69 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 9-11-17”

  1. Good morning! It is a new day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! ❤

    The Irma is just like a woman. Can’t make up her mind what she wants to do. Prayers for all who are affected by her zigzag route of destruction.

    AJ is up early. Wonderful header. What are they?

    The other church did not vote to merge with us. There are two church planters who are going to bring their flocks into our church. We may later form a new church. We had 94 ballots cast including the absentees. 88 Yes and 5 No, 95% in favor. The votes were counted twice in front of the church body. We were promised there were no hanging chads.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  2. Sad that the events of 9/11 have taken a backseat to the storm coverage. That is, of course, a doubly sad situation. I keep wondering if this timely Irma has prevented a terrorist event. Cuba got pounded in case anything was brewing there.

    Like

    Reply

  8. Linda, each of the two churches had to have 75% in favor of the merge. The other church did not have 75% in favor of the merge with my church. My church voted 95% in favor but that has been knocked out by their negative vote. I hope it is clear now.

    Like

    Reply

  9. The other church just lost their pastor who has moved to another thriving church in our area. Their building and lot would have been sold. The church building is beautiful, so I can see there would have been much sadness in their congregation as they made their decision. I just hope they can somehow build that church up to save it. My church has the better situation at the moment. We are only three miles apart so that puts us back in competition with each other in a highly liberal and multicultural (along with a large Jewish population) area from which to draw sustaining members.

    Like

    Reply

  11. I had a text from GA. Power that the power has been off at the office. Art just left to go down there. He has a 10 a.m. appointment which may be a no show. He is trying to get everything backed up on computers.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. We seem to be safe here. I have a lot of catching up to do on work, so I am thankful that our office is closed today.
    I did get a listing agreement signed Saturday. Very nice family. He owns a construction company and is headed to Houston to help rebuild. I asked if it would be better and closer to home for him to help in Florida. No. Labor is cheaper in Texas. Sad when that is what makes a decision.
    I continue to be impressed with the way strangers are helping strangers in this storm situation. It seems the looting has started in South Florida which is always bad. They are telling everyone not to open their doors after dark.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  15. The outside world feels surreal from northern California. I’ve had trouble finding real news about the current hurricane status (Twitter feels as wind blown as the storm) and now we’ve got 911 nostalgia sweeping FB.

    It’s a good day to have a lot of work elsewhere; though my life feels pretty small in light of the rest of the world’s troubles.

    Like

    Reply

  16. Irma has done some weird things. It sucked most of the water out of Tampa Bay, which will be bad when high tide comes. They were VERY careful to say that while it would be a large wave in at any unexpected time it was NOT like a tsunami.
    Most of the criticism is going to newscasters, what I have seen is The Weather Channel and CNN. When they are being knocked down (or are they? I have seen Jim Cantori holding on to his hat as he was leaning sideways and the sea outs weren’t even moving) then GET OUT OF THE WEATHER YOURSELF. You can’t tell other people what to do when you are modeling stupidity.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  18. I cannot seem to find anything about the hurricane other than looters🙁 Praying all is well with those who were reported to be in harms way.
    I think we all go to the moment when we first heard the news of the attack 16 years ago…and that eery sense that all was to be quiet in the air having no aircraft above us that week.

    Like

    Reply

  19. I think you are right NancyJill. First I was in a room full of 3rd graders and we had to keep them from the bad news. Then I had my own child to protect from the news. It wasn’t until the 10th anniversary when they replayed some things in real time that I got a full sense of what it was like for those of you who were able to watch it as it unfolded.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. It’s their job, Kim. They probably are paid well and have their marching orders to do all that. And it does give the viewer a sense of the power of the storm. The news people I saw yesterday morning all headed for cover and checked out when the winds became too strong. I’m guessing they’re glad that part of their assignment is over. Besides, To borrow a phrase, “It’s what we do.” 🙂

    I thought that was a pineapple, but though nah, can’t be …

    So Janice, are your 2 churches part of the same denomination or are these 2 independent churches (much, much tougher if it’s the latter)? Mergers are hard, especially when it involves sorting out doctrine and theology that may be different — on top of giving up a beloved property. I take it the other church is dwindling and is in need of finding more people to survive. Maybe they could lease their facilities to “share space” with another church.

    In our search for property, our church came upon many aging and now-tiny congregations with huge church facilities they were trying to hang on to.

    The 9-11 memorials are important but can become maudlin, I think. I rarely watch them. At some point, it may be time to let go of covering the “naming all the names” lengthy services. It can feel too much like “wallowing.”

    It also depends on what else is going on, of course, so this year those events probably won’t be covered as extensively due to the hurricane(s).

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  21. My latest update from cousins in Florida was positive. The eye passed very close to them at about 4 or 5am but they still have power. All is well. God is GOOD! It’s overcast and breezy here at home in Chattanooga. We are scheduled to get much rain by tomorrow and winds at about 35 or so. That would be quite windy for us on the ridge with all the trees. But I’m hopeful we won’t get branches on the house. :–)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  22. 9-11 was so long ago that we had a full & bustling newsroom that put out a special “print” edition late that morning that was hawked on street corners. How quaint does that sound now? News websites were only in their early, primitive days back then, an add-on to the real business of getting a print product out in people’s hands.

    I was walking my dogs and stopped to talk to Mildred, the former librarian who lived a couple blocks away and would always be out on her front porch waiting for us (she loved dogs). Mike, the man across the street was outside also and said “Did you hear what happened?” I finished my walk but assumed it was a small plane that hit the building, an “accident” of some kind. Turned on CNN when I got home and could hardly believe what I was seeing. Then I realized, “I’d better get to work.” The port shut down operations and of course LAX also came to a screeching halt for much of their flights.

    The next day, I remember all the U.S. flags, everywhere, hanging from house after house, as I drove in to work — they were everywhere. That made me cry.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  23. We were in the eye of the hurricane in Okinawa. It was very quiet and peaceful. The problem was then the other side would come over so you got the winds twice but in opposite directions.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  24. I am taking a break from moving things downstairs. I wish Art could be here to help. Miss Bosley is in my lap sleeping through the storm like Jesus in the boat. When things fly and crash later I hope she won’t be upstairs under the bed in case the roof falls or flies.

    The churches are both Southern Baptist and have been pillars for over fifty years. But the community is very different now and most of the founders have passed. I did hear from a friend that the other church at one point decided to go half and half with a different type Baptist group in support of missions and that for a short time they had a woman pastor. They could not have remained Southern Baptist and have a woman pastor. This is a liberal area. The biggest Baptist church near here is disassociated with the Southern Baptists because it has a woman pastor. I assume they allow for practicing gay membership.

    Like

    Reply

  27. It was soon after 9-11 that I realized what was happening.
    We had been attacked by Islam before, but I considered that it was rogue terrorist harassing people for personal benefit.
    But it is a deadly religious movement.
    They intend to take over the world for Allah. That is their command in the Koran.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  29. Reading through a couple of very contentious threads on NextDoor regarding coyotes.

    You have two very extreme camps just going at it, emotions flying. From those who are clearly naive and see the coyotes as beautiful & harmless and part of divinity (I’ll give you part of that argument in a way, all creation has a beauty to it, but that doesn’t mean we check our brains at the door as we walk through what is a very fallen world); to those who see them as more dangerous than they probably are and even as a very threat to our American freedom aka the terrorists. It goes back and forth, back and forth.

    Why can’t people have a dispassionate, calm, level-headed discussion in the MIDDLE somewhere — acknowledging that coyotes do not have super powers and are plotting overtime to wipe out your small children — yet, with their increasing numbers and habituation to humans, they do, in fact, pose a challenge as conflicts will arise.

    It’s a pattern I see with every issue these days, everyone heads for the far fringes and insists on fighting to the death, putting all rationality aside.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  30. We seem to be having a lot of coyotes around this year, lots of howling. I suspect they will begin disappearing soon as hunting season approaches, though they can be shot all year round. Most people enjoy watching them out in the fields mousing. Few people enjoy watching them take down deer or newborn calves. I am dreading the day they figure out they can walk down my driveway and dine on whatever and walk back out again. So far, that has not occurred to them, though the cougars don’t find it a hindrance.

    Like

    Reply

  33. A little humid, it will be …

    I don’t dislike coyotes, I find them fascinating — but one doesn’t need to be carried away to realize the dilemma faced as they begin populate heavily developed areas where there are people and pets and no hunting allowed.

    Like

    Reply

  34. It goes back to the confusion about the intended order of life, of course, with arguments that essentially say “all life is equal, human and animal alike”

    Janice, hope your power comes up soon!

    Like

    Reply

  36. Quick question.

    I’m doing the next week’s posts now so I don’t have to worry about it while away, and since I can’t always read my own writing……

    Mumsee’s B’day is the 13th, and Kevin’s is the 15th, correct?

    I don’t want to miss them. And did I miss anything else?

    Ok that’s 2. 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  39. But AJ, since you asked if you missed anything else, my brother-in-law’s birthday was last Saturday. Make a note.

    Have a great vacation. I hope wherever in Florida you’re going will be sufficiently dried out to enjoy!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. A million without power in GA. I am on Art’s phone. We are okay. Just in the dark except for a little dim light from a bathroom window. Saving flashlights for tonight. We are listening to the radio.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  47. Janice, if it takes some time to get the power restored at your home, you can usually find places to charge your devices at McDonalds or Starbucks or Paneras. I learned that a few years ago after the tornadoes when we were without power for almost 2 weeks. We have very heavy sporadic winds in Chattanooga right now. But so far so good. :–)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  49. Starting Sunday on PBS

    Ken Burns on the peaks and valleys of his new 18-hour PBS epic “The Vietnam War”

    http://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/09/10/ken-burns-pbs-vietnam-war/157808/

    _______________________________________________

    … “I came into this thinking that this was something I lived through,” Burns said. “I grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., a hotbed of opposition to the war. I thought I knew what had happened. I grew up way too early because of Vietnam and other things — (the) Kennedy assassination, Cuban missile crisis. I watched the news. I read the paper. I thought I knew. And I came into this project and knew I had to let go of whatever baggage (and) points of view that I might have had. But I didn’t realize how instantly I’d know how little I knew.”

    In fact, Burns described it as a daily humiliation, “which was a wonderful thing.”

    That’s because the Vietnam War many recall from movies and TV shows — whether “Apocalypse Now” and “Full Metal Jacket” or “M.A.S.H” and “China Beach” — offers a severely limited perspective.

    About 58,000 American troops died in the bitterly hazy war, which raged in the Southeast Asian country from 1955 to 1975, along with 3 million Vietnamese troops (North and South) and civilians in and outside of the divided region. Simply cueing up Jimi Hendrix’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower” and running a newsreel of student protests and bedraggled, marsh-bound soldiers with cigarettes dangling from their lips wouldn’t cut it.

    “We knew that we were diving into some pretty rough territory, but we also knew that people have just sort of ignored Vietnam,” Burns said.

    Pushing aside conventional wisdom about the war, Burns and Novick tapped not only two dozen scholars and dozens more U.S. military veterans (with “intensely refined BS-meters,” as he put it) but also civilians, protesters and former soldiers, politicians and ordinary people from both North and South Vietnam.

    The results, based on more than an hour of clips that Burns screened at the University of Denver last month, seem to offer a far more agnostic, intimate and enthralling take on the war than past media portrayals — benefiting, of course, from more than four decades of removal from the actual events. …

    … Through it all, Burns and Novick don’t take sides.

    Being such a relatively recent event, at least compared to Burns’ other projects, the Vietnam War offered a surfeit of photographs and footage for Burns and Novick to wade through. At the front of their minds was presenting imagery in a context that was both surprisingly fresh and responsible to the people who lived and died through these events.

    “When we want to say something important, we stop and do it in still photographs, and yet there are many iconic images from that war that bubble up to the surface that are just part of our superficial understanding of it,” he said. “That needed to be treated in a very serious, in-depth fashion.” …
    ________________________________________________________

    Fall TV preview 2017: Ken Burns’ ‘The Vietnam War’ leads PBS choices (videos)

    http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2017/09/fall_tv_preview_2017_ken_burns_the_vietnam_war_leads_pbs_choices_videos.html

    _____________________________________________

    Ten years in the making, the 18-hour film examines the conflict from a wide variety of viewpoints. Starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, on WVIZ Channel 25 and WEAO Channel 49, “The Vietnam War” includes interviews with Americans who fought in the war and Americans who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians.

    “It’s an enormously complex and complicated story, and it’s a very emotional one,” Novick told The Plain Dealer before a Cleveland visit in early June. “It’s a very painful chapter. It’s a raw nerve. It’s a festering wound. These are all the metaphors we are using to describe it, because they are all apt for the Vietnam War.” …
    ______________________________________________________

    Like

    Reply

  64. No, Janice doesn’t get the car. It was only offered to mumsee because some people don’t understand the “no prize, only bragging rights” nature of the contest.

    Like

    Reply

  68. Art got home before the main storm. We are awake and having a late snack of popcorn for both of us, and I had some cheese with grape juice and a few walnuts.

    I went outside a bit ago and we have a light rain which I was enjoying until there was a big boom and lighted sky from another transformer blowing. The street behind us seems to have power.

    I am listening to talk radio which I never do. Art just said no one should be that peppy at three in the morning.

    In the morning I have a lot to do to move everything back from downstairs, unpack the cooler, and try to get some food cooked before it spoils.

    Janice on Art’s phone

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  69. The talk radio crew is punchy. They have callers lined up, and when they finally got back to one and he was snoring. Do you think that was for real? It sounded real, but I am gullible.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

Leave a comment