Continuing reading Judges

Judges is primarily a book about the individuals who followed Joshua as a leader generally appointed by God but not as effective as Joshua. Israel did not follow the covenant and take over all the lands of the designated Promised Lands. Instead they lived side by side with a number of different kingdoms and over time they forgot the stories of their ancestors and inter married into these other cultures taking up their worship of some gods namely Baal. A number of people became Judges but still the Israelites did not follow the word of God. So God permitted first of all the Midianites to oppress the Israeli people and the Israeli people called out to God to help them and an angel reminded them that they had not continued to honour God for delivering them from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land where they had stopped listening to God and followed the ways of the people who were not Israeli. The Judge appointed by God was Gideon. War followed and the land had rest for forty years with Gideon as their Judge.  But the decay was setting in and Gideon died with the Israelis returning to worshiping other gods namely Baal and forgot God who had rescued the Israeli people from their enemies. God's anger seems to have changed somewhat and He responds when asked to help. I do not believe I ever really understood the Book of Judges. I must read it noticing that the corruption continues and each time it becomes worse. There are many Judges. 

Yesterday was a smoke day and we spent it indoors. It was somewhat visible in the trees but the heavy rain seemed to wash it away. The bad smoke days of a couple of years ago have not returned again because of better management of the forests these past couple of years. The period of dense swirling smoke has certainly diminished. So long as the nations who primarily create the global warming do nothing about it Canada and other northern nations this time of year including Canada, Russia and the State of Alaska (United States) will continue to suffer from lightning strikes that create forest fires because of the very large boreal forests that exist in these countries (that includes the northern states like Minnesota to the south of Canada). However, some countries are working very hard to offset the items that create global warming. But with 555 fires burning in the United States and 658 fires burning in Canada that is a lot of smoke. Also the permafrost is melting at a rapid pace as the northern areas are warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world.  That is bad news. 

Sunday today and Church after a while. I also want to work on the Allen pictures and get them bundled up and sent off to the Allen family which is collecting up all of this material. It would be sad to have these original images lost from the pertinent families. I have given all of my original pictures to my younger sister to retain for the family as she is in an area much closer to everyone. 

Other than that the days move along and work is slowly getting done. 

Solitaire puzzles are next. 

About Global Warming

When I lived in southwestern Ontario I can not remember any alerts for smoke. Even as a young married woman (just 20 years of age) when my husband and I took our canoe up into Northern Ontario throughout the summer months we would still find snow hidden in the crevices protected from the sun. It was always cool at night but now with global warming (Canada is not one of the top ten nations that are considered to be the worst offenders causing global warming) the forest bed is hot and dry and with thousands of lightning strikes we are lucky actually with how few forest fires are burning as the potential is much much higher. The rain today will help to dampen the land and put the fires under control. We have massive forests having traveled in them by canoe and they are all over the northern part of most of the provinces as well as down into the south of many of them;  Canada has the second largest land mass in the world and the maintenance of our forests is high on our agenda but just one large maple tree in my back yard produces enough dead wood/leaves on the ground to fill thirty large recycling bags every summer. One tree and we have billions of them. The rotting dead lumber in the forests enriches the ground and helps to retain the moisture and keep the forest from getting to be too hot in the undergrowth. Nonetheless we do clear large swathes of the forests throughout the summer (good to make pulp with for sure; yet another industry that Canada has). There are fires burning all over North America at the moment but we do have the most forest and Canada is warming up twice as fast as countries further to the south of us because of global warming. But the trees capture carbon and help protect us from global warming; it is a difficult tradeoff actually but we are better off with our forests in this world but perfectly manicured woods are possible in City Parks, built up residential areas and that is why there are so many forest fires burning in Canada, in the United States and in Mexico (all of North America). It is called Global Warming and if one believes the scientists will lead us to a new ice age and then we do not have to worry about Forest Fires! However the last Ice Age likely killed off  Homo neanderthalensis so we continue doing the best we can controlling the fires, helping our neighbours to combat their fires as we are lucky to only have fires in the brief summer period whereas fires to the south of us burn all year round and the smoke travels where it travels (the air streams tend to be out of the southwest and into the northeast so we are not free of smoke either from fires to the south of us when our forest fires are dampened down for the long winter times). 

 Reading the first chapter of Judges and the Israelis continued to take over the Promised Land as God had commanded. Reviewing in my mind the intent of God the Creator throughout these first books of the Bible. There were many gods worshiped on earth by the early peoples but God wanted the people to know that He alone was the True God, the Creator God and He freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and brought them back to the Promised Land. The land which Abraham purchased and where Abraham had walked and talked with God and God had told Abraham that He would make a mighty nation of his descendants and they would always live in this Promised Land (Israel). In the second chapter already time has passed and God wants the heathens driven out of the Promised Land as He had made Convenant with Moses and Joshua that that would happen as the Israelis took over the Promised Land. God wanted no craven images of supposed gods/no altars built to celebrate these fake gods in His Holy Land which he had given to the Israelis. I will continue reading and tomorrow will think more on all these chapters. 

Having been raised Anglican I am knowledgeable of these thoughts on the Creator God. They were frightening to me as a child and it is only in my early 80s now that I truly can understand why the Creator God went to such lengths to teach the peoples of Israel, His chosen people how they needed to live in order for Him to live amongst them. Greed has to disappear from our world because it destroys; the desire to take what is not yours has to disappear from this world because it destroys and it was Jesus who brought us that message to encourage us to continue with our closeness to God and His Commandments and Jesus gave us the very basic knowledge that can bring peace to all the peoples of the world - Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbour as yourself (that eliminates greed from our life).  It is greed that destroys the very fabric of life. 

Saturday and it is generally a quiet day as I avoid going anywhere. Today though is a rainy one and the air, although full of smoke, will be cleansed somewhat.  

Woke up early

 Still  need a couple of hours of sleep and will head back soon. Yesterday was good accomplishment as we purchased the lights for the electrician to install next week. That is a relief; life was much easier when lights weren't wired in; you just changed the bulb but my husband always enjoyed the new inventions and so there are wired LED lights. Hopefully all resolved and there are four new lights to install. 

Will read the Judges Book in the Bible later today. I like my brain to be rested so that I do not miss anything. I am into some of the more difficult Books in the Bible. The ones that tell of great sadness for the Israeli people. Because they tried to get along with the peoples who had inhabited the Promised Land before they returned from slavery in Egypt, problems arose. I have sort of forgotten all of the parts of the stories so this refresher will be very much appreciated. Joshua has died and the Israelis are now back in the Promised Land; first purchased by Abraham and then promised to Abraham and his descendants by the Creator God. Man walking with God must have been awesome and the Old Testament does give us a good picture of that life. It was not to last though as God's requirements for living amongst people were very very strict and punishment for not following the rules was swift. 

A little work on the books yesterday as I rechecked the latest matches to see if there was anything interesting and a couple became new files to enter. When I enter them is the question but mostly I am looking at them as supportive of what I already have. The database I have created suits me well and supplies me with the information I was looking for with regard to the deep past. 

Avoiding the news for the most part. Canada has a lot of work to do internally to make ourselves much more independent. We were extremely independent after the Second World War and we must get back to that independence. The Prime Minister has found the right path and all of these other items are just distractions that we have to move past. Whether or not the Gordie Howe Bridge opens is really in the hands of the United States. We are ready to open it and the truckers are probably very thankful to have a new bridge connected to the main highways in both countries available to them. We built it on our own using materials from both countries and workers from each country equally and we voluntarily agreed to share the profits if any once the bridge is paid for and what more can one say.  Profits are always somewhat empirical because the bridge will always need to be maintained and upgraded as needed so one never knows if there will ever really be profits if the bridge is properly maintained to protect the users from the United States and Canada - that is really the most important part for sure. Maintenance is the key really. 

Smoke again tomorrow and heavy rain - a combination that is beneficial certainly to the environment since we have so many lightning strikes on much too dry ground caused by global warming.  Hopefully the rain helps to bring the remaining fires under control. I think we are getting used to being threatened as we just carry on with our lives moving ahead with all of these new ideas to make ourselves a global energy power. The natural resources of Canada are huge as is the land mass. We just have to keep moving forward. Strange that in reality the only country in the last two hundred and fifty years plus that has ever attacked Canada is the United States with the last incursions into Canada made by the Fenians coming up from the United States in the 1870s/1880s. But peace has reigned pretty much solidly since the end of the War of 1812-1814. We generally sit down and talk about it as neighbours. That is what God wants us to do.  

Back to sleep for a few hours and then I will read Judges. I am looking forward to reading Judges as I know that of all the Books in the Old Testament it is one of the hardest ones to read in terms of the content. 

Solitaire puzzles all done as well - they are another calming tool for sure.  

During the summer

 In the summer months our only real problem is forest fires primarily caused by lightning strikes. Our winters are long and forest fires not a problem so just a very short period of the year. However we are not amongst the 10 largest polluters in the world and it is global warming that is creating this conundrum in Canada of much hotter summers caused by global warming which feeds forest fires because the forest is much drier and hence more at risk during lightning strikes.  It is difficult to control and generally over in a few days. Although that few days has stretched into longer periods the last couple of years. Last year the smoke was so thick it swirled and we practically never went outside for days. We use air purifiers to keep the smoke out of the house. 

Completed reading the Book of Joshua.  Chapter 22 Verse 5 includes God's commandment which Moses brought to the Israeli people and Joshua repeated: Take good care to observe the commandment and instruction that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, and to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." The last chapter in the Book of Joshua sees the tribes of Israel renew the Covenant. All the tribes gathered at Shechem and again reviewed the history of the people of Israel coming down from Abraham. Still there must never be a break in the Covenant or God's favour will be lost to the Israelis. I still do not sense any mention of the coming of the Messiah which will be told by the prophets later in the Bible. The Israeli nation must not break the covenant with God at all. Tomorrow I begin the Book of Judges. 

I needed to have some wired in LED lights replaced and was looking for an electrician. I discovered that Enercare offers that service and have joined it along with my furnace and water heater already there and next week will see those lights changed. We just have to go and buy them now. One light burned out about a year ago now and it is difficult to manage that with just lamps. So was happy to have finally discovered a way to get these types of things done. Coming from a family with a lot of electricians one suddenly realizes how differently one lives one's life away from where you grew up. I live it the same personally although different now that Edward has passed away but on a basis of acquiring skills needed to repair and replace items I had really no knowledge. So it is helpful to have these services offered as part of the user network that Enercare has. 

No work done yesterday although I received a note from my brother in law telling me that my sister is enjoying her letters I send every week. That is good to hear and I have every hope and prayer that her mobility improves to suit her. My father was bedridden from the age of 88 years on and confined to a wheelchair. He loved to walk and walked for miles on the beach at the cottage. He always said it reminded him of his childhood and the beaches along the English Channel that they went to when he was a child. So I thanked him in a letter but it didn't like the email address and I forwarded it to my nephew who sent it on to his father. My nephew sent me the new email address. I need to go to the Rideau Center here to look for nice boxes of cards with interesting pictures as I will run out of these cards I found locally. Perhaps we will do that in the next couple of weeks. I haven't been downtown shopping for quite a while. 

I graduated in Science from Western University way back in 1967 and they now have a Western Science Alumni Newsletter.  I just received an email copy today. Edward always donated to Western but I have not kept that up as he donated to a number of places and I added in the Ottawa Branch Library of Ontario Ancestors to celebrate the date of our anniversary as I rather thought he would like that. So I dropped a few of his donations. I shall think about it because I certainly used my knowledge of science through all of my working life and in particular Chemistry and Physics when I was proofreading the National Research Council Journals here for about fourteen years initially directly with the National Research Council and then when we proofreaders were the first to be laid off  by then Prime Minister Mulroney I was hired by the printers who printed the journal to proofread for the remainder of that time period. It was a great job as I went in to work a few days a week for a short period most of that time and than did the bulk of the work at home so I was able to be with my children all the time when they were little. In general no one local knew that I worked at home as I didn't talk about it at that time. 

If the smoke level is down low I shall go out and weed the front garden bed as I didn't get it done last week as the smoke moved in to our area. 

I will do some work on the books today as I have a few hours available now that are not in use. 

Solitaire games next.  

 

 

Joshua manages the division

 Continuing to read Joshua and the division of the Promised Land is recorded tribe by tribe coming down from the twelve sons of Jacob (Jacob was renamed Israel by God) and Israel was formed from the Promised Land. The path had been hard coming out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land; promised to them by God to their forefather Abraham, Isaac his son and Jacob his son. Now the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob dwelled in the land of their forefathers and they lived side by side with the peoples of that land. 

As I read I keep looking for the prophecies but they are not yet and I really do not think the language gives even a hint of the coming of the Messiah that appears in later books of the Old Testament. The need to live the life God commanded was the most important part of the life of the people of Israel. They could not break any of those commandments and survive. 

Yesterday was incredibly busy. I did not realize I could have a maintenance contract on my air conditioner so have done that now although I do intend to acquire a new one for next year but probably in the spring. Will get that set up in the winter time likely although when they come to do maintenance on the current machine which is working beautifully actually they will tell  me about possible air conditioners that I can acquire. This house is small and I keep it shrouded in the days when it is so very humid and hot. It does get warm and I have it set to turn on at 25 degrees celsius but it doesn't run a lot even on the very hot days. It appears to be very efficient. But it is old and needs replacing before I sell the house in a few years. 

The modem is working perfectly and the downloading is much more efficient with the larger modem and it doesn't get very hot like the last one but it was fairly old and needed replacing I gather. I had purchased the 500 MB  per second download option and it doesn't normally go that high but it is well into the 300+ range now which is quick. Mind you I do not do a lot of downloading but that includes all sorts of things like YouTube if you are watching different productions. I do not watch a lot and tend towards religious programs. 

Today will be a quiet day as there is still some smoke in the air and I will not work outside until it has passed. The forest fires burning are normal as the lightning strikes are numerous during the summer months. 

Hopefully some work today as the cleaning is completed for another week. Keeping the dust down is important especially when we also have to contend with smoke. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.