News Roundup Vol.2

  • Girl Who Doesn’t Grow Baffles Doctors – 16 January 2013 by Marc Lallanilla
    Brooke’s condition dosen’t have a name. She’s only 16 pounds. And her physicality isn’t the only thing failing to grow, as she’s mentally equivalent to a toddler despite being 20 years old.
  • Cats Take on Owners’ Habits (Good and Bad) – 16 January 2013 by Jennifer Viegas
    It’s nice to know that dogs aren’t the only ones who bear some similarities to their people. It also changes much of what was understood by biology about feline behavior.
  • Cornell Creates Massive Animal Sound Site – 16 January 2013 by Jennifer Viegas
    Cornell is launching a website with nearly 150,000 augio recordings of 9,000 species that go back to the year 1929. Check it out at www.MacaulayLibrary.org

Bible in a Year: Day 3

The Reading

  • Luke 6:27-49
  • Genesis 6:1-22
  • Genesis 7:1-24
  • Psalms 3:1-8

Standout Passages

“I am sorry that I made any of them. But the Lord was pleased with Noah.” – Genesis 6:7-8

“Noah was 600 years old when the flood came.” Genesis 7:6

“They will live no longer than 120 years.” Genesis 6:3

“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45

 

A Chat with the Husband Later…

I have issues attempting to read the bible literally. Mainly because it doesn’t work to over literalize things. Specifically, you run into issues with things like God deciding that he is sorry that he made “any of them” but still being pleased with Noah (who, in a literal interpretation, would have to be placed amongst the “them” that so displeased God). Instead, you have to read without the deeply literal sense and separate Noah from being a part of “them”.

I know I’m failing at elegant writing here, but it’s late and I’m tired, and I’ve already done this once today, so what you get is what you get. I’m jumping strait into the section of Luke that we read. I’ve never been a fighter on my own behalf. I’m willing to protect others, but I’ve got a long history of not fighting back when it comes to myself being the one at threat. My Mother does not appreciate my tendencies here (neither does my husband…). This came up in a conversation with my Mom recently, and reading this was a good reminder for myself about why I’m not completely crackpot in my nature (just a little bit, but so’s everyone else. Just in other ways).

Another abrupt jump, so just that I can recode this thought. I’ve always found it funny that people give God credit in victory, but rarely treat defeat in the same way (blaming themselves instead of crediting God). Is Psalms 3 the source of this practice?

Bible in a Year: Day 2

The Reading

  • Luke 6:1-26
  • Genesis 3:1-5:32
  • Psalms 2:1-12

Standout Passages

“Cain and his wife” – Genesis 3:22

“Happy are those who go to him for protection.” – Psalms 2:12

 

A Chat with the Husband Later…

On the whole this was a dry section of the Bible, but how much entertainment value can you find in a section that devotes a huge amount of its words to genealogy? But I suspect things will get more interesting. An overlying theme in the readings seemed to be establishing a deeper understanding of sin and evil, so it makes a nice followup to the previous reading.

I did, in Genesis, get a little fixated on the snake, who previously didn’t “go around on his belly”. This sort of suggests that the snake wasn’t a snake to begin with, and may have been more of a lizard! And this is actually backed up by genetic leftovers like the free-floating legbone remnants in the skeleton of a snake!

This section of Genesis isn’t very kind to Women’s rights, either. We see women glossed over and mostly written out of the scripture here, aside from to punish all of us for the evils of one woman. But it seems in line with the time in which it was originally recorded, when such far-reaching consequences were the norm and people sought deep justice (See the bit about Lamech killing a guy for striking him).

Then, moving on, I don’t really have much to say about the reading from Luke. All in all it just established the Pharisees as closed mind and caught up deeply in the process rather than the faith as they grow to despise Jesus.

And finally, the Psalm, which feels like a continuation of one, and another discussion in which “Happy” and “Religious” share the same meaning.

Faith Practices for 4 September 2012

The Readings

Word of Life

  1. Honestly, it’s another of those situations in which I’m working my way towards knowing anything about the subject.
  2. I don’t find it impossible, but I will admit that sometimes just being a good person is difficult, let along living up to the sort of person that Jesus was.
  3. Through learning and through devotion. Through practicing the words and acting within them, carrying out the instructions they give.
  4. It means to not just be religious, but to be the sort of person Jesus taught us to be.
  5. The world would be quieter. The world would be more attentive to the needs of others, for listening is one of the greatest ways to respect the needs of others because you cannot respect (or act on) what others need without knowing.
  6. Think more.
  7. Anger is a naturally quick emotion, being slow to give into it means that you have mastered yourself, and put others before you enough to assume that the anger is not justified until such time that it is deeply proven.
  8. By following the other tenets discussed. If we listen more, consider things before we speak and refuse to be ruled by out anger our tongues are well bridled and kept to reign, going only as we wish them to. (Clearly this answer comes from a girl who rides…)
  9. I define it by action. By living the word in each day and trying to carry out good works that help those around you.
  10. To take action, to not just know that their are problems, but to act to attempt to solve these problems.
  11. Limitations of funding, time and will are the first and foremost. People also must sometimes overcome fear to help others.

Word Among Us

  1. The grandfather is, in my opinion, the very ideal of christian. He put others first and went out of his way to assist others.
  2. My life is blessed with a number of doers. My in-laws are spearheads of community efforts to do good within my church. My own father takes wonderful care of an elderly couple that lives near him.
  3. I do enjoy listening to stories others have to tell. You can learn so much about people when you listen to those little pieces of their lives they are willing to share.
  4. Practice, like most things in life.
  5. We live in a culture of immediacy, in which we act quickly on our impulses (there are entire TV channels devoted to impulse shopping). This same culture is also one that demands retribution and values those who get revenge.
  6. Empowering.
  7. I would like to think that I would be the person I am, but I’m not sure that’s possible… Even though I’ve not always devoted myself to learning God’s word, my parents did ensure that I knew the values in them…

Faith Practice in Daily Life

  • Living in a Christian community is an opportunity to see what others have to teach you, and to see how others who are already experienced and well practiced at living in the word are doing so.