Liferep.net

October 31, 2014

// October 31st, 2014 // Daily News

Wal-Mart bringing Black Friday to Halloween weekend

Halloween weekend is shaping up to be a big event for retailers—just not for the reason you might think.
Although many consumers plan to extend their Halloween celebrations past Friday, Wal-Mart on Saturday will shift its focus from orange and black to red and green, when it kicks off its first round of holiday deals.
The world’s largest retailer joins the likes of Amazon, Office Depot and OfficeMax, which are also launching their first holiday deals over the weekend, in what’s already shaping up to be another highly promotional holiday.
“As soon as they put away their Halloween costumes, our customers start prepping for Thanksgiving, buying Christmas trees and shopping for gifts,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. “They want the best deals now.”
Starting Saturday, Wal-Mart will offer discounts on 20,000 items spanning groceries, toys and electronics, as it tries to reestablish itself as the low-price leader. In addition to this broader assortment of deals compared to a year ago, the company will offer free shipping on its top 100 gifts, removing its minimum-purchase threshold of $50. These items were compiled by Wal-Mart’s merchandising team and include board games and licensed “Frozen” products.
Then on Monday, Wal-Mart will once again hold a 24-hour online sales event, which will feature 15 “Black Friday and Cyber-Monday-like deals,” double the number from last year.
Wal-Mart offered deals at the beginning of November last season, as well, though they were more web-focused. This year, the retailer’s goal is to spread its discounts across stores, its mobile app and the internet. It’s also better integrating its physical and digital presences, allowing shoppers the option for same-day in-store pickup on its early Cyber Monday deals.

Today’s Inspiration

The Foundation of Happiness

by Joyce Meyer – posted October 31, 2014

All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of His creation, the foundation of all happiness …] and the whole [duty] for every man .
—(2 Timothy 2:15)

The writer of Ecclesiastes was a man who literally tried everything to be happy. He had much wealth, great power, and many wives. He restrained himself from no earthly pleasure. Anything his eyes desired, he took. He ate, drank, and made merry.

He had tremendous knowledge, wisdom, and respect, yet he hated life. Everything began to appear useless to him. He tried to figure out what life was all about and became more and more confused. Finally, he realized what his problem had been all along. He had not been obeying God’s commandments. He was unhappy because of it and made the statement that the foundation of all happiness is obedience. There are many, many sad, grieved individuals walking around blaming their unhappy lives on people and circumstances, failing to realize that the reason for their dissatisfaction is their disobedience toward God.

I believe you want to be happy. The key to happiness is obeying God. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says that obedience is “the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances.”That means that anything out of order or harmony got that way through disobedience and only obedience can bring it back into harmony. Every time we obey God, something in our lives improves.