Mount Rushmore September 2021

Joyce From This Side of the Pond has fresh questions for us to ponder for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Many of our earliest presidents created words or expressions widely used today. Teddy Roosevelt is credited with mollycoddle, pack rat, frazzle, and loose cannon…which of those words/phrases currently relates to your life in some way? 

mollycoddle: to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention

I was going to say none of these relates to my life in some way but then mollycoddle was in a sentence in the book I am reading, The Vanishing Conscience, Drawing a Line in a No-Fault, Guilt-Free World by John MacArthur. It made me smile to see it right there in print. Here is the sentence I read and then the context of my reading.

We cannot mollycoddle our sin.

“Paul is not suggesting that anyone can obtain life or merit God’s favor by the process of mortification. He is saying it is characteristic of true believers that they put to death the deeds of the body (mortification). Nothing is more natural than for people “led by the Spirit of God” to mortify their sin. One of the proofs of our salvation is that we do this. It is expected of believers. It is the expression of the new nature. 

In other words, the true believer is not like Saul, who wanted to pamper and preserve Agag, but like Samuel who hacked him to pieces without mercy and without delay. Saul may have wanted to make a lap dog of Agag, but Samuel knew that was utterly impossible. Similarly, we will never tame the flesh. We cannot mollycoddle our sin. We must deal with it quickly and severely. “

So yes, I want to mortify my sin not mollycoddle it and make excuses for it. It can be done with the help of the Holy Spirit.

2. Have you visited many (or any) of the US Presidents homes, monuments, libraries or related sites? If so what’s been your favorite? Are there any you particularly want to see? Here’s a link to presidential sites listed by state which is kind of fun to read-Presidential Places by State. And since several bloggers who participate in the HP each week live outside the US, here’s a link to Presidential Places Outside the US. Have you seen any of those? 

The most concentrated presidential sites I’ve seen were in Washington D.C. in the Spring of 2011. At the National Portrait Gallery you can view paintings of all the U.S. Presidents. The Lincoln, Jefferson, and Washington Monuments and statues of other presidents are prominent and scattered throughout the area. You could go on a presidential scavenger hunt.

Outside the Lincoln Memorial

At Arlington National Cemetery we were able to see the grave of John F. Kennedy. When we were in Dallas we went to the ‘Grassy Knoll’ to see where JFK was shot.

My parents lived in Yorba Linda for a few years where the Nixon Library is located. Whittier was part of our stompin grounds, too, growing up so we passed Whittier College many times. When Greg was working in Thousand Oaks California his company Christmas event was held at the Reagan Library and Museum and we enjoyed an evening there taking in history including Airforce One that we were able to walk through.

I have a photo somewhere of the George Washington statue at the University of Washington, Greg’s Alma Mater.

We’ve been to Mount Rushmore and to Rapid City, South Dakota. Rapid City has the coolest display of statues of all the presidents on several corners in town.

John Quincy Adams

Favorite? It is hard to choose a favorite. It’s a tossup between the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Reagan Library and Museum.

3. February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day…will you celebrate? Given your choice of cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cheesecake with a cherry topping, or black forest cake which would you choose? 

Cheese cake with cherry topping would be my choice (and I might just scrape the cherry topping off). Greg enjoys cherry pie.

4. Last time you worked a puzzle of some kind? Something that had you puzzled recently? 

Finished this puzzle a week ago.

I had to puzzle over converting a recipe from serving 24 people to serving 400 people. Calculating the quantities of the ingredients was something I puzzled over and then I puzzled over how many veggies to buy for veggie trays.

5. Of the early blooming flowers (January-early March depending on your zone) which one’s your favorite? snowdrops, lenten roses, pansies, violets, snapdragons, reticulated iris, crocus, winter jasmine 

Do you have any of these in your own yard/garden? 

I don’t have any of these growing on our property here but when we lived in Kenmore we had a couple Lenten Roses. They are my favorite.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

George Washington Statue in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and outside the Cathedral.

I’m posting my Hodgepodge early this week. See you all tomorrow when I’m recuperating from our big event on Tuesday. Maybe I’ll have the presence of mind to take some photos.