MrsDrPoe: This Week is OVER!

Good afternoon, and a happy Foto Friday to you all.  I don't know about you, but I am very thankful that this week is over!  I thought this bewildered picture* of Layla could describe the last few days best:

I certainly hope next week is much less stress-filled (and much more turkey-filled) than this one!

How was your week?

*Taken by my friend, Ms. Long.

MrsDrPoe: "To Live is Christ"

Good morning to you all, and welcome to Theology Thursday on the blog!  As I do every week, I invite you to open your Bibles with me as we look at portion of God's word.

During this month's elections, I heard someone say, "I hate when people let religion get in the way of politics!"  I found this statement to be particularly ironic since this person would identify herself as a Christian.  This got me to thinking about how we often try to compartmentalize our lives, dividing our focus much like this pie graph:

We spend, say, 33.3% of our time at work or school, 22.2% of our time sleeping, 22.2% of our time with family, 11.1% of our time doing chores or running errands, and 11.1% serving God.  While this seems like a nice, neat way to organize our lives, we are missing the point of being a Christian.

In Philippians 1:21, Paul says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."  He goes on to explain his statement in the following verses: "But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.  For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.  Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you."  Thus, through death, Paul would "gain" by being able to be with Christ, and continuing in this life is "Christ" as he would spend his time teaching others about Him and continuing to pattern his actions as after the Lord's.

As we "imitate [Paul] as [he] also imitates Christ," (1 Cor 11:1), we too must strive to make living Christ in our lives.  Our focus pie chart should look more like this:

Not that our service to God has been removed, but that it's like a third dimension, permeating every aspect of our lives.  That means that when we're at work/school our actions reflect our Lord- we help others, we don't gossip, we don't lie or cheat, etc.  When we're with our family, running errands, or doing chores, we again make choices that would be pleasing to God- curbing our anger at 'stupid drivers,' examining the media we listen to/watch/read, etc.  Of course, in order to implement this lifestyle, we must know what is pleasing to Him- knowledge that we gain through intensive Bible study and fervent prayer, attempting to conform our will to His.

"To live is Christ," and we should strive to point to Him in every action we take and decision we make- even political ones.

MrsDrPoe: The Ultimate Hot Cocoa

Another week has reached its midpoint, which means it's time for What's for Dinner Wednesday.  Tonight, I'd like to share with you a family recipe that might be useful to you as we forge through the chilly nights ahead...hot cocoa.

Ingredients: 1 cup milk, 1.5 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 tsp sugar (or sugar substitute).

Combine cocoa and sweetener in the bottom of a microwave safe mug with a spoon:

Add about 2 tablespoons of the milk to the cup; combine to form a liquid-y paste.  Pour in the rest of the milk and stir to combine.  Microwave for 1 minute on high, then remove, stir, and microwave for another minute to minute and a half.  Enjoy!

I love this recipe for several reasons:

1) It's simple and preservative free.
2) It's easily dressed up- top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings and maybe a peppermint stir-stick and you've got a fancy, festive treat!
3) It fits any diet- if you're watching your weight, use skim milk and Splenda for a happy ending to your day with 100 calories or less!
4) It makes a great gift- if you're looking for homemade gifts or party favors, combine cocoa, sweetener, and 1/3 cup powdered milk in ziplock bags (for individual packets...or multiply the recipe and put in mason jars).  Give as gift along with instructions to add 1 cup water and the contents of the packet (about 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon of mix from a larger container) to a mug and microwave.

MrsDrPoe: Mortgages 101

For this week's Reading Review, I have another book on mortgages for you, "Mortgages 101: Quick Answers to Over 250 Critical Questions About Your Home Loan" by David Reed:

This book is fantastic, and as a testament to that fact, we are planning to purchase a copy (this one's from the library) to keep as a reference.  Unlike "All About Mortgages," "Mortgages 101" has a multitude of basic information about mortgages for the every-man.  It's written in question and answer format, and Mr. Reed has a writing style that makes it feel like he is sitting across the desk from the reader answering his/her questions in person.

In the work, Mr. Reed not only sheds light on mortgages in general, but he also gives tips on what loans are best for those with good credit and with bad credit, questions to test the knowledge and ability of your potential loan officers, advice on how to choose the right lender, and suggestions for cutting closing costs.  I have made several notes from this book, and I think it has given me the confidence I needed to speak to lenders without feeling like I'm being taken advantage of.  Most refreshing of all is that this information is also given with an air of caution; Mr. Reed encourages readers throughout the text to seriously consider their financial comfort when choosing a mortgage payment plan.  

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's considering buying a house- especially if it's your first home purchase- building a house, or refinancing their current home loan.

MrsDrPoe: Dimensional Analysis, Part I

Happy Thesis Tuesday on the blog!  Today we'll look at a brief introduction to the interesting topic of dimensional analysis.

As with any type of experimentation, fluid flow experiments should be performed in a meaningful and systematic manner.  If we consider, for instance, the pressure change across a section of pipe in Poiselle flow, we can see that this change in pressure is affected by fluid properties (density, rho; and viscosity, mu), pipe diameter, and fluid velocity.  By running countless numbers of measurement experiments, each time varying a single parameter, we could determine how the pressure change is affected by each of these items; however, these relationships would only be valid for this pipe with this fluid and this experimental setup.

WHEW!

In order to improve the quality, applicability, and repeatability of our experimental results, we use dimensionless products or dimensionless groups.  These terms are combinations of variables necessary for a problem and often employ basic dimensions (mass, M; length, L; and time, T) or units (pounds, feet, and seconds, etc.).

The method we use to find these dimensionless terms is called the Buckingham Pi Theorem - "If an equation involving k variables is dimensionally homogeneous, it can be reduced to a relationship among k-r independent dimensionless products, where r is the minimum number of reference dimensions required to describe the variables."

Next week, we'll look at an application of this theorem, which is much simpler than it may sound!

MrsDrPoe: Deals Near and Far

It's Money Monday once again!  There are some great deals out there this week...

Wags - some freebees, good sales on products for around the house

CVS - some freebees, another week of their gift card promotion (buy $30, get a $10 gift card)

Autozone and Advanced Auto - buy 5 quarts of oil + an oil filter, get $7 back (mail in rebate)...there are several brands of oil participating in this promotion between the two stores!


If I'm able to get out today, I'll let you know what I end up with...


Also stores are also sharing some of their Black Friday deals super early this year!  Check here for details as they emerge, and visit back next Monday for tips on successful Black Friday shopping.  Happy saving!

MrsDrPoe: Sisters

Another week has come to a close, which means it's Foto Friday here on the blog!  Today I'd like to share with you some more pictures of our girls- last night Sascha actually laid down with Layla.  We were amazed that after almost three years, they're finally beginning to act a little more like sisters:

 

   

Did anything unexpected happen for you this week?

MrsDrPoe: When Is It Right to Do Wrong?

Another Theology Thursday has snuck up on us, and as always, I invite you to open your Bibles as we look at a portion of God's word.

Today we'll be looking at Mark 1:39-45.  In this passage, we see that as Jesus is going about the countryside teaching in synagogues, a leper comes to Him begging to be cleansed.  He realizes as we see in v. 40 that Jesus has the power to heal and if He is only willing, his disease will be cleansed.

Jesus reaches out and touches the man before cleansing him, showing His compassion through something that the leper hadn't experienced in a long time.  Then He speaks, and the man is healed.  Before He sends the man away, Jesus commands that the man not tell anyone.  Instead of listening to Jesus, the man "proclaims" the matter "freely" and "spreads" it.

It's been suggested that Jesus is using reverse psychology here, but there is no evidence for this conclusion- throughout scripture, God and Christ 'say what They mean and mean what They say.'  Thus, this man blatantly disobeyed the Lord.  We may think, "he was just tyring to spread the good news about Jesus."  Well, maybe, but he was doing it in a way that was in direct contrast to the command Jesus gave him.  This begs the question:

When is it EVER right to do wrong?

The answer, of course is never.  Not 'when it's in my best interest,' or 'when I don't understand why it's wrong' (Prov 14:12), or 'when I disagree' - NEVER.

So what does this mean for us?  First, we should strive to study the Bible in its entirety without bias, examining what God has given and not given authority for.  Then we must apply His teaching to our lives, even if it's difficult.

MrsDrPoe: Pasta Salad

It's time for our What's for Dinner Wednesday post.  Tonight's dish works well cold, hot, or room temperature...as a side or the main course: Pasta Salad.

Ingredients: 1 box of hearty pasta noodles (Rotini, Penne, etc.), 2 Roma tomatoes,  1/4 of a medium onion, 1 green bell pepper, 1-2 cups of Italian dressing.

Chop the tomatoes, pepper, and onion up finely and place in a gallon-sized zipper storage bag with 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the dressing.  Seal the bag and shake it up to coat the veggies with the dressing.  Place the bag in the fridge while you make the pasta (or longer; I let mine marinade overnight):

Cook the pasta and allow to cool.  Put the pasta in the bag with the veggies and add the remaining desired amount of dressing (1/2 to 1 1/2 cups).  Seal the bag again and gently shake/massage to evenly distribute the veggies and coat the pasta with dressing.  Refrigerate, serve, or reheats as desired.  Enjoy!

 

The colors in this dish make it a great candidate for a holiday side-dish!

MrsDrPoe: The Rudes

It's time for another edition of Poes' Pals here on the blog!  This morning, I'd like to introduce you to another wonderful family from Starkville...the Rudes:

We've known the Rudes for approximately seven years, and we can attest to the fact that, contrary to what their last name might suggest, they are some of the most caring and friendly folks we know!

Dr. Rude is a professor in the Animal and Dairy Science at Mississippi State University (Mrs. Luke actually had him for a class; she and others have told us that Dr. Rude is a great teacher and his classes were enjoyable and informative).  He is also a great Bible teacher, presenting material in a way that encourages participation.   

Mrs. Rude often teaches French at East Mississippi Community College (we've heard great things about her and her teaching from friends too).  She is one of the most selfless people I've ever met, constantly being aware of the needs and desires of others and striving to help out in whatever way she can.

Ms. Rude may come across as shy when you first meet her, but she is a very spirited, fun-loving, and spiritually minded young woman.  One of my very fondest memories of her is when she went with Ms. K. Davis, Ms. M. Davis, and me to a ladies Bible study in Birmingham- oh what a great time we had!

As you're probably tired of hearing me say, we miss our Starkville family very much, and we hope that if you're ever in the area you'll have an opportunity to meet some of the fine people there!

MrsDrPoe: The First Law of Thermodynamics, Part 6

Hello and welcome to Thesis Tuesday on the blog!  As promised, today we will be finishing our look at the first law of thermodynamics by applying the differential form of the first law to an example problem.

Problem: A liquid is flowing downward along an inclined plane surface, as shown in the figure:

The free liquid surface (y = h) is maintained at temperature Th, and the solid surface (y = 0) is maintained at To.  Determine an expression for the temperature distribution in the film, recognizing that the viscous heating effects can be ignored.

Given: non-isothermal film flow, T(0) = T0 and T(h) = Th
Find: An expression for the temperature distribution in the fluid film
Assumptions: steady, laminar, incompressible, Newtonian fluid, ignore viscous heating effects, constant thermal conductivity, assume T = f(y), constant properties
Solution: 


Starting with the general form of the differential energy equation for an incompressible Newtonian fluid:

rho*cp*(d/dt(T) + u*d/dx(T) + v*d/dy(T) + w*d/dz(T)) = -(d/dx(qx) + d/dy(qy) + d/dz(qz)) + mu*Phiv

Steady flow eliminates the first term on the left side; the last term on the right side is eliminated because we are ignoring viscous heating effects.

rho*cp*(u*d/dx(T) + v*d/dy(T) + w*d/dz(T)) = -(d/dx(qx) + d/dy(qy) + d/dz(qz))

Our assumption of laminar flow means that v = w = 0; the first term on the left side is also zero since T is in not a function of x:

0 = (d/dx(qx) + d/dy(qy) + d/dz(qz))

The flux terms can be related to the temperature gradient using Fourier's law:

qx = k*d/dx(T), qy = k*d/dy(T), and qz = k*d/dz(T)

Furthermore, since the thermal conductivity (k) is constant, our energy equation becomes:

0 = k*(d/dx(d/dx(T)) + d/dy(d/dy(T)) + d/dz(d/dz(T)))

We can divide both sides by k; the first and third terms cancel since T is not a function of x or z:

0 = d/dy(d/dy(T))

If we separate and integrate this equation twice, we end up with the expression:

T(y) = c1*y + c2

We can solve for c1 and c2 by applying the given boundary conditions at 0 and h:

c2 = T0 and c1 = (Th - T0)/h

So we now know the expression that shows us the temperature distribution in the fluid film:

T(y) = (Th - T0)/h*y + T0

Not so bad, huh?  Next week we'll begin anew with a fresh subject, but until then, happy studying!

MrsDrPoe: Oil Rebate

Happy Money Monday to you all!  There are some great deals going on this week all over the place, but I'd like to start you off with a deal on oil and filters at Autozone...for those of you you change your own or have a do-it-yourselfer on your Christmas list:

Through November 14th, buy any 5 quart jug or 5 single quarts of Castrol and get $7 back with a mail in rebate.

Currently there are 5 quarts + filter combos on sale starting at $12.99.

MrsDrPoe: Highlights from the Week's Beginning

Happy Foto Friday to you all!  The past seven days have been filled to the brim...here are the highlights from the beginning of the week:

I went to Ikea for the first time with Mrs. Holland and Mrs. Clark.  It was a grand trip with fantastic company!  I got all sorts of decoration and storage ideas and had the tastiest (and cheapest) Swedish Meatball meal I may have ever eaten:

And as you know, Monday was October 31 AKA...

1) Halloween.  We celebrated by giving out some candy (to the three trick-or-treaters we had before Bible study) and with hot cocoa from our cauldron mugs Mama Wolgemuth gave us:

2) the Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Brodrecht.  The day marked three years of marital bliss for Mr. Poe's sister and hubs.  Yay!

What adventures did you have this week? 

MrsDrPoe: Our Lord and Savior

Today marks another Theology Thursday here on the blog.  As usual, please open you Bibles with me as we look at a portion of God's word.

There are several passages in the New Testament that refer to Jesus as both our Lord and our Savior (Lk 2:11, Ph 3:20, Tts 1:4, 2 Pet 1:11, 2:20, 3:2, 3:18, etc.), but what does that mean to us?

Savior 

This word in the Greek is soter (root word: sozo, meaning "to save"), and it's defined by Thayer as "savior, deliverer; preserver."

It's very easy to see how Jesus is our Savior- He sacrificed Himself on the cross, bearing our sins, so that we may have forgiveness from them...something the blood of bulls and goats could not take away (Heb 10:4).

The thought of having a savior of some kind is pleasing to most if not all people.  We don't want to be hurt; we want to be comfortable, and if someone can give that to us, we gladly welcome him.  As Christians, however, we must not forget that the salvation Jesus provides us is not necessarily from the physical pains of this world- we will see trials and persecutions.  He has saved us from the tyranny of sin and spiritual death.

Lord 

This word in the Greek is kyrios (root word: kuros, meaning "supremacy"), and it's defined by Thayer as "he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord.

Throughout the gospels, we find examples of Jesus' supremacy over all things in both the physical and spiritual realms: storms (Mark 4:35-41), leprosy (Mark 1:40-45), paralysis (Mark 2:1-12), demons (Mark 5:1-20), death (Mark 5:21-43), etc.  

All too often, however, we simply think of "Lord" as a synonym for "Jesus."  While the two can be used interchangeably, we must realize that the nuances of this terminology.  Jesus is to be our Master, which makes us His servants.  As servants, we must strive to do the will of our Master always- servitude isn't an 8-5 job.


As Mr. Holley always says- everyone wants a "Savior," but most don't want a "Lord."  It is imperative that we, as Christians, keep in mind that Jesus is both our Lord and Savior...we have been saved from sin to serve the Master of all things (Rom 6:1-7)- the True and Living God!

MrsDrPoe: Lemon Pepper Tilapia

It's What's for Dinner Wednesday again, and I'm hungry! Tonight I'll be sharing another one of Mr. Poe's favorite dishes, Lemon Pepper Tilapia.

Ingredients (per person): 1 Tilapia fillet, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning.

Place fillet on a piece of aluminum foil, and sprinkle the lemon pepper seasoning over it. Bring the left and right sides of the foil together over the fish and fold or roll up. Then seal the far end of the foil pocket by rolling or folding up that end:

Carefully pour the lemon juice in through the open end of the foil, and fully seal the pouch by rolling or folding up this end. Place on a cookie sheet (in case the juice leaks), and bake the fish at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until the fillet transforms from transparent to white and flaky:



Mr. Poe and I love to also put sliced bell pepper and cherry tomatoes in our Tilapia pouches, and we serve it over rice (the juice makes a great "gravy"). Enjoy!