One of the professors in my doctoral program at Lincoln Memorial University once gave us an assignment entitled “This I Believe About Educational Leadership”. I am thinking there is a website or blog called “This I Believe” to which people can publish their beliefs on certain topics. The importance of the assignment was to teach that what we believe guides our life decisions and impacts not only our own but others’ lives for better or worse.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around this, but in many countries, bugs are considered to be a delicacy. Did you know you can buy chocolate covered insects here in America? Maybe some of you have tried them and liked them. I’ve heard they are rather crunchy. As for me, the bugs I ate weren’t chocolate covered. And it wasn’t on purpose.

Christian, do you realize Jesus prayed for you? In John Chapter 17, as Jesus Himself was going through what arguably was the most turbulent time in His earthly life, Jesus prayed for you!
Here is the specific verse and following that verse is some of the context, but not all:
John 17:20
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;”

When holidays roll around, I like to poke around for a connection with the natural world, and I found some interesting stuff about The Declaration of Independence. This most revered American document kicked off our nation’s quest to rule itself, which we celebrate on the 4th of July, Independence Day.

On August 3rd, kids from all over Union County will be able to show off their skills in cooking, corn-shucking, joke-telling and so much more at the Annual Youth and Corn Festival.

A contest unique to this event is the Farm to Table Corn Dish. Kids can make the dish of their choice and enter it in the contest. The corn can be obtained from the competitor’s garden or from the farmer’s market. Entries will be judged on taste and overall appearance, and must include a recipe card and at least one item from the farmer’s market.

Kayla Torra, owner of Self Made Fitness, has introduced a new level of fitness classes in Union County. For the month of June, Torra has hosted a Fit Camp at Sweet Southern Tumbling on Durham Drive. Classes are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:00 to 6:00 in the morning; yes, in the morning, before work or school or daily lives typically begin.

Back pain is among the most frequently reported health problems in the world. New research examines patterns in back pain over time and identifies the patient characteristics and the extent of healthcare and medication use (including opioids) associated with different patterns.

The study included 12,782 participants who were interviewed every two years and provided data on factors including comorbidities, pain, disability, opioid and other medication use, and healthcare visits.

A couple of years ago, Bonnie Peters and I were talking about old timey sayings. Later, I sat down and compiled a bunch of them. Back in the day, before television and a movie costing an arm and a leg, we enjoyed sitting around seeing who could remember the most maxims. Most have a kernel of truth in them. See if you remember any of these:

Mincey’s Musings
Year Two, Week Twenty-Two

I received an email a few days ago that referenced some of the phrases that my generation adopted as standard language that everyone in that time could understand. One of the phrases identified was “carbon copy”. The explanation of the origin of the phrase was: “Before photocopiers were a thing, copies were made by sliding a piece of carbon paper between an original document and blank paper. It’s also what ‘cc’ means in your email.”

Thousands of years before modern medicine, people depended on medicinal plants to ease pain and aid healing. Our early pioneer ancestors learned from native Indians what plants were useful to treat maladies. Many of these plants are common in our area and easy to identify. What follows is a description of some of the more easy to find medicinals found in our area.