Some historical facts

Got this in an email recently... thought I'd share....

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor"

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...........they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . .. . Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus,someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer...

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! !

So . . . get out there and educate someone!

Learning to Give

Learning to GiveCurt and Marybeth Whalen

<http://www.crosswalkmail.com/ihcfklkpdl_bnmkzmgmmlz.html>

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV)

Devotion:

Marybeth and I are going to admit something that you don't usually hear in Christian circles. For most of our marriage, we haven't tithed regularly. Even though we both grew up in church, heard all the sermons about tithing, and knew what the Bible had to say about money. We had all the head knowledge any one person would need.

We just never participated.

When we decided to become debt free, part of our process was to recognize our need to surrender. We surrendered our mistakes, our marriage, and our money to God. We humbled ourselves, confessed our pride, and asked Him for help. Surrendering control of our money was a hard but important step to take, and we knew that regularly giving an offering to God was part of the equation.

During this time, Marybeth and I finally admitted out loud what we had always been convicted of in our hearts. When it came down to it, we didn't trust that our Heavenly Father was really going to take care of us. Giving, we've learned, is an expression of love and worship, but our fear outweighed our love.

Even so, we were determined to start. It wasn't easy. We argued with God about giving Him money that He didn't really need when we could have used that money to pay off our creditors. Little by little, we began giving to our church. At the time, it wasn't a full 10% of my paycheck, but it was something, and we began to develop the habit of giving on a regular basis. We began to understand that giving God 10% of our income, or tithing, has nothing to do with whether we need the money to pay bills, whether it's an old covenant command that Jesus changed (as some suggest), something we do out of guilt, or something that will bring us unlimited financial blessings.

It's much simpler then any of those things.

Giving God our tithe is an expression of love. We give God the first of what shows up in our checking account to acknowledge that He loved us first. We worship Him with our gift because God gave us the ultimate gift: His life, dying a brutal death on a cross to save us from the horrors and consequences of sin. We, like God who sacrificed His Son, give to demonstrate love.

When we began consistently giving it was hard, painful, and even scary to develop the habit. But year after year, month after month, we stayed committed. And now, I can tell you that nothing is more meaningful to us than to write God that tithe check.

My encouragement to you if you don't currently give is to simply begin. Don't be overwhelmed with what you don't do, should do, or have to do. Just start small. Take something to church this Sunday and experience the joy of worshiping God with your money. Challenge yourself to be consistent and to increase what you give. Ask God for help and share the joy of giving with your children. Pray over your gift before you leave for church, sharing with your kids your "thanks" for the many blessings that God has filled your life with -- the roof over your head, the clothes on your back, the food on your table, and His love in your hearts.
Dear Lord, I pray that You would transform me into someone who demonstrates love with the gift of my money, my time, and my talents. Please teach me what it means to be a cheerful giver. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

He is Risen! Indeed!

May 4, 2009

Susanne Scheppmann <http://www.crosswalkmail.com/gbpqzjldsz_vpzcjzbzzmj.html>

". . . It is true! The Lord has risen . . ." Luke 24:34 (NIV)

Devotion:
Last month, I heard the phrase, "He is risen!" Somewhere from the recesses of my memory the return phrase, "He is risen, indeed!" sprang from my mouth.

The phrase "He is risen! Indeed!" is termed as the Paschal or Easter greeting. The term "Paschal" comes from the original Hebrew word pesach referring to the Jewish Passover. Experts on Christian customs believe the greeting originated shortly after Christ's resurrection. It is popular among both Catholics and Protestants. One person rejoices with "He is risen!" The other answers with the joyous response, "He is risen, indeed!"

A risen Savior changes lives not only for eternity, but right now--today--here on earth. That is a fact to celebrate! Recently my home church illustrated this truth on a Sunday morning by having fifty people stand on stage while holding hand-painted signs. In the beginning, the audience saw only a white piece of poster board. Then, as music played softly, one by one each person flipped his or her own sign over to display the power of the risen Savior in his or her life. The signs read:
Methamphetamine addiction--Drug free
Cancer--Healed
Suicidal--Abundant Life
Lonely--Fellowship
Alcoholism--Sobriety
Filled with bitterness--Learned to forgive
Insecure and unloved--Loved and secure in Jesus

The stage was filled with humanity at its worst, but Jesus at His best. This humble display of the power of Christ moved many members of our congregation to tears. Then, slowly, applause erupted from the auditorium in praise of God. The Apostle John finished his gospel with these compelling words, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25, NIV). These words apply today just as much as they did in the first century.

I often take for granted what the risen Christ has done for me for eternity, and for today. I lose my gratitude for the ever present power of Jesus' death and resurrection. But today I have regained my wonder of living in the power of the resurrection. Christ is risen ...Indeed!

Dear Lord, You have risen, indeed! Help me to remember each day of the year that You are triumphant in every area of my life. In Jesus' Name, Amen.