Hallowe'en - 31 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 233

Micah 6:8
Song of Solomon 2:5
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is National Caramel Apple Day. One imagines this is celebrated on Hallowe'en in a nod to the caramel apple's role as a treat to be dispensed to the begging hordes of children. That may well be true, although there are probably few parents these days who would welcome a caramel apple in their child's bag or bucket.
There's the story of one of Charlie Brown's friends getting a caramel apple while trick or treating (much to the rock-receiving Charlie's chagrin),but a totally different story came to my mind.
Back several years ago, Heidi and I were still working with our church youth group, and Heidi decided to make caramel apples for the kids. So she did. We left the apples, appropriately pierced with popsicle-type sticks, to finish cooling and setting on a cookie sheet in the kitchen and went out to do something (probably a last-minute grocery run).
When we came back, we discovered a tray of still-pierced apples, now totally denuded of caramel, courtesy of our Siamese cat, Mocha. It was a shock to discover his sweet tooth that way, especially as his taste in beer ran to the darker, more bitter varieties (don't judge me - he asked for it, and he was old enough, and he only got a splash). As I recall, he ran on a bit of a sugar high for quite a while before crashing for an even longer while.

Good times, and fond memories of crazy cats.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Wrestling with Mortality - 30 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 232

Micah 6:8
John 6:47-58
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Create A Great Funeral Day. I had no idea there was such a day, but it seems like a good idea, really. After all, the folks left behind when you die are going to be working in a fog, trying to design a memorial service that honors you and that will comfort them. Why not at least give them a head start by creating your own funeral? You won't be there, so you won't know if they use it or not, but at least you'll have done your part.
This "celebration" reminded me of something I had written a few years ago, but it seems even more appropriate today than it did when I wrote it:

And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. – Mark 15:37 ESV

And He died.

He died.

Even Jesus died.

I've been thinking about dying quite a bit lately, wrestling with my mortality. After all, there have certainly been enough reminders of just how temporary this life is these past months.

Maybe it's only natural to think this way; to look at the calendar pages turning more and more quickly, and to think about endings. Sure, it's only natural.

But as a Child of God, born of water and the Spirit, I'm not only natural; when I really get down to it, my mortality isn't worth thinking about. I don't have to look at things that way anymore. Think about it. Jesus says that whoever believes in Him has eternal life. He doesn't say that now I have a chance to live forever. He doesn't say that if I do enough stuff, then He'll give it to me. He says that, as a believer, I already have it.

I already have it.

Wow.

Do you?

Here's a great song that may well have had something to do with that idea of not being only natural. Enjoy.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Come and Dine - 29 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 231

Micah 6:8
Luke 11:37-44
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Restaurants are in trouble these days. (So are any businesses or venues based on the arts. I'll address them in an upcoming post.)
Perhaps you've heard of ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants. These are a couple (related) ways restaurants are trying to address the current situation, where guests dining together in the same room seems less and less desirable to the guests, and less and less allowed by the various States and localities. Chains that you know have taken part in ghost kitchens where their food can be prepared for a delivery-only model. There's no dining room, no front of house staff, only a kitchen and delivery folks. Many of these are even owned by the delivery companies who lease kitchen space to the restaurants.
In a similar vein, virtual restaurants are brands with no physical locations - sort of pop-up delivery-only restaurants. A lot of these are chicken wing brands for reasons apparently known to many, but which I find totally inscrutable.
At any rate, this inverse quarantine is busily killing off many of the ways that a lot of people have made their livings for decades, while adding to the (still often unprofitable) bottom lines of the delivery companies - and to the bottom line of the bills for the meals they deliver.
One has to wonder how far this can go before enough of us will be unwilling to pay the price for delivery that this shake-up will have to be shaken up again into some other form of new normal. If the prices of gasoline, natural gas, and electricity move up significantly, there's no way this model can be sustained. We might all have to cook for ourselves and eat at home!

Of course we still can come together for a true meal, breaking bread with one another, perhaps as in this song.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Fingerprints - 28 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 230

Micah 6:8
Daniel 5:4-6
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

On this date in history, October 28, 1904, the use of fingerprints was tried by St Louis police in their investigation of a crime for the first time. My limited viewing of CSI-type shows indicates that this is still a big deal, although there are lots of newer ways to identify evil-doers and other perps.

I find it interesting that identical twins have different fingerprints. Apparently "identical" is a bit of an exaggeration. Still, how many versions of those whorls, loops, and arches can there be? I'm convinced that somewhere among the billions of other folks wandering around the Earth that there is someone whose fingerprints match mine. I only hope that person is not a criminal.

Fingerprints are generally considered to be the ridges from the flesh around the distal phalanx bone of each finger. That's where the fingertips are found.
Without my fingertips I think I would find it difficult to play every one of the musical instruments I have - guitar, mandolin, violin, banjo, bass guitar, piano, kalimba, melodica, recorder, fife. Yep. All of those require the use of fingertips.
But wait! I could still play my kazoo and my slide whistle, so all would not be lost. (Just most would be lost, not all.)

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It - 27 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 229

Micah 6:8
Psalm 2
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

One week to election day, and there's a lot of talk about the state of our democracy. We don't actually live in a democracy, folks. This nation (these United States) is a republic. 

What? A Republic? There is non-democratic stuff in our constitution? Why? Let me tell you a story.

I'm not certain anymore if it was Ian or Robert, but years ago one of them came to me at an MYF meeting with a question about a school assignment. He was supposed to write something on how the doctrine of original sin influenced the design of our government, but he had no idea what that would mean.
That's a sad commentary from both sides of the question, I suppose. Apparently neither the church nor the school had prepared him well for that question. Still, with a pretty brief answer from me he was off and running.
To boil it down, the idea that we're all fallen and sinful (original sin) means no one can be trusted with very much power over others. The founders clearly understood that, and cleverly set up the three branches so they would all be watching over one another. Their competing desires for power would tend to negate each other.
Further, having a bicameral legislature, one house based on population and the other representing the individual States of the Union was meant to help to ensure that no one political faction would end up dominating the government, and thus becoming rulers of the people. Of course by moving to direct election of Senators (the 17th amendment) we continued a slide away from that vision to more of a mere representative democracy. I would happily see that amendment repealed.
The Electoral College is another part of this masterpiece of political design, meant to prevent the votes of the populace of one large state from totally swamping the votes of a smaller one. They obviously still remembered the line from the Declaration saying that "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States," but after the failure of the Articles of Confederation, they essayed to "form a more perfect union" by the provisions of the Constitution under which we still operate, lo these many years later.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Football - 26 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 228

Micah 6:8

Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

It seems that American football is back in full swing. Even the Big Ten (14?) were active this past weekend. It seems, though, that American football is a bit of a latecomer to the show. On October 26, 1863 the Football Association (FA) was formed. The world’s oldest governing football body was created at the Freemasons' Tavern in London. The foundation was instrumental in creating and formalizing rules of the game. Before this, every area and organization playing football (that's soccer to most folks here in these United States) made their own rules.

Wait. The Freemasons' Tavern? That's where the FA was founded? Who knew that English football was part of the vast conspiracy of Freemasons, Illuminati, and Lizard People? I for one welcome our reptilian football overlords and the upcoming documentary on the History channel featuring Giorgio Tsoukalos. After all, he has a degree in communications from Ithaca College, and was a sports promoter (bodybuilding) before being recruited by the lizard people to soften us up for the revelation of their ongoing 'leadership' of the UN. (Is it true that baby lizard people are called quislings?)

  

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Worship - 27 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 227

Micah 6:8
1 Thessalonians 1:2-5
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

As we have done now for two weekw, we're actually meeting to worship inside the church building in the sanctuary! Masks and physical distancing will be enforced, but we'll still be worshiping together! Note that you must have registered already in order to join us, so please join us online if you didn't.

Today's stream is here.

That and all our previous videos are available on our YouTube channel here.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.