TODAY IS FRIDAY - APRIL 10, 2009

THE MORNING SHOW
WITH
JIM & KAREN
ON
SPIRITFM

LIFE CHANGING WORD

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

I have heard many sya lately they are looking forward to the sunrise services this Easter Sunday. They all say how much they are looking forward to seeing the beautiful sunrise on Resurrection Sunday. I get the opportunity to see the sunrise almost every single day because of my schedule. When I see the sunrise it is always a reminder to me of how BIG or God is. It helps me to recognize that I serve a mighty and awesome God.

As I was thinking about this it also came to my mind that we go to bed every night believeing and expecting that the sun will rise again the next morning. At the most basic level, every human being exercises faith every day in trusting that the sun will rise again.

This Easter let me encourage you to take that same bit of trust and put it into the God who created the sunrise. The God who son did rise…on the third day…for you and for me. Though we cannot see him we can have faith in him and what he did for us out of love.

Jesus came to give his life for ours. Though we cannot see him, we know that he is here with us now, alive and risen. Though we cannot physically feel his touch, our lives have Jesus’ fingerprints all over them. Since Jesus rose again, we can hope for the sunrise even after the sun sets.



TODAY IS

Today is Dust the Ceiling Fan Day, a day for those who finished their spring cleaning, but forgot to dust the blades on the ceiling fan.

Today is National Siblings Day.

Today is National Teach Children to Save Day.

Today is National Cinnamon Crescent Day.

Walter Hunt of New York City invented the safety pin on this day in 1849. Within three hours, Hunt conceived the idea, made the prototype, registered the patent, and sold the patent for $100. I'd say he got stuck. Just think before the invention of the safety pin, babies had to hold up their diapers with their hands. Which made it very difficult to play "Patty Cake."

On this day in 787 an organ was installed in a church in Compeigne, France -- the first church to have an organ. My church back home had an organ almost that old. An organist, too. At my church the organ and the choir sounded great together. The organ drowned out the choir and the choir drowned out the organ.



IN THE NEWS

That Somali hostage situation has been changing constantly ever since news broke yesterday that Somali pirates an American flagship off the coast of Somalia.

The latest word was that the crew of around 20 had retaken the ship by brute force but the pirates were still holding the ship's captain (in a lifeboat, no less) and negotiations were underway. It's the first act of piracy against American citizens in a modern history. The White House has been mum so far but US warships are now in the area. The ship's cargo: food bound for Somalia and Uganda.

KARIN von HIPPEL, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who worked in Somalia in the late 1990s for the United Nations and European Union, tells USA Today that it's unlikely the hijackers were targeting the US. "They just go for what they can get," she says. "The risks are not that high, actually, and the rewards are very high."

Now I realize this might be a tad crass, but would anyone really lose any sleep if the next time these pirates came near a US boat, they were greeted with a steady stream of machine gun fire and maybe a shoulder-launched grenade or two? Seriously, does anyone think this will ever stop without the pirates thinking for just a moment that they'll be blown away? What's the shipping industry waiting for, the United Nations? The closest the United Nations gets to shipping is when they haul out that boatload of bologna at every general assembly.


Immigration Laws
President Obama is pushing for new immigration laws that will make it easier for foreigners to become citizens... especially if they agree to buy our overpriced homes at a special "Welcome to America!" 15% mortgage rate.


A Romanian groom is trying to pay for his marriage by selling advertising space on his wedding tie. The man is from Sibiu, Romania, and has set up a website for bidders - and thinks he'll easily pay for the ceremony and some special presents. Companies can pay for a slot near the top of his tie, for one in the middle or have their name at the bottom of the tie. The website - www.cravatamea.com - keeps a running total of all bids


Singer Marie Osmond says she's writing her autobiography. The book will come with a special pull-out chart -- explaining how she’s a little bit country and Donny’s is a little bit rock n roll.



Mom Reduces Family Debt By $100,000 in Just Six Months By Making Her Own Cleaning Products

Angela Coffman is the metro area "Frugal Mom" who got her family out of a $100,000 debt in just 6 months.

Last week, KMBC's Dion Lim showed you how she made her own cleaning products for just pennies. She's back with more cleaning techniques that are practically free.

Coffman not only needed to save money, but she needed ways to keep her home clean and her five children safe.

"With traditional cleaners they do work, but my hands burned and I had to use gloves," said Coffman. "My children are in here and the fumes are overpowering."
She looked for natural, homemade alternatives. After some research, her number one rule was, don't use any cleaning products at all.

Coffman found ways to "do a lot with plain water and a plain cloth."

For example, the inside of her microwave was caked with dried-up food. Coffman fills up a glass bowl with water and adds a dash of salt. Coffman explained the purpose of the salt: "This will keep you from having exploding water syndrome when you heat it too hot."

She heats the water for a few minutes, and lets the steam loosen the dried food.
For tougher messes, like oven pans or oven hoods, Angela makes a scrubbing solution out of dish detergent and baking soda. That recipe costs her just about 3 cents.

Coffman also said it's okay to use store-bought cleaning products, just use less and stretch the dollars.

Coffman has many more tips on her website http://www.groceryshrink.com/


ANOTHER COST SAVING TIP…
YONKERS, N.Y. – A consumer test found you could save over $100 a year by switching your toilet paper to two generic brands that have similar softness and strength.
Consumer Reports pitted Costco’s Kirkland Signature, and Wal-Mart’s White Cloud against the pricier Charmin, Quilted Northern, and Cottenelle brands.

All of the brands landed within a few points of each other in their overall ratings.
Quilted Northern Ultra Plush won first place by a few points but is priced about double the Costco and Wal-Mart runners-up.

For a family of three, the publication estimates that would save about $130 per year.
Consumer Reports says that strength and softness of Quilted Northern Ultra Plush could tax your plumbing system if you have “paper-crazy kids or a septic system.”
The paper was “ultra-slow to break apart” in the Consumer Reports tests.


AND ONE MORE TIP: FREE SAMPLES SENT TO YOUR DOOR COMPLIMENTS OF WAL-MART!

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Imagine being able to try it before you buy it.

Now Wal-Mart is making it happen, even if you are not a loyal customer.

The retail giant is offering free samples of select products through its web site.
http://instoresnow.walmart.com/In-Stores-Now-Free-Samples-And-Trials.aspx

The deals change frequently, but right now you can get samples of infant formula, diapers, dog food and the popular stop smoking NicoDerm system.

The site requires your name and address and it promises to send the samples to your door in about four weeks.

Once you are on the site, hit the refresh button on your web browser to see new freebies offered on the site.



An Easter Sunrise Service At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC

DOVE AWARD WINNER, SUE DODGE As seen on the Gaither Homecoming Videos
AND THE RESURRECTION CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA
Sunrise Service Time: 6:30 – 7:30am
Sunrise Service Place: Lincoln Memorial
Worship Service Time: 10:30 – 11:30am
Worship Service Place: Capital Church

In late March of 1979 and I was irresistibly drawn to the welcome sunshine on the National Mall for a noontime prayer walk. At the reflecting pool, the thought came, “What a great spot for an Easter Sunrise Service!”

Friends said we would “never be able to get permission for such a service” (Easter always has a doubting Thomas).

And, they added, “if you did, only a handful would come at 6:30 in the morning…and what do you do if it rains?”

Well on Easter Sunday morning, April 15th, 1979 as the sun rose over the United States Capitol building, a band of believers gathered at the Reflecting Pool singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and “He is Lord, He is risen from the dead, He is Lord”.

The rest, as they say, “is history.”



Looking for a Job….Do You Like Big Shoes?????
Maybe it’s time to join the circus!!

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Unemployment hit 8.5 percent and jobs are disappearing across the country but at least one industry is looking for new talent -- the circus.
About two dozen hopefuls sporting big noses, brightly colored hair, baggy pants and oversized shoes did their best to fulfill a childhood ambition when they auditioned to become a clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

"It's been a life-long dream," said Kyle Barker, a 27-year-old from Chicago who already looked the part with a curly wig and painted face.

He's had several jobs, including being a customer service representative, but Barker said nothing could compare to being a clown.



HAMMER TIME FOR TEEN’S CELL PHONE 20,000 TXTS AND A $5,000 Bill….Dad wasn’t too happy!

(AP) A cell phone used by a Wyoming 13-year-old to run up a nearly $5,000 phone bill will text no more thanks to her angry father and his hammer. Dena Christoffersen of Cheyenne sent or received about 20,000 text messages over about a month, and her parents' phone plan didn't cover texting.

Gregg Christoffersen told KUSA-TV of Denver this week that he thought texting had been disabled on her daughter's phone, which he smashed hours after getting a phone bill for more than $4,750.

The family said Verizon has been willing to knock the bill down to a reasonable level.

Dena has been grounded until the end of school. She said she feels bad and has learned her lesson.



IT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CHILD THAT IS THE ONE MISBEHAVING….

Mom fined for stalking son and calling him up to 47 times a day.

VIENNA (Reuters) - An Austrian woman who bombarded her son with phone calls over a two-and-a-half year period was fined by a court for stalking him, Austrian media reported on Thursday.

The 73-year-old woman, who phoned her son up to 49 times a day was fined 360 euros ($478) by the court in the southern city of Klagenfurt.

"I just wanted to talk to him," the woman told the court, according to Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. "I can't talk to my son, nor my daughter. I've never seen my grandchild -- who is already 15-years-old," she said.

The case was brought by the son. The court did not release their names