QUARANTINE BLOG # 588

November 8, 2021

Today’s sermon by David Sisler, preached on November 7, 2021, from the Crawfordville UMC Pulpit is He Is Able” (Hebrews 2:18, Hebrews 7:25, Jude 24, Philippians 3:21, 2 Timothy 1:12, Ephesians 3:20).

👉  If you are following KW & CJ's Most Excellent Adventure you know that a few days ago they visited Blue Hole along Route 66 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.  I was intrigued by KW's pictures, so I did a little research to share with you.

Blue Hole, is a circular, bell-shaped small lake.  It has a constant 62 °F temperature and constant inflow of 3,000 US gallons per minute, enough to cycle out the water every six hours.  While the surface is only 80 feet in diameter, it expands to a diameter of 130 feet (40 m) at the bottom.  Blue Hole is an example of a natural artesian well, a type of well or spring fed by water under high pressure; and of a cenóte, a collapsed cavern exposing groundwater beneath.

Blue Hole was used by nomadic tribes as a reliable water source in the arid plains that surround the area.  Cowboys on cattle drives across the Pecos River would also stop by the pool.  When Route 66 came through the city in the 1920s, the pool became a popular stop and tourist attraction for motorists on the new highway.  It became the Blue Hole Recreation Area in the 1970s, then the Blue Hole Dive and Conference Center.  

I found a great video, “They Came for the Waters,” of diving and swimming in Blue Hole.  Enjoy.

👉  While KW and CJ were exploring Route 66 and some National Parks, I came across a story of a California woman who found a 4.38 carat diamond just laying on the ground in an Arkansas State Park.  Noreen Wredberg and her husband, Michael Wredberg, were walking through Crater of Diamonds State Park when they spotted a “sparkling gem on top of the ground.”  It turned out to be a 4.38-carat yellow diamond.  

Visitors at Crater of Diamonds State Park have found a total of 258 diamonds in 2021, weighing more than 46 carats in total.  On average, one to two diamonds are found by park visitors each day.  The largest diamond ever found in the U.S. was discovered there in 1924, before it became a state park.  Named the Uncle Sam, the gem was a white diamond with a pink cast that weighed 40.23 carats.  The diamond was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape and purchased by a private collector for $150,000 in 1971.

👉  Colin and Donna Craig-Brown were weeding their garden in Wellington, New Zealand when Colin’s hoe struck something huge just beneath the soil's surface.  Colin wondered if it was some kind of strange fungal growth, a giant puffball.  After Colin pried it out, he scratched away a bit of the skin and tasted it.  It was a potato that when put on their scales weighed in at 17.4 pounds.  They’ve named the potato Doug, after the way it was unearthed.  The Guinness World Records entry for the heaviest potato is a 2011 monster from Britain that weighed in at just 11 pounds.  The couple say they’ve applied to Guinness and are waiting to hear back.

Donna Craig-Brown and “Doug”

👉  Tennessee has several nicknames, but the most popular and well-known is “The Volunteer State,” a nickname earned during the War of 1812 (thousands of volunteer soldiers from Tennessee played a prominent role in this war, especially during the Battle of New Orleans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuJes22MC_I).  This reputation for volunteering was reinforced during the Mexican War when the secretary of state asked for 2,800 Tennessee volunteers and got 30,000 respondents.  Tennesseans are sometimes referred to as “Butternuts,” a name first applied to Tennessee Civil War soldiers because of the tan color of their uniforms.  Tomorrow, the Mountain State.

Sunset in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee

👉  Hoda Kotb is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today.  She frequently shows short humorous and/or inspirational clips.  Here is one of twin boys being left alone and told not to eat the treats that have been put on the table until the adults come back into the room.  After you watch it, let it run and see some more.  I dare you to watch the one about adoption without a Kleenex in your hand.

👉  Here’s another Halloween picture, late, but cute.  Are they trip-trip-triplets?

👉  Of all the pictures Brian has supplied me with over the 587 previous Quarantine Blogs, this one is my all-time favorite:

👉  Today’s close is from crosswalk.com:

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song” (Psalms 95:1-2).

Joy knows no better explanation than laughter and song.   We sing to the Lord because we are joyful!   Our music is not inhibited or held back, but exuberant and as full of sound as it is of heart.  Thanksgiving brings us into the Father's presence and it is our joy at being saved that leads us to sing.

My Prayer: O most wonderful and glorious God, thank you so much for saving me from sin, death, law, and futility.  Thank you for saving me and giving me the assurance, through your Holy Spirit, that I can come before you with exuberant and overflowing joy.  Your love and grace have not only given me hope but have made me your child.  Hear my heart and be blessed by my songs of praise.  Through Jesus I pray and because of Jesus I will shout your praise forever and ever.  Amen.

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