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Our Daily Thread 4-22-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1864 the U.S. Congress mandated that all coins minted as U.S. currency bear the inscription “In God We Trust”.

At noon on this day in 1889 the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land.

In 1898 the first shot of the Spanish-American War occurred when the USS Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship.

In 1914 Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles.

In 1915 the New York Yankees wore pinstripes and the hat-in-the-ring logo for the first time.

In 1952 an atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television.

And in 2000 Elian Gonzalez was reunited with his father.

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Quote of the Day

“God’s mercy and grace give me hope – for myself, and for our world.”

Billy  Graham

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Well today is Glen Campbell’s birthday, so yeah, Rhinestone Cowboy baby! 🙂

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Who has a QoD for us today?

54 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 4-22-13”

  1. First? Becca’s sick again. She was doing better yesterday, but awoke this morning with a fever and feels rotten again. She’s super congested and complaining of body aches. I’m hoping it’s not the flu.

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  3. Good morning all. The sun is just now beginning to lighten the sky. I have a question for today, but I think I already know the answer from this crowd.

    QoD: Do you use Twitter? And if so, why, what do you get out of it? Who do you follow and what do you tweet?

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  4. QoD No.

    🙂 Dagwood says, “It’s crazy, but already I can’t remember who won the Super Bowl.”
    Blondie says: “I do. It was the team wearing the white shirts.”
    That could happen at our house.

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  5. Who cares about the Super Bowl, but down here, everyone knows who won the last Iron Bowl. A lot of people know who won the last 50 Iron Bowls.

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  7. I recently signed up for Twitter to see how it works. I have posted a few items from author’s suggestions as to helping them advertise their books. I think I have only one follower so far. It’s okay. I already know my standing in the world! I follow Christ and that is most important. By following some Christian authors I am helping to up their platform. I am hopeful that action, which is easy on my part, indirectly advances the kingdom. Sometimes I receive e-mails from Twitter which make suggestions of other people I might like to follow based on the ones I already follow. The ones I am following from the beginning I got from author’s blogs. This reminds me, I need to follow Michelle, too!

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  8. QoD,

    Post Tweets on it personally? No.

    Follow some others? Yes.

    Mostly though, I use it as a source of amusement. I like hearing what folks are up to. But I don’t like how foul mouthed and rude many users are. If you follow politicians and news people, you get alot of the latter. And people always seem to forget, or they don’t care, that once you say it and it’s out there, you can’t take it back. And with bad behaving users, Twitchy posts it, so don’t even try. You can’t take it back. I’d advise folks to remember that. It’s why I don’t say anything on Twitter.

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  13. Maybe it is just a leaf blower, but it seems to be the wrong season for that! I don’t hear any trees falling, just the buzz. But somewhere today, someone is cutting down trees because that is their business.

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  16. I posted a couple of days ago that Elvera’s sister died. This is a copy of an e’mail I sent to some interested parties:

    Yesterday we picked Mel & Polly up and drove down to McCormick for Annie Lee’s funeral. It was a nice day and traffic wasn’t heavy.
    Lots of people were there. But that was expected. Annie had been a member of that church for over 60 years. And her husband (Buddy Gable) was sheriff of McCormick County for ten years.
    Elvera and Polly had a nice time visiting with people they didn’t recognize at first, but remembered well after they got the names. People change so much. Everyone was larger and grayer. Even Jimmy (Annie’s son) is turning gray.
    It was a long, tiring day. It was about five thirty when we started back, and we had dinner at Red Lobster in Spartanburg. So it was about ten before we got home.
    She had a good life, the kind she wanted. She wasn’t interested in anything outside McCormick County. Maybe a few things in Greenwood.
    This was good for her. She had been sick almost exactly a year.

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  17. Twitter, yep. We all signed up some years ago at work, it’s one of the journalist’s new “tools” in the digital age. It’s a good place to post links to stories and blog posts — also somewhat fun, but I run hot and cold on Twitter and read it a lot more than I post on it typically.

    Somehow I’ve amassed just under 900 “followers,” although I suspect it’s because I often tap into the pet community which has a strong presence there. I enjoy following sites like Ligonier and other theologians (and there’s a couple sources that post CS Lewis quotes, which can be fun — and provoke some small bits of thoughtfulness during the day).

    One of the most helpful uses for me came last week when someone had gathered all of the journalists who were “on the ground” covering the boston marathon and, later, the pursuit of the bombers into a list you could follow for nearly immediate updates.

    But it can be scary for journalists, too, as the medium lends itself to posting information that’s not always thoroughly vetted and sourced/double-checked for accuracy.

    Anyway, it’s much more of a work tool for me though sometimes I post personal things — I enjoy FB more, but also don’t post “a lot” on that anymore.

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  18. Chas, reminds me of a wonderful couple at church (I think he’s 90+, she’s in her 80s) who just went to Minn. to bury the wife’s brother who had been sick for some time. A tough trip, but the family all is Christian which they said has made it all so much easier.

    Still, hard things to go through. How’s Elvera doing?

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  20. Why thanks, AJ and Janice.

    I’m on Twitter, dragged on because of book publishing, but am growing to like it better. Because we don’t have television, I follow breaking news on Twitter. During the presidential debates it was hysterical–mostly because Eric Metaxes is a very funny guy (when he’s not endlessly pushing his books).

    That’s part of the trick–the ratio is supposed to be 9:1–9 tweets about someone/thing else to every one of your marketing tweets.

    I don’t follow a whole lot of people, but as I mentioned last week, somehow I get every tweet from the White House and Flotus (First Lady of the United States) and others like that. You can block them, I just don’t bother.

    I do wait breathlessly for everything Donna tweets . . . 🙂

    I follow major news organizations, a bunch of friends, the World Mag folks, a number of publishing-related links (since that’s my business) and a variety of young relatives.

    I’m still learning about #hashtags and I use Twitter to announce my new blog posts several times a week (the tweet, the posts are only up on Tuesdays and Fridays). I’m sure I don’t use it effectively but social media can take over your life–they now want us all on Pinterest, too–and I’m determined to enjoy it or forget it.

    I scan through the tweets once or twice a day. Many are encouraging, or Bible verses, most link somewhere else. The headlines are the key and I often end up reading blogs or articles I would have missed (and the good ones, I put up here). I was on it constantly during the Boston situation.

    Our good friend lives just south of Watertown, MA and they were in lockdown. He wrote this morning that spending the day like that convinced him of Twitter’s importance. He was on it all day, following stories and learning what was happening in his own neighborhood for on-time resources.

    I would say that’s Twitter’s value.

    But like FB, God can use it as a tool to reach the otherwise unreachable. I’ve gotten into some very interesting discussions, including the Gospel, on FB. Twitter would be the same, albeit in only 140 characters.

    I should note I learned to text for two reasons: 1. I was bored at my son’s graduation from the University of Washington while I waited for 5000 students to get their diplomas. I’d finished my book and I needed something to do and my son (sitting on the field) provided me with a tutorial.

    2. When the terrorists stormed that hotel in Mumbai several years ago, the people trapped in their rooms only knew what was happening via text messages. I don’t ever want to be in a situation where I don’t have help–

    other than the Holy Spirit, of course! 🙂

    If try Twitter, follow me @my name. 🙂

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  21. Amazing reach of Twitter — a while back, on a rainy Sunday when our landslide occurred, I happened to be on the scene. No one else from the media was there, just a few neighbors and the city security guy.

    After calling our photographer & editor, I’d tweeted it. Within 20 minus there were news helicopters overhead.

    They may have heard it elsewhere, but I suspect it was the tweet that got the word spread somehow (journalists also tend to “follow” each other).

    Our cop reporter has something like 1500 followers now — he gets all the best stories to tweet, people really want to know about all the crime going on. Landslides come and go. 😉

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  22. Y’all are welcome to follow me, too. I’m stuck at 896-897 “followers.” So you can put me over 900. 🙂

    Ah, the #gosnell story also was a good one to follow on Twitter — and I think it was there that the story — finally — began to catch the attention of the rest of the media.

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  23. Donna, Elvera & Polly are fine. They spent a year expecting “any time now”. So, after a fashon, it was a relief.
    Elvera was talking to an 80 year old guy. He advised her that it had been decades ago since someone called him “Bubba”. 😆
    That was his childhood nickname.

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  25. Chas, I think that’s how my friends at church felt, too — the brother had been ill for some time. Still, it was hard, he was the older brother and was something of a father figure for some of the younger kids. 😦 Time goes by so fast.

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  26. Good Morning, Y’all!

    Favorite Earth Day moment…Parents (in really new looking “hippy” clothing) at huge Earth Day Celebration in Nashville to son: “I can’t hear what he’s saying…Mark, go play somewhere else”
    Mark: ” This sucks…
    Mom: “Go play frisbee…I thought you brought a frisbee…”
    Mark: ” It’s in the car”
    Mom (digging in purse): “Honey…do you have the Suburban keys?”

    BWAHAHAHAHA!

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  27. Has anyone heard about the scientific theory that atoms come from long-dead stars? I’ve seen a couple references to this on Facebook posts from a science site. The recent one I saw says…

    “You have two eyes, each composed of 130 million photoreceptor cells.
    In each of those cells, there are 100 trillion atoms – that’s more than all the stars in the milky way galaxy.

    “However, each atom in each cell in each eye formed in the core of a star, billions of years ago, and yet, here they are today, being utilized to capture the energy released from that same process.

    “All to expand the consciousness that is YOU.

    “The universe has an interesting sense of irony, in that you are the universe experiencing itself – All you are is a thought.”

    The reference to consciousness & being only a thought, seems more metaphysical (if that’s the correct word) than materialistic, as science usually is.

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  29. I feel old saying this, but I remember the first Earth Day. I was a college freshman and there was a big booth set up on campus where they were giving away the green campaign-style buttons. I suspect I still have it somewhere …

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  30. While everyone celebrates Earth Day, remember to do what you can to help. Instead of eating cows, try guinea pigs. 😯

    What? They’re more Earth friendly than cows.

    Let me know how they taste, ‘cuz there’s no way I’m trying them. I draw the line at rabbits. 😦

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/03/12/174105739/from-pets-to-plates-why-more-people-are-eating-guinea-pigs

    “Now, the rodents are increasingly showing up on plates in the United States.

    South American restaurants on both coasts seem to be pushing the trend, answering to demand mostly from Andean expats for what is considered a fine and valuable food in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. Middle-class foodies with a taste for exotic delicacies are also ordering, photographing and blogging about guinea pig. The animals — called cuyes in Spanish — are usually cooked whole, often grilled, sometimes deep fried. Many diners eat every last morsel, literally from head to toe.”

    “Matt Miller, an Idaho-based science writer with The Nature Conservancy, says rodents and other small livestock represent a low-impact meat alternative to carbon-costly beef. Miller, who is writing a book about the ecological benefits of eating unconventional meats, visited Colombia several years ago. At the time, he says, conservation groups were expressing concern about local ranchers clearing forest to provide pasture for their cattle — activity that was causing erosion and water pollution.”

    Uh-uh, not happening Matt. 😦

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  32. Chas, only if you put the dirt back on the earth and not in a trash bin. 🙂 Our landfills are full enough. Don’t you love the smell when you pass by one of those artificial mountains?

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  33. I just came across a tiny black memo book that belonged to my father ages ago. I was showing it to my son so he could see how addresses looked without the zip codes. Also, it appeared phone numbers were not even hyphenated if I was understanding what was written down so long ago. I also came across his old Seabees patch.

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  34. It counts for something Chas.

    I’m not sure what exactly, but something. 🙂

    How about this? By sweeping out the garage you returned a small portion of the Earth back out to itself. You were helping to return it to it’s original form before man destroyed the natural landscape and displaced the dirt to begin with. That one small act has made you a hero to dirt everywhere. Now just imagine the difference we could make if we all swept dirt today. And isn’t that what Earth Day is all about?

    🙂

    Sarc/off

    I’m sorry, I just can’t do it. I think whether conservative or liberal we all agree that it’s best to do things like conserve resources, energy, recycling and what not. And we all do. We do it at home every day, and for financial reasons too. It makes sense.

    I’m a fisherman and I see first hand the damage people do with litter and what not. Ticks me off, and I clean it up. Do you know how many spots won’t let you on their land to fish because some fisherman are jerks and leave their trash behind? So I do what I can. Conserve, clean, and do as little damage as possible.

    But this is an everyday thing, and it should be. I just get annoyed when they make up holidays to celebrate common sense things that you should be smart enough to do without being told. Did it really need it’s own day?

    And don’t even get me started on how the whole thing is hijacked to push a “climate change, freezing, warming, or whatever it is this year” agenda. That’s mostly what I see from Earth Day. No thanks.

    And it doesn’t even have cake. But we should celebrate by eating our pet guinea pigs. What kinda lousey holiday does that? 😦

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  35. I accidentally threw a food wrapper into one of the blue trash cans in the newsroom — the ones reserved for white paper recycling. Someone said we were going to get fined if they found it. So I had to flip it upside down (it was empty and I couldn’t reach to the bottom) and shake out the food wrapper so I could put it in the “wet trash” can.

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  36. Boy, do I feel stupid. Doing a little googling on the subject shows me that this atoms-from-stars theory has been around a while.

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  39. Guinea pigs are delicious. I always left the butchering/food prep end to my mother in law. She seasoned them real well. So for holidays, she would send them to us (as well as other family) ready to go- just heat and serve. The problem with guinea pigs here is they are small compared to the ones we ate in Ecuador. Here they would hardly be worth you time.

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  40. We had guinea pig as the main dish at our civil wedding and also for Christmas and New Year every year down there. It is great holiday food (if you are culturally flexible).

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  42. Not sure I could ear a guinea pig. They are too cute. My sister would not eat anything that had been cute. She would not eat rabbit, venison, mutton or veal

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  43. kBells, chicken starts out really cute, and calves are quite cute as well.

    I personally have never been interested in eating lobster, having had pet crayfish, and I don’t know whether I could manage to eat guinea pig. If it were served looking like an animal, I don’t think I could. If it were served in a dish, cut up, I’d probably try it and try to forget about what it is until I’d given it a good try. But I don’t know whether or not I could manage it.

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  44. Eighteen months ago today I said “I do.” A very sweet eighteen months they have been. But quite a bit different from earlier stages in life. The funny thing is that we just passed the two-year mark for the first time I saw him in person (April 14 was when he first came down, and stayed in town three or four days), and three-quarters of the time since then I have been married.

    And I finished project #4 today. Three are behind it (two of them little ones). Often May and June are my busiest months of the year, but it’s perfectly OK if March and April hold that distinction this year and May and June are just a tad calmer.

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  45. Putting “In God We Trust” on our currency is a violation of separation of church and state. I don’t trust in things that don’t exist. I don’t expect to see “We Trust in Nothing” on our coinage in my life time, but it would make a lot more sense.

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  47. My husband tells the story of ordering the “house special” 60 miles inland in Peru. The chiefs were dining with him and ordered as well.

    When the savory stew arrived, the men were horrified to see little rib bones and called the waiter over. “Is this ‘bow-wow?”

    He laughed and gave them the name. When they returned to the submarine, they looked it up: “large succulent rodent.”

    Rumors went around the boat the engineer had made the chiefs eat rats.

    They lived it down, but never went out to dinner with my husband again!

    He said it was tasty. 🙂

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  48. I am home. We are the number one team in the Gulf States Region. We received two awards and were winners in 5 categories.

    We also had the author Jay Papasan speaking on The One Thing. What is the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary.
    Categories start with Spiritual Life, Physical Health, My Personal Life, My Key Relationships, For My Job, For My Business, For My Finances.

    Isn’t it good to work for a company that puts Spiritual Life at the top of the list?

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  52. They are not pets there. They are animals raised for food. I am sure that they predate the Spanish coming, so before beef, pork or chicken was available how many options do you think they had at 8,000 ft altitude?
    Now down in the jungle there are tapirs and monkeys.
    If anyone has eaten rabbit, it would be the same, except with shorter ears. Irrelevant after it is skinned.

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  53. You would need a huge appetite to eat a whole one. They are usually halved. I always take the lower half myself. But I have not had them since coming back to the States. Making me hungry to think about it though.

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