Ahhhh Weekends! Don’t you just love them? We have so many projects to do that we decided staying home would be just too stressful, so I am writing to you from our campsite, watching the campfire burn, feeling the cool fall breeze on my face, and listening to Moose chomp through bits of firewood. It keeps him happy, so great! He tried to play keep away with a pretty heavy chunk of wood earlier – Hubby ultimately won, and the wood went onto the fire and Moose got a consolation stick of kindling. It was a piece of madrona from the tree that landed on the truck nearly two years ago and is such a hard wood that I was afraid for Moose’s teeth should he try to chew through it. After a bit we will probably take a walk down to the river and waterfalls below this campground, but for now we are drinking another cup of coffee and enjoying complete relaxation.
Verse of the Day
September 15, 2018
We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
How do you know God is at home in your heart? You know when you are doing loving things to bless the lives of others! Just as we trust and rely on God’s constant love for us, our brothers and sisters in Christ need love demonstrated to them, too!
September 16, 2018
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
Thoughts on the Verse of the Day
The character of a loving and humble lifestyle shows who is truly wise. It is so easy for people to act arrogantly yet in the Lord’s eyes they are worse than silly; they are woefully ignorant. Wisdom is not about flaunting knowledge but about living a godly life. Which more closely resembles you to in your walk with Jesus — wisdom expressed through an humble and loving lifestyle or smart aleck with feelings of superiority and arrogance?
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Food for Thought
Laughter truly does solve stress issues – really! As I mentioned before, my daughter and her fiancé are getting married at the end of the month. We went dress shopping, didn’t find anything that she liked within the budget, so we ordered online from Amazon. It’s really a surprise how many dresses they have available! It had to be prime so we got it on time. We ordered her dress, but it was a completely different style from the one we ordered. The one we WANTED was a breezy, flowy off the shoulder dress that would be perfect for a beach wedding. What she received was a strapless, form fitting lace mermaid gown with a train. Um . . . NOT even similar, except it was white and a dress. It did fit though, so I told her to hang on to it, I got in touch with Amazon and we re-ordered the same original dress, and it too came. But this time it was pink. We didn’t order pink. Pink wasn’t even an option to order. We ordered white. And it wasn’t a nice pink, it made the dress look almost dingy. Crap. She sent that one back, along with the belt I ordered with the original order, since the mermaid gown had a belt already, and the one I ordered with the 2nd gown. We ordered a 3rd dress last night, and it should be there Monday. We are hoping that this dress will be what we ordered and fit perfectly, at which point I will order another belt to go with it, and we will return the original wrong gown. Seriously, when she called to tell me yesterday that the dress was wrong again she was laughing her head off – couldn’t stop giggling. It was so absurd that it was either laugh hysterically or cry without stopping. They say that the third time is the charm. Let’s hope that this is true. When life hands you stress that in the grand scheme of things won’t alter your life drastically one way or another, laugh it off. You’ll feel better!
Saturday – September 15
Big Whopper Liar Day – I cannot believe I’ve never heard of this one! This sounds like so much fun and I wish that towns all across the country would do something similar! Every 3rd Saturday in September since 1988 people in New Harmony, Indiana have gathered together to celebrate the telling of tall tales, or fish tales. It was originally started by a local character by the name of Aubry Robison, Jr, and even after he passed away, the event lives on. About 15 contestants get on stage in front of a crowd of about 400 people and spin the tallest tale the can come up with. Each one gets 4 minutes and are given points for humor, exaggeration, stage presence and their ability to tell a story. Seriously, how fun is THAT? I couldn’t find any great pictures of the event, but it still sounds like fun.
Boys’ and Girls’ Club Day for Kids – How many of us have seen a group of kids hanging around together on a public corner, in a store parking lot, at the mall, doing nothing. Why? Because there’s nothing for them to do. Kids need something to keep them occupied. If they aren’t heavily into sports or other school related activities, if they don’t have a job or aren’t old enough to have one, and if their parents don’t have them busy doing something at home or with family time, these kids are at loose ends looking for something to keep them busy. Today we celebrate the invaluable Boy’s Clubs and Girl’s Clubs around the country. There are clubs all over America providing safe recreational activities for our youth. They teach values and citizenship and help to keep kids out of trouble and off of the street. These clubs and community groups are so important – more so today than ever before. With more parents working and so many families broken, or heading in different directions, these children need something to give them that sense of community that they used to get in the home, or in their churches. There are several ways to celebrate this day: Learn about your local Boy’s and Girl’s clubs, encourage your children to join them, volunteer your time, make a donation, or if there isn’t one in your area, see what you can do to start one. The kids are our future, and right now, with some of the kids I see . . . that’s a really frightening thought.
Felt Hat Day – Well, this one fall on a good day – since it’s Make a Hat Day too, but this isn’t about making your own hats as much as it is wearing Felt Hats. On this day men traditionally wear a felt hat. Back in the early to mid-1900s, hats were very popular and worn by both men and women. It was stylish. At that time, felt was a common material for men’s hats. With cooler fall weather coming the men went to the closet and dusted off their felt hats and began to wear them once more. Celebrating this one is easy – just wear a felt hat. Doesn’t matter what the style is, as long as it is made of felt!
Make a Hat Day – What a wonderful and fun celebration! Today is a day set up to design, make and wear a fun hat! It’s always fun to make a hat so maybe we should get started! This is a popular one with pre-school, kindergarten and grade school teachers AND students. Early in the new school year, teachers look for fun and interesting projects to break up the classroom routine, and let the kids use their creativity in making a hat that suits their mood. Once you make your hat, take a picture of yourself in it! It’ll be fun!
National 8-Track Tape Day – Eight Track Tape Day is a day to bring back memories of the sixties and seventies. Does anyone still have 8-track tapes and players? If you do, I’d love to hear from you! Years ago, I remember my ex-father-in-law still had an 8-track player in his truck, and he played OLD western tapes. Honestly, I think he’s the only person I have ever known who actually used one of them! How many kids today would even KNOW what one of those is? I know kids who don’t even know what cassette players are! Suddenly I feel so much older!
Sunday – September 16
American Legion Day – The American Legion is an organization made up of veterans set up to support and assist veterans who were returning from WWI. Congress granted it a federal charter on this day in 1919. Since that time the American Legion has grown and supported the veterans of all wars, and veterans of peacetime as well. There are currently over 3-million-member veterans, at more than 14,000 posts worldwide. They give a social community and help to all members, which is always a valuable thing for our military members who have sacrificed so much.
Anne Dudley Bradstreet Day – So many people have not heard of this woman who is one of the most important figures in the history of American literature. She was born in 1612 and died on this day in 1672. She is considered by many to be the first American poet, and her first collection of poems, “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in American, By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts” was the first book written by a woman to be published in the United States. Her work also was a documentation of the struggles of a Puritan wife against the hardships of New England colonial life, and in some ways is a testament to the plight of the women of that age. Her life was a constant struggle, from the difficulties adapting to a new land, and with a constant battle with illness. It is clear to see through Anne’s writing that her faith was strong, as was her love for her children and her husband, Governor Simon Bradstreet. She did most of her writing during the long, lonely times when her husband was away on political errands. Anne, who was well educated, spent much time reading to her children, and teaching them as her father had taught her when she was young. Many people view Puritan ideology in a bad light because of its attitude towards women, but its strict moral code, indifference to material wealth, emphasis on humility and spirituality, made Anne Bradstreet a positive and inspirational role model for anyone. Anne’s writing style is deceptively simple yet speaks of a woman of high intelligence and ideals, who was very much in love, and had unconditional faith. It was very difficult for women to air their views in the 17th century, but she did it with ease, her rich vocabulary and knowledge brought a lyrical, yet logical quality to her work, making it pleasant for anyone to read. Here are a few of her famous quotes:
“If we had no Winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; If we did not sometimes taste the adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
“If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.”
“If what I do prove well, it won’t advance. They’ll say it’s stolen, or else it was by chance. “
“Let Greeks be Greeks, and women what they are.”
“Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish.”
Collect Rocks Day – Ah, collecting rocks. I think all kids at one point or another collect rocks. Sometimes it is because they are pretty, or a certain shape. I remember when I was growing up my Grandma K LOVED sparkly rocks. You know the ones I’m talking about probably – at first, they look like an ordinary grey rock, but as you look closer, or the sun shines a certain way, they sparkle like there are flecks of gold or silver through them. She put any and all sparkly rocks we brought to her in her garden along her paths. She often even labeled the rocks, so she knew who brought it and in which part of the country they picked it up. I remember the times my family would go to the ocean – there was one stretch of coast line that had round, smooth rocks – some of them quite large. We’d collect a few each time we went, and over the years, my Grandma lined her garden path with them, sort of like stepping stones. These memories lead to another one of my daughter from when she was about 5 years old. My kids were raised that when we were at Grandma K’s there were certain things that we just DID NOT do, and one of those things was to mess up the rocks in Grandma’s garden, and the other was to throw berries on the path. Grandma worked so hard and didn’t need berries to be tracked into the house on shoes. A cousin was visiting at the same time we were, and her daughter was about the same age as mine. Apparently, my cousin hadn’t raised her kids with the same rules because we heard a melee going on in the yard and raced out to see my precious little girl, all filled with righteous indignation, straddling a struggling cousin, rocks around them all askew, berries smooshed everywhere, especially on the shoes of the trapped girl. K was holding C down by the shoulders and screaming into her face, cheeks red, tears streaming from her blue eyes, “WE DON’T MESS UP MEMEMA’S GARDEN! WE DON’T SMOOSH BERRIES WITH OUR SHOES! I TOLD YOU TO STOP AND YOU WOULDN’T!” At that moment we stepped in, since I figured the next thing that would happen was that fists would start flying and to be honest, my money was on my own kid! (hahahaha!) Funny, we never saw that particular set of cousins again. Ah memories. Anyway, I still find myself finding sparkly or flat stones and thinking of my Grandma. If you find a rock that is special for whatever reason, go ahead and give in to the rock collecting moment. A nice thing to do for kids is to get books on rock collecting that have pictures in them. It can turn into quite a fun and educational hobby!
Mayflower Day – On September 16, 1620, 102 men, women and children set sail from Plymouth England. Their destination was the New World, where they could have religious freedom and continue to use their native language, culture and customs. These first immigrants paved the way for millions to follow, also in search of freedom and the dreams and promise of a New World. The sacrifices those people made, and the dream they followed was what the basis of our country was founded on – our forefathers took those dreams and created our Constitution. I realize that is a very simplistic way to look at it, and skips over a lot of important steps, but truth is, without one we wouldn’t have the other. Today it is being systematically dismantled by those who hate the very freedoms for the masses that we have learned to depend on and, sadly enough, take for granted. Standing up for those freedoms and not letting the efforts of the pilgrims be wasted, should be one of our highest priorities. Here are a few interesting key facts about the Mayflower:
* The Mayflower set sail from Plymouth England on September 16, 1620.
* The Pilgrims were headed to the settlement in Virginia. They had an agreement to settle there.
* The voyage took 66 days. They landed at Plymouth Rock on December 21, 1621.
* 102 passengers were on board. This included three pregnant women. One of these women gave birth just before landing.
* On November 21, 1620, the passengers signed the Mayflower Compact, which set forth the rules of governance of the fledgling colony.
National Step-Family Day – Being a step parent is difficult. For anyone marrying into a family where there are children, it’s a challenge! My hubby came into my life after my daughter was grown and on her own, and when my son was nearly 16 years old. He was faced with attitudes, mistrust, acting out and a really difficult adapting period. But adapt the kids did, and now they love him very much – and he them! My son found out on his own what some of the challenges are as he married to a wonderful woman who had a 4- year old son. We loved him right away, as if he were our own, but it is never easy to blend the families, with the different parenting styles, and all the difficulties (and rewards) that come with it. It is worth the effort for both sides to adapt and 5 years later, after watching that 4-year old boy grow into a tall 9-year old, the road, though long, was well worth the journey. Step-parents – today is for you.
Play-Doh Day – Memories! Oh, my goodness, what memories. Mainly, how HORRIBLE this stuff tastes. For anyone who has ever played with Play-Doh, you know what I mean. Kids tend to lick their fingers, so they play with the Play-oh, then lick their fingers and there was always a distinctive flavor. I didn’t like it, though I knew kids who actually ate the stuff with enthusiasm. And don’t get it in your hair, or the carpet. Other than that, what a wonderful childhood play toy. Play-Doh was invented in the mid-1950s and has entertained millions of children and allowed them to express their creativity at home and in the classroom. The invention was a simple one. A school teacher wanted a safe modeling clay for her pre-school students. She asked her brother-in-law – Joseph McVicker – who worked at a chemical company, to come up with something. His results were so simple! Flour, water and food coloring! This is another easy one to celebrate – simply take out some Play-Doh and play! There are other brands of play clay on the market, but I haven’t used any that was better than Play-Doh brand. Happy National Play-Doh Day!
Stay Away from Seattle Day – This is a real celebration that was set up by a comedian from Pennsylvania who has, oddly, never ever visited Seattle – at least form what I’ve read about him as of 2011. He set it up to poke fun at politicians – I don’t know why he chose Seattle and don’t care – because it’s caught on with people who live here. We have such an influx of new residents in our area, and so many tourists, that the thought of making them stay away caught on. These days I have to say that I choose not to visit Seattle, even though it’s just a ferry ride away, because the city leaders have decided, in their typical liberal stupidity, to tax people out of the ability to do anything there, and the homeless, drug using population is now allowed to defecate and urinate wherever they please, drug using is a matter of course, with free needles being handed out like candy and heaven forbid we hurt anyone’s feelings by telling to use a dang bathroom or clean up after themselves! Stay Away from Seattle should be about protecting the innocent from the stupidity of the residents who elect the officials who say these things are OK. There are so many things wrong with Seattle that the list would be too long to post. Just save yourselves the trouble – stay home.
Wife Appreciation Day – I like this one! The 3rd Sunday in September is an unofficial day that has been set aside for husbands to show their wives how much they appreciate them for all that they do. Guys, even though you may feel appreciation for your wife, she needs to hear it too. Women really crave the words, the romantic touches and the little extras. They don’t need to be expensive extras, just something that shows you listen to what she says, and that all the things she does for you don’t go unnoticed. If you show your wife with these extras, the romantic moments she so richly deserves, she will move heaven and earth to do the same for you. I was shown appreciation yesterday with the concert tickets I’ve wanted for so long, and I can tell you that the feeling has my heart overflowing with appreciation in return.
Working Parents Day – In this day and age most parents work. Today gives recognition to parents who work hard to provide for their families. Every day dads and moms head off to earn a living, so they can afford the extras that kids want and need. And every year this just gets more and more expensive – every little thing the schools do costs extra, they need more and more school supplies, and there are always things like school trips, proms, sports, music, dance classes and much more. Today is a great day for kids to show their parents a little appreciation. Maybe they could do an extra chore around the house, offer to help make dinner, and if they are old enough, actually make the meal! And for those stay at home moms or dads? You may work harder than ANY of the other parents, so you deserve to get in on this celebration as well.
This Day in History –
September 16, 1620 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, England. It carried pilgrims headed to the New World, to escape religious persecution.
Food Celebrations of the Day –
September 15 –
National Linguine Day – Translated as “little tongues,” these flat noodles pair well with seafood, but we’re also happy to lap them up with chicken, meatballs or even in dessert! I admit I’ve never seen linguine in dessert, have you?
September 16 –
National Guacamole Day – Traditional guacamole contains onion, chile peppers, cilantro, tomato and avocado, but why stop there? There are so many wonderful variations of this delicious condiment that you can go a little crazy and try it all sorts of ways. Maybe I need to make some with bacon in it! YUM!
Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day (have some Irish whiskey or Irish coffee) – It is 6 months until St Patrick’s Day! Celebrating with some Irish Whiskey or Irish Coffee will just about hit the spot, don’t you think??? Cheers!
There were a bunch of other celebrations that were either sad or international and quite frankly, I’d rather be enjoying the campfire and my time with Hubby, so I’ve left this weekend with these. Enjoy! God bless you and I’ll see you on Monday.
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Celebration list sources:
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