RevTom

I see so very many poems, sayings, and presentations of praise and gratitude: Only a very few truly touch my soul. This is one of them.As we begin each day in our praise to God and as we go about the day in our circle of friends and acquaintances, as we touch the lives of those we come across, let us surround ourselves with people who see our worth. and let us see the worth of all those we influence and touch.

I haven't been on this site in a while but I know your brother is in good hands now. Peace and blessings upon you, my brother.

I do not believe Dan is being a bigot when using Jew in the context given. When used as a slander, then of course name calling someone is bigoted, but when addressing a people in their own words, referring to scripture, it is not being slanderous nor bigoted. Should we strike the words from the Bible?

One of the most influential ministers I have ever had was a lady minister. She was firmly devout in her faith and brought the little church I was a member of together in ways it had not been in decades. I was having a problem with faith (not good in a minister) and she said words that have always stuck with me: "Tlake the talk, be true in what you do, and you will gain the confidence in your faith again so you can walk the walk. She wouldn't let me give up or give in. It is her abiding faith that brought mine back to life.

Aaaaahhhhh...Do I remember you from the FB forum? Nice to see you here.

Ah, yes. I researched it. The original quote was "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with ** by W.C. Fields. Somewhere down the line, someone morphed it to "If you can't dazzle them with diamonds...". it was on Twitter (the latter morph) in 2011. All things considered, I guess the original by W.C. Fields is more highbrow without resorting to vulgarism. It is strange that I had never heard the quote by W.C. Fields, as I am a fan of his. My early career is factory jobs: I at the time didn't hold my college education in very high regard. Thanks for your interesting input and for having taught me once again, something new.

The one I have always been told is "If you can't dazzle them with diamonds, baffle them with ** Probably a lot more base and crass than our purposes call for here. I like your selection anyway...

I think that's a paraphrase?

No umbrage taken, and none meant, for sure!!! It was just interesting the different manners to which we all seek solutions. I was prescribed medication but stopped taking it because I worked with high speed machinery and couldn't operate them (large format printing presses) while zonked on prozac and later elavil. I white knuckled it until I came to terms with it, learned to recognize the triggers, and practiced a type of meditation.

Greetings and Good Tidings, my friends: Thank you all for the good wishes. I have no idea why, but two things have entered my stream of thought during these past couple of weeks during the health issues. It had to do with people early in Johnny Winter's career thinking he had died, thus spurring his song "Still Alive and Well". I once had a similar occasion. I pulled into a service station (yes, back in the day when gas wasn't bought at convenience stores). A friend was manager of the service station, and was someone I had worked a factory job with for over 10 years. He told me that I was dead, and went on to explain that most of my friends thought I had died for some reason. Paraphrasing what turns out to be a misquote from Mark Twain, I told him the news of my death was particularly surprising to me. The second thought occurring to me is that I have an implanted defibrillator (ICD). It occurred to me that I cannot die a natural death: When the ICD detects my heart not beating properly, it will shock the bejeebers out of me, saving me from death and making me look like one of those cartoon characters who have spirally eyeballs and super spiked hair. I am feeling some rethinking about this needs to be done. I don't know how anyone else feels about it, but I am not sure I will enjoy being shocked as some ICD wearers have been, up to 20 times in a row, each time feeling like a horse kick to the chest. I'm thinking my doctors need to go back to the drawing board on that one!!! Anyway, I believe I am coming out of my current health problems and getting back into the swing of life. Thanks again for your support and concerns.

Interesting: I wonder how many of these creation tales or various religious doctrines started around the campfires of earliest mankind as they spun tales to pass the evening or related things that happened during their day, the stories passed down from generation to generation for eons until they morphed into tales unrecognizable by their creators into edicts for living by the inheritors, later taken as canon? I am Christian, but I believe in science and evolution.

Hello, and Good Tidings; You make some interesting observations: Indeed, I believe it is the role of necessity that has driven many of the inventions and advances we enjoy. Also, I have observed people wanting a simpler life - to move away from the high tech lifestyle, the compulsion to compete and be at the top of the rung so to speak. I am one of those who have gone back to a simpler lifestyle. For me, it is the most fulfilling: Yet, I do enjoy the advances in technology mankind has made over the course of history, although many of the things that I once thought of as necessities are not even desirable any more. Still I admire and support the discoveries that have been and continue to be made in the hopes that these discoveries will be beneficial to all mankind. I believe that our Creator has blessed us with a passion to look around the bend, travel that unknown road, seek that which we do not know.

I hope I am posting in the right place: I have been away from ULC forums for a couple of days. I am not abandoning, just having some health issues. I will be back. I just didn't want people to wonder what happened. Take Care, my brothers and Sisters.