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!

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

Yesterday, at a beautiful Fall Retreat with 28 precious women, a scripture contained in a "love letter" from God to us, resonated with me: "You are a child of the light and a child of the day. You do not belong to the night or to the darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:5. Literally, a light came on in my noggin as I read that -- a solar light, that is.

My mind drifted to the solar light (see photo here) that I have that is really very cool -- but only if it's left outside in the sunlight so that it draws in the light to make it work. Not being a science buff, I really didn't ponder how it worked before yesterday at that retreat, and then even more so, once I got home. (I love the ability to search for answers on the internet). I knew I a blog was coming about solar light.

Many years ago, the thought of powering lights by harnessing the power of the Sun sounded like science fiction. Today, though, you can see solar panels on the rooftops of buildings and houses, as well as street lights in some cities. If you have a garden or landscaping at home, you might even have solar-powered lights guiding your path at night.

Solar lights work because of the solar cell. The fact is, the most important part of a solar light is the solar cell. The solar cell is the part that converts sunlight into direct electrical current. You can clearly see the solar cell as a dark panel at the top of a solar light.

As sunlight passes through the solar cell, positively-charged spaces then transfer an electron stream as a direct current of electricity through wires embedded into the solar cell to a battery where the electricity is stored until it’s needed. The battery charges throughout the day as sunlight continues to be converted to electricity. (This makes me sound like Clifton Janey, right, Staci Wallace? Clifton was a brainy kid in Staci's elementary school days.)

This process repeats on a daily cycle. During the day, sunlight is converted to electricity and stored in the battery. At night, the battery supplies the electricity to the light until it is all used up or the photoreceptor shuts off the light as daylight reappears.

So......with all that scientific mumbo jumbo in mind.....just think about our Creator who had all that in mind before the beginning of time, but better than all that, in referring back to that scripture that explains how we, too, are SOLAR LIGHTS....but not from the SUN, The SON. When we purposefully stay close to THE LIGHT of Christ, our batteries will be so charged with His Light that we, too, will shine so brightly. Just look at how God planned that we should be SOLAR -- SON Lights. Luke 11:33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light."

If EVER, we need to stay close to THE LIGHT -- it is today. We ARE children of THE LIGHT....and we don't belong to the darkness. So that we continue to shine brightly to a very DARK world, may we make sure we are living close to God and His Word, and surely His LIGHT in us will penetrate the darkness around us! Our world might just be a little corner and we might wonder how can we affect our world. That sweet old song gives the answer...."Brighten the corner where you are....you just may be the safe harbor to carry them to a place of refuge,hope and peace -- that is so needed in our world!"