When the Towers Fall

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Remembering Sept 11, 2001, the day the twin towers fell in New York City at the hands of terrorists flying their planes into the buildings killing over 2700 people, I can’t help remembering that a similar scene is mentioned in the Bible.

“In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill.” Isaiah 30:25 NIV

I can’t explain the ‘flowing streams of water’, but feel there must be some significance.

It never ceases to amaze me how biblical happenings are repeated in our lives today.

It is good to remember this, and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8. NIV, even when the towers fall.

Happy Sunday

Use vs Abuse

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A blog a few days ago got me thinking about that word power again.

In itself the word congers up feelings of confidence, helpfulness, caring, independence, and other positive images to help us along life’s path.

The downside is the abuse of power, and we have all experienced that at one time or another.

After all that thinking I came to the conclusion that power is never power until it is used powerfully to help the powerless.

Thanks to Roger Baker-Utah’s blog, Area 52, five days ago that reminded me of my stand on power.

Happy Saturday.

A Time to Refrain

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Many of us have lived for well over a year without hugs. Sure, there have been a few precious hugs on occasion…very cautious hugs at that, but definitely not what we were used to.

Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter three, summed it up succinctly:

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Happy Sunday.

Something About Angels

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The topic of angels fascinates me, and today I’m sharing an edited version of a blog I posted May 24, 2014. Happy Saturday.

NED IS AN ANGEL

My angels are numbered.

Let me tell you how Ned got his number. It began with a book I read, The Messenger. In one chapter, titled ‘The 444’s’, angels were identifying themselves in the guise of number 444 to four different people.

In the book, a woman who professed she could talk to angels, told the main character that his special angel’s number was 4. This triggered a memory for me. Many years ago I had been told that the number 7 was very important to me. Could it be that my special angel was numbered 777? I felt that it was, and named the angel Celeste. Before long I believed that many angels were with me and I looked at numbers in a way I never had before.

Once aware of the angels in my life it was interesting the way they became available to me whenever I called upon them. As soon as that awareness crept into my psyche I noticed triple numbers on license plates, telephone numbers on billboards, or even a particular hymn number on Sunday morning. But back to Ned.

The writer of an angel magazine I was reading one morning described an incident where she was having difficulty with a computer program dealing with finances. She mentally asked for help, and suddenly the name ‘Ned’ came to her. Shaking her head at this imaginative voice, she continued trying to conquer the problem. Once again she found herself thinking, I need some help here, and the name ‘Ned’ popped into her mind again. She searched in a name book and found that Ned was a derivative of Edward, meaning prosperous guardian. With that, she found her thinking had cleared and the problem was solved.

Back to my angels. As yet I wasn’t aware of my prosperity angel and the number 999 suddenly came to mind. I wondered if Ned and 999 were connected and looked for that number on my drive to work.

I was vaguely disappointed as I neared my destination and my prosperity angel had not manifested yet. Due to a traffic tie-up in front of me I took a short cut and turned at the first corner I came to. There, parked at the side of the road to my right was a car with the license plate N E D.

I was astounded!

That afternoon a visiting business colleague who knew my penchant for angels and their numbers casually commented, “Incidentally, on my way over here the car in front of me had 999 on the license plate; thought you might be interested.”

That’s how I know Ned is and angel.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; Psalm 91:11

Giving Freely

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A recent sermon spoke of the need to love our enemies. Well, not many of us have enemies but there may be those who don’t like us and for whom the feeling may be mutual. However, God did command us to love those who hate us, and because I find that difficult to do, he put this hymn in my head. Because he so freely loves us in spite of ourselves may we not do likewise for him? See Luke 6: 27-36 and Matthew 10:8. Happy Sunday.

Fun With Alliteration

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I’ve had a love affair with alliteration since childhood. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, and she sells sea shells by the sea shore were my first introduction to this fascinating literary device.

Seeking new outlets to keep my mind active during this Covid thing I came up with a few fun examples of my own yesterday, but first, the definition of alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. So, here goes:

Sonic sounds shattered the still silence.

Her peerless posture presented a perfect pose.

Apples and avocados are added flavors in a salad.

Birds, bees, and butterflies beautify nature’s norms.

The sweet, sticky toffee titillated Tilly’s taste buds.

I’ll leave it at that for today but don’t be surprised if I come back again to have more fun with alliteration. Want to give it a try?

Happy Saturday.

From a Distance

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We all see life differently whether from up close or from a distance but I think we all have the same hopes and dreams of peace, love, harmony, hope, health, happiness. Listen to how Bette Midler describes it. Happy Sunday.

A Name in Vain

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Have you ever wondered how and why we use names to describe actions and/or feelings? What I mean by names is not only every Tom, Dick, and Harry, but also dogs, cats, and others of the animal kingdom. Taking a name in vain originates with the Ten Commandments, but as you can see many a name besides God’s, can be taken in vain.

Going squirrely…tending to move around a lot. : very odd, silly, or foolish

Cat’s meow…used to say that someone or something is very appealing

Dog’s dinner…something that is messy or bungled

Sounds fishy…To seem suspicious of being improper or untrue

To the John…The first popular indoor toilet was invented by Sir John Harrington, a poet

The real McCoy…the real thing; the genuine article (but who was McCoy in the first place?)

Down Pat…Thoroughly practiced, rehearsed, or understood

The Patsy…a person who is easily taken advantage of

Patty-cake Patty-cake, baker’s man…an old English nursery rhyme

A Pat of butter…now, where did that come from?

These last four are about taking my name in vain.

Happy Saturday.

Promises, Promises, Promises

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Hidden promises are the best kind, don’t you think? Yes, because when they are revealed, we are surprised to see that, for the most part, they are the best kept promises in the world, as this hymn beautifully explains. It is so full of promises, promises, promises. Happy listening. Happy Sunday.