Wanderings

The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

Fixes and Fixes

Got tired of looking at the “european” date form, and finally found the place in the program that was doing that. Now looks more like we write dates in the U.S., but still need some more work – later for that. Also got the picture of one of the babies on the left. They are so cute, and we are not keeping either of them. Mom and Dad (Felix and Oscar) already have three more eggs in the nest, so maybe we’ll keep one from this (?? litter, herd, gaggle) whatever. They are so cute!

Another fix was to get rid of that blank entry that some how showed up on Feb 22nd. That is what happens when a “mad programmer” starts writing programs, and they generate files in the wrong place. Well, the programmer found his error and corrected it.

Although yesterday’s sermon got me looking in Nehemiah, decided to read through James. Have not done that in a long time. Also reading a book about the Reformation, so James kind of fits with that. Remember “Faith vs Works”? BTW, that was not where I started here – it begins at the beginning (Chapter 1, verse 1). Have to understand that James was writing to the “church” under persecution – they were scattered all around the Mediterranean (try spelling that without looking it up).

In some ways, it reminded me of Nehemiah going and finding the dispersed Jews and bringing them back, but here, it is different – he’s not calling them back.

There are some strange thoughts expressed by James (dichotomies) – especially in verse 9 and 10. Think about those words “humble” and “high position” or “glory in humiliation”. Not something that we would normally say or think, yet there they are. If anything, in these first eleven verses, the sticking point was in verses 6 and 7. Interesting that it is the “asking in faith” without doubting that gets the answer or prize. I’ll have to remember this verse when we get to James famous “faith without works…”

Not Me, WE!

Thanks to Pastor Dave for this morning’s message from Nehemiah. The rebuilding of the wall was a “We the People” moment in history. Found this a fresh new way to look at what was going on in this book. Reading through chapter one, it is clear that Nehemiah had an “in” with the king. Will do some more checking (on my own) to discover how he was able to get so close to him. Take note in 2:4, that when the king asked “What do you want”, Nehemiah’s first thought was to pray.

That is something that most people I know (including myself) have a hard time doing. Whether it’s a quick call on God or a long “down on your knees” session, we have a ready answer for those who ask. Maybe the missing prayer is why we either get something we didn’t expect, or what we ask for doesn’t satisfy. Let me mull that over for a little while longer.

Oh My, Oh My

Missed a day. Will just have to make tomorrow that much better. The day started out with the burgular alarm going off at 7 a.m. – had a “low battery” alarm. Since the alarm was shut off, time to let Otis (the dog) out for a morning run, and then get him fed. Then back to bed for a little while. Got up since the alarm was shut down and tried to get something else done. Must have been something really important, because I don’t remember any part of it until the alarm company called to check up on our status.

After they gave me the price for their replacing the battery, I decided to try to find a replacement – first, need a key to the alarm box. Found it, and started my research. While Karen went off to setup at Sunday School, and basketball practice, the search for where to buy a replacement went on in earnest. Finally remembered the name of the store in Berkeley that sells electronic stuff like that battery. My mistake was not calling Lasher’s in Berkeley, ’cause after my setup time at church and the drive to Berkeley… Surprise, surprise – they closed at 2 p.m. Just a little frustration, as my mind raced to remember who else sold batteries like that.

Memory came back, and there was a place in Oakland, but now to drive. Uhg! Bad traffic, but finally the place was in sight. Pulled up only to discover that they were open until 4 p.m. and my clock showed 4:02. Thankfully an employee was outside and got his boss to open up and I returned home with a new battery to banish that alarm.

>Sometimes when things don’t seem to go right, maybe we just need a little more time to trust and thank God for what He is doing in our lives. The extra drive time from Berkeley to Oakland gave me more time to think about what is going on in my life – time to say “thanks”.