67 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 10-9-12”

  5. Good morning. Good quote, AJ, and good Bible verse, JoeB. (That’s a lot of goods, isn’t it?) 🙂

    It’s true, JoeB, a joyful heart is good medicine. I have joy this morning, despite two nights in a row now of disrupted sleep. Last night, littlest arrow woke up three times, and I couldn’t sleep anymore after the third time. Yet the bad attitude I had yesterday morning after one night of poor sleep is gone on this second morning.

    God’s mercy and grace is truly amazing! Joy truly is not dependent on outward circumstances, and I’m so thankful that God is so faithful to SHOW me that truth. I would not have come to that conclusion on my own by any means but through Him.

    Praise God!

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  8. My dad and brother each have a good sense of humor, and they use it to rib each other (and other people) sometimes.

    We were getting a family picture taken one time, and my dad (with his balding head) was combing his hair beforehand and asked, “How does my hair look?”

    To which my brother replied, “They’re both fine.” 😉

    My dad, of course, then and at other times, likes to remind us that grass doesn’t grow on a busy highway. 🙂

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  9. Good morning all! A good sense of humor is a real help all the way through life. It keeps us from crying about all sorts of things. Something I could cry about this morning is that the chair I am sitting in has lost its back. It is an office desk type chair and the connection keeps coming undone each time I put it back together. So I basically have a stool with arms on it. Needless to say this comes at a time when I really need a well-behaved chair to sit in for some long hours. What’s a person to do but laugh? One could do worse than a stool with arms on it! LOL

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  12. It would be hard to pick regarding words of encouragement. I have received it here and from people at church the most. Sometimes I receive it from my son. I have a friend who lives across the country who is very encouraging to me. Sometimes I receive encouragement from my husband and from my brother but that is less frequent (maybe because I am more in the role of encourager for them). When I took the writing course through Christian Writers Guild, my mentor was highly encouraging.

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  13. Sense of humor:
    I am starting a list of things I have NEVER heard a man say:
    1. Hon, I was looking at your checking account. It’s a little low, should I transfer some money?
    2. Listen, would it be all right with you if I do my own laundry?

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  16. QoD — The most encouraging thing in the last week wasn’t actually said to me verbally, but yesterday I had posted a comment on a different blog, and the blog author took my comment in its entirety and made a blog post out of it, prefacing my comment with the following remark: “This was in the comments, by 6 arrows, and I thought it was important enough that more people should see it:”.

    That was quite encouraging that someone thought something I had to say was important. 😉

    One of the most (maybe THE most) encouraging words I have received came one month ago when my daughter who has moved out gave me a birthday card that included a loving hand-written message about her gratefulness for what I had done for her over the years she had lived at home. It brought tears to my eyes to know how God had worked in our lives, to transform my mistakes and use them for good, and to develop in my daughter a heart of thankfulness, despite my weaknesses as a mother.

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  17. I’m laughing at Kim…

    Dearie,
    If I didn’t put money in the account, then there wouldn’t BE any money in the account…..

    There’s only the one account anyway. Hers and mine. You know the saying? What’s mine is hers, and what’s hers is hers?

    That’s the way it is.

    Bill Cosby said it best:

    “When I was first married, I thought that I brought home the money, gave it to my wife, and then went out to play…”

    😀

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  18. Oh and before you think I’m complaing, I’m NOT. Marrying my wife is hands down, easily, the best thing I ever did. I wouldn’t have the house and vehicles paid for, or any savings, and probably not any retirement (as measly as it is), if not for her.

    I bring home the money, she keeps my life from turning into a giant hairball.

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  19. Kim, before we get too cocky, have you ever heard of a wife saying, “You stay put and watch the game, dear. I’ll be happy to go out and mow the lawn” or “It’s really no problem at all, I can wear this same coat for one more season.”

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  20. I have had several encouraging things happen and be said to me recently. You’ve all been with me along the way so maybe you can help me remember.
    I think I am more in the roll of encourager. I love to help someone else be better…I feel almost as if I did it myself.
    On our team at work there is one agent who is #2 in transactions and #8 in commissions. She is working just as hard or harder than anyone else but not getting the monetary reward. I worked with her on her buyer agency presentation, set her up an appointment with a buyer on a Wednesday and on Saturday she wrote a contract on a $315K house that the builder is paying a 5% commission on. I couldn’t be prouder if I had done it myself.
    I have a new agent that has yet to meet with a buyer or show any property but I have been working with him every morning and to see the enthusiasm he has and to get the positive feedback from him on what I am teaching him … well let’s just say I am pretty proud of him and what he HAS done.
    Yesterday I started dialing and talking and uncovered a few more opportunities. In one of the conversations I spoke with a home health nurse in IL whose husband is being transferred to our area. She requested some information on insurance and taxes and I told her I would do it on Wednesday that my stepsister’s funeral is today. She asked about it and I told her. She said she just didn’t know how mothers told their children goodbye…I told her that it was home health and hospice nurses like her that made it easier. She joked up and thanked me! I was thanking HER!

    I guess I sorta, kinda get my encouragement through the back door instead of the front door in the parlor.

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  21. Yes Linda, I once was that wife. I mowed the grass every Friday so that after golf he wouldn’t have the excuse of mowing the grass to keep from doing something fun with BG and me. I also wore the same winter coat from 1994 to 2010 (not that I have much call for one here).

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  22. A couple months ago I saw a great bumper sticker: “Driver carries no cash.” Below it, in smaller print, “(He’s married.)” Now the reality is that I personally found it much easier to hold onto cash before I married and had two stepdaughters. (Especially the girls. There are certain purchases we reimburse them for, and usually I keep cash on hand and hubby doesn’t always, so it typically ends up coming from me. But this morning he got money from me for a haircut.)

    When we were in the Smokies last month, I looked at a sweatshirt and considered buying it, but I looked at the price tag and reconsidered. But later I thought about it: I own a total of four sweatshirts, and generally I wear one of them pretty much every day in the winter, and I live in a region where winter is long. None of the four is newer than ten years old; three of the four date to my college years (20 years ago or more); two of the four were gifts; one was purchased on clearance before I ever attended college (bought for five dollars in 1988); one of the “gift” ones is really too big for me and thus I rarely wear it, and the other quite worn now.

    So I decided that I really, really get my money’s worth from a sweatshirt, and living in a cold climate they aren’t a luxury. I told my husband, and started to tell him why it wasn’t a waste of money. He grinned and said, “Hey, I’m not Scottish.” (I am.) “You don’t have to convince me; just tell me you want it.” We even went to two different shops to find it, since the first one had it only in large and extra-large and I can’t wear anything larger than a medium.

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  23. “If it’s a purchase that enriches your life and gives you joy and we can afford it, why wouldn’t you buy it?” My husband logically asked about 29 years into our marriage.

    Mrs. Tight-fisted Me stood stock still at a new concept.

    I married a really great guy. He just takes a little too long to say some things . . . 🙂

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  24. Let me twist the question of the day around here…

    How can I encourage my wife?

    She’s been looking at the retirement situation, and has gotten discouraged.

    Why?
    There are several reasons. It’s nearly impossible to plan for all that might happen medically. It is impossible to catch up to where we need to be since we didn’t get started until the kids were out of the house. Also it’s extremely difficult to make all the right investments and trades to make just 3% return. To top it all off, she’s been working so hard at scrimping and saving since we got married just to get by, that now facing this is seems even more impossible in the time left to us…

    Have any suggestions?

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  27. Good morning everyone. We can be thankful that our Creator built the coping mechanism called a sense of humor into our makeup. You know that He has to have a great sense of humor and He knew that we would need one, too.

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  28. Good Morning, Y’all!

    Can we please hold off on the baseball talk?…I’m still livid about the Braves!

    Hope all are having a great day…

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  29. Make It Man: We’re somewhat in the same boat. We decided to give our son and DIL the cash to buy a house (their inheritance) in which we can put living quarters for ourselves in the basement. They will cover all of the monthly expenses so we will live rent free forever. We are both within 5 or so years of retirement so this plan will work fine assuming neither of us needs to spend a lengthy time in assisted living or nursing. It’s a gamble, for sure.

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  32. Make It Man, it sounds like you have a money-savvy wife, which will go a long way. If you aren’t in debt (don’t know if you are or not), you’re better off than most Americans.

    For me as a woman, here is my take: Sometimes I get frightened thinking of how far “down” our economy could potentially go. For example, what would it be like to live in an economy in which one could no longer get gasoline (we live too far from town to walk, reasonably–it’s a ten-minute drive); in which roads were no longer maintained, in which electricity was no longer available; without phone service; in which grocery shelves were empty? I live in a cold climate, and grew up in heat so I detest cold; that factors in too. I don’t see these potential scenarios as far-fetched, though I heartily hope we never experience them. I don’t have food sources in my backyard, and what cash we have in the bank (not a lot) would not go all that far in a period of hyper-inflation, if it’s worth anything at all.

    I consciously have to reflect on two things: One, God is sovereign and He can be trusted (even in hard times); two, as a married woman, this is ultimately not my concern, but my husband’s. He may well need my help if anything happens, as he appreciates my ability to bring in a little money now. But he is the leader, and it isn’t really my “problem.” Worry doesn’t help anything, anyway.

    The long and the short of it is we have no idea how this will all end up, or (really) even how to prepare for it. I personally would be inclined to downsize if I didn’t have a paid-off mortgage and/or had more house than I could afford, and to stay out of other debt. I try to stay somewhat stocked up on food and on essentials like toilet paper. It would be better to have a garden; it would be better to live in a temperate climate (where heat and air conditioning aren’t “necessary”). But the best we can do is the best we can do. And worry is a sin, when it comes right down to it.

    And ultimately what a woman (wife) needs most is security. And to have that, she has to have a sense that she can trust God and trust her husband. So anything you can do and say to tell her and show her that you are doing everything you can, that you appreciate what help she offers when you ask for it, but that it is your “worry” and not hers–I’d say that is what is the most helpful.

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  33. I was just looking at the prayer thread and quote, and it occurred to me that one of the clearest evidences for God is simply that people pray. I mean, everyone prays. Not just those of us who explicitly acknowledge God and his ability and willingness to hear and answer our prayers. Not just those of us who address our petitions to this prayer-answering Abba Father. But even those who superstitiously cross their fingers for luck or who ask others to wish them good luck or even just whisper under their breath, “please, please, please let me get this job this time” or “don’t let my child die” or whatever.

    Of course, the standard atheist assumption is that people pray as a kind of wishful thinking. That we just really wish someone could help us, even though, as Random likes to say, “There’s no there there.” But the very fact that we all have this innate inclination to reach out to the invisible and transcendent for help and support in our need, regardless, even, of what we actually believe about the nature of reality, indicates something about reality’s true nature–that there’s Someone there who has the ability to help and that He created us to know Him. Not only is the atheist being inconsistent when he “prays”, but so is the pantheist who does so while believing in an impersonal god or universal soul that encompasses everything, because the defining characteristic of our pleas is that they’re personal–that we’re asking someone who is not part of us to do something for us. To the “wishful thinking” idea, we all wish for a lot of things that aren’t true, but the person who acts as if his wish were reality (like the man with a mannequin for a lover) we recognize as somewhat insane. This isn’t the way people normally behave.

    Another thing that goes along with this, I think–another clear evidence for God–is our inclination to be “thankful” for the good things we experience. Thankfulness also presupposes a “person” to be thankful to and, therefore, indicates the existence of a personal Being, of whom we have some kind of innate knowledge, to thank. The difference between our inclination to plea for help and our inclination to be thankful, though, is that, even though most people recognize an attitude of thankfulness in others as a virtue and ingratitude as a character flaw, we still often cultivate a general attitude of resentment in our lives instead of gratitude. Not that an atheist is never thankful for anything, but that he doesn’t see life, itself, as a gift. In fact, it seems to me that an ungrateful spirit is the most distinguishing mark of the atheist. And I know this not only by observation, but firsthand from when I was one.

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  38. Kim,

    Here in Pa. the last day to register is today.

    This says October 26th for Alabama. Hope that helps.

    http://elections.mytimetovote.com/dates/alabama.html

    “AL – General Election: November 6,2012

    Event Date

    Register in person by October 26,2012 17 days left

    In Person – Request absentee ballot by November 1,2012 23 days left

    By Mail – Request absentee ballot by November 1,2012 23 days left

    In Person – Ballot must be received by November 5, 2012 (but no later than 5 p.m.) 27 days left

    By Mail – Ballot must be received by November 6, 2012 (no later than noon on election day) 28 days left

    UOCAVA citizens – Request absentee ballot by November 1,2012 23 days left

    UOCAVA citizens- Return ballot by November 6,2012 (Must be postmarked no later than the day before the election) 28 days left

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  43. Oh I am loving this series….I’m a die hard Yankees fan…and being from a suburb of Cincinnati….I was raised a Reds fan….I’ve reverted to an old habit of biting my nails on this one!!
    Qod….Retirement….preparing as best we can…totally trusting our Lord to continue His provision in our lives….He knows how to take care of His children and He promises to do so….
    Psalm 20:6-9
    Now this I know:
    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
    He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
    with the victorious power of his right hand.
    7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
    8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
    but we rise up and stand firm.
    9 Lord, give victory to the king!
    Answer us when we call!

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  44. Cleaned out my storage shed in the back yard. Threw more stuff away. Moving the Christmas stuff into the attic in the house. Consolidated stuff. I am overflowing with stuff. Some of it is really cool stuff like Guardian Ware cookware from the 30’s, 40’s, until the factory burned in 1956. It was sold at home parties much like Tupperware and cost the equivalent of a month’s salary then. Some of it is “man stuff” and Lord knows I inherited a bunch of that.
    I am better. I don’t feel like I am living in the middle of Fred Sanford’s front yard. Life is good.

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  45. 2nd Arrow (my college daughter) just called, all excited to report that at her job with a home improvement chain she just got promoted to Head Cashier. She started with the company last November in our area, and transferred in August to a different store in the city in which she now attends school.

    The store in which she currently works has 3 head cashiers, and one will be stepping down soon. A co-worker of hers will fill that position, but the company decided that store needed 4 head cashiers, and my daughter was the one asked to fill the newest position, which she gladly accepted! 🙂

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  49. NancyJill,

    Nice to “see” you.

    Sorry, the Spam filter grabbed you.

    😦

    But Amen Sister! to everything else, except for the Reds thing. The only way they matter to me is as a final obstacle in the playoffs.

    And a big AMEN! to the Psalm. I’ve been reading alot of them lately. David has always been a favorite of mine since a fine christian gentleman named Ira introduced me to him as a young christian. He is a fine example of God using a flawed sinner to do his work. His writings in the Psalms have given me hope that even someone as flawed as myself might be used by Him as well.

    🙂

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  51. I had a history teacher in high school who was a big Cincinnati Reds fan. He’d always talk about them. It was rumored that if you didn’t know the answer to one of his test questions, you could write in “Cincinnati Reds” and he wouldn’t mark it wrong. 😯

    I don’t remember if I ever tried that to see if it was true. 🙂

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  56. Update on prayer request…Yay! Praise God! We got the Special Use Permit!

    What I’d neglected to mention was that the property we are looking at is in an industrial zone, but the building could be easily renovated for church use.

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  60. Congratulations to 2nd Arrow — and Karen, that’s good news from the sounds of it (I still need to check in on the prayer thread tonight).

    Ah, Sanford and Son. 🙂 Funny show.

    So we out here in SoCal are *supposed* to get *a little* rain sometime either Wednesday or, more likely, Thursday. It’s still in the 70s out here, but low 70s and it’s got that fall “feel” in the air now. Meanwhile, October is galloping along, isn’t it? I’m beginning to see those orange Halloween lights in our neighborhood.

    And the gas prices are still climbing. 😦 I paid $4.67 the other morning to top off my half-full tank.

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  61. Ree, good comments on faith in God, our being compelled to both pray and to be thankful.

    Cheryl, I do have lots of toilet paper. And paper towels. 😉 For some reason, those are things I always buy in BULK. Lots of bulk. I have lots and lots of giant rolls of paper from Smart n’ Final. You can never have to much of that sort of thing.

    I figure that’ll be my contribution to our neighborhood disaster shelter.

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  62. Thank you, Mumsee and Janice. It just amazes me how when people say that there’s no “evidence” for God, the way they define evidence is so narrow and reductionist that not only is there none, but by definition there can be none. They rule God out a priori then pat themselves on the back for being clever enough to realize that there’s none of their demanded evidence to be found. Of course, I say “they” but I did pretty much the same thing before God graciously opened my eyes and my heart to Him.

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  65. Ha ha, Mumsee.

    Donna, I’m doing the opposite. My tank is nearly empty, but I’m putting off buying gas as long as possible because they keep saying it’ll be going back down soon. Since I recently bought a Camry hybrid a little gas goes a long way, but last time I looked my car was telling me that I have only about 150 miles worth of gas left, and my daughter drove the car since then. So I can’t put it off too much longer.

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  66. Hahaha Mumsee, good one on me. 😉

    As long as prices are still going up (which they are out here), I try to just top off the tank and not let it get too empty (I aim for not letting it go below 1/2 a tank).

    Otherwise, it’s entirely too painful to buy a full tank of gas at these prices. 😦 😦 It makes me cry.

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  67. Linda Shaffer sad“…in which we can put living quarters for ourselves in the basement.”

    For retirement when we built our retirement house we made sure that the front door was level, no steps. I can remember when my father’s second wife missed a step, fell and broke her hip! We had a second story on our pre-retirement house; no second story for us! The older you get, the less you will like those steps! We made sure the interior doors are 36″ wide; even a wide wheelchair should fit. The second bath has a walk-in bathtub; Mary Anne doesn’t like showers. Yes, it is paid for.

    As for how to have enough money for retirement, there is no sure way to have enough money to last. Do your best and don’t worry about it.

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