January 11, 2026 a thought for the day, Time is God's and ours. Dutch Proverb

Photos in my life yesterday

This challenge was “my choice”. It is one from my series of “sepia”. This is a few from my front porch .

The second upload was “out the window”. It explains itself. This is though one of  my living room windows. 

The third upload for yesterday was “made me smile”. Bobbi is still a kitten so much of what she does makes me smile. I hope she stays the same as she grows. 

The last challenge was “two colors or three”. This is a view of the table in my dining room. The green  container was a Christians gift. The orange take mat is one of Sue’s contributions to the decor. 

Life today. I had a surprise visit yesterday. After I got back from picking up the groceries there was a knock on my door. There stood my family from Zanesville. What a nice surprise. We had a lovely visit. A couple of things came out of the visit. We, Sue and I, had a couple of things that needed repair. One was a kids drone that Sue had bought for the twins. It didn’t work when the teens tried it. We asked Matt to have a look. In about twenty seconds he had it in the air. Next, I have an irobot sweeper that quit working. I gave up on it and was going to throw it out. I showed it Matt. That one took a bit longer, about fifteen minutes. The battery was dead so we couldn’t test. He set it back on the charger. One hour later it worked. The one disappointment in the visit involved Bobbi. They all wanted an introduction with her but alas after searching everywhere we could think of we couldn’t find her. She has some unknown hiding places. I didn’t think there were that many places to hide in this house. Apparently, she has found them. I think probably inside certain pieces of furniture. 

Todays sermon was short and heart felt. It was a thought provoking message. After the service we had a donut fellowship hour. Sue dropped me at the door and later picked me up. 

After we got home Lowell and Rebecca stopped by for a few minutes. 

I am supposed to get an appointment set up to get a different visual exam for my drivers license renewal. It is at OSU were there is more specialized equipment. Hopefully I can get the appointment early in the week. 

The rest of the day is for refresh and renew. 

The word today is proper. Exercise ferments the humors, casts them into their proper channels, throws off redundancies, and helps nature in those secret distributions, without which the body cannot subsist in its vigor, nor the soul act with cheerfulness. Joseph Addison.  Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood. William Penn. Those who know how to win are much more numerous than those who know how to make proper use of their victories. Polybius. Man...is a tame or civilized animal; never the less, he requires proper instruction and a fortunate nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized; but if he be insufficiently or ill- educated he is the most savage of earthly creatures. Plato. I do not distinguish by the eye, but by the mind, which is the proper judge. Seneca. Remember this-that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech. Plutarch. The most important part of education is proper training in the nursery. Plato. Great effort is required to arrest decay and restore vigor. One must exercise proper deliberation, plan carefully before making a move, and be alert in guarding against relapse following a renaissance. Horace. At times it is folly to hasten at other times, to delay. The wise do everything in its proper time. Ovid. The proper words in the proper places are the true definition of style. Jonathan Swift. In making a speech one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the language; third the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech. Aristotle. God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher. Saint Teresa of Avila. Wood burns because it has the proper stuff in it; and a man becomes famous because he has the proper stuff in him. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 

Article summary. I have great faith in the process of growing wisdom. The “research” I do daily and on all kinds of things builds wisdom.  There is a place in the bible, in Proverbs and other books, that encourages and says It's more precious than silver, gold, or rubies, offering life, favor, and protection. The title to the article is Why you’re wise on Tuesday and foolish on Sunday: Practising wisdom in uncertain times. Igor Grossmann, Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo. Jackson A. Smith, PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology, University of Waterloo. At theconversation.com. It begins mentioning the new year and all the new commercial enterprises offering ways to develop self improvement. These improvements can group chats on line, self improvement classes of all kinds, all ending giving better habits and better “boundaries”. Guaranteeing success with this book or that exercise including new AI tools. But as the article says no “enlightenment pill” that never wears off about developing wisdom. The article moves into the “meat” of the subject sharing that wisdom is a mental processes you can practise. It goes on to mention that wisdom is made up of “metacognitive skills”, mental activity needed to understand life around us. They named processes that contribute to “skills” to develop. Those processes are intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty (realizing that things happen in different ways), being aware of different viewpoints, “integration and compromise” (researching for answers to balance ideas). I didn’t readily comprehend the statement or fact that “wisdom fluctuates”, as you can be wise on one day but “a fool” on another. That article says that we people are wiser when “reflecting on social conflicts than when dealing with personal health issues or trauma.” Some of the ways to develop our thinking are “self-distancing” so as to widen your frame of thinking. Next, ask yourself how to change your mind, the answer to that is you can’t change it, so, I gather, don’t try to, just accept. It ends by saying that wisdom is not a “magic pill” it is closer to physical fitness. I did a little more research along with this article. What I found is much like the article, maybe a little clearer. It is a “blend” of gathering knowledge, using experience, practice humility, compassion, and openness. Use learning with understanding and apply it to life’s challenges. Slow down and observe the wisdom of others.

I am making a form of diet chili for dinner.

Photos in my life today

This first uploads is another of “my choice” and another of my series of “sepia”. It is a corner of a fire place in the church. 

Next is “something I bought”. After I got mine for Christmas and I was so
comfortable with it I bought one for Sue. The thing is she says she doesn’t think she would use it. So it looks like I have two wearable blankets. 

The last is “food”. This is another that is self explanatory. It is what is left of my Wendy's burger. 

Joy 

             the bonus image for today is a still life of one of my house plant’s leaves