Serve by Design

I have a fondness for all things Dr Pepper! I used to prefer the real thing that included Imperial Pure Cane Sugar! Back in the day, I would try to get to Dublin, Texas occasionally to get my “Dr P fix” in the little 8-ounce glass bottles. That is how Dr Pepper should be enjoyed! Now, I’m trying to go a little healthier these days and, every so often, will try some zero sugar products. That’s why I was tempted recently to buy a twelve-pack carton of Dr P “dark berry!”😮 Dr. Pepper and A Not-So-Fav Variety I found this oddity prominently on display at the Bloomington Hy-Vee. I stood there trying to figure out what this “Limited Edition” anomaly of Dr Pepper was all about when I looked up just as another guy standing across from me was putting two 12’s in his cart. I blurted out, “Have you ever tried this before?” He quickly responded, “No, but I was trying to imagine this “dark berry” in an ice-cream float!” That convinced me to give it try (sans ice cream the first time)! Texans have...

I am not a gardener, but I do enjoy putting out a few plants in a raised box each season. On the day after Mother’s Day, I set out three tomato plants, a Chile and a jalapeno pepper, along with a small watermelon and squash plant. I wasn’t expecting much, but I love to see things grow. Looking back over these past three months of uneven precipitation, I have been surprised with the fruit that has been harvested from six of the seven of these humble little plants! While the zucchini did not fare so well, the others have produced beyond my expectation! Tomatoes and Peppers Agriculture metaphors are often used in the writings of Scripture. Jesus regularly drew out teaching points from the everyday work of those who tilled the soil in His first century setting. Can you imagine how engaging and easy the style of the Lord was as He communicated with the common people of His day? He would begin a parabolic truth with the attention getting phrase, “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed…...

The meteorological fall is upon us now that September has come. Soon, on the 22nd, it will become official. With this season, pecan, pumpkin, and apple pies will begin to take the center stage of our preferred desserts at family dinner gatherings. While I delight in the peaches of late summer, Monique can’t wait for fall and the apple harvest. She recently purchased a special batch of Granny Smith’s and turned them (pun intended!) into a delicious pastry of apple turnovers! Culinary turnovers are triangular pockets of puffy pastry dough, stuffed with fresh fruit filling, sealed with a fork in a decorative pattern, and then baked to perfection. We love to eat them warm out of the oven! Warm, Yummy Apple Turnovers! There are other definitions for “turnovers.” This word can have business and financial applications. It is also used frequently in sports when, for example, a basketball team loses possession of the ball due to a personal foul, a pass that goes out of bounds, or because of tra...

I have been uncomfortable in closed spaces for several years. It has nothing to do with claustrophobia induced by elevators or large crowds of people. My issues causing panic and anxiety emerged during the advanced diagnostic testing (MRI Scans) my doctors repeatedly prescribed to determine the source of chronic back spasms thirty years ago. As it turned out, regular exercise and dropping forty pounds of excess weight were the needed remedies! While I haven’t had the need to undergo another MRI in recent years, my urologist recently recommended that I undergo a PET C-Scan to track how my prostate cancer was progressing. I immediately became anxious about that test. Although C-Scans are not as confining, they do require the patient to remain completely motionless for about 30 minutes while the scanner passes from head to toe. I thought, “Oh boy! Here we go again! To tolerate this, I may need a light sedative this time!” "Don't be a baby! Man up!" Two days out from the te...