187 Too Old for Coffee (Deut 34)

I'm getting old.
Well older.
Obviously we all are, but it's how you find out that is buggin' me at the moment.
There's my hair, well my lack of it.
My son has just rubbed the top of my head and commented gleefully about the scarcity of growth.
(Him seeing I was blogging about my lack of hair may or may not have been a trigger. Grrrr)
And it's just not the top of my head that's a magnet to my offsprings' comments.
My eyebrows are, weirdly, growing.
Or is that growing weirdly, into some freaky mutant mad hattery sticky out eyebrowy things.
Annn-oooyyy-ing.
My stubble is gone from "salt and pepper" to "salt and oh my goodness what's that?"
My knees aren't keeping up with my treks up and down the stairs.
My hip can get proppy if I sleep in an odd position.
But worst of all.
Far worse.
My body can't cope with coffee after 6:30 at night.
I mean, it likes it.  It wants it.
It really, really wants it.
But if I dare, my eyes won't close before 1 maybe 2 the next morning.
Darn.
Because it can mean that on some nights, say, like tonight.
If I go out and get home later, like tonight.
I can't have a lovely, refreshing, awesome warm drink of coffee.
And my brain goes all gooey and fails at putting two thoughts together.
Sometimes struggles putting one thought together.
Oh, the pain and suffering.
I may have to try decaf.
It can't really come to that.
Can it?
Maybe I'll try tea.


Or never go out again past 6:30.

Deuteronomy 34
Well, it's taken about a year.
So many starts and restarts, but I'm finally at the end of Deuteronomy.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
I was getting a tad weary of trying to remember how to spell Deuteronomy.
I hope I never have to type Deuteronomy again.

Moses was 120 when he died.
There was nothing wrong with him.

v7 "His vision was undimmed an his vigour unabated."

But it was time to die.  He saw the land, the promise from the mount.
He knew who would take over.
He had fought.
He had debated.
He had led.
He had sacrificed.
He had done all he could.
And while it could be viewed as a failure, one entire generation was lost.
The hope is there for the lessons to be learnt by this new group.
It's something we can and should take from this story of wandering.
The hope to learn something from a hopeless situation.
The hope to recover.
The hope for something more beyond the lost years of wandering in the desert.

186 Frozen Tomatoes (Deut 33)

It would seem my office fridge has more mysteries than hidden choccie treats.
Today, I delved inside it's shelves for lunch.
Oh, tomatoes.
Didn't I get those a week ago?
Or longer?
They seem ok.
Not manky.
They seem firm.  Really firm.
Perfect.
Until............................
I try and slice one.  It seems tough.  Maybe it's my blunt knife.
Let's try a serrated blade.
Nope.
THE TOMATO IS FROZEN SOLID!
Like a rock.
How does that even happen in a fridge?
How does that even happen in the DOOR of the fridge.
I checked an orange that was sitting next to the tomato.
Fine.
Cold.
But not even close to freezing.
I guess that's one for you science weirdo's wizards.

I ended up with just cheese on my toast.
Nice.  But not tomato.

Deuteronomy 33
A final blessing.
Individual recognition.
Another confirmation of protection and direction.
Yes, another, again.
Just in case it gets missed.
It will.
But, anyway.

There is no equality in the blessing.
Yet there is fairness.

185 BeTwix and Between (Deut 32)

I was scratching around the other day looking for something to finalise an unusually meager lunch.  Luckily I was able to find a long forgotten chocolate bar at the back of the fridge.
Now I have no idea how long it was there.
I can't remember buying it.
I'm the only one with access to the fridge.
It was just there.
I should have investigated the expiry date.
So far, so good.  It must have been ok.
Anyway, you guessed it, I ate it.
Hence my relief at "So far, so good."
And it was awesome!!
Just to top off the experience, I had a glass of milk.
Full cream.
Straight from the fridge.
Magical.
But that's where things went a little bad.
Perhaps I was more peckish than normal due to feeling a tad under the weather.
Not quite the deadly malaise "Man Flu"
But close.
So very close.
And the milk made it, well, oh so much worse.
The cloggy, gluggy masses that kept overflowing my throat after that glass full of white gold were disturbing.
And the cough.
Oh my goodness.  Like some kindergarten glue and stick table gone mad.
All afternoon long.
Hack, hack, gag, swallow, urgh, cough, hack, swallow, breathe, hack, gurgle, hack, cough..........
Apart from that though, it was rather enjoyable.

Oh, it was a Twix. Almost one of my very favourites.
And now one of yours.
I'm sure.

Deuteronomy 32
How hard would this last day of Moses be?
He has worked so hard for this group of people.
He has argued with God.
He has argued with his brother.
He has argued with the people.
He gave so much.
He lost so much in a fit of frustration.
Now he walks up a mountain to die.
In sight of everything he has fought and argued for.
Hard? Maybe.
Just? Maybe not.
Real? Definitely.
Consequences are there all the time.
For doing right.
And for doing wrong.
We rarely question the consequences for doing the right thing.
While we would probably question every single time we are confronted with a consequence for doing wrong.
A bit of a shame, because there is so much more to learn and grow in these times.