All in All, A Good Monday

 It has been years since we have watched the Oscars and in that same thought it has been years since I have seen very many theater movies. So when you don't know the actors and you don't know the movies, why watch? It doesn't matter who is wearing what on the red carpet to me either. Then the news this morning about the slap. People are debating and arguing was it real or not this morning. Seems there might be a history with Smith and Rock. Don't know any of the back story, but it has been a momentary diversion from war coverage on news programs this morning. 

I Thessalonians is such an eye opener to the softer side of Paul. That statement right there could be considered a slap to all those hard liner Paul people. In all the years of reading and studying, the softer, warm hearted part of Paul shines through this time. He really loved and cared for the Thessalonian church. Sending Timothy to get word on their growth or on chaos, praying earnestly for them night and day and praying specifically for the persecution they were facing. These verses reminded me of Epaphras, the person of prayer only mentioned three times in the New Testament, but what a legacy. He visited Paul in Rome and remained there with him for some time before returning to his church in Colossians. This week we begin chapter four, where Paul begins to write in a teaching and instructing style. I mean when you read in the first verse of chapter 3, finally when we could stand it no longer we stayed alone in Athens. We have all experienced that emotion somehow or sometime. Like, when you know a gift you have for someone is going to make them so happy, you can hardly wait and a lot of times, we go ahead and give the gift early cause we can't stand it no longer. It comes to mind that Popeye was rather biblical when he said, "I can'ts stand it no more as well as I am that I yam and that's all I am. I'm Popeye the sailor man...toot toot." A favorite memory is a Wednesday night teaching session with the student ministry. We were taught the lesson and review for the Sunday lesson and the question was asked who else said I am? Well, we had been talking about God, so the obvious answer didn't seem to be the answer to the question. No one stirred, no one hazarded a guess...so I said, Popeye? The teacher was miffed with the answer...no, he said. Jesus said it...well, we were talking about God and with the Trinity and all....I thought it was an all inclusive kind of thing.  

 These past few weeks Roy and I have quoted this young man a lot. He and his cousins were playing and wanted to be bad guys. Mom catches them, there's a video but the sound isn't good. You can hear she is trying to keep back from laughing as he does a little PR to get mercy and says, maybe we should think about what we've done and then makes that face captured in the picture.

So when Roy or I do something that kind of miffs the other one, we now say this. I finished up the coffee yesterday morning not remembering that Roy takes a to go cup of coffee to Sunday School. What aggravated him was, after losing power due to a vehicle hitting a power line pole, I asked him if the coffee pot had turned off in those few seconds before the generator kicked in. Then when I came downstairs and saw his coffee cup in the sink, I assumed he was done drinking coffee and thus not thinking to go, drank the little remaining. When he came downstairs to fill his to go cup and there was no coffee, he wasn't too pleased. He just made a small amount to take with him then. One thing he says to me at times is, I haven't lived here long enough to be used to this or that. Told him, that worked for me too. I totally forgot because it is not a part of my pattern of getting ready on Sunday morning when here alone ever included taking coffee to church. Then I said the line, maybe I should think about what I've done, made the face. Good news is, student ministry once again is doing a pop up coffee before Sunday School as a fund raiser for camp. So we can both drink all the remaining coffee next week if we want to and not stress cause there are more at church as well as pastries. It's all good!

Yes over 1600 of us lost electricity yesterday morning. I was in the shower rinsing conditioner from my hair and when I opened my eyes, it was pitch black, but then saw a little bit of light coming in through the window, then the generator kicked in. Out here it is a lifesaver for sure. When you are on a well and septic system, the pumps work by electricity. The first summer here, we had several outages due to storms and fallen trees. We had a generator in Rancho De Five, so we had one installed here. Think it has been used more in the summer here than in the winter. We need to check the propane level today. We have one mainly to keep the temps cool because heat and hot do not mix well with my heart. Meanwhile there also has been several brush fires in the area, none too close but it does keep you on your toes and your nose to the wind.  

We restocked strawberries and zero calories Sunkist today. We ate the last of our leftover porkchops from yesterday and making fajitas later this week. Mike the Mower Man came today and the fresh fragrance of mowed grass filled the air. Our yard was getting a little raggedy looking. Roy is finishing up Bible study homework for CBS and I have started looking at this Sunday's lesson. All in all, a good Monday.