Current Events
It’s National Amy Day!! Who knew that was even a thing? In our family, we usually celebrate Amy Day on June 1st, which is our Amy’s birthday. But since today is the official National Amy Day, we’re celebrating again! Simply put, it’s a day dedicated to celebrating girls named Amy. It’s not the only name with its own special day, but this one and National Corrie Day are two special ones for me, as mom to daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. Our daughter, Amy has decided that from now on, this will be her cue to take a day off. So, today, that is what she did. So now, January 28th will be a personal day for Amy from now on.
National Amy Day is celebrated every year on January 28th. In modern French, Amy is the English version of the Old French name Aimée, which was a translation of ‘Amata,’ a Latin name from ‘Amatus,’ meaning ‘beloved.’ That meaning was one of the things I loved about the name Amy. Amie and Ami are other possible spellings. 
While it’s far less popular for babies now, Amy was the second most popular girl’s name in the 1970s, right after Jennifer. That makes sense, since my Amy was born in 1976. It remains a short, charming, “Little Women” style classic name even today, but not the reason we chose it.
I first heard the name, not from the movie “Little Women,” but from an old western show I watched years ago called “The Monroes.” It only ran for a year, from 1966 to 1967, and told the story of five kids heading West after their parents died in an accident. Determined to fulfill their parents’ dream, they pressed on. The youngest sibling, played by Tammy Locke, was named Amy. She was a sweet, adorable little girl. I had never met anyone named Amy before, but I liked that little girl on the show, even though that wasn’t her real name. The name fit her. I suppose that’s how many names catch on. In any case, we’ve always felt blessed to have our Amy, and her older sister, Corrie, who, I’ve discovered, also has her own special day.
Little did I know that there is also a National Corey Day, that falls on December 10th…but that’s a story for another day. Today is National Amy Day, so happy National Amy Day to all the Amy’s out there, and especially to my own Amy!! Our Amy is sweet and kind, but she was also feisty…and still can be, if someone crosses her. Nevertheless, she has always been a blessing to us, as has her sister. I am very proud of Amy and of all her accomplishments. Have a great day Amy and happy National Amy Day!!
The gifts are all purchased, the packages wrapped. Finally, the commercial side of the day is done. Now, at last, there’s time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas…the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Too often we get so caught up in the holiday rush that we forget to think about the incredible gift God gave us. We were lost and headed for Hell, and He had no obligation to rescue us. We got ourselves into this mess, and He could have left us there. But God’s love isn’t like human love. We hold grudges, even toward those we love, but He chose to make a plan to change everything. He sent Jesus to Earth to live a sinless life as a human and then pay the ultimate price. And Jesus agreed to it!! For God’s plan to work, Jesus had to give His life so we could live under grace and one day receive Heaven instead of Hell. And Jesus agreed to that plan…knowing what He would have to go through and doing it anyway.
Too often, the birth of our Savior gets lost in the mix of Santa Claus and a big holiday dinner. It’s sad, especially considering the sacrifice He made for us. Imagine being God and choosing to take on human form…coming to Earth as a baby, helpless and dependent on others for every need. Then, though completely without sin, being captured, beaten, and nailed to a cross. In the only way it could work, Jesus was separated from God as He took all the sins of the world upon Himself. It had to be this way, because the worst consequence of sin is separation from God, which is far worse than Hell itself. God’s love is the most important thing we have. It is what saves us from the pit of Hell. 
There’s nothing wrong with the Christmas traditions we hold dear, and giving has always been at the heart of who God is. What matters most is that, amid all our customs, we remember to be grateful for the greatest gift ever given. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), one of the most important verses in the greatest book ever written…the Bible. God is love, and when we sinned, He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him by sending a Savior named Jesus. That’s the true reason for the Christmas season. Merry Christmas and may God bless you all!
With the passage of time, the holidays begin to take on a different look. When I was a kid, the Thanksgiving was a day of wonderful smells and delicious food. That is one Thanksgiving tradition that hasn’t changed, but probably the only one. Those childhood Thanksgivings included my parents, Al and Collene Spencer, as well as my four sisters, one of whom, Alena Stevens, lives in Heaven now with Mom and Dad and others who have gone home. Of course, with Mom and Dad in Heaven, Thanksgiving is normally spent with our own families, because my sisters and I have families that have become too big to put in one house. Nevertheless, we connect via text messages, and we are all thankful for those who are still with us, while always missing those who are in Heaven. While things have changed over the years, we will always have much to be thankful for, because with each new year come new blessings. As new family members join us, either through marriage or birth, we realize that we are growing and we are so very blessed by each and every new member. Some have moved away, and we miss them very much too, and pray that their day is blessed as well. As our family grows, it also changes, with each new member being different than the others, but nevertheless, just as precious. It makes me think of how Thanksgiving got started in the first place. 
Thanksgiving started, of course, when the pilgrims, who had suffered a hard time in the new land, gathered with the Wampanoag Indians, who had become their friends. Most of us would have imagined a big party where the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe came together to celebrate new friendships, but that’s not quite how it happened. Many in the Wampanoag, along with the entire Patuxet Tribe, had died from smallpox. To make matters worse, the Pilgrims were on the brink of starvation. They didn’t know much about farming, and between the smallpox, harsh winter, and lack of food, they were in serious trouble. With the help of the Wampanoag, however, they found they had many reasons to be truly thankful. The Wampanoag people were vital to the Pilgrims’ survival, forging a peace treaty that set the stage for a complicated relationship between the two communities.
The Wampanoag Confederacy, led by Chief Massasoit, lived in what is now southeastern Massachusetts. When the Pilgrims landed on the Mayflower in November 1620, they faced a brutal winter and had trouble setting up their settlement in Plymouth Colony. The Wampanoag had already been severely reduced by diseases brought by earlier European explorers, wiping out up to 90% of their population between 1615 and 1619. This situation 
paved the way for the Pilgrims to depend on the Wampanoag for survival. No wonder the two very different peoples came together to celebrate their friendship and their survival. It serves as a reminder that even though we have survived hardship and loss, we are strong and with God’s help, we will persevere and yes, even succeed in our lives. It is something to be very thankful for.
When it comes to gullibility, a study by Cornell University researchers in 2014 found that “Most people will believe whatever you tell them, at least as long as a chart is involved.” What?? Well, when you think about it, that makes more sense than people know, and as technology gets better and better…especially AI, many people find it hard decipher what is real and what is fake. AI can even animate a photograph from the 1800s, but in 2014, all that AI wasn’t available. Still, people were taken in, by something as simple as a chart. If a speaker had a confident voice and a chart, it suddenly became believable.
The study at Cornell University came in the form of a series of three experiments. Researchers Aner Tal and Brian Wansink presented 174 study participants, most of whom had some college education, with various descriptions of a cold medicine. Among those shown a graphic alongside the text, 97 percent believed the medicine was effective. In contrast, only 68 percent of participants who saw the text without a graphic believed it worked. They say, seeing is believing, but when it comes to false information, we really need to beware.
But that’s not all the researchers discovered. People who claimed to “believe in science” were more likely to trust the cold medicine after seeing the chart. Charts aren’t the only marketing strategy around either. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, simply hearing that something is backed by science makes people more likely to believe it, whether that statement can be proven or not. For instance, when researchers included Florinef’s chemical formula in a description, “It’s carbon-oxygen-helium-and-fluorine based.” participants believed it would last two hours longer than when no formula was mentioned.
“Overall, the studies contribute to past research by demonstrating that even trivial elements can increase public persuasion, despite their not truly indicating scientific expertise or objective support,” the researchers wrote. Perhaps it’s time for all of us to use our minds, and work on being less gullible. We have all come to a point where we think that if it’s on the internet, it must be true, and that just isn’t necessarily so. It used to be that we demanded “truth in advertising” and held our media accountable for statements made to us. I’m all for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and we can’t afford to let them take these things away, but we as 
a people must make them accountable when they blatantly lie to is about a product, study, or story. When we do, they will be less likely to try to pull a “fast one” on us again. I don’t suppose we can take them to court exactly on these things, but we can “out them” on their own personal accountability, and maybe if we do that, they will get to a point where no one pays any attention to their lies. If we do that, we become the winners, not the blind masses. It is our responsibility to make sure that we aren’t fooled.
Memorial Day is the day that we honor our fallen soldiers. Many people mistakenly think that it is a day to honor veterans and active-duty soldiers too, but it is not. This day is just for those soldiers who gave all…gave their lives for freedom. One that comes to my mind is my uncle, Jim Richards older brother, Daile Richards, who gave his life at Normandy, France. That operation was one of the most shocking attacks to me, because these men who “stormed the beaches of Normandy” were basically sitting ducks…or running ducks anyway. Their task was to leave the relative safety of the boats and swim to the beach. Then, they were to attack the strongholds there. The fatalities on that day numbered between 5,000 and 12,000. The discrepancy being those who were deemed missing. It was a horrible loss for the Allies, but it had to be done.
Those losses were in one battle alone. are just the tip of the iceberg, and the other losses are mind boggling to imagine. Nevertheless, every soldier that was lost in that battle or any other battle deserves our deep and abiding respect and appreciation for their sacrifice. They gave all…they gave their life, and if they hadn’t many more people would have been lost. We can never repay them or their families for their sacrifice, but we can forever remember what they did. Their sacrifice means everything in a war. Without that sacrifice, freedom is lost, and fear reigns. So, instead of saying Happy Memorial Day, I say thank you to the fallen soldiers and to their families.
As I reflect on Resurrection Day 2025, I feel so thankful that we have been forgiven. The Bible states in Romans 8:1, “[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” Christ took all our brokenness, all our sins, all our shame, and gave is freedom, forgiveness, and the knowledge that our Father loves us, no matter what mistakes we have made, and even what evil we have done. No matter how evil man can be, and we all know that we have the ability to be very evil, when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and understand the power of His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, we are made new, and we are forgiven.
Before we were saved, we were lost in our sin and condemned to Hell. There was no hope because the wages of sin is death, and God could not compromise that. If he had made even one exception our world would have imploded. The world was created on the goodness, holiness, and perfectness of God. To say it was ok for one person to sin and no payment to be made for atonement, would have completely compromised the very power of God that was holding our world together. So, God had to come up with a plan that could fix broken man 
without compromising His goodness and perfectness. He needed a man who had not sinned to pay for all those who did, even though He was innocent of any wrongdoing.
It would take a long time to find a man on the earth who was willing to partner with God to bring this to pass, because God was now outside of His creation looking in. God had given man the authority over this earth, knowing that it was very possible, and even probable that man would sin and mess the whole thing up. Why would God do that? It was because God didn’t want a world full of robots. He wanted a family…sons, daughters, grandkids. Truly, God is a dad, and as a dad, He knows that His kids aren’t perfect. Nevertheless, He loves each and every one of us…so much so, that He was willing to ask His son, Jesus to accept that horrific task of giving up His Godly powers and His Heavenly home to come to Earth, live a sinless life, and then be sacrificed and horribly punished anyway. Jesus was innocent, but God had to punish Him as if he had committed every single sin ever committed. The wages of sin is death, and payment had to be made, but for all of us to go free, the payment had to be made by a sinless man. There was no such sinless man, except Jesus. He was fully God and fully man, and the horrific sacrifice he made was enough. The cross was enough to redeem all mankind, and all 
we had to do was to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus was enough, the price was paid, and we are finally free to have eternal life again. Lord, thank you for the atonement for my sins that you have freely given. Now I am a new creation. I have been redeemed from the curse of the law. I am no longer condemned, but an heir to the throne. I receive your salvation Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen!!
Whether you or I prank anyone on this day makes no difference. This is the day for it. Why would anyone think that we need a day to be set aside whereby it was perfectly “legal” to play multiple tricks on people? Maybe they thought that after a long dreary winter, we needed a day to just get silly. Sounds good to me. I love a good prank as much as the next guy. I can’t say that I have always been good at pranking, and I can’t say some pranks haven’t blown up in my face…apparently not everyone likes to be pranked. Go figure!! I think for me is stems from my childhood years when my sisters and I tried to pull every April Fools’ Day joke we could think of on friends or family who happened to cross our paths.
While many possible origins for the national prank day exist, no one truly seems to know where or when it started. Maybe the origins story is a joke in its own right. It could be that whenever and wherever it got started, the initiator decided to say that the tradition started somewhere else so that they could say that they were just following the tradition they had heard about. That idea isn’t so farfetched, now, is it? Somebody, somewhere had to get this started. Still, maybe for those who don’t like being pranked, the originator didn’t want to take the blame. That makes sense to me too. If you have ever been “that guy” who pranked someone with no sense of humor, you know that you would gladly blame someone else…anyone else for making you do such a thing.
I’m just thankful that it was a tradition in our family…from our parents, Al and Collene Spencer, all the way down to my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, and Allyn Hadlock…and then on to the 
generations beyond. People really should be taught at a young age to take a joke, and even to laugh at ourselves when we’ve been had. It’s a well-known fact, even from the Bible…Proverbs 17:22, “Laughter is like taking good medicine.” It is true, and even medicine has agreed that laughter is good for you. Laughter reduces stress, strengthens the immune system, boosts mood, and diminishes pain…just to name a few good things about laughter. So, for all you people who have no sense of humor…lighten up and laugh a little. You know you want to!! Happy April Fools’ Day everyone!!
It’s National Amy Day!!! Did you even know there was such a thing? I didn’t, but for our family, Amy Day is usually celebrated on June 1st, because that is our Amy’s birthday. Nevertheless, today is actually National Amy Day, so we will celebrate again!! To put it quite simply, National Amy Day is a day set aside to celebrate girls named Amy. It is not the only name that has a set aside day to celebrate it, but I thought it was interesting anyway.
National Amy Day is celebrated every year on January 28th. In modern French, Amy is an English variant of the Old French name Aimée. Amée was a translation of ‘Amata,’ a Latin name originating from ‘Amatus,’ which means ‘beloved.’ That meaning was one of 
the things I liked about the name Amy. Amie and Ami are two other spelling possibilities. Although it is much less popular for babies these days, Amy was the second most popular baby name in the 1970s, right after Jennifer. That makes sense then, because my Amy was born in 1976. It is still a short, charming “Little Women’s” style classic today.
I first came across the name, not from the movie “Little Women,” but from a western show I used to watch years ago, called “The Monroes.” The show only lasted a year, from 1966 to 1967. It was a story of the survival of a group of five kids heading West, whose parents died in an accident. The kids were determined to go on, to fulfill their parents’ dream. The youngest sibling was played by Tammy Locke, and her name was Amy. She was 
such a cute little girl. I had never known anyone named Amy, but I liked this little girl, even though her name wasn’t really Amy either. I guess that is probably how many different names become popular. Whatever the case may be, we have always felt blessed to have our Amy, as well as her older sister, Corrie, who also has a day…I have discovered.
Little did I know that there is also a National Corey Day, that falls on December 10th…but that’s a story for another day. Today is National Amy Day, so happy National Amy Day to all the Amy’s out there. Have a great day!!
It is a tradition in the United States, that every four years on January 20, there is a transition of power. The incoming president is sworn in and afterward, the outgoing president leaves the White House…or sometimes the outgoing president leaves before the swearing in of the new president. Unfortunately, not every transition is an amiable one or even a peaceful one. I suppose that is because neither side likes to lose. In fact, when the opposing party takes over the White House these days, it usually isn’t a peaceful transition. Often there are protesters and sometimes things get out of hand…and of course, there is plenty of blame to go around. The truth is often very obscured, and the blame is laid on the wrong party. You can like what I say, or not, but the reality is that there is plenty of proof concerning the January 6th event of 2021, and the wrong people were accused.
We all have our own opinion on the 2020 election, and I won’t dispute that or its outcome, but now the people of this nation have spoken…again, in a truly fair election, and we are about to put President Donald J Trump back in the White House. The transition actually began when he won the United States presidential election on November 5, 2024, becoming the president-elect. Because of our system, his formal election came when the Electoral College voted on December 17, 2024. The results were certified by a joint of Congress on January 6, 2025, and the transition is scheduled to conclude with Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.
I think this country is so ready for the changes President Trump will bring back. His first term in office showed 
the people just how prosperous the country could be. We were almost energy independent; gas prices were low, patriotism was high, and things made sense. All that went away when Biden took office. It was as if the whole country went crazy. Now that President Trump is coming back, things are turning around so quickly that it is awe inspiring. The whole feel of things in this country is taking a 180° turn…overnight. It is amazing. The people he has chosen for his cabinet totally add to the air of excitement. And of course, we are very excited with his vice-presidential choice. Vice President JD Vance came up from poor roots, but worked hard to make something of himself, and I think he will be an amazing vice president. This president will bring back common sense.
Trump became the presumptive nominee of his party on March 12, 2024, and formally accepted the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July. On August 16th, Trump announced the formation of the transition team with Linda McMahon, Trump’s former head of the Small Business Administration, and Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group, officially named as co-chairs. Vice presidential nominee JD Vance, along with sons Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, were designated as honorary co-chairs. The effort beginning at this time was considered unusually late, as historically, most transition efforts start in late spring. Nevertheless, this team is very capable, and they will have everything in readiness. Attorney Robert F Kennedy Jr and former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard were added as honorary co-chairs on August 27th. Both are former Democrats who had recently endorsed Trump. Kennedy had initially launched an independent presidential campaign before withdrawing to endorse Trump. Kennedy is reportedly in for a Cabinet position in this administration.
Watching the inauguration today felt like the opening of prison doors. The nation has been under such oppression, and negativity. The future seemed hopeless, but all that changed at 12:01pm in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC. President Trump outlined the things he plans to do, and with each on, we began to 
feel hope again. He is so sharp, and when he sees something that is wrong, he goes after it. He works to correct the problem and repair the situation. President Trump is a very hands-on, go get ’em kind of guy, and he is not politically correct, an action that has had a crippling effect on this nation. With President Trump’s return to the White House comes dignity, hope, patriotism, transparency, honesty, and truthfulness. I say bring it on President Trump. We are ready for you!!
Thanksgiving Day is a time-honored tradition where we reflect on our lives and express gratitude for the blessings we’ve received throughout the year and in years gone by. We take inventory of all the aspects of our lives. The sorrowful aspects are momentarily put aside for another time, allowing us to concentrate on our family, friends, and homes. We also look forward to the future and its potential blessings. It’s not merely about material possessions; in fact, such things often take a backseat in our thoughts. Our attention is much more on the people we love. My family has been blessed with a number of new babies this year, and babies are always one of our best reasons to be thankful. We received a wonderful miracle, as the lives of two of our nephews were spared in a car fire. They have recovered well and are back with their family. While Thanksgiving is not the only occasion for appreciating our loved ones, it’s a perfect reminder to give thanks for everyday blessings that we might normally overlook in our daily lives.
This has been a hard year for some people, including my Aunt Sandy, but the Lord has blessed her, and she has come through so many life-threatening events that it is impossible not to feel a great deal of thankfulness. Today, Aunt Sandy is stronger and healthier than ever, and she even has perfect vision, because she had cataract surgery this year. Instead of ending up in a nursing home because she was too weak to live on her own, Aunt Sandy is living on her own and thriving. She is even doing puzzles, taking care of her own home (beautifully, I might add), and doing some crafting. Today is a great day of celebration for Aunt Sandy and her family.
I believe most people are grateful for their blessings, yet there’s a distinction between feeling grateful and expressing gratitude. That difference lies in recognizing the source of those blessings—God. I imagine those who don’t believe in God might not feel compelled to thank Him, but my deep faith tells me that my blessings can only come from Him. God’s love is abundant, and it is He who bestows His blessings upon me. On this Thanksgiving Day, it is to Him, the Almighty God, that I offer my thanks. Like many, I might overlook the importance of thanking God as I should, but perhaps a National Day of Thanksgiving 
provides us all a chance to pause from our hectic lives to appreciate our fortunes. On this day, let us take a moment to acknowledge God’s grace and mercy towards us and to thank Him for all He has done for us. Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and I extend my gratitude to God for His boundless love and the blessings bestowed upon me and my family, and upon my Aunt Sandy too.
