(under construction)
Week 1- grain Week 2- slick Week 3- feast Week 4- political
grain.110716.Monday
“There is not a grain of truth in what the Democratic Candidate said.” This is unfortunately the sound and tenor of this year’s election. There is so much “political trashing” going on that the truth is hard to find on both sides. Whoever wins this election will suffer negative exposure because of the underhanded bias by the media. The bent is to be “progressive” no matter what that means. That usually means that the voters will put someone in office that cares nothing about what the voters want but will do as they please which is contrary to what our nation stands for. What will be done by the winner will go against the grain!
grain.110816.Tuesday
“The machine grinds grain into flour.” In this example sentence, we see the most common use and definition of grain. Grain like wheat is ground in a mill to produce flour. It can also mean a measure of weight with a grain of wheat used as the average. It can also mean something like a hard particle or crystal like a grain of sand. In geology, it can mean a layer or strata of rock indicating the grain or consistency of the rock. Grain can also mean a person’s general or natural tendency to do or not do something against his nature. This election has been one that goes against the grain of one’s natural and patriotic beliefs!
grain.110916.Wednesday
“She bakes bread made from whole wheat grain.” This is the most common use of grain as ground up flour for baking. In the US wheat flour is our most common product of ground wheat. However, in Africa the most common grain is corn and it is ground up to make corn meal. Many different kinds of grains can be ground to make flour. Millet, soybean, rice, and similar grains can be ground to make grain meal or flour. Pastas such as spaghetti, macaroni, and lasagne are typical wheat flour products. Bakers can be fussy when looking for the right flour to use for baking cakes!
Grain.111016.Thursday
“Grandpa’s farm grew a variety of grains.” He grew corn and wheat but his best crop was peanuts. Peanuts can be ground like corn and wheat, but peanuts are very heavy in oil. Ground peanuts produce peanut butter and peanut oil, but not flour like wheat and rice. Another grain grown on Grandpa Bailey’s farm was oats for his cows and sorghum for molasses. Grandpa knew how to take care of his livestock and he fed them lots of good grain to keep them fat and happy!
grain.111116.Friday
“Anyone with a grain of sense knows that she’s lying.” This is a statement that you do not want to be said about your relationship. Things that are said in your relationship or about your relationship should not include any hint of a lie. Any “lie” that is put forth becomes an explosive time bomb. At some future point, the basis of a lie can be brought to light and the truth can produce an explosive atmosphere. That explosion can wreck not only relationships, but the very lives of those who put forth the lie and those who helped spread the lie. Lesson here: lies can blow up in your face!
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slick.111416.Monday.
“The slick and sleazy Democrats tried to steal the election but failed.” It has become apparent that the U.S. electorate still has the good sense and power to foil a crooked candidate. This election, in spite of its ugliness, gives us a true sense of the will of the people. The “silent majority” did have a profound impact upon this election. They are tired of the “in” crowd using and abusing the government as a means to promote radical change into socialism. They were so ‘slick’ in all that they did they slid right past winning the election!
slick.111516.Tuesday.
“The new kid had some slick moves on the basketball court.” This week’s word ‘slick’ is an adjective that describes a state or mode of operation that works very smoothly. That is how many understand the use of ‘slick’, but there is another side of this word that has a negative tone. It can be a clever or deceptive means of doing things to accomplish bad results. “Slick” advertising to sell shady products or “swindlers” who use slick talking to take advantage of innocent subjects are bad results of being ‘slick.’ Beware then of anyone or anything that deprives someone of what is theirs!
slick.111616.Wednesday.
“Be careful as you drive this winter as the roads are usually slick.” Rain, snow, and ice are normal ingredients of winter weather and tend to produce slippery roads. Bad weather will bring slick conditions that tend to make driving more difficult. In the same way, deceptive advertising and “get rich quick” schemes tend to make some of our choices during the holidays more difficult. It is this negative side of being ‘slick’ that we should constantly be aware of. If something seems too good to be true, it normally is!
slick.111716.Thursday.
“Many video games have slick graphics.” The appeal of many video games is their graphics and how close they are to the real world. However slick their graphics are it does not make them real. To die and instantly be alive again is not the real world. It instills a false sense of security that you can take unreasonable chances and have little or no consequences as a result. In real life, mistakes can be deadly and “slick graphics” do not alter the end result!
slick.111816.Friday.
“They did a slick job of promoting themselves as the perfect couple.” This is what Hollywood tries to make people think that they are capable of putting together perfect couples with perfect lives. But life has a way of showing us the real truth that nothing man does is perfect. “Slick” Hollywood relationships many times have a way of falling apart because of some seemingly insignificant difference in the character of the “perfect” couple. Slick relationships always seem to come apart from some unknown problem that crops up!
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feast.112116.Monday.
“The Republican party is feasting on their recent win.” This week’s word is feast but our example sentence is using the word in a related sense, not of “physical feasting” but that of an unexpected and joyous sense in winning the presidential race. This use of “feast” is more of an emotional state than that of physical feasting. To win this race after such an ugly and disrespectful barrage of insensitive verbal rhetoric is one of special significance. Apparently the silent majority has spoken with a loud voice that entrenched Washington is not what they want to govern them. They want to feast on the truth of our constitution and what it was founded upon!
feast.112216.Tuesday.
“There were hundreds of guests at the royal wedding feast.” This word “feast” is a simple descriptive word with two meanings. The first is “a special meal with large amounts of food and drink” and the second is “a religious festival observance.” This second meaning is used as a special event with many religions to signify important events. While the first meaning is most often used with events like weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. In many cases we associated “overeating” with feasting. Be prepared, we will soon observe a special feasting event!
feast.112316.Wednesday.
“In December, many groups will celebrate the feast of the Nativity.” This is one feast that some religious groups will celebrate next month. This feast is not one that is mentioned in the Old Testament. The birth of Jesus is celebrated at Christmas but is not one celebrated by Jewish people as they do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. However, many Catholics do celebrate this feast as one ordained by the Catholic Church. There are many “man-made” events that are celebrated with feasting. Such feasts are special times of celebration for many!
feast.112416.Thursday.
”This day many of us will celebrate the annual Thanksgiving feast with family and friends.” The Pilgrim’s gave proper credit to God for his supplying their needs. We need to also remember that we are blessed because God will supply what we need when we ask him. It is a shame that so many in our country today do not acknowledge that God is involved in our daily lives, much less that He helps to provide us with bounty and the freedom’s that we enjoy and take so much for granted. Will God continue to supply the feast if we continue to forget him? Chew on that for this Thanksgiving!
feast.112516.Friday.
“Her gaze dropped to the feast before them.” In many societies, marriages are celebrated by giving the wedding party a feast. It is a symbolic gesture of good health and successful union of the wedded couple. Thus the relationship of the bride and groom is started with a bountiful array of food and drink. The wedding party then gives a toast to the newlyweds to wish them a long and prosperous life. A feast is a beautiful way for a couple to start their special relationship!
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political.112816.Monday.
“Health care has become a major political issue in recent years.” Social engineering has seized an opportunity to use health care as the vehicle to gain control over individuals’ lives. The promise of “good health” paid for by the government has been the carrot that entices people to let the government take control of any medical needs. Through this enticement, the “progressives” use it to gain more and more control over the people. Their final act will be to “regulate” who will live and who die. Your “health care” plan could kill your!
political.112916.Tuesday.
“The president elect has changed political parties.” Political has four different definitions. The most often used meaning is “involved in or relating to politics especially within a political party.” It is also commonly used to mean “the administration of government as in its policies.” The negative side of “political” is “involving or charged with acts against a government or political system.” The president elect was very disturbed with the direction of the Democratic Party and its radical shift away from traditional American values. Political values that destroy our foundations are to be defeated!
political.113016.Wednesday.
“Black Lives Matter is a group of political activists.” The sole purpose of this group (Black Lives Matter) is to bring attention to and focus action on a specific group that claims that government is oppressing them. Their intent is to get power for their minority group. Upholding law and order is not their intent. They want power to rule and they will use any means including lawlessness to get what they want. They do not want justice, but they want to be “justice” to force their ideology upon everyone including their own people. They want to be the government, not to live by it!
political.120116.Thursday.
“The common cry of the Socialist today is ‘we need a political solution rather than a military solution.’” As good as that sounds, it is not the answer. The inbred carnal nature of humankind is always to seek an advantage but never a real common solution acceptable to all. Solutions involve compromise and compromise means that someone is going to give up something to achieve an accord. The party that “gives up” something to reach a compromise always has an undercurrent of discontent. Time tends to magnify that discontent into discord and that discord is usually some kind of military solution. Any political action means that someone somewhere is going to lose. Beware politicians who mouth empty promises that they cannot fulfill!
political.120216.Friday.
“Political relationships can often be strange unions.” In our country, we have two major political parties-Democrat and Republican. Within these parties, there are smaller factions that have their own agendas, be it liberal or conservative. Trying to bring together such diverse groups and ideologies is a monumental task. The Democrats are constantly moving to the more liberal thinking and Republicans are trending to be conservative. However, this election has shown us how far out the liberals want to go and that the conservative Republicans are weakening in what is true conservative values. History has proven that radical thinking, in either direction, can become very destructive!
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