It is the last day of April and I can honestly say, as with months previous to this, it went very quickly. I am perpetually stunned by how fast time flies! It’s nearly dizzying, isn’t it? My weekend was spent not feeling particularly well, just generally blah and lacking in any sort of energy. I am hoping that things will pick up throughout the day. I woke up this morning with the headache continuing, no energy and a general feeling of yuck. This is a good day to stay home and rest some more. I am grateful that I had two days to rest and try to regroup, it just hasn’t been enough. It’s amazing the toll that stress can play on our systems, isn’t it? For me, it just drains me of any drive, energy or enthusiasm for anything except resting, though I suppose that happens to a lot of people. I’m going to just make this day the best I can possibly make it, and close out April on a positive note.
Verse of the Day
April 30, 2018
Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Speaking the truth is hard enough. You mean I have to do it in love? Yes, if I am to be Christ’s man or woman, I must speak to others as he did.
www.verseoftheday.com
Holy Humor / Humor Month
This is the final joke of the month – I am hoping that this one will make everyone laugh. At least a little bit.
Sister Mary was truly a religious woman. Besides for her duties as a nun, she was also very active in various hospitals visiting sick patients and taking care of all their needs. So it was no surprise that one day when she ran out of gas, the only container she could find to put the gas into was a bedpan. Sister Mary happily walked two blocks to the closest gas station filled up the bedpan with gas and headed back to her car. Luck would have it that as Sister Mary started tipping the gas into the fuel tank, the traffic light turned red and she had quite a large audience witnessing the spectacle. Just when she finished pouring in the last drops of gas a fellow opened up his window and hollered, “I swear! If that car starts I’m becoming a religious man!”
Food for Thought
What is it about being online and behind a keyboard that makes people think that being mean is acceptable behavior? I commented on a website that focuses on health, noting my experience with a particular topic, and was trolled by a rude man who thought it was acceptable to mouth off to me, making assumptions that have nothing whatsoever to do with reality. I admit that calling into question his reasons for needing to compensate for something in his life by being a bully might not have been nice, but seriously, there has to be a reason for this behavior and not being blessed by nature in a way that would assert his masculinity is at least a reason. Otherwise he’s just an ass and doesn’t deserve to interact with other people at all. Get a truck dude – a loud one that is lifted with huge tires, a ridiculously noisy exhaust, and some rude bumper stickers. At least then everyone would know you aren’t well endowed and can avoid dealing with you in person because they have been forewarned that you are very likely going to be packing an attitude to go along with not packing anything else.
Adopt a Shelter Pet Day – This one is so important! Tibbi and Pepsi were both shelter pets, and for 17 and 18 years they were so incredibly special to me. Each year so many animals are euthanized because people don’t take the time to go find the perfect puppy or kitty to bring home to complete their family. And not just puppies and kittens! There are so many adult animals that will die because everyone wants a baby, rather than a grown up animal. I understand why – training them ourselves so they know the family is important to many of us. Adults though, they can fit in nicely with many people, especially homes with older people that don’t necessarily want to go through the middle of the night house training, or the struggles with puppy school. Before we got Moose we watched the listings for dogs at the shelter, and there were quite a few small dogs, but none of the big dogs that fit what we wanted in a new family member. That struck me as odd, that most of the dogs were tiny, since I would think those would be the easiest ones to fit into lots of different homes. We searched private listings as an alternative, since the shelters didn’t have the size of dog we wanted, and found a non-puppy mill – a family who had a Mama that got out when she shouldn’t have and ended up with a litter of pups. He is still a big puppy, even at 3 years old, and he fits right in with us and our family. He can’t fill the paw prints of Miss Tibbi, but he does take up a lot of the space in our hearts that she left behind. Please, if you have the room in your heart and home, go check out the pets at the shelter. Give one a forever home and the love they deserve. The rewards will come back double. If you just can’t adopt a pet, perhaps you can take the time to volunteer your time to walk the dogs, or cuddle the cats. There is also the option of donating to your local shelter to help keep it running – it takes a lot of food, litter and veterinary care to take care of all of those animals, which translates to a lot of money.
Bugs Bunny Day – The world met the Bugs Bunny we all know and love in his debut as a “mature” bunny in “A Wile Hare” on July 27, 1940. But the first time that viewers actually caught sight of the wascally wabbit was on April 30, 1938, in a short theatrical cartoon called “Porky’s Hare Hunt”. In that first appearance he was called “Happy Rabbit”. Bugs Bunny didn’t say his famous catch phrase “What’s Up Doc? until he came face to face with Elmer Fudd as a grown up bunny a couple years later. “A Wild Hare” was the first of over 175 animated shorts starring the Warner Brothers cartoon rabbit. How many hours did we spend as children giggling over the various characters on Saturday mornings? That was when TV was awesome, and those times were looked forward to with such anticipation. My father worked nights, so during the week I didn’t really get a chance to see him, but on Saturday mornings we’d watch cartoons together, both of us laughing our heads off. Bugs Bunny was a big part of my childhood memories with my father . . . so Happy Birthday Bugs Bunny. You truly are a loved wascally wabbit.
Hairstyle Appreciation Day – Every time I go to town and look around, I find myself laughing. It’s probably not nice of me, but I can’t help it! Do people even look at themselves in the mirror before they leave the house? I’m giggling at the whole picture, usually – and aware that other people are probably doing that to me – but today we are talking about hair styles specifically. Hair is something that allows us to express our own unique personality. Look back over the decades to get a really good idea of just how each generation has expressed itself through it’s own hairstyles. I went to high school in the early 80’s, and for anyone reading this, it was ALL about how BIG the girls’ hair was, and how well it stayed in place. The result? I had my baby girl in the 80s – poor kid went through the first few years of her life with BIG hair. I have to giggle at some of the pictures of what I put that child through. What was YOUR favorite unique hairstyle – either on you, or in general – and what was your LEAST favorite? I have to admit that I have a real negative response to a mullet. It’s just weird! Enjoy your hairstyle watching today . . . because after reading this, you KNOW that’s what you will be doing all day.
National Honesty Day – We are told from the time we are small children that we are not to tell lies. I remember getting my mouth washed out with soap for telling lies . . . and if you have never had a mouth full of Ivory, let me tell you, the error of your ways really becomes a central focus very quickly! Nasty stuff! God tells us in the Bible not to lie, and there are many verses in Proverbs alone that focus on the topic. We want people to believe us when we tell them something, and if we are known for being tellers of the truth, they likely will! But if we are known for telling lies – whether big or small, the chances of being believed when it is really important dwindle significantly. April Fool’s Day, or April 1st, is a big day all about lying, so what better way to end them month than with the focal point being on the truth? So, when was National Honesty Day begun? (even though it should have been in place for generations) In the early 1990s, M. Hirsch Goldberg, former press secretary to a governor of Maryland, and author of five books, created this day to end the month on a moral high note. I thought this was interesting . . . in 2011 a Gallup Annual Honesty and Ethics Poll was taken in which people were asked to rank professions in terms of who is the most honest. Nurses keep topping the list:
Most honest and ethical – nurses, pharmacists, medical doctors, high school teachers and police officers. (well, heck – I can tell you right now I don’t agree with all of these – and I find it to be quite sad that clergy aren’t on this list)
Least honest and ethical – members of Congress, lobbyists, car salespeople, telemarketers, and advertising practitioners (I agree with all of these and can think of a few more to add).
Spank Out Day – To this one I say OH BROTHER! Look around you at the world. Look at the sense of entitlement that children have lately, carrying over into their young adult lives. Pay attention to the trouble making, lazy sloths that are today’s teens and know that the lack of discipline has directly contributed to this horrible group of awful people that we call today’s children. They are spoiled rotten, lacking in responsibility, ethics and many times morals. They don’t want to work for anything, but have their hand out for everything they could ever wish for in this world. As long as they don’t have to DO anything for it they may display a modicum of civilized behavior. Don’t hold your breath for how long that lasts though. I was spanked and am better for it. I spanked my kids when they needed it and neither one of them is a disrespectful heathen. My daughter has a job, a wonderful man in her life and an amazing baby boy. She has an amazing work ethic. My son is a Deputy Sheriff, an amazing dad and wonderful husband. My children were rewarded for good behavior, spanked when absolutely necessary and creatively disciplined in other ways when spankings weren’t the right measure to take. There is a difference between spanking and beating. If only the liberal dirt bags who don’t bother disciplining their kids would understand the difference! Counting to three does NOTHING to guide your kids. All it does is teach them that you won’t DO anything once you get to three! Telling them NO is a good thing! Giving them everything they could ever want at the first whimper is a BAD thing! Not making them do chores is a BAD thing! Treating them like they are adults when they are children is a BAD thing. Telling them they are the boss when they are young, so they treat adults with disrespect is a BAD thing. Teaching them responsibility with jobs to do, repercussions if they don’t do them is a GOOD thing! Doing something like lying, stealing, throwing tantrums, calling names, spitting, bullying, and a long list of other infractions could very well be worth a paddling on the backside to remind them of what can happen if they are naughty. As for the bleeding hearts who incessantly nag their kids, and in so doing punish the rest of society by releasing the monsters on the world, stop it. Keep your brats home so decent people don’t have to be exposed. Trust me, nobody likes them if they act like they own the world. So Spank Out Day? Yeah, I would never celebrate this one by promising not to spank. I would celebrate this one by promising to spank appropriately and judiciously, without causing permanent damage, but with the intent to teach a permanent life lesson. With that ideal in mind, if everyone practiced it, there would be more decent adults in this world, and very likely fewer riots going on for absolutely no legitimate reason on earth.
This Day in History –
1975 – The Vietnam War ends with the fall of Saigon (later renamed Ho Chi Minh City).
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Oatmeal Cookie Day – Chocolate chip and peanut butter tend to steal the spotlight, but an old-fashioned oatmeal cookie is chewy (or crispy!) perfection when paired with a glass of milk. Some of my best childhood memories are of sitting in my Grandma K’s kitchen, enjoying the aroma of her amazing cookies baking, feeling my mouth water with anticipation for when they came out of the oven. The aroma sends me back to those precious moments, and make me miss her so very much. I cherish those memories with everything in me. Carolyn Ketchum has a recipe for “Oatmeal” Chocolate Chip Cookies on her blog. Here’s the recipe – they are low carb and I have heard that they are delicious. If I begin to feel better I may have to try out a batch – only I think I’ll substitute no-sugar craisins for the chocolate chips. Here’s the recipe, if you decide to give it a try too.
I hope your last day of the month is wonderful, and that the start of your new week
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