QUARANTINE BLOG # 574

October 25, 2021

As you know, QB was traveling last week, so the October 17 sermon from the Crawfordville Pulpit, could not be processed – the programs I need to do the editing are not on my laptop.  So here is “Grace in Jesus' Family Tree” (from Matthew 1:1-16).

👉  Today the Google Doodle, which ignored 9/11 celebrates the 127th birthday of French photographer Claude Cahun.

👉  We’ve been taking a look at the 50 state license plates and will conclude today.  But first, we must look back at Ohio, and a big blunder on their new plate.

With the sun gloriously shining on the Wright Brothers plane and the “Birthplace of Aviation,” there is a glaring mistake.  The banner is on the front of the plane and should, of course, be trailing the plane.  The propellers for the Wright Flyer are in the back and the vertical control surfaces are in the front.  Ohio says it will correct the mistake before new plates are issued.

👉  And the final 5 state license plates.  No mistakes noted.

👉  Today we will wrap up “Sayings by Mac” (when he was between 5 and 7 years old).

Mac said he didn’t like his name because it was too short.  When asked what name he would like he said, “Will.  So when playing a game someone says, ‘Fire at Will’ that will be me!”

“Yes!  I did it!”  What did you do Mac!  “I peed out the hole in my underwear without getting them wet!”

“Uh!  These don’t have one!” What’s wrong Mac?  “These underwear don’t have the hole.  What am I supposed to do?”

👉  Three sisters in Florida share the same birthday, but they’re not twins or triplets.  Instead, the Lammert sisters – Sophia, Giuliana and Mia – were each born on August 25, respectively, in 2015, 2018 and 2021.  All three were delivered naturally.  Explaining the coincidence of their shared birthdays, their mother chalks it up to serendipity.  “Divine intervention, fate, loved ones up above,” Kristin Lammert said.  The hospital said 1-in-48 million odds against such a coincidence.

👉  Let’s return to the Wizard of Oz, and some things we didn’t know about this great movie.

To start today, the wicked witch was supposed to be totally different.  Most of us know the Wicked Witch as a terrifying, hideous, bright green character – unless of course, you’re a fan of Wicked and see her more sympathetically.  The Wicked Witch wasn’t always ugly and terrifying.  She was originally going to be beautiful, sleek, and sexy.  Of course, that doesn’t fit so well with the idea of evil witches being ugly, so producers changed the look to contrast more with the Good Witch.  Gale Sondergaard was not a fan of this new look.  She was originally cast as the Wicked Witch, but when she saw the makeup, she bailed.  Margaret Hamilton took the role instead.

L. Frank Baum’s coat in real life was the wizard’s coat in the movie.  Sometimes stars just align, and that’s what happened when costume designers were looking for the perfect coat for Frank Morgan, who played both the Wizard and Professor Marvel.  They wanted a coat that looked fashionable, but heavily worn, so they hit up a bunch of local thrift stores in their search.  They found the perfect coat, and on set, Morgan found a label stitched into the inside of the jacket that said “L. Frank Baum.”  It was the author’s coat, which had been tailored just for him.  After filming, producers gifted the coat to the author’s widow.

Bert Lahr, the Cowardly Lion, brought a comic relief element to the cast of The Wizard of Oz.  Lahr also was tormented by his costume, while shooting on-set.  No matter how cool the costume might have been, the 100-degree temperature under the hot Technicolor lights was horrible with what amounted to a “real-fur” coat.  He was warned that he might be typecast after his famous role, to which he replied: “Yeah, but how many parts are there for lions?” 

Wicked is a Broadway play that was based on a novel written in 1995 called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  The story aims to take another perspective of the happenings in the Wizard of Oz.  The perspective shifts to the witches of Oz rather than Dorothy.  More specifically, Wicked follows the story of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (Glinda the Good Witch).  The two begin as friends although they could not be more different personality wise.  The play showcases their reaction to what is portrayed as a corrupt government in Oz run by the Wizard.  Wicked completes the trio of my favorite Broadway plays with Cats and Mamma Mia.

👉  Two strips from Calvin and Hobbes where Calvin creates a magic potent that makes him invisible:

👉  Some pictures to smile about:

👉  Today’s close “Benefits of Troubles,” is from Good Morning, Lord. Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll.

I’m reminded of Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle’s cryptic comment: “Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.” The Bible is chock-full of stories of individuals who endured the fire of adversity and came out like gold. Though enduring a trial is never easy or pleasurable in the moment, God’s Word teaches us that there is a great purpose in such difficult times:

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

“So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2-4).

Where are you today? Has there been a recent turn of events? A trust that is no longer there? A friend who is no longer near? A dream that is no longer clear? Is there a future that is no longer bright? Or are there tears that are falling now where there was once laughter and companionship? Are you experiencing misunderstanding instead of support, affirmation, and loyalty?

Take heart! It is in that crucible that God can (and often does) do His best work! Poet John Oxenham called this “God’s Handwriting”:

He writes in characters too grand 

For our short sight to understand;

We catch but broken strokes, and try 

To fathom all the mystery 

Of withered hopes, of death, of life,

The endless war, the useless strife,

But there, with larger, clearer sight,

We shall see this – His way was right.

God’s handwriting may be difficult to read right now, but you can trust that one day it will be clear to read, and you will understand what He was doing in your life.

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