Friday, January 06, 2012

Hither and thither 1/6/12

As you know from this post, I'm pretty busy today. Here's what I've got - may or may not be time for updates. Hope you enjoy, though!

A bit a lot of bloggers will think this should be some commenters' avatar! (Not you folks, of course.)

  • Talk show host Janet Mefferd, in a column over at Townhall, named The World-Tilting Gospel as one of her favorite books of 2011. Absolutely loved being on her show, once for each book. She is a terrific host, and interviewer.
  • Then more quietly, I heard of a young person whose dyslexia makes reading a difficult challenge — yet who is loving TWTG and sticking with it in spite of that challenge.
  • You can't know how grateful I am that folks who read TWTG almost invariably report that they profit from it. They want to see others enjoy what they've enjoyed. That could happen, if only TWTG could somehow get the visibility that is given to books that are, let's say, less about 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and more into the Ephesians 5:12 areas. What might make that happen?
  • Appropriate for the new year, an article on obesity and weight-loss that is long, informative, and not exactly encouraging.
  • Most helpful in my apparently endless struggle, as an adult, has been the Atkins style approach. The Instapundit offers advice and specifics.
  • All this is one more thing to long for in Heaven, the death of the body's fight against its own best interests. But that's both subsidiary to, and nothing compared to, our longing to see Christ.
  • Wow. Don't show your kids this, or they'll say "See? It does too!" (thx Dawn Lewis)
  • What kids don't love stickers? Boy, these ones did. (Dawn Lewis again)
  • And a Dawn trifecta: truly amazing toothpick sculptures.
  • And then there's Chick-fil-A.
  • Still with companies...
  • If you had asked me last week what odds I'd give for Target doing an ad that would have tears stinging my eyes, I would have said "Zero." I've never loved Target. Their parking-lots (here, anyway) are designed by crack-addicts, and until recent years anything I've wanted has always been (A) in the farthest-away section of the store, (B) overpriced, and (C) not there anyway.
  • Then came this ad. Target, you rock on. (h-t Patricia Heaton, re-tweeted by Jaci)
  • Mostly, I like it when actors don't say anything that wasn't written for them by a smarter, better person. Exceptions are only occasional. HSAT, Sandra Bullock has come across as likable and down-to-earth in every quotation I've ever read. Here's an example.
  • Sure, your kid's talented. They all are. But can she do this?
  • Same girl, two years later.
  • Hm. Wonder whether Jim Wallis enrolled in this class. (thx Randy Talley)
  • Randy also noticed a miserable little story of apostasy and perversion.
  • But here's the bonus round question: how many people in that marriage were in rebellion against Jesus as Lord over their sexuality? Correct answer: two.
  • Rachael Starke has just the thing for your next family vacation.
  • Now, sadly, some nasty reading. I introduce it with the riddle: "If you call a tail a 'leg,' how many legs does a dog have?" The answer of course is "Four," because it doesn't matter what you call it, it's still a tail.
  • So if we call perversion by a nice name, what is it? Perversion. If we call sodomy "gay," what is it? Sodomy. If we call pederasty "intergenerational intimacy," what is it? Pederasty. And yet, the same sorts of forces that are trying to mainstream sodomy are hard at work trying to mainstream pederasty.
  • Overkill Much? Alert. Were you ever afraid of the Library Police when you were a kid — that they'd come after you if you had an overdue book? Turns out you may have had a point. (thx Robert Sakovich)
  • And now, may you have an outrageously prosperous weekend!
  • Finally:










20 comments:

Fred Butler said...

Add a large waffle fry to that Chic-fil-a tortilla soup and you'll have a meal!

Kirby said...

Well, nothing like being the first comment of the year on Hither and Thither.
Dieting: I did a form of Atkins in 2001, AND I started an outdoor job running the shovel for a natural gas company here in the heartland. The combo was awesome. It was also "low stress" meaning, the job stayed at the job site and never went home.

Lost lots of weight, not hungry, very physically sound, best post-30 days of my health.

Now I am pushing 35 lbs over that. It is emotionally painful. And all that that article explains is true. I diet, then I gain back MORE. Also lots of anecdotal stories I've heard. So I basically gave up dieting.

But...Health concerns are arising and I've begun light exercising and stretching in the morning to tell my mind, "hey, you don't need that ice cream, second helping, bag of chips, etc." It creates a pretty good reminder throughout the day. I'll tell you how it goes from time to time.

Hope you have a losing new year for weight, and a winning new year for your blog and books.

word verification: unicanto (when it comes to weight loss, You and I Can, too)

The Squirrel said...

The eyebrow thing scares me...

Squirrel

FX Turk said...

eye brow thing = mark of election

Hez 4:11

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Hez? 1st Book of Hesitations?

Grasshopper boys were intrigued with the toothpick sculpture. Even better watching the ping-pong balls roll through. Gunnar's comment: Mom, that must have tried his patience.

Like the dot room too. But I don't think I'll show them the library police - yikes! (Our librarians just smile, and half the time they waive the late fees. They like homeschoolers.)

But (GROAN) evo-tours? I think my in-laws already belong to that club. Ugh.

Julie

Nick Rolland said...

The article about pedastery made my head asplode!

"There are scenes where you say, 'This is where you have to let go and let God.'
Someone should address this concept in a book...

"Nobody is excluded from the love of God. Not in my book."
What about in God's book?

Esther said...

I didn't really find the article on weight loss discouraging. It actually encouraged me by confirming what I had already discovered: I am fat. I am going to remain fat. I do not need to worship at Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. I can wave goodbye to remarrying unless God ordains that a man can fall in love with a 52 year old obese widow--and that's fine, because He can.

And now I can get my mind back where it needs to be: Doing justice, loving mercy, walking humbly with my God, and fighting the tendency to let sin reign in my mortal body. Healthy issues will be there whether I lose weight or not...nobody gets out alive and I can't die until the moment God has chosen for that event, even if I want to.

I steward my body within the limits set for me by it's Maker. I fight gluttony and laziness, not weight. I do not expect to win. But I know Who will!

DJP said...

I fight gluttony and laziness, not weight

Oh dang, Esther, that is well-put. Thank you.

Esther said...

DJP:

You're welcome. I hope it brings as much peace of mind and determination to you as it has to me.

Thank God, too (I know you have)...have you ever noticed that He says nothing about obesity in the Word? Only about gluttony. So, really, He said it first. It's just that we got our eyes off the main thing, eh?

Wendy said...

I steward my body within the limits set for me by it's Maker. I fight gluttony and laziness, not weight.

I'm sticking that on my desk. Best outlook ever.

Sorry DJP, your H&T just got trumped by a commenter :)

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Esther FTW :D

And THANK YOU for correcting my perspective!

Julie

Mike Westfall said...

sSo... the missing step #2 in the Underpants Gnomes business plan is to add bacon the underpants they've collected?

Yep, that oughtta get the profit flowing!

CGrim said...

France, I take back everything bad I ever said - EVERYTHING - if you will please send me those delicious looking burgers.

Remaining on the topic of food, my personal diet plan is not so much of a plan as an accident: Skip breakfast most days. Some days skip lunch. Not on purpose. Just distracted. Like accidental fasting.

It's sorta like how the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy explains flying: throwing yourself at the ground and missing.

The dieticians (and my wife) will tell you it's not healthy, but I figure, people fast on purpose all the time, some of them for pretty extended periods of time, and they still do alright.

also, my word verification is enessess, which is a letter combination I feel like a spambot could crack pretty easily.

Scot said...

How did you get a picture of my desk?!

CleanFlea said...

Esther-
Thank you-that gets to the heart of the issue.
April

JG said...

"I fight gluttony and laziness, not weight." Excellent!

And....that's why I don't use a desk. When I was a contractor I'd get looks because I'd spread out on the floor with my laptop instead of setting up on a table. You get so much more done. And I was contracted, technically self-employed, so as long as I stayed out of anybody's way, they couldn't do much. ;)

I have seen someone who released a high profile book this week "answered his critics" today, first by admitting he hadn't read anything of the criticisms. Seems like an appropriate place to start, no? No?

As far as celebs who maintain decorum, Patricia Heaton is definitely one. I follow very few celebs on twitter for that reason (I'd rather be ignorant) but she's pretty golden.

Mizz Harpy said...

Thank you for the comment Ester, I needed to read that.

I've always joked that the reason so many people have a hard time keeping their weight down craving carbs and fat is because they are descended from half starved peasants and serfs who were expected to plow fields and herd livestock in the spring, then pick up long bows and pikes in the summer in order to march to war while carrying their pack and baggage, then unpack the baggage, fight the battle, pack up the baggage, carry the wounded and the baggage back from war arriving in time to harvest the grain. All this on about 1800-2000 calories per day of high fat, high carb food.

Dorothy said...

I sort of sympathize with the desire to send the police after overdue books. As church librarian, it's my experience that getting people to return books is very challenging. You know, one of my elders is a Mountie...I wonder if he'd be willing to help me.

The sticker room made me smile; I have a flock of nieces and nephews who would love to be set free in a room with stickers.

Anonymous said...

rofl the cars and rooms are soooooo true rofl

Rachael Starke said...

I kept waiting for the punchline or the Onion credit with the Smithsonian field trip to crazytowm - never found it.

Given that it's extended birthday cake season in the Starke home, I'm following the Oscar Wilde diet - "the only way to fight temptation is to yield to it." Good for cake, not recommended for, well, anything else. :)