KENTUCKY DERBY TRIVIA

Here’s some fun for the day:

JOKE:
Q: What type of horses only go out at night?
A:  Nightmares

QUOTE:You know horses are smarter than people. You never heard of a horse going broke betting on people. 

(Will Rogers)

COMIC FUN:

TRICIA’S TWEET OF THE DAY: 

Don’t be satisfied with going to church locations.  Be the church to the world around us.

In honor of the Kentucky Derby which will take place Saturday, May 3rd, I thought I’d post some Kentucky Derby Trivia:  (Answers below horse picture.   If you saw this post last year you may have a 'leg up' on the competition, but I've added 5 new questions)

KENTUCKY DERBY TRIVIA: 

1.  How many horses have won the Triple Crown?

2.  How many horses have finished the Kentucky Derby in under 2 minutes?

3.  What are the ingredients of a Mint Julep?

4.  What is the nickname for the Kentucky Derby?

5.  Who built Churchill Downs & started the Kentucky Derby?

6.  How old are the horses in the Kentucky Derby?

7.  What year was the Kentucky Derby inaugurated?

8.  How many miles is the Kentucky Derby?

9.  Which horse was the first to win the Kentucky Derby?

10.  What horse won the Kentucky Derby last year?

11. Who organized the Louisville Jockey Club for the purpose of raising funds to build quality racing facilities just outside the city of Louisville?  (The track would later become known as Churchill Downs)

12.  What year did the first television coverage of the Kentucky Derby take place?

13.  What happened at the Derby for the first time in 2004?

14.  Name the popular dish served at the derby that is a stew of beef, chicken, pork & vegetables.

15. Who was the first jockey to win 3 out of 4 consecutive Kentucky Derbies?

TRIVIA ANSWERS:

1.  11

2.   3 (Secretariat; Sham who finished 2nd to Secretariat.  Both 1973; Monarchos, 2001)

3.  Bourbon, Mint, Sugar, Water.  

4.  "Run for the Roses"  ( also 'Greatest 2 Minutes in Sports') 

5.  Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.

6.  3-yr olds.

7.  1875

8.  1 1/4 miles.

9.  Aristides.  

10.  Orb

11. Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr.  (grandson of William Clark of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition) 

12.  1949

13.  Jane Hudson wore flats instead of heels.  (just kidding)  Jockeys were allowed to wear corporate logos on their clothing.

14.  burgoo

15.  Calvin Borel

Until next time.....

LIFE'S INTERRUPTIONS

Here's some fun for the day…...

TRIVIA:
What element are diamonds made of?

BRAIN RIDDLE:
What is full of holes but can hold water?

JOKE:
Q:  How did the eggs leave the highway?
A:  They took the eggs-it.


DEEP THOUGHTS BY JACK HANDEY:
To me, boxing is like ballet, except there's no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other. 


COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:

One person's problem is another's privilege.  One person's interruption is another's divine intervention.  Which person do you want to be?

LIFE INTERRUPTED

In my morning quiet time I like to read several books.  I’m not one to concentrate on just one book.   I’m the same way with needlepoint.   I always have at least 3 projects going at the same time.   One of the books I’m reading is called “Life Interrupted” by Priscilla Shirer.   I’m not very far along in the book yet but....oh pardon me...............ok, I’m back.  I got interrupted.   Haha!  Actually I didn’t, just thought I’d have some fun there.   The book is about seeing life’s interruptions as divine interventions instead of annoyances.  

As we maneuver through life, various things happen that interrupt our flow and schedules.   Things like illness, death, financial troubles, an unexpected baby, a lost baby....even someone needing your help on a very busy day.

Shirer makes the point that every dynamic that makes any story interesting is the conflict or hurdle to be overcome.  This is not to downplay personal situations, but to encourage.   Without the conflict there is no change or growth, so we can look at life's interruptions as potential for growth….as a divine plan God has for us.

Almost every person in the Bible whose story made a lasting mark faced a sizable interruption in his or her life.  They stood at a crossroad and were forced to decide if they would  yield to divine interruption or continue ahead on their own path.   Here’s few examples:

NOAH was interrupted.  He was enjoying a comfortable life when called by God to build an enormous floating structure he’d never seen of or heard.

ABRAHAM was interrupted.  Commanded by God to leave his family and friends behind to go on a journey that ultimately led to the establishment of God’s covenant with His chosen people.

SARAH was interrupted hearing that she would give birth to her first son at the age of 90.  (Aye yi yi.  Makes me glad I’ve had a hysterectomy) 

JOSEPH was interrupted.  A simple day hanging out with his brothers led to being left for dead and sold as a slave.  Only God could write a story that would take him to the heights of leadership and rising into a position to rescue his family and others from famine ( My favorite story in the Bible.  Such triumph through difficult circumstances and how you never know what you are going through may lead to)

MOSES was interrupted.  He went from tending sheep to leading God’s instrument for delivering His people from more than four hundred years of bondage.

JONAH was interrupted.  Called from a comfortable life as a prophet in a nation he loved to a God-forsaken country and people he detested.   The greatest revival in human history would involve his obedience.

JESUS’ DISCIPLES were each interrupted.  They were called away from their normal duties and lives into following Christ as His closest companions.  It would mean persecution and death for all of them yet also the opportunity to walk with Jesus, inspiring millions still today to know Jesus at all costs.

MARY was interrupted.  She was making simple wedding preparations when an angel stopped to visit to let her know that she would be a personal part of the most defining moment in all of human history.

Those are just a few from the Bible and of course there are tons throughout history.   Our lives are filled with interruptions.   Make a choice to start seeing these as divine intervention from God and talk with Him to see what course He wants you to take.

What if your compelling story could be written with the ink of your latest interruption.   Will you follow through or will you defy God for forcing the plotline on you?  The thing to remember is God’s way is always the best way.  He’s God after all.  He created you….so He knows the best path for you.   

I'm listening to baseball right now as I type this, so I'll add a baseball analogy:

When life throws you a curve ball, think of it as a pitch from God and be determined to turn it into a home run.

As I read more of Priscilla Shirer’s “Life Interrupted” book, I’m sure I’ll have more to share.

==========

TRIVIA ANSWER:
Carbon

BRAIN RIDDLE:
A sponge

Until next time…...

RANDOM HUMOR AND JOKES

(make your own punchline for this photo)

Here's some fun for the day…….
TRIVIA:
In which state was the first Wal-Mart store opened?

JOKES:
Q:  How do you attract a vegetarian?
A:  Make a noise like a wounded vegetable.

Q:  What has more lives than a cat?
A:  A frog, it croaks every night.

Q:  What do you call a cow with no legs?
A:  Ground beef



STEVEN WRIGHT QUOTES

I like my dental hygienist that cleans my teeth, I think she's very pretty, so I eat an entire box of Oreos while I'm in the waiting room.   Sometimes they have to cancel all the other appointments after me.

I left my apartment the other day and when I came back everything in my apartment had been stolen and replaced with an exact replica.

I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second.

I used to work at a fire hydrant company.  You couldn't park anywhere near the place.




COMIC FUN

Scary Movies for cheese

YOU KNOW YOU'VE HAD A BAD DAY WHEN…….

You buy a tube of Krazy Glue and the label falls off..

The worst player on the golf course wants to play you for money.

The bird singing outside your window is a vulture.

Your twin sister forgets your birthday.

You sink your teeth into a delicious steak and they stay there.

You put your bra on backwards and it fits better.

Your teenager asks to borrow your clothes for Nerd Day at school.



YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLD WHEN….

The little gray-haired lady you help across the street is your wife.

Your doctor is old enough to be your grandson.

You know all the answers but nobody asks you the questions.

The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals.

Your grandchildren study things in history that you studied as current events.

You have too much room in the house and not enough room in the medicine cabinet.

You stop buying natural foods because you need all the preservatives you can get.


IT'S TIME TO CONSIDER LOSING WEIGHT WHEN……

You rent a canoe and they place large weights at the opposite end to balance it.

You take a trip to the zoo and the children start throwing peanuts your way.

Someone asks to borrow the life preserver around your waist and your not wearing one.

Seven people trying to get a tan ask you to move because you are blocking their sun.

None of your towels fit anymore.



TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:

A joyful heart is good medicine.  : )

===========

TRIVIA ANSWER:  

Arkansas


Until next time…..

GOOD FRIDAY MESSAGE

This is a post that I wrote last year.  Usually my blog involves humor, jokes and trivia, but for today I want to go in a different direction in honor of Good Friday.   As I'm typing this, it is the Thursday night before Easter.  I often contemplate about what was taking place through the night so many years ago as Jesus was taken from the garden to face his destiny.   I think of how people were sleeping through the night as he began to face such horrific trials.

 

I have a tradition that I've followed every Good Friday since "The Passion Of the Christ" movie was released.  I turn out the lights, shut the blinds, and watch "The Passion".    This movie really helps me to feel what Jesus went through for me.  If you don't have the DVD, the entire movie is usually available on YouTube.  I've attached the scene in which Jesus is flogged before being crucified.   Flogging on it’s own could have killed Jesus.  The usual procedure was to bare the upper half of the person’s body, tie their hands to a pillar and then whip them with a three-pronged whip with pieces of lead in the prongs.   This is just one of the many agonies Jesus went through for us.  This puts so much of my life in perspective.  Regardless of what I've been through, or what I'm going through, when I watch this scene It really helps me to see and understand what Jesus went through for me.   Anything I've gone through in life pales in comparison to what He experienced.

People often make fun of Christians, even more so in recent years.  Christians will get plenty of hatred from the world.  (John 16: 20 “.....Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you....”)   The world’s values are often opposite of God’s values.  This can cause Christians to feel like outcasts sometimes.  Believers can take courage from the fact that Jesus himself was mocked more than most people will ever experience.  Taunting may be hurtful, but we should never let it change what is true.  Keep the faith.

Jesus volunteered for this sacrifice and this torture.  He did this for you & He loves you.  Take a moment today to think upon this awesome truth.   Jesus’ sacrifice is truly the greatest act of genuine love in all of history.   

(Here’s the scene I mentioned above.  The part I was referring to takes place about 4 minutes into the clip )

http://youtu.be/FsEjSF84z4U

Until next time.......

SIGNIFICANCE BEHIND THE PALMS OF PALM SUNDAY

Here's some fun for the day…...

TRIVIA:  
What is the only phase of the moon that can produce a solar eclipse? 

BRAIN TEASER:
There are 10 people in a house.  Everyone wants to make a handshake with only the people that are shorter than them.   Everyone in the room is a different height.  How many hand shakes will be made?

JOKE:
Q:  What is the best way to study the Bible?
A:  You Luke into it.

HUMOROUS QUOTE:
"One time I went to a drive-in movie in a cab.   Cost me 95 dollars" ( Steven Wright)

COMIC FUN

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:

God had created a new day, and He created it so that we could enjoy it.   Find the blessings in each day.  

THE PALMS OF PALM SUNDAY

I've been reading John Ortberg's "Who Is This Man", a book that looks into the impact of Jesus on history and our lives.   On the day after Jesus' death, it probably looked like whatever small mark he left on the world would rapidly disappear.  Instead, His impact on human history is unparalleled   The other morning I was reading and came across an interesting tidbit about the meaning and origin behind the palms of Palm Sunday.   Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter that commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem for the week of Passover.

Ortberg writes about how years before Jesus' birth, Israel's great temple had been desecrated by foreign powers.   Under the Maccabees, Israel won a measure of freedom, which included control of the temple.  Palm branches were used for its rededication.

As a result, palms became a symbol of Jewish nationalism.  During two major wars against Rome, Israelite rebels illegally minted coins and put palms on them.  The palm branch was a political symbol like the elephant or donkey is for the Republican/Democratic parties and like Uncle Sam is for America.   Waving a palm branch in front of Rome was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

It was a declaration of war.  The triumphal entry was, for the crowds, a military statement.  The gospel of John indicates this by the shouts of the crowd.  They begin quoting Psalm 118: 'Hosanna!' (Lord, save us!)  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  In Psalm 118, the next line is "From the house of the Lord we bless you."  That is not what the crowds say.  

What they say is, "Blessed is the king of Israel!"  In other words, "Blessed is the one who is going to overthrow Pilate, Herod and Caesar."   Those are fighting words.  But Jesus would not fight.   The hosannas would stop abruptly.   The title "King of Israel" hung ominously over Jesus from His birth, as it would over His death.   The idea that He was a king would confuse everyone.   Especially kings.  

The palm branch later became a symbol of Christian martyrs and their spiritual triumph over death.   

Many in the crowd cheering for Jesus on that day would bow to political pressure and desert Him in just a few days.   Let Palm Sunday be a reminder to us to guard our hearts against worldly pressures that take our focus away from Jesus, our true King and leader.  
Following Jesus is not a pathway to an easy life but a call to do difficult things if we are to live in His image.

As we begin Easter week, take a moment each day to reflect on God's ultimate sacrifice of sending His Son to take on our burden of sin.   

=============

TRIVIA:  
New Moon

BRAIN TEASER ANSWER
Zero.  A tall person wants to shake hands with a shorter person, but the shorter person doesn't want to shake hands with him.


Until next time…...

MORE MEANINGS BEHIND 4 COMMON SAYINGS (NEW)

Here's some fun for the day……..

TRIVIA:  

The city of El Paso is located on what river?

BRAIN TEASER:

If you roll snake eyes with the same pair of dice eight times in a row, what is the chance of rolling snake eyes on your ninth roll?

JOKE:

Q:  What is the best hand to write with?

A:  Neither.  It's best to write with a pen or pencil.

STEVEN WRIGHT QUOTE:

"I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately.  Extremely abstract.  No brush, no canvas. I just think about it."

COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
The more we read and listen to God's Word, the more revelation we will receive to understand it.

MEANINGS BEHIND COMMON SAYINGS

1. GOOSE BUMPS

Geese were important in the life of medieval Britain.  They were so important that goose herds spent their lives tending flocks.  Many owners plucked their geese five times a year, leaving them totally naked until the new feathers appeared.   When cold air hit, tiny muscles just under the skin would contract and create patterns of pimples.

Small and transient bumps on the human skin are so much like those of a plucked fowl that they became known as goose bumps ( or goose pimples)

This is not to be confused with getting juice bumps.   That is when you fall into the orange juice section at the grocery and hit your head on the glass.



2. UNDERDOG

Settlers who were pioneers on the American frontier were usually ready for a brawl.  Many enjoyed fighting among themselves.

Dogfighting has one significant factor in common with wrestling by humans.  In both cases, it is a decided disadvantage to be on the bottom.  That was the case in a backwoods dog-fight.   When one animal got the other down and started for its throat, a bystander had to intervene in order to save the life of the dog underneath. 

Regular references to losses by canines on the bottom caused their title to be bestowed on any contestant judged likely to be at a disadvantage in the struggle.

This is not to be confused with Underdog the animated canine hero from the 1960's who spoke in rhyme and dealt with villains such as Simon Bar Sinister and Riff Raff.  "Never fear!  Underdog is here!"

3. KNOCK ON WOOD

It's a common practice to knock on wood with knuckles in order to ward off trouble or seek good fortune.  This is almost always followed with the person saying 'knock on wood'.   There are different ideas on the root of this saying.

One school of thought is that knocking on wood turns a person's thoughts to the wooden cross on which Jesus was crucified.

Another idea is that it goes back to the child's game of tag where trees afford sanctuary.   Once you tag a tree you are momentarily free from capture.  

Ok, so now I'm singing the disco classic "Knock On Wood" in my head.  "Think I'm gonna knock, knock, knock on wood…..clap, clap, clap…."  (Now you're singing the disco song too!)





4. DERBY

Anytime you see the Kentucky Derby or visit Hollywood's Brown Derby restaurant you pay homage to the Earl of Derby.

Edward Stanley, twelfth English nobleman to bear the title, had the bluest of blue blood, claiming descent form William the Conquerer.   A confirmed devotee of the racetrack, he launched a set of races for three-year-olds at Epsom Downs.

Male toffs, or swells, for whom the annual derby was the highlight of the year, typically wore bowler hats to the races.   Americans adapted the horse race and the hat & named both for the earl.  

Little known fact.  There was an Early of Furby.  He was kind of furry and looked like and owl mixed with a hamster.   He utter nonsensical sayings.   Years later toys would be named for him.

====================

TRIVIA ANSWER:

The Rio Grande

BRAIN RIDDLE ANSWER:
Pretty good.   The dice are obviously loaded


Until next time………..