01 August 2016

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 01 August 2016

And we have now entered that part of the year with long month names.  I've never liked that.  Short month names, generally, are the ones I like.  Months like "May" and "June".  Not December or January or February or November.  August is warm, but the cold is nearing.  I hate Ohio winters, always have, always will.  Oh, well.

My brother, the middle one, came in yesterday afternoon and will be staying a few days.  Be logistically weird:  we have one bedroom, one bed, and two reclines, one of which extends pretty fully and will be his sleeping couch.  We have one bathroom, it's on the far side of our bedroom, so there will be that.  And we have some structural issues here, ones related to the lousy condition of the place generally and the plumbing in particular.  There was an unknown leak in the bathroom sink system, one that went undetected for too long, severely damaging things like the floor.  This morning, he used the toilet, went to wash hands, and stepped THROUGH the floor where there is now a hole.  I put a board over it, and will have to go buy some more boards.  Fun life we have. 
Wife spent yesterday evening and part of this evening working on his computer, which he brought, and which was a major reason for the visit, though we're glad to see him.  Got some things fixed at least.
But Wife did not, for once, have to "watch" the beloved niece.  So she decided that it would be nice, a real "necessity" in fact, to go driving around to show him the region.  He lives about 2 hours away, west of here, and we both grew up well south of here and were never in these parts as kids, so it's strange to him, and largely to me as well.  So off we went.  Temp in the upper 80's, and Wife (in large part due to the lupus and the removal of the thyroid gland) has zero temperature tolerance so the A/C in our 17-year-old car just had to be on, full blast, lowest possible temperature, as off we went.  Took some real wrong turns, but finally ended up at a large reservoir / state park about 45 minutes (if you use the right directions, that is)  from here.  One of those places with lots and lots of geese, ducks, gulls, and fish.  Fish hatchery in fact, though the fish I saw were anything but fingerlings.  They sell past-date bread to the tourists -- of which there were many -- for $1 a loaf, and people toss bits of the bread to the birds and the fish.  Quite a sight, really.  Hung around there, then back to towards home.  He wanted to go eat, so we went to a locally owned pizza joint that also has great salads and nice employees.  A Good Time.  Came back home with the A/C off -- the car does not do A/C well, there's a leak somewhere in the system -- and when it started blowing hot air. that was a bad sign.  So we came home.  Only two windows go down in the car (17 years old, remember) so the old 4-40 air conditioning (4 windows down, at least 40 miles per hour) didn't work.  A/C in house did, which was A Good Thing.
I let car sit for several hours before checking the cooling system.  As expected, the coolant reservoir was empty and the radiator level was WAYYY down.  I put in what I had, begged a gallon of undiluted coolant off nephew, and put most of it in.  Levels had been fine a week ago, that's how fast the A/C leaks it.  And, of course, the gas mileage goes to pot: we used about twice, if not more, the gas that a similar-distance trip without A/C would have taken.  She's -- Dear Wife -- is worth it, but the situation isn't great.




Wife also took her next-to-last Humira shot today.  She called the company and they'll ship another 3-month supply for delivery Friday morning.  Which will work out.

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The Old Testament reading for the day is Psalms 65, 66, and 67

Psalm 65
1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. 2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. 3 Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. 4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. 5 By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: 6 Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: 7 Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. 8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. 9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. 10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. 11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. 12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. 13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

Psalm 66
1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:  
2 Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. 
3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.  
4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. 
5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.  
6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.  
7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.  
8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: 
9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. 
10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. 
11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.  
12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.  
13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,  
14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.  
15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. 
16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. 
17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:  
19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.  
20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

Psalm 67
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. 2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. 3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. 5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 6 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.


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The New Testament passage is Romans chapter 2.

Romans 2
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.  
2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.  
3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?  
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;  
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:  
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;  
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:  
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.  
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:  
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  
16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 
17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,  
18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;  
19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 
21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?  
22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 
23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?  
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 
25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.  
26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?  
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?  
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.



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