Hello to you. Today has been good. I went to the Grace House this afternoon for fellowship with ladies that go to Grace. They are so sweet! I was late but that didn’t matter. I’m always glad when I meet with these wonderful ladies.
Today’s prompt is hard for me to answer. The artist that changed my life was David Bowie but there isn’t just one song he sang that affected me. I would say all of what David was affected me in one way or another. He was someone I could relate to with his being androgynous. When I was growing up I was often mistaken for being a guy – mainly my teenage years because I always had short hair and was athletic and thin. I used to spend hours doing drawings of David. My first crush was on a guy that looked like David! I used to spend hours singing along to his songs. I had many of his albums. I was allowed to have one poster on my bedroom wall and it was of David! David’s death was very hard on me. His death was like that of losing a family member.
This picture is close to the one I had
Music had been the soundtrack of my life. At each phase there have been songs to accompany it. For example during one of my hospital stays I was introduced to Blue October and their song Fear. When I think of that hospital stay, I think of that song:
During my time in Florida I went to Celebrate Recovery that was held in the Presbyterian Church I was attending. We would sing Christian songs and one of my favorites was God of Wonders:
I want to close this post with a prayer for our upcoming elections. Here is a prayer I found:
Dear Lord, thank You that we have government representatives who believe Your truth. Remind them to seek Your guidance as they make decisions that affect our country and world. Send them godly wisdom and good counselors. And give election candidates the strength to choose integrity in both their campaigns and their terms in office.
Hello to you. How are you? For those who celebrated Halloween how was it? I didn’t hang out candy for a couple of reasons. My first year living here I dressed up and tried to hand out candy and ended up with lots of leftover candy. They had trunk or treat for the city on the 29th so most people take their kids to that. I heard a lot of negative press about the candy I would have bought. Most of the major brands had arsenic in them! Nothing is sacred!
The National Confectioners Association disputed the findings, stating that the report relied on misleading conclusions and scare tactics rather than established scientific thresholds, and that the products remain safe to consume in moderation. You can read the detailed breakdown via Southern Living. [1, 2]
Today was church with the daylight savings of falling back an hour. I didn’t notice it as much as when we spring forward. I wish they would do away with it! Todays service was a prayer and praise service. We sang a lot with reading out of Psalm 100. I got to see my church fam which makes getting to church good for me. My friend Jeannie came early and we got to visit a bit – loved that. We even got to see Pastor Jason who is still recovering from his accident.
There is change coming sooner than I expected regarding Grace House. They are packing up on the 23rd of this month. I thought we had til January. Our new office/meeting place won’t be ready until next year. So our Thursday prayer group will have to find a new place to meet interim. I had suggested Ridleys that has an open upstairs place that might work out. I don’t know if Lois has checked into that.
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. Today’s prompt is on a topic I have written about off and on through the years. Everyday there is a new report out about how AI is going to bring about the end to mankind. My take on this is responsible programming. I feel that AI is needing to be regulated – we need guardrails! Even the god father of AI has expressed concern:
Overview
Geoffrey Hinton, a British-Canadian computer scientist and cognitive psychologist, is widely known as the “Godfather of AI”. He won the 2018 Turing Award and the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his foundational work on artificial neural networks and deep learning. [1, 2, 3, 4]What He Says About AI Hinton has become a prominent voice warning about the rapid, uncontrolled development of the technology he helped create: [1, 2, 3]
Risk of Extinction: He estimates there is a 10% to 20% probability (or roughly a 1% to 20% range depending on the interview) that superintelligent AI could eventually lead to the extinction or marginalization of humanity. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Loss of Control: He warns that AI systems could learn to write and execute their own code, achieve recursive self-improvement, and eventually become smarter than humans. [1, 2, 3]
Creation of “Alien Beings”: He describes advanced AI as creating “alien beings” that understand and compress information in ways humans cannot easily track or anticipate. [1, 2]
Near-Term Threats: Beyond existential risk, he highlights immediate dangers, including:
Mass unemployment affecting knowledge workers, administrative staff, and creative fields (while physical trades like plumbing remain safer longer).
Erosion of information integrity through deepfakes, voice clones, and targeted political disinformation.
Deliberate misuse by malicious actors or military applications. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Need for Regulation: After leaving Google in 2023 to speak freely, Hinton has urged governments and tech companies to invest heavily in AI safety research, cooperate across competing entities, and implement strict safeguards before these systems escape human control. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Hinton is not the only one to express concerns.
Several prominent industry leaders and researchers have called for a deliberate slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI) development, most notably following an essay titled “We Must Pace the Frontier” published in September 2026: [1, 2, 3]
Dario Amodei (Anthropic): The CEO and co-founder of Anthropic argued that AI’s growing ability to handle recursive self-improvement is advancing faster than human oversight, calling for a controlled and measured pace to keep up with safety measures.
Elon Musk (xAI): The owner of xAI also voiced agreement with the call to pace frontier AI development.
Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind): The head of Google DeepMind backed the push for slower development and independent auditing.
Jacob Coxon: A former Anthropic researcher who resigned publicly over existential risk concerns, warning that unchecked progress poses severe dangers to humanity. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) backed the proposal and agreed to adopt proposed safety frameworks
Not all industry figures agree; critics such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Hugging Face co-founder Clément DeLangue have argued that big labs may exaggerate fears to restrict competition or create artificial demand. [1]
I think we should pay attention to what the experts are saying – AI – super intelligence- is not a hoax.
A Prayer for the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Father in heaven, Creator of all wisdom, beauty, and truth, We come before You in a time of rapid change, seeking Your light and alignment in a world shaped by screens and artificial minds. [1, 2]
Grant scientists, engineers, and global leaders the humility, discernment, and ethical clarity to build tools that serve humanity rather than diminish it. Protect our families, our children, and our communities from confusion, isolation, and the noise of deception. [1, 2, 3]
Help us to remember that technology is only a creation of our hands, while You are our true Source, our Sustainer, and our Guide. Keep our hearts grounded in real relationships, genuine compassion, and love for one another. [1, 2, 3, 4]
When we prompt and when we build, let us seek Your wisdom first, so that all innovation honors Your image in every person and points the world toward Your peace.[1, 2]
What’s a moment in your life that made you feel truly alive?
Hello to you. I hope this finds you safe and well. There has been a lot of severe weather all over the world. My prayers go out to you if you are in any of those areas.
A moment I felt truly alive was last September 28th when I was baptized in a tub of cold water. Every part of my body felt that water. There was a part of me that just wanted to jump out of the tub! The enemy was strong but Pastor Jason and Diana were stronger! I am proof that you are never too old to be baptized.
Prayer I found for today:
A Prayer for Our World Today
“Father God, we pray for our world today. We pray for peace and hope to abound.
Many are affected by natural disasters: floods, droughts, and forest fires. Many are struggling with conflict, poverty, and the global food crisis. O Lord, we pray for your provision, peace, and protection.
Give our leaders the wisdom, humility, and courage to seek genuine partnerships and protect the vulnerable. Heal what is broken, turn hatred into love, and guide us to be agents of your peace in our own circles of influence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
If aliens arrived tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d ask them?
Hello to you. How is the where and when you visit me here from? Today I went to Bible Study and it was a good turnout. One of the ladies, Pam, that comes was seeming to have a hard time being still. Her hair was in a pretty braid – normally it’s long around her face. She is suffering from dementia and sometimes tries to engage with the group but she has trouble verbalizing her thoughts. She is so sweet. She had been sleeping when it was my turn to pray for her and her family. So I was careful about what I said. I asked God to wrap his loving arms around her and her family. Now is a time of tenderness and patience!
Now to aliens…..wow do I have a lot of questions! I would ask them about Jesus. Do they know when he’s coming back? I wonder if they would have an answer!
Spin of the World Prayer Wheel:
Watch thou, dear Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give thine angels charge over those who sleep. Tend thy sick ones, Lord Christ. Rest thy weary ones. Bless thy dying ones. Soothe thy suffering ones. Pity thine afflicted ones. Shield thy joyous ones. And all, for thy love’s sake.
A place that I visited that felt like home was Germany. I was stationed in Germany for a couple of years and within that time we traveled to so many beautiful places in Germany and surrounding countries. My ancestors came from Germany. When I went out in public it was hard to tell if people were German until they opened their mouth to speak. I looked like them and they looked like me. I think it was my great grandfather who was a pastor in Germany. They also painted stage coaches for German royalty. My Grandpa was a pastor too! I loved living in the village of Fliessem before we moved into base housing which I hated. I loved the German people.
Visiting German King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle was definitely one of the highlights! I can remember how I felt seeing the Singers Hall. It was like I was being watched. I felt so sad that King Ludwig had this beautiful space created that was never used in his lifetime:
No, the Singers’ Hall was never used for its intended purpose during King Ludwig II’s lifetime, but it has been used frequently in modern times. [1, 2]
The beautiful Singers Hall in Neuschwanstein Castle
Spin of the World Prayer Wheel:
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Wellspring of our lives.
No word of ours can contain You; But You are the sea on which we float, You are the wind that fills our sails, You are the storm that batters us, You are the calm that brings us peace.
Open our ears to hear Your word, Open our eyes to see Your beauty, Open our hearts to be warmed by Your love.
Free us from our lonely prisons of fear and selfishness, And make us over, day by day, into bearers of Your peace.
Hello to you. I’m just back from a painful walk with Link. We made it around the short block (1/4 mile) and my lower back is not happy!
Today we celebrated my cousin, the miracle woman’s 61st birthday at Olive Garden. I rode with my Aunt and Uncle – we got there early and reserved a large table. Thankfully it wasn’t real busy so we could do that. Our server, Chris, was amazing and he kept up with everything so well. He said he works weekends to get some social interaction. During the week he does accounting work at Mountain Home and doesn’t get to see people much.
Heidi was so sweet! She said the Lord must have wanted her to be here. So many little miracles went into what happened to her from her getting home and not being on the road to her husband Rod being home when the aneurysm burst happened. She is one of the most grateful souls I know. She said she wants all the glory to go to God. She is an inspiration to us all.
Family dinner at Olive Garden
Spin of the World Prayer Wheel:
Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.
May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.
What’s something you do completely differently from how you were raised?
Hello to you. I hope this finds you well. So much bad news in the headlines right now, I don’t think we were designed to process so much “news” all in one sitting everyday.
In answer today’s prompt I would say the thing I do different from how I was raised is how I practice my faith – religion. As a child I was raised Roman Catholic. In addition to Mass were the Sacraments like Confession- there were rules. As an adult I fell away from Catholicism because the church wouldn’t honor my first marriage. I went for a bit when I was with my second husband but we stopped going because going to Mass was like going to a funeral. We were surrounded by people who didn’t seem to want to be there. Then I was a Pagan for most of my second marriage which was like 12 years.
In my current life I go to church on Sundays in an high school auditorium versus a brick and mortar church like I used to. My current church, Grace Bible Church Middleton, has given me a church family that I know and love. People know me by name. Each Sunday there are warm hellos and hugs! I feel like I belong to this church. I was even baptized last September which was a big step for me in my walk with Jesus.
Spin of the World Prayer Wheel;
The angels dance in your wake The sun rises for your glory Stars illume in your light Magnificent and eternal My Lord Jesus My timeless love
If you could go back and witness any historical event, which one would you pick?
Hello friends – I hope this finds you well,
If I were to go back in time I think I would want to witness the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I would want to see what happened in that tomb! That moment of history is one of the most significant I can think of. I would want to see if the shroud of Turin was inside. I would want to talk to our risen Lord.
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.
Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.
Hello to you. I just saw the sad news that Dolly Parton has died at age 80. It’s hard to believe as she has been a part of my life for so long. One of my earliest memories of her was my going into the book mobile and signing out her album with the song Coat of Many Colors:
