Books and Bison - 07 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 240

Micah 6:8
Job 19:23-27
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 has a happy collision of commemorations: National Bison Day and Book Lovers Day!
I cannot for the life of me imagine a better way to combine those two celebrations than to purchase a book from Grand Teuton Press.

As Bartles and James were wont to say, thank you for your support.

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.

Born in a Log Cabin - 06 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 239

Micah 6:8
Genesis 11:4-5
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 I came across a fun fact - Frank Lloyd Wright's son, John Lloyd Wright, was the creator of Lincoln Logs. Well, apparently building and architecture really did run in that family.

I did play with Lincoln Logs as a kid - mostly at my Grandparents' house in Fort Wayne, Indiana, home of Fawn Leibowitz - but it wasn't a toy that really connected with me the way that Legos and Tinkertoys did (or even the good old Erector set with real metal parts!).
The main story that comes to mind for me regarding Lincoln Logs was when Christian was pretty young and Heidi and I had gone out for the evening. One of his favorite sitters was Ian, and when we got home (well after Christian had gone to bed), Ian told us to be careful about the big fort they had built in the living room out of Lincoln Logs because Christian wanted to show it to us in the morning.
Well, we weren't as careful as we ought to have been, as a wall came tumbling down and we spent far longer trying to figure out how it had been built - just what went where - than we really wanted to.
At any rate, we did manage to get it back together, and Christian may be finding out for the first time that we had semi-destroyed and then rebuilt his work.
Good times.

In unrelated news, today is National Saxophone Day, commemorating the creation of Belgian musician, Adolphe Sax. Coming in many sizes - soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass and several more at each end of the spectrum - the saxophone is found in many different kinds of music, from classical to pop to jazz. Here's a video celebration of the saxophone for your viewing pleasure.


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.

For Whom the Bells Toll - 05 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 238

Micah 6:8
1 Corinthians 13:1
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?

Once again we head to the church for a handbell choir rehearsal! It really is a joy to make music and have fellowship with friends, and I'm looking forward to the rehearsal and to playing in church this Sunday.

In beverage news, today is International Stout Day, so it's time to break out a Guinness (or the stout of your choice) to celebrate. It's also American Football Day, celebrating the game that evolved from rugby into what we now know as football here in these United States. While I prefer the Canadian version of the game, American football is fun to watch as well.

  

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.

Keep Calm - 04 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 237

Micah 6:8
Hebrews 13:8
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?

As we wait for the results of the election, let's emulate the Brits of WWII and Keep Calm and Carry On, shall we? After all, as the rotating verse above says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Whatever happens, that should comfort.

Why not give this video a try?

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.

Election Day - 03 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 236

Micah 6:8
Matthew 22:20-22
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's Election Day here in these United States. It's interesting to note that today is also Skeptics Day International. That should make one wonder, no?

As you've no doubt noticed, I seldom post on any political topics, but today is too important to avoid at least some commentary.

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.

Correction and Life Verses - 02 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 235

Micah 6:8
Romans 12:2
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?

Firstly I need to apologize to my late cat, Mocha, for blaming him for the demise of the caramel apples. It was not Mocha at all (he had his own quirks, like biting the built-in wooden music stand on my piano and eating holes in wool blankets), but rather a later feline companion, Cincinnati. An orange tabby who hid from everyone until a red-haired babysitter stole his heart and he became very social, Cincinnati was the cat with the sweet tooth who licked clean all the caramel apples. I feel better now; confession is good for the soul.

Next up, the past week or so I've been involved in a couple conversations that related to folks' having "life verses" or other favorite Bible verses. I hadn't really thought about that much for myself, but today my Bible app showed its verse of the day and I realized that it was telling me what my life verse is. It's Romans 12:2, and I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised at that. When I was in High School (I'm pretty sure that's when it was), my parents got me a framed poster of that Thoreau quote: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." I guess they had noticed I was not keeping pace, and wanted to make sure I knew it was OK with them. Given that background, how could I not identify with being transformed rather than being conformed?
How about you? Do you have a bit of scripture that defines or guides your life? What is it?

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 - 01 November 2020 - Plague Journal Day 234

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?

We're still meeting to worship inside the church building in the sanctuary - our fourth Sunday in a row! Masks and physical distancing are still enforced, but we are blessed to be worshiping together.
Note that you must have registered already in order to join us, so please join us online if you didn't. 

Speaking of joining us online, this week we have exciting changes at GPUMC. We have a new streaming solution: all new cameras and software running on a new, video-optimized computer. We've only gotten a bit of training on its operations, but we're just going to go for it, so we'd appreciate some prayers that there won't be any problems with getting the stream out to our remote worshipers.

Today's stream should just appear as the latest entry on our YouTube channel, here.
You'll find all our previous worship videos right there at that same place, and today's stream will stay there as a recording as well. (This all assumes that everything goes according to plan, so feel free to pray for us!)

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.