Good morning, Word Lovers! Last week’s WOW was fatidic. The Merriam-Webster Online dictionary definition for fatidic is as follows: of or relating to prophecy. Thus, one could assume that anything about Jesus was usually fatidic???

Today’s WOW is panjandrum. Here are my guesses for the definition of this unusual word:

panjandrum: (pan-ˈjan-drəm) 1. when Peter Pan and Jan play percussive instruments 2. a conundrum of Peter Pan and Jan 3. too much “fusion” of rum with other liquid substances

Do you know the real definition of panjandrum? Share it here.

Wednesday’s Post: Word of the Day Returns!

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This might shock you…I want an Apple Watch.

I think.

Since I’ve blogged about loving all things Samsung and only use Apple products for music purposes, this will shock the family and most of my friends. Way back in the dark ages, I used to teach computer skills to preschoolers. We had 2 Apple computers and 2 Windows driven computers. I didn’t really have a bias one way or the other then about which operating system was better. But when the Apple computers constantly had to be rebooted and were pricier in all respects than the Windows computers, I became a huge fan of Microsoft-driven products.

Thus, I was reluctant to even buy my kids iPods when they first came out. But even I have to admit that Apple really developed and marketed that technology well and transferred that success to iPhones. I just have a fundamental problem with waiting in line for more than an hour for anything, except maybe a Harry Potter movie at an IMAX theater.

The price for an Apple Watch also stops me. The cheap version will be $ 349. And I know me. I will want at least the middle of the road model, starting at $ 1,000. If I choose to let my first-world self to have full rein, I could get the full meal deal for a mere $ 17,000. Trust me….this 3/4 Scot will NOT be buying that model.

As someone who religiously tracks her treadmill progress, I have fallen in love with fitness devices that are “intelligent” and fit on my wrist like a watch. However, the devices I’ve encountered so far don’t seem to be able to do everything I wish they would do. One has a wrist band that I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing into my own bathroom. One makes me push buttons to signal when I’m going to sleep, which I usually forget to do. Another does not have great support and the battery is difficult to change out. Le sigh!

The Apple Watch “threatens” to not only handle all of the above, but also allows me to text, email and phone people by speakerphone with its Siri technology. And I can use my favorite apps on it. Why would this be helpful? Because I’m usually fishing around in my voluminous purse for my phones (I carry one for me and one for Compassion Counseling Center) or digging them out of my too-tight jeans (You will hear me whoop and holler if baggy jeans ever become popular again.) only to answer them when the call goes to voicemail. Having something on my wrist that I can easily locate would be a welcome relief.

The geek writers say its GPS functionality doesn’t work well and the battery barely lasts a day before needing recharging, but I’ll lay odds that Apple will improve this over time. Yes, there are Android versions already available, but have you seen much advertising about them? Neither have I. And I don’t really spend time investigating stuff I never see advertised.

The Apple watch also can send your heartbeat to another person. While this might be a cute thing to do, I’d really prefer that it send it to my cardiologist when I’m having my next heart attack. But give Apple time. I’m sure they’ll not only figure this out, but probably figure out how to send them my blood pressure and EKG in another 10 years.

While I write this, Apple is informing those willing to already purchase the Apple Watch that they won’t be released or shipped until June. (I feel a line forming.) Thus, it will probably be quite some time before we common folks can truly evaluate it.

I just have an inkling that this technology is going to evolve into something I just can’t live without. If so, move over, Dick Tracy. Here I come.

Monday’s Post: Did you know the definition of the WOW? 

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Many, many moons ago one of my favorite nieces (Yes, you read that correctly and it is intentional.) recommended that I become a Spiritual Director. What is Spiritual Direction?

Here’s what Reverend Jeffrey S. Gaines says about it: “Spiritual direction can mean different things to different people. Some people understand it to be the art of listening carried out in the context of a trusting relationship. It is when one person is trained to be a competent guide who then “companions” another person, listening to that person’s life story with an ear for the movement of the Holy, of the Divine.”

I dismissed this notion at the beginning because the only training program for it, at the time, was 5 hours away from my home in a city I hate to navigate, thanks to its incessant, fast-paced and rude traffic snarls. I, instead, pursued a master’s in counseling.

As I did, it became evident that I’m not really cut out to be a counselor. Why?

Howdy, Word Lovers! Last week’s WOW was eolian. Merriam-Webster Online reports that eolian is: borne, deposited, produced, or eroded by the wind. Could it be that Texan bravado is eolian???? It sure is windy enough here for one to consider it as a theory.

Today’s WOW is fatidic. Here are my definition guesses for fatidic:

fatidic (fā-ˈti-dik, fə-) 1. being allergic to fat (If this is the definition, please let me become fatidic immediately.) 2. the acidity of fat 3. being psychic

What’s your guess for fatidic? Submit it here.

Wednesday’s Post: Watch Thoughts

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A Different Kind of Fleece

My dad was a minister. Since he was multi-talented, Dad often had other professions: college professor, consortium director, nonprofit executive director, and Navy chaplain. When employed elsewhere, Dad often filled in as a guest preacher for ministers taking vacations, for churches in between ministers, or to promote Christian charitable organizations.

Since he seldom preached in the same church twice in one month, Dad recycled one particular sermon repeatedly. And since my brothers and I often accompanied him on this “preaching circuit,” we heard this particular sermon so often that we practically had it memorized. Thus, the following name was a dirty word to us, growing up as the PKs, or Preacher’s Kids.

Gideon.

Gideon was a rough and tumble “judge” in ancient Israel. Since God didn’t like the idea of the Hebrews having a king, but understood the need for an day-to-day leader, He created the position of judge to help lead those wayward Israelites. These judges didn’t sit in courtrooms; they were often leading the Hebrews into battle and spoke for God in foreign lands.

During one of my Early to Rise mornings this thought entered my brain: Jesus is a nomad. Such thoughts are not usual for me early in the morning. The usual thought at 5 am is, “Where is my coffee?” Thus, I paid attention to this thought.

I let that thought roll around in my head for a long time. Okay. It was 10 minutes, tops. But, that was long enough for me to realize why God put that thought into my head, as opposed to the usual coffee addiction thought.

If Jesus is a nomad, then following Him is going to be a royal pain. Why?

Because being a nomad means that the direction of where I’m going will change frequently. There won’t be much predictability about it and therefore, it will also be a pain for my family and friends.

If you think you missed the WOW post last week, you didn’t. Last week just wasn’t my week! But here is the Merriam-Webster Online definition for chatoyant from 2 weeks ago: having a changeable luster or color with an undulating narrow band of white light. Perhaps one should call their dermatologist if he or she has chatoyant skin??? Or to Ghostbusters???

Today’s Word of the Week (WOW) is eolian. My definition guesses for eolian are as follows:

eolian (ē-ˈō-lē-ən, –ˈōl-yən) 1. linoleum that has lost its lint 2. linoleum that has lost its chatoyant qualities 3. one who insists on using margarine

What’s your guess for eolian? Submit it here to see if you are right!

Wednesday’s Post: Jesus is a Nomad…

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