THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

The True Meaning of Life

"The true meaning of life is to know God, Jesus says . . . No one can know God without knowing Christ." O. Hallesby, God's Word for Today

Christian Growth

"As God leads you in your Christian growth, He will allow challenges that match your character & relationship to HiM . . . Do not become impatient while God is producing Christ-likeness in you." Henry & Richard Blakaby, Experiencing God Day-By-Day

TODAY'S HILL-LECKBAND TEMP CHALLENGE

I doubt if I'm going to post a temp challenge every day this week, since most of us are in an excessive heat warning thru WED. Plus, I'm not going to rank either. Here goes.

* Norfolk, NE [Lois & me & our daughter Rachel]:  Today's high 101. Heat index up to 110.

* Lincoln, NE [Our daughter Sarah]:  Today's high 103. Heat index up to 115.

* Ventura, IA [My brother Mark & niece Christal]:  Today's high 93. Heat index up to 105-115.

* Beatrice, NE [My sister Carolyn]:  Today's high 102. Heat index up to 115.

* Wichita Falls, TX [Lois' brother David]:  Today's high 108. Red flag warning. [What? No excessive heat warning? I guess because they're used to this heat.]

TROPICAL STORMS

"More torrential rain coming for CA, NV as Hilary triggers flood warnings, water rescues." Fox News Online Comment:  Hillary triggered warnings across the whole country. Wait . . . What? Oh, this isn't about THAT Hillary.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

We started watching "Star Trek Discovery" on Paramount+. We had started watching "Star Trek Stranger Whatever," but realized that we needed to backtrack & catch up with STD [No, not THAT STD], which we stopped watching some years ago.

WHAT I'M READING

I'm actually reading a hardcover book:  "Into the Great Emptiness--Peril & Survival on the Greenland Ice Cap," by David Roberts. So far I'd give it 4 stars.

TODAY'S TRIVIA *

* Courtesy of Uncle John's Awesome 35th Anniversary Bathroom Reader

> Gram for gram, vanilla costs more than silver.

> Tyrannosaurus rexes nuzzled each other.

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE CALIFORNIA [Source:  Babylon Bee]

> Californians prepare for hurricane by nailing plywood boards onto their tent flaps.

> Newsom's daughter finds baby in basket downriver from Planned Parenthood.

MORE TRENDING NEWS FROM THE BABYLON BEE *

* Fake News You Can Trust

> Biden's "No Comment" praised as most rational, coherent statement he's made as president.

> Report:  Noah's wife repeatedly asked him to stop posing on prow of Ark, shouting, "I'm king of the world!"

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

"Most observers, and my own eyes and ears, tell us there is something wrong with our president, as he blathers that we can “lick the world,” to cite one recent gaffe in Ireland. But is that a by-product of turning 80, as Mr. Biden did in November?Not necessarily . . . 

"Clearly, something is wrong, though as happens when a person’s cognition is in decline, he has bad days and some better ones. But if age is the metric by which we judge someone’s ability to lead, what is the excuse for our vice president’s featherbrained word salads? She is 58 and should be in her political prime to everyone except Don Lemon . . . 

"President Biden should be judged, instead, on his lavishly wasteful federal spending (fanning calamitous inflation), incompetent appointees, a daily catastrophic invasion of unvetted migrants, waffling on the world stage, high taxes, avalanches of fentanyl, busybody regulation, burgeoning scandals, and his working to make elections less secure and reliable, among many other failures.

"Sure, Biden is diminished, but not because of mere longevity. As Mark Twain counseled us, “Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Herbert Stupp, National Review Online 8/20

DETRANSITIONERS

"Against this backdrop, there now appears to be the first wave of young women, and some men, who have undergone “gender-affirming” treatments and now realize that they were misled and deeply harmed. They recognize that they could never have become the opposite sex, and that they were rushed into life-altering procedures when their underlying mental-health issues should have been addressed instead. Notably, children and adolescents with gender dysphoria often have mental-health comorbidities, including severe depression, anxiety, autism, self-harm, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress from past sexual abuse.

"For those who were put on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, they realize their bodies did not develop normally. Now, they are in pain and unable to carry out bodily functions necessary to a healthy life. Many of them are unable to have sex or experience sexual pleasure. For those who underwent surgical procedures, they have lost healthy body parts. If they can become mothers — which is no certainty, as infertility is often caused by hormonal imbalance — they cannot nurse their children because their breasts are gone. Their pain is psychological, emotional, and physical.

"These “detransitioners,” as they are sometimes known, feel betrayed. Their mental-health problems have not been solved by the medical interventions. In many cases, those problems are much worse and compounded by the realization that the promised cure was irreparably harmful" . . . 

"As the public debate surrounding “gender-affirming care” continues, detransitioners serve as a reminder of the irreversible nature of these medical procedures and the heavy price of the lifelong consequences." Jordan Campbell, Ron Miller, Josh Payne, Daniel Sepulveda, NRO 8/20