{"id":4102,"date":"2026-02-13T09:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/?p=4102"},"modified":"2026-02-13T09:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T09:12:11","slug":"cooking-instructions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/cooking-instructions\/","title":{"rendered":"Cooking Instructions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Raoul’s Two Cents: February 13, 2026<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

How Much is That Doggie in the Window?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to ponder, move on to the Jokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our dog Tonka swallowed an avocado seed the size of a ping pong ball. He needed an operation because this silly mistake would block his intestine and lead to a painful death. The procedure would be very expensive. What to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MANY QUESTIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isn\u2019t it strange how the perception of our pets shift from joyful affection to serious dollar amounts when their lives depend on the money in our bank? How much is a pet\u2019s life worth? Do you save its life no matter the cost? By what standards do we measure life? Is a Great Dane worth more than a chihuahua? A pound of cheese is cheaper than a pound of gold. In the 1630s, a bulb of tulip was worth more than a house. Obviously, life isn\u2019t measured by the measurable metrics. What then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HUMAN WORTH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To go beyond pets, isn\u2019t it insulting that pet life may be more valuable than human life? Admit it. I\u2019m sure you can name a few people who you\u2019d blast off the face of the earth for free. How do we justify spending thousands of dollars on a pet instead of say \u2026 a child suffering with cancer or supporting a starving missionary out in Timbuktu?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s go even further. Do we measure people by their attire, their weight, their gender, their ability to speak, their achievements, their athleticism, their beauty, their skin color? How about a smile? Is the Mona Lisa\u2019s smile worth more than the arm of a baseball pitcher?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you look at people with dollar signs and opportunities? What can you get from this person? What\u2019s in it for you to waste your time on this person? What\u2019s your ROI (Return on investment)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I passed by a homeless woman yesterday. She sat on a discarded sofa on the side of an alley. She was reed thin and dirty but she had put on makeup and lit a cigarette. You could tell she was overjoyed to find a soft comfy couch. I had compassion for her yet I didn\u2019t want to engage because homeless people are supposed to be addicts and mentally ill. Would you have done the same? Is this an excuse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each day we face uncomfortable decisions. So many questions. No definitive answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT\u2019S YOUR PRICE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most important question to ask: how much are YOU worth? Is it relative? — and I don\u2019t mean your value to your relatives. When you are depressed and suicidal and the question of your existence comes to the table, please don\u2019t rely on your emotions, it can be fatal. Remember, you are a child of God. Your inherent worth<\/strong> is probably so much greater than you think it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To paraphrase my friend, Professor Warren Lamb<\/a>\u2019s wisdom, he said: \u201cwhile we may be undeserving of any good thing, deserving<\/em> and worthy<\/em> are two very different things. To be deserving of something means we earned it. But worth<\/em> is not about doing but being<\/em> and refers to the inherent essence of something.\u201d The inherent precious value of gold doesn\u2019t change simply because it\u2019s covered in mud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a Christian like me, I start my assessment from Christ\u2019s perspective (at least I try to). I believe He died for our sins. He died for the homeless woman. Why? Because, muddy or not, we all have inherent worth<\/strong>. The price tag we carry says we are God\u2019s children and Christ considered us worthy enough to die for. When someone is willing to die for you, it isn\u2019t as simple as dedicating a song to somebody on the radio. It means a whole lot more than that. It involves patience, pain and suffering. The grace that you receive comes from the sacrifice of someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Tonka, we\u2019re a little poorer because we decided to pay for the ransom — I mean the \u201coperation.\u201d I apologize for my serious tone today. Blame it on Tonka. Tonka may never fully understand the sacrifice we made so that he could live another day but it doesn’t matter. We gave it just the same. We decided his inherent worth was much more than the cost of an operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I can hear the Soup Nazi say to Tonka: \u201cNo more avocado soup for you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this is just me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey, it’s Valentine\u2019s Day tomorrow! Time to give our hearts away! TGIF People!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you like this website, please do me a favor and spread it around. Thank you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mailchimp has been tampering with my email database so you might get cut off. If that ever happens, you can always resubscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quotes of the Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t know your own worth and value, then don\u2019t expect someone else to calculate it for you.\u201d<\/em> — Anonymous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMoney isn\u2019t the most important thing in life, but it\u2019s reasonably close to oxygen on the \u2018gotta have it\u2019 scale.\u201d<\/em> — Zig Ziglar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour value doesn\u2019t decrease based on someone\u2019s inability to see your worth.\u201d<\/em> — Anonymous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn order to insult me, I must first value your opinion \u2026 nice try though.\u201d<\/em> — Anonymous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach and every person — no matter what they have or have not done — has inherent worth because each and every one of us is created in God\u2019s image (imago dei).\u201d<\/em> — Warren Lamb, from his book Unbound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJudge your worth and value by what God says about you in His Word, not by how somebody else treats you.\u201d<\/em> — Ephesians 2:4-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have been bought with a price.\u201d<\/em> — 1 Corinthians 6:20<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joke of the Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Parting Shots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to James of Los Angeles, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to Fred of Long Beach, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to Jennifer of Los Angeles, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to Bev of Pasadena, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to Norm of Encino, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I found these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Got any good jokes? Come share it with rest of us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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