The thoughts I think at night

Just a few of the thoughts I think in the middle of the night:

The New Year
A friend of mine posted about the new year on her blog. I read it and also noticed so many other people making a big deal about January 1. And I got to thinking. New Year’s Day has never really been a big deal to me. Oh, when I was young I was into fireworks and looked forward to shooting them on New Year’s Eve. And, when I was pastoring we always had a family night fellowship. But I never had the feeling that somehow this calendar day marked a fresh beginning or a new start or a time to make resolutions. It might be different if it were tied to some astronomical event like an equinox, solstice or a cross quarter day . . .

Would Peter be an evangelical?
What a strange thought! But I just read 1 & 2 Peter and that led me to thinking about his sermons in Acts and then to this question. I know he believed in Jesus and that the Scriptures are the Word of God and that we need to preach the Gospel like any evangelical, but consider his first sermon. This was his invitation: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Have you ever heard an evangelical give an invitation like that? Or what about this in his first epistle, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” I never hear evangelicals talking like that! So I'm just wondering if he would fit in most of our churches . . .

“It will make you happy”
In January and February we have certain items we are supposed to promote or “up-sell.” One of these is our 2 pack special on cigarettes. The company offered several selling tips including this first one, “Appeal to their emotions – It will make you happy.” Who knew that the key to happiness lay in buying 2 packs of cigarettes???

Michelle Bachman
When Michelle Bachman began to run for president I looked into her political positions. She seemed conservative enough. Then I heard her speak with that Minnesota accent! I thought, I cannot listen to her for four years! Well, two things have recently happened: (1) I took an internet test (consisting of inane questions) and they said I should vote for Michelle; (2) she is trailing the rest of the pack and being mostly ignored by the media. Now I want her to win and will probably vote for her in the SC primary! Tell me I’m not being shallow . . .

Long Hair
I have not had a hair cut in a while. Mary, who doesn’t care for it, asked me the other day just how long I was gonna let it grow. I know how long I would like to let it grow (long enough to have a pony tail) AND that Mary won’t like that at all! What a conundrum!!

Is there a difference?
I’ve been wondering for a while if there was any difference between humbled and humiliated. And to that I recently added embarrassed. Which leads to two questions:
+ if a person is embarrassed by some act is that person humble?
And more to the point
+ if a person is humiliated can they still be proud? Does humiliation itself produce humbleness? Or, is humility something else altogether?

And when am I gonna take that step and get rid of Netflix?

As I said, some of the thoughts I think at night between customers! Feel free to contribute any insights to my questions.