What Day is it? – Page 3 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Ash Wednesday for Baptists

March 6, 2025

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. What are you giving up for Lent? Do you celebrate Carnival, Mardi Gras, and Lent? How familiar are most Christians in Springfield, Missouri, with these pre-Easter traditions?

Many pre-Christian traditions were put into the tradition of the Easter season. Even the name Easter is taken from a non-Christian god. Fat Tuesday began as a traditional house cleaning of the meat and other food products that were not to be consumed during Lent. It became a party such as Mardi Gras. The non-Christian aspects of Carnival and other celebrations came from pre-Christian festivals.

Fat Tuesday is 46 days before Easter. This period of fasting and cleansing involves intentionally depriving yourself of meat, dairy, or other foods. This tradition has allowed the celebrants to give up something without fasting for the entire 46 days before Easter.

Many Christians no longer speak of Easter. They celebrate Resurrection Day. Remembering the day Jesus came back to life is more important than bunnies, chicks, eggs, and all the pagan customs that make up the Easter holiday.

Celebrating Mardi Gras or Carnival with its, sometimes, sinful activities before the celebration of the event that is crucial to Christianity seems counterproductive. If you believe that Christ has saved you from sin, why return to it?

Paul tells us that we have been buried with Christ and raised to a new life. We should not intentionally sin and expect God to forgive us. Paul says, “God forbid.” In the Old Testament, the prophets told the Israelites they should make sacrifices to pay for their sins. These sins were not to be intentional. The law was to be obeyed as much as was humanly possible. Jesus came and died because we will all miss the mark.

The sinful conduct before the season of Lent is not sanctioned by Christ even if some churches accept it. I just want all my readers to be aware of what these kinds of actions say to those who do not know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with a person. This one person is perfect when no one else is. If you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, He has forgiven you for all your sins. Why would you spit in His face by returning to the debauchery of a life that He has led you away from? Anyone who promotes this type of lifestyle is lying to you.

Weather or not

February 3, 2025

Cindy and I celebrated the second day of February in a manner that we have had for years. Yes, it is ground hog day. Not because of some rodent in Punxsutawney, PA that came out this morning and did or did not see his shadow. We ate link sausages for breakfast.

Years ago, I told my daughters that we were going to celebrate Groundhog Day by eating ground hog. I am a man of words. I like to use them to communicate with you. Do not believe an animal that is far away can predict your weather. I could believe that this universe happened accidentally before I could accept that.

There are four meteorological seasons in our world. Scientists who are smarter than I have set these up. Winter begins in December. March starts in spring. Every different part of the country has a Winter or Spring feel. Here in southwest Missouri winter is not filled with snow and temperatures below zero. Other parts of the country enjoy more snow and cold than we receive.

If we ignore the meteorologists and look at what we expect our local forecasts to give us we can see warmer temperatures six months earlier than usual. Where I have a problem with a groundhog in Pennsylvania telling me my weather goes back fifty years. I spent ten weeks there in 1975.

On July 4^th it dropped to 32 degrees in Gifford, PA up in the Allegheny Mountains. In my seven decades in Missouri, I never had a single July below forty. I had to light the heater in my house. This Ozarks boy never needed the heat on in the summertime at home. My hosts warned me this might be needed before they left on vacation.

If you have done any traveling, you know that what is expected in one area is uncommon in another. One December I was speaking to a business associate in Fort Worth. He told me they had an ice storm coming in. I was worried it would be like the ones we have. They can mean days of things being shut down.

In Texas, these storms normally hit in the evening, and the ice melts by the next morning around nine or ten. I could not believe it. I checked that out with other Texans and discovered how usual these temporary ice storms are in warmer climates.

This winter, Texas, Louisiana, and other southern states dealt with days of below-freezing temperatures and snowstorms. Phil could not predict that. The Farmer’s Almanac did not even suggest this possibility. No one knew the frozen north would drop thousands of miles this year.

So, in conclusion, I would like to wish you a Happy Ground Hog Day. For next year, celebrate it by eating your ground hog instead of letting him predict your weather. And remember, it’s all related to your zip code.

It’s the Holiday Season

November 15, 2024

Yes, it is. Which holiday is next? This American Holiday season includes three. We have many holidays each year. Check the internet and see what today is on the official calendar. Many things will appear for each individual day. As I am writing this column, I checked https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/november/november-14 and found these facts. View it yourself for others.

Today is National Seatbelt Day and Family PJ Day as well as Robert Fulton’s birthday. Happy birthday to the developer of the first commercial steam ship. Sherwood Schwartz was also born on this day. He is the creator of “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch.” Let’s not forget Henry Blake, the original commander of MASH 477 played by Mclean Stevenson.

This site is full of trivia about any day of the year. Put your birthday in and see which other important people besides yourself were born that day and what Congress is honoring on your day. As you scroll down you will see what events your day is famous for. Maybe your birthday will appear here in the future.

Scrolling back up, let’s look at the three holidays that make up this season. The first was All Hallows Eve that we call Halloween. It and the third day, Christmas, were part of the Christianization of Roman holidays after Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official Roman religion. The second of these days is the all-American Thanksgiving. This is the next on our calendar.

Marketers here want you to start shopping for these three days and refer to the “Holiday Season” to mostly impact your wallet. This is capitalism at its finest. Our economy is based on this concept. Sell your products and services however you can. If a particular day on the calendar can be used, so be it.

I will be talking more about Christmas and have expounded on Halloween before. I want to take an in-depth look at why we Americans should be thankful. For one thing, the election is over. This happens every two years in November and this year is no different from others. We can put politics out of our minds. If the media can be shut out.

What else are you thankful for this year? Health, happiness, family, and friends are things that come to my mind. I’ve celebrated forty-eight years of marriage with one woman. If you can’t say this, think of something that is important to you.

We have three daughters and twelve grandchildren. That will make for a noisy and happy Thanksgiving celebration. Our feelings of contentment don’t revolve around this group. We have an extended family, a host of friends, a nice home, a dog, and many conveniences of our modern lifestyle. Least of all is the computer and internet that bring my words to you.

Unlike us, many of you may not count health high on your list. I put it in the lead not because ours is perfect. It is manageable, most days. I rank it high because of how much worse it could be. We could have cancer, again. We could be dealing with heart issues, again. We have our problems that the medical community seems to be unable to diagnose. That may be your problem this season.

I want to stop worrying about my difficulties and be thankful for what I do have. I have a lot. I am reminded of that at this time of year as we prepare for the family to return home and must put as much as possible away before they arrive. Don’t open the closet Fibber McGee.

Also, do not forget to be thankful for our savior. If you are not a believer in Him, investigate my archives and stay tuned. We will have more before the next big holiday.

Life can be a constant bother or joy. It is all in the way you perceive it. Approach these holidays with an attitude of gratitude not of dread. Depression can get us at any time. Watch for it raising its ugly head and kick it in the teeth with a song of Thanksgiving and joy. I’m saving Christmas music until December.

Ground hog day

January 31, 2024

Yes, February second is just around the corner. Most of us just ignore the note on the calendar. There are no sales on Amazon, Penney’s, or Kohls. We do not have the day off from our jobs unless we schedule vacation. What is there to say or write about this stupid holiday?

I want to promote traditional meals like Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chanuka. We do receive time off for some of these festivals. We still put together a big meal for our families. They are full of traditional dishes from our cultures that have been passed down for weeks, months, or even years. Some are traditions spanning over ten years.

This year it falls on a Friday. Your family may want to celebrate on Saturday or Sunday. Be like the Reagans from the “Blue Bloods” show and have a Sunday dinner for once. They do it every week and someone is almost always called during the meal. Your group does not have to solve a murder, a terrorist crisis, or even the New York Times crossword puzzle.

Eggs are for Easter, barbeque is for Independence Day, turkey for Thanksgiving, and green beer is served on St. Patrick’s Day. What could we possibly serve for Groundhog’s Day? When my children were young, I served sausage on a Saturday that was designated on the calendar as this neglected holiday. I informed them that we would begin this special day by eating the ground hog.

They were not reading my words. They thought I said groundhog. No space between two words. I continue this tradition when I can. This year I decided that instead of promoting what the politicians are trying to shove down our throats I wanted to encourage the hog farmers to keep up the good work. They have a legitimate reason for slinging slop.

At some point on Groundhog Day weekend serve your favorite kind of ground hog. It can be links, patties, Italian sausage on a pizza, or any other form of ground pork in whatever recipe your family enjoys. For those of you in the northern states that have never heard of it you could even serve biscuits with sausage gravy. I remember asking for them in a hotel restaurant in Philadelphia one morning and the waitress looked at me like I was crazy.

That may have been justified because some know I am crazy. She had just met me and had no other clue about my mental status. Family recipes can be used to enhance any celebration. Do you have a breakfast casserole recipe that you use for Christmas which includes sausage? This is the perfect time to serve it for lunch or dinner.

I know some of my readers may wonder why I am having fun with this whimsical holiday. I enjoy trying to be funny when I write. It is difficult to insert humor when you are speaking of serious subjects. I have the most fun when I can sound ridiculous in what is a truly outrageous column. Join me on the second of February with possibly your first Groundhog Day ground hog feast. Enjoy.

It’s not a Groundhog Day

February 1, 2023

Remember the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray? His day just repeats and repeats. In the book, there are many more days in the cycle than we see in the film. He has enough time to learn to play the piano, create ice sculptures, study French, and conquer the Heimlich maneuver.

What would you do if you had unlimited days and knew what would take place every twenty-four hours? I think I would do like Phil does and go insane at first. Once I determined that nothing would change, I would concentrate on one thing at a time. The last scene shows how he has changed during the years he has been stuck.

We all have things that we can improve on. I may not be as self-centered as Phil Connors. I could work on my interpersonal skills. I could learn to play the piano better. I have never carved an ice sculpture or performed the Heimlich Maneuver. I would like to give them a try.

What personal changes do you need to make? Are you a jerk? Are you prideful? Do you hit on women, or men, incessantly? Is your life full of sarcasm and nastiness? Do you need a change?

Let’s look at what we can learn from this spiritual video. Life can be full of the same old stuff, or we can work to change things for the better. It is our turn to be the one that hates everything and everybody, we can run from them, or we can do as our lead character does and begin serving others.

Set a goal. Remember my column from the first of January? Don’t worry if the resolution you made for this year has already fallen by the wayside. Pick it up again and be ready to continue as often as you must.

Life is not the same all the time. Look for ways to help others. Make this a great winter no matter how long it may last.

I do not like snakes

February 1, 2023

One of my favorite songs by Jim Stafford is “I don’t like Spiders and Snakes.” I know, it is another old song. Today is National Serpent Day. I don’t like snakes as pets. They are fine outside in our yard. I thought I might share some snake stories with you.

We had a part beagle dog that was very unusual. She was an outdoor dog, and her name was Trixey. As I said, she was part beagle. We did not train her as a hunting dog. One day, Cindy, my wife asked me to come and look out into the yard. Our dog was standing, looking at the yard next door. Her gaze was focused on a brush pile.

My wife asked what she was doing. My response was that she was set to point. Those who have seen hunting dogs being put through their paces, know this stance. When a hound senses their prey, they stop, the nose goes out, they raise one front paw, and their tail stiffens to make them an arrow pointing the hunter to where the game is.

This is what Trixey did. After the first time we saw it, we often saw her set to point always at the same neighbor’s yard. Later we saw foxes and other animals over there. She knew what she was doing.

Another interesting habit she had was playing with snakes. She would find them sunning themselves in the yard and pick them up. When a dog picks something up, they use their mouth. This beagle would grab them midsection and shake her head violently. Then she would drop them.

This game continued if the snake started to move after it was dropped. They tried to wait her out. That did not happen. She was into the game. Trixey could lay on the ground and quietly outwait them. She was good. The play ended when the snake did not ever move again.

That was where she left her playmate. My wife was afraid she would be bitten. If that ever happened, we never saw or heard it. One day Cindy was the one we heard. She was carrying the laundry basket and she saw a snake. I gave it a kick and it did not move. That ended the fun for Cindy.

Snakes are important in our world. They have their place. They eat bugs and small animals. This is a good thing when they live in your yard or garden. I was the assistant livestock manager for a pet wholesaler. We supplied pet stores with products. Two big sellers were white mice and baby rats.

We bred these and it was my job to go in and feed everything on the weekends. We called these feeder stock because they were used to feed snakes and other reptiles. It’s the cycle of life. I have also worked with some snakes in my career. Those are different kinds of snakes, and those stories are for another day.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant