People watching is great at the state fair! There is always a "People of the Fair" section in the paper. Definitely, competes with "People of Walmart for those 11 days 🙂

I wonder if they are trying to hard to swing the pendulum the other way with talking about sex. I feel the message is it is bad before marriage, so they have to make it sound super duper great after marriage. I do agree that many churches are obsessed with talking about sex. One church we attended had so many sermons on homosexuality. I felt they had an unhealthy obsession with preaching against it when most of the congregation was committing a plethora of other sins.

We have county fairs leading up to the state fair. I think ours are Thursday-Saturday also. State Fair is 11 days. Interesting, I wonder how many don't have state fairs? I imagine I could Google it.

Does your state have a popular state fair? A couple of years ago I was talking to my cousin who lives by St. Louis. She was talking about going to the IL State Fair one year. She was shocked by all of the food on a stick, the farm animals, the number of people, and everything about the fair. It sounds very similar to the IA State Fair. We don't go every year, but it is fun when we do go. What is your state fair like? I've heard that the TX State Fair is a month long? Kelly

I was subjected to a conversation which included "to tea bag". It was so awkward. One of those conversations you want to be over but it just keeps going on. ETA: Don't Google it! It means putting certain male genitalia on someone else for fun. Apparently, guys do it to each other for fun? As a prank, unless there is yet another sexual meaning for it also. Kelly

Crazy

Yes, catalytic converters were being stolen around here also. And, this guy has his own business. He's been known to threaten people who give him bad reviews. Just the guy I want with a gun!

I get it, I really do. Trust me, I do. I feel like I am the voice of some reason and will step it up.

Please don't, it is small town and I will be never get a job again. Even if I moved something like that would follow me.

There have been a lot of car break-ins in my area lately. On FB, this morning someone posted a picture of his gun and said if they tried to break in to his car they'd be talking to Jesus. My thought is that if you have something in your car that is so important you would shoot someone, you need to get it out of your car. My dh thinks if the thieves saw our cars they would be leaving us stuff 😂 Kelly

As small as our library is, that might have legitimately been the only book on guardian angels.

Yeah, not going to do this. I never asked if there was another reason it was being taken out. The note was not in good taste but it might have been withdrawn for other reasons. We are withdrawing all sorts of books right now due to low check out numbers. And, no I couldn't be anonymous because only 3 of us saw that note.

Like I said, we have books on so many subjects which is why I was so surprised that it happened

No, we have books on many subjects that they wouldn't consider "Theologically Sound", this is the first I've seen this happen.

I don't remember unfortunately. The poem went something like, "Angels are with me throughout the day, when I sleep and when I play..." It had pictures of little cherubs following this kid around. Helping him out. Kelly

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In many churches, sin issues are seen as more than just between an individual and God. I get that, but there are other ways to accomplish this. We were in a small group apart from the larger church. These groups were made up of between 6 and 12 people. We did have one of the guys in our group admit to a porn addiction. That was to 7 other people. It didn't get broadcast to the entire church. He was able to get some help with accountability from 7 other people or fewer. Kelly

Re: Church discipline I have only seen this once in a church that we attended. I was horrified by it. A couple came up to the front of the church on a Sunday during the service. They admitted to having sex, how sorry they were, and how they intended to get married. And then the congregation clapped. There was no reason to have that during the service. I cannot imagine what visitors that day thought. I was horrified for them. If they wanted to get married, great. If not, they should NOT have been pressured into it. I honestly don't know if they ever got married or not. Kelly

🤪

There are so many ways to learn and practice self control. Some might pick abstinence as a way to strengthen self control. Others might pick loving others more than one's self, or some might pick not overeating. And, some of us just never learn it 😁 I have cautioned my kids to not get intimately involved quickly. I'm not just talking about sex, I tell them to hold off on kissing for at least a month (possibly longer) because once physical contact has started, it is almost impossible to put on the brakes.

At one point in time I would have said it was very important. I have told all of my children to not have sex in high school because a pregnancy at that point in time is not worth the sexual enjoyment. After they graduate I would prefer they wait a while or get really really reliable birth control. I don't want my kids getting married before they have at least a 4 year degree so I can see not waiting to have sex. Part of me wanting them to wait is the fact that I 100% do NOT want grandchildren right now. I have no desire to babysit them, interact with them, or buy things for them. Hopefully, that will change someday. If not, I am going to be the worst grandma ever. So, kind of important but not so much once they graduate high school. They just need to be really careful because I refuse to raise a grandchild they are not ready for. Kelly

I had Shingles several years ago. I went to the doctor with what she said was a boil on my forehead, but call right away if it spreads because it might be Shingles. The next day it had spread and I got an antiviral. I had a week of pain, especially when I was stressed. We had a bathroom remodel that had just been finished but was leaking into the basement. So, stay calm. Don't do too much. I would feel great, and start cleaning and laundry. I'd be back in bed by lunch. I had a week when I was mostly healed of not being able to open one of my eyes in sunny weather. I think I must have had it on my eye. And, another week where I could open my eye but it watered a lot. I won't tell you to start the av early since I'm not qualified. I'm sure starting the av when I did helped. Maybe it would have been even better if I had started the day before. Is there a problem with neuropathy if you start early? Kelly