Good morning. It’s dreary here, too, with light rain. It rained more overnight and the beech tree limbs are bent from their soaking. I had to avoid the puddles in the driveway when I pushed the garbage bin to the street.
Someone sent this video to me on Facebook. I appreciate how the commentator explains God’s unconditional love along with His conditional love. And I appreciate his talking points on the controversial issue.
Middle East unrest strange? Not really. It’s pretty much the norm.
We’ve had some heavy fog overnight, can hear the dripping off the roof and through the drain spout. I’m up early to take Cowboy to the vet, we need to be there by 8 a.m. and I’m due to be on the road hopefully by 7 since I don’t want to be rushed on the drive — that’ll get us there very early, but we’ll just hang out in the parking lot until they open at 8.
I was hoping to take today as a vacation day as the appointment might go long with tests, etc., but on Friday I was asked to do a port story today — on a harbor water quality/species study that was recently released — because one of our weeklies wanted it and their deadline is by noon tomorrow.
~ From the significance of biological realities to laws that put children at risk, the stakes in the cultural debates over gender are huge. Page’s interview is a reminder that caught up in these issues are hurting souls, longing to be comfortable with who they are, feeling real pain.
Contrary to the hollow ideas about reality and our identities being self-determined, a Christian worldview gives solid ground for our value and dignity, and offers us the rest we need by knowing the God who made us in His image.
Even as we stand for truth in this confused cultural moment, God’s love must always shape both our message and our motive. ~
It isn’t any holy site, but the holy site, location of the Al Aqsa mosque and former location of the temple. But apparently the anger is over another planned eviction of a Palestinian neighbourhood. Well, if any of us were going to be forcibly evicted from our homes, we would be hopping mad too. I don’t see that Israel gets a free ride to do what any other world government would be criticized for doing.
Good Morning Everyone. I have been scarce around here. Mr P has is first physical therapy appointment in a little while. I started teaching Ignite in the evenings last week and showed property Saturday. We will know in a little while if our offer was accepted.
My main problem right now is Master Amos. He wants up at 5 and I really need to sleep a little later than that. Last night I took a 10mg melatonin, cut it 4 ways and gave him a piece with his nighttime medicine. He seemed to do a little better
I suppose if bombs keep coming from a particular neighborhood a country might react to that. I have not read a lot about this particular time, however. I do agree that we do not give Israel a free pass to do wrong.
Good news, Kizzie, about the pension. Every bit helps. I was happy to hear you heard from your stray lamb.
Nice picture again.
I also have a mock orange. I planted it to hide a propane gas tank and that was a failure. It is leggy, but has wonderful blossoms for a short while. I admit it is neglected, however.
When Israel captured the West Bank in 1967, they didn’t make the Palestinians who were living there citizens of Israel because they were afraid the Palestinians would dilute the predominant Jewish demographics of Israel. Instead they rendered the Palestinians as a permanently occupied people. Occupied people, as can be seen from German-occupied Europe in WWII, often rebel against the occupiers. The French and Dutch resistance was commended. The Palestinian resistance is condemned. I do not support suicide bombings or rocket attacks, but it is really a case of tit for tat, and has been since the 1920s, when militant Jewish settler groups like Irgun terrorized the country with bombings and assassinations.
My Bible study this morning in Ephesians was about unity and peace among believers. How does God allow that to happen? It is possible, but rare it seems. What is the biggest factor that God works into disagreements among Christian’s to make peace the outcome?
Unity comes from walking in the Spirit, as it is the Spirit that unifies (Ephesians 4:3-4). If we walk in the Spirit, we do not satisfy fleahly lusts and desires (Galatians 5:16). The results of living in the flesh, and living in the flesh includes seeking righteousness by fleshly efforts (Galatians 5:18), lists hatred, factions, strife, and envy among the rotten fruit (Galatians 5:19-21). As James says, he that seems to be righteous or wise but does not control his tongue or engages in bitter strife, his religion is empty and his wisdom is earthly, sensual, and devilish (James 1:26, 3:13-16). Wisdom from the Spirit produces peace (James 3:17-18).
I would recommend reading “The Seige” by Connor Cruise O’Brien for a greater understanding of the Israel/Palestine issue. It is not nearly as simple as first appears.
I studied modern Middle Eastern history for an elective while getting my degree. I would recommend ‘The Arab Awakening’ by George Antonius, a Lebanese Arab Christian who witnessed the period of Palestinian history from pre-World War I to just before World War II. It is rare to find an articulate Arab voice and see things through their eyes.
Only one side hides their Iranian rockets in civilian areas Roscuro.
And it’s not the Jews.
Also, it’s not tit for tat.
Once again the Palestinians fire rockets into civilian areas to kill Jewish civilians. The Jews respond by hitting those rocket sites. It’s called self defense.
“Gaza health officials say nine people, including three children, have died in a blast in the northern Gaza Strip.
The cause of the blast was not immediately known. It came as Gaza militants were firing rockets into Israel on Monday, and it was not clear if the people were hit by an errant rocket attack or an Israeli reprisal.”
“THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas militants fired a large barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, including one that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.
The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem that have threatened to become a wider conflict.
Shortly after the sirens sounded, explosions could be heard in Jerusalem. One rocket fell on the western outskirts of Jerusalem, lightly damaging a home and causing a brushfire. The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing in southern Israel.”
And yes it is tit for tat. This has been going on since the 1920s, when Palestinian peasant were evicted from their homes by Jewish settlers from Europe who had bought the land under the peasants from absentee landowners. And, if it had been Americans who got shafted like that, they would definitely have fought back.
Mumsee, no, Ishmael was cared for by God (Genesis 21:11-21). It was Jacob and Esau who were in conflict from conception, and the nation of Edom, which descended from Esau, has long been extinct. The claim about Ishmael and Isaac being doomed to perpetual conflict is like the supposed curse of Ham – if one actually reads the accounts, neither the curse of Ham nor the supposed perpetual conflict of Ishmael and Isaac is actually in the Bible. In fact, there are blessings given to the Arabs in the Bible. Blessings of perpetual descent were given to the Rechabites in Jeremiah 35:18-19, who were descended from the Midianites, who are synonymous with the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:28). It is probable, given the certainty of God’s promises, that the descendants of the Rechabites are among the Palestinian Arab population now. Then there are the Gibeonites, descendants of the Canaanites who saved themselves by tricking Joshua into a covenant with them and later, when Saul attempted genocide against them, David had to pay for it in blood before God would lift a famine. As the temple servants, or Nethinim, the Gibeonites returned from exile with the Jews and their descendants may well still live in Palestine. The mixed Samaritans, whom Jesus ministered to also would be part of the Palestinian ancestry – certainly there are still Palestinians who identify as Samaritans, although other descendants undoubtedly converted to Islam centuries ago (but they still would be genetic descendants). Then there are the Arab Palestinian Christians.
If you want to know what grows well where you live a local greenhouse is your best bet. My parents sold plants, wholesale, to Woolworth stores. She could never understand why anyone would buy their plants from a store, however. You have the mark-up prices, less care for the plants and no advice about them. She also shook her head at the people who insisted on talking to my dad if he happened to be in the greenhouse. They thought they would get the best advice from hi. What would my mom know? Actually, she was the one with a horticultural license and who started the business.
I remember my husband picking up a man hitch-hiking years ago. It turned out he had run out of gas. He told us that his wife had been after him to stop and fill up, but he wouldn’t. He was not looking forward to the ride home.
Actually, Roscuro, I was thinking of Cain and Abel. People and their greediness and self centeredness. I guess we could go back to Adam and Eve, though. Lamech and his actions followed by the boasting to his wives also came to mind.
RKessler, before the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in 1915, the creation of an Arab state, including the area of what is now Israel, was promised by the British to the Arabs in return for the Arabs rebelling against the Ottoman Turks, which the Arabs did, forming a flank of the British invading force that captured Palestine from the Ottomans in WWI. When the Balfour Declaration was made and the Arab allies of the British learned about it, the Arabs were assured that it didn’t mean the creation of a Jewish state, just the migration of Jewish refugees to uninhabited areas of Palestine. The Arab allies were willing to consider granting the Jewish refugees a place in their state, but their state was never granted to them, with the British and French creating Protectorate out of Palestine and Syria instead. When it became apparent to Palestinian Arabs during the British Protectorate in the 1920s that Jewish settlers would be settled at the cost of the Palestinians already living there, that is when hostility began to be shown. The current king of Jordan is a descendant of the leader of those Arab allies, as Jordan was what was offered as a consolation prize to the Arabs when Britain and France reneged on their word. Before 1967, Jordan held the West Bank and the king of Jordan is still the custodian of the holy places of the Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem.
Michelle @ 12:19
Did I tell you about the flat tire?
If I have, disregard the following. If not:
No other explanation than God’s hand in this:
I was driving our van along I-95 going from Charleston, SC to Annandale, Va. (Washington suburb). Where we lived.
The speed limit on that stretch of I-95 in NC is 70 mph. I was doing that, maybe a little over.
Suddenly, for no reason, a car in the left land started nudging into my lane. I had to hit the brakes and pull over off the road onto the edge.
I kept rolling, but almost came to a stop. I was shaken up a bit, but drove on the edge about 50 yards, and started to pull back onto the highway.
Then I heard a noise on the right rear. I thought it was a transmission problem and pulled over.
I had a flat tire.
I changed the tire and drove to a Cracker Barrel to clean up and have dinner before driving on home.
Not thinking a thing about it.
But I was sitting in my room in Annandale once when it occurred to me.
What if I had that flat tire while I was doing 70 mph?
It didn’t occur to me at the time, I was too busy dealing with the issue. But I’m convinced God had a hand in this.
Chas, I usually just let it go. For instance, I don’t go to the doctor because some body part doesn’t feel good; usually it will resolve on its own within 48 hours. Likewise a noise on the car often turns out to be a rough patch of road or something else, so I listen and see if it returns and continues. Sometimes it might be mud on the tires and within a couple minutes it will be gone. I think that’s what the men mean by letting it go–listening to see if the problem disappears without the need to pull over and investigate.
I am always concerned about the noises my car makes and my father is always dismissive. It doesn’t help that he has significant hearing loss and so often can’t hear what I can. However, he does take care of my car for, changing seasonal tires and oil, so he is a great help despite his skepticism.
Genesis 11-12: ” The angel of the LORD said to her [Hagar] , ‘You have conceived a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction. This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everybody’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.’ ” I always felt sorry for Hagar. Who would want to hear that news regarding the baby they were about to give birth to?
Genesis 17:18-21
‘So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to you!”
‘But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”’
Ishmael was blessed. He just wasn’t an ancestor of Jesus Christ.
As for noises, we had “Mother’s Day” fireworks last night, which might be a first.
Cowboy is OK, not great. Slipped disc and left leg injury, but they did some pain relief treatment on him and he seems much better. Will have to take him back for more, however, so it’ll eventually raise the issue of “how long” we pursue that. The other option, a $10,000 surgery is clearly out for a number of reasons (even if I could afford it which I can’t).
This is always the tough part of pet ownership. I’ve been through it several times before, but it always hurts. And the dilemma is he seems to otherwise act and feel good, he’s interested in life, barks at the cat next door, follows Tess around, eats well, and looks so expectantly at me whenever it seems like a walk may happen. Vet did say to take it way easy on the walks for now with him, just go a couple house lengths, let him sniff. He needs rest to see if that leg might heal a bit.
Meanwhile, hair-raising tale from my vet who approached us in the parking lot (as is still the pandemic custom) limping something awful. A week ago, he was walking fast (he’s in his 60s, tall and lanky, a cyclist and health food nut) out of that same parking lot after a patient consultation when he tripped right at the curb and went spilling out onto the street.
He landed in the street right when cars were starting to race around a curve that is something of a blind spot just half a block away so he managed to wrench himself backward and to the side (a car still just barely missed him) and in the process he sprained both his right ankle and knee (which also might have gotten a tear, he said).
This pandemic has been really bad for everyone’s health and wellbeing, one way or another, it would seem.
Morning all. wow 50 comments before I even get up??
Teaching grade 2 today. Prayers for wisdom and energy appreciated.
I got 29 notes written to send home with my friend today.
Yes, Roscuro. My quote was about the son expected to be delivered from Hagar’s womb. I made no indication otherwise. I felt sorry to hear she would bear such a son after all the other that she goes through. A child who is at odds with the world would bring many sorrows to a mom. I guess I had Mother’s Day in mind when I thought back to that.
I don’t know about you, but we’ve seen a lot of crazy driving, along with hit and runs (not just me). We also have car rallies taking place late at night on city streets, and a lot more theft than in the past.
We may be learning more about these issues because of the Nextdoor pages, but it’s still disconcerting.
OTOH, nation-wide, our auto insurance company has seen such a decline in claims (obviously not us or our daughter-in-law from hit and runs), that they’ve paid us four rebates in the last year.
Perhaps I’ve mentioned we love our insurance company? LOL
I sat outside in the sunshine, supposedly to pray, and I thought about Roscuro’s comments instead.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the last year reading the Old Testament histories. Even today on our walk, I commented that I cannot believe I’ve been a believer so long and didn’t realize the idol-filled travesty the Temple in Jerusalem became in the 400+ years before Jesus was born.
I guess I didn’t understand those parts when I read through them? Who knows, but it really was shocking.
All that to say, there are no holy nations and there haven’t been any since . . . bits and pieces of various reigns?
We’re all sinners in need of redemption. And as such, we belong to nations filled with sinners in need of redemption.
The current nation of Israel claims to be the successor of the Promised Land. But are they godly? Do they follow even Yahweh?
Nah, a secular government with many Jewish people running it.
But it’s as sin-filled and Yahweh-ignoring as the one it replaced.
They’re just as error-filled as any other. They just happen to be living in what was the Promised Land of some of their forefathers/mothers.
I have no idea what to do with that except to remember that unless we recognize the truth, we really can’t make an honest assessment–of anything.
Janice, I grew up hearing that the description of Ishmael explained why Arabs were the way they were. But I don’t think it was necessarily bad news to Hagar. The Hebrew word for ‘presence’ (of all his brethren) in that prophecy about Ishmael is the same as ‘face’ earlier in that account, when it says Hagar fled from the face of Sarah. In other words God is telling Hagar that Ishmael will hold his own and not be subservient to any, that he will not suffer the slavery and humiliation his mother suffered. This assurance from God is probably what encourages Hagar to ask God for help when she and her son are about to die of thirst – God had already promised he would ensure her son’s survival before he was born. Ishmael did go on to dwell in the presence of his brothers. His half-brother Midian’s family, who was the son of Abraham’s second wife Keturah, seems to have intermarried with Ishmael’s tribes, since the name Midianite and Ishmaelite quickly became synonymous. While Abraham sent away Keturah’s sons into the east, Ishmael helped Isaac to bury Abraham (Genesis 25:1-10).
Hit post too fast: …and they are trying to, while their opposition tries to form a new coalition government, since Netanyahu has failed to build a coalition since the last election, push through legislation allowing for Jewish settlements in the occupied territory. There have been building tensions due to this legislation, and the Israelis are showing attitudes as disturbing as the Palestinian militants, such as far-right Israeli demonstrations that chant slogans calling for death to Arabs: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/10/jerusalem-seethes-as-the-rockets-begin-on-day-of-rising-tension
Also, Netanyahu himself has been charged with corruption: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47409739
One gets the sense that a conflict with the Palestinians would be an excellent way to distract attention from a failed government.
I just recently studied in Genesis about Isaac and Ishmael burying their father, so I knew that also, Roscuro. I’ve been in Genesis for some months with my online Bible study group, but now we are in Ephesians. I learn a little each day, but still have much to learn. We never can learn all there is to learn in the Bible.
I had no way of knowing what you grew up hearing about Ishmael, Roscuro, and how that verse I quoted played into what you were told. We did not get into any of that in my Bible study group. Glad to know your take on how Hagar would have been proud to have a son who would not get along with anyone. From my perspective, I would hate that situation, but for her, perhaps it delighted her. I never would have thought of that. It is a creative consideration. He would not be a wimp!
Janice, the wild donkey was a free animal, not a ignoble beast- consider God’s words on the wild donkey in Job 39:5-8:
‘Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place?
He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver.
He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.’
It is interesting to me that in the Hebrew text of Genesis 16:12, the phrase “and his hand shall be against every man and every man’s against his” is not in the Hebrew text: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/16/12/p0/t_conc_16012 . As can be seen from the link, the Hebrew only says, ‘He will be a wild man and dwell in the face/presence of his brothers’. Where the phrase about every man’s hand is found is in the Septuagint Greek translation that was done of the Hebrew Bible in the period between the end of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament. I have checked other translations, and they all include the phrase about the hands but I cannot find an explanation for why they turn to the Septuagint at that point when the Masoretic Hebrew text does not have it.
Last night when Wesley and I Zoomed he shared this funny with me. Y’all may have seen it before, but it’s good for another laugh. A serious Zoom meeting gone seriously wrong.
Well, now I am confused, because this link shows more Hebrew text, so the Masoretic text does seem to have the phrase about the hands: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/16/12/p0/t_concf_16012 . But, it occured to me when I was following the trail of the Hebrew word for hand that God had just told Hagar to submit herself under Sarah’s hands. Similar to how Ishmael was going to stay in the presence of his brothers after Hagar fled from the presence of Sarah, Ishmael will resist rather than submit himself under the hands of others.
Wandering Views 
Good morning everyone but Jo.
Good evening Jo..
A dreary day outside, but no rain. Yet
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I see on TV where they’re having a “holy site” clash in Israel.
Does anyone else see something strange about that?
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Good morning. It’s dreary here, too, with light rain. It rained more overnight and the beech tree limbs are bent from their soaking. I had to avoid the puddles in the driveway when I pushed the garbage bin to the street.
Someone sent this video to me on Facebook. I appreciate how the commentator explains God’s unconditional love along with His conditional love. And I appreciate his talking points on the controversial issue.
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Middle East unrest strange? Not really. It’s pretty much the norm.
We’ve had some heavy fog overnight, can hear the dripping off the roof and through the drain spout. I’m up early to take Cowboy to the vet, we need to be there by 8 a.m. and I’m due to be on the road hopefully by 7 since I don’t want to be rushed on the drive — that’ll get us there very early, but we’ll just hang out in the parking lot until they open at 8.
I was hoping to take today as a vacation day as the appointment might go long with tests, etc., but on Friday I was asked to do a port story today — on a harbor water quality/species study that was recently released — because one of our weeklies wanted it and their deadline is by noon tomorrow.
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Breakpoint had a good short piece recently, I thought:
https://breakpoint.org/ellen-pages-quest-for-rest-in-transgender-identity/
~ From the significance of biological realities to laws that put children at risk, the stakes in the cultural debates over gender are huge. Page’s interview is a reminder that caught up in these issues are hurting souls, longing to be comfortable with who they are, feeling real pain.
Contrary to the hollow ideas about reality and our identities being self-determined, a Christian worldview gives solid ground for our value and dignity, and offers us the rest we need by knowing the God who made us in His image.
Even as we stand for truth in this confused cultural moment, God’s love must always shape both our message and our motive. ~
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It isn’t any holy site, but the holy site, location of the Al Aqsa mosque and former location of the temple. But apparently the anger is over another planned eviction of a Palestinian neighbourhood. Well, if any of us were going to be forcibly evicted from our homes, we would be hopping mad too. I don’t see that Israel gets a free ride to do what any other world government would be criticized for doing.
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Good morning. A beautiful day in the neighborhood but the sheep are calling. Something about wanting their breakfast.
Today oldest daughter is coming to visit with her two children. That should be fun!
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If I were building a house, I would avoid places that are in controversy.
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The city of peace.
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Though I suspect there aren’t any places in the middle esst that are not challenged.
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Good Morning Everyone. I have been scarce around here. Mr P has is first physical therapy appointment in a little while. I started teaching Ignite in the evenings last week and showed property Saturday. We will know in a little while if our offer was accepted.
My main problem right now is Master Amos. He wants up at 5 and I really need to sleep a little later than that. Last night I took a 10mg melatonin, cut it 4 ways and gave him a piece with his nighttime medicine. He seemed to do a little better
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Chas, the Palestinians have been living there for centuries.
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It is the Israeli settlers who want to evict the Palestinians who chose to build their homes in a controversial area.
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I suppose if bombs keep coming from a particular neighborhood a country might react to that. I have not read a lot about this particular time, however. I do agree that we do not give Israel a free pass to do wrong.
Good news, Kizzie, about the pension. Every bit helps. I was happy to hear you heard from your stray lamb.
Nice picture again.
I also have a mock orange. I planted it to hide a propane gas tank and that was a failure. It is leggy, but has wonderful blossoms for a short while. I admit it is neglected, however.
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When Israel captured the West Bank in 1967, they didn’t make the Palestinians who were living there citizens of Israel because they were afraid the Palestinians would dilute the predominant Jewish demographics of Israel. Instead they rendered the Palestinians as a permanently occupied people. Occupied people, as can be seen from German-occupied Europe in WWII, often rebel against the occupiers. The French and Dutch resistance was commended. The Palestinian resistance is condemned. I do not support suicide bombings or rocket attacks, but it is really a case of tit for tat, and has been since the 1920s, when militant Jewish settler groups like Irgun terrorized the country with bombings and assassinations.
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My Bible study this morning in Ephesians was about unity and peace among believers. How does God allow that to happen? It is possible, but rare it seems. What is the biggest factor that God works into disagreements among Christian’s to make peace the outcome?
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Unity comes from walking in the Spirit, as it is the Spirit that unifies (Ephesians 4:3-4). If we walk in the Spirit, we do not satisfy fleahly lusts and desires (Galatians 5:16). The results of living in the flesh, and living in the flesh includes seeking righteousness by fleshly efforts (Galatians 5:18), lists hatred, factions, strife, and envy among the rotten fruit (Galatians 5:19-21). As James says, he that seems to be righteous or wise but does not control his tongue or engages in bitter strife, his religion is empty and his wisdom is earthly, sensual, and devilish (James 1:26, 3:13-16). Wisdom from the Spirit produces peace (James 3:17-18).
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I would recommend reading “The Seige” by Connor Cruise O’Brien for a greater understanding of the Israel/Palestine issue. It is not nearly as simple as first appears.
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Watching Israeli news more closely now since we’ll be traveling there in four months . . .
Perhaps Chas could tell us a story about a flat tire.
Here’s mine.
Yesterday, my husband drove us to church. There was an odd rubbing on the back right. I suggested we stop and take a look.
Mr. Engineer didn’t think it was anything to worry about.
“Sounds like it may be a flat tire to me.”
He shook his head. “Something’s just scraping, it will clear out.”
“If it was me, I would stop and check. If you want to pull over, I’ll get out and look.”
He didn’t want to do that, so we turned left at the stop sign and headed down the larger road. Noise continued.
I reflected on the difference between an engineer and a mere mortal. I would stop and check because
1. I’m a woman who doesn’t know how to change a tire with any confidence.
2. There’s a car repair spot three blocks down the street (though, it was Sunday),
3. A Navy wife during the first Gulf War heard a peculiar sound in the back left of her minivan, got out to check, and discovered a pipe bomb.
(While I didn’t think that was our issue, neither did she.)
The rubbing noise continued. It got louder. The obedient wife pressed her lips together.
Mr. Engineer pulled over, got out, and returned, frowning. “It’s a flat tire.”
He turned around.
“How fortunate we have another car to drive to church.” Mrs. Non-Engineer said.
He laughed. All is well.
Maybe I have learned something in 43+ years . . .
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I studied modern Middle Eastern history for an elective while getting my degree. I would recommend ‘The Arab Awakening’ by George Antonius, a Lebanese Arab Christian who witnessed the period of Palestinian history from pre-World War I to just before World War II. It is rare to find an articulate Arab voice and see things through their eyes.
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My husband also thinks like that. If I press on and ignore it, it will right itself.
I too have learned to let it go.
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Usually
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Sometimes.
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Speaking of Israel, I came across this headline and had to shake my head, at all involved:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/27/jerusalem-rabbi-accused-of-being-undercover-christian-missionary
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Well, once in a while.
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Only one side hides their Iranian rockets in civilian areas Roscuro.
And it’s not the Jews.
Also, it’s not tit for tat.
Once again the Palestinians fire rockets into civilian areas to kill Jewish civilians. The Jews respond by hitting those rocket sites. It’s called self defense.
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-israel-jerusalem-076a9ec7e2bd9c065882c64a4ab820a1
“Gaza health officials say nine people, including three children, have died in a blast in the northern Gaza Strip.
The cause of the blast was not immediately known. It came as Gaza militants were firing rockets into Israel on Monday, and it was not clear if the people were hit by an errant rocket attack or an Israeli reprisal.”
“THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas militants fired a large barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, including one that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.
The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem that have threatened to become a wider conflict.
Shortly after the sirens sounded, explosions could be heard in Jerusalem. One rocket fell on the western outskirts of Jerusalem, lightly damaging a home and causing a brushfire. The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing in southern Israel.”
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Mumsee and Michelle gave excellent examples of keeping the peace between Christians! God enables wives to keep their mouths shut.🤨
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The Real, the subject was originally about the riot over the planned eviction of the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.
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And yes it is tit for tat. This has been going on since the 1920s, when Palestinian peasant were evicted from their homes by Jewish settlers from Europe who had bought the land under the peasants from absentee landowners. And, if it had been Americans who got shafted like that, they would definitely have fought back.
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I believe it we look to Genesis, we will find it has been going on a lot longer than that.
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183 year old Judson College (SBC) in Alabama is set to close.
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It has been going on for much longer than that. Balfour declaration, white papers, zionism, English occupation, etc.
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Mumsee, no, Ishmael was cared for by God (Genesis 21:11-21). It was Jacob and Esau who were in conflict from conception, and the nation of Edom, which descended from Esau, has long been extinct. The claim about Ishmael and Isaac being doomed to perpetual conflict is like the supposed curse of Ham – if one actually reads the accounts, neither the curse of Ham nor the supposed perpetual conflict of Ishmael and Isaac is actually in the Bible. In fact, there are blessings given to the Arabs in the Bible. Blessings of perpetual descent were given to the Rechabites in Jeremiah 35:18-19, who were descended from the Midianites, who are synonymous with the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:28). It is probable, given the certainty of God’s promises, that the descendants of the Rechabites are among the Palestinian Arab population now. Then there are the Gibeonites, descendants of the Canaanites who saved themselves by tricking Joshua into a covenant with them and later, when Saul attempted genocide against them, David had to pay for it in blood before God would lift a famine. As the temple servants, or Nethinim, the Gibeonites returned from exile with the Jews and their descendants may well still live in Palestine. The mixed Samaritans, whom Jesus ministered to also would be part of the Palestinian ancestry – certainly there are still Palestinians who identify as Samaritans, although other descendants undoubtedly converted to Islam centuries ago (but they still would be genetic descendants). Then there are the Arab Palestinian Christians.
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If you want to know what grows well where you live a local greenhouse is your best bet. My parents sold plants, wholesale, to Woolworth stores. She could never understand why anyone would buy their plants from a store, however. You have the mark-up prices, less care for the plants and no advice about them. She also shook her head at the people who insisted on talking to my dad if he happened to be in the greenhouse. They thought they would get the best advice from hi. What would my mom know? Actually, she was the one with a horticultural license and who started the business.
I remember my husband picking up a man hitch-hiking years ago. It turned out he had run out of gas. He told us that his wife had been after him to stop and fill up, but he wouldn’t. He was not looking forward to the ride home.
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Actually, Roscuro, I was thinking of Cain and Abel. People and their greediness and self centeredness. I guess we could go back to Adam and Eve, though. Lamech and his actions followed by the boasting to his wives also came to mind.
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I am kind of a surface person. I look for the obvious.
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RKessler, before the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in 1915, the creation of an Arab state, including the area of what is now Israel, was promised by the British to the Arabs in return for the Arabs rebelling against the Ottoman Turks, which the Arabs did, forming a flank of the British invading force that captured Palestine from the Ottomans in WWI. When the Balfour Declaration was made and the Arab allies of the British learned about it, the Arabs were assured that it didn’t mean the creation of a Jewish state, just the migration of Jewish refugees to uninhabited areas of Palestine. The Arab allies were willing to consider granting the Jewish refugees a place in their state, but their state was never granted to them, with the British and French creating Protectorate out of Palestine and Syria instead. When it became apparent to Palestinian Arabs during the British Protectorate in the 1920s that Jewish settlers would be settled at the cost of the Palestinians already living there, that is when hostility began to be shown. The current king of Jordan is a descendant of the leader of those Arab allies, as Jordan was what was offered as a consolation prize to the Arabs when Britain and France reneged on their word. Before 1967, Jordan held the West Bank and the king of Jordan is still the custodian of the holy places of the Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem.
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Re: 12:33
I still have lots to learn in my short life. But one thing I have learned.
Never just let it go.
If it’s ok, it’s good to reassure yourself.
If it isn’t ok, there is no better time to fix it than now.
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Michelle @ 12:19
Did I tell you about the flat tire?
If I have, disregard the following. If not:
No other explanation than God’s hand in this:
I was driving our van along I-95 going from Charleston, SC to Annandale, Va. (Washington suburb). Where we lived.
The speed limit on that stretch of I-95 in NC is 70 mph. I was doing that, maybe a little over.
Suddenly, for no reason, a car in the left land started nudging into my lane. I had to hit the brakes and pull over off the road onto the edge.
I kept rolling, but almost came to a stop. I was shaken up a bit, but drove on the edge about 50 yards, and started to pull back onto the highway.
Then I heard a noise on the right rear. I thought it was a transmission problem and pulled over.
I had a flat tire.
I changed the tire and drove to a Cracker Barrel to clean up and have dinner before driving on home.
Not thinking a thing about it.
But I was sitting in my room in Annandale once when it occurred to me.
What if I had that flat tire while I was doing 70 mph?
It didn’t occur to me at the time, I was too busy dealing with the issue. But I’m convinced God had a hand in this.
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Chas, I usually just let it go. For instance, I don’t go to the doctor because some body part doesn’t feel good; usually it will resolve on its own within 48 hours. Likewise a noise on the car often turns out to be a rough patch of road or something else, so I listen and see if it returns and continues. Sometimes it might be mud on the tires and within a couple minutes it will be gone. I think that’s what the men mean by letting it go–listening to see if the problem disappears without the need to pull over and investigate.
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I am always concerned about the noises my car makes and my father is always dismissive. It doesn’t help that he has significant hearing loss and so often can’t hear what I can. However, he does take care of my car for, changing seasonal tires and oil, so he is a great help despite his skepticism.
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An unusual noise always means something.
It may be harmless, but it’s something.
Best to know what it is.
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My hearing is better than Art’s so he would dismiss something GB I would notice. There is that to consider, too.
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My phone likes to insert random capital letters. Curious to know why.
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Genesis 11-12: ” The angel of the LORD said to her [Hagar] , ‘You have conceived a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction. This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everybody’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives.’ ” I always felt sorry for Hagar. Who would want to hear that news regarding the baby they were about to give birth to?
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Genesis 16:11-12
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Janice, that is a prophecy about the man, not the nation.
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Genesis 17:18-21
‘So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to you!”
‘But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father twelve tribal leaders, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will confirm my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”’
Ishmael was blessed. He just wasn’t an ancestor of Jesus Christ.
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In a search to see if people pair radish with egg salad and I found this delightful sounding spring salad recipe in case anyone is looking for something a little different.
https://vikalinka.com/creamy-dill-cucumber-radish-egg-salad/
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As for noises, we had “Mother’s Day” fireworks last night, which might be a first.
Cowboy is OK, not great. Slipped disc and left leg injury, but they did some pain relief treatment on him and he seems much better. Will have to take him back for more, however, so it’ll eventually raise the issue of “how long” we pursue that. The other option, a $10,000 surgery is clearly out for a number of reasons (even if I could afford it which I can’t).
This is always the tough part of pet ownership. I’ve been through it several times before, but it always hurts. And the dilemma is he seems to otherwise act and feel good, he’s interested in life, barks at the cat next door, follows Tess around, eats well, and looks so expectantly at me whenever it seems like a walk may happen. Vet did say to take it way easy on the walks for now with him, just go a couple house lengths, let him sniff. He needs rest to see if that leg might heal a bit.
Meanwhile, hair-raising tale from my vet who approached us in the parking lot (as is still the pandemic custom) limping something awful. A week ago, he was walking fast (he’s in his 60s, tall and lanky, a cyclist and health food nut) out of that same parking lot after a patient consultation when he tripped right at the curb and went spilling out onto the street.
He landed in the street right when cars were starting to race around a curve that is something of a blind spot just half a block away so he managed to wrench himself backward and to the side (a car still just barely missed him) and in the process he sprained both his right ankle and knee (which also might have gotten a tear, he said).
This pandemic has been really bad for everyone’s health and wellbeing, one way or another, it would seem.
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Morning all. wow 50 comments before I even get up??
Teaching grade 2 today. Prayers for wisdom and energy appreciated.
I got 29 notes written to send home with my friend today.
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Yes, Roscuro. My quote was about the son expected to be delivered from Hagar’s womb. I made no indication otherwise. I felt sorry to hear she would bear such a son after all the other that she goes through. A child who is at odds with the world would bring many sorrows to a mom. I guess I had Mother’s Day in mind when I thought back to that.
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I don’t know about you, but we’ve seen a lot of crazy driving, along with hit and runs (not just me). We also have car rallies taking place late at night on city streets, and a lot more theft than in the past.
We may be learning more about these issues because of the Nextdoor pages, but it’s still disconcerting.
OTOH, nation-wide, our auto insurance company has seen such a decline in claims (obviously not us or our daughter-in-law from hit and runs), that they’ve paid us four rebates in the last year.
Perhaps I’ve mentioned we love our insurance company? LOL
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As to Roscuro’s comments about Israel, all valid.
I sat outside in the sunshine, supposedly to pray, and I thought about Roscuro’s comments instead.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the last year reading the Old Testament histories. Even today on our walk, I commented that I cannot believe I’ve been a believer so long and didn’t realize the idol-filled travesty the Temple in Jerusalem became in the 400+ years before Jesus was born.
I guess I didn’t understand those parts when I read through them? Who knows, but it really was shocking.
All that to say, there are no holy nations and there haven’t been any since . . . bits and pieces of various reigns?
We’re all sinners in need of redemption. And as such, we belong to nations filled with sinners in need of redemption.
The current nation of Israel claims to be the successor of the Promised Land. But are they godly? Do they follow even Yahweh?
Nah, a secular government with many Jewish people running it.
But it’s as sin-filled and Yahweh-ignoring as the one it replaced.
They’re just as error-filled as any other. They just happen to be living in what was the Promised Land of some of their forefathers/mothers.
I have no idea what to do with that except to remember that unless we recognize the truth, we really can’t make an honest assessment–of anything.
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Janice, I grew up hearing that the description of Ishmael explained why Arabs were the way they were. But I don’t think it was necessarily bad news to Hagar. The Hebrew word for ‘presence’ (of all his brethren) in that prophecy about Ishmael is the same as ‘face’ earlier in that account, when it says Hagar fled from the face of Sarah. In other words God is telling Hagar that Ishmael will hold his own and not be subservient to any, that he will not suffer the slavery and humiliation his mother suffered. This assurance from God is probably what encourages Hagar to ask God for help when she and her son are about to die of thirst – God had already promised he would ensure her son’s survival before he was born. Ishmael did go on to dwell in the presence of his brothers. His half-brother Midian’s family, who was the son of Abraham’s second wife Keturah, seems to have intermarried with Ishmael’s tribes, since the name Midianite and Ishmaelite quickly became synonymous. While Abraham sent away Keturah’s sons into the east, Ishmael helped Isaac to bury Abraham (Genesis 25:1-10).
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Michelle, right now Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud government is in crisis, having failed to gain a stable government in five elections and they are
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Ooh! Ooh! I know the answer: it’s 57!
What was the question?
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Hit post too fast: …and they are trying to, while their opposition tries to form a new coalition government, since Netanyahu has failed to build a coalition since the last election, push through legislation allowing for Jewish settlements in the occupied territory. There have been building tensions due to this legislation, and the Israelis are showing attitudes as disturbing as the Palestinian militants, such as far-right Israeli demonstrations that chant slogans calling for death to Arabs: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/10/jerusalem-seethes-as-the-rockets-begin-on-day-of-rising-tension
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Also, Netanyahu himself has been charged with corruption: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47409739
One gets the sense that a conflict with the Palestinians would be an excellent way to distract attention from a failed government.
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I just recently studied in Genesis about Isaac and Ishmael burying their father, so I knew that also, Roscuro. I’ve been in Genesis for some months with my online Bible study group, but now we are in Ephesians. I learn a little each day, but still have much to learn. We never can learn all there is to learn in the Bible.
I had no way of knowing what you grew up hearing about Ishmael, Roscuro, and how that verse I quoted played into what you were told. We did not get into any of that in my Bible study group. Glad to know your take on how Hagar would have been proud to have a son who would not get along with anyone. From my perspective, I would hate that situation, but for her, perhaps it delighted her. I never would have thought of that. It is a creative consideration. He would not be a wimp!
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Janice, the wild donkey was a free animal, not a ignoble beast- consider God’s words on the wild donkey in Job 39:5-8:
‘Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey, to whom I have given the arid plain for his home and the salt land for his dwelling place?
He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver.
He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.’
It is interesting to me that in the Hebrew text of Genesis 16:12, the phrase “and his hand shall be against every man and every man’s against his” is not in the Hebrew text: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/16/12/p0/t_conc_16012 . As can be seen from the link, the Hebrew only says, ‘He will be a wild man and dwell in the face/presence of his brothers’. Where the phrase about every man’s hand is found is in the Septuagint Greek translation that was done of the Hebrew Bible in the period between the end of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament. I have checked other translations, and they all include the phrase about the hands but I cannot find an explanation for why they turn to the Septuagint at that point when the Masoretic Hebrew text does not have it.
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Interesting, Roscuro.
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Last night when Wesley and I Zoomed he shared this funny with me. Y’all may have seen it before, but it’s good for another laugh. A serious Zoom meeting gone seriously wrong.
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Well, now I am confused, because this link shows more Hebrew text, so the Masoretic text does seem to have the phrase about the hands: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/16/12/p0/t_concf_16012 . But, it occured to me when I was following the trail of the Hebrew word for hand that God had just told Hagar to submit herself under Sarah’s hands. Similar to how Ishmael was going to stay in the presence of his brothers after Hagar fled from the presence of Sarah, Ishmael will resist rather than submit himself under the hands of others.
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Quite a puzzle, Roscuro.
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I don’t know how I did it, but I lost the cat.
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