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Our Daily Thread 11-17-14

Good Morning!

On this day in 1558 Elizabeth I ascended the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary Tudor. 

In 1796 Catherine the Great of Russia died at the age of 67. 

In 1904 the first underwater submarine journey was taken, from Southampton, England, to the Isle of Wight.

In 1913, in Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm banned the armed forces from dancing the tango. 

And in 1973 President Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, FL, “people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” 

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Quote of the Day

“Discipline strengthens the mind so that it becomes impervious to the corroding influence of fear.”

Bernard Law Montgomery

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 Today is Gordon Lightfoot’s birthday.

Today is also Jeff Buckley’s birthday.

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Anyone have a QoD?

52 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 11-17-14”

  1. First?!? Good morning, everyone! Good evening, Jo.
    Coffee’s brewing; sister is still sleeping. It’s cold here this morning (at least it’s cold for Texas–it’s 28).

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  2. First?!? Good morning, everyone! Good evening, Jo.
    Coffee’s brewing; sister is still sleeping. It’s cold here this morning (at least it’s cold for Texas–it’s 28).

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  6. We’re looking out at snow. My husband estimates it’s a couple of inches and says it’s about the earliest he has seen measurable snow. With the ridiculous amount of snow we got from January to April, maybe Indiana is trying for a calendar year record? After last winter, I’d be very happy if we had a mild one this year. (Misten, on the other hand, is praying for more snow. Enough to pile up and let her walk over the fence again.)

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  7. Good morning and other greetings. The boys return from LA tomorrow. I hope they were shown all of the correct places. La Brea Tar pits and the beach. Those are the only two that interest me in Los Angeles. But I suspect only about half of those made the tour list. It will be interesting to hear if they did any more than watch tv and play video games.

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  9. Mumsee’s comment puts me in mind of when I happened to cross paths with a former classmate. He talked of his recent retirement and how he was hoping to travel. He said that the last time he was in Europe he foolishly spent his time in the barracks drinking. He could have ridden a free bus all over. Young people can be so foolish.

    It is even cold for here in Minnesota this early. Below zero already? Hopefully, it will follow one of the predictions, which is for colder than normal earlier in the winter and warmer later.

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  12. Oh my Ann…28 does sound cold for south Texas! We still have snow on the ground and cold temps, but, they say our highs will be in the thirties this week with no additional snow. Back home in Cincinnati they are getting their first snows…my cousin posted a snowy scene of her farm…so amazingly beautiful!
    My favorite cold weather drink..well any weather actually, has always been coffee. But as of late my body isn’t taking too kindly too it…I’m drinking more tea and hot chocolate these days. And how in the world do you make homemade marshmallows Kathlaleena?

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  13. Hot chocolate — if there’s no whipped cream, I put a teaspoon of vanilla ice cream on top. But I don’t think I have either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on hand these days. I make the hot chocolate in the keurig coffee machine, but it’s not as good as hot chocolate actually made with milk.

    I had a lot of dreams last night, michelle and her husband were in one of them, along with a cast of assorted people I know and work with, present and past.

    I got some needed rest yesterday, but am still finishing up the last drying cycle of the laundry this morning — my washer & dryer are old, which is OK, but that means the dryer takes several cycles sometimes to dry a large load. 😦

    And I think I am going to need a new mattress one of these days soon, mine is 15 years old and I’m getting plagued with a sore back whenever I get up in the morning (it goes away after that). I’ll flip the mattress tonight to see if that helps.

    I’m enjoying “New Morning Mercies,” a new devotional by Paul David Tripp. Today’s entry & challenge talked about the two ways we can approach our sin — one is the pledge to “do better.” The other is to fully confess and realize our need, anew, for God’s grace. Luke 15:1-10.

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  14. At one point I would have answered hot chocolate, but being lactose intolerant has changed that. Probably hot mulled cider or black coffee. Chai is good, too, along with the specialty teas of the holiday season. Mocha is wonderful, too, if it does not have much milk to give me problems.

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  15. Cider is good — you can make that in the Keurig machine, too, they sell the little filled cups in the coffee section this time of year.

    Getting ready for Christmas?

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  16. I had a strange dream last night, too. It involved being at a very long shopping mall and looking for something and separating from my dad to shop with my mom. Then we could not find my dad to go home when all the stores closed. Finally I saw him walking to the car and even though it was a distance and my vision was poor I still knew it was him. Then as we started to drive home, my son was in the car, too as a grown up, for some reason I got out of the car but no one realized it. Then I had to chase the car which was helped by the number of red lights along the way. Finally I caught up and got in. No wonder I feel tired this morning. I shopped till I dropped and then chased a car by foot. Wow! I am more able in my dreams than in real life, LOL.

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  17. I’m lactose intolerant too, but not to the point of not being able to eat ice cream, or some such. I use lactose free milk when milk is required.
    It hasn’t restricted me at all.

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  20. Janice, while I was being completely milk free (several years), I learned to read labels diligently, and it seems to me that Ghiardelli hot cocoa doesn’t have milk in the mix (the instructions say to make it with milk, but I always made it with water and found it good). But so many things that were milk free originally later added milk, so I wouldn’t swear to that being the case anymore.

    Donna, try Land o’Lakes cocoa. Maybe they don’t have them in your store, but look and see. They have individual packets in many flavors; far and away my own favorite is raspberry, but I like most that I have tried. (The s’mores didn’t do anything for me, and “hot oatmeal cookie”–yes, that’s a cocoa flavor–only worked for me if I added a teaspoon of a different flavor cocoa. And hazelnet was OK, but not as good as in other brands.) If you try some and you like them, you can go to their website and mix and match additional flavors–last year a mixed package of Land o’ Lakes was on my Christmas list, but that assortment included the s’mores and oatmeal cookie, which weren’t real favorites once I had tried them. This year I went to the website and chose which flavors I want and they’re on my list again, only with my favorites noted specifically . . . My own favorites, beside raspberry, are the double chocolate, the white chocolate, the mint, and the caramel, so I asked for two packages of the raspberry and one of each of the others. 🙂 Amaretto is also quite good; I just tried that one recently. They’re more expensive than the canisters or the boxes of packets, but probably cheaper (and better) than the Keurig.

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  21. I bought a white chocolate in the Keurig — I got through them very slowly, so I guess I don’t notice the price as much. In fact, I’m still using a Swiss Miss box from last year that sounds (when I shake them) like they’ve clumped up a bit, but they turn out fine in the machine. 🙂 But I’ll check out Land o’Lakes.

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  23. Well, for years in Chicago and Nashville, at the beginning of winter I’d buy one canister of hazelnut and one of double chocolate (Ghiardelli), and those would last me all winter and into the next summer when occasionally cocoa sounded good. In Chicago, we had the Land o’Lakes packets at work, so I would supplement with some of them, but in Nashville just the canisters, and two was more than enough for winter.

    But my husband and one daughter drink a lot of hot drinks, mostly tea but mocha or coffee and other stuff. We have a countertop full of six or eight kinds of tea and various mochas. So I find myself drinking cocoa more (not to mention I’m back in the Midwest where hot drinks are more “necessary”) and occasionally even some non-tea teas. (I can’t stand the taste of actual tea, but fruit teas or spearmint are good once in a while.)

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  24. Probably because I was still up at 2, Donna, and wondering why I couldn’t fall asleep. So I worked on tomorrow’s Bible study about Advent and drank “Night, Night” tea. It seemed to work!

    Because you’ve all been so kind to put up with me over the last two years of writing, talking, thinking, cajoling and tormenting you with WWI, I thought I’d share an email exchange of something that has happened. I’m blessed.

    FROM AN EMAIL I WROTE A FRIEND LAST NIGHT.

    God is in control. I’m walking by faith not sight.

    This is how potentially important this book could be, however, OR perhaps just the writing of the blog posts to go with this book.

    I got an email from a British guy two weeks ago asking for information about Juji Nakada–a Japanese evangelist friend of Oswald Chambers’. This guy thought he’d found a small New Testament owned by Nakada in a charity shop and wanted to know a little more about him.

    I provided him with info, he sent me a picture of the signature–which may or may not prove anything–but he asked me if I was religious.

    THIS WAS MY RESPONSE:

    In terms of being religious, I’m a Christian and that’s what interested me about both Juji Nakada and Oswald Chambers. I love seeing how Jesus’ story is told in different cultures. The God I worship is greater than the box so many well-intentioned believers try to stick him in, that I find it helpful to look at Jesus from different angles.

    Yes, I understand completely about being led! 🙂

    If you’ve got Juji’s pocket testament, you have quite a find. I’d suggest you get a peek of Jesus by reading the Gospel of John–it should be the fourth “book” in your testament.

    Try to see Jesus with the fresh eyes of John’s mind-blowing descriptions and ask yourself if a God who was willing to take on human form and walk among us for 33 years isn’t worth considering as the same one who tossed the planets and stars across an empty universe to create . . everything! 🙂

    Best wishes,

    Michelle

    WE’VE NOW CORRESPONDED AGAIN AND THIS IS WHAT HE WROTE THE OTHER DAY:

    Lovely to hear from you again. As soon as you told me about John’s Gospel, I saw it as a sign that I should read it right away. My local church is open each morning, so I went down and sat alone and began to read ‘John’… (Not 1John)…and having seen a film recently called ‘the son of God’, I began to realise that this was what the film was based around. Jesus’ s journey to Jerusalem and the miracles….The last supper and crucifixion.

    I was at John 17:9 and went for a wander around the church. I was looking at some writing in huge gold coloured carving that was high in the eaves of the ceiling and wondered what book in the Bible it came from, as it didn’t say. I went back and sat down…and would you believe it, it was John 17 VERSE 10!!!! Is that crazy or what? ‘All mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them’.

    The opposite side of the ceiling was John 17:24.

    ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS I AM–AND YOURS PRAYERS HAVE PLAYED A PART!

    This book can be used in such an important way if it sends people to where God wants them. I’m honored to write it and I pray I do it justice.

    I’m on yet another rewrite, but the first three chapters impressed my dear editor friend.

    Thanks be to God!

    Thanks for your help.

    Liked by 7 people

  27. Nice to hear, michelle.

    I didn’t say coffee, because we drink coffee in hot or cold weather. I love the flavored hot chocolate and raspberry is a favorite.

    Homemade marshmallows are not that difficult to make. I made them with my daughter, since we both wanted to try them. We made plain ones, but you can make them in many different flavors–even coffee.

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  28. Are all Keurigs created equal? There are so many different models and we are trying to choose which one we should buy for each other as a Christmas present….

    I’m going to have to google making marshmallows…I think the grandkids would love it! 🙂

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  31. We have a machine that is both for the pot and individual packets. We mostly use the pot side. My husband drinks way too much coffee for just individual packets. OTOH, when one cup is wanted of either coffee or another drink, it is handy.

    The Keurig comes in several models. It depends on how many options you need or want. You can have different sizes of drinks etc. Also, I suppose it may also have some options as to how much water you can add at one time. Just think of how you will probably use it and it should give you a good idea of how much you want to spend for any extras.

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  33. We apparently have a fairly low-tech version of that Kerig machine. You pour water in it and put it on a sort of hot element. When the water is hot, it gives off a whistling sound, and you pour hot water (as much or as little as you want) from it into a hollow ceramic dish called a “cup” or a “mug.” If you have put cocoa or tea into the “mug” first, then the water brings out the flavor.

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  34. AJ, you’re right, I forgot about using regular packets in the plastic k-cup container (rather than a pre-filled K-cup). Thanks.

    I have the basic compact Keurig, since I live alone and generally drink no more than 1 cup of coffee each day (if that).

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  39. I also like Earl Grey and Lady Grey teas.

    What are we supposed to discuss? I have always had concerns about short term missions and their benefit or lack thereof. If it opens people’s eyes, that is a good thing. If it just gives them a feather in their cap, they are using people and that is not a good thing.

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  40. I have been on several short term missions. The usefulness depends, to a large extent, on the thoroughness in preparation of the mission. If missionaries have a plan to execute when they arrive, it can be very useful. Otherwise, a waste of time and money.

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  42. This was posted by Anthony Bradley on FB, and I picked it up through Sawgunner since I”m not Anthony’s friend. I was sorry not to be able to read all the comments there, because many of them focused on the racism factor which is highlighted in this video.

    Since earlier last week I read yet another column by Nicholas Kristof about white privilege, I got frustrated reading those comments. We’re told not to go help because we’re the wrong color. We’re told we should feel guilty for not helping and it’s because we’re the wrong color.

    All that sounds like racism to me, and that’s well and good, but what am I supposed to do? Nothing?

    I notice that when Jesus sent out his disciples, he told them to go to every tribe and nation preaching the good news. He didn’t say Jews go to Jews, Sicilians go to Sicilians and so forth–he just told them to go.

    Obviously, Sicilians talking to Sicilians works well because they speak the same language and I agree, native born missionaries have got to be the most effective. But . . .

    When we went to Nicagarua, we were trained in glasses fitting and we worked under the supervision of a Nicaraguan optometrist. Our team leader has gone on countless mission trips to provide glasses to people in need. Would it have been better if we hadn’t gone to the poorest corner of Nicaragua and provided people who have limited access to medical care with glasses?

    While there, I asked that very question. Were we putting someone out of business by giving away the glasses.

    I was told an optician had come into the area, but he wanted to charge $100 for an examination and then the glasses on top of that. No one had that kind of money.

    To their credit, Rotary has built a medical clinic in the town where we stayed. They bring in surgeons and dentists on other trips to do the difficult tasks. But to provide free glasses, we did the trick.

    1800+ pair were given out. The Peace Corps helped us with language needs. I wrote 17 blog posts. We were wrong to go?

    To their credit, sort of, our leaders provide this service to us as a two-fer: we work in miserable weather in primitive areas for four days, then we spend three days at a beauty beachside complex relaxing. So we get work and a vacation–I actually was ready to go home after the work was done, but three days in a beautiful tropical land was very nice.

    So, am I a problem?

    I don’t think so. But maybe I should look into local mission opportunities–like my husband taking a team of kids to work in the food distribution program in Kansas City? It built an interesting comraderie among the kids, my husband got to minister and perhaps most importantly, my nephew the soccer star who met them for lunch went away wondering about what would motivate the kids to come so far.

    We worship an efficient God. We need to follow where he leads.

    Especially if it’s to Idaho. 🙂

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  43. Absolutely, Michelle, to Idaho with you.

    What Chas said, if the trip is set up to make efficient use of your time, and yours was, it is a good thing. I believe that is what some of our missionaries told us on here one time. When people come and help out and there is something for them to actually do, it is a help. If it is a make work situation, just send the money. The purpose of the short term mission is two fold as I understand it. Help the people and teach the worker of the need to pray and how to pray for the people.

    And no, our racial constructs are not the problem.

    I have always thought I should be helping in a tribe but, though I live on a reservation, I don’t have an in with the people. But a friend of mine does. He is regularly called by the people for a helping hand and they repay him with salmon or elk or huckleberries, etc. It is neat to see him have a hands on impact just by doing what he does best: helping people and being available to them.

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  45. Seventeen year old daughter keeps me apprised of that. She read the book and has been anxiously looking forward to the movie. I won’t be seeing it with her in all probability, but she still tells me about it.

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  46. Re: hot drinks.

    I drink coffee every morning, with flavored coffee creamer. Since I started that habit – the flavored coffee creamer – a couple years ago, I’m hooked on that. I switch to tea in the late afternoon & evening. (Earl Grey, Constant Comment, & Chai Spice are my favorites.) But I also drink plenty of water in between, at various times during the day.

    In the winter, I enjoy a nice hot cocoa now & then. But I do not like hot apple cider. I enjoy it cold, but it seems to taste sourish when it is hot.

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  47. Forrest was feeling much better today, which was good because Chrissy & I babysat him most of the day (morning & late afternoon-evening). He ran out of “playing energy” as evening came on. At 6:30, he actually asked to be put to bed so he could go to sleep. That is highly unusual for him!

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