Marathoner

It would be good to reiterate that the Body of Christ is the temple of the Lord raised without human hands, for God is not served by human hands (Acts 17). What are we? Living stones and a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2), my friends. Seeing as how the Lord has no need of our voices to speak for Him, nor our hands to fashion objects that represent Him, our focus are those works we were created in Him to walk in. We can serve anywhere on this earth, and this includes in the churches. If that is where the Lord sends His beloved, then that is where they should go. It's simple, yes? It is indeed.

I pay no heed to Mr. Osteen either, but he is indeed correct about there being many different ways Jesus Christ calls us to Him. I'm a good example of that. The Lord simply called me out of the blue. He does whatever He pleases.

I do not recommend placing glue boards in trees or other outdoor areas, @Vine Abider. The risk of trapping other animals is too great. Unless we are talking about stationary bait containers positioned around the foundation of a structure, outdoor traps for small animals like rats are too risky. Only use glue boards and other traps indoors out of the reach of friends like cats or dogs. I didn't use poison against that rat or deer mice because they are prey for other animals. Again, too risky.

Vegetable oil can help free trapped creatures from glue boards. I do not recommend handling the critter because they will bite your hands and fight back.

I learned the value of a light lunch. I found that I'm more alert and able than I am with something heavy in the stomach. With diabetes I have to be mindful to balance carbohydrates with plenty of protein and/or fiber. Hence the tuna sandwich is the thing for me.

They're pretty popular with folks at work. As for me, I'm a "make my lunch at home and bring it work" sort. More economical and better for what ails me.

The tree would smell pretty nice, yes?

I had experience trapping roof rats in the Southeast, @Vine Abider. They were cavorting in a doctor's attic and shimmying down from there into a cupboard where all of their cereal goods were stored. I was a new employee working for a pest control company at the time and I inherited their house as part of my route; she called me one morning in a panic. "I can hear them squeaking in the cereal cabinet!", she exclaimed. I assure her that I was on my way... I looked around outside and noticed tree limbs contacting the roof of their house. Roof Rat Boulevard identified. I ventured up into her attic and noticed a characteristic sign of rats. They enjoy using the restroom all over places they frequent, yes? They do. Finally, I checked the restrooms and kitchen of their house and discovered that the little creeps had gnawed a nice hole from the attic into the kitchen cupboard where they stored cereal and other grains. What a mess. I told her to contact a tree service and have those limbs removed from the roof of their house as soon as possible. In the meantime, I placed several glue boards in the attic (anchored with small nails to lumber) and one in the cereal cabinet. I asked her to disregard any squeaking she might hear until I returned in the morning. I didn't use any bait on the glue boards. Most roof rats behave like oversized mice and can be careless about what they venture into, especially if they're on their way to a food source. It paid off... she called me the next morning with another squeaking report. "We've been listening to them squeaking all morning!" I trapped every single one of them on the glue boards. The glue board in the cereal cabinet had an adult and several young ones. I found roof rats easier to deal with than Norway rats. Norway rats are a rather bad headache to deal with.

I would love to see if that works!

Snap traps remind me of a rather formidable rat who had the honor of dying a natural death. The following is a true story. Rats aren't that common in the mountains here in NM (it's mostly hordes of deer mice, hence cases of bubonic plague occur here), but they will occasionally show up when conditions provide sufficient cover and shelter. Those conditions are exclusively created by human habitation, for our structures provide protection from hawks who would otherwise swoop down and snatch 'em up. They aren't safe at night either... the owls are even more deadly than those hawks. A rat decided to take up residence in a storage building. After my adopted mother told me about it, I thought of a solution: let's have the junior livestock guardian dog stay in there overnight. Maybe he'll take care of the problem! That slacker didn't care one whit about the rat. He even spotted the rat out in the open, and the goofball looked disinterested. He was more interested in us, lol! Right then. On to snap traps using an old trick I learned many years ago: place unset traps festooned with bait. It's similar in concept to the decoy; the super-cautious Norway rat would discover that the snap traps were harmless, yes? A great source of food. About a week of that until the moment of truth arrived... I set those traps this time. Yes indeed. I entered the storage shed the next morning, and what did I see? All of those snap traps were laid out neatly close to the door. They were triggered and missing the bait. It was surreal. I decided to try it again only this time, I used a different type of lethal trap. Baited and set... The next morning? The same thing all over again only this time, the rat decided to add sticks to the array of lethal traps close to the door. AaaaaaaaAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! This rat was unreal. All I was doing was offering the rat easy meals. After some consideration, I decided to leave the rat alone. A few months later, I found its body in the storage room. That rat looked pretty old. It died a natural death.

Here in the mountains only black cats are safe outdoors, but coyotes weren't the problem. The coyotes were terrified of our livestock guardian dogs and would steer clear of her land; she told me what happened a few years before I came to stay with her with a coyote who was stupid enough to challenge one of her dogs. They killed the coyote and ate it. Whenever coyotes came boiling out of the national forest, I would let the dogs chase the packs back into the forest. They loved it! It was an excellent excuse for them to hunt rabbits on the way back home. She lost several cats over the years. We discovered what happened to them: owls got them. Only black cats were safe up there. Poor kitties.

I agree. It's not enough to make unfounded accusations. Proof must be provided. As for myself, considering those Charismatic assemblies I have visited, I haven't encountered anything that is "unscriptural." No alternatives to Jesus Christ were preached. What we find are opinions, then. One's opinion should be declared as such. There is nothing worthwhile with naysaying or denouncing others. We ought to treat others how we wish to be treated and that, my friends, is entirely scriptural.

Osteen is a prosperity type.

Neither one of them is "charismatic."

Apples were tricky in the mountains where I lived many years ago. Why? We had competition: bears. They loved those apples! Time to gather some apples. Step 1: Choose apple trees at lower altitudes. Step 2: Observe the area for a while before doing the deed. Step 3: Examine those apple trees top to bottom. Step 4: Spot a bear? If yes, move to a different stand of apple trees. Step 5: Spot a bear with cubs? Leave the area immediately. Step 6: Go and check piñon pine trees for those lovely piñon nuts.

It wasn't limited to the 40s and 50s. It applied to the 70s as well... I think I'm still here. *checks to be sure*

Many don't have a choice so truly, it doesn't matter. Waking up in the morning is hazardous; leaving home is hazardous, and staying at home is hazardous.

That's what I call "wise." Back in those days when I worked on a framing crew, I would save scrap from cuts (I was the cut man) to use for wall kickers. Anything to avoid butchering full lengths of lumber just to make smaller lengths was worth it. If I pulled nails, I would deposit good pulled nails (I tried to pull them out straight) into my tool belt. I saved 'em for use down the road. Being a good steward is desirable.

For many years, a fellow would visit the dumpsters in the neighborhood once a week. He would remove metal objects from the dumpsters and put them in the bed of his pickup truck. I approved of what he was doing. I haven't seen him for about two years now. I pray that all is well with him.

I consider that activity outside of the dumpster vibe: it's the "classic" dumpster diver searching for specific materials. It's a service to society, brother. Removing recyclable materials from a dumpster reduces the burden on land fills, yes? It does. If you weren't engaged in an argument with the dumpster... bathed in the dumpster (yes, that happens)... slept in the dumpster... then you are not part of the dumpster vibe.

Lemons can be, too.

They're still around? Fascinating.

Agreed. Cooking beef properly will kill pathogens like e. coli.

The grace of God is defined as follows: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14 NASB) The grace of God, then, is His promise to instruct and teach us. It's not impossible to walk in what the Lord bids us to do.

Football. Here in the U.S., it's known as soccer. I am assuming that a "footy" means a football match. @Michael37 will correct me if I'm mistaken.