42 thoughts on “Faith Promise Thermometers”

  2. Hmmm… I apologize for getting in the flesh and replying to a number of your entries. I leave you now to wallow in your filth with these verses:

    2 Timothy 2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

    Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

    Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

    1 Timothy 6:3-5 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

    He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

    Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

  7. Blessed is the fundie who can laugh at himself.

    Yea, verily.

    It’s time to put the FUN back into fundamentalism!

  10. @JTR – I have to say, you don’t even sound like a happy christian. God is not anti-humor, like you apparently think he is. I think you would be a lot happier if you would just lighten up a bit. I don’t really know how you view christianity, but from the sounds of it, you think that it should not be enjoyable. Just try to chill once in a while. You might actually make some friends and enjoy living! But, thank you for leaving. My hopes are that you will not ever read this message, which will mean that you have not graced this site with your presence again.

  11. OK, so some have asked for an old topic to revive the discussion. I picked this one, but am open to any others.

    You could always tell how serious a church was about their faith promise by how permanent their thermometer was. Done in wood, they’re committed. Done on poster board with the red sash ribbon that could be pulled up, not so committed. Same judgement can be used on the building project thermometers.

    1. We found a couple of these when we were cleaning out the church on a work day. Ours are wood with adjustable red strips for the giving. One of them even has two strips. One for the goal and one for receipts. There has been some discussion about using them for some sort of fund goal. I’m thinking the double strip one would be useful for showing expenses vs income.

  12. I remember having a thermometer like this every year, and even a few years helping make them. Of course ours were not the most committed kind. I think they just used colored paper, not even poster board.

    I also knew of a church that harassed the members if they didn’t fulfill the promises they made to those thermometers. (promises made in a pique of emotion I am sure)

    1. I can remember as a kid the Watchnight Services (wish I knew how to do the little TM symbol behind Watchnight) every New Years Eve. After watching “A Thief In The Night”, we would all gather around and the pastor would read the pledge amounts for the upcoming year. Lot’s of clapping and amening followed by 12 months of guilt because I would forget to bring my money, or I had spent it on a Mt. Dew and a Hostess Apple Pie earlier in the week. Every Sunday that thermometer would be mocking me and giving me guilt over the $25 dollars I had promised to give.

      1. Did you ever have the scales (in place of the thermometer?) That was more of a VBS version I think. The competing teams were always trying to weigh the scale down in their favor. Even as a kid I wondered if they understood that the HEAVIEST money was the least valuable. Of course we always just changed whatever money we brought into pennies ahead of time. I can’t imagine why they wanted to make it so difficult for themselves for what didn’t amount to very much money once it was all rolled into bankable form.

        1. What, you mean 6-12 year-olds are smart enough to figure out that 100 pennies weighs more than a dollar bill?

          Yeah, I remember doing that as a kid, too. The leader would always hold the scale in the middle and maybe let it look like the lighter one was actually heavier, but then let go, and wait for 150+ screaming kids go nuts. I guess it was kind of fun in a way, but a little weird looking back on it now.

        2. How about the kid that wouldn’t give anything all week and would save up their money for the last day so they could be the big winner? It usually took 3 people to carry all of their pennies. I hated those kids.

    1. Type any word and then follow it with Alt 0153. For me it only works if I type the numbers using the numeric pad. Seen Enough™

  14. Watchnight™ for the win!!!! Thanks Scorpio! I owe you a beer or the drink of your choice whenever you’re not flying out. 😉

    1. I’m really trying to figure out what dollar signs would mean on a pregnancy test.

      And what would proctologists know about pregnancy tests? You do know how pregnancy works, right? Babies don’t come out of your area of expertise.

      1. ‘Congratulations, Mom and Dad! You now get to spend more money per month than you ever imagined…and the cost only goes up with time!’ 😉

      2. The dollar signs remind me of something a comedian said (I can’t remember who), “My daughter’s name is Alexis. Not because I liked the name, but because that’s what I would be driving if I hadn’t had her.”

        1. Well, I have no job and the children are mostly all grown up. But I AM neglecting my laundry. 😳

  21. My toddler was watching cartoons and playing with a permanent marker when I typed that 😯

  22. Seems like for some reason they always preferred the permanent ones whenever they could get their hands on them.

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