Anyone up for a chat thread?

[Paidiske]

I hate it when the readings and one's inspiration aren't quite in sync.

I'm going for Hebrews this week; 'faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.' I want to get them thinking a little bit about what they actually hope for, like really hope, enough to make choices in line with it. Because I think people are often kind of passive about that.

 

[public hermit]

I hate it when the readings and one's inspiration aren't quite in sync.

I'm going for Hebrews this week; 'faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.' I want to get them thinking a little bit about what they actually hope for, like really hope, enough to make choices in line with it. Because I think people are often kind of passive about that.

I hear you. We are often myopic, and the truly good things sometimes take effort and time.

 

[Shane R]

Well, I went down to the church and had all of 4 lines of hand written notes. But the Spirit of the Lord was upon me and I somehow gave the most well received sermon I've preached all summer. And it went out on the radio.

 

[Paidiske]

One of the best sermons I've preached, I'd left my notes behind on my desk. It's almost as if God knows better than we do...

 

[Shane R]

One old lady at the church presented me with a step by painstaking step cook book that is so old the photos are black and white. Now, I am a good cook. I have even cooked in a restaurant. So, frankly, I was offended that she passed this 60 year old cookbook off on me. But I think I managed to hide my true feelings. She told me it is the best because it shows you every single step in a photo so that probably a chimpanzee could make a pie using this book.

 

[Paidiske]

I wonder whether she didn't want it any more, but felt bad about throwing it out, so was looking desperately for some way to give it to someone?

I know lots of my folks feel guilty about throwing things out, and resolve that guilt by deciding to give them to "the church" instead, regardless of whether we want or need them, or indeed whether we have anywhere to put them!

 

[Shane R]

Maybe I'll pass it on to my dad. He recently retired and has taken up grilling. But he's not very good at it. His grill uses LP gas but most of the meat that comes off of it resembles petrified wood or charcoal.

 

[Paidiske]

Are black and white photos going to help him with that? I mean...

(Sorry, but I did have a giggle).

 

[seeking.IAM]

One old lady at the church presented me with a step by painstaking step cook book that is so old the photos are black and white. Now, I am a good cook. I have even cooked in a restaurant. So, frankly, I was offended

Perhaps she wanted to share something she valued with someone she valued?

 

[RileyG]

One old lady at the church presented me with a step by painstaking step cook book that is so old the photos are black and white. Now, I am a good cook. I have even cooked in a restaurant. So, frankly, I was offended that she passed this 60 year old cookbook off on me. But I think I managed to hide my true feelings. She told me it is the best because it shows you every single step in a photo so that probably a chimpanzee could make a pie using this book.

Ahhh, that’s very kind of her! Maybe she just wanted to give you a gift as a token of appreciation?

 

[RileyG]

I wonder whether she didn't want it any more, but felt bad about throwing it out, so was looking desperately for some way to give it to someone?

I know lots of my folks feel guilty about throwing things out, and resolve that guilt by deciding to give them to "the church" instead, regardless of whether we want or need them, or indeed whether we have anywhere to put them!

Yeah, at my Church, we have (had?) a library where people can drop off theology books they don’t want anymore.

 

[Shane R]

Perhaps she wanted to share something she valued with someone she valued?

She's shared a piece of her mind and a blistering critique of my preaching 6 or 7 times. I didn't think she liked me over much.

 

[Paidiske]

Maybe she felt guilty.

 

[Shane R]

Testosterone replacement therapy has really improved my life. I've trimmed up to a level I haven't been in 4+ years. And I feel like I have a mental edge again.

I've got the confidence back to walk up to a woman and introduce myself in a casual capacity (I've been a widower for 7 years now and that was a hurdle in a couple of different ways). I guess I still look a little rough: there's the eye distortion and silver in my hair and beard, but I'm not sloppy fat anymore. There was a Nordic beauty in the gym the other day and I mentioned her to my bishop. He told me, "The gym is not the optimal place to meet women." I replied, "How would you know? you haven't been to one in 5 years or more." (I've mentioned before we have probably an unusually close relationship and are confidantes.) He responded, "You're right; I yield the point. Just be careful."

 

[Paidiske]

It'd be interesting to see where he thinks the optimal place is.

Silver in the hair doesn't have to be a drawback. Beards, though...

 

[Shane R]

It'd be interesting to see where he thinks the optimal place is.

Church and supermarkets.

 

[Paidiske]

Supermarkets? Okay then. If that works for him.

 

[Shane R]

Supermarkets? Okay then. If that works for him.

I honestly think it's some kind of outdated trope in the US left over from the 1970s and maybe 80s?? Perhaps someone of the appropriate age range to have been single but dating in that era can chime in.

 

[Paidiske]

I mean, I realise I'm not the target demographic, but when I'm in the supermarket, I'm usually task-focussed. Some strange bloke trying to make a meaningful connection while I'm picking up what I need for dinner is not likely to be warmly received!

 

[Bob Crowley]

You can always take a leaf out of Alan Coren's satirical piece about Californian advertising (a long time ago) in his essay "Sigmund Freud and the Jelly Babies".

"Wow!" it said. There was a fixed smile on its little face. "Betcha can hardly wait to sink your teeth into me!"

I turned it over, and found a perfectly ordinary piece of ground beef, wrapped in Cellophane. On one side however, this ur-burger bore a recent portrait of itself with little googly eyes, tiny limbs, and a mouth from which the above remark ballooned.

"I'm fatless", it went on. "We all are. We're the purest! We're JUMBOBURGERS!"

New as I was to Californian supermarketing, I didn't intend to get conned by half a pound of scrag. I held it up.

"You can wipe that smile off your face," I hissed. "Good family or no, you are about to be hurled into boiling fat and eaten. That's how we treat mincement where I come from."

The woman next to me turned, a pink giblet trembling between thumb and forefinger. She smiled uneasily.

"Did you say something to me?"

"No," I said. "It probably came from that pork chop over there. If it insults you, call the manager and have it thrown out. This is a respectable join."

The other shoppers fell back, hurriedly but respectfully, and the Jumboburger and I went to buy some vegetables"...

There must be plenty of conversation stoppers in a supermarket when some strange bloke tries to make a meaningful connection when you're picking up what you need for dinner.

"What do you think of PAL dog food as an entree for a party of six? .... Got a church function on Sunday morning, confessions free if you want to cook for a hundred.... If your wife's been talking too much, i can add another 20 minutes with a sermon, or longer if you want...in my job I scare the hell out of people..."