Weather- we had a doozy here Thursday. Strong winds and lots of rain. Some of the local parks are closed so the city can clean up the fallen tree branches. One campground had trailers flipped over. No one was in them t the time, though.
Good morning. I was thinking about DJ when I was at Publix a little after 7 a.m. it is always a pleasant time to be there. I spent too long in there which meant when I got home Art did not have time for me to cook his eggs before leaving for work. I have a choice to feel guilty or not for taking too long at the store. I choose to not feel guilty. He does not try to make me feel badly. I can do that all by myself.
Does anyone know if there are many girls who are playing on high
school football teams? My church is doing an outreach to a local team, and we are sending encouragement cards. One name I got appears to be a girl’s name. Just wondering.
There are some girls on teams, but I don’t know any personally. I broke my collar bone playing touch football out in the yard when I was in six grade or so. I would not want one of my granddaughters playing with the boys. Same for wrestling.
I was pouring coffee in the carafe this morning when I saw some black out the window. Turned and saw three cows walking through the back yard. I called the farmer whose cows are sometimes around us. They were not his, but he did call back and say they were from the farm kitty-corner from us and they were already back home. I would not have ever known they were here if I had not been right at the window at the right time.
My husband’s jam group plays at a local city’s annual festival in the early afternoon and at a birthday party at the Elk’s club later in the evening. These double day gigs are not easy on all these ‘old folks.’ Yesterday they played at an assistant living place. No masks were required, but they were checked for temperatures and symptoms at the door. Doing this music is good for all of them.
One of the benefits of drought is that we have very few mosquitoes. We have lots of free (or donation) gigs in the summer in the various communities and it has been a pleasant summer outside for those.
Health care visits are not at all like they used to be for us. I am never sure if it is because of our age or just that way for everyone. Our doctors are always changing and they are just not as thorough as when we were younger.
Thankful, Kathaleena, that the musical talents are being used to lift up others. Music can be healing. I remember that David played the harp to calm King Saul.
It seems we had a sputter of relief from the pandemic. I noticed taped lines on the floor of the deli area at Publix this morning. So I guess it’s back to square one.
Yeah, I was going to say females serve as goal kickers most frequently.
We played football as kids, my dad taught me how to get just the right “spin” and spiral in throwing a football. But baseball was a lot more fun. Games were always on TV on the weekends and trips to Dodger Stadium were especially sweet. Saw the Rams at the LA Coliseum once with my friend and her parents. I think I didn’t go back there until years later, when I was covering a “Promise Keepers” event as a news feature that brought me a 1st place AP award for spot news.
I had a long sleep, went to bed late, got up late. Busy week and it’ll be busier next week.
Cousin and I are meeting up at the beach for a late lunch/early dinner. We’re meeting at 2 so I’m not sure what the makes it.
I’ll be live-streaming church tomorrow and will probably do so until our numbers calm down, especially the daily reports of covid being diagnosed among our church members. We’re a little hot spot, it would seem. Yesterday’s prayer email for a family included a 90-year-old who was struggling with Covid now.
I don’t think our church has been as careful as it could have been, but elders were divided and I know it’s been a difficult situation for our church of a few hundred in a fairly restricted meeting space.
And I appreciate the concerns it’s given rise to about what authority government has over issues like masks, but I honestly think this is more appropriately seen in the immediate period a simple public health matter and realize restrictions are temporary (and making sure they are temporary when it looks like the “coast is clear”). The debates playing out in the broader culture have also divided parts of our congregation, unfortunately. Strong opinions.
____________________
I dreamed I was at a mythic relative’s house out near the desert, all kinds of new semi, distant “relatives” were there that I was meeting for the first time. And the entertainment was Dean Martin himself, he was a friend of the host and lived nearby.
______________________
Glad you got to the market when it wasn’t crowded, Janice. And so good to hear your local numbers seem to be settling down. That’s what we’re all waiting for (again).
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Another very cool photo. Calming, grace-full, controlled power.
It’s a bit difficult to pray for the conditions in Hati concerning the earthquake when you know God brought it on in the first place.
Put I[m praying anyhow.
Someone just posted this to my MeWe thread and although it takes extra tim ed to post there daily, this is why I do it:
“Even if I do not always comment, I love your haikus. Once, when I was young and unmarried, I had a pen pal friendship with a guy in Norway and I was in Munich. We only wrote eachother in haikus. We never met but it was one of my best memories of pan pal friendship. When I immigrated into the US, I lost his address and we disconnected. Oh well!”
God commands us to pray and so we do (and we must). We rightly pray for safety and protection for those who are in harm’s way. We join with God in his sovereignty over all when we pray that his will be done. He hears our pleas for protection of those who are directly impacted in these situations.
As John Piper put it, “He’s granting us the dignity of joining with him in glorifying himself as part of the cause of all that he does.”
We have a professional women’s football league up here. My daughter played offensive linesman(woman?). Full contact, full pads and equipment. The games seemed to move a bit slower than men’s football, but they were hitting and tackling just as hard. :). Daughter played for the Saskatoon Valkyries.
I’m sorry I killed the blog.
I see on TV that we are sending 5,000 troops to Afghanistan.
We need to stay ouut of Afghanistan. Once we get there, we can never get out without severe problems.
Yeah, I struggled with her playing football, but then went to the game and saw that it was pretty awesome! I was glad she was on another sports team with a wide range of new friends.
Mumsee, is there a reason in particular for your sleepy feeling?
I was going to cook a large package of fresh organic spinach that has an expiration date of the 15th. I noticed some leaves already looked not just wilt but slimy. I stopped going through them and will throw it all away. It cost 6.99. I can’t bring myself to pull about half the package out of the pot of water, put it back in the package, and return it. I feel disappointment over the loss. I have had other problems with some foods this year. I am not sure what the solution is. Like that beautiful watermelon for the 4th. About the same price and wasted. And a cartoon of organic eggs that looked beautiful but they were all glued in place probably by broken egg that dripped in the carton and dried. It is a sad time we are in.
Janice, most likely a combination of company including a three year old and late nights (we stayed up talking into the wee hours! Past nine o clock!) and the smoke in the area from the nearby evacuated town of Lenore. I do not think they had lost any buildings or homes last I heard. And the continuing ninety five degree plus heat, day after day.
Upon checking, three homes and twelve outbuildings have been burned with another home damaged. I am fine with the heat and the smoke and all, my house is still standing. Praying for those who have lost theirs, and for the fire fighters. It is up to nine thousand plus acres and zero containment.
Neighbor and I decided to walk around the antique mall on the other side of the Springs. We then stopped at a local plant shoppe and purchased a house plant…hope I can keep it alive. We topped off our morning with lunch at Chick FIL A…..then I came home and took a nap! Allergies are overwhelming my poor body and the smoke isn’t helping….
Chas I believe we are sending in troops to get our Embassy workers out of there and any Afghan refugees who are fleeing the Taliban. Biden and his administration messed this up royally…and our troops will be paying for it with their lives I fear….and I sit here and pray for their safety…
I had a good “Linner” (lunch/dinner vanquished in one meal) with my cousin at the beach and on the way home I parked and sat one the block wall overlooking the wide expanse of ocean (slate gray today) and beach below. The marine layer / fog was heavy, seabirds were flying in formation above and quite a few folks were still left on the sand and braving what must have been very cold water.
I never get tired of the sound of the pounding surf and the smell and feel of the ocean spray.
Glorious.
It felt good to get out. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory in their outdoor patio next to the marina where it was nice and cool. Grilled salmon for both of us, but we swapped sides — she wanted my asparagus and I wanted her broccoli.
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Re a female football league/team, women aren’t as frail and delicate as they once were thought to be. 🙂
##################
The ‘good’ news about Delta may be that it so far is holding back the more threatening vaccine-resistant Lambda variant. Lambda has shown up in the U.S., but still under 1,000 cases (one in LA County). But Delta doesn’t seem to be giving it any room to get a foothold, so far. And that’s good.
Almost time for online church. It will be different with inviting the high school football team and their relatives to visit today. We helped them get a new trailer for transporting their gear since their trailer was stolen.
Excellent message out of Zephaniah. As we are going through drought and I think of His promise to destroy the world through fire, I say, “Come Lord Jesus”. And yes, I understand it also applies on the personal level of now is the day of salvation.
It was a good service today. I appreciated that the Pastor focused on the book of Philippians and said it has more athletically related metaphors than any other book of the Bible to perhaps whet the appetite of the ones from the team in attendance. He was speaking on going forward and not getting immobilized by focussing on past mistakes. He also used a bit of the Roman Road verses. He is a good one to relate to football players.
I just made buckwheat pancakes for a late lunch. It will be part of Art’s dinner. I only meant to have about a teaspoon of maple syrup but it quickly turned into about two or three tablespoons. Magic! I think I should have put it in the batter instead of on top of the pancakes, lol. That poor spout has a mind of its oen.
I forgot Sunday school was canceled today, so went to the class (wearing a mask), and found our resident homeless guy there. God is doing exciting things in his life, so we sat there chatting until he remembered–halfway through the conversation–class was canceled.
We continued. He told sobering stories about prison. God have mercy on all our souls.
It’s partly sunny here, Chas, and about ten degrees cooler than yesterday. A beautiful day in my opinion.
Chas, do you want to find a buyer for your car? My brother has over 350K miles on his car, an Impala, and said he would consider another Impala. Of course, I have no idea what kind of car you have. It’s just a thought, and maybe an excuse for a road trip to see you!
Sounds like the sun is playing hide and seek with Chas….!
I debated as to whether or not I should go to church this morning…allergies causing much headaches for me this morning. I decided to go and had to get up during the sermon to have a coughing fit in the restroom. I did get to take notes on our Pastor’s 8 points made in the sermon in Deuteronomy 32….I missed point number 3 but caught up quickly 😊… it was excellent and I’m gladly I went despite the coughing fit!
Several of our usual tech folks are out with Covid now so while we had livestream there were some interesting blips — like the quick shot of the “Exit” door as the pastor was answering questions in the Q&A.
The dad in one of our families struck with Covid has had medical issues for some time so he’s struggling.
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As part of the opening liturgy today we had corporate readings from Questions 105, 106 and 107 of the Heidelberg Catechism (which we’ve been going through all year).
Considering the mess we, our nation and the world seem to be in right now — and understand that we don’t compartmentalize those things, but they are all to be understood, always, in light of the Christian faith — it struck a chord for me:
Lord’s Day 40
Q & A 105
Q. What is God’s will for you
in the sixth commandment?
A. I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor— not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds— and I am not to be party to this in others;(1) rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge.(2)
I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either.(3) Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.(4)
A. By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness.(1)
In God’s sight all such are disguised forms of murder.(2)
1 Prov. 14:30; Rom. 1:29; 12:19; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 John 2:9-11
2 1 John 3:15
Q & A 107
Q. Is it enough then that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way?
A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves,(1) to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them,(2) to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.(3)
Did church online, in person, and went to another church’s potluck and had some good talks about what God is doing. The fellowship of believers is a good thing.
Sounds lovely, Jo. And it is hard to believe it’s soon to be Sunday evening here.
Time for my Sunday prayer call. This is when we have focused prayer for our church and other churches. Today we will pray about the outreach to the football team among other things.
The family from Siberia also spoke. They said that no one has money there and they were ready to give up on support raising. But then God said to trust Him and He would do it. She said that she still doesn’t know how He did it, but they are fully supported and able to come.
Nightingale has been there more often than I have, and when she has gone with Boy, she has brought home a slice of cheesecake for me. That’s why I keep her around. 😀
I have been to the Cheesecake Factory once. It was for the birthday celebration of the former owner/boss lady of Art’s business. It had really good food and cheesecake, too. It has been so long since we have been out for a nice dinner. I sometimes think I spend a lot on our groceries, but then I realize that we never get food out.
We had such a nice prayer time today on the phone. I think having this new ministry outreach is really helping to enliven us.
Haha, yes, when I’ve been there before there’s always cheesecake. How can you not? 🙂
But my cousin is a petite thing who, nevertheless, worries about eating healthy and cutting calories so the two times I’ve gone to the Cheesecake Factory with her it just doesn’t seem appropriate to say, “Oh, let’s get dessert!”
Her brow furrowed just at the little pad of (gasp, real butter) that came with the bread.
We need soldiers in Afghanistan to save (as much as possible) our own people and those who helped us. God have mercy on all those who will suffer at the hands of these religious tyrants. The whole thing was botched beyond belief. It sickens me.
Not that it’s bad to be concerned about calories and healthy eating, but focusing on those conversation topics while your’e enjoying a meal out with others just strikes me as an unnecessary mood killer. Enjoy the meal, you can talk about it later.
Kathaleena, indeed. It’s a horrific situation.
And this seems to be the latest in a series of events besetting us in 2020 and 2021 that will leave some lasting damage on individuals, families and our culture.
She buys something else, Smart Balance w/canola oil maybe? I recognized the name when she said it, it’s not margarine. But it’s not really butter either, I don’t think.
I buy butter w/canola oil.
Tomorrow’s going to be hectic – 7:30 a.m. assignment at a school, followed by an 11 a.m. assignment at another school; meanwhile, the gardener will be here in the morning as will some cable company trying to replace a line in the backyard on the border with my neighbors’ (they’ll be home, I won’t).
Both dogs have so many pills right now I’m genuinely getting confused; I have those little day divided “daily” containers which is helping. The scheduling is also hard, keeping track of what to give when, what needs to be given with food, what’s without food by a few hours.
Wandering Views 
Good morning again AJ, et al.
Nothing going on here or on TV.
That’s good.
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Morning, Chas. Good to see you up and at em this morning.
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Good evening Jo. I hope it was a good day for you.
Did I mention before what neat pictures we have up there?’I think I did.
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I see on TV where “Students can’t name any VPS accojmplishments”
If I knew what VPS is, I probaably couldn’t either.
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Vice Presidents?
Weather-Paul is on top of the storm. Don’t worry.
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Morning! That is a great photo up there with a perfect capturing of the reflection…those birds certainly are graceful flyers!
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Weather- we had a doozy here Thursday. Strong winds and lots of rain. Some of the local parks are closed so the city can clean up the fallen tree branches. One campground had trailers flipped over. No one was in them t the time, though.
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Good morning. I was thinking about DJ when I was at Publix a little after 7 a.m. it is always a pleasant time to be there. I spent too long in there which meant when I got home Art did not have time for me to cook his eggs before leaving for work. I have a choice to feel guilty or not for taking too long at the store. I choose to not feel guilty. He does not try to make me feel badly. I can do that all by myself.
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Does anyone know if there are many girls who are playing on high
school football teams? My church is doing an outreach to a local team, and we are sending encouragement cards. One name I got appears to be a girl’s name. Just wondering.
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It will be interesting to the rest of us to see a girl on a football team. This is not touch football we’re talking about.
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I came here to post soething and you made me forget what it is.
“Whatever it was in simportant, a world changer, and you made me foget
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There are some girls on teams, but I don’t know any personally. I broke my collar bone playing touch football out in the yard when I was in six grade or so. I would not want one of my granddaughters playing with the boys. Same for wrestling.
I was pouring coffee in the carafe this morning when I saw some black out the window. Turned and saw three cows walking through the back yard. I called the farmer whose cows are sometimes around us. They were not his, but he did call back and say they were from the farm kitty-corner from us and they were already back home. I would not have ever known they were here if I had not been right at the window at the right time.
My husband’s jam group plays at a local city’s annual festival in the early afternoon and at a birthday party at the Elk’s club later in the evening. These double day gigs are not easy on all these ‘old folks.’ Yesterday they played at an assistant living place. No masks were required, but they were checked for temperatures and symptoms at the door. Doing this music is good for all of them.
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I have enjoyed the pictures, AJ.
One of the benefits of drought is that we have very few mosquitoes. We have lots of free (or donation) gigs in the summer in the various communities and it has been a pleasant summer outside for those.
Health care visits are not at all like they used to be for us. I am never sure if it is because of our age or just that way for everyone. Our doctors are always changing and they are just not as thorough as when we were younger.
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Chaos reigns in Afghanistan.’B
Best for us to leave alone. Nothig we can do about it.
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Good morning. Enjoyable visit with son and family. They are on their way to visit daughter and family.
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Glad you had a good visit, Mumsee.
Agree, Chas, on Afghanistan.
Thankful, Kathaleena, that the musical talents are being used to lift up others. Music can be healing. I remember that David played the harp to calm King Saul.
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I heard of a girl on our school’s football team. She was bigger than some of the boys and played on the line, but did not see much game time.
Other schools near here have had female kickers on their teams.
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It seems we had a sputter of relief from the pandemic. I noticed taped lines on the floor of the deli area at Publix this morning. So I guess it’s back to square one.
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Yeah, I was going to say females serve as goal kickers most frequently.
We played football as kids, my dad taught me how to get just the right “spin” and spiral in throwing a football. But baseball was a lot more fun. Games were always on TV on the weekends and trips to Dodger Stadium were especially sweet. Saw the Rams at the LA Coliseum once with my friend and her parents. I think I didn’t go back there until years later, when I was covering a “Promise Keepers” event as a news feature that brought me a 1st place AP award for spot news.
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I had a long sleep, went to bed late, got up late. Busy week and it’ll be busier next week.
Cousin and I are meeting up at the beach for a late lunch/early dinner. We’re meeting at 2 so I’m not sure what the makes it.
I’ll be live-streaming church tomorrow and will probably do so until our numbers calm down, especially the daily reports of covid being diagnosed among our church members. We’re a little hot spot, it would seem. Yesterday’s prayer email for a family included a 90-year-old who was struggling with Covid now.
I don’t think our church has been as careful as it could have been, but elders were divided and I know it’s been a difficult situation for our church of a few hundred in a fairly restricted meeting space.
And I appreciate the concerns it’s given rise to about what authority government has over issues like masks, but I honestly think this is more appropriately seen in the immediate period a simple public health matter and realize restrictions are temporary (and making sure they are temporary when it looks like the “coast is clear”). The debates playing out in the broader culture have also divided parts of our congregation, unfortunately. Strong opinions.
____________________
I dreamed I was at a mythic relative’s house out near the desert, all kinds of new semi, distant “relatives” were there that I was meeting for the first time. And the entertainment was Dean Martin himself, he was a friend of the host and lived nearby.
______________________
Glad you got to the market when it wasn’t crowded, Janice. And so good to hear your local numbers seem to be settling down. That’s what we’re all waiting for (again).
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Another very cool photo. Calming, grace-full, controlled power.
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It’s a bit difficult to pray for the conditions in Hati concerning the earthquake when you know God brought it on in the first place.
Put I[m praying anyhow.
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Someone just posted this to my MeWe thread and although it takes extra tim ed to post there daily, this is why I do it:
“Even if I do not always comment, I love your haikus. Once, when I was young and unmarried, I had a pen pal friendship with a guy in Norway and I was in Munich. We only wrote eachother in haikus. We never met but it was one of my best memories of pan pal friendship. When I immigrated into the US, I lost his address and we disconnected. Oh well!”
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I saw the daily total of new Covid cases in Georgia to be over 7,000 from yestrrday. Yes, online service for me tomorrow.
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God commands us to pray and so we do (and we must). We rightly pray for safety and protection for those who are in harm’s way. We join with God in his sovereignty over all when we pray that his will be done. He hears our pleas for protection of those who are directly impacted in these situations.
As John Piper put it, “He’s granting us the dignity of joining with him in glorifying himself as part of the cause of all that he does.”
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We have a professional women’s football league up here. My daughter played offensive linesman(woman?). Full contact, full pads and equipment. The games seemed to move a bit slower than men’s football, but they were hitting and tackling just as hard. :). Daughter played for the Saskatoon Valkyries.
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Wow, impressive, kare
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I don’t know about that. I just don’tlike the idea of women playing football
Just doesn’t seem right, somehow.
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I agree,Chas.
Covid is strong in central NM. Not nearly as many hospitalizations. Lots of cases.
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I see on TV that a woman wants to hold the Saudi’s accountable for 9-11.
How do you do that?
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I suspect she thinks the Saudis willsend her some money.
Not a chance
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I’m sorry I killed the blog.
I see on TV that we are sending 5,000 troops to Afghanistan.
We need to stay ouut of Afghanistan. Once we get there, we can never get out without severe problems.
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No
We need to stay out of the Middle East altogether.
It is beyond our help and nothing but a quagmire if we get into it.
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Yeah, I struggled with her playing football, but then went to the game and saw that it was pretty awesome! I was glad she was on another sports team with a wide range of new friends.
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I am just sitting around being sleepy today.
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Re: Mumsee’s 6:12
And the rest of us are getting into mischief.
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Not me, I’m not getting into mischief on this Sunday morning! 🙂
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Mumsee, is there a reason in particular for your sleepy feeling?
I was going to cook a large package of fresh organic spinach that has an expiration date of the 15th. I noticed some leaves already looked not just wilt but slimy. I stopped going through them and will throw it all away. It cost 6.99. I can’t bring myself to pull about half the package out of the pot of water, put it back in the package, and return it. I feel disappointment over the loss. I have had other problems with some foods this year. I am not sure what the solution is. Like that beautiful watermelon for the 4th. About the same price and wasted. And a cartoon of organic eggs that looked beautiful but they were all glued in place probably by broken egg that dripped in the carton and dried. It is a sad time we are in.
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Janice, most likely a combination of company including a three year old and late nights (we stayed up talking into the wee hours! Past nine o clock!) and the smoke in the area from the nearby evacuated town of Lenore. I do not think they had lost any buildings or homes last I heard. And the continuing ninety five degree plus heat, day after day.
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Upon checking, three homes and twelve outbuildings have been burned with another home damaged. I am fine with the heat and the smoke and all, my house is still standing. Praying for those who have lost theirs, and for the fire fighters. It is up to nine thousand plus acres and zero containment.
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Neighbor and I decided to walk around the antique mall on the other side of the Springs. We then stopped at a local plant shoppe and purchased a house plant…hope I can keep it alive. We topped off our morning with lunch at Chick FIL A…..then I came home and took a nap! Allergies are overwhelming my poor body and the smoke isn’t helping….
Chas I believe we are sending in troops to get our Embassy workers out of there and any Afghan refugees who are fleeing the Taliban. Biden and his administration messed this up royally…and our troops will be paying for it with their lives I fear….and I sit here and pray for their safety…
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I had a good “Linner” (lunch/dinner vanquished in one meal) with my cousin at the beach and on the way home I parked and sat one the block wall overlooking the wide expanse of ocean (slate gray today) and beach below. The marine layer / fog was heavy, seabirds were flying in formation above and quite a few folks were still left on the sand and braving what must have been very cold water.
I never get tired of the sound of the pounding surf and the smell and feel of the ocean spray.
Glorious.
It felt good to get out. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory in their outdoor patio next to the marina where it was nice and cool. Grilled salmon for both of us, but we swapped sides — she wanted my asparagus and I wanted her broccoli.
≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠≠
Re a female football league/team, women aren’t as frail and delicate as they once were thought to be. 🙂
##################
The ‘good’ news about Delta may be that it so far is holding back the more threatening vaccine-resistant Lambda variant. Lambda has shown up in the U.S., but still under 1,000 cases (one in LA County). But Delta doesn’t seem to be giving it any room to get a foothold, so far. And that’s good.
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DJ – What kind of cheesecake did you have for dessert?
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None!
I know, seems strange to go to the Cheesecake Factor and not get cheesecake, right?
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Wonderful header with the rippled shadow for added interest.
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Good morning, need to get some things done before church.
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Almost time for online church. It will be different with inviting the high school football team and their relatives to visit today. We helped them get a new trailer for transporting their gear since their trailer was stolen.
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Excellent message out of Zephaniah. As we are going through drought and I think of His promise to destroy the world through fire, I say, “Come Lord Jesus”. And yes, I understand it also applies on the personal level of now is the day of salvation.
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It was a good service today. I appreciated that the Pastor focused on the book of Philippians and said it has more athletically related metaphors than any other book of the Bible to perhaps whet the appetite of the ones from the team in attendance. He was speaking on going forward and not getting immobilized by focussing on past mistakes. He also used a bit of the Roman Road verses. He is a good one to relate to football players.
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Our live-stream is about to start here, we’re continuing in Revelation (3:1-6) with the church at Sardis.
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I just read Michelle’s nice newsletter. A pleasant update!
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I’m glad some of you are getting something this Sunday.
I’m just sitting here. What you see is what you get.
Nothing
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I was sitting outside in the sunshine.
Then it clouded up like rain. So I came in.
Sun’s out now.
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I just made buckwheat pancakes for a late lunch. It will be part of Art’s dinner. I only meant to have about a teaspoon of maple syrup but it quickly turned into about two or three tablespoons. Magic! I think I should have put it in the batter instead of on top of the pancakes, lol. That poor spout has a mind of its oen.
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I forgot Sunday school was canceled today, so went to the class (wearing a mask), and found our resident homeless guy there. God is doing exciting things in his life, so we sat there chatting until he remembered–halfway through the conversation–class was canceled.
We continued. He told sobering stories about prison. God have mercy on all our souls.
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It’s partly sunny here, Chas, and about ten degrees cooler than yesterday. A beautiful day in my opinion.
Chas, do you want to find a buyer for your car? My brother has over 350K miles on his car, an Impala, and said he would consider another Impala. Of course, I have no idea what kind of car you have. It’s just a thought, and maybe an excuse for a road trip to see you!
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Sounds like the sun is playing hide and seek with Chas….!
I debated as to whether or not I should go to church this morning…allergies causing much headaches for me this morning. I decided to go and had to get up during the sermon to have a coughing fit in the restroom. I did get to take notes on our Pastor’s 8 points made in the sermon in Deuteronomy 32….I missed point number 3 but caught up quickly 😊… it was excellent and I’m gladly I went despite the coughing fit!
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Janice @2:51, that’s “Linner” + Lunch/Dinner combined.
Maybe breakfast, too, considering the menu.
I had a banana and yogurt for breakfast.
Several of our usual tech folks are out with Covid now so while we had livestream there were some interesting blips — like the quick shot of the “Exit” door as the pastor was answering questions in the Q&A.
The dad in one of our families struck with Covid has had medical issues for some time so he’s struggling.
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As part of the opening liturgy today we had corporate readings from Questions 105, 106 and 107 of the Heidelberg Catechism (which we’ve been going through all year).
Considering the mess we, our nation and the world seem to be in right now — and understand that we don’t compartmentalize those things, but they are all to be understood, always, in light of the Christian faith — it struck a chord for me:
Lord’s Day 40
Q & A 105
Q. What is God’s will for you
in the sixth commandment?
A. I am not to belittle, hate, insult, or kill my neighbor— not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds— and I am not to be party to this in others;(1) rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge.(2)
I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either.(3) Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.(4)
1 Gen. 9:6; Lev. 19:17-18; Matt. 5:21-22; 26:52
2 Prov. 25:21-22; Matt. 18:35; Rom. 12:19; Eph. 4:26
3 Matt. 4:7; 26:52; Rom. 13:11-14
4 Gen. 9:6; Ex. 21:14; Rom. 13:4
Q & A 106
Q. Does this commandment refer only to murder?
A. By forbidding murder God teaches us that he hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness.(1)
In God’s sight all such are disguised forms of murder.(2)
1 Prov. 14:30; Rom. 1:29; 12:19; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 John 2:9-11
2 1 John 3:15
Q & A 107
Q. Is it enough then that we do not murder our neighbor in any such way?
A. No. By condemning envy, hatred, and anger God wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves,(1) to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them,(2) to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.(3)
1 Matt. 7:12; 22:39; Rom. 12:10
2 Matt. 5:3-12; Luke 6:36; Rom. 12:10, 18; Gal. 6:1-2; Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 3:8
3 Ex. 23:4-5; Matt. 5:44-45; Rom. 12:20-21 (Prov. 25:21-22)
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Beautiful sunrise and now the fog is beginning to form.
How can it be Monday already?
Good to hear testimonies last evening as some new folks shared how God brought them here. Some had trials and surprising blessings on their way.
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Did church online, in person, and went to another church’s potluck and had some good talks about what God is doing. The fellowship of believers is a good thing.
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I like that, DJ.
Sounds lovely, Jo. And it is hard to believe it’s soon to be Sunday evening here.
Time for my Sunday prayer call. This is when we have focused prayer for our church and other churches. Today we will pray about the outreach to the football team among other things.
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The family from Siberia also spoke. They said that no one has money there and they were ready to give up on support raising. But then God said to trust Him and He would do it. She said that she still doesn’t know how He did it, but they are fully supported and able to come.
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DJ – How can you go to the Cheesecake Factory and not get cheesecake?!
I’ve only been there a couple or three times, but I try not to eat too much of my meal so I can enjoy the cheesecake. 🙂
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Nightingale has been there more often than I have, and when she has gone with Boy, she has brought home a slice of cheesecake for me. That’s why I keep her around. 😀
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I have been to the Cheesecake Factory once. It was for the birthday celebration of the former owner/boss lady of Art’s business. It had really good food and cheesecake, too. It has been so long since we have been out for a nice dinner. I sometimes think I spend a lot on our groceries, but then I realize that we never get food out.
We had such a nice prayer time today on the phone. I think having this new ministry outreach is really helping to enliven us.
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Haha, yes, when I’ve been there before there’s always cheesecake. How can you not? 🙂
But my cousin is a petite thing who, nevertheless, worries about eating healthy and cutting calories so the two times I’ve gone to the Cheesecake Factory with her it just doesn’t seem appropriate to say, “Oh, let’s get dessert!”
Her brow furrowed just at the little pad of (gasp, real butter) that came with the bread.
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We need soldiers in Afghanistan to save (as much as possible) our own people and those who helped us. God have mercy on all those who will suffer at the hands of these religious tyrants. The whole thing was botched beyond belief. It sickens me.
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Not that it’s bad to be concerned about calories and healthy eating, but focusing on those conversation topics while your’e enjoying a meal out with others just strikes me as an unnecessary mood killer. Enjoy the meal, you can talk about it later.
Kathaleena, indeed. It’s a horrific situation.
And this seems to be the latest in a series of events besetting us in 2020 and 2021 that will leave some lasting damage on individuals, families and our culture.
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Janice I really liked the place we went. I don’t like chain restaurants.
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DJ – Real butter is healthier than margarine. Or does she not use that, either?
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She buys something else, Smart Balance w/canola oil maybe? I recognized the name when she said it, it’s not margarine. But it’s not really butter either, I don’t think.
I buy butter w/canola oil.
Tomorrow’s going to be hectic – 7:30 a.m. assignment at a school, followed by an 11 a.m. assignment at another school; meanwhile, the gardener will be here in the morning as will some cable company trying to replace a line in the backyard on the border with my neighbors’ (they’ll be home, I won’t).
Both dogs have so many pills right now I’m genuinely getting confused; I have those little day divided “daily” containers which is helping. The scheduling is also hard, keeping track of what to give when, what needs to be given with food, what’s without food by a few hours.
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Good Monday morning!
And good night to Jo♡
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And good morning to youJanice.
It’s a long way down here on Mondays. Seems like I scroll forever.
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Morning Chas and Janice. Have a good Monday.
and a happy almost birthday to Chas. 🙂
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