Just for Fun - The Answer

This post has the solution for the puzzle I shared during my last post Just for Fun!  If you have not taken the opportunity to try to solve it on your own, I would encourage you to at least glimpse at it here  (http://jmccoybruce.blogspot.com/2017/03/just-for-fun.html) before you check the solution.


I hope that you have enjoyed the puzzle.  If so, let me know.  I can try to find some more.



Grace and Peace,

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends...One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo, Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless.

Note: Osee appears in the King James Version translation of Romans 9:25 as a variant spelling of Hosea. 

Article by Howard Culbertson. For more original content like this, visit: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert

Just for Fun!

 Every now and then, I enjoy a good puzzle. Here is one that I found while doing research in another area.  Please note that this is not my work, but it is used by permission as indicated below.

I will post the solution in a few days below the original article.

Enjoy!

Can you find thirty (30) books of the Bible in this paragraph? Actually, there are 31 if you can find the variant of one Old Testament prophet's name, a variant that's used in the text of the King James Version (not as the title of a book, but in the text itself).

     There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless.

Article by Howard Culbertson. For more original content like this, visit: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert

Once you have searched and given up, here is the answer. (http://jmccoybruce.blogspot.com/2017/03/just-for-fun-answer.html)

Grace and Peace,

Why do United Methodist pastors move?

Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.

-Hebrews 11:1

This past Sunday, March 12^th, the SPRC of Grace UMC in Pickens announced that there would be a pastoral change in June. Both Ashley and I will be serving as pastors in new appointments.

After hugs have been shared and tears shed, I have been asked an important question – a question that I believe deserves an answer. “Why are you moving/leaving us?” At the heart of the answer lies a truth that is at the core of our faith.

Upon hearing the news, one of Ashley’s friends commented (something to the effect of) “what a wonderful example for your children! So many people talk about what they believe and what they will do for God. Your children get to see what it looks like to live your faith.”

I think I understand what she means. We live in a world where people are willing to argue with others for what they believe. A Facebook post or a bumper sticker touts what they adamantly believe. They will shout at others and shun those who think otherwise. But, when it comes to actually living, that is an entirely different subject. (For example, I know people who spoke out against a lottery in SC but who have been willing to buy tickets.)

Fatih isn’t about what we feel alone. Another James correctly stated that “faith without works is dead.” Our faith must have handles. People should be able to see the evidence of our faith in our lives. This is what makes our faith become alive and bear witness to others.

Look at the evidence in Hebrews. So many are listed who had faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah to name a few (Hebrews 11:3-11). How do we know that they had faith? They offered, they walked, they built, they followed, and they bore (a child). Faith is described by pointing to the faithful actions of those who believed.

This is why United Methodist pastors move. We believe that God works in and through our connection. We have faith that the same God who called us into ministry will lead us and move us according to the right timing. Every United Methodist elder promises, before the conference and before God, that we will go wherever we are sent. Those words may spill easy from our lips as we recite the vows of ordination, but those words carry great meaning.

Why do we move? We move because we say that we trust God. We believe in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us. We say that we will take up the cross of Christ and follow him. Our words of faith are empty if they are not joined by actions which seek to live out that faith in all that we do.

We move because we have faith. We move so that we may continuously grow in our striving to be like Christ who said, “not my will, but thine be done.” We move so that others may see that the words that we say are not merely words, but they make a difference in our lives.

So, please pray for us during these days. Yes, there will be sadness as our time at Grace draws to a close. God has been faithful and has been present in powerful ways through our years here. We also look forward with anticipation and with joy, knowing that God who brought us to this time and place in our ministry will be faithful and has already prepared another place for us to serve.

We know this without question, for “faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.”

Grace and Peace,

A Change for the Better

Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.   

--Philippians 4:4-9

 In my previous blog, I wrote about challenging assumptions that drag us down and keep us from achieving the kind of future that God envisions for us.  We need to go one step further.  We do not need to just challenge and put aside our false assumptions, we need to embrace something different.’’

Paul describes a life to the church at Philippi that focuses on the true, holy, just, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise. He encourages the church to rejoice and to be glad even in the face of hardship and persecution.

Why should we be so concerned about feelings?  Does it matter how we feel as long as we are faithful? Actually, it matters a great deal.  How we feel directly impacts the decisions we make and our ability to think creatively.  Robert Quinn, in his Deep Change Field Guide cited Barbara Fredrickson’s research into the impact of positive emotions on openness and learning.  She described something called a “positivity ratio” which is the frequency of positive feelings divided by the frequency of negative feelings for a specific period of time.(DCFG 132)

“Fredrickson found that there is a tipping point around with the effects of the positivity ratio change dramatically.  When we experience fewer than three positive feelings for each negative feeling, we tend to spiral downward and become increasingly rigid…Above the ratio of three to one, we are pulled upward…[becoming] increasingly open and creative.” DCFG 132

For those of us who are naturally cynical, this can be quite a challenge.  What can we do?  I know people who keep folders of positive notes and cards they receive to read when they need a lift.  Others take time to journal a specific number of things each day in which they have been blessed.  Imagine if, as part of a mealtime routine, we shared the blessings we anticipate for the day or the blessings we received!  Small steps help us to see that God is at work and that God is Good (All the time!).  It reminds me of an old hymn that I miss being in the United Methodist Hymnal called Count Your Blessings:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will keep singing as the days go by.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all;

Count your many blessings, angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God hath done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

--Public Domain

Let’s open our eyes and see the ways in which God is at work today.  How God is using all things, every thing, for good.  Then let us rejoice that we are constantly surrounded by God’s…

Grace and Peace,