3:41, #535: Slip of the Tongue Thoughts

Well, just a bit ago we were talking about how the rhododendrons I planted last week are blooming today thanks to the Lord's generosity with a 2-day light rain. I started to say "...and I didn't even put Miracle Gro on them" and somehow said "Spiritual Gro." ;P When the laughter subsided, I asked the seemingly obvious question, "Could you turn Reformed Presbyterians into Charismatics by sprinkling them with Miracle Gro?!!" Years ago I suggested to the then-President of Camp Cornelius that the Body of Christ needed some Reformed Charismatics, so maybe I should give it a whirl!

Wouldn't it be great if we really could produce a product that would make Christians mature and name it "Spiritual Gro." We could sell it in the 'Jesus Junk' section of Christian Bookstores, have a great marketing campaign, hold retreats to describe its proper applications...maybe even have webinars, since they're so popular as educational devices these days! I mean, there's Biblical evidence that it would be appropriate for God as the Vinedresser and Jesus as the Vine to give a good dose of 'Spiritual Gro' to us, the Branches after 'nipping our sins in the bud,' so to speak.

By the way, the pic is from public domain Wikipedia, not my own camera 'cuz I'm just too lazy to drag myself over to the Library to take a shot myself at the moment...maybe later.
Got Diet of Worms Spiritual Gro?

3:40, #534: Thinking About Worms

This morning one of the devotional books I read in my 'inner room' mentioned Job 19:26, "And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God..." since it was in the King James version and it got me thinking...was Job the first Crime Scene Investigator like Gil Grissom who understood the efficacy of knowing about worms?

Think about what worms have provided us for a minute:
For Shakespeare, they provided material for Hamlet's soliloquy after he killed Polonius in which Hammy went on about our mortality...much like Job...and how we 'pass through the guts of a worm.'

For us gardeners, they provided nutrients for the soil...hey, Dirt Works on the Internet [http://www.dirtworks.net/Buy-Worm-Castings.html will sell you a 5-gallon bucket of the stuff for $30 or give you a two-fer for only $56!!

For us Protestants, Worms was the place old Marty Luther 'took his stand' and won, unlike George Armstrong Custer at the Little Big Horn where he then became worm food! Of course, the joke only holds in English, since the Deutsch-folken pronounce it 'Vorms!" But NOW, thanks to Captain Google, I've got even more information on the city!! For details and links, go to [http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Worms,_Germany], but for the short form... the CELTS apparently founded the place and called it Borbetomagus..."settlement in a watery area" which then got Latinized from vormatia. I think some Barbarian was asked 'Vhere are ve? and replied 'VORMS, VORMS, I HATE ALL ZEEZE VORMS!!!' (which, of course, would have been all over the place that was so watery, as they do after a heavy rain.)

Oh, and for all you river bank fishermen, obviously they squiggly little guys provide bait for your sporting enthusiasm...just don't use that bait anywhere near the Bates Motel or you could be passing through the guts of the little guys you want to pass through the guts of some fish you want to pass through your guts!
Alas, poor Yorrick, it's time to work, Hortatio!!

3:39, #533: Gettysburg

I'm currently reading The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study In Command by Edwin Coddington thanks to the recommendation of Capt. Kirk, who asked me for a suggestion for his friends who want to visit the Battlefield sometime soon. Turns out it's not one of the many volumes I've read and has a very balanced perspective in its presentation. For those of you interested in the Battle, I'd also suggest it as a good read, whether you're a newbie, a vet, or someone in between in knowledge of the High Water Mark of the Confederacy. I've actually got a reproduction of the map that's illustrated to the left in the Grey Havens, flanked by a picture of my two favorite Confederate generals, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, who started out the War as a solid Christian and Nathan Bedford Forrest, who ended up getting saved on November 15, 1875...76 years to the day prior to my shuffling onto this mortal coil!! Underneath the map is a picture of Jacob and Hannah Antes, my great grand parents, one of whom volunteered and served in the 119th Pa. Infantry, fought at Fredericksburg, got frozen feet that December 13, 1862, went in the hospital, and subsequently missed the fun at Gettysburg.

I've currently got the soundtrack of the movie "Gettysburg" running on my computer for the umpteenth time simply because it's great music. One of the things about this battle that most history books don't include...except for my brilliantly researched, written, and publisher rejected work, God Caused the Civil War...is the fact that this battle was key in the personal upbraiding of Christian General Robert E. Lee for his firm belief that he and his Army of Northern Virginia were 'invincible,' to use his phrase. I actually observed that the general who bragged the most before any major battle usually got whupped as God's way of breaking his pride...the sin God says in Proverbs 6:16-24 is one of the ones He most hates. If you want to read more on this hypothesis, give me a yell and I'll email you the chapters!

As for me, I hear the sound of virtual gunfire and am about to retire from my writing to take up my artillery firing computer mouse to do battle in Civil War Generals 2. Can't decide if I want to go against myself at Gettysburg or continue the "Great Battles of the Civil War" at Shiloh.
Got coin to flip?

3:38, #532: Stratego and Other Things

Well, my buddy Alex got me to download a free copy of "Stratego" so I went 1-5 so far as my addictive personality put me up against some computer named Patrick. I was going to put a bomb illustration here, but I think this homemade concoction from another time aptly illustrates just exactly I fared. MAN I HATE TO LOSE!!! Never did and never will. I guess that's why I'm glad I'm on the eternal winning side these last 30 years even if I'm not the one who's ultimately instrumental in causing the victory.

Well, I just invented a new Bob-ism, based on Colossians 3:1...If you've been raised with Christ, don't look down on others! Now all I have to do is follow through on my own advice! ;p

I wonder if there will be pollen in the New Heavens/New Earth? I KNOW there will be no need for maintenance men, so I'm guessing if there is pollen, I'll not be sucking it up like a vacuum as I've been doing in this un-resurrected state in which I find myself having to be content...my variant form of Paul's "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" from Philippians 4!! ;)

Think I'll go pound some Yankees in Civil War Generals, given that there are only 353 days left until the 150th Anniversary of the start of the Civil War!!
Got artillery and infantry?!!

3:37, #531: Five Finger Prayer

A friend sent this to me:
1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray enough for them.

5... And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

3:36, #530: Titanic Times

You who have followed this blog know I like to know what 'went down' on any given day in history. Well, I appropriately chose that phrase because today we celebrate/commemorate the sailing of The RMS Titanic...the supposedly 'unsinkable' ship that providentially went down to Davy Jones' Locker after a brief encounter with an iceberg four days after setting sail.
Interestingly enough to one of my mind set, the designers/builders basically said even God could not sink her, so on April 14...a Sunday, by the way...He did...it's just that simple.

One interesting thing I learned from The One Year Book of Christian History was that a guy named John Harper actually led a guy to Christ right before Harper drowned. This website tells his story: ]http://www.blessedquietness.com/JOURNAL/housechu/harper.htm].

Speaking of Davy Jones...Wikipedia has an interesting article that even has a bunch of footnotes to validate what it says...which could be seen as Davy Jones' Footnote Locker, I suppose, given the twisted way I think, me Hearties...ARRRGGGHH!!
Got Giant Squid?

3:35, #529: Appomattox and Me

Well, here it is, the 145th anniversary of the peace signing at Appomattox Court House that lovely Palm Sunday in 1865 that effectively brought the American Civil War to a close. I've even introduced a new picture of myself with my handy dandy tee shirt on that says, "Question Authority, but do not question BOB!!" The cute beagle next to me is NOT my old dog Daisy, but is the spitting image of her when she was about five.
Didja ever wonder why it's called 'a spitting image' when, in fact, it does not spit nor do anything else? Pardon me...time for a Facebook post for the first time in over a week...

3:34, #528: Worm Stuff

A friend on Facebook mentioned that she 'broke out the toe ring' for the first time to celebrate Spring and it triggered some thoughts in the smoking gun of my brain. If silk worms provide materials for stockings, do ring worms provide materials for toe rings?

If, in human lingo, a woman can call a man a 'worm' in a pejorative way, do women worms call their counterparts 'human?'

The little guy in the illustration is a 'book worm' and I just now learned that part of the definition is 'book louse'...'any of various small, wingless insects that feed on stored flour products, paper or book bindings.' I, too, have been described as a 'book worm' and no doubt as a louse by some of my contemporaries and, now that I think of it, have consumed more than my share of 'stored flour products' which we call cookies, bread, pizza, and that ever popular etcetera!!

My last question is, when 'the worm turns' just exactly where is he going?