HE STILL LOVES US

On this day eleven years ago I had a fun lunch with our Mom as we compared treasures from another trip to Ollies. (Good Stuff Cheap). Inside one of my $2.99 treasures was an illustration of the Swiss alps. Since Mom visited the alps, she appreciated this story in Swindoll's book "Hear Me When I Call".

THE ART OF OBSERVATION

..... an interesting book written by Charles Swindoll.  The book is full of stories and illustrations, like this one:

A small bottle sat upon the desk of Sir Osler. Sitting before him was a class full of young, wide-eyed medical students.  The subject of the lecture that day was the art of observation.  To emphasize his point, he announced:

“This bottle contains a urine sample for analysis. It’s often possible by tasting it to determine the disease from which the patient suffers, if we observe details.”

He then dipped a finger into the fluid and brought it into his mouth. He continued speaking: 

“Now I am going to pass the bottle around. Each of you please do exactly as I did. Perhaps we can learn the importance of this technique and diagnose the case.”

The bottle made its way from row to row, each student gingerly poking his finger in and bravely sampling the contents with a frown.  Dr. Osler then retrieved the bottle and startled his students by saying:

“Gentlemen, now you will understand what I mean when I speak about details. Had you been observant, you would have seen that I put my INDEX FINGER in the bottle but my MIDDLE FINGER into my mouth.”

BLESSED PEACE

Springhouse circa 1790 @ Raintree Road in York PA

Springhouse circa 1790 @ Raintree Road in York PA

As the world stumbles in darkness from one crisis to another, nothing can take the place of this blessed hope 

FRIGGATRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA

Took this picture of a tree at Hawk Lake in York PA (eye-ball added). The title of this post is actually a word. It describes someone who is afraid of Friday the 13th. And there are nearly 20 million people walking around in fear today.

Actually, this is either the unluckiest, or luckiest, day, depending on how different people view it. It’s not certain where this superstition comes from, but it might go back to Biblical times. Since ancient time, both the number 13 and Friday have been know for misfortune and bad luck. By some.

Part of the reason 13 got a bad rap is because it comes after 12, which is a number of “completeness.” For example: 12 months in a year, 12 hours in a clock, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 days of Christmas, 12 Apostles of Jesus and 12 eggs in a dozen.

Many hospitals don’t have a room number with 13 in it, nor do they have a 13th floor. The same thing goes for tall buildings. Normally the 13th floor is skipped. Some airlines omit Gate 13. There is at least one Friday the 13th in every year, and at the most there are three, as was the case for 2015. 

Not everyone fears this day, in fact, some are convinced this is one of their luckiest days in the year. Read this tweet from Taylor Swift. “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro, every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter. “Whenever a 13 comes up in my life, it’s a good thing.”

Sounds like she's conquered the FRIGGATRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA thing.

Mid - June Fishing at Pinchot Lake

 

Nearby Lakeside Trail

DAILY CHOICES DETERMINE OUR DESTINY

Was looking through some of my Henri Nouwen books this morning.... 

STORIES BEHIND THE BIG STORY IN 1933

I was purging some old documents and came across some interesting stories from the city of York, PA. Check out what was happening "behind the scenes" during the flood in 1933.

HORSE RESCUE
A horse owned by E. P. Yost butcher, which was rescued from the swirling water of the Codorus Creek, was being led on West Philadelphia Street at Belvedere, when it was hit by an automobile and killed.

CHICKENS TRUMP FURNITURE
A man living on Newberry Street, fearing the flood, started to take his first floor furniture to the second floor, when he bethought himself of the 35 chickens in his back yard. Leaving his furniture, he rescued the chickens - taking them to the attic. When he returned, the water level rose to the second floor and had already covered his furniture.

FLOATING COWS
Many head of livestock were drowned in the high waters and were carried through the town of York, PA in the Codorus creek.

WET AND DIRTY REPORTERS
Eager to get to work (on the biggest flood story in the history of York), some employees of the Dispatch donned bathing suits and swam through the muddy waters to get to the newspaper office. (The streets were flooded)