I discovered a flat tire on my car the other day. It wasn’t totally flat, but it was going flat. Then as I drove to the Service Center to get some air I heard the distinctive rhythmic click, click, click of a nail in the tire. Somewhere along the line I picked up a nail. I wasn’t sure exactly where the nail was, but I knew I had one in the tire. I pumped the tire back up, drove back home, and started scanning the tire for the nail. My son found it before I did. Reaching out his finger he said “There it is!” Just as it looked like he was going to pull the nail out, I quickly said, “No, don’t touch it. At this point, that’s why the tire isn’t going totally flat.”

I left the nail in the tire, parked the car, and didn’t drive it until it was repair time. Yesterday morning, a quick call to the Tire Spot had me rolling once again with a plug in the tire instead of the nail.

‘Stella’ Is Back on the Road!

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Remembering September 11, 2001

Where were you when the planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City?

It’s hard to believe 7 years have past since the terrorist attacks took place on U.S. soil. Seven years ago the United States of America was attacked by terrorists. Two hijacked commercial planes rammed into New York City’s World Trade Center, which eventually caused the collapse of both towers. Another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a fourth plane crashed into the Pennsylvania woods. There are many memorials around the country today, and of course major memorials taking place at the Pentagon, the site of the Twin Towers, and in Pennsylvania.

Do you remember what you were doing on this date in 2001?

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Brody Harper over at In Case You Were Wondering does a regular Sunday blog post called, Stats Suck Sunday. Usually no one visits blogs on a Sunday. There’s simply either too much going on, or, it truly is a day of rest away from the routine of the other 6 days of the week. It’s a cool idea as we help one another out with blog stats on a Sunday.

So, without any further adu, this blog post is taking part in Brody’s Stats Suck Sunday blog carnival.

Today’s post is pretty simple…Sunday in bullet points…

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Running second to Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Sprint race in Bristol Saturday night Carl Edwards asked himself a simple question as the laps wound down — “Would he do it to me?” — Edwards said the answer was easy, that’s when he decided to bump Busch out of the way for the win.

After the race Carl Edwards commented on the move saying, “A real smart racer explained it to me this way after he wrecked me and I was really mad. He said, ‘I just had to look at your rear bumper and decide, would you do this to me? And you had before, so it was a real simple decision.’”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

For many that’s known as The Golden Rule. Not only is it supposed to guide society, but when individuals keep the so-called Golden Rule in mind, we suddenly find ourselves living in a society where morality is high, and kindness reigns supreme. Very early in life we’re taught to respect one another, and above all, keep in mind, that if we don’t want to be treated badly, then we should not treat others badly. Does this mean we’re never treated poorly, or that we never treat others poorly? Probably not. After all, lets also remember that we’re human. That means along the way we’re bound to step on some toes. Whether it’s done intentionally, or unintentionally, things happen and we do stupid things.

But, in the end, we need to ask ourselves, have we learned from the experience?

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This post is taking part in Randy Elrod’s Watercooler Wednesday!

Over on Randy’s Cultural Watercooler discussion for today he asked the question – What book or author has had the greatest influence on you?

First off Randy, that’s really a tough question for a preacher! There are so many and so little time or space to tell you of them all! But, before I tell you who my favorites are, yes, I have managed to whittle the list down to two, your question reminds me of a similar question once asked of a class at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

I don’t remember which class it was, but I do remember the professor. In a class studying Wesleyan Theology, Dr. Steve Harper once asked the question – If you were in the midst of being exiled to an island in the middle of nowhere, what one book would you take? Of course in a class of second and third year Seminary students working on their Divinity degrees, those who wanted to appear really spiritual said — the Bible! But, that was too easy. Dr. Harper’s question truly did start me thinking about what author, and what book, could truly continually feed my soul and spirit if I found myself on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Would I take John Wesley books? Or would I take something totally different?

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A world in search of hope. A nation is search of hope. A people in search of hope.

It’s a truth that’s been around since the beginning of time. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, and no matter how good, or how bad your life situation might be – People are always searching for hope. When the nation of Israel found themselves exiled in Babylon, and for all intents and purposes it looked like God had turned His back on them, they still found a message of hope. Ezekiel, exiled with Israel in Babylon, declared a message of hope to the nation encouraging them to establish themselves in the midst of their enemy, pray for the prosperity and peace for those around them, and they too would discover peace and prosperity. That sounds like a message of hope to me.

Meanwhile, things looked quite different in Israel. There we find a rag-tag remnant of the nation living amidst the ruins of the once great City of Jerusalem. They may not be in Babylon, but the Babylonian rulers are all around them, reminding them each day that the once great nation of Israel, is no longer a force on the earth.

But, did the nation of Israel lose hope when surrounded by foreign leaders…

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The weekend is here and that means many are looking for something a little different to do. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Frenzied Friday, and while I don’t have my Mr. Linky up and running on this post, we can call this a Mini Frenzied Friday.

For me, my parents are coming to town this weekend. They celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary this week, and we’re heading out to the Sterling Renaissance Festival in Sterling, New York. It’s always a lot of fun, and this year Laura from Royal Rags is going to dress my wife and I up in Renaissance period cloths. If you’re interested in seeing pictures, and if you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow me on my Twitter Account. I will be posting pictures throughout the day via Twitter.

If you’re not near Sterling, New York, here’s a list of some other interesting things to do…

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When it comes to advertising genius, marketing people are always looking for a great hook line. Probably one of the most popular slogans is…

Where’s the beef!?

The slogan was introduced in the 1980′s when Wendy’s introduced a commercial called “Fluffy Bun” with Clara Peller declaring — Where’s the beef? — Now the ever popular catch phrase has become somewhat of an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance, or lack thereof, of almost anything we can think of.

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Today is National Tell An Old Joke Day! Some studies show that in order to stay healthy you need approximately 10 good belly laughs a day. So, lets all chip in today and try to hit our quota of 10 belly laughs today!

Leave a comment to this post with your best old joke! Come on folks, lets all get laughing here!

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Aside from this blog, I also write another blog called Frame by Frame: A Family-Friendly Guide to the Movies. Starting this Monday, July 21, I’m launching a new weekly feature called Movie Monday.

It’s going to be great fun, and it gives everyone an opportunity to tell others about movies you watched over the weekend. For more information check out the latest blog entry Movie Monday Blog Carnival on my Frame by Frame blog.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus