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Our Daily Thread 5-31-14

Good Morning!

The weekend is here! And it’s supposed to be a good one around these parts. 🙂

On this day in 1859, in London, Big Ben went into operation. 

In 1889 more than 2,200 people died after the South Fork Dam collapsed in Johnstown, PA. 

In 1909 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held its first conference. 

In 1955 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that all states must end racial segregation “with all deliberate speed.”

And in 1962 Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel. Eichmann was a Gestapo official and was executed for his actions in the Nazi Holocaust. 

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Quote of the Day

“There is no week nor day nor hour when tyranny may not enter upon this country, if the people lose their roughness and spirit of defiance.”

Walt Whitman

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This morning we’re gonna start with some hippie music for Peter Yarrow’s birthday. Plus it’s a Dylan written song, and he just had a b’day too.  🙂

And it’s Johnny Paycheck’s too.

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Anyone have a QoD?

121 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 5-31-14”

  2. Anyone else awake? The cat rattled the blinds around 4:30 a.m. indicating wake-up time. Bosley thinks she’s in competition with the roosters.
    Gotta ❤ her! Biess her little ❤

    Flowers brighten up our weekend! Thanks, AJ.

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  4. Bosley is on a roll! Literally! She discovered how to snag the toilet paper with her claw and unroll it. Really NOT good. Now I need an industrial toilet paper dispenser. Maybe I can start a new trend in home bathroom decor?

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  5. Chas, since you teach Sunday School I will ask a question to help in my pulling the lesson together for tomorrow. We are studying the book of Ruth. I am thinking, as the Holy Spirit leads me, about having the children do family trees of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz to show Boaz to be the family redeemer. Then I want them to do their own family tree with Jesus shown as their family (as individuals) redeemer. How would you do the Ruth/Boaz family tree? Start with them and go forward to Jesus? Do you think there is enough to go back for them (I have not yet researched).

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  6. love Peter, Paul, and Mary. Has anyone ever heard their album Peter, Paul, and Mommy? It is one of my favorites.
    I have never seen flowers like that. What are they? Besides beautiful
    Janice, what age are you teaching in SS?

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  7. I just listened to Peter, Paul and Mary and marveling about their simple wonderfulness. I have not heard that album, Jo, that you mentioned. I had one of their albums way back , but I don’t recall the title. It had the Lemon Tree song on it.

    We have a wide range of ages with two classes combined so it is 1st through 6th. Majority are older so we teach more up rather than down.

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  8. Sometimes I do different activities for the two age groups, but often they do the same activity made in some way more complex for the older children. I don’t think we have ever done family trees so I thought that might work nicely for this lesson. And our curriculum is going all the way through the Bible showing how Jesus fits into both the Old and New Testaments.

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  9. Janice, you may make applications for the children from the book of Ruth as parables or illustrations. But the facts of life are that Boaz wasn’t thinking about being a family redeemer. He saw Ruth and liked what he saw. It’s that simple. You get your clue from Naomi’s reaction. She knew what was going on.
    But you can use Boaz as the example. The children aren’t going to understand the concept of a “family redeemer”.
    My father and two of his brothers were abandoned as children. After a couple of months, their uncles took them in. But they likely won’t understand that either, and it may frighten them.
    You can use Boaz as a “redeemer” example as one who steps in and rescues the family, which is what I think you were anticipating. Ruth and Boaz don’t fit into a family tree in a way they are likely to understand. The connection is distant in that someone else was closer to Naomi’s husband than Boaz.
    I may not be helping here, because I’m thinking of dealing with adult men with active minds.
    Your approach sounds good for a room of children. But I still don’t know how a “family tree” would work.
    Sorry.

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  10. Janice, I think you are home and thus on your smartphone. I Google everything, so I found this link for you to get some ideas. I would follow the thread of Ruth being “adopted” into Judaism and how today, we are adopted into the the body of Christ- the Church. I know most protestants do not practice infant baptism, but I never will forget what the priest said when BG was christened. She was born to George and me, we have allowed her to be adopted into the the holy catholic (little c-universal) church. It will be her decision as an adult to remain a member of the family or leave (confirmation)
    There are some construction paper activities with this lesson plan and a memory verse. Check this out and I will look for a link for some other ideas to prompt your imagination.

    http://ministry-to-children.com/bible-lesson-ruth-boaz/

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  11. Chas, the curriculum story does show Boaz as the family redeemer who redeemed Naomi and Ruth, but it goes on to say that Boaz did not have the power to redeem from sin. Our big picture question is who is our redeemer? We are suppose to cover how Boaz is a bit like Jesus in how he helps his kin and shows the love of God.

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  12. I like some of the questions in this link but it goes along with a video series and references some pages of a curriculum for crafts. Most children’s lesson plans are about Ruth and Naomi with little emphasis on Boaz This one talks about it some. Children are pretty savvy these days. I wouldn’t give any opportunity for the older ones to open up a line of questioning that you wouldn’t want to explain to the younger ones. Ruth lying at Boaz’s feet and asking him to cover her has sexual overtones. It was the threshing season and wine and beer had been invented. (I agree, that it is too bad that in today’s world you have to worry about things like that)

    Ruth and Boaz

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  13. Kim, I love that activity of “gleaning” for the Bible verse. That will be good especially for the younger ones. That lesson plan goes right along with our lesson plan, but the activities are different. Thank you.

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  15. Chas, I know what you mean about some children might be scared at the thought of a need for a kinsmen-redeemer for their family. Actually, some are already dealing with things like that. 😦 I think it is suppose to comfort the children to know that God will take care of them even if the worst ever happened. You are so kindhearted to consider the children’s feelings like that.

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  16. LOL Janice, I DO have a master’s degree in Elementary Education. I just don’t use it that often. You let me dust it off today and put it to a little use. 😉

    Now that I am working with adults I find it would be much more intimidating to do what Chas does. I am intimidated to try to teach my agents anything.

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  17. I would have to look into this some more, but it seems to me that the idea of the kinsman-redeemer was around until the past couple of generations. Chas probably remembers widowed or un-married women living with family. Where did we get the notion of the wicked mother in law if a widowed mother didn’t go live with her son or daughter and their family. I know that my great grandparents lived in a duplex with my grandparents. As a matter of fact my great grandfather died in his sleep in the same bed with my dad and uncle. Multi-generational living was common in the past and is a trend that is returning in the housing market as you have the “sandwich” generation–those taking care of their children and their aging or infirm parents.
    As you know, BG decided to leave me and live with her dad. He sold his house and they moved in with Nana. I am finding great comfort in BG living with her grandmother if she won’t live with me. It is along the lines of grandparents and their grandchildren get along so well because they have a common enemy. Nana can tell BG the same thing I have told her but where I get resistance, Nana gets acceptance—or at least the appearance of it.
    I still fight the notion that I was about 14 or 15 when Mother became non-functioning so maybe I just don’t know how to mother an older teenage daughter. Thanks to being chemically altered in my emotions I can type that sentence without crying.

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  18. Kim, I don’t want to sound flippant, but truly, no one knows how to mother a teenage daughter. I think it is rather normal that they highly resist being mothered at that age and want only one woman in charge of their lives at that point and it is themselves. It is a terribly difficult time to deal with young ladies of that age. I know someone else who is struggling with it. You are doing right by letting God have control and not clinging to control and making it even worse.

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  19. Rubber band around the toilet roll will foil Miss Boz.

    I’m filling in tomorrow in Judges, the initial intro to Gideon.

    Does it always end up being about faith?

    Two adorable grandchildren spent the night: waffles for breakfast when they wake up!

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  20. Janice- If your cat unrolls the toilet paper, do what I heard a young mother did when her toddler figured it out. She put the roll in the opposite way, such that it unrolled from the back side rather than the front. If a child or cat plays with it, the paper doesn’t unroll all over the place.

    And Mumsee and I have a better idea of how to keep the cat from unrolling the toilet paper, but few people seem to like the idea- put the cat outside.

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  23. Good suggestions on the toilet paper issue. Of course, since I did not see her in action, I could blame the toilet paper on the floor on my husband since he has been known to leave socks and such on the floor. 🙂 it’s the old Adam and Eve device. Blame the other guy. Husband did it! Not me; wife did it! No way; it had to be the cat!

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  24. Peter, a cat, by instinct, knows who the rightful ruler of the house is.

    🙂

    Anon, (probably Michelle), it always ends up being about faith.
    We’re starting Ezekiel tomorrow, Dr. Jones is teaching. I was going to use his experience (Ezek 1) to talk about the nature of the prophet. But it’s good that he is recovering and coming back.
    The issue of faith always comes up, and sometimes I ask what I would do.
    We never know, but I imagine that if I had been confronted by a burning bush, an angel (as Gideon was), A whirlwind and visions of living creatures, (as Ezekiel), I imagine my faith would be strengthened.
    Gideon wasn’t a prophet, he was a Judge. God reinforced his faith and he did great things. His family didn’t do so well. After all this, Gideon succumbed to temptation (Judges 8:17).

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  25. Beautiful morning around here and I so appreciate the start hearing Peter Paul and Mary…what a gifted and talented group of hippies 🙂
    This afternoon we will be attending a dear friend’s son’s wedding at the AFA chapel…he graduated on Wednesday…gets hitched today and in the fall he is off to Harvard to begin his journey towards his Masters….an exciting time of life! Be blessed this day everyone….God is so good and is worthy to be praised! ❤

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  26. Have any of you ever worked for a micro-manager? I was given a task to do Thursday by the COO of the company. When I handled it, I got an email from the CEO telling me to do something different. I would think the CEO of a company had more important things to do than monitor the “chat” transcripts from our website. ARGH! I gave a lead to an agent last night and this morning he wanted the lead to go to a different agent—At 6AM no less–I just got off the phone with a confused agent.

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  27. Kim, it sounds like there is more to the change of plans than you know. I suspect it isn’t indicating that your decision as to who to assign was bad, but I would toss it up as about something or someone else that the higher ups know but for whatever reason can’t share.

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  28. Thanks for that link, Kim. Good things to aspire to…I haven’t completely arrived yet. 😉

    I laughed out loud at “they sat reading books and loudly shushing each other [at their library they made].” If they had heard how loudly I laughed, they would have shushed me. 🙂

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  29. I couldn’t work for a micromanager.
    It’s one of the worst management techniques because people start keeping things from him because they know he’s going to have second thoughts, and “why didn’t you”.

    I could tell a story about that, but it’s too long and detailed.

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  30. No Janice, it is more of how Chas describes it. He has worked hard to get where he is and knows every brick laid in the company. He cannot give up the control. He hired a recruiter but insists on interviewing the prospective agents with her. He wanted me to write a training plan and when I did he tore it apart, changed it, used part of it for something else, and then wanted to know if I had finished it.
    We opened a new office about an hour away from the corporate office so he went there in the middle of the day to show support and changed light bulbs then raced back for a meeting. He has some very good qualities. An agent is out of the country and he went to her closing Wednesday. How many CEO’s would do that? I had been planning to go for her but stepped out of it when he said he was going.
    What it is doing to me is paralyzing me and making me wait for him to make a decision rather than me make a decision because whatever I do he will want to be part of it. What got me put in charge of the “chats” was that I off-handedly said to the COO that the marketing manager, the CEO, the admin assistant, and I were all getting the emails at “info” and that too many people were involved so I had just stopped replying at all. The have someone who has been in database management for years, has handled internet leads, and lead distribution, but instead of getting her input or putting her experience to work for them…they don’t.

    All things considered I still love it there and don’t want to go anywhere else even though Guy I Used to Work With is there and still causing me headaches. I finally took over his files last week to give the two admin assistants a break from him. I have found him an assistant who is more than capable of doing everything he wants done but he wants 15 minutes here and there throughout the day and she has other agents she is assisting. He also is the type of person that has half of the first nickle he ever earned. He used to drive just me crazy, now he is driving about 4 or 5 crazy. They all laugh at the way I talk to him. I just flat out tell him he is making me crazy. Then he complains to me that I am sympathizing with them and making jokes about him. I don’t think he was too flattered when I told him he was my dog and I could kick him , but nobody else could. Of course I wasn’t too flattered when he told me that another person made me look like a rocket scientist. I told him it wan’t the compliment I was sure he intended for it to be. He is much easier to handle when he isn’t signing my pay check. 😉

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  33. It’s so cute when cats learn something new. If you had a dog, Janice, Bosley could blame him. I think there was a picture to that effect on FB the other day — 3 innocent-looking cats sitting in a bathroom filled with unrolled TP looking and saying “The dog did it.”

    Annie was relentless in getting me up this morning (no easy task today, this being Saturday). But she finally succeeded.

    Interesting how much of a difference a good boss makes. Our favorite publisher from the early 2000s was a guy who was a gem. He knew who everyone was, what they covered. He’d stop at your desk on his way through the newsroom and ask how things were going on your beat, he was always an encourager and never failed to express appreciation for all that everyone was doing.

    We haven’t had one like that since. But we loved that guy and still talk about him, he set the bar high. He lost his wife recently (he still lives in the area).

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  34. Michelle, when we recently covered that part of Judges in Sunday School, the theme was obey and trust God. That is when we made the Trust God jars to write down concerns, put them in the jar and trust God with them. What do you see as the difference between faith and trust or are they the same? Gideon was obedient after the fleece occasion so you could focus on obedience.

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  35. Just want to make sure everyone saw the pet calendar contest I posted earlier today. Lots of eligibles on here! I have not yet read the fine print rules. I hope it is not confined to one locale.

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  37. I’m off to work on Judges next, but in the meantime I”m trying to clear my inbox. Here are fascinating photos from WWI. The Atlantic magazine is running a series each week with lots of terrific shots. I’ve been pinning to Pinterest and now have finished!

    http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/wwiair/

    I find I’m far more interested in the people part of war than the machinery–it actually turns my stomach to look at the weapons of war. An interesting blog post is hatching on that subject. 🙂

    In other news, the adorable grandfather displayed here to unknown skills when he made pancakes for his adorable grandchildren. Granddaughter #1, however, didn’t like crispy edges, so he made her a soft sided one.

    My question is, why have I been making pancakes all these years?

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  41. Michelle, you have made pancakes because he let you, they tasted good, and you never asked him to make them. Next you can try askin him to make 🌯 s. Found an excuse to use my new skill!

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  43. It occurred to me this morning that today is two years since I de-lurked at WMB. I have had many ❤ ly discussions there and here since then, and am grateful for the Christian camaraderie. Thanks again, AJ, for stepping in before WMB went out, and for maintaining this site. I know it's work to do it, but I surely do appreciate it, sir. 🙂

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  44. Kim, I too, feel that the house has to be perfect before anyone can be invited over. I fail at this continually. Moving here has mostly cured that as all the neighbours dropped by unannounced shortly after we moved in. 😦 They have all seen the real me – dressed in painting clothes, hair unwashed, no make-up – and my real home – certainly not perfect! It is still a struggle to allow myself to not be perfect (not that I ever am or would be). I think I can blame my mom for this. Her house was always very clean and tidy, but one day someone called and they were arriving in the next 10 minutes – mom had my sister and me on our hands and knees picking up the few lint pieces on the downstairs carpet (no time to pull out the vacuum). I don’t think the guests even went downstairs! 🙂

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  46. Yay for de-lurking. 🙂 And AJ, I also thank you — I was thinking the other day that this must be something of a burden for you every morning and sometimes you probably just don’t feel like messing with it. Rain or shine, tired or not, you’ve been very faithful to soldier on for us. 😉

    I have kind of an awkward situation — I got a bill last night from my u-verse (which includes my TV, internet & land line) and when I opened it I was in shock. It said my account was overdue and I owed something like $470.

    For the life of me I couldn’t figure it out because I’d just paid my most recent bill early (online a few days ago) — I shouldn’t be getting the next bill for a couple more weeks. Plus the numbers didn’t add up, as I looked at the line items these monthly charges I was seeing were way more than I usually pay each month, which made me think maybe they’d bumped me off of my intro contract already …

    Anyway, as I looked more closely, I realized (ouch!) it was my neighbors’ bill, not mine (the ones who just lost the husband/dad). We both have the same AT&T U-verse service. Oy. Now I feel embarrassed to have to hand it over to them since it’s opened and read (especially on top of all they’re dealing with right now — the funeral is tonight). So I’m sitting on it for now, will probably try to slip it into their box quietly with a note apologizing.

    I’d consider returning it to AT&T and letting them just reissue a new one to them, except it looked like their service might be discontinued if they didn’t respond soon.

    Advice?

    Argh.

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  47. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had the type of income to pay it for them? I think I would slip in in their box with an unsigned note telling them you opened it accidentally. Then you nor they would ever feel awkward over it.

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  48. I agree with Kim. Sneak over while they’re at the funeral.

    WWI book is not contracted yet; it’ll be shopped in June to editors which is why I’ve been so crazy getting things in order. I’m rewriting and slightly recasting in June, then I’m paying to have a freelance editor read through and make suggestions–a content editor. I’ve never felt the need to do that before, but on this one–well, it’s not really my book and I need to make sure the Lord is glorified.

    Just spent two hours with Gideon, shifting uncomfortably in my seat about the question–given all the confirmation God already had given Gideon, why did he need the fleeces? It cuts a little too close to home these days, particularly about the book.

    In some ways, I wish the book was contracted just so I COULD tell all the fun stories–you’ve heard most of them. God is good. I’m weak. His strength is made perfect in my weaknesses. Now, back to the book! 🙂

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  49. Kare, glad you de-lurked, too! I think it was not long after I did (same with AnnMS — we were all around the same time, as I recall — in the last few months of WMB). Let the good times keep rolling! 🙂

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  50. Good idea about the note being anonymous and putting it in their box while their gone tonight. Thank you. And, yes, I do wish I could just pay it for them. But I was almost hyperventilating at the amount, thinking it was my bill at first. 😦

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  51. Michelle, why Gideon needed the fleece is the easiest part. It’s easy to look back and see the result. But here you have an ordinary guy who is surrounded by people who worship Baal, you are a nobody. Gideon was not a great man. He was led by God to do great things. Gideon is minding his own business, suddenly, this angel appears and gives him a job he knows he’s not qualified for. How does he know this will work? An impossible task. Give me a sign. Do the impossible. That’s what.
    This is not unusual. We see Moses arguing with a bush. The bush tells him to throw his stick down, it turns into a serpent. Then he picks it up and it becomes a stick.
    Even I would face Pharaoh with that authority.

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  52. Gideon has a reputation as a great general. But he was only following orders. (Judges Ch. 7)

    What I don’t understand is how God spoke to Gideon. After the angel, that is.

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  53. Michelle, the other teacher in our class does the story during circle time. I think she explained that God showed His love for Gideon by providing what Gideon required for proof that God would do what Gideon had been told. I don’t think I had ever heard it explained like that before, but I liked it. It was God being our patient and loving Abba, knowing our weakness in believing yet our longing for everything He says and promises to be true.

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  54. Michelle, I just today read a fundraising newsletter from the Billy Graham Library with the main feature story, “Waiting for a special sign.” It is about an exchange student from China who participated in host family Bible study and church though she was not a believer. Not long before going with the family she was highly impacted by the movie God is Not Dead. When they went to the Billy Graham Library she was close to salvation but needed a sign to her from God. Ruth’s Attic, the gift shop, is at the end of the tour. It was in the gift shop she saw a t-shirt with the Chinese symbol for “Fear Not.” A Bible verse was referenced, Isaiah 43: 1-2, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” At that point she accepted Jesus as her Savior. This is from the May 2014 newsletter, “Your prayers and gifts in action.”

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  55. It was not until she got back to the host’s home that she found the full verse and got saved. I tried to find the newsletter at their site but did not locate it. Modern day fleece story and timely I read it today! 🙂 God IS good!

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  56. Hi, all! I’ve had a Saturday full of driving. L. spent the night at a friend’s last night and I had to meet the mom about fifteen minutes away this morning at 11:00. There, I picked up L. and two girlfriends, went to Chick fil A, drove home, waited about ten minutes for L. to change, got back in the car and drove her to riding lessons. Came back home and thirty minutes later it began pouring, so I drove back to the stables to pick up the three girls. We came home and two hours later, they were pleading with me to take them to the mall (the “good” mall, which is thirty minutes away). I gave in and agreed after discussing it with Scott, who offered to pick them up. So, Becca and I drove them to the mall. Now, Scott is on his way to pick them up. I cannot wait until L. has her driver’s license!!! They are all good kids, so I shouldn’t complain.

    Kim: Loved the link about housekeeping. I’m a terrible housekeeper — my home is only clean on Mondays and Tuesdays–the days Connie is here! I keep it pretty picked up, but nothing like most of the homes in our neighborhood–they don’t even look lived in! I actually like a little clutter in a home…it seems more “homey” to me that way. I used to stress a lot about people coming over, but no so much anymore. I figure, “oh, well. If they don’t like me because of this, they don’t really like me anyway.” I’ve relaxed in the last five years. However, if I were hosting any large group of people I didn’t know well, I’m sure I’d still stress. But, I never volunteer to do that, so I don’t have to worry about it.

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  57. To my fellow hostesses—just go ahead and jump in the deep end. Their house is probably messier than yours. I just stress myself out because it is what I enjoy. I am having to reign myself in. I would polish silver but these people are much more casual than that. I did, however, go buy Southern Pecan decaffinated coffee for Monday night and I got some Bamboo and Papaya scent so my house will smell good. Someone else in in charge of snacks and that is really working on my nerves because I don’t know what they are bringing.

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  58. Kim, you remember that every November I tell about having the house spotless for the family reunion. I tell Elvera that our house is already cleaner than theirs.
    It doesn’t matter.

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  60. That article hit me where I live…I so over stress about having everything neat and tidy before everyone arrives….I even tell my family to not use the bathrooms…only use the one in the Master bedroom…even though I clean EVERYTHING…places I know guests will not see….just in case! Paul usually leaves while I’m cleaning the house…Hannah hides…the dogs are condemned to the basement…I am OCD, so the house is always tidy…but I’m a stressor….what can I say….I’m guilty!! 😦

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  61. Took my disabled friend out for an Italian dinner for her birthday (which is Tuesday).

    When I got back it was after 6 (the time of the funeral and vacant next door so I re-taped the envelope and put a printed anonymous note on it saying it was delivered to the wrong address — and sorry it was opened. Stuck it in their mail box.

    When I was over there I noticed one of their front windows has a big hole in it, probably from the problems with the sons in the past couple day. I’d taken a card over there a couple days ago and got to talk to the wife for the first time, she said the one boy just is not taking it well, doing a lot of drinking. She kept apologizing for all the noise and I kept telling her not to worry, not a big deal, I just am praying for them all as this is such a hard loss.

    She invited me to join the family for their nightly rosary prayer in the house, but I thanked them & declined, I was still battling my bronchitis. I told them I’d been praying for them all and (after that was translated to the rest of the family standing nearby) everyone smiled and nodded, it seemed to be appreciated.

    In the course of our maybe 10-15-minute conversation outside, I asked her how she and her husband met (through her cousin). They got married in Mexico 30 years ago (she’s Latino, he’s Anglo) and she said they were still both having to use English-Spanish dictionaries for months after the wedding day just to communicate and learn each other’s native language. 🙂 He was the ‘love of her life,” she said.

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  64. Kim I know the guests will enjoy your home. however I am allergic to fragrance, so be careful with the scents you use. Vanilla is always good.

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  65. Jo, husband and I are also very sensitive to fragrance. Even vanilla (or at least fake vanilla scent) is not good for us. If I need to freshen the house, I simmer some cinnamon & cloves on the stove or in a crock pot. (smells like Christmas)

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  66. sounds good, Kare
    Facebook keeps telling me that it is Michelle’s birthday. I know she said that she didn’t put the right date on facebook, but can’t remember when she said the actual date is?

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  67. Clean the house for company? What? I thought they always lived that way! I gave up on that a long time ago. I could not compete with all of those super clean homes, besides, if it is good enough for the family, it is good enough for company. Sometimes it gets a bit iffy on family, but they can spiff it up if they would like. Find me outdoors.

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  69. It’s Bosley’s play in the blinds time…while everyone else sleeps. Enough already! I need my beauty sleep. Bosley is quickly turning me from Sleeping Beauty to Waking Ugly.
    😦

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  70. Just got back from evening church. An incredible report of God’s care as the boat was swamped that was carrying a translation couple from one island to another. God is good.

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  74. Good morning. Becca & I are the only ones up and she’s already asked to use my computer to play Minecraft….Our home computer is a dinosaur–it must be close to thirteen years old–and is painfully slow…Hubby, L., and I all have laptops, but Becca must borrow one of ours…
    L. had a couple of girlfriends spend the night last night. Scott and I went to bed around 11:00 and they were still going strong. They ended up sleeping in the media room (the chairs recline almost flat), but doubt we’ll see any of them before 11:00. Scott and I will take Becca to church, leaving the big girls here sleeping. Our visitors didn’t bring church clothes (probably on purpose; we’re beginning to get some resistance from L. on attending church, and I’m conflicted about forcing her to attend, as I was forced for years and believe it only slowed down my eventual conversion). Fortunately, L. does believe and attends a Wednesday night small group Bible study–she just doesn’t want to go to church.

    Summer has arrived — it was 90 yesterday with about 90% humidity–Sticky! Every time I opened the door last night, it felt like I was walking into a wet sauna. I love Houston, but summers can be brutal. So very grateful for air conditioning and the means to pay the bill.

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  77. Annms, I was a bit sleepy during the service. Sometimes I close my eyes during the sermon so I can better concentrate on what is said. I hope no one thinks I have gone to sleep! But on a sleepy morning I do worry a bit that I might drift off, but the sermon was interesting as usual so I was able to listen intently with eyes closed. Does anyone else do that or does it risk the wrath of those who may be observing you? I do not sit near any of the Sunday School students. I sit mostly near older ladies.

    The sermon was on reciprocal living and the golden rule. We also had an entrepreneurial missionary speak. We are going through the book of Luke and were deep in the words of Jesus today.

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  78. In Newsmax, there’s an interesting article on advertisement. In it, they quote an Ad Age report of the top ten advertising campaigns in the 20th century.
    For your amusement:

    1. Volkswagon “Think Small”
    2. Coca Cola “The Pause that Refreshes”
    3. Marlboro “The Marlboro Man’
    4, Nike “Just Do It”
    5. McDonalds “You Deserve A Break Today”
    6. DeBeers “A Diamond is Forever”
    7. Absolut Vodka “The Absolut Bottle”
    8. Miller Lite “ Tastes Great, Less Filling”
    9. Clairol “Does She…or Doesn’t She?”
    10. Avis “We Try Harder”

    I agree with most of these. Especially the Coke commercials, “Ice cold Coca Cola makes every pause, the pause that refreshes. And Ice Cold Coca Cola is everywhere.
    And I thought “It’s Miller Time” was better than the one listed.
    And IBM’s “THIMK” (not a typo, get it?)
    The best one so far is Coke’s starting “I Want to Teach the World to Sing”, and ending with “I want to buy the world a Coke and keep it company. It’s the real thing.”
    Some have negative effect. I don’t patronize Hardees because they direct their advertising to someone who is definitely not me. But I’m an oddball.

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  79. Janice (1:17), if I see people with their eyes closed at church, I just figure I don’t know their circumstances, why they might be tired, if that’s the reason their eyes are closed. If they are tired, they could have easily chosen not to come to church — the fact that they did come, then, is admirable, IMO.

    I generally keep my eyes open at church, even when I’m tired, but I do close them if I’m having a difficult time blocking out visual distractions in my line of sight from my pew to the pulpit when the pastor is preaching. It is extremely difficult for me to pay attention to what is being said, for example, when there is someone farther up who is slowly caressing the back of the person next to him/her, either a spouse or a child. I recognize that that is a loving gesture, but for some reason, I have no clue why, seeing that is a distraction almost to the point of irritation for me. Sounds horrible, I know, but the best thing for me at times like that is to simply close my eyes so I can focus on the Word.

    I guess I don’t worry about what people think of me if I have my eyes closed. If they’re bothered by that, then, well, they’re bothering themselves with what isn’t their business.

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  82. This is birthday season in our family and we celebrate for six straight weeks! Walked home from church today. It took 1 hour and 3 minutes. Beautiful day and I wanted to move after sitting at the desk for 9 hours yesterday! Today I’m just going to read!

    Gorgeous weather, but we’d be pleased with rain. 🙂

    Gideon lesson in Judges 6 went great, but the students were all older than me and wise!

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  83. Speaking of old ad campaigns, I just heard someone on public radio make reference to the old slogan for Doublemint gum, saying, “Double your pleasure with Doublemint gum — remember that one?”

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  84. Janice, I confess, I have dozed off during church. In my defense, my former pastor basically preached two sermons on Sunday morning, a thirty minute one in Sunday School and a forty-five minute one in the service. I didn’t mind the long time, but my mind would seem to reach a saturation point and shut down (I had the same problem in school). It didn’t seem to affect my understanding or remembrance of the sermon. However, I have discovered simply closing my eyes has a soporific effect. Even during family or pastoral prayers, if I close my eyes, I almost inevitably doze off. So, I have taken to just lowering my eyes during prayer in order to stay alert.

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  85. We had a VBS meeting a bit ago and before many people arrived I mentioned to the pastor that if he sees my eyes closed during the sermon I am not asleep but just trying to listen more intently. He said he doesn’t notice specific people so much except maybe if they are up front. So he said not to worry about it. My vision is not great these days and sometimes I strain my eyes to read words to hymns and praise music on the screen.. So I just sometimes want to rest my eyes.

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  86. Chas @ 2:19- I don’t patronize Hardees because they direct their advertising to someone who is definitely not me. But I’m an oddball.

    I agree. They seem to think sexy women eating monstrous burgers is appealing. Well, it is, but not for food. I change the channel or mute their ads.

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  87. 6arrows, and there always twins in the TV version of that Doublemint commercial.

    CNN this week ran an hourlong special on television in the 1960s, did anyone else happen to catch it? It really was quite a decade and so many of the societal changes literally played out on our television sets. It always surprises me to realize now that TV was still relatively new.

    Since I grew up with it and never knew a time without television, I tend not to think it has having been a new phenomenon when I was a kid, of course.

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  90. Donna, I was thinking that very thing a little after I posted, that I thought I remembered there were always twins — identical, if I recall correctly — in those commercials.

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  92. Cute news clip of five sets of identical twins who graduated three years ago from a high school that I think is in Chas’ neck of the woods.

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  99. I’ll bet you are posting too quickly. That will get you into trouble, Mumsee. Where’s the finger-wagging emoticon?

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  108. Thanks, AJ! That looks excellent. I copied it, and it’s going up to my recipe file box in the kitchen right now. 🙂

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  109. “Step away from the controls….”

    I find myself facing a moral dilemma. Sitting in the SPAM que is a spam comment posted at 9:01 PM. I hold the power to swing the official 100 winner. If I delete it, as I normally would, things stay as they are. If I allow just this one to go thru, we have a new winner…..

    Decisions, decisions……….. 😯

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  110. You do what you gotta do, the real. Where is Cheryl, by the way? She really ought to know of this penchant toward the dark side of yours.

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  115. My official decision is this…

    The SPAM comment will be deleted, and the official score stands. It’s the right thing to do.

    Plus I don’t want any spammers thinking they’ve gotten the better of us because one sneaked by. And since I looked at it again more closely, it’s for a male problem, and there was no way I was letting it thru anyway. 🙂

    ‘Course. if I was a mean overlord I’d delete 4 comments and claim it for myself. Another dilemma….. What to do? 🙂

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  117. What a bunch we’ve got here. 😉 Third Arrow is patiently waiting for the computer, so I will adios from this joint and check myself for bruises from that skirmish back at 9:10 that I innocently got into.

    Good night, one and all. 🙂

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  118. I don’t have time to finish reading all the comments here before I go to bed (I’m still in last night’s comments), but I have one thing to throw in here.

    Janice asked about the difference between “faith” & “trust”. I don’t know if anyone has answered that yet. But I found it interesting that in the Jewish Bible I have (I can’t remember the correct name, but it is an interpretation for Jewish believers in Jesus), “trust” is used in place of “faith”.

    And in the part where David was acting crazy before the enemy, the word “meshugga” (not spelling that right) is used. 🙂

    A thought from my pastor’s sermon this morning: Jesus didn’t promise you there would be no storms in your life, but He promised they wouldn’t sink you.

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  119. Thank you, Karen O, for letting me know that about faith and trust as used or translated in that Bible. Interesting! I have heard Christianity described as a faith whereas other religions are a belief system. We say “Christian faith,” not “Christian trust.”

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  121. I thought there was going to be a rebellion here.
    It seems to me that whatever decision is made, if it is made after the official 100 is made, it doesn’t change the score.

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