Creamistry; God's Chemistry!

What a day to be alive on this earth! I continue to be amazed at new technologies, innovations, creations and novel ideas that occur on a daily basis. My most recent aha was when we enjoyed a new innovative ice cream experience. It’s called Creamistry, made with liquid nitrogen and is a rapid freezing process that actually provides decadently rich, creamy frozen delights to satisfy both healthy options and indulgent ones. It’s freshly made on-the-spot, right before our eyes. I’ve had it twice with the family during the last week. Notice the little sign over our heads "Never Postpone Joy". We didn't! I like that saying!

Made-from-scratch liquid nitrogen ice cream may not immediately sound delicious. At first glance, it can sound more like someone's high school science project than a delectable frozen dessert. But, as it turns out, good ice cream is not the product of magic, but hard science. At least, that's how you might feel after a visit to Creamistry. What makes this ice cream different is liquid nitrogen, which is used to quickly freeze the fat and water particles in the ice cream base, with temps plunging downwards to -321 degrees Fahrenheit. This results in ice cream that is denser and creamier than conventionally-made ice creams. There are more than 30 toppings and sauces to choose from, ranging from mini-gummy bears to candy bars to fresh berries. Part of the fun of Creamistry, is watching your ice cream being made. When the liquid nitrogen is mixed with your ice cream base, it makes the air around it very cold. This creates white fog, so that it feels for a minute like you've wandered onto the set of an '80s hard rock music video. Once the fog clears, your freshly made ice cream is whisked away to the toppings bar, where it's adorned with all your pre-approved toppings. It's just another reason to be thankful for modern science and those folks who open their minds to grandiose ideas!!

Just think about how far we’ve come since the days when there were no refrigerators. My grandkids still laugh at me when I refer to the refrigerator as an “icebox”. That’s because my Mom called them that all her life. She was born in the year, 2011, when an icebox was created – literally a box that held a big block of ice to keep items cold. We went from that to a refrigerator that you had to defrost often and now, we have refrigerators that provide water, crushed ice and cubed ice AND frost free. And now, Samsung has taken it a step further with cameras built inside the refrigerator that will snap photos of the shelves and send them to your phone upon request when you’re out and about – especially for those of us who forgot what it was that we were at the store for. Nothing really surprises me any more in this age of technology.

As awesome as it is to live in our world today and to be a part of this age of information and innovation, nothing compares to the incredibly, brilliantly and magnificently world our Creator gave us. I'm reminded of my science classes where we learned that many billions of snowflakes drift down to the Earth's surface in the course of a winter, yet no two snowflakes are alike. As awe-inspiring it is that there are "no two snowflakes alike" -- there are currently seven billion people alive today and not one of us have an identical finger print. How’s that for our God’s geniusness? I am certain God designed every part of our bodies for a purpose. As the Psalmist puts it: "Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God – you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something” (Psalm 139: 13-15).

May we never take the privilege of being alive in this day and time lightly. May we bask in the all-knowing, all-seeing, omnipotent, AWESOME God who planned this day from the beginning of time.....and even had you and me in mind. Just maybe on this February 17, 2017 He said, "I think I'll inspire my girl, Donna with the revelation of My creativity and My forethought, and My wisdom to know that I ONLY make ORIGINALS -- one-of-a-Kind -- no two alike -- and each one of them are my MASTERPIECES! I know she'll share that, and she'll also share....I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE MASTERPIECES with my everlasting, unending love."

By the way -- Life is Short; Never Postpone Joy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Day 75 of Photo Inspirations -- Happy St. Patrick's Day
This was the Washington Post's headline for today.   "Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s the chemistry that makes your beer taste good (or bad).  The flavors and aromas of beer all come down to chemistry.  St. Patrick's Day is here, and that means the world is about to consume a lot of beer: 13 million pints of Guinness alone are expected to be consumed."

Quite amusing, and it's a great day for celebrating, but I'm NOT thinking about beer OR science today when I think about St. Patrick's Day.  I know, like other religious holidays, this is another "watered....er' beered down" day where we get distracted from  the true meaning of this day, but I want to honor St. Patrick by sharing who this man was -- just in case you may not know. He was born around A.D. 389 in England. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland. Six years later he escaped and returned home to Britain, but became burdened for the spiritual condition of the Irish. He eventually returned to their land as a missionary for 40 years, where he established more than 200 churches and led more than 100,000 to faith in Christ.  It is told that he used the shamrock to talk about the Trinity.  His death on March 17, 461 is remembered each year as St. Patrick's Day.  WOW -- like Joseph, St. Patrick, was sold to slavery, and like Joseph, "what the enemy meant for evil, God turned for good". (Genesis 50:20)

Listen to how utterly consumed St. Patrick was with his relationship with God in his prayer:  
"I arise today through God's strength to pilot me, God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise.
Christ in the heart of everyone one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today through His mighty strength."

St. Patrick, his witness, his prayer, his passion and his example really is something to celebrate today.  The green I wear today, honors him, honors the God he served and HE is also MY Lord, and MY God!
#StPatricksDay #ChristInMe