66 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 4-2-16”

  4. I wanted to invite everyone who is on Facebook to like the page Hope for the Wolof. We are trying to promote prayer for the Wolof people that we work with. I am the page administrator and do most of the posting. I’m trying to post a little story of something to pray about each day.

    If you do like the page you are welcome to like posts, make comments and share posts. Just don’t use any names of people or even countries in your comments. We are trying to keep it generic to Wolof people throughout West Africa and not specific to our ministry, although obviously the stories will be things that I know about.

    There’s another FB page that is similar called Pray 4 the Wolof.

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  7. That guard bee hangs out by the mailbox. It can be quite amusing in the way he protects his post (wooden post on which our mailbox is attached). He almost seems like a tiny drone as he hovers and watches. At one point I held my hand out to him thinking he might land on it and then I pulled it back thinking of the stinger. He is really big in size. I know, I know…my husband says I am easily amused!

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  9. I called son this week because Art needed one more bit of info for son’s tax return. I usually text, but took a chance on calling. The phone made a sound and at first I thought he had clicked it off, but I listened and thought it did not cut off. Then I said his name loudly thinking if I said it loudly enough he might hear a squeak and realize his phone was still on. It then clicked off. Well, last night we finally got a call from him. He said instead of clicking the phone off that he somehow had activated the speaker. Thank goodness he was not in class, but everyone in the vicinity of his office in the English department probably heard me calling out his name. I’ m sure they were thinking, “What was that about?”

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  11. Lol, Janice, maybe they thought God was calling him!

    I once had to give a break for someone who ran a switch board in a large department store. It was in the day of taking wire plugs out of one hole and putting it in another to make the proper connections. I was trained for 20 seconds before the worker left. I also goofed and was being broadcast all over the store for awhile. Thank goodness I never had to do that again.

    Which reminds me of the time I was helping change lighting on a stage for a music show. I was told to be careful not to activate a certain number of lights at once. OTOH, they wanted me to continually be switching the lightening. Suddenly all went dark on stage. Oh, yes, putting too many lights on at once over loaded the circuits and shut down all power. Not good for those playing electric instruments either. For some reason I was never asked to do that job again, either.

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  12. The GLBT community would hate Plantation resort.
    j
    A sign on the door of the locker rooms (for the pool and gym) that says:
    Locker rooms are gender specific”
    REGARDLESS OF AGE”
    Caps theirs.

    /We southern guys say “Yes Mam” to 25 year old women.
    I hate this keyboard.

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  14. Good morning. Lindsey is at the barn; Becca had a friend spend the night and they’re happily playing upstairs. Scott’s still reading the paper–it’s a slow Saturday morning around here.

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  15. Haven’t seen the guineas today. A little afraid they became roast guineas in the fires. They had room in a couple of fields but if they were in the wrong place, it may have gone badly for them.

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  16. Bees do tend to get to know you. If you are a daily person in their lives, they can be quite friendly. They like the salt from your skin. We used to have a maple tree by our house that was filled with bees and they just let us go about our business but let a stranger approach and it was a new game.

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  17. Good Morning Everyone. The sun is shining!!!!! I am so happy. It is a little cool today but the sun is shining. Our drains seem to be working as well. The landscapers dug a little ditch behind our fence that is allowing the water on the lot behind us to run into the retention pond across the street.

    There was a FB meme yesterday that said the youth pastor fell asleep during a meeting so we put clothes on some of the chairs and blew a trumpet. It made me laugh.

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  18. I’m out of here in an hour (or at least that’s the plan) for a long, long day — taking Carol to see the boyfriend today, I’m dreading it as it’s a whole lot of driving for me. It’ll be the last time I’ll do this trip for her, I’ll have to find a way to break that to her on the way home. It’s just too much.

    At least she accepted my proposal that she pay 2/3 and me 1/3 of the pizza they want to order (he’s broke this time). This is their party, not mine, and she didn’t pitch in any $ last time, he and I bought all the food.

    Since she just got paid there’s no reason she can’t pay for most of it.

    Of course, first I have to take her somewhere to get her check cashed before we even hit the freeway(s) to his place …

    Sigh.

    As I said, last time for this. She has a card for handicapped rides (but she never has the $5 each way to use it) — she’ll have to figure out a way to save her money so she can use that next time she wants to go on a long-distance visit like this.

    I’m taking my iPad and a book to keep myself occupied while they visit.

    Pray for my attitude and light traffic.

    And a last-minute wrinkle in my taxes, got an unexpected form in yesterday’s mail that has to be included so I left a message with the tax guy late last night about it.

    Always somethin’

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  19. Chas is under his 007 identity again.

    Sounds like a nice visit. It’s overcast and cloudy here today, still no rain in the forecast. I hope we get at least one more rain “event” (as they’re called out here) before summer.

    My still new-to-me Jeep hit 99,000 miles yesterday.

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  21. That’s a thought. We’ve seeded the clouds, we should be able to plan and decorate for these things better.

    Paul David Tripp on Easter and why we need to hang on to it even after it’s celebration is in the past on our calendars:

    http://www.paultripp.com/articles/posts/dont-wait-until-next-easter

    ___________________________________

    … Because of the Resurrection, we should “always abound in the work of the Lord.” To abound means to be enthusiastic and hopeful, motivated and courageous. If you actually believe that Christ rose from death and that he reigns in power, you ought to believe that the sexually addicted can be delivered; that rebellious children can become submissive; that broken marriages can be healed; that fearful people can know courage; and that the depressed can rise to live with joy again. Enough of survival; we believe in victory and transformation. …
    ____________________________________

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  22. You could have picnics and fun runs and such. Maybe some of those helium balloons. And a speaker. Maybe get a band to play. This could really be something. And you could cover it for the paper. Maybe get some pictures. You would need security and somebody would have to arrange for enough portapotties. How about water sales to stick with the theme? Plastic bottles, of course, are a no no so you could set out some of those hoses. Just make certain they are not the type that cause cancer in California.

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  23. We’re finally home after 9 days away with family. We had a great time in Calgary with my sister and her family and my folks. Then we went a ways north and had a really nice supper at my son’s future in-laws – wonderful Godly people. I’m so glad my son will have them in his life.

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  26. It’s been a busy week with babysitting each day, as Emily took on some extra hours this week, & on Monday, she had to go to a class to be re-certified in CPR.

    She went in to work on Wednesday afternoon (for the 3:00 to closing shift) only to discover she had written down her hours wrong. She was supposed to work that shift the next day, & have Wednesday off. But since she was there, another lady decided to let her work so she could go home. (That was fine with Emily, because she is only scheduled for a few hours next week.)

    Lee remarked to me earlier today (over the phone, as he is working) that we haven’t had any down time to relax together this past week, so he is looking forward to picking up ready-to-bake Aldi’s pizza & watching a couple of our shows together.

    Later in the morning, Emily told me that she was called into work for today’s closing shift, because one of the ladies called out sick. BUT…she will be dropping Forrest off with R for the evening. 🙂

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  27. Donna, you are doing the right thing. We have a relative that we are glad to help, but not happy when he crosses over the proper boundaries. He is like a young teenager, who has no idea he takes advantage or expects much more of other than himself. He expects instant gratification of what he wants, when he wants it. He can call one person after another all day long. Each will think they are the only ones helping him. One holiday he had 3 holiday meals. I am sure each thought he or she was the only one to invite him, so he didn’t have to be alone! He just expects everyone to do for him.

    He can be anxious about things, which is part of his illness, however some is just immaturity and self-centeredness. He has to be reminded sometimes of the boundaries. To not do that just continues the erroneous thinking and immaturity. It is difficult, though, when you do want to be there for the person.

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  28. Lindsey came home from the barn around 11:30. She said she was feeling awful. Took her temperature–it was 102.9….We just got back from urgent care where we learned she has the flu. Guess she’ll miss more school next week!

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  30. Oh Ann! You all have certainly faced some trials as of late….was this L’s first day to return to the stables? Praying the rest of you do not get the flu!! ( you might end up at the Teen Center if Jo has anything to do with it!! 🙂 )

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  35. Haha Karen got our pizza!

    “We’re not ordering pizza” Carol’s first words to the boyfriend. :-). But he found some of his saves money and ordered some, he’s a nice guy

    I’m sitting in the community reading area so they could talk alone for a while, heard him singing to her ‘It’s Not For Me To Say’

    She’s telling all her old friends here that they’re getting married 🙂

    True love …

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  38. Everything has gotten confused about the upcoming conference that I was scheduled to attend with Mary, our WMU leader who died. I talked with a friend who usually goes who won’t be going. While talking, she mentioned what she is teaching her adult ladies Sunday school lesson on and asked how to expand her Acts lesson on courage. I suggested using a current event, and naturally thought of our current Governor and his veto on religious freedom. I read a blog post to her and she wanted to use it but had no way to access or print it. I ended up going to the library to print it and then we met at Honey Baked Ham and she bought me a soup and half a sandwich for my help. So my day has turned out differently than I thought it would. I told her I was counting that as my Easter meal since I had been alone that day.

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  39. Thanks for the prayers the other day regarding my student playing in contest today. She played with a lot of confidence, and got a “1” — the highest rating — on her piano solo! And that with a tough judge. The first half-dozen or so solo piano players in that particular room where he was judging all got ratings of “2” so it was quite exciting to see her get a one, when she had worked hard for it.

    Her solo was a Class B, which is the second-highest difficulty level. She also played her alto sax in two ensembles today — both of those at the Class A (most difficult) level, and those two ensembles got starred 1’s, which qualifies them for the state competition next month.

    Really exciting day for her, and it was so enjoyable for me (and my 18-year-old daughter, who went along for the enjoyment of it) to be part of it.

    On to Class A piano for her next year! Another thrill!

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  40. Here’s the piano solo she played: Timothy Brown’s Russian Prelude. (The pianist in this video is not her.)

    When my student finished playing the piece today, the judge asked her if she was Russian. 🙂 She said no, and he remarked she got the character of the piece down quite well, so that was very encouraging to hear. She did really do nicely with her expression. (So does this pianist in the video.)

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  45. Kim, I’m ok with taking her on errands once a month — it’s this trip to visit the boyfriend that’s really a bit too much. That and my paying for meals, which I also have decided I won’t do anymore. Last time I took her to the library I was taking her home and she says, “I’m hungry are you?” “No,” I said. 🙂

    A) She’d just eaten lunch at her facility
    B) It would have added probably 2 more hours to the outing and I really was ready to head home
    C) I’m going to ask her to pay for her own meals from now on, there’s no reason that she can’t put aside money for things like that.

    Of course, she went through all her money today buying candy and other junk food. But that’s her choice, she’ll have nothing for the rest of the month but I think the only way she’ll start to “get” the consequences of that is if she’s forced to live with it.

    I love Carol and understand the weaknesses. Heaven knows I have so many of my own. 😦 And she has a lot of medical and psychological issues (she’s having continual issues with the low potassium levels).

    But it’s time to stop enabling her so much in some of these behaviors. It was hard to watch her shopping today, just throwing piles and piles of junk food in the basket. I moved away from her, spent my time toward the front of the store on my phone so I wouldn’t get more upset. 😉

    She’ll have to figure out another way to get to her boyfriend’s to visit next time — It’s too much to expect me to spend 9 hours on a Saturday doing that. But that’s a conversation for another time, didn’t really seem appropriate for today. I’m just glad to be home and to have the day behind me.

    And it all also makes me more aware of my own sin — I can get very grumbly and even cranky about doing good works — which pretty much negates it all, of course. 😦 😦 Argh.

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  46. And I don’t mind treating her to a meal out once in a while, I obviously make more income than she does, but it kind of became too much of a expectation and routine, we’d go to Denny’s and she never seemed to make any attempt to pay even part of the bill (and I knew she didn’t have any money left).

    But even Denny’s gets pricey when you’re regularly paying for two with tip (and she tended to order extra-big meals, with dessert).

    So once in a while, OK; every month, no — unless she can begin to set aside her own money to at least help pay for her portion of the bill.

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  48. Janice’s bee reminds me of a part of my pastor’s Easter sermon.

    He talked about a family on a car trip that suddenly realizes a bee is in the car, so everyone panics.

    The father grabs the bee, pulls the stinger out, and lets is loose again — but this time, the bee is harmless.

    Death has lost its sting …

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  50. Poor Lindsey called me at 5:00, saying she felt awful and needed water and help with medicine. She was burning up! She didn’t take her cough medicine last night, because she couldn’t remember how to take it (I’d told her and the instructions are printed on the bottle). So, she’d been coughing for hours…. I told her she should’ve called me sooner–she said she didn’t want to wake me–which just about broke my heart (because she was a very sensitive child and thoughtful of others, but hasn’t been that way as much for last couple of years. I reassured her I was available at any hour and urged her to call me earlier next time). Her fever had spiked to 103 again–which will make anyone feel rotten (and she rarely runs fever; she’s had both strep and pneumonia without running fevers). She seemed so little when I brought her the water and helped her get down all the medicine. I’m praying that when her fever breaks, she’ll be able to sleep. She looked exhausted.

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  51. So, it’s just me and the dog, who’s been out and had her breakfast and is now sleeping on her bed (she sleeps in a kennel at night). I’m still coming to, drinking coffee. It’ll be quite some time before anyone else makes an appearance….

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  52. Tough way to begin your day Ann.
    I have been working on a newsletter. It takes hours, move a picture crop a picture, decide that isn’t the best one. And then I still need to get permission to use a couple of pictures and not sure if I need permission for something I wrote.
    But, it is close to being done and the more I tweak it the more I like it. I do this very prayerfully. I want the pictures to tell a story.

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  54. Hi, Jo. I’d like to receive your newsletter, too, if I may. Could anyone here who has both my email and Jo’s pass my name and email along to Jo? I’d appreciate that. Your newsletter sounds wonderful, Jo.

    Ann, I’m so sorry about how sick Lindsey is. She is in my prayers.

    Donna, praying for you, too, in your ministering to Carol, and with establishing your boundaries, too.

    Have a blessed day of worship, everyone.

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  55. Been to church and back. Went to Publix and was disappointed. I was going to cook whatever was the Apron Meal, they had all the parts on display but none of the directions and the two people I asked weren’t able to help. Not that it is a big thing, it just isn’t like the service you get used to at Publix. I bought frozen shrimp and we will have shrimp with lemon and capers over pasta later.
    Going to work in the back yard.

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  56. Poor Lindsey, that sounds horrible. Hope she’ll be able to sleep through most of it today. Thankfully the worst of the flu lasts only a few days, but it can sure feel like it’s longer.

    I realized on the bee sting story I got part of it crucially wrong in retelling it here — the father grabbed the bee so that it would sting him, rendering it harmless to the others in the car.

    We’ll be back in Romans today (12:1, 2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.)

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  58. In one recent sermon, Pastor Billy was going on about the donkey & the foal that were used to bring Jesus into Jerusalem, imagining what they must have been thinking & feeling. As he went on, I was thinking that he seemed to be belaboring this point longer than most points.

    Then it occurred to me – this is the point of the sermon!

    He talked about the foal carrying the weight of Jesus, & compared that to us “carrying the weight of Jesus” by being concerned for (& praying about) the things that concern Him (our loved ones’ salvation, for instance). (But he reminded us that “His yoke is easy & His burden is light”, & that Jesus is our Burden-Bearer.) The donkey, which supposedly led the way, was compared to those who have served the Lord for a long time, & now don’t have the strength to do what they used to do, but can offer wisdom & direction to younger believers.

    (Again, this was just an imagining about what the donkey & foal were like.)

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  61. Loved that music, 6 Arrows. A friend in our neighborhood who I used to get together with is Russian and her father was a Russian composer. Wow! Could he ever play! We got him to sub one Sunday at the church where my husband attends (and I attended back then) and he did a great job. Another time I heard him in concert. I have an album of his music. I think he also did some music for Russian TV ads. My friend has two boys, a bit younger than my son, and they homeschooled for awhile so that’s when we mostly hung out together. Her husband is Lebanese(sp?). It was nice to get to hear about other cultures through them. When my friend was first here, she did not drive since she had lived in Moscow and always relied on public transportation. I helped her get around some, but was never imposed upon.

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  62. Glad you liked that music, Janice. So do I, and I never tired of hearing my student play it these months she’s been studying it.

    Neat story about your neighborhood friend with a Russian composer as a father! Any Rachmaninoff relative? 😉

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  64. Kim, I enjoyed the Loretta Lynn song you posted the other day. Sometimes simple and sweet is the best way to present a song.

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  65. So sorry to hear about L! Is she feeling better as the day has worn on? Praying for her health to be restored….and rest for you too!
    It is absolutely Spring here today…a much welcomed change for us….
    I am exhausted this weekend…aren’t weekends supposed to be for resting? Church gathering yesterday, church today, and neighborhood gathering in just about an hour….I did catch about an hour’s worth of a nap this afternoon though 🙂

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