TODAY IS TUESDAY - MARCH 17, 2009 HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

The Morning Show
with
Jim & Karen
on Spirit FM

LIFE CHANGING WORD

LOVE DARE # 27.

Love Encourages.

Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed for I take refuge in you. Psalm 25:20

Marriage has a way opf altering our vision. We go in expecting our mate to fulfill our hopes and to make us happy. But this is an impossible order for our spouse to fill. Unrealistic expectations breed disappointment. The higher your expectations, the more likely your spouse will fail you and cause you frustration. Divorce is nearly inevitable when people refuse to allow their spouses to be human. We must choose to live by encouragement rather than by expectations. Love puts the focus on personal responsibility and improving yourself rather than on demanding more from others.

TODAY’S DARE: Elimnate the poison of unrealistic expectations in your home. Think of one area where your spouse has told you you’re expecting too much, and tell them you’re sorry for being so hard on them about it. Promise them you’ll seek to understand, and assure them of your unconditional love.



TODAY IS…..

Today is St. Patrick's Day, a national holiday in Ireland. The World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade is held in Maryville, Missouri. The parade route gets shorter every year, down now to about 86 feet

How did St. Patrick get to Ireland in the first place?
At age 16, he was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland. Six years later he escaped to France. When he was 47, the church sent Bishop Patrick back to Ireland.

Today is National Quilting Day.



In The News…..

AIG Bonuses
Members of Congress are outraged that bailed-out AIG is paying out $165 million in bonuses to the same executives who destroyed the company. It's kind of like when the taxpayers are forced to give pay raises to the same Members of Congress who destroyed the country.

Things you can buy for $170 billion (source, Huffington Post):
• 3,736 Bombardier Global Express XRS ultra long-range business jets
• Spending $4.65 million a day for 100 years
• 236 days of the Iraq War
• Getting the Rolling Stones to play continuously for 2 years, 281 days (based on the $7 million/hour rate the band charged Texas investor David Bonderman at his 60th birthday in 2002)
• 38 aircraft carriers (based on the $4.5 billion cost of the USS Nimitz)
• 85-thousand Natalias (the most expensive production car in the world, each priced at $2 million)
• Just about all of Palm Beach County (based upon the county's total assessed property value in 2006)
• A million people to buy a million homes each worth $175-thousand
• Medical care for everyone in Canada
• 25 desalination plants to turn ocean water into 50 million gallons of clean, safe, sustainable, fresh water a day
• Anywhere from 10 to 28 new nuclear power plants


WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Obama will appear this week on Jay Leno's talk show, perhaps adding a lighter touch to his bid to resuscitate the moribund economy.

Obama will visit The Tonight Show With Jay Leno during his trip to Los Angeles on Thursday. NBC will tape the program and air it that night, after the president has returned to Washington.


Oil Price Drops
Crude oil prices are down after OPEC decided against cutting production. It would make sense economically, but none of the OPEC countries wants to lay of workers during the annual Al Qaeda/Hamas/Hizbollah job fair.


Best Buy Future
Best Buy is planning to survive the economic downturn by creating more interactive stores, where customers can actually play new videogames or test high-definition video cameras. More consumers are expected to indeed try out the new items at Best Buy... and then actually buy them at Wal-Mart.


America’s Recession will probably end this year ifthe government suceedds in blostering the banking system. That’s according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake who was on 60 Minutes Sunday night. You really want to know how bad the recession is? I went out yesterday to buy a toaster and it came with a bank!

The stock market is up again. I don’t know what makes me happier — the stock market going up, or Bernie Madoff going down. See, we didn’t need a stimulus package — we just needed to see Madoff in jail. Bernie Madoff has been moved from his $7 million penthouse apartment to a much larger gated community.


MAN MAKES CROSSES FOR THE TOOPS
Steve Thomas has stood on the downtown square in Center to honor fallen soldiers. He's watched news clips of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and heard valiant stories of men and women who have served. And each scenario, he said, heightened his desire to help.

A little more than a month ago, he found a way to help.

Michele Marcotte/The Daily Sentinel
(ENLARGE)

Steve and Lisa Thomas construct small, wooden crosses with the words ?Prayer Cross? written across them to send to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Individuals who would like to contribute names so the couple can send their friend, family member or loved currently serving a prayer cross can contact the couple at 936-591-0564.

"One day while driving, I came up with this idea to make crosses," he said. "It took me awhile to figure out how to make them and what I needed ... and this seemed to fall right in place."

Thomas, a retired prototype builder, constructs small, wooden crosses with the words "Prayer Cross" written on them. The bottom leg of each cross is hollowed out in order to hold a small slip of paper which contains the soldier's name and the date that Thomas' church, First United Methodist Church in Center, prayed for that soldier.

Thomas goes to the local salvage yard to get the wood for the crosses, which he said take about four hours to make.

Thomas and his wife, Lisa began to send the crosses, which can be worn as necklaces, to soldiers overseas three weeks ago. In each one they included a small piece of paper that conveys their gratitude for the soldier's service and their hope for a safe return home.

Lisa said five have been sent out so far, and she and her husband are eager to send more.

The Thomases are asking local residents to send the names of anyone they know serving overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"It doesn't matter where they are from," Thomas said, adding that the soldiers do not have to be from East Texas.

The couple said they haven't received much feedback from their endeavor so far, but noted that their church has been very supportive.

"We did receive a 'thank you' card from the parents of the first cross we sent out, thanking us for taking the time to think of their son," Thomas said. "It was very touching."

Individuals who would like to contribute names can contact the Thomases at 936-591-0564.



RADIO STATIONS OFFERING FREE EMPLOYMENT ADS TO BUSINESSES LOOKING TO HIRE

For no charge employers can tout their job openings. Job-seekers cannot call in, it is only for employers to call and give a brief description of what they are looking for in an employee, what the job pays, and how they would like for potential job-seekers to contact them. It is done at the same time each Monday thru Friday on a first call-first serve basis.



MATTEL RETHINKS RESIGN OF DORA THE EXPLORER AFTER MOMS GO CRAZY!

NEW YORK – When toy maker Mattel, working with Nickelodeon, announced earlier this month that a "tween" version of Nick's beloved "Dora the Explorer" cartoon character would be unveiled in the fall, the response was overwhelming ... overwhelmingly negative.

Dora the streetwalker. A sexed-up version of a children's icon. A poor example for kids.

Those were just some of the terms tossed around the blogosphere after Mattel released a silhouette of the "new" Dora, whose image was drastically changed from the endearing tomboy look Dora fans grew to love, with her bowl-cut hairdo, T-shirt and red shorts. This new Dora appeared to have long flowing hair, and was wearing what seemed a scanty skirt, emphasizing her long, shapely legs.

"Did Mattel turn Dora the Explorer into a Tramp?" read one headline from The Huffington Post.

But not so fast.

Mattel and Nickelodeon both say there are two major misconceptions about the new Dora, which is not replacing the "Dora the Explorer" cartoon, but will be a new interactive doll aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds.

"People care so deeply about this brand and this character," Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, says. "The Dora that we all know and love is not going away."