Good Morning All & Happy Tuesday!
Wow! It’s the first day of December and that means there’s only 24 more shopping days until Christmas! Have you been naughty or nice this year? I’ve been naughty AND nice this year…I’ve tried to be more nice than naughty…what will Santa think? How about you? As they say…”Santa’s checking his list…checking it twice…to see who’s been naughty or nice.” Let’s all err on the side of “niceness” in 2021…Lord knows we need lots more niceness, don’t you think?
Speaking of celebrations like Christmas, here’s to friends Diane, wife, mother & attorney extraordinaire, who turns 53 today; to dear friend and wife, mother, grandmother and Christian women’s leader extraordinaire, Avrilia, who celebrates her birthday today; to friend & community volunteer extraordinaire Lori, who is 64 today; and to long-time friend and wife, mother & grandmother and grand encourager Katy, who celebrates her birthday today as well! Happy Birthday all and have fun on your special day of celebration!
Speaking of birthdays, Happy Birthday wishes also go to Dianne Lennon of “The Lennon Sisters” singing group fame (they were big in the late 50s & early 60s…I used to play with their paper doll set back in the day (true confessions!) who is 81 today; to singer/musician Eric Bloom of “Blue Oyster Cult” fame, who turns 76 today; to actor/singer Bette Midler (“The Divine Miss “M”) of “Wing Beneath My Wings” song fame, who is 75 today; and to actress Zoe Kravitz of “Divergent” movie fame (she and my daughter Amy mixed it up in a fight scene during that movie!), who turns 32 today! Here’s to all of you!
What do you think of the current deadlock in the U.S. Congress to get an additional coronavirus relief package out to those who continue to be adversely affected financially due to this public health crisis? It seems ridiculous to me that both Republicans and Democrats are engaging in political posturing and not getting down to business for the people. Individuals and many small businesses adversely affected by government ordered shutdowns and/or curtailments need relief now in order to keep body & soul together and/or keep the doors of their business open until the much needed vaccine gets distributed. What’s the holdup? I hate to pick on one individual in Congress, but it sure looks like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the chief culprit in all this mess. She needs to step aside now for the sake of our country and turn over leadership to someone with greater vision and a willingness to compromise to get direct relief out to those who need it with “no strings attached.” We need direct coronavirus relief passed now! What do you think???
Speaking of the challenging times we find ourselves in, my wife shared with me a Thanksgiving devotional written by Christian author and counselor Paul Tripp that speaks volumes about one’s spiritual journey through this broken world of ours. Here are some excerpts:
“…We all say that we (as believers in Jesus) believe that this is not all there is. We say we really do believe that there is life after this one ends. Our formal theology contains the fact of a new heaven and a new earth to come. But we tend to live with the anxiety and drivenness that come when we believe that all we have is this moment.
Here’s the real-life, street-level issue: if you don’t keep the eyes of your heart focused on the paradise that is to come, you will try to turn this poor fallen world into the paradise it will never be. In the heart of every living person is the longing for paradise. The cry of a toddler who has just fallen down is a cry for paradise. The tears of the school-age child who has been rejected on the playground are tears of one reaching out for paradise. The pain of aloneness that a person without friends or family feels is the pain of one longing for paradise. The hurt the couple feels as their marriage dissolves is the hurt of those crying out for paradise. The sadness that the old man feels as his body weakens is the sadness of one who longs for paradise. We all have this longing, even when we are not aware of it, because it was placed there by our Creator. He has placed eternity in each one of our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Our cries are more than cries of pain; they are also cries of longing for more and better than we will ever experience in this fallen world.
When you forget this, you work very hard to try to turn this moment into the paradise it will never be. Your marriage will not be a paradise. Your job will not be the paradise you long for. Your friendships will not be the paradise your hear craves. The world around you will not function like paradise. Your children will not deliver paradise to you. Even your church will not live up to the standard of paradise. If you’re God’s child, paradise has been guaranteed for you, but it will not be right here, right now. All the things that disappoint you now are to remind you that this is not all there is and to cause you to long for the paradise that is to come. The dreams that die remind you that this is not paradise. The flowers that wilt remind you that this is not paradise. The sin that captivates you should remind you that this is not paradise. The diseases that infect you are to remind you that this is not paradise. Live in hope because paradise is surely coming, and stop asking this fallen world to be the paradise.”
—Paul Tripp, “Paul Tripp’s Daily Thanksgiving Devotional” (November 26, 2020)
Hear’s the fact for the day:
Newborn babies cannot cry tears for at least three weeks.
Here’s the word definition for the day:
“Blarney”: An 18th century Irish word meaning “Talk that aims to charm, pleasantly flatter or persuade”…”Amusing and harmless nonsense.”
Here is the trivia question for the day:
Q: What is the only state that allows voters to cast a ballot for nobody?
A: Nevada voters unhappy with the choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump had another unique option. The state of Nevada permits a voter to express the ultimate protest option: “None of These Candidates.” However, only votes cast for named candidates are counted in determining the nomination or election to these offices. Since 1975, Nevada ballots have included “None of These Candidates,” which is something that no other state in the country has. It’s most popular in primaries when candidates are often not well-known. “None of These Candidates” has actually finished first in four primary elections.
Speaking of voting, there’s a movement afoot to adopt “Ranked Choice Voting” which would allow voters to express their preference for all of the candidates running for a particular office by ranking them from first choice to last choice. The thought is that this approach to voting would more accurately express the preferences of voters and that all candidates would work hard to appeal to all voters, as it would be possible to win an election by obtaining more second & third choice votes than the candidate who had more first choice votes but didn’t have a majority of voters choosing them. It would also do away with the necessity of holding primary elections and then having the voters having to choose between the candidates who were selected in the primary election, typically candidates that appeal to a narrower spectrum of voters (more partisan oriented voters). The State of Maine and some municipalities and counties in the country have adopted this system of voting. Google “Ranked Choice Voting” for more information about the merits of this approach to achieve better government going forward. I think “Ranked Choice Voting” has real merit in the effort toward good government. What do you think?
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“In a full heart there is room for everything, in an empty heart there is room for nothing.”
—“Falls Flash,” Columbia Falls’ (Montana) Favorite Since 1985, October—Week 2—2020, page 1.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-hand, that we should walk in them.”
—The Letter Of Paul To The Ephesians, Chapter 2, verses 1-10
Here’s to a great Tuesday and the first day of December and lots of love and good wishes always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, Mark, etc.)