140 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-12-15”

  3. NancyJ. I doubt that she went to Piggly Wiggly, but I saw my oldest GD at Market Common, near MB yesterday. Right beside the airport.
    I sent her a message: “Don’t buy a timeshare”.
    She said, she didn’t. She is staying at a timeshare with a girlfriend.
    I suspect she left Brian and the kids home.
    Have you noticed that when the friend is female, that is always specified as “girlfriend”?

    A male friend is almost never specified.

    a.

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  5. Musical Advent Calendar – Day 12: Los Peces En El Rio – Villancicos are the Spanish equivalent to carols. Like carols, they are derived from medieval dance forms, and have stanzas and a recurring refrain. This is one of the most popular traditional villancicos:

    The Virgin Mary combs her precious hair
    As she gives thanks for her baby.
    Even she cannot understand why
    God chose her to be a mother.

    Chorus:
    Why, look how they drink!
    The fish at the river,
    Look how they drink
    Because they saw God being born.

    They drink, and drink, and drink again,
    The fish at the river,
    Because they saw God being born. (Repeat)

    The Virgin Mary washes swaddling clothes,
    And hangs them on the rose bush;
    While birds of the air sing in praise
    and the roses begin their blooming.

    The Virgin Mary is walking,
    She is walking alone;
    Her only company
    Is the Child holding her hand.

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  6. I presume that video was shot in the Los Angeles River. Only in LA can you sing a song about the river down in a river. Of course, they could use that river as a street when there isn’t water in it. But when it rains, get out!

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  8. I can’t be sure, but I have crossed over the LA river, and it looks like I remember. Also, it appears in some TV shows (the obligatory murder victim or police chase scenes) and looks like the video. Donna can verify when she comes along.

    And I forgot that one can also sing about a river in a river in Phoenix and Tucson, except those rivers aren’t concrete. It would be harder to set up musical equipment with all the sand and rocks in the Santa Cruz or Salt Rivers.

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  9. Good Morning…we are predicted to get 6 inches of snow now and you guessed it…our furnace quit working last night!
    Chas, it is at Market Commons where Piggly Wiggly is located….we were so impressed with the reinvention of the old AF Base…the grounds are absolutely lovely, family friendly and I loved the shopping area of course! We visited the gym where Paul worked while stationed there….his old boss, Clem Crabtree was honored , naming the gym after him…he really was a great person….he always worried about us….he couldn’t figure out how we lived on so little income! We toured the gym and it was good to see that they kept the old gym and added to and remodeled the rest. That was the only part of MB that we enjoyed actually….we enjoyed our time at Brookgreen Gardens immensely!

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  11. I’m wrapped in a fleece throw, I’ve resisted cranking up the heater so far this fall … But the time is coming soon. It was really windy all night & I left the bedroom window open to get some fresh air circulating in the house. But it is cold.

    I have to get some bags of things to the Salvation Army truck this morning and then it’s off to pick Carol up to return some library books (hoping she doesn’t owe any money this time). We also may hit some closed sections along Hollywood Blvd. (where the library is) as they’re already preparing several theaters for the Star Wars premiere next week.

    Can’t believe Christmas is only, what, 2 weeks away now? Sheesh.

    Ann, how’s your mom doing? Is she feeling relieved after that ordeal? Maybe it’ll give her something of a new lease on life?

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  12. We were really tired, went to bed early and woke up at 5 ready to go!

    Christmas tree today and only three chapters left of Lion, Witch and Wardrobe before I have to be technical with tape recorders, phones, computers, ITunes, CDs, and now another pressing job with photos, scanner, computer and more CDs!

    Fortunately I’ve also got some good books to read (5!) on our last weekend of peace before holiday activities go into full swing!

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  13. We had some excitement here yesterday. As I told you Mr. P and I went out to lunch and ran some errands. BG called and told us the dogs were out when she got home. It seems we didn’t lock the front door and there were some strong winds. It must have blown the door open because Amos and Lulabelle were having a grand adventure until one of the neighbors spotted them. Another neighbor joined in to help. They were able to play with Lulabelle, throw a ball in the house, get her to run after it, and shut the door. Amos has always been afraid of men he doesn’t know, so he would not let them near him. Finally they walked off a little way and he sat on the front porch. That is where he was when BG got home. Sitting on the front porch waiting. It makes my heart hurt to think of anything happening to them.

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  14. We had our company Christmas party last night. I went. Mr. P cheerfully waved me off and told me to have fun. I intended to come home at 9 but got home at 10:30. It was very lovely. This year it seems that everyone behaved. There were no tipsy people that I saw. The Grand Hotel was decorated with lots of Christmas trees throughout. Many years ago before Retirement Systems of Alabama bought them and they got so uppity the locals used to go there to take their Christmas photos. Many a child learned to swim in the old hotel pool which was really a sunken barge that had been lined and made into a pool. During Hurricane Danny the hotel grounds flooded and the barge floated. The new one looks like something from a theme park.

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  15. Well the dogs sure had a good time, I’m sure. But it is scary when they get out, it’s happened on rare occasions here, too.

    I still remember the one time they managed to dig out from a hole under the back fence early one morning (before dawn) and had what was a 2-4-hour romp though the ‘hood, tormenting a few cats and getting sprayed by a skunk. Wonderful.

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  18. Actually, I like the image of Amos sitting on the front porch waiting for BG to come home and then greeting her!

    I’ve just posted this on FB, but it may be of interest to some of you, and only 99 cents. The author is dying of cancer and PTSD related problems. 😦

    For some families, the trauma of service takes a long time to overcome and PTSD can stretch for many years.
    A friend has put together an insightful ebook–only 99 cents–on PTSD and how it can affect survivors during the holidays. If you have loved ones struggling with PTSD, take a look. I learned a few things from Andrew Budek-Schmeisser:

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  20. I LOVE the Poky Little Puppies. Thanks for the reminder. Grandpa and MiMi are going to see Babies in January.
    Mr. P asked what Adorable Girl (shamelessly stealing that from Michelle). She is just over 1 so her Mommy said shoes. Shoes!!!! Well, Mimi worked her way through college selling shoes and a good part of that was in the Children’s Shoe Department. Now buying Little Girl shoes is something I am uniquely qualified to do! I can’t wait. We are going to get REAL baby shoes. You remember those? The white ones that come to the ankle and lace up. Then we are going to get some Mary Jane looking shoes.

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  21. Michelle, I tagged Mr. P on your FB. As you know, Oldest Son suffers from it. He had an “episode” last weekend. DIL almost got him to go for treatment, but the next day he refused. Mr. P often comments that she really has 3 children. He has told her repeatedly that if she can get him to go for in patient care, he will come up and go to therapy with them or he will stay home and keep the children so she can go with him for the family aspect. He has my full support in doing that (please, God, when not if) the time comes.

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  23. Thanks, Kim. I like the contrast. My neighbor has a Nandi a (sp?) bush at her mailbox with those red berries that look so nice with her red bow. Mine is most different. We see a lot of mailbox bows in our neighborhood.

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  26. Today is my birthday. I think I’ve gained ten years over the past year.

    My brother came down to our house early to remove the P trap from the bathroom sink where I dropped a cross pendant many years ago (down the drain). In removing the P trap the older pipe going into the wall broke. (Never fix what isn’t broken at play.) So the little job has expanded into a big job. We did get the pendant out for all the effort, but it will take a lot to get it to sparkle like it once did.

    My brother has his good helper (Not!) with Miss Bosley’s great interest in what he is doing.

    Art went to the office. If only I could clone myself. 🙂 I need to be out shopping for special soap for Art to use before he goes to the hospital at 5 a.m. on Monday. In stead we’ve been shopping for plumbing supplies, again! ‘Tis the season. At least I have a Christmas concert on the CD player. 🙂

    My brother gave me a pair of Smart wool socks he got for me at R.E.I. which are super comfortable. I feel like getting my pendant back is like a birthday present, too.

    I will have to decide if I want to buy a little cake for later.

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  28. Happy Birthday Janice! A broken pipe, such a perfect gift! 🙂 I remember a plumber telling me something similar once when I asked him about removing the laminated coverings in my shower so the peach tile (that’s floor-to-ceiling in the rest of the bathroom) would be exposed.

    He said, well, people usually cover things up for a reason … so, he said, unless I was prepared to deal with possibly broken, damaged or missing tiles behind the acrylic face … I wasn’t. 🙂

    I have some of those smart wool socks from years ago, they’re still among my favorites.

    Hope the necklace shines up nice.

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  30. We had a good film festival. Lots of children with parents showed up.
    I saw part of one of the movies. “Home” was the name. Lots of things flying about, people hollering “help” and lots of commotion.
    I never understood what it was about. But the girl found her mother and that was good.
    We were worried there for a while.

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  32. Happy Birthday Janice. While I don’t ever personally want a nandina or a pyracantha in my own yard, I do like to know someone who had a nandina I can clip to decorate with. I like the red berries on it.
    I once had a pyracantha growing up the front brick facade of my house and my husband nor my father would cut it down for me. I showed them! I cut it down…it took days for me to heal from the thorns.

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  33. Happy birthday, Janice!

    I agree with Kim. Nandina are weeds out here and while pyracantha are pretty, yikes! Those thorns are efficient at shredding skin!

    Waiting to hear if adorable #3 is coming over to decorate the Christmas tree we bought at Rite Aid. It’s the smallest one we’ve had in years (6 feet!), but a noble fir, which is the tree I prefer and no one else does. Ha! The power when there aren’t any children at home.

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  34. Happy birthday, Janice!

    Today is also the nineteenth birthday of one our girls. She is the one living with my parents, helping them to be able to live at home a bit longer. God has blessed us indeed.

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  35. I am having a “plumb” good birthday! We’ve been to Ace and to Krystal and then to Home Depot. We’ve got plastic pipes, metal pipes and new hack saw blades. Miss Bosley thinks it’s grand, more bags to play in. Another day, another change of plans. Would anyone like to suggest a good flavor of cake to celebrate? Red velvet is pretty, but all that red dye can’t be good for people unless it is made from beets. Somehow the combo of beets and cake seem to cancel each other out. 🙂

    Well, brother is at the stage of checking for leaks. Progress! There is something to check. 🙂

    There is a little leak. 😦 So, we own quite a few plastic wash bins from hospital visits so, if need be, we are prepared! Always the optimist! ❤

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  38. Happy Birthday, Janice!

    Hubby redid all our plumbing after we married. He installed pex and pvc. It was the original steel that was installed as an afterthought when they got running water. 🙂 I feel your pain Janice.

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  40. Happy Birthday, Janice! 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵 (Stealing Peter’s idea of using music notes in the birthday greeting.) 😉

    I, too, like that decorated bush. Our yard looks pretty sad — something like that would really brighten it up. 🙂

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  42. Happy Birthday, Janice!

    I am partial to Yellow Cake, often with chocolate frosting (as Lee likes), but I like vanilla frosting, too. Carrot Cake or Coconut Cake are also favorites.

    Last weekend, Lee bought a Pepperidge Farm Coconut Layer Cake (available in the freezer section). I have loved those since I was a teen. Surprisingly delicious for a packaged cake.

    Are Pepperidge Farm products available all over the country, or only regionally?

    “Pepperidge Fahhm remembahs.”

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  44. Kim – A couple weeks ago, Heidi got out the front door, & took off up the lane. The lane opens onto a busy road. Forrest chased Heidi, which made her keep running. Chrissy tried yelling at him to stop, but he thought he was helping. Poor Chrissy was panicked, & as Heidi reached the road, she (Chrissy) was terrified.

    At that moment, right before running into the road, Heidi stopped to sniff something, giving Chrissy enough time to catch up & grab her collar.

    After getting Heidi, Forrest, & herself safely back into the house, she broke down crying. She was sure Heidi was going to get hit by a car. We are so thankful she stopped to sniff.

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  45. Karen, my friend here in town named Karen got those Pepperidge Farm cakes for her M-I-L’s birthdays. That was her favorite. We have done Boston Creme pie, German Chocolate, Lemon, and a few other flavors. Oh, Caramel is super good, too.

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  46. Recognize that line there – “Pepperidge Fahhm remembahs”? It was the tagline of an old commercial, said by a man with a think Maine accent. 🙂 Funny how things like that come back to ones memory years later.

    I bet most of us could still sing the Oscar Meyer bologna & hot dog jingles. Or “You deserve a break today, at McDonald’s!”

    Or how about “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”?

    “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”

    Oh, boy, I could go on with this.

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  52. Oops, I just realized Karen’s first comment at 3:37 had a bunch of food-related jingles (and her second 3:37 was sort of related 😉 ), and then I come with the Band-Aid jingle.

    Off-topic much. 😛

    The Sesame Street song, “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other” comes to mind. 😀

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  54. mostly not tempted by those and happy that I got down to my Christmas goal weight. Should I admit that my goal was to get back to where I was last Christmas? now to continue down to a more reasonable weight for me.

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  56. Happy Birthday Janice!! ‘Tis so sweet to celebrate our Lord’s beautiful creation of YOU!! In your honor, it is snowing in Colorado….you should come on over and enjoy it!!
    I trekked in to town this morning to finish some shopping….the snow began to fall, and I tell you, the smiles on everyone’s faces was pure joyous! A man walking in the parking lot at Target was fighting off snowflakes from his fully bearded face….I passed him, greeting him with a hearty “Merry Christmas”!!…..he chuckled with a boisterous laugh saying “and a Merry Christmas to you too”!! ….oh Christmas is in the air 🙂

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  57. Yay, NancyJill! It’s been snowing lightly up here and I realized that I have actually been waiting for it to start – usually it starts in October and stays until late April, but we only have about 2 inches so far this year. It’s just so pretty.

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  58. 6 Arrows – I started with food commercials, but was thinking of any old commercial that sticks in the memory. The “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” line was for Alka Seltzer.

    Another Alka Seltzer line was “That’s a-one spicy meatball!” (Said in an Italian accent.)

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  59. El Nino.

    My old galvanized pipes in the bathroom (1920s house) were replaced about 6 months ago after the shower/tub refused to drain.

    Not cheap, but without a “hubby” or brother around, what am I going to do … Sigh.

    Big plume of jet-black smoke filled the sky as I headed up the 110 to Hollywood this morning — it was a recycling plant on fire. There was still some residual white smoke when I was coming home several hours later.

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  60. Janice – I’ve heard of soaking jewelry in a fizzing denture cleaner like Efferdent. But I don’t know if there is some jewelry that would be harmed by that.

    Kare – Here in Connecticut, we are getting some El Nino effect, causing us to have higher temps than normal. Today was the warmest day we’ve had, getting up to 62*F.

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  61. Carol was dead set on having one of the new Burger King burgers today, she actually reciting the words to the ad’s description a couple times to be verbatim (I presume).

    We didn’t find one and had to settle for Jack in the Box. Normally we stop at a diner, but she’s just not doing well physically so I told her we’d get her a drive-through meal on the way home, that way she could eat it in the dining room and we wouldn’t have to make that extra stop getting in and out of the car.

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  64. Thank you all for the many wonderful birthday greetings.

    I went to Kroger to get the special scrub soap in a bottle behind the pharmacy counter for Art to use before surgery. It’s name is something like Hibiclenz. I have never heard of it. It cost around $8.00.
    Since I was in Kroger I checked out their desserts section. I got a small square, made for two, cake which has a creamy frosting and is a surprise cake inside since the print was half on and half off. It is either lemon or carrot on the inside. Either will be good. I also bought two tiny key lime pies which they had on that buy 10 for 10 deal. Now, I hope Art will get home soon. I’ve only had two Krystal burgers, a banana, and a piece of cheese toast today.

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  65. Heidi gets out every now & then, if a door or gate is not closed properly, but she usually just runs around the other yards on the lane until we catch her or entice her back with a treat. I think the only reason she took off toward the road was because Forrest was chasing her.

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  66. I enjoyed the almost record weather today. Since it was close to 70° I went for a 2 mile hike at a nearby state park. I was surprised that there were so few people there for a Saturday, but since it’s December, most people don’t think about the outdoors, except for the hunters.

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  72. The furnace is still out…someone didn’t want to pay an “emergency” cost because someone doesn’t deem this situation as an “emergency”. So Monday hopefully, two estimates will be presented for a new furnace and we will have heat throughout the entire house by Wed….when the high will be 30….today’s high was 23. The fireplace is keeping us warm enough….but let’s just say I don’t think using an outhouse is any colder than our bathrooms right now! :-P….and yep….we got the 6-7 inches of white stuff….”someone” just left to pick up Hannah from work…the roads are horrid…we’ll just pick her car up tomorrow sometime…Lulah went along for the ride in the truck 🙂

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  76. I watched Skyfall tonight — saw it in the theater 3 years ago but was in the mood for a little James Bond.

    Best line: “Welcome to Scotland.” (following a particularly fiery greeting by the good guys to the evil guys.)

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  80. Good morning. I have been up for a little over an hour. The pink sky in the east is gorgeous through the trees this morning. Coffee, the dogs, and a good book. Yesterday I was sitting outside and looked to the south. I saw the wrought iron table with the red market umbrella and the pots of flowers on the kitchen door steps and thought ” I am happy”. I went inside to thank my husband. He laughed at me. You know happiness isn’t some grand destination it’s just stopping along the way to look around and be. I think a lot of people miss that. I know I do but every now and then I have a moment where I get it.

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  81. Musical Advent Calendar – Day 13: Sung in Arabic, this is a Byzantine hymn of the Nativity. It is sung by Syrian Orthodox Churches at their celebrations of Christ’s Birth. Syria contains some of the oldest Christian communities and churches in the world. Tragically, many of them have been destroyed in the current conflict.

    Today is born of the Virgin, Him Who holds all creation in the hollow of His hand.
    He, Whose essence is untouchable, is wrapped in swaddling clothes as a babe.
    The God, Who from of old established the heavens, lies in a manger.
    He, Who showered the people with manna in the wilderness, feeds on milk from the breasts.
    And the bridegroom of the Church calls the Magi, and the Son of the Virgin accepts gifts from them.
    We worship Thy Nativity, O Christ.
    Show us also Thy divine Theophany!

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  84. Kim – Developing a grateful attitude (or, as some say, “an attitude of gratitude”) not only pleases our Heavenly Father, but I have found that it adds to our own pleasure & satisfaction in life. I have been working on this, along with developing a content heart, for many years, ever since I saw how miserable my MIL was. (She was surrounded by wonderful blessings, but could only focus on what displeased her.)

    Not saying that I am always walking in blissful gratitude, but I do try to refocus myself that way when I find myself getting grumpy or annoyed, or find myself complaining about something. And what I have found is that God turns that gratitude into even greater blessing. The more grateful I feel, the more I enjoy whatever it is I am grateful for. That is so like Him!

    Feeling grateful, & expressing that gratitude, reminds me of praising God. I can start off not even feeling like vocally praising Him, but as I do, the “feelings” of faith & love & praise for God well up within me.

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  85. Navy won. It was a great game. I did also see the Heisman awards. I think he is a very deserving young man. Born to too young parents, raised by his grandmother, he struck me as being humble and grateful for what he has.

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  86. Roscuro, did you see the religion news wire story today about Gambia being declared an Islamic state?

    President Yahya Jammeh has declared the Gambia “an Islamic state”, but stressed that the rights of the Christian minority in the small west African country would be respected and that women would not be held to a dress code.

    The announcement came as the president addressed supporters in the coastal town of Brufut on Thursday (local time), and the comments were later broadcast on state television and repeated on his website.

    “Gambia’s destiny is in the hands of the Almighty Allah. As from today, Gambia is an Islamic state. We will be an Islamic state that will respect the rights of the citizens,” he was quoted as saying on the presidential website.

    http://www.3news.co.nz/world/gambia-now-an-islamic-state-2015121313#ixzz3uDMo9NiQ

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  87. We were guests of the local Navy Alumni Association. Some parents living vicariously through their children, but quite a few Navy Graduates. My friend R and I reminisced about exactly how cold it was for the Army Navy game in Philadelphia in 1988. We both agreed that it was the coldest either of us has ever been. That year the Midshipmen launched water balloons at the Cadets as they marched onto the field. I missed it because I was in the stands guzzling hot chocolate in order to not freeze to death.

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  100. That it is probably wrong for that Christian to celebrate it until they realize we can trace roots all over the place. We can celebrate the birth of Christ in June or October or May or not at all, with a tree or without, with gifts or without, with feast or with fasting. We are to do our actions in remembrance of Him.

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  103. We had a different church day today. With the goats kidding, and three of the children assisting, husband left with three of the children to Sunday School. Then the three kidders went to church. I stayed home with one sick person who was quite rude to the church people last week.

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  104. Donna, I did see the news. This BBC article explains a lot: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35082343

    Further, I will simply say these two verses are a good rule for those reaching out in far fields:

    “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2)

    Notice, the type of government isn’t specified, but if one observes this next verse, the quiet and peaceable life is possible.

    But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.(I Peter 4)

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  109. Christ had harsh words for the spiritual leaders of the Jews, and He mostly ignored their political rulers, but the Jewish people themselves were viewed in love and care:

    And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”(Matthew 9)

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  110. Absolutely, on the 3:20. We are definitely called to love and care for Muslims. No argument there at all. And to reach out to them with the Truth.

    The same could be said for the homosexual community. We are called to love and serve them. To reach out with the Truth.

    But we are also told to shake the dust from the sandals.

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  111. Well, as someone of mostly British descent, I am grateful that the early Christians in that island did not shake the dust from their sandals, but rather stayed, even suffering martyrdom in order to bring the gospel there. Christ gave us life through His death when we hated Him, and, as the Father sent Him, so He sends us. As a dear friend and mentor, whom you all know, said to me when I was so sick, you have to be willing even to die.

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  113. There are families that are called to the mission field. What did Christ mean when He said:

    “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14)

    I’m a bit puzzled as to how the second question relates to the subject at hand, but I’m assuming that it is a reference to the Romans 13 passage.

    Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

    Governments are to punish wrongdoing when it is committed. That Christians be judged by governments solely by their actions as individuals, rather than by the religion they follow, has been the plea of Christian writers from Justin Martyr writing to Emperor Antoninus Pius to Thomas Helwys writing in Anglican-ruled England. So, if anyone of any religion breaks the law, they should be punished; but if someone of a particular religion commits a crime, the rest of that religion shouldn’t be punished for it. Also, Christians are called to obey the law, and should, as the unknown early church writer to Diognetus put it, “exceed the law by their lives”. So that, when a government chooses to admit strangers into a country, the Christians of that country should not only submit to the decision, but give help to the strangers, for we are also strangers and pilgrims.

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  114. Agreed. And as said before, should our government choose to bring in refugees, we will offer help. But, as US citizens “we the people” are the government. And we are to be actively involved, and have been for four hundred years. Forming and shaping the government to fit our Christian views. Welcoming the foreigner and defending the helpless. Many Christians do not believe in being involved with Government and now we see we are no longer defending the helpless (abortion). Our Government continues to reflect the hearts of the people and it is not pretty.

    As to missions, that is generally a go and serve unto death mentality, which is good also. You are talking about going and serving. That is good. We are talking about bringing “them” into our homes and neighborhoods. An excellent way to serve “them” and show them the way of Christ. But, from what I understand and I could be wrong, people have brought refugees over in the way Michelle referred to yesterday. Say, setting up a duplex to house two families. But, as soon as their feet are on the ground, under the sponsorship of some church, they head off to where they are comfortable. Understandable, but where does that put the sponsoring family.

    As you can see, Phos, many questions arise. If we can simply go and serve (which is far from simple) that is fine. But can we force everybody to open their homes? They tried that here way back when the early Americans were forced to house the British soldiers.

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  115. I have been reading in Jeremiah about faithfully speaking the Truth. We are called to do that. Paul did it on Mars Hill, telling the Greeks about the Unknown God. We are called to speak up where we live about God’s Truth. In action and in word. We should speak out against killing children. We should speak out against other sins. And in this case, we are speaking out against a false teaching that we see as very dangerous to all. It is dangerous to women. It is dangerous to homosexuals. It is dangerous to adulterers. It is dangerous to people who do not believe in the same way. But, should our government decide that is where we are going, we will go along. Which then brings us to the Revolutionary War. What were the Christians thinking?

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  116. Mumsee, the call of Christ is not just for missionaries, but for everyone who follows Christ. None of the nations, even of the West, are Christian. They can’t be. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Christians who were salt and light did influence Western governments for good, as Daniel influenced Nebuchadnezzar. The Church has always ceased to be salt and light when she became more interested in protecting her own interests than in sharing the gospel. Christ said, when the salt loses its savour, it is to be cast out and trodden under foot. Sometimes, like Jonah, God has to send a storm to shake His Church out of her comfortable boat.

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  117. Mumsee, speaking out against a false teaching is fine. It becomes problematic when the teaching is confused with human beings, and we start speaking out against the human beings rather than the teaching.

    As to the history of your country, I am awkwardly placed to speak of it. I will simply say, God’s Word doesn’t change and never becomes irrelevant. Paul wrote that Romans 13 passages when Nero was emperor – he knew the cost of what he was saying.

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  118. Again, if there are a billion Muslims, I would speculate that seventy five percent of those do not know the teachings of Mohammed. They are not the problem. The people are not the problem. The teaching is. And I certainly understand the idea of laying down one’s life, as our lives here are temporary. And if our country is going to turn Communist or Socialist or Islam or whatever, that is the way it will go. And Christians should hold firm to Christ. You don’t see a time where we should try to stop it from going that way? I do because I see it as taking away from the lives of the governed. Whether they are believers or not. I want people to have comfortable lives, because I like comfort. I don’t like that people are living in fear and poverty and pain. Yes, Christ is the answer. But Christ with food and clothing is good too.

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  120. Wow, this is interesting. Guess they’re going from one extreme to the other, but our pastor made mention of it this morning (our sermon was on Rom. 11), saying Jews are the same as anyone — we are all only saved by the blood of Christ, by grace through faith alone.

    Just belonging to a particular tribe or religion or race isn’t a guarantee of salvation for anyone.

    http://www.religionnews.com/2015/12/10/vatican-catholic-jews-jewish-anti-semitism/

    _____________________________

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  121. I haven’t had time to watch this, but I trust the website. Could shed some light …

    http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2015/12/08/a-crash-course-on-the-muslim-worldview-and-islamic-theology/

    ___________________________

    Adam Francisco (who has a Ph.D. in Islamic-Christian relations from Oxford University) is professor of history at Concordia University in Irvine, California.

    His work on the history of Islam is nuanced and informed. As one online bio notes, “He has a unique ability to see and understand both the difficulties facing Christians who wish to evangelize their Muslim friends and the Muslims who are being asked to come to Christ. Many of his unique insights come from personal experiences sharing his faith with Muslims.
    _____________________________

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  123. He said everybody will be able to worship as they have, no changes.

    Where have we heard something like that before? I guess he took his cue from our President.

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  124. kbells asked: Who won the Army/Navy game and who won the poll?

    Kim answered the first part, and the other was answered last week: you won it with 10 correct. Nine of the first games and Navy.

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  125. We have family members who think they cannot or should not celebrate Christmas because of its ‘pagan’ origins. We do not really discuss it, but if it comes up I just say I will celebrate, celebrate, celebrate. I think the devil delights in shutting down simple delights from our lives.

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  126. Thank you for saying that Kathaleena. I hate when adults who oh so righteously believe we shouldn’t let children believe in Santa inform other peoples children there is no Santa. Santa is the only time a child can receive a gift and not have to say thank you—I learned that from my Mama Ruth. Easter has pagan fertility rites included in it at well. Should we not celebrate Easter? Some people just delight in being miserable and trying to force their misery on others.

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  127. Roscuro – I don’t know if you saw this part of one of my comments on the News/Politics thread, but it can go here, too, with the discussion you & Mumsee were having. . .

    “The idea of thinking like missionaries, & being willing to risk our lives, in bringing Muslim refugees is good on the surface, but is missing one important point: If these refugees are indeed dangerous, then we are not only risking our own lives, we are also risking the lives of our unsaved family & neighbors who have no desire to be missionaries.”

    (But you may have also noted that I am not among those saying we should not let them in.)

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  128. Donna, please do. They always need it.

    Mumsee, thank you for your patience. I always fear that I will look preachy and insensitive to the very real struggles. About your last comment, about wanting both Christ and peace and all the rest. We all do. There were times when I felt like I just wanted to go home, and it was all the more terrible that just before I was to go and see my family after so long, my life was in danger from illness. That is when our friend told me what I needed to be willing to do. It was so hard, and I wept with that employee who wept over me. When God tenderly let me see my family again, I was so grateful. I’m still not fully mature. I’ forget the lessons God teaches me. There is a part of me that wants to turn my back on all of this, and live the rest of my life in peace. Yet, I know, peace will not come that way. Paul acknowledges our need to have a peaceful and quiet life in that I Timothy 2 passage. He says the way it will come is through our prayer for those in authority. Sometimes, I think we unconsciously echo that recent New Yorker (?) headline, ‘God isn’t fixing this’. Yet, Christ is our only true source of peace and joy. “And patience works experience, and experience hope, and hope does not fail; for the love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.” (Romans 5:2-4)

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  129. Kim – I stayed away from listening to secular Christmas songs for a few years, earlier in my walk with Christ. I mistakenly thought they were wrong, but I missed them. (I didn’t judge anyone else who may have listened to them, it was more of a personal decision.)

    Then I bought a Larnell Harris Christmas CD which included a medley of secular Christmas songs, & that kind of broke the hold of that idea on me.

    As I wrote recently, I enjoy both the religious & the secular aspects of Christmas. (But I do make sure to keep my focus on Jesus, because it would be easy to get carried away with all the other trappings.)

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  131. Ribbon! I go crazy for ribbon at Christmas (I realized this as I was sorting & putting away some wrapping supplies today).

    It’s raining here — only lightly, but we’re grateful for what we get.

    And I got my heater filter changed out today so when it gets really cold in this house (as it has been doing for a few weeks now), I can at least turn the heater on now.

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  132. Just a late reminder that Art’s second kidney stone blasting is tomorrow.
    in a few hours we will get up and groggy head to the hospital for a 5 a.m. arrival for check in. I just about lost it just now when Art asked if he had a clean pair of jeans to wear. I told him it is too late to wash some and why wait this late to tell me he needed some. We have been at the office today and his brain has been consumed with work lately (why worry about clothes).

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  136. Roscuro – I hope you know I made the point not as a reason to keep Muslim refugees out, but to point out that that particular appeal to Christians was missing another consideration.

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  138. Karen O- I don’t listen to most of the secular songs because they are annoying! Anything with the sound of jingling sleigh bells is especially bad, in my opinion. “White Christmas” and maybe one other are fine. The rest are poorly written trash. There are also some of the religious ones I turn off, with “Little Drummer Boy” being the most annoyingly repetitive noise there is. But if others wish to listen, go for it.

    I think if the US wants to get info from terrorists, they should blast the worst of the Christmas music full volume through large speakers at Gitmo. The radical Islamists would confess to anything within a day just to gain peace and quiet. Hey, it worked on Manuel Noriega when the military blasted hard rock at his compound.

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