Okay. Let me see. We've made it to
Friday, February 18, 2011 and we've hardly had time to catch our breath. Does that sound familiar to you? Okay. So we are all in this together. Maybe taking a brief timeout to scan through this little ditty that passes itself off as an upstanding blog might at least give a little relief to those overwrought gray cells milling around in your cranium. That sentence reminds me of just how difficult the English language really is. It's no wonder folks have trouble coming up with the right words. Just think about how many words we have that are spelled exactly the same but can have a completely different meaning. Hello? Who thought up that kind of confusion? I could say: "He could lead if he would get the lead out. I object to the object. The dump was so full it had to refuse more refuse. The buck does funny things when the does are present. The farm is used to produce produce. A minute only makes up a minute part of the day." Enough already! Of course the words themselves are typically not any more difficult than the designations that are used to designate them. Homonyms, heteronyms, and homographs all relate to words that are spelled the same but have different pronunciations and different meanings depending on how they are used. I will leave you with one last example and then maybe you can overlook an errant word usage here and there as I plod along each day: A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed. That should be your
ough quota for today. Enough said.
That may not be a good excuse for how sometimes my stuff looks splattered on the page, but it does tend to up the ante on providing a convoluted explanation. Maybe we could learn something from the bumper stickers we see as we run here and there. 'Watch out for the idiot behind me!' 'Is there life after death? Touch this Redneck's truck and find out!' 'Work is for those who don't know how to fish' 'I got this motorhome for my wife - the best deal I ever made' 'I brake for no apparent reason' 'If you can read this bumper sticker, you are in range' 'This driver only carries $20 worth of ammunition' 'Sorry for driving so close in front of you' 'Free airbag test, come a little closer' 'The older I get, the better I was' 'Squirrels, nature's little speedbumps' 'Honk if you love Jesus, text if you want to meet Him today' 'I couldn't decide on a bumper sticker, so imagine this one to be the most annoying' 'If you can't laugh at yourself, let me do it for you' One of the things you notice is how that many of these from what seems to be an endless supply reflect a bit of hostility in them. I suppose that's the way we let off steam, or maybe it just reflects the coarseness of our society today. I know there are those with Scripture verses, and there are those with positive messages as well, however, my guess is those I've shared pretty much reflect what you will typically see. Also, I've noticed that often the bumper sticker looks very much in character with the vehicle and the driver. Maybe we are not so much what we eat, but rather we are what we inscribe on our bumpers. Something to think about!
I read that if you laugh a lot, when you get older the wrinkles will be in the right places. From the looks of it, I need to do a whole lot of laughing to try and get some of them rearranged, but I think it may be a little late for that. Then we have the line that says a day without laughter is like a day without sunshine. Whatever. We all do know that having something that brings a smile to our face is a very important part of living a well balanced life. Laughter, however, is never a substitute for lasting peace in our heart and in our mind. That's something there's far too little of today, in our world, in our nation, and for many of us, in our daily lives. For me, it's a sourcing issue. We often look to the world, to entertainment, to this, that, or the other distraction, or even to ourselves to try and get a sense of true peace. We might get something and it might provide some temporary relief but I have to tell you that true peace comes only from knowing God and knowing God comes only through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's that wonderful excerpt from the Apostle Paul's letter to the local assembly meeting in Philippi, Greece: "
Let your gentle behavior be clear to all men. The Lord is near. Have no cares; but in everything with prayer and praise put your requests before God. And the peace of God, which is deeper than all knowledge, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. " (Philippians 4:5-7, from the Bible in Basic English Translation) This promise doesn't imply that it is easy to experience this peace because the folks Paul wrote to were going through some tremendous turmoil. Again, it's our reminding each other where the Source is located and that's a good place to start, stay, and end this week as we prepare for our Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. Until next time, may God bless you all.
Amen. ......More later.
That may not be a good excuse for how sometimes my stuff looks splattered on the page, but it does tend to up the ante on providing a convoluted explanation. Maybe we could learn something from the bumper stickers we see as we run here and there. 'Watch out for the idiot behind me!' 'Is there life after death? Touch this Redneck's truck and find out!' 'Work is for those who don't know how to fish' 'I got this motorhome for my wife - the best deal I ever made' 'I brake for no apparent reason' 'If you can read this bumper sticker, you are in range' 'This driver only carries $20 worth of ammunition' 'Sorry for driving so close in front of you' 'Free airbag test, come a little closer' 'The older I get, the better I was' 'Squirrels, nature's little speedbumps' 'Honk if you love Jesus, text if you want to meet Him today' 'I couldn't decide on a bumper sticker, so imagine this one to be the most annoying' 'If you can't laugh at yourself, let me do it for you' One of the things you notice is how that many of these from what seems to be an endless supply reflect a bit of hostility in them. I suppose that's the way we let off steam, or maybe it just reflects the coarseness of our society today. I know there are those with Scripture verses, and there are those with positive messages as well, however, my guess is those I've shared pretty much reflect what you will typically see. Also, I've noticed that often the bumper sticker looks very much in character with the vehicle and the driver. Maybe we are not so much what we eat, but rather we are what we inscribe on our bumpers. Something to think about!
I read that if you laugh a lot, when you get older the wrinkles will be in the right places. From the looks of it, I need to do a whole lot of laughing to try and get some of them rearranged, but I think it may be a little late for that. Then we have the line that says a day without laughter is like a day without sunshine. Whatever. We all do know that having something that brings a smile to our face is a very important part of living a well balanced life. Laughter, however, is never a substitute for lasting peace in our heart and in our mind. That's something there's far too little of today, in our world, in our nation, and for many of us, in our daily lives. For me, it's a sourcing issue. We often look to the world, to entertainment, to this, that, or the other distraction, or even to ourselves to try and get a sense of true peace. We might get something and it might provide some temporary relief but I have to tell you that true peace comes only from knowing God and knowing God comes only through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's that wonderful excerpt from the Apostle Paul's letter to the local assembly meeting in Philippi, Greece: "Let your gentle behavior be clear to all men. The Lord is near. Have no cares; but in everything with prayer and praise put your requests before God. And the peace of God, which is deeper than all knowledge, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. " (Philippians 4:5-7, from the Bible in Basic English Translation) This promise doesn't imply that it is easy to experience this peace because the folks Paul wrote to were going through some tremendous turmoil. Again, it's our reminding each other where the Source is located and that's a good place to start, stay, and end this week as we prepare for our Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday. Until next time, may God bless you all. Amen. ......More later.
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