The prophets were sent to both Israel and other nations. Israel, indeed, was uniquely, a theocracy. The US is not. I don’t think the article I shared is a quite that narrow, but everyone can take it for what it’s worth to them.
We got some much-needed rain, but the local fireworks were all able to go on, which was nice. We saw part of them when we were on our way home from being with a friend. We found many restaurants closed for the Fourth this year. I am thinking it is because of the worker shortage than anything else.
Jo, that must be very disappointing for you, but I am not sure how moving will solve the problem. I would imagine your children have all celebrated the holidays without you for years and may have traditional outings with the same friends established. We have not celebrated with our own children for many years. My advice would be to find other peers (especially lone women) and celebrate with them. I know that isn’t easy to do, but you could be a blessing to others while helping yourself.
Jo, I am sorry to hear about how alone you felt for the 4th. I was alone for most of the day but did not have expectations it would be otherwise. It’s those Great Expectations and Comparisons that can get us to feeling down. God is good to help us see the flip side of the gifts He gives in alone times when we ask.
I was thinking this morning that of all things on earth, the only thing that I can want more and more of that is good for me is Jesus.
It was a war zone here last night, very loud. I wound up joining a young woman walking her Chihuahua at around 6 p.m. on our block trying to catch up with a stray little terrier dog running loose (and clearly fearful of all the noises!) and wearing a cone, of all things.
We caught up to him, he thankfully had a tag on (Rambo, and I recognized him as a dog that likely belonged to relatives of my Latino neighbors). Unfortunately, they were gone for the evening, left their dogs in the backyard, and Rambo had found a way out in a space between their side gate and the neighbor’s house; but they sent their mom over and she was wonderful, she said they’d given him a “calming” gummy, but I told her I didn’t think it was working and she said she’d remain with him in the house for the rest of the evening. Whew.
The noise didn’t let up until around midnight, I think the pandemic is officially over. We’ve had some quieter-than-usual 4th of Julys in the past few years, but the natives were ready to PARTY last night, that’s for sure.
Abby did OK, bothered her a bit, but I’ve had other dogs who have been more upset by the loud noises. She mostly was able to just sleep and ignore it, except for the loud whistling fireworks that ended with a big KA-BOOM.
I haven’t done anything on the 4th since having dogs 🙂 I did have to work late on one 4th of July and wound up boarding the hyper-sensitive dog I had back then.
Abby and I enjoyed the earlier part of the day at the dog park, she had a blast, I met some nice dog owners there (it was my first visit, this dog park opened after my former dogs had begun to have aging issues and dog parks didn’t work so well for us by then — park is super close to home).
Morning! Pretty delicate lily up there… why is it I am imagining thousands of mosquito lurking about!!??
We had some booms around us last night in the forest…”but it rained” are the excuses for the lawbreakers. Many new homeowners in our area and they think they are still in the city…our HOA will be sending fine notices today I am sure. Poor Lu didn’t know what to think of it all. She stayed at my feet until I headed off to bed.. then laid on the rug by our room feeling safe.
I watched the CNN fireworks-around-the-nation segments with the live music, they moved from the East Coast to the West Coast throughout the evening.
NY w/fireworks over the harbor and the Empire State Building lit up in red-white-and-blue was especially spectacular, of course, with a finale featuring a recording of Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”
Other spots they included were Florida, Tennessee, Atlanta, New Orleans, Idaho Falls, San Diego CA, and some other spots in between as 9 p.m. arrived in each zone.
A sweet end to my mowing. It was a tough restart since it rained a few hours ago, and I never mow wet grass . . . but today I did. I was rewarded for my effort. As I pushed the heavy loud mower toward the pine island a small fierce bird landed very close by in the lower branches of a dead bush. It was ready to tackle the lawn mower if it got too close to the nest. I felt like crying when considering that motherly instinct to protect the young even against all odds. Then a bit later as I was ready to empty the mulch bag for the last time, a butterfly landed in my tiger lilies. It’s the first landing in our yard I have seen this year.
“When Things Look Like They Can’t Possibly Get Worse”
“I’m working through Judges right now. Judges starts bad and gets progressively worse. Just when you think that things can’t possibly deteriorate, they do. By the end of Judges, it’s hard to feel anything but depressed.
And then you turn the page to Ruth, a story that takes place in the time of the Judges. Things are bad, but God is still at work. He’s working through seemingly random circumstances — even negative ones — to carry out his plan. He still has righteous people like Boaz. God still shows his covenant love to his people even in the worst times.
These are challenging times. It’s easy to get depressed about the condition of the world, and it’s right to cry out to God for mercy. If Judges teaches us anything, it teaches us that there’s no bottom to how bad things can get.
That’s why I’m glad we have Ruth. In the middle of the worst of times, God is still at work. Even in dark times, God still has his people. We need the painful realism of Judges along with the assurance of God’s continued faithfulness in the story of Ruth.
True, things are bad, and they might get worse. But God is still at work, and we can still live to honor him even in times like this.”
Nice to consider, Kizzie. In my recent study of Ruth, with my new church group, at the end of the study it was noted that it is also truly a story about Naomi. The book begins and ends with Naomi. She goes through some big changes, too. There are so many layers to Bible study. I learn more each time we study a book.
Wandering Views 
How can it be Wednesday already?
I hope all are recovered from the celebrations yesterday.
Intetesting header photo. Where was it taken? The flower could use a little company of more of its kind💛
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Water lilies can be so beautiful.
The prophets were sent to both Israel and other nations. Israel, indeed, was uniquely, a theocracy. The US is not. I don’t think the article I shared is a quite that narrow, but everyone can take it for what it’s worth to them.
We got some much-needed rain, but the local fireworks were all able to go on, which was nice. We saw part of them when we were on our way home from being with a friend. We found many restaurants closed for the Fourth this year. I am thinking it is because of the worker shortage than anything else.
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Jo, that must be very disappointing for you, but I am not sure how moving will solve the problem. I would imagine your children have all celebrated the holidays without you for years and may have traditional outings with the same friends established. We have not celebrated with our own children for many years. My advice would be to find other peers (especially lone women) and celebrate with them. I know that isn’t easy to do, but you could be a blessing to others while helping yourself.
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Yesterday I dressed as Mark Twain for the local parade and rode in the tour truck the cave has. I heard 2 comical things from young children:
“Is Mark twain still alive?”
“Hey, look. There’s Albert Einstein!”
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So funny, Peter!😀
Jo, I am sorry to hear about how alone you felt for the 4th. I was alone for most of the day but did not have expectations it would be otherwise. It’s those Great Expectations and Comparisons that can get us to feeling down. God is good to help us see the flip side of the gifts He gives in alone times when we ask.
I was thinking this morning that of all things on earth, the only thing that I can want more and more of that is good for me is Jesus.
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Peter 🙂
It was a war zone here last night, very loud. I wound up joining a young woman walking her Chihuahua at around 6 p.m. on our block trying to catch up with a stray little terrier dog running loose (and clearly fearful of all the noises!) and wearing a cone, of all things.
We caught up to him, he thankfully had a tag on (Rambo, and I recognized him as a dog that likely belonged to relatives of my Latino neighbors). Unfortunately, they were gone for the evening, left their dogs in the backyard, and Rambo had found a way out in a space between their side gate and the neighbor’s house; but they sent their mom over and she was wonderful, she said they’d given him a “calming” gummy, but I told her I didn’t think it was working and she said she’d remain with him in the house for the rest of the evening. Whew.
The noise didn’t let up until around midnight, I think the pandemic is officially over. We’ve had some quieter-than-usual 4th of Julys in the past few years, but the natives were ready to PARTY last night, that’s for sure.
Abby did OK, bothered her a bit, but I’ve had other dogs who have been more upset by the loud noises. She mostly was able to just sleep and ignore it, except for the loud whistling fireworks that ended with a big KA-BOOM.
Those make me jump, too!
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I haven’t done anything on the 4th since having dogs 🙂 I did have to work late on one 4th of July and wound up boarding the hyper-sensitive dog I had back then.
Abby and I enjoyed the earlier part of the day at the dog park, she had a blast, I met some nice dog owners there (it was my first visit, this dog park opened after my former dogs had begun to have aging issues and dog parks didn’t work so well for us by then — park is super close to home).
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‘dj’ but you knew that.
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Morning! Pretty delicate lily up there… why is it I am imagining thousands of mosquito lurking about!!??
We had some booms around us last night in the forest…”but it rained” are the excuses for the lawbreakers. Many new homeowners in our area and they think they are still in the city…our HOA will be sending fine notices today I am sure. Poor Lu didn’t know what to think of it all. She stayed at my feet until I headed off to bed.. then laid on the rug by our room feeling safe.
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We watched Lawrence Welk 4th of July celebration.
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The furnace is on….
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Nope. It is seventy two in here, and my dad has shed his jacket. Yesterday it came off at sixty eight.
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I watched the CNN fireworks-around-the-nation segments with the live music, they moved from the East Coast to the West Coast throughout the evening.
NY w/fireworks over the harbor and the Empire State Building lit up in red-white-and-blue was especially spectacular, of course, with a finale featuring a recording of Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”
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Other spots they included were Florida, Tennessee, Atlanta, New Orleans, Idaho Falls, San Diego CA, and some other spots in between as 9 p.m. arrived in each zone.
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I am in bed by then. Five comes early.
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A sweet end to my mowing. It was a tough restart since it rained a few hours ago, and I never mow wet grass . . . but today I did. I was rewarded for my effort. As I pushed the heavy loud mower toward the pine island a small fierce bird landed very close by in the lower branches of a dead bush. It was ready to tackle the lawn mower if it got too close to the nest. I felt like crying when considering that motherly instinct to protect the young even against all odds. Then a bit later as I was ready to empty the mulch bag for the last time, a butterfly landed in my tiger lilies. It’s the first landing in our yard I have seen this year.
Now I am ready for a shower!
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This is encouraging . . .
“When Things Look Like They Can’t Possibly Get Worse”
“I’m working through Judges right now. Judges starts bad and gets progressively worse. Just when you think that things can’t possibly deteriorate, they do. By the end of Judges, it’s hard to feel anything but depressed.
And then you turn the page to Ruth, a story that takes place in the time of the Judges. Things are bad, but God is still at work. He’s working through seemingly random circumstances — even negative ones — to carry out his plan. He still has righteous people like Boaz. God still shows his covenant love to his people even in the worst times.
These are challenging times. It’s easy to get depressed about the condition of the world, and it’s right to cry out to God for mercy. If Judges teaches us anything, it teaches us that there’s no bottom to how bad things can get.
That’s why I’m glad we have Ruth. In the middle of the worst of times, God is still at work. Even in dark times, God still has his people. We need the painful realism of Judges along with the assurance of God’s continued faithfulness in the story of Ruth.
True, things are bad, and they might get worse. But God is still at work, and we can still live to honor him even in times like this.”
https://www.dashhouse.com/when-things-look-like-they-cant-possibly-get-worse/
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Nice to consider, Kizzie. In my recent study of Ruth, with my new church group, at the end of the study it was noted that it is also truly a story about Naomi. The book begins and ends with Naomi. She goes through some big changes, too. There are so many layers to Bible study. I learn more each time we study a book.
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Amen (4:52 and 5:05)
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I read this and just felt sorrow:
https://baptistnews.com/article/why-i-have-empathy-for-karen-swallow-prior/
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‘What is eternal life’ is what came to mind when I read that, Michelle.
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Here is the video of yesterday’s parade. I’m at 26:30 if you care to see me.
Hannibal 4th of July parade
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Albert Twain!
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😀
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