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Our Daily Thread 3-19-13

Good Morning!

Snow today. 😦 

Spring tomorrow! 🙂

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Quote of the Day

“Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.”

Wyatt  Earp

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This one is old, from 1951. Look how young he looks!

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QoD

Who’s your favorite cowboy? Or favorite Western if you prefer.

78 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 3-19-13”

  1. Good morning. Yesterday was a day full of ups and downs. Hubby stayed home from work, with being sick. It seems he may have pneumonia. Today I have a sore throat.

    Second Arrow leaves today, but will be back on Friday for one day. With everyone else, we’ll see how it goes…

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  3. QoD: I used to like Gunsmoke. Was that the one that showed the chipped coffee pot at the end of the credits at the end of each show? My siblings and I would race to the TV to try to be first to get our finger on the chip.

    Cheap entertainment 🙂

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  5. No snow here…but it was cold yesterday.
    Wyatt Earp….oh how we three little girls loved it when that show came on….we would pile around our Daddy and watch it together…and when the theme song came on, we would sit on Daddy’s lap and every time we heard “Earp” in the song, we would poke Daddy in his big fat belly…and giggles were not in scarce supply in our home on those evenings….thanks for the reminder AJ….I believe it’s going to be a better day around here 🙂
    Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp,
    Brave courageous and bold.
    Long live his fame and long life his glory
    and long may his story be told.

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  6. The Lone Ranger
    If Burl Ives looked young in 1951, imagine how young you looked.
    I have pictures of me in my AF uniform in those days.
    I wasn’t good looking then either. 😦

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  7. There is a saying in the “contract labor” force, “You can have it fast, cheap, or accurate, pick two.”

    Vestry meeting last night. We voted to go ahead with the plans to remodel the back end of the church building and add two new classrooms and a loft. We have lots of young families coming to the church and we don’t want to lose them as their children get older. We also voted to add a shower in the ladies and mens restrooms so when we host Family Promise or want to offer the facilities to other groups they will be there. Our priest and two members of the church are going to Haite for a couple of days in April to see about helping to fund an existing orphanage. It started out with a minister, his wife, their children, and five orphans living in one room. We want to help if we can but we want to make sure before we do.
    Our priest has spotted an old school building that they county sold off several years ago. It rests between some really high dollar real estate and ironically some of the “blight” area. He floated the idea of buying it as a place to have Celebrate Recovery, host retreats, and lots of other things because it would “bridge” the two communities.
    My only contribution to the night was that we have refinanced our mortgage and gotten it down to 15 years at 4% thus shaving some years off the orignal note and saving some interest. We have almost 3,000 a month going to the principal. It is saving us $100 a month in payment—may question was, “If we are already used to paying the note at $100 a month more why aren’t we making the same payment?” I realized that $100 isn’t that much but it can add up fast over the life of the note.

    Well, there you have it folks. You know almost everything I know about my church!

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  9. Kim, I paid off my house in Annandale early that way. It’s surprising how much a little added to the principal (le?) 😦 can reduce the total payment. Mortgage lenders hate it.
    Favorite cowboy: The people you folks mention are after my time. I never watched Bonanza or Davy Crockett. I did watch a few episodes of “Have Gun Will Travel”. I liked Richard Boone. “How can they have such an ugly cowboy hero?”

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  11. That Kyle must be an old guy. I liked Gene Autry’s singing, but, even as a kid, I had philosophical problems with some trouble occurring right after he finished a song. And there was always a girl involved somehow. Thought Gene never got the girl.
    John Wayne always made a good cowboy, but he also was after my time as a western watcher.

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  20. Qod part 2…and it has nothing to do with cowboys…
    When you are overwhelmed, feeling discouraged…what scripture do you keep returning to for strength, comfort, encouragement?

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  21. Mark 6:31……he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
    And for me that means today I will not answer the phone…I’ll read deep into His Word for strength…yesterday is gone…it’s a new day…I need to recharge

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  22. Good Morning, Y’all!
    If you remember my old avatar from WMB, you know it would be Clint!

    And…Romans 8:28 among others…

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  24. NancyJill, there are two verses containing the word “peace” that I find very comforting: Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” and John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

    Yesterday was a hard day, but singing this song as I walked around outside while snow was falling really helped. It is called “The First Song of Isaiah”, also known as “Surely It Is God Who Saves Me”. The words are based on Isaiah 12:2-6:

    2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

    3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

    4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

    5 Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

    6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

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  25. Being a Baptist, I haven’t paid much attention, and commented even less, on the election of Pope Francis. But the enemies he’s accumulating is encouraging.
    This from Wes Pruden, who sends me (and maybe a million others) e-mails. Wes is former editor of the Washington Times and a Baptist.

    “The elites are willing to tolerate religious faith as long as a believing Christian keeps it to himself and never acts on it or even talks about it. It’s OK, barely, to be a “cultural Christian,” who often isn’t really a Christian at all as Christ defined the faith in the New Testament. The new pope rebukes this synthetic Christianity, urging a return to “the Christ of the Cross” who came to redeem humankind with a sacrificial death on Calvary. This puts Pope Francis clearly at odds with cultural Christians who would reduce the faith of our fathers to a catechism lifted from the pages of the New York Times…………….”

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  26. When I was young I loved a western called “Alias Smith and Jones”. I fell madly in love with “Smith” played by Pete Duel. When the actor committed suicide in the second season it broke my heart.

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  29. How about that, Chas, and you once even lived in Ft. Worth!

    There were actually a lot of Cowboys who I didn’t like, but I’ve always liked and respected Staubach and Tom Landry. The Oilers were actually my favorite football team when I was growing up in SA.

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  30. Ps. 91. I will be going back there today. It’s been one of those weeks already, I’m afraid, and we’re only on Day 2.

    😉

    Bonanza was a Sunday night staple in our home (I still remember playing on the floor with some model horses as the theme song came on on week).

    Before that it was Maverick, Gunsmoke & all the others. We liked the Rifleman until an elementary school classmate of mine — whose father worked in the film industry — said the actor used a lot of 4-letter words. My mom didn’t like hearing that, and yet I’m sure most of those folks in Hollywood used a lot of 4-letter words in their unguarded moments.

    When I was real little I liked Gary Pooper (as I called him) — his old movies ran on Saturday mornings.

    And while not exactly a “cowboy,” Davy Crockett was probably my all time favorite. 🙂

    Oh, and the horsey shows I loved — My Friend Flicka and Fury.

    So I called the dog food company this morning and they’re sending me a voucher to replace the half-used 12-pound bag of kibble that’s now been “recalled” (Salmonella, possibly). Could have been worse (I see where the bag before was the same lot # so that also was being recalled as well, but that’s already been consumed in my house. We’ve all survived so I guess there’s nothing to do be done about that. (I save the old bags because you get a free bag when you turn in the bar codes to 10 bags you’ve bought).

    The salmonella problem mainly affects the owners/people, not the animals who resist that bug better than we do. Thankfully I’m meticulous about always washing my hands after feeding the dogs and handling any of the dog food or treats, including just the bags using a scooper. Cowboy has had some diarrhea in the past couple months, but I really have no way of knowing it that was related to the possibly tainted food.

    6arrows, take care of yourselves over there. Your husband’s resistance was probably down after all those wacky, late work hours!

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  31. And my favorite cowboy now, of course, is my dog named Cowboy. 🙂 What a sweet dog he is, although my gardener is terrified of him and won’t come into the backyard without a partner and being armed with a weed whacker. Cowboy does make a fuss at him.

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  32. 6arrows, that’s funny about trying to touch the chip on the coffee pot — I don’t remember that from the show, but it’s funny how those images make such an impression on us as kids.

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  35. Psalm 37 is one that I go to often, lately. Also, psalm 103, 27, 23. So many of the psalms speak to me, since many are written about people going through the same difficulties we often do.

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  36. Donna,

    Cowboy probably does that because he senses the gardeners uneasiness. They can tell. We had a cat that would bother my brother who didn’t like cats. She never bothered anyone except him. I found it amusing, he didn’t. 🙂

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  37. Favorite Cowboy? Definitely none of the ones in Dallas! Remember, if it hadn’t been for the KC Chiefs (formerly the Dallas Texans), there would not have been any NFC Cowboys until expansion in the 70s or 80s.

    I would say either Hoss from Bonanza or “The Man with No Name” from the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns.

    Favorite series? Probably F-Troop. No, not a western in the cowboy genre, but it took place in the 1800s. I liked Bonanza, but not as much as the silly spoof comedy about a wacky Army fort and its soldiers.

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  38. I loved Alias Smith and Jones!

    I also really liked *The Wild, Wild West* and *Rawhide*.

    Our family consistently watched every Bonanza (although I got tired of that one after awhile and after every single brother — as well as the father — asked a woman to marry him and each and every woman died! Yeah. You don’t want to try to marry in to that Cartwright family!)

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  39. My favorite cowboy is Willis Brunson…You may not have heard of him. He is about 94 now I think. I have admired and respected him ever since I had the privilege of becoming friends with he and his wife, Nettie Ann, about 30 years ago. He was first a Christian, then husband, father, cowboy. He could tell the best horse stories. He was always a gentleman and ready to help his neighbors. When he was 90, I think, we had a ranch rodeo that 4 generations of his family participated in. He got many cheers when he roped his horse out of the herd with a hoolihan. He is quite a man, and has left a legacy of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who live for the Lord. When one of his grandsons had his first child, he asked him for parenting advice. Willis said “Teach them to respect you, love the Lord, and work like a mule. They will get on in life.”

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  44. NancyJill’s QoD: Psalm 37 – there are so many encouraging passages in it:
    “…Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
    Delight thydelf also in the Lord;
    And He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
    Commit thy way unto the Lord;
    Trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.
    And He shall bring forth Thy righteousness as the light,
    And thy judgement as the noonday.
    Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him:
    Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,
    Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass…
    … The little that a righteous man hath is better the the riches of many wicked…
    …The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:
    and He delighteth in his way.
    Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down:
    I have been young, and now am old;
    Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread….
    …The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord:
    He is their strength in the time of trouble.
    And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them:
    He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them.
    Because they trust in Him.”

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  46. Just wondering if anyone here has ever attended a Cowboy Church?

    One of our co-workers had her home windows smashed and car damaged from the big hail yesterday. We did not seem to have damage where we live. PTL

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  47. Wow, cowboy awesomeness with these videos!! 🙂

    AJ, you’re right. One day my neighbor (who’s a tough dog lady with 2 dogs of their own) came over (she’s the one who told me how terrified the gardener is of Cowboy) and yelled “COWBOY. INSIDE.”

    She said Cowboy actually cowered and went back indoors through the doggie door. 🙂

    If I’m home I’ll always lock the doors inside when the gardener shows up. But despite my trying to get them to commit to a specific time (or even day of the week) when I’ll be there, they like to come on their own spontaneous bi-weekly schedules. So that means Cowboy gets to harass him. 😦

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  49. I had to duck back in and add that even though I answered Clint, I also have always liked Jimmy Stewart in Westerns. And , of course, the Duke…

    …And the gentleman that opened the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo on the night we went with a spectacular tribute to the military and a heartfelt and unapologetically Christian prayer.

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  52. My uncle-in-law Donald was a cowboy. He rode horses, roped cows, the whole nine yards. Near Hemet, California. I spent a summer on his ranch. Shared a ranch house with a skunk. I was polite to the skunk and it never skunked me. In fact, it ate the pack rats that were eating our food. Must have been a Christian skunk.

    Donald’s little sister Arlene took care of us (me, brother, sister) all summer. Later, she went to UCLA, studying to be a social worker. She was brutally murdered in her apartment near campus. The case was never solved. Probably a burglar surprised her and stabbed her in panic. What kind of a God? Oh, yeah, stuff like that proves God’s beneficence.

    My uncle later became an electrical engineer and then a chiropractor and professor of chiropractic all around the world. Now he lives in the Philippines or Australia, I forget. One of his daughters became fluent in Mandarin and founded the multi-national baby furniture/stroller company, Graco. She is still considered a bit of a heroine in Taiwan because of what she did for deaf children. Before she tragically died of breast cancer, she told me she had become a Christian in Taiwan. Told me that she loved Taiwan because it was the last place in the world where one could experience good old fashioned “American family values.”

    I guess that’s a happy ending. Every word is true.

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  53. My great-grandfather was a rodeo rider. He performed and carried two six-guns with him wherever he went. 😉

    He was not a believer, until his ailing son (who was supposed to die) was healed by an angel. (Long, but great story.)

    Then, he became a traveling tent preacher all down the west coast, until he finally landed in San Diego, and settled permanently (opening up his home to the homeless and feeding lots of people, in addition to preaching.)

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  54. Tammy,

    I looked at the BIBLE AND SPADE web site you linked to.

    As I am an atheist (even if my fellow atheists are turning on me), I can’t help asking, if God really wanted to let us know he is real, why doesn’t he write, “HI! i AM GOD! I AM REAL” with letters of fire across the sky?

    Oh, we’re supposed to have “faith.” If all we need is faith, why are their publications such as BIBLE AND SPADE? In all honesty, I don’t get it.

    Please explain again, even though it is very rude of me to mock you for believing really dumb stuff. I know you can’t help it.

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  55. Random,

    I want you to stop and think about something.

    Imagine a world that was perfect. Then, it becomes corrupted. But, in order to have real children and not puppets, God allows people to continue to make choices and the world to continue to run. This makes for a world that is sometimes really beautiful and sometimes horrendously evil.

    And, the question is: why (since He occasionally does) doesn’t God step in ALL the time and save every baby, every good person, and everyone who believes in Him. Why would He continue to allow suffering?

    Well, one has to look at it in a few different ways:

    1) If He stepped in each and every time and fixed all the problems and difficulties of every baby who was innocent or every person who believed in Him, then there really wouldn’t be any choice … would there? By His very mercy, and people’s desire to avoid harm, most people would, at least, claim to follow Him in the hopes of avoiding pain. We’d be back to virtual puppets, who loved God only like we do a “vending machine” — hoping for His favor.

    2) Time. We are in time. We see it as everything. But, time is created and temporary. When comparing even the most worst suffering on this planet with all of ETERNITY, it is merely a drop in the bucket. It matters, and it hurts. But, in the scheme of things, we can’t even begin to compare it to all of the rest of our existence. God can. He can know all of the ramifications of each tear and what those will be, and so He alone can choose when to step in and when not to step in, and we can trust that the end result will be okay in the scheme of eternity.

    3) While we don’t understand exactly how, God has said that He will make all things right in the end. All the hurts, the pain, the sufferings, the evil, the heartbreak … all will be made new and right. He has promised us this. We trust He can bring it about. Someday, each tear shed will be wiped away, and each broken heart will be mended, and evil will be a memory.

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    • Tammy. Four answers. You put a lot of effort into it. If I were a nicer person, I would go away and never torment you again. On the other hand, perhaps I made your day, as there are very few unbelievers here (not like the old days at worldmagblog), so perhaps you were bored and restless, and then thought, “Yippee! Perhaps Random wants a cage match! How impressed everyone will be if I can bag the infamous carp, Random!”

      Although I am often accused of going on too long, I will reply to each of your earnest replies addressed to me. Read carefully and bravely. If you fish in the deep pool, that carp might pull you under.

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  56. Random,

    Again, there is actually LOTS of evidence for God.

    I know that you’ve been directed to all sorts of books, and you’re tired of them. Still, I recommend Norman Geisler’s *I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.* He gets a little repetitive, but you can’t ask for a more logical, rational, empirical, start from the beginning and work your way through to the end apologetic.

    My answer to your last question? If God wrote it across the sky (He more or less has, but in the way that you ask), then it would take away all choice, and we would be puppets, rather than children.

    In addition, you and I both know human nature. Within minutes of the awe that people would show to see fiery letters in the sky — “I AM” — the debunkers would be out. “Did that really say that?” “The sky might have accidentally formed those letters through interaction of sun and wind.” “How do we know that was THE God?” “I’m not sure that we didn’t all see a mass hallucination.”

    People are so desirous of NOT being accountable to anyone, that God would literally have to perform miracle after miracle after miracle. Then, there would STILL be doubters. “Why should we bow to Him just because He’s so powerful?” “What gives Him the right to tell us what to do just because He’s more advanced?” “How do we know He really created us?” “Everyone needs to grow up and get away from their parent.”

    In fact, we are told that in the millennial kingdom, God plans to show us just this very thing! Jesus Christ Himself will rule us for 1000 years (the perfect ruler), and Satan will be bound (can’t blame him!), and yet, at the end of the 1000 years, there will be a rebellion, which Christ will have to put down and then He will give us the new Heaven and the new Earth.

    Seriously, God knows just how corrupt we are. We don’t WANT to believe. We don’t WANT to submit. There are not signs enough to force those who do not voluntarily submit.

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  57. Look at the Israelites in the Old Testament for your answer. God directed many obvious, wonderful, powerful, saving miracles for them. It would have been obvious to a stump that God existed, and that He loved them, and that He had a plan for them. But, within days of such miracles there were already people questioning them, questioning God, asking if it weren’t other gods doing it, whining, complaining, and demanding.

    Repetitive miracles really just don’t work for those who want to be in rebellion.

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  58. BTW, no one (or at least no one I know) has said that ALL you need is faith. If they do, well, bully for them, but I needed a lot more than that! I needed to read, and study, and compare, and ask, and question, and cry, and pray, and tell the Universe that I’d believe ANYTHING so long as it was the Truth.

    Apologetics helped me a lot. I am a rational person. I need facts and answers and logic.

    But, the final step is always faith. And, seriously, it is for the atheist too. You can’t PROVE that there is no God. So, when you decide to step out and make that final claim, then you too are “stepping out in faith.”

    The agnostic as well, honestly.

    In fact, you’re GAMBLING that there is no God, and certainly not the Christian God.

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  59. Tammy, replying to the second of your messages addressed to me.

    1) Virtual puppets

    For all I know, I am a virtual puppet. One of the best atheist philosophers I know argues (fairly persuasively to me) that we have no free will. That human evolution developed “consciousness” as an artifact of human evolution, that our actions are no more the product of “thought” than a chipmunk’s or a coyote’s or a raccoon’s.

    2) Time

    He can know all of the ramifications of each tear and what those will be, and so He alone can choose when to step in and when not to step in, and we can trust that the end result will be okay in the scheme of eternity. In other words, no matter whatever happens, good or bad, it is for the best. That cannot be discussed or refuted. It’s simply about as close to meaningless as the human language can get.

    3)

    God has said that He will make all things right in the end.

    Hard to debate. Assumes there is a God (despite the utter lack of empirical evidence for such a being). He has promised us this. We trust He can bring it about. No one has promised you anything. Your trust is misplaced. (That’s my opinion of course. I don’t pretend to be promising you anything from an imaginary being as you do for me. That you REALLY REALLY believe is not evidence of anything but your belief. People who fly airplanes into towers REALLY REALLY believe. They are crazy, of course. You are perfectly sane; probably a kind and wonderful person, but in this regard, utterly deluded. Well, none of us are perfect.

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  60. I vaguely remember “Alias Smith and Jones”. And I forgot that “Wild Wild West” was a favorite. I didn’t go see the recent movie version, as most of the movies-from-TV-shows have been disappointments at best.

    Since I grew up in Southern Arizona, we watched most of the westerns to see if we recognized the background, since a lot of the outdoor scenes were filmed there. If you watched “The High Chaparral” you saw the desert west of Tucson at it’s best. The ranch house was right next to the Old Tucson movie set-turned-amusement park. They would show the cowboys riding away from the house for the long ride to Tucson. Then show them riding into town supposedly hours later. Actually, it was less than 100 yards form house to town. And I remember one episode where you could see the contrail of an airliner approaching Tucson in the background, and another where light glinted off a radio tower in the background mountains. They learned not to point the cameras East when shooting because of these problems.

    Oh, and I was surprised that wikipedia lists 189 TV westerns, including a few mini-series.

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  61. Since July 1, 30 people–or relatives of people I know–have died. I’ve decided to stop counting.

    What with the Civil War and now World War I books, coupled with teaching Job, life has looked pretty grim for many. My own life is moving fast but well–and another adorable grandchild is on the way (that will be five in six years for those who are counting).

    Feeling pretty sobered today.

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  62. Lots of evidence for God.

    First of all, Ree is sort of ahead of you in line with Mr. Chesterton. He is a fine writer, but I got bored with him. Wouldn’t it be tragic if I read 50 Christian gobbledygook books, got bored with them and then turned down the chance to read the 51st book that would have changed my mind and kept me out of Hell? What kind of God would let that happen? Perhaps a monster God?

    Within minutes of the awe that people would show to see fiery letters in the sky — “I AM” — the debunkers would be out. “I’m not sure that we didn’t all see a mass hallucination.”

    Quite possible. If I saw letters in the sky, I would wonder if I was having a hallucination. My brother suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disease and has been picked up by the police wandering down the street talking to himself. Years ago he had a heart attack and as he lay in bed expecting to die, he experienced a religious conversion. Did he become a believer because he is crazier than a hoot owl? Did he become a believer because God sent him a heart attack as a sign to believe?

    I assume there is a person named Tammy, she is a real female person somewhere, she is a Christian. You might not be a real person, you might be a man, you might be a hallucination on my part. You might be the devil trying to seduce me away from the true worship of God, which is called Islam. Tomorrow, I will see a doctor I never met before to discuss my recent mini-stroke, which might kill me right in the doctor’s office. The doctor (who is subbing for my regular doctor who is probably goofing off somewhere (it’s probably the fault of Barak Obama, who is the anti-Christ and his sinister Obama care) may or may not be real – I spent an hour trying to track him down this morning, and is supposedly named Sanju Thommen, and may or may not be a man or a woman. Don’t ask. Sanju sounds East Indian to me. Thommen? Maybe. Perhaps he is a Hindu. Or a Sikh. What is it that Ree’s husband believes? I forget. I am demented. But that’s OK. If I am demented an claim to believe in God that still makes sense. If I teach a parrot to say, “Jesus,” will the parrot be saved? If I teach my chickens using a Skinner box to drop worms in the shape of Jesus will the chickens be saved? Or the worms?

    … “we are told” [by whom?] that in the millennial kingdom, God plans to show us just this very thing! Jesus Christ Himself will rule us for 1000 years (the perfect ruler), and Satan will be bound (can’t blame him!), and yet, at the end of the 1000 years, there will be a rebellion, which Christ will have to put down and then He will give us the new Heaven and the new Earth.

    I don’t know how to politely say this is just about the biggest bunch of balderdash nonsense I have heard in my life (at least since the last big bunch of nonsense which was about two minutes ago). It’s so boring, worn out, and soporific other people (even among this bunch of mostly believers) are ignoring it and posting the usual chicken shoot chit chat even Christians babble when they are bored.

    The universe is an accident. I don’t understand it either, but the idea that the universe is the product of some “loving” monster called “God” makes even less sense. I know you have explained (for the 80,000 time) how God is love and why we suffer. It still makes as much sense as the robin I see out my window right now building a 1,000 foot tall cathedral instead of a nestt.

    Repetitive miracles really just don’t work for those who want to be in rebellion.

    Oh, yes. Obedience. Why be obedient to an imaginary God? Well, obedience is very convenient indeed for priests and kings and dictators, who seem to be quite real and who often claim they are speaking in the name of God. After a few thousand years, one would people would weary of the scam. Well, that’s why we had the French Revolution, though as an early effort to break free of religious nonsense, but as is typical of humans (who are no more than apes with big brains), we have difficulty in calibrating and went too far. Roger Williams, even though he was a deluded Christian fanatic, had a better idea, which even you probably support. Keep wicked but real and necessary state separate from [imaginary] God.

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  63. I apologize. My italic and bold tags are out of control. I may be demented. I may be having another stroke as I sit here. I may be losing it after spending too much time conversing with people who are out of touch with reality. In my opinion. I may end up in Hell. I may end up saying, if only I had listened to Tammy. On the other hand, Tammy may end up saying … nothing.

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  64. Random,

    Perhaps you need a break. Why not concentrate on your health rather than things that obviously wind you up? You seem obsessed with your idea that God is non-existent, and you mock people for their beliefs. You seek to antagonize, and to be antagonized. Can’t you ever just say hello without somehow dragging all this into every conversation? Seriously, enough with the 1 trick pony show already. It can’t be good for your health.

    And this is just AJ to Random. We’ve “known” each other for years, and I’m telling you this as a friend, not the administrator. You’re better than this.

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  67. I am getting old. I forgot to call you on this.

    In fact, you’re GAMBLING that there is no God, and certainly not the Christian God.

    As I am sure you know, that is called Pascal’s Wager. And it is dumb as a tomb and thick as a brick.

    1. If I assume that there is a God (as nonsensical as that assumption is), how do I know it is the same as your God? There are hundreds (if not thousands) of gods. If I pick the wrong God, what’s the point?

    2. If I pick a God as if I were placing a bet on a roulette wheel at a casino, then isn’t that choosing God not out of love and devotion, but like casting a desperate bet at a casino? Does God want me to choose Him like a gambler at a casino, rather than like a lover? Does he want me to choose Him out of terror and fear?

    3. Oh, right. He is a loving God. He is a loving God who is going to send me to eternal Hell.

    4. Fortunately, He is an imaginary God. Doesn’t it ever occur to you, in the slightest bit, to doubt the malarky you dish out? Let’s see. If I am correct, I will die (sooner rather than later, now that I have had my first stroke (albeit a very tiny one). and then I will know nothing ever again. It will be as if I never lived).

    5. On the other hand, if you are incorrect, you will die (whenever — I don’t know how old you are, where you live, how healthy you are, etc.) you will NOT know that you may have lived in fear of Hell for nothing. Unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE you are “saved.” And if you spouted this nonsense to other people and perhaps to your children (if you have any) perhaps you have caused them to live in fear of Hell for absolutely no reason whatsoever. But as you will die and cease to exist, you will never have any reason to regret that you lived in fear and caused other people to live in fear for NO REASON whatsoever.

    Thank you, Tammy, for making my day. I was a little bored today. I am supposed to go to the doctor tomorrow, but they are forecasting a big wind storm and my wife said she doesn’t think we should drive in a big storm (and perhaps not try to take a ferry trip across the ocean) in a big wind storm. So I won’t be bored. I will be quivering in terror and trying to decide whether I should take chances.

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  68. TJ says

    Random,

    Perhaps you need a break

    And this is just AJ to Random. We’ve “known” each other for years, and I’m telling you this as a friend, not the administrator. You’re better than this.

    Stephen hears:

    I am looking for an excuse to kick you out. Even if you haven’t “attacked anybody..

    I believe this is called a “hint,” if not a downright “threat.” After the hint, comes the rationalization. Then the action.

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  69. Phos…thank you so much for sharing your scripture of Psalm 37…I read it…and re read it…and read it again…and I cried…it has been a very tough couple of days of infighting on our HOA Board…I am spent and discouraged…the Lord has encouraged me with the scripture you shared….blessings to you…

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  70. AJ, I can probably teach your daughter how to make homemade chicken soup, but beyond that (the whole following orders thing), well, I’ll let you take care of that. 😉

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  71. Random,

    “Stephen hears:

    I am looking for an excuse to kick you out. Even if you haven’t “attacked anybody..”

    The point, which you missed, was every post is attacking God. That’s offensive to us, and you know it. Act right.

    And the rationalization part is easy, that’s a violation of 1 of the like 3 rules we have here. We don’t have many, but I’ve made this one clear to you before.

    See, easy. 🙂

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  72. Hubby is out from work again today. He’s tired and coughing a lot, and his voice is very guttural. I’m hoping the chicken soup will help; it usually does for me when I’m battling stuff like that.

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  75. Tess learned a new trick in dog class tonight, going through my legs and winding around to a sit/heel position at my side.

    I’m not sure what we’ll use that for. But maybe a dance routine down the line? 🙂

    She also learned to come when called despite the distraction of a singing (“Shake it up, baby!”), dancing bear. Long story. But class was fun.

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  76. Peter L: I know cuatro is four, so I’m guessing “Setenta y cuatro” is seventy and four, right? Nice set up for 75!

    Donna: “But maybe a dance routine down the line?” Line dancing for Tess? 🙂

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