RaMbLeS
Welcome to RaMbLeS, a collection of weekly musings on life and Scripture. It all began in 2005 on Google’s blogspot as the aBeLOG (a name now recycled), a semi-autobiographical devotional that attempted to keep well-wishers abreast of my activities as I relocated to Scotland for a few years. Since my return, I’ve continued my RaMbLeS, and here’s its most recent incarnation on Homiletix, as random reflections usually based on current news articles and travel experiences and whatever else takes my fancy!
Pill?
Talking of ants and not being a sluggard ….
Good news for those of us who decided—quite reluctantly—that we needed more exercise! Well, we do. But not in the way we thought we did: running like hamsters and generally behaving wildly, sweating and panting, in garments of “athleisure” (with fancy names like Lululemon, Lucy, Lorna Jane, Gap Body, and UnderArmor). Finally, good news for us who hated that kind of working out (though we did love looking like
Ants!
It is unlikely you’ve ever spent time wondering about ants. Even if you have, it is even more unlikely that you’ve excogitated about the number of said insects.
But in the long shot hope that you have, your faithful blogger is herewith providing the answer, courtesy of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
20,000,000,000,000,000.
Yup, there are twenty quadrillion of these things crawling about on planet earth. So say researchers from the School of Biological
Fudge?
No, not the kind you eat with bliss, but the fudging one does with truth.
Apparently, that’s pretty common. A recent study showed that, on average, Americans fib four times a day. Respondents also feel someone lies to them about six times daily.
“Hey, that bright red tie looks great on you; and I love its purple polka dots.”
“Lady, that meatloaf of yours was outstanding.”
And my favorite: “That was a great sermon!”
Uh, huh!
(If you want to get away with food-related
Caffeinated?
Finally, I figured it out. It’s been a mystery to me. I did come up with reasons, most of them banal, but now I’ve gotten it. I know why churches serve coffee before the service. Yup, I do.
I was helped in my discovery by a recent article in the Journal of Marketing, “Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending.”
Researchers from the University of Florida reported that shoppers who sip on a complimentary cup of coffee before shopping ended up spending 50% more
Leg!
Storks must be in good shape. They’ll live long.
Because of what researchers from Brazil, Finland, Australia, the UK, and the US reported recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The ability to stand on one leg for at least 10 seconds is, apparently, strongly linked to the risk of death over the next seven years.
Stop right there. Especially if you are middle aged. And go try it out. Now!
(I did. Y’all are doomed to consume my blogs each Sunday for at least
Evolved?
Celibacy, especially religious celibacy, has puzzled social scientists for centuries.
Writes one group of scientists (from University College London, UK, and Lanzhou University, China):
Why some individuals commit to sexual abstinence is unclear.”
Well ….
I am heterosexual in orientation but celibate in practice. I call it “ecclesiological singleness”: by choice, for life, unto Christ, in community. At least to me, it is pretty clear.
But how did celibacy “evolve”
Cold!
Coolers are in, nowadays. But not your grandpa’s cooler, that had poorly sealed lids, that didn’t have wheels, that cracked in your trunk after a few trips. Nope! The coolers that are in these days are fancy, as described in a recent Wall Street Journal column!
There is, for example RovR RollR 80 that can keep your ice solid for over 10 days, with tubular wheels (optional) that can roll quite easily on sand. (That is, if you plan to trek in the Sahara for 2 weeks.)
Said
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.