JE #23

Today we observe the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25)

“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:12-18 ESV)

JE #22

Today is the commemoration of John Chrysostom, early church father

 

“Do you wish to honor the Body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold. He who said, “This is my body,” and made it so by his word, is the same who said, ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.’ Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs is not golden chalices but golden souls.”

JE #21

Health News: The tooth is out. Now it REALLY hurts. But I know it will feel better soon and I'll be able to eat again. I'm down 4 lbs. since Christmas. That's good!

Today is the feast of St. Titus

 

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. (2 Corinthians 7:6-7 ESV)

JE #20

Health News: The toothache/loose crown turned out to be a broken tooth (above the gum). I see the oral surgeon on Monday for extrication. Yep, I'm losing a tooth. The cost of an implant is too much so I'm getting a flipper. Fortunately it is a premolar (#13) and not front-and-center. Pain got much worse and an abscess formed so I'm slugging down antibiotics and ibuprofen. Also on a liquid diet because chewing hurts like heck. But enough complaining...

Today is the feast of St. Timothy

 

 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. (1 Corinthians 4:17 ESV)

Journal Entry #19

Hello, Little Blog! Sorry I forgot about you for a few months (again).

Out My Window: Beautiful sunshine, blue-blue sky. 60 degrees heading to near 80. Love Arizona winters!

On My Mind: I've got a toothache and a loose crown. I'm in pain and have got to see a dentist. Probably the worst thing about moving, after the heavy lifting, is finding new doctors, dentists and barbers. We now have good insurance with Mr. Bee's new job. That is a relief! But the dental coverage provided us a list of dentists and required us to pick one. Kind of hard when you are new in town. I did what research I could on the internet and decided on a guy who seemed okay. Small office and not part of a chain. I'll find out this afternoon. In the meantime I'm sipping green tea with honey & lemon (from my lemon tree). Could use a couple more ibuprofen.

Church Stuff: The new church is working out well. Liturgy has renewed my interest in keeping up with the daily lectionary. I have found 2 resources I like a lot: Liturgy Geek and Psalm Tones. A nice combination to start each day.

Reading: Time to start the list over for 2015. Currently not reading anything. My Apocrypha reading bogged down in Sirach and never recovered. I'd still like to read those books, just need to muster some motivation. I don't know what chapter I left off on and I really, really don't want to start over from the beginning. There are 51 chapters in Sirach - Ugh!

Today is the commemoration of Sarah.

 

For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (1 Peter 3:5-6 ESV)