42 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 2-26-16”

  2. Good morning. I’ve been up for about an hour, but the rest of the house is quiet… Lindsey was told by the neurologist yesterday to stay home again today…
    Oh! Becca-boo just came down — I’ll check back later

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. Hello, all! Art just left for work, and the coffee is brewing. In a few minutes I will dig into my Bible study and prayer. I only have one state left in the Decision Tour journal, North Carolina. Has anyone else been to a Decision Tour gathering, or do you plan to attend one?

    It is cold outside, and the sky looks wintery white. I will have to check the forecast and see if snow is possible. It’s probably up in the North Georgia mountains. Miss Bosley is trying to play muffler around my neck. She knows it is a chilly day and time to wrap up.

    I watched the debate. Ben Carson is still my fave. Rubio put some teeth into Trump, and so did Cruz.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. What is a Decision Tour.
    It is 37 degrees here. It’s sunny but cold. I am so ready for warm weather. I do not do cold well. It makes my hands hurt and I cannot get them warm—never mind that I refuse to wear gloves or mitten– they are too restrictive.

    Tonight is the night of Angie’s home concert at our friend Lesee’s house. Lesee had been working for weeks to have everything perfect. I am sure it will be. She is trained as an interior decorator and just has the “touch”. Everything she does entertainment wise is perfection. I think I have told you before how she haunts Good Will and isn’t above picking up something on the side of the road and dragging it home. She will make something of it that will inspire pure envy and you will think why can’t I do that. I have finally given up, I just go along for the ride on whatever she is doing.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  10. Good Morning….it’s in the twenties but they promise it shall be 60 by this afternoon in town…and that’s where I will be…working…indoors…today and tomorrow…the nicest days of the week….
    Lulah acts as though she has never had surgery…jumping, running….oh that dog. She does not have a tattoo on her belly….just a big ol’ scar….while she is in the care of Hannah today, the vet suggested giving her a whole instead of half a sedative….hope it settles her down so that she doesn’t pop a stitch!!
    Have a blessed day ya’ll….

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. Kim, I don’t like gloves either, whether to clean or for warmth. I wear them “when I have to,” but generally avoid them. I keep a pair in the pockets of each coat, but my husband is far more likely to be wearing his gloves than I am to be wearing mine, and he was born in Michigan and I was born in Arizona.

    Like

    Reply

  14. I like the blue jay. I just missed what could have been great photos of a blue jay yesterday. The evergreen outside our front window had a dusting of snow on it, and a blue jay was in the tree. But I turned to get my camera, and as I went back to the window it flew to the ground. I got some photos of it on the ground, but nothing as lovely as I might have gotten in the tree.

    A male cardinal did land in the tree later, and let me get several photos of him, but the tree didn’t still have the dusting of snow that would have added that extra touch had I had my camera when the jay was posing. (I’ve shot the cardinal in that tree before, but never had a chance with the jay, since that’s the first time I’ve seen him on it.) Oh well.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Nice blue jay — and nice new avatar of Arizona, Peter.

    I saw/heard only parts of the debate, it was a free-for-all. Rubio effectively took on Trump a few times, I thought, but whether it will make a difference or not, who knows.

    Like

    Reply

  18. In following through on the book I just read, Living Forward, by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy, I want to prepare a life plan. It requires eight hours or a full work day to go through the process. Where would you go to get away from “it” all to do such a thing?

    Like

    Reply

  21. For the longest time, whenever I think about ISIS and the middle east, my mind drifts to some anonymous refugee–a middle-aged woman like me who once lived in a nice house, had a lovely life and family, drove a car and is now living in a refugee tent near Kurdistan. I have no idea who she is–or if it’s a specific person–but I pray for women like me, Christian women running for their lives and living in daily communion with God to survive.

    Today, I was chatting with my dear friend Amanda Sorenson and she told me about a project she and her husband Stephen have just completed for Voice of the Martyrs. Sounds like this mysterious woman will live in these pages. I’ve pre-ordered my copy, the book comes out on Tuesday. Join me in prayers for those fleeing for their lives in the Middle East, and those standing firm in their faith in the face of death and destruction. I can’t imagine, but soon I’ll be reading about it:

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. Chas, there are exercises to go through to find out what your biggest life goals are. The first deals with preparing a eulogy with words that a person would want to hear spoken at their funeral. How does a person want to be remembered by those closest to them. I guess that goes along with what Kim posted. Then there is a breakdown of the areas of life that a person wants to focus on such as health, marriage, spiritual growth, time with friends, pets, hobbies, occupation, etc. Each area gets looked at according to the big goals in life to see what needs to be done so that you don’t get stuck in the little details of life and never accomplish the main thing(s). The point is that people spend more time planning for a vacation than for their life. A review is suppose to be done yearly because goals change as the seasons of life change.

    Like

    Reply

  24. This is one of those “Why bother” days, except it counts as an attendance day. We’re getting out at 1:15 because of the state playoff game the girls’ basketball team plays tonight. About half the students are gone today, as the juniors are testing and a lot of students skipped today to go to the game early. It doesn’t start until 8:15, so what’s the hurry?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. This conversation between my husband and me was edited a bit for brevity, but I thought it might amuse some of you.

    Context: We were wondering why Misten continues to choose at times to lie on the hard floor, even though she now struggles to get up when she’s on the floor and she has a cushy bed and multiple rugs and bath mats she can lie on.

    Him: You notice, though, that dogs never go (he imitates a person moaning and groaning to call attention to how hard this task is).

    Me: Well, I’ve read that dogs tend to try to hide pain. In the wild, showing pain might cause your pack to turn on you and destroy you. If you’re the alpha wolf, for example, other wolves are always looking for you to be weak because that’s their chance to fight you and take over.

    Him: So why not just accept being in second place and let the others leave you alone?

    Me: Well . . . only the alpha male and female get to mate and have pups. In fact, the alpha male won’t even let other males lift their legs to pee; they have to squat.

    Him: So . . . basically only the CEO is allowed to use the urinal?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Peter, is that gravatar from Arizonaopoly? One of my college friends gave me the game years ago, but not being a Monopoly person and having no connection to the university, I think I finally gave it away or sold it in a garage sale.

    Like

    Reply

  28. Cheryl, I am sure there is a tie in to what you wrote because lately I have been calling the state Rules committee chairman and the sponsor of a bill proposing public bathroom accommodation depending on one’s sexual orientation inclinations of the day. Maybe we need Alpha male and female public bathrooms, too, just so they do not feel discriminated against.

    Like

    Reply

  30. Janice, I saw that headline on World. I don’t usually audibly react to what I read online, but my reaction was an involuntary, “What!?” Another benefit of commenting on World, now I understand something about American politics 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  31. Janice, I never went through any of those exercises. Though we had similar things at the Naval War College. I never aspired to be the chief of anything, I just wanted the next promotion. And when I saw an opportunity, I took it.
    It’s too big a subject to deal with now. I may sometime. But, in passing, a couple of days ago, there was a board where people mentioned “Regrets”.
    I have no regrets. That is, nothing I would change. I have never intentionally hurt anyone, but I probably have, and I’m sorry for that. I took several roads that, in retrospect, have led to nowhere, But without the, my five years in seminary for example, if I hadn’t taken them, I wouldn’t be here.
    I’m happy with the way it turned out.

    As for my funeral. After the hour and forty-five minute funeral for Dr. Jones, I said to Elvera.
    ” When I die, just stand up and say, ‘He wasn’t such a bad guy after all.”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  32. Mumsee, Thailand has a nasty reputation when it comes to any refugees or immigrants:http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-road-to-damascus-1.3285997. Many of the slaves on the now infamous shrimp boats were economic migrants from Myanmar (Burma). The Karen people who flee Myanmar’s oppression often end up in Thailand – we had a Karen family for a while in our church who came to Canada by that route. Perhaps Thailand could excuse their treatment on the ground that these people aren’t citizens and often come to Thailand illegally.

    Like

    Reply

  34. That last sentence on Thailand was ironic in tone, by the way.

    This I find disturbing: http://www.worldmag.com/2016/02/saeed_abedini_please_pray_for_my_marriage The way this man is operating is classic abuser strategy and he is being given a public platform to do it. It is an example of why we should not make overnight Christian celebrities of people simply because they have been imprisoned or persecuted. I remember a missionary from a restricted access country speaking about the challenges faced by a family of an imprisoned country, and he observed, “Being under persecution does not automatically make them strong Christians.” It is something Western Christians should remember when wanting books and speaking engagements from persecution survivors.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  36. Chas, the eulogy part would be really difficult for me to consider. I think the most important thing I have done was to homeschool our son for 1st through 12th and help him decide on a good college, although if I had pushed on the choice, he would have run the other way. I may have mentioned before that my dad suggested I attend North Georgia College and I picked Georgia Southern. I thought he picked North Georgia because it was the military college and he hoped to quickly see me married. That was not what I wanted when I graduated from highschool at 17 years old.

    Like

    Reply

  37. Chas, I have minor regrets, but nothing serious. Every time I think, “If I knew then what I know now, I might have done this . . . ” I remember the results of the choices I make, or the reason I made the choice, and I think, “No, I probably wouldn’t.” If I had taken a promotion I was all but offered in Chicago, for example, it would have meant quite a bit more money, partly because it would have meant more pay and partly because the department I would have transferred to laid everyone off, with severance pay, just about the time I would have been about to leave Chicago, and a couple months of severance pay would have been wonderful. But then I remember the reason I rejected the job–that I didn’t want to work for that department–and I’m back to being content with my choice.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  38. Roscuro, it looks like he was indeed abusive, but I’m not sure what you mean by “classic abuser strategy.” Do you mean that by asking people to pray for their marriage, he’s making it look like she is the one who has chosen to dissolve their marriage and he is thus “the good guy”?

    Like

    Reply

  39. Cheryl- I got that logo from the UA athletics’ website. I wish I could see the Arizonopoly you mentioned.

    Janice- Not surprised by Christie in that endorsement. If Trump hadn’t joined the race, his supporters would probably go for Christie since they have similar temperaments.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. Cheryl, yes, especially as he earlier declared that he would not speak further about his marital situation: http://www.worldmag.com/2016/02/saeed_abedini_speaks_out_about_marital_strife

    The couple is working on their problems, he said, which he thinks should be kept private.
    “It is not my intention to speak further publicly—through social media or any other channels—at least until I believe we have made significant progress in private,” he said.

    It is also an intimidation technique. By making such a “prayer request” while visiting with lawmakers, he is sending the message to his wife that he has the ear of the most powerful people in the country, that the fact that he has a prior domestic violence conviction is not enough to convince high ranking people that her story is true.

    Like

    Reply

  42. Re: Cold hands & gloves/mittens

    One of the best gifts my mom gave me several years ago is a rose-colored pair of knitted (but not by her) fingerless gloves. I wear them on & off throughout most winter days. Although my fingers are not covered, the palm & back of the hand are, & as they warm up, the fingers warm up, too. (They’re not the kind that have partial fingers that are cut off, so there is nothing between the fingers to impede me doing certain things.)

    I take them off when I am doing housework, someone else might like to keep them on for that.

    Another wonderful gift from my mom is a very soft, pretty afghan that she crocheted for me many years ago. My grandson is currently partially covered in it as he sleeps on my couch, waiting for his mommy to come home from work. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to mumsee Cancel reply