MARCH 12, 2025 PI DAY

 MARCH 12, 2025

MATH DAY

PI DAY - MARCH 14, 2025

PI day was started in 1988 in San Francisco.  PI is an irrational number (remember what that is) that starts 3.14 - so March 14 (3rd month, 14th day) was selected as PI day - or Math Day

I taught high school math seven years (and college math one year).

MATH WORD FIND AND JOKES

Georgetown Geometry University is an interesting school.  It does have a football team.  Three of the players are triplets - with the last name of Shape, and they have girlfriends that are triplets - with the last name of Angle. 
Big, a defensive lineman, has a girlfriend named Obtuse Angle.
Agile, the team's leading running back, likes Acute Angle,   (He runs perpendicular to the offensive line)

Super, the quarterback, dates Right Angle.  (He throws diagonal passes)

*****

1. Hey, have you ever noticed what’s odd? Every other number!

2. Do you know what mathematicians do after it snows? They make snow angles!

3. Which tool is best for math? The multi-pliers.

4. Swimmers love one kind of math more than all others, what is it? Dive-ision!

5. Once there was a hen who counted her own eggs. She was a mathemachicken!

6. Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven, eight, nine!

7. Did you know that there are three kinds of people in the world? Here they are: people who can count and people who can’t.

8. Do you know why the two 4s didn’t go to the cafeteria for lunch? They already 8!

9. Do you know the special trick to turn seven into an even number? Remove the s!

10. What do the moon and a dollar have in common? They both have 4 quarters.

11. What don’t atheists like exponents? Because they don’t believe in higher powers.

12. The English book asked the Math book why he was so sad. You know what he said? “Because I have so many problems!”

13. Why is 69 so scared of 70? Because once they fought, and 71.

14. Who’s in charge in a pencil case? The ruler.

15. Why can’t your nose grow to be 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot.

16. Which numbers just won’t sit still? Roamin’ numbers

17. Did you hear what the 0 said to the 8? Nice belt!

18. Do you know the trick for making time fly? Throw a clock out a window!

19. If you’re cold, go to the corner of the room. It’s 90 degrees there!

20. Why did the girl always wear glasses when doing math? It improved her di-vision!

21. The minus sign was talking to the positive sign. The minus sign asked, “Are you sure I make a difference?” and the other sign said “I’m positive!”

22. A teacher asked her student “Why are you doing math on the floor?” The student answered, “You told us not to use any tables!”

23. There was once a talking sheepdog. He ran up to the farmer and said “All 70 sheep are in the pen.”  The farmer said, “But I only counted 67!”  The sheepdog said “Yeah, but I rounded them up!”

24. What’s the best way to get a math tutor? An add!  (ad)

25. Why did the circle get offended by the triangle? Because the triangle looked at the circle and said “You’re pointless!”

26. Do you see that circle over there? He’s really smart. He has 360 degrees.

27. What did the acorn say when he grew up? Geometry! (gee - I’m a tree)

28. It’s so sad to think that parallel lines have so much in common…but they’ll never be able to meet!

29. Why shouldn’t you ever argue with a 90 degree angle? They’re always right!

30. Why are obtuse angles always so sad? They’re never right!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, Wednesday, March 12, 20254

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2025 - ASH WEDNESDAY

 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2025 ASH WEDNESDAY 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  We will all die and our bodies will rot.  As one of my friends said, “we’re all going to return as dust, and that’s why I don’t dust my house - it might be what’s left of one of my friends!” 

(much is adapted from: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/574643/ash-wednesday-facts)

Today is Ash Wednesday, which is about 40 days before Easter. (How long is Lent? Lent spans 40 days, from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, which always occurs the day before Easter Sunday. However, since this doesn't include Sundays, Lent is technically 46 days long.)

While Ash Wednesday is perhaps most closely associated with Catholicism, many Christian sects recognize it, including Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and some Baptists. Some Christians refrain from celebrating the holy day, including Mormons, Evangelicals, and Pentecostal Christians.  

(Jews and other religions also fast and pray.  For Muslims fasting during Ramadan means abstinence from all food or drink, including water and chewing gum, from dawn to sunset. We are currently in the season of Ramadan.)

The first Ash Wednesday ceremonies were likely held in the 11th century CE. Although fasting is never mentioned in the Bible, a verse in the Book of Daniel links fasting to ashes, and some scholars believe this is the origin of the Lenten practice. Ash Wednesday didn't gain mainstream popularity with Christians in the U.S. until the 1970s.

The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are surprisingly eco-friendly. On Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, many churches pass out palm fronds like those used to welcome Jesus Christ to Jerusalem days before his crucifixion. Some churches save those palms to burn them and make the ashes applied to people's foreheads roughly 11 months later.

The ashes used on Ash Wednesday are meant to represent dust. When receiving ashes on their foreheads, parishioners hear, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return." This refers to what God says to Adam when exiling him from the Garden of Eden (in the Christian Bible, Adam is formed from dust). On Ash Wednesday, the saying is a reminder to be humble in the face of mortality.

Ash Wednesday can be a day of fasting. For many Christians, that doesn't mean abstaining from food altogether. Instead, observers of the holy day should limit themselves to one whole meal plus two smaller meals that, when added up, don't equal a meal they would eat on a typical day. Christians marking Ash Wednesday should also avoid eating meat like on Fridays during Lent. (Filet-o-fish is still okay to eat, though.)  [Aside - these are “suggestions” - eating meat won’t send you to hell.  The concept of reflecting upon God is the important things.]

The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is customarily reserved for partying (think: Mardi Gras), but the fun doesn't stop there in Iceland. The first day of Lent in Iceland is similar to Halloween in the U.S. Kids dress up in costumes and tour their neighborhoods singing songs in exchange for candy. The holiday even makes room for mischief—in one fading tradition, kids will sometimes pin "ash bags" (often filled with grains instead of ash) to the backs of their peers when they aren't looking.

Some churches offer "ashes to go" on Ash Wednesday. Priests and pastors will often station themselves in public places—like street corners, parking lots, and public transit stops—prepared to administer ashes to whoever asks to receive them.

Along those lines, you don't need to be a church leader to administer ashes. Many churches allow parishioners to take packets of ashes home with them to apply to the foreheads of loved ones who couldn't make it to the service. Receiving ashes isn't a sacrament, so the rules surrounding it aren't as strict as other religious rites. 

(I will receive - and give - ashes in my weekly prayer group tonight!!)

*****

I found this article to be interesting.  I didn’t realize the date aspects - originating in the 11th century, or that it became more commonplace in the 1970s.

The senior independent living facility - affiliated with the Methodist Church -  where I used to work, will have ashes four times that day - twice with their local chaplain, once with a Lutheran pastor, and once with a person from the local Catholic parish.  

*****

BUT … let’s consider Matthew 6

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your unseen Father; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

“Do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others”

Hmm - so when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face.  Are they showing off - “disfiguring their faces to show others that they are fasting”???  

Are we showing out faith to others - or are we flaunting so others know we are “holier than they are”?  Am I ashamed of the gospel if I clean my face? (Romans 16 “ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God”)

*****

(Tongue-in-cheek) When I fast, I tape a sign to the back of my top that says, “I’m fasting today.”  

When I taught and received ashes, I tried to clean my forehead before going to class.  I didn’t want to suggest that I am a “super saint”.  

*****

But maybe the concept of Ash Wednesday is whether it causes people to reflect on their faith. Will they consider a cross a horrifying place of painful death? Will they consider prayer, humility, and penance? Will their faith deepen during this Lenten period?

*****

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen

March 2, 5, 2025

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2025 HEALTH

 Tuesday, March 4th

Yesterday I did my mammogram and bone density test. I had an 7:00 appointment. I showed up at 6:45 and was done by 7:15. The staff was warm and friendly.

I won't know the results for a while.

BUT - the medical field is taking care of me. An old adage is "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

detecting breast cancer early and bone weaknesses can help me live a full live longer. Detection of colon cancer is done with a colonoscopy (I've okay with that). Blood tests should other potential problems.

So, the medical field is being proactive.

I can also be proactive - getting exercise, eating nutritiously, being positive.

Life is what we make it. I'm not going to sit and watch Televison all day long!!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White

March 4, 2025

SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2025 - PARADISE?

 Saturday, March 1,2025

“Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke: You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding. You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal. You’re blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning.”

‭‭

From Luke 6 -“sermon on the plains” - The Message Bible.

So radical- I’m blessed when I’ve lost it all?  Really? 

I’m blessed when I’m ravenously hungry? C’mon now?

I’m blessed when I cry freely? 

*****

Here I am - 77 years old, seeing concepts in a new light.  

*****

What are my priorities? Live a quiet and peaceful life?   Or to lose everything - everything- and find God?

Big picture- does the caterpillar see the butterfly and think “Gee I’m going to be like that someday “? 

Does the child at a funeral for a grandparent think “Gee I’m going to die someday “? 

Let’s take the child example. After (hopefully), a long and challenging life, there is a little door shaped like me. It’s a hidden door at the base of a huge mountain.  I may have walked by the door in my life - and not paid attention.  

Someday I will have to go through that door - to death.  There is no way around it, no drugs or meditation, no exercise, no money - that can stop that door from being in my future.  

No one really knows what is beyond that door- nothing? An icy, foreboding nothing? 

Or a paradise so lovely we can’t even imagine it.  Like the caterpillar am I going to have a beautiful second existence?  Who really knows? 

Is it Nirvana? Utopia? Shangri La? Heaven? Hell? 

Will I be transformed into another being (reincarnation) and sent back to Earth or to a different planet? 

When I get to that door, will I have the right key to open it? 

That’s philosophy and religion.  Will that infinite being say “well done, good and faithful servant?”

“Now abide faith, hope, and love- but the greatest of these is love!! (1 Corinthians 13:13?)

I have to believe that love wins, that a loving and merciful being - who knows me far better than I know myself- will give me a hug that is a unifying embrace? 

Karen Anne White

March first, 2025

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025

 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025, LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY

Yesterday, I commented on one of the vital passages of scripture for me:

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

But - here are the same verses from a different translation (The Message):

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more payback. Live generously.”

Today - expanding that.

*****

There is so much here, I don’t know where to start.

Slaps you in the face?  

“Stand there and take it.” But shouldn’t I try to defend myself?  Not if you are following this concept.  

“Somebody takes unfair advantage of you - be a servant - no more payback.  Live generously”

How can I live generously if somebody is taking advantage of me?  Don’t I have to protest and say, “Don’t do that?”  

Isn’t that like letting the bad people walk all over you?  Yeah, so what?  SO WHAT???  Have you lost your mind Jesus?  No retaliation?  Not fighting back, not even talking bad to them?

*****

Okay,big picture.  Living on Earth is like being in baseball’s minor leagues.  We want to play in the big leagues (aka “heaven”).  

In real baseball, you get to the big leagues (Major League Baseball) by working harder - more hours in hitting practice, more hours in the weight room so you can throw the ball in from right field faster and harder, more hours fielding ground balls and fly ball.  Running, running, running!!!  

But, in God’s Major League, it is by being a servant, by LOVING EVERYBODY!!!  

*****

Okay, Karen’s experience. Yes, I got myself in trouble.  A scammer told me that they needed money because they had lost their credit card - and they asked me to give them some money (and … they would repay it… [sure thing]).  

I sent them a small amount ($200) in a check by mail.  (Sorry folks, I am not doing electronic funds transfer, or wire transfer).  Right now, “the checks in the mail”.  

I’m not sure this is meeting the concept of:  “If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.”  

I don’t give money to crooks - and online scammers - so this is a learning experience for me.  Jesus - I’m trusting in you.  Philippians 4:19 - You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need,

*****

Early Conclusion:  Jesus is such a radical - love my enemies, love those I don’t normally love.  Let them run over me, slap me, steal my coat, shirt, whatever - they are only things!!

True agape love is so perfect - so why do I want to settle for less?

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, February 28, 2025

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025 - STORIES

 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025 - STORIES

Natalie Parsch, 79, and Kellsey Jane, 31, were next-door neighbors for a decade before they met. 

When they did, they discovered something that connected them across their half-a-century age gap.

***** 

It all started with a chance encounter one spring afternoon…

Kellsey Jane (KJ - Younger woman) and Natalie Parsch (NP - Older woman)  

NP - Older woman: I was out in the yard, just petering around. And I met you, at my front gate, because our dogs had met. 

KJ - Younger woman: You saw me with my girlfriend, and you wanted to know some stuff about the queer community, if I remember correctly.

NP - Older woman: I wanted to know how to talk to my grandson …

KJ - Younger woman: [laughs]

NP - Older woman: … because I offended him right and left.

KJ - Younger woman: You knew just what to say to get me hooked into a conversation. [laughs]

NP - Older woman: [laughs] What was going through my life at that time was realizing I was alone. And then you just came in and I wasn’t so alone anymore. 

I realized that I had somebody that wasn’t afraid to talk. 

I shared that I was molested when I was eight years old. And, it was said that it was a misunderstanding. And, nobody ever said anything more to me about it. I got to where I didn’t trust anybody, and things went dark. 

I got married when I was 15, and I had my third child when I was 19. I became a violent drunk, and drug addict, till I got sober. 

The worst part is, I was not a good mother.

KJ - Younger woman: Mmhm.

NP - Older woman: And I loved my children.

KJ - Younger woman: Is it heavy to look back on that in your older years?

NP - Older woman: If I touch the pain, it’s as intense as it ever was. 

KJ - Younger woman: I think a lot of what brought us together was having that shared experience. You know, I was sexually abused as a child by my father. 

What was it like for you to hear my story?

NP - Older woman: It was heartbreaking. But, to listen to you and be there for you, it just felt like an honor. 

Guess the only thing I want to tell you is you just made a difference in my life. You know, I was planning on dying within the next couple of years, ‘cause I knew I was through.

And then you just got me excited again. 

KJ - Younger woman: I’m so thankful you’re still around. 

NP - Older woman: Oh, me too. I would’ve missed a lot. 

*****

Karen writes:

I think most of us have painful memories, and problems in our lives (although we don’t let others know.  I’m heard that only the top 10% of icebergs are visible.  90% are hidden under water.  When we see our neighbors it can be like icebergs - only the pleasant 10% is shown.  

NP - The older lady says:

I shared that I was molested when I was eight years old. And, it was said that it was a misunderstanding. And, nobody ever said anything more to me about it. I got to where I didn’t trust anybody, and things went dark. 

I got married when I was 15, and I had my third child when I was 19. I became a violent drunk, and drug addict, till I got sober. 

*****

Karen says - maybe we haven’t been molested, maybe we are not drug addicts or violent drunks - but we have things in our closets.  

*****

Then the younger lady says:

KJ - Younger woman: You saw me with my girlfriend, and you wanted to know some stuff about the queer community, if I remember correctly.

*****

OOPS - how does an older lady talk to a younger lesbian lady?  How does a white person talk to a black person?  How does a Muslim talk to a conservative white Christian? Or a Democrat to a Republican? 

In this story - two diverse people become friends - an older traditional lady with a younger non-traditional lady.  

*****

Can we solve the boundaries that have been drawn?  Do two people need dogs that need walking to break down the barriers?  

*****

I was reminded for the Servant Song:

The Servant Song:

Brother, let me be your servant.

Let me be as Christ to you.

Pray that I might have the grace

To let you be my servant, too.

 

We are pilgrims on a journey.

We are brothers on the road.

We are here to help each other

Walk the mile and bear the load.

 

I will hold the Christ-light for you

In the night time of your fear.

I will hold my hand out to you;

Speak the peace you long to hear.

 

I will weep when you are weeping.

When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you.

I will share your joy and sorrow

Till we’ve seen this journey through.

 

When we sing to God in heaven,

We shall find such harmony

Born of all we’ve known together

Of Christ’s love and agony.

 

Brother, let me be your servant.

Let me be as Christ to you.

Pray that I might have the grace

To let you be my servant, too.

 

******

Can we be servants to each other? Can we love?

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS