People are such creatures of habit, aren’t they? Years ago, I worked in Seattle, so I had to be out of bed by 4:00 so I could leave home at 5:30 to catch a ferry. After that I went to work for a company that had me starting at 7:00, so for awhile it was sleeping in . . . until I adapted. At one point they changed my schedule, so I started at 7:30, so back to sleeping in a little. When I left that job, I suddenly was still getting up early with hubby, but wasn’t having to leave the house, so that felt nice and almost as good as sleeping in . . . then back to work and starting at 8:00. Yesterday I switched my schedule up so I can build up some hours to use this summer for fun stuff, and I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed that measly half hour! It’s crazy what a difference that little bit of time made. I’m sure I’ll adapt quickly, or at least I hope I do.
Verse of the Day
April 10, 2019
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
“New and improved!” That’s the key marketing tag to re-introduce an older product that has fallen out of the public perception. Make a few changes, then re-market the old product. Paul wants the Colossians to know that Jesus does not need to be “new and improved.” Instead, they need to follow him as Lord just as they did when they first became Christians. That is our need, too. Our lives need to be rooted and nurtured in Christ Jesus as Lord, full of thankfulness for God’s incredible gift of grace in his Son.
Finding Peace in Simple Moments
Sometimes peace is as close as your first sip of coffee in the morning. Seriously! It is!
National Humor Month
Married Four Times
The local news station was interviewing an 80-year-old lady because she had just gotten married for the fourth time.
The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then about her new husband’s occupation. “He’s a funeral director,” she answered. “Interesting,” the newsman thought… He then asked her if she wouldn’t mind telling him a little about her first three husbands and what they did for a living.
She paused for a few moments, needing time to reflect on all those years. After a short time, a smile came to her face and she answered proudly, explaining that she had first married a banker when she was in her 20’s, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40’s, and a preacher when in her 60’s, and now – in her 80’s – a funeral director.
The interviewer looked at her, quite astonished, and asked why she had married four men with such diverse careers.
(Wait for it…)
– She smiled and explained, “I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.”
(Oh, just hush-up now and send this one on to somebody who needs a laugh.) ha!
ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Day – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded on April 10, 1866 in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh. Mr. Bergh had been appointed in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II. While he was there, he was horrified to see work horses beaten by their peasant drivers. On his way back to America, he visited the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals in June 1865. This visit awakened his determination to secure a charger not only to incorporate the ASPCA but to exercise the power to arrest and prosecute those who violated the law. He brought back strong and persuasive arguments with him and on April 10, 1866 the New York State legislature passed the charger which incorporated the ASPCA. Nine days later the first effective anti-cruelty law in the United States was passed, which allowed the ASPCA to investigate complaints of animal cruelty and to make arrests.
National Bookmobile Day – (Always 3rd Wednesday) – Did you ever have the Bookmobile visit your neighborhood? What wonderful memories! Ours came around in the summer time when kids didn’t have access to the school library. I was in love with books even when I was quite young, voraciously reading anything I could get my hands on, so this was a treat. Stepping into that van that carried the perfume of brittle pages of books that had been enjoyed by many was like stepping into a world of endless possibilities for me. Mom always tried to caution me to not get more than I could read in a week, but I don’t think I ever had trouble reading everything I took. There wasn’t a limit, as long as they always came back undamaged the following week, and I took very good care of my books so I wouldn’t ever have the privilege revoked. I miss those days. The original Bookmobiles date back as early as the late 1850s. Horse drawn carriages carrying collections of books to small communities, bringing the literary world to people who did not have easy access to books without these traveling libraries. Bookmobiles haven’t been around for several decades, and truly, I feel that this generation of children has missed out on something wonderful.
National Farm Animals Day – Today is an important day meant to promote the welfare of America’s huge livestock population – an estimated 9 billion chickens, 244 million turkeys, 93 million cows, 65 million hogs and 6 million sheep . . . among others! U.S. farm animals go through a lot of hardship – from lack of space, to an excess of hormones and antibiotics being pumped into them. The founder of this day, Colleen Paige, had the goal of raising awareness of the plight of slaughter animals, as well as to find homes for farm animals that have been abandoned or abused. There are organic, free-range, drug free farms that take care of animals who have been mistreated, and the videos I’ve linked below show just how happy these little (or big) guys can be to have freedom to run and play, and how much they love being treated with kindness. Makes me a little teary to see how much fun they are having! Click each of the links and watch a couple minutes of video each to get a sense of the happiness these critters have to be free!
Meet Angelo – he is enjoying his freedom at a rescue farm in New York. How cute is this?
Run! Run! Run! That’s exactly what these kids (baby goats) are doing at California’s Harley Farms.
National Sibling Day – Today was designed to be a day to appreciate and cherish your brothers and sisters. It’s a wonderful sentiment, and I hope that everyone loves their siblings. I’m sure that the thought is great, but seriously, anyone who has ever had a sibling – no matter HOW much they love them – they will not be likely to say (or at least very few would) that they cherished them growing up – at least not ALL of the time. If your sibling(s) are younger than you, like mine is, then you dealt with the baby coming into the family and stealing all the attention and dividing the affections of your parents away from you 100% and making you share them! If your sibling(s) are older than you, like I am to my brother, then you had to deal with being punished for getting revenge for the baby taking all of that attention that used to be yours away! The older sibling is the guinea pig in the family – all parental experiments landed on us, since kids don’t come with a “how to” manual. By the time the younger one comes around the parents feel like experts and the baby gets away with EVERYTHING! That actually doesn’t ever end. The older one is usually the responsible one, the younger one is the spoiled one. The middle child is . . . well . . . the middle. The parents weren’t AS hard on them, but not as lenient as on the baby. Now there are always exceptions to this rule, and I know at least one of my readers is identifying herself as that exception right now. I know that I was actually pretty awful to my brother . . . hysterically funny! . . . but awful. I put that boy through a lot. I never harmed him . . . ever . . . but my gosh, sometimes the public humiliation must have really bugged him . . . like the time I made him dress up in a dress and lady’s hat and paraded him up and down the road (he was 4! Not like it scarred him for life, but it was FUNNY to a 9-year-old sister!) Now, for those people who didn’t have brothers or sisters, I actually feel sorry for them. I know they have all of their parent’s attention, but Christmas must be so quiet and what’s a household without the bickering and chaos of multiple kids? For those families I find myself hoping there are cousins around to make it FEEL like siblings. Today, no matter what your relationship with your siblings, appreciate them for at least this one day. They truly did enhance your life growing up, whether you know it or not.
Salvation Army Founder’s Day – The Salvation Army is a wonderful organization that does a lot of great things for people around the world. It began in 1865 when William Booth, a London minister, gave up his pulpit and took his message to the streets where it would reach the poor, the homeless, the hungry and the destitute. His mission was spiritual, but he recognized the everyday needs of people and from the time he established the Salvation Army, their services now include hospitals, shelters, nurseries and thrift stores to help those who are less fortunate.
Safety Pin Day – Safety Pins are great. They are used for all sorts of wardrobe emergencies, to hold cloth diapers closed (or at least they used to be), in punk fashion styles (late 1970s and the 1990s), etc. Walter Hunt of New York patented the simple design of the safety pin, made with a piece of wire, a coiled spring and a clasp, on April 10, 1849, according to records with the U.S. Patent Office. It’s always a good idea to have a couple of safety pins on hand for unexpected emergencies. Sometimes they are great for costumes too! When my daughter was about 12, she wanted to be a punker for her costume to wear to school. We had the hair and clothes just right, but the outfit needed something more. We took a safety pin, super glued the sharp point to the safety catch, then took wire snips and snipped out a little spot on that straight section. When the opening we made was slid up to my daughter’s nostril, it looked like she’d pierced her nose with a safety pin! We sterilized and put other safety pins into her ear holes and strung a very light necklace chain from her earring to her nose “ring”. It worked wonders! We had a LOT of people fooled!
Food Celebration of the Day
National Cinnamon Crescent Day – Thank Pillsbury for making crescent rolls an everyday delight. The company introduced frozen dough in the 1950s, and home cooks have baked with it ever since.
Cinnamon-Chocolate Crescent Roll
Almond Cinnamon Braid Cream Cheese Cinnamon Crescent
This morning went a little better than yesterday did – yep, I am well on my way to making this a new, and hopefully easier, habit. Time to take Moose on his walk, then get to work. God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.
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Some of my posts will contain links to products that I am an affiliate for. When you make a purchase through that link, I will receive a commission for the sale. I make this known to you so that you are aware of these links.
Celebration list sources:
www.verseoftheday.com www.brownielocks.com www.holidayinsights.com www.thenibble.com www.foodimentary.com