76 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 5-7-16”

  1. I’m here in Oklahoma City with my wife, son and Daughter-in-law. Tychicus’ (and my son’s) Spurs beat my Thunder last night. Though this is blasphemy for a Texan to say, I love Oklahoma. It makes D/FW seem like Los Angeles.

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  3. I did two posts that ended up on the prayer thread. Here is the first copy and paste:
    Good morning! ♢
    Good evening! ♢
    Good hours! ♢
    Good weekend! ♢
    Check the diamond that applies♡

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  4. Second post:
    It’s my brother’s birthday so I am considering calling him and singing the Happy Birthday song. He might consider it a rude awakening. Probably not, though, since he has chickens, he already had the rooster rude awakening. Early bird gets to bother brother first.

    AJ, you might want to remove those from the prayer thread 🙂

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  9. The key word is “now.” I am hopeful God is going to do something to give us a better choice. He often acts at the last minute when He is up to something good. Then again, He may have abandoned America.

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  12. Peter, That was always my first choice. I guess I better hurry and get back south of the Old Red River before they put up a wall and I find myself on the outside where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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  14. He’s not 100% Conservative, but I’ve been looking into Gov. Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico. He’s strong on economy but week on social issues. But the again, he is a Libertarian now.

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  15. AJ, spotted sandpiper? lesser yellowlegs? (I don’t have the bird book in front of me, and I’m not an expert on shorebirds. My only sighting of either was two photos of a lesser yellowlegs, and I thought I was photographing a killdeer since there were some killdeer too, and they’re about the same shape. I pulled it up on my computer at home and had to go to the bird book to identify it. I would have focused in on that bird had I realized at the time it wasn’t a killdeer.)

    You never did tell us what kind of warbler it was the other day.

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  16. Janice, 8:31, I’ve ended up on threads I didn’t intend to click on right then, too. I don’t think it’s your phone that is the problem. I’ve noticed that when I refresh the homepage on this blog, there is a sudden shift of the whole page just as it finishes reloading. If I try to click on a thread I want at just the wrong moment, I end up clicking on a different thread than I intended because of the page shifting just a split second before I click, with the cursor winding up in a different place.

    Or something like that. 🙂 You’re not the only one, in any case. 🙂

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  17. Austin Petersen is a candidate running for the Libertarian Party, and sounds like a good alternative to voting for Gary Johnson. Petersen is pro-life, for one thing.

    I’d never heard of Austin Petersen before today, but I read up some on him, and may just vote for him. It’s no secret I’ve voted for the Constitution Party candidates the last couple presidential elections, but one problem I’m seeing now is that the CP at this point has ballot access in just under half of the states. I’m not sure in how many states their candidate will be on the ballot by November.

    I’m not sure of how many states Petersen has ballot access on, either, but I think the Libertarian Party has been more successful in the past than the Constitution Party has had in getting on most or all states’ ballots.

    Anyway, from what I’ve seen, Austin Petersen is a candidate a Christian who is fed up with the current state of politics could get behind. Coalescing behind a Libertarian candidate like him helps ensure future access to good alternative candidates, too. There are different rules for third parties getting on the ballots, which the Ds and Rs don’t have to deal with. Third parties who get a certain percentage of the national vote have an easier time getting future ballot access, as well, so a vote for a third party, while it may not yield results in the current election (getting the candidate elected), helps increase the future chances for these alternative parties to gain a better foothold.

    It’s not only about the present election, but also the long run. I don’t see rebuilding the Republican Party as something that’s going to happen. The Rs and Ds are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from each other, and both seriously detrimental to the principles and freedoms most of us hold dear.

    Here’s some information on Austin Petersen, LP candidate.

    http://austinpetersen2016.com/platform/

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  18. Good Morning Everyone. I have been up a while. The dogs and I have shared a quiet morning and now Mr. P is up and the cat and both dogs are with him. I have taken to calling him Dr. Doolittle. Amos, the little traitor, has taken to climbing up and sitting in his lap. I understand it is what he does at the dog park after he walks around and tags everything. They go in the side with the big dogs because of Lulabelle.
    Yesterday after 5 we went out back with both of them. Mr. P threw the stick for Lulabelle and I threw the squeaky toy for Amos. They were both so wound up it was funny. Mostly Amos and I play the “get you get you get you” game. I throw the squeaky, he runs and gets it, then plays keep away until I “get him” and rub his belly.
    Yep, all things considered, life is pretty good….

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  20. I see Janice has been lost this morning, wandering all over the place.

    It’s raining here, just lightly — although the weather forecast insists it is not raining, only just “overcast.”

    I’m off to Hollywood today to take Carol to the crazy-branch library (the Hollywood branch of LA’s library system, just off of Hollywood Boulevard, is the weirdest, hands down, in so many ways).

    She has 30 (!) books to return, I only hope she doesn’t owe late fees. Sigh. Today we’ll have the talk about her setting aside at least some of her monthly checks in the future, I think.

    She’s still planning to move into the boyfriend’s brother’s back house with him (the boyfriend) & then get married sometime this summer.

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  21. In my dreams from last night: bike riding amid iguanas in some L.A. plaza, a friendly Aussie dog, losing Carol in Hollywood (problematic since she now has no cell phone), dancing, helping police find a missing woman (not Carol, we’ve moved on to a whole different dream chapter here), a man wearing a cage full of chickens on his head as I tried unsuccessfully to snap a photograph of him.

    My dreams never cease to entertain. Or disturb.

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  25. Well, as usual, Mother’s Day seems to be a mine field. BG wanted to go to Wal-Mart to get a few things. On the way she told me her dad had sent a text asking if she wanted to join them for lunch tomorrow at 11. I am not proud of myself. I lost it. Mr. P had already told her she was to be with me or at work tomorrow. I sent a nasty message to her father starting off with “How dare you…. Ending with “now I am the wicked witch who will keep her away from her Nana on Mother’s Day”.
    It is worked out now because Mr. P got involved in it, but not without emotion on both sides. Her father should have known better. The last Mother’s Day we were married he told me I wasn’t his mother….

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  26. A sweet 6th grade PNG girl, whom I never taught, invited me to a get together today. I couldn’t read the invitation, so did not appreciate that it is for moms and she thought of me.

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  27. There are actually 2 birds in the smaller pic. One is brown with spots and a white belly. The other is brown with a white belly, but the spots are on the white instead of brown.

    Cheryl,

    My guess was a yellow warbler.

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  29. I’ve had a migraine for two days….it’s tolerable now…as long as I’m still.
    Becca had a neighborhood friend over to swim today. She’s a delightful girl, and I heard a lot of gleeful giggling coming from the game room. Sometimes I wish we lived on acreage, but it’s nice to have walking distance playmates.

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  30. AJ, that was my initial guess too, but it didn’t quite match the photo and I wasn’t sure. Warblers are tricky and something I knew very little about. So what are today’s birds? Oh . . . and do you happen to have a recommended book for waterbirds specifically? My husband and I may end up at some birding hot spots later this summer, and I have general books that include waterbirds (ducks, shorebirds, etc.), but none that specifically focus on them, and I’m looking to get one. . . .

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  31. I like being able to multi-task with my cooking. A few days ago I made chicken with rice soup. I thawed a 2.7 pound package of chicken, but was not of course going to use it all for the soup. But I made a big pot of soup (lots of leftovers) and cut the rest of the chicken into chunks, which I baked with salt and pepper.

    With the baked chicken, I made wraps one day, something else (I forget what) another day, and then my husband and I ate the last of it with rice and curry powder. Other times I’ve cut it up and used it in fried rice, but a lot of the work is already done since it has been thawed, cut smaller, lightly seasoned, and cooked. I wouldn’t want to do that every week, but it simplifies meal planning periodically.

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  33. This is not necessarily an endorsement of Gary Johnson, but to add a little info to what 6 Arrows mentioned above. This is a quote I saw about Johnson’s abortion views. . .

    “He calls himself pro-choice, but he’s well to the right of Hillary Clinton — supporting late-term abortion bans, parental-notification laws, and opposing public funding for abortion — and he’s indicated that he’d appoint judges “who will interpret the Constitution according to its original meaning.” He also believes Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided because it “expanded the reach of the Federal government into areas of society never envisioned in the Constitution.” In the past, Johnson has indicated that he’d rather leave abortion policy to the states.”

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  34. We have a hoot owl who is entertaining me tonight. The wind died down and it warmed up today so I have a window open to better listen to Mr. Hoot. Miss Bosley is over on the window sill to get a better listen

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  35. Oh yeah, the other thing I did with the chicken was to make a hearty salad for lunch, adding bits of diced chicken and some cut-up ham (and boiled eggs on mine and tomatoes on his–I like tomatoes myself, but they don’t like me). So it was served in several different ways over the course of a week, with all that is left being about half a bowl of soup in the fridge and some broth that I’m dripping on Misten’s food every day.

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  37. Cheryl, I like to do food things like that too.

    Another thing we enjoy is what my mother called creamed chicken (which is like chicken a la king over rice).

    Make a white sauce and add some precooked sliced or diced veggies such as onions, celery, peas, and mushrooms along with shredded or diced chicken meat. Season to taste, which for me means with some black pepper. Serve over rice.

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  39. Good morning and Happy Mother’s Day!

    Becca-boo made me homemade chocolate chip cookies yesterday, with a little help from Scott. They are delicious! We’re headed to my MIL’s for a lovely brunch at the yacht club in a few hours.

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  41. Oops. I pressed the wrong button. One problem with Petersen is lack of name recognition. Yes, a vote for the Libertarian would help in the future, but they are already on the ballot in all 50 states. Gov. Johnson already has some national recognition, and has a better chance of defeating the two narcissistic main party candidates. I agree that a strong Christian would be better, but right now we need to keep Trump and Hilary out or there might not be a “next time”.

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  44. Peter, I agree that Johnson would be much better than Hillary and Trump, but the ladies are making strong arguments for their cats and dogs over on the political thread..

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  46. Happy Mother’s Day….I am here and I am biting my tongue…..a lot…..some of us want to be honoring to our mother’s….and we continue to be faced with an acerbic and criticizing tongue….I need to press on and not let it get to me…this has been an extremely challenging day thus far and it is only 10:30! Have mercy……

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  47. Four of my children tell me I am the worst thing that ever happened to them, so maybe it is not so rare for people to not have a good relationship with their mothers. Personally, I am very opposed to this day and choose to ignore it. Two of the four who think I am the worst thing in their lives bought me gifts. I have a hard time being gracious and accepting when the entire year they spend telling me in word and action what they really think of me. Perhaps this is the year when I just say no thanks, enjoy it yourself.

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  48. 😦 Hope the day gets better.

    I think the cat has turned against me.

    She hates her new prescription food and seems to be on a near-hunger strike.

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  50. 6 Arrows – That was from this National Review article.

    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/435037/gary-johnson-libertarian-party-presidential-candidates-moment-now

    *************

    A friend of mine writes:

    “46% of Trump voters are doing so to stop Hillary.
    47% of Clinton voters are doing so to stop Trump.”

    So, Gary Johnson could actually win if those disaffected people voted for him, but too many people still won’t because “He can’t win.” (Not an endorsement, merely an observation.) Some are estimating that Johnson may end up with over 20% of the vote in November.

    Another friend points out that at the time Abraham Lincoln won the presidency as a Republican, the Republican Party was a “third party”, & that the Whig Party, once a main party, then declined & disappeared. I haven’t checked that out, though.

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  51. NancyJill – I understand. I loved my mom, but usually felt that I was walking on eggshells when I was with her. That is emotionally exhausting.

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  52. Gary Johnson? No thanks.

    While there’s much to like, there’s some big ones I can’t ignore.

    On abortion….

    “Women’s right to choose until fetal viability. (Jun 2011)
    Right to choose up until viability of the fetus. (May 2011)
    Leave the decision up to the woman. (Jan 2001)”

    On “civil rights”

    “Supports separation of religion and state. (Aug 2011)
    Prostitution is safer when legal and regulated. (Jun 2011)
    I support gay unions; government out of marriage business. (Apr 2011)”

    Also advocated overturning the will of voters with Prop 8 in Cali.

    On “war and peace”

    “Cut all support and aid to Israel. (May 2012)
    No military threat from Iraq, Afghanistan, nor Libya. (Aug 2011)
    Iran is not currently a military threat. (Aug 2011)
    Let Israel deal with Iranian nukes; not US role to tell them. (Aug 2011)”

    http://www.ontheissues.org/Gary_Johnson.htm

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  53. I decided to take the matter into my own hands and buy myself a Mother’s Day gift. I bought a full tank of gas so we can be at the hospital at 5 a.m. without running out of gas along the way. Problem was that I could not put a bow on it!

    I did have a nice lunch out with my brother. I had brocolli salad, turnip greens, and trout almondine (thanks Kim)! He got to open his birthday gifts in the parking lot which is our tradition by now. Art has been at the office all day getting things set up to bring work home for this next week away from work. Now if he is not suppose to be working should he bring work home? Miss Bosley has other plans for his time at home 🙂

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  56. If I understood correctly, it is the actor Liam Neesen (sp?) who is in the cast that is using our church parking lot for about two weeks. They are also using parts of our building for meals, etc., but not for filming.

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  57. Maybe Ralph Nader will run again. 🙂 Gotta find a way to break up that majority-Democratic block of voters somehow.

    Otherwise …

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  59. The youth handed out carnations to the moms in church today. When I went to the parking lot I gave my carnation to one of the Bhutanese\Nepali women who had a young child with her. I figure that’s a better use than to let Boz turn it into a toy.

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  60. http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/05/could-gary-johnson-be-our-next-president.php

    ___________________

    Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is likely to be the Libertarian Party nominee for president, and while I have nothing against the guy, I’ve always found him to be unimpressive as a public figure. It’s possible he and the Libertarian Party might pull 5 percent or even 10 percent this cycle depending on how the Trump-Clinton matchup goes along, but there is no chance that Johnson could win.

    But what if he won a couple of states, like his home state of New Mexico and some other place like Nevada or Alaska and denied Hillary and Trump 270 electoral votes, and threw the presidential selection to the House, and the VP selection to the Senate (which is the specified procedure of the 12th Amendment)? …

    … Sounds farfetched to me, too, but a Donald Trump nomination seemed farfetched just three months ago.
    ________________________

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  62. It turned into a good day here. The three of us went to lunch. Turns out BG and Mr P were in cahoots. She bought the flowers and the cards I received from each of them. We went out to brunch together. I told her the story of my first Mother’s Day and how the Saturday before I bought my cabochon sapphire ring, dropped her off at Nana’s for her first spend the night, and took her father to the emergency room.
    When we were headed home I saw that Nana’s car was at ex Sister in Law’s so she left here, went there, and saw Nana. It all worked out.
    I took myself to Wal Mart this afternoon and bought a planter and potting soil to re-pot a palm I was given last week and to buy rocks to put in the bottom of it and another planter to keep them from falling over.
    Not a bad day at all.

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  67. We had a lovely day. First, a great service at church, then home. Lee went out to pick up Chrissy, taking Forrest along with him, & then they all went to pick up the pizza Lee had ordered. We got pizza because it is my favorite, but we got it at Emily’s favorite place for pizza, & also got the spicy chicken wings she likes.

    Emily made a delicious Carrot Cake (with Cream Cheese Frosting, of course), which included pineapple & coconut. Fantastic! She loves to bake, so often she bakes for even the events, such as her own birthday, that are to honor her.

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  68. Sometime within the past several weeks, I think I asked a question about altar calls here. Not the “come to Jesus” kind, but for responding to whatever the sermon may have stirred up in one.

    I went forward this morning, & am so glad I did. I almost didn’t, thinking “Well, I should have raised my hand to that last question, but I’ll just sit here & pray.” But our pastor’s wife had just encouraged us about responding, saying that going forward is a way to surrender our burden to God. (And sometimes, we put doing that on a back burner when we don’t deal with it right away, not even realizing we are doing that.) It takes a bit of a laying down of our will or pride to do so, which seems to open us up more to the Holy Spirit’s ministering to us.

    Not only that, but it is also a time when others can spontaneously pray for each other. (Yes, there is a church prayer meeting, but not everyone can make it.) This morning, it turned out that the lady who was right next to me had the same thing on her heart that I had on mine (our grown children’s salvation), & we put an arm around each other while being prayed for, then hugged tightly & encouraged each other to hold on & keep believing.

    Then I turned to the lady who had been praying for me behind me, & knowing her grown children are heavy on her heart, too, I hugged her & encouraged her, reminding her that I pray for them by name.

    It was a really sweet time in the Lord, & I would have missed out on it if I hadn’t laid my pride aside & went forward.

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  69. Most of the smoke is high and not too bothersome. Today, however, we had a strong wind from the south where there is an uncontrolled fire about 10 miles from us. We’re not in any danger yet as there is quite a bit of cultivated land between there and here.

    The radio the other day said that the Fort Mac fire (“The Beast”) had reached down to the Gulf states. I believe it.

    We’re supposed to get some cooler temperatures the next three days with rain. That will lessen our hazard thankfully.

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  70. I missed both calls from my children today due to being where there was no cell service. But I called my stepmom and thanked her for being my mom and thinking of us as her own.

    My husband took me on a “picnic” supper. I put it in quotes because we sat in the car and ate because I’m so allergic to birch tree pollen and they are in full bloom up here 🙂

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  72. Spending the day with my sisters and family members was the sweet part of the day…..looking forward to returning home on Wednesday!! 🙂 (….and this humid air around here is just too thick for my lungs!!)

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  74. I got to spend part of the day with my in-laws, including my mother-in-law. Unfortunately my husband stayed home. The girls had bought me flowers and chocolate a couple of days ago, so today the celebration was more for my mother-in-law.

    We’re between pastors, and today the preacher was a retired Baptist pastor. My husband is in charge of keeping the pulpit filled, but he was home sick, so when I got home I told him just for future reference, if you ever have to get a preacher on Mother’s Day, please don’t get a Baptist again. One of the blessings of being Reformed is that we don’t have a church service built around Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Even though I’m a mom now, it brought back too many memories of those days when I wasn’t, and it felt so awkward for all the men, and it just isn’t the proper focus for a worship service–and that was without the words “Mother’s Day” actually ever being uttered! But the Scripture readings, sermon, etc. all dealt with women, and then all the women got roses, and so forth. I was used to that growing up, though I can’t say I ever liked it, but with more than a dozen years in Presbyterian churches I’ve gotten spoiled. (A few brunches on Mother’s Day in my Nashville church were different. The service itself had nothing to do with the holiday, which is as it should be.)

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