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Our Daily Thread 12-13-21

Good Morning!

Since yesterday was Sunday, there were no new posts. So make sure you wish Janice a happy belated birthday if you didn’t do so yesterday.

Happy Birthday Janice. 🙂

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Only 12 Days ’til Christmas!

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Anyone have a QoD?

50 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 12-13-21”

  5. Good morning again.
    It’s abright -sunny day in Greensboro. I hope it is well with you.
    I’ve had breakfastand coffee. Now, to morning devotions. Some of ou will be mentioned by name, othere together in my morning prayers. Off to it now.

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  7. Oh, to know I am prayed for is worth more than earthly treasures! Thank you, Chas.

    Jo, my birthday was pleasant. I saw friends at church. A friend dropped a present and card by my door, a red amarylis ready to plant and watch its progression to a brilliant bloom. Art did not yet have to go to the hospital with his kidney stones. I was able to think of a spur of the moment desert treat to suffice for a birthday dinner put on hold by the kidney stones. Art gave me a cute t-shirt and a few things to assist with my cell phone (often he gives me nothing) I got hundreds of well wishes on Facebook.

    As usual my birthday falls at the worst time for Wesley for years now, during finals week i got no call or text until late. I sent an e-mail to say it is my bithday and I at least expect a Happy Birthday text. He sent that. I knew I could reach him by email because it is open to communicate with students when his phone is off so he can concentrate uninterupted. He is one singularily focused person.

    I had some disappointment regarding both my brother and my long time friend in different ways but not unexpected considering how they are trending. I do not let those disappointments overshadow my joy.

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  8. That makes me wonder how many people are disappointed by me. I think more than I realize. It just seems to be the nature of being human. December birthdays can be so overshadowed by the holidays, too. I have never spent one helping my husband with kidney stones, so will call myself blessed just for that reason. 😉

    I think the deer could go for that tree.

    We have some quite warm weather happening right now. Close to forty today.

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  9. Kathaleena, I did not have to do much for Art. I put his wet clothes in the washer to soak and prewash and found the “overnites” disposable underwear left from his previous surgeries. When stones are passing bladder control is not the main focus. The ‘overnites’ or ‘depends’ are a true blessing during such bouts. Truly this is nothing to compare with a catheter and bag to empty like post surgery necessitated.😳 That was a shock having to learn how to deal with that the first time with incomplete instructions upon dismissal from the hospital.

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  18. Kare, the shirt I received is rather thin and silky. The title on Amazon calls it a sweatshirt. It is not what I think of as a traditional sweatshirt. The sleeves are long so I will have to roll them up unless they shrink in the wash which I do not expect.

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  20. We dissected a worm in high school!! 🪱

    Janice I loved that shirt Art gave to you! Although I think i would prefer a heavier weighted sweatshirt…seems as though all the materials being used are that thin silky stuff. But it is cute!

    It is a cool morning here but it is supposed to warm up to the high 50’s. Then temps will plummet with an incoming front which will bring 60mph winds. I am hoping no one gets stupid and starts grass fires like we had along the interstate yesterday. Four fires all along 25 within fifteen minutes of each other…scary!

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  24. I’m off on a belated birthday holiday from work but now I’m hit with a cold which lingered through much of the weekend also. I had a medical appointment today that I’ve canceled.

    Looks like it’ll be OJ and toast and lots of sleep today.

    We’re expecting heavy rains overnight and into tomorrow.

    Frogs were the dissection victims for us. Yeah, not my thing.

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  25. Frogs yes. Cut, peel, and pin!

    Chas, thank you for the birthday wishes♡

    The shirt is in the washer. I hope to wear it this evening. I think it makes people happy to see gifts they have given worn by the recipient as soon as possible as affirmation that they made a good choice.

    I hope your cold leaves quickly, dj. My brother got tested for Covid but did not have that. He sounded terrible until he got an antibiotic. It is slowly clearing. Thankfully Art did not get it. I still have a little runny nose at times but that may only be allergies.

    My friend, Karen, called today sounding all chipper. It’s the ups and downs and obvious desire to bring others down on special occasions because she no longer enjoys them that is really repelling me. I try to go with the flow, but sometimes it is too much.

    Oh, I have a delivery! I shall see what awaits. Maybe I forgot about something I ordered? Senior moments abound these days. I already received and wrapped the food scale.

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  28. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/top-theology-stories-2021/

    A writer with The Gospel Coalition has posted a top 10 theology stories of 2020. Topping the list:

    1. U.S. Capitol storming unleashes flurry of debate over Christian nationalism.

    Nine months of tension over the pandemic and politics exploded on January 6 in a surreal scene of hangman’s nooses interspersed among crosses on the U.S. Capitol lawn. Subsequent think pieces on Christian nationalism sometimes conflated appropriate patriotism with unbiblical syncretism. However, it’s still worth asking why so many Christians responded to the 2020 election results with violent anger and even now refuse to accept the results. Maybe it’s not Christian nationalism, where promises to God’s people are applied to the United States. But it might still be an over-realized eschatology or mistaken view of the covenants.

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  29. The writer’s introduction:

    ~ After all the tumult of 2020, the anger and anxiety, I expected Christians to search for hope and healing in 2021.

    I’ve never been more wrong.

    Compared to 2020, this year didn’t introduce many new challenges. Instead, my top theology stories of 2021 rehearsed many of last year’s historic conflicts. Some of the sharpest evangelical thinkers have sought to explain the sources of our divisions, the cluster of sensibilities on issues all the way from ethnicity and abuse to politics and pandemic. Kevin DeYoung observed four groupings of Reformed evangelicals and labeled them (in positive terms) contrite, compassionate, careful, and courageous. “People who can affirm the same doctrinal commitments on paper,” DeYoung wrote, “are miles apart in their posture and practice.”

    You won’t just find these divisions in the church, as George Packer explained in The Atlantic and in his book Last Best Hope. In fact, you can map DeYoung’s four categories onto Packer’s four Americas: contrite (Just America), compassionate (Smart America), careful (Free America), and courageous (Real America). Much as we might imagine otherwise, our theology is shaped by biography, intuition, and tribal loyalties. And when Christian theology can’t overcome natural divisions, the whole world suffers.

    “If our religious men cannot live together in peace,” U.S. Senator Henry Clay said in 1852, “what can be expected of us politicians, very few of whom profess to be governed by the great principles of love?”

    I expected Christians to search for hope and healing in 2021. I’ve never been more wrong.

    When the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist denominations split in the 1830s and 1840s, Civil War followed. I wouldn’t go so far as to predict the same in our day. But much depends on where the final fault lines form. If they divide the contrite and compassionate from the careful and courageous, churches will struggle to offer a prophetic witness to a nation that sees everything in bright red and dark blue. If, however, the compassionate and careful find common ground, should the contrite and courageous continue to polarize, then the American church might yet show a better way. Such churches point to an everlasting kingdom that refuses to despair over every manufactured and momentary panic—or even over the real examples of injustice and unbelief.

    Churches can decry both abuse and abortion. They can extol both justice and justification. Indeed, they must, if they will be faithful to God’s revealed Word. With that hope and prayer for 2022, I present my latest foolhardy attempt—written from the vantage point of an American who subscribes to The Gospel Coalition’s confessional statement—to discern the top theology stories of 2021. Imagine if Christians who found fault in the church of 2021 devoted this same energy so that God would find faith among us in 2022. ~

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  30. My UPS delivery was a well packaged board book I’d won from a reviewer’s blog post The Snuggle is Real. I am able to read such books with only my reading glasses usually! Concentrating on what I can still do and not on my losses. I will review the book, too. I can do!

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  31. I am so glad to be over last week’s cold. I had a sinus headache all week. So, Dj, i feel your pain.
    Now I am on to planning the next term. My aide and I are only both at school this week. So whatever I want her to do has to be done or explained now.

    Mostly it is the six week village program for a child going out.

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  32. okay, When I get on the internet, google is my homepage. The header picture has been the same all year. I can’t stand it. So last night I figured out how to change the background. So nice to make my own choice.

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  35. I’m up between sleeping. I’m going to email my editor to say I’ll be out tomorrow. There’s a port thing I will need to try to cover on Wednesday, but I’m hoping I’ll feel better then. But I can already tell I won’t be past this tomorrow.

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  36. But I did manage to get the city Jeep moved from my driveway down to the front curb. Neighbors have post-stroke appointments tomorrow when they’ll be challenged by coming and going in what will be a lot of rain by morning.

    I need to stay awake for a while so I will sleep tonight.

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  37. I am a very stubborn person. I have not yet gotten the elliptical together. Do I have to? No, husband would be happy to do it. Fifteen would be delighted to do it. But I wanna do it myself…..It will wait for husband. It is about three fourths together.

    Why do I need to put my Christmas present together? Pretty certain husband did not have to put the ship together before the cruise.

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  47. I know none of you have anything to do with this. But:
    I am amazed that people on TV are surprised that crime goes up as the police force goes down.
    Truly amazing discovery here:

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