Melva Gifford

I was having a conversation with a friend who couldn’t understand why churches could not be more politically correct when it came to homosexuality.

My response was that many religions feel that God has told them  that same sex relationships, sex outside of marriage, etc. is against God’s law. I told her I didn’t feel qualified to dictate to God his opinion on things, politically correct in today’s standards or not. I thought this would make a good topic for Teaching Embellishments today. I hope the subject can be of use to youth ministries, family counselors, family devotionals and family home evenings.

In Sunday school today we reading verses in Isaiah. The following scriptures, discuss that God doesn’t need our advice.

Isaiah 40:13-14:

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/isa/40?lang=eng

13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him?

14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

Object Lesson: Select a wall outside the classroom/home. Cover the wall with plastic. Make sure the plastic is secure. Now throw raw eggs at the wall. We can try to insert our opinion on the wall or to tell God oh how we feel he should run the world. Or perhaps how we feel he interpret his commandments. We leave our impression on the wall with the yokes and shells dripping down. Now use a hose and spray away the eggs. Remove the plastic and the wall remains.

God is eternal. He knew our past and he knows our future. He knows our potential and from experience knows the pros and cons of our decision. We should keep that in mind as we consider what counsel he gives us to live happier lives.

The wall can be interpreted as a protection against the cold of outside and of us making bad decisions that can add sorrow to our lives. God, having lived in the eternities, has a long term understanding of what we are. He loves us, but does have counsel for how we should live our lives.

Have something to add to this theme? Please feel free to respond in the comment section of this blog. Thanks.

I attended the Orem city/Orem Mall meeting this last Wednesday. They had a bunch of maps etx of their plans in expanding the Orem Mall properties. I took notes. Any inaccuracies in my notes are due to my misunderstanding or bad note taking. I hope most of this info is accurate.

Jeff Woodberry and his son (alan?) give speeches:

• His family is the one that always been owners of the mall. They formed the real estate business in 1919. There is a partner with Legrand Richards, but as Legrand Richards became more involved in his church callings. He left the real estate business.
• In 1957 Woodberry properties transferred management forms fathers to sons
• 1965 investment was made to create the Orem mall.
• 1972 mall is built when Provo downtown rejected it.
• Did focus groups to find out what people said they wanted. They were told millions want to have places to rent as they did not want own homes. Other observations were made from other malls around the country. Ove half of the malls have closed, those that have survived did so by investing themselves by having other draws to the mall outside of retail businesses such as rental properties of business buildings have really survive as small properties.
• Retail stores are down by 20%.
• People in Utah County are known to be bargain shoppers.
• The oldest buildings constructed by the wall will be used by various corporations as an additional source of revenue for the city and the business.
• Want to build amenities that will attract people to the mall, including high-quality lifestyle in hotel, business and apartments.
• Woodberry will be investing $500 million in Orem mall.
• 7000 feet of office class A office space.
• Residential space will consist of 1200 unites for possible rent by employees of the businesses offices that may also be in the same property.
• 120 room hotel used by local businesses.
• CBA means: community development area.
• Will add new infrastructure and repair old infrastructure of the mall.
• Will build a new road that will go through a Mervin’s(?) store is currently located.
• Will redo utility and parking infrastructure.

Mayor Brunst gives speech:

• Mall was built in 1972. It’s been here for 42 years.
• Over $1 million of Orem city tax comes from the University collection of buildings
• We need a retail sector in the city to help Orem grow.
• Approximately 22% of sales tax comes from retail
• 19 million income comes from property taxes.
• $1+ million County sales tax paid by Mall properties
• Mayer promises no new sales tax, no new bonds, and no new debt.
• Three major businesses have left or other cities with them when 2000 jobs.
• In 2000 1370 1 million was used for C DA in Utah, some of which was dedicated to the wall.
• The goal of the city and Utah State is to attract businesses and they use CBA to attract business to the state. Part of the state CBA was invested in Orem mall
• Various businesses currently use forms of CBA: Manufacturers don’t have to pay sales tax for new equipment or utility bills and the same for tech companies. They get CBA.
• If mall can do its complete plans, an estimated $320 million in the next 20 years will be tax income for the city
• Interior of mall will be refurnished.
• Woodbury says if we delay investment that we may need to move to other areas of the country to dedicate our finance
• Orem was originally named after a rail road owner. The farmers of the land in Orem promised they would name the city after him if he would build the rail road near them so they could transport their harvest.
• They plan to build an outdoor theater.
• Plan to have a colored water feature.
• Plan to have a dog park.
• 95% of the land in Orem is occupied. The only choice now is to build up instead of out.
• In a survey of the 500 fastest growing cities and the country Orem was the third from the bottom.
• Orem in taxes is 20% lower in property tax other cities around us.
• $82 million property tax will be paid by Woodberry organization
• I’m not sure I’m saying the following accurately:
• 75% savings for the mall will go back to the infrastructure of the mall
• Petition to put Orem expansion on the ballet will require 3200 votes.
• If the petition to put Orem expansion is successfully put on the ballet then Orem will either have a special election in June 2015 (which will cost the city) on November 2015. This may likely motivate Woodberry real estate to invest elsewhere.
• Tried to get son of Woodberry to comment on expansion to State street (which would include my and other ward members’ homes) but he had nothing to say.

Bad:   Scernario

Good: Scenario

I notice that I keep wanting to put an R in Scenario. I’m usually pretty good a spelling the ARIO correctly. But maybe I’ll remember SCEN with thinking that a SCENario might be line an imagined event. Something used to present a hypothesis. Then we might compare option A or an option B. Well movies often have alternative endings such as scene ending A or scene ending B. Why not use this image of SCENe to remember that SCENario. We’ll see if that works or not.

I’m open to alternative ideas, please feel free to provide suggestions.

Last fall I attended a financial seminar and learned about how real estate can be a source of income. Here are some of the notes I took. I hope they can be of use.

• prefab houses are better than on construction.
• Chinese drywall: between the years 2004 to 2006. Many homes were built with Chinese drywall, which contains so for and it stinks. It also is a source of black mold. So for leeches to all poor surfaces from slab and the foundation. Mounting blocks or porous. Known to short out 100% of the wiring. Is uninsurable.
• Possible evidence of: when you see this on a property. It means it is a possible evidence of such things as Chinese drywall. Every time you see this line assume that it does possess what it thinks it has
• homes between 2000 42,007, often received Chinese drywall. You will want to get a test kit to confirm that hasn’t. If it does walk away.
• Make highly informed decisions to purchase a property.
• Chattanooga, Tennessee has the highest rate of millionaires among this population.
• In your research. Check out the zoning apostle rezoning of the property.
• When you buy land ask what the best use of that property is. Besides being a home.
• Seller financing is hard at Texas.
• You don’t have to be nice to assist in the buy a home within the United States.
• Assignment fees: assist people to buy their home seller financing: means you can use a trusted source to finance something.

Have something to add to the list, please add your input in the comment section of this blog.

In Sunday school, we are currently studying the book of Isiah. Sometimes I know that teacher will go more in depth into the poetry of Isiah to better understand the meaning behind the prophet’s words concerning Israel and modern day prophecy.

As a teaching embellishment tonight I thought I’d share some links for teacher that may want to do this in the future.

http://books.google.com/books?id=mZTjf7CHEQMC&pg=PR8&lpg=PR8&dq=hebrew+poetry+in+isaiah&source=bl&ots=wQG2S70Dok&sig=LHg6KemYeWhUSYVI3M44UG-http://www.ldsces.org/manuals/old-testament-institute-student-manual-1/ot-in1-08-sam-psa-G.asp5nCk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=cfA7VLPlOKfC8QHy84GADQ&ved=0CFoQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=hebrew%20poetry%20in%20isaiah&f=false

http://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/hebrew-poetry

http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2010/01/how-a-poem-works-isaiah-517.html

http://www.bible-researcher.com/hebrew-poetry.html
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11902-parallelism-in-hebrew-poetry

http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/23_parallel.html

http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1309&context=leaven

http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Structure_of_Classical_Hebrew_Poetry.html?id=mZTjf7CHEQMC

Do you have a resource that would help in understanding Isiah or have you done a blog on the topic, Please feel free to share it in the comment section of this blog.

At toast masters this last Tuesday I had the speech assignment of selling an item , a crock pot to a potential customer. In the lesson it was important to determine a buyer’s needs. To see whats traits of cooking with a crock pot might interest a buyer. It is important to determine what is important from a customer and then see if what you have to offer can satisfy those needs. Here are some questions I came up with in getting to know the customer. The objective is to gain information from the customer to see if their concerns of cooking might be remedied by the use of a crock pot.

Q: Find out why they came to the store to buy originally and direct the conversation from that object to what you have to offer.

Q: What is your busiest time of day?

Q: Do you feel stressed when cooking the evening meal?

Q: Do your kids help in preparing your meals?

Q: What kind of foods to you like to eat?

Q: What concerns do you have about the American diet today specially in relationship to your family?

Q: what do you think of the reports of sugar or MSG being added to nearly everything we eat and causing a higher population of obesity and diabetes?

Q: would you like to eat more natural foods more healthy for the body if given the opportunity?

One you gain information you can then see if what you offer is something that might help them in their goals.

Bad: consciounce

Good: conscience

Ok, conscience could be interpreted as acting honorable or in a manner that is just. You don’t let your preferences interfere, but rather we would judge things in a fair manner. Science, when used correctly should not be used to document personal bias but to reveal truth. Which could be a similar goal for science, thus Con-Science.

Have a better image to remember the spelling of this word? Please do so in the comment section of this blog. Thanks.

I’m doing a salesman ship presentation at Toastmasters and since I am a fan of the crockpot I thought I would do on that as a product. So I did some research on advice about crockpots. So, why not share in the Tasks, Errands, and Projects oh My blog.  Also eventually I can also add this topic to my Book of Lists.

Crockpots with a removable liner are easier to clean

• Line crockpot with liner or spray with cooking spray to help in clean up.
• Brown meats before crock potting them
• Food should reach 140 digress as fast as possible so have the first hour on high and after that you can turn it low
• Meat does a good job flavoring the whole dish so you don’t have to use as much.
• Low setting is about 300 degrees
• Liquids don’t thicken, add seasoned corn flour and make a pate with cold water and add to simmering liquid.
• Food should be defrosted before putting into a crockpot
• Most pasta, rice and fresh herbs need to be added toward the end.
• One hour on high = 2 hours on low
• Bring liquids to simmer before putting into crockpot will give pot a jump start in coking
• Remove food from cooking bag before putting meal into freezer, thick liner sows the cooking down process
• Avoid large chunks of meat at it may not cook thorally
• Fill crockpot about 1/2 or 2/3s full or won’t cook as quickly and will cook faster
• Programmed cooker will cook your meal by a predetermined time and switches to a setting to keep meal at the proper heat to be safe.
• Food at the bottom will cook aster and since submerged in liquid will be most moist.
• Always layer ingredients in the order given in the recipe.
• Remove skin from chicken
• Trim excess fat
• You can thicken juice I pot by taking off the lids and cooking on high for the last half hour of cooking
• Most meats take 8 hrs. When cooking on low.
• Use cheaper cuts of meat as you can save money but they work better in a slow cooker.
• Slow cookers don’t brown food, so sear meats or poultry in a skillet for extra flavor and added eye-appeal,
• Moist long cooking times result in tender meats.
• Veggies generally cook slower than meats. Place them under the meat
• Each time you take off the lid it adds 20 min cooking time for cooking
• Dairy and seafood tend to break down when cooked for an extended time.
• Spin the cover can remove the condensation falls of
• Pasta cooks better by itself.
• Cayenne pepper and tabasco sauce tend to taste bitter if cooked for long periods.
• Always cook raw meat and poultry dishes on HIGH setting for the first hour to speed up the time
• Add vegetables like tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini in the last 45 min cooking time
• Cut vegetable into uniform sizes
• Liquids do not lesson in the crockpot you may need to reduce liquid by 1/3or 12
• For high-altitude cooking, add an additional 30 minutes for each hour
• Add spices in the last hour of cooking
• Don’t leave left overs in pot, could dry them out.

Advantages to crock-pots:

• Easy to use
• Easy to clean up, especially with a liner
• Does not heat up the kitchen in summer
• Great for new cooks
• Healthier, low-fat method of cooking
• Sensory and flavor rewards that make home, ‘home’.

Have something to add to the list, please do so in the comment section of this blog.

Sources:

http://goodenessgracious.com/2011/08/26-things-you-can-do-with-a-crock-pot.html

http://www.squawkfox.com/2009/03/14/6-reasons-to-use-a-slow-cooker-or-crock-pot/

http://www.ilisagvik.edu/wp-content/uploads/reasons-to-use-a-crock-pot.pdf

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/surprising-things-you-can-make-in-a-slow-cooker#2lzqyzj

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnRlALV6qK4

http://www.mrfood.com/How-To/How-to-Use-Your-Slow-Cooker-Tips-Tricks-for-Your-Best-Meals-Yet

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/05/29/crock-pot-bread-baking-fast-bread-in-a-slow-cooker

http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/summer-slow-cooker-recipes#2lzqyzj

http://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/articles/15-tips-for-slow-cooker-meals.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/crock-pot-recipe-slow-cooker_n_4171132.html

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-top-tips-using-slow-cooker

http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_cooking_101_basics_and_techniques/7_tricks_for_better_slow_cooking_in_your_crock_pot

http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/how-to-use-a-crock-pot-tips-for-beginners-4997643.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ab_paid_12&gclid=CPOt39WlmcECFVVsfgodoQYAzg