Good Morning!
Happy Saturday! 🙂
What should we talk about today?
Quote of the Day
“The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only.”
Joseph Wood Krutch
Who has a QoD?
Wandering Views 
I’m in the Texas Hill Country, and I think I’ll take my 76 year old mother car shopping today. Since she only drives 3,000 miles a year, this one should last for a while.
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Ricky, you may want to check out the Nissan Versa hatchback. It is easy to get in and out of for the older (and possibly afflicted) and it has great visibility. My friend who uses a walker and sometimes a wheelchair has commented on how easy it was for her to get in and how comfortable it was.
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What brand of coffee do you like to use? I have been enjoying Seattle’s Best lately. Does anyone use K cups? Someone at work is pushing for using those.
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It surely is quiet around here this morning.
Have you notice how eerily silent it is when the ground is covered with snow?
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Maxwell House or Folgers.
I’m waiting for some to finish now. I’m not a fan of bitter coffees, or of flavored either.
Black and sweet is fine.
KCups, Coffee maker, or Perked? Perked for me please.
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Janice I like New England coffee. Right now I am drinking Folger’s because it was on sale. I love Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica but am too cheap to order it online. Kahona from Hawaii is also a favorite and I can find it at World Market for a treat.
K Cups.? I don’t know. First of all the machine is expensive, second those little cups are expensive and if you buy the little mini filter to use regular coffee it just seems to be a pain every time you want a cup of coffee. It probably is a good idea if you have people who like an afternoon pick me up cup but I have broken myself of that habit for the most part.
Speaking of cars. My stepmother recently traded in her Honda Odyssey van for a Honda Fit. She loves it and gets great gas mileage.
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MMM Coffee!
I like strong German coffe Jacobs. I get it for atreat every now and then at the commissary.
For a long time we were drinking Vanilla Macadamia Nut Kona coffee, bot stopped drinking that when DD became a frequent visitor for breakfast. She severe nut allergies.
So now we are drinking Dunkin’ Doughnuts regular blend.
I don’t pollute my coffee.
K-cups? doesn’t seem like a good investment at my house. We all drink the same thing. My coffe makes directly into a carafe so there’s no hot plate and it stays warm.
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Cars? DD just this week bought a Subaru Forester, used. Now she has lots of room for her newly adopted greyhound (former racing dog). She spent as couple months researching it, and she has driven them as rentals on business trips. So far she loves it. – and the dog is working out quite well too. 🙂
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Ah, the snow covering everything. Why, even ugly, rusty old used farm equipment looks lovely in the snow!
Ricky- We bought a used minivan last November that had been owned by an elderly woman like your mother. It is 6 years old and only had 20k miles on it. The dealer said her children wanted her to have something smaller. We have never owned a car with so few miles. It’s like new! Of course, since November we have already put 5000 miles on it. We drive a lot.
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I presume Janice’s question about coffee is our QoD, so I’ll answer:
I buy whatever is cheapest. Usually I get the Beaumont brand at Aldi. Occasionally the other stores will have sales on the big named stuff. But all I need is a robust mug of caffeine, so I don’t mind the lower quality. When we go visit my MIL in Iowa, we go to an Amish store that sells damaged cans. I can get Starbucks bags for $5 that way.
And I don’t like the foo-foo flavors, either. Give it to me black and thick.
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Neither of us drink coffee (we’re tea drinkers – plain ole Lipton) but bought a Keurig for guests who want a cup from time to time. Inlaws who come to dinner every Saturday always have a cup. I suspect that the expense and the waste would be excessive for folks who drink a lot of coffee.
Kim, hubby has a Fit. He was previously driving a Civic and one morning told me he’d love to have an orange, stick-shift Fit. I encouraged him to pursue it (I think it’s important for men to drive cars they are happy with) and he called our wonderful Honda salesman who said he’d just gotten one in exactly like that, so I said it was meant to be. I think it’s ugly and tease him about it. Emmy was fond of saying that her Daddy’s truck goes vroom, vroom, so I taught her to say that Poppy’s car goes putt-putt.
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What do you say when a horror movie monster tosses a small Honda out of his way? He’s throwing a Fit. (Couldn’t help that one.)
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My favorite coffee is Tea. Hubby and I visited Europe a few years back and I brought back two odd unsouthern like habits. Hot tea with milk and a taste for goat cheese. I use to drink diet coke for my morning caffeine but my doctor told me it was bad for my bones.
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Good Morning! Coffee…oh I love coffee…too much so to invest in a Keurig and those fancy smancy little K cups! We drink Seattle’s Best and love it. In the evening we drink decaf and I add a touch of fresh ground Millstone Vanilla bean to the mix…black and thick just like Peter describes!
Cars…my car is a Honda Civic SI…..6 speed and takes the curves with ease…but, it is no car for the snow and ice! Paul wants to trade it in for a higher profile car…but, I love driving my car and we have never had one bit of trouble with it in the 6 years we have owned it….this week we replaced the original battery in the thing…I think we’ll keep it around.
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My husband likes Seattle best beans purchased at Costco.
I love my Honda CRV. After years of minivan driving, a regular car was just too low to the ground.
I’m staying at a relative’s house right now supervising a teenager. He went to school on Thursday and handed mea key fob. “You can drive my Mom’s car, the silver one on the street.”
Then he left.
I got into this silver car and discovered it was brand new–2400 miles on a special Ecology edition with every bell and whistle imagine able.
After some trial and error, I got the windshield cleared and prepared to drive off to see my daughter 100 miles away.
No gear shift.
I felt like an idiot and kept thinking, “cars have not changed that much.”
So help me, I even put on my Scotty voice and ordered: “Car. Drive.”
Nothing happened.
When I peered closer at the dashboard, I discovered the car was in N. I manipulated everything around the steering wheel and it shifted.
The gear shift is a small stem that on MY car works the windshield wipers. To put the car in Park, I push a button.
Ridiculous and I’ve been confused all week!
Don’t get me started on the radio, but the backup camera is handy.
I hate it when a car is smarter than I am.
Hey, I wonder if it can parallel park? It hasn’t volunteered yet!
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Thanks for the thoughts. I drove a Versa as a rental and liked it. We have also had good luck with Hondas. It turns out that Mother’s primary concern is that any new car comes in the right shade of red.
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Earlier discussion about cars got me thinking about Econoboxes. Remember those?
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I like my ’07 Grand Marquis. I haven’t “loved” a car since my ’50 Chevy. A man from the Ford dealer called asking me to trade for a new car.
I told him I would likely keep this one forever. They don’t make them like this anymore.
And they don’t.
As for coffee, I don’t even know what brand we have. I like McDonalds’ ok.
I drank some Starbucks coffee once.
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The right shade of red is very important 🙂 She thinks like I do! I agree with the accessibility stuff. My folks have a Lincoln crossover, which is taller – therefore easier to get out of, although my auntie had a hard time getting in. The leather seats also make it easier to slide in and out.
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Michelle, my husband has a Prius. You push a button to turn it on (the key is in your pocket) and another button to put it in park. I’ve only driven it once, with him with me, since I thought I needed to know how “just in case.” But between the oddities and the poor visibility out the back window, I’d much rather drive my Chevy (though I don’t actually like the Chevy–I got spoiled by driving a Corolla for ten years). But the Corolla is dependable, and it was available when the Corolla was totalled by a drunk driver, at less than the insurance payment for my 15-year-old Corolla, so it’s what I drive when I drive, which now isn’t very much.
As for coffee, I don’t drink it. I’ll drink a coup of hazelnut coffee once in a while, or fancy coffees like a caramel latte if we go out for breakfast, but generally I only drink coffee if I’m really cold or sleepy (once or twice a year). My husband has seen me drink a lot more than that, since we go out to breakfast more than I’m used to, and his mother will pour me a cup assuming I want one, but I’ve never developed the habit and don’t want to. My husband likes a French press, though. He doesn’t actually drink it very often (a couple times a week in the winter), but we had coffee made with a French press at a friend’s house, and he hunted one down, and got a coffee grinder too. I’ve had it once, but to me, if I’m going to add sugar and cream to make it drinkable, I might as well drink cocoa (which I prefer).
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I started drinking coffee a few years ago in an attempt to get rid of headaches. I can take it or leave it. We tried the foo foo kinds but I suspect the process in making them such. I am guessing it is just a chemical added to the coffee, but anytime I drink one, it causes irritation in my mouth so I stay away from them. Who knows what else they do. I make, in our coffee maker, whatever plain beans are in the hot chocolate canister. Sometimes Jamaica, sometimes Sumatra, sometimes whatever.
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We drink whatever coffee is on sale, for the most part. We are not fans of Starbucks or very strong coffee, in general. We have a Bunn coffeemaker. We have had one for years. The company has always been great if anything needs fixing. I am not so happy with this one, however, and may think twice about our next purchase.
My husband drinks way too much coffee to have a Kuerig. We have used one when visiting our grown children. They are great for people who have one or two cups a day. If you have a cup in the morning and then leave for work, it would be worth it.
My SIL liked one enough at work to buy one himself. He did not replace his, however, when it died. He drank too much coffee himself and found it way too expensive.
I also do not think a Kuerig would work as well when you have visitors. We keep a carafe of coffee handy for that and with a Bunn, which keeps the water already for another pot, it is convenient. Heating water for those who like tea is easy to do without a Kuerig.
I have seen a machine that has both a spout for pots and individual cups. Has anyone tried one of those?
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Coffee: I started drinking coffee in the Air Force. You use it for comfort and to keep your hands warm when you’re alone at your station. It’s kinda like a pacifier for grown men. I expect JoeB and some others can understand that.
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I suspect none of you know the experience of smelling coffee percolating in a real coffee pot. They don’t make coffee pots anymore.
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Amazingly, we still have power! It’s still snowing & windy, but it does seem to be winding down. I think we got at least 2′ of snow, maybe close to 3′.
Eerily silent? Not with Lee’s snow-thrower going!
We get either Aldi’s Beaumont brand coffee or Big Y brand (Big Y is our local supermarket). For Lee’s days off, we use our coffee grinder to grind the more “upscale” coffee beans he gets from Costco. (I just used “upscale” & “Costco” in the same sentence! 🙂 )
Lee takes his coffee with a little half-n-half, & I like mine with a little half-n-half & a little French Vanilla creamer.
Our current car is the cute red Impala my dad bought in 2004. He died in December of that same year. Then Mom used the car until her death in 2010, but she didn’t do a lot of driving.
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We perk coffee on the fire when we go camping.
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Glad you still have power, Karen. Hope Lee will take his time on the snow removal. Lots of heart attacks from trying to do too much too fast with that.
Michelle, I had to read your comment on the strange car aloud to my husband. He laughed out loud. We can so identify. He will have to drive my dad’s newer car in a week or so. I am sure he will run into the same issues.
We had percolaters for coffee–both electric and for the stove top. I’ve also done coffee the old fashioned way of throwing the grinds right into the water. Some would add an egg and I may have tried it, but found no point in it. Of course, some whippersnappers would think I am old. Then again–I have a lot of friends who consider me a young whippersnapper. 🙂
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Glad you survived the night, Karen. At least one of the Westminster dog owners I interviewed made it into NY, but the judge was in Reno as of yesterday and was worrying about how he’d get back there for the show.
Michelle, that’s hilarious — I have my car maintenance done at a place that provides loaners. Most are older models, but when I get something newer than my pretty standard Jeep Liberty (’07), I’m flummoxed.
All of it is completely bewildering to me.
I love the Jeep and could probably never go back to a low-slung car again.
I’m like Mumsee when it comes to coffee, I can take it or leave it (though I do like it). In other words, I’ll be on a kick where I’ll have 1 cup each day, then I’ll forget about it for weeks at a time. So the Kcups are perfect for someone like me, no fuss, no muss — and I don’t wind up throwing a bunch of coffee down the drain. I bought the Keurig machine maybe 1-2 years ago and have loved it.
I think they work best for a household where there’s maybe only 1-2 moderate or light coffee drinkers, otherwise I suppose the cost is too high. But I was always buying bags of coffee that would sit half-used for months on end — I could never get through it fast enough.
Kcups come in a myriad of flavors, I’ve liked the Paul Newman brand & the Dunkin’ donuts (which I think is one of the best-rated coffee flavors now — it’s plain, but good and basic). And I have to have a little bit of milk in it, no sugar though.
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They even have Swiss Miss hot chocolate & apple cider in the Kcups, which are good for a warm evening treat.
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Chas- I remember liking the sound of my dad’s percolator. So soothing in some ways.
Michelle- I know what you mean about driving a strange car. Push one wrong thing and maybe the passenger will go flying out with the ejection seat!
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I lied to my children. Years ago, when we had taken our Toronado to Germany for four years and we had four children under the age of six. One was sitting in front with me and asked me what that button was (the cigarette lighter). I explained that he was not to touch it as it was the automatic eject button which would make the passenger seats fly through the roof. Another button was the jet engine (a filler button on the dash). As we approached the crest of a hill I would press it and they could feel us leave the earth and then settle down as we went down the other side of the hill. They survived living with me and have gone on to better things.
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Mumsee: 🙂
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Mumsee!
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Son is making dinner. He is making venison stroganoff, using backstrap. Should be good. He is a good cook. And he really enjoys it. Quite the change from two years ago when he could not do anything: “I am black but I am not a slave”.
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No snow for us this time thankfully. I’ve seen enough this year. I don’t mind the cold so much as the snow. Snow is beautiful but so treacherous to drive in on the hills around here. If everybody could just stay home, fine, but that’s rarely the case. I’d rather have cold temps than hot humid summer weather anytime. Just no snow, and especially no ice. I do rather enjoy the March snows that stick to everything but the roads and are here today and gone tomorrow. But the best thing about snow is having snow ice cream! Most people I’ve talked to have only made vanilla, but we always used cocoa and made ours chocolate. Yum!
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Meg, my dad made snow cream when I was a kid.
When we moved to N. Va., and it snowed, I was going to make Chuck some snow cream. But I decided to melt some down first.
All the black stuff at the bottom of the pan deterred me from making snow cream up there. Or anyplace around here, for that matter.
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Mumsee,
I can live with telling them that. As long as you didn’t turn around and say something absurd like “See, this is way better than the rides at Dorney Park” like my Dad used to do. He was wrong. It wasn’t. Not. Even. Close.
😦
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I learned to drink coffee in the Army. It tasted like dirt. But it was hot, and after freezing your butt off sleeping on top of a 52 ton tank all night in 0 degree weather, that was good enough. I had to leave Ft. Knox to find good coffee. And that’s when I discovered that it even tasted good, and I really liked it. 1 16oz cup, every morning. No more, no less.
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Hi Meg!
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Lol, mumsee–that is so something my dad would do. My brother drives a school bus with some very young passengers. They beg him to take the tummy tickle road and when he goes over the hills they all raise their arms like they are on a roller coaster. He says many of them are so small all he can see is their little arms raised up. He just loves those little ones.
I used to hate to sit in the back of the school bus for this reason. Too much motion sickness for me. I’m glad someone can enjoy it, though.
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Coffee: I started with “International Coffee” – those flavored drinks that are mostly sugar and creamer and a bit of chocolate and other flavors. They cost too much, so I started making my own by mixing instant coffee, powdered milk, sugar, and hot cocoa mix.
Then one day I was visiting a friend and she had brewed coffee, and I tried some, and it was so good I never drank instant again. For a long time I got whatever was cheapest, and mixed hot cocoa mix and milk into it.
Then a year and a half ago I started trying to get away from adding sugar to any beverages, and I started using blackstrap molasses to sweeten my coffee (and milk to cool it down). Or unsweetened cocoa powder, plus milk.
Last fall we were visiting my husband’s aunt, and I decided to try drinking her coffee without the sugar I had added on previous visits. I was amazed that it tasted good with only milk. I found out she was using Folger’s hazelnut flavor coffee. So that’s what I use now. Though I do still add blackstrap molasses and milk.
When I put coffee in a travel mug for the drive to work, I use dark chocolate hot cocoa mix instead. I’m not sure what it is about the milk, but somehow if I use it, within about half an hour the coffee has a funny taste to it. Doesn’t happen in a regular coffee mug at home, or with the travel mug if I use the hot cocoa mix and skip the milk.
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Mumsee’s ploy reminds me of when my dad would stand by the garage door opener with one or the other grandchild and then say loudly, “Open sesame!” Of course, the door would open on his command. Of course, he could only get away with it for awhile. 😉
I am thinking such things are good to teach children to be skeptical sometimes.
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Mumsee, that was funny! My daughter who is now 30 recently confided that when she was little, she thought the car drove itself and just knew where to go. Her seat was behind the driver seat and so she did not see any steering and driving happening. She said that she thinks she got that idea because I told her and her brother that the car would not go until the seatbelts were fastened. I told them that because they balked at sitting in car seats and being strapped into them. It really wasn’t a lie because I would not even start the car until everyone was safely belted in, including myself.
Of course this is the same chiled that didn’t know My husband and I had first names until she was in 3rd grade. (!)
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Karen, you know I love you dearly (though not enough to pretend to believe nonsense). I love you so much I won’t mention that you are not quite as closed-minded about homosexuals as most other people here. No one would want to “out” you in front of your buddies.) I read the comments and the link having to do with marriage and divorce rates among seculars and Christians in yesterdays posts, and have to admit I didn’t get them, or even understood what point you thought you were making.
Isn’t the whole idea of being a Christian to have the fun of sinning and then the fun of being forgiven by you know who? Look at Newt Gingrich? Now there’s a man who really knows how to sin, now to change what he claims to believe, and to beg forgiveness! That’s really a man who has all his base bases covered! I can’t believe he wasn’t nominated, much less elected President over some vial man who isn’t sure what color he is much less which what myth he pretends to believe. Gingrich for President of Indonesia!
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I loved the smell of coffee when I was a kid. One day, my mom let me try some and that was the most disappointing thing I ever tasted, nowhere near as wonderful as it smelled.
fast forward to my army days. I learned to drink coffee when I was doing shift work and ended up on swings. It always took me a couple of hours to wind down enough to get to sleep, but I needed something help me adjust to the swing shift and being up until about 3 or 4 AM. I put a lot of cream and sugar in my coffee then.
After the army, when I had small children, I started drinking International Coffee – Mocha. Drank that for a long time.
Then I was trying to lose weight and my accountability partner made me drink black coffee. If I had to drink coffee I had to drink it black. That’s an acquired taste, but I can’t drink it any way but black now. Black coffee just tastes so good with Sunday morning waffles and any kind of sweet dessert.
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My granddaughter is about to turn 9 years old, and she’s a bright and talented little cookie. Her favorite cat died just before Christmas, and she said she hoped Sylvie (who was a very darling little kitty, I admit) is “padding around up in Heaven looking down on us.” I didn’t say anything, but I thought, “WTF! Is RG turning herself into a deluded Christian? Not if I have anything to say about it! When I am padding around up in Heaven looking down on RG, I better see a devout little atheist, or I will steal a bolt of lightening from “Jesus, the guy who never returned” an fry that little brat’s butt.”
I return you now to your regularly scheduled delusions and nonsense.
Oh, dear. Senility creeps. I mispelled vile a minute ago. Now that’s vial indeed.
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Klasko’s comment reminds me of something funny Emmy does. Since we moved here (farm country of southeastern PA., last Thanksgiving) we’ve done most of our shopping (grocery and otherwise) at Walmart and she LOVES to go. When we pull into the parking lot and she recognizes the store, she yells, “Found it!” and I always wonder if she thinks we just drive around aimlessly until we stumble on it.
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KLasko said: Of course this is the same child that didn’t know My husband and I had first names until she was in 3rd grade. (!)
Elvera used to do processing for Jefferson HS in Alexandria, Va.
She asked a student for her mother’s name. She said, “I don’t know, we always called her ‘Mom”‘.
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I love the smell of coffee but don’t like the taste. I’ve tried several times to drink it, especially when I was working full-time and needed a pick-me-up. I remember percolators. My mom had two, an electric one and a stovetop one. I loved the sound and the smell and watching the coffee jumping up into the glass lid. I guess it didn’t take much to entertain me when I was a kid. She only used it when we had company so maybe that was part of the charm. Percolating coffee meant out of town family was visiting.
Hi all! I’m not on here that much and am usually a day or so behind on reading so I don’t comment much. I hope all those in the northeast are safe and warm.
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When I worked at the TV network we had a joke we would play on the interns. We would let them try out he “voice activated” tape machine. When it wouldn’t work for them they would be encouraged to lower or raise their voice, then lower or raise the tone of their voice. Few figured out that the machine was being operated from across the hall by someone listening to the open mike.
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I know this is un-American of me and all, but I usually don’t like even the smell of coffee. I admit I do like the smell of the coffee aisle at Publix, but I was surprised when I found it pleasant, since I usually don’t. It isn’t unpleasant, but it does nothing for me. For smells, I far prefer chocolate or vanilla, or orange blossoms.
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MP, pet heaven is something that we all do not agree on. When our dog died, before I could decide what to tell the Kid about it, one of his of his grandmas told him Shanna was in heaven. I couldn’t contradict Mi-mi, so we are stuck with being a pet heaven family — except for Mac the cat. I really don’t think Mac made it.
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Why would you put egg in coffee. Did you boil it or poach it? I started drinking coffee with sugar and cream as a child. I drink it black now. It is the one thing I over indulge in. I know I drink more than I should. My parents used a tin drip coffee maker. When I was a teen I dug through some boxes and found an old forming ware perculator. It was good coffee. I don’t know what kind of coffee maker I h a ‘ve now. Mr. P brought it into the marriage
Oh my grandmother used to put a pinch of salt in coffee
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I don’t drink coffee. I don’t even like coffee taste in food, treats, or candy. Blech! But, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Keurig.
It only takes a few seconds to make a cup, so we use it for visitors all the time. They can each have whatever coffee they want. It also does tea, cider, and hot chocolate. I wouldn’t trade it. I love the hot chocolate … no lumps! 🙂
Sorry if you all think it’s a waste. I don’t. 🙂
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Back home from a taxing day at the office! Nice to catch up on the comments.
I only started using Seattle’s Best coffee since our son came home from college at Christmas with a bag of it and we used it while on our vacation. I liked it and since he is still home I have been buying it to share with him. My husband only drinks Coca Colas. I only began drinking coffee when I was on the road a lot when I had to take care of my mother when she was in a wheelchair in her home. It was an hour drive up there with my son in the car so I drank black microwave instant coffee to be sure I would be alert. I have never drank coffee with sugar or cream. I did not want the extra calories.
I only learned to make coffee with a coffee maker since working in my husband’s office. One of the workers is always into the next new thing so about two years ago we retired the office coffee pot (we also have a French press) and I brought the old pot home. Since then I have mostly used the Sam’s brand of ground coffee and some of the Eight O’Clock brand until the recent purchases of Seattle’s Best. I do enjoy a cup of what they call Tall Black at Starbucks which is misleading because it is not very tall. It is not very expensive since it is plain black coffee. My husband will drink a Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks.
As for cars, my husband drives a Corolla, my son drives the Versa and I drive an Accord. The Versa is my favorite, but they are all good vehicles. My brother drove a Versa rental for a bit in his pharmaceutical sales job until his new company furnished vehicle came in and he was surprised by its roominess and how much he liked it.
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Donna,
Since my husband and I don’t drink coffee, nor my two sons (just my 13 year old daughter!!), we didn’t even know coffee could go stale. LOL
Finally, a brave friend told us. That’s another reason the Keurig works well for us. Now we can offer friends fresh coffee. 🙂
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I think if you keep it in the refrigerator it keeps longer, but honestly sometimes I go long periods without making it and I didn’t want it taking up space my rather smallish refrigerator.
The Keurig is perfect for my habits — single serving when I want it, the rest stay freshly sealed (for a reasonable period of time, longer than an opened bag) until I want some again. And if you buy the Kcups at Bed Bath & Beyond you can use those coupons.
(A friend also bought me a bunch of Kcups, a wide variety, for Christmas which was perfect as I was beginning to run low.)
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Just considering that God went to all that effort to make sure Noah got every one of those animals aboard the ark, it seems easy to imagine that He would find a place for them in heaven, too.
And speaking of children not knowing their parent’s names other than Mommy and Daddy, I have seen a group of preschoolers about ready to punch each other because they each were claiming that their Mommy was the only “Mommy” and that others could not claim “Mommy” for themselves.
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Coffee keeps well in the freezer for those who need to keep it from going stale.
We bought a new coffee maker for the office only two years ago and it was an expensive programable one (co-worker’s choice) so when she started pushing last year to get into the Kcups I was reluctant. I used to hear of people trading in cars every two years, but with us it seems it is trading up to get to new heights in coffee makers 🙂 .
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JaniceG, you know, that’s a pretty good point about the ark. 🙂
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Funny being reminded of children thinking cars go on their own. I used to think all the other cars on the road just drove around all day with no destination. They just went form one end of the main streets to the other and turned around, back and forth all day. I think I was 5 or 6 before I realized the truth.
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Hi Random!
My point was that there are indeed people who value marriage enough to be against divorce. My niece’s post stated that if people who are against same-sex marriage really cared about protecting marriage, they would be against divorce, too. And one of her family friends (a gay man who has been her mom’s best friend since their college days) commented that the only reason anyone could possibly be against same-sex marriage is because they hate homosexuals.
Later on in the comments, my sister-in-law commented that hatred is so stupid. I replied…
“Yes, hatred is indeed stupid, & even evil. Disagreement or differing opinions are not the same as hatred, though. There are people who honestly disagree with the concept of same-sex marriage, but do not hate those who are for it. Unfortunately, much public discourse on various topics today seems to consist of accusing ‘the other side’ of hatred or bigotry or such. This happens on both ‘sides’ of various issues.”
She & Niece & Niece’s Fiance (who was born a woman but now lives as a man) all indicated displeasure with that last comment of mine. To them, ANY disagreement on this issue is hatred.
This is the open-minded & intellectual side of the family, you see. They believe in diversity, as long as one is not too diverse in one’s opinions.
Random, I really, really do not hate homosexuals. We have had Niece’s gay friend, K, at our home for Thanksgiving dinner, & also Niece & her fiance. (Niece, at various times, has identified herself as bisexual or lesbian.) We have invited K to come to other Thanksgivings since then, if he needed a place to go.
We did that not to pat ourselves on the back, but out of love & concern.
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Gays are deserving of Christian love just as all other people are. Christian love does not involve accepting a change to the definition of marriage. Christian love is based on truth. If I call a gay relationship a marriage it feels like I am lying because it does not ring of truth and does not acknowledge God’s word as the final authority. If I call a gay relationship a marriage then I am just as likely to be lying if I say I have Christian love for a gay person. I sometimes feel like the desperate push to get people to call gay relationships a marriage is happening because those pushing it have an internal feeling that they do not really have a marriage. If they truly feel they are married then it does not matter what anyone else thinks except for themselves and God. Or is it just about money and benefits?
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Good morning all. I am waiting on Prince Charming to wake up. We went and played Mardi Grad in Pensacola yesterday. Mr P drove the truck that pulled the float. It was a lot different from what I am used to. The floats had to line up at 10am but the parade didn’t roll until 2pm so for four hours it was a street party with all the floats and I read members. I thought a young girl how to use her cuteness to get the best beads. I unfortunately can no longer rely on cuteness. I had to just use my best negotiating skills. I didn’t get the Mermaid beads I wanted. Those men were some hard sells.
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Kim – You are still cute-as-a-button. 🙂
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I am no longer shocked by what goes on here at the Nest, but today I was shocked after all. Our gangsta wannabe, who joined us less than a year ago in black teeshirt, black jeans, black hoodie, fascination with knives and fire and blood, came out dressed today in a button down shirt. He left for church buttoned down, tucked in, tie in place, collar down. As he was trying to find his place he quietly commented to me that the other guys were all wearing button down so he did to. I told him he looked great and got out the camera. We have never told him to change his style. Next time you see a gangsta wannabe with hoodie up, pants and frown sagging, realize there is probably a shy little boy in there pleading for someone to step forward and show him how to be. I believe the boy is growing in the Lord and this is some of the fruit as he shows more and more joy and peace. Thanks to all who pray for us, please don’t stop.
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Oh Mumsee. That is a lovely, positive post. Wonderful! 🙂
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Karen,
Yesterday, I had a similar discussion. Because I believe that the Boy Scouts should keep its present policy in place, I was called a “hater,” a “bigot,” “afraid,” amongst other interesting adjectives.
I chose to debate it, and try to show this person how unreasonable she was being. (Probably a mistake. I never know. If you say nothing, then it just gets worse and everyone thinks its okay to bash the Christians. If you say something, then you’re being divisive and not showing God’s love. I honestly don’t know sometimes, what I should do. Suffice it to say that I chose to debate it yesterday.)
Bottom line, I asked the woman, “By what authority do you claim that YOU are right and those of us with traditional morality are absolutely wrong?” She had already refused my authorities: religion, science, and history. She was making an absolute moral statement (and telling me that I — and any like me — were wrong and evil) ALL based on HER opinion of what is right and wrong.
Being for the BSA and against homosexual marriage was WRONG because SHE felt it was wrong. Therefore, it was a-okay to use ad hominem with me, and dehumanize me by calling me a hater, because SHE was right.
Why was she right, though? Simply because she felt she was.
S-I-G-H
I know it shouldn’t get to me, but it does. While I made it very clear that I had NEVER hurt, mistreated, or even been unkind to anyone in my life due to their sexual orientation, I was still defined as a HATER and as having harmed them simply due to my beliefs.
They hypocrisy involved in the fact that she was doing exactly the same to Christians (and me in particular) never seemed to sink in to her.
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The problem is that I see the entire country heading down this path. Christians are AFRAID to speak up. We’re being classified right along with the worst of racists, and being pushed to either shut up and suffer in silence, or face the mob. 😦
There will come a point where people will feel completely justified in torching our churches and throwing us in jail and dehumanizing us as evil. I know it’s prophesied, but it still feels bad. 😦
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Mumsee, you made me cry. Thank you for what you do for these children.
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Let me clarify. God does it, but you let yourself be used for His purposes. What a wonderful use of talent.
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Nice, Mumsee. 🙂
Tammy & Karen, I hear you. And more and more, it’s like talking to a brick wall. Any contrary opinion is classified as hate or bigotry; there is simply not even an allowance made that there are convictions stemming from good motives on the other side.
It’s maddening, I agree.
But I’m not sure what can be done about it at this point. The trajectory is moving so quickly to demonize any and everyone opposed to the now culturally acceptable position that I doubt much can be said to stop it. 😦
We can take comfort, though, in that Christ and his followers have faced opposition from the popular culture throughout the ages. Nothing really new.
Although it’s stunning see how quickly we in our comfortable western, free-thinking democracy are seeing an almost state-imposed way of thinking about a matter gain so much traction.
Sad (not to mention rather ironic), but liberals are among the most intolerant people I’ve ever known — they can’t even abide by a difference of opinion without demonizing their opponents and trying to censor those opinions.
Talk about bullying … 😦
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Well, liberal Christians can be just as bad as any other kind of liberal. I’ve proofed or edited more than my share of books by them over the last year, and I’m rather tired of the assumption that anyone who opposes women preachers or homosexual marriage is simply “biased.” No hint of a possibility the person might have an actual conviction based on God’s Word. It’s nothing but bias and prejudice, misogyny and homophobia. As a tactic for argument it’s atrocious, but who needs an argument when you have enough nasty words to call the other side?
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My son is participating in debate this year. He’s being taught how to argue well, how to recognize fallacies, and how to see both sides.
Sometimes, I wonder if I’m doing him a disservice, because Liberals don’t argue that way anymore (e.g. rationally). They simply argue their feelings and that is supposed to suffice.
It is frustrating to be trained to think rationally and argue well, and then find out that virtually no one in the political or social arena does either anymore. 😦
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And, yes, Cheryl, I think Liberal Christians can even be *worse.* They claim to believe, and try to scramble for the religious ground, but then they completely fail to pay one whit of attention the the Bible nor to 6000 years of historical, traditional interpretation of it. 😦
Again, it all becomes about “feelings” and how they feel that God OUGHT to think. 😦
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Sorry, my grammar and sentence construction stink today. I’m tired. 😦
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It’s making God after our image, something folks have been trying to do for a very long time. 😉
And, yes, it’s all about feelings and emotions. There is no rational basis for the arguments. They sputter and condescend, they say you’re an idiot, and they consider the argument to be over. 😦 😦
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Draw your own conclusionshttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276139/David-Petraeus-CIA-directors-bodyguards-exposed-affair-Paula-Broadwell-claims-Benghazi-The-Definitive-Report.html#axzz2KVQpNCmp
Benghazi enoki. Draw your own conclusions
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hehehe:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/02/global-warming-it-causes-everything.php
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Thanks for the update Mumsee. We need those from time to time.
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Hey, Michelle, you showed up in a dream I had last night or the night before.
I was walking two dogs, Misten and a small dog, and you came along. And Misten was so polite in greeting you that I was really pleased. (She has gotten better and better as she has gotten older, and she’s now eight. But she still is always so happy to meet new people that you can tell it takes every bit of effort she can manage to restrain her enthusiasm long enough to let them pet her. And she has been known more than once to wiggle her way across from where she has been told to sit, in order to follow the letter of the law but still greet that wonderful new friend.)
I know it isn’t the same as meeting in person, but you do join an elite group of bloggers I’ve met in my dreams (unless I’ve met you before, which is possible).
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The Scouts have been with our church for 50+ years and today for Scout Sunday when the leader addressed the congregation he asked that we would continue to support them either way the controversy turns out. And of course we are giving prayer support. It is a sad day when the long time association between churches and Scouting has to be questioned whether or not it will be the same in the future. When we looked for a Scout troop for our son they were all at churches except for one which was in its own building at a really nice site. I can not imagine what the Scouts will do if it comes down to the proposed change.
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“Gays are deserving of Christian love just as all other people are. Christian love does not involve accepting a change to the definition of marriage. Christian love is based on truth. If I call a gay relationship a marriage it feels like I am lying because it does not ring of truth and does not acknowledge God’s word as the final authority . . .”
And so on. The empirical world exists. Truth is difficult to determine, but depends on empirical evidence. Christians tell me they “know truth,” but every Christian has a different definition of truth while claiming everyone who uses the “Christian” label is the same. In Roger Williams’ time Christians killed each other with great vigor and enthusiasm, each warrior sure he (or she) knew the truth of Christianity. Christians stole land from Indians (and killed them) and kept black people as slaves. Now Christians say those weren’t the “real Christians.” The killers and slave holders thought they were the real Christians.
After slavery ended, whites segregated blacks and banned black in their churches and banned blacks marrying whites. Eventually, they convinced their victims (many blacks and many Indians) to become Christians, worshipping the same God who inspried people to persecute them.
The empirical evidence for Christianity is zero. It is a meme (an intellectual virus) that spreads throughout society. Adapting. It said, “blacks are not human beings.” Then it evolved and infected blacks as much as whites. It is a more difficult challenge to evolve to accept homosexuality, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does, and figures out a rationalization to marrying homosexuals.
The other example of evolution is that now Christians who differ on their interpretations of “God’s word” go to different churches instead of hanging each other or burning each other or stabbing each other.
As an atheist, I think Christianity should (peacefully) disappear. I hope my granddaughter (who shows some signs of being infected) will lose her interest in this nonsense by the time she is 21. As she loves her mommies and daddies, I doubt you have a chance with her unless you evolve away from this nonsense, but it’s a close call.
While I don’t believe in “Hell” or “Heaven” either, I am almost sorry they don’t exist. I suspect if they did exist, many of you would have a rude surprise as Jesus Christ greeted you and said, “Sorry. Not a real Christian by my definition. Enjoy the toaster.”
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Matt. 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Actually, there’s lots of empirical evidence for Christianity. LOTS. I came to re-commit to Christianity because of evidence. The final little step is always faith, but there is tons of reasons and facts that make believing in Christ more empirical and more reasonable than not.
Just repeating yourself over and over again, Random, does not make it so. You are simply wrong.
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*are tons
Yes, I speak English well. 😦
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May blessings of transformation such as Mumsee mentioned continue to encourage us even as others are trying to discourage us with the push for negative changes.
Mumsee, y’all are making such a positive difference through your efforts. Thank you for helping the future of our nation to be better than it would be otherwise.
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“Just repeating yourself over and over again . . .does not make it so. You are simply wrong.”
Compared to most of my family members (who are quite intelligent), I am the family dunce. Even so, there are lots of people dumber than I am.
All in all, I am complexly correct, as opposed to people who are simply wrong. As I said, for Christianity, a very hardy and persistent meme, to persist, it will have to divorce itself from homo hysteria, an also hardy meme, which is currently being squeezed out of even the Christian meme stream. I imagine it’s fairly irritating to see one’s variety of nonsense going extinct, even as the main stream corrects its course. I look forward to seeing the other incorrect people in Hell. Being around me may be your particular flavor of eternal punishment. (I presume you believe in Hell.)
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