Bittersweet is my word of the day. It is the weekend, which is sweet. I get to see my daughter and her family, which is also sweet. I get to have some play time with Baby R which is SUPER sweet . . . but today my girl and her little family are moving further away, and my heart weeps at that. That puts the bitter in my sweet for this weekend. I am trying very hard not to cry, at least not now. I know that I will for sure cry tomorrow when I say good-bye. I know on an intellectual level that I will see her soon, and that geographically they aren’t going to be THAT far away, but as life gets busy the miles feel longer and the distance greater, and the heart feels it deeply.
Verse of the Day
August 11, 2018
I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Our treasure and our truth come from Scripture. Scripture is God’s guidance for us on how to avoid Satan’s harmful traps and to live God’s blessed life. Rather than seeing God’s Word as limiting, we need to see it as a gift of love and to value it more highly than riches.
August 12, 2018
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
We are God’s temple! God lives in us. What we do in our bodies is part of our worship to him. We are called to not only abstain from impurity, but we are called to glorify God in our bodies and honor the sacrifice by which our holiness was bought.
www.verseoftheday.com
Food for Thought
Everyone has those moments in their lives that are painful to relive. Some moments are so terrible that we are not able to deal with it and our minds take care of us by putting the memories away in a box and storing them until we are strong enough to take them out, dust them off and put the demons to rest. Once they are slain, it’s best to leave them that way, rather than resurrecting them to rehash their evil deeds. It’s too painful, too destructive and once the demons are released we never know the mayhem they can get up to before they can be slain once more.
Saturday – August 11
Middle Child Day – I am not a middle child. I grew up the oldest of two, but I middle children deserve some recognition and today is the day. The oldest is the guinea pig kid – parents are learning on this child. Most of the mistakes are made with that one. The baby of the family gets all the perks. By the time baby comes along the newness of parenthood has worn off, and pretty much baby gets whatever he or she wants. The middle child though, from what I hear, has a completely unique perspective on life. It’s called “Middle Child Syndrome. The oldest and youngest children tend to be more outgoing or extroverted, while the middle child is more shy and introverted – even a bit of a loner. Somehow in the rush and bustle to get oldest child to all of their activities and catering to the baby, the middle child just gets a little lost in the shuffle. Not sure how that works in families with an even number of children, or even that “middle child syndrome” is a valid thing, but it’s what “THEY” say. So today, to all middle children, go out and enjoy the limelight today. Just know you are a wonderful person, talented and very special.
National Bowling Day – National Bowling Day is celebrated all across the country as it is recognized as a great American pastime. It is a game enjoyed by 95 million people in more than 90 countries around the world! That’s a lot more than I ever would have thought! I’m really not very good at the game, but I do enjoy it. I used to like taking the kids bowling when they were little because I had a really good excuse to use the bumpers over the gutters! They sort of frown at grown-ups who want the bumpers and honestly, it could be embarrassing to admit to being THAT bad at the game, right? Today find an alley and a few friends and go have some fun! Maybe they’ll let YOU use the bumpers, so you end up having a great game! I may see if hubby wants to play Wii bowling tonight. We haven’t played for a long time!
National Garage Sale Day – It’s been years since I’ve been to a garage sale. I have so much junk already that I can’t imagine needing more. And when I’ve actually HAD garage sales they’ve ended up being a LOT of work without a big return. My Grandpa LOVED going from sale to sale finding treasures. He was so incredibly handy with repurposing items, creating something new and handy out of what would be garbage to someone else. I remember when he bought an old exercise bike and turned it into a cornmeal grinder. He’d pedal away getting his exercise, all while grinding the corn so Grandma could make him his beloved sweet cornbread. Or when he took old car shocks and made fishing pole holders out of them! He even took old bed slats – the metal ones and made berry posts out of them, and scaffolding for the house for repainting it. Yes, my Grandma definitely benefited from the sales he went to. Well, today is your day if you love going to garage sales, because it’s National Garage Sale Day – the 2nd Saturday in August each year. Keep your eyes open if you start in on browsing what’s out there because I’ve read of people finding amazingly valuable things at estate sales – paintings by famous artists, incredible antiques, etc. The biggest one I’ve read about was the guy who bought a box of glass negatives at a sale for $45, and they turned out to be the lost work of Ansel Adams – valued at an estimated $200 million! Granted, those finds are extremely rare, but possibly worth the time invested!
Presidential Joke Day – Presidents have a sense of humor. Some have a CRUEL sense of humor and put the joke on the whole country – but that’s not the kind of humor we are talking about today. Many people think that today is a day to make jokes about the president – but that’s not what this is. This is the day for presidents to actually make a joke. On this day in 1984 President Ronald Reagan made a doozie of a joke. Just before his regular Saturday radio address he was doing a voice test with the microphone. He thought the mic and the feed were not live, so he joked into the microphone: “My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes”. Imagine his shock when he realized he was on a live feed! This incident led to the creation of “Presidential Joke Day”. Most American presidents will not make it a habit to perform jokes on, or to, the American public on this day, or any other. Fortunately, the one who made a joke of our entire nation is no longer in office and our current President – who has replaced President Reagan as the BEST President we have ever had in my mind – is in charge, making us stronger and better again. AND he has a great sense of humor, so who knows? He may just tell a joke today.
Sunday – August 12
Son and Daughter Day – This is a day to spend with your children. Our sons and daughters are everything to parents! At least mine are to me. Raising happy, well-adjusted children in today’s hive mentality world isn’t easy, and we aren’t always highly successful. Kids will grow up and do things we don’t approve of, but that doesn’t make them any less beloved to us. I wish I could spend today with my children, however it isn’t to be. Whenever the chance does come up to even steal a few minutes with one of them, I do. This isn’t a day of giving or receiving gifts, unless it is the gift of time. If your kids are grown, give them a call. Tell them what an amazing and wonderful thing raising them was, tell them how proud you are and how much you appreciate them. Flaws and all, they are so important to us. Besides, we all have flaws, we have all failed. Put those things aside and love on your kids today. If you are blessed to still have them at home, do something wonderful together. Go for a walk, go to the beach, play games, laugh together. Make a happy memory with them that will stay in their minds and hearts forever. Someday they will look back and they will tell the story of those times to their own children. Besides, God gave us our kids. They are gifts, and we have been given instructions by Him to raise them up right, to be shining examples to them, and to nurture our relationships with them. This doesn’t end when they move out. It ends the day we die, and they carry on with the lessons they have learned from us.
Vinyl record spinning on turntable close up
VARIOUS
Vinyl Record Day – Well, it isn’t surprising that this day was set in motion by the Vinyl Record Day Company – which is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to recognizing and preserving vinyl music, its culture, art and sound. You can dust off some old vinyl records to celebrate today and give them a spin on your old turntable – that would be a great way to celebrate! What may surprise you though – because I know it actually surprised me – is that many modern artists are producing music in vinyl format to provide a richer, more complete experience. I didn’t understand this, so I asked my husband, who hears things I don’t hear in music (I think it’s a guy thing – I hear music, the hiss or scratches or whether or not the bass is just right – these things escape me. Guys just hear it if it’s off though, don’t they?), and he explained it to me this way. CDs and other digital formats may be technically perfect and free of imperfections, but vinyl gives a warmth and a bigger feeling to the music. He compared it to hearing a piano concert in person – the warmth and depth of the music surrounds you, and you feel it inside and out. On a CD though, you just hear the music and it doesn’t get inside the way it does live. And apparently vinyl has a similar feeling. Interesting!
World Elephant Day – I read through what I wrote last year, and I’m pretty happy with it and can’t think of any way I’d like to change it . . . so here’s a re-post from 2013:
I’m sure we’ve all enjoyed watching the elephants at the zoo – though I do find myself feeling sorry for them – all cooped up. The only consolation in my mind is that most of them have been born in captivity and probably wouldn’t do so well in the wild. When I saw what this celebration was I had to look up some more details besides the simple truth that these are amazing animals, and the babies are precious. And here is what I found out! It’s fascinating. The birth of an elephant is a spectacular event. Grandmothers, aunts, sisters and cousins crowd around the new arrival and it’s dazed and tired mama, and they trumpet and stamp their feet and wave their trucks to welcome the floppy baby who has joined their family. (sounds like a lot of human families I know!) After nearly two years in the womb (poor mama!) and a few minutes to stretch its legs, the calf can begin to stumble around. It’s trunk though, an amazing part of the elephant, has up to 150,000 muscles with the dexterity to pick up a pin, and the strength to uproot a tree. This incredible appendage will be quite a mystery to the little guy at first. Over time, and with patience and a lot of guidance, it will find the potential its trunk has. With this amazing trunk he can breathe, smell, drink, caress, thwack, probe, lift, haul, wrap, spray, nudge, collect, bathe, toot, wave and use it for tasks that we would need eyes, nose, hands and strong machines to accomplish. Elephants look pretty amazing, but it is their intelligence and gentle empathy that has fascinated people for centuries. They celebrate birth – like I described in the beginning, and they mourn their dead. According to what I’ve been reading they are the only other creatures that do that. They have been known to bury dead rhinos, lions and humans. Maybe if they’d been uglier, more boring, or a less gracious creature, people may have left them alone to live out their lives in peace and with freedom. However, because they are so intriguing, they have become the victims of the fascination of humans which is embodied in the desire for ivory objects. The sad reality is, that because of this quest for ivory, the outlook for elephants is pretty grim. An average of around four are being poached for their ivory every hour. A century ago there were around four million elephants. Today the estimate is that their population is about 500,000 and that number is dropping fast. It will be a much lonelier world when this happens. Ian Minchler puts this into a rather harrowing perspective – which I will quote –
“Central and East Africa are in the midst of a poaching onslaught against their elephants – population counts and poaching records by both government and NGO agencies confirm this. Driven by organized crime syndicates in search of ivory, we also know that that the vast majority of this bounty ends up in the Far East. Amongst other factors, these illegal activities are facilitated by weak governance and corruption in the affected countries. The big question however is how long before the poaching gangs turn their guns and machetes on the elephant herds of southern Africa? The region carries over 50% of the continents elephants, and to date these have not been impacted by the poaching. But given what has happened to rhino and the nature of organized crime, this scenario could very well change sooner rather than later. And for many, this crisis is not only about the death tally – it also embraces the folly of allowing a trade in ivory. Despite what we have learnt from previous one-off sales through CITES, the pro-trade lobby remains strong, a factor that may very well be fueling the poaching.”
In an attempt to raise awareness of the elephants’ plight, August 12 has been declared World Elephant Day and people in many countries will be taking whatever action they can in defense of this great fellow creature. I know that some local zoos have links on their websites where can donate to the cause of saving an endangered species. Please consider finding one and helping in some way today.
This Day in History –
August 11, 1966 – The Beatles begin their last US concert tour.
August 12, 1898 – US annexes Hawaii.
Food Celebrations of the Day –
August 11 –
Raspberry Tart Day – ell, doesn’t this sound delicious? I cannot begin to tell you how hungry I suddenly am for a raspberry tart! Traditionalists may demand that tarts only have a shortbread crust. But we won’t tell if you want to make yours with graham crackers or chocolate cookies!
August 12 –
Julienne Fries Day – Most of us may think of these as shoestring French fries, but the true name is Julienne Fries. All that really means is that they are cut into thin, uniform matchsticks and when they are cooked they end up being crispier. Since I love my fries crispy, this sounds pretty awesome to me!
I’m going to go ahead and post this on Friday night since we have to get up and out of the house early on Saturday. Have a wonderful weekend! God bless you and I’ll see you on Monday!
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Celebration list sources:
www.verseoftheday.com www.brownielocks.com www.holidayinsights.com www.thenibble.com www.foodimentary.com