Proverbs 3:15
“She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.”
More Precious Than Rubies
On 7 November 2000 a gang of criminals used a JCB excavator to ram their way into the vault area of the Millennium Dome in London. Their target was the De Beers diamond exhibition where the Millennium Star diamond valued at more than £200 million ($320 million) was one of several precious stones on view. Unfortunately for the gang they had been under police surveillance for some considerable time. The diamonds were substituted with worthless fakes prior to the robbery. On the day that the gang struck, the Millennium Dome was awash with undercover police officers. All the gang members were arrested, including one manning a powerboat on the River Thames, which was to have been the getaway vehicle.
The Value of Wisdom
The Millennium Dome gang were distinctly lacking in wisdom. Instead, folly driven by greed led them in an attempt to steal a diamond that would have been impossible to trade for cash.
What price wisdom? Solomon knew, and attempted to portray the priceless nature of wisdom in Proverbs 3:15. All the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. The message is that wisdom is to be valued above anything and everything this world can offer. But wisdom is not found on display behind armored glass. It cannot be bought, but is a treasure that has to be sought over time.
The word used by Solomon for rubies also translates as pearls. Jesus used a priceless pearl to illustrate a parable in Matthew 13:45-46:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
What do you value more than anything?
I’m learning Swedish. Slowly. I have a working vocabulary of, I dunno, 70 words? Our second granddaughter is 50% Swedish (our son-in-law is 100%), and they live about an hour outside of Stockholm. 
“A man generally has two reasons for doing a thing. One that sounds good, and a real one.”
I love the story of the Prodigal Son, on several layers. Did you know that the word prodigal doesn’t mean “sinful”? It means extravagant. Wasteful. Lavish. I guess I didn’t know that until well into my adulthood. The kid in the story certainly exemplifies the concept quite well.
Dad is a retired engineer, a graduate of Purdue University, a true Boilermaker is ever there was one. He was the first of his family to go to college, not a small accomplishment having been born at the start of the Great Depression. After his stint in the Navy, and a bit of disgruntlement with the union’s treatment of his hard work ethic, he decided to go back to school. So here was a seasoned vet in his early twenties heading off to classes with fresh-faced high school graduates in a post-Korea university setting.
I’m sitting on the back porch as the birds herald in the morning when I hear the cat-bird. Yea, he’s back! I love that odd avian sound truly mimicking a cat. 
Caitlin Klem
Chris Jordan
Daniel M. Klem
dawnlizjones
David
Grady Davidson
Jason Sneed
M. Wiley Wilson
Nick
Anthony Baker
Katie Marie
Wally Fry
Proverbial Thought 