Sunday Class and Resting

My allergies are hammering me on Sunday, and I had an asthma attack while ushering at church, and my inhaler helped (that is how I know it was asthma). I rose at 7 and had until 9:15 to finish the blog. I reheated yesterday’s coffee and had a scone I made the day before, and a nectarine (it is a bit early for them, and I ate them slowly since three cost nearly $4). I do the usual things and have an instant personal worth number (though the IRA balance does not update; I make a manual adjustment at least once a month). I fiddled with having PayPal draw from the AMEX, but the doubled expenses (with miles) and required complex transfers made it too messy and left the checking account balance wrong (under by about $500). I might return to that and eliminate the checking account from PayPal access (having two sources of funding and Quicken not knowing which is which made it less than transparent), creating another layer of protection, but so far, it has been too messy. I will put that off.

I wrote the story about Saturday’s activities, managing to write over 1,600 words and include multiple photos for this blog. I have it done before my time limit. I publish it.

Shower, shave, and all that follows. I put on my pride tie with a dress shirt with a navy blue vest and dress shoes. I am ready early and load up the car with an antipasto salad (with tortellini) and sandwiches. I printed off copies of my class 3 notes to hand out. I figured the antipasto salad should be served when discussing the antichrist (it is lowercase in Greek and in the NRSV). Despite all the chores, I still arrived in Air VW the Gray too early and Emmaus church, the church that meets now before us, and chatted with Deborah until 10:30 (church for me starts at 11).

I carried in my load, put it in the fridge (also new from the renovations), and then took my place as an usher. I talked to Bill, and he put out the food and got some plasticware for the salad. I had more coffee and stood most of the service (making my Apple Watch very happy).

Pastor Ken gave the sermon and covered again how, in the end, and according to Jeremiah, God expects his people to know him, and there will be no need to tell them about God, as they will know. In the future, all the bad will fade, and Ken said we have to be involved in the community to help bring this forward. We are God’s people, and it is our job, and the reflection of being right with God, to help the orphan, the widow, and the stranger. Justice shows as the love of a community towards its people and strangers. That is what it means to know God.

Much of the choir, band, and even the organist were out traveling. Even our soloist, Eric, was ill, and the band instead went with a hymn sing. Everyone was late, and my count went from 29 to just under 40 by mid-service. I heard from some that the traffic and construction had made a mess of their drive to church (the air show at Hillsboro Airport also continued through Sunday).

I rallied the class, about ten, and we covered more of The Book of Revelation, and this time the conversation flowed to some of the Hollywood versions and popular myths. We covered the horrific beasts and the Four Horsemen. Jeff made popping sounds as I read the text of the breaking of the seven seals. I covered how maps and stories are made out of text and made up things (for example, the word ‘antichrist’ was never used in The Book of Revelation). We ran over a bit, as many explained how they were taught to fear the End Times and were presented with many proofs that it was the End Times. I reminded the class members that it has been nearly 2,000 years since the book was written, and we are still here. Maybe we should treat the images as metaphorical and not as an immediate plan. Though we have seen the Four Horsemen rise over and over, again, a better metaphor than a manifestation of The End.

With that done, I was tired and headed home. Lunch was two plates of my salad (I had to have that before covering the beasts of John’s visions). I sat in my chair and watched some Doctor Who on Apple, bought a season, and just tried to relax and rest. This is one of the more terrifying versions where humanity, wearing something that looks much like earpods, accepts things downloaded into their minds, and then is controlled, converted, and made into Cybermen. The screams and graphics are well graphic, short of a horror flick.

This is not really relaxing. I reheat the Indian-style chicken I made a few days ago for dinner. I read more about the American Civil War (ACW) and have gotten to the part where the shooting starts in this battle, but it is still confusing, and there are not enough maps, I think in the book, but we will see.

I did order a new Kickstarter. There is a special version of the DaggerHeart Role Playing Game, Heart of Cthulhu 1912, that features the RMS Titanic in its story. Had to have that. I tried to just get an adventure book (figuring I could use it in a time-traveling story), but that was impossible with their reward system; instead, I went all in with the full set of books (and PDFs) and then added all the special extra items, but avoiding dice for $30 a set (I have plenty).

I got word that my lightning detection devices are shipping from China. Usually, the shipping includes tariff add-ons, but we will see this time. I suspect that the Trump Administration owes me some refunds for disallowed tariffs, too. But it is only a few bucks. I suspect I need to find the invoice, show it was delivered, and then file it with the shipping company to get the refund. Not likely I will work that hard for a few $. I am sure the shipping company is already trying to harvest the cash from the US Government.

I need to get back to my electronics and build a few items. I will look for where my equipment went and find a place for that work, likely in the office, as it was originally planned as a workspace for modeling, painting figures, and hands-on hobbies. I plan to build a few things I have purchased over the past few months.

I read more ACW, and the battle keeps getting closer and, from what the writer seems to suggest, it’s a battle of the witless. Everyone seems to either assume the battle is lost or won before it is fought. I was surprised to read that the Union officers were already talking about surrendering and had yet to fight! They believe that Confederates (who are just as lost and confused) will crash into their rear and cause the army to collapse, and they should surrender before this happens. According to the author, 6,000 Union troops are holding off 19,000 Confederates without being engaged. This is 1864, and the last battles in Tennessee for the Confederates with the aggressive (and slightly batty) General Hood.

I am frustrated that there is still no battle, as is General Hood in the story, and I close the book and sleep. I wake around 3 to prove hydration. I sleep late past sunrise.

Thanks for reading.