We got a few drops of rain, but are hoping for more. We won’t get as much as we need. Meanwhile our daughter in TN is getting way too much. Karen, too, it sounds like. It would be so nice if we could share the rain with each other.
Yup, we are expecting a tropical storm here in the northern half of Connecticut, while the southern half is expecting Hurricane Henri. (Being a small state, that part is not that far away, less than an hour’s drive.)
A local friend suggested on Facebook to do laundry today in case we lose power for several days. Good idea! So I just put mine in, and I will mention it to Nightingale when she finishes mowing the lawn.
Boy started mowing the lawn, but then he was picked up by his other grandmother for his weekly visitation with his dad, so Nightingale took over. With all the rain we’ve had, it had gotten way overgrown and could not wait until after the storm.
No thunder (or rain or hurricanes) here, only fireworks last night over the harbor to celebrate the completion of that “green” automated shipping terminal. Stay safe, everyone, from wind, rain, fire and mudslides, and enjoy the birthday mumsee.
Lizzie, as you know I have been through a hurricane recently. When you finish the laundry fill the washing machine with water and at least the downstairs tub with water. If power is out, you may need it to flush toilettes to even to boil and drink. Charge you cell phone and if you have a battery pack or two go ahead and charge those too.
I do know you name starts with a K but spell check kept changing it so I let it win.
The commotion at the vet’s office was not even as loud as a cat fight, but there was a whole lot of hissing going on. She, Miss B, got two shots. Art does not hiss.
It is windy here but no rain. The one thing positive about this wind is that it has moved the smoke out and we are seeing blue skies! But then again this wind will dry us out quickly and there are no rain showers in the forecast for the next 10 days… 😑
I got up early and went to the outdoor Vintage Market. It was fun and I saw a friend at her tent…and purchased a German prayer book and a small antique German sheep!
Husband is headed to Leadville to pace our neighbor at the Leadville Trail 100…neighbor’s first time to run so this will be fun to have a newbie and an old man with 10 under his belt running together.. 🏃♂️
Aj… 😂
Happy Birthday to your daughter Mumsee…. Here…I shall send her a cake! 🎂
*******
The town Facebook pages have several posts about various places being out of gas.
REALLY hoping we don’t lose our power. The weather coming up early next week is supposed to be very hot and humid. 😦
Since I don’t “do” the internet on my phone, I will check in to let you know if we still have power, but not if I don’t. So if you don’t hear from me for a while tomorrow, you’ll know I don’t.
Is it spell check or auto correct that changes the name on people’s phones? I get the red squiggly line which I can ignore, change to the suggested spelling, or click and choose “Add to dictionary”. But then, I’m on a chrome book, not a phone.
(FYI- I despise auto correct. It’s made a lot of people too lazy to proofread, so they get the wrong word. Words like there, their, and they’re get confused, along with all the other words of similar spelling.)
Good morning. Miss Bosley stayed in the other room by herself last night. I attribute that her vet visit. She is probably sore from the shots and from being held so firmly by the tech who helped the doctor.
The vet suggested I might try two different foods to help with her vomiting her dry food. One was Hill and another that I could get through Chewy. I have found if I give her a tablespoon in her bowl at a time she does not vomit it. It’s when she gobbles too much that it comes right back out.
I am so happy that the high school football team we are supporting through church won their second game Friday night. Two wins in two games, and last year they had not a single win all season. They are pumped! 34 of the players attended our church service last week for a special time of engagement. I hope some will be at this morning’s service.
Kim, what are your plans today?
To do as little as possible and read an entire book.
Yesterday afternoon I helped my friend M put wire shelving together for her shop. It was a mindless activity and it kept her company to get it done. I am really proud of her. You know her from her food blog Little Coastal Kitchen. Now she will have a shop whee she sells prepared food to take home and heat up. She will also have things she makes like jams and jellies and other fun stuff to buy. She will also be selling a limited assortment of cooking things and samples of things you can buy at her online store.
Plus after 4 years as a widow she went to dinner with a man she knew in high school. He dated one of her best friends. He lost his wife some time ago.
I will be live-streaming church again today, it doesn’t start for another couple hours. We are still seeing a significant spread of the delta/Covid-19 in our immediate church circle where I fear a fair number are not vaccinated (and are mask-resistant — masks are a minor tool, vaccines are the main one we have, but masks are probably better than nothing, is the way I see it).
We are vetting five new elders — to replace those who have moved, permanently stepped down or on long-term “leave” following the horrendous pandemic period our church (along with others) had to navigate amid much disagreement. Each of the new elder candidates will be in the pulpit so the congregation will get to know them a bit more (the congregation as a whole votes on the elders). The first one is preaching today.
Other than that, I will water, do some laundry and take it easy as Monday will be here much too soon.
______________________
Janice, not sure if you’ve used them before, but I’m a Chewy.com regular with both Annie & Cowboy on vet-prescribed prescription foods for a good number of years now. Chewy is very efficient, they match Amazon in getting orders on your porch within a day or two. There were a couple short-lived slowdowns during the worst of the pandemic, mostly due to temporary out-of-stock situations, but other than that they’re Amazon-dependable.
Morning…praying for you Kizzie…and for Michelle as she and husband make their way to their destination…
I will be sparing those at church this morning from my sneezing, coughing and continual rubbing my puffy eyes…allergies have gotten the best of me… 🤧!
Please pray that the dead or dying tree on our property line does not fall, and if it does, that it falls into the yard. If it absolutely has to fall on something, may it fall on our property, not the neighbors’. We don’t want to get sued.
Then again, neither the man who owns the apartment house on that side of us nor we know if the tree is on his or our side of the line. Nightingale is wondering if we should just get it taken down anyway.
Boy is still hoping the lights go out so we can get take-out. I said that even if we don’t lose power, we could still maybe get take-out and eat it with the lights off. 😀
Praying for that tree to stay upright. Are any structures in its potential pathway? If it’s far enough away from buildings (and cars), that should be some comfort. But unstable trees can cause a lot of angst and grief.
How is Nightingale’s workplace faring? Is she able to get to work?
This really was symbolic — last night’s Central Park concert to hail the impending end of Covid. (It was clearly planned when the outlook was a bit brighter.)
But the virus — and then the weather — totally outsmarted us on that front.
I’d been watching it live on CNN when the shut-down came. They’d hoped to restart it in a couple hours, but that was overly optimistic.
Another sigh of (temporary, “But God …”) defeat.
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Springsteen, Santana, The Killers: Tropical storm Henri cuts short NY’s Covid-19 recovery concert
This time, Barry Manilow didn’t make it through the rain.
Unlike the Grammy-winning recording artist’s 1980 hit “I Made It Through Rain”, the superstar-laden “Homecoming Concert” in New York City’s Central Park was canceled because of dangerous weather as tropical storm Henri approached the Northeast on Saturday.
Manilow began performing “Can’t Smile Without You” as part of a medley of his hits when an announcement interrupted his performance, ordering concertgoers to immediately leave the park and seek shelter.
The singer continued, not realising at first what was happening. Organisers repeated over a public address for concertgoers to “calmly move to the nearest exits and proceed to areas outside of the park”.
The five-hour concert, intended to celebrate New York City’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, was about halfway through when the weather became an issue. Heavy rain and lightning filled the sky.
As the crowd — estimated at more than 60,000 — began leaving the concert area, there was a moment of optimism that the show might resume once the weather cleared. But a few minutes later, another announcement said it was canceled as the downpour intensified. …
________________________
The tree is right by their parking lot, so it could damage some cars if it fell that way. If it fell another way, it could end up on the barn at the back which belongs to our other neighbors, as their several acres of property wraps around the back of us and the apartment house property. Might even be able to fall on our house. But these are estimates on my part.
Nightingale is not working this weekend. Hopefully she will be able to make it into work tomorrow morning. Boy is excited about all of this, as kids can be.
It could also fall straight into our yard, which would be the best thing if it does have to fall.
Still have power. Things seem to have calmed down out there, but I’m not sure if this is merely a calm before more of the storm. The weather report I just read says that it is slowing down in its progress since it has made landfall earlier. Sounds like this is going to be around for a while.
YA made a comment on one of her posts that there are “many things in the Bible that are trash and hold no basis or use in reality.” 😦
After prefacing my comment saying that I am asking these questions to better understand her views, not in an argumentative way, I asked her, “Do you mostly not believe in the Bible? If not, why do you believe in Jesus?”
I am hoping and praying that that will make her think more deeply about what she believes about Jesus, that the Holy Spirit will minister truth to her, and that her heart will be open to acknowledge that truth. Quite frankly, even if she goes the other way, and decides that she doesn’t really believe in Jesus after all, that would be better than thinking she believes when she really doesn’t. Then the Holy Spirit can do a saving work in her, if that is God’s will. (Not that He can’t do that now anyway, of course.)
Of course, I realize that with her track record, she could merely come back with a high-and superior-sounding, self-justifying reply. But I am praying otherwise. Please agree with me in that prayer. Thanks.
Excellent question for YA, Kizzie. I’ll be curious as to her answer.
Semi-related, our new prospective elder was asked in our Q&A section about Christians’ interactions on social media and what those should look like. He had quite a lot to say, but initially and primarily pointed us to 1 Peter that speaks of our interactions always being with gentleness and respect. “That doesn’t go away if we’re behind a computer screen,” he said. And with heated topics that we’re so often navigating these days, to “keep it friendly.” We’re ambassadors of Christ, always, and everywhere we go.
I’ve seen you communicate with that kind of respect and gentleness both on FB and here, you’re a good example.
________________________
Interesting question on evangelism that our prospective elder also received gave rise to the discussion of whether one approaches someone with the law (as Jesus does with the rich young ruler) or with the grace of the gospel.
He used the example of a guy he approached (he’s an engineer who’s worked for NASA and does regular street evangelism at the pier and beach) where the question came up about where the man thought he would go if he died. The man responded by rolling up his sleeve to reveal needle marks and said he was quite sure he would not be going to heaven.
His response told our church member that the man already had been convicted by God’s law, so the way he went was with the gospel and what Jesus offers us.
But most folks (90%), he said, aren’t particularly humble and require more of an approach using the law, but with gentleness as Jesus demonstrates with the rich young ruler (who went away sorrowing, which was a very good sign although we’re not told if he was regenerated or not). The offer of God’s forgiveness and grace was not raised as the man did not (yet?) acknowledge his sin and need for that.
Donna. Pick on me if want. but leave my tre alone. It ain’t hurting nobody.
But I came here to say that it seems weird, me sitting in a rool-about chair at a computer watching the folks try to leave Afghanistan.
Weitd.
Am I thankful that I am here and not there?
You bet
Thank you, DJ. I almost didn’t reply to her, but changed my mind. Praying that the Holy Spirit will direct her thoughts on the matter.
*******
We have survived Tropical Storm (formerly Hurricane) Henri without losing our power. (Some others in my area did, though. Praying the crews can get it all back up and running soon.) The tree is still standing. And Boy was happy that we did get takeout even though we didn’t lose power.
DJ, do the elders all have advanced training in the Bible or do they preach based on their personal study and as the Holy Spirit leads? Do they select the topic or is it assigned? It almost sounds like a search for a pastor. I never knew elders had to preach, too.
Gabby is over here now, and had dinner with us. (She brought her own over so she could eat with us.)
In my living room, on an end table and the back of the couch, there were some things that Nightingale had asked me to sew (a football-shaped pillow-thingie with a rip in the seam, a stuffed animal with a little hole, a large blue fuzzy pillow, that had belonged to my mom, with a tear in a seam, and a pair of Boy’s pants with a partially ripped inner seam), since I have more available time than she does. But I had left the things there for a couple weeks or so because I don’t particularly like doing that and was procrastinating. I knew I would get around to it, and figured I would this coming week.
But Gabby noticed the things there, and Boy told her about them waiting to be sewn, and she asked if she could sew them. She likes to sew! Nightingale suggested she show Boy how to do it while she is at it. (The only thing she left was his pants, which is fine with me.)
We had some trees trimmed or taken down just because we were concerned they may come down with a strong wind. Spending the money was worth not having to worry about them anymore. There are some branches I hadn’t noticed that go over a shed. My husband says he will cut them down, but I would have rather had the tree removal guys do them.
I was so sad at hearing about the flooding in TN. That is the county next to the one my daughter lives in. The saddest was the infant twins who died when the father could no longer hold onto them. Beyond sad.
I saw the footage of the flooding aftermath in TN, looked awful. I saw the number of people who died but didn’t hear about the infant twins, that is terribly sad.
Kizzie, I’m glad you escaped any serious impacts of Henri, including a feared power outage. What did you have for the takeout dinner?
Presbyterian churches are governed by a plurality of elders (we typically have 10) which includes the pastor as one of them as an equal. Most are what are called “ruling elders” but there are also teaching elders which would be the pastor and any assistant to him in that role. And ruling elders can also fill the pulpit on occasion when needed. They must adhere to our secondary standards, the Westminster Confession of Faith and catechisms, so doctrine and theology would not stray from that; they are ordained to the positions by the pastor and they keep that ordination for life. While many of our elders have seminary experience (our church seems to attract many seminary students), not all do — but even those who don’t are quite knowledgable.
The candidate today has been a deacon in our church for about 7 years; he’s probably about 40 yrs old and has three children. His sermon was substantive and well delivered.
Our pastor makes it a practice to email his own sermons to the elders beforehand for review and discussion.
Many years ago, when our pastor was young and the church was independent of any denomination (though had loose ties with Hope Chapel), he would ‘wing it’ more often from the pulpit, or so he’s explained to us. He learned the folly of that quickly enough and puts great stock now on an ordered and well-researched and prepared sermon that doesn’t leave room for preaching error.
We rely Scripture for the qualifications of elders and deacons
Blameless as a steward of God, above reproach
Faithful husband to his wife
Temperate, sober, vigilant
Sober-minded, prudent
Of good behaviour, orderly, respectable
Given to hospitality
Able to teach
Not given to wine
Not violent, not pugnacious
Patient, moderate, forbearing, gentle
Uncontentious, not soon angry or quick-tempered
Not covetous, not a lover of money
Rules his own house well, his children are faithful, not accused of rebellion to God
Not a novice or new convert
Has a good rapport or reputation with outsiders
Not self-willed
A lover of what is good
Just, fair
Holy, devout
Self-controlled
Hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught
I went for a bike ride. Only up to the mailbox and around on the top of the hill, but it is a start. Now that it has cooled down some so more cooler hours to get out, I hope to get more active again.
I’m done watering out front, it’s getting dark so I’ll get to the back tomorrow, it takes a lot less time.
Neighbor on other side of me peeked out her front door, wearing her mask, to say she’d been under quarantine with “the virus” (and yes, she had been vaccinated). This variant seem to spread very easily, beware out there.
Kizzie – Trees are expensive to remove. I know, we’ve paid for 4 of them since we moved here. If the tree falls on your house or or, or blocks your driveway, insurance covers it otherwise you have to pay to have it cut up and hauled away. However, I don’t know if that applies during a hurricane.
Wandering Views 
Now I can say it is daughter’s birthday tomorrow!
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Happy almost birthday to her.
We got a few drops of rain, but are hoping for more. We won’t get as much as we need. Meanwhile our daughter in TN is getting way too much. Karen, too, it sounds like. It would be so nice if we could share the rain with each other.
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Happy Birthday Mumsee’s daughter!
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Good morning! May Mumsee’s daughter have a very happy birthday.
We are at the vet’s for a rabies vaccine. We await the commotion.
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Why does Art need a rabies vaccine?
Is he a biter? 🙂
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Good morning. Birthday is tomorrow. The real, you are a brat.
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But a funny brat.
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True.
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We also had thunderstorm activity last night, but with lots of rain. Flash flood warnings in effectt, especially on burned hillsides.
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Yup, we are expecting a tropical storm here in the northern half of Connecticut, while the southern half is expecting Hurricane Henri. (Being a small state, that part is not that far away, less than an hour’s drive.)
A local friend suggested on Facebook to do laundry today in case we lose power for several days. Good idea! So I just put mine in, and I will mention it to Nightingale when she finishes mowing the lawn.
Boy started mowing the lawn, but then he was picked up by his other grandmother for his weekly visitation with his dad, so Nightingale took over. With all the rain we’ve had, it had gotten way overgrown and could not wait until after the storm.
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No thunder (or rain or hurricanes) here, only fireworks last night over the harbor to celebrate the completion of that “green” automated shipping terminal. Stay safe, everyone, from wind, rain, fire and mudslides, and enjoy the birthday mumsee.
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Our yards have not needed mowing in months.
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I made the requested peanut butter cake for tomorrow.
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Mumsee, I started to ask how I get some. But I still have a couple of cookies someone on this site sent me.
Thaxnx again
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Lizzie, as you know I have been through a hurricane recently. When you finish the laundry fill the washing machine with water and at least the downstairs tub with water. If power is out, you may need it to flush toilettes to even to boil and drink. Charge you cell phone and if you have a battery pack or two go ahead and charge those too.
I do know you name starts with a K but spell check kept changing it so I let it win.
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Yes, Lizzie is a favorite on my phone!
The commotion at the vet’s office was not even as loud as a cat fight, but there was a whole lot of hissing going on. She, Miss B, got two shots. Art does not hiss.
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It is windy here but no rain. The one thing positive about this wind is that it has moved the smoke out and we are seeing blue skies! But then again this wind will dry us out quickly and there are no rain showers in the forecast for the next 10 days… 😑
I got up early and went to the outdoor Vintage Market. It was fun and I saw a friend at her tent…and purchased a German prayer book and a small antique German sheep!
Husband is headed to Leadville to pace our neighbor at the Leadville Trail 100…neighbor’s first time to run so this will be fun to have a newbie and an old man with 10 under his belt running together.. 🏃♂️
Aj… 😂
Happy Birthday to your daughter Mumsee…. Here…I shall send her a cake! 🎂
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Happy birthday to a very sweet, hard working daughter.
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Just posted on the prayer thread that the latest update is that my county is now in the red zone, where the heaviest winds are expected. 😦
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Sheep!
Kizzie, it kind of looked like you might be in that red blob from the weather maps they’ve been showing. Batten down the hatches.
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The much-promoted “homecoming” Central Park concert in NY had to stop early when lightening strikes began hitting the ground.
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A short note to the politicians on TV now. About the crisis:
You got rid of Trump.
Isn’t that what you wanted?
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Rochester!
Waved at Kizzie when we drove past her off ramp.
“Hey! I thought she lived further east. Maybe we should stop by?”
“Stay focused.”
It was an 8 hour drive. Sorry, Kizzie.
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Were you on 84?
*******
The town Facebook pages have several posts about various places being out of gas.
REALLY hoping we don’t lose our power. The weather coming up early next week is supposed to be very hot and humid. 😦
Since I don’t “do” the internet on my phone, I will check in to let you know if we still have power, but not if I don’t. So if you don’t hear from me for a while tomorrow, you’ll know I don’t.
Goodnight, all!
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Stay safe, Kizzie.
Is it spell check or auto correct that changes the name on people’s phones? I get the red squiggly line which I can ignore, change to the suggested spelling, or click and choose “Add to dictionary”. But then, I’m on a chrome book, not a phone.
(FYI- I despise auto correct. It’s made a lot of people too lazy to proofread, so they get the wrong word. Words like there, their, and they’re get confused, along with all the other words of similar spelling.)
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Good night. I have to get up early as I have a 6:30 pickup for my helicopter flight to the dentist. 🙂
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Good morning. Off to check out the world.
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Good morning. Miss Bosley stayed in the other room by herself last night. I attribute that her vet visit. She is probably sore from the shots and from being held so firmly by the tech who helped the doctor.
The vet suggested I might try two different foods to help with her vomiting her dry food. One was Hill and another that I could get through Chewy. I have found if I give her a tablespoon in her bowl at a time she does not vomit it. It’s when she gobbles too much that it comes right back out.
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I am so happy that the high school football team we are supporting through church won their second game Friday night. Two wins in two games, and last year they had not a single win all season. They are pumped! 34 of the players attended our church service last week for a special time of engagement. I hope some will be at this morning’s service.
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Just left an update on the prayer thread.
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Praying, Kizzie
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Kim, what are your plans today?
To do as little as possible and read an entire book.
Yesterday afternoon I helped my friend M put wire shelving together for her shop. It was a mindless activity and it kept her company to get it done. I am really proud of her. You know her from her food blog Little Coastal Kitchen. Now she will have a shop whee she sells prepared food to take home and heat up. She will also have things she makes like jams and jellies and other fun stuff to buy. She will also be selling a limited assortment of cooking things and samples of things you can buy at her online store.
Plus after 4 years as a widow she went to dinner with a man she knew in high school. He dated one of her best friends. He lost his wife some time ago.
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I will be live-streaming church again today, it doesn’t start for another couple hours. We are still seeing a significant spread of the delta/Covid-19 in our immediate church circle where I fear a fair number are not vaccinated (and are mask-resistant — masks are a minor tool, vaccines are the main one we have, but masks are probably better than nothing, is the way I see it).
We are vetting five new elders — to replace those who have moved, permanently stepped down or on long-term “leave” following the horrendous pandemic period our church (along with others) had to navigate amid much disagreement. Each of the new elder candidates will be in the pulpit so the congregation will get to know them a bit more (the congregation as a whole votes on the elders). The first one is preaching today.
Other than that, I will water, do some laundry and take it easy as Monday will be here much too soon.
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Janice, not sure if you’ve used them before, but I’m a Chewy.com regular with both Annie & Cowboy on vet-prescribed prescription foods for a good number of years now. Chewy is very efficient, they match Amazon in getting orders on your porch within a day or two. There were a couple short-lived slowdowns during the worst of the pandemic, mostly due to temporary out-of-stock situations, but other than that they’re Amazon-dependable.
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Morning…praying for you Kizzie…and for Michelle as she and husband make their way to their destination…
I will be sparing those at church this morning from my sneezing, coughing and continual rubbing my puffy eyes…allergies have gotten the best of me… 🤧!
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Still here, but the lights have briefly flickered a few times. Boy is hoping that the power goes out so we can get take-out for dinner. 😀
We use Chewy, too.
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Gettin’ windy out there!
Please pray that the dead or dying tree on our property line does not fall, and if it does, that it falls into the yard. If it absolutely has to fall on something, may it fall on our property, not the neighbors’. We don’t want to get sued.
Then again, neither the man who owns the apartment house on that side of us nor we know if the tree is on his or our side of the line. Nightingale is wondering if we should just get it taken down anyway.
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Boy is still hoping the lights go out so we can get take-out. I said that even if we don’t lose power, we could still maybe get take-out and eat it with the lights off. 😀
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Yes, a pretend-power outage sounds good.
Praying for that tree to stay upright. Are any structures in its potential pathway? If it’s far enough away from buildings (and cars), that should be some comfort. But unstable trees can cause a lot of angst and grief.
How is Nightingale’s workplace faring? Is she able to get to work?
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This really was symbolic — last night’s Central Park concert to hail the impending end of Covid. (It was clearly planned when the outlook was a bit brighter.)
But the virus — and then the weather — totally outsmarted us on that front.
I’d been watching it live on CNN when the shut-down came. They’d hoped to restart it in a couple hours, but that was overly optimistic.
Another sigh of (temporary, “But God …”) defeat.
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Springsteen, Santana, The Killers: Tropical storm Henri cuts short NY’s Covid-19 recovery concert
This time, Barry Manilow didn’t make it through the rain.
Unlike the Grammy-winning recording artist’s 1980 hit “I Made It Through Rain”, the superstar-laden “Homecoming Concert” in New York City’s Central Park was canceled because of dangerous weather as tropical storm Henri approached the Northeast on Saturday.
Manilow began performing “Can’t Smile Without You” as part of a medley of his hits when an announcement interrupted his performance, ordering concertgoers to immediately leave the park and seek shelter.
The singer continued, not realising at first what was happening. Organisers repeated over a public address for concertgoers to “calmly move to the nearest exits and proceed to areas outside of the park”.
The five-hour concert, intended to celebrate New York City’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, was about halfway through when the weather became an issue. Heavy rain and lightning filled the sky.
As the crowd — estimated at more than 60,000 — began leaving the concert area, there was a moment of optimism that the show might resume once the weather cleared. But a few minutes later, another announcement said it was canceled as the downpour intensified. …
________________________
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The tree is right by their parking lot, so it could damage some cars if it fell that way. If it fell another way, it could end up on the barn at the back which belongs to our other neighbors, as their several acres of property wraps around the back of us and the apartment house property. Might even be able to fall on our house. But these are estimates on my part.
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Nightingale is not working this weekend. Hopefully she will be able to make it into work tomorrow morning. Boy is excited about all of this, as kids can be.
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Some big branches down in the property across the lane.
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12:43, Kizzie, none of those sound like good options.
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It could also fall straight into our yard, which would be the best thing if it does have to fall.
Still have power. Things seem to have calmed down out there, but I’m not sure if this is merely a calm before more of the storm. The weather report I just read says that it is slowing down in its progress since it has made landfall earlier. Sounds like this is going to be around for a while.
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I don’t know the full story, but it sounds like you need to get rid of a tree.
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YA made a comment on one of her posts that there are “many things in the Bible that are trash and hold no basis or use in reality.” 😦
After prefacing my comment saying that I am asking these questions to better understand her views, not in an argumentative way, I asked her, “Do you mostly not believe in the Bible? If not, why do you believe in Jesus?”
I am hoping and praying that that will make her think more deeply about what she believes about Jesus, that the Holy Spirit will minister truth to her, and that her heart will be open to acknowledge that truth. Quite frankly, even if she goes the other way, and decides that she doesn’t really believe in Jesus after all, that would be better than thinking she believes when she really doesn’t. Then the Holy Spirit can do a saving work in her, if that is God’s will. (Not that He can’t do that now anyway, of course.)
Of course, I realize that with her track record, she could merely come back with a high-and superior-sounding, self-justifying reply. But I am praying otherwise. Please agree with me in that prayer. Thanks.
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Chas – yes, we do.
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Morning all, still dark here
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Oh, 49 🙃
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Good morning, Jo, one o clock in the afternoon here.
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The pastor used a prayer from Ephesians as the Benediction. That was something he has not done before. It was very nice.
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Excellent question for YA, Kizzie. I’ll be curious as to her answer.
Semi-related, our new prospective elder was asked in our Q&A section about Christians’ interactions on social media and what those should look like. He had quite a lot to say, but initially and primarily pointed us to 1 Peter that speaks of our interactions always being with gentleness and respect. “That doesn’t go away if we’re behind a computer screen,” he said. And with heated topics that we’re so often navigating these days, to “keep it friendly.” We’re ambassadors of Christ, always, and everywhere we go.
I’ve seen you communicate with that kind of respect and gentleness both on FB and here, you’re a good example.
________________________
Interesting question on evangelism that our prospective elder also received gave rise to the discussion of whether one approaches someone with the law (as Jesus does with the rich young ruler) or with the grace of the gospel.
He used the example of a guy he approached (he’s an engineer who’s worked for NASA and does regular street evangelism at the pier and beach) where the question came up about where the man thought he would go if he died. The man responded by rolling up his sleeve to reveal needle marks and said he was quite sure he would not be going to heaven.
His response told our church member that the man already had been convicted by God’s law, so the way he went was with the gospel and what Jesus offers us.
But most folks (90%), he said, aren’t particularly humble and require more of an approach using the law, but with gentleness as Jesus demonstrates with the rich young ruler (who went away sorrowing, which was a very good sign although we’re not told if he was regenerated or not). The offer of God’s forgiveness and grace was not raised as the man did not (yet?) acknowledge his sin and need for that.
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His sermon earlier, btw, was appropriately on evangelism, after the manner of Jesus.
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What Chas said about the tree LOL
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Pick on Chas if you wantg. He’s used to it.
But leave the tree alone. Iit can’t fight back.
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Oh, so now you’re a tree supporter?
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Donna. Pick on me if want. but leave my tre alone. It ain’t hurting nobody.
But I came here to say that it seems weird, me sitting in a rool-about chair at a computer watching the folks try to leave Afghanistan.
Weitd.
Am I thankful that I am here and not there?
You bet
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Thank you, DJ. I almost didn’t reply to her, but changed my mind. Praying that the Holy Spirit will direct her thoughts on the matter.
*******
We have survived Tropical Storm (formerly Hurricane) Henri without losing our power. (Some others in my area did, though. Praying the crews can get it all back up and running soon.) The tree is still standing. And Boy was happy that we did get takeout even though we didn’t lose power.
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DJ, do the elders all have advanced training in the Bible or do they preach based on their personal study and as the Holy Spirit leads? Do they select the topic or is it assigned? It almost sounds like a search for a pastor. I never knew elders had to preach, too.
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Gabby is over here now, and had dinner with us. (She brought her own over so she could eat with us.)
In my living room, on an end table and the back of the couch, there were some things that Nightingale had asked me to sew (a football-shaped pillow-thingie with a rip in the seam, a stuffed animal with a little hole, a large blue fuzzy pillow, that had belonged to my mom, with a tear in a seam, and a pair of Boy’s pants with a partially ripped inner seam), since I have more available time than she does. But I had left the things there for a couple weeks or so because I don’t particularly like doing that and was procrastinating. I knew I would get around to it, and figured I would this coming week.
But Gabby noticed the things there, and Boy told her about them waiting to be sewn, and she asked if she could sew them. She likes to sew! Nightingale suggested she show Boy how to do it while she is at it. (The only thing she left was his pants, which is fine with me.)
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We had some trees trimmed or taken down just because we were concerned they may come down with a strong wind. Spending the money was worth not having to worry about them anymore. There are some branches I hadn’t noticed that go over a shed. My husband says he will cut them down, but I would have rather had the tree removal guys do them.
I was so sad at hearing about the flooding in TN. That is the county next to the one my daughter lives in. The saddest was the infant twins who died when the father could no longer hold onto them. Beyond sad.
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I saw the footage of the flooding aftermath in TN, looked awful. I saw the number of people who died but didn’t hear about the infant twins, that is terribly sad.
Kizzie, I’m glad you escaped any serious impacts of Henri, including a feared power outage. What did you have for the takeout dinner?
Presbyterian churches are governed by a plurality of elders (we typically have 10) which includes the pastor as one of them as an equal. Most are what are called “ruling elders” but there are also teaching elders which would be the pastor and any assistant to him in that role. And ruling elders can also fill the pulpit on occasion when needed. They must adhere to our secondary standards, the Westminster Confession of Faith and catechisms, so doctrine and theology would not stray from that; they are ordained to the positions by the pastor and they keep that ordination for life. While many of our elders have seminary experience (our church seems to attract many seminary students), not all do — but even those who don’t are quite knowledgable.
The candidate today has been a deacon in our church for about 7 years; he’s probably about 40 yrs old and has three children. His sermon was substantive and well delivered.
Our pastor makes it a practice to email his own sermons to the elders beforehand for review and discussion.
Many years ago, when our pastor was young and the church was independent of any denomination (though had loose ties with Hope Chapel), he would ‘wing it’ more often from the pulpit, or so he’s explained to us. He learned the folly of that quickly enough and puts great stock now on an ordered and well-researched and prepared sermon that doesn’t leave room for preaching error.
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We rely Scripture for the qualifications of elders and deacons
Blameless as a steward of God, above reproach
Faithful husband to his wife
Temperate, sober, vigilant
Sober-minded, prudent
Of good behaviour, orderly, respectable
Given to hospitality
Able to teach
Not given to wine
Not violent, not pugnacious
Patient, moderate, forbearing, gentle
Uncontentious, not soon angry or quick-tempered
Not covetous, not a lover of money
Rules his own house well, his children are faithful, not accused of rebellion to God
Not a novice or new convert
Has a good rapport or reputation with outsiders
Not self-willed
A lover of what is good
Just, fair
Holy, devout
Self-controlled
Hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught
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Cowboy somehow got hold of the bag of remaining greenies and was headed off to the bedroom with it.
I intercepted him, gave him one, and put the bag up a little higher …
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I went for a bike ride. Only up to the mailbox and around on the top of the hill, but it is a start. Now that it has cooled down some so more cooler hours to get out, I hope to get more active again.
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Debra and C?
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DJ – We had Greek salad and gyros, along with French fries and coleslaw. Very good.
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mmm, sounds like a good summer meal.
I’m done watering out front, it’s getting dark so I’ll get to the back tomorrow, it takes a lot less time.
Neighbor on other side of me peeked out her front door, wearing her mask, to say she’d been under quarantine with “the virus” (and yes, she had been vaccinated). This variant seem to spread very easily, beware out there.
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Kizzie – Trees are expensive to remove. I know, we’ve paid for 4 of them since we moved here. If the tree falls on your house or or, or blocks your driveway, insurance covers it otherwise you have to pay to have it cut up and hauled away. However, I don’t know if that applies during a hurricane.
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Good night Jo.
Have a nice nap.
Good morning everyone else
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If it’s a known problem that has been discussed—I’d visit the neighbors and see if they want to jointly share the cost of taking it down.
I’m with Kathleena on this one
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