Sunspots 751

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Catherine Rampell on President Trump's attacks on Christian values, and on the Constitutional separation of church and state.
Relevant has an article on how to find hope, no matter the circumstances.
Relevant also reports that the Chinese government ordered the demolition of a 3,000 member megachurch, starting in the middle of a service, in spite of government recognition of the church.


Computing: Gizmo's freeware recommends a web page with 55 image-editing tools, available for free use.

History: The History blog reports on the oldest pearl used as a decoration/ornament by humans.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the October 15th Democratic debate.

Michael Gerson says that President Trump's foreign policy is betraying decades of beneficent American ideals.

Catherine Rampell says that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren seem to be following political expediency, in their health care proposals.

Science: The Scientist reports that genetics, by itself, does not determine what types of people you are sexually attracted to. Unfortunately, there is an app which claims to do just that.

Gizmodo reports on a possible new source of earthquakes in California.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
 
Thanks for looking!

The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11 by Thomas Watson. Excerpt 85

Watson, near the close of his book, sets forth some rules for being contented:

Rule 9. Let not your hope depend upon these outward things. Lean not upon sandy pillars; we oft build our comfort upon such a friend or estate; and when that prop is removed, all our joy is gone, and our hearts begin either to fail or fret. A lame man leans on his crutches; and if they break, he is undone. Let not thy contentment go upon crutches, which may soon fail; the ground of contentment must be within thyself. The Greek word which is used for contentment signifies self-sufficiency. A Christian hath that from within that is able to support him; that strength of faith, and good hope through grace, as bears up his heart in the deficiency of outward comforts. The philosophers of old, when their estates were gone, yet could take contentment in the goods of the mind, learning and virtue: and shall not a believer much more in the graces of the Spirit, that rich enamel and embroidery of the soul?
 
Say with thyself, “if friends leave me, if riches take wings, yet I have that within which comforts me, an heavenly treasure; when the blossoms of my estate are blown off, still there is the sap of contentment in the root of my heart; I have still an interest in God, and that interest cannot be broken off.” O never place your felicity in these dull and beggarly things here below!

Thomas Watson lived from 1620-1686, in England. He wrote several books which survive. This blog, thank God, has posted excerpts from his The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, over a number of weeks, on Sundays.

My source for the text is here, and I thank the Christian Classics Ethereal Library for making this text (and many others) available. The previous excerpt is here.  

Sunspots 732

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer argues that there should be more humor in worship.

A Relevant writer tells us why we should find hope, no matter what we may be going through.


Computing: Gizmodo reports on an analysis of the Russian Twitter activity, designed to influence the election of 2016.

NPR reports that the Federal Communications Commission may finally be going to do something substantial about robocalls.

Environment: Catherine Rampell wonders why none of the Democratic candidates for President mention a Carbon tax in their plans for the environment. Rampell says that most economists, left- or right-leaning, think a Carbon tax would be a good idea.


Health: ScienceNow reports on a limit to how much energy a marathon runner can utilize. (Pregnancy makes similar energy demands.)

Gizmodo reports on a woman who had a tapeworm egg in her brain.

Humor: (or something) People from Slidell, Louisiana, called 911 when the local Taco Bell ran out of tacos, according to Relevant.


Politics: Relevant has compiled statements from all of the Democratic candidates for President, giving their stance on abortion.

The hard drives of a deceased Republican consultant have been turned over to an organization that is trying to fight gerrymandering. They appear to be a treasure trove of ideas, many carried out, on how to minimize the impact of Democratic voting, says NPR.

South Korea is sending food aid to North Korea, according to NPR. Experts indicate that the food aid may not really help much, because of the way it's distributed. They also say that if the People's Republic of NK can afford nuclear weapons, etc., they could afford food.

Science: Gizmodo discusses slime.

Sports: Dirk Nowitzki, who played for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks longer than any other player's tenure with a team in NBA history, is enjoying retirement.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, I believe, it is public domain. 

Thanks for looking!

Easter poster

 

He is risen! It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of the resurrection.

The photo was taken out of the window of an airplane, flying somewhere between Dulles International Airport, near Washington, DC, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The sun was visible, or nearly so, between two cloud layers.

Thanks for looking!

Good Friday poster

 

An attempt at a Good Friday poster.

Note that sin, with an enlarged "i", leads to death, and that despair obscures hope. The scriptural quotation is from the statement of the two disciples, on the road to Emmaus, to a stranger (who turned out to be the risen Jesus.) They said this on Easter evening, but they were still in a Good Friday mood when they said it:
Luke 24:20b the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21a But we were hoping that it was he who would redeem Israel.

The background is from a photo of pollen, in a little puddle in a parking lot.

He is risen! Thanks for reading and looking. The poster is a link to the original, which is on my Flickr photostream, and may be used by anyone, provided the use is non-commercial.