Thanks for our senses

Sense

Five senses and the respective sensory organs inherent among Homo sapiens

An allegory of five senses. Still Life by Pieter Claesz, 1623. The painting illustrates the senses through musical instruments, a compass, a book, food and drink, a mirror, incense and an open perfume bottle. The tortoise may be an illustration of touch or an allusion to the opposite,(the tortoise isolating in its shell)

A sense is a physiological capacity of organisms that provides data for perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology (or cognitive science), and philosophy of perception. The nervous system has a specific sensory system or organ, dedicated to each sense.

Humans have a multitude of senses. Sight (ophthalmoception), hearing (audioception), taste (gustaoception), smell (olfacoception or olfacception), and touch (tactioception) are the five traditionally recognized senses. The ability to detect other stimuli beyond those governed by these most broadly recognized senses also exists, and these sensory modalities include temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), pain (nociception), balance (equilibrioception), vibration (mechanoreception), and various internal stimuli (e.g. the different chemoreceptors for detecting salt and carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood). However, what constitutes a sense is a matter of some debate, leading to difficulties in defining what exactly a distinct sense is, and where the borders between responses to related stimuli lay.

Other animals also have receptors to sense the world around them, with degrees of capability varying greatly between species. Humans have a comparatively weak sense of smell relative to many other mammals while some animals may lack one or more of the traditional five senses. Some animals may also intake and interpret sensory stimuli in very different ways. Some species of animals are able to sense the world in a way that humans cannot, with some species able to sense electrical and magnetic fields, and detect water pressure and currents.

David ( Jake) McQuillan

My friend David McQuillan passed away just before I left for Istanbul in August past. I knew him since I was a boy and met with him regularly during the months before his death. He was 53 when he died.I wrote this poem about him while in Istanbul.

David is gone, gone gone.
My friend is gone, gone, gone.
His craic is gone, gone, gone.
His laughter is gone, gone, gone.
But his spirit lives on, on, on.
In Christ he lives on, on, on.
And his addiction is gone, gone, gone.
And all his pain is gone, gone gone.

He will be missed by many and may God bless his wife and child.

Clifford Patience

I just heard today that my good friend Mr Clifford Patience passed away a few weeks ago. Clifford was ninety four and a half! A great age to live to in relative good health- he was driving a car up until a few years ago. He became a Christian  when he was eighty nine and continued to have a strong faith until the time of his passing to glory. I am thankful that we were friends and will miss our many chats.

Mr Ivor Fenton

I'm giving thanks today for my friend Iver Fenton who was buried today at the cemetery in Dollingstown, Northern Ireland. Ivor was a Christian and a gentleman as well! He was also fond of rugby and has rightly been described as being larger than life. I first knew him thirty years ago then lost contact until a few years ago when my wife and I met up with his wife and family at the New Wine conference in Sligo. I already miss his big smile but I'm thankful that we were friends. Thoughts go to his lovely family.

Things to be thankful for today; books, computer, rooms,birds, paint, cups, plants, a guitar, Tersteegen hymns, friends, family, animals, health-to name a few. Praise your name for them all.

A trustworthy God

The verse 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding' is perhaps one of the most well known verses in the Bible.  In the Bible God is also described many times as being such things as a Rock, a Fortress, a Shelter, a strong Tower and  even a shield.

One of the most famous hymns is 'Rock of Ages, cleft for me ,let me hide myself in thee'. God is that Rock in which we can trust. He will not move away. He will not blow with the wind but will be there tomorrow and be there in a thousand years. We can trust him because he is good and though our circumstances are stormy, though our situation is a disaster we can fully rely on him to help us through.

I thank God because he is good, he  can be trusted and will not blow and sway with the wind.

Begone, unbelief, my Savior is near,
And for my relief will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle, and He will perform;
With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.

Though dark be my way, since He is my Guide,
‘Tis mine to obey, ’tis His to provide;
Though cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail,
The word He has spoken shall surely prevail.

His love in time past forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last in trouble to sink;
Each time He has helped me lies clearly in view,
Designed to assure me He’ll pilot me through.

Since all that I meet shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet, the medicine food;
Though painful at present, ’twill cease before long,
And then, O how pleasant, the conqueror’s song!

John Newton

Trains

Our holidays the last few years have involved taking long train journeys from Scotland into London and then after a few days taking the Euro star to France -Paris the last few years, this year Paris then onto Dordogne by coach. They have been great. For that I'm truly thankful!


A railway or railroad train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track (permanent way) to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.
Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive, or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most modern trains are powered by diesel locomotives or by electricity supplied by overhead wires or additional rails, although historically (from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century) the steam locomotive was the dominant form of locomotive power. Other sources of power (such as horses, rope or wire, gravity, pneumatics, batteries, and gas turbines) are possible.
The word 'train' comes from the Old French trahiner, itself from the Latin trahere 'pull, draw'.[1]