Valentine’s Day and the meaning of true love

Posted on February 14, 2021 by | 2 comments

Today is Valentine’s Day — the day when TV commercials nag men to buy roses, candy, and jewelry for their wives or girl friends.

But did you know that the day is named after a real person, St. Valentine?

At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of February 14th. But the man for whom Valentine’s Day is named most likely was a priest at Rome who, in the second half of the 3rd century, was arrested and killed by the Emperor Claudius for secretly marrying Christian couples during a time of persecution in the Church. Legend has it that while he was imprisoned and waiting for his martyrdom, he sent letters to his fellow Christians signing them, “From Your Valentine.”

The popular customs associated with Valentine’s Day probably came from a conventional belief in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules we read:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers’ tokens. [Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

So what is love?

I can find no better definition and description of true love than the words of St. Paul:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered,
it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

And here’s the true meaning of Valentine’s Day:

The Greatest Commandment of all is to love God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul, and with all your strength; and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

May the love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today!

~E

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Posted in Christianity, Saints

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Man nurses hummingbird back to health

Posted on February 13, 2021 by | 5 comments

Early one morning, a man found a hummingbird on the floor of his garage.

The tiny bird was trapped in the garage overnight, got dehydrated and fell to the  floor.

Over the course of 8 hours, from 8 am to 4 pm, the kind man fed the bird homemade nectar with a syringe.

By 4 o’clock that afternoon, the bird had completely recovered and flew away. 

~E

Drudge Report has gone to the dark side. Check out Whatfinger News, the Internet’s conservative frontpage founded by a military veteran!

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Posted in God's creation

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Cost of assisted living by state

Posted on February 13, 2021 by | 2 comments

Americans are a rapidly aging population.

In 2019, about 16.5% of population was 65 years old or over; a figure which is expected to reach 22% by 2050. This is a significant increase from 1950, when only 8% of the population was 65 or over. (Statista)

For elderly people who can no longer fully care for themselves, there are four types of residential facility they can consider moving into:

  1. Assisted living facilities.
  2. Nursing homes.
  3. Board and care homes.
  4. Continuing care retirement communities.

This post is on assisted living facilities (ALF).

ALFs differ from nursing homes in two ways (U.S. News & World Report):

  • How to pay: Whereas Medicaid does cover nursing home care as states are required to do so under federal law, some assisted living facilities do not accept Medicaid and are private-pay only.
  • Cost: Nursing homes are prohibitively expensive. They can cost up to $11,000 a month in Florida and $16,000 a month in New York.
  • Level of care: Unlike nursing homes, assisted living is for those who, for the most part, can still take care of themselves but require some help with daily care, such as house cleaning, laundry, cooking, bathing or showering, medication management, transportation to medical appointments or stores. Residents pay for the level of care they receive: the more care, the higher the cost.

There are 811,500 Americans residing in assisted living, the majority of whom are age 85 and older, female, and non-Hispanic white. More than half of all assisted-living residents have high blood pressure; 4 in 10 have Alzheimer’s disease or other senile dementias. After a median stay around 22 months, about 60% of residents will move out of assisted living to a skilled nursing center.​ (AHCA/NCAL)

Below is from Sixty&Me:

The average cost per year of assisted-living facilities nationwide is $51,600. Although studies indicate the average person spends nearly 2.5 years (29 months) in an ALF, the average person also spends approximately 2 years and 4 months in a nursing home where the national annual cost is $93,075 for a semi-private room and $105,850 for a private room.

This means that the average person requires from around $342,000 to $372,000 to cover their long-term care costs. But according to Pension Capital, the average retirement fund of Americans is just over $382,000 — enough to pay for around 6 years in assisted living, or 4 years in a semi-private room in a nursing home.

The cost of assisted living can differ by as much as $40,000 between the most expensive and least expensive states.

The 5 most expensive states are:

  1. Delaware: $80,280 a year.
  2. New Hampshire and New Jersey: $79,800/yr.
  3. Alaska: $79,590/yr.
  4. Connecticut: $75,600/yr.
  5. Massachusetts: $73,020/yr.

The 5 least expensive states are:

  1. Missouri: $36,000/yr.
  2. Alabama: $37,800.
  3. Utah: $40,800.
  4. Arkansas and Georgia: $42,000.
  5. Nevada: $43,140.

Below are the annual costs of assisted living by state:

~DrE

Drudge Report has gone to the dark side. Check out Whatfinger News, the Internet’s conservative frontpage founded by a military veteran!

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Posted in Health

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The Bozos Caption Contest

Posted on February 12, 2021 by | 17 comments

This is our 238th world-famous Caption Contest!

Here’s the pic:

You know the drill:

  • Enter the contest by submitting your caption as a comment on this thread (scroll down until you see the “LEAVE A REPLY” box).
  • FOTM writers will vote for the winner.
  • Any captions proffered by FOTM writers, no matter how brilliant (ha ha), will not be considered. :(

This contest will be closed in two weeks, at the end of Tuesday, February 23, 2021.

To get the contest going, here’s my caption:

House impeachment managers, led by Rep. Eric  Swalwell (D-CA), take a break from the Trump impeachment trial.

~E

Drudge Report has gone to the dark side. Check out Whatfinger News, the Internet’s conservative frontpage founded by a military veteran!

17 Comments

Posted in Caption contest, Funnies

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An important resource for bird wildlife and the soul: Set out a bird bath

Posted on February 12, 2021 by | 18 comments

For several years we set up a bird bath in our backyard. In Oklahoma we have a variety of birds including Cardinals, Doves, Bluejays, Chickadees, etc. It was so peaceful to watch the birds bathing and drinking. They especially enjoyed cooling off on a hot Oklahoma summer day!

Alas, we adopted two abandoned neighborhood cats who are excellent hunters so no more bird bath (or feeders) in our yard.

Yet if you have the means and an opportunity to do so, I would highly recommend including a bird bath in your yard. You can enjoy the bird sightings (and sounds) from your patio,  and interact with wildlife while providing a much needed water resource for birds!

There are many resources available on the web on how to set up a bird bath. Some basics:

The lower a bird bath is to the ground, the more likely birds are to use it. Keep the bird bath in some shade, if possible, so water stays cool during sunny days. Birds also like to to hop up to a tree branch so they can “preen” and clean after a bath.

Water in the bird bath should be shallow (around two inches) so they can splash around safely and wade in it. Most important: Keep the bath water clean and fresh by changing the water every day or two.

Here’s a few other tips:

Happy bird watching!

DCG

18 Comments

Posted in Nature

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Pain in the neck? A natural pain relief product that works for me

Posted on February 10, 2021 by | 11 comments

A couple months ago I started having some serious neck pain. This was due to (in part) my work station and being unable to set it up to be ergonomically correct.

I already see a chiropractor yet it wasn’t enough to rid me of my neck pain. So I started getting a massage every two weeks. That was helping (and oh so relaxing!) yet wasn’t completely eradicating my neck pain.

Thanks to a co-worker I’ve discovered a natural pain relief gel that has worked wonders for me!

The product is Sombra Warm Therapy pain relieving gel. Manufactured by Sombra USA, the warm therapy gel (topical analgesic) contains ingredients such as aloe leaf juice, green tea leaf extract, orange peel oil, grapefruit seed extract, and witch hazel leaft extract. A full list of ingredients can be found here: Warm Therapy – Sombra USA.

I immediately felt pain relief upon applying this product. All it takes is just a little bit of product every night and my pain has consistently decreased after a stressful day at work (on my neck). So much so that since I’ve been using this product I’ve cut down my visits to both the chiropractor and masseuse.

The 8 ounce jar cost less than $20 and will probably last me six months. Not a bad price for pain relief!

Bonus: Their products are made in the USA in Albuquerque, New Mexico!

Visit Home – Sombra USA to learn about all their products.

NOTE: I am not a paid representative for this company. It’s just a product that has worked wonders for me.

Let us know if you have tried this product or found another that has brought you relief from aches and pains!

DCG

11 Comments

Posted in Health

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Welcome!

Posted on February 9, 2021 by | 7 comments

Our Lord instructed us in Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

In the increasingly perilous times we find ourselves in, it is imperative that we maintain our sanity and our health — body, mind and soul — so that we can survive the trials to come and live to fight another day.

That is the purpose of this blog.

To that end, we will impart medical information and tips on health; use humor to relieve your stress with funnies and caption contests; remind you of the goodness of God’s creation with posts on animals and pets; and uplift your spirit and soul with “Sunday Devotionals”.

May God bless you and may God have mercy on America.

~E

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Posted in Christianity

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