BRIGHT SIDE ARCHIVES FROM AOL: FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

DECEMBER 27TH,2006

TODAY'S THOUGHT

Somehow, not only for Christmas but all the long year through, the joy you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.

John Greenleaf Whittier

TODAY’S ACTION

Choose kindness as a reaction

TODAY’S QUOTE

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt

HAPPY WEDNESDAY

BACK TO WORK !

Time does fly when you are having fun ! Joyous days of celebrating Christmas have left me a little tired, but it’s a good kind of tired. I probably won’t have the chance to see DS#2 and his family after this visit for quite a long time. They’ll still be here at my house for a few more days, but my vacation days have run out and I have to go back to work

For today I’ll just be happy and very grateful that we did have this chance to be together.

Have a great day all ! Another wonderful one on the Way !

Please pray for God's protection of our troops and HIS wisdom for their commanders.

Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

TODAY IS…FRUITCAKE LOVERS DAY

If you've still got fruitcakesitting around your house, you didn't make our Super Easy Fruitcake recipe. It won't stay around long enough to start any jokes!

EASY FRUITCAKE

1 pound candied cherries, halved

5 candied pineapple slices

6 cups golden raisins

1 1/2 cups candied mixed fruit peel

1 cup pecans

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup orange juice

5 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 pecans

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line the bottom and sides of two greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans with brown paper. Grease the paper. In a large bowl, stir together cherries, pineapple, raisins, mixed peel, 1 cup pecans, and 1 cup flour. Mix until the fruit is coated with flour. In another large bowl, cream the butter or margarine and sugar together. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in orange juice and vanilla. Combine 5 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in floured fruit and nuts. Mix. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Fill each pan 3/4 full. Arrange pecans over tops. Bake for about 3 hours, until toothpick comes out clean. Cover with foil if top gets too dark while baking.

TODAY’S TRIVIA

Today is Watch the Children Day, and learn again how to enjoy life

Today is National Visit the Zoo Day.

1903: The barbershop quartet favorite, "Sweet Adeline", was sung for the first time -- in New York City. The song was composed by Henry Armstrong with the words of Richard Gerard. The title of the song came from a theatre marquee that promoted the great operatic soprano, Adelina Patti.

1947: The children's television program "Howdy Doody," hosted by Bob Smith, made its debut on NBC. It showed under the title "Puppet Playhouse." It was aired for 13 years.

1951: A Crosley automobile, with a steering wheel on the right side, became the first such vehicle placed in service for mail delivery. It was used in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1968: "Apollo Eight" and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific.

1989: The album Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Elmo and Patsy was certified gold.

1999: Space shuttle "Discovery" and its seven-member crew returned to Earth after fixing the Hubble Space Telescope.

TODAY’S SMILE

Here is a touching story to help you decided how to to approach life.

She is 92 years old, petite, well poised, and proud. She is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed, and her makeup perfectly applied, in spite of the fact she is legally blind. Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making this move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, where I am employed, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…just wait,” I said. Then she spoke these words that I will never forget: “That does not have anything to do with it,” she gently replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not, does not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind.

I have already decided to love it. It is a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy memories I have stored away…just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you have already put in.

TODAY’S LINK

Silent Night (a beautiful reflection)

http://asilentnightmovie.com/

TODAY’S WORD

po·sa·da noun

A Christmas festival originating in Latin America that dramatizes the search of Joseph and Mary for lodging. [American Spanish, from Spanish, lodging, from posar, to lodge, rest

TODAY’S REFLECTION

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Psalm 145:7

Many of us have celebrated with our family and now that it is over, there is a letdown. But when we remember the real cause for celebration, we can rejoice in the birth of our Savior. We can sing "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Make the day after Christmas or any day bright for yourself and everyone around you.

http://www.dailyguideposts.com

TODAY’S ADVICE FROM THE OLD FARMER’S ALMANAC

If in December a robin sings on the barn, the weather will be very warm

83 DAYS UNTIL SPRING !

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your Heart

Psalm 37:4

I Love You All !!!

Be Blessed !!!

MY HOMEPAGE

I believe we should live ‘ON THE BRIGHT SIDE’

www.bigmarainey.com