postal Service first class stamp with the denomination of six cents. “Wow!” I thought. “When I sent a Christmas card this year, the cost was ten times as much-sixty cents.” The stamp had never been used to send a … Continue reading In the Beginning…
I remember a game passed along in the Carlisle family, now still finding interest down to the fourth generation---passing from my father to me, to my children, and to my grandchildren. My son says he has done research trying to find an earlier origin of the game, or to see if there is another family … Continue reading Carlisle Family Christmas Eve Gift Game
Some of you may be thinking, “What in the world is a house for Toddler Jesus?” Let me give you some background information before I jump into telling you how my two school age granddaughters and I recently made a little cardboard and popsicle stick house. We are going to use it at Christmastime alongside … Continue reading A House for Toddler Jesus (craft project)
We see a wide-eyed little girl, maybe six or so, in a church worship service. She’s standing next to her mother in a pew at the left side of the sanctuary, very close to the pianist whose fingers move adroitly over the keys of the ebony baby grand piano. The child’s eyes shift from the … Continue reading Vibrant Vibes: A Musical Phenomenon
There are times when life can become overwhelming. The sense of not being able to shoulder alone what is being thrown at you is very real for all of us at one time or another. It may be the loss of a loved one. Or losing one’s job. Struggling with health issues. Betrayal of a … Continue reading Carrying Each Other’s Burdens
One of my climbing red rose bushes a couple of years ago developed a really thick stem with huge prickly thorns for practically its entire length of about four feet. That started me to think about the thorns we are enduring in our daily lives which have been turned topsy-turvy since 2020 as we continue … Continue reading Enduring Thorns 🌹
As I was video-chatting with one of my grandsons recently, my casual conversation drifted to a time in my marriage before children. I told him I had had my first full-time teaching position in the adjacent community of Jeffersontown, or known by most of us as J-town. And my husband was working as a machinist … Continue reading Special Delivery
For a long time, I interpreted the judge in one of Jesus’ New Testament parables as a figure representing God. I even had a family member whose instruction to me was, “Worry the Judge!” when I would complain to him about some disturbing aspect of my life. However, now upon closer examination of the Gospel … Continue reading Worry the Judge!
Because of family food allergies and preferences, I created my own Vegetarian Crock Pot Dressing a few years ago. Even though it may be lacking the traditional chicken or turkey broth as an ingredient, it is not lacking in flavor! In fact, it has become a family favorite! Ingredients 1 ½ cups finely minced celery … Continue reading Nonny’s Favorite Holiday Recipes – Vegetarian Crock Pot Dressing (with Step-by-Step Photos)
During the fall and winter months—or anytime, for that matter—taking a little extra time to prepare a special treat to eat can help take our minds off things that may be challenging in our lives. Here is a favorite recipe of mine for Sweet Potato Pie. Sweet Potato Preparation 2 cups cooked sweet potatoes drained … Continue reading Nonny’s Favorite Holiday Recipes – Sweet Potato Pie
It’s that time of the year again when we begin to think about the upcoming holidays. And, of course, that means visions of delectable foods we might prepare start to dance in our heads! Some of mine take a good bit of preparation. But some are super easy to make! What I am sharing today … Continue reading Nonny’s Favorite Holiday Recipes – Magic Chocolate Cake – No eggs or dairy!
As days are getting cooler, I begin to want to use the last of the green tomatoes which are growing right outside my kitchen door. But, if you haven’t grown them yourself, you may have a neighbor who has some and would be happy to share. Or check out your food market. My children loved … Continue reading Nonny’s Favorite Holiday Recipes – Fried Green Tomatoes
In the twentieth century, the practice of cryonics (preserving dead bodies for a future ‘resurrection’) came into being. Though dismissed by many as a pseudo-science, others have clung to its hope by having their own or loved one’s body go through the preservation procedure. According to my Google search, there are at least four cryonic … Continue reading How to Live Forever
It’s not too early to start thinking about meaningful and educational holiday gifts for the youngsters in your life! If you haven’t purchased Volume 3 in my Nonny Day Series, Alphabet Excursion and Higgledy-Piggledy (perhaps because you didn’t find sample pages to view on Amazon--a story for another day!), below is what its delightful art … Continue reading The Holiday Season is Closer than You think – Shop Early for the Kids in Your Life (and their Caregivers!)
For the fourth and final week of our blog series on Finding Peace As You Pray The Lord's Prayer, I'm posting in German. The featured Holy Bible selection is from the revision of Martin Luther’s translation, the German DELUT—Lutherbibel 1960. Jesus’ disciples requested that He teach them how to pray. Thus, we find in the … Continue reading Frieden Finden—The Lord’s Prayer in German
For the third week of our blog series on Finding Peace As You Pray The Lord’s Prayer, I’m posting this prayer, which is also called “The Our Father,” as it is translated in Spanish. It is found in The Holy Bible in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 9-13. You are not alone if … Continue reading Encontrar la Paz—The Lord’s Prayer in Spanish
For the second week of our blog series on Finding Peace As You Pray The Lord’s Prayer, I’m posting this prayer in French. If French is not your "heart language" or a language you are studying, you may choose to read and hear it in another language by going to http://www.Bible.com You will find there … Continue reading Trouver La Paix—The Lord’s Prayer In French
In uncertain times life can seem overwhelming. Perhaps you, along with many others, are feeling abandoned, fearful, or if not that extreme maybe just uneasy. Things just don't seem ‘normal’ or the way they may have been in the past. Today marks the beginning of blog series on finding peace. Finding peace by praying and … Continue reading Finding Peace as You Pray The Lord’s Prayer
If there is no father in your life, whatever the cause—perhaps death or abandonment—a Holy God wants to fill that void. And He equally desires to comfort and protect the widow who has lost her mate. What I’ve chosen to share with you today in my blog is a brief but powerful promise from the … Continue reading Do You Need A Father?
Recently in doing some cleaning out and reorganizing, I discovered five old Barbie dolls which I recognized as having originally belonged to my younger daughter when she was a preteen. Unfortunately, their legs and hair had become sticky with age. I was planning on giving them to her but thought, “Ugh! Will she even want … Continue reading Getting out of a Sticky Situation: Tips for a Quick Refresh of Old Barbie Dolls
There has never been a single individual born on earth wearing bejeweled rings, a fancy headdress, or an elegant garment. All come into this world completely unadorned. And there is nothing from this world that you can take out with you. In the Christian religious faith, we believe after death the soul of a believer … Continue reading Going Out the Way You Came In
A note from Nonny -- Thanks in no small part to your prayers and well wishes, I'm out of the hospital, back home, and getting stronger by the day. Thank you, Connie Carlisle Polley Millions of people in the U.S.A. and other parts of the world have gastric disorders related to the foods they eat. … Continue reading A Tasty Dish that’s Good for Your Gut! (Recipe)
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