If Today Be Sweet - Thrity Unrigar

265 × 400 - goodreads.com 

This was a great book.  A friend recommended this author to me and I began with a book that was wonderful, and dramatic; The Weight of Heaven.

I love the way that Thrity Umrigar writes about two cultures with humor and respect for each.  I love the way that the characters seemed so real to me and that the plot surprised me some and also fulfilled some of my expectations.  Her writing is very balanced and delightful to read.  

I say that as if I've read ten of her works.  I have read two.  I will be reading them all.

 

Genesis of Memory

I'm going to start a written copy of my Bible; meaning the only verses I actually know, so I'll start in Genesis.  This won't take too long.  I am ashamed.

Genesis

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  And the earth was without form and void and the spirit of the LORD moved upon the face of the deep...

Hmmm.... I'm going to go check that part...

 How could I forget "darkness on the face of the deep?"  That's beautiful. 

I think it would be a nice parallel to start the New Testament with John so that it too starts with "In the Beginning."  I thought I could remember the names of the books of the New Testament with more accuracy, because there is a tune attached, but I'll have to practice that too.  They'll come back.

Back to Genesis:

I wish I knew how many chapters were in Genesis.  Chapters 1 and 2 have accounts of Creation and then maybe 3 has Cain and Abel and then by 5, the tower of Babel and the destruction of Nimrod?  And then maybe Noah has a couple of chapters?  How do I not know this?  I'll say Noah ends around chapter 10.

I'll guess that Genesis has 50 chapters total, and they include the genealogy from Adam to Joseph, with a great deal about Abraham and a little less about the next one- Isaac, and then the great stories about Jacob with the detour of Esau, and the Joseph novella which concludes the book.  I think the Joseph chapters actually consist of something that could be called a biography.

Genesis ends with the family in Egypt, which Abram had visited, but did others visit too?

 

Now I'll have to read or browse Genesis and see which parts I was right about.

  

My Bible

I went to a different church, out of town.  The preacher mentioned the importance of memorizing scripture and suggested that a person's Bible actually consists of only the portions that they know.  After the service, I tried to come up with every verse I could think of, and it didn't take too long.

I remember the process of learning the names of the books and I think I can still do that.  I've revised it a couple times but here's my guess:

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth

Samuel
Kings         OOPS
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Song of Solomon
Ecclesiastes

That's just the first part with no prophets.  Let's see how I've done so far...


I forgot Chronicles!  I decided to not split the books of Samuel and Kings, and that was intentional, but I completely forgot about the next 1-2 parter.... Chronicles, so I've revised the list below.  How will I remember this? 

There's three of those 1 and 2 books in a row.

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
Samuel
Kings
Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon


Isaiah!  He should be the first one in that section, I suppose...

Isaiah
Jeremiah... then I thought it was Ezekiel, but of course Lamentations comes next.. I think I need to practice this list because it's been awhile.

A Little Problem

We don't have a big problem.

We have a little problem.

We leave just a little bit too late, and drive just a little bit too fast and pay just a little bit less attention than is helpful, with nearly everything we do. 

We're a little too mean and a little too inconsiderate a little too selfish and frankly, very impatient.

We're frantic.

And we don't know what we're actually accomplishing apart from checking off a list of items that is so unimportant they we forget what it contained the next day, just in time to make a new one.

McD's and Queen Beatrix and Marilyn Monroe

Today I tried the third-pound McDonald's burger, Steakhouse edition, with mushrooms and onions.  It is almost as good as a Smashburger.  It was really big and I'm trying to eat just when I'm hungry, so I took most of it home for later.  It didn't hold up well, as I think a Smashburger would, but have never tried it after leaving the restaurant, since I've always eaten every bite there.

In looking for an image of a McD's burger, I found this:

 


At Invaluable.com, this and other treasures are available, including Lot 263, which is an unused McDonalds Dr Pepper "Thirst Has No Curfew" sign whose listing caught my eye during the Google search.