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Our Daily Thread 12-5-13

Good Morning!

20 Days Until Christmas!

Note to all, to comment click the post title, or one of the Christmas balls to the left of the title.

On this day in 1782 the first native U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, NY. 

In 1848 President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of ’49 by confirming the fact that gold had been discovered in California. 

In 1901 movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago.

In 1908, at the University of Pittsburgh, numerals were first used on football uniforms worn by college football players. 

In 1933 Prohibition came to an end when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

And in 1945 the so-called “Lost Squadron” disappeared. The five U.S. Navy Avenger bombers carrying 14 Navy flyers began a training mission at the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station. They were never heard from again.

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Quote of the Day

“There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.”

George Armstrong Custer

Turns out that wasn’t true. 😯

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Since today in 1791 is the day that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died, we’ll start with him. “Exsultate, jubilate” from Christmas in Vienna 2011.

This one my wife requested. From ManorHouseMusic

And it’s Jose’ Carreras’ birthday. So here he is doing “White Christmas,” with some help.

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Anyone have a QoD?

56 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-5-13”

  3. Must be a new format because yesterday’s posts have transformed into this.
    When Donna says “it’s cold outside”, what does she mean?
    Enough of this, I have things to do.

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  4. It’s just for the holidays Chas.

    If you all look at today’s posts compared to yesterday’s, you will notice a difference in the size of the lettering. Do you prefer the slightly smaller type for today’s post, or the larger lettering from yesterday?

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  8. When Donna says it’s cold outside, she doesn’t really mean it! We have a windchill today of -29F. THAT’S COLD. And I’ve come down with a cold. Makes for a miserable day, but I get to work with a bunch of fun people so we will all comment about how cold it is and still have a good day.

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  9. I love the Christmassy look. Kare I am sorry for you. My air condition is currently running. The humidity is high. Of course that isn’t stopping the flu from making it’s appearance. Several people at work have it. I am staying out of the office as much as possible.
    I have finally caved in and have gone back to my old habits. When I wake up in the middle of the night I am turning the tv on. I am recording something on the History Channel about the Bible revealed or some such. For the past two nights I haven’t made it through an hour long show.
    Last night they were talking about the Gnostic Gospels and the historical Jesus. It is interesting, but really doesn’t change my mind on anything. I do think the History of Christianity is fascinating. I would probably love to go back and study it more.
    Last night there was a discussion on Facebook about Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas, etc. Our Tammy made some excellent posts about Christmas Trees vs the new “Holiday Tree” and some other points.

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  11. Nice Christmas decor for the website. I have to turn my phone sideways to see the posts. The gravatars include a lot of white space that covers the comments when the phone is vertical.

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  13. Good frosty morn to you all….I love this festive look to the page AJ!
    We awakened to the most breathtaking scene outside today…it is currently -9 degrees..not a cloud in the blue blue sky, sun shining on the frosty pines, snow covering the land…oh the artistry of our Lord most High!
    Most of the schools are closed for the day…I’ll be staying home and addressing the last of the Christmas cards…this kind of weather gets me motivated to get things done!
    I turned on the TV last night just in time to see the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Square…as they turned on the lights, they sang Joy To The World…and they were wishing everyone a Merry Christmas…brought to tears to my eyes in light of all the “political correctness” in our society…Joy to the World indeed…the Lord has come!! 🙂

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  14. It’s a nice round zero here, with no wind. Chores ought to be exhilarating. My intrepid six year old and I often do them together these days. She is responsible for the firewood and I help her with the wheelbarrow. She helps me feed the guinea fowl and goats and walk Jake.

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  15. How is Jake, by the way? 🙂

    Wow, love the new festive look AJ! You always manage to surprise us.

    Kare, so sorry about the cold. Hope you feel better soon.

    Kim, they always go to the gnostic gospels and the “historical” Jesus. It’s a one-trick pony for left-leaning crowd. It probably at least sounded fresh at some point. But by now it’s just the same, tired mantra. Still, every Christmas and every Easter, that’s the way the world rolls with its special programming.

    I still remember suggesting to a young non-believing intern in our newsroom years ago that he read the gospels. “Oh,” he said excitedly, “I actually have started reading the Gospel of Thomas.”

    Oy.

    You guys, it really is cold here. Really.

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  16. Everyone in the country seems to be dealing with the cold and bad weather. Us mid-atlantic/east coasters are being spared though for the most part. We’re expecting rain and a high of 62 today. Weird.

    So I guess you could say we’re California cold, right Donna? 🙂

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  17. I like the font, but the comments column is too narrow. I suppose that is to make it easier to read on a cell phone. But on a wide screen like mine, Kim’s post @ 8:59 is cumbersome.

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  19. Some studies about the “Historical Jesus” give background of the times, the Pharisees, the Romans, etc. But as for Jesus, we already know everything there is to know. There is no other reliable source material thatn that which we have in the Gospels.
    A better study would be the intertestimental period. The time some, eroneiously in my opinion, call “the silent years”. God was not silent. I once taught a 13 hour session on the “between the testaments” period. It’s well worth studying.

    I taught adult SS over 25 years. Some questions I never heard.
    How did the Romans get into Israel? They weren’t there when we closed the OT.
    What was the synagogue? Why was it important? They didn’t have it in the OT.
    Who are the Pharisees and where did they come from? (Same for Sadusees and Herodians.)
    The Jews were looking for a military/political Messiah? Why?
    Who were these Samaritans and how did they get there?
    And some other obvious queries I can’t think of now.

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  20. Peter,

    That’s one of my biggest complaints with many of the options from WP. Too much wasted space on the sides on nearly all of them. Once this comes down after the holidays I’m trying one that doesn’t have so much, and will allow me to post photos to use some of it up as well. .

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  21. In all fairness to this program the night before was on another topic, but being as I used it to go back to sleep I cannot tell you what it was. It had to do with some Jewish history. I would love to study some of the questions Chas just asked.

    We now have an Elf on the Shelf! Should we have a naming contest?
    Baby Girl’s Elf was named Whitney. She was a good elf and didn’t leave messes like I have heard of some elf’s leaving.

    Disclaimer: I personally think Elf on a Shelf and Santa Claus are harmless. There is so little wonder left in childhood these days. I never got angry at my parents for not telling me the truth (we had other, larger issues to deal with than that) and I never had a problem with transitioning from Santa to not believing in God and Jesus. I have seen too much proof that They exist and can’t find a human behind that proof.

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  23. Chas, I’ve wondered about the synagogue and the Pharisees. I even heard some argument about whether we should or shouldn’t do something in worship as that the early church didn’t, based on synagogue worship, and I said where on earth did the synagogue come from, and how do we know they got it right?

    And why don’t Jews who don’t believe in Jesus stumble as they read the Scriptures and find sacrifices required on every page, and no way to make them? Judaism without sacrifice isn’t Judaism. Not even close.

    Wow, AJ, there’s even Christmas designs at the bottom of the page (once I finally got down here)! Someone seems to be ready for Christmas!

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  24. The wide sides are for you to put other things–like copies of your book, favorite posts, photos, and so forth–on most WordPress designs.

    How cold is it out here in poor California? I inadvertently tried to wash my windshield and it frosted over! I had to stop on the side of the road until the defroster caught up to melt the ice. 26 for us and I no longer own an ice scraper . . .

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  27. An illustration of what I mean occurs in John, Ch 4 where Jesus talks to the woman at the well. The woman, v. 20 asked where they should worship. Lots of preachers and teachers say the woman was trying to change the subject. But, really, she was asking a very perceptive question. “You say Jerusalem, I’ve always heard ‘this mountain’” That mountain was Mt. Gerizim. Now, I graduated from seminary without learning that the Samaritans had a temple on Mt. Grerzim for over 200 years, but now destroyed. That was their place of worship. It was a legitimate question. Jesus took it as a serious question.

    http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/temple-on-mount-gerizim

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  28. 😦 The entire comment, when transferred from the word processor, doesn’t show up in the comments section. Even when you click a couple of tmes. I may try to answer some of those questions when I have time. If there is somethng specific, ask. I may get to the synagogue issue later.

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  30. Um, Chas, you’re linking to an LDS site? 🙂

    AJ, my favorite time of the year is a little warmer. We aren’t supposed to get back UP to freezing for another week. Brrr!

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  31. So the year is coming to a close, how are we doing on our goals for this year? Reading the Bible through? Weight loss? Eating healthier? Exercise? What else were we throwing around last January?

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  34. Mumsee, I’m two or three days behind on reading the Bible through, but overall keeping up. My house has gotten a bit tidier as the year has gone on. Irregular exercise. Weight maintenance (which is what I want, not weight loss). I was also going to go through a book on drawing this year, and never did, but I did draw a few times (as I haven’t done in years). I also learned a new craft (though I don’t remember when I started doing that, maybe not this year). And I learned several new recipes.

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  35. Mumsee,

    Eating healthier and the weight loss is progressing nicely. I’ve lost a bunch in the last couple of months but refuse to weigh myself until I think I hit my goal. Close, but not quite.

    200 or bust! (48lbs and I know at least 40 are already gone)

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  36. very festive here. Nativity sets are done. Blessed by my aide doing the hot glue gun work.

    Aj, I couldn’t find where it said comments and almost couldn’t get on to read comments.

    on target to finish reading through the New Testament three times this year. To make the dates come out, I am rereading Romans!

    I will go back to the weight room today as my back feels a bit better.

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  38. The Winter Storm has arrived here in Oklahoma City and it is coming down a pretty good clip right now. It is cold too.

    I will be home for the Army Navy Game. Yee Haw. My daughter Helen works in a Day Care facility. One of her charges’ father is in the Army. Helen taught the baby to say Go Navy. Beat Army. 😆

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  39. Friday morning here and another day in the 70’s and 80’s! 🙂
    Just had a great (God) idea to dress up my kids and do a complete nativity scene for my newsletter. I have been praying for inspiration and my class is so cute and it would conclude this week’s Bible lesson.

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  40. Aj, it is nice to be all decorated, but with this layout you can’t see the snow falling! I think the snow is even better than the decorations. But I am where that is the only snow I will see.

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  41. We now have snow Jo.

    I know you’ve all heard me complain about Anne, Rachel, and everyone else from Credit Card Services blowing up my phone calling several times a day, every day.
    An attorney friend told me to report it to the State Attorney General every time they call and list each number they are using.
    If any of you are getting these harrassing calls I would ask that you go on line and report it to your State Attorney General. If you haven’t gotten any I would be happy to share some numbers with you. The latest one is from Etzen, MN 507-495-8742. Don’t try to call them yourselves, the number has been disconnected or is no longer in service.

    #dontmesswithkim

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  44. Kim: If I don’t recognize the area code when someone is calling, I let it go to voice mail. I figure someone I know will leave a message. 99% of the time there is no message.

    As for the snow falling, some of us discovered the move-the-mouse-move-the-snow feature last year.

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  45. AJ, tell your wife great choice with the ManorHouseMusic! Very enjoyable to both watch and listen to.

    BTW, nice Christmas look! Sixth Arrow likes it, too. You have inspired her — she told me that now she wants to have a blog someday. 🙂 She’ll have lots to say, I’m sure. She talks non-stop. 😉

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  51. Mumsee – I have kept up with my daily Bible reading, but that doesn’t count because it’s a habit I’ve had for years. But I have been more faithful & diligent in prayer this year, so that’s good, even if it wasn’t a resolution, either. 🙂

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  52. Looking forward to that, AJ and Cheryl. 🙂

    Mumsee — My Bible reading plan for this year was to read the OT (3 chapters per day six days per week) in my personal Bible time, and the NT (1 chapter per day five days per week) with the kids. I’m right on track with the OT, though I did get behind now and then this year, and just finished Hosea today and will read Joel tomorrow. The NT readings — well, we got through the first three months of readings (which took much longer than three months), and didn’t go any further. We didn’t have a good time of day to do that. I wanted it to be in the morning, as hubby doesn’t go to work until afternoon, but lots of times he had other things he would do early in the morning before the kids got up, and he’d be deep into something else when they did get up, and soon it would be time to go to work…and it didn’t feel like family Bible time without him, so I didn’t usually read with the kids on those days. So…that part of the plan just sort of fell by the wayside.

    Maybe we’ll pick up where we left off, trying to determine a better way to ensure we stick to it. Or maybe we’ll try something completely different. I don’t know, but I’m enjoying thinking about how to approach personal and family Bible study in the new year.

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  53. Yes, Kim. We are watching the Sound of Music. We like it so far, but you are right. It’s hard not to compare it with the screen edition. I remember getting on a school bus back in 1965 and going to see it in the theater.

    Re: the “Lost Squadron”: Weren’t they discovered when the aliens brought them back to Devil’s Tower? I saw them do it in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

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  54. Re: The Sound of Music. I’m watching, enjoying it but the Captain is not distinguished enough 🙂 I will say that Carrie Underwood sure can sing. I prefer the original – love Julie Andrews!

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  56. Actually, it’s the second link. I think it’s a lot funnier than the first. The onlokers’ faces are priceless. There is one bit of “minor” language, but I think it’s otherwise clean, and laugh-out-loud hilarious.

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