TEMP CHALLENGE, DAY 3

Our time as Temp Challenge Champions was also fleeting. Ratings based on Wunderground at 7:27 a.m. this morning.

#1, Eagan, MN, -12/-29 wind chill

#2, Norfolk, NE, -9/-26

#3, Ventura, IA, -10/-23

#4, Beatrice, NE, -6/-15

#5, Balmiest Leckband, Lincoln, NE, -7/-7

TRENDING

"Meddling parents hire dating coaches for grown children." Drudge Report

"Canadian man too polite to tell doctor he doesn't want to be euthanized." Babylon Bee

"Father briefly glances up from phone to mumble something to teen about the dangers of technology." Babylon Bee

"Hallmark researchers say they are close to developing a second movie plot." Babylon Bee

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE FLORIDA

"Scuba diving Santa spotted in the Florida Keys." Fox News Online

"Florida's iguanas might fall from trees, hit people amid cold front." Fox News Online

A REASON TO SMILE

"Want to change the world? Try smiling. At children, young & old. At yourself in the mirror. At people you don't like & strangers on the street. Someone will smile back at you. I guarantee it. Maybe they'll even blow you a kiss & make your headache go away." Column by Sharon Randall, Norfolk Daily News, 12/16

MOST TRUSTED BRANDS IN AMERICA *

* Compliments of Reader's Digest, Jan 2023

> Auto insurance:  State Farm

> Streaming service:  Netflix

> Wireless provider:  Verizon

> Coffee maker:  Keurig

> Home insurance:  State Farm

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING *

* Compliments of Reader's Digest, Jan 2023

> I used to live hand to mouth. Do you know what changed my life? Cutlery.

> I tried to steal spaghetti from the shop, but the female guard saw me & I couldn't get pasta.

> By my age, my parents had a house & a family, & to be fair to me, so do I--but it is the same house & the same family.

> A weeping woman bursts into her hypnotist's office. "I have been faithful to my husband for 15 years, but yesterday I had an affair!" she said, sobbing. "The guilt is killing me. I just want to forget that it ever happened!" The hypnotherapist sighs. "Not again . . . "

A PRESENT THAT CANNOT BE BOUGHT OR EXCHANGED

"When King David ruled over all of Israel, one of the many Psalms he wrote included this verse: "Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing." (Psalm 146:3-4 NIV)

"Our politics is like them. Politicians can't, or are incapable of solving most problems, but many continue to place their faith in them . . . The Christmas season offers an annual opportunity to push the reset button and consider a better way, a way that will demonstrably produce results that politics cannot.

"Our culture tries hard to change, or ignore, the central message of Christmas, which is that God came down to rescue humanity from a condition known as sin, a condition from which we are incapable of rescuing ourselves. If we could, would we not have done so at some point in the entirety of human existence? Are not ceaseless wars, poverty, racism, and evil sufficient evidence of man's failure at self-improvement? . . . 

"What Christmas offers is a present that cannot be bought, or exchanged, because it has already been paid for by someone else. Christmas offers at least two things - a changed life and a hope beyond this life. What could be better than these? . . . No one is forced to believe the message, but those who do will inherit the greatest of benefits and the ultimate gift. Those who don't risk eternal consequences . . . 

"No power on Earth can equal right decision-making by individuals. These include living one's life according to principles laid down for us in the books of Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Sermon on the Mount. Changing politicians in Washington won't solve our basic problems or needs. Changed hearts do. That can only occur when one accepts a Higher Authority to transform and guide their lives.

"If you are a skeptic, plough through the clutter and distractions of the way the world observes Christmas and reconsider the main message. The original cast is always better than the road show." Cal Thomas, Townhall, 12/22