I was so nervous that Doug might stumble, I surprised myself when I missed the curb . . . again.
Sigh.
I wacked my shin, skinned the old knee, and shook myself up pretty good. Not to mention Doug.
Nothing broken — just shaken — I can hold a paint brush and a cup of coffee; just not at the same time.
We were dodging some empty trash and recycling bins and the ice by quickly stepping into a busy street, and then back on the sidewalk. “Quickly” being the wrong adverb for a seasoned citizen.
As I scrambled to right myself, grasping Doug’s kind hand, and fretting I would pull us both into traffic, a stranger — maybe the owner of the offending bins— stopped to help me recover my footing.

from the Garden of Bright Images
A stumble, a fall —
that’s scarier now than any boogie man ever was.
But, I got back on the horse, so to speak, and headed out for my evening constitutional this evening. However, this time I took a companion cane —just in case I had to hop a curb.
Moving On
And I started listening to a NEW book — The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. Seems like that Spanish flu came from us . . . The author first describes the crazy history of medicine and then the founding of the John Hopkins Hospital and university. Only just now getting to the pandemic, after a quick lesson on VIRUSES and why FLU is so deadly. — I’ll keep you posted!
All I am sure of now is how much I do not know about anything!
If it were not for this pandemic, I wonder if I would have devoted the hours to listening to so many voices? I think I said that before?
Recently I finished a biography of R.C. Sproul and am working through a good one on J.I. Packer. This summer, I read the first volume of Elisabeth Elliot’s life.
Good grief
I do know this: Christians can be a contentious lot! Not that these three admirable folks were combative archetypes; they were caught up in the conflicts in the church of their times.
Many of the conflicts grew from convictions about the relevance and reliability of the Bible — unlike today when Christians divide over the latest podcasts and internet discoveries.

Oh my. A Little righteous anger is better than a double espresso. (Step By Step, p,66)
And many of their conflicts the biographers reported cooled warm friendships — much like today’s conflicts.
The biographies show me, though, conflicts and divisions are not new. (See Acts 15)
Serendipitously I listened to the sermon preached at Eagle Heights Presbyterian Church in Winchester Virginia on that conflict between Paul and Barnabas. Please listen!
It was a refresher course in PEACEMAKING offering some new lessons in reining in conflict:
Four Principles:
- Deal with each other face to face. (I knew that! )
- Maintain respect for the one with whom you disagree. (Never question a man’s motives; question his judgements. ~ Dwight Eisenhower)
- Be careful when you judge between what is right and what is wrong. (Namely, remember: “I don’t know what I don’t know.”
- Strive always to put the kingdom of God first. (Wait . . . what?)
The pastor, Clent Ilderton, closed with a question that might be worth tattooing to the inside of my eyelids, if I stumble into a conflict I don’t need:
Am I willing to lose an argument for the kingdom of God?
Since people who know me, may be laughing and saying, “Not likely!” I am hoping — with the bios, and sermon — to avoid an unnecessary stumble while trying to stand firm.
What do you think, dear reader?
Good fodder for this sometimes stubborn mule!
Just passing along the godly good wisdom by which others have fed me . . . I am just sorry I didn’t gt it the first time round! (or second. 🙁 )