Happy Monday

This is Happy Monday #532.

What Happened?

Not only did I not write a special historical fun facts post this week there isn’t even a Satur-deja Vu. I try to take like one day at a time but this week it felt like several days ganged up on me at once. Pray for me, pray my family. There’s no one major issue just many stress factors all hitting at the same time. I can normally shrug off one or two and act like they don’t affect me. By the middle of this week I may have even lost my usual positive attitude but I think we’re okay now.

One more full week until Palm Sunday and Holy Week/Passion Week begins. Don’t let it sneak up on you. Be salt, be light, peace and God bless.

Matthew Henry on the Bookshelf

I do most of my Bible study and sermon prep online. I also have a large collection of actual books. I use and promote the Bible Gateway website but have also reviewed physical copies of books for Bible Gateway. Since I have several good resources on the shelf and access to many others online, it’s unlikely that I would have invested in a set of Matthew Henry’s commentary. But when a widow lady offered me this set that belonged to her husband, I said “absolutely.”

Jack Miller was the head of the deacon board when I was called by Unity Baptist in 2014. He was a Gideon, a Mason, and had served many years on the county board of education. His wife had retired from teaching school and volunteered at the reception desk at the hospital. I remember discussing something with Jack during my first year as pastor and then stated that was my idea and asked what he thought. He was taken aback for a second or two and said “You’re the boss.” No, I am not the boss but that must surely be the best group of deacons any pastor has ever served with.

All six volumes of this set have Jack W Miller’s name imprinted on the cover. And that is fine by me. If anyone asks who that is I can continue telling that “You’re the boss” story for years to come.

Happy Monday

This is Happy Monday # 517.

Killing Cupid?

For every two or three friends I see on social media wishing others a Happy Valentine’s Day or posting a couples pic, there is another posting about gross candy in heart shaped boxes and $70 roses. I tend to think of Valentine’s Day in the same way as St. Patrick’s Day and Halloween. In our culture those days have a lot of activities for children but adults need to grow out of them. If you live in New York and have Irish heritage I’m not asking you to give that up but most of us are not Irish, not Catholic, and only talk about shamrocks and leprechauns one day each year. It makes something of a spectacle of people’s actual heritage. Adult Halloween parties send up red flags for me. Even Thanksgiving is a day for adults give thanks and spend time with family around a feast but it’s the kids that are making paper hats with buckles and learning about Pilgrims and Puritans.

The World is a Smaller (Digital) Place

Long distance telephone service used to be a thing. When AT&T was split from Bell Systems (sorry about the ancient history from my childhood) federal regulators sought to bring competition to the long distance marketplace. AT&T, US Sprint, MCI and others advertised heavily to woo customers to choose them as their long distance carrier. It used to be that the longer the distance a call covered the higher the rate was. I myself may have been given a stern talking to for running up a huge phone bill, over $150, while talking to a girl over Christmas break while in college.

4 Random Thoughts

I thought about calling this post Thinking Out Loud because I want to jot down some ideas but that’s the title of Paul Wilkinson’s blog. The problem with mental notes is that the ink fades so quickly so I often tell people that if I don’t write down it didn’t really happen. These are some thoughts I need to get out there before it’s too late. So in no particular order:

Note 1: I spent some times on the 8 ft. ladder clearing our gutters this morning. They are the old fashioned, uncovered roof gutters and they have gone too long in between cleanings. Then I cleaned up myself, ate lunch, and discovered that The Christian Index had published this:

Happy Monday

For a day in 2020, our 4th of July turned out pretty well. It’s only our second week back in church so that’s pretty exciting. This is Happy Monday #382.

Spring Pics?

2020 has been weird so far, to say the least. Some New England states had snowfall this weekend so the month of May is par for the weird course. Let’s boost morale by sharing some spring pictures. Here is one that I took a few years ago at nearby Dews Pond:

 

Are your garden plants in the ground, tulips up and blooming or puppies playing in the grass? Send your spring pics to Van Til (vantilspencer@outlook.com or use The Master’s Table Facebook Messenger) and we’ll share the beauty of God’s creation in an upcoming Happy Monday post.

Valentine’s Hack: Lunch Date

A radio station was asking about Valentine plans yesterday and wanted to know if their listeners/social media followers preferred dining out or a quiet evening at home. I shared a little secret Mrs. Bunch and I discovered a few years ago, the Valentine’s Day lunch date.