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Our Daily Thread 10-17-13

Good Morning!

On this day in  1777 American troops defeated British forces in Saratoga, NY. It was the turning point in the Revolutionary War.

In 1888 the first issue of “National Geographic Magazine” was released at newsstands.

In 1931 Al Capone was convicted on income tax evasion and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939.

In 1939 “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” premiered.

And in 1978 President Carter signed a bill that restored full U.S. citizenship rights to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

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Quote of the Day

“You know, I had a couple hundred jumps in my career, and I made most of them, but the ones they show over and over are the ones when I crashed.”

Evel Knievel

(Robert Craig Knievel)

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Today is Ian Eskelin’s birthday.

Today is Trey McClurkin’s birthday. He was a founding member of Skillet. I couldn’t find anything that old, but I’m not gonna miss a chance to play one of my favorites. 🙂

Today is also the fake Alan Jackson’s birthday. 🙂

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Anyone have a QoD?

102 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 10-17-13”

  7. What is an Aggie anyway?

    Sounds about as scary as a Cornhusker, or a Sooner, or maybe a Volunteer. Doesn’t really strike fear into an opponent now does it? Tigers, Gators, and The Fighting Irish at least sound scary, even if they’re not. 🙂

    And The Crimson Tide? That only sounds scary if you’re swimming at the beach, otherwise, not so much.

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  11. I have a QoD. It’s been in my mind for a while based on comments here about what folks do on their weekends. Do you have any angst about shopping on Sundays? Are we still commanded to hold it as a sacred day of rest? If so, what should that look like for us and for others who serve and wait on us when we shop and eat out? My answer is that it does bother me but I sometimes do it, anyhow. Pretty wishy-washy, right?

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  12. Texas A&M is a combination major state university and a cult. During the last 45 years it has undergone a major transformation. It used to be the Texas version of VMI or the Citadel. Now it has grown to be the size of the University of Texas with a similar academic reputation. Amazingly, it has maintained a large part of the atmosphere of a military school. Conservative rural and suburban Texans with good grades now go to A&M.

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  13. Linda, I do have qualms about it. But we always go out for lunch after church on Sunday.
    Most of us keep all the other commandments faithfully, but we regularly break the fourth about the Sabbath. I have no qualms about the day, but I try to make Sunday a different day. It is a different day.
    I try not to shop on Sunday.
    I only buy gas when necessary on Sunday.
    I don’t cut grass, etc. on Sunday.
    In the early sixties, there was general brouhaha in Fort Worth about stores opening on Sunday. A manager said, “If church people didn’t shop on Sunday, we couldn’t stay open.”

    I really came here to say that the name could be “Raging Democroats” or worse, “Voting Democrats”. That is really scary.

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  14. AJ, Tennessee “Volunteers” are not Peace Corps types. Tennessee earned the reputation of sending volunteer soldiers to help fight in the Texas Revolution (Davy Crockett), the Mexican War and the other war that followed 15 years later.

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  15. Concerning the name “Redskins” that is going on now.
    I say, leave it alone. They were Redskins for decades. There has always been controversy. There has to be something boiling over all the time. If it isn’t Redskins, it’s something else.
    Always something.
    I think there should be a team in El Paso calling “Fighting Gringos”.
    In Oklamahome called, “Fighting Palefaces”.
    In San Francisco’s Chinatown called “Round Eyed Devils”.
    Lots of options. Go for it.

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  16. Also, many of the Overmountain Men that fought at Kings Mountain were Tennessee men.
    They were just mountain men who didn’t want the British (or anyone else) messsing with their lives. They wanted to be left alone, that’s all.
    Major Furgeson, BTW, is reported to have said, “Not even God can get me off this mountain”. They proved him correct, so far. He’s still there.

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  17. There will be A Cock fight in Knoxville thsi Saturday.
    I hope Peter doesn’t include Purdue – Michigan State in the picks this week. I’m afraid it will be a slaughter and I have to go with the Boilers. Heart over mind.

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  21. Lots of chat here this morning.

    I shop infrequently on Sundays. I prefer not to. I have a friend who suggested Sabbath is sundown to sundown so it’s okay to shop and dine out on Sunday evenings. I am trying to have a quick and easily prepared meal after church on Sundays, but we still sometimes get fast food. When I was a child and a cafeteria style dining place opened near our church, our family went there for Sunday dinner.

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  22. Linda, the Charleston, SC pro baseball team used to be called the “Charleston Rebels”. For some reason now, they’re called the “River Rats”.
    I hpe Ol’ Miss doesn’t change it’s name. The names give character to the team.
    And somebody will be offended. Someone is always offended.

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  23. 1. I heard recently the Washington Redskins were going ahead with their name change—they are embarrassed to be associated with Washington DC.

    2. There is a huge double standard in this country. The Confederate Flag is NOT a symbol of hate, it is a symbol of a people who were standing up for their belief in State’s Rights over Federal Rights. It is interesting that this argument is now being used by some other states now over various issues from Obamacare to Gun Rights. Perhaps Idaho Mike with log in to that discussion, he and I talked it almost to death and he had some really good points.

    3. I am of two minds about doing things on Sunday. There have been times when it was the only time I could clean my house or mow my lawn. In real estate you mostly work every Saturday. I have found mowing the grass both a chore and a mindless, relaxing activity. I will shop on Sunday, because sometimes it is the only time I have to do so. I really do try to protect Sundayrather than show property. We recently had this discussion at church during a Vestry Meeting. I made the comment that the Sabbath was set aside as a day of rest. If you work Sunday, you need to take another day for rest. If you take away in one area, you must give back in another. It is all about balance.

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  24. Thought for the day:

    “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
    Eph. 6:12

    When we consider that we are losing freedom, that Christianity is being attacked, sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes not so subtle, we think we are losing the battle. But we may be fighting the wrong war. Paul says it’s a spiritual battle. Then he tells us how to dress for the fight.
    Note, that the Sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon we have.

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  25. Good evening, Jo. Good morning to everyone else! I’m headed to a Montessori school this morning and then to St. Anne’s Catholic for tours. I’ve ruled out almost every school I’ve visited and I’m running out of options. This is one of those times that I really wished we lived in town, instead of way out in the ‘burbs as there are many more private schools to choose from in the city. Alas, my husband would never agree to move into the city–so I’ve got to work with what’s here. I’m getting a might discouraged. Prayers for discernment would be appreciated.

    Rickyweaver: My eldest (14) thinks she’d like to attend either Baylor or A&M. I vote for Baylor, as both my husband and I were Longhorns (University of Texas), but wouldn’t mind seeing her at A&M either. I was pretty liberal at age 18 and a professed atheist and didn’t like A&M one bit when I visited at the beginning of my senior year of high school. But, I think it would be a good fit for her. It’s a good school and I’d much rather see her there than UT. Of course, it’s become extremely competitive to get into A&M if one isn’t in the top 10%, but she’s smart and makes good grades, so we’ll see. She is in 8th grade this year and is currently taking three high school credit courses. She has earned A’s in all of them thus far.

    QoD: I think it’s sad that all of the blue laws are off the books. I feel sorry for all the people who have to work on Sundays, especially those who aren’t in the medical field. I generally don’t shop on Sundays or Saturdays because I really don’t like crowds. As a stay-at-home mom, I’m able to do this, which I realize is a luxury. Sometimes, I have to take one of the girls shopping on the weekend, and then we do it on Saturday. We do allow elder daughter to participate in horse shows which are held primarily on Sundays, but I don’t like it. I think it should be a day of reverence–but it is hard to do in our 24/7 culture.

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  26. I realized long ago I needed to differentiate Sunday. So while I live in grace, I try very hard not to do laundry and not to shop. I give myself permission to read the paper and do the crossword puzzle as long as I like. I did a lot of yard work on Sunday because I like being outside–work yes, but pleasant and different.

    We follow a 150 year tradition and always have pasta for dinner, sauce usually made in advance.

    Unfortunately my husband likes to relax on Saturdays, so we’re often at odds . . .

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  27. I am afraid, I will always be a Confederate Rebel at heart. I was at my wife’s cousin’s house one Christmas. Her husband was from Michigan and had written several books on the War Between the States. He was bragging about how the North had conquered the South. I asked him what he knew about Stonewall Jackson. His comment was “other than being a traitor” or words to that effect. I was hot. I left the room and refused to eat with them. Later on he snidely came up to me and said “all right illuminate me.” I explained that Stonewall Jackson was the only Confederate General to be honored in a Black Baptist Church. He then became curious. I explained that Jackson was ostracized by his students at VMI because he had decided to defy Virgina Law by teaching slaves how to read and write along with supporting a Sunday School Class at a Free Black Church in Richmond. It is quite irritating sometimes when you see the woefully ignorant people that spew their vitriol and refuse to even consider all the facts.

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  30. To what extent is the Lord’s day a Sabbath akin to the Old Testament (Saturday) Sabbath, and how is it different?

    Jesus spoke directly to the idea of legalistically keeping a Sabbath when He healed people on that day, scandalizing the Pharisees. And then it was changed from the last day of the week to the first day of the week, in honor of the Resurrection. But to what extent did the apostles treat the new Lord’s day the same as the old Sabbath? Was the Sabbath ever a day of corporate worship, or just a day of rest? I don’t know.

    For me, I’ve always avoided shopping on Sunday, though if I need one or two items and really can’t wait, I’ll get them. (That may be once a year, probably less if anything.) I do go out to eat on Sundays sometimes, which may be inconsistent, but in Nashville Sunday lunches with friends from church were sometimes the ONLY meal of the whole week I didn’t eat by myself, and it was necessary to have that one meal. And preparing a meal is hardly “restful,” so I told my husband I don’t want to “worry about” meals on Sunday, so sometimes we get fast food on the way home from church (the route only has two options of places), and sometimes I do something simple, such as leftovers or sandwiches.

    I also avoid working on Sundays. When I wasn’t self-employed, I simply had no Sunday availability, period, and I was not flexible on that. (At McDonald’s they would sometimes schedule me on Sunday, and I told them flat-out no, I can’t work it. “Just this one time” wasn’t something I accepted; my sister accepted that periodically and they’d schedule her on Sunday in a few more weeks. I held to my firm no, and never worked on Sunday.) Now that I’m self-employed, in ten years I’ve had either two or three times I have felt that I had to work on Sunday in order to keep to a Monday deadline (a promise), but that’s always afternoons, not interfering with church, and it’s only if I truly have to. I also realized a few years ago that working until one or two in the morning was working on Sunday, and it interfered with my ability to be rested, so I made a firm commitment to stop by midnight if I worked Saturday night. I’ve worked five or ten minutes past midnight a couple of times, when I’m wrapping up a project and not quite finished, but as a rule I’ve held to that and don’t work a minute past. A bit “legalistic,” but it’s a boundary that works. (It isn’t relevant now that I’m married and we go to bed earlier, anyway.)

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  35. Janice, you probably need to adjust your entry lines when you start to comment. I usually check them.

    Kim, that’s a nice testimony.

    Janice, fifty years ago we would not have had open homosexuals in the scouts, men marrying men, nor boys claiming to be transgendered and being allowed in girls restrooms. We woulud not have the near pornographic TV shows that are reported to be on. (I have never watched a “reality show” nor a “real housewives” nor the groun up Hanna Montana, though I have seen her on the news.)
    We would not be deleting all references to God in public places.

    Remember Ephesians 6:12. It’s a spiritual battle.
    It appears that the prince of darkness is winning. But I read the last chapter.

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  38. Hubby just commented on how this blog was such a blessing to me. And that I found you guys before World became useless to us non-subscribers. I do find you all to be a great blessing and enjoy the discussions and caring found on this site.

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  39. AJ, since no one from Texas will answer you, I believe Texas A&M is the Agricultural college in Texas, to instead of being the Farmers they decided Aggie sounded better.

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  40. We’re hanging out in our former stomping grounds in Alberta this week. I had lunch with a good friend (former pastor’s wife), and today we’re having supper with their whole family and then heading off to see another close family for birthday cake and hopefully we’ll be able to meet up with one of the young men who used to attend our youth group when we were leaders. He has turned into the nicest young gentleman and will be getting married next summer. Our son also took hubby to a concert last night – they had a great father/son time and I read my new book, “A Log Cabin Christmas” until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. It’s been a good week. Today we spend shopping and shopping and shopping (less tax here).

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  41. We usually do our shopping on Sunday. We don’t like to, but it makes practical sense when you live so far from town and are in anyways for church. We also eat out after church, usually fast food, as we wouldn’t be home in time for lunch (and the grumpiness would outstrip any sacredness of the day). Tim’s job requires him to work Sundays from late spring to early fall so Monday or Tuesday usually become a day of rest for him. I still feel bad when we shop etc on Sunday but… I will not do laundry or non-fun yard work on Sunday. I agree with Cheryl that preparing a meal and cleaning up afterwards is definitely work.

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  42. As a Christian I celebrate the Lord’s Day and Jesus is my Sabbath Rest.

    I worked at a large department store in the 60’s when the store decided to stay open on Sundays. Working was on a volunteer basis, but I do not think the store had trouble finding workers. At the time, I could attend church on either Sat. evening or Sunday morning. Plus the store was not opened until after noon. Interestingly, many businesses still shutdown from noon to three on Good Fridays during that period.

    As with many things, our working or shopping etc. on Sunday can be legalistic or from the heart. We cannot judge that. We can become quite picky in looking for loopholes or judging others. None of that is good.

    I believe God knew man can forget that everything really comes from Him. We can get caught up in working ourselves to death or distracting ourselves with entertainment, hobbies etc. to the point of forgetting the most important things.

    I am blessed with time to spend time in God’s word. It is a daily thing. Not a Sunday thing. However, Sunday is a day for church for me. It is a day of rest, which means I do not do the normal work I must the other days of the week. I will shop if it is convenient, because I am in town and do not want to make another trip or if I really need something. Eating out is a regular ritual after church. I have no qualms about doing so.

    Jesus had no qualms about doing good on Sundays. It is interesting how much that question was used by the Pharisees to fight Jesus and refuse to believe. Jesus tells us the Sabbath was made for man. There is purpose in it, as there is with all the laws given to us. We do well to study the issue and walk in wisdom. Comparison to others means little, however.

    I think it is sad that for most people Sunday is just another day and is treated as such. Schools no longer hold even that day special. It does show how we have fallen as a nation. Laws will not help that change, but heart change is needed.

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  43. I also wanted to mention that one of the stories in A Pioneer Christmas was set in the time and place of the battle Chas talks about. I knew next to nothing about it, so found the story interesting (in addition to the plot).

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  44. I was reading in The American Spectator about Ted Cruz talking about going to see “Rambo” with his father. It occurred to me that I never saw a movie with my father, or mother. I don’t know if my father ever saw a movie. I saw “Gone With the Wind” with someone, but I don’t remember who. I always saw cowboy movies. I remember the first “romance’ movie I ever saw was “Take A Letter Darling”. Forgot the actors. I took Chuck to several movies. I think the first one was “The Daring Young Men in their Flying Machines”. A WW I semi-romance movie. Not much good.

    This blog is keeping me from getting much reading done.
    😦

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  45. Thank you Kim. 🙂

    I’d rather be called a farmer than Aggie. That sounds like a girls name. 😯

    Oh c’mon, at least half of you think that too. 🙂

    But again, it’s not striking fear into anyone.

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  46. From Wikipedia,

    “…the Texas Legislature renamed the school to Texas A&M University in 1963. The letters “A&M”, originally short for “Agricultural and Mechanical”, are retained only as a link to the university’s past. The school’s students, alumni, and sports teams are known as “Aggies”.”

    Me and football? I am out of football. I was a Los Angeles Rams fan…gone. I went to Long Beach State College…gone. (Now CSULB) I rooted for the Long Beach State 49ers…gone. (No football team.)

    My father went to UCLA. I am a Bruins fan. My mother went to UC Irvine. Zot! One sister went to USC. I am a Trojan fan. One brother went to Cal Poly, SLO. Go Mustangs. My little sister went to TAMU. Go Aggies. Another brother went to Cal State Stanislaus. Go Warriors.

    As you can see, I have to ride coat tails.

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  47. Janice is looking a little green.

    I somehow got slammed with a pretty good head cold overnight — burning sore throat, completely stuffed up — so I’m staying home today, although I still need to coordinate a phone interview with our county supervisor, the only missing piece in a story I filed yesterday that’s running tomorrow. But it shouldn’t be a problem to get a quote or two and send it over by email to add.

    I also think Sunday should be observed as a Sabbath, but I’ve not been rigid about that when it comes to picking up groceries on the way home from church to use for work lunches later in the week. And if a friend wants to grab a meal out, I’ll go since that’s not a weekly occurrence and, as Cheryl pointed out, when you’re single it’s just kind of nice to eat with someone now and again.

    And I will throw in laundry on Sunday evenings, but I hardly consider that a chore for a single person who has a working washer & dryer. 😉

    But definitely no “shopping” shopping, like going to a mall or store other than for groceries. (A Christian friend who is more of the nondenominational variety I think finds it odd, once she called after church wanting me to go with her to an antique store where she saw some dishes she wanted — I went but must have said something about how unusual it was for me to be going to a store-store on a Sunday and she made some crack about how it’s nothing that would even cross her mind, as in I was being legalistic I guess — the store was closed when we got there, though. 🙂 )

    For the most part I’m left off the Sunday rotating schedules for work (I do Saturdays instead). But when our coastal road collapsed in the rain a couple years ago it was on a Sunday, so sometimes “work” happens.

    It is odd for me to listen to co-workers or see their posts about going on Sunday morning hikes and basically treating the day like I treat Saturdays.

    On the Confederate flag, it’s a matter a perception — and the general perception is that it hints of our country’s racist past. So when I see people waving old dixie at Tea Party or other conservative movement demonstrations, I admit that I cringe, knowing it’ll be picked up and blown up all over TV. Sorry, but it’s simply self-defeating and is too easily used as a broadside against a group or movement. I can’t tell you how often I saw that photo from the demonstration last week — one guy, mind you, but he got ALL the attention — posted by my liberal friends on FB, saying See? That’s what these people really are all about, returning to the days of segregation and saying a black man shouldn’t be in the White House. Underneath it all, it’s all about race for them.

    Groan.

    Sometimes perception is everything, sadly, and that became the message for many people. So personally I think the flag is simply a lightning rod that backfires horribly as conservatives struggle to find a voice and offer an alternative to people who are surely looking for one nowadays.

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  48. I also think we err in focusing too much on what shouldn’t be done on the Lord’s Day as opposed to what should be done — as in reading & meditating on the Scriptures, using the time perhaps for extended prayer that we find hard to fit in during the week.

    And on much of that I stand convicted.

    But it’s a day that’s set apart, a day in which our focus simply should be different — a day set aside to spend more time on spiritual pursuits.

    We don’t lay aside work and shopping in order to indulge in long naps or watch TV news, but rather to dedicate some time to our relationship with God.

    Again, I too often stand guilty.

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  51. Donna, that’s why I think he was a MSNBC plant.
    It’s all they talked about. I didn’t see it on CNN and they only showed once on Fox.
    Do I think MSNBC would plant a fake flag?
    Do I think Obama would lie?
    You know it.

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  52. A plant, maybe, but I doubt it. I rather suspect he was just a guy who was doing pretty much his own thing. And the media, of course, basically hit pay dirt with it. 😉

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  54. OK, is anyone else getting just a little tired of seeing actor William Devane peddling magical gold investments for retirement on TV as he gallops across his big spread of a horse ranch, flies his private plane over the mountains and lounges in his lush, well-appointed wood-panneled den? 😉 Sheesh.

    Yep. It’s a sick day, sniffling and watching stupid daytime television, complete with commercials.

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  55. Donna: one word – DVR. Record enough stuff that mildly interests you and save them up for a rainy (or sick) day. You could be watching tons of NCIS reruns, instead.

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  57. Home and “Numb’s the word.”

    The worst part is not being able to get a good breath while all that work is being done in the mouth. At one point I could get good intake of air but the outflow was blocked so I was sounding like I had a wheeze. It was making me realize what my son must have felt at times when he suffered from asthma. Good to be back home. I was blessed to not need a root canal. I did not realize my dentist does not do root canals and would have sent me elsewhere if that had been needed.

    The piped in music was playing “Hurt So
    Bad” when my dentist first walked into the room so I told him it wasn’t a good song for his office. At the end of my visit I asked him if he has to routinely replace the arms on the patient’s chairs because people grip them so tightly. He thought that was funny and laughed more than I had ever seen him laugh before. It was a serious question that I guess no one else had asked him before.

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  59. That whole Confederate flag thing is a bit much for this Yankee. It’s a flag, and a part of history, as is the Gadsen. Just because liberals have hijacked it to be a symbol of something bad, doesn’t change the historical significance or what it actually represented to southerners. Get over it already.

    I frequently watch MSNBC, for amusement and to see what they’re up to. You can get the White House talking points there before Obama even starts to use them in speeches. 🙂

    Anyway, one of the talking heads was going on and on about all these confederate flags at the Veterans March, and that surely it was a sign of those racist Tea Partiers. Problem was, every shot of a flag they showed was the same guy, from different angles. Sometimes you’d see just the arm waving the flag, and it was the same shirt on the one actual guy there with one. Just pathetic.

    And it says a lot about liberals who watch it for their news. If they are so easily propagandized, you can kinda see where the “low information voter term” thing comes in. They think they’re informed, but all they know is mostly talking points. It’s a shame because most aren’t stupid at all, just easily mislead. The new propaganda regs will allow this type of spoon feeding to continue, but on steroids. Voters will be hammered with it. Sad. But as long as the like-minded main stream media play along, this is the way it will be.

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  64. Mr P and I had this argument over lunch. Remember I am in a mixed marriage. He is a Yankee and is more liberal than I am. He repeats the liberal talking point that Republican’s and Tea Party people are racist and a think a black man doesn’t deserve to be the president. Finally I had enough. I am as Southern as they come. I few of you have actually heard me speak. I was born and raised in South Alabama home of the Birdie Mae Davis DeSegregation Law Suit. I grew up hearing those around me refer to Black people as Negras (soft e sound ah instead of long O).
    WE DON’T CARE THAT HE IS HALF AFRICAN!!!!!! We care that he came out of no where. Has no experience, and is a major screw up waiting to happen. His first days in office he managed to offend most of our allies and apologized to all of our enemies. Like Chas has told us, HE is more qualified to be President than the one we have.

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  65. Speaking of mixed marriages, I think I have determined why the SEC dominates football. It, like Judah, is pure. It is 100% Southern (Missouri was a slave state). The Big 12 is mixed like Samaria. Three schools are Southern (Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU); three are Yankee (Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State); two are Okie (OU and Okie State); and two are scalawag (West Virginia and the Longhorns).

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  66. I have seen the the commercial often, but didn’t pay attention.
    Chas was indeed more qualified than Obama.
    I was a Star Scout, Order of the Arrow.
    My military record is better than his.
    My education record is better than his.
    My government service is longer and better than his.
    I can make a speech without using a teleprompter.
    And my record in the Senate is almost as good

    A guy asked, “Then why don’t you run for president?”
    I said, “I don’t have the media in my pocket and don’t look good on television.”

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  67. Busy day for you all. Busy week for me. I have had to get things ready for a substitute teacher since I am going to a conference tomorrow. It is a lot more work to get something ready for students that they’ll understand and that they will have a challenge. And enough work to fill the time so they don’t drive the sub crazy.

    I also just got around to it and sent AJ the college football picks. Don’t worry, Chas, it does not include Purdue this week.

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  68. Yep, that’s William Devane, laughing because he’s got millions of dollars and a horse ranch. Actors apparently have very nice retirements. 😉 Why don’t the use real people and real retirement visions for these ads?

    Oh yeah. I guess maybe then they wouldn’t sell so much of that gold. 🙄

    I’m watching “1984” which I thought I’d seen before but hadn’t (the one with John Hurt that came out in 1984). I read the book years ago, but don’t particularly remember that much about it.

    And still waiting for the county supervisor to call — which means I can lie down and sleep like I’d like to or go out and get the cold medication I need. Ugh.

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  70. Wow, busy thread today! Like walking into a crowded room for me! My internet’s out at home, and I’ll be logged off of this library computer in three minutes. Have a good morning/afternoon/evening (fill in the appropriate time for yourself), all. 😉

    Home to my arrows now. 🙂

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  71. The movie is pretty grim. But the supervisor called so that’s finally out of the way, with the exception of trying to figure out how and where to get the new material plugged into the already existing story without having to go in for a few minutes.

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  73. lost my comment since I wasn’t logged into the internet 😦

    CHAS for President!
    I try to keep Sunday restful and won’t go to school, only work on my Bible lesson by studying the scripture.

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  76. OK. Something is driving me up a wall and I don’t quite know how to handle it. I have a lifelong friend, we grew up in competition with each other, our lives have paralled each others in a lot of ways and gone in totally opposite directions in other ways. She NEVER misses a chance to say something in any comment about how life is when you have a gifted child. My child is not gifted. She is normal. I would rather her be “normal” and function around people than be gifted, ride horses, play the violin, dance, and all that other stuff. I don’t think the poor child has a chance to relax. This afternoon she made yet another comment about having been out of town and having to catch up on all “Child’s” homework from all her gifted classes…”such is life with a gifted child…”

    I am about to snap and say something really ugly. How would any of you handle this? It has been going on for years now.

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  77. Hello, all. Well, tomorrow I am visiting the last possible private, Christian school within 30 minutes of my home. Becca is scheduled to shadow another second grade student from 8:00 to 11:00. I’ll take a tour after getting her situated. I am praying the school will be a good fit. It’d be awesome if anyone could pray for her during this time. She sometimes has anxiety when in new environments and I am so hoping she likes it. I have read everything about the school online and agree with their theology and philosophy of education. It is a Lutheran (Missouri Synod), K-8 school that feeds into the Lutheran High School L. (older daughter) will be attending in the fall.

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  78. Ann, you have mentioned Becca’s anxiety several times. Have you tried giving her inositol? I have recommended it several times for those who have trouble sleeping, but it also helps with anxiety. You can find it in the vitamin section of your local health food store but in a pinch–like TONIGHT or in the morning you can get it at a local pharmacy. It is one of the B vitamins. It’s worth a try.

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  79. I watched the gold commercial. How coincidental that I saw it today and they offer a, safe in which to keep your gold investment. Well, today I am making a major investment by buying a gold crown and I will safely keep it hidden away on my back tooth. The dentist said gold will last longer than porcelain and since it is in the back…I guess I won’t be too flashy.

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  80. Janice, haha. Yeah, silly me, I forgot to buy a safe! 🙂 Who are these people??

    So after I got that phone interview wrapped up and written up, I dragged myself out to the CVS, my head pounding, to buy some cold medication. I looked horrible, no makeup, tattered Tshirt.

    And, wouldn’t you know it, I ran into several people I know, including one guy who talked and talked and talked and talked — we were standing in the hot sun and I was carrying two heavy shopping bags (I’d also picked up OJ, soup and a large bottle of diet 7-up). Thought I was going to pass out!

    And while we were talking a neighbor tapped me on the shoulder and we exchanged a few niceties.

    I finally broke away but as soon as I drove up into the driveway, another neighbor came out, talking and talking … 😉

    Now it’s 5 p.m. and I can finally take a nap on my “sick” day. 🙄

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  82. So, I just put on a different Christmas CD and one of the children said, hey, is that Alan Jackson’s Christmas Cd? Never having played it before or ever playing Alan Jackson except on here, I was quite surprised. Such fame. Such notoriety.

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  84. Kim, would it help to view the giftedness rather like an affliction so that you can feel pity for your friend? I guess you feel her mention of it is meant as a put down of you for having one that is not labeled as “gifted.” I have not found it to be an advantage in many ways to have a gifted child. Academically, yes, but that is totally offset by lack of athletic skills that was further lessened by the asthma. I partly liked homeschool because it gave us a break from all that comparison of children in academics and sports and uber social skills. Is your friend’s child all around gifted or is it just in certain areas as is typical? There is a girl at church who seems all around gifted to me. I am just in awe that God gives such abilities and hope that she can live up to the purposes God has for her life. In general, I personally don’t do so well with people who want to set me up to be in some competition. I try to avoid being around them. I don’t know if any of this helps. Hope somehow it might.

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  85. Annms, I struggled early on in preschool selection for my son. Later I struggled with selection of a Boy Scout troop. I tried to find groups of children who were seeming to be considerate and using good language. You can supplement with extra things to reinforce academics at home. To me it seems the interactions between the students and with the teachers is most important at that level. You need teachers that will foster a love of learning and not squelch it with busy work. I will pray for Becca. If she can get lots of exercise that, too, will help take her mind off her problems and help her to get good sleep. Plenty of calcium is good, too.

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  86. I usually avoided talking about having a ‘gifted’ child, for the reason Kim wrote about. There are special considerations and challenges with these children. There are also parents who like to brag, whether about their child’s athletic abilities, looks, artisticness etc. I ended up with a child who thought she had to hide her intelligence by 2nd grade, because I was so careful not to hurt anyone else’s feelings.. There is a happy medium. If it is about bragging, if it isn’t about ‘giftedness’, it would be something else. I would ignore it.

    Donna–my husband and I have a running joke about those commercials. We talk about how we just love running our toes through all our gold coins. The commercials remind me of King Midas.

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  88. On the matter of going out to eat on a Sunday – Please tip well. The “after church crowd” is known for being lousy tippers. Whether that is true or a stereotype, I don’t know. I’ve seen a photo of what looks like a $10 bill, but on the back it is a tract. Not cool.

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  89. Kim, maybe point her to this article I posted here not too long ago about the pressure children are under when others often speak of their natural intelligence — or giftedness — as opposed to their effort. They become so wrapped up in maintaining that image, that they become afraid to take risks and make mistakes, and inhibit their ability to deal with any failures they may experience. Creativity is stifled, and willingness to apply effort when facing new challenges, which are certain to come along in life, is diminished. Rather a sad way to go through life, afraid of being discovered that they’re not gifted in everything, and unable to move beyond natural ability, which is limited when no additional effort is applied.

    http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/

    But I also think Kathaleena’s response was a good one — to just ignore her. But if you feel like you’ve got to say something, maybe you could point out some of the research in the above link. If the mother is talking that often about her child’s giftedness with you, she’s probably doing it a lot with others, too, and it’s likely her daughter is frequently getting that message, at least from her and likely others, too. So pointing out the drawbacks of children whose giftedness is often emphasized might give her some food for thought and tone down the frequency of her references to her daughter’s abilities.

    Just my two cents.

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  102. I passed out right after I typed that. But now it’s 3 a.m. and my face is throbbing (love sinus headaches). I just got out of a long steamy shower so that helped clear me out, but why are cold just SO much worse in the middle of the night??

    And what’s the best thread to use to repair (by hand) a flannel dog bed?

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