Halloween-Last minute ideas for a backyard bash

Celebrate Halloween with a backyard bash. Gather your costumed friends for a party that includes a bonfire, smoking punch, snacks, and games. 

Build the bonfire

If you do not have a fire pit, build a bonfire pit safe from the house.
Dig a shallow hole large enough to contain the fire.
Set two medium-sized logs side by side in the middle of the hole.
Place newspapers, hay, or wood pieces in the kindling spot.
Light a match and carefully place it in the middle to start the kindling.
Place another log across the top of the fire when the kindling has an intense flame.
When the top log catches fire, your bonfire is good to go. Feed the fire regularly throughout the party. Be sure to douse it with water when the party ends.

Halloween Punch

Make your favorite punch and encase it with dry ice to create a spooky atmosphere. Watch the video below for the how-to.

Prepare for ghostly games.

The Mummy

Break into teams of three or four. Each team will have a toilet paper roll and choose one person to be the mummy. Each team has five or ten minutes (whichever you decide) to use the entire toilet paper roll. The winners were the team with the fastest time and the most creative mummy. Prizes can be candy, popcorn balls, or a round of applause.

Eat the Donut

Use tree limbs or a clothesline between two trees to hang donuts with a string. Donuts should be slightly higher than the average teen. Choose teams of two and tie them together at the waist. Each team tries to eat the donut without using their hands or arms—the first team to eat the donut wins. If a donut falls to the ground, the team is eliminated. 

Blindfold Drum Finder

Choose one person to be the drummer. The drum can be a pot or hollow log- anything that resonates. 

The game begins when the drummer drums once. Each player is blindfolded, and the drummer chooses a spot away from the bonfire. The blindfolded teens try to find the drummer, who can make a sound every few minutes. The game continues until each teen has found the drummer. If found too quickly, the drummer may change location. 

How to Use Dry Ice with Halloween Punch 

Quiet Beauty of Fall Morning

Quiet beauty: 

Silent sun shines softly bright
On the waning green of trees about to winter.
Penetrating the leaves
And outlining each vein.
This whispering sun caresses the grass.
With fine filters through the fence cracks,
It gently covers the house
And slips gracefully through the moss.

A fragile day, this end of summer.
The earthy breeze and tender sun
So carefully preserve the warmth.
A tended hearth.

Portend of the coming quiet beauty
Of another season.

Climate change: what is the cause? What solutions can we apply?

Climate change and global warming: We experience them every day. The increase in severe weather, the droughts, and the melting ice are all symptoms of a worldwide illness. I recently read an article discussing the causes of alarming global warming. This article states, "Human activity has rapidly increased the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, human activities such as burning fossil fuels, including coal and oil, have increased greenhouse gas concentrations in our atmosphere."

The article did not specify the number of factories and cities constructed during the Industrial Revolution. Building the factories and towns required the consumption of acres of trees to clear the land and make the needed housing. Transporting goods and people led to the need for roads and railroads. While removing trees to clear land for agriculture increased the use of fossil fuels, a few remaining trees (air filters) could combat the warming effects of these greenhouse gases.

There is always cause and effect. The reason is deforestation and the increased use of fossil fuels. The effect is global warming or planetary destruction. There is a reasonable, cost-effective method to reduce carbon dioxide using this simple cause-and-effect model. The technique is how our planet developed the life-sustaining air we need to exist.

Trees are natural air purifiers that use a process called photosynthesis. During this process, leaves pull in carbon dioxide and water and use the sun's energy to convert this into chemical compounds such as sugars that feed the tree. But as a by-product of that chemical reaction, oxygen is produced and released by the tree.

Governments spend billions of dollars seeking to control carbon emissions and develop alternative energy sources. Carbon-capture plants capture and bury carbon dioxide. But these plants do nothing to release breathable oxygen back to nature.

 Iceland introduced the world's largest carbon-cleaning plant, claiming it will remove 3,600 metric tons, or 7,936,632 pounds, per year. About 15 plants are in operation. It is excellent to remove carbon dioxide from the air; it is better to install an efficient air filter that removes it and returns clean air. Achieving this is simple and rewarding. 165,347 mature trees can achieve the same air purification. One tree removes 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air and returns breathable oxygen.

The funding from the federal and state governments would be better used to reforest cities, develop incentives for builders to avoid razing land before building homes and business sites, and remove blighted city areas, replacing these areas with trees.

Reforesting is not a novel idea. China, the top polluter of carbon dioxide, launched a reforestation project in 1999 to address the environmental damage caused by its industrial growth. China has spent upward of 100 billion dollars, benefiting crops, controlling, in part, carbon dioxide emissions, and raising forest coverage to about a quarter of China's total land.

In the U.S., combating the degradation and rising crime in blighted urban neighborhoods could be better served by removing abandoned buildings and replacing them with trees. Many communities have pockets of blight, a breeding ground for drugs, crime, and despair. Replacing these areas with trees would improve living conditions and create an environment of hope and a future. One acre of blight can hold 80-120 trees and remove 3,840 to 5,760 pounds of pollution from the air in one year.

So what can one individual do? Plant trees. Incorporate trees into your landscaping projects. Various trees enhance any yard; some are quick-growing, like the Quaking Aspen, Sugar Maple, and Arborvitae. Whichever type of tree you choose, remember that one mature tree can create enough oxygen to support 4 people.  

God's Word Became Real-The Essence of Salvation

God's Word is alive-it did not dry with the ink. Some Christians believe that the Word cannot be heard or understood from individual verses, yet God speaks to the heart through a verse or a chapter.

I have been perplexed lately about the disturbances I have felt in my heart. I listen to others talk and hear their ideas concerning leading people to the Lord and how they believe they should live. All is good, but something is unsettling to me.

I have been praying and seeking God about this. I did not know if I was missing something, believing falsely, or what was going on. I began to look up the word 'reasoning' because this seems to be happening in the conversations. And in my Christian walk, I do not rely on reasoning but simply on believing in God.

John 8:47 (KJV) He that is of God heareth God's words: ye, therefore, hear them not, because ye are not of God. I read John 8:47, and this helped me a lot. Based on my own experience with Jesus, it was not arguments or justifications, but the overwhelming presence of God and the realization that this was the truth that brought me to salvation.

During the 70s, the "Jesus Movement" began. Many of my friends were saved, and we talked about their experiences. I was not moved and did not feel a great need to 'find Jesus. I was working on a poem about the origins of creation, and asked a woman I worked with, a pastor's wife, if I could come and speak with her and her husband about some questions I had about descriptions in the Bible
. We talked for a long time about the giants in the land and some aspects of what the Word said about creation. As I left, the pastor suggested I read the book of John.

Not knowing the Bible but remembering the word "John," I got out the Catholic Bible my mom had given me when I was married. I opened it, found John 1, and began to read. This is what I read, and this is what happened.

In the beginning, was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-14(NKJV)

Agnostic eyes read these words.

My brain translating concepts into thoughts:

Flowing electricity

Through the fortifications of all I knew.

Stunned, I stared at lilac walls,

Laced with the afternoon sun.

I sat, looking at the big book in my hand,

My brain clicking internal binary codes,

Programming inroads

Through disconnected memory files

And suddenly,

Organized sense awoke.

A veil was lifted:

I gasped, "I'm saved."

Practical ways to recognize and managing stress

Mental stress occurs when you are frustrated, angry, or anxious. Stress can happen in a productive situation, like stressing muscles to gain strength, or stress can negatively impact the body and mind. Some pressure is good, as it improves motivation and productivity. But what can you do when stress elevates to an unhealthy level? What's stressful for one person may not be stressful for another. 

If it causes you stress, that is enough. Look for ways to manage the stress that is individual to your circumstances. I am a "hands-on Controller."  I get paid good money to serve as an office manager and financial wizard, ensuring profitable operational control. In this role, my stress can be overwhelming. Employees have demands, emails to answer, financial statements to compile and report, bills to pay, and cash to receive and apply to customers' accounts. Once, I thought about running down the hall, bouncing off the wall, and knocking myself silly.

Stress can include too many phone calls and emails, meetings that interfere with deadlines, and the physical stress of sitting or standing for an extended period. However, learning to manage stress is a healthier way to meet daily challenges. When facing pressure at work, maintain a sense of humor. Realize that mistakes happen.

 One of the simplest methods is to take periodic breaks. Get up, stretch, and move away from your work area for a few minutes. If your work culture does not have formal breaks, you can still take short breaks to play a game of solitaire or a word game, anything quick that requires concentration and takes your mind off the problem or situation. Or take a break and stay productive by sorting your mail, clearing your desk, or catching up on filing. These tasks are mental breaks.

Practice deep breathing: sit up straight, inhale deeply, and exhale to the count of 10. Repeat this four or five times. It increases the oxygen in the blood and will refresh you. When the focus is on breathing, your mind will relax. You may come up with a better idea or change your perceptions.

For continuous stress management, exercise regularly. Exercise releases endorphins, which elevate your mood and help promote a sense of well-being. I like to exercise right after work. Exercising is my way to bridge the gap between work and home. Walking lets you relax, release the workday, and renew your energy for the next set of tasks at home. You can also take an aerobic or yoga class on your way home from work or simply exercise at a gym with good music.

Remember to include laughter in your daily routine. Laughing has positive benefits and is proven to reduce stress. Laughter enables you to be less serious about yourself and lifts your spirits. Laughter can lead to greater creativity and better problem-solving. I have a dark sense of humor and employ this daily. I have a voodoo doll with my boss's face glued on it and a big hatpin holding it on my bulletin board. If this is not for you, still look for opportunities to laugh. Enjoy a good comedy show or movie; the sillier, the better.

Make time to read. Concentrating takes your mind off the day and helps you to rest. Put the trade journals aside for the best relief and pick up a mystery or romance.

Managing stress is possible. It is essential to move away from the circumstances that promote stress. Socialize regularly with friends. A good dinner with friends, a movie, shopping, playing cards, bowling, or taking a pottery class (or whatever interests you) helps maintain a sense of self and accomplishment apart from the workplace. Recognize what your stressors are, and use short breaks, laughter, exercise, reading, and time with friends to recharge.