Today is Radio Day. I’ve always been a big fan of radio. I remember nights at home, waiting by my portable cassette player/recorder, ready to hit that record button when the local station played my favorite songs. Today’s generation of youth will never know the struggle of waiting all day for the radio station to play that favorite song. I also remember hurrying down to the local record store to get the latest “Top 40” list from KFJZ, to see if that Three Dog Night song ever hit number one. Then I remember “Sugar, Sugar,” that stupid song by “The Archies,” a group that didn’t even exist, being number one for an insane number of weeks. Ah, the memories around the radio. I think I’ll celebrate by not streaming music today and listening to my favorite radio station. That happens to be KXT, 91.7 in DFW.
We had a nice day, yesterday. We had a good lunch with R & J, and then watched the latest SNL from Saturday night. Parts of it were good, and parts of it were so-so, which is normal.
Nothing unusual going on this week, except that C is going out of town Friday, and will not be back until the following Monday, during the day.
As noted above, pitchers and catchers officially begin reporting today. Many are already on site. The first official Spring Training game is on February 22. The Red Sox begin theirs on February 23, and the Rangers don’t start until February 25, which is the date indicated by my number below.
12/49
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Psalm 97:1
I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. Psalm 119:174
The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation— Psalm 18:46
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. Psalm 14:1
Father, help me to see you today, as I go about my daily routines. As I drive to work, as I do my job, as I interact with my co-workers, let my eyes and heart be open to what you would show me through all of these things. Help me to love as you have loved.
“A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years.”~~Rupert Brooke
(BrainyQuote)
Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is groggery. A groggery is “a slightly disreputable barroom.” Best stay away from those, right?
Today is Radio Day, a day formed in 2011, to celebrate the importance of radio communication, which, in some parts of the world, still remains the primary means of information and communication.
I didn’t get up until 9:30, this morning, hence the late-ish blog entry.
I worked about an hour late, yesterday, as did Christi, so we wound up having a late dinner. We called out for Asian food at our usual place, and had it delivered. We watched a few TV shows, then Christi went to bed, and I stayed up, as is my custom, to play Fallout 4. After a couple of hours, I noticed I was having a hard time staying awake, so I went on to bed, as well. It’s been a touch week. We’re all hoping for some better weeks ahead. And, of course, we are praying and hoping for some good news next week.
We got our taxes filed today, finally. We’re getting a small amount back, this year. I don’t know what else will be going on today. Christi is still coughing quite bit, from whatever ailment she has had this week, so I don’t know if we’ll get to the grocery store today, or not. The manager of our Kroger store, who is also our pastor’s dad, is in the hospital with double pneumonia! He’s doing better, I hear, but will remain in the hospital, at least through today.
I’m rambling a bit, so I should probably get on to other things.
On this date in 1633, Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to face heresy charges. You see, he believed that the Earth revolved around the Sun. Scandalous! You can read the story at History.com.
Today’s birthdays include:
1599–Pope Alexander VII 1885–Bess Truman, First Lady 1891–Grant Wood, American painter 1919–Tennessee Ernie Ford, American musician 1923–Chuck Yeager, American pilot 1933–Kim Novak, American actress 1934–George Segal, American actor 1938–Oliver Reed, English actor 1942–Peter Tork, American musician, The Monkees 1942–Carol Lynley, American actress 1944–Jerry Springer, American TV host 1944–Stockard Channing, American actress 1950–Peter Gabriel, English musician 1951–David Naughton, American actor/singer, “I’m A Pepper” 1961–Henry Rollins, American musician 1976–Feist, Canadian singer/songwriter
Peter Tork is an American musician and actor, most famously known as the bass player for The Monkees. He is 74 years old today. Here is my favorite song by The Monkees.
Catherine Howard, Cotton Mather, Richard Wagner, David Janssen, Waylon Jennings, Dick Weber, and Nelson Briles are among notable deaths on this date.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
(From Praying With the Psalms)
Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Psalm 25:6-10
“God likes our sins even less than our neighbors do. But he treats them far differently.” Isn’t that the truth? We humans tend to judge, reject, and condemn people for being flawed (as we all are), but God “instructs” us, he “leads” us, and he “teaches us. “Our sins are an occasion not for harsh rejection, but for loving reconciliation.”
“I confess my sins to you, O Lord, confident that you will not reject this sinner, but find new ways to share your forgiveness and steadfast love, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.”
(From My Utmost For His Highest)
Today’s reading is “The Devotion of Hearing.”
And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
1 Samuel 3:10
Just because I have listened to one thing God says to me is not a guarantee that I will listen to all that he says. I tend to be obtuse toward many things that God tries to speak to me, and this is one way that I demonstrate disrespect toward him. Most of us would shudder to think that we had disobeyed the voice of Jesus at any point. But the thing that hinders me from hearing is that I am frequently too focused on other things. “It is not that I will not hear God, but I am not devoted in the right place. I am devoted to things, to service, to convictions, and God may say what He likes but I do not hear him.” May we have more of the attitude of little Samuel, who, upon hearing the voice of God (after Eli set him straight about who it was that was calling him), eagerly proclaimed, “Speak, for your servant hears!”
May we hear God’s voice today!
Father, I confess that I don’t always listen to you. Even when I am supposed to be concentrating on these devotions, my mind and heart are drawn away by other things, from finances to entertainment. May I be more focused on you, that my life may be more consistent and stable. I have confidence that you hear me; may I cause you to have confidence that I hear you, as well.
I pray, still, for our friend and brother, Greg, that you might clear out his lungs and heal him.
Good morning. It is Monday Tuesday, August 20, 2013.
Today is Radio Day. Marconi may have played the mamba, but Tesla invented it (the radio, not the mamba). Enjoy some radio today, whether it be airwaves or satellite waves. I’ve really been enjoying my free trial of XM Radio in that new car. But I’m siriusly not paying almost $200 a year for it.
I’ll give you a minute.
Yesterday was the bomb. We had a fantastic day for Stephanie’s birthday. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I think she did. The only downside was that one of the gifts we got her didn’t work. We weren’t paying attention when we ordered a used game for the X-Box, and it turned out to be old X-Box format, not 360, and wouldn’t work on the X-Box 360. Fortunately, we did not pay much for it. We had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, though, where Stephanie, true to tradition, received twenty gifts, one for each year. I will tell you, though, that most of them came from dollar stores. We had lunch at the Pastafina restaurant in Mineral Wells, which is very good. We have this ongoing “relationship” with one of the owners, who also happens to wait on us most of the time. He’s from New York, so you can guess what team he roots for. Then we went back to the house for rest and conversation, after which we had cookie cake. Stephanie’s cookie cake
Speaking of teams, the Texas Rangers must have gotten the word that it was Stephanie’s birthday, because they beat defeated humiliated the Houston Astros, 16-5 last night. They scored 11 runs in the bottom of the third inning. Felt kind of sorry for the Astros, I must admit. The Red Sox continued the trend, beating Tim Lincecum and the SF Giants, 7-0, out on the west coast. Huzzah!
It was a great day. Now, today, it’s back to work, feeling like Monday, but it’s really Tuesday, which means we get a short week. Double plus! Of course, Thursday will be a big day. Steph is getting her wisdom teeth taken out, and we seem to be getting Trixie “fixed,” this Thursday, as well. That was not intentional, but the lady we bought Trixie from was setting that up, so we’re going to ahead and work it out in the middle of the wisdom teeth event. All we have to do is get Trixie to the lady’s house. At 7am. In Lake Worth. Then go pick her up after work. But they’re paying for it. So, yeah.
We ordered Chinese food for Stephanie last night. They sent a couple of fortune cookies, as is their custom. I opened one this morning. It had three slips of paper in it! That’s unusual. Here is the order in which I read them:
A cheerful message is on its way to you.
You are imaginative in using your skills. Apply this next week.
You will make a name for yourself in the field of entertainment.
Okay, then.
I swear I am not making this up. I’m thinking about taping them on the desk next to the one I received years ago that says, “You shall soon achieve perfection.” Obviously still wating on that one to come true.
(From Great Stories from History for Every Day)
On this date in 480 BC occurred one of the most famous battles in history as Kind Leonidas and his 7000 men fought against a Persian army of somewhere around 200,000 at Thermopylae, or “hot gates.” This battle has been immortalized in the recent movie 300 which chronicles the battle and the events leading up to it pretty well, I think. One of the more famous lines in the movie appears to have really happened as one Spartan soldier “speculated that the Persian archers were so many that their arrows would hide the sun.” Dieneces (or Diekenes) responded, “Good. Then we shall fight them in the shade.” Here’s how that went down in the movie.
As the battle proceeded, the Spartans killed so many Persians that “the front ranks had to be driven into battle with whips.” Had it not been for a traitor, one Ephialtes, who told Xerxes “of a mountain path through which the Persians could send an encircling force, Leonidas and his army just might have won that battle. As it happened, when Leonidas realized what was happening, he sent all but 300 men home to defend their cities. Hence the title of the movie. He told his men at their last meal, “Breakfast well, for we shall have dinner in Hades.” Despite their valiant and frenzied fighting, all 300 were killed. Nevertheless, Greece did not fall, due to “the naval victory of Salamis the next month.”
There is a monument on the hill where the Spartans made their final stand, bearing an inscription from Simonides of Ceos:
Go, stranger, and to listening Spartans tell
That here, obedient to their laws, we fell.
Today’s birthday is James Marsters, born on this date in 1962. Marsters is most famous for his role as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Here is a clip (looks like someone filmed straight off the TV) of a scene from the bio-episode, “Fool for Love,” in which Spike tells Buffy how he killed a former slayer.
Honorable mentions go to Demi Lovato, 21, Amy Adams, 39, Robert Plant, 65, Isaac Hayes, 1942-2008, H.P. Lovecraft, 1890-1937, Jim Reeves, 1923-1964, Ray Wise, 66, and Jamie Cullum, 34.
TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! Psalm 31:24 O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you. Psalm 141:1-2 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14
Father, I pray that you show me something of yourself this morning, as I look into your words. Make me aware of your presence throughout this day.
Today’s reading from A Year With God is called “Sanctify A Fast.” The scripture is Joel 1-13-14.
Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
The writings of Joel come at a time of great disaster for Judah. They have experienced locusts, drought, fires, and famine. It looks like a war zone. “Worship services are suspended, because there is not enough grain or wine to make the daily offerings.” But Joel calls the people to to turn their mourning and desperation into a holy cry to God for help. “The discipline of fasting, entered into with a whole heart, imparts a spiritual vulnerability to God.” God will transform the hearts of “those willing to take this radical step toward him.” The prophet calls for the people to gather together in the house of God to direct their laments to God. When we suffer, we have no problem immersing ourselves in our own pain, but we need to carry it into the presence of God. “Authentic turning to God is the only fruitful activity in times of horrible calamity.”
Do we think of fasting as carrying our pain into the presence of God? I confess that I have not truly thought of it in that way. What about the current fast? If you are joining me in this exercise, is there pain that is being carried into his presence? Let us consider that as one of the purposes for fasting.
Father, I love the teaching that I am receiving on this discipline, as it is one that has eluded me greatly over the years. Continue to teach me in this discipline, and today, show me how to carry my pain into your presence in the participation of the discipline of fasting.
I pray for this day. I pray for a good work day for Christi and for me. I pray for your steadfast love to surround Stephanie as she continues to celebrate not being a teenager any more. Teach her your ways, that she may walk in your truth. I pray for our huddle group tonight, that we might get back on track toward our purpose for this group. Bind us together as a small community of faith.
Carry your pain to the presence of God today in your fasting. Don’t try to bear it alone.
Grace and peace, friends.
By the way, the misspelling of the word “waiting” way up there was intentional. Did you catch that?
Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy 