Monday afternoon, about 5 o’clock, I took Max for a walk to the mailbox. The temperature was in the low 60s, the humidity was low, the breeze was light. I stared up into the sky and saw endless blue, streaked with wisps of white. I remember feeling intensely aware of my surroundings — the weight…
I cut my front lawn in long strips, one to the immediate left of the other. If you cut yours left to right, I have no issue with that. Agree to disagree.
Anyway, I say that because I have noticed a distinct tendency for my rows to drift to the left just as I am preparing to make the turn and head back in the opposite direction. The amateur psychologist in me thinks it is a tendency to rush through things, that I am eager to start the next stage — and therefore move closer to the finish line — before I have actually finished the current project.
Throughout the Old Testament, “Egypt” is used as a metaphor for slavery. The Israelites spent 430 years in Egypt, much or most of which was spent under the Egyptians’ thumb. The kind behavior shown to Joseph and his family was not continued by the Pharaoh “who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). Life soon became intolerable for the nation, even to the point of being forced to kill their own male children. But God was watching over His people the entire time, even and especially during the worst days. And when the time was right, God intervened. Pharaoh was humiliated, Egypt was crushed and looted, and Israel emerged on the other side of the Red Sea as a nation to be seriously regarded and respected.
But the story was not yet over.
In heaven you will find holiness; in hell you will find wickedness and impurity (Revelation 22:14-15).
In heaven you will find those who obeyed the gospel; in hell you will find those who did not (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
In heaven you will find Jesus (John 14:3); in hell you will find the devil and his agents (2 Peter 2:4).
Alton Brown, my favorite foodie, has a real attitude about what he calls “unitaskers” — that is, kitchen implements that serve only one function. Strawberry slicers, rice cookers, countertop rotisseries, basically anything sold on late-night television — scrap them all. The only unitasker you should have in your kitchen, he says, is a fire extinguisher.
It is the exception to the unitasker rule that I would like to address here.
The scene is the lobby of Mark 16:16 Airlines. A worker stands behind the counter, smiling, waiting to assist someone. A man approaches.
Worker: Good morning! Welcome to Mark 16:16 Airlines. How can I be of assistance?
Customer: Yes, hello. I would like a ticket, please.
Worker: I would be glad to assist you. Would you like a ticket to heaven or to hell? We are proud to offer both.
Once upon a time, there lived a young man in a faraway place; although Aggies like us inevitably want to call such characters Rock, we’ll call him Jake.
The deaths of George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds this week seemed to set off yet another wave of complaints — not that we would be robbed of their respective talents (the word being used generously in the case of Mr. Michael), bur rather that 2016 was going to go down in history that much faster as the worst year in the history of … whatever.
How realistic is that? …
