Good Morning!
And Happy Saturday!
On this day in 1776 the Virginia constitution was adopted and Patrick Henry was made governor.
In 1860 the first iron-pile lighthouse was completed at Minot’s Ledge, MA.
In 1888 Professor Frederick Treves performed the first appendectomy in England.
In 1897 the Chicago Cubs scored 36 runs in a game against Louisville, setting a record for runs scored by a team in a single game.
In 1925 Marvin Pipkin filed for a patent for the frosted electric light bulb.
In 1941 Joe DiMaggio got a base hit in his 42nd consecutive game, breaking George Sisler’s record from 1922.
In 1953 the Federal Highway Act authorized the construction of 42,500 miles of freeway from coast to coast.
In 1967 Israel removed barricades, re-unifying Jerusalem.
And in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty could constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.
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Quote of the Day
“Deliver me from the man who never makes a mistake, and also from the man who makes the same mistake twice.”
William J. Mayo
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Today we have two 80’s bands, so lot’s of hair. 🙂
First up, it’s Ian Paice’s birthday.
It’s Don Dokken’s birthday too 🙂
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Who has a QoD for us today?
Wandering Views 
Morning
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QOD – where is your favorite place to camp? My family has gone for years to Fallen leaf Lake at the south end of Lake Tahoe. We take all the sailboats, canoes and kayaks we can find and let the kids enjoy exploring.
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QoD: Our backyard. We camped instead of staying at a hotel while traveling, but otherwise, we set up the tent whenever we felt like sleeping outside. Living in the country, we could have hot dog roasts in the backyard and even paddle our canoe around the pond. We took day trips to bigger bodies of water, as we live within driving distance of many lakes and rivers.
Our extended family liked to camp in Algonquin Park: http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/. I have a great uncle who still goes there for canoe trips, and he is in his mid-eighties.
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Oh, that link has a lot of photos – here is the Wikipedia one instead: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquin_Provincial_Park
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Day’s Inn?
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Chas 🙂
We now camp in our backyard (but sleep inside). We love camping in the West Kootenays of British Columbia. Beautiful mountains, lakes, streams, lush forests, great weather (usually)… and not too many tourists!
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Interesting take on Sharia law: http://www.summit.org/blogs/summit-announcements/liberty-or-islamic-law/
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From Michelle’s link:
Every woman who thinks she would like to marry a Muslim should read this.
Also, there is no same sex marriage in Islam.
Remember, there are no homosexuals in Iran.
•Jihad for the promotion of Islam is mandatory for all Muslims
•Claims of rape require four male witnesses
•Female testimony is worth half that of males
•Muslim men may marry up to four women who may be Muslims, Christians or Jews
•Muslim women may marry only Muslim men, and one at a time
•Thieves’ hands are to be cut off
•Apostates are to be killed
•Speaking sarcastically about Sharia is apostasy
•Christians may not evangelize in Islamic states
•Non-Muslims may not criticize or mock (blaspheme) Muhammad, the Qur’an, or Islam
•Non-Muslims must wear distinguishing clothing in Islamic states
•Jews and Christians are forbidden to build new synagogues or churches in Islamic states
•Existing churches and synagogues may not be repaired
•Non-Muslims must pay additional taxes to assure safety
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Good morning, everyone! We fly home today at 4:00. We have to be checked out of our condo by 11:00, so we plan on shopping for souvenirs until we have to be at the airport. It’s been a fabulous week. I’m not ready for it to be over. It’s been so nice to have Scott around full-time. I will miss him next week when he returns to work. The girls have had a really good time, though Becca’s looking forward to sleeping in her own bed and seeing her friends. She’s already asked if a friend can spend the night this week. She is such a social creature–quite different from her introverted Mom.
I’ve only been camping twice in my life. As a junior high kid, I went camping for the week of spring break with a friend and her family. Then, in college, I went camping for three days at Pedernales State Park with a group of friends. A huge rainstorm came through the last night we were there and it began flooding. We had hiked two miles into the woods to a remote camping site and at two in the morning, we all had to run back to our cars, leaving all of our gear. The flooding was so severe we couldn’t retrieve our belongings for almost a week! I’m not really much of an outdoorsmen and definitely prefer staying in a hotel over camping….
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My favorite camping spot is anywhere I won’t get eaten alive by mosquitos. And the temperature/humidity need to be comfortable. So I don’t go camping around here, though there are many state parks with campgrounds available.
When I was young and living in Arizona, several times we went hiking into the mountains and camped out under the stars. We did this in the dry seasons. It was great not having all the bugs around! And the stars are beautiful in a clear sky with no city lights blocking them out.
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Good Morning! Camping? Well, we just had a trip to Bryce Canyon…we stayed at the Best Western Grand…yep…that’s camping!
We had a “gully washer” last night…the hail beat down my sweet peonies…ripped off some of my clematis blossoms…I’ll be out there cleaning up the mess…but, I am not complaining!….the rain was glorious…and we even lost power for a few hours…candles were lit and we were safe and loved the sound of the rain!
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I went camping several times when I was a Boy Scout. Camping in the winter is a challenge.
I prefer Day’s Inn, but will settle for Travellodge, Econolodge, or somesuch.
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We have so many great state parks for camping. We don’t go anymore, but visit parks for day trips.
I had a friend whose sons always camped out on New Years Eve. My cousins camp out in the winter. That would not appeal to me.
I always wanted to camp out as a family when I was a child. My folks did not want to do that. My grandparents had a cabin we went to on many weekends and that was enough for my folks, no doubt. My brothers camped out with the Boy Scouts.
We made sure to camp with out children and enjoyed it very much. We roughed it, according to what is often done now. Tent, no showers were the norm. We usually were at a place with actual bathrooms, however, but not always. It makes me laugh now, when I see campers with all their luxuries. I am all for all the convenience and luxury, but I sometimes wonder if it has the same feeling of actually ‘getting away’.
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I grew up camping with my family. First in tent trailer, then an rv trailer, but with no fridge or bathroom. When we finally got one with all the amenities it was so much fun to camp. We always camped with my mom’s 2 sisters and their families. The cousins would all disappear for the day – only showing up to eat. The dads would golf and the moms would visit.
When our kids were small we camped with them too. Only it was always a tent. We were the poor relatives – my sister and her family had a huge 5th wheel and my folks also did. So we were in our tent and they’d leave pop cans and such outside thereby attracting bears. Thanks a lot guys! I remember waking up one night and asking my husband what he was doing up – he replied “just watching a bear”. Didn’t sleep again!
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Camping? Is that where there is no electricity and running water?
Actually when I was a child we had a cabin “up in the country” where there was electricity but no water. There was a REAL wood stove and a gas stove. I remember one Christmas Eve my grandmother heated water on top of the wood stove and gave me a bath in a dish pan so that Santa could come.
I don’t think I would make a pleasant camping mate.
We are in Enterprise, AL. Home of Fort Rucker. I am at the family reunion of people I am not even related to by marriage, but they are all really, really nice and welcoming. Many years ago when MrP was a child his older brother dated one of the women in this family (it seems they lived together for about 10 or 12 years) and she was close to Mr. P’s mother and grandmother. The Christmas ornaments she brought to give P belonged to his grandmother! We had a nice dinner out last night and today will be the extended family reunion.
All this brings me back to the camping question. I am at a Holiday Inn Express. They didn’t have all the rooms ready at 5:30 yesterday and the bed is hard and the pillows are lumpy, BUT it does meet my criteria of either crossing a state line or being 3 to 4 hours away from home for it to be considered an adventure, so even though the hotel doesn’t seem to be on top of things, I am willing to cut them some slack. Who knows? Maybe someone was sick or quit yesterday. I really have no way of knowing what is going on behind the scenes do I?
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Uh- To me “camping out” means none of the amenities. If you take it all with you i.e. rvs with sat tv and full facilities, then you’re taking the hotel with you.
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PeterL is correct, if you don’t have to chop firewood, it isn’t camping.
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Peter, you and my husband would agree. I personally like to have a shower nearby. And a good mattress to sleep on. And a heater of some sort (inside). Guess I’m not a ‘real’ camper. But I’m okay with that. I claim the title “princess” when it comes to camping etc.
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Camping is camping. We used to camp under the stars. Though sometimes we children would build a tent with a couple of sticks, a rope, and a tarp. When I married husband was when I first went into a real tent. Well, not the actual marriage, but a short time later. Anyway, tents for years, preferably without the things that attract other people: running water, electricity, bathrooms, etc. Though with small children, it has been easier to camp at El Dorado which has actual toilets. Sort of. We bring our own water up from the spring down the road.
Though this last campout, I was spoiled when husband brought the trailer up for me but he was right, the place was a lot more crowded than I was used to so it was nice to have my space.
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A lot of times we do not chop firewood as we camp in high fire danger times and zones. We are only allowed a propane stove, not even dutch ovens. But we go anyway because, though I live in the country, it is nice to get away from the daily chores.
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As a teenager, I spent 9.5 weeks camping with my family across Europe. We took a three-week camping trip (2 men, 4 boys and me) to Alaska 22 years ago, 2.5 weeks in an RV in New Zealand ten years ago, and have been all over the US. So, I figure I qualify and may still have logged more days in a tent than my three Eagle Scouts. I just prefer not to do it anymore since I rarely sleep.
Most beautiful spot–Homer Spit, Alaska.
Surprising spot: top of an Alaskan ferry–we peeked out of our tent in the morning to the glory of the Inland waterway.
Ridiculous: First in line to catch the ferry from Sweden to Denmark. We slept in the VW camper bus.
Dangerous: Sand dunes south of Ensenada, Mexico over the fourth of July. Assault explosions came over us all night long.
Annoying: Civitavechia, Italy–sand ants invaded and we never got rid of them. Grrrr.
Laughable: Group camp site, Yosemite Valley. I was writing a book that summer that included the children of UC Berkeley grads who had been taught to say, “go Bears,” (a reference to the mascot) whenever Stanford was mentioned.
I was reading that section of the book while guarding the camp when a bear actually ambled through!
We also have movies of my mother banging tin pans to drive a bear out of our campsite in Tuolome Meadows, Yosemite, with my three-year-old brother trying to get too close.
Lots of wonderful stories and beautiful places. I’ve been blessed–even when I haven’t slept! 🙂
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Best line here (Kim): “Camping? Is that where there is no electricity and running water?”
One of our former copy editors moved from Cali to Homer, Alaska, with her adult daughter last year. They hate even semi-hot weather. Of course, now there’s a heat wave where they are.
I camped with the Girl Scouts, slept under the stars in sleeping bags but also in tents. As kids we also used to sleep in the backyard sometimes. When we were teens and getting ready to leave the Girl Scouts, we took one final trip to Catalina Island where we stayed in one of the dorm-style camp buildings owned by the Boy Scouts on the island. It was a week of swimming on the beach, so much fun. A nice send-off trip for all of us who had been together since Brownies in elementary school but who were now growing up and needing to move on.
My family went tent camping at Sequoia which was beautiful. I was probably about 9 years old (?); a friend of mine came with us and we had a blast riding horses and exploring, finding treasures from nature to bring home. At one point, though, I climbed up a really tall stack of bolder rocks and couldn’t get down until my dad came to rescue me. I figured I might have to just live my life up there, with people bringing me food.
But after the first couple days my dad came down with the flu or something and he got rather cranky & grumpy, poor guy. He really was pretty sick. When my mom asked my friend if she wanted to stay up late to watch the bears come out and eat the syrupy pancakes all the campers left for them in the trash cans, she looked up with her big brown eyes under a pixie haircut and said, “Why?”
My dad, she said, was really bear-like enough for her.
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We did lots of camping growing up, a variety. We did some tent camping and some trailer camping (our first trailer wasn’t “self-contained” meaning no bathroom). Our most frequent campground was Tortilla Flat in Arizona. The toilets there flushed by the weight of the person on the seat letting in a little bit of water. When I was a small child, I found that frightening–I was barely heavy enough for the seat to go down, but once it did there was water running under me.
I didn’t really like camping, for several reasons, few having to do with the actual camping. Mostly the trip there was so much discomfort that it wasn’t “worth it.” We had three children and a dog, and usually some luggage, in the backseat, I tended to get carsick but I avoided taking Dramamine unless I really needed it (it tasted horrid and left my tongue and throat numb–I couldn’t swallow it no matter how hard I tried, so I chewed it), and Dad would drive and drive and drive. Mom would tell him that this upcoming site looked good, but he’d want to go farther. Fifty miles later we’d find a new campground, but it would be completely full or closed or full of hippies and loud music, or some other reason we had to keep driving when even Dad was ready to stop. And then very often we had to drive somewhere else the next day, not even taking time to enjoy the place where we had stopped in utter exhaustion. I was secretly happy whenever the car broke down, since that forced us to stay where we were for a few days until it got fixed.
We also put up tents in the backyard sometimes, and we spent overnights close to home (White Tanks mountains was one such place . . . though I far preferred it when we went just for a picnic and a hike and then went home to our own beds to sleep).
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Seen on fb: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. ~Alfred Wainwright
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I took the kids to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We had a large van that had a back seat that went flat. That made it so much better when I had a comfortable place to sleep. My kids love to backpack, but that is a little too roughing it for me. I tend to rate places on mosquitoes as they seem to love me.
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Way. Too. Hot.
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No crazy folk on here tonight? Don’t say anything if you can not say something nice.
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Actually, Donna, I am just in from walking the grounds, and sitting on the back deck in the nice breeze, listening to the wind in the trees. Very relaxing. We do have a nice little guest room.
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The dogs and I ran away to the cliffs tonight. Temperatures in the 60s. Fog. Walked, talked with a few people, sat on a bench and read my Bible. Hung around long enough to see the first part of the Shakespeare by the Sea performance. Two small children attached themselves to me.
We’re all trying to clean up our act and make everything look normal for AJ’s return.
Did anyone clean the cake off the walls yet?
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Some rather prophetic commentary — from 9 years ago — from Piper on the state of the culture:
http://www.dennyburk.com/john-piper-on-gay-marriage-and-the-supreme-court/
“To get right to the point, today the Constitution is being ‘amended,’ whether we like it or not. That is, courts are finding there what never was there in any of the authors’ minds, namely, a right to marriage between two men or two women. This kind of so-called interpretation creates out of nothing a definition of marriage that has never existed. In other words, the question is not whether the Constitution will be amended concerning the meaning of marriage and the rights of homosexual people to marry; the question is simply how it will be amended. Will it be by the means established by the Constitution itself? Or will it be by the Supreme Court creating a meaning for the Constitution which was never there in the authors’ farthest imaginations? ….
“Being Christian pilgrims in American culture does not end our influence, it takes the swagger out of it. We don’t get cranky when evil triumphs for a season. We don’t whine when things don’t go our way. We are not hardened with anger. We understand. What’s happening is not new. The early Christians were profoundly out of step with their culture. The Imperial words of Christ were ringing in their ears: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44).”
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if you really want it cooler, check out the weather in Cairns. For the gals, I have some extra beds in my room, just hop on a flight.
Enjoyed the thoughts from Piper, Donna.
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Jo, if I could, I would! I’ve always wanted to visit Australia.
But today, I get to be in the toddler room again. Such sweet little ones. I guess they’re going to be my fix until grandkids come along.
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We’re in for another hot one out here, today’s supposed to be our hottest day (and it’s still only in the high 80s, low 90s — so far — on the coast, but still …. ).
Link below: More on the possible effects of last week’s Supreme Court rulings and the future of the gospel in America.
(And how chilling that among the responses to the decision was the ringing of the bells at the National Cathedral; our news outlets out here also have given significant ink and air time to churches that are ‘celebrating’ this decision, including one of our local pastors here who “married” his partner at the denomination’s local synod yesterday).
The piece by Peter Jones:
http://theaquilareport.com/scotus-scotches-the-scriptures/
“…. This action by the Supreme Court will create major divisions with the Body of Christ. The cracks have appeared but now they will becomes canyons. Some churches will be silent on the whole issue of sexual sin. Some will even justify homosexuality as a ‘good’ thing. Others will seek to follow the clear teaching of Scripture and say what Paul said as he wrote to gay Rome:
“ ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed…’ (Rom 1:16-17) “
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Prior to his sermon on the ninth commandment about lying, the pastor made some comments on the Supreme Court ruling. He essentially said:
Nothing shakes God.
Our mission hasn’t changed.
We love everyone, everywhere.
We will minister to everyone.
Sin is sin.
Nothing is politically right if it is spiritually wrong.
His concern is that someday he may be accused of hate speech for preaching Gods word from the Bible.
He also preached a good sermon on truthfulness and integrity.
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I’m wondering if churches should leave behind their tax-exempt status in the near future. The less the church takes from the government, the more freedom it may be able to hold onto.
Well, big surprise, when I drove home from church I noticed little tufts of fog in the air and, lo and behold, there’s a wonderful cool breeze blowing through my neighborhood! And only 79 degrees outside, according to my car’s temp read out.
I have windows open with fans in them. Indoor temp in my house is still 81 degrees, but not bad with the cool wind coming in the windows.
it almost feels like the heat for us may have broken unexpectedly today.
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Communion caused a bit of a stir in church today. Rather than the plain, no-salt bland cracker squares we’re accustomed to, we bit into today’s offering to find crackers that were highly seasoned with onion and garlic.
Mmmm.
Is there any dip to go with that? 😉
I guess someone must have grabbed the wrong box at the market.
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Home again, home again, jiggidy jig…Washing clothes and cleaning house to repack Tuesday night and leave for Maryland Wednesday. There is a Sweet Baby Boy there who wants his MeMe to take him swimming.
Baby Girl is headed to Auburn with her cousin. It is a good thing. Perhaps she will get a glimpse at the Big Picture. Just praying for safe travels for a 22 year old and a 15 year old on the road for 3 or 4 hours tonight.
It was a good family reunion with the people we aren’t related to. The “other” side of the family invited us back for Thanksgiving if we didn’t have any other plans.
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Donna J, I think you are on to something. It would be good for the church if the government ended the tax exempt status of the church and ended the deductibility of contributions. It would hurt individual Christians, but it would be good for the church.
It would make clear what is already true- that the values of the church are opposed to the values of the US government. Choosing to be a Christian would really cost something; it would make you a member of a socially-ostracized group. We already are, but it helps to make things clear to all.
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Re tax exemption: I don’t care if contributions are tax deductible–in fact, it’s probably better if they aren’t. Let people do whatever they want with their money, whether it’s buying a house or giving the money away, and it’s none of the government’s business.
But I think there’s a very good argument for churches being tax exempt: the government isn’t over the church. Neither is the church over the government. The government is over its citizens, including church members; and pastors can speak prophetically to people, including government officials. But the government is not over the church, and thus has no authority to tax it. Likewise, the church is not over the government, and has no business giving it commands and expecting to be obeyed. (The church cannot declare that the government must shut down for a day of fasting and praying, for example, or tell it what laws to pass and expect to be obeyed.) The church can speak prophetically, and point out that abortion is evil, but it has no “authority” to command the laws it chooses; that is the government’s role. Similarly, the government cannot tell the church who it can or cannot marry, nor tell parents that they must or must not spank their children. Ecah institution has its own proper sphere. (The government can tax families, of course, because it is taxing citizens.)
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My husband and I and our elder daughter spent the afternoon at a state park, and then went out for ice cream. He and I got lots of photos (including my first pictures of chipmunks and a ladybug), and had a wonderful afternoon.
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I would not subject the church to income tax as it would be hard to define the church’s income and I wouldn’t want the IRS defining “deductible” expenditures. However, I think it may be time for the church to pay property tax on its real estate and vehicles. We could also pay sales tax on our purchases.
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Cheryl, you make some good points. But I sense now that being tax-exempt makes the church in some ways beholden to the government because of this special “status.” Isn’t that also what restrains the church in being involved in political affairs (though as a church member I believe lines should be drawn there from a theological standpoint for the wellbeing of the church).
On the other hand, being taxed I suppose would obviously further yoke the church to the government.
I never thought I’d say this, but I do sense a rapidly growing hostility to the faith within our nation, including within the government itself.
I’m praying that some of these recent trends will catch the peoples’ attention enough to awaken them. We could see some push-back. But that’s a long-shot at this point I’m afraid. So many Americans are no longer invested in any established church and a good many of those, I fear, won’t shed a tear if churches get (figuratively) beat up a little bit. Partly the church’s fault, I know. I suspect we became a bit too comfortable over the past 100+ years or more. 😦
A number of my colleagues (at mine and other papers) are raising children specifically without faith. I think we already have essentially an unchurched generation stepping into positions of control in society.
Ah, “But God … ”
It’s a phrase — and a truth — I have to keep reminding myself of, over and over again.
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But there’s plenty to be concerned about …
http://washingtonexaminer.com/gay-marriage-fight-now-becomes-a-religious-liberty-fight/article/2532529
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