Soul and Spirit

“Someone Your Age”

I’m almost past the speed limit. 😯

So this shoe fits my foot:

Then I remembered Psalm 71, the psalm for folks “my age” and beyond. It reminds us of the value of a life well lived and of the worth of lessons learned: Lessons are not just for our benefit but also for us to pass along to the next generations. The psalmist wrote, “When I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come” v.18.

So, maybe being “someone my age” isn’t such a bad gig. It is the privilege of “veteran” Christ-followers to declare the strength and power of God to the younger generations.

Maybe you should read it all — who knows, our feet might be the same size.

Oh, and about that opening speed limit thing. I’m not in a 55 mph zone. Nope. Not that fast.

The Eye Exit

Stuff like this is fascinating, but it gives me a bit of a tight feeling in my innards:

When Liane Lefever complained to her doctor about a persistent ear ache, an examination found a much more serious problem: a brain tumor.

For many Americans, that diagnosis could have led to invasive surgery — including slicing open her skull — and a long recovery. But with an innovative procedure being pioneered by two doctors from Johns Hopkins Hospital, her tumor was removed through a small incision in her eyelid.

[…]

When the doctors told her they would enter the brain through her eyelid, she was most worried about her vision. But the procedure poses little threat of that, though she did lose some of her sense of smell because of the tumor’s location. She was wearing contacts again in three months and back at work at the family french fry business in several weeks.

[…]

Under the minicraniotomy, the eyelid is cut at a crease, and a quarter-sized piece of bone is removed just above the eyebrow. A computer-guided endoscope fitted with a camera leads surgical instruments to a tumor or a brain fluid leak needing repair. Once the work is done a few hours later, the bone is replaced and a small metal plate is used to hold it in place. A few dissolvable sutures close the eye lid and leave no visible scar.

Source: Doctors perform brain surgery via eyelid

Amazing!

And there’s even a life lesson or two here.

Here’s one: You can get to my brain through my eye. What am I allowing in?

The Fly in Your Ointment

With a title like that, I don’t mean to make light of this:

“Because David did that which was right
in the eyes of the LORD,
and turned not aside from
any thing that he commanded him
all the days of his life,
save only in the matter of
Uriah the Hittite.”
1 Kings 15:5

David repented.

God forgave.

But the record remained.

I’m grateful for forgiveness.

And cleansing.

So I can enjoy the ointment again.

(Does any of this make sense to you?)

Empty Cups at the World Cup

I know this is far away. And about people we don’t know. And we have enough cares and woes and responsibilities close by.

But still….

With an increase in people comes an increase in demands. South Africa has discovered this firsthand as they’ve upped the ante on transportation, hotel space, and shopping for the World Cup. In an attempt to meet every need, however, there has been one disturbing consequence.

Human trafficking has increased immensely in South Africa in preparation for the international tournament, mostly but not exclusively for the purport of prostitution. There have been several reports of an influx in human trafficking since the games began, but business moves swelled long before the June 11 kick off. Many of these dealings have been in the works for years.

“[Traffickers] started the trafficking of people in 2004 as soon as they found out the World Cup would be in South Africa,” says Martha Richards, a missionary for International Mission Board in South Africa. “That’s when the traffickers started organizing official trafficking for this event.”

There is a common misconception–even by South African police, who turn their heads from prostitution because it brings revenue into the country–that women prostituting themselves at these sorts of events are earning money and have chosen their profession on their own. But these lies are not reality. Many men, women and children as young as 10 have been enticed into this lifestyle having no idea they would soon be enslaved, and they don’t keep a penny of the money they make.

I excerpted less than half of The lesser-known sport of the World Cup. You really should read the whole thing.

And pray?

Survivor: Urie Sharp

I am amazed that the Mennonite Blogosphere doesn’t seem to be reporting this. Well, a correction to that: Google isn’t turning up any blog references to the matter.

State troopers of the Ohio Highway Patrol post at New Philadelphia are investigating the possibility that a car might have caused a single-truck crash that injured a 74-year-old Bolivar area resident Monday night.

Urie J. Sharp of 7995 St. Peters Church Rd. was reported in satisfactory condition in Aultman Hospital at Canton Tuesday night.

Troopers said Sharp was hurt when his northbound 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck went off the right side of I-77 and hit a guardrail in Goshen Township at about 8:20 p.m. His vehicle then slid into and crossed the median, coming to rest in the southbound lanes of I-77 about a half mile north of the New Philadelphia exit.

Sharp told troopers that he was driving in the left lane to avoid a car that was entering I-77 from the on-ramp when the car came up fast behind his truck and a passenger yelled at him. He said that when he moved into the right lane, the other vehicle “flew past” him.

The driver then got in front of his vehicle and slammed on the brakes. Sharp said that when he also applied his brakes, his truck slid into the guardrail then went into the median.

He described the other vehicle as being a newer model, gray in color. He said the passenger was a white female in her 40s, with blonde hair.

Sharp initially was taken to Union Hospital at Dover and later transferred to Aultman.

Source: Troopers looking for driver of car that motorist says caused crash

We learned about this last night from our daughter LaVay who learned about it on Facebook from Urie’s wife herself. Her report at the time was that Urie has a broken back — a shattered 4th vertebra. I haven’t heard any amendments to that report.

May God bring about full restoration to Urie.

Curiosity in Chess

So Monday evening Andrew wondered if I wanted to play a game of chess.

I did.

But we didn’t get to finish that evening.

After my nap the next morning, I told him we should finish before our visitors arrived. (He was in an excellent position to win and I didn’t want someone knocking over the board.)

Eventually I (playing black) worked my way into this winning position:

chess game image 1
Should I capture the pawn with my black rook?

I was quite certain I could win if I made my move be rook captures pawn.

Then I wondered, “What will Andy do if I advance my pawn instead?” So I did.

Read it all

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Above all, love God!