THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2024 - LUST

 THURSDAY, AUGUST 1ST, 2024 - WARNING LUST

This comes from friends - and observation.  It is ONLY a generalization.

My friend MN (age 74) dates AC (age 85). AC has a history of being unfaithful. Seemingly, when AC was young and recently married, he had his first child, and not too long after that, he had his second child (not by the same mother). Seemingly, AC has been married and divorced five times.  

AC seems to think he is “God’s gift to women.”

*****

RP (age 79) was married - and her husband had “roaming eyes.”  They divorced, and almost instantly, her ex married again.

*****

From my experience, men are “wired” differently.  Men decide by looks - and lust.  

Frank Sinatra was married four times and had at least six other notable relationships in between. He had three verified children and more than one of questionable paternity.

Solomon had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines.

Muhammad had twelve wives; Henry the Eighth had six wives; Joseph Smith had up to 40 wives.

Even Donald Trump has had three wives. 

*****

Men (not all men) have a roving eye - and eye is the correct word. Over the years, men tend to look at the outside of a woman. 

***
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28

*****

While it is not valid in the biological sense, it seems like some men think with their eyes and with their male organs. Back to AC at the top of today’s blog - How could a man with a wife who is pregnant even think of being with (aka “having sex”) with another woman?  

Matthew 18:9 says, "If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you; you should enter life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell."

The meaning for men is “don’t look” - or avoid the occasion to lust.

*****

As a man, I was subject to the above discussion.  Unfortunately, in a unit on creating web pages, one of my students had a link: “If you are over 18, click here”.  Well, I was over 18, and I clicked - and found online pornography.  I fought that for a while and needed accountability with God to avoid this.  (And, got it in Confession) .

Men do get excited sexually about seeing women in provocative poses.  Biblically, King David saw Bathsheba bathing and lusted after her (even to the extent of having her husband killed in battle). 

*****

My intent today is to suggest that men can lose their better senses when confronted with women. 

LOVE DOES WIN - But we must choose to follow agape love, not eros love

LOVE DOES TRANSFORM US 

Karen Anne White, August 1st, 2024

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31ST, 2024 AUGUST

 WEDNESDAY, JULY 31ST

WARM UP

Almost the end of July- named after Julius Caesar; next is August, named after Augustus Caesar.

Julius Caesar was Augustus's great-uncle. Julius played a significant role in Augustus's early life, introducing him to Roman politics and taking him on military campaigns. In 47 B.C.E., Augustus fought alongside Caesar and impressed him so much that Caesar named him as his heir in his will when he was assassinated in 43 B.C.E. At age 19, Augustus accepted the inheritance and became involved in Roman politics, forming alliances, defeating rivals, and winning a civil war.

In the old Roman calendar, March is the first month.  So October - using the prefix “oct” for eight is the eighth month in the old calendar; like December - with the prefix “dec” - for ten is the tenth month. (And, August is the 6th month in that calendar)

***

August is the only month without a formal (or informal) holiday.  It is also “back to school” month.  If you’ve been shopping, you probably have seen the “back to school” specials. 

January has New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Day

February has Valentines Day and Presidents’ Day

March has Pi Day, St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness

April has April Fools Day and Easter

May has Mother’s Day and Memorial Day

June has Flag Day and Juneteenth

July has the Fourth of July

September has Labor Day

October has Halloween

November has Veterans Day and Thanksgiving

December has Christmas and New Year’s Eve

So, poor August has not much to celebrate.

*****

 August is “back to school” month. When I taught, my brain turned on. At end of the school year I didn’t want to see another student!!  But as August came I was excited to get back to the classroom!! 

*****

If you have a relative going off to school for the first time, one who is going off to twelfth grade - or a friend, neighbor - encourage them to work hard.  School is for education.  Yes, socialization is important, but thinking, reading, writing, math and science skills are important!!!

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, July 31st, 2024

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2024 - BAD DAY

 TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2024 - EVERYBODY HAS A BAD DAY

Charles Darwin quote - “But I am very poorly today, and very stupid; and I hate everybody and everything.  One lives to only make blunders.” 1861

Yup - you are so right Mr. Darwin.  There are days when I am poorly and very stupid and I hate everybody and everything!!!!

I woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning.  (That isn’t true, because I only sleep on the left side of my bed because of how I’ve laid out my bedroom - good mornings or bad mornings I get up on the same side of the bed.)

So, how can we be positive on those bad days?

Everyone has bad days. They're a normal part of life.

However, while bad days are inevitable, you have a choice about how you react to negative events. You can dwell on the situation and feel bad. Or, you can do something that turns your day around.

To make a bad day better, go for a walk outside, or do some stretches in your office to get some exercise. Work on your most important goals, do something nice for a friend or colleague, or look back at what you've achieved in your career so far.

 

I generally like to walk outside - and you can do that in Texas more than in South Dakota.  (In the summer it might mean getting up and walking at 7:00 a.m.) I can generally walk outside on the 10th of January in Texas - but I might not have walked too far in Madison, South Dakota on the 10th of January.

 If you have a hectic day at the office, even a short burst of outside time will boost your mood. Yoo suggests taking a walk in an area where you can see the sky, smell foliage and feel the earth beneath your feet. Try taking a 10 minute walk around the block—it'll really help!

I also can go to the Georgetown Recreational Center - and walk.  Yes, it is indoors - but for those 100+ days, it works.

I also will play some music that I like to change my mood.  I can play the Finale to Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and pretend to be the conductor - or to be the tympani player.  (And, since I don’t have a tympani - and really have never paid a tympani - I can hit the tympani head so hard - and the whole city doesn’t have to hear it!!!)

I can grab a jigsaw puzzle and lose myself in the puzzle.  (I also do online puzzles - using Jigzone - and try to beat the average time!!)

I also grab an adult coloring book - and my box of 100 colored pens.  

I can pick up some food (probably Chinese food from our favorite Asian Cuisine Restaurant) and go to Mary’s house and have dinner.  

I can look at favorite videos - I’ve mentioned how I’m enjoying The Parent Trap - even if I’ve seen the scenes over and over.  Or find a Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, or Popeyes video..  I know the good guys are going to win.  When I see Popeye open the can of spinach I know all will work out.  

I can take a nap.  (I normally take a 15 minute nap - with my “optimal time” of 12:34 (sequential number).  If things are still bad, I can take a second nap!!!

I can text (I’m not a big phone calling person) Kathleen, Beth, Mary, or others and put in a little positive video. 

I can go to Walmart or Aldis and shop.  (I actually have “friends” there that I smile at and say “hi” too)

*****

Or I can have a pity party with three guests - me, myself, and I.  My pity parties never last more than a day.

*****

And, I can realize that everybody (including Charles Darwin) has a bad day periodically - and I need to be nice (and loving) to all people.

YES - LOVE WINS

YES - LOVE TRANSFORMS

But, I have to adjust my attitude to be loving!!

Karen Anne White, July 30, 2024

MONDAY, JULY 29, 2024 - WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS

 MONDAY,, JULY 29TH, 2024 - WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS

The phrase "from the wrong side of the tracks" is an idiomatic expression used to describe someone who comes from a less affluent or socially disadvantaged background. The origin of the phrase can be traced back to the physical layout of some towns and cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (IWikipedia) 

Growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, there were railroad tracks.  Cedar Rapids was an industrial town with railroads going through town.  In the summers during college, I worked at Metropolitan Supply - a school supply warehouse.  Summers were busy.  It seemed like all the school districts in Iowa and Northern Illinois used Metropolitan Supply to get supplies for their district.  We shipped duplicating paper (in the late 1960s there weren’t laser printers), construction paper, crayons, pencils, clay, paper clips, and most common school supplies.  

Behind out building on Southeast 3rd street were railroad tracks.  We got shipments on those railroad tracks.  The train companies put our boxcars on a siding and we went and unload the boxcars and took them a block to our building.  

I didn’t think of these tracks as separating good parts of town from the poor parts of town.  (The railroads were probably there years before Metropolitan Supply was!!)

But in the Northeast Park of town was “Cedar Lake” (which a nice name to go with Cedar Rapids).  But, in common language, this was “the slough”. All around Cedar Lake were industrial business.  Quaker Oaks was on the west side.  There was a railroad yard where freight cars could be sorted out.  Metropolitan Supply never (to my knowledge) got more than one boxcar at a time.  

In other communities, the railroad tracks did separate the good parts of town from the poor parts of town.  

*****

Billy Joe Royal sang “Down in the Boondocks”:

Down in the boondocks

Down in the boondocks

People put me down

'Cause that's the side of town

I was born in

I love her, she loves me

But I don't fit in her society

Lord have mercy on the boy

From down in the boondocks

We still have the rich and poor parts of most towns.  Maybe the rich part of town has houses and swimming pools (at least in Texas), while the poor side of town has apartment buildings and low rent houses.  

In my neighborhood, I’m in an apartment complex - a “reasonable” complex - with two pools and an exercise room.  Indian Creek apartments are not luxury apartments.  I don’t see a lot of crime (but maybe I’m not looking).  A friend lives in low-income subsidized housing and she comments about the drug deals and some of the “trashy people” who live in that area. Across the street from this apartment complex are duplex houses - this is not on the “rich side of town”.

*****

I’m writing this after my Sunday service with John 6 (the feeding of the 5,000).  Seemingly, Jesus went to the East Side of the Sea of Galilee - which had mostly non-Jewish people.  It was like being on the “wrong side of the tracks”.  On the West Side were the Jewish people - and here was Jesus - preaching to the “wrong people”. 

*****

So, where are you going with this Karen?

The analogy is that we are a separate society.  There are those on the “right side” of the tracks, and those on the wrong side of the tracks (even if they are neighbors).  Yes, we are all Americans - but we like to be separate.  Like the South after the Civil War, the schools were to be “separate but equal” - but definitely were separate for the black children but not equal.  

*****

And … I like to associate with people like me - and avoid people not like me.  But, the message is that we are all humans - living together.  In the Declaration of Indepence it is declared that “All Men are Created Equal”.  But somehow we might says “Yes, all people are created equal, but some of us are better than the others.”.

As we approach Election Day 2024, the rhetoric is getting stronger - trying to force us to take a side.  “We are the good guys, and they are the bad guys.” 

C’mon people - let’s work together.  Let’s LOVE one another.  Take the labels away. 

LOVE WINS

• But it is selective win - for those who MAKE LOVE (agape love) their priority; for those who are open to others

LOVE TRANSFORMS

• We have to forget about the “right side” and “wrong side” of the tracks.  We are ALL made in the image and likeness of God.  

• Yes, I have been blessed, yes, I’ve had a good education; yes, I’ve been successful in my life and work; yes, I’ve allowed myself to embrace LOVE

(And a very subjective view - the rhetoric is there.  In my limited experience, whoever is in the White House can do certain things - but there are still limitations.  Was life better with George Bush than with Al Gore?) 

Karen Anne White, July 29, 2024

SUNDAY FUNDAY - JULY 28, 2024 FUN

 SUNDAY FUNDAY, JULY 28th

WARM-UP

Almost the end of July- named after Julius Caesar; next is August, named after Augustus Caesar.

 August is “back to school” month. When I taught, my brain turned on. At end of the school year I didn’t want to see another student!!  But as August came I was excited to get back to the classroom!! 

JOKES

What did the grape say when he was stepped on?  Nothing, he just "wined."

My wife left me because I had an obsession with pasta.  Now I'm cannelloni.

I lost my pet mouse, Elvis, the other day.  Yes, he "was caught in a trap"

What kind of shoes do frogs wear in the summer?  Open toad shoes

How do trees access the internet?  They log in.

What happens when doctors get frustrated?  They lose their patients.

What do women and toilet paper have in common?  They deal with a lot of crap.

How do you make seven even?  Take away the S.

I don't trust those trees.  They look a little shady.

What would be the worst household appliance to use as a life preserver?  The sink

My friend Paula has been sending me videos of three guys in a deer blind telling blind deer (and other) jokes:

What do you call a deer with no eyes? Blind

Billy: What do you call a blind buck? Barry: No eye, deer. (No idea)

What do you call a blind cervine? No eye deer

What did the blind rabbit say to the deer? I have no eye, deer!

What's a blind deer's favorite dance move? A no-see-doe

Why did the blind deer cross the road? No idea.

What do you call a blind deer? No idea.

Why was the moon being defiant? He was going through a phase.

I have a camping trip tomorrow and just bought a sleeping bag. 

Does anyone know how to wake it up?

You have to be extremely precise when trying to identify fungi.

There's not mushroom for error.

What programming language does a fish code in?

Sea++ (There is a popular language called C+)

My new password is “fortnight.”

Do you think it's two weeks? (two weak)

Man: “Should we start drinking now to have a nice buzz when we get there?”

Wife: “We're going to Walmart.”

It's ironic how funeral directors have raised the price of funerals.

 And blamed it on the cost of living.

I have been writing lots of monarchy jokes lately.

It might be my crowning achievement.

I walked by the cable repairman on the street the other day, and he asked me if I had the time.

I told him it was between 8am and 1pm.

[first day as car salesman]

Customer: “Cargo space?”

Me: “Car, no, do that. Car no fly.”

Manager: “Can I see you in my office?”

People over 70, what’s popular right now that you have zero interest in?

My balloon elephant wouldn't fit on the back seat of the car, so l had to pop the trunk.

I know a lot of jokes about retired people, but none of them work.

Our local barber got busted for dealing drugs.

I've been going to him for years, and I never knew he was a barber.

*****

LOVE WINS

Karen White

SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2024 - ART

 SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2024

ART

When I was in seventh grade, Roosevelt Junior High School had parent night. The teacher from my art class put up our drawings. Whether there just wasn’t enough room or my drawing wasn’t good enough, my drawing (and I think three other students' drawings) didn’t go up on the wall. There wasn’t an explanation—mine (and the others weren’t there).

I took that as a sign that my art wasn’t good enough.  

In college, I took an art appreciation class. I learned to identify art—the artist, the period, and its significance. I liked the class.  

I view art as more than drawings and paintings. I’ve made music and acted as an expression of art, and I still appreciate the visual form of art.

I have three original, personal works of art on my wall.  They might not be art in the footsteps of Van Gogh, but they are artistic.  They are posters.  The one over my desk is similar - large letters of “LOVE WINS”.  The one over the fireplace says, “Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind.” The third is over the sofa - “Love Justice, Show Mercy, be Humble, Love Wins”.  I have a font that I like with serifs and color.  

In the past few years, I’ve done adult coloring pages.  I’ also got a set of 100 color  nk pens (cheap) and I have been coloring.  I got a coring book from Wal rt - with many pages of inspiration designs and quotes.  

I like coloring these pages - the ads suggest that coloring helps relieve stress.  (I know it takes up time that I could be writing blog posts!!!).

There are also images online that I can download, print and color.  

Whatever the process, I am creating visual art.  I want a huge mural (on tagboard) for my apartment.  (I don’t think the apartment management would want me to paint on the wall <grin>).

My grandmother painted in her retirement years, a cousin is making some awesome pictures. Being creative is a gift - that we often don’t open.

As written, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.  My eyes enjoy art.

ART IS LOVE, LOVE WINS

ART CAN TRANSFORM US; LOVE ALSO CAN TRANSFORM US

Karen Anne White, July 27, 2024