I've always been a joiner; two days ago I joined the ranks of those who have caught the Flu.
My hair hurts. My toenails hurt; everything in between hurts. I am medicated and doing better than I was, though still contagious; I have quarantined myself in my house, and won't even get near the cats because I read on the internets that cats CAN catch the flu from humans. I'm also missing two days of work for the first time in recorded history (due to sickness).
Ah well.
Let me point you towards one of the best old films that I've enjoyed recently: "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", the 1956 original done up pretty on Blu Ray. It's a tight, well told story that moves along quickly.
"Dog is Man's best friend, Man is Cat's best servant." One of the things I appreciate about cats is that they always operate in their own self interest. If they are getting underfoot or head butting your leg, it isn't done to benefit you-they want something. Dogs will do anything to please you-cats, if they don't see an upside for them, will ignore you to focus on their own stuff. That honesty is refreshing.
Speaking of honesty, t'other day I read a comment on another blog which told more about the commenter than the subject being discussed. Let's call him Mel Misogynist-his comment about a fictional woman became a tirade against evil heartless women who cause more trouble than they are worth.
I said, "Wow-he has more issues than "Ye Olde Farmer's Almanac".
I am the same on-line as I am in the real world-I am simply me, whether in church or at work or interacting with my fellow earth walkers out and about. Good, bad, or indifferent-it would be hypocritical
to act one way on-line and another way off line. Though 'Mel' showed himself to be a woman-hater (at the very least) it was refreshing to read someone being 'real'. A real jerk.
Time to lay back down. Hav
8 comments:
If you look to the main page and scroll all the way to the bottom you will see a picture of my Dad. The young lady looking back at you at the top of the page is one of my friends from Lithuania that I worked with in 2001. I like to mix things up every once in a while.
Sorry you have the flu. I JUST got my shot. You know, I've had a glass of wine before bed for years. I can't remember the last time I've had a cold, let alone the flu!
I know some Christians avoid alcohol completely, but didn't Jesus turn water into wine? I don't think he'd have done so if alcohol were entirely evil. It's all about moderation ... just like food and money and everything else.
Hello James-if wine kept flu and cold away, I'd moderate the stuff every night.
Actually, I was a non-drinker years before I became a Christian. Whatever a person does or doesn't do is ultimately between that person and God. I know Christians who drink, and I wouldn't say that they are sinning.
But I also know that alcohol can be addicting,and destructive; I have people, family in my life who are all sorta messed up because of drinking. Sin? No. Dangerous? Absolutely.
The drugs I'm taking are having a good effect-most of the aches and pains have gone away, though I know I'm not 'healthy' yet.
I hope your flu shot works, James-this stuff is no fun.
I hope you feel better, Doug. The flu bites hard. Take comfort in research that says at least one flu or cold per year keeps your immune system in fighting trim.
One of our cats absolutely, or should I say categorically, refuses to have anything to do with any human but me, acting scared witless (not that she has far to go) if anyone else goes near her. When spooked she is very fast and hard to catch, so of course I am the one who pills her, takes her to the vet, inspects her for ticks, and so on. And still she loves me. It's very strange.
The black cat who is her littermate and the big fat fuzzy gray cat have chosen my daughter and my husband respectively as their people, but they'll accept food and scritchies from anyone. The gray one sleeps on my husband's feet and comes to greet him as soon as she sees he's awake. It isn't because she wants food, either: I'm always up long before he is, and on arrival in the kitchen I'm rather forcefully advised of my duty if the dish is empty.
You could argue that it's in their self-interest to establish good relations with us, but they really do seem to enjoy our company above and beyond that. My husband says they think of us as faithful old retainers.
Oh, and I don't drink for medical reasons, but I had pretty much stopped anyway before the doctor told me to, because half a glass of wine would give me a fierce hangover all the next day. I've always been puzzled by the attitude of some Christian sects toward alcohol, since, as James said, Jesus turned water into wine (and I love that in the story someone expresses surprise that the host would serve the best wine last -- presumably because you normally saved your Ripple for last on the theory that by then your guests wouldn't know the difference).
Lu wrote:" I've always been puzzled by the attitude of some Christian sects toward alcohol,"
It's a theological fine point, Lu.
Christians are not righteous in themselves, but are 'allotted' the righteousness of Christ when we become Christians. I think this means that His righteousness is credited to our account by Grace, as we can never be good enough on our own.
About the drinking/dancing/watching movies/listening to secular music/tv shows/etc.etc.etc. a lot of the 'rules' imposed by what you call Christian sects have to do with trying to please God with our OWN righteousness,which, honestly, will never BE good enough. But the idea is to remain unsullied by the world, to live as holy a life as possible, which is a fine ideal, but not something that will happen by imposing rules.
There are Christians that I know who judge me as being 'too worldly'
because, from where they are standing, I do not act or live Christian enough.
I don't assume that God brought me into this world to hide from it inside a church. I could very easily only interact with Christians/listen to Christian music/turn my TV off/live like the Amish, totally rejecting the world, not allowing it to have any
influence on me. When I was a new Christian, I tried that for awhile but you know what? The harder I tried to be Holy, the more unholy I became, because I was trying to please God with MY righteousness, sometimes in His name (which is hypocrisy).
I'm not afraid that the world is going to have a lasting influence on me. While I'm here, I am simply trying to live for Christ without all of the rules imposed by some.
His rules are hard enough.
Bye the way, I've changed the settings for commenting to try to de-spam.
If you don't like having to have a Google account but want to comment, drop me a line at fine_dry_wit@yahoo.com and I'll make adjustments.
Spam is of the devil!
Interesting. I never thought of abstaining from (insert worldly pleasure here) as a species of "works righteousness," but I can see how you might look at it that way. One could also look at not-specifically-biblically-enjoined abstinence as willpower calisthenics, so to speak, on the theory that it 1) lessens the chance of falling in with evil companions and picking up all of their habits 2) provides practice in saying no when a genuine invitation to tread the primrose path presents itself.
Some years ago when listening to Dr. Laura (yes, I used to listen to her, until I decided she was a mean old crank) I heard a caller ask about her son's request to dye his hair blond as a couple of his friends had. The son was about 13. Dr. L said the mom should absolutely forbid this, using it as an exercise in not giving in to peer pressure, as there was nothing kind or loving about dyeing one's hair. I had my doubts about this: there's nothing unkind about the practice either, and I thought the kid would be just as likely to resent his mom and stop talking to her as to learn a good lesson. I think there's much to be said for learning to stand up to peer pressure, but surely there would be chances for the mom to take a stand on genuine principle? We do a lot of things because of peer pressure, aka societal norms, and it's more useful to distinguish when following these can cause real harm. (It will probably not surprise you to learn that my 16-year-old daughter has dyed her hair pretty much every color found in nature, and a few that aren't.)
Incidentally, I'm reminded of a joke that I forgot when we were talking about religion jokes:
Q: Why should you always take two Baptists with you when you go fishing?
A: Because if you take just one he'll drink all the beer.
Lu you can always find examples of "Christians making odd comments/holding strange (to you) beliefs.
I used to visit at a church which did not allow playing card games. But I used to play card games with members of that church.
They also disapproved of going to movies. We went, as a church group, to a movie.
That church is a prime example of Christians attempting to get by on their own righteousness,making up extra rules rather than simply following God.
I have nothing for or against "Dr. Laura". I know that she was on the radio, but I never listened.
"Saudi Arabia doesn't recognize Israel, China doesn't recognize Tibet, Baptists don't recognize each other coming out of Hooters."
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