August 16, 2024 3 Questions To Ask When Weariness Sets InSTACY J. LOWE Lee en español "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.'" Isaiah 6:8 (ESV) Life. Is. Hard. (Can I get an "amen" from the choir?) And it feels like it's getting harder every day. All it takes is a quick look around to understand this world is messed up. Be it a global-scale atrocity or an injustice felt only by us, the weight can be heavy, especially when it feels like evil is winning. Jesus knew we would experience that burden, so He invited us to come and learn from Him, to find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-29). Let's take Him at His word and do just that. When weariness sets in, let's look in, look out and look up! 1. Look in and ask: What do I feel? "Jesus wept" (John 11:35, ESV). These two words from Scripture carry deep meaning. Arriving at the scene where His friend Lazarus had died days before, Jesus was deeply moved by grief. He knew how the story would end (spoiler alert: He raised Lazarus back to life), and yet He still felt. If it was important for Jesus to acknowledge His feelings, surely it's important for us too. 2. Look out and ask: What am I focusing on? It can be hard to understand why, in His sovereignty, God allows people to act in ways opposite to His heart. While I don't claim to know the answer, I do know the promise of Romans 8:28 that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (NLT). Everything. Even this, whatever it may be. So instead of focusing on the problem, we can choose to focus on the potential of what God will do through it. 3. Look up and ask: What should I do about it? In Isaiah 6:8, we read, "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.'" Is this our attitude? You see, we can fret over all that's wrong ... or allow our feelings and newfound perspective to drive us straight to God, asking what we can do to help make it right. This won't solve all the world's problems, but partnering with God allows that heaviness in our souls to shift to a sense of empowerment. We can reflect God's Kingdom here on earth and make our corner of the world a better place, one step of faith at a time. And as we each do our part, collectively, we can change the world. Father, thank You that I'm not left helpless when life feels heavy. Give me the courage to partner with You and to make this world a better place. In Jesus' Name, Amen. OUR FAVORITE THINGS Do you want biblical resources to help you grow in your faith but feel overwhelmed by all the options? The FREE Circle 31 Book Club membership is for you! Create lasting spiritual change in your life with thought-provoking book selections, deep discussion questions, exclusive study resources from the authors, and a rich community of women to walk with. Experience the progress you're longing for with Circle 31 Book Club (for free)! Join today! ENGAGE For more from Stacy J. Lowe, you can connect with her over on Instagram. FOR DEEPER STUDY Hebrews 4:13, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable" (NLT). Isaiah 55:8, "‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine'" (NLT). Regardless of how it may seem at times, God is never absent, and nothing gets past Him. He sees and cares about it all and is actively at work on your behalf at this very moment. How does that change your perspective about the troubles you face today? We invite you to share about it in the comments. © 2024 by Stacy J. Lowe. All rights reserved. Proverbs 31 MinistriesP.O. Box 3189 Matthews, NC 28106 www.Proverbs31.org The post 3 Questions To Ask When Weariness Sets In – Encouragement for Today – August 16, 2024 appeared first on GodUpdates.

1913 - Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students. 1960 - Republic of Congo (Zaire, Dem Rep of Congo) forms 1966 - The Beatles in concert at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; their second and final show in the city 1969 - V.V. Giri is elected the fourth President of India 1972 - King of Morocco Hassan II's Boeing 727 is attacked and shot at by six F-5 military jets during a failed coup attempt by General Mohamed Oufkir. Reportedly, King Hassan grabbed the radio and told the rebel pilots "Stop firing! The tyrant is dead!" fooling the pilots to break off the attack. 1974 - American punk rock band "The Ramones" concert debut at CBGB's in New York City 1975 - British singer Peter Gabriel announces his departure from the rock group Genesis 1980 - British rock keyboardist Jools Holland quits band Squeeze to pursue a solo career 1984 - Sunken liner Andrea Doria's safe opened 1987 - Northwest Airlines 255 plane crashes in Detroit, 156 die (1 lives) More Historical Events »

Historical Events 1864 - Federal assault on 4th day of battle at Deep Bottom Run, Virginia 1890 - Alexander Clark, journalist and lawyer, named minister to Liberia 1921 - Members of the Dail (parliament) swear allegiance to the Irish Republic at their first meeting, held at Dublin House 1993 - The Debian distribution first announced by Ian Murdock, a student at Purdue University (Murdock initially called his system the "Debian Linux Release") 2017 - Philippine police kill 32 in raids near Manilia, most deadly night in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs 2023 - The Northwest Territories in Canada declare a state of emergency due to wildfires and order an evacuation of the city of Yellowknife, affecting 22,000 people More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1860 - Lord Hawke [Martin Hawke], English cricket batsman (5 Tests; Yorkshire CCC, Cambridge Uni CC, MCC), born in Willingham by Stow, England (d. 1938) 1862 - Amos Alonzo Stagg, American athlete and American football pioneer, born in West Orange, New Jersey (d. 1965) 1937 - David Behrman, American composer (On The Other Ocean), born in Salzburg, Austria 1946 - Lesley Ann Warren, American actress (Cinderella, Mission Impossible), born in New York City 1952 - Mahes Goonatillake, cricketer (Sri Lankan keeper in their 1st 5 Tests) 1985 - Agnes Bruckner, American actress, born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1445 - Margaret of Scotland (Dauphine of France), wife of the future King Louis XI (b. 1424) 1938 - Andrej Hlinka, Slovak politician and Catholic priest, dies at 1938 1952 - Lydia Field Emmet, American painter (b. 1866) 1991 - Stuart Karl, CEO (Karl Home Video), dies at 38 of skin cancer 2015 - Jacob Bekenstein, American-Israeli theoretical physicist (Bekenstein-Hawking radiation), dies of a heart attack at 68 2017 - David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort, British aristocrat, art dealer, and peer, dies at 89 More Famous Deaths »

When discussing the media’s biases, we often talk about biases by omission or commission. But tonight we must also consider bias by zone-flooding, wherein the media avoid talking about something potentially detrimental to Democrats by backfilling newscast time with nonsense about Republicans. Consider tonight’s reporting on the presidential election, with maximum focus on the ongoing “Trump says mean things” cycle, which means less time devoted to Vice President Kamala Harris’s upcoming speech proposing price controls. Here’s NBC’s Garrett Haake: GARRETT HAAKE: And he was pressed about fellow Republicans calling for him to focus on Harris' record, instead of unleashing personal attacks. DONALD TRUMP: I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her. I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she'll be a terrible president. I mean, she certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me “weird.” “He’s weird.” And she’s weird in her policy. Who wouldn't want to have strong borders? Who doesn't want to have lower taxes? The “personal attacks” narrative being so essential that it made into NBC and ABC’s anchor introductions to their respective reports: DAVID MUIR: Meantime, just before we came on the air tonight, former President Donald Trump holding a news conference, saying in his words, he is entitled to make personal attacks on Kamala Harris.  LESTER HOLT: And former President Trump at a news conference saying he won't follow the advice of allies who want him to dial back his attacks.  Neither NBC’s Garrett Haake nor CBS’s Weijia Jiang make any reference in their reports to Harris’s upcoming remarks on price controls. Ironically, ABC’s Rachel Scott does, but then only to complain that Trump is “trying to undercut her message.” RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to unveil her plan to crack down on price gouging at the supermarket, Donald Trump trying to undercut her message. DONALD TRUMP: Kamala Harris is reportedly proposing communist price controls. She wants price controls. And if they worked, I'd go along with it, too, but they don't work. They actually have the exact opposite impact and effect. But it leads to food shortages, rationing, hunger, dramatically more inflation. It bears noting that this is the same media that is all too willing to echo any conspiracy theory or narrative if it is levied against Republicans. We are not that far removed from what appeared to be an endless cycle wherein “childless cat ladies” and “weird” played in a constant loop immediately after the nomination of JD Vance as vice presidential nominee. On paper, this narrative appears to be about the Regime Media now wanting Trump to play nice. But it’s really about killing the clock so as to not have to cover price controls, the kind of proposal we expect to hear in places like Venezuela as opposed to the United States. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective evening newscasts on Thursday, August 15th, 2024: ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 8/15/24 6:41 PM DAVID MUIR: Meantime, just before we came on the air tonight, former President Donald Trump holding a news conference, saying in his words, he is entitled to make personal attacks on Kamala Harris. The new national poll showing this race is a dead heat, with Vice President Kamala Harris now tied or leading now in several key battleground states. And our Rachel Scott tonight asking Trump about what he said this week about American workers in that conversation with Elon Musk. RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to unveil her plan to crack down on price gouging at the supermarket, Donald Trump trying to undercut her message. DONALD TRUMP: Kamala Harris is reportedly proposing communist price controls. She wants price controls. And if they worked, I'd go along with it, too, but they don't work. They actually have the exact opposite impact and effect. But it leads to food shortages, rationing, hunger, dramatically more inflation. SCOTT: His comments coming as inflation hits a three-year low. Today, Harris' running mate accused Trump of rooting for failure. I asked the former president about that.  Governor Tim Walz is out on the campaign trail today and he's been saying that he believes that you want things to get worse so you can campaign on it. That you're rooting for failure. What is your thought on that? TRUMP: No. Just the opposite. I wish I didn't have to do this. They’re going to ruin- she's going to ruin our country. Going to ruin our country. SCOTT: I also asked Trump about his controversial comments about striking workers, what he recently told the billionaire Elon Musk. TRUMP: I mean, I look at what you do, you walk in, you say, you want to quit? They go on strike- I won’t mention the name of the company- but they go on strike and you say, that's okay, you're all gone. You're all gone, so, everyone one of you is gone. SCOTT: You praised how he treats workers, saying they go on strike and you say, that's okay, you're all gone, you're all gone, so, every one of you is gone. Are you really comfortable with companies threatening to fire workers who go on strike? TRUMP: Well, no, I want companies to get workers that are going to love them and work for a wage that lets the company make a profit so they can go and expand. Elon wants to run an efficient company and if he has to get -- he got rid of a lot of people on X, or former Twitter, a lot of people gone, and it still works. It still works. So, you got to run the company productively. SCOTT: In the rambling news conference, the former president again hurling personal attacks against Harris. Some of his own Republican supporters have begged him to stay focused on policy. But today, Trump making it clear, he's not going to change. TRUMP: I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her, I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she'll be a terrible president. And I think it's very important that we win. And whether the personal attacks are good, bad, I mean, she certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me weird. He's weird. SCOTT: And this is Donald Trump's second event this week focused on the economy. His advisers really trying to get him to stay on message. But the former president making it clear tonight that he is not backing away from those personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, saying flat out, he just does not have a lot of respect for her.” David. MUIR: All right, Rachel Scott tonight. Rachel, thank you. CBS EVENING NEWS CBS EVENING NEWS 8/15/24 6:33 PM MAJOR GARRETT: President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris appeared together today at their first public event since she became the Democratic nominee. In the heat of the presidential campaign, the two teamed up to talk about the economy, inflation, and lowering the cost of everyday items. CBS's Weijia Jiang reports from The White House about a Medicare first. KAMALA HARRIS: I love you guys. WEIJIA JIANG: It was a White House event to highlight lowering the cost of prescription drugs. HARRIS: No senior should have to choose between either filling their prescription or paying their rent. JIANG: But President Biden wasted no time campaigning for Vice President Harris in their first official joint appearance since she became the Democratic presidential nominee. BIDEN: She's going to make one hell of a president. Let me tell you what our Project 2025 is. Beat the hell out of them. JIANG: In New Jersey, former President Donald Trump dismissed criticism that he should focus more on substance and less on personally attacking Harris. TRUMP: I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her. I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence. JIANG:: Trump also bashed the Biden administration for not doing enough to stop rising prices. Today, The White House announced agreements with drug manufacturers to bring down the price for ten widely used medications that will take effect in 2026. The Medicare negotiation program marks the first time the federal government has haggled with drugmakers. FRANK IRWIN: I think this is an enormous step. JIANG: 80-year-old Frank Irwin takes Xarelto to treat a rapid heart rate. One of the top three most prescribed drugs on the list. A 30 day supply will go from $517 to $197. Erwin says the savings are way overdue. IRWIN: I've never understood why the drug cartel, if that's the right term for it, has such a monopoly and has the lobbyists out there that they can get the laws written. JIANG: Tomorrow, Vice President Harris will deliver her first policy speech as a presidential nominee with a focus on the economy. And new tonight, vice presidential candidates Governor Tim Walz and Senator JD Vance have agreed to a debate right here on CBS. Moderated by Norah and Face the Nation's Margaret Brennan. It’s set for October 1st in New York City. Major. GARRETT: Filed under must-see TV. Weijia Jiang. Thank you. NBC NIGHTLY NEWS NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 8/15/24 6:36 PM LESTER HOLT: We turn now to the race for The White House. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appearing together today for the first time since he exited the race. And former President Trump at a news conference saying he won't follow the advice of allies who want him to dial back his attacks. Here is Garrett Haake. GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight, Vice President Harris holding her first joint event with President Biden since he dropped out of the race and endorsed her.  JOE BIDEN: She’s going to make one hell of a president. HAAKE: Appearing in front of a raucous crowd to tout a White House effort to lower drug prices. KAMALA HARRIS: Today we take the next step, thank you, Joe. Forward in our fight.  HAAKE: Biden taking aim at Republicans. BIDEN: But they're trying to turn this into a race war. They're trying to turn this into a war about who you are, what your ethnicity is, what your background is. HAAKE: Beforehand, President Biden was asked if Harris might try to distance herself from him on the economy. BIDEN: She is not going to. HAAKE: Later in a press conference, former President Trump tying them together, hammering both Harris and Biden for inflation. DONALD TRUMP: You don't have to imagine what a Kamala Harris presidency would be because you're living through that nightmare right now. And it is a nightmare. HAAKE: And he was pressed about fellow Republicans calling for him to focus on Harris' record, instead of unleashing personal attacks. TRUMP: I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her. I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she'll be a terrible president. I mean, she certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me “weird.” “He’s weird.” And she’s weird in her policy. Who wouldn't want to have strong borders? Who doesn't want to have lower taxes? HAAKE: Meanwhile, tonight NBC News learning from two sources familiar with the planning that the Secret Service will start using bullet-resistant glass to protect former President Trump so he can resume outdoor rallies after he survived an assassination attempt last month in Pennsylvania. Ballistic glass is already available to President Biden and Vice President Harris. HOLT: All right, Garrett, there has been a lot of speculation about debates. Tonight we learned there will be a VP debate. What else do we know? HAAKE: That's right, Lester. That debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance now set for October 1st. That's on top of a debate between Harris and Trump next month. Tonight, the Trump campaign still continuing to go after Harris for not holding a press conference or sitting down for an interview since becoming the de facto nominee. She says she intends to do an interview before the end of this month. Lester? HOLT: All right. Garrett Haake. Thank you.  

A shocking exchange occurred on Univision’s Linea de Fuego (Firing Line), during host Luis Carlos Vélez’s exchange with Maca Casado, Director of Hispanic Media for the Harris-Walz campaign. Under pressure from Velez over the Harris campaign’s use of fake headlines in their Google ads, Casado flippantly told Velez that this was pretty commonplace. Watch as Casado refuses to say whether the practice is right or wrong:  VIX LINEA DE FUEGO 8/14/24 6:18 PM LUIS CARLOS VELEZ: I want to ask you about this, because this is important. An Axios report states that Kamala Harris’s staff are purchasing Google ads which display manipulated headlines and descriptions of news articles, for the purpose of bolstering the vice president’s image. What is your response to this? MACA CASADO: Look. First of all, this is a practice that is done by every political campaign. This isn’t anything new or innovative. This is something that all political campaigns do. We are absolutely not manipulating any information. We’re showing the headlines, and we put some pieces beneath those headlines wherein we add content. But this is definitely a practice engaged by every campaign. VELEZ: But doesn’t it seem to you…? Let’s say- if it’s a common political practice, that’s fine, but you who are a new campaign, and you who are speaking to the public, you’re manipulating headlines. This doesn’t make it right…or does it? CASADO: I’ve already responded, Luis Carlos, this is a practice done by many political campaigns in order to deliver their message to different communities.  VELEZ: Yes. But is that wrong, Maca? Or is that okay? CASADO: Look. Campaigns have guidelines that they follow. We are doing yet another campaign strategy in order to reach out to voters. VELEZ: All right.  As our Free Speech America colleagues Catherine Salgado and Gabriela Pariseau noted: The Google Ads Transparency Center, which AllSides cited, shows that Harris paid to link fake headlines with popular news sites. “Some of the Google ads display pro-Harris slogans while linking to articles mostly from news sources AllSides rates as Lean Left, such as AP, PBS, and CNN and some Center-rated sources such as Reuters,” AllSides reported. Other outlets that the campaign used included NPR, The Independent, Time and The Guardian. One fake headline the Harris campaign misleadingly attributed to the “Lean Left” media outlet The Guardian read, “VP Harris = Repro Leader.” It was paired with the summary: “VP Harris is a champion for reproductive freedom and will stop Trump's abortion bans.” Another headline misleadingly attributed to Reuters flatly claimed, “Inflation Is Down” with a summary that read, “Under the Biden-Harris Administration ‘The U.S. is winning the inflation fight.’” Harris’s campaign ads didn’t simply rewrite article summaries and headlines to favorably frame her policies. It also created headlines to make Trump look bad.  This is scandalous. And, as Salgado and Pariseau noted, this happens at a time when there is all sorts of censorship going on against conservatives- in the name of “protecting the public from disinformation”. More troubling, that the Harris campaign spokesperson would dismiss concerns over the practice as simply something “everyone does”, “nothing new or innovative”. As Fox News reports, the journalist who broke the story is already trying to sweep it under the rug: "It's a common practice in the commercial advertising world that doesn't violate Google's policies, but the ads mimic real news results from Search closely enough that they have news outlets caught off guard," Axios reporter Sara Fischer wrote. Just imagine the outrage had the Trump campaign been caught manipulating headlines in Google ads. The dudgeon would be stratospheric.  But there is a double standard, and things therefore are (D)ifferent, which is how we end up with Univision’s Luis Carlos Velez being the only national journalist to confront a Harris campaign spokesperson on what is, by all accounts, a scandal- especially when combined with the aforementioned spokesperson’s attempt to wiggle out of the question.  

An intact tusk of a Columbian mammoth has been discovered in Madison County, Mississippi. It is the first complete mammoth tusk discovered in the state and dates to the last Ice Age (between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago) when the 15-foot-tall Proboscideans roamed the Mississippi prairie. Mastodon remains are fairly common in Mississippi, as they were widespread across the territory. They were browsers (like deer) and were able to find food in all kinds of environments. Mammoths, on the other hand, strictly grazed on open grassland so they stuck to the Jackson Prairie of central Mississippi. Mammoth teeth have been found there, marking the grounds they used to roam, but their massive tusks have proved elusive. Finder Eddie Templeton, an avid fossil and artifact collector, spotted the tusk in the bank of a small creek. He immediately notified the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Geology and the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science who went to the find site that same day. The tusk was partially exposed above the water, and in danger of drying out in the blazing afternoon sun if the team didn’t excavate and remove it promptly. With Eddie’s help, the team removed the clay-heavy sand from around and under the tusk, exposing its full seven foot length. Most of the mastodon tusks that have been found were just fragments, making this deposit extremely rare. The tusk was photographed and covered with aluminum foil to protect and prepare the surface for plastering. The tusk was then covered in burlap strips soaked in wet plaster to encase the heavy fossil before transport. While the plaster jacket cured and dried, the team studied the details of the depositional environment recorded within the sediments exposed at the outcrop that the mammoth’s tusk was deposited in. The base of the massive tusk was lying almost upright and at an angle in the stream alluvium with a portion of it lying directly on top of the underlying marine Eocene sediments of the Yazoo Formation, just as it came to rest before burial. Our field scientists interpreted the mammoth tusk specimen to be leaning up against the edge of an ancient sandbar of a stream while a portion of it rest on the floor of stream channel. This would have been just before it was completely covered with alluvium entombing the fossil, possibly the result of a storm resulting in a major flooding event. The animal likely had died nearby, and its remains were then carried along the stream’s channel. Studying the nature of the sediments exposed at the outcrop also gave our team of scientists some interesting information. The channel gravels preserved in the basal part of the alluvium is dominated by the mineral quartz with a minor amount of chert clasts. The fossil is located within the watershed of the Big Black River, and Quartz gravels like that are more reminiscent of the alluvium of the Pearl River as it crosses the Jackson Prairie region. The thick alluvial plane sediments deposited above the fossil are loess-derived silt. Loess is a wind-blown glacial silt that forms thick deposits across much of the upland terrain in western Madison County. Once the plaster jacket containing the fossil tusk dried, it was carefully lifted onto a makeshift gurney fashioned from an ATV ramp. The fossil specimen in the jacket weighed about 600 pounds. It was then slowly maneuvered up a 50 foot, nearly vertical, bluff and onto a truck where it was delivered to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science for further curation and careful study. The tusk is now in the care of paleontologist George Phillips who has removed the plaster jacket to allow the tusk to dry. It will then be stabilized and preserved by injecting an adhesive into the mineralized ivory. The process is a slow and painstaking one, but when it is complete, the mammoth tusk will go on display at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.

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