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Our Daily Thread 6-6-15

Good Morning!

It’s Saturday! 🙂

The header photo is from Jo and Michelle. 

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On this day in 1833 Andrew Jackson became the first U.S. president to ride in a train.

In 1844 The Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London.

In 1882 the first electric iron was patented by H.W. Seely.

And in 1944 the D-Day invasion of Europe took place on the beaches of Normandy, France. 400,000 Allied American, British and Canadian troops were involved.

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Quote of the Day

“We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Today is Steve Vai’s birthday. 

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Anyone have a QoD?

72 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 6-6-15”

  1. Janice, from yesterday. You can buy phone chargers for your auto for about $25.00 at the Amazon store. The lady who taught the course at Amazon said that Apple will know if you’re using a Walmart or some other charger and void the warranty. I don’t know if that’s true, but the difference in price would be insignificant. I would get an Apple of Amazon charger.
    They are useful for trips because you don’t need to remember to take a charger when you travel.

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  2. We used to have a Colonel who had been at Normandy on June 6, 1944. He had a sign at the entrance of the building saying, “Never Forget”. But the world has all but forgotten about that now. We have same sex marriage, police brutality and the Donners (if that’s who they are) to worry about now.

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  4. I am so glad that Michelle and Jo got to meet. I think it is wonderful that many of us have been able to meet each other in “real” life. I am reminded though that the first time I met someone from the blog, I went to the Flori-Bama to meet Adios and her daughters. I took BG with me and the whole way down she was telling me about internet safety and meeting strangers. ….

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  5. I like the photo. It’s nice to see friendly faces.

    Chas, we haven’t forgotten Normandy; there are memorial services every year. People just think that freedom means the right to do whatever is best for me and everyone else can… Well, you know the rest.

    I’m impressed by Peter and Michelle’s geographical knowledge of Canada. You people can come up and visit whenever you want, y’know. Speaking of which, an family member linked this whimsical song on FB (The guy with the ‘stache is Chris Hadfield, who made so many YouTube videos when he was commander of the Int’l Space Station):

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  7. I’m just waking up, so?
    In all of my post above, except the last. Where I said “Amazon”, make that Verizon. Amazon did not have a class on the smart phone. It was Verizon and Verizon has chargers for about $25.00. That’s what I have.

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  8. Good Morning….such a beautiful photo to wake up to this Saturday morn! What a blessing to meet each other in person…ya’ll are welcome to stop by the Forest if you should find yourselves passing through! 🙂
    I’m off today and it’s raining…inside chores for me today….have a blessed day everyone….

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  9. Chas is confusing me.

    But car chargers are great, I use mine a lot. I think I got mine from the AT&T store which is my carrier.

    I’ve got a full morning — having connectivity problems on my TV & computer (both run on the same internet connection) so AT&T is coming out in about another hour. Computer is loading websites super slowly and then it drops connections when you finally do get somewhere (I even lost connection when I was on live chat with AT&T last night, wound up having to call them — and the TV freezes and loses its signal maybe every 15 minutes or so, not worth trying to watch.

    Meanwhile, I have one last interview I need to do by phone this morning, scheduled right around that same time the AT&T guy is supposed to be here, to finish up a story on childhood asthma that was dumped into my lap a couple days ago by an editor. So it’s a Saturday morning rush for me. And I’ll need that wifi working to file that story on the work laptop … Amazed I haven’t been booted off in the middle of this comment yet. ….

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  10. Such a sweet visit with Michelle. I was blessed by the wonderful hospitality and time to really talk in the midst of a very busy time. We even had a walk the next day and I was able to attend her talk on Oswald Chambers. My copy of My Utmost for His Highest is in PNG, but I will be pulling it out when I get back. The quotes that were shared made me hunger for more.

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  12. Jo – If you don’t mind telling, I’ve wondered if Jo is short for Josephine or Joanne or Joanna, or maybe something else?

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  16. Linda, let me know when you’re in town — PM on FB or dlittlejohn222@gmail.com — my work schedule is going to be a challenge & a little unpredictable I’m afraid, but Monday night will be my only possible option.

    If we miss connecting, I’ll just have to fly to the east coast I suppose. 🙂

    So the AT&T tech guy was here and gone, I needed a new modem (which I suspected was the issue). He gave me their newer upgraded one so everything’s a little bit faster. He also gave me some advice about re-negotiating new terms since my low-cost 2-year contract with Uverse has now expired as of yesterday. He suggested rather than calling that I go into one of the stores asap to re-sign up directly that way, he said everyone gets better deals in the stores as those sales clerks are on commission and will work with customers more than the Philippino agent you’ll get on the phone (after a 45-minute hold time). 🙂

    So I’ll try to get over to the store today, it’s in the neighborhood, and see what they can do for me.

    Meanwhile, I had to reschedule my phone interview with the pediatrician for after 12 today as she was in the middle of making waffles when I called after the AT&T guy left. And I still need to try to get over to see Norma.

    Another gray, misty, cool day here. Loving it.

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  18. It was a surprise to open this up and see myself!

    I was telling Kim the other day the one thing that surprised me the most about meeting Jo was how tall she was. Somehow, she seemed much smaller on my computer! 🙂

    I’m 5’9″, by the way . . .

    Lots of fun to sit and just chat, and of course we already had a history before she arrived. It was a little tricky explaining that to some of the folks she met–one of our friends came to dinner so Jo wouldn’t have to arrive early at the talk and would have someone to sit with. Jo got to see half my children, which was unexpected, though bummer for her none of the adorable grandchildren. 🙂

    My husband, of course, now believes you’re all real . . . 🙂

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  19. Rocuro–I’m embarrassed I didn’t get all the answers right. I’ve been to all those places, including, I’m pretty sure, Moose Jaw. So, sigh. I should have done better, and probably would have gone down in flames like the contestant, except the last answer would have redeemed most of the money!

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  20. I read through a fun little book last night called Show our Work y Austin Kleon and he had a short chapter about the rewards of finally meeting folks you’ve come to know and love online.

    Here’s the quote:

    “It freak me out a little bit how many of my very favorite people in the world came into my life as ones and zeros.

    I love meeting my online friends “IRL” (IRL= in real life). Thee’s never any small talk–we know all about one another and what one another does. We can just sip beer [or water in our case] or some other social lubricant and talk about big ideas. There’s been a few times that I’ve asked people what they think the best thing about being online is, and they’ll point around the table and say, “what we’re doing here.”

    I love the phenomenon of “meetups”–an online community throwing a party at a bar or a restaurant and inviting everybody to show up at a certain place and time. There’s a bunch of these kind of events in Austin, and I’m sure there’s a bunch in your town, too. They’re a lot less stressful than traditional forms of networking because you already know a lot of the people who show up, and you’ve seen their work.

    . . .

    Meeting people online is awesome, but turning them into IRL friends is even better.”

    Kim, of course, is the queen of this meet and greet! 🙂

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  21. I always thought of Jo as tall — until I saw her standing next to Michelle. 🙂

    Pediatrician interviewed and woven into the story, should be done unless editor has questions

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  22. Nice header pic. 🙂

    I’m 5’8″. But if I ever meet Michelle, and she wears flat shoes and I wear the dress shoes you all convinced me to buy a while back, I’ll stand an inch taller than she. 🙂

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  23. I haven’t met any of you, but hubby and one brother are on the road for about 10 hours today, heading toward Peter’s state, meeting another brother who is from Missouri but heading this direction.

    And 2nd and 3rd Arrows (oldest two daughters) are headed toward Kathaleena’s area, spending a few days with a couple of hubby’s sisters.

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  26. Wouldn’t it just be fun to have a whole-blog meetup? We could stand on choir risers for the picture taking and all sort of kind of be the same height if we were on the correct steps. 🙂

    And then someone could snap a picture of the shoes we’re wearing. 😉

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  28. I remember meeting Aji Suun for the first time. All the team were gathered, and she and I looked at each other and I said something like, “We meet at last,” and she grinned. Everyone knew she was the one who had invited me there, and someone said something like, “You mean you never met?” They took it in good stride, however, when it was explained and I’ve reason to think that they never regretted her invitation.

    But nothing could shake those border guards’ incredulity when I went to see Mumsee. I still remember the snort of astonishment and disbelief one of them gave when the other came back from phoning Mumsee’s to confirm my story was true.

    My extended family was relieved to know that Mumsee and crew were all that they claimed 😀 Some of them even met IdahoMike when he came up this way, and were favourably impressed. After going to Idaho and West Africa to meet people I’d never seen before, they wouldn’t blink an eye if I met any of the rest of you.

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  29. Some people in the online Moebius Syndrome community (although we usually drop the “Syndrome” when referring to ourselves) have meet-ups from time to time, & there is a conference every other year. Since Moebius Syndrome is very rare, most of us, myself included, have never met another “Moebian”.

    When I discovered the online Moebius group when in my late 40s, it was so cool to see faces that looked like mine. Now I’m used to it, from seeing them on Facebook so much. I don’t think I have a “need” anymore to meet another person with Moebius, but it would be cool.

    Moebius Syndrome was named after Paul Julius Möbius, the neurologist who identified it, calling it “nuclear atrophy” (somebody dropped an “e” in there sometime along the way). Someone pointed out how funny it is that the name of our syndrome has both an “M” & a “b”, letters that many of us cannot pronounce because we can’t close our lips. (Some can, some can’t. Some have complete facial paralysis, others primarily on one side, such as myself.)

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  30. I only intended to write about the meet-ups & such, but got carried away explaining some other Moebius-related details. 🙂

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  32. Spontaneous and rather strange comment at 6:46 (my first of two comments with that time stamp). It would be nicer to see pictures of faces than shoes. 😉

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  34. We have been without power for about 3 hours and it could be several more. Thankfully we had planned to grill a Lonion Broil for dinner so we had it on a bed of salad greens. Oh by the way. I live in Lower Alabama. It’s a might wah erm in heah

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  36. LOL, I don’t think so, Chas! (8:35) — I like seeing your picture… with our favorite grand/fatherly gentleman who shares all the wisdom he does on this blog.

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  38. well, I think Michelle had shoes that were higher than mine. 🙂
    Actually I am 5′ 8″, but my last doctors visit said that I am 5’7″. Oh, well.
    I always thought I was tall, but I am only taller than one of my daughters. One is 5’4″, but the other two are 5’10” and 5’11”.
    Once my tallest and youngest daughter was sitting next to me in church and she had on platform shoes. Now I ask you, is that fair???
    So… I noticed that she had taken off her shoes, so I snuck them on my feet and when we stood for the next hymn, I could almost look down on her.

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  41. One thing about being without electricity. You can’t tell anyone about it.
    I can. I have a battery powered laptop. But it doesn’t last long.

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  44. These days, people use their smart phones to keep up on their online lives, & can charge them in their cars if the electricity is out too long. (I don’t have a smart phone yet, but Lee & Emily do.)

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  45. Remember I mentioned the concerns I had about our former pastor? What I experienced, & later learned some others did, too, was that my questions & concerns were ignored, that he seemed to have an inner circle of friends his own age (late 30s), & he sometimes exhibited a streak of arrogance.

    Well, last night on Facebook, he wrote something about hating when people favor some people over others (or something similar, I didn’t see it myself). Lee (who usually doesn’t comment like this) commented, “I had a boss & a pastor like that.”

    Now, Former Pastor knew he was not our first or only pastor, but he immediately knew Lee meant him, & he unfriended & blocked both of us! Wow.

    We pray that God would mature & prune this man before he gets another pastorate. (He is back in Texas, working at a regular job.)

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  46. For those who don’t know: Being “blocked” on Facebook means you don’t see anything of theirs, & they don’t see anything of yours, even if you both comment on a mutual friend’s post. You can’t look them up because it is as if, in Facebookland, neither of you exist to the other. It’s kind of like Facebook’s “nuclear option”.

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  47. My phone died. It is overheating and running down the battery in a couple of hours. It is only about ten years old. They just don’t make ’em like they used to. So, I suppose, there will be a time when I get a new flip phone but it better be simple with none of the extras or it won’t get used. No time for all of that stuff.

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  48. Wow, Karen, pretty amazing. Have you called a new pastor yet or are you still interviewing?

    I will say that there is an advantage to being in a structured denomination that requires years of full and rigorous seminary study along with plenty of vetting & training for its pastors-to-be. I used to think (a long time ago, in my Quaker years) that a simple call by God was or should be enough to equip someone for the pastorate, but not now.

    mumsee, they have quite a few simple phones without bells and whistles still out there that you can buy, I’m sure. Ten years is a long time for a cell phone, I think. 😉

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  49. My flip phone was over ten years old. I had replaced the battery. I don’t know what could be wrong with Mumsee’s phone, but the battery. Replacing the battery should do it.

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  50. Because of my background in a Christian school that was independent I have trust issues. I know there are fabulous churches out there, but I just can’t trust a non-denominational church and I can’t trust a denominational just that hides who it is. 3 Circles Church is really a Baptist church. Jubilee Shores is really a Methodist church. If it’s what you are don’t be ashamed to put it on the sign.

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  52. It is raining…again…thinking living in the northwest would be a drier climate than what we have had here!
    Our sermon today…Unity in the church….it was good….
    The pastor who has had the most lasting and powerful impact upon our lives was not a seminary student…he was once a worker in the coal mines in PA…the Lord called him into His service as a pastor…he was licensed by the C&MA denomination and was our pastor in Myrtle Beach….Oliver Thompson….a humble servant of God….

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  53. Ten years on a cell phone? Good for you. I cannot understand why people want a new phone every year, when their current one works fine. My flip-phone is four or five years old, but I only use it a couple of times a day.

    An all-blog meet up is a great idea, but where? I live probably closer to the center of all of us than anyone, unless 6 Arrows is West of me. (I know she is in the Midwest, but she wisely won’t tell us where.) Hannibal, anyone? Just not on a holiday weekend in summer, as it is very crowded at those times. So, how about Quincy, IL, just 20 miles up river from Hannibal (which is actually closer to where I live)?

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  54. I know, let’s all go to Iowa! I haven’t been back there in years.

    If Linda and I manage to meet we’ll be sure to take a photo of our shoes. 🙂

    Phones: Depends on how you use them. If they’re an all-purpose computer/phone/camera/book reader, then replacing them every 2 years isn’t unreasonable, I don’t think. If it’s built as — and you use it for — “just” a phone, then keep it as long as possible.

    Good day at church. Our pastor in SS was talking a bit about sharing on FB and had excellent advice.

    Only one more Sunday morning in our facility before it goes offline for an all-summer remodel. After next week, we’ll be going to the 3 p.m. Sunday time at another church.

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  58. Donna – We’re not a denomination that just throws someone into a pastorate. Certain education is required, & there is an ordination process. Former Pastor had been a pastor for several years before coming to us. Many in the congregation really loved him. (I still love him as a brother-in-Christ, & I believe he has a genuine faith & deep love for the Lord, but there is something within him he needs to work on.)

    I think this was more of a personality thing. He seems quite strong-willed, & didn’t like being questioned, even if the questions were not framed as criticisms or “questioning” his decisions. In his last two sermons, it seemed like he was trying to justify himself, & some of his bitterness showed through.

    He often spoke of having a couple older, very wise & godly men as mentors, & I wonder if they urged him to step away from pastoring for a while.

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  59. We have not called a new pastor yet. In fact, the process is only just beginning. It is thought that it is good to have a stable interim pastor for approximately one month for every year the previous pastor was there, which for us would be six months. It has now been six months, & we had our first candidate preach a couple weeks ago. (It was a good, challenging sermon.)

    Lee & I, & I’m sure many others as well, wish Pastor John could stay. He has helped heal our church from Former Pastor’s leaving, & we haven’t lost any attendees. (If we have, it was only a few.) In fact, one couple who had left under Former Pastor came back.

    Lee & I were very happy about that, because they are special to us.

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  60. I am 5’6″ or at least use to be.

    Yesterday I went to a writer’s critique group and met some new ladies. It was fun. I got an article critiqued that I had written about humorous aspects of the weather.

    Church was good, but a bit sad with the worship leader leaving. His wife is pregnant with their second child. I am glad for them to raise their children in a smaller town area that won’t be run over with liberals.

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  66. Donna – I re-read my comment, & this statement – “We’re not a denomination that just throws someone into a pastorate.” – kind of sounds angry or snippy, but that it is not how I intended it, I hope you know.

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  68. I may have been at full height at 12 years of age. I remember having pains in my legs that they called “growing pains.” Now I just have “olding pains.”

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  69. My oldest daughter, age 22, is quite a bit shorter than I — a good five, maybe six inches. Second daughter, age 18, looks me in the eye. She’s probably done growing, but I might be on the way down, as I was five eight point one at my doctor visit in April, and I think I was more like five eight and a half at some point.

    Third daughter is fourteen, and is catching up to second daughter and me, so we’ll see about her.

    Fourth daughter is only seven, but was the shortest of all my babies at birth, which, I don’t know if that means anything. She was also the only one born before the due date, so maybe that made a difference, being one to two weeks younger gestationally than her siblings.

    Both sons (ages 25 and 11) are tall. It will be interesting to see if the younger passes up the older some day. I can’t remember how old 1st Arrow was when he passed up his dad, but for a while there, they were comparing shoulder heights just about every day by standing and facing each other, laying a level across their shoulders and checking to see when that little yellow bubble wasn’t in the center anymore. 😉

    And when 1st Arrow passed up my MIL, she wagged her finger at him and said, “That’s not nice!” 😀

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  70. Understood Karen.

    I think something that also helps with checks and balances are church elders. In our church government, the pastor is one of the elders, with no more authority than the rest of them — and they are expected to provide a check on the pastor.

    Seems that some of the pastors of these mega churches who have such spectacular falls are “lone rangers” in effect, they are pretty much the final (if not the sole) authority over the congregation, which I think is never a good setup.

    There’s no perfect way to prevent church leaders from getting off track, but I now have more appreciation for churches that are set up with an understanding that people, including pastors, are flawed and that protecting the flock should be the role of more than just one person.

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  71. There’s also wisdom in having connected governing bodies above the individual church, assemblies that are courts of appeal, if you will, so problems can be mediated by higher recognized authorities.

    Alas, churches and pastors and denominations will always struggle with sin. 😦

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  72. I remember our pastor once saying, referring to our several other elders, that they were there to “protect you from me.”

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