Wallis Simpson (former Duchess of Windsor) is credited with saying, “You can never be too rich or too thin.”
During the Thanksgiving holiday in America, the nation as a whole kicks off what I call the “eating and shopping season.” People who hardly cook all year are pressured into making turkey and dressing and pies for Thanksgiving, baking cookies for the office cookie exchange, and sampling homemade sweets and store bought candies supplied generous work mates.
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The English language is interesting in that a single word can have multiple meanings. I’m sure it isn’t unique in that way, but I haven’t studied any other languages. So, I cannot comment on French or Hebrew or Pashtu.
Take the word fall for example. I might say, “Don’t fall for that Ponzi scheme,” meaning “Don’t be taken in by it.” I might say, “Be careful so you don’t fall on the icy steps,” meaning to keep you from face planting and injuring yourself. Or I might say, “Fall is my favorite season of the year.” Any one of these is the correct use of the word in context.
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From Nancy White: This week’s blog is penned by my friend and “sister from another mister,” Latresa Powell. Her passion for Christ and the word of God is an inspiration.
The Anchor
As I was checking my bank balance online this morning, the website flashed ads while I waited for my account information to load. That’s when I saw it - one simple quote – “The storm proves the anchor’s worth”. Maybe it caught my eye because of the recent hurricane, but it made me stop and think about the power of my spiritual anchor.
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For Sodom and Gomorrah, it was exactly 10 righteous people, plus one man who cared enough to petition God for them. What about the USA?
We’ll start with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah found in Genesis 18:20-33. God let Abraham in on His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham convinced God to save the cities if they had just 10 righteous people between them. Sadly, there were not 10 righteous among those cities and God destroyed them.
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The struggle is real ladies. Well, at least it is for me. Do I want to be part of the problem or part of the solution? This is a question I have been contemplating for the last few weeks and in a couple of different situations, but the mostly in my attitude dealing with people.
Sometimes folks can be just down right grouchy and mean. Sometimes in situations I may feel like I am the only one who is trying. Humanly speaking, being part of the problem seems like the easier way to go. After all, I would just be doing what the other folks are doing, right?
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Does God love me more than Adolph Hitler? Does God love me more than your average member of ISIS? More than an abortionist? Is the message of the Old Testament that He loved Israel more than Moab (or other nations)? Before you answer, let me offer some ideas on the subject.
Who doesn’t want to be “Daddy’s favorite” child? My mother often told about how I’d sit on my Dad’s lap and eat exotic cheeses that he liked (and I did not) just to try to become his favorite among his children. Some human parents do, in fact, show favoritism among their children and it often causes a lot of trouble in the family.
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Parents have been putting their kids in “time out” as a method of training for centuries. It is meant to give the child time to calm down, disengage from the highly emotional issue(s) and reflect on his/her behavior that lead to this situation. Often, it is the only way to stop a meltdown from continuing or a situation from getting worse.
The desired outcome is a reset of sorts so that an issue, situation, or behavior can be faced calmly and reasonable, and more easily be resolved.
Welcome to the Feast of Tabernacles.
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When I was a kid, my parents always insisted we clean our plates at meals. No dessert if you didn’t and no getting up from the table until you did. I remember sitting at the table long after others were gone and slowly choking down liver and onions that I really would rather have skipped.
Many of us will fast from food and water for 24 hours on the Day of Atonement.
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One of my pet peeves regarding travel is the “last and final” call. First, I hear: “This is the last and final call for ABC Airlines flight 123 with service to XYZ. Doors will close soon.” And then, five minutes later, I hear, “Last and final call for ABC Airlines flight 123 to XYZ. Doors are closing and you will be left.” And then, about two minutes later, “This is the last and final…” And possibly the call will go out a few more times yet.
Really?! How many “last and final” calls are there? And why is it “last AND final?” Wouldn’t either last OR final work? Eventually, I guess they actually do shut the doors and take off. Hopefully, the tardy passengers hear the call and hustle over to their plane.
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If we are being honest, it all started with American Airlines taking out just another two inches between rows so they could have an additional row of seats to sell. But on my recent trip for work, I was concerned that it might end up in a fist fight between the guy in the seat to my right who tried to stop the guy in front of him from leaning back before the flight even took off and the guy in front trying to lean back too early. There were words exchanged, but, thankfully, my neighbor quickly gave up and accepted the inconvenience of having this guy lean back into his space and doing it before the flight even took off.
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On a recent trip home from Kansas, the interstate went from a quick means of travel to a parking lot in an instant. As I crept forward at a snail’s pace, my mind began to dance with thoughts of irritation on how a trip that should be a short and sweet seven hours was going to take me well beyond that if this traffic kept up. Luckily my temperament was buffered by the grace of a strong signal from my favorite Contemporary Christian music station. As I hummed along with Casting Crown’s song “Just be Held” for the fourth time that day, the lyrics suddenly spoke to me in a way that previously had not.
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Do you look at life differently than those around you? Are you always seeking knowledge and understanding of the better way – even in non-church, non-Bible-study, everyday situations? Me too. Sometimes I am amazed at how a presentation on branding your business will give me ideas about the Christian brand and how to represent it. Or how principals on advertising will apply to how I should “advertise” Jesus to the world.
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My husband tells me that I have a pronoun problem – that is, I get so wrapped up in telling a story, where I clearly know who did what, that I will throw around pronouns with abandon and without making it clear which she did what thing with whom. [Just FYI, my sister never has a problem following. But, then, that is a classic difference between men and women.]
I may have that in common with Luke. In Luke 5:1-9, we read the author’s telling about the calling of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon Peter. Who is doing what is pretty clear until you get about verse 5, but please read the entire passage (v. 1-9) before moving on in this blog.
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Manfred Mann’s Earth Band had a hit song in 1977 called, “Blinded By TheLight.” It was written and originally recorded by Bruce Springteen, but Manfred Mann’s version was the hit. The chorus goes like this: “Blinded by the light. Revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night.”
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Last week, Miss Cleo died and I wondered, “Did she see it coming?” Did she predict the day and hour of her death or was it a complete surprise?
Youree Dell Harris became famous in the 90’s as Miss Cleo – the spokeswoman for the Psychic Friends Network. She died of cancer on June 26, at the age of 53. She claimed to be have been born in Jamaica and to be psychic. She was born in Los Angeles. And yet folks still believed she could see, and tell the truth about, the future.
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I am not fond of the word “submit” – not fond at all – at least in certain circumstances. But let me back up a bit before explaining why and when I prefer a different definition.
After instructions to husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:22-31, Paul finishes by saying in verse 32: “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
The thing is, when it comes to the role of husband and the role of wife, we have a perfect example of how to live out the role of husband in a marriage.
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In the 1975 movie Dog Day Afternoon, Sonny, the character played by Al Pacino, supposedly to call attention to the aggressiveness of the police force outside the bank where he was holding hostages and evoking memories of what some considered the excessive use of force by the police in response to the 1971 prison riots in Attica Prison, begins chanting “Attica! Attica!” It has become a chant that has, since that first incident in Dog Day Afternoon, been used in pop culture to represent perceived oppression in TV shows from SpongeBob SquarePants to House.
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We are holey. The truth is that we have a lot more in common with Swiss cheese than we might like to admit. No offense to Swiss cheese.
HOLEY – As one of my previous blogs outlined, we were created incomplete – with spiritual empty space to be filled by the Holy Spirit. But it doesn’t end there. For example: Adam was created to need a “help meet” – a partner, suitable for him. God didn’t create Adam and then say, “Oops, he is missing a part.” No, God knew Adam was incomplete when alone and God had a plan to fill that empty space with the marriage relationship.
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“On an island off the coast of The Bronx in Long Island Sound, unmarked stones rest atop mass graves showing where one plot ends and another begins. Each plot contains 150 bodies. This is New York's potter's field, one of the largest cemeteries in the United States where the unclaimed dead, the unknown and the very poor have been laid to rest for more than a century.”
This quote is from a July 2 Reuters article written by Laila Kearney. The article was written becausethe Hart Island potter’s field cemetery (which was purchase by the city in 1868) is now fully open to the public, where previously they were not allowed.
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To me, there are some real head-scratchers in the Bible – those “what WERE you thinking?” moments that God does not really explain for us.
Take Lot for example. He had an angry crowd outside is door, demanding he turn over the strangers he was hosting. “No can do,” says Lot, “but, hey, I’ve got two virgin daughters you can have, if you want, instead.” What WAS he thinking?
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