Oh look, Chicken Thursday!
Lately, I have been enjoying keeping an eye on the newest volcanoes in Iceland. I mean, I have really been enjoying them!
Does being over fascinated with young geysers mean I am becoming an old geezer?
Here are links to two live streams with good coverage:
Stream One
Stream Two
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing.
~ Pastor Tim
Easter Rock by Cybersaltine Marilyn H.Easter Sunday greetings everyone - the Lord is Risen!
Speaking of Good Friday, Grandma Cybersalt and I watched an online Good Friday service which was a cooperative effort by many local churches in our city.
To be honest, I wasn't very motivated to watch another service online and thought I'd just keep the day like I have been every other pandemic day (apparently, according to our son, all these similar days in the pandemic are being referred to as "Blursday.") But Susan wanted to watch a service and as I searched within myself I remembered that Jesus' death on the cross for my sins certainly demanded a heart response from me greater than plopping in front of the computer and doing more work.
Boy, was I ever glad we took part in that service by watching it because during it I learned something about the last supper that I never new before. It was like chocolate for my soul!
Here's a key truth about seeking God - we do it because He is gracious, He wants to do something in us and for us, and He just might! Don't get me wrong, I get it that when we don't feel like seeking God our minds have convinced themselves that there isn't anything likely to come out of whatever act or step of obedience it will take to drag our buts to do the right, decent, and reverent thing.
In such times, let's not lose sight of the fact that we are responsible to disciple ourselves in our walk with Jesus. We've fallen into a pretty sad state when we can't even turn on a video to feed our souls and take an easy opportunity to let God do something outside of our life's rut.
The great news is, even if we are in that, or a different, sad state God's grace has something for us!
Today's video share wonderfully reminds of that truth.
Click here to watch the video.
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing!
~ Pastor Tim
Oh look, Lizard Thursday - and welcome to the first day of April!
Thanks to Cybersaltine Lizzy D. for sending in today's lizard picture. Who would have thought Lizard Thursday would have caught on when it started years ago.
It's been popular from the gecko!
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing.
~ Pastor Tim
Sunday greetings everyone and Happy Palm Sunday!
When I was pastoring local churches, many times I said, "If people listened to their doctor like they listened to their pastor, they'd be dead." Now, when I watch the nightly news, I see I was not wrong.
I find it quite remarkable that so many of the same people who would allow their doctor to cut them open while they sleep naked under a bright light are so quick so self-doctor themselves to avoid cramping their lifestyle.
I feel the same way about nurses. We trust them to change the bags of different liquids dripping into our veins, swap out the dressings on our infected wounds, and stick needles in us to inject/draw whatever needs to be injected or drawn. But when they tell the world the harsh reality about how hard their job is right now and ask for some help to keep patient numbers down, many ignore them altogether - even calling them heroes while they do it.
Today is Palm Sunday, a day when we recall the parade that broke out when Jesus entered into Jerusalem. Days later there were cries for a murderer to be released and Jesus to be crucified. I am quite sure the crowds at both events we very different - but I cannot help but leave room for the possibility that there was some overlap in the participants.
The world is full of contradictions that siren us away from the response of selflessness and self-sacrifice that the truth demands.
Speaking of doctors and nurses, this week's video share is of a patient resisting going under anaesthetic. I don't which is funnier - his efforts or the laughter of his friend who is filming him! I actually tried to fight off going under just before a surgery I had in my teens. At the last moment I lifted my head. The last thing I remember was the sound (not the feeling) of it banging down on the metal operating table.
Click here to watch the video.
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing!
~ Pastor Tim
Oh look, Chicken Thursday!
My friend, Brian has a hobby farm and one of the animals he farms is . . . . . . , you got it - chickens!
Yesterday, he posted a video of his chickens when it started to rain. It's pretty entertaining - including how nice he is to his chickens.
Here is a link to the video, which is posted on FaceBook:
www.facebook.com/brian.rados.3/videos/6665327893541001
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing.
~ Pastor Tim
Sunday greetings everyone and welcome to spring or fall, depending on which hemisphere you live in!
The video of my friend's funeral is now online on the Asleep In Christ website. This is a web site I have had for years as an online, ad-free place for memorial pages:
www.asleepinchrist.org/darrell-allen-goddard-february-27-1965-march-12-2021
Grandma Cybersalt and I just watched a video that I think is so important that I've made it this week's video share. It is entertaining, informative and especially important for seniors to be aware off. Crafty and cruel people are targeting some of the most vulnerable of our society.
Even if you aren't vulnerable, please pass this video along to others who may be.
Click here to watch the video.
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing!
~ Pastor Tim
Oh look, Chicken Thursday.
I want to thank everyone for your kind and caring words after I shared the news of my dear friend's passing. I did not fly back home for his service, but did deliver his eulogy via video. I hope to have that ready to share as I collect the other parts of his service and edit them together.
I also want to thank you all for your fun replies to the "Birds Aren't Real?" video I shared 2 weeks ago. Yes, of course it was satire - though at the same time it isn't any crazier than some of the conspiracy theories out there that people are actually believing and allowing to shape their lives!
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing.
~ Pastor Tim
Sunday greetings everyone!
Today's news is going to be a bit disjointed because I am too. So, I'm just going to let things tumble out and I think I'll get to where I'm going anyway.
First of all, I want you to know that I try not to make the Cybersalt News section really heavy. I know the each week different of you Cybersaltines are going through hard times and seasons in life, so my goal for this newsletter is that it be a "pick me up."
With that in mind, if this is a hard time or season for you - especially if you have lost someone to COVID - and you do need a pick me up, I encourage you to skip this news today. I don't mind at all and completely understand.
There was no mailing last Chicken Thursday because last week my childhood and lifelong friend, Darrell, was on life support. So, I scaled back on my week to make room for self-care.
Once it was clear that Darrell was gone and it was time to take him off the machines, his wife learned that he was an organ donor. This led to a couple of more days on life support while as many matches as possible were made for organ transplants. Once off the machines, Darrell's passing completed after 18 minutes. His lungs, kidneys, and liver are now, hopefully, giving others a new hope for extended life.
It was a very hard week. Grandma Cybersalt and I are OK.
I once sat days with a family from my church as they waited for a liver to become available for transplant for their daughter/sister. One did become available, but sadly she had deteriorated too much to receive it and she died. In another case, a mentor of mine did receive a liver in time and he continues to enjoy life today with his wife, kids, and grandkids. Darrell's being a donor forced me to experience a different side of organ donation. I have many things to share from that side, but I think I'll leave them for another time and maybe another forum.
However, one thing I will speak of now is how gripping it was to realize that somewhere out there a few people were about to receive something life-saving and life-changing that they had been holding out hope for for a very long time. I didn't know where they were, who they were, or what their stories were, but I felt so invested in them. I prayed for them and in my heart I was cheering for them that it would work out well for them.
Along the way I recalled a powerful video I watched a couple of months ago. It was a video I immediately knew I wanted to share with you all, however, I set it aside for a different time because I knew it could be very sad and/devastating for anyone who has lost (or maybe is losing) someone to COVID. It's a video of a transplant patient taking her first breaths with her new lungs.
I hope and pray my dear friend's passing, and his wife's sacrifice of honouring his wishes and prolonging the agonizing process of losing him, has lead to someone experiencing a new beginning like this woman and her family.
I don't even know how to put into words the possibility that you or I being indicating we want to be organ donors could so the same thing.
Click here to watch the video.
Enjoy the rest of today's mailing!
~ Pastor Tim
Stories of the difference that Jesus Christ
makes in a life given to Him.
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