"You know that children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers." - John J. Plomp

Emo Llama

All of the mosquito fish I put in the lily pond are dead. One was caught in the filter's inlet; did it get sucked in and die or die and get sucked in? Another was floating on the surface and got scooped up in my net. The others???

Today I had Pam pick up some goldfish at K-Mart. She bought 10 for 29 cents each. Two were dead by the time I released them into the pond 30 minutes later and several others seem to be napping. The good news - the lilies are doing GREAT. So are the roses, and one of the irises has bloomed. Pics soon. 

I went in this morning to replace the kicked-in door on the rental and decided after seeing it to replace only the lockset side of the jamb. Cheaper and easier. It still took me over 4 hours to do the job - getting the old jamb out, cutting the new jamb to size, getting it installed in proper alignment, mortising it for the latch and deadbolt, and then adding the inside trim piece and another piece of trim outside because the replacement jamb was 1.5" too narrow. But it's done!

The preacher needs someone to tell him what's expected in the area of intercessory prayer. Is my Calvinist guilt real or false?

I know "too many" people in need of prayer. Steve P.'s  22-year old son has cancer and treatment options seem very limited, perhaps nonexistent. The Husas labor faithfully with the Mibu in Papua New Guinea. Unsaved spouses. An unborn child with serious physical problems. An important friend and colleague struggling in ministry. And on from there.

I feel guilty when I forget to pray for one or more of them for a few days. Then one comes to mind and I talk with God about it. Did I screw up by missing a day(s)? Or is praying for them when it comes to my mind an act of obedience because it's the Holy Spirit who brought them to my mind? 

Yes, I could make a list and use it like a to-do list, checking off each as I pray every day. But then the question becomes, who makes the list? Or more to the point, who doesn't make the list? How do I learn about a very legit need but not include it on my list? Seems a little cold. 

How does this work?? And am I the only one who doesn't know?

Speaking of list, I'm still working through my Facebook P's & P's. I've decided I am not obligated to accept every friend request. Just last week I decided Ekaterina in Moscow probably made a mistake when she said she really wanted to be my friend. It's that middle ground that gives me trouble, those people I knew at some point in the past, but not well. If we were at the same convention I wouldn't make an effort to connect with them during the break. 

My practice so far has been to leave them on the "Friends Request" page. That way I haven't rejected them, which would be cruel, but I also haven't accepted them, which would feel dishonest. They aren't friends, just acquaintances. 

What has me thinking about this (again) is a request I got a few days ago. But this one is different than those middle ground requests. This one is from someone who, in my opinion (and I'm not alone on this) has acted in an unprofessional and unethical manner. He doesn't think so, but by any fair assessment he violated the standards of his (our) profession. 

At first I felt that same guilt for ignoring his friend request and left him on the "Requests" page. Then I got kinda ticked. "Dude, you can't have it both ways. You can't do something like that and then pretend it's all OK and we can just be buds via Facebook." 

Then it got worse.

I noticed many of my colleagues accepting his request to them. "_____ is now friends with _____." That bugged me more. I know they agree he shouldn't have done that, so why were they accepting his request?

And then, instead of letting him languish on my "Requests" page I wanted to send him a message and tell him I clicked "Ignore" and why I did - not because he's just an acquaintance but because of his behavior. I don't want Facebook and it's emerging standards of conduct to cause me to do something virtually that I wouldn't do in person. I really do think his behavior rises to the level of disassociation. And that should include Facebook, even if it does seem cold. 

Note: I didn't send that message, I just felt like it.

OK, I've pretty much trashed whatever scintilla of reputation I had left. I don't pray for people like I should and Ignore friend requests others in my position accept. 

Even Calvinist guilt can be legit.