82 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 9-13-17”

  1. That’s a heavy cloud.

    🙂 Tom and Mary are having breakfast at a Chick-fil-a in Columbia.
    They heard that everything is ok and electricity is on in their community and they left early this morning for Jacksonville.

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  2. Amazing header photo. Storm chaser’ s dream

    We still are without power. This gives us gratitude for things we take for granted.

    I confess that I bought a small loaf of pumpkin bread yesterday and by midnight I had eaten it all. I had offered to share with Art, but he did not want any each time I asked. At his suggestion we did go out to eat and after being told that Folks no longer served trout we left there and went to a new to us place. It was really good.
    Art also wanted to go see a movie since he is without television at home. So now I know to get a dinner and movie date with him I just need to open our fuse box and turn a the electricity off in our home. “I called the electrician, dear, and they will be here tomorrow.” I was too tired to go to a movie after such a lack of comfortable sleep the evening before.

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  5. Happy Birthday, Mumsee! I would bake a cake, but my power is out. All I have to offer is the wrapping from a loaf of pumpkin bread or a bowl of cake batter. You deserve a lot more than that! My phone power is quickly dwindling. I will see you guys/y’all/you’ins later ❤

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  7. I just saw an ad on TV that reminded me of something that used to happen when I was a kid.’
    Dogs used to chase cars.
    They would run and bark at the wheels. They never caught one.
    I haven’t seen that in years. Nay! Decades.

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  8. Michele (from yesterday), I’m not sure who Pastor Paul is, but I’m guessing he’s not Lutheran. I would encourage you to investigate Lutheran theology regarding the Holy Spirit. I don’t mean to blow up this blog because I suspect this is going to be controversial, but we believe (supported Biblically, of course) that the sole work of the Holy Spirit is to point to Jesus. From the LCMS site (https://blogs.lcms.org/2008/the-gift-of-the-holy-spirit-5-2008): “Through the Gospel and the Sacraments, the Spirit nourishes, preserves, and increases the Church and its members. As believers in Jesus, we too have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our Baptisms are wonderful reminders of the Spirit’s gracious activity of regeneration. The Church belongs to the Holy Spirit, and His work in it goes on unceasingly until the Last Day. He continues to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to create faith, and to administer the forgiveness of sins to believers across the globe. At the same time, He gathers new people into His Church, using modern-day apostles as His instruments, sending them to all nations, baptizing and teaching.”
    IOW, the Holy Spirit doesn’t tell you what to eat, whom to marry, what car to buy, or where to send your kids to school.

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  9. Maybe somebody needs to tell the Holy Spirit that.

    God works in mysterious ways. I know he brought my husband and I together. I know he has spoken in some ways that are not just what I thought.

    Can we take that too far? Yes. Can we grieve the Spirit. Yes.

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  10. We went to see “The Glass Castle” yesterday. We enjoyed it and thought the acting was wonderful. Some hit a little close to home for my husband and a friend who was with us. Like most stories of survival it was sad.

    Like

  13. Happy Birthday Musmee. I think a mustard-pickle-balogne cake sounds fine, and no power needed!

    I think we see the work of the Holy Spirit and hand of God largely in retrospect, not as clear prompts going into events or making initial personal decisions so much (unless decisions are clearcut biblically from an ethical and moral standpoint). Sometimes (many times?) we may never figure out all the intricate connections this side of heaven.

    Our church is having a special Sunday night series on the work of Holy Spirit and what believers can expect (and not expect) that examines much of that (from a Presbyterian perspective), but I’ve missed going so far. Still, we’ve taught on that subject in the past so I’m not unfamiliar with it.

    Sad month at work with all the departures of longtime colleagues. We’re shrinking once again, hard to believe.

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  15. Yes, Chas, I think it is rare to hear God speaking to us in an actual voice. I have heard God speak to me in a couple of instances. I cannot really explain that or convince anyone. I knew His voice, though. I do not believe anyone who does hear His voice is more spiritual in some way. Sometimes, the opposite is true and we just need it.

    Mostly God speaks through His word and in other ways: through circumstances and the wise counsel of others, for example.

    I just do not think we should adamantly say, He never speaks today to us directly.

    Most churches are not so black and white as we would think. What they state on a website might not be what is taught in every congregation. I believe Pastor Paul is Lutheran, if I am not mistaken. Of course, there are lots of different Lutheran, as well as lots of different Baptist etc.

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  17. Donna, it’s on “view”. But I have it the largest possible.
    The text, as I’m doing this is smaller than it will be when I post.
    I can see it if I’m careful.

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  19. Holy Spirit: I don’t know that He has ever spoken audibly to me. Or quietly. But I would not say He never does speak to others that way. I don’t know. I am certain He could if He wanted to. But if somebody tells me the Holy Spirit told me such and such, I would run it by Scripture carefully before anything else. If the Holy Spirit told them to kill the baby,or to divorce the husband and marry the pastor, I would be adamant the Holy Spirit was not speaking. And obviously, people claim the Holy Spirit for all manner of things. I think that would be grieving the Spirit. We have the Word written down and we have the Spirit living in us, they will match up. If the Holy Spirit is speaking to somebody, it will be in accord with the Scriptures

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  21. Back again. The Monday garbage pickup just happened. Slowly we are working back to normal. Still no power. It is only 64 outside with sunshine so it’s cold inside. It is dreary inside, too, except on the sunny side of the house. I just ate my cold Reuben and have had no hot coffee or tea. I need to go foraging in the land of electricity.

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  23. A Happy Birthday to Mumsee.

    I can say without hesitation that the Holy Spirit led me to do what I am doing today. As DJ says, his work is best seen in retrospection, but, just as He brooded over the Creation, so He broods over those He indwells, until we all come to the unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:1-16). I talk to the Father, in the name of the Son, about everything that I need – when you live on very little, you feel more keenly the need of God’s guidance – and often, when something that is just what I need comes along, I will realize that the Holy Spirit has been guiding my path. I also know He informs my conscience, and so I will listen for any check from my conscience, and evaluate from what I know of Scripture to determine if that is the Holy Spirit guiding me, or just my own understanding. I couldn’t imagine living without that daily, continuing conversation with the Father, while depending on the Son, and listening for the Holy Spirit. It is the only thing that keeps me going when I’m physically weak and emotionally and mentally worn out.

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  24. Amen. I attribute it to the Holy Spirit when I feel that check in my spirit or do not have peace about a decision. Even shopping, I am free to buy what I will, but often feel a no, not now. That is not me, but me being led in many areas.

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  26. Happy birthday, Mumsee! I haven’t read the thread yet, just stopping in for a moment.

    The clouds make those trees look small, but if you notice the telephone pole right next to the oak on the left, it gives you an idea of the size of the tree. It’s a grand old oak, and I think my husband and I both have it as our favorite in the area. We see it every time we drive to town. But the photo is, of course, largely of the storm clouds behind it. I thought the scene quite lovely. Soybeans in the foreground this time . . .

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  37. Jesus said his sheep hear his voice. I have thought that His voice was the Holy Spirit living inside us that may nudge, prompt or warn from time to time, often using Scripture or godly counsel or even our own intuition to help us. But I agree that the Scripture is key—even primary for us. Although there are many good teachers, it is the ONLY written authority we have. The Holy Spirit is who writes the Word in our hearts. This is not any particular dogma that I am aware of, and I am still studying the LCMS catechisms.

    I really like the Lutheran Prayer Book I’m using. One thing I have found different is the way all of the prayers include repentance. It’s kind of been an issue with me for a long time. The churches I have gone to for—well, all of them except the Congregational, don’t have prayers of repentance for believers. Every Sunday there is an altar call or the ‘sinners prayer’ in which everyone is silent and ‘the sinner’ prays. Half the time I pray it too, cause God and I both know I need it. Actually, my husband, Cyrus does the same thing. But we’re surrounded by hundreds of silent people. Awkward.

    PS I always enjoy the theological conversations on this blog. People don’t have to agree in every point for it to be edifying. :–)

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  38. Ok, so it’s his birthday. Stopped at Petco while running errands. 3 month old Russian Blue named Sadie said hi.

    Sent him a photo.

    He said “What a pretty kitten.”

    Now what?

    Remember, I’m ill . . .

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  41. Those of you who saw the end of yesterday’s thread might have seen I was up really early by my standards (I was up by about 6:30). But I had a good reason out in my garden: a monarch chrysalis that was going to become a butterfly today.

    She takes her time at everything she does. All my sources had the time in the chrysalis as somewhere between one and two weeks (one said 8-10 days, one 8-12 days, one “one to two weeks”). When she went to three weeks I almost gave up, but I kept checking her every day just in case. Today is 23 days. Then my sources said they nearly always come out in the morning, very occasionally overnight, the day after the color of the chrysalis changes. So I became a morning person today to make sure not to miss it.

    She came out about 1:30.

    But she’s beautiful. This was the caterpillar that I watched make a chrysalis right before KBells died, or right after, I forget exactly, and I thought of the old leaf-eating crawly thing “dying” to turn into a flying gem that drinks nectar. I was worried that after all that time waiting, and all that time trying to keep predators away from the caterpillars, that I might not have a healthy butterfly after all, but I do.

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  42. Sadie and the butterfly. Big animal news today.

    Chas, glad one of those things worked.

    I also enjoy the theological discussions. Our church includes a prayer of repentance & time of silent confession of sins in the beginning, followed by the pronouncement of forgiveness. Seems like an appropriate way to enter into worship to me.

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  43. Our service is the same Dj….the order of our service does focus me and helps to get my mind settled upon Him and not the cares of this world…confession,repentance…and forgiveness…always
    Debra one of my favorite verses of knowing and comfort…..we are His sheep and how blessed to know and recognize His voice….❤️🐑

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  46. Cheryl, so very cool to have watched the process!

    Mumsee, happy birthday!!

    We have a few little burr oaks in our yard – the largest is only about 12′ tall, but we’re quite proud of it and make sure the brush and poplars don’t crowd it out.

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  47. I’m not jumping into the conversation about the Holy Spirit except to say that He is our Counselor, & He gives us wisdom & guidance, whether we recognize it is from Him or not.

    But what I’m jumping in here to say is about something interesting Nightingale told me.

    We’ve discussed the idea of love languages on here before. Nightingale has learned that there is a negative side, or flip side, to them, too. IOW, one often withholds or misuses one’s love language when one is angry at another. For instance, if someone’s love language is touch, then he may either withhold physical affection, or use “touch” to hurt, lashing out in a physical way. Someone whose love language is affirmation may say mean things to the person he is angry at.

    I found that interesting, & it gave me insight into Little Guy. (Btw, the examples I just used were based on his primary love languages & reactions.)

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  48. Finally home after praying. six hours earlier, that God would orchestrate my day according to his plans . . .

    We’re basically going to be gone the next three days, it’s not a good time to introduce a new 3 month old cat into the household. Plus 4/5 of the Adorables and possibly a mother are spending the night on Friday–did I say new kitten in the household?

    We’ll probably meet her tonight. I’m thinking we’ll pay for her and ask to leave her in the cage two more days and get her on Saturday, which is only 1/2 impossible at the moment.

    Or, we pick her up tonight, lock her in the laundry room and hope for the best.

    I’ll let Mr. Birthday decide. Meanwhile, I’m hunting the clapper monkeys . . . which feel about as sane as anything else I’ve done today!

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  49. One thing to add to my brief comment about the Holy Spirit: In case anyone wonders, yes, I definitely agree that anything the Holy Spirit “says” to us (in whatever way that might be) will be scriptural. He will never go against His own word.

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  52. Chas doesn’t only have a pet rock, he has an aviary?

    My husband mentioned he was reading something about God speaking to us, and I said send me a link, people are just discussing that on the blog. m

    My own take is that I hear people all the time say “I prayed and prayed until God told me that yes, I should marry this man.” But if that is the “right” way to confirm a decision (waiting until God tells you), then (1) those who don’t do that, or don’t ever “hear” from God, are actually doing something wrong and (2) God does not tell us to make decisions that way, so if we believe in sola Scriptura, we can’t say that it is the “right” way.

    I’m not a prophet; I don’t expect God to speak to me directly, when He has already given me everything I need in His Word. I do believe that He convicts of sin, comforts, etc. through reminding us of what He has said in His word. But expecting a new and special word just for me is expecting that all Christians are prophets. And it leads to dangerous places, like people saying “God said it was OK to leave my husband and marry this other man” or “God told me that He is the one who came up with the idea of men loving men, and He is in favor of love.” And it leads to heretical nonsense like “Jesus Calling.”

    Here’s the link (largely a quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones): http://theaquilareport.com/god-told-critique-mysticism/

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  54. That link had another at the bottom, and it deals directly with my specific pet peeve, God giving direct marriage advice to a few select people, outside His counsel in His Word. (I forgot to say one other problem with the “God told me to do such and such,” other than that in Scripture that was rare and limited to prophets, and today we have God’s completed Word with no further need for prophets, is that presumably you have to double-check that it is God speaking, but once you know that for sure, you absolutely have to obey, or you are sinning. That is, if God prompts you to go through checkout line #3 and you go through #4 instead, you are disobeying God and sinning.

    We basically are adding new revelation, and new sins, without any biblical warrant for either! Now, if God actually does convict you, “Having sex with that person would be fornication, and against My Word,” then clearly it is sin–but He has already told us so in His Word! Seeking a new word is putting oneself minimally on flimsy ground, and is potentially very dangerous (a la “Jesus Calling” and “The Book of Mormon”). I didn’t say anything yesterday since it seems like I’ve written on this subject in the past, but personally I was dismayed that a pastor would be teaching such new doctrine.

    Anyway, here is the other link: http://www.christwardcollective.org/christward/direct-revelation-and-marriage-proposals#.Vhku0XpVikp

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  55. If having God speak to us is like Lloyd-Jones is saying, I would agree with him. He has very good points.

    I am not sure, however, where it says in the bible that God no longer speaks to people or heals people for that matter. I know some believe that. I did hear that in the Lutheran Church and am sure it is what is held to in most of the Lutheran churches.

    The bible doesn’t tell me I need to listen to any who comes claiming God spoke to him or her. If anyone does so and says something unscriptural, they certainly are not hearing from God. Just as some people do great damage by misreading or teaching what the bible actually says, people can do great damage claiming they are hearing straight from God.

    We are told God is our Heavenly Father and that the Holy Spirit lives in us. We are told to walk by the Spirit. To assume God never guides us except through the bible seems to go a little too far to me.

    When I ‘heard’ the Lord speak to me, it was not for anyone else, but me. It was a comfort and reminder to trust Him.

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  57. Kathaleena, rather than where in the Bible does it say God no longer speaks to people: Where in Scripture is God’s direct word ever given as the norm? Also, where in church history (until the last, what, 30 years?) has it ever been seen as the norm for the Christian life? Specific people heard from God in Scripture, and they were seen as unusual. Prophets heard from God, and God spoke to a few people directly or through angels. But never was it seen as the norm, and it was part of God’s salvation plan. Think about it: we have no evidence that God told the virgin Mary who to marry . . . in fact, since Gabriel’s appearance was shocking to her, there is every reason to believe that it was the first time she had ever heard a message from God. Yet here she was, without what we have (the full, complete Word of God) and about to undertake something of great import not only to her family but to all of us: rearing the Son of God. If she didn’t need a direct word from God telling her who to marry, why do we? And certainly why do we need direct words from God about which car to drive or which checkout lane to get in?

    If it was not the norm for the believer’s life before Scripture was complete, then it makes no sense at all that we with all of Scripture should suddenly need direct, private revelation too. And since God has already told us how to make decisions, why does He need to step in and tell us specifically which decisions to make–especially on trivial issues?

    We’re used to being the center of our own universe, and God as our servant seems to be part of that in modern Christianity. Somehow it seems more spiritual to defer to God for all decision making, but it simply is not what Scripture commands, and it ends up treating the God of the universe like our own private ouija board. And watching for private direction can lead us to other grave error. Mormons tell their prospects to feel for a “burning in the bosom” to confirm their message is from God. And it would seem most of their prospects don’t know to say “That is not the way God tells us to make decisions.”

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  59. And I’d say certainly God does still divinely heal, but it is not the norm. Still, we pray for such healing and that is appropriate. But healing through medical treatment nevertheless is by His hand as well.

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  62. ok,it should be about to the number, and on my birthday. What kind people you are to leave it for me. It almost brings a tear to the eye….

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  64. I think the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Scriptures and the counsel of others that are in line with Scripture. So, I just “happen” to read a passage in Scripture that answers the question I asked in prayer 10 minutes ago.

    Or, a passage of Scripture suddenly looks different than it did last time I read it and I realize God is indicating I need to pay close attention to what it says. The Holy Spirit convicts, so if I feel guilty of something that is line with Scripture, that’s the HS speaking to me. If I’m feeling condemned, that’s not from the HS.

    Since the HS is God, then the HS will not contradict God or Jesus. Someone might say something that I recognize is confirmation of a passage of Scripture that I’ve been chewing over for my own life–that’s the HS speaking to me.

    That’s how I understand the HS speaking to me. Not someone coming up to me and saying they have a word of God for me that is not in line with Scripture.

    That includes marriage, of course.

    Besides, I”m already married. 🙂

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  65. The gravatar that is up now is the chrysalis as it looked this morning, with the monarch showing through and raindrops on it. I sat under an umbrella for hours, but I got to see her come out. (She was just leaving it as I stepped outside to check on her after making–but not yet eating–my lunch.) I think the chrysalis with raindrops was the most beautiful part of the whole process.

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  66. Kim got up at 5am to prepare or her day. She taught one class from 9-12 and another from 1-2:30 then she met with the broker to discuss something, drove home 45 minutes, went to dinner with her husband and is currently in her pajamas catching up with all of you. After this she is going to bed to read for a little while then pass out. I wouldn’t trade it for anything right now.

    Happy Birthday Mumsee. I hope it is the best one yet.
    I have 2 things to tell you tomorrow.
    1. I received a thank you not from Tim
    2. I will tell you about the day that God spoke to BG.

    For now this post contains all I had left in me to share.

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  68. I hardly think asking the God, who sees the sparrow fall to the ground, for provision for the clothes and food one needs is trivial. It is in fact exactly what Christ told us to go to Him for: “Give us this day our daily bread.” We often say there is nothing too big for our God, but neither is there anything too little. As for the idea that such requests could lead to us regarding God as a servant, well, Christ told us to ask the Father, because :

    Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
    For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
    Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
    Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
    If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matthew 7)

    God is our Father. Do children stop to think that too many requests is treating their daddy like a servant? Besides, Christ set us an example of service, saying he that would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven should be a servant. Service is not an occupation that our God considers degrading. As for consulting God about who I marry, I intend to consult my earthly father on the matter. Why wouldn’t I also consult my heavenly Father?

    It isn’t a matter of new revelation. I’m left, when I read those who warn against listening to the Holy Spirit in the Christian life, to think that the writer has taken the extreme cases of the spiritually immature or irresponsible, and unjustly assumed that all who ask God for daily guidance operate on such unsound terms. I do not recognize my own practices in those Lloyd Jones speaks of. In continually talking to God about what is before me each day, I am merely following what Paul said to do: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6).

    The word ‘everything’ is often translated “all manner of” in the NT. We are not limited in the categories of things we can pray to the Father about, except by our own pride and fleshly ambitions (James 4:1-10). It would be more comfortable not to have to depend so much on the Spirit’s leading, to know just where financial and physical provision would come for my future. That is why I think the Lord has not given me more certainty about the future, so that I would learn to depend on His strength.

    Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us. (Psalm 132:2)

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  70. Roscuro writes, “. . .the writer has taken the extreme cases of the spiritually immature or irresponsible, and unjustly assumed that all who ask God for daily guidance operate on such unsound terms.” Exactly.

    Indeed, some may misuse the words “God told me. . .” or think they “hear” things that are really only their own feelings. But that does not mean that there is not real counselling & guidance from the Holy Spirit on any number of circumstances in our lives.

    The way I think we usually “hear” from the Holy Spirit is in the form of a strong impression. The longer we have been walking with Him, studying His word, & listening for His “voice”, the more easily we will recognize when an “impression” is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

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  71. Well, Cheryl, I have never thought of asking what shopping line to get into. I certainly prayed for wisdom before I married. I have no problem going to God and saying I need His wisdom. In fact, I think I need The Holy Spirit to illuminate scripture for me. He has given me brains and expects me to use them. He also says His thoughts are far above mine.

    Yes, we can use prayer as a Ouija board or in a white magic fashion. I have certainly seen that in the church. I have also seen dead churches that go through the motions, but really do not seem to need Christ at all, let alone The Holy Spirt.

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  76. Roscuro, nothing is too small to pray for–strongly agreed. Last night I prayed that God would let a healthy butterfly eclose today. That wasn’t even a “need,” just a desire. But I asked my Father. And most certainly I asked guidance heading into marriage . . . and I asked God to give guidance to more than one man who might be interested in me. We can most certainly ask God for our daily food, or for the means to continue at school (or guidance in whether to do so), etc. Our Father dearly loves to hear from us. That isn’t at all in question for anyone here, I don’t think.

    The question is does God tell us specific details of our everyday life? Does He, for instance, communicate with us as to which lane we should stand in at the grocery store (as a friend once told me He did for her) or whether we should use ham or turkey in our sandwich? Scripture tells us that when making decisions, we should ask for wisdom, it tells us to seek godly counsel, and so forth. We are told specific things not to do–for instance, not to be unequally yoked, so entering a business partnership or a marriage with someone who is an unbeliever is foolish. But whether to use ham or turkey in our sandwich is a personal decision, and neither choice is a sin–we have perfect freedom to make those choices.

    I think I’ve used this passage before. Speaking of a widow who wishes to remarry, Paul says, “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39). Wouldn’t this be the place where Paul should say, “She should marry the one God tells her to marry”? I am not opposed to seeking guidance. Let’s say a woman is in a relationship heading toward marriage, and she loves the man but recently something feels wrong somehow. I think it would be perfectly proper for her to ask God, “If there is some reason I shouldn’t marry this man, some sin he is hiding, would You bring that to light?” She should pray, and she should ask counsel of those who are wise.

    Today many people are going beyond that. The idea is that you are supposed to ask God for a clear yes or no before you marry someone (or make any decision, sometimes). Some of these people come back years later and say, “I don’t understand what went wrong. I felt God’s clear direction to marry this man, but he’s in his second adulterous relationship and now he tells me he isn’t even a Christian. Why did God tell me to marry him? Or did I hear God wrong?” But the problem may be that she short-circuited what God does tell us about decision making, and substituted something He didn’t. Nowhere in Scripture are we told to look for “a word from the Lord” in making decisions. And by the time we are seeking His direction on such things as “which lane in the grocery store, Lord? And paper or plastic?” then yes, we are trivializing the Almighty. And we risk substituting desires for new revelation for the sure and perfect Revelation we have already received. That’s one reason people excuse their sins . . . they are so used to the idea that God speaks to different people individually that when someone comes back and says, “Well, God told me that homosexual love really is love, so there,” then people who are used to asking for private words from God rather than to looking at what God has already said, they might sputter and say, “Well, but that contradicts the Word of God.” But the door was left open long ago, when they substituted godly decision making with private words from the Lord.

    Again, where in Scripture do we see that everyday people received specific guidance on such issues of daily life? We see prophets receiving word, and individual patriarchs and apostles receiving specific guidance, as the Word of God was coming together, but no hint at all that God spoke individually to everyday believers on everyday things. If that has changed today, we need to see that from Scripture, and also to understand why we, who have Scripture in our own language, also get this other guidance beyond what our forefathers received. I’m also open to hearing from church fathers on this–not that they are authoritative, but that any history back farther than, say, the Great Awakening would say a whole lot more than thoughts from our own generation would. This is the “norm” for today’s Christian, but I have never heard evidence that it was for any previous generation, and that leaves me highly skeptical that it is really God’s plan for us.

    And again, I am not saying God doesn’t answer prayer or give us good gifts.

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  77. It’s great to have power except it means we have opportunity to see how poorly husband can act when the television power cord came disconnected and could not be made to work. Neither of us could figure it out. I finally streamed Endeavor for him on his phone. I made popcorn since he asked if I had made it.

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  78. Hi, Kare. 🙂 Hi, DJ, who liked Kare’s “Hi, 6” post, so I’ll take that as another hi. 🙂

    Goodnight, Kare. Good night, DJ. Good night, Cheryl. Good night, Janice.

    Good night, John Boy. Good night, Mary Ellen. (Was there a Mary Ellen? I hardly ever watched the show, though some in my family did.)

    P.S. Glad you were safe going through the hurricane, Janice.

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  81. I sometimes ask for the help of the Holy Spirit when I am in teaching mode in regards to the Bible. I feel I am guided more deeply into the word and get better understanding. I get impressions of what to do or say that are through the Holy Spirit, and that do not contradict God’s words in the Bible.

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  82. I remember as a young Christian listening in on a discussion at my Quaker group about prayer. Someone (a young woman & friend of mine with a young child, her husband was an atty but they’d split) related a story about a friend who asked God to help her find her lost car keys. What a trivial thing to ask of God.

    Yes, I thought.

    But then someone else said, “What’s too trivial a thing for which to ask God’s guidance?”

    Yes, yes, I thought.

    Liked by 5 people

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