My two cats fight incessantly. They must have been really something in the womb. But some of the critters in this video have them beat. I am especially intrigued by the one dog that insists on sitting on the other dog’s head. It must mean something.
By Request, ‘Joy to the World’ (Plus Prayer Request)
Thank you, Phoebe, for being the first to request a Christmas song: Joy to the World. I don’t know who this is, performing it, but it’s beautiful, just beautiful.
Please, everybody, join in prayer for a moment.
O Lord Our God, please bless this year’s Christmas season with power to draw this troubled world to Jesus Christ her rightful king and only Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Update: The hospital just called with news that Aunt Joan’s fever has gone away and her condition is now stable. Thank you all for your prayers on her behalf. She can’t talk anymore, but I’ll be sure to tell her that she’s got a lot of good people praying for her.
Christmas Music, 2017
For the first time in eight years we have a president who will say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Generic Holiday.” I think we should be grateful for it.
To celebrate the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, the only begotten Son of God born into our wretched fallen world to save it, I throw open this blog to you, the readers, and your requests for Christmas music. Any music that celebrates the birth of Christ is eligible and will be posted here. Sorry, no “Santa Baby” here: real Christmas carols only.
It doesn’t matter if a song has already been posted–if you ask for it, we’ll post it. Make as many requests as you like, there’s no limit. If you’ve never requested a hymn post before, well, come on now, join in the fun.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!
They’re Gonna ‘Create a Godhead’
(Thanks to Linda for the news tip)
A former executive with Google has filed papers with the IRS preparatory to setting up “an official religion of technology… with the goal of creating a godhead” (https://pjmedia.com/faith/ex-google-executive-registers-first-church-of-ai-with-irs/). Meanwhile the tech wizards at WordPress can’t figure out how to make my news links link to any news.
I’m sure this subject comes up somewhere in the Bible. Lemme see now…
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands… They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them. —Psalm 115
I think there’s even a technical term for this. Now what could it be? Ooh-ooh, I know! Idol worship!
Excuse me. Batteries were running low, and had to interrupt my post to plug this laptop into the wall. I wonder what they’ll do when their godhead runs out of juice.
Can you believe it? People who are supposed to be smart, but who in fact are gibbering morons, actually propose to worship something that they create with their own hands. Not only is this foolishness; it is incredibly ancient foolishness. Ours is the most expensively and time-consumingly “educated” society in all of human history. And if that doesn’t make you laugh out loud, it ought to make you cry.
O Lord our God, please remember, when you judge our country, that these things are done without our consent, against our will, and over our objections. Amen.
‘Brain Removal Operations’ (2015)
In case you missed it the first time around, I think they’re still performing these operations at many college campuses; and I think I heard you can get one at your neighborhood Walgreen’s, too.
‘O When Shall I See Jesus?’
The question is not “Will we see Jesus,” but “When?” This is what we must believe. This is our fuel, our hope. This keeps us going: O When Shall I See Jesus, sung by the kids at Fountainview Academy, British Columbia.
If you ever thought a high-walled narrow gorge with water at the bottom might make for really good acoustics–well, it looks like you were right.
WordPress Foul-Up No. 109,272
When a little kitten chases its tail, it’s cute and funny. When a 68-year-old man does it, they begin measuring him for a rubber room.
I just knew this day could not go by without WordPress coming up with yet another stupid problem. And this one’s a beauty.
They’ve got me a new follower for my blog. Me. Yeah, I’m listed as a follower of my own blog. I lead it and follow it at the same time. No wonder I’m confused. No wonder my readership is down. Who wants to read someone that egotistical?
Wait’ll these geniuses find out that the Indus Valley Script has never been deciphered. That’ll be next. Re-do all the posts in Indus Valley Script. Ain’t it fun to run a tech company?
This Cat Learns Fast
Watch how quickly this cat adapts to a bizarre addition to his environment–a radio-controlled toy dinosaur. It freaks him out at first. Of course it does! What do cats know from robots? (Our old family dog, Rags, would’ve had this thing in bits and pieces before you could scream, “No, no, that’s expensive!” And then he would’ve smirked.)
I can’t say for sure that the cat figures out that the dinosaur is not, in fact, alive, even if it moves and sounds like something that’s alive. But he does figure out it can’t hurt him.
Cats are smart; and if they had hands, we’d be in trouble.
I
The Real Narnia
Here’s something I’ll betcha didn’t know: there really was–and still is, sort of–a place called Narnia. It was, for almost 3,000 years, a town in Italy; and in 1870, its name was changed to “Narni” (http://www.narniainitaly.com/). It’s still there, perched up in the mountains.
We can be pretty sure C.S. Lewis knew all about it: he would have read Livy’s History of Rome. Because of its strong, defensible location, and not its size or wealth, Narnia was for a long time kind of an important place.
There is no record of fauns or talking animals having lived there, but I would rather not commit myself as to centaurs.
Now go out there and win a trivia contest.
BTW, I Finished the Book
Yeah, The Temptation, she’s-a done–in spite of all the computer problems, doctor visits, bad weather, and constant interruptions, Book No. 11 of my Bell Mountain series is all typed up, polished, and sent off to my editor.
I have no idea to what extent, if any, I have succeeded in communicating the vision I had for this book. My wife read the last six chapters this morning, but she was very tired and I don’t know quite what to make of her reaction.
What I tried to do, in the climax of this story, was difficult. It had to be written so that a reasonably with-it 12-year-old would have no trouble understanding it, but at the same time in such a way so as not to alienate adult readers. Sorta like when the pitching coach comes out and tells you, “Don’t give him anything to hit, but don’t walk him, either.”
Oh, well. A writer who’s sure of himself is probably headed for a bad book. I had to work very intently on the climax and I’m kinda wrung out. It’ll be a week or two before I start to miss having no book to be working on. In the meantime, Chalcedon has plenty for me to do.