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Our Daily Thread 12-21-13

Good Morning!

Only 4 Days Until Christmas! 🙂

On this day in 1620 the “Mayflower”, and its passengers, pilgrims from England, landed at Plymouth Rock, MA.

In 1898 scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.

In 1937 Walt Disney debuted the first, full-length, animated feature in Hollywood, CA. The movie was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

In 1945 U.S. Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, of injuries from a car accident.

In 1978 police in Des Plaines, IL, arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and began unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys that Gacy was later convicted of killing.

And in 1988, 270 people were killed when Pan Am Boeing 747 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, due to a terrorist attack.

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Quote of the Day

“Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas.”

Johnny Carson

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Today is Natalie Grant’s birthday.

It’s also Carl Dean Wilson’s birthday.

Next up, CrossPoint Worship. These young men are quite good.

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Anyone have a QoD?

62 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-21-13”

  1. It’s 56.3 degrees in Hendersonville, with near record temperatures forcast for tomorrow. But it’s supposed to get cold later this week.
    That is because winter arrives about noon today.

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  2. Second!

    Gotta be up pretty early to beat Chas.

    I can’t sleep, there are strange noises outside — can’t tell if they’re fireworks or gunfire. Probably fireworks since I don’t hear any sirens yet.

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  5. The “Dagwood & Blondie” comic strip this morning reminded me that in 1954, our SS department went caroling. I haven’t heard of that in years. Do people still go caroling?
    It could be illegal if Christian carols are included.

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  6. There’s a Christmas event in our town that ends with people fanning out into the surrounding neighborhoods to sing carols in front of houses. Our church goes to a home for the elderly and sings carols. And it seems to me that there were carolers in our neighborhood several years back.

    It’s probably not as common as it once was, though. I remember going caroling in the Girl Scouts.

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  7. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. It’s -35F here this morning. A good time to pack up and hit the road 😦 Guess I’ll be wearing the long underwear for the trip.

    We still go carolling up here. Even in the cold 🙂

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  8. Re: Johnny Carson’s comment.
    I ordered four books from ChristianBooks.com. On December 4, they sent an e-mail saying my order has been shipped from Massachusetts.
    I’m still waiting. I had hoped that two of them could be Christmas stocking stuffers.

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  10. Well we are living the old joke of bring the paper in with you when you come home in the morning. Boy Children are different than Girl Children. I just got up, opened the door, and made the coffee.

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  12. Kitten did okay overnight. We are blessed with mild temps because God cares for stray baby cats and homeless children. Kitty indicated hunger by going over to empty food dish. Quick learner. After the meal I took kitty out to the straw and there was some scatching around. Not sure what happened. It was mewing some and I wondered if the environment was a reminder of its mom and sisters and bros. I saw Hissy Cat in the distance coming our way. He can probably sniff salmon a mile away. I took leftover salmon in my hand to redirect HCBB and he must have thought I was going to throw it at him because he unexpectedly high tailed it out of the yard. He knows he is bad trying to steal food from a kitten. So I decided to put the food in another area of the yard to keep any other wandering cats away from kitten. Kitten showed signs of playfulness for first time. Also it was grooming itself. It has been twenty-five years since I have been around a kitten. I must say, this has been a major distaction from what other things needed doing.

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  13. You can tell by the date at the end that this originated in 2008. That means that I have been posting this for five years, counting this. Here it is, just like last year.
    I have posted this several times before. But I need to do it again. It’s becoming a Christmas ritual with me. You can scroll past it if it’s too much.
    It used to be that when we went to a gathering of some sort, on our return, I would tell Elvera, “You were the prettiest one there.” (I still tell her she’s the best looking one in Adult IV.)
    Once we went to an affair that involved her colleagues at Jefferson High School, in Alexandria, Va. where they worked. After the affair, I told her that she was the second best looking one there. She said, “Who was first?” I said, “Judy”. JUDY! it wasn’t fair. Judy was 20 years younger than the others. And youth is beautiful.
    Well, it’s much later now, Elvera is older and Judy is a grown woman and a school teacher. Her mother, Elvera’s friend, has Alzheimer’s (has since died). Judy sent us a card and a nice note. The first paragraph of the note kinda grabbed me. Since some of you are teachers, I thought, with her permission, that I would share it with you.

    “Dear Friends,
    Here I sit. It’s early morning and all is quiet. The day has not unfolded and I relish the peace. Soon I will be surrounded by the world of 7th graders…the high-octane mixture of hormones, insecurities and the need to impress peers. Although the students are required to unplug earphones and park all electronics in their lockers, you can tell that the beat goes on in their heads and hearts throughout the day. More than ever, as I teach, it is necessary to repeatedly seize their attention away from the thoughts and visual images that seem to be playing in their minds, blocking them from new input. Bless their hearts. So many among our population have such challenged home lives. Many are without anchor to something good, true and hope-filled. Our prayers for our youth are so needed.”

    There’s more of course; I thought that would interest some of you. She also wrote a poem.
    Bethlehem – dark, cold and finally quiet,
    where most slept bubbled in their own existence
    unaware that in their town, that very night,
    Love had departed His heavenly throne to move in with humanity.
    In a stable was heard
    a baby’s gutsy wail
    the Word’s first sound.
    The town slept on
    But not the shepherds out in the fields.
    Blanketed under starlit night
    gentle stillness exploded into heart-stopping fear,
    brilliance swallowed the stars and
    the quiet was shattered by a thunderous announcement.
    Angels proclaimed that the world’s Savior had just been born in their town!
    No sleep for these shepherds.
    As they ran to search for this baby in a manger
    the Light led, unrestrained by the heavy dark of night,
    and just as the angels had said
    they found Him!
    A boy-King wrapped in rags, lay in a feeding trough.
    unimaginable Glory …
    wondrous mystery…
    In that stable they knelt … they worshipped
    the One
    the Only
    Son of God.
    But the town
    slept on.
    JL Stokes 2008
    Merry Christmas

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  14. One name I thought of if it is a girl cat is Miss Terry, obviously from mystery. I guess for a boy cat it would be Mr. Ree. Or since we work near Tara Blvd. (think Gone With the Wind) Tara might work except it zounds too much like Terror and I wouldn’t want to have a cat think it has to live up to a mispronunciation of its name. 🙂

    Name that cat?

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  17. It’s 28°F here. Not bad as temperatures go. But we are under a “Winter Storm Advisory” until tonight, meaning that we could get up to 1/4 inch of ice. Then it is supposed to snow tonight through tomorrow, up to 6″. I guess it’s a good weekend to curl up with a book or two.

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  19. Let’s see… I have shared my life with a few cats we will start at the beginning with
    Lucy, Jill, Rockingchair, Sylvester, Precious, GreyKitty, Tigger, Little Girl, Ridley, Charlie, Callie Leigh, and now Moe.
    Perhaps for this one, since he/she is a Christmas Kitty you could go with Nick or Nickie for St. Nicholaus.
    Janice, you need to go face yourself in the mirror and admit the truth. You just got yourself a kitten for Christmas.
    Me? I am off to find a pack of greenies. There is a certain little PuppyDog Bog who has some nasty smelling breath.

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  20. We do a little Christmas caroling in our neighborhood each year. We host a fellowship gathering for our church and sing to a few neighbors, then enjoy snacks and dessert afterward. It’s become a bit of a tradition now, and we usually sing a mix of Christian and secular carols. Last year it was raining. This year it was about 14 degrees the evening we went.

    Forecasts are calling for an ice storm in Maine and New England this weekend. In 1998, we were without power for almost two weeks. An extended power outage this time would be more of a challenge, now that we have 3 boys and their grammie depending on us! But LL Bean is just up the street. They never close and have enough generating power to keep their lights and heat on for quite a while.

    Chas, thanks for posting the letter and poem from your friend.

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  23. Son and a college friend drove all night to get here from TX. Kitty likes them both. It is a friendly little creature. I suppose it could be named Friendley. That works for a boy or girl. I enjoyed the listing of names, Donna.

    My son is rethinking the pet clause in his apartment agreement. 🙂

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  24. 😉
    If you had been looking at the sun at 12:11 est, you would have noticed the sun turn around and start heading north. I didn’t notice. It’s raining in Hendersonvile.
    Don’t bother to look now, it’s on it’s way back.
    But it will get colder before it gets warm.
    Sorry about that Kare.
    😆

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  28. Got my package mailed, but I really need to learn how to be earlier with that. It *should* get there Tuesday via fed ex, but for the guaranteed delivery it would have cost $73. Uh, no, thanks anyway; if it’s a day late it won’t be the end of the world. 😮

    Driving through town I spotted a Santa Claus swooshing down the sidewalk on roller skates, the frame of a wooden sleigh attached to both sides of him. And there was a big sale on snow boards at a shop next to the shipping center.

    Overall, there was just lots of traffic out there, it must be a massive shopping weekend for a lot of people.

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  29. Remember Gladys Knight and the Pips? She has a place in Atlanta to get waffles and fried chicken. Son and his friend went there. Friend had grits and catfish. Maybe husband and I might venture to it some day if I can tear him away from the Varsity.

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  30. This little poem was sent to me by e-mail.

    😆
    I made myself a snowball
    As perfect as could be.
    I thought I’d keep it as a pet
    And let it sleep with me.
    I made it some pajamas
    And a pillow for it’s head.
    Then, last night it ran away,
    But first – it wet the bed.
    😦
    The

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  31. Some or all of the family is going caroling tomorrow night with the church. I think there is a hay wagon involved. Not sure. Something about homemade soups and hot chocolate afterwards. I rarely take the little people to those things and husband almost always takes the big ones.

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  32. 6 year old granddaughter is a mouse in the Nutcracker, so tomorrow we are all going to see her final performance. That will probably be the firsttime I will see my new granddaughter, Ginger, as somehow they ended up staying with their dad. Oh, well, it is never easy.

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  33. BG and I had a good day with her “Uncle” G. He was my 6th grade boyfriend. It was the first time she has met him because I usually meet him over Christmas without her. He lives in Los Angeles and comes home every Christmas for five days. He and BG hit is off and he picked out clothes for her and later I picked out clothes for his nephew who is only 3 months old. I got to rock him (the baby) to sleep this afternoon. I am in “baby love”. G’s mother is a Mimi too. All in all it was a great day. The best story of the day was when I picked up a Lilly Pulitzer dress and said it was the largest size 4 I had ever seen. He correted me and told me it was becaue it WAS a LARGE! We also broke some mercury glass in the china department. Ooops.

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  36. And I was second yesterday and second today! 🙂

    Kim, I wanted to tell you what a knockout BG has become after seeing that shopping photo you posted on FB yesterday. She has the most beautiful, natural smile.

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  37. Thank you Donna. We do enjoy it when we can get a smile. She had a great day. I loved spending time wth my friend G. It was like we were back in high school! He is the guy that used to get a pass out of class to go see how drunk my mother was and would convince her that he needed to have me go do something with him. We would go to that same mall for an hour or so and then he would take me home. We each cost the other more money than we intended to spend yesterday, but it was so good to have the time together. He picked out an outfit for BG and “styled” her. At the end of the day she actuall THANKED me. She was so pleasant. She said she hadn’t expected any of the stuff she got.

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  38. so excited to get to go to church today. I have gone to the same church for 40 years and it is ‘home’ and my kids may come too. I will just have to wait and see

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  39. Elvera and I have been married 56.5 years. We have never thought about divorce, nor even murder, as Ruth Graham said. However, if it ever happens, don’t bother to ask. You’ll know that we went shopping together.

    I don’t never get to see the pictures. 😦

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  41. I bought kitten food when I went to store to get supplies for our Sunday School “party.” Husband spent some hours fixing up downstairs bathroom for temporary kitten housing since we were expecting stormy weather followed by cold. A nine × thirteen pan that we received Christmas cookies in has turned into a litter box since it is shallow enough. As husband was saying blessing over our lunch, I told God thanks for the scratching I was hearing from the bathroom. Friends are considering this kitty and want to see him/her. Possible name they have is Zorro. I am feeling like Bosley for today, Boz for short.

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  46. Kittens are very cute, but I’m a firm believer in Ogden Nash’s philosophy:

    The problem with a kitten is that
    Eventually it becomes a cat.

    And cats are beautiful animals, but completely resistable as “pets.” And since my husband has even stronger disinclinations toward the creatures (he’s a little more allergic and feels no affection toward them), we’d be able to feed a homeless kitten in the garage and give it to the first taker. Now, at least one of our daughters might be clamoring to keep it, but she might well be joking. But neither of us would take one in. A collie puppy might be another story. 🙂 I’d be saying, “Pretty please? Misten is nine now, and we’re going to need another one someday, and she’s so cute and she’s free!” And my husband would probably be saying no, one dog is enough.

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  54. I told you once, I told you a thousand times: cats belong outside. You bring them in here and suddenly, people are having all sorts of allergy problems.

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  55. Friends are being fickle about the kitten. They know if they see it they will not be able to resist. Friend’s daughter told her there is a website totally devoted to cats that look like Hitler. It’s name is (drumroll) Kitler. I have not been there yet but will soon. Friend said her husband could not sleep all night considering this kitty. We couldn’t sleep all night considering kitty noises, LOL. Kitten is being fun for our family since son is home. But we will travel soon and that is our difficulty as kitten is not allowed to go with us. 😦 Son likes the name Bosley. Sounds like a boy name but could work for a girl I suppose.

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  56. Wanted: Kitten nanny. 🙂

    My cat is indoor/outdoor — she is locked in (as are the dogs) overnight; the rest of the day, they have free access to either the house or the outdoors. But I haven’t had to buy litter in years.

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  57. Good morning at church, with Silent Night and O Come, O Come Immanuel (a cappella) were part of the worship service.

    After an early dinner out with a friend I took the dogs to the dog park — bought them both LED tags for night walking (red for Tess, Blue for Cowboy). Since it was getting dark by the time we went to the park, I put the tags on — but I didn’t realize how much they looked like lighted Christmas baubles this time of year. 🙂

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  59. We got two kittens the year before our son was born. They were inside in their own room until he was born when they became outdoor cats. So we know how to do that. The kitten is funny, but I prefer grown cats who are nice lap cats and good company keepers. This kitten is now feeling more at home and is testing limits with its playfulness. It needs its siblings to frolic and play fight with.

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  60. So,, I did get to go to church with my daughter, sil, and 4 granddaughters and met Miss Ginger. She even warmed up to me and I got to hold her during part of the service. We were both happy, and so I handed my camera to my neighbor for a picture. My daughter thought that I was crazy, but I needed to record that moment of joy. I will be changing my photo shortly!

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  62. Just finished a newsletter and sent it out. I even got it officially appoved and found someone to check it this close to Christmas. And, yes, it did include the picture I took of me with Ginger. In fact, the whole second page was pictures of me with my family that I took today. Now I can relax and enjoy Christmas.

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