Notes

Clay Smith JFBC Moses and the Red Sea Exodus 14:1-9 Summer sermon series: Classic stories of the Bible The word Sophomore means “wise fool” - the people in Exodus are acting like wise fools. In the book of Genesis we learn of God’s covenant with Abraham. Then 400 years passed. God tells Pharaoh to let God’s people go. So the Egyptians and Israel will know who God’s people are. God leads them out to the Red Sea, where they are trapped. This story reminds us of God’s faithfulness. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. 600 chariots went out. The situation seemed hopeless. There was nowhere to look - except to look to God. The people were not devoted followers of God. Ten plagues. Darkness, frogs, etc. Finally pharaoh let them go. God is the central character, and God gets the glory, and the people know who God is. The people could point to the miraculous things happening, that’s how they knew that God was present. Hab 2:14 God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Why did Pharaoh chase the people? We depend on God more when we are trapped. v 10-19 it would be better to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. They’d be more comfortable. Worse to live in the fear of their panic. They blamed Moses. Leadership may include disappointing people. Finally they cried out to the Lord. He answered, though in an unconventional way v 13-14. 1. Stop fearing 2. Stand firm 3. See God’s salvation We have a God who fights for you. 1. God will not let sin into His presence 2. Man is sinful 3. Christ is the answer 4. Faith is how we receive Christ. When Jesus died on the cross our sins are forgiven, and Christ’s righteousness. Look at these stories on two levels… 1. The upper story of who God is. 2. Obeying God despite the view from our level. Going forward even though it looks difficult. Continuing to move forward, like salmon. v 19 Moses parted the Red Sea. Aren’t you glad to serve a God who removes us from our enemies, who gets between our enemies and us. God told Moses to stretch out his hand so the waters would come back over the Egyptians. Don’t belittle God’s power v 29 God’s people walked on dry land. It was a miracle. All night the wind blew. This was nothing compared to God creating the heavens and the earth. The point of the miracle is to glorify God v 30-31 conclusion - like this passage, many times we can feel trapped. Continue to trust and follow God. 1 Peter 2 God saved us so we could be God’s people. God had grace even though we didn’t deserve it. Psalm 103 God doesn’t deal with us based on our sins, God forgives and is gracious. Lord what do you want me to do, based on this message? Only God is worthy of worship. Stop fearing and stand firm.

Climb Every Mountain

With two dogs in the house, last night after lights out there was a lot of barking. I would up sleeping downstairs on the couch with Goose. Probably got more sleep than I would've in bed. Haven't been sleeping well lately. Been drinking too much caffeine.

Up early to hike Kennesaw Mountain. Hiked to the top, then down the other side, then up to the summit of Little Kennesaw Mountain. On the way back David Cox requested that we take the road down to the parking lot. Made for an easier walk, but it was slightly longer. Had a nice overlook of Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead (above). A total of over 4 miles. My back hurt most of the way.

Our little band of brothers is growing: Lee, Dan, Reid, Steve, Robert (below), plus Brian and three of us Davids. I was taking a picture of the guys and cannons on top of Little Kennesaw, but they made me take a selfie instead.

I wasn't much good for the rest of the day. Drove Ceil to Publix, Home Depot, and Whole Foods. Walked the dogs. Unloaded the seven heavy bags of mulch from the car. Lots of time out in the hot sun. Took a nap. Did laundry.

Tonight I took Ceil to her favorite restaurant - Nahm Fine Thai, up on Windward Parkway. Excellent food. Anna was blasting Ceil's phone with Miller pictures.

A&C made it to the beach, just outside of Charleston.

Baby Miller seemed to like the ocean breeze in her face, and took her first dip into the ocean.

Saw where a technical was called on Caitlin for complaining after being mugged by 3 or 4 defenders, without a foul being called on any of them. Unlike Bobby Cox, the Fever coach didn't come to the defense of her top player.

Will Taylor Win the EGOT?

There have been 22 winners of the elusive EGOT - winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Now Taylor Swift has a song in Toy Story 5 that just might win her the best original song Oscar. Could she be next? 

She would join Richard Rogers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Whoopi Goldberg, Scott Ridin, Robert Lopez, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Tim Rice, John Legend, Alan Menkin, Jennifer Hudson, Viola Davis, Elton John, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Stephen Speilberg. 

Just this week Speilberg introduced Swift at the American Songwiters Hall of Fame induction ceremony. She also sang with 82 year old Randy Newman, who wrote and sang the original Toy Story song You've Got a Friend in Me?

Six artists have "honorary" EGOTs: Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, James Earl Jones, Harry Belafonte, Quincy Jones, and Frank Marshall.   

Steve Martin as won an Emmy, five Grammys, an honorary Oscar, and has been nominated for two Tony Awards.

Lots of buzz about the opening of Toy Story 5, which centers around Cowgirl Jesse, voiced my the reclusive Joan Cusack. Joan had skipped the Toy Story 4 premiere, but since Jesse is the star of 5, Joan joined Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and new cast member Conan O'Brien at the premiere.

Looks like the Knicks are in the catbird seat.

Friday: tried to take it easy. I'm just tired from being so active. Hips are sore and my pulled lat isn't healing quickly. C went to the gym. When I arrived she was on a treadmill, so I joined her there. Later we hopped in the sauna.

Left the Y and drove south on Johnson Ferry the five miles to Lower Roswell Road. Gridlock. Caught almost every light, sometimes twice. Took like 30 minutes. Might've been quicker to take back roads.

  

Grabbed a dollar burrito at Taco Bell, plus a free senior citizen soft drink. Later I drove Ceil into Roswell to buy an ice cream maker. She only uses organic ingredients, so there's no telling how expensive this ice cream is gonna be. 

Got home and realized that it was the last day of early voting, so we drove back to Lower Roswell for that. Leftovers for supper.

 

Should the Hawks Retire Trae's Number?

Should the Hawks retire Trae Young’s number? Some say yes. Seriously?

They ask what Dikembe and Maravich ever did to get their numbers retired. For starters, the fans loved them. Was Trae loved by the fan base? Did Trae endear himself to the fans, or more often let them down? Was he too often injured when he was needed for key games and situations? Compared to the same for Deke and the Pistol? 

While I’m not sure what prompted the Hawks to retire the numbers they did. Maravich was named to both the 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Will Trae receive a similar honor?

Maravich also had his number retired by the Jazz and Pelicans. Mutombo also had his number retired by the Nuggets. 

In eight seasons Trae was named to the NBA all star team four times - BUT twice he was named as an injury replacement. He led the NBA in assists once. All NBA 3rd team once. 

Maravich was an All Star in 5 of his first 8 seasons. Led the NBA in scoring. Twice made All NBA first team, and twice All NBA second team.

Mutombo was an 8 time All Star (four times with the Hawks), named defensive player of the year 4 times (twice with the Hawks), led the NBA in rebounds twice (with the Hawks), and in blocked shots three times. All NBA second team once, and third team twice. 

In college Trae made one All America team, and led the nation in scoring with a 27.4 average. Maravich was a three time All America, and led the nation in scoring all three years with averages of 43.8, 44.2, and 44.5 ppg - setting scoring records that have remained untouched for almost 60 years. 

Maravich, Mutombo, and Dominique are in the basketball hall of fame. Will Trae receive such an honor? Reddit doesn't think so. Of all the halls of fames, the basketball hall seems easiest to get into.

Some yahoos said if Dominique’s number was retired, then Trae’s should be as well. Don’t get me started on that comparison. Wilkins was a 9 time All Star, led the NBA in scoring, made the NBA 75th anniversary team, won the dunk contest, and was all NBA first team once, 2nd team four times, and 3rd team twice.

Some reason that Trae's Hawks once fell just short of the NBA Finals. His number should be retired for that?

Remember Zestos?

Zestos is rolling out a competition of sorts: eat eight of their classic items in 30 minutes. You gotta pay $50 to try - that's $6.25 per item. Less than 4 minutes per item. Man last month at Shake Shack it was all I could do to eat four items. Zestos is down to two Atlanta locations: East Atlanta and Forest Park.

My other current food deals:

Shake Shack free burger with purchase off their BBQ burger menu ($10 min). I'll probably pass.

Dairy Queen $1 dipped cone.

Taco Bell a cravings menu item for $1.00

RaceTrac free soft drink. 

Whataburger free burger with purchase of a medium fries and drink (<$6). This deal is ongoing, as long as you keep taking the survey on the receipt. Cash in on June 11 for a free mini soccer ball. 

George Ewing caught a baby shark off Pawley's Island.

Ronald Acuna is on the disabled list. Again. Pulled his hamstring running to first base, so it wouldn't have helped to make him a designated hitter, though his defense has trended toward lackadaisical lately. Love having his strong arm in right field. But how can you pay him superstar money when he's missing so many games?

In eight seasons, Ronald has twice played at least 156 games, and no more than 119 in the other six. He's missed 36% of the games. For better or worse, several teams would love to overpay Acuna: the Mets, Yankees, and Dodgers for starters. More casual fans would say, sure, back up the truck, since it's not their money.

A big comeback by the Knicks last night. Crazy that they lead the series 3-1 and could close out.

Met my friends Lee and Reid for lunch at Taqueria Tsunami today, so I didn't go to the gym until afterwards. I pulled a lateral muscle in my back about a week ago, making it painful to move around. I'm putting off golf until it gets better. Also weightlifting. 

Article: a report claims many mosques have closed and Christianity is soaring in Iran, while Islam is in decline.

Article: does a movie about discovery of alien life threaten Christianity? A Christian Response to Disclosure Day, by my social media friend Elizabeth Prata.

TOM GLAVINE  [SABR Bio] gave up a record seven consecutive hits in an All-Star game. Glavine had not lost a game in nearly 2 months. Then, in the 1992 ASG, he was beaten in the first 20 minutes. In the top of the first he gave up successive hits to Boggs, Puckett, Carter, McGwire, Ripken, Griffey Jr., & Alomar Jr. Four runs scored. Glavine played for the Mets from 2003-2007. He won 20 games in a season five times, leading the majors four times. Won 20 games in 1991 (20), 1992 (20), 1993 (22), 1998 (20), and 2000 (21). In each of the last 3 years he had just 4 complete games, which would lead the league today. He won the World Series WS MVP in 1995 and won the Cy Young Award in 1991.

    Quote for the day: “The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy, and the burden is light.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Cut Him !

Fans have often wanted to release struggling players. A few years ago they wanted to cut Michael Harris. Now he's tearing it up. Sometimes you gotta let a kid figure it out. 

After his first two seasons, Tom Glavine had gone 9-21 with ERAs of 5.54 and 4.56. A 0.4 WAR. Should the Braves cut him, they would've missed out on a hall of famer.

Same with Smoltz. in his rookie season he went 2-7 with a 5.48 ERA, and a negative -0.2 ERA. 

Even the great Greg Maddux started out 8-18 in his first two seasons, with ERAs of 5.52 and 5.61. His WAR was also negative: -0.4.

A great athlete, the beloved Bo Jackson batted .207 in his rookie season, with only 2 home runs in 91 plate appearances, compared to 34 strikeouts - a negative -0.8 WAR. It didn't get much better for Bo. The next three years he hit .234, .246, and .256, with WARs of 0.0, 1.7, and 2.7. For his career, Bo struck out 35% of the time - a much higher rate than noted strikeout kings Dave Kingman and Dan Uggla. Should the Royals have cut Bo?

I hate it when someone asks me what I'm going to do, now that I'm retired. Every other time someone asks me, when I start to answer that interrupt and tell me what I need to be doing. I HATE THAT. They're not interested in what I have to say, they're only interested in hearing themselves talk. Freaks me out.

ARKY VAUGHAN  [SABR Bio] walked away from the game for three years rather than play for Leo Durocher. With the Dodgers in 1943, Vaughan led the majors in runs scored but opted to retire at the age of 31.  Earlier in the season, he had walked out on the team for one game over comments Durocher made about teammate Bobo Newsome.  Branch Rickey lured Vaughan back in 1947, after Durocher was suspended over his ties to professional gamblers. Vaughan was selected to the Hall in 1985. When he made his Pirates debut on 17-April-1932 he took the field with future hall of famers Pie Traynor, Lloyd Waner, & Paul Waner. Leo Durocher was playing shortstop for the opposing Reds. Vaughan's nephew made his major league debut for the Houston Colt .45s at age 19, but failed to spark a long-lasting career. Shortstop Glenn “Sparky” Vaughan played 9 games for Houston as a September call-up in 1963.  He returned to the minors for 1964, but was out of baseball after that season. 

Denison: what Graham Platner's primary victory means for our culture.

Road Trip?

Found a book that I’m making good progress actually reading: Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24 Hour News. Lots of good stories and anecdotes, including several from Bill Tush. Turner was not only brash, but did things like cut his own hair to save money. Wore his lucky engineers cap around the office.  

Finishing up an audiobook memoir by Hallmark Channel actress Bethany Joy Lenz: Dinner For Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show While Also in an Actual Cult. A sad story, the cult siphoned off millions from the One Tree Hill star. It was good that she got out when she did. Pretty girl, but a weird cover photo.

Miles and driving times to a few places of interest.

142 03 Greenville

193 04 Asheville

300 06 Jefferson 

385 07 Pawley's Island

406 07 Memphis

452 07 Cincinnati 

463 08 Orlando

504 09 Tampa

517 09 New Orleans

546 09 St.Louis

845 14 Key West 

868 14 Field of Dreams, Iowa

927 15 Green Bay

976 15 Austin by way of Mobile, New Orleans, & Houston

1519 23 Mt Rushmore

Article: a government scientist leaked the terrifying truth about Google’s plan to unleash 64 million infected mosquitoes across America.

Players who hit for the cycle before their 22nd birthday.

Player                   Date               Age            Write-up

Cesar Cedeno..02-Aug-1972......21-159 SABR Games Project Story

Elly De La Cruz 23-Jun-2023......21-063 SABR Games Project Story

Cliff Heathcote..13-Jun-1918......20-140 SABR Games Project Story

Mel Ott..............16-May-1929(2) 20-075 SABR Games Project Story

A-Rod...............05-Jun-1997......21-313 SABR Games Project Story

Mike Trout........21-May-2013......21-287 SABR Games Project Story

Arky Vaughan...124-Jun-1933.... 21-107 SABR Games Project Story

Eric Davis          02-June-1989 was the last Reds player to hit for the cycle prior to De La Cruz. 

Denison: does morality still matter in America?

Base Ball

Ceil brought back a few framed items from Corrine's house in Catarrh, including one of her ancestor's Belmont base ball team from the 1800's. I'll hang it in my office.

Finally: got the new curtain hung in the bedroom. Also a shower curtain. Dresser should be delivering soon. Working on the bedside tables, window shades, and the hanging of framed pictures. 

My humble blog recently passed 4 million views. This is my 21st year posting blogs. Not super impressive when you do the math, but it's a mark to be noted nevertheless.

When I worked, I had several ways to take notes and make to do lists: use an email, a sticky note, a small notepad, or a regular sized piece of paper (usually folded). When I retired, I made sure to have several of these possibilities available. At some point, I realized I needed to have 3x5 notecards on hand. For one reason to enter the occasional mail in sweepstakes. So I bought me a stack at Dollar Tree. Now I've started using the 3x5 cards for my to do lists. Now I am remembering how I receive so many 3x5 cards from Reid. 

I was happy to have a restful Sunday. I'm trying to get C to be more active, so I waited around for her to get ready to go to the gym. Didn't leave the house until 10:15. She wanted to do the treadmill and sauna, so that's what we did. She'd wanted to go to Whole Foods, but she didn't want to go in her yoga pants. 

Got home, and I left out to run some errands. Today is 6/8 and Sonny BBQ was having a $6.80 special: a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, fries and a drink. Came out quick and hot, before my drink had arrived. Crinkle fries were piping hot, but tasted undercooked. The busy 68 year old waiter brought me a glass of weak root beer instead of Coke Zero, but root beer is good every now and then. Sandwich was good. A little adventure.

Went to the AT&T store to get my phone fixed, but they said there were lots of hoops I had to go through, that I was pretty sure had spent hours getting fixed already. Drives me crazy.   

 

Question of the day: who is your favorite pass rusher? Claude Humphrey and John Zook.

MEL OTT  [SABR Bio] led his team in home runs for 18 straight seasons, yet is only third on his franchise’s career home run list. Ott had more homers than any other Giants hitter every season from 1928-45.  His total of 511 dingers in a Giants uniform was later passed by Willie Mays (646) and Barry Bonds (586). Ott tied Gavvy Cravath’s record for National League home run titles, though he needed more than twice as many home runs to do it. Ott led the Senior Circuit in roundtrippers six times, in 1932, 1934, 1936-38, and 1942. In those six seasons, he hit a total of 203 home runs. Cravath also led the league six times, from 1913-15 and 1917-19, but only hit 94 homers combined in those six seasons. Their record would be broken by Ralph Kiner, who won seven consecutive NL home run titles from 1946-52. Kiner was eventually eclipsed by Mike Schmidt, who led the NL in home runs eight times. Ott’s first at-bat for the Giants came less than two months after his 17th birthday.  He was by 20 months the junior of Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rufus Meadows, the 2nd youngest player to take the field in 1926. When Braves outfielder Bill Dunlap made his big league debut, it marked the first time in four seasons that someone younger than Ott was on a National League roster.

Denison: how to speak the truth in love.

 Max Lucado: “I choose kindness. I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.” 

    Quote for the day: “Compassion is born when we discover in the center of our own existence not only that God is God and man is man, but also that our neighbor is really our fellow man.” —Henri J. M. Nouwen