October 24, 2021 a thought for today, When the blind leads the way, woe to those who follow. Hebrew Proverb

I think when I decided it was time to get up and out of be with my feet on the floor,  I wasn’t really very much awake. My “physical clock” needed rewound even though I had a full nights sleep. The bones needed to be reminded it was time to go vertical rather than horizontal. My eyes didn’t seem to want to focus and my “directional mobility, it seemed a little askew. These minor abnormalities seemed to last longer than they needed to. Everything was reset when I got ready for church. 

The photo challenge was “I love this time of day...”. I really like many times of the day with a different reason for each. But this on was the most available for this shoot. 

We had a bit of a surprise at the beginning of the service this morning. Our minister for today has the flu, not the COVID kind, the more familiar kind. She couldn’t make it to church so her husband agreed to share her written message with us. The complete service moved on as usual and her message, even delivered by her husband, was as influencing almost as it would have been had she been there in person. Our lay reader for the month and Mike were amazing with filling in where needed. 

Our HM3 service last night was a bit more lively than usual. There weren’t any more people present but those who were there seemed a slightly more relaxed and lively.  

There was a chill in the air today with the church seeming to be a little more on the cool side, probably an indication that the furnace will have to be in operation soon. 

Not only was it chilly but the sky is overcast and there are intermittent spells of misting in the air.

The word is handle.  Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. Henry Ward Beecher. Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle, James Russell Lowell. The moment an ill can be patiently handled, it is disarmed of its poison, though not of its pain. Henry Ward Beecher.  In the midst of the affliction He counsels, strengthens confirms, nourishes, and favors us.... More over, when we have repented, He instantly remits the sins as well as the punishments. In the same manner parents ought to handle their children, Martin Luther. You turn the handle the way it goes, not the way it ought to go, Confucius.  A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it, Henry Ward Beecher. You need not fear to handle the truth roughly. She is not invalid, Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Handle your tools without mittens, Benjamin Franklin. A sneer is the weapon of the weak. Like other devil's weapons, it is always cunningly ready to our hand, and there is more poison in the handle than in the point, James Russell Lowell.   

Today’s photo theme is “I watched this....”. As we, the choir were getting ready to sing at church, I watched our choir director work his magic on the piano. In this particular photo I also was attracted by the colors, the lines and the angles. 

Here’s a bit of history about one our closest neighborhoods. The Hilltop was settled in 1795. By the 20th century it was becoming the place to live in Columbus. It got is name by being located on top of a hill and “provided it with a geographic advantage that encouraged early settlement and enabled its growth”. There was a very impactful flood in 1913 at the area located near the bottom of “the hill”. At that time the “Hilltop” grew from 2000 people to 15,000 in about a seven year period. During the Great Depression and World War II people relied on each other and the area diversified. As history marched on and into the mid 1950s most of the original residents moved to other areas of the city and the are began to change culturally. A “social unrest” along with highways that caused “neighborhood displacement” started the beginning of the end of the “Hilltop’s golden age”. New development “all but ceased” in the 1970s. Areas of poverty became “highly concentrated”. According to the article, and a surprise to me, is that “the Hilltop is made up of five different zip codes, 43204, 43222, ...23, 43123 and 43228. The article further stated that none of these zip codes are “entirely within the boundaries of the Hilltop”. I was surprised to see that according to this article a part of 43123 (in my mind, Grove City) is included in the description of being “part” of the Hilltop. 

I haven’t made up my mind about dinner, maybe order in from York Steak House. 

Joy

ooooops!!