36 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 1-6-23”

  4. Happy birthday, Kim. Treat yourself as you would someone else you love. I hope you have a wonderful evening.

    I love trees. They can be so beautiful and/or interesting.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. Good Morning and oh so Happy Birthday to you Kim! We are blessed to celebrate our Lord’s beautiful gift of YOU this day!!

    I love that header photo. Trees are all so uniquely created and that one is amazing! I always ask husband to not trim certain pines on the property due to their lovely gnarled character. 😊 I refer to some of them as “the tuning fork” trees. The trunk splits into two trunks up high appearing to be tuning forks!

    Cleaning day around here and I might crack open a couple windows for fresh air..it should be up to 40 today!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. I overslept this morning so I haven’t done my morning routine of exercise and everything I wanted to do. I am still feeling the effects of the flu and covid booster shot.
    This morning when I first looked to see if the post was up here, I remembered spending my birthday 15 years ago with most of you over on World Mag Blog. It wasn’t yet the lowest point in my life but it was close. The lowest point would come in June.
    I am taking today to thank all of you for being with me, loving me, and supporting me. I am very lucky because I think I have met most of you in real life and have been blessed by all of you.

    Liked by 5 people

  7. Happy Birthday, dearest Kim! You have meant so much to us all, too. And I add that especially for Chas who can only say that through our hearts where he still lives.

    That is a most lovely header. I am a tree hugger, too, and so impressed by their various forms from the tiniest sprouts to the mightiest live oaks and red sequoias.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Happy Birthday Kim! Enjoy the dinner out.

    We have some gnarled and strangely shaped trees out on the ocean cliffs here. I think one may have come down in a story some years ago and everyone was sad, it was so unique.

    I joined one of the church’s home groups — it’s been way too long since I’ve been in one of those — and went last night; it’s a smaller group that has been on break for a while, only the couple in whose house it meets, our leader, one of the deacons and a seminary student and his mom. And now me.

    Gorgeous home, built in 1912, two stories, absolutely stunning inside with the beautiful woodwork all still intact.

    We’re going through the book of Genesis.

    _______________

    Friday. At last. This has felt like a very long week for me.

    The sun is out this morning, but it’ll only get up to a high of 60. More rain coming next week, from the looks of it.

    Liked by 3 people

  10. Oh, many happy returns on this day, Kim. Having a pre-schooler to celebrate with you–should be lots of fun, even if you have to share the candles!

    Yes, and I remember the WorldMagBlog days, too. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  11. It was 36° when we headed out just past 7 a.m. I guess we are back to dressing for two seasons in one day.

    I ordered items for shipping yesterday from Walmart. I received most of the order within 24 hours. Free shipping if the order is $35 or more. No Prime fee. Amazon’s got competition!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Happiest of birthdays to you, Kim. I appreciate your input and thoughts on the blog and I am glad you are no longer at the lowest point in your life. Thank you for sharing your life with us all.

    Liked by 3 people

  15. Made it to my last payday. Good thing because couch is being delivered tomorrow.
    So I went to dinner at my friend’s house last night. she has a neighbor whose parents like to come visit for a month at a time. They need a place to stay. She showed them my downstairs bedroom. Now they want to know if they can rent it for six months. Yikes! good idea, but am I ready. ???

    It just got curtains this week and I put a side table in there. But I would have to buy a bed, linens and some way to heat it.

    And how do you report that income??
    And do I really want someone else in the house? They would mostly be at their daughters and then sleep here and come in through the garage.

    Lots to think about and I am open to any advice.

    Liked by 3 people

  17. Still thinking on Michelle’s title and really like Desert Stream, also, but thought it might be too close to Streams in the Desert for copyright purposes.

    I thought of a whimsical title that might appeal to younger people:
    Rafting Desert Rivers with Lottie Cowman?

    Liked by 2 people

  19. Oh Jo why did your friend show them YOUR bedroom? I might be reading it wrongly but if my friend did that with a presumption I would do such a thing I would be perturbed. You just are getting into your own little nest and settling in and to have to make purchases to accommodate strangers? Extras costs for you which I suppose you could include in what you would charge for rent but oh my. Then again I shall be asking the Lord to lead you in whatever direction He would have you to proceed…in His Hands.

    I am oh so private and like my privacy. My niece her husband and daughter will be coming for a visit in July for a few days but she told me up front, “Aunt Nancy it won’t be longer than 3 days…fish stink after 3 days and so do guests”! I had to laugh and told her she could stay a week if she wanted!

    Liked by 2 people

  20. We’ve had something like 15 people live with us over our married life. Sometimes it’s been a bit ridiculous–a young woman came to sleep on our family room couch for a few weeks while she settled in our community, and ended up staying four months.

    But every other time, it was unused rooms in our house–or an entire floor. They were always Christians and we had few problems.

    In our case, we viewed these times as ministry and didn’t charge much–basically the cost of their utilities while they lived with us.

    If this was my situation, I’d figure out how much it will cost to rent out the floor of your house. If there’s no heat, that’s a big deal.

    OTOH, if having them rent the area means you can put in some sort of a heating system, get a bed from somewhere, buy a microwave and a small refrigerator (or get them from someone), and linens–that could set you up for renting out a portion of your home later on, and thus bring in some income.

    You may not have the resources to do so now. But, perhaps in the summertime when you don’t need to heat the area?

    I’d ask someone at church to help me assess if this is a viable idea.

    I understand you want to be in your own home and alone, but maybe this is God setting you up for something you may need in the future.

    Who knows?

    Well, we know who knows. 😉

    Liked by 2 people

  22. BTW, ALL my daughter’s furniture–except the mattress–was a gift from someone at our church getting rid of things. Electric space heaters would be expensive to run in the winter, but you could amortize that, too.

    In terms of reporting it on your taxes–that’s a question for your accountant.

    Like

  23. Jo’s dilemma: I too am very private and like my solitude, but I see it as a gift from our Father. He knows the loneliness you have been experiencing at not getting with your children as you would like. And He may be providing you with partial companionship. They won’t be sharing your space if they are coming and going through the garage and have their own bathroom and studio apt such things. Do they just want a room as they will be eating with daughter? If all they need is a bed and bath, sounds quite viable. Only half the year so if it does not work, close the door.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Kizzie, that article seems to “get it.” Thank you. My eyes could not read it all, but what I read was good.

    One problem I see with the campaign is the premise in the title that there is an ‘us’ and a ‘them.’ Or, IOW, divide and conquer tactic. Truly, Jesus gets all of us. This slogan goes right along with Black Lives Matter in that regard. Maybe someone else here already addressed that?

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Janice – As for “Black Lives Matter,” in the beginning I understood the reason that some people were countering that with “All Lives Matter”. But as I read more about it, I came to see that the saying has within it the unwritten idea of “Black Lives Matter, Too“, not “Only Black Lives Matter”. The “All Lives Matter” saying was taken to be dismissive of the particular problems that black people have in white majority nations.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Jo – There is so much change going on in your life right now, which is so stressful, you could not be faulted for wanting to decompress without others in your home for a while. But if you pray about it and feel that God is leading you to let them stay in your home, then you know that He will help you through it, and it may be a blessing. Don’t feel pressured to do something you don’t truly feel led to do.

    Liked by 3 people

  30. Kizzie, I see both slogans to be too ambiguous and not true to how God thinks about people.

    I know exactly what you are saying about Black Lives Matter, Too, but that thought is like saying of God that the Jews are most important to Him but Gentiles matter, too. I just don’t see God looking at people like that, IMHO.

    Like

  31. And I do believe that many blacks have suffered terribly because of past horrors like slavery. I am not being dismissive of that fact. I am being dismissive of ambiguous slogans that can be used to divide people.

    Liked by 3 people

  33. I look it as BLM was a horrible abuse of black people just like what they are doing to children now in gender stuff is child abuse. People with an agenda taking advantage of a people group.

    Liked by 4 people

  35. Kizzie, I think it is impossible to see how people view other people because each person has their own point of view. And being a mere human, I can’t purely see how God sees people, either. But the limited knowledge I have of His word leads me to believe He assigns equal value to all people because on the inside we are all made in His image. There are no reasons for division given that unifying factor. But we look on the outside features and place people in categories. Slogans are useful for doing that.

    Liked by 2 people

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.