There seems to be an epidemic these days of depression. Everyone I talk to, it is experiencing some degree of depression. As I wonder about the cause of this twenty-first centuryphenomenon, I think of my great grandmother who raised my dad in the back woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan during the Great Depression.She had a hard life raising twelve children and two grandchildren, seeing two die as toddlers as well as two as adults with cancer. She supported her sick husband who was twenty-two years older than she was. She struggled through the great depression, yet (according to those who knew her best) she was never depressed a day in her life! Why? Maybe because she was too busy just surviving to stop and think about feeling sad.
She came to this country from Holland as a child. She married at the age of 13. Her parents went back to Holland without telling their children. She fed her family by raising animals and a large garden, in addition to taking in boarders and caring for the elderly and sick. She sold her homebaked goods and ran the local post office.
She entertained traveling preachers and live-in teachers.She cooked on a woodstove in a house that was so cold the water in the teakettle would freeze during the night if she didn't get up and stoke the fire.She could see the snow outside through the cracks in the walls. She had nophone, no electricity, no running water, no shower, bathtub or indoor toilet!There was no television to watch as she relaxed in the evenings. In fact, she didn't relax in the evenings. That's when she sewed the family's clothes. To listen to the radio, her family had to walk half a mile to the nearest neighbor's house.
She was upbefore anyone else in the morning and she was the last to go to bed at night. Her children were the only ones in school who had real meat to eat and didn't have to take lard sandwiches in their lunches. Her kids had shoes to wear when the neighbors didn't, but they put cardboard inside those shoes to cover the holes in the soles. Though they lived in a tar paper shack, they were better off than most of the folks they knew. When beggars came to grandma's door, shewould always give them a meal and a dime, though a dime was a lot of money inthose days.
She and her children rarely took baths. To do so, they had to pumpthe water from the well, heat it on the stove, and fill the metal tub in thekitchen by the fire. They never went to a doctor when they got sick. Theycouldn't afford such a luxury. And in those days, there was not a whole lotthat doctors could do for them anyway.
(Modern medicine has come a long way inthe last 70 years). This may sound like a story from Laura Ingalls Wilder books about the 1800's, but I'm talking about the 1930's!My great grandma and her family rarely drove the 13 miles into town because gas wastoo expensive and they couldn't all fit into the car anyway. When they didgo to town, they had to change flat tires every few miles and in the winterthey froze with no heat in the car and frequently got stuck in the snow eventhough they had put chains on the tires. As a newlywed, when mygrandmother moved to her new home with her new husband, she packed all herbelongings into a horse-drawn wagon. As they drove away from her parents' home,she said "I forgot to bring a broom." Her husband replied, "The house we'll beliving in has a dirt floor, so you won't need a broom."This was my grandmother's life.
How many of us could live like that and stillbe happy? Maybe part of the reason she could be happy was that she did not have the high expectations that we have these days. She expected to lose children to death. She expected to have to work hard and not have much to show for it. She accepted whatever happened and kept going, taking each day as it came. Maybe our problem is that we cannot accept hardship when it comes because we expect our lives to be better and easier than they sometimes are.When I compare my life to my great grandmothers, I realize that we are very fortunate to have all the good things we enjoy in ourlives.
Let's count our blessings and be thankful!During this joyous season, when we celebrate the fact that God loved us each somuch that He was willing to give up his only son to die in our place, we can bevery thankful for THAT and for many many other blessings. Question of the Day: How many blessings can you count in your life that youare grateful for?, DirectorHUGS AND HOPE FOUNDATIONA ministry designed to share God's Wordand His love with families of critically ill childrenhttp://www.hugsandhope.comJoin Us! Together we can make a difference.
Tike Tech Double Trouble Stroller
Having twins and strolling around the park or shopping in the mall is not a problem at all with the Tike Tech Double Trouble Stroller. Both of your little ones will be comfortable while they ride in style. The 5 point harness system is great for keeping your children safe but also comfortable. It is designed so they can sit up and look out and explore with normal movement without feeling squeezed. When they are ready for a nap each seat reclines independently so one baby can nap while the other is sitting up alert.
The sun canopy of the Tike Tech Double Trouble Stroller is really awesome. It is removable, has many different positions to ensure that the sun does not glare on your babies and a transparent window. The canopy also protects your infants during all types of weather, cold, or rain. The very light weight aluminum frame is great for all terrains and the road series tires when give both of your babies a smooth ride even on cobblestone walkways or uneven sidewalks. The large...
Tike Tech Double Trouble Stroller
Getting The Best Price For Your Used Car
You can get the best price for your used car only when a new care of the same model is being sold at the highest price. If a manufacturer gives discounted prices for a new car of the same model, you can't sell your car at the best price. In other words, the best time to sell your used car is when the prices for the model you have are at the highest. Hence the important factor that affects the price of a used car is the price of a new car of that model you own. So it is better to wait until the price of a new car of your model goes up rather than selling it when the manufacturer gives discounts for a new car of your model.Preparing your car for selling it is a must.
You have to consider what the potential buyer thinks of your car. So you have to maintain the interior and the exteriors of your car properly. If your car is not clean inside and out, the potential buyer may not think positively about your car. This simple issue might make you lose a possible deal. Therefore proper...
Getting The Best Price For Your Used Car
Melting Snow Helps Launch Local Brothers? Dreams
Brooklyn, NY (ContentDesk) March 24, 2004 -? Motivation Design announced the introduction of a new product, the Seasonal Tire Tote. The Seasonal Tire Tote allows vehicle owners to easily transport winter tires, keep clean and organize the garage.It happens twice a year and we all dread it: bringing your tires to the mechanic to put the correct seasonal tires on your vehicle. After years of hauling their parents' tires down from the garage and throwing them in the back of the family wagon, brothers Kitter and Gordon Spater from Chester, Vermont worked toward a solution. They had tried rolling, bracing, reaching, and plastic bagging, yet despite the various approaches, they would always end up with six months of road grime on their hands, pants and inside of the family car.Their final solution, the Seasonal Tire Tote, came after two and a half decades and many tire changes. Seasonal Tire Totes ultimately take the hassle out of changing snow tires.
A heavy-duty nylon shell with...
Melting Snow Helps Launch Local Brothers? Dreams
Saving Money At The Pump
Gas prices are higher than ever, so you're likely to see more advertising for "gas-saving" products. Yes, we want to improve on fuel efficiency, but are these products really helping? Or are they just taking an extra bite out of our already shrinking car budget? The truth is, you should be suspicious of any gas-saving claims for certain devices or oil and gas additives. Even for the few gas-saving products that have been found to work, the savings have been miniscule. You'll see all sorts of claims and testimonies. "This gas-saving product improves fuel economy by 20 percent." Yeah, yeah.
Actually, the EPA has tested over 100 of these supposed gas saving doo-hickies, and none of them were found to do the job well.Some of the products can even damage your car. So much for cost savings! Please be skeptical of advertising claims for gas saving devices.Here's another quote you might read. "This gas-saving device is approved by the Federal government." Actually, no government agency...
Saving Money At The Pump
Robby Gordon Adds Off-Road Prodigy Andy McMillin to Red Bull Team Gordon
(ContentDesk via ContentDesk Direct) November 14, 2005-- Robby Gordon has added Andy McMillin to the co-driver slot on his off-road racing team, Team Gordon. Together, Robbie and Andy will tackle the worlds toughest off-road races, with help from their professional crew and top-notch sponsor support. At eighteen years of age, Andy is the youngest competitor in history ever to race a trophy truck in the SCORE series. The Team Gordon Red Bull/Toyo tires truck will be campaigned for the full 2006 season. Andy will share driving duties with Robby in the Baja 500, Baja 1000, and will drive in the remaining four races in the SCORE series for 2006.Robby, a two-time winner of the Baja 1000 and defending champ of the Baja 500, has a full race schedule including the world famous Dakar rally.
As we continue to grow our company in all forms of motorsports including SCORE, NASCAR, Indy Cars and Dakar, we need to start building some of our programs...
Robby Gordon Adds Off-Road Prodigy Andy McMillin to Red Bull Team Gordon
Making better use of your resource box
What is a resource box ?
A resource box is what you usually find at the end of an article. They will contain the name of the author, a brief description of the author, a brief description of the sponsoring site and a link. If a reader likes what they read, they would have the tendency to find out where the article came from to read more. The resource bow will be their link to the source of the article and this will entice them to go to the site and do some more reading or research for the subject or topic they are interested in.
Through the recent years many people have learned the secrets of Search Engine Optimization. More and more sites have seen the effects articles have done for the traffic of their sites.
Some have even created sites devoted entirely to providing articles that could be read by their website visitors and have links that could lead to many sites that are related to the topics and subjects of the articles.
For...
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Gianduia Peaches
Grand Prize Winner1st Prize ? Dessert CategoryRecipe created by Wolfgang HanauWest Palm Beach, FloridaMake It Special Chef Recipe ContestMakes 12 servingsChef Quote: "I enjoy cooking with fruits because they are naturally sweet and healthy. Fruits provide the sugar your body needs to sustain itself and their natural flavors are so good that they sweeten desserts beautifully." ? Wolfgang Hanau(NC)?Juicy, ripe California peaches with espresso-dipped ladyfinger cookies, mascarpone cream, hazelnuts...
The Secret to a Happy Life fruit Toyo tires