Category: FYI

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What Is Godly Faith?

Godly faith–faith that is pleasing to God–is not some “woo-woo,” irrational feeling or blind leap, but something much more substantial. A blogpost is not the place for an exhaustive discussion of godly faith, but there is a bit of “news” for most folks via a little exercise.

In a sense that is similar to the trust I have in my wife because she has consistently demonstrated her character, we learn by the evidence of God’s faithfulness in our experience with Him that he is trustworthy.

We also know that God is pleased when we obey what He has already revealed to us we are to do, things like showing others the Way to Him, being truthful, kind, thankful for our blessings (yes, even when in the middle of our troubles), etc.

So, try substituting “trusting obedience” for “faith” in Hebrews 11.

“Now [trusting obedience] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

“For by [trusting obedience] the elders obtained a good report.

“Through [trusting obedience] we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

“By [trusting obedience] Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

“By [trusting obedience] Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God,” etc.

While “trusting obedience” does not completely cover _all_ the sense that Paul’s use of “pistis” implies here, it is valid, IMO, and certainly expands on the typical understanding most folks ascribe to the term.

So, when Paul said (2 Corinthians 5:7), “We walk by faith, not by sight,” it seems to me he was saying “We walk by trusting obedience, not by what we see, or by what is obvious to our senses or reasoning, or feelings, but by relying on His Word and by trusting what God has already said and done in our lives.”

Of course, all that is simply speaking of an aspect of our faith. The NT also contains the phrase “`o pistis [tou] christou” (see Galatians 2:16, for example) a phrase variously translated (according to personal preference?) “faith in Christ” or “the faith of Christ.” The “tou” leans my thinking strongly toward “the faith of Christ,” but even then, one must ask oneself if “tou” is genitive or dative in these cases. . .

But rather than get into the weeds about that lil grammatical issue (which does not substantially affect the following), let’s just ask, What would it mean to speak about being saved (or, in the words of Gal 2:16, justified) by “the faith of Christ” rather than (or as well as?) our faith in Christ?

Questions:

  1. Whose faith is likely to be pure and effective?
  2. By whose faith was expiation made for our sin and therefore justifies us before God?
  3. Whose faithfulness effects and sustains our sanctification?

Perhaps it would be easier to grasp the idea that “We are saved by the faith of Christ” to retranslate “pistis” in this case as “faithfulness,” and restate it as “We are saved by the faithfulness of Christ.”

Continue thinking about that while I toddle off to bed. . .

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Slow Boat from China

So, ordered an external enclosure for a laptop optical drive from an Amazon retailer knowing full well it would come by “slow boat from China,” since it wasn’t a critical piece of equipment and not needed tout de suite. Eventually, it arrived. Again, no problems with the six week delivery time, since I ordered it with an expectation that delivery would be glacially slow.

But.

It was neither as described in the product description nor as pictured on the product display. It was missing the ONE essential element that allows using a laptop optical drive as an external, portable drive: an interface card. The card was neither built into the enclosure nor flopping around loose in the box. I had a plastic box, a couple of short USB cables, and a faceplate. Useless, except perhaps for target practice.

Corresponded with the seller. Seller wanted pictures of what was missing from the box. Yes, that is indeed what was stated.

*head-desk*

After several emails back and forth (and a complete unboxing sequence sent, along with copies of the text and pictures from the product page for comparison), the company offered to “make me whole” by refunding all but $0.44 of what I paid them for the trash they sent me to dispose of for them.

*sigh*

But at least they didn’t ask me to send their trash back to them.

Still, one strike and the seller is OUT. I’ll never buy from this seller again. Seller “TOOGOO”? “Disrecommended”

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Amateur Flooring Project. . .

. . .is proceeding at a snail’s pace.

But, overall, that’s a Good Thing. For example, lifting two layers of vinyl flooring in the kitchen, at the garage door entrance, uncovered. . . rotting particle board. Particle board?!? Yep. And it seems to be original to the house, which is around 45 years old. Fortunately, as I began removing it, I discovered that the rot

a.) only extended about one foot into the kitchen from the garage
b.) did NOT include rot of the sill plate on the structural wall
c.) did not extend to the one inch (nominal; really ~3/4-inch) wooden boards that were the subfloor.

Well, as everyone knows, particle board is crap, and unsuitable for virtually ALL construction, but I wasn’t about to begin tearing up all the entire kitchen floor, once I got back to still solid particle board.

So, what to do? It looked like all the rot had been confined to directly un front of the door entering the kitchen from the garage, so, in fitting with my original thoughts for that entry, I

1. Cleaned a 2’x4′ area in front of that door, all the way down to the solid, unaffected (real) wood subfloor;
2. Caulked all cracks with “40-year” paintable caulk;
3. Painted the subfloor with Drylock™ where it had once been covered with tar paper (likely what prevented the rot from proceeding to the subfloor);
4. Put down “hardy board” backer board;
5. Laid and grouted ceramic tile, bringing the level back up to juuuuust barely over the level of the current floor+2 layers of vinyl.

That will, I think, adequately protect the subfloor from any insult, and provide very little transition downward for the laminate I am finishing up installing in the kitchen. BTW, the laminate is very water and moisture-resistant, but I am gluing the joints with a waterproof glue designed for laminate flooring, as an added precaution. A 2’x7′ area in front of the kitchen sink and dishwasher will not be getting laminate flooring but a fairly thick adhesive vinyl tile that is designed to be grouted. (I’ve already used the same vinyl tile for the front entry, and it has performed like a champ there, with heavy traffic for several months.) Same treatment in front of the French door exit/entry from dining area to deck.

After this flooring is down, since the bedrooms on this floor will only need carpet and staples removed, and some cleanup, minor restoration, I’ll then be able to start on replacing all the trim. Oh, yeh, I think I mentioned a month or two ago that the bedrooms have some nice oak flooring under the carpet. *smh* Means we have more laminate that we need for this floor. Hmmm, the laundry/pantry is begging for a reno (could be a half bath/cleaning supplies pantry), and the garage needs to be emptied for a conversion to laundry room/pantry/workshop. Laminate flooring used those places?

*huh* Will STILL be some left over. Probably enough to do the deck, once it is fully enclosed, eh? 🙂

Oh, and methinks my Wonder Woman wants new cabinets in the kitchen, too. And the master bath needs an update, and. . . 🙂

I’ll never have time to die. Especially since my amateur “handyman” approach is slow, largely from excessive creativity (or so I tell myself *heh*).

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Tightwaddery2

Ab out a year ago, I found a belt exactly like the one pictured here ($16) for a buck at a local “fell off the back of the truck store (closeouts, returns, salvage, etc.). I liked the fact that it was extremely adjustable, and since I needed a belt at the time (intentional weight loss, pants falling down, broken buckle on old black belt I had used for years–had LOTS of additional holes punched in the leather, anyway), I purchased it.

After a few months, the part indicated with the arrow broke. Unlike the rest of the belt buckle, it was just cheap pot metal. #gagamaggot

Today, I finally decided to either fix the thing or toss it. So, I used a twist tie to emulate the functionality of the part that broke–a part which worked together with a spring-operated tongue on the buckle to grip notches in the belt.

It works, but that’s about all I can say for it. Still, “it works” is enough for me to once again wear the thing with a pair of pants I bought “too small” which now fall down if I do not wear either a belt of suspenders (or both *heh*)

So, Tightwaddery2, ;cos cheap buy of an item I needed and cheap fix of same item, broken.

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One Can Only Hope. . .

I have searched and searched (OK, occasionally and lackadaisically *heh*) for the source of the comment, “Let hope be not dismayed,” and found references that almost but do not match the lil five word sentence. It popped into my head and out of my mouth one day when someone said, “I hope you have a nice day,” but from whence I know not. Nevertheless, when hope is all one has, “let hope be not dismayed” is a worthy hope to pile on top of that hope, eh?

(Ps 69:6; Rom 8:24-25)

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Me and My. . . Messes

So, this is what our kitchen once looked like, more or less (at least the western portion):

I’ve cut off the 3′ portion of counter top that has the marble rolling pin on it (never fear; I have a use for it *heh*) and removed the support elements, so that between the mobile island (the wooden top immediately to the left of the counter top in the pic that I removed) and the remaining countertop, that 3′ of free space provides better flow for the kitchen.

But I’ve not exactly lost the very nearly nine square feet of counter top, not entirely, just made it possible to have that space be more useful, buy adding a 2’x4′ piece of plain faux butcher block (real wood but not real butcher block) that very nearly matches the existing island’s top to that island with a piano hinge and two folding legs, for occasional use.

Oh, and the counter top I cut off? I plan to later attach it to the end of the counter I cut it off of to extend that counter straight, in a modification of the current “coffee shrine,” which is a 1’x2′ extension off that counter, now. I’ll trim that 3’x3′ piece of countertop down to 2’x2′ to attach it, giving me back the net loss of ~ one square foot, plus a bit, just in a different configuration.

THe counters and cabinets in our kitchen were all carpenter-built, and so are not compliant with normal cabinetry standards, so these modifications have unearthed some. . . unique, let’s say, solutions to what was initially planned, since a simple demo was just not in the cards.

You can imagine how that 2’x2′ extension/modification of the “coffee shrine” will look (complete with expanded storage underneath) by glancing at how it looks now:

Plan slowly coming together. I did need to get the demo done before I could complete installing the new flooring in the kitchen, though. Still, I’ve made another huge mess getting as far as I have. *shrugs*

Oh, the dishes displayed above/next to the “coffee shrine” have been replaced (the ones seen above donated) with some plain white Corelle® dishes, the storage underneath the coffee paraphernalia is now full of cookbooks, and the stools have been displaced by some comfy stepstool stools with nice supportive backs, but apart from those things, it’s more or less as you see it in the pic. *heh*

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Sometimes Prayers Take Time Before Being Answered. . .

As a sign that good can come from fevered libtard minds, one of my favorite hymns was written by a guy who would be right at home in wacko Dhimmicrap/SJW swamps today. Fo gigure. I trust that, now, Harry Emerson Fosdick has the wisdom he penned his hymn asking for, wisdom he lacked in life.

God of Grace and God of Glory

1 God of grace and God of glory,
on thy people pour thy power;
crown thine ancient Church’s story;
bring her bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.

2 Lo! the hosts of evil round us
scorn thy Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise:
grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.

3 Cure thy children’s warring madness,
bend our pride to thy control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss thy kingdom’s goal.

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A Week in Purgatory

Been fighting “the world’s worst cold” for a week, now. Started, as usual, as upper respiratory clogs, sniffles and wildly-flowing drainage, and soon settled into upper lungs.

Coughing lungs up for most of a week, flushing nasal passages multiple times daily, as much fluids as I can manage (was difficult swallowing for a few days there), no temp regulation to speak of (sweating like a horse while shivering, etc.), racing pulse, aches, etc. The works.

Glad I have had my flu and pneumonia shots! *heh*

On the mend. Only flushing nasal passages/sinuses a couple of times a day for the last couple of days, and have managed to sleep w/o coughing myself awake for four hour stretches at a time. MUCH improved! Now, about the mechanicking work I need to get to on Son&Heir’s car. . . (with him, not alone, but still. 🙂 Maybe. . . tomorrow. . . )