66 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 10-5-19”

  1. My computer just dinged letting me know that I had email. It is now telling me when new posts go up.
    Morning all. I am working on a newsletter and then hope to go get a haircut. Someone posted that they would cut hair today. Yeah!

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  3. It still looks like a duck to me.
    Goo morning AJ. Good evening Jo.
    Everybody sleep in. I didn’t mean to get up this early, but when you need to get up at six, it’s too late to go back to bed.

    So? Here I am.

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  4. Why am I up so early?

    Amos was restless. He chewed on himself, rattled his tags, pawed me on the arm. I got up, coaxed Lulabelle into the kitchen and let them both out. Lou came back in wagging that tail up against the kitchen table and sideboard. THUMP THUMP THUMP. I explained that I would beat her if she woke the baby.
    They both are back to sleep and I am hanging out in the dark drinking coffee and reading.

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  5. Yesterday I attended a class called Quantum Leap. It was about life and living on autopilot or taking control of your thoughts and truly living. More on that later.
    For now my question is:
    How do you explain to someone that money and wealth isn’t evil? Making money doesn’t make you greedy? You have money for the good it can do.

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  6. Good morning!

    Kim, the best way to explain that is by giving examples in stories. Wealth can be a trap for many, but some do manage to use it for the good of others based on God’s purposes. I just read a fictional story about that very thing. The book I read and reviewed was Murder in the Family by Ramona Richards (she is in Birmingham and works with New Hope Publishers). But you need real life stories. I do not remember any details but there was a member of the Coors family (beer brewers) who was a Christian and did good things. I will see if I can find something on him. I think the author Andy Andrews may have true stories about such things. I have only started my first cup of coffee so what I write now may be only partially correct.🤣

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  7. I couldn’t turn off my brain. I have started out by myself, now that orientation is over, and of course, my first shifts were twelve hour ones, which means that for a third of my days, I work alone, with no one else to consult. Seeing three patients each hour doesn’t give much time for paperwork, but the paperwork has to be completed, so I had to stay late finishing it up. All I can say is, it is a good thing that I only work part time.

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  8. Kim, I looked with my limited research ability here at home and found nothing of help. I don’t think Google makes it easy to find anything positive about Christians. Maybe someone else here knows of some stories of Christians doing good with their wealth.

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  9. Art and I managed to put Revolution on Miss Bosley again. To have that done early in the morning is a blessed thing.

    Outside a cooling breeze is blowing through the dry leaves left on the trees. It’s suppose to be cooler for a bit with a slight chance of rain.

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  10. Roscuro, I am glad you are working only part-time, too. That is a lot of pressure to put on a new person, working all alone like that, in any field of work, but especially in medicine. Prayers that you always have wisdom and guidance from God so you never feel absolutely alone.

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  12. We are in the thirties this morning, expecting to hit fifty two.

    The benefit of nurses working twelve hour shifts is consistency for the patients. The down side is twelve hours is a long time to be on one’s game.

    Daughter likes three twelves as she then has her thirty six hours and has four days to do other things, like spend time with her family, grocery shop, etc.

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  14. Thoughts on this. We read it at the beginning of the class and at the end. The story behind the class is that Gary Keller had some health issues and his son was still young. He started out writing everything he wanted to teach his son about life, and it turned into the class Quantum Leap (you can probably date the years this happened by the name).

    I am — I will forever be.

    I am of this world– I am beyond this world.

    I listen, but sometimes I can’t hear.

    I talk, but sometimes no one listens.

    I then realize that the secret of life is not in holding on, but in letting go.

    I know to be up — I must be down.

    To come out — I must go in.

    To know life — I must know death.

    I know happiness — I must know sadness.

    To know joy — I must know sorrow.

    I can walk or I can run.

    I can sign or I can shout.

    This is my life.

    In the constance I can hear the stillness and I now see life for the first time.

    I see no beginning — I sense no end.

    To have yes — I must hear no.

    To have wind — I must accept rain.

    To live in light — I must also live in darkness.

    I surrender my life to life.

    I see the contradictions and accept them as wisdom.

    This is my life.

    I understand with wisdom comes ignorance.

    I understand that with left — comes right.

    I understand that with above — comes below.

    I understand that with hills — comes dust.

    I understand that with knowing — just comes more longing.

    I see each day as a new beginning while I know it is truly giving way to another old end.

    I finally realize that I do not need to bring God into my life — but to truly acknowledge God is already there.

    This is my life.

    It feels like a dream — but I know that it is real.

    Time moves fast — but it feels so slow.

    At times I think I know everything — then I awaken and realize that I know nothing.

    I feel I am — I feel I am becoming.

    I don’t know what — I don’t need to know.

    I can laugh — I can cry.

    I can whisper — I can say nothing.

    I can breathe — I can stop.

    I have a choice — I have no choice.

    This is my life.

    Life holds such promise — life holds no promise.

    Life is and I am alive.

    I shall be forever alive. In life I live — in death I live, for at a higher place they are the same.

    I am not my body — my body is not me.

    I am a human being — not a human doing.

    I need to be still and be — not be so active and do.

    My life becomes more precious as I become — it possibly becomes less meaningful the more I do.

    Less is more — more is less.

    I have a name — I am a spirit — I have a soul.

    This is my life.

    Now my spirit is set free — flying over the life given to me.

    All my past is below — all my future is above.

    It is nothing — it is everything.

    I hear a million voices become one.

    I sense a million souls yearning just to become.

    Life has lifted me up and God has brought me to my knees.

    I seek hope — I am hope.

    I seek faith — I am faith.

    I see love — I am love.

    I seek life — I am life.

    I am — I will forever be.

    From dust I came — to dust I will go.

    This is my life. ~ Gary Keller

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  16. Kim, how do you feel about that written by Gary Keller? I do not care for it. Somehow, it makes me think of Soloman and what he said, “Vanity. All is vanity.” It is not edifying to me, and the end does not justify the use of so many words, IMHO.

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  17. It is hard to make a case for seeking wealth from the Bible: “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (I Timothy 6:9, HCSB)

    Having wealth is a bit different. I am not wealthy by any Western measure. Each of my pay cheques gets rapidly eaten away by fees, deductions, debt repayment, and expenses. Nor are any of my family and we never have been – my family history is littered with domestic servants, labourers, and subsistence farmers. Yet we have never known hunger, or nakedness, or been without shelter (my maternal grandmother’s family came close a few times during the 1930s, but they always found a way). Yet, when I was in West Africa as a sponsored aid worker, I was comparatively wealthy, able to buy articles far beyond the reach of those living around me, articles which are common and cheap here in North America, and which were to me, with the exchange rate, even cheaper in West Africa. In Nunavut, once again, although I was a student living on a very tight budget, I had more resources than the Inuit, even though common articles such as groceries cost nearly three times the price as here in the Ontario. As Paul said, “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (I Timothy 6:8, ESV).

    Paul also makes another observation about Christian life: “I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.” (Philippians 4:14, HCSB). I have not yet arrived, but I too am learning that secret. The times of abundance become sweet, because I know they are gifts from the hand of God to be shared with others, and there is less anxiety in the times of scarcity because I know God will provide.

    If one clings to one’s wealth, becoming anxious lest political unrest or economic uncertainty may lessen it, one’s wealth is an idol. But if it seems to one as bounty from God, to be shared generously with those in need, then having wealth is not a sin.

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  18. Mumsee, there is no benefit of consistency to the patients I take care of. It is a clinic and they come in for twenty minute appointments. The twelve hour shifts just saves the agency money having to hire a third nurse.

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  19. There are those in the bible who used their wealth well from what little we read. Joseph of Arimathea had both the wealth and status needed to retrieve Jesus’ body. Wealthy women supported Paul, for another example. I think spurning wealth is as foolish as spurning good health. There are a lot of things to be said about how one acquires it or how it is used, otherwise, we should be grateful and faithful with it.

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  20. Kim, I like it. It also reminds me of Ecclesiastes, as it does Janice. The first few times I read that book, I thought, “how depressing”. And I don’t care for Solomon’s slipping off the straight and narrow. But the more I read the book, the more I see its Truth. This Gary guy seems to be trying to pass on some of that wisdom to his son.

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  21. I remember when my husband’s job had discussions of changing to a twelve hour day. We were very much against it. It can be wonderful with those who were young and/or have no children. Otherwise, you miss so many activities in the evenings. This was a place with round the clock shifts. People could often change shifts for family events. That was less possible with twelve hour days. Furthermore, you had more long weekends, but were so tired it was difficult to enjoy them as much. The older people got, the more that was an issue (or the health they were in). The people who fought for eight hour days worked so hard. It was sad to see us go back to those long days. Many of the workers worked overtime, but unless it was mandatory (which is was sometimes) that was voluntary, so something families could choose.

    It is nice to have the choice, but once the vote went through there was no other choice for the workers.

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  22. What Kathaleena said about wealth. Wealth is a gift and should be used accordingly. Poverty is a gift and should be used accordingly. Using wealth wisely does not seem to mean giving it all away, killing the golden goose, but using it in such a way as to be able to continue to help others. Some do so by hiring many people, others by philanthropic giving, or a combination thereof. I do not anticipate ever experiencing that opportunity and that is fine with me. Or, perhaps, I am living it. Only God knows the heart.

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  23. Our power outage of the other night was apparently caused by a cat getting into the substation. Did not go well for the cat.

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  24. I am bothered overall by the Gary Keller piece because it is so self focused. We have much of that in our society these days so to have to read and dwell in these words twice a day in a class seems to be practicing the habit of self focus/absorption. Maybe I am off base on this. Does anyone else get that feeling when reading the piece? It is similar to what Solomon says, but I much prefer how Solomon expressed it.

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  26. Janice, when I first glanced at the piece, I thought it looked very selfish and thought the same, twice a day??? But then I read it and saw the connection and thought about my own self absorbed self and realized that is who we are. But the words are showing life. “Life has lifted me up but God has brought me to my knees” pretty well encapsulates.

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  30. I read Rachael Denhollander’s book What is a Girl Worth last night, finishing in one sitting at 1:15 this morning.

    She’s an excellent and clear writer taking on a difficult, yet insightful story. I particularly enjoyed how, even though she was a trained lawyer, she was at home and in the midst of the work on her personal case, would take time and delight in the three children under five she was raising.

    It’s important to understand sexual harassment and abuse; it was harder to read about the hard-hearted church. They both fell on her the same week, leaving her to work through the sexual abuse charge against the MSU doctor without the full support of her church body–not even her home group. 😦

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  31. My (single) friend the RN loved the 12-hour days and having several days off in between. It allowed her to take short trips and do so much more with her free time and us 9-5ers can do with a mere Saturday/Sunday routine.

    Just returned from taking Annie to the vet, she’s not been eating normally the past several days. The vet found a bad tooth and I’m hoping that’s what this is, but she did re-order some bloodwork (last time we had that done was only in July and everything was fine then). Xrays looked clear, no pancreatitis, still awaiting blood work results. Annie’s 12, my dogs are both 13. I’m headed for a tough season ahead, I’m afraid. 😦
    _________________________

    The Quantum Leap didn’t do anything for me but then I find deeply rooted Christian sources — the Bible and writers who are well steeped in it — to be my only real comfort, hope and guide. For personal struggles, I’ve found Paul David Tripp lately to be very helpful.

    https://www.paultripp.com/about

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  32. I was checking out a new community page on FB last night (started up by the crankiest of the cranks who love to throw darts and behave like the “mean girls” in high school although this one is coed).

    They’ve posted rumors about an aide to our council member having an affair with a top port official (both married), a rumor I’d heard a couple weeks ago from someone in town (one of our former reporters but before my time at the paper) I’ve lost all respect for, especially as he has claimed the Christian mantle in the past. His FB posts are littered with expletives and the vilest possible criticisms of people in gutter language.

    It’s the side of social media that is so despicable to me, people publicity ridiculing (in sometimes the most personal ways) and spreading rumors about other people — or even just airing their dirty laundry even if it might be true. Ugly. Just ugly.

    And especially considering these are, ahem, adults who just simply should know and behave better. Even if you think such awful things, most people know better than to publicly “share” them. Or at least I’d like to think so.

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  34. These are dear friends from church who left our community about 10 years ago. I’ve been following this story on their CareBridge account, but never heard how the accident happened nor saw a photo.

    I’m so thankful the Lord spared their lives and grateful for all the emergency responders–including, of course, the one I taught how to drive . . .

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  37. As I have been sitting here reading posts, I keep looking at the sky as God paints it. There was a wide band of clouds on the horizon that have now come over here. But little bits of sun are peaking through from the side illuminating different hills and valleys. Just makes me think of God the artist as it changes.

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  38. I’ve had vertigo today, and missed our annual church picnic. Which was a bummer, since last year I was new and still learning names, so I was looking forward to going to it now that I know people. I’m doing better than this morning, but definitely not feeling normal.

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  39. Vertigo is awful. Hope it goes away soon, Cheryl – sorry for the missed picnic. 😦

    I finished brushing sealant on patio table and 2 chairs, so that’s all done — it really looks nice, the sealant was transparent but did darken the wood nicely. The set is 20 years old, from Target, but has managed to hang in there and I still really like it; a simple cedar set, nothing fancy. But the wooden chairs dress up nicely with bright cushions and a pot of flowers sitting in the middle of the table will look very cute.

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  41. No Jo. I got up at 6:00. Just messing around until time to get ready for church. Elvera is already up. It will be a long day.
    Now. go back to bed.
    😆

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  42. Morning Chas. It isn’t even 9pm here yet. We still have two days left of school break I am trying to get a newsletter done. I am featuring a couple of my students and Joan, so I have emailed them with what I have done and asked for permission or corrections.
    I might just go add a third page.

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  43. When Hubby was recently in the hospital for 12 days, there were a lot of issues and mistakes made, even by their own admission. But the one constant and the best care was by the nurses. I believe that the root of the problem was that, besides the nurses, there were four teams involved in his care: infectious disease, trauma, surgery, and the floor doctors and until one of the nurses got them all together in the room and I let loose on them, NONE of them were updating his chart. So someone would come into his room and ask this hurting,drugged patient something like, “when is your dressing supposed to be changed?” The nurses congratulated me because they said that communication is a big issue there and they never saw a chart so well kept up as his was after that meeting. I took the nurses a big bag of chocolates and flowers – only because they said they weren’t allowed to accept money or gift cards.

    You all were discussing the price of glasses. I have two words for you – Wal Mart.

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  45. I got glasses at Wal-Mart once and wasn’t impressed enough to go back. But they’re said to ehave upgraded what they use, so it might be good now.

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  46. From Kizzie this morning on FB:
    Hi Facebook friends. Having computer problems. A man will be coming over sometime next week to work on it.
    In the meantime, I will not be online. I “don’t do” online stuff on my phone. (Except for writing this, which is taking longer than it should.)
    Will one of my Fellow Wanderers (you know who you are) please mention this to the other Wanderers? Thank you.
    Have a great week, friends.

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  47. I was told by my long-time eye doctor that Walmart uses pretty old technology when it comes to doing complicated prescriptions (w/astigmatism etc.) for progressive lenses. My doctor said Costco and Walmart are fine, though, for single vision lenses (which I also need for my computer/reading alone prescription). My prescription sunglasses weren’t updated last time so those lenses are 3, maybe even 4 years old and may have to be updated this time.

    But re Walmart, that was a while ago that my doctor told me that, maybe they’ve updated.

    Eyecare sure does get complicated.

    Lenscrafters used to be pretty cheap but they’re not particularly so now, I don’t think. But there are sometimes special sales or coupons you can find for them. I can use my fairly decent vision insurance (still through work) this year for both frames and lenses (and the exam, of course). But I also have some old (backup) frames I can recycle for use again this time. My eye doctor tends to be the most expensive option for glasses. They also have the most limited selection of frames, which is why I like Lenscrafters.

    I found a police procedural limited series, based on a true story and with really good/natural acting and scriptwriting, on netflix last night that reeled me in, I had to force myself to turn it off when it started getting too late even for me, the night owl (the downside of those things is you can watch as many episodes as you want at one sitting).

    The house is chilly again this morning.

    I have just some minor touchup areas to do on the patio furniture.

    Kim? I’ll either stain the side gate cedar, which will be the more natural look, or be daring and use a washed “blue” stain formula. The cedar would be the most natural color for the wood but would also make the gate really blend in with the house and garage color (it spans the space between the two leading into my backyard). So I thought maybe that’s too much “reddish” brown? I don’t know much about the colored stains though. I don’t want it to look “painted.”

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  48. With eyecare I sometimes think you get what you pay for when it involves up-to-date technology for your eyes. So I’m a little hesitant to do a lot of cost-cutting for my main, almost full-time pair of progressives that I’ll be wearing for the next 1-2 years. But for backup or extra pairs, esp with single vision lenses, it really can be a cost-saving option. My neighbor finally got the Lasix surgery some years ago and said she’s never regretted it. Seems like, over the long run, it could really save a lot of $ on eyewear.

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  50. I used Lenscrafters for a number of years and liked them. They had a big selection. I got my last glasses at Sam’s Club and got 20% off as a Business Plus member on plain glasses. It was a good pair but now with more issues and since these glasses are related to the cataract surgery I thought it best to go through the vision center at the surgery center to get my insurance to partially cover the cost. I may get more separate distance and reading glasses at Sam’s as backup. My friend, Karen, said her husband does not like progressives because they mess up his peripheral vision. I hope I won’t have that problem.

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  51. I miss Karen already.

    Today was Sanctity of Life” Sunday. The pastor preached on abortion.
    I realize that I do not run in circles where abortions are usually performed.
    And I am not the kind of person in whom one confides about abortions.
    Nevertheless. In all my 89 years I know of no one who has had an abortion.

    He said more have died from abortions than during the holocaust.
    I was opposed to the holocaust. I am opposed to abortions. But I don’t feel personally involved with either.
    I realize that this is an evil world..

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  52. Daughter was telling me a couple of days ago that when she first learned she was pregnant, her good friend (a Christian, pro life marcher) offered to take her to the clinic. Daughter asked why? Friend said, “You do want to abort it so nobody knows, right?” Daughter says the friendship ended about there. I told her that even Christians can have those thoughts but must not entertain them.

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  53. The glasses I have now I got from Costco. I think that they are terrible. It may just be my eyes. But the gal didn’t even fit them for me. I had forgotten about Lenscrafters. I only had a limited time in which to get them.

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  54. Karen may learn some thumb exercises on her phone, perhaps. 🙂

    Our sermon was on the Song of Solomon as we continue our overview of the Scriptures and what all of it teaches us about Christ.

    On the way home, I stopped in at Lowe’s and picked up their fence stains brochures. I have found 2 blue semi-transparent stains I really like for my smallish side gate, but …. ? Too risky? Stain guy at the counter told me it would not easily be changed once it’s on.

    https://m.cabotstain.com/color-detail.php?c=exterior&o=Semi-Solid%20Stain&n=Federal%20Blue&all=1

    https://m.cabotstain.com/color-detail.php?c=exterior&o=Semi-Solid%20Stain&n=Chesapeake

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  55. I have noticed, when going to cheaper places for glasses, that they don’t have the up-to-date equipment my eye doctor has for fitting, etc. That’s why they’re probably OK for simple, single-vision glasses but maybe not for our more complicated prescriptions.

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  56. Progressives are especially tricky in getting the 2-3 blended vision fields correctly and exactly measured.

    Janice, I’ve had no problem with progressives, but some people I know have had issues. It probably depends on the individual. I hate having to switch back and forth between glasses so progressives, without the “line,” were the best option for the way I live.

    But now I do need separate, dedicated reading glasses for work or any exended computer time (even the progressives with the reading prescription at the very bottom aren’t very comfortable for long hours on a computer).

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  57. We have used Sam’s Club for glasses and have progressive lenses. I think they are okay, but you are right about all the fitting, I suppose. We haven’t had vision insurance for years, so I may have forgotten how much they fit them to your face in other places.

    I know people who have had abortions. I will never forget the grandmother who told me about her granddaughter aborting. She was happy about it! I expressed my dismay. Another case that is so sad is the woman who was saved from her mother aborting her and who went on to aborting one of her own babies. She had already delivered and adopted out another child. That child is a beautiful little girl being raised by a friend of the mom’s. She is in her fifties and a single mother. She has a lot of challenges, but fortunately people around her to help her. We pray that in this 3rd generation the affects of sin will stop, while we still pray for the others. So grateful our daughter is pro-life and never let the medical personal talk her into ‘getting rid of’ our granddaughter. She easily fit someone who would take this ‘out.’ We all would have been less blessed.

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  58. I will add that many, many people have difficulty with progressive lenses. I think it is inherent in the lenses and may not be where they come from.

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  59. I know a lady, she is ninety five now, who had an abortion many years ago. The bitterness it brought her, brought her to Christ when she was eighty.

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  61. I have a son and God was gracious to not even let me think of an abortion. I hid on our ranch and was very lonely. But I have a son. Praying that he will come to know Christ.

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  62. For a long time they put a felt tip ‘mark’ on the faux fitting leases to indicate where vision fields should switch; now my eye doctor had a fancy machine that more accurately determines that

    I’m blessed to still have decent vision insurance through work (but even with that, glasses are very pricey). Medicare vision insurance options apparently aren’t very good

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  64. I have the progressives, but ones with a wider field of vision for reading than is I guess typical. My new glasses came through Costco; the vision doctor isn’t a Costco employee, but the vision exam I had is probably the most thorough I have ever had. I haven’t yet figured out though whether I like the new glasses. For one thing, in addition to the glare coating I always get, they mentioned the possibility of a coating for “blue” light (e.g., computer). Well, it seems that the coating is itself light blue, and it feels like things are a little less bright overall, which takes some getting used to.

    DJ, why do you get new glasses as frequently as every year or two? I usually go three and don’t see the need more frequently than that. I know “they” recommend every year, but that really seems like overkill to me.

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  65. Exams are important every year, I think especially as we get older. My eye doctor office also provides very thorough exams, it’s almost exhausting.

    Glasses are only needed if there’s a change in vision that warrants it, I believe I was able to skate 2 years ago when there was only a very minor change.

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  66. … But with both distance and reading prescriptions now to worry about, something typically is changing from year to year.

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