Parts of Speaking Publishing

 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03506-6

  https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/11/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-time-machine/ I recommend this short essay by Russell Moore. Its title might make you think one thing when it's really about the timelessness of God, and that term in itself if wrong or incomplete. God created time but is not bound or defined by it in any way. He is past present future; Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, as Hebrews states.  The essay is thought-provoking and reminds me why I love Russell and his writing. My tendency to say "stay out of politics if your mission is the gospel" hits a wall with him sometimes. He is a huge Trump critic, but I would be a hypocrite to not own that myself despite my goal to spread the good news. He just has a bigger platform and thus more critics.  In the essay he states that he and Beth Moore (they always say "no relation"--it's her husband's name anyway) agreed on what moment in the Bible they would want to back to if ...

 I typically observe Lent and Advent with daily (mostly) posts. Today is the first day of Advent, which conveniently starts after Thanksgiving. Was that part of the reason the last Thursday in November was chosen for Thanksgiving? Side note: For years I've had a brass candle holder with places for five candles. This year I realized it was for advent calendars, which I forgot to be sure to have. I can still light them as prescribed. The ones I have are white and red. The three red ones can take the place of the purple, and the white ones the other two Sundays.  At my age, where I will go into my eighth decade of life soon, buying more Christmas ornaments and decorations has no appeal. I have plenty of them, and many are up now. I got an early start for once. This cold has laid me low, even making this typing difficult.  The first candle is for HOPE and is called the Prophet's candle. That is comforting. From Genesis 3 we are promised the Messiah; HOPE and PROMISE are words...

 I do not do pop music, or really any contemporary music.  There is just too much of it to keep straight, and it is focused on young people.  I recently watched/read the lyrics of "The Fate of Ophelia," which is interesting for its reference to the tragic young female. Ophelia is a stand-in for everything that can go wrong with in a young woman's life, especially at the hands of men who can manipulate her. She is manipulated by Hamlet, her own father Polonius, and the king. The woman who should help her does not (Gertrude has so little agency in the play, by my reading)* and her brother takes her for granted until it's too late and he can show off his grief.  Taylor Swift decries Ophelia's fate but makes it clear she has no part in it.  I watched a documentary last night on the temperament trait of Sensitivity (it's on Prime video and called Sensitive ). I am not one of the 20% of the population with this trait, for good or bad. But I can be touched by art. On...

 Very important article on  Men's Mental Health Toxic masculinity came from feminism, not an evidence-based, unbiased approach to men's problems. Also, psychology has been about deviance rather than health. I prefer positive psychology approaches. 

 I have started listening to Erick Erickson's podcasts. Today he had on Clark Howard, who runs a charity for foster care kids at Christmas to guarantee they all have gifts.  Foster care is one of those hidden problem in the U.S. Christmas gifts can't make up for not being raised by your real parents, but they do need our support in other ways.  Here is the link. I looked up four children in counties near by and donated a gift for each. There are different price levels and you can pick the child by age and gender.  Clarks Christmas Kids