That sounded like good advice in the article you shared, Janice.
Good morning to all. We are going to attend a shower for our first great grandchild this weekend. Life flies by. Baby’s births are a moment of awe. That will happen later, but the celebration will be nice.
Agtreed. Awe is beneficial and the awe we experience with a gorgeous double rainbow or view of the Milky Way or whatever is a mere shadow of what we experience when we gaze upon the Eternal Majesty.
For me, it was “Geese!”
I had a delay at the entrance to Sam’s because the resident geese were taking their time going across my lane to get to the McDonald’s just outside the Sam’s lot. I guess they know when breakfast is over and they might snag some fries. They were awesome, better than awe struck by a vehicle! They do not make way for vehicles.
Squirrel=vermin! And our bear came through checking to see if he could dine on something in the trash bin…it was empty…but he still made a bunch of noise slamming the lid down!
I planted the mums finally and watered all the other waning plants…just trying to keep them alive for a wee bit longer.
We thought we were going to the mountains for the weekend but it appears we will not….unless someone gets their act together!! Our son reserved a cabin for us this weekend back in Dec as a Christmas present. VRBO says since it is in his name (it was made clear it was for us when reserved) they will not disclose to us the address nor the code to get in. I have been going back and forth with the owner but he indicates his hands are tied due to his contract with VRBO. He did say he would work it out and get all the information to us by this morn…he hasn’t. I feel bad the kids spent the money and it appears it will be a no go…learning lesson I suppose….
No need to be nasty
Christians should stand strong on principle without being ugly about it
~ Labor Day weekend is on us, and with it the more-or-less formal kickoff of the presidential race. But hold on! Hasn’t it been our tradition to think of a presidential race starting and ending in the same year? This is Labor Day 2007, and we’re talking about the election of 2008!
Which is, of course, the exaggerated measure of so many things in modern American politics—not the least of which is the level of ugliness you can expect to see, hear, and feel over the next 15 months. Give a gaggle of candidates that much time to talk, and it’s all but certain to get ugly. …
… I am not, let me make it clear, talking about trimming back the substance of our differences. I am not suggesting that we need to compromise absolute principles. I am saying, as I have in this space from time to time, that there is an in-your-face way to argue your point—and there is the way of grace.
It is a pity that we Christians are so often known only for our in-your-face approach. We are frequently known more for our eagerness to exclude rather than our eagerness to persuade. …
To be sure, God never compromises His truth or comes close to suggesting that we can fudge on principle in order to make peace. He never hints that all approaches to belief and lifestyle are equally valid. He is the definition of absolutism.
Yet the essence of the gospel is that God reaches out to sinful people and pleads with them to change their ways. …
… So if we are serious about constructing a Christian view of involvement in politics, the gospel will help us. When we point out the wrongness of our opponent’s point of view, we’ll resist the temptation to do it in anger—or even with put-downs. We will, instead, as Francis Schaeffer used to stress, do it with tears. And when we point out the rightness of our own perspective, it won’t be with arrogance, but with disarming warmth and pleading in our voices.
Some argue, of course, that Jesus occasionally resorted to some pretty severe language while debating with His enemies. But Jesus was in the unusual position of knowing—in detail—the hearts of those who were challenging Him. We don’t know that about our political opponents. And we have the specific command of Jesus to treat those opponents in exactly the same way we would like them to treat us.
I’m not kidding myself. The roughneck radicals won’t all of a sudden honor us for being so nice and start bending over backward to give us a fair break. Nor will the media start doing specials on the new sweetness streak among Christians.
But if such people want to be outside the mainstream of God’s blessing, let’s let them—not us—do the excluding. Let’s keep speaking the absolute truth, but let’s discipline ourselves to learn in constantly creative ways what it means to do that with a loving tone. God always means every word He says, but He’s never mean-spirited or vindictive when He says it.
Now we have 15 months to discover and to practice such habits of kindness. I don’t know which will be more fun: waiting for the surprise we see among our opponents, or savoring the quiet smiles on our own faces as we fall asleep every night. ~
____________________
She’s been biting me up for days, was in the house and forcing me to use repellant constantly. Today, she’s been stalking me; she landed on the sofa pillow next to where I’ve been working, and SLAM/WHAM, got ‘er! Smashed and stopped. Finally.
I just got the new Consumer Reports magazine with the cover topic, “10 Really Risky Foods.” Most are not surprising:
• leafy greens
• deli meats and cheeses
• ground beef
• onions
•chicken
• turkey
•papayas
•peaches
• melons
• flour
Later in the article it speaks about a few more foods to limit because of heavy metals such as dark chocolate. I knew rice has arsenic but one suggestion I had never heard of to help is to cook rice in a lot of water and drain when done like how you cook pasta.
Wandering Views 
Lest I forget.
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That sounded like good advice in the article you shared, Janice.
Good morning to all. We are going to attend a shower for our first great grandchild this weekend. Life flies by. Baby’s births are a moment of awe. That will happen later, but the celebration will be nice.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Good morning, all.
Agtreed. Awe is beneficial and the awe we experience with a gorgeous double rainbow or view of the Milky Way or whatever is a mere shadow of what we experience when we gaze upon the Eternal Majesty.
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… but then, “Squirrel!”
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For me, it was “Geese!”
I had a delay at the entrance to Sam’s because the resident geese were taking their time going across my lane to get to the McDonald’s just outside the Sam’s lot. I guess they know when breakfast is over and they might snag some fries. They were awesome, better than awe struck by a vehicle! They do not make way for vehicles.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Geese, squirrels – today mine was a fox dashing across the road.
LikeLiked by 1 person
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Squirrel=vermin! And our bear came through checking to see if he could dine on something in the trash bin…it was empty…but he still made a bunch of noise slamming the lid down!
I planted the mums finally and watered all the other waning plants…just trying to keep them alive for a wee bit longer.
We thought we were going to the mountains for the weekend but it appears we will not….unless someone gets their act together!! Our son reserved a cabin for us this weekend back in Dec as a Christmas present. VRBO says since it is in his name (it was made clear it was for us when reserved) they will not disclose to us the address nor the code to get in. I have been going back and forth with the owner but he indicates his hands are tied due to his contract with VRBO. He did say he would work it out and get all the information to us by this morn…he hasn’t. I feel bad the kids spent the money and it appears it will be a no go…learning lesson I suppose….
LikeLiked by 1 person
So you have a reservation to a cabin but you will have to find it first?
That sounds like quite the adventure! Part of the whole vacation experience, perhaps.
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For our times, good column by Joel Belz in World Magazine:
https://wng.org/articles/no-need-to-be-nasty-1692416274
_____________
No need to be nasty
Christians should stand strong on principle without being ugly about it
~ Labor Day weekend is on us, and with it the more-or-less formal kickoff of the presidential race. But hold on! Hasn’t it been our tradition to think of a presidential race starting and ending in the same year? This is Labor Day 2007, and we’re talking about the election of 2008!
Which is, of course, the exaggerated measure of so many things in modern American politics—not the least of which is the level of ugliness you can expect to see, hear, and feel over the next 15 months. Give a gaggle of candidates that much time to talk, and it’s all but certain to get ugly. …
… I am not, let me make it clear, talking about trimming back the substance of our differences. I am not suggesting that we need to compromise absolute principles. I am saying, as I have in this space from time to time, that there is an in-your-face way to argue your point—and there is the way of grace.
It is a pity that we Christians are so often known only for our in-your-face approach. We are frequently known more for our eagerness to exclude rather than our eagerness to persuade. …
To be sure, God never compromises His truth or comes close to suggesting that we can fudge on principle in order to make peace. He never hints that all approaches to belief and lifestyle are equally valid. He is the definition of absolutism.
Yet the essence of the gospel is that God reaches out to sinful people and pleads with them to change their ways. …
… So if we are serious about constructing a Christian view of involvement in politics, the gospel will help us. When we point out the wrongness of our opponent’s point of view, we’ll resist the temptation to do it in anger—or even with put-downs. We will, instead, as Francis Schaeffer used to stress, do it with tears. And when we point out the rightness of our own perspective, it won’t be with arrogance, but with disarming warmth and pleading in our voices.
Some argue, of course, that Jesus occasionally resorted to some pretty severe language while debating with His enemies. But Jesus was in the unusual position of knowing—in detail—the hearts of those who were challenging Him. We don’t know that about our political opponents. And we have the specific command of Jesus to treat those opponents in exactly the same way we would like them to treat us.
I’m not kidding myself. The roughneck radicals won’t all of a sudden honor us for being so nice and start bending over backward to give us a fair break. Nor will the media start doing specials on the new sweetness streak among Christians.
But if such people want to be outside the mainstream of God’s blessing, let’s let them—not us—do the excluding. Let’s keep speaking the absolute truth, but let’s discipline ourselves to learn in constantly creative ways what it means to do that with a loving tone. God always means every word He says, but He’s never mean-spirited or vindictive when He says it.
Now we have 15 months to discover and to practice such habits of kindness. I don’t know which will be more fun: waiting for the surprise we see among our opponents, or savoring the quiet smiles on our own faces as we fall asleep every night. ~
____________________
LikeLiked by 2 people
Back from getting the new driver’s license. My dad went along. As expected: no line.
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I have to do that this fall, added to eye surgeries, work and other distractions!
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Dj, you have a full plate!
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I killed the mosquito!
She’s been biting me up for days, was in the house and forcing me to use repellant constantly. Today, she’s been stalking me; she landed on the sofa pillow next to where I’ve been working, and SLAM/WHAM, got ‘er! Smashed and stopped. Finally.
Apologies to insect lovers.
But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
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I think she’s also been biting poor Abby.
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Excellent response at 18:18 (should start at that point); “Is Our President Appointed by God?”
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I just got the new Consumer Reports magazine with the cover topic, “10 Really Risky Foods.” Most are not surprising:
• leafy greens
• deli meats and cheeses
• ground beef
• onions
•chicken
• turkey
•papayas
•peaches
• melons
• flour
Later in the article it speaks about a few more foods to limit because of heavy metals such as dark chocolate. I knew rice has arsenic but one suggestion I had never heard of to help is to cook rice in a lot of water and drain when done like how you cook pasta.
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Pretty much having all that for dinner tonight.
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But the tomatoes will come out of the garden–no pesticides!
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Pretty much having none of that for dinner tonight. 🙂
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Abby fed. Last story turned in. Trash and recycles hauled out, rolled down to the curb.
Friday !
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One of the reasons I don’t want to move to Boise.
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