I'm a 60 something wife, mom and grandmom who is homebound/disabled by severe hypersensitivity to chemicals. I fill my days with learning, loving and art. My favorite values are truth, generosity and gratitude.
DAILY PRAYER: Dear God, We ask You to help us clearly and honestly express our thoughts and feelings with love. Give us the wisdom to listen carefully to others and understand their perspectives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
GRAMMY NOTES: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NcNLVcIYizI to hear a version of a story I heard in a communications class back in in 1978. In the version I heard, the elevator company tuned up the elevators repeatedly, but the tenants kept sending complaint slips to the super. The professor’s point was that when you can’t seem to solve a problem, it may be because you have not correctly defined the problem. By giving the tenants something to do while they waited for the elevator, the super solved his real problem, which was the complaint slips. I have thought of and used this wisdom very often in my life. It may have been the single most valuable thing I learned in graduate school.
DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for the experiences and moments that have shaped me. Help me to learn from my mistakes and to grow in wisdom and understanding. Let me see Your hand at work in my life so I will be better able to trust in Your plan for my future. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
CATHOLIC: This year, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception will be celebrated on Monday, December 9, rather than December 8 which falls on the Second Sunday of Advent. This feast is a holy day of obligation, meaning Catholics are required to attend Mass on Sunday and Monday this week.
DEI: The University of Michigan has announced that it will no longer require diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements for faculty hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions.
DOGE: In October, a Senate report revealed that only 6% of the government’s workers are showing up in person every day. The report added that this has caused an increase of people slacking on the job, including bureaucrats being “found in a bubble bath, on the golf course, running their own business, and even getting busted doing crime while on taxpayers’ time.” The report further noted that this has resulted in “service backlogs and delays, unanswered phone calls and emails, and no-show appointments.” Meanwhile, taxpayers are spending nearly $16 billion a year on empty office buildings.
PRAYERS NEEDED: Phil Robertson has been suffering from a disorder that leaves him barely able to walk from place to place in his home without shouting from the pain. In addition, he has entered the early stages of Alzheimer’s.
PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS: [10:43] – Civics Review gives a history lesson on this odd constitutional power the framers gave to POTUS and strongly suggests Biden’s pardon of his biological son goes beyond what those men felt was appropriate.
TRANS: A doctor celebrated as “America’s best-known practitioner of youth gender medicine” is being sued for medical negligence by Kaya Clementine Breen. Included in the suit are the therapist she referred Breen to, the surgeon who removed Breen’s breasts, and other medical professionals involved in rushing Breen through procedures that have deeply and negatively impacted her future.
The suit notes that, in addition to confusion about her gender, Breen presented with “anxiety, depression, autism, undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), potential bipolarism, … psychosis (including audio and visual hallucinations), panic attacks, and paranoia. Her family also has a lengthy history of mental health issues. She needed psychotherapy to evaluate, assess, and treat her complex co-morbid mental health symptoms.”
She didn’t get these things. “Instead, she was fast-tracked onto the conveyor belt of irreversibly damaging puberty blockers (age 12), cross-sex hormones (age 13), and [a double mastectomy] (age 14).”
VAXXX: Remember when the FDA claimed it would need up to 75 years to process and release the documents they used to give emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine? Well, Judge Mark Pittman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas said, and I paraphrase, “Screw that. You’ve got til June 30, 2025.”
The FDA claimed it could not possibly have found the time to photocopy or copy/paste these files on to a hard drive at a rate of more than 500 pages per month. So how the hell did they manage to digest all the data they contain in the few short weeks they had them before issuing the Emergency Use Authorization that resulted in people being mandated/coerced/shamed into injecting them into their bodies or fired/jailed/ostracized for refusing them?!
GRAMMY NOTES: I really enjoyed this drawing exercise from https://www.lanagloschatart.com/products/communities/thecolorclub/home. The challenge was to use only one red, one yellow, and one blue colored pencil. BTW, the paper is taped to the smooth back side of a glass cutting board that I evicted from my kitchen, because it dulled my knives. It’s a very handy drawing board and sometimes I like to use the pebbly side for the texture.
DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, Bless us today with all the graces we need to make room for you in our busy holiday plans. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
ART THERAPY: Four randomized, controlled studies have shown that drawing, including coloring in a coloring book, lowers heart rate and decreases anxiety, making it an active form of meditation. One of my art teachers recommends the following to enhance the effect:
Set the Stage: Create a relaxing environment by listening to music you love, lighting a candle, and keeping your favorite beverage close by. Take a moment to notice the sounds, tastes, smells, and physical sensations you experience as you settle in.
Practice Deep Breathing: Before you begin, take 3-5 deep breaths to center yourself. This simple practice can help clear your mind and prepare you for focused creativity.
Minimize Distractions: Silence your phone, close the door, turn off the TV, and let your family or coworkers know you’ll be unavailable for the next 15 minutes. This dedicated time for mindful art will allow you to fully engage in the creative process and also to give you a reset before you move on to the next part of your day.
COMMUNITY: CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OOI5Ymx3TiE to see a really special person go above and beyond. We are blessed to have someone like this is our area as well. The night before last, I heard a dog barking and squealing behind our house. There’s nothing but a field, trees, a steep downgrade into a swamp behind our house and it was cold. I got really concerned that someone’s dog had run off and gotten trapped or tangled in the dense brush, so I called the SPCA animal welfare officer. He said nobody had reported a missing dog and explained that the noises I described are typical for coyotes. We have coyotes in our area? Yup. I did not know this! Good thing we never let our little 10 pound Daisey out on her own! Anyway, despite the fact that he was about 99% sure it was not a dog, this fine man came out anyway, spent a good bit of time tramping around in the back with a flash light, whistling and calling, before phoning me back and telling me he was confident there was no dog freezing to death. I thanked him profusely for his kindness and commitment to his job and he just said, “Hey, better safe than sorry.”
DEBUNKING: [6:30] – This is the best compilation of “Trump is not a racist” I’ve ever seen.
LIFE: One day, while Dr. Catherine Wheeler was performing an abortion, she says, “God stopped me in the middle of the abortion. At the time, I didn’t understand it. I started the abortion and almost immediately felt this complete presence of evil. It was a darkness—physically dark to me and evil dark. I realized nobody else was aware. I remember sitting there thinking, ‘This has to do with the abortion.’ suddenly had the complete awareness of what I had blocked off—this was a baby. I was about to kill a human being.”
Despite this profound realization, Dr. Wheeler had to finish the procedure to protect the woman’s health. But in her heart, she made a vow. “I didn’t tell anybody about it. I thought, ‘Nobody is going to understand this, but I know it’s evil, and I won’t do it again.’”
This moment became a turning point in Dr. Wheeler’s life and career, marking the start of her journey away from abortion to becoming a mouthpiece for the sanctity of life.
NOTRE DAME: ::sigh:: We have lots of modern churches. Why couldn’t they HONOR the historical reality of this magnificent building by recreating period vestments and furnishings?!
GRAMMY NOTES: Our church participates in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. Dearest picks the kids and I do the shopping. It was so fun this year to pick out pink and purple sneakers and art supplies for two little girls. The tag shopping always brings back good memories of the Christmas after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. At the time, Dearest was a young architect who had recently started his own practice. Within two weeks of the invasion, the bottom fell out of the building industry as investors canceled projects, including the one that would have fed and clothed us for at least six months.
We have never forgotten the joy of the Angel tree gifts and food baskets. One of the ladies from our church stood near Santa and wrote down what our 3 elementary aged girls asked for, then bought those things for them! The Kitchen Cupboard helped fill out the food stamps and WIC freebies, plus I could get free bread at the Salvation Army once a week when the delivery guy would drop off all the past date breads he picked up at the grocery stores. I still get weepy thinking about all the blessings we experienced that year. I also learned that food stamps won’t pay for TP, laundry detergent, or feminine hygiene protection. I have made a point of donating that stuff to the Kitchen Cupboard ever since.
DAILY PRAYER: Lord, I pray for your healing power for ourselves, our friends, and our families today. Touch our bodies and relieve areas of illness or pain. Give us and our healthcare providers and caregivers the wisdom and knowledge they need to do Your will in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
2024: Some of the races for seats in 119th Congress’ House of Representatives were so close, they had to have recounts. They finally concluded on Dec. 4, nearly one month after Election Day. Final tally … Republicans will have a slim majority of just three seats.
CANADA: Saskatchewan is the first Canadian province to officially declare December as Christian Heritage Month and Calgary, Alberta’s largest city, will do the same. British Columbia refused, saying that, despite the fact that other faiths get entire months of their own, Christians should be satisfied with Christmas.
DEA: Trump nominated Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. A torrent of conservative opposition over his COVID record ensued. The most famous issue was his arrest of a pastor for hosting church services in March 2020. Chronister has withdrawn his name.
DOJ: In response to her refusal to comply with a FOIA request from Judicial Watch, District Attorney Fani Willis has declared her in default and ordered her to release all communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the January 6th Committee within five days. These documents could show there was coordinated (and illegal) effort to take out the leading Republican presidential nominee and chief rival of the current Democratic administration.
MILITARY: Please, Lord, support him through to a successful confirmation! Amen.
NASA: Trump’s choice to head up NASA is SpaceX’s Jared Isaacman. Isaacman is an actual astronaut who completed the first private spacewalk and commanded Inspiration4, a private spaceflight using @SpaceX‘s Crew Dragon. Also, earlier this year he completed the first private spacewalk.
NOTRE DAME: President Donald Trump has announced he will attend the grand reopening of Notre Dame de Paris this coming weekend. Pope Francis will not.
POMPEII: This road is more than 2,000 years old. It was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Those small white stones meticulously embedded into the pavement helped keep the streets safe for night travelers by reflecting available light. Ingenious!
WOMEN’S SPORTS: The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has updated its gender policy. Biological males who have gone through male puberty will not be eligible to compete.
CLICK https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OPl4C8LE4sw for another one. Judge Caprio is a devout Catholic who uses these donations to pay fines for people who really need help.
DAILY PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray for all who will one day be faced with this challenge, that they will receive and embrace the graces needed to say YES. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
VITAMIN D: A paper entitled “Vitamin D: A key player in COVID-19 immunity and lessons from the pandemic to combat immune-evasive variants” in Inflammopharmacology. It summarizes the current knowledge about the role of vitamin D deficiency in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. Vitamin D is well known to have immune-boosting properties.
Dr. John Campbell talks about the paper @ https://rumble.com/v5juldp-new-vitamin-d-paper.html [20:38]. He says the findings apply not just to the coronavirus, but to all viral infections as well as many cancers.
Note: Taking your Vitamin D with your biggest (i.e., highest in fats) meal can boost uptake by as much as 50% over taking it any other time of the day. Also it is recommended you refrigerate your Vitamin D, as it slows loss of potency over time.
According to Consumer Lab, supplementing with Vitamin D can cost as little as a penny per day (Kirkland Signature, aka Costco brand) D3. If you don’t have a Costco, CL’s other penny-a-day top pick is Vitacost D3, which you can get at Vitacost.com. Slightly more expensive (4 to 7 cents) CL recommendations include Doctor’s Best Vegan D3, NOW High Potency D3, and Nature Made D3.
N.b., Consumer Lab recommendations are based not only on cost, but also on purity and accuracy of label/contents. I have a membership and am happy to look up a supplement for you.
GOAT: CLICK https://www.facebook.com/reel/2019630445132542 and marvel at this man’s skill. I thought at first he was cutting random shapes out of blocks of foam. He isn’t. Those are piles of fabric! He’s cutting them without a pattern. It’s absolutely mind boggling!
Hunter has been convicted of failing to pay taxes in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and of making an illegal firearm purchase on October 12th of 2018. This part of the pardon not only keeps Hunter out of prison, but also means he has technically never been convicted of a felony. Apparently, being found guilty doesn’t count; the crime isn’t registered until the sentencing occurs. No sentence; no crime.
But the pardon also covers any crimes he may have committed or been involved in beginning January 1, 2014. In 2014, Hunter was tapped to serve on the board of the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma, despite having zero relevant expertise. This would be the same time when then-President Obama made then-VP Joe Biden the country’s point man for all things Ukraine. The non-specific pardon protects Joe more than Hunter.
I often think that Joe’s first wife, baby daughter, and son Beau dying young was a grace from God to keep them from being corrupted and damned forever.
J6: “Remember when the J6 Committee deleted a ton of their evidence after Republicans won the House? And how they never released the interview transcript with Kash Patel that exonerated so many people who got entrapped? If this was an actual insurrection, they’d put all that evidence in a museum. But we know what it truly was – a Deep State setup.” – DC Draino
SOUTH KOREA: South Korea’s president declares martial law, accusing opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and anti-state activities. Six hours later, he called it off.
GRAMMY NOTES: I remember the Christmas Mass my youngest was a toddler. We made so many trips up and down the aisles! Based on the stifled giggles I heard from the pews, more people were watching us than listening to the homily! LOL
DAILY PRAYER: God, I pray for your compassion to fill my heart today. I ask that you would help me to see others as you see them, and that I would be able to extend love and kindness to everyone I encounter. I pray that I would be able to serve others with a compassionate heart, and that I would be able to show empathy and understanding to those who are struggling. I trust in your compassion and provision, and I pray that I would experience that compassion in a powerful way today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
BORDER: Illinois State Senator Celina Villanueva, a Democrat with the 12th District, is threatening to use force to prevent deportation of illegals in Illinois. “If you come for me and mine, know we will fight back. And, after all of these years, we are still here, and we will stay here.” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is also siding with illegal aliens over American citizens.
COVID-19: After a two year long investigation, the House COVID Committee has released its final report. The major findings in the 557 page report include:
The NIH funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab.
The Constitution can’t be suspended in times of crisis.
COVID emerging from a lab leak is “not a conspiracy theory.”
EcoHealth and Dr. Peter Daszak should “never again” receive taxpayer funds.
Public health officials have lost the trust of the people.
Trump’s Operation Warp Speed was a success.
The COVID response was “rampant” with fraud, waste and abuse.
“The prescription cannot be worse than the disease,” lockdowns had horrific consequences.
FBI: “Threatening”?! LOLOL … it’ll save him having to fire them!
J6: After FAUXTUS broke his promise to not pardon his felonious son, President Trump renewed his promise to pardon all January 6th political prisoners on his first day in office.
President Joe Biden, Dec 1, 2024 – “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.“
“Almost never brought to trial” kinda reminds me of the J6ers who were incarcerated on a charge the Supreme Court said was b.s. Unlike them, Hunter Biden hasn’t spent even one day behind bars.
“JOE BIDEN WAS THE PRIMARY CHAMPION OF THE THREE STRIKES LAW. Hunter committed dozens of extremely well documented crimes. This was covered up during the 2020 election — the Dems politicized Hunter by protecting him, not the other way around.” – Shaun Maguire on X
“To be clear, the DNC DID NOT want Joe to pardon Hunter Biden. It was pretty obvious as a father Joe would sign a pardon. In his last “screw you” to the party that screwed him over, he did it anyway. This will give a lot of cover for Trump to pardon whoever he wants.” – Chief Trumpster on X
BORDER: [7:39] – “Secure borders saves lives.” – Tom Homan
CARRAGEENAN: A study entitled “Carrageenan and insulin resistance in humans: a randomised double-blind cross-over trial” was published last week in BMC Medicine. It reports on a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 20 young, healthy male participants who received either 250 milligrams of carrageenan or a placebo twice daily over two weeks. The results showed that, overweight participants experienced lower insulin sensitivity, increased brain inflammation, and higher levels of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6).
Carrageenan is a common food additive used as a thickener. I can be found in everything from ice cream to plant-based milk.
CBS: [9:31] – Former CBS News correspondent Catherine Herridge says that, in early 2023, she snagged an exclusive interview with Elon Musk. CBS told her they would not air it live, because they were afraid what the outspoken tech mogul might say. Herridge says, “This is someone whose DNA is free speech and how do you tell someone who’s committed to free speech that your network can only do it taped and only if they edit it and it can only be on their platform?I couldn’t go back to him with that.” So the interview never happened.
FATHER CARLOS MARTINS: [13:13] – When I heard the original inflammatory story, my first thought was that Satan had finally found a way to interfere with this holy man’s very successful ministries.
HEALING THE NATION: [7:26] – Harvard professor and author Dr. Arthur Brooks breaks down how to navigate the political landscape and division in politics on ‘One Nation.’ Brooks is the author of one of my favorite books – Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism. New York: Basic Books, 2006
HUNTER: President Joe Biden has signed “a full and unconditional pardon” for his son, Hunter Biden. The pardon includes not only his tax evasion and gun convictions, but also any offenses that Hunter Biden “committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024.”
CLICK https://x.com/tomselliott/status/1863537344038740264 [9:03] to hear a super cut of political commentators praise Biden for promising to respect the courts’ decisions about Hunter with lots of unflattering comparisons to Trump. “He is living what it means to have a rule of law.“
CLICK https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1863570068908499108 [1:27] to hear Scott Jennings’ awesome commentary on the pardon. Biden is “leaving office in complete and total disgrace. He is a liar. There is no other way to spin this today. This has nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with the character of Joe Biden.”
Personally, I’m relieved. Having Hunter’s dad pardon him means nobody can pressure Trump to do it. It will also reduce the onus of Trump pardoning the J6 political prisoners.
NOTRE DAME: Five years after a fire ripped through Paris’ Notre-Dame cathedral, some of the people who helped rebuild it have started a choir and are preparing to perform in the building they helped save.
BLACK FRIDAY: “U.S. shoppers used their mobile phones, laptops, desktops and other devices to make roughly $10.8 billion in purchases online on Black Friday.” I did my bit! So glad to save BIG on gifts for our church’s Christmas tree tag kids. I was able to afford much better stuff. ❤
FBI: Trump has chosen Kash Patel to direct the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel, who served as chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense during Trump’s first term in office and played a key role in revealing the Russian collusion hoax. He has been critical of the way the FBI operates and says he wants to relocate the bureau’s headquarters to somewhere to outside the Beltway.
MILITARY: “There is no doubt that women can serve in the military and make great contributions to success on the battlefield. This does not mean that it is a good idea to put them into combat arms units, where they would be required to go face to face with the enemy and ultimately be capable of fighting hand to hand and coming out alive. There is no second place in combat.” – Larry Keifesh
I am very proud of my daughters’ military service. I am very glad neither of them ever had to fire their weapons at another human being.
DAILY PRAYER: Dear God, I come before You, acknowledging the times when I have allowed fear to dictate my actions and decisions. I ask for Your forgiveness and the courage to step out in faith, trusting in Your guidance and provision. Help me to release the grip of fear and embrace the abundant life You have prepared for me. Grant me the confidence to pursue Your will for my life, knowing that You are with me every step of the way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
APPLE: [1:50] – Benny Johnson said on his podcast that this ad and the one by Volvo below are evidence that we have won the cultural war. I pray it is so. But Satan isn’t going to pack up and leave the country, so keep on praying.
BORDER: [2:41] – I’d say “unbelievable” except it’s Biden’s America. Thank You, God, it won’t be so for much longer!!
JAGUAR: CLICK https://x.com/Jaguar/status/1858800846646948155 [:30] to see the Jaguar ad that is so awful, it cost them 10% of their market share. As for blaming the customers … did they learn nothing from Bud Lite?
JOE ROGAN: The most popular podcaster in the world made a good argument that this election was the first in history where the elites did not control the media. When asked why this is, Rogan replied, “Because of us, because of podcasts. Because of social media, because of X.”
When Elon Musk heard that MSNBC might be for sale, he asked, “How much is it?” Joe Rogan tweeted, “If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachael Maddow’s job,”
KAMALA: ITA. It’s similar to why I believe in weddings, not elopement. If a couple can’t get through planning a ceremony and a party for their relatives and friends, then they are not ready for marriage.
MINNESOTA: Democrats suck. CLICK https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1861848407582654967 [1:05] to hear about how they tried to cheat their way into a state house majority. The investigation has shown that the 21 missing mail-in ballots were likely disposed of. Let me guess which party they were for …
VOLVO: CLICK https://x.com/cabot_phillips/status/1859620031572607249 [3:49] to see the antithesis of the Jaguar ad. Pro-life, pro-family, grab-a-tissue sentimental. And, unlike the Jaguar ad, it actually has a car in it.
WEAPONIZING GOVERNMENT: A report by the American Principles Project (APP), says nearly 70% of Biden’s Department of Education’s (ED) enforcement actions targeted private Christian colleges and trade schools. These institutions serve only 10% of the post-secondary student population in the U.S.
polination.blog 