Fun facts about Portland:

• The “City of Roses,” Portland has many rose gardens—most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. (That explains the name of the “Rose Garden Arena.”)
• Portland is one of only three cities in the contiguous U.S. with extinct volcanoes within its boundaries. The other two (we knew you’d want to know) are Jackson, Mississippi and Bend, Oregon.
• Portlandia, a statue on the west side of the Portland Building, is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the U.S. (after the Statue of Liberty).
• Portland is home to Mill Ends Park, certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s smallest park. It’s a two-foot-diameter space in a downtown median. Over the years the park been home to a swimming pool for butterflies (complete with diving board), a miniature Ferris wheel (delivered by a normal-sized crane), and assorted plants. It was briefly relocated to a planter during road construction, but has now been returned home.

Nicole Johnson

Grace is a one-of-a-kind experience. It’s not one-size-fits-all. -Nicole Johnson

After all . . .

• Rochester is home to the first abolitionist group, bloomers, marshmallows, Jell-O, French’s Mustard, baby shoes, gold teeth and the mail chute.
• Rochester is known as both Flour City and Flower City.
• The New York state motto is “Excelsior!” (Doesn’t that sound like a Patsy Clairmont kind of word?)
• USA Today called Rochester a “serendipitous and surprising getaway.”
• Word on the street is if someone offers you a “Garbage Plate” while you are in Rochester, they’re talking about a “tasty” combination of deep fried hotdogs, hamburgers, potatoes and macaroni salad spiked with hot sauce, made popular by a Rochester restaurant.  (Has anybody out there tried it and lived to tell the tale? We’d love your review of this delicacy.)

When something doesn’t go my way or come down the pike the way I want it to, I tend to gripe. It can be any number of things that irritate me—delayed flights, being put on hold, or having to wait in line. Traffic jams. Interruptions. People who don’t keep their word. You name it! (You have your own list, don’t you?)

At times like these when I’m tempted to gripe, I have to start talking to myself. And when I come to my senses, this is what I say: “Luci, if you can’t be content in this moment of inconvenience, be content that it’s not worse. Shut up and count your blessings.”

But there are times I can’t pull myself out of that morass until I start with a grateful heart. Our constant attitude should be gratitude. But it seems to be the rarest of virtues. God has given us thousands of reasons to celebrate life every day, even in the worst of times, if we just open our eyes, live in the moment, take in the beauty, and see the possibilities. It’s been said, “The worst moment for the atheist is when he feels grateful and has no one to thank.”

— Luci Swindoll

Excerpted from A Grand New Day © 2008 by Thomas Nelson. Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

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