46 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 4-11-20”

  3. Darn it. I thought this was the year. I’m a grown man, gonna be 54 next month, but I still can’t get thru this song without getting weepy. And it’s a cartoon!

    Warning, this video has cartoon depictions of Jesus.

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  4. The header is an unopened buds, with water drops on it, of a flower. You can see the center of the flower peeking out. The flower is fig buttercup, aka lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), considered an invasive species in several states, including Indiana. Two of our walking trails have it growing alongside, one of them in vast regions with thousands of plants. The flower is actually quite lovely, but one wonders what “real” wildflowers might be growing there if it hadn’t taken over! But I have found multiple species of pretty flowers in that same park, and it’s still the first half of April, so I’m sure there’ll be lots more to find as we move toward summer. This is another in the series of macro shots I sent AJ.

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  5. Checking in. I got a very nice email from AJ wondering if everything is okay here since I haven’t been on in awhile. We are all fine.

    In normal times I visit Wandering Views mostly while I’m at work, during lunch and then during occasional breaks in the action throughout the day.

    Working at home now I check in with my family instead during breaks, and at lunchtime our church has a daily Zoom prayer meeting. So I have to make other times to check in here.

    I’ll try to read back a few days to catch up. Have a missed any big news in the last week?

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  7. Good morning, I have been out doing chores, enjoying a beautiful windy spring day.

    Well.. grumble grumble grumble carry on, good morning, little brother. Good of you to drop by.

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  8. Good morning, all.

    Glad to hear from you, Kevin, and am thankful that you and your family are well!

    I would say the biggest blog news for the week is that AJ’s Cheryl was furloughed for approximately 3-6 months, IIRC, so that is certainly significant.

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  9. Regarding the conversation last night about unleashed dogs running out / attacking other animals or people:

    My husband used to have to deal with dogs when he worked delivering propane. He would carry a long wrench to defend himself if he had to. A good whack at a threatening dog, and it’d remember it the next time.

    (He’d also sometimes spray propane at them from the hose. That isn’t going to help any of you, except maybe if you’ve got some sort of spray bottle with something horrible-smelling or cold to spray at them, they might back off.)

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  10. Glad to “see” you, Kevin.

    Here is a beautiful song from Sovereign Grace Music. (Warning: Contains Gospel truth and pictures with a cross, along with photos of God’s creation.)*

    *Just going along with all the warnings about “pictures” of Jesus. I’m not offended by those, by the way, since I know they are only weak attempts to visualize Someone who can only be seen with the Spiritual eye.

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  11. When I was young I rode my bike to school every day. There was a dog that would chase me, nipping at my foot. One day, I kicked him in the snout. He never chased me again. He would come running and barking as far as the curb, then stop and keep barking.

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  12. I was confused by the depiction thing, make no graven image. Then, I realize while reading through the OT that the priests were told to put pomegranites on their robes and angels in the tabernacle and then I was more confused. I finally went with the worship idea. If they are made for worship, not good. So, daughter, who was given a blessed crucifix (whatever that means) by the bishop, hangs it on her wall. I know she is worshipping the thing on the wall, not the One. So I remove it. Others, it is simply a reminder to turn to Him. God knows the heart.

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  13. “*Just going along with all the warnings about “pictures” of Jesus. I’m not offended by those, by the way, since I know they are only weak attempts to visualize Someone who can only be seen with the Spiritual eye.”

    Me too. i hadn’t realized that some folks might be bothered by that, and I didn’t want to offend anyone. That’s why I mentioned it.

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  14. I had a paper route as a kid. I was like 12 when this happened. Every day I delivered to a house with an apt in the rear. The neighbors next door had a big front yard and their house sat back in. There was a 4ft fence and a narrow walkway between the fence and the house with the apt.. Every day I had to deal with a nasty, matted sheep dog trying to bite me as I went to deliver the paper. One day he got over it and bit me several times, enough that I had to go to the hospital. 2 days later when I returned to my route, there he was. But this time I had brought along a metal dog leash we had for our dog. He came over the fence again and I beat that dog repeatedly with everything I had in me until he finally ran away. After that he would just sit on the porch and bark and growl, but he never came near me again. I always felt bad about hitting him like that, but some dogs need to learn the hard way.

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  15. 6 arrows, thanks for the spray bottle reminder, I think I’ll have to start bringing one on our walks. I also have a walking stick that’s good to have, but frankly with two leashed dogs to walk a long stick is pretty cumbersome.

    But I’d used the water bottles before on one my own former Australian Shepherd dogs during early training times (he was difficult) and it’s quite effective. After a while, that dog, who used to bite into furniture when someone would walk by the house, straightened up as soon as I’d start to say “Sp…..” and reached for the bottle. I never had to even use the bottle after the first few times.

    I woke up at around 2 a.m. and noticed the red lights of a fire truck right sitting outside in the street below … looks like they made a call to the older boy next door (again); between the paramedics and police they’re house is a regular stop so it was a good reminder to pray for them again (rather than to stew about their unrestrained dogs). I don’t know if the boy, who has drug issues, was taken in or not, I think I woke up toward the end of the call as the truck left shortly after that.

    Our “safer-at-home” (the political leaders in LA thought that sounded more benign than “STAY at home”) has been extended until May 15.

    The rain and clouds are gone, it’s a bright, sunny, but cool, day here. And it’s Saturday. No editor conference call, no frantic stories to turn in, no early deadlines to meet.

    Hi Wandering Kevin.

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  17. I was reading about the Iconoclast controversy in the Eastern church. Two different Byzantine emperors decided to wipe out the use of icons in the 8th century, and did so by unlimited force, up to and including death. It was interesting to read that it was Christians who were then living under Islamic rule in Syria, who defended the use of icons. I suppose they saw the Iconoclast Emperors in Constantinople as acting no differently than the Muslim Caliphs in Baghdad. One was John of Damascus, who wrote three treatises in defense of icons, which he insisted were not worshipped. I read some of what he wrote, which was interesting, although I did not agree with all his arguments, but his best were familiar, and it was interesting to see the sound theology as regards the Trinity and the Incarnation:

    ‘I have taken heed to the words of Truth Himself:—‘The Lord thy God is one.’ And ‘Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve Him only, and thou shalt not have strange gods.’ Again, ‘Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath’; and ‘Let them be all confounded that adore graven things.’ Again, ‘The gods that have not made heaven and earth, let them perish.’ In this way God spoke of old to the patriarchs through the prophets, and lastly, through His only-begotten Son, on whose account He made the ages. He says, ‘This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou didst send.’ I believe in one God, the source of all things, without beginning, uncreated, immortal, everlasting, incomprehensible, bodiless, invisible, uncircumscribed,3 without form. I believe in one supersubstantial being, one divine Godhead in three entities, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and I adore Him alone with the worship of latreia. I adore one God, one Godhead but three Persons, God the Father, God the Son made flesh, and God the Holy Ghost, one God. I do not adore creation more than the Creator, but I adore the creature created as I am, adopting creation freely and spontaneously that He might elevate our nature and make us partakers of His divine nature. Together with my Lord and King I worship Him clothed in the flesh, not as if it were a garment or He constituted a fourth person of the Trinity—God forbid. That flesh is divine, and endures after its assumption. Human nature was not lost in the Godhead, but just as the Word made flesh remained the Word, so flesh became the Word remaining flesh, becoming, rather, one with the Word through union (καθ’ ὑπόστασιν). Therefore I venture to draw an image of the invisible God, not as invisible, but as having become visible for our sakes through flesh and blood. I do not draw an image of the immortal Godhead. I paint the visible flesh of God, for it is impossible to represent a spirit (ψυχὴ), how much more God who gives breath to the spirit…

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  18. ‘image is a likeness of the original with a certain difference, for it is not an exact reproduction of the original. Thus, the Son is the living, substantial, unchangeable Image of the invisible God, bearing in Himself the whole Father, being in all things equal to Him, differing only in being begotten by the Father, who is the Begetter; the Son is begotten. The Father does not proceed from the Son, but the Son from the Father. It is through the Son, though not after Him, that He is what He is, the Father who generates. In God, too, there are representations and images of His future acts,—that is to say, His counsel from all eternity, which is ever unchangeable. That which is divine is immutable; there is no change in Him, nor shadow of change. Blessed Denis (the Carthusian) who has made divine things in God’s presence his study, says that these representations and images are marked out beforehand. In His counsels, God has noted and settled all that He would do, the unchanging future events before they came to pass. In the same way, a man who wished to build a house, would first make and think out a plan. Again, visible things are images of invisible and intangible things, on which they throw a faint light. Holy Scripture clothes in figure God and the angels, and the same holy man (Blessed Denis) explains why. When sensible things sufficiently render what is beyond sense, and give a form to what is intangible, a medium would be reckoned imperfect according to our standard, if it did not fully represent material vision, or if it required effort of mind. If, therefore, Holy Scripture, providing for our need, ever putting before us what is intangible, clothes it in flesh, does it not make an image of what is thus invested with our nature, and brought to the level of our desires, yet invisible? A certain conception through the senses thus takes place in the brain, which was not there before, and is transmitted to the judicial faculty, and added to the mental store. Gregory, who is so eloquent about God, says that the mind which is set upon getting beyond corporeal things, is incapable of doing it. For the invisible things of God since the creation of the world are made visible through images. We see images in creation which remind us faintly of God, as when, for instance, we speak of the holy and adorable Trinity, imaged by the sun, or light, or burning rays, or by a running fountain, or a full river, or by the mind, speech, or the spirit within us, or by a rose tree, or a sprouting flower, or a sweet fragrance.

    Again, an image is expressive of something in the future, mystically shadowing forth what is to happen. For instance, the ark represents the image of Our Lady, Mother of God,* so does the staff and the earthen jar. The serpent brings before us Him who vanquished on the Cross the bite of the original serpent; the sea, water, and the cloud the grace of baptism.

    Again, things which have taken place are expressed by images for the remembrance either of a wonder, or an honour, or dishonour, or good or evil, to help those who look upon it in after times that we may avoid evils and imitate goodness. It is of two kinds, the written image in books, as when God had the law inscribed on tablets, and when He enjoined that the lives of holy men should be recorded and sensible memorials be preserved in remembrance; as, for instance, the earthen jar and the staff in the ark. So now we preserve in writing the images and the good deeds of the past. Either, therefore, take away images altogether and be out of harmony with God who made these regulations, or receive them with the language and in the manner which befits them.’

    Link: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/49917/49917-h/49917-h.html

    * One of the arguments I disagree with, but one of the positions common to the Catholic, Orthodox, and Assyrian churches, and first put forth in the early Church, that Mary’s perpetual virginity was necessary, because she was the vessel which bore God, and thus like the Ark, should never be touched by man.

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  19. I have a feeling our mail carriers will make their feelings known about a loose pit bull should the neighbors not keep their new dog restrained better than the others. They have a black retriever who’s caused problems before (she runs loose, though not as often as she did before, and barks at people which unnerves many and that dog was reported repeatedly, I think they’d gotten several fines). The 2 littler dogs belong to the neighbor’s sister around the corner, but they sometimes dog sit for her & babysit (for the niece’s toddler Sophie who also lives around the corner and is adorable).

    But really, I don’t know why they don’t enclose their yard more effectively, the driveway side just has a low wrought-iron gate/fence between the house & garage and it’s completely easy for the dogs to get out over, under or through that. They all are accustomed to letting their dogs run loose now and again and because the two boys hang out in the open-door garage to play their music at night (and sometimes in the day), I think they like the dogs being out there with them.

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  20. The retriever’s behavior has improved, however, now she’ll just run down the driveway to the sidewalk and around the corner to the sister’s house, then back again without harassing passersby. But I used to see her mentioned often on NextDoor by people who were terrified by her — and some who were just worried she was loose and perhaps someone’s lost dog.

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  21. For about two years of my childhood, we had neighbours next door who turned out to be drug dealers. They had wild drunken/drug filled parties in which they shoot off the back deck. My father was in our small barn during one of those parties and he heard bullets ping off the roof. They harboured criminals – a man on a Canada wide warrant was arrested there, and a kidnapped infant found there. And, they had pit bulls. We only had a chain link fence between us and them, and their yard was not fenced at the front. When the dogs saw one of us coming out the door, they would run up the fence and along the road and start down our driveway. My father got a BB gun to fire at them to scare them away. They also chased anyone who passed by on foot or bicycle. The neighbour up the road, who road his bicycle every day, took to carrying a heavy iron bar to use if they tried to attack. We had a horse for a little while at the time, and the dogs would come around and chase her. We knew a horse could land a deadly kick at a dog, and that concerned us because while the neighbours were nice enough to us, we did not know how they would react if our horse killed their dog. The police had surveillance on them much of the time they were there, and slowly closed in on them. The neighbours realized what was happening though, because they suddenly left. When the police got a warrant to go in, they found the dogs had been abandoned, locked in the house to starve. Pit bulls have been outlawed for quite a number of years now in Ontario, as they were responsible for several deaths, including some children.

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  23. Pit bulls: there has long been a “drive” to talk about what gentle dogs they are, yada yada yada. Thing is yes, they can be. But they were bred to fight other dogs, and they are powerful dogs. And they are a very common dog in the inner city, often guarding drug houses. In other words, they are still today actively bred to be dangerous dogs (only in this case to be dangerous to people).

    DJ, from what I understand, a dog that is allowed to roam loose is likely to become more dangerous simply because it doesn’t have the security of boundaries AND because other people are likely to react to it differently. Some react in fear, and some react by teasing the dog or outright cruelty. A dog in the backyard or the house pretty much only interacts with people under its owner’s eye, but a loose dog can have all kinds of encounters, from people throwing things at it to chase them off their lawn when they catch it soiling it to children teasing it. Even a gentle breed can become less predictable and safe. Give freedom to a powerful dog bred to be dangerous, and you may well get a killer.

    We had several dogs on my street in Nashville (several blocks worth of street) that were loose either as a matter of course or they’d often get out. I’ve never been afraid of dogs, though I know to be cautious with some. But after several years of walking an area with a bunch of loose dogs, some that were clearly dangerous to other dogs and/or people, I developed a bit of fear myself. I only got bitten once–on the ankle by a terrier–but Misten got attacked by more than one dog, I got snarled at and cornered, and my next-door neighbor lady (who was afraid of dogs) got bitten by two different dogs in the years I lived next to them. One of those bites left bad bruises through blue jeans, and one was a bite on the hand. Loose dogs really are a menace–and loose dogs of a potentially dangerous breed are a potentially dangerous menace.

    If you have a good relationship with them, I’d talk to them seriously about it. I’d also report the dog to the police the very next time you see it out. This isn’t a poodle that occasionally gets out its front door. This is a dangerous dog with negligent owners, and it could result in serious injury or death. (And the dog is likely to be put down if it bites someone, too–that might be an angle to use in talking to them. The general public isn’t all that inclined to give pit bulls one free bite.)

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  24. Good to see you, Kevin!

    We’re taking out the downstairs bathroom – started today. We have 2 other bathrooms and only 3 bedrooms, so we feel it’s not needed (and it’s tiny and sort of gross).

    We’re going to move our laundry into that area as the new furnace’s best placement is where the washer currently is. Once we get the quote for the furnace install, that will go ahead as soon as possible so we need to get the washer moved.

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  25. When I was a child I had a cousin who was a biter and I was instructed to bite her back so when my new puppy bit me I bit his ear. He grew up to bite my father, my grandfather, and the mailman. He never bit me.
    He had to be put down when he was about 6. My parents lied and sold me they sold him as a guard dog.

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  26. I respect the Queen and am grateful for a steady hand. Not to be picky, but the candle sharing she describes is what my Lutheran Church does on Christmas Eve, not Easter. Other than that, though, lovely as always.

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  27. Good points, Cheryl, and I posted about my encounter with a pit bull on last night’s thread. And I will plan on talking with them, I usually see the mom outside at some point.

    Tess also is very prickly, she’s not automatically friendly with other dogs so a dog off leash and rushing her will get her full, coat shaking, bared-teeth wrath, though i’ve never known her to do any real damage. But I keep her always on leash (even at the dog park she was in an isolated dog run, not ever with the “general population” – she just doesn’t “play well” with others, I think part of it is the dominance of the breed which has a ‘controlling’ streak when it comes to those genes).

    Dogs are a product of their experiences, owners and care, but also of their genetics.

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  28. Try walking a boxer around other dogs. All other dogs assume he is aggressive, I think because of his walk and his big eyes that seem to be staring. He’s the gentlest and most submissive dog, but they seem to want to attack him right off the bat. Once they know him, they’re fine and the play well together and Duke continues to be the submissive one.

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  31. Thankful to finally drop in here to say a late Hello. Glad to see Kevin.

    The subject of the header has a delicate color that portrays the essence of spring and its freshness. Beautiful!

    I had Word Weavers Zoom this a.m. it was a great group with all in attendance. My friend from church has joined us.

    Someone from my church stopped by and left an Easter meal at our door. It looks yummy. And it includes Ham! Remember we have been doing vegan/vegetarian with eggs and occasional salmon. Shall we or shall we not eat ham? I shall have to ask Art!

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  33. I made homemade yogurt last night. The tricky part is that I had to do it without a cooking thermometer. The milk must be cooked until it alm OP st boils which is called being scalded. I found an article that said when a ring of bubbles forms around the edge the milk would be around 180°. Then you must cool the milk to around 110-115°. That is the more tricky part. The writer said when you could put your clean pinky in the center and hold it there while counting to 5 (1001, 1002 . . .1005) it would be ready. I’d put it into a glass bowl that almost held a half gallon. I felt the outside of the bowl until it was a nicely warm to the touch. Then I stuck my pinky in and it seemed right. I mixed some of my store bought yogurt into a bit of the warm milk until it dissolved and was ready to stir into the batch. I then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in an igloo cooler with the bowl wrapped in fleece jackets and a sweater on top of it all. I got up at 3 a.m. and found it was still warm and a successful batch ready to put in the refrigerator. I made biscuits with it today. And I did pray over it before I went to bed bec as use I did not want to waste a half gallon of expensive organic milk which was all I could find when I shopped about two weeks ago.

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  34. On yesterday’s thread, I asked if anyone had anything to say about a minister named Sid Roth. I’m almost sure that someone here once wrote about him, and I don’t think it was in a positive sense.

    A friend wanted me to watch a video of his show, in which he had as guests two other people whom I had never heard of, both claiming to be prophets – Tracy Cooke and Emma Stark. Anyone familiar with them?

    Much of what all three were saying sounded rather sound – such as churches needing to back off from the “seeker sensitive” model and preach the gospel – but there were other things that did not seem right. Roth claimed that by repeating Psalm 91 in faith, you will not get the coronavirus. There was also a lot of talk by the two guests about their visions and prophecies.

    Do you think God still uses prophets? I know there are people who claim to be prophets of God, but I am skeptical.

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  35. Sorry about all the mistakes in that. Art called right when I got to the end so I did not get to edit before punching send so I could get his call. I am afraid of losing my post if I wait to send after I answer the call.

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  36. I recognize the name of Sid Roth but do not remember why. I do not know of the other two names. Counting on a Bible verse to save from a disease could be going against God’s plans. It’s okay to use scripture in prayer, but he is wrong in using and directing to use it as he does. God’s will is done according to his plans.

    I think that using God’s word properly might be showing that someone has the gift of prophecy, and they can speak of future events in alignment with what God says. But a prophet that speaks of future events outside of what the Bible says would be a false prophet from my simplistic view and basic knowledge. I hope I won’t get clobbered for my thoughts expressed. This seems it could be a controversial subject for some people.

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  38. Many of us need to read posts like that, Roscuro. I determined last year that God was giving me all the time I need to write this Lettie story. The Adorables are growing up fast and my husband and I are growing . . . older.

    I’m savoring my sheltering in place way too much because I’m getting the writing done, but I’m glad I’ve been doing silly things with the Adorables before now. I’ll just have to make up for lost time whenever I’m free again. (Which will be especially wonderful if I’ve finished the draft! 1/7th done!)

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  41. Anyone who told me that if I read a psalm in faith I would not get the virus would be someone I would not listen to. Plus, being a seeker friendly church and preaching the gospel is not mutually exclusive. Two strikes, IMO.

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  42. Kizzie, we discussed here the other day about how it was Psalm 91 that Satan quoted when he tempted Jesus to jump from the pinnacle if the temple. Jesus’ reply is a word of caution to any who would try to use that Psalm as a good luck charm, and a charm is essentially what they are making it. Prophecy, Pastor A used to quip, is less foretelling and more forth telling. He pointed out that the prophets spent just as much or more time telling people their present sins as predicting the future, and he taught that while revelation of new prophecies were finished, some are still given the gift of applying God’s written word in appropriate application to present needs. This kind of forth telling is not a prediction of the future, but a correct diagnosis of the present. The people he regarded as such modern day prophets were men who were appointed pastors in churches who warned those churches about sin and apostasy in their midst.

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  43. I actually wrote notes to folks. Something that I always need to do, but it is hard to get started. Then I went by the post office to mail them off. My job for the day.

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  46. Well I ended up skipping my walk today. Instead we practiced “social distancing” with our neighbors. We carried our lawn chairs and our drinks over to their property and sat out in the sun. We remained 10 ft away from them, but Gracie, their dog did sit on my lap much of the time…she missed me…and I have missed her! It was soooo good to chat and laugh with our friends in person!! 😊

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