Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 31, 1945: Free French Army crosses Rhine near Speyer, Germany.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 30, 1940: Japanese establish Chinese puppet government in former Chinese capital of Nanking.
65 Years Ago—March 30, 1945: Soviets enter Austria. Allies get first close-up look at German Me 262 jet fighter when defecting pilot delivers to American forces.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 29, 1940: Movie premiere of Rebecca, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.
65 Years Ago—March 29, 1945: Soviets seize Komorn oil field in Hungary, Germany’s last source of petroleum.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 28, 1940: Britain and France agree not to make separate peace treaties with Germany.
65 Years Ago—March 28, 1945: Japanese-trained Burma National Army under Aun San revolts and joins Allies.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 27, 1940: Peter Fraser becomes prime minister of New Zealand on the death of Michael Savage.
65 Years Ago—March 27, 1945: Last German V-2 rockets land in Britain—in London (131 killed) and in Kent.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 26, 1945: US Eighth Army lands on Cebu in Philippines.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 25, 1945: US Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy flies last strategic mission of war.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 24, 1945: Chinese troops secure northern Burma.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 23, 1945: Montgomery’s British Second Army crosses Rhine at Wesel, Germany.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 22, 1945: Patton’s US Third Army crosses Rhine at Nierstein & Oppenheim at night, surprising Germans.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 21, 1940: Paul Reynaud becomes new French prime minister.
65 Years Ago—March 21, 1945: Japanese use rocket-powered Ohka kamikaze plane for first time, but cause little damage to US fleet.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 20, 1940: French Prime Minister Daladier resigns.
65 Years Ago—March 20, 1945: British take Mandalay, Burma.

Better Than Sheep?

Sheep, sheep, sheep. What can I say about sheep?

1) Sheep need water to survive, but they can’t tell clean water from dirty water.
2) Sheep need food, but can’t tell good grass from poisonous plants.
3) Sheep will graze the same land over and over until it becomes eroded.
4) When sheep are attacked, they often freeze instead of running or crying out.
5) Conversely, sheep can panic at sudden noise and run straight into danger.
6) Sheep can drown in swift water when their wool becomes waterlogged.
7) When sheep fall over onto their backs, they can’t get up!

In short, sheep need help. They need a shepherd.

We think we’re so much better than sheep. We build tall buildings. We read and write and speak. We have thumbs.

But how many times have you:

1) Chosen something dirty over something clean?
2) Chosen something poisonous over something nourishing?
3) Repeated the same action over and over without benefit?
4) Frozen when you should have fled?
5) Fled when you should have frozen?
6) Felt drowned by all life’s troubles weighing you down?
7) Fallen and couldn’t get up?

In short, we need a shepherd too. And Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who guides us along the right paths to what is good and beneficial, protects us from danger, and helps us up when we fall.

“’I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’” John 10:11.

How have you benefitted from Jesus' shepherding?

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 19, 1940: The Royal Air Force bombs a seaplane base at Hornum, the first bombs to land on German soil during the war.
65 Years Ago—March 19, 1945: Hitler issues “Nero Decree” for scorched-earth retreat—Germans to destroy factories, railroads, and bridges, but it is largely ignored. German U-boats withdrawn from Baltic Sea.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 18, 1940: Hitler and Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass, and Mussolini agrees to join the war against Britain and France.
65 Years Ago—March 18, 1945: US Fifth Fleet strikes Kyushu, Shikoku, & Honshu in Japan to prepare for Okinawa landings.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 17, 1945: Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen collapses under German Ar 234 jet attack, but five US divisions had already crossed—American engineers erect new pontoon bridge in ten hours.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 16, 1945: US secures Iwo Jima. In the campaign, 5400 US and 20,000 Japanese troops were killed—and only 216 POWs taken. Air base opens on Iwo Jima for P-47 and P-51 fighter planes to escort B-29 bombers.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 15, 1945: Japanese counterattack British forces at Meiktila, Burma.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 14, 1945: On Luzon, a force of Filipinos led by US Col. Russell Volckmann, who refused to surrender to the Japanese in 1942, takes San Fernando.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 13, 1940: Official cease fire in Finland. In over three months of fighting, 25,000 Finnish soldiers were killed and 200,000 Soviets.
65 Years Ago—March 13, 1945: US B-29s launch fire raid on Osaka, killing 4000 and destroying 119 factories.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 12, 1940: Finland signs treaty with the USSR, ending the Soviet-Finnish war and ceding border lands to the Soviets.
65 Years Ago—March 12, 1945: Anne Frank dies in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Taste and See!

Flour. Water. Yeast. Salt.

Bread is simple stuff, but tasty and nourishing. When bread is digested, the complex carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, which provide the energy we need to survive and perform the day’s activities.

Jesus is the Bread of Life. His body was broken and crushed for us. Through Him we can have eternal life and the power to accomplish His purposes.

What more could we ask?

“Taste and see that the Lord is good” Psalm 34:8.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 11, 1940: Britain begins meat rationing—each person to receive nine pence worth each week.
65 Years Ago—March 11, 1945: Seventy German POWs escape from camp at Bridgend, Wales—all recaptured by March 17.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 10, 1945: US Eighth Army lands at Zamboanga on Mindanao in the Philippines.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 9, 1940: New song in Top Ten: “When You Wish upon a Star” from Walt Disney’s Pinocchio.
65 Years Ago—March 9, 1945: US B-29s launch first major nighttime, low-altitude incendiary raid on Tokyo—97,000 are killed in the most destructive air attack of the entire war.

Lessons from the 1940s Woman - Support Your Man!

Here's a poster that would never be printed today. To the eye of the 2010 woman, this girl looks a bit...daft. The doting little woman fawning over her man's accomplishments. Doesn't she have a life of her own?

Maybe she's not as stupid as we think.

Though our culture has undergone a gigantic shift, the basic nature of a man has not. According to Dr. Emerson Eggerichs in Love and Respect (Thomas Nelson, 2004), while the primary need of a woman is to be loved, the primary need of a man is to be respected. Eggerichs conducted a poll of four hundred men, asking, "If they were forced to choose one of the following, which would they prefer to endure? (a) to be left alone and unloved in the world (b) to feel inadequate and disrespected by everyone. Seventy-four percent of these men said...they would prefer being alone and unloved" (p. 49).

Whoa.

In 2010, male bashing is hip. Homer Simpson is considered the typical male, dumb and useless without his smart, long-suffering wife. College enrollment for young men is actually decreasing. And recently, my teenage son was told he isn't supposed to be smart because he's a white boy! It appears that society is trying to force men into the same second-class citizen role women fought to escape.

Now that women have earned respect, isn't it time we gave some back? Men are more successful when they know their wives support them and take pride in them. Men who feel respected respond in a loving manner (just look at that sailor's face in the poster!), so ironically, when we deprive our men of respect, we end up depriving ourselves of the love we most crave.

Modern marriages would benefit from some old-fashioned doting and fawning, and our entire society would benefit if both men and women lived up to full potential.

OK, ladies - bragging time! What do you admire about your man? And be sure to share this with him! I'll start...my husband is a steady rock for me. He makes sound and prayerful decisions, he's a man of integrity, and he has a generous heart. Your turn!

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 8, 1945: German commandos from the occupied Channel Islands raid Normandy Harbor at night and free 67 POWs.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 7, 1945: US First Army seizes intact Ludendorff Bridge over Rhine at Remagen, 8000 troops cross the first day.

A Name and a Winner!

Thanks to everyone for your clever ideas for names for my blog! I've chosen the suggestion of my sister, Martha Groeber. No, this is not nepotism!! Her suggestion, Under His Wings, was the working title for Book 2 in my series, now officially A Memory Between Us. When I chose the title for the novel, I loved the double imagery - wings for the planes and for coming to trust under the Lord's wings - and it fits the blog just as well.

I received suggestions from fourteen wonderful people, both on my blog and on Facebook. In a random drawing, my son pulled the name of Brigitte Peters. Brigitte, you've won a copy of A Distant Melody! Makes a lovely doorstop. Brigitte, I know where to find you :)

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 6, 1945: Germans launch offensive to retake Hungarian oil fields—will have partial, temporary success.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 5, 1945: German Army begins conscripting fifteen year old boys.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 4, 1945: US B-29 Superfortresses first land on Iwo Jima as an emergency field. British Fourteenth Army takes Meiktila, Burma.

Happy Blogiversary!

My little blog is a year old today, and still doesn't have a name! What kind of horrible mother am I?

To celebrate - and to name this poor child - I'm holding a drawing for a copy of my novel, A Distant Melody. Suggest a name for my blog in the comments and I'll enter you in the drawing. Please also leave a way for me to get ahold of you - unless we're already Facebook friends. Then I've got you! I'll hold the drawing on Saturday, March 6.

No purchase necessary, United States only please, void wherever prohibited by law, yada, yada, yada.

Please. Help me. Help my poor blog. Suggest a name.

Today in World War II History

70 Years Ago—March 3, 1940: In the Soviet-Finnish war, the Soviets launch a final major offensive at Viipuri, Finland.
65 Years Ago—March 3, 1945: US and Canadian troops link between the Maas and Rhine rivers.

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 2, 1945: In the United States, strikes close ten Chrysler and Briggs plants.

Lessons from the 1940s Woman - Make It Do!

In our green times, we say, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," but the 1940s woman puts us to shame. For her, "Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do" was more than a slogan, it was a necessary, patriotic lifestyle.

Many consumer goods, such as rubber goods and some spices, were scarce because they were produced by Japanese-occupied countries. Metal goods, clothing, and leather were rationed to take care of higher needs in the military or to allow factories to convert from civilian to military production. Coffee and sugar were rationed to save shipping capacity for military purposes. Canned goods were rationed to reduce metal packaging. The famous stocking shortage was caused by the need to save silk and nylon for parachutes. And gasoline was rationed primarily to save rubber - the less you drove, the fewer tires you wore out.

These shortages and a complicated rationing system led women to creative ways of meeting their families' needs. Women adopted fashions with knee-length, gently flared skirts, with few fabric-wasting ruffles, pockets, and pleats. Cloth espadrilles became fashionable since women were limited to two to three pairs of leather shoes each year. Women shared recipes for meatless meals and reduced-sugar desserts, and found creative uses for Spam. They planted Victory Gardens to supplement their rations. And - like my grandmother - they washed diapers by hand and line-dried them when they couldn't buy new appliances.

This generation knew how to recycle! They collected leftover cooking fats, which provided crucial ingredients for explosives. They peeled tin foil off the back of chewing gum wrappers. They turned in old toothpaste tubes in order to get new ones. Paper drives, rubber drives, and scrap metal drives brought in tons of materials for the war effort. Their hard work helped win the war.

How about you? Whether you're motivated by a desire to conserve resources or to save money, what are some new ways you could "Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do?"

Today in World War II History

65 Years Ago—March 1, 1945: Manila Bay opens as Allied port.