65 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 9-8-15

  1. A brief squall just went through. How wonderful to hear and smell the rain. The dust here has been so bad. There was enough that perhaps something went into our water tanks. But at least the dust has been washed off a bit. I listened to it out the open window while singing praises.

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  2. So glad you got that rain blessing, Jo!

    Yesterday I posted on Twitter a haiku about a plant with shallow roots growing in our house gutter. The last line was about praying for rain. When I posted that I heard rain begin and it lasted about two minutes. It was really surprising timing!♡ Got my attention.

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  3. Husband has a medical test today and doc appointment. Just another day in medical buildings♡ We will be back in the area which is like a maze so I hope we don’t get lost again.

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  4. I need to write a book review on a children’s book. It is a book about a dragon who wants to be a stand up comedian. I think I need to incorporate two worldviews into my review. By general standards, it is a cute book. But as a Christian, I see where it could be used as a starting point for leaving traditions behind with the attitude that it is all about the person and what they want to do in their wildest dreams without regard to God’s plans. This will be a difficult review to write.

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  5. One thing the dragon needs to do is stop breathing fire and burning everyone that laughs..
    You lose an audience quickly that way.
    And it isn’t funny when you knock people over with your tail..
    He has a long way to go in this.

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  6. Speaking of dragons, DragonCon was here in Atlanta for the last four days. It is the largest gathering in the world of people who like to dress up in fantasy figure costumes which is known as Cos Play or Cosume Play. It is serious business here. I have never been around it but we watched a PBS program about it. I enjoyed watching the parts about the creativity that goes into costume making. They also have a robotics event which would be fun to attend. It was a contest where the robots are much like tanks that push each other off a large platform arena (think of the old bumper car rides at an amusement park). Another contest is the Klingon Beauty Pagent (Star Trek).

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  7. But on the other hand we have taught a generation or two to “do what you love and you will never work a day in your life” “Follow your dreams” “Find your bliss” blah,blah,blah and to that end we have a generation or two with worthless degrees who can’t find a job.

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  8. Chas- Too many people take a simple children’s story and put deep meaning into it. Literary critics have been doing it for years. I remember in my literature classes in college the critics we heard and read put meanings into poems that one would have to stretch to see. And in the 80s and 90s, the homosexual crowd started putting their spin on stories, to the point that they made the story about Huckleberry Finn and Jim out to be a homosexual relationship.

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  9. I haven’t read the book, of course, and many of today’s children’s books are quite subversive . . . but from the description you gave, it sounded like just a silly story.

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  10. Some good thoughts from the “mercies” devotional by Tripp (I missed the last couple days so read a few entries this morning to catch up).

    (Sept. 7): “The reality is that God has little allegiance to my selfish little wish list. He has not signed on by his grace to deliver to me that catalog of things that I think will make me happy. He has not committed to meet everything I have christened as a need. He is not working to make my journey between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’ as easy as it could possibly be.

    “God is never caught up short when one of his children is enduring difficulty, as if something strange were happening. No, walking with Jesus is not the grand vacation, a life free of responsibility and trial. Walking with Jesus is not like that because our right here, right now life with him is not a destination (as a vacation would be). He is not ‘Vacation Planner Jesus;’ he is our sovereign Savior King. Thus this present life is meant by God to be a time of preparation for the final glorious destination that will be our eternal home.

    “So our right-now life is not a paradise. Right now, God in grace is working to prepare us through the difficulties of life in this fallen world for what is guaranteed to each and every one of his children.”

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  11. And (as we all return to our work routines today) from Tabletalk (looking ahead to 9/11): “Labor was instituted before the fall and was part of the order that God called ‘very good’ (Gen. 1:31). Thus, we have good reason to believe that work will be a part of the age to come in some form. …”

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  12. 😦 Why did God let my sunglasses break?
    Those sunglasses I told you about. I’ve had them 63 years. They were good sunglasses.
    Can’t be repaired.
    I know, but it breaks my heart to says,” these are trash.”
    And that’s what they are now.

    Peter, in some, like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, there is deeper meaning. But I challenge anyone to find some in Mark Twain. They are just stories. You can learn from them, but they are stories.

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  13. The new War Room CD is so high energy that I found myself dancing while washing dishes. A little ant got agitated and got in my sandal and bit me. That was not quite the thorn in the side, but it brought me back to the reality that I was not yet in heaven! I don’t think there will be ants in heaven, but Brother Lawrence may be there washing dishes 🙂

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  14. Chas (10 a.m. and broken sunglasses) see my 9:46 a.m.: “God is never caught up short when one of his children is enduring difficulty, as if something strange were happening. …”

    You just may be put in charge of the great & eternal apple festival. I’ll interview you for an article in the Heavenly Post.

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  15. A few conflicts I see in the book are up front the dragon is guarding a princess which is totally nontraditional. The dragon goes against its parents wishes. The dragon finds success doing what he dreamed of. The parents came around to liking what their dragon son had done. Basically, whatever you wanna be, you are free to be. Everyone lives happily ever after.

    The author is a single guy who is a director and choreographer for theater, tv, and cruise ships productions.

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  16. Chas, look on the bright side (of course you must without sunglasses), those were made of real glass that could have shattered if you were in some accident and you might have lost your eyesight. Just call me Pollyanna this morning.

    Really, i am sorry to hear that you have to put them away for good. Could someone who works with metals, like a jewelry repair person make them wearable again? Or get new lens if the glass broke?

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  17. Donna, I am sorry to admit that given the climate in Hollywood, it just makes it easier to jump to conclusions.

    I also thought that the books message could be that, “You can even be a Christian in Hollywood!”

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  18. Donna, their time had come. Like my ’50 Chevvy. It broke my heart to see a guy drive away in it. But I got over it. I bought an AMC Rambler. It wasn’t as good but it had four doors. . I’m using the glasses I had made for driving now. (I have glasses for driving restriction no my license.) So I keep them in the car. I can’t start using them around because I might misplace them. (My ophthalmologist says I need sun glasses, the DMV says I need glasses.)
    That’s where it leaves me.

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  19. Have you tried prescription sunglasses?

    They also have large sunglasses (carried at most drug stores) that fit over your regular glasses (and they’re really dark so they look like you’re wearing “just” sunglasses).

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  20. Janice, they aren’t bad. I had a pair several years ago and still keep them in my car.

    But now I also have the transition lenses in my regular glasses (at the recommendation of the eye doc who says the polarized feature really does protect your eyes at all times). So those often are “enough” for me in the car now (I think my windshield also has a tint to it), unless it’s super bright out. My prescription sunglasses are kind of old, I try to make those stretch over the course of a few eye exams if my prescription hasn’t changed drastically, but I will probably have to update them for next year.

    But they are good to have out here with all our endless summer sunshine. 🙂

    So looks like we’ll be in the 90s today with humidity (ugh), with the heat wave now expected to last into early next week.

    Typical September, though the humidity is a new touch.

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  21. I should have said that the glasses in my car are prescription sunglasses.
    I’m going to look for some clip ones. I have other dime store sunglasses but they are no good, for seve3ral reasons. Uncomfortable is one..

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  22. This is garbage collection day. Last week they did not pick up the cedar tree trimmings. My neighbor nicely got it divided up into little piles toward the end of last week. Well, I just went out there and there were fragments left out to the middle of the street. I cleaned up and swept where they left the mess. Now I am all sweaty and of course, as usual, Miss Bosley has to hop up for cuddle time. Last night she laid her head and wrapped her arm over husbands bare feet while he watched tv. She is really into stinky.

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  23. Husband is supposed to get home today. That will be good. Fourteen year old is suspended from football and work as he was called to the principal’s office already. I did tell him when he started that if he got sent to the principal at all, he would be forfeiting those two. It will be nice to have husband around when son gets angry about it.

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  24. Cheryl, the book seems to be getting good reviews. I need to go back and take another look at it. Maybe I missed something. I read it aloud to Miss Bosley, and perhaps she distracted me. Also, I am not as interested in certain kinds of entertainment as some other people so that figures into my feelings, too. I don’t usually look at other reviews before I write my own, but I wanted to see if anyone was addressing it from a Christian worldview. I saw one who was. As a quick read library book it would be fine. I will have to consider it as a read over and over book as so many children like to do. It also is good for spurring conversation about aligning our desires with God’s desires depending on the age of the child. Being that this was DragonCon weekend in Atlanta, I can see this book would really appeal to those who like that.

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  25. Janice says Miss Bosley is into stinky.
    I suspect cars are like dogs.
    I heard a guy discussing dogs. He said that’
    Dons don’t recognize good and bad smells they recognize danger-not danger, food-not food, friend-not friend, etc.. They don’t make judgments about the quality of the smell.

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  26. Miss Bosley put her head and paws down on husband’s feet so he could not go anywhere. She really likes all her peeps to stay home with her♡ I think after I have been away outside that she wants to reclaim me. The other day I was busy outside and even though husband was at home inside, he said she stayed by the door and cried for me. She is a bit of a controm freak. I am the one who feeds, waters, and cleans the litter box so I am critical to her life. Husband is better at throwing balls to her. And playing bats, bops, and bites, so he is more exciting. I am the one she seeks out for naps and cuddles. We each have our roles.

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  27. Janice, it’s a self-published book (Author House is a “vanity publisher”) that looks kind of mediocre. Unless they specifically want a review of it, I don’t really see the point.

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  28. Cheryl, I have only reviewed maybe two other children’s books for this group. Publishing has changed so much lately that going independent is not unusual and is not frowned upon as it use to be. But with the independence there is a much greater need for what one author called me, “gatekeepers.” Those are reviewers that do look carefully to distinguish the good from mediocre and bad. It is a ministry in a sense. So if I want to get more books for review I need to do an honest and thoughtful review that will be respected. I hope that somewhat clarifies my motive in being involved. I am interested in writing for children and this keeps me aware and up on what’s being marketed.

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  29. Good, we need some good children’s books. Some that don’t teach that children are smarter than parents and a lot of other stuff….don’t get me started on school libraries….

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  30. Janice, I’m not at all questioning your motive; I’m questioning how the books are chosen. I’m also not questioning the validity of self-published books as a whole–obviously, being in the publishing industry, I’m aware that the industry is totally different than it was 20 years ago, and the self-publishing percentage (and quality) is much high higher overall than it was 20 years ago.

    But it’s still true that reviewing a book gives it publicity, so unless it is either a book good enough to recommend, or important enough to review/ caution, I don’t understand the purpose of a book review. If it’s by a known author, then it might be important enough to review even if it isn’t very good. But I’d be surprised if an Author House book gets very far (lots of reviews up front may just mean that they gave out lots of free books to get a “buzz,” not that the book is likely to go anywhere), so personally I’d be more likely to ignore it and figure it isn’t worth much attention.

    But there may be other reasons I don’t know about to review it (such as that it got written up in some major newspaper or it’s generating buzz in homeschool circles).

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  31. What books REALLY need rather than reviews are some good editors. I have read books where the author has contradicted themselves within two pages, the timeline of events is off and I won’t even mention the sentence structure.
    For Pete’s Sake will someone PLEASE explain that I is plural.

    Also, it is not
    “Paul and I’s house”
    It is
    Paul’s and my house”

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  32. Did you miss me? I am down from cleaning the chimney. Now we can start a fire. Seems strange, with all of the fires around, that we would even consider lighting one inside, but time keeps on going and the seasons change.

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  33. Actually, Kim, just slightly more nuanced than that. Paul’s and my books (several books, different ownerships) but Paul and Kim’s house (same ownership, make only closest word plural).

    But yeah, one of the big problems with self-published books in the past is they tended not to get edited. That is still often true . . . but more and more of my business is authors contacting me since they want to self-publish and need to get the book edited first. The self-publishing field is a whole different world. Twenty-two years ago, authors would send self-published books hoping we’d say, “Wow, that’s a wonderful book, and we want to publish it!” But you could tell in half a second from the cover that it was self-published, and the inside would look bad (graphically) and be full of errors. Self-publishing a book often meant you were cocky enough to think you had something to say when publishers didn’t think so. Now, self-publishing has become a force to be reckoned with. For too long, now, publishers have been turning down really excellent books because the author didn’t have enough of a speaking platform; they wanted best-sellers and not ordinary books, and if they had a choice between a bad book by someone famous (I mean bad, not mediocre) and an excellent book by someone unknown, it was a toss-up which one they’d choose. Once self-publishing established the ability to do quality books at lower quantities than in the old days, and all sorts of options including print on demand, it became much easier than to self-publish than to try for a one-in-ten-thousand chance at a traditional publisher.

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  34. If I were describing our house to someone wouldn’t I say Paul’s and my house?(Paul’s house.. My house) If I were describing your house I would say Mr Cheryl and Cheryl’s house?

    The language has shifted so much and what I hear on a daily basis both live and on TV is so grammatically incorrect I am beginning to doubt myself sometimes.

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  35. Kim, I’m not sure what people actually say most often, but I distinctly remember learning the “one object possessed jointly by two people” rule, and it’s only one possessive in order to signal joint ownership. “Joe’s and Margaret’s careers” but “Joe and Margaret’s family.”

    “Mom and Dad’s rules were clear: no consumption of soda at the same time as you ate cookies. Mom’s and Dad’s perspectives on rule keeping was different, however: Dad never drank water, and Mom despised soda.” Or something like that.

    It’s rather like another subtle, but important, distinction: “My wife, Margaret, spoke to our son Bob about that just last night.” You can take the wife’s name out of the sentence and it still has the exact same meaning, since the man has only one wife. But since they have more than one son, it’s not just “our son” but “our son Bob” that distinguishes who is being discussed. The term using the commas, in other words, is a parenthetical addition that is not necessary for the sentence clarity (much as this phrase can be removed, and the sentence still makes sense without it), but “our son” and “Bob” are not synonyms, since we could be talking about our son Billy. Sometimes English has some really subtle distinctions that matter a lot.

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  36. If I were to invite a guy over, I would say, “Come over to my house at two on Monday.”
    If we were inviting a couple, I/we would say, “Come to our house”.
    I have never had to acknowledge to friend or kin that Elvera is co-owner.
    She does the same. Anything else becomes awkward.
    Who actually owns this building is nobody’s business.

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  37. Chas, you’re not as likely to say it about your own. You’ll just say “ours” or “mine,” as you said. But you might say “Chuck and —-‘s house.” Or “John and Mary’s kids.” Or “Bob and Buddy’s fishing store.”

    Where I think we actually might get more inclined to be lazy is that instead of saying, “Susan’s and Mary’s children,” we might say “Susan and Mary’s kids.” Even when they are two separate entities, the possessive on only the latter one “sounds” more natural, and it’s easier to say. But in print I suspect people are more likely to err using two possessives instead of one, if they err either way.

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  38. On the twenty fifth of September, Elvera are going to make a trip to Williamsburg. We will leave Friday sand spend the night at Chuck’s and leave on Saturday morning.
    Linda invited us.
    She said, “Come and visit us and stay over Friday night.”
    She might have said, “Come to our house …..”

    The issue of who owns the house doesn’t exist. The problem occurs when you make an issue of a non-issue.

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  39. Chas, I have very light sunglasses that fit over my glasses. They only cost 5 dollars and I got them at an eye doctors office. I did not like clip on as I could see the clips and it was distracting. These have a curvy part at the top that fits over the top of my glasses and I especially like that they curve around to the side and filter the glare from the side.

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  40. Under the title
    Kim Can’t Scratch Her Hiney Without the World Knowing

    So my friend at the personnel company was so excited to send my resume to the company for the Warranty Manager position. The only think I could find on line about a warranty manager had to do with car dealerships and I knew I wanted no part of it, but I was a little hurt they didn’t even call. I sent an email to my friend and she called me to apologize.
    It had to do with BUILDER’s Warranties and got sent to the sister company to the company where I currently work!!!!! The guy told her he couldn’t interview me because I work for his sister company.

    I tried to talk to the President of my company but he wasn’t in the office so I went to the CFO and explained. He understood and offered to call Matt and tell him it was OK to interview me, but warned me they were big micromanagers. We agreed I should still talk to the President, so I caught him in the hall. Matt had sent HIM my resume to let him know what I was doing.
    We talked and he understands. He said Guy and I were too much like brother and sister and it usually happened in small companies but didn’t translate well into a larger one. He agreed with me that I had to leave Guy.
    I made sure CFO and President knew how much I valued them and the opportunity they had given me here.

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  41. Chas, who owns the house doesn’t matter. It was a grammatical question, not an ownership own. “House” just happened to be a good example since a car may be in just one person’s name, and while technically my husband and I may own everything jointly he’d say “Cheryl’s dress” and so would I.

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