Good Morning! The sun is shining, it’s going to be another beautiful day and we are almost to the weekend! Can’t find anything negative in that, can we? Well, I’m sure we could, but why would we? It’s going to be a busy day at work, which means it is going to fly by at a very rapid pace. That’s fine with me. I like it when I’m busy so the day passes by without any lag time. After work I need to do a bit of grocery shopping. I will NOT make the mistake of going on a Friday after work again. That was incredibly time consuming and somewhat frustrating. I just need to figure out what we are having for dinner first – which makes it easier to shop for the ingredients. I have time to figure out what sounds good a little closer to time to leave.
Verse of the Day
May 3, 2018
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
Sometimes the key to survival is simply “setting our jaw” and going on faithfully trusting that God is there helping us, despite the apparent and outward circumstances. Choosing joy through hope rather than despair, choosing patient endurance in times of affliction, and choosing faithfulness in prayer are all decisions of the will trusting that the God who raised Jesus from the dead can also change our circumstances because he hears our voice.
www.verseoftheday.com
Food for Thought
Kudos to our President for the amazing job he’s done with North and South Korea and with getting our detainees released. I sure hope they come home in better condition than the last guy they released! Heads on the liberal left are exploding as Trump is being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. At least he’s done something to earn it, which is FAR more than I can say for his predecessor.
Garden Meditation Day – I’ve always wished I was good in the garden and with plants. I’m not. I start the whole process with a lot of enthusiasm, get seeds planted or plants into the ground . . . and there’s where my enthusiasm ends. Oh don’t get me wrong, I love the end result of fresh lettuce in my salad, but the desire to keep the weeds gone just isn’t there. My Grandparents – both sets – were incredible with their gardens. Grandma K used to tell me that she felt peaceful when working with her flowers, and I know that Grandpa K took a lot of pleasure from his fruits and veges. My Grandma H grew hers not only for pleasure but she canned a LOT of food from her garden – to this day her peaches go down in my mind as the best and tastiest canned peaches in the world. Today was set up to focus on the peace and calm that come from gardening – whether it is planting, weeding or just “watching it grow”, as my Grandpa K used to say. Work on your garden slowly and thoughtfully today, focusing on each small task and taking peace from it. I need to get my straw bales so I can get this year’s garden started. I’m a little behind schedule.
Lumpy Rug Day – We probably take our rugs/carpets for granted. After all, we put them on the floor and except when we clean them, we forget about them. That is until one gets lumpy. A rug should be smooth, even and definitely not have any lumps. I know that this is a big deal because when we moved into this house the rugs were great . . . but they weren’t stretched properly and developed lumps. We didn’t replace them when they first started getting lumpy because our Tibbi Girl was still with us and slipping around on hardwood floors would have been too difficult for her and we didn’t want new carpet for an old dog to possibly get sick on. Now that she has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, it’s on our list of to-dos, it just hasn’t been done yet. So how does one celebrate this day (my question was WHY would one set up this day? couldn’t find that out!)? Besides replacing a lumpy rug with a smooth one, I have no ideas. This one is up to you to celebrate, or not, as you choose.
National Day of Prayer – First Thursday) – Our nation has been observing days of prayer since President George Washington issued a proclamation to do so in 1775. This day was officially declared to be the National Day of Prayer by Congress in 1952. In that amount of time only 2 Presidents have not made a Day of Prayer proclamation – Obama being one of them. I am so grateful that President Trump has participates in this special day, and has asked God to help him every day in leading our nation back to a place of strength and leadership.
National Day of Reason – I won’t dignify this one with more than a comment . . . this is the atheists response to National Day of Prayer – never able to just leave it alone and allow others their beliefs – they continue to chime in and try to make it all about them. If you wish for more information on this one, may I suggest Google?
National Special-abled Pets Day – Pets, like people, are each individuals. Their personality traits vary from pet to pet, whether they are purebred, or a mixed breed mutt. Today we are celebrating the special ones, the ones that are weak, perhaps handicapped in some way. These are the animals that would be rejected in the wild by their parents, because that is just how nature works. Sometimes special-abled pets are the best ones. A few years ago my daughter sent me a text. She was pretty excited. She had been looking for a new critter to love, and after researching them she decided that a hedgehog would be the perfect addition to her household. As she was browsing breeder sites she came across a local one that had a young female that had been born without a right eye. The breeder had been having a hard time finding a home for this little girl because people who called about the babies perceived her to be ugly or unacceptable for only having the one eye. As my daughter explained to the breeder, this was a household that was just waiting for this hedgehog to come live with them. The breeder not only called her back, she decided that this would be the perfect home for the little one-eyed baby, and even made her a good deal. The moral of this story is that different animals, like people who are different are JUST different! Not better, not worse, just different. People can be just as cruel and indifferent to animals that look different, as they are to people who are different. It isn’t fair or right, no matter the species. Rejection is always a bad thing, especially when it is over something that cannot be helped. If you have room in your heart and in your home, perhaps consider adopting a specially-abled pet – it will be a blessing for you as much as for them.
National Two Different Colored Shoes Day – Do you have a style of shoes you love so much that you have two pairs of them, in different colors? Yes? Well, then you are all set up for celebrating this one! You can do it with different styles of shoes, but seriously it would be uncomfortable that way. This one is lighthearted and takes you outside your normal routine to do something different. I remember when my daughter was about 8 years old she was preparing for a runway show (she modeled on the runway from the time she was 4 until about age 12) and the theme was “Back To School” showing different styles for kids getting ready for the new school year. That year the colors teal and purple together were very popular. We had already done our school shopping, and in her closet were boxes of canvas tennis shoes in different colors, all the same sizes. There had been a HUGE sale, so we got these shoes for just a few dollars each. She happened to have teal and purple shoes that matched the fashion show outfit perfectly. We had to provide our own shoes for these shows and on the day of the show she came out in the outfit in the shoes she had chosen . . . one purple shoe with a teal sock, and one teal shoe with a purple sock. It was pretty awesome! The fashion show director LOVED it and let her go on that way. Kids started wearing their outfits that way in her school after she started doing it every day. Some days it would be one white and one black shoe, with opposite socks, some days, one orange with one yellow. When everyone started doing it she changed it up and started something else that was new, but for a few months we saw a lot of Two Different Colored Shoe Days at our house. Of course, it’s cute when it is kids, but be careful with this one. If you have these two different colored shoes next to each other in your closet you may accidentally wear one of each pair to work one day when it ISN’T Two Different Colored Shoes Day! That would be slightly embarrassing.
Paranormal Day – Today is the day when everyone who believes in paranormal activity are encouraged to share their experiences with other people. The question is, what exactly IS paranormal activity? Well, it has been described as “phenomena and manifestations which lie outside of normal experience, which can neither be scientifically explained, nor proven.” If you believe in the paranormal, then you don’t need to feel alone. 45% of Americans believe in ghosts. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, if you believe in angels or in miracles, then you can actually say that you do believe in the paranormal! My personal opinion is this – there are too many things we cannot explain to just brush off the notion of paranormal activity as nonsense.
This Day in History –
1494 – Christopher Columbus discovers “St Iago”. It is later renamed Jamaica.
1936 – Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut with 3 hits for the NY Yankees.
1937 – Margaret Mitchell wins Pulitzer prize for “Gone With the Wind.
Food Celebration of the Day –
National Raspberry Tart Day – Well, 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! Here’s a recipe for a Frozen Raspberry Tart from All Day I Dream About Food that sounds DELICIOUS – low carb and refreshing. I won’t have time to make it today since I’m going to the store after work, but perhaps this weekend!
It’s time to run! I’m actually going to make it out the door without rushing today! Wonders never cease! It really IS going to be a great day! God bless you and I’ll see you tomorrow.