seriouslyscorpio

thoughts of the moment and of my life

Author Archives: seriouslyscorpio


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1ST CORINTHIANS….PAGE 4, CHAPTER 4


And the letter continues…..

As you remember, Paul is trying to get the attention of the newest members of the church in Corinth….He’s reminded them that God’s word is not the new trend on the block, but an old message that arrived long before the parishioners were on the scene. Even today, we hear newcomers preach as though they new the final hour….they didn’t in 57 AD and they don’t now. Paul goes on to say only God knows what is ahead, what the big plans are….He does say that God has offered us salvation and true happiness here thru his son, Jesus.

And then…..he reiterates…..that they are new to Christianity and in truth, infants when it comes to this spirit. The temptation to become absorbed in one’s self caused problems then, as it does now…Guess ‘holier than thou’ has been around for a long time, hasn’t it…..

The Corinth congregations needed to review their relationships with one another, and to agree to work and live in peace and harmony. Accomplishments needed to become a united effort in the new churches, instead of working against each other…and Paul was trying to get that point across. There is always that time of reckoning, Paul said, and the people needed remember God has already given them and us everything we needed, as a gift.

Chapter 4 doesn’t let up….He sure didn’t like the attitude of some of his own converts…and said some were self-important, haughty, and even boastful. He told them that self-restraint was something they should consider….and that it was, for sure, destined to be God’s way, and not theirs.

Being a Christin in those days was not a win-win situation. There were plenty of other beliefs that people liked better, and Paul and his buddies were definitely ‘thrown under the bus’ on a number of occasions. They didn’t let that stop them tho…they kept up the pace and always seemed to have room for blessing those who had just berated them.

Then….Paul must have sit back a little, re-read what he just penned and said the following….I’m writing to you as a father..I really care about you. I know there is a line of people ready to tell you what you’ve done wrong every day, but I don’t want to be a father who just scolds. I want to help you understand, to explain once again what is expected, so you can get those ducks in a row. Jesus helped me, and now I’m helping you. Get off the soap box, re-unite your church, think of those less fortunate,and guide those in your parish who are not following our teachings. If they are engaging in unacceptable ways, be God’s guide, his representative, and a father to those who,deep down inside, yearn to confess and go forward.

And so it goes….in 57 AD


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1ST CORINTHIANS…. TOUGH TIMES, TOUGH CHOICES


Yesterday we (I mean I) discussed the downturn in the new church in Corinth…One can just visualize Paul, realizing the seriousness of the situation, sitting down to write a response few pastors would want to write.

These problems were not new in the daily life of Corinthians, however, in the Christian church, just a babe, it was just awful. Even today, as we look at some of our own local churches/parishes. we find the same problems. It isn’t out-and-out fighting, it is done in a quieter form……that being ‘sitting in judgement’ fighting.

So Paul begins…..’You are all picking sides’, he writes….all jockeying for a position that really doesn’t exist. Splitting into factions doesn’t help anyone, in 57AD or now….It is not for us to judge and philosophy…..Jesus wasn’t a ‘show off’.

In the Message Bible….I love what it says….”Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women(my goodness “women”) that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “some bodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have a saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.” (very cool)

Boy, oh boy, Paul is making it clear…..he was right then and he is right today….Do you see similar signs in your church? Do you see and hear those who tout a philosophy that always seems to make the other guy/congregation look inferior? Sorry to say I do…

The problem we all have in facing this tension in the church, is that we don’t want to come off as one of those ‘know-it-alls’ Paul mentions. We are not the judge and jury…..we leave that to God, however, there are ‘living laws’ that we must learn to abide by if we are to continue the Christian path.

Maybe as we continue to read this wonderful example of daily life in the early church, we can also contemplate how we solve the same kind of problems now occurring in some of our congregations today.

Do we go to the pastor, do we plead in front of the church board, do we have a pastor/parish committee, do we come together in Christian discussions, hoping not to hurt, but to help? Do we stay…..or do we go? It’s tough….very tough…If it wasn’t, congregations would be addressing and solving, instead of moving on, in hopes of finding a quiet, stable, loving atmosphere, at a new address down the street.

Paul is doing pretty well so far….actually his letters proved to be real winners…..cause we are still here, this evening, discussing the early church.


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1st Corinthians….


Well…..in case you’ve jumped ahead and actually turned to lst Corinthians, (even if you have’nt) there is a lot go’in on. Yesterday we got a taste of what Corinth was like…..in 57 AD.Today it matches any large city, almost anywhere in the world. Truth be known, many small towns have come to share the same kind of reputation, as Corinth,too. This is stated to kind of set everyone straight, in case they thought their burg was the perfect.

But, I digress…..

One would like to think that as soon as they were “Christianized”, all was well, that they become impeccable human beings. I wish…we wish, but it just ain’t so……

Now here is Paul, miles away, getting Fedex deliveries everyday from his church friends, giving him the worst news possible. His flock, his group, his parishioners, had truly begun to ‘backslide’ my friends, ‘backslide’, and what do you think Paul was thinking? To say the least, he was not a happy pastor.

So begins the saga of 1st Corinthians…..and those brothers and sisters in 57AD… are just like you and I….They were brought together to learn about God, to accept Christ, and not only be schooled in Christianity, but to ‘live’ in Christianity.

Seemed like everything was going well when he moved on….this new church seemed to be stable, attendees seemed well versed, and even better, they were committed. There was, however, a crack in the armor. Budgets were off, pledges were not coming in, and there was talk of going back to some idol worship.

The ‘in-fighting’ was an embarrassment…There were lots of new churches and instead of continuing to work together, they started being a little on the selfish side…..Salvation and holiness moved to go on the backburner, as the illuminating speeches of Paul, heard just months ago, languished in file drawers of church offices all over town.

What will Paul do….how will he bring his new followrs back into the fold…what methods will he use….will he be critical, indignant,or keep his cool and be a gentleman…..or all of the above?

More later…..


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DATELINE…..CORINTH……57 A.D. MY MY!!!


We’re beginning a study of 1st Corinthians and my, my. Corinth, population 400,000, was situated on the isthmus of Greece. It was on the principal trade route of the Empire, and thru its harbors flowed the commerce of the world…and that’s a quote!

But here’s more……another quote…..”A renowned and voluptuous city, where the vices of the East and West met”.

My, my, boys and girls…..what is goin’ on?

Paul sure had his hands full, and probably had a stack of paper, to write about the solutions for this party town….in 57 AD

More later……


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AND LIFE IS GOOD….,


Sleeping til 9….hubby and kitty both purring…..
Opening the blinds to an ocean blue sky with cotton clouds…
Ten cups and 3 measures offer up a delightful aroma to begin the day…
Outside the news waits patiently….some good, some not…
And life is good…

Clothes peak out of the hamper, ready for a wash…
Plants lean toward the sun and wait for their faucet drink…
Kitty paws me for his morning treat and then heads to the front porch…
Soaking beans soften up to a ham hock for tonights supper…
And life is good….

A wodpecker looks for his meal in the Florida oak…
Squirrels scamper thru palm and frond, falling in love one moment, and digging up acorns the next…
Herons and gulls correspond as the sun rises further….looking for the baitfish to fattent their bellies…
And life is good…

Neighbors await their grandchildren, coming from the frozen north….
Wagons, sand pails, and cribs come out of storage, as the family comes together…
Snowbirds come and go, feeling lucky they are here to bask in the sun where coconut palms flourish…
And life is good…..

Blessings are acknowledged and health is never taken for granted….
Our 70 years have come so quickly, we sometimes lose count, until we look into the mirror…
Friendships are stronger, deeper, and longer than ever imagined….
A 50th high school reunion puzzles us to this very day…..
And life is good…

We carry on with our day, and smile that we no longer rise to be in the office at 7…
Our kind…..retirees, sift thru life’s memories and rejoice that children are grown and have jobs….
Their paths, beginning to march to the chorus of promises, dreams, sometimes stumbling as they find their way ……
And soon, one morning, they will find themselves, waking at 9, hubby and kitty purring, and the news of the day….. right outside…..
And life is good…..


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ACORN HARVESTING, SOUTH FLORIDA STYLE


South Florida should have an Acorn Festival….there are more acorns in my yard than the 6 squirrels living here can handle. They aren’t even hiding them…not even from one another for fun. They let them lie, they let them pile up. I think they need to stay in the higher branches of the oak trees or they will be pummeled. This year there are more acorns than even the old timers can remember. They bang on the tin roofs, they bang on the metal tops of the cars, they hit the as he works on his morning hit of cat nip, and they cover each and every inch of this yard.

There seems to be no reason for this gift from mother nature….and no end to gift giving! Maybe she forgot and waved her magic wand one too many times over our town, maybe too many squirrels called to say there were no acorns last year! All I know is that there is a possible oak forest coming here and I’m not prepared.

We raked a portion of the yard and filled our trash buckets for
‘green’ to overflowing….Remember now that acorns are not ‘leaf light’ and are not easy to rake, or to get out of the slits between the patio boards.

The acorns just lay there…..and sprout, oh yes, they are sprouting! Remember all my wonderful happy garden stores about saving seeds and cleaning the earth…..I ain’t sav’in these seeds and I’m aching all over from ‘cleaning the earth’ today.

South Florida also offers up another surprise with its oak trees….they don’t lose their leaves until Jan/Feb and they take forever to drop…..and, on top of that, there are little fuzzy flowers that come after that……to make more acorns, of course!

I know you are feeling sorry for me, as 12″ of snow fall in Minneapolis, or Spokane. I can see the tears from those of you in Buffalo. But please, have a heart and understand that these little devils are now laying in places I cannot reach…..and their sprouts are sprouting as we speak…..Ever read Jack and the Beanstalk…..?


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WELLS FARGO…..OH PLEASE, DELIVER ME


my husband cancelled two checking accounts with Wells Fargo…after going over the latest statements, we found that they were still sending the statements with “0” (zero) balance…..However, due to their new rules of charging a monthly fee for checking accounts….they sent the most current statement saying we owed them $7.00 for having a checking account with less than $1500 in it (remember now this and another account were to be closed out) AND, my friends, AND they charged us $25.00 for overedraft protection because we didn’t have the $7.00 to pay for an account that had a zero balance in it that should have been closed 3 months ago!!!!

I say it is time to be mov’in on…….read your statement!!!!


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A LITTLE TAX HERE….A LITTLE TAX THERE


Dick Morris said on Fox,Romney should remind everyone Obama is planning on taxing the internet….that is over and above any state sales tax! Dang ….will it be starting in 2014 like all the other surprises!


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UH, NOW I GET IT!!


Sometimes, one is just sitting here, wondering what to write about..Not the UN today, cause FOX has taken care of that, okay and MSNBC too! And then, in a flash of being slightly irritated, my fingers start awork’in…..

It is the ‘what happens when you are ‘on hold” moments, I am now speaking to. First the answer, then the “oh, I’m so glad you called” voice, then the english part, then the ‘pressing for instruction’. I know the company would much rather me handle this on-line, but sometimes, one just can’t…..or, in my case, won’t.

I needed to change my username and password and there was no way to do it cause I couldn’t remember the username I put in…(see the circle here) I went to the ‘zero’ option because changing username didn’t quite fit in…make order…accounting….do you your person’s extension….etc. No option for ‘forgot name, dummy’

Surprise, I was the next in line…not 12 minutes like the last company, or ‘just leave your phone number’ from the company before that, but NEXT IN LINE!! Wow! Well the customer they were helping must have been as dumb as I, cause next in line was not 30 seconds or 1 minute or even 2….For this I do not fault the company…everyone should get equal time. HOWEVER, the music was enough to make me close the account right then and there. No I’m not talking type, as in rap, hip-hop, 70’s or elevator, I’m talking the sound, the tone, the inability to even figure out what era it came from. It was exhausting to even sit quietly and listen…it leaned on my nerves, like a mariachi band and Mancini being played at the same time. It was terrible..

But, never to ever waste a moment, I studied the situation, and have come to this conclusion….the ‘music on the phone’ company who must sell, install, and maintain this wonderous idea…use only one 8 track tape for all customers. I don’t mean one tape that sounds the same….I mean ONE TAPE! It is old, it is scratchy, it has bumps and grinds and slurs. It has quiet moments and screechy moments….and it just rolls over and over whenever the tape ends.

I now summarize….no one cares except me! I hear the same on my bank phone, on my ob/gyn phone, and on phones of people I buy stuff from….across the board, same song, same scratchy sound, same tape. But here’s the kicker….they don’t care!!!….mainly cause they don’t have to listen to it!!! I think it is really meant for me to become irritated, I will learn my lesson, set up the right ‘user info’ in the first place and only do business with them online. See I figured this out while I was writing…..it’s a conspiracy…..but it works! Just like it’s supposed to…Do you see the ‘stupid’ cap on my head?


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A CODE OF ETHICS…..FROM THE WILD WEST (1940’s)


My hubby and I were talking about morals, ethics, and general living when he remarked about Gene Autry’s Cowboy Code…We Googled it and here it is…..for you to ponder

GENE AUTRY’S COWBOY CODE

1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.

As we come together in this 21st Century….it would seem that Gene Autry’s words, from the 40’s, are a little outdated…..But the truth be known….they are so very necessary in today’s world of self. Check out your code of ethics this week….see how yours stack up!

Thanks Gene…..