Trying to get the brain waves at least on the same page this morning.

Good morning. It's the Friday, (November 23, 2018), after Thanksgiving Day and I rise up to say I'm still thankful. Especially so for the wonderful time of family feasting and fellowship we enjoyed. Yes. This is Black Friday for the retail world. The original designation of this shopping day was related to the number of accidents on the roadways and it had a negative connotation. Retailers were not happy with their price cutting day being associated with such a downer, therefore, it was later changed to indicate the black ink used to book profits. It became a day when those selling merchandise could get their books back into the black, so to speak. Nowadays, they keep up with the number of people injured trying to get to the items on sale. These incidents typically go viral as people capture the pushing, shoving, and sometimes, the trampling of eager shoppers. We went to the big mall to drop two of our granddaughters off Thursday evening. They were reporting to work there as many of the stores opened from 6 p.m. to midnight. We decided to park and do some walking. Some of the stores had folks lined up pretty deep. Others, not so much. We did maybe 3 miles and then negated some of our burned calories by sipping on a small Icee at the food court. The wife commented how nice it was to be able to just knock about without having to worry about work schedules and the like. I can't remember if I gave one or two grunts. Other than the drinks, we didn't buy anything. I give four grunts to that one.

I will be the first to admit to being a wee bit groggy this morning. Maybe I tripped out on the tryptophan. (L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid. The body can't make it, so diet must supply tryptophan. Amino acids are building blocks of proteins. Foods rich in tryptophan include, you guessed it, turkey. Tryptophan is also found in other poultry, meat, cheese, yogurt, fish, and eggs.) You can look it up for yourself, but, current science tells us the sleep-inducing attributes of turkey are very much overblown. Maybe it's the thought that it helps one to sleep that causes one to be helped to sleep. Since I have retired, I am hearing a lot of those around me discussing my nodding off habits. They seem to like the one that describes me in mid-sentence going from words to snoring. I believe there may be a legend in the making. My wife tends to encourage their exaggerations. One of the granddaughters tells others not to try to talk with her Poppy anymore after you hear the last click on his recliner because he will no longer be conscious of his surroundings. See what I mean? Everyone has to be known for something. Right?

I hope you have had a good week thus far. We still have today and tomorrow to complete the transaction. After that, we begin a brand new week on Lord's Day Sunday. We follow the practice of the early called out assemblies (Churches) in honoring Him and His resurrection by gathering together on the First Day of the week. (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2) If you are into lively debates, you can research the subject about Sabbath worship and the discussions regarding what day to do so. There's plenty of discussions to review out on the web. My conclusion says that we are all better off anytime we choose to meet up with others who assemble to worship the Lord and to build each other up in the faith. That is pretty much a no-brainer. I know some congregations offer services on other days as well. The main thing is to be there and to adopt it as a practice. You know. Habit. Some habits are good. Maybe not the nodding off in mid-sentence one, but, attending services to the honor God, well, that my friend, is a great one! Amen. ....More later.