{"id":3660,"date":"2020-11-16T12:01:52","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T01:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=3660"},"modified":"2024-12-16T23:49:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T12:49:22","slug":"barbaras-monday-email-16-11-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=3660","title":{"rendered":"Barbara’s Monday Email 16-11-2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello Faith Pals,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope you are well and surviving the hot spells. We thank God for the gift of water!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last Monday I wrote about a detergent, Tide<\/i>.\u00a0 Today I thought I would go back to the topic, talking about soap.\u00a0 The term ‘spic and span’ comes from a sixteenth century Dutch sailors’ term ‘Spiksplinternieuw’ for every spike and splinter of wood on a new ship.\u00a0 This was Anglicized to ‘spick and spannew’ and meant something that was brand new, and spotlessly clean.\u00a0 Soap was invented in about 2800 BC by the Babylonians, from goat fat and ash, but in 600 BC the Phoenicians, really marketed it well and they sold it to the Greeks, Romans and others.\u00a0 They marketed it to the Gauls as a laxative!\u00a0 By the eleventh century, soap was so popular in Venice, that a tax was placed on it, leading to a black market in soap!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes inventions happen in unexpected ways-even with soap. In 1879, a soap maker at the Procter and Gamble company had no idea a new innovation was about to surface when he went to lunch, forgetting to turn off the soap mixer.\u00a0 When he returned he found more than the usual amount of air had been incorporated\u00a0 into the batch of pure white soap that the company sold under the name \u201cThe White Soap.\u201d\u00a0 Fearing he would get in trouble, the soap maker kept the mistake a secret and packaged and shipped the air-filled soap to customers around the country. Soon customers were asking for more ‘soap that floats.’ \u00a0 After company officials found out what happened, they turned it into one of the company\u2019s most successful products, Ivory Soap.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While soap is a wonderful invention, we have to be careful that purity doesn’t become a lopsided virtue! We have often heard the saying ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’.\u00a0 Where did that expression come from?\u00a0 Sometimes we hear it quoted as though it came from the Bible, but it came from John Wesley (in a 1778 sermon).\u00a0 Sadly, this expression has meant that some Christians believe that if one is not clean, then they are not Christian.\u00a0 Jesus said ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ We are to love others, and that means the unwashed, those on the streets, those living in poverty.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe, alongside the box of detergent from last week, a bar of soap could go near our prayer corner, or near our Bible to remind us to keep a ‘spic and span’ heart. Such a heart, by frequent washing with prayer and the reading of Scripture, would be free of the daily accumulation of the grime of greed and gossip, of the dirt of discrimination, judgement and divisiveness. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a story that fits in; it is from Paulo Coelho’s blog (you may know the name-he wrote The Alchemist<\/i>, and many other books):<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘A young couple moved into a new neighbourhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw\u00a0her neighbor hanging the washing outside.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat laundry is not very clean; she doesn\u2019t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her husband looked on, remaining silent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every time her neighbour hung\u00a0her washing out to dry, the young woman made the same comments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said\u00a0to her husband,\u00a0\u201cLook, she\u2019s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The husband replied, \u201cI got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

And so it is with life\u2026 What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So don\u2019t be too quick to judge others, especially if your perspective of life is clouded by anger, jealousy, negativity or unfulfilled desires.’<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/paulocoelhoblog.com\/?s=dirty+laundry<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

News: we keep Alan and Fredrica in our prayers, as they await the next step regarding treatment. We continue to pray for Rohini and Jaya, Shirley, Margaret, Lex and Leora, Jack, Noy, Martin and Elv, and everyone else.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

To close with a quote from Paulo Coelho: ‘You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It\u2019s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.’<\/strong><\/p>\n

And a prayer:<\/strong><\/p>\n

And a verse of Scripture:<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘There is gold, and abundance of costly stones;<\/strong><\/p>\n

but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.’-Proverbs 20: 15<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blessings and love<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barbara<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello Faith Pals, I hope you are well and surviving the hot spells. We thank God for the gift of water! Last Monday I wrote about a detergent, Tide.\u00a0 Today I thought I would go back to the topic, talking about soap.\u00a0 The term ‘spic and span’ comes from a sixteenth century Dutch sailors’ term ‘Spiksplinternieuw’ for every spike and splinter of wood on a new ship.\u00a0 This was Anglicized to ‘spick and spannew’ and meant something that was brand new, and spotlessly clean.\u00a0 Soap was invented in about 2800 BC by the Babylonians, from goat fat and ash, but in 600 BC the Phoenicians, really marketed it well and they sold it to the Greeks, Romans and others.\u00a0 They marketed it to the Gauls as a laxative!\u00a0 By the eleventh century, soap was so popular in Venice, that a tax was placed on it, leading to a black market in soap! Sometimes inventions happen in unexpected ways-even with soap. In 1879, a soap maker at the Procter and Gamble company had no idea a new innovation was about to surface when he went to lunch, forgetting to turn off the soap mixer.\u00a0 When he returned he found more than the usual amount of air had been incorporated\u00a0 into the batch of pure white soap that the company sold under the name \u201cThe White Soap.\u201d\u00a0 Fearing he would get in trouble, the soap maker kept the mistake a secret and packaged and shipped the air-filled soap to customers around the country. Soon customers were asking for more ‘soap that floats.’ \u00a0 After company officials found out what happened, they turned it into one of the company\u2019s most successful products, Ivory Soap. While soap is a wonderful invention, we have to be careful that purity doesn’t become a lopsided virtue! We have often heard the saying ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’.\u00a0 Where did that expression come from?\u00a0 Sometimes we hear it quoted as though it came from the Bible, but it came from John Wesley (in a 1778 sermon).\u00a0 Sadly, this expression has meant that some Christians believe that if one is not clean, then they are not Christian.\u00a0 Jesus said ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ We are to love others, and that means the unwashed, those on the streets, those living in poverty. Maybe, alongside the box of detergent from last week, a bar of soap could go near our prayer corner, or near our Bible to remind us to keep a ‘spic and span’ heart. Such a heart, by frequent washing with prayer and the reading of Scripture, would be free of the daily accumulation of the grime of greed and gossip, of the dirt of discrimination, judgement and divisiveness. Here is a story that fits in; it is from Paulo Coelho’s blog (you may know the name-he wrote The Alchemist, and many other books): ‘A young couple moved into a new neighbourhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw\u00a0her neighbor hanging the washing outside. \u201cThat laundry is not very clean; she doesn\u2019t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.\u201d Her husband looked on, remaining silent. Every time her neighbour hung\u00a0her washing out to dry, the young woman made the same comments. A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said\u00a0to her husband,\u00a0\u201cLook, she\u2019s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?\u201d The husband replied, \u201cI got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.\u201d And so it is with life\u2026 What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look. So don\u2019t be too quick to judge others, especially if your perspective of life is clouded by anger, jealousy, negativity or unfulfilled desires.’ https:\/\/paulocoelhoblog.com\/?s=dirty+laundry News: we keep Alan and Fredrica in our prayers, as they await the next step regarding treatment. We continue to pray for Rohini and Jaya, Shirley, Margaret, Lex and Leora, Jack, Noy, Martin and Elv, and everyone else.\u00a0 To close with a quote from Paulo Coelho: ‘You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It\u2019s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.’ And a prayer: And a verse of Scripture: ‘There is gold, and abundance of costly stones; but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.’-Proverbs 20: 15 Blessings and love Barbara<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Leighmoor.Master","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/leighmoor-master"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Other Posts<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Hello Faith Pals, I hope you are well and surviving the hot spells. We thank God for the gift of water! Last Monday I wrote about a detergent, Tide.\u00a0 Today I thought I would go back to the topic, talking about soap.\u00a0 The term ‘spic and span’ comes from a sixteenth century Dutch sailors’ term…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3660"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10835,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3660\/revisions\/10835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}