Red Plates + Welcoming Strangers + Wit & Wisdom + Thought for Today

Food for Thought

Parade Magazine (5/20):  "Is it true that using red plates can help you lose weight? YES! Your brain responds powerfully to colors, & a number of studies have shown that different hues can influence your eating. A study in the journal Appetite showed that people who use red plates tend to eat less."
COMMENT:  If you visit our home & I serve you on red plasticware, do not take offense.

Political Potpourri

Norfolk Daily News, column by Christine Flowers, (5/22):  "Focus on humanity, opportunity . . . We are Americans. We are not a heavenly host of angels with our halos situated perfectly on our heads. Our default position is to be wary of the stranger in our midst, even though so many just like us were the strangers just a generation or two ago. But, as Americans, we must also rise above & force ourselves to see the value in that stranger, & welcome his or her expressed desire to become one of us. But we don't need or want criminals. We must crush the terrorist."  COMMENT:  My work with Orphan Grain Train has influenced my thinking about immigration. Immigration laws & enforcement should help us welcome strangers who genuinely seek the many opportunities we offer. On the other hand, we must do whatever we can to keep out those strangers whose motives are less than honorable.

Wit & Wisdom of Cal Thomas *

* One of my 2 most favorite pundits

NDN (5/19):  "Following Jesus or the president? . . . There is a conceit among some conservative Christians that God is only at work when a person they voted for is elected & that the rest of the time He must be attending to other countries. Scripture states that all authority comes from God & that 'The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water; He turns it wherever He wants.' (Prov. 21:1) . . . That brings me back to the debate within evangelical circles as to whether President Trump deserves the support, even adulation, of some in their tribe. I will leave that for now to those debating the issue & ask  a more important question. What would happen in our culture & especially in our politics if all of those who call themselves evangelicals began obeying the commands of Jesus of Nazareth?"

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  THE GREATEST BLINDNESS ON EARTH

“All my enemies shall be ashamed & greatly troubled; they shall turn back & be put to shame in a moment.” Psalm 6:10

“For the proud in spirit & the worldly-wise cannot but be satisfied with themselves, feel secure, esteem themselves highly, never feel foolish, always say the right thing, do the right things, have holy intentions, stand out among others, & acknowledge few as their equals. This is the greatest blindness on earth.”  Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, Concordia Publishing House, 2017.