45 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 8-7-18”

  1. Good evening Jo.
    Good morning everyone else.
    I don’t know what it is, but it looks like a lot of water where it isn’t supposed to be.

    As I opened my ATT, they had a couple of women wrestling. They are mean!

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  2. It’s 2 ospreys in a nest. The nest is in the middle of the Occoquan River, so the boat and water are where they should be, although it was higher than normal. 🙂

    The one on the left had just returned with a fish as we arrived. It was screeching it’s head off. I think it was quite pleased with it’s catch.

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  3. I thought that was a boat, but wasn’t sure.
    The Occoquan used to be the boundary of where the “swamp” started. Now the boundary has moved all the way down to Fredericksburg.
    Home prices, you know.

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  4. There are a lot of osprey around here. They like to build their nests on top of the crosspieces of the hydro poles close to bodies of water where they can get their fish. That has led to fears that they could be electrocuted, but rescuers building raised platforms next to the poles and moving the nests (ospreys return yearly to the same nest) to the platform doesn’t seem to work, as the ospreys simply build a new nest on the hydro pole. They mate for life, like many other birds. We have a nest at the end of our road, on top of a hydro pole. In the spring, when they are nesting, approaching the pole on foot will result in one of the osprey flying up and circling in ever widening circles away from the nest, all the while giving that screeching cry.

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  6. Good morning, all.

    I’ve got some disappointed grandchildren this morning. We planned to go on a hike, but it rained overnight and is looks like more on the way. Since it’s supposed to clear up we’ll go this afternoon.

    And this is the day of the primary election in Missouri. At least now the phone calls will stop for a while.

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  7. Good morning. Yesterday was a blur of activity. Art had his doctor’s appointment yesterday and lost his cane between the exam room and lab. I had to go in search and when I came back empty handed, I saw he had the cane in his. That was after having to wait for a nurse who had to wait for someone to finish up in the bathroom where Art had been to leave a sample in the cup. All’s well that ends well.

    Then I went to the church to get with some folks about cleaning out all the music in the choir room and the left over books in the media center. None of the space is air conditioned so that was a time to sweat. We were not moving anything. We worked up a sweat by talking.

    After thet it was time to go in search for a clothes dryer. Part of the search was online, of course, but then it was off to the stores. A trip to J. C. Penney and then a trip to Home Depot followed by a time of gathering more information and then back to J. C. Penney’s to purchase a Samsung model. Then a trip to the grocery store put me home around 8 p.m. it was a full 12 hours!

    A day at the office will be a joy.

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  9. Thank you Jo and Janice. I am doing OK this morning. I woke up with a little difficulty breathing (I frequently do, as nocturnal asthma attacks are common in allergy triggered asthma), and because I couldn’t take my inhalers, I fell back on a remedy my mother has used for me in the past, coffee. The tightness has eased off now.

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  10. I read through yesterday’s thread and learned a new use of the word “snowflake,” in a negative berating manner. I just knew of it being used for snowflake babies born from frozen embryos. I have a cousin who was born in that manner. I am sad to hear of the misuse of such a beautiful unique part of God’s creation.

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  11. I’ve read that coffee has a similar effect as the older asthma medicine, theophlyn (sp?) Salmon oil helps, too, either eating the fish or taking capsules. It help inflamation in the lungs. I first learned this when son had long-lasting bouts with asthma and when he ate salmon it cleared up. Later, I read about using salmon oil capsules in a natural medicines book. Of course, if a person has fish allergies, that would not work.

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  13. Janice, the term “snowflakes” has been being used for some time of the generally 18- to 30-year-olds who still see themselves as children and who can’t handle anything that might hurt their feelings or challenge them. They “melt” easily, therefore they are snowflakes. Obviously not everyone in that generation fits the label, but we probably all know someone who does. I know of a young married man who was in the hospital with something or other (his wife was with him) and he was crying and asking for his mommy–that’s the behavior of a snowflake, not an adult man. College students who demand that professors be fired for petty imaginary missteps are the fundamental example of such. But apparently the term is being broadened to “anyone who disagrees with me must be a snowflake.”

    Derisive terms can be rude and purposeless–but there is some value (or used to be) in stigmatizing a given behavior. If the administrators at such colleges would stand up tall and say, “No, we will not treat you as fragile, breakable children; we insist that you act like adults and accept that sometimes your feelings will get hurt in life, and that not everyone will agree with you,” we’d be better off. I can imagine an administrator giving a speech to the whole student body saying something along the lines of “Some of you have been acting like snowflakes, acting as though you are going to melt if your professor uses a word you don’t like or has high expectations of you. This is a college for men and women who want to become intelligent, informed citizens. If that doesn’t describe you, then you are free to leave and go elsewhere.We are going to continue to hold high standards and teach for the students who want to learn, and we refuse to allow others to hinder them getting their education. As of today, we officially no longer tolerate ‘snowflake’ behavior. But we welcome mature men and women to study and to hold high the standards that have made our institution great.”

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  14. Janice – For a while now, some conservatives have been referring to certain millennials – for example, the ones who complain about microaggressions and triggers – as snowflakes (as in being a “special snowflake”). But now, some are using the word for anyone they feel isn’t as strongly conservative (according to their understanding of conservatism) as they are.

    Some liberals have also turned the word on some conservatives.

    It is discouraging, to say the least, to see so many people of any political persuasion being so dismissive of the thoughts, views, and feelings of their opponents, but it is pretty common on social media.

    Those of you on Facebook are familiar with the ability to “react” to a comment or post with a laughing face. Usually that is used for something funny. But I have seen people use that on serious comments as a way to show their dismissive attitude or contempt for the commenter. In fact, on that comment thread I mentioned yesterday (in which I found myself defending myself for disagreeing with calling someone a “POS”), one of my comments got three of those laughing emojis.

    Whether that kind of thing is directed at me or someone else, I find it to be so rude.

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  16. Cheryl – At this point, since “snowflake” has been used so derisively for a while, I would suggest a college administrator not use the word when talking to the students, but maybe get the point across in some other way. Even then, even if he is polite and respectful, and stays away from any potentially offensive word, he will still probably be castigated for it.

    You may probably remember a case from a couple or so Halloweens ago. The Yale (I think it was?) administration put out a letter warning students not to wear costumes that others may find offensive. But that is not what the students railed and protested against.

    What they got all up in arms about was the teacher who wrote an open letter saying that the students are adults, and should be treated that way by not being told what they should or shouldn’t wear for Halloween, that most of them would know better.

    The students called for her to be fired, and for her husband, too, who tried to defend her, to be fired. (I can’t remember how it turned out, but I think the couple may have left the college.) The whole thing was so ridiculous.

    And yet, I suspect that those making such a horrible fuss were in the minority of the student body, but that most of the others were probably afraid to counter them.

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  17. I’m so glad that I run into few snowflakes. Our staff range in age from 15 to 25 and they are the hardest working, most caring, selfless people I know. And then… they share Jesus with all the campers. They also ‘live’ Jesus. It’s so very cool to watch them mature from 15 year old junior counsellors to staff that are teaching other staff. My heart felt like it was going to explode on Sunday as one of the middle age staff (19 or 20) shared a very encouraging message from Numbers to start off the staff meeting.

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  18. Kare – I really think that few millennials (or whatever the generation after them is called) are snowflake-ish, but it’s the ones who are, and/or who think of themselves as “SJWs”, who make the most noise and get all the attention. It’s always the vocal minority of any group that get the attention and cast a bad light on the rest of the group.

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  19. Kizzie, I wasn’t suggesting that a college administrator use that term today, but simply showing in context how such a term might be used. But I still think a careful leader might say something along the line of “Your generation has been called ‘snowflakes,’ because you are seen as being so fragile. We won’t give into that stereotype, nor will we allow you to descend to it. You are men and women who are being trained to be scholars. If that isn’t your own desire, then you are at the wrong college. If that is your desire, we pledge to you that we will work hard to make that happen.”

    I do think, though, that college boards should get together and say, “We are the adults here, and we are responsible for the tone of this college. We aren’t going to allow students to get their own way by throwing temper tantrums. We are going to allow respectful dialogue from students.” If students are smart enough and mature enough to determine how a college should be run, then they don’t need to study there. Some colleges have become training grounds for anarchists. Teachers who can’t stop five-year-olds from descending into a chaos of temper tantrums shouldn’t be teaching kindergarten. Likewise, administrators and professors who can’t intelligently handle the “adult” version of temper tantrums shouldn’t be teaching or leading at the college level–it isn’t fair to the students who are there to learn.

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  20. kare- You’re not working with the snowflakes. Most of them are off protesting something and not working at anything because they feel they should get everything handed to them.

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  21. There is absolutely no place for the derogatory use of terms such as ‘snowflake’. The use of such terms to tear down one’s opponents is not only a logical fallacy of ad hominem – tearing down your opponent’s character instead of answering their argument – but it is also reviling. The Bible has harsh warnings for those who revile others: “nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Corinthians 6:10). Using the term ‘snowflake’ is another way of saying “Thou fool”, and remember that Jesus said the person who called their brother a fool was in danger of hell fire (Matthew 5:22).

    The college professor can correct his students without using terms that revile them. In fact, he is more likely to be heard if he isn’t personally attacking them. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1). I have seen a university president reprove students for protesting and disrupting the speech of a controversial speaker without once resorting to the term ‘snowflake.’ Speaking gently and courteously are mistaken for signs of weakness these days, but Proverbs also says that “the soft tongue breaks the bone” (25:15).

    Christians get into the bad habit of confusing the secularly granted freedom of speech with a moral license to say whatever they want. We may or may not be free to say whatever we want under our nation’s laws; but we have never been free to say whatever we want under God. Christ warned the Pharisees: “Every idle word that people speak, they will have to account for in the day of judgement. By your words will you be justified, and by your words will you be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37-38). James chapter 3 needs to be paid more attention to by preachers and teacher of Bible. It has much to say that is relevant today about how we should address ourselves to others:

    Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment, for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his whole body.

    Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide the whole animal. And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.

    Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it. Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

    Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace. [HCSB]

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  23. Roscuro, I agree that such things as “You are all snowflakes” is neither kind nor useful. But just as Scripture does say not to call one’s brother a “fool,” Scripture itself does call people “fools” (Psalm 1). Jesus called the Pharisees “whited sepulchres” (sp?). There is a place for using strong language.

    Let’s say one day a young woman comes home from school upset that her classmates have called her a “whore” because she has slept with three different men this semester. I can imagine a father gently saying, “Honey, let’s look up the definition of that word, and see what they mean by it. OK, honey, does this term fit? I agree with you that they are being unkind in how they speak to you, but are they using the correct word? Which is worse, that they are using a strong word unkindly, or that you, while you claim to be a Christian, are giving them cause to use that word?” In other words, with gentleness and grief, allowing the ugly word to show the ugliness of the action.

    Likewise, words such as “rebellion” and, yes, “fool” might (in the right hands) show an erring Christian that his actions fit something God finds abhorrent. When we soften “adultery” to “an affair” or “promiscuous” to “sexually active,” or “fornication” to “sleeping with your boyfriend,” we may do sinners a disservice.

    I also, personally, think there is something different in saying “Too many people in this generation are snowflakes” and saying, “Wow are you ever a snowflake!”

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  24. Most college students of today are not millennials. When I took that elective Middle Eastern history course, when the professor talked about events like the Gulf War, the Second Intifada, and even 9/11, I clearly remembered those events, but the students around me were either not born or, in the case of 9/11, infants, since most of the students there were second year humanities students and thus 18 or 19 (students graduate from high school at age 17 here). I am technically a millennial and I turned 17 in 2001. It is now 2018. The older millennials are well into their thirties now, while the younger ones are in their mid-twenties, and the ones I know are simply struggling to get along, too busy trying to live with permanent employment and financial insecurity to get into protest movements. The Occupy movement, with which millennials are associated, ended six years ago.

    It is not as if the millennials were the first generation to stage sit-ins and other demonstrations and then move on with their lives. The 1960s and 70s had some real doozies of college students protests. Yet that generation moved on and has conveniently forgotten the behaviour of themselves and/or their peers in those eras and labeled the younger protesters as ‘snowflakes’. I wonder what their generation was called by their elders… ‘hippies’ wasn’t it, for the ’60’s generation? And ‘punks’ in the ’70’s? I am sure there were other terms as well. Who knows, ‘snowflake’ may become as much a badge of identity for those in the generation receiving the term as those older terms became to those who were called by them. I can just hear their reasons for embracing it, something like this: “Snowflakes have many unique shapes, and we embrace diversity; together; snowflakes completely change the landscape and together we will change the world” etc. etc. Calling names can not only place one in danger of eternal judgement, it can also backfire completely.

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  25. Good Morning Folks. It has been busy at Hurlburt House. Maddie seems to be the source of most of the chaos.
    Grandpa has decided he needs to get a trainer to come to the house and work with Lulabelle, so that she will obey him and will not hurt the baby. (Seems to me that someone at our house has mentioned this multiple times, but she is wise and doesn’t say anything. She just smiles and tells him that is probably a good idea).
    I will be in Austin from the 13th to the 17 of this month so you may not hear from me.
    I renegotiate my contract here on the 20th.

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  28. Cheryl, the only people that Jesus used terms of blistering attack upon were on the scribes and Pharisees, because they were hypocrites. They knew better, they sat in Moses’ seat, as Jesus said; but they deliberately chose to work iniquity. They should have been men of God, and they were far from God. Furthermore, they were Jews, the chosen people of God. The only people comparable to the scribes and Pharisees today are Christian church leaders, who, like the scribes and Pharisees before them, are hypocrites. These are people like the recent church leaders in several different denominations who have been caught in scandal after scandal. They, like the Pharisees before them, are whited sepulchres, because they claim to be Christians, say they are walking in the light, but are really full of darkness – and when they are reproved, they, like the Pharisees, seek to slander and silence their reprovers. They know better, but their positions of power and prestige in the Church and the world are more important to them than their eternal position before God.

    Proverbs are wisdom literature, and when speaking of the theoretical fool, are only describing the nature of foolish behaviour. The Proverbs by no mean give us license to call a specific person a fool. One might say, gently and in humility, to someone, “You are acting foolishly.” But that is different than saying, “You are a fool.” Anyone may act in a foolish manner and need correction, but saying someone is a fool means you despise them. When Jesus said that to call someone a fool was to incur eternal judgment, he was saying that hating and despising someone in our hearts was the equivalent to murdering them.

    In the hypothetical case given, I would never use the foolish words of my teenage daughter’s peers, if they called her a whore, to try to help correct my daughter, even if she had been acting foolishly. To do so would be both foolish and dangerous on my part, giving those peers an authority in my daughter’s life that they do not possess. Whether or not my daughter had been acting immorally, it is not the responsibility of her peers to pass judgment on her behaviour. I can seek to help my daughter realize the danger she was in and how to correct her behaviour without any reference whatsoever to what was said about her by her peers. Furthermore, the term whore is used both promiscuously and inaccurately today. A whore is, historically, a prostitute, someone who sells the use of their body for others to use for sexual gratification in return for an agreed-upon fee. The misguided young woman who sleeps around does not fit into that category. Finally, whenever I hear the term whore used, it is invariably applied by promiscuous people to other promiscuous people whom the first promiscuous person despises. The terms signals hate, and should never be reinforced, even if the person who is called by the term is indeed a prostitute.

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  29. I had occasion to explain the modern use of the term snowflake to my mother. Her reaction was much the same as Janice’s. She loves snowflakes and never ceases to marvel at their varied beauty. I remember her teaching us how to cut out paper ones, which we used to tape to the windows as Christmas decoration. She exclaimed, when she heard about the derogatory nature of the term snowflake, that yet another marvelous word had been hijacked (that was the word she used) and made ugly. Conservatives complain frequently about how words such as gay have been hijacked, but they themselves display the same talent for distorting words. Turning snowflake into an ugly term betrays an ugly attitude.

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  32. Michelle (11:28), no, our church has a lot of young people but not leaning that direction, we’re pretty orthodox Presbyterian through and through (one guy does wear a kilt, though). 🙂 It reminds me, though, of what Hollywood Presbyterian Church (mainline) went through in ’05:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/13/AR2005051301268.html

    (The split was softened in more recent years and now the 2 congregations do some things together in homeless ministries, etc; members of Cue were there at the last Christmas Eve service I attended at the main church, they handled a few of the service elements.)

    _________________________________

    … At Hollywood First, the trouble began when Meenan launched the Contemporary Urban Experience, or CUE, services more than two years ago. The weekly Sunday service has attracted about 350 twenty- and thirty-somethings, some with tattoos and piercings. Many work in the entertainment industry.

    “I could go into any coffee shop in Los Angeles and go up to any artsy, crazy guy and feel totally comfortable inviting him to this service,” said J.C. Cornwell, 34, a church member who volunteers to produce CUE each week. “It’s just a really cool service — but it’s still the truth.”

    Some traditionalists have embraced the new service as a way to save their beloved church. For others, however, it represents a threat to the faith and a fall from grace.

    “I would be very sad if it became demographically oriented or age-oriented, where there would come a day when the sanctuary was abandoned and all worship moved down to the warehouse,” said Sparky Jamison, a 20-year member of Hollywood First and a church elder. “I come from a tradition of loving to sing and perform classical music.” …
    ___________________________________

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  33. Roscuro, I guess that whether or not one uses the word “fool” only for a person one despises depends on the meaning of the word “despise.” In other words, if “despise” is limited to someone for whom one wishes damnation, then a Christian should never despise anyone.

    I see “fool” as being a word with a biblical meaning, and thus it isn’t an “insult” as much as it is descriptive. By the way, the passage I was thinking of wasn’t Psalm 1 (though the idea does apply to that Psalm, too), but Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Thus, if a family has led their children in memorizing the book of Proverbs, and someday one of those children is acting foolishly, there might be a time to say so.

    I have a good friend whose daughter qualifies as a fool or a rebel. She was into drugs for a while, and then she went off to live with a boyfriend in another state, and then she came back home pregnant. Now she leaves her young infant several times a week for her mother to care for because she’d rather be off with her friends. She doesn’t have a job, doesn’t contribute to the household. When her mother tries to get her to help around the house or do anything constructive, she fusses with the words her mom uses and tells her that she doesn’t communicate well. The mother tells me that her daughter isn’t very smart and doesn’t “understand” consequences. That isn’t really the issue. Biblically her daughter is a fool and a rebel. Am I saying that because I “despise” her? Absolutely not. I’m saying that because she fits the biblical definitions. Saying so to her would probably not be wise, under most circumstances. But if a person was raised to understand Scripture, has a biblical vocabulary, and continues to act the part of a fool and a rebel, there might be a time that using the words would call them to repentance.

    By the way, part of my argument is a theological one. I edited a book a couple of years back that made some good arguments along this line. The author said that often we “confront” someone when what they are doing is not biblically a sin. Minimally, we should address sins differently than we address non-sins. Let’s say that someone in the room is tapping a pencil against something and it is driving me crazy. I can request that he not do so, and tell him it is bothering me, but I cannot demand repentance–he isn’t sinning. Now, if he starts doing it in order to bother me (and he isn’t just teasing me), there could be sin in that–but not in the pencil tapping itself. The author pointed out that when we feel it necessary to address someone’s behavior, we first ask ourselves what sin the person has committed. If it isn’t a sin, we address it differently. If it is a sin, then we should use biblical language in talking about it. Not “I don’t like it when you fudge the truth” but “Honey, you lied to me.” Not “I don’t like it that you party so much,” but a word about the sins of drunkenness and illicit sex. So yes, I think that the rebellious daughter should be reminded of biblical truth, which includes honoring one’s father and mother (and taking responsibility for one’s own child). And if she refuses the first level of correction, then there might be a time to say, “We have pointed out your dishonor and your sloth, and you have refused to listen. Biblically, that makes you a fool. Now, we love you, and we will never stop loving you. But we also will not indulge a fool. We are not going to tolerate your living at home and contributing nothing to the household while you rebel against us–that is foolish behavior. If you are willing to repent of that behavior, then it might be possible for you to stay. These are our expectations going forward.”

    Oh, and just as good words can be made into ugly words, it can work the other way around. Plenty of youth groups have claimed the word “rebellion” as a good thing. I think that is unwise. Secular culture has likewise claimed an awful lot of bad words and made them “good.” Something that is decadent, sinful, and wickedly indulgent probably tastes really good, right?

    I wasn’t arguing that the modern use of the word “snowflake” is good, by the way. It definitely isn’t biblical language. Being “easily angered” probably comes closer. But I do think there is a place to say, “When I was a child, we used to say ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ That isn’t true–words can hurt. But I think the idea of that rhyme is ‘I’m choosing not to let your words get to me, because your assessment of me isn’t important.’ Don’t spend so much time worrying about what people call you. If you’re a hard worker and you have a thick skin, people aren’t going to call you a ‘snowflake,’ anyway. Worry more about your own self and less about what they say about you.” And if the person being called that name has done nothing to deserve it, then you say so.

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  34. DJ, a gentleman at the city church always wear a kilt and sporran to Sunday service.

    Now this is the way to debate, and how the art of debate should be taught: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/aug/07/islamic-school-israeli-palestine-conflict?CMP=fb_gu
    Yet towards the end of Abrar’s summer term, Hafiz accepted an offer from Davies to teach a class on one of the most divisive conflicts in the modern world. It was a big moment for Davies, who has set up a project called Parallel Histories, which teaches Israel/Palestine from both sides rather than “twisting competing perspectives into a single, compromised narrative”…

    Davies is excited about the lesson he has planned on the Balfour declaration, a hotly contested document signed by the British in 1917 which promised the land of Palestine to the Zionist Federation, a recently established political movement whose goal was the creation of a Jewish state.

    The boys, aged 14 to 19, have already been split into two groups to prepare for a debate. Half were disappointed to be told they must argue that the British should be praised for the declaration – an opinion held by very few Muslims.

    Two boys are appointed judges and mark their classmates on content and presentation, totting up the scores to declare the Palestinian side winners, though only by a whisker.

    Abdul, 15, on the Israel team, says his side had to work harder: “I told the team, swallow your pride, just do it. Even after hours and hours of research we thought Palestine had a stronger argument, so to find an argument for Israel and the Jews to have this thing was really difficult.

    “But we did find it, we found small things to pick out and expand on, and we were very close to actually winning. I was more on the other side but now I’ve got a bit more understanding and think Israel does have a point. In this school especially we are trying to become Muslim scholars but we have to go out there and we need to be aware of what’s going on – this is Britain, we need to understand British values. All of this will help us understand tolerance, etc. If we are biased to one opinion by ignorance then it’s not fair. No matter if they are Jews or whatever, they are still human. We have to respect them.”

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  35. One of my brothers was in a debate club at his college. They would travel around and debate other colleges. Each team would be given an argument, and a side to take in that argument, and time to prepare. He told me that I should join the debate team at my college. I told him we didn’t have one, and he said “they” had debated “us.” By the time I arrived, there was no such thing, though. (And I wouldn’t have been able to join it if they did–I needed to put myself through school, and that didn’t allow being part of a team that traveled to other states!) It does sound like an interesting thing to do, though.

    My English professor gave us an interesting assignment my freshman year: We were supposed to go through the rule book, find a rule we disagreed with, and write about why it was a good rule. One student wrote about students not being allowed to be alone in private with someone of the opposite sex, about how that was treating students like children. But in writing about the rule, he talked with other students and heard sexual regrets, and came to believe the rule was wise. (I wrote about the rule that students were not to give medical advice to other students. I figured that in the real adult world people often give each other medical advice, but that doesn’t mean you have to listen to the advice.)

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  36. Cheryl, when someone has truly reached the level of a fool, they are past the point of repentance. A synonymous term for fool is ‘son of Belial’. Nabal, whose name meant folly, was such a man and there was nothing to be done with him, but for God to strike him dead. In that sense, there are fools, but they are evil people, wholly given to wickedness, whose hearts cannot be touched even by the harshest words of reproof. It is folly to even engage with them:
    “He is such a son of Belial that a man cannot speak to him” (I Samuel 25:17);
    “But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear” (II Samuel 23:6-7);
    “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you.” (Matthew 7:6).

    The verses in the Psalms where it says that the fool has said in his heart there is no God is not addressing a declared unbelief , but rather an attitude of heart. An atheist may claim he doesn’t believe in God, but still feel a sense of moral responsibility. That is not what the Psalms are addressing with that statement. They are addressing an attitude of heart, where, whether or not the person outwardly claims to believe in God, their heart attitude is such that God does not really exist to them. God’s laws, written and natural, play no part in the decisions that they make and things that they do. They have no fear of God. The fool is without conscience. The professing believer in God who has used his supposed belief as a cloak for unrepentantly evil behaviour, displays proof that in his heart, he has said there is no God. That is a fool.

    The fool of the Bible is a terrible person, one whose existence should grieve us; but to address such a person by the name of fool accomplishes nothing. The real fool cares nothing for our words. But if a person is merely acting foolish in some respect, to call them by a name, which in the Bible uses to describe a person beyond recall, is to tell them they are worthless and beyond hope. There is no situation in which it is helpful or wise to say to someone, “You are a fool.” One will either be scorned; or be revealed to be a scorner oneself, as using ‘fool’ to attack, drag down, and discredit someone one finds aggravating, annoying, or disagree with – and that is how ‘snowflake’ is being used – is engaging in reviling speech.

    The common saying, “Sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt you” has, to quote Paul’s phrase in Colossians 2:23, a show of wisdom. Similar sayings about rising above other people’s ill-judged opinions are found among the wise men of all religions. But the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. God created by speaking words, God the Son is called the Word, and the power of verbal speech, given only to those made in His image among all the physical creation, is not a gift to be misused before Him. The fragmentation of humanity’s words was, after death and the Flood, the third great judgement on the world for humanity’s sin (Genesis 11:1-9); while the restoration of that fragmented speech was a sign of the coming of the Spirit of truth (Acts 2:5-12). In contrast to the world’s wisdom which says that words have no power to hurt the strong person, the wisdom of the Scriptures says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21) and “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit” (Proverbs 15:4) . James’ chapter on the dangerous power of the tongue does not occur in a vacuum; rather, as with other points James makes, chapter 3 is an apt summary of one of the recurring themes of Scripture, that of the importance of spoken words in the economy of God.

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  39. Janice, oh, stop.

    Rubbing it in much? 🌧 ☔️

    Sigh. It almost hit 90 at the beach today.

    Day. After day.

    “Sunny with a chance of wildfires”

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  40. It’s thundering here now Janice, but no rain so far. We don’t really need raid now.
    TSWITW is complaining because what she sees on TV (FoxNews) doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t realize how right she is.
    But for a different reason. 😆
    But that Shannon Bream is really pretty.

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  44. Okay, the laundry situation is getting critical. The piles are becoming mountains! And even Miss Bosley is taking advantage of the situation. You might envision her hiding in the mountains, but No! She goes for the greater challenge. She noticed that my underwear drawer was lightweight so she started reaching up with her paws and claws to open it. How is she so smart and observant? I am so glad I caught her at this new trick. Otherwise, I would have been shocked to find a drawer open. Maybe I need to nickname her Houdina! ❤

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