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.

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.