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Friday Favorites – 2nd Edition

This product is my new go-to recommendation for senior citizens. It’s a great Father’s Day gift for any dad and a wonderful gift for the “what-do-we-buy-the-grandparents” question, whether it’s a holiday or not!

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. This means that if you purchase an item/items through clicking on a link, I will receive, at no additional cost to you, a commission from the seller.

Echo Dot – 5 stars out of 5!

The Echo Dot (aka: “Alexa”) has numerous benefits for the elderly (and the not-so-elderly!), and I’ll list several of those below. However, I want to give you two possible negatives first—and get those out of the way!

Negative #1: You need to have Wi-Fi access. This hadn’t occurred to me until I recommended this to a friend the other day. She explained that her mom doesn’t have Wi-Fi availability, so the Echo Dot would not work for her.

Negative #2: If your recipient has vision issues or little understanding of technology, then someone who has at least a minimal knowledge of the Internet will need to set up the Echo Dot prior to use. This includes putting all safety measures into place for security reasons. (These are carefully explained in the setup process for your Echo Dot—things like not having it set to be “searching” constantly for sound but to “wake up” when called upon.)

Now to the good stuff:

  • “Alexa, what time is it?” – For the vision impaired, this is a blessing. Time gives order and security to our lives, but when you are unable to see the clock, both nights and days can seem long.
  • “Alexa, call _______” – When setting up your Echo Dot, be sure to have this feature accessible. It’s a great source of reassurance to the recipient and to his or her loved ones, knowing that if an emergency arises, “Alexa” can call for help and/or call a loved one.
  • “Alexa, tell me about ______________ (historical fact).” Hours and hours of fun, learning, and joy!
  • “Alexa, add ______ to my shopping list.” This is a wonderful tool so that the individual can simply “call out” when using the last teaspoon of this or the last piece of that.
  • “Alexa, create a playlist.” Music at the drop of a hat…or the call of a name (“Alexa”)!
  • “Alexa, add, ‘Take medication,’ to my morning routine.” For those whose loved ones can benefit from this reminder in the morning or even throughout the day, this will provide an added peace of mind!
  • Once programmed to so do, the Echo Dot has voice recognition, and “Alexa” will recognize the speaker’s voice.
  • “Alexa, read to me” …”play Jeopardy” …”tell me a joke” …”give me the weather forecast.” This list goes on and on. Signing up for the informative e-mails provides you with innumerable options and innovative ideas for helping your loved one use the Echo Dot to its fullest potential.

Added bonuses (in our eyes):

  • For added use, purchase the “Smart Plug” so that simply by saying, “Alexa, turn on the lights,” the lamp comes on. The double bonus, it also works for most TVs, your phone, the coffee maker, and many other electronic devices that may be useful to have available via voice control.
  • It’s about the size of a hockey puck. This is not some gargantuan device that will take up valuable counter space.
  • It’s transportable. Because it plugs into the wall, you can easily move it from room to room if necessary.
  • There is an option to “Drop In” on another Echo Dot in the house. For this reason, we got our loved one two of them, so that if someone is upstairs and she is downstairs, she can use it like an intercom to communicate easily. It was totally worth the cost of the second Echo Dot!

Friends, this barely scratches the surface of the benefits of the Echo Dot, but we have already found it so helpful and such a “plus” for our loved ones, that I couldn’t help but share this as one of our featured Friday Favorites!

To learn more and to order your Echo Dot(s), click here.

We’ll be back on Monday with a devotional challenge from Brenda! If you haven’t already done so, we invite you to take a moment to subscribe so that our new posts will come directly to your Inbox. We never spam you. You’ll only hear from us when a new post is available!

By Petals from the Basket | May 29, 2020 | Family, Friday Favorites, Ideas |

Life Lessons from Three Pilots

The Captain’s Corner

Do you ever stop to think of people who have made a difference in your life—perhaps spiritually or professionally? Were they an example of what you wished to become? I have several individuals who “piloted” me in this way. In this post, I’d like to share lessons from three of those with you.

Even when I was a little boy, Captain Glenn Shoop of Braniff Airways was my hero. (He eventually flew the Concorde!) We would talk during my visits to my grandmother’s home in Dallas, especially over Christmas break. Captain Shoop listened to me and encouraged me in my desire to fly for the airlines.

Captain J. J. Hamilton was the director of the flying school I attended, American Flyers. He cared about me, a fifteen-year-old kid who wanted to learn to fly. He gave me advice and helped me in my training. When he could no longer fly because of vision problems, he exemplified a powerful Christian outlook that overcame discouragement.

Captain Gene Price was a captain with Delta. When I needed guidance on how to apply for a job with the airlines, Captain Price prayed with me and talked with me. He touched my life spiritually with his consistent and gracious example.

All three of these men impacted my life by their walk with God and their godly lives. I wanted to be like them, and I am grateful to God for them. Like Barnabas was to the apostles, these men were “sons of encouragement” to me (see Acts 4:36, ESV). Like Paul’s admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12, they were examples I could follow.

As I told you about these three pilots who left their imprints on my life, who came to mind as someone who has done the same in your life? Whose life will you impact today?

By Petals from the Basket | May 27, 2020 | Bible Reading, The Captain's Corner |

Come on Over for Chicken Salad – Hold the Mayo!

Just in time for Memorial Day…and summer!

I’m not a fan of mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, salad dressing, or whatever else they may try to title that white creamy stuff that makes me cringe just writing about it. I’ve tried. Really I have. I’ve even had my “no-thank-you portion” to appease my mother, and I still don’t like it. That means I rarely like chicken salad, potato salad, or pasta salads made with the white creamy stuff. And I know I’m not the only one!

So…I researched my options, tweaked a few recipes, and came up with this “Come on Over” recipe that we (Joe likes it too) now consider a favorite! Enough chit-chat. Here’s the recipe! Enjoy!

Brenda’s “Come on Over” Chicken Salad

Prep time: 30 minutes-ish
Serves: 4-6
From the kitchen of Brenda Henderson

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup diced chicken breast (cooked, diced into small cubes)
  • 3/4 cup diced onion (2 slices diced into small cubes)
  • 3/4 cup diced celery (3 stalks diced into small cubes)
  • 3/4 cup diced petite dill pickles (approximately 12 petite dills)
  • 1 cup Fage (or similar) yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp lemon pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Directions:

  1. On stovetop or grill, cook one chicken breast; season with 1/2 of the lemon pepper while cooking.
  2. While chicken is cooking, dice onion, celery, and dill pickles.
  3. Once the chicken is fully cooked (but still tender), let cool for about 5 minutes, then dice into small cubes.
  4. Place all ingredients in large bowl. Add remaining lemon pepper and other spices (including Italian seasoning, if desired).
  5. Mix well. Chill, covered, in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Serving Ideas:

  • Serve with crackers as a “walking” casual entree or side dish.
  • Serve a scoop-sized portion on a bed of lettuce and serve with a side dish of sliced peaches, a bowl of berries, or tortilla chips and salsa.
  • Serve as a sandwich on a croissant. Include a leaf of fresh lettuce for added color and “crunch.”

By Petals from the Basket | May 24, 2020 | "Come on Over" Recipes, Entertaining, Events, Ideas |

Friday Favorites – 1st Edition

Today is the first edition of “Friday Favorites” and what we hope will be only the first of many such posts to come! We’ve got a great “favorite” to share today that we think truly will be an excellent tool and resource to assist you in your everyday Christian life!

Please note the following:

  • We are ranking these winners out of five possible stars. Few things created for everyday use are perfect, but if we really like it, it will receive five stars!
  • We will only post things we have tried and that we feel are worth sharing.
  • Some of these favorites are listed with “affiliate links,” meaning that if you click on that link to purchase the item(s), we receive, at no additional cost to you, a commission from that/those sales. We use some of those payments to help fund the work of Petals from the Basket.
  • Questions or need additional information? Feel free to leave a comment.

Bible Gateway Bible Audio App – 5 stars out of 5!

In exchange for an honest review of this app, I received a free download of the app. HOWEVER, it’s FREE for EVERYONE! Yay!

Joe and I already love all things Bible Gateway, but here is why this app (a separate app from the Bible Gateway app we already use) quickly became a favorite:

  1. You can repeat a chapter or a verse! This helps to make memorization and/or meditation sooooo much easier than having to stop and reset the verse or chapter. I particularly like this for chapters I’m working on for my Bible study project, because I can set it on repeat and have it playing while I walk, cook, clean, or do just about any activity!
  2. You can set a timer! Want to prop your feet up for 15 minutes and refresh your spirit while refreshing your body? Choose a passage of Scripture and set the timer!
  3. You can speed up or slow down the playback! In brutal honesty, some chapters (the “who begats”) are just better when sped up! At bedtime, I like a slower pace of reading to calm my spirit and my body in preparation for sleep.
  4. There are optional translations and listening styles available (dramatization, pure voice, etc.)! This may be one minor, minor, minor drawback, because the translation options are pretty narrow at this point, and some passages I enjoy more in different translations, but I’m hoping they’ll add new translation options over time.
  5. It’s free! There is an option to upgrade to a “Gold Subscription” and avoid data limits for a very minimal fee, but I have unlimited data with my phone plan, so I’ll keep the freebie!

Can you see why this is already a favorite tool of ours? You can click here to download the app and learn more about the Bible Gateway Bible Audio app! After you download the app and use it for a few days, let us know what you think!

By Petals from the Basket | May 22, 2020 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, Ideas |

To All the Women of Influence

You need to know this: I have no children in my home. My husband and his late wife had one daughter, and she was a married adult with children of her own when Joe and I married forty-four months ago. That information is critical to this post.

On Mother’s Day each year I honor my own mother, just as I endeavor to do the remainder of the year. It’s a day set aside to honor the tireless work and love that mothers pour out on a daily basis from their seemingly endless supply. Yes, they’re human. Yes, they get it wrong sometimes (just as we all do). Yes, they deserve our honor and respect in spite of it…and because of it. They show us what grace looks like, and for that, we most certainly are grateful.

Though I have no children of my own, I have a family member who annually calls or texts me on Mother’s Day to thank me for being a “woman of influence” in her life. It touches my heart to receive her unnecessary and undeserved (but much appreciated) words of acknowledgment and gratitude.

To think of ourselves as “women of influence” borders, in our minds, on being boastful or on thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think (see Romans 12:3). However, Scripture encourages us—no, it commands us—to teach those who are younger than we are (see Titus 2:3-5) and since each of us is older than someone, that applies to all of us. Therefore, we are all, as humbling as the title is, women of influence.

How can you influence other women? The answer is in the passage I first referenced above: Romans 12. The chapter begins with the admonition to present ourselves, through the renewing of our minds by His Word, as sacrifices to God, willing to do whatever He desires for us to do in this moment. We are then reminded in verse 3 (see above) that the faith and abilities we have are from God. The chapter continues as the writer encourages his readers (under the direction of the Holy Spirit) to use their varying gifts and abilities to bless others and to serve God.

There is no greater influence than that. There is no greater joy than that. There is no greater privilege than that. There is no greater responsibility than that.

So to the grandmothers, the mothers, the childless, the women and girls of all ages, may this weekend of celebration serve not as a source of sorrow over unmet expectations or unfulfilled dreams. May you instead be reminded of the glorious blessing that you have in being a woman of influence.

And to the women of influence in my life…I thank you.

By Petals from the Basket | May 9, 2020 | Bible Reading, Events, Family, Friends, Life Changes |