Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 05 January 2018 w/correction

The Deep Freeze continues.  Not only here, but across the midwest and northeast USA.  And, one hears, it's affecting Britain as well.  Among other things, flooding in places like Rhode Island, with cars immersed in frozen "ponds".  Snowfall as far south as central Florida is anticipated.  A snowfall this last 24 hours of six to ten inches in New York City!  And tomorrow night, we are expecting a low of around -13°.
Niece's husband brought that torpedo heater over when he came home for lunch.  Ran it for about 3-1/2 hours, and at the end started to get a little bit of flow to the cold water taps in the bathroom and kitchen sink, and at last some refill water to the toilet.  Being cautious, I filled two 5-gallon buckets and every pitcher I could find, for "just in case".   By around 7 p.m., we started to get some cold water flow to the shower/tub.  No hot water, none whatever. 

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for some reason, an important paragraph or two did not get saved and published.  I have no idea why, but this is not the first such case.  I'm trying to recreate it as best as memory permits.
No, we do NOT have water.  ANY water!  At all!
Last evening, I heard an "odd" sound in the wall against/beneath our little eating table.  Sounded like water.  Now, the point at which the water from the utility enters our hovel is right outside that outside wall there.  I groaned, put on coat, grabbed flashlights, and went outside.  Pulled some of the trim out of the way, and observed water pouring out.  NOT good.  Obviously, we  have some cracked/broken pipes/lines somewhere near there.  I checked, while in this mode, and verified that the "heat tape" power on indicator was glowing, so yes it was on, or at least was plugged in.  No alternative but to cut the flow.  Our plumbing is incredibly primitive, which in general translates to "almost no local shutoffs".  And what THAT means is that I had to turn off the main valve to the place.  So, now, we have NO water at all.  Nary a drop from the taps.  Fortunately, yesterday I had filled two 5-gallon buckets to provide "flush" water, and about 3.5 gallons of water in various pitchers, so we do have some reserve.  But that's it.
We're always very tight on money, and this sort of thing is a Very Big Problem.
I had intended to do some plumbing work here in the Spring, and now have a crimping tool and a few crimp-type connectors.  A few.  the lines (not pipe, generally, this place is "plumbed" with PEX primarily, with hard PVC for drains), not.  We set up one of those "payday loans" last night, and when that $200 loan goes through we'll attempt a trip to a nearby hardware joint and acquire some of that 3/4" PEX.  Weather is supposed to break Sunday afternoon and be relatively decent next week (comparatively, I mean, that being above freezing for several days) which is probably when I'll start on this.  So I'll be going next door to fill  buckets and pitchers until then, with no good alternative.

An old friend of about 40 years' standing messaged me with an offer to "camp" there.  Wish I could, but it's more that an hour's drive from here.  Can't take the cats.  One nephew and his wife, the same thing, they live a good half-hour drive from here (right by the church I grew up in).  Same thing.  And Niece relies upon Wife to "watch" the kids a few days a week and there's not a good fall-back.  So I guess we'll try to stay put if at all possible.
This is NOT fun.

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Looking forward to the coming week and the predicted break from this horrible cold.  If only it would remain in the 30's (or above) for the rest of the season.  Not likely of course, but a person can hope.

Gas company guy came by early yesterday afternoon.  Same guy had been here Wednesday night until nearly 02:00 dealing with our frozen gas line.  He came by yesterday, being in the area (they cover a HUGE area) to check on the heater/battery pack he'd installed during the night.  To discover that the battery pack had failed, so he had to replace it.  We appreciate him, and the whole crew, but this is getting a bit tiresome.  Especially in this horrid cold weather.  Not good at all.


Older daughter and her husband had their 10th wedding anniversary last week, the last week of December.  I sent congratulations and all that, got no response whatever.   We did hear that they'd taken a trip to California, probably to Disneyland.  They'd gone their on their honeymoon.  I never had anywhere like the money that would have been needed to take them when they were kids, and I think she holds it against me.  I guess.

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Our day's reading in the New Testament is chapter 5 in the Gospel of Matthew.
The Sermon on the Mount.  Good stuff!

Matthew 5

5:1		And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
5:2		And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
5:3		Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:4		Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5:5		Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
5:6		Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
5:7		Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
5:8		Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
5:9		Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
5:10		Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:11		Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
5:12		Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
5:13		Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
5:14		Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
5:15		Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
5:16		Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
5:17		Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
5:18		For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
5:19		Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
5:20		For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
5:21		Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
5:22		But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
5:23		Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
5:24		Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
5:25		Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
5:26		Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
5:27		Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
5:28		But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
5:29		And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
5:30		And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
5:31		It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
5:32		But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
5:33		Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
5:34		But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
5:35		Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
5:36		Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
5:37		But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
5:38		Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
5:39		But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
5:40		And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
5:41		And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
5:42		Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
5:43		Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
5:44		But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
5:45		That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
5:46		For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
5:47		And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
5:48		Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

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 Our reading in the "poetry" section for today is Psalm 5

Psalms 5

5:1		Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
5:2		Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
5:3		My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
5:4		For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5:5		The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
5:6		Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
5:7		But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
5:8		Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
5:9		For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
5:10		Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
5:11		But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
5:12		For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

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Our reading in the Old Testament is chapters 9 and 10 of the Genesis.

Genesis 9

9:1		And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
9:2		And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
9:3		Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
9:4		But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
9:5		And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
9:6		Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
9:7		And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
9:8		And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
9:9		And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
9:10		And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
9:11		And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
9:12		And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
9:13		I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
9:14		And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
9:15		And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
9:16		And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
9:17		And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
9:18		And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan.
9:19		These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
9:20		And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
9:21		And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
9:22		And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
9:23		And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
9:24		And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
9:25		And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
9:26		And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
9:27		God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
9:28		And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
9:29		And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Genesis 10

10:1		Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
10:2		The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
10:3		And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
10:4		And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
10:5		By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
10:6		And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
10:7		And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
10:8		And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
10:9		He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
10:10		And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
10:11		Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
10:12		And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
10:13		And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
10:14		And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
10:15		And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,
10:16		And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
10:17		And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
10:18		And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
10:19		And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
10:20		These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
10:21		Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
10:22		The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
10:23		And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
10:24		And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
10:25		And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
10:26		And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
10:27		And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
10:28		And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
10:29		And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
10:30		And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
10:31		These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
10:32		These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.