Friday, December 9, 2016

Encouragment

North Minneapolis Route 5
Today I was feeling less than positive about my life and my work... until I got to the garage and a more experienced driver/instructor said this:
"Good job yesterday on that 5."
Strange how those few words could just turn my whole attitude around.

I think my not-too-positive encounter with the safety manager yesterday left me feeling down. All it took was that one phrase from "Rich" to brighten up my attitude and make my work feel worthwhile again.

The driver who encouraged me was the one that trained me on the 5. He lives in North Minneapolis, and his wife's son is a high school student there. That particular bus (an artic) is full of N Mpls high school kids. Right now it's my favorite piece of work. I'm enjoying the kids and the challenge of weaving that 62 foot long machine down Fremont Avenue, curving in and out of stops. It felt good to be complemented by someone who knows the challenges well.

It's a good reminder to me of the power of words.

equalsharing.com

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Learning from Mistakes

Tonight I'm going to a book study so I need to finish reading Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God for that, but before I do, I want to get something off my chest.

Today I visited with the Safety Manager at work. We get asked to stop by and see him when something happens that catches his attention. It's generally not something that drivers want to have happen, but I've always looked at those conversations as learning opportunities--at least since January of this year, after I got through the 6 months of probation.

Besides a quick conversation after I got my one year safe driving award, I think I've visited with him four times since I began driving for Metro Transit, once when someone came running out at my bus on Nicollet in South Minneapolis (a scary incident for more than one reason), and three other times when there were minor events having to do with shoulder driving. Each time, when I went to see the manager, he showed me video from the bus cameras. So far, I've had no "responsible accidents" recorded, but today's visit made me realize, again, how important it is for me to be super careful.

from "Why don't operators always use shoulders."
See also "Bus-only shoulders move you..."
I learned something else today too. Today's conversation had to do with an incident I chose to report that occurred a little more than a week ago. There was no damage to the bus--that was verified by a "street supervisor" who met me back at the garage, but something happened that got my mirror out of adjustment as I passed a certain semi-truck as I was driving on the shoulder.

The picture I've posted here is a wide open shoulder on I 94 just north of downtown. The place that's been more challenging is the one that I'd been driving for 6 months up until last Friday - a "bus only shoulder" on eastbound I 394 where it crosses Highway 100.

"bus-only shoulder" marked in pink

Those of you who drive into the cities probably know the spot -- it's maybe about a mile long, that is often congested, particularly where the HOV lane closed to eastbound traffic. Buses often move the the shoulder there. It's a tricky spot because it's on a curve, and because part of it has a metal guardrail on the right. Take a look at it next time you go through the area. Maybe you'll have a bus go past you. It can be unnerving for cars too, as they're passed on the right.

Anyway, after I passed a particular truck, something I know (now, after seeing the bus camera video) that I shouldn't have done (the truck was too close to the white shoulder line), I noticed that my driver's side mirror was out of adjustment. I thought that maybe the mirror had brushed up against the side of the truck, so I called "transit control" and reported it, and, when I got back to the garage, I filled out the paperwork -- and that led to the "visit" that I had today with the safety manager.

In the end I didn't end up getting "held responsible" for an "accident," partly, I think, because there was no evidence that my mirror actually touched the side of the truck, but I did learn something as I looked at the video. I had, as the safety manager said, "pushed" too much as I passed the truck. It was too close to the shoulder. I should have waited. I shouldn't have tried to pass at all. The other thing I learned was that I shouldn't have speculated about what pushed my mirror out of place. My words were the only "evidence" he had that perhaps an "accident" had occurred. I'll be more careful with my words from now on.

I like opportunities to learn, even from mistakes. Applying this to our life with God, His Grace, because of Jesus, is so great that he will never condemn us for what we've done wrong. He just wants us to learn. First we learn of His wonderful forgiveness. Then we learn, hopefully, to avoid the same mistake again. That's what I pray I will do, not only in driving, but in every other part of my life.

Time to go.

Peace be with you in Jesus' name.

equalsharing.com

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Tomorrow is Sunday

How can I follow Jesus completely when I come to believe two incompatible things: 1) That God has called me to be with my wife in particular local church, and 2) That the conventional way many things are done in this church, like so many others, is one cause of grief for the Holy Spirit.

How do I balance 1) unreserved discipleship and uncompromised devotion to Holy Spirit driven life with 2) the call I now have to sing in a choir that sits up front during the first part of the worship hour and then go down into the pew to sit in a tightly controlled worship environment?

And how do I express these things in a way that is full of love and isn't selfish?

I'm confident God can make a way.

equalsharing.com

Thursday, November 24, 2016

A Hopeful Thanksgiving

Good morning! It's just before 5:30 AM as I write this. I'm wanting to find time to talk with some dear friends about the election that has just passed by, and about the changes that seem to be happening, in some ways, in the positions that the president-elect is speaking about. I want to talk with these friends about hopeful signs that I'm seeing. I'm wanting to talk with family members too, and I'll be seeing many of those today, but, as a family, we've talked about keeping some of the political conversation away from our gathering. And I know that many of my friends are just not wanting to talk right now. So I'll need to wait.

I'm thankful, right now, that our president-elect seems to be moderating some of the positions he took prior to the election. I'm feeling less hopeful about some of the people that Mr. Trump has gathered around him, but I'm not feeling hopeless. I don't think Christians should ever give into despair, even though there may be moments of intense sadness, joy does come in the morning.

I have enjoyed the online conversations I've had with friends from left and right, and I'd like to continue those conversations. I almost tweeted or posted a link to an article just now, but I decided to put it here instead, because, as I said above, some of my friends just want to give it a rest right now. And that's fine. But we will need to get back to this conversation later.

Here's an article I'd like to talk about with many of them:

(begin quoted article, original <here>)
Evangelical Christians and President Trump

The 2016 election is decided and Evangelical Christians bear great responsibility to stand with those who feel afraid and left out.

Donald Trump is now President-elect Trump. Half of America, especially African Americans, Latinos and the vulnerable, feel great unease; the rural half and working class feel vindicated.

By Carl Nelson

Christians who voted for Trump on the basis of religious freedom and the sanctity of life, knew they were doing so at great risk. Countless evangelical leaders denounced Trump’s immoral behavior towards women, his racism and assaults on the vulnerable, yet many white evangelicals chose to risk voting for him over Hillary Clinton.

While we may not immediately acknowledge it, evangelicals’ decisive role in influencing this election for a candidate whose character contradicts so much of what Jesus stands for, creates a barrier to our witness of the Gospel, which we must now overcome.

The sanctity of life matters. Religious freedom matters. Those causes made huge advances last night. But racial justice matters too. So does care for the poor and vulnerable. And the plight of the refugee.  And the treatment of women. The spread of the Gospel may depend upon how well we advocate for those causes too.

The Burden of Responsibility


As Ed Stetzer wrote “Evangelicals made Trump’s candidacy; now they owe it to the world to help remake his presidency.” [Take a look at Ed Stetzler's full article in Christianity Today <here>]

Throughout the campaign there has been concern about how people of color, urban poor, refugee groups and other vulnerable populations would fare under a Trump Presidency. These are the very people Jesus commands us to love.

Because white evangelical voters were so prominent in the coalition that elected Trump, they bear a great responsibility to stand with these groups, which includes many evangelical brothers and sisters, against callous indifference, racism and nativism, which surrounded so much of Trump’s candidacy.
(end quote of longer article - Keep reading <here>)

One of those I'm wanting to talk with is Pastor Paul Anderson, perhaps using that article as a basis, who endorsed Donald Trump before the election. You can read what Paul wrote <here>. I've heard from a couple Christians that they had dreams about our president elect. I'd like to talk with them. I'm also, in retrospect, investigating the claims of some Christian Conservatives who said that Donald Trump was something like "God's Chaos Candidate."

I'm also wanting to talk with Christians who voted for Hillary Clinton, asking them what hopeful signs they see as we move forward, signs that perhaps our president elect won't turn out to be as evil as they thought. I agree with them in so many ways, though, for me, the voting part was more difficult. What I've heard from our president-elect before the election was chilling as he demeaned women and immigrants to just name two groups. And you know how concerned I am that we talk carefully and cautiously about environmental issues, issues that relate directly to God's first command to men and women, that we be caretakers of this earth.

But those conversations will need to wait. I will be praying about the right time and place for these talks. Today isn't the day for that. I hope it comes soon.

equalsharing.com

Saturday, November 19, 2016

House Work

One view of our basement rental.
As you may know, if you've been following this blog at all, I've been spending a lot of time in the last few months focused on "house" stuff. First looking, then doing the purchase, then working on and now organizing this place to live. Our lower level is ready for rent. You can see some pictures at <this link>. We'd appreciate it if our friends could send some renters our way!

Today I've been cleaning and starting to organize a combination workroom and storage area. There's still a lot more to do, but it's good timing since the weather has changed and it's not as pleasant now to be working on things outside. Right now, until I sat down to write this little post, I've been switching out summer clothes for winter ones. About time.

That's all for the moment. Peace to you all, in Jesus' name.

equalsharing.com

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Another Source For Grief

Yesterday I posted, on this blog, a plea for mercy and understanding as I grieve the "rise of a man and an ideology that seems, to me, to be dangerous."

Because I live the privileged life of a white man in this world, my main concern is the long term effects of human-caused climate change.

Below I'll quote an article that speaks to my concerns. I quote it here so you can read it without needing to deal with advertising. I quote it because, much to my grief, some of my friends have such a different understanding about this issue.

The "climate change skeptic" position is now poised to take over in the United States. Because of that, and because so many dear friends think I'm wrong on this, I am filled with sorrow.

The article below was written by John Abraham, "a professor of thermal and fluid sciences at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering" here in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more about John Abraham, click <here>.

I don't want to fall into despair and complete negativity as regards "conservatism." I thought conservatism had to do with "conservation"! But it seems to me that "conservatism" has somehow gotten married to climate change skepticism. I don't know how that happened, but, as the article below says, many of us believe this will bring dire consequences to God's good earth.

And many of my friends are in the climate change skeptics camp, believing that I am the victim of a liberal conspiracy, believing I'm deluded.

I am conservative in many ways! Those who have followed this blog for the last few years may know how, back a few years ago, I was attacked online for being too conservative. My base values on God's plan for what has been called "the traditional family" have not changed, and some of my liberal friends think I'm so wrong about that. That's just one example.

So again, I post this with a prayer for God's mercy, and for the mercy of my friends. Take time to listen (or read) a bit to see why I'm so broken up by what happened on Tuesday.

God's peace be with you all.

---------------------------
Article from The Guardian, a British newspaper and online news source. (Click <here> to learn more about this news source.) The original online article can be found at <this link>.

Many of us in the United States are in deep shock and despair. The election of Donald Trump speaks of a country and a world that represents so many things that go against our deepest grains. However, as I told my children this morning, the Earth will still turn, the sun will still rise. In fact, a Trump presidency will not have the dire consequences that many of us fear – especially for people like me who will be insulated from his policies. Surely it will change the economics and courts in the US, among other things. But really, all of these are transient.

The one thing that isn’t transient is the impact this will have on climate change. It is now virtually certain the world will not meet any of its climate targets. If Trump (and the Republican-controlled Congress) stand by their pledges, we will see a major rollback of the tremendous progress that has been made on reducing emissions. A Trump presidency will likely set us back at least a decade, perhaps longer. And that is a decade we can’t afford.

The world will blow past the 2C (3.6F) target set in Paris. This means it will be difficult to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

The election also affects how we should talk about climate change. In the US, and in many other countries, opposing steps to cut carbon pollution has become a litmus test for conservative politicians. So, in this sense, conservatives now own climate change. I can just imagine the slogans, “Climate change, brought to you by your neighborhood conservatives.”

George W Bush was the worst president ever on climate change. Back then, with the reality of climate change not as widely known, it is conceivable to give voters a pass. But not now. Anyone who voted for Trump shares the responsibility for what is now inevitable.

It’s really too bad because many conservatives certainly don’t want to destroy the Earth’s climate. Furthermore, there are some conservatives who do take climate change seriously. However, when a central belief to conservatism results in decades of inaction, it makes it impossible to avoid staring facts in the face.

Conservatives own climate change.

Conservatives own the consequences of climate change.

They own the increased droughts, more severe storms, sea level rise, and floods.

They own the heat waves, the loss of habitat and the shifting climate zones.

They own the climate refugees, the resulting political strife, and climate conflicts.

They own it all.

Liberals, both in the US and around the world, have tried to work with conservatives to devise practical plans that will reduce the threats of climate change. In the past few years there was real progress.

We had hope.

Now, we can look forward to the US going backwards. Becoming the world’s laggard on climate change (again). Once again, America’s leaders will describe climate change as a hoax or as a non-threat.


---------------------------

I didn't quote the end of Professor Abraham's article.

You can read it if you want.

But I don't feel the same way he does about those who hold climate change skeptic positions. I still hope we can talk and come to some kind of agreement as to the facts.

O Lord, may it be so.

equalsharing.com

Friday, November 11, 2016

Grieving with those who grieve ;'(

http://www.theclimatemobilization.org/all-life
I found the item above as I am grieving what a Trump presidency might mean for God's good earth. It's taken a couple days for the grief to settle in for me. Toni (my wife) posted something on facebook about grief yesterday morning. (BTW I'm not familiar with either "The Climate Mobilization" or John Pavlovitz. I'm just using their images and thoughts as examples of the feelings I'm going through.)
from http://johnpavlovitz.com/2016/11/09/heres-why-we-grieve-today/

It's hard to grieve for others about some things, isn't it.

I would guess that, for many of our friends, this is one time it's particularly hard because the things Toni and I are grieving over are either being celebrated, or our friends are wanting us to move immediately to "praying for our country" or "praying for our new president elect."

Okay... yes...

But imagine how it is for those of us who have been so concerned about the rise of a man and an ideology that seems, to me, to be dangerous.

O Lord have mercy.

And friends, have mercy on me too.

equalsharing.com

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Exiting the Egress Project

almost 2 weeks ago
It's been raining here in Roseville since yesterday evening. Thankfully the egress window well is almost done -- and the window in place thanks to Toni's dad. Here's "project in progress" picture from a couple weeks ago.

Yesterday Toni asked me to pose (and smile) for another picture that she wanted to take as I was tamping down a layer of dirt "back filled" around the metal "area wall" in the hole that was partially done. She said she wanted the picture because I had done most of the work and there was no picture of me doing it. I didn't care about that, I'm just thankful that it's close to finished. It's taken about a month to do. And thank God we've had good working weather for a few weeks.

Time to head out for work. Now!

Monday, October 10, 2016

Doing What God Wants

Last night Toni and I went to a church small group gathering at the home of one of the group members. Toward the end of our get together one of the men asked me what I did for a living before driving bus. That opened a conversation about how it is I know God had called me to doing what I am doing in my life after moving on from my 29 years serving as a pastor. How is it, the man asked, that I know what God want me to do? How do I "hear" God's voice?

I've written about this topic at various time in this blog, and I've given teachings about the subject in church messages and sermons over the years, but I didn't have time last night to share in depth about the subject. I said something about how God has surprised me by giving me ideas and thoughts that don't seem to come from me, that come "out of the blue," and I gave some examples. I didn't say anything about the deep devotional and prayer life that the Lord has led me to that keeps me open to what it is He (God) has to say, and that help me recognize God' "voice" when He speaks, but I did say something that echoes what I read, just now, from Oswald Chambers "How Will I Know" reading assigned for today in in his classic My Utmost for His Highest.

Commenting on Jesus' words from Matthew 11:25, Oswald writes:
All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience. You will never open them through philosophy or thinking. But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. Let God’s truth work into you by immersing yourself in it, not by worrying into it. The only way you can get to know the truth of God is to stop trying to find out and by being born again. If you obey God in the first thing He shows you, then He instantly opens up the next truth to you.

(Read the rest of O.C.'s devotion for today, October 10, by clicking <here>.)
That's not exactly what I said last night, but the idea is that God does open "truths" to us as we obey, as we step out in faith, making plans and then moving in the direction that we "heard" him call us to.

The "truths" O.C. speaks of in the last line of the quote above (i.e. "....opens up the next truth to you") are those that come from His Written Word, and those more personal words that God speaks directly to me, calling me and giving me direction about the circumstances and situations I'm going through.

When I step out in faith, when I obey what I believe God says, then He does reveal more about what He desires for me. It is a matter of acting with childlike faith, and just saying "yes," through my actions, to what He says.

The man then asked what happens when I'm mistaken and "think" I hear what God has to say but then, later, find out I was wrong. I'll need to consider that question some more. Normally these sorts of "calls" from God can be confirmed not only through individual thoughts and what God reveals through obedience, but also through the counsel of brothers and sisters. It's not good to just launch out alone. And, of course, what God says in His written Word, through the Bible, and through the example of Jesus, has to come first! We ought not just launch out stubbornly, mistaking indigestion (as Scrooge said) for a divine visitation!

This little writing tonight is incomplete, but it's time now for me to get a little more sleep before work.

Soli Deo Gloria.

equalsharing.com

Friday, October 7, 2016

House and Life

This is from an email letter I sent off, a few minutes ago, to my siblings:

Thank you ever so much for all you did last Saturday. As I said in [another] note, there have been so many times that the three of you and your families have helped us out. I hope that as life levels out for us that we can reciprocate in some way. I don't know what all you "girls," Lisa and Karen, were working on here on Saturday, but thank you! Peter was here until almost 5:00, helping us, in the end, bring a round wooden table to a consignment shop. 

I'd like to write personal thank yous to Leah, Jon and Walt, and to others. But that will need to wait.

As she said before. Toni tallied up 10 times or more that we've moved since we were married. I'm planning on staying here, Lord willing, for 40+ years.

Today between work shifts I'm hoping we can get a few pictures up on the living room walls and take care of some of the mess in the garage, not necessarily organized, but at least make it more possible to walk through there. Some of the cardboard boxes that are accumulating out there will be going to Dick & Jo's for their eventual move.

We're hoping too to find time to get me a desk. Right now I'm using a card table. and this combination guest room/office is a mess. Toni is using "her" desk again in the den. I had used it when we were on Lydia house and she just used the table. Yesterday we went to [store] and picked out a futon like mom and dad's that we'll use in the den as a second guest room when needed, especially for grandchildren!

After my PM shift I'm planning on going to a men's gathering at [church]. God directed us to connect there, though we haven't joined.

I've got a passel of thoughts and feelings rolling around in my head about faith and life and church that I feel like I need to sort out, but that's going to take some time, time that I'm sure will involve writing -- and time is something that is being directed, necessarily, at present, and probably until the snow flies, to my work and to all the things that need to be done on this house. There just isn't much time for other things.

Writing has been a vital part of my walk with the Lord. That all began with Ron P___ (can't remember how to spell his name... Polasari?) having us write 30 minutes a day about whatever in English class during freshman year, continuing with hundreds of letters and theological seminary papers, and what seems like thousands of sermon drafts etc., and then most recently, blogging. (I learned that from Naomi.) 

[Toni's dad] will be here on Saturday and we'll work together, with him taking the lead, to get the egress window actually put in. The window well is sort of in place (though some adjustments are necessary) and the dirt is now off the lawn. I brought three small trailer loads to a place in far north Ramsey County that takes dirt for free. I've got one more trailer load covered with plastic in the trailer in the driveway but I think I need to wait to haul it away until I see if we nee a bit more to re-fill in the outside of the egress hole (where I may need to dig again). Or I'll get rid of it and then go get some dirt there if I need it later.

I went to bed last night about 8 PM, woke up at about 1:45 AM, and will go back to bed now. I love these quiet nighttime hours.

I thought maybe I'd get taken off my morning work today (due to being "over my hours" so far this week), but that didn't happen yet. I've been taken off work for at least one morning (once a half morning) almost every week for quite awhile now. I guess the union has been getting on Metro Transit's case. The contract is strict about not having us part timers work more than 30 hours a week. (We get paid for 33¾ hours. Long story.)

Talk to you all soon.

Much love, 

Steve

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Saturday, October 1, 2016

We're Here.

(Edited early Sunday morning.)
 
Hello! I thought I'd say a quick 'hi' and bring whoever reads this up to date on where we're living now. We just moved, today, to 1749 Millwood Avenue in Roseville. Toni had my brother take a pic of us sitting on the front step. I'm sure I'll post that later once Toni puts it up on facebook.

For more pics click here.
(And here it is!)

Thanks to Toni -- the one who inspired and worked so hard to get us ready -- thanks to our kids (and a couple of Dan's friends) and my wonderful brother and sisters, and the spouses of all the above, plus thanks to my Aunt Betty who came with food, and Steve and Tom from Roseville Covenant Church, who carried a ton of stuff -- thanks to all those we're here. Now we're tired. And we're thankful.

Tomorrow we'll be up not too late to sing with the RCC Choir at worship, and then I'm sure we'll be back at doing lots of organizing here. (And then, so important, we need to get the basement ready for renters so we can afford this place!)

With a prayer that all this will be to God's Glory and the good of many others, in Jesus' name.

equalsharing.com

Saturday, September 17, 2016

God's Provision

Toni and I are back at our Lydia Avenue home, resting up after a busy day. We've been over at the "new place," but there's no place to lay our heads there, so we're back at the house we're renting from Paul Anderson. We'll be living here and working there until October 1st. (Scroll back through a couple previous posts on this blog for a bit more about our upcoming move.)

Toni posted a couple pictures of the outside on her facebook. Here's one indoor view, from the kitchen (still to be worked on) toward the front door of the house. Yesterday and today we worked (with lots of help from our son Dan!) to remove gold 1970s era draperies and carpet from the living room/dining area (leaving the hardwood floor you see in the background). Toni worked fast at painting--she's got most of the living room done. I puttered around with little stuff: replacing 3 switches, pruning bushes, closing up small gaps at the bottom of the backyard fence and removing a cabinet that was closing off the kitchen. There's a lot more to do but we're glad to have gotten a start on it.

My sister-in-law wrote: So glad for God's provision for you. Looks like a very nice place. Now it's time to work and dream and make a house into a home. 

It is God's provision. There is work to be done--lots of work--but that doesn't take away the fact that God has provided this home. In fact, every home we've ever lived in has been a gift from the Lord. We will give thanks. As John Abel once said to me "God's provision is His estimate of our need." John said that to me when he came up the stairs to our first apartment. Read more about that here.)

The topic of God's providence has come up many times in this blog, most recently 16 months ago when we were wondering where we'd go next. I'm amazed at the way our Lord works. And so thankful.

from ...faith-is.html
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Saturday, September 10, 2016

Not My Desire

The life that God seems to have chosen for me is not the one that I would have chosen for myself. (I say "seems to have chosen" in this public forum. In my own heart and life I say that with more confidence.) My Lord, who knows me better than anyone else, has chosen to plant me in Roseville, a pleasant suburb of the Twin Cities. I would not personally have chosen this place to live. I'd have lived further south from here, down in St. Paul itself, nearer to where there are multiple ways of getting around besides driving, in a place where Toni and I could easily walk to stores or cafes or just jump on a bus. Up here, in Roseville, it's not practical to get around without a car. My compromise is to drive and park where I can get on a bus. That's what I've done many times this summer and will continue to do this fall. Still, it's a compromise. I'd rather just do it my way. (Insert tongue sticking out emoticon.)

God seems to be leading Toni and I to participate in a church that I wouldn't pick. There's nothing wrong with it. As far as "normal" churches go it has a lot to recommend it. But I wouldn't pick it because it's a pretty "normal" church: full of friendly people (on Sunday mornings at least), balancing "contemporary" and "traditional" music, pretty good preaching (the Lord has said something to me personally every week), various kinds of outreach programs, youth & children's stuff going on. I like both of the pastors. I met with one of them and we have a lot in common. Still, though, it's a pretty much run of the mill place. I'd probably pick something a lot smaller. Like a house church. (Another tongue out :p )

Some parts of this phase of my life are turning out much more "conventional" than I thought they would. I grew up in the suburbs and it looks like that's where I'll be for most of the rest of my life. I grew up in a pretty good suburban church and it looks like that's where we'll be. I imagined things would be different when we moved from the small town thing to the cities. I do get to keep my unconventional (for me) job, so that's one thing I can say is probably something I would pick myself, though it would have been completely unexpected until a little more than a year ago. But because I'm not picking these things, I expect God is at work in them, and I suspect that those very suburban things will turn out for God's glory. That's what I say, in faith.

Tomorrow I'll sing with the Roseville Covenant Church choir. That's also something I wouldn't have picked on my own. I had a sense, though, sitting in church a week ago, that it would be good to try it out. One of the things I've treasured about this time in my life is that I haven't needed to perform in front of audiences. And now I've volunteered to do it. I do really like the director. And, most inspiring, the choir of this church is the place where prayer ministry goes on.

Here's a pic I took of the choir praying for two choir members who have volunteered to lead after rehearsal prayer each Wednesday. Being part of a prayer group is something that I've been wanting, and I stumbled into it by saying "yes" to something I wasn't looking to do - that is, sing in the choir.

There's a spiritual principle in here somewhere, don't you think? God's best is often worked out in the midst of things that we wouldn't pick out ourselves.

Tomorrow we'll be singing this in the choir:
By faith we see the hand of God
In the light of creation's grand design,
In the lives of those who prove his faithfulness,
Who walk by faith and not by sight.

By faith our fathers roamed the earth
With the pow'r of His promise in their hearts
Of a holy city built by God's own hand,
A place where peace and justice reign.

We will stand as children of the promise;
We will fix our eyes on Him our soul's reward.
Till the race is finished and the work is done,
We'll walk by faith and not by sight.
Yup. OK. That's what I'll do. And I'll do it with the men and women God has chosen for me.

Here's a church choir singing what we'll sing tomorrow -- but our group is not just men.


equalsharing.com

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Moving With God (again!)

Toni sent out a note to family earlier this week in the hope that several family members can help us move. If anyone reading this blog would like to come alongside and help us with this move, we'd love to see you.

Our official moving day (for the furniture) is Saturday, October 1, but there will be boxes and bins that we'll move on other days before that. We'll also be ripping up carpet, installing an egress window and doing a bunch of other things beginning when we get possession of 1479 Millwood in Roseville on September 15. We're hoping to get the lower level ready for renters by sometime in October. There is a lot to do!

This will be our 10th or 11th move since we were married in 1986. The plan is to stay at the new place in Roseville until we can't live on our own. I'm planning on living to and beyond 100 years old so it will hopefully be a very long time until the Lord calls us to move again.

Yes, the Lord. God is involved with this move. He's guiding it. He's being its superintendent. I have a sense for how He's doing that, and I can remember some moments and times of decision that He has led.

I say this with some boldness, even though I can't prove it--not to you--not even to myself. 

Back in early August I read something written by Oswald Chambers relating to conversation Jesus is had with his hand-picked inner circle of followers not too long before Jesus' death and resurrection. He said "Everything that is written by the prophets" about him was going about to come true.
"He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again" (Luke 18:32-33).
The part O.C. focuses on is the following verse
"The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about."
Just as the disciples could not understand just what Jesus was saying in that case, so it's true that we cannot fully grasp the purposes of God for our lives. O.C. doesn't conclude, as others might, that this inability to comprehend just why and how God is leading us means we should give up on knowing God's purpose. Instead, O.C. sees a spiritual principle in this. He writes:
The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea—no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him.
O.C. is speaking here about the work of the Holy Spirit. God works in our minds and in the circumstances of our lives, leading us, guiding us, giving us direction. Though there will always be a certain mystery and fallibility to hearing and understanding God's "voice," we can know enough to make decisions that honor and obey what he says.

I have seen God's hand leading me (and us) to make this move. I can describe many of the signs that have pointed to this conclusion. In the end, though, I won't be able to share all of it -- not on this blog and not even in person if we sat down to talk awhile. I would love to talk with you more about it, though, because I believe that as we share what God is doing in our lives, we can become more open to God's leading each time He calls.

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Sunday, September 4, 2016

Peace in Today's War

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
In commenting on this passage, Oswald Chambers says:
Any one of the relationships our Lord mentions in this verse can compete with our relationship with Him. I may prefer to belong to my mother, or to my wife, or to myself, but if that is the case, then, Jesus said, “[You] cannot be My disciple.” This does not mean that I will not be saved, but it does mean that I cannot be entirely His.

(Click here to read the rest of today's My Utmost For His Highest.)
You and I live our lives in relationship with others, and in relationship with our own self. We are in relationship with our Lord too -- but when we start belonging to Jesus, the struggles and, dare I say it, the wars that we are involved in with our parents and spouses and children etc., and our stubborn or weak selves, can be understood and felt as a normal part of the fact that you and I do not belong to ourselves anymore. There is an alien presence guiding us that will always, in some ways, be at war with the situations and people that we live with -- including my very own me.

Jesus' words here, and the example of his sometimes unhappy relationship with his own family, are a gift to us, giving us peace in today's war.

Don't be discouraged when you face this conflict. It really is the normal part of a disciple's life in this fallen world. Look to the Lord and know you're not alone, even in the close, uncomfortable and conflicted relationships of your everyday life.

from http://utmost.org/his/

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Monday, August 29, 2016

Tested Faith

I woke up awhile ago and didn't get up right away. I wanted to keep sleeping but that wasn't going to happen so, after a half hour of lying there I got up, had a bite to eat, and now I've been in conversation with the Lord about the subject that was in my mind, the worry that was in my mind, and was keeping me awake. There's a particular step of faith that I'm taking these days that doesn't line up with my own desires in many ways -- and it's a big step that will influence many things going forward into the future. I can lie awake and find lots of things that are wrong with this step -- or I can get up for a bit and refresh myself by praying -- and then by focusing on the promises that I know about through the Word of God.

I trust you, Father God. You have led me so well up until now. I believe you will bring me through this test too. I will rely on you, not on my own understanding. Give me your peace. In Jesus' name.

(See today's My Utmost for His Highest - The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith)

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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Hiatus

My blog has been going untended as I tend to other business and continue studies, especially, these days, reading about the founders of the United States. The ministry and faith that I have shared on this blog are intimately related to this history. Perhaps someday I'll write about what I'm learning. For now, back to reading on this day of rest.

The business I've been tending to is partly related to our upcoming closing on a house here in Roseville. Toni and I are thankful that we are able to get a loan for this house. We'll be able to afford the mortgage payments as we will be renting most of the house's the lower level to others, perhaps to students at Northwestern and Bethel, two Christian colleges that are located nearby.
One day at a time.

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Sunday, August 14, 2016

Stop and Repent

"It is very easy to grieve the Spirit of God;..."

The sentence above comes from today's My Utmost for His Highest reading.

Do you think it's true? Is it "very easy" to make God sad?

The sentence goes on: "...we do it," that is, we make the Holy Spirit sad, filling Him with sorrow and pain, "by despising the discipline of the Lord, or by becoming discouraged when He rebukes us."

The Bible speaks of making God sad in Ephesians 4:30, where the Lord's focus is the way we behave in our relationships with other people. Oswald Chambers wisely connects and extends the idea of "grieving the Spirit" with the unhelpful and sinful way we can react when the God corrects us. Hebrews 12 verse 5 says: "do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him."

Do you know what it is to be "chastened" or "disciplined" by God? Have you experienced it? We can't know God's deepest care and love for us without it!

When we recognize God's correction and discipline in our lives, and responding to it by making changes, we learn how Good He is! But when we react like stubborn little children, or when we neglect personal times of being quiet enough to perceive the ways God is calling us to repent, or when we are too focused on what on other human beings think of us and our behavior, then we become more and more deaf and blind to the discipline and rebuke of the One who loves us more than we can ask or imagine.

"How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure..." Our Father God, with the Son and Holy Spirit, -- our One God never turns His face away from us, but when we do spend time His presence, we can, at times, feel His grief. He is sad when we don't listen to the ways He would change us from the inside out.

Are you making God sad? Stop and repent. Tell the Lord that you want to experience his loving correction. Tell him to help you learn lessons that he's been trying to teach you over the past days, weeks, months or years. Rearrange your schedule so you can spend quiet time seeking His loving and corrective voice. Turn away from what "other people think" and allow God to guide you. Give Him your full attention. You will experience His joy.

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Sunday, July 17, 2016

Gold, Silver, Wood, Clay

I recently encountered a question about Noah.

People debate about many things from the Bible. How do we work together?

Second Timothy chapter 2 is helpful in this conversation. At least that's what I think.

God bless you all, in Jesus' name.

----------------------------

Here's an answer I gave to the person who asked the question.
I believe that once we can see the person of Jesus as unique, in an absolutely universal way, that all our other questions and answers in regard to God and the Bible move to a secondary plane. Truth is that we'll never get clarity on some of those questions or answers.

Faith isn't something that comes out of any reasoning or understanding. It comes as we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and say "I can't do or believe anything to help myself." Jesus knew this so he came into our world to save every confused person (like me). Once we're clear that Jesus is the center and everything and everyone else can only be seen in His Light, then we can go ahead and have stress free conversations about Biblical history.

If we don't get clear on Jesus first, then 2 Timothy 2:14 applies. Handling the word of truth accurately (2 Tim. 2:15) means keeping Jesus in the center. That's it. Everything else is of lesser value, and, in a sense, of optional understanding. 2 Tim. 20-21 speaks of this. We need to keep clear of the second order questions (everything but Jesus) until we're clear on the absolute grace and total mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Then we can go ahead and use those "wood and clay" vessels.
What do you think?

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Monday, July 11, 2016

1 down, 9 to go

posted in Heywood Garage driver room
Praise Jesus! He has shepherded me and others through a full year with no "responsible accidents." A responsible accident is hitting anything or anyone or having someone fall in your bus if it's determined that the driver could have avoided it. I got a pin and a certificate. No extra money. Ha!  ;)

Year #1 for me! I'm going for 5 years and then 10. I'm planning on staying with this job until I'm 70, one day at a time.

The safety manager asked me, this morning, as he does to all safe operators, "What's your secret?" The grace of God. Plus not letting myself be pushed to do anything unsafe. Plus amazingly heightened awareness. Once again, Praise Jesus! It means a lot to get through the first year. 

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Sunrise on Durphee

It's 5 AM on the last day of vacation.

Father God, I praise and thank you for the sweetness of this time away from the normal responsibilities of life. I praise you for the way you are leading us now to new adventures in trusting you and your ways. You, Jesus, are always our sunrise. Spirit, you always lead us forward. Thank you.

-----------------------

It's now just after 5:30 and I looked at the "My Utmost for His Highest" devotion for the day. It couldn't be more perfectly timed. http://utmost.org/the-spiritually-lazy-saint/



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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Vacation Joy (with Backstories)

Slightly revised from what was originally posted.

The Dahlin Cabin on Durphee Lake
I last wrote (on July 2) from my uncle Glen and aunt Betty's cabin on Big Sandy Lake in Minnesota. On Saturday I drove from there to another cabin, the one I've mentioned many times before on this blog over the years. It's about 10 miles south of Hayward, Wisconsin on Durphee Lake and been in my wife Toni's family for 50 years. Toni and I have been here for a week or more every year since the 1980s.

Grandkids & Grandparents
at the Durphee Lake cabin
Our kids love this place. So does Toni's whole extended family. This week we had up to 20 people here, but now all our kids and grandkids have gone home. It's very quiet, and the quiet has a charm of its own.

I'm very thankful for this time away: playing games, relaxing in the water and on the shore, enjoying the children and one another, and lots of good food. A couple of us got out on the sailboat a bit too -- that's one of my favorite things.

As this vacation time winds down I realize, once again, what a privilege it is for us to be able to be here. Many people don't have places to get away to, and many don't have families that they really want to be away with. Once again, I thank God for this time.

One thing I thought I'd be doing during this vacation was to continue study of some of the deeper things of God so I can do some writing. When I've been out for a couple short runs in the morning, I've have managed to listened to a couple more hours of the lectures I mentioned last Saturday. But when it came to reading, I got sidetracked by a book with an extremely provocative title. 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End.

I do like history, so that's something that would draw me to it, but it's not a book that I would have chosen on my own. I only have it because it was in a little backpack that was found on one of the buses I drove sometime in the last few weeks. [Note added July 17 - when I got home from the cabin I found the lost and found tag. It was dated May 18, my birthday.] I turned the backpack into lost and found, but, because no one claimed it, I had the option of taking it for myself. I did, and found the book inside.

Perhaps it was God's way of pointing me to a subject that I haven't thought about much. I made my way through the book this week, between times playing with the grandkids and helping with a few chores. And, as I read, I was reminded that vacation cabins like this have a backstory, a backstory from the time before any of them were built.

from native-languages.org/states
This cabin, and so many others, are build on land was opened up for "whites" (like me) during the late 1800s. Until around the time that is described in 38 Nooses, the land that is now the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin was the homeland of various Native American people groups (tribes).

Here's a map that shows where those tribes lived after the Europeans began to arrive, but before treaties pushed them onto reservations.

The treaties are old history, but they are really a key part of what allowed cabins like this to be built. The "1842 Treaty of La Pointe" (such a long time ago!) established many reservations in northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota--including the "Lac Courte Oreilles" reservation, so close to this cabin. That same treaty established the "Sandy Lake Indian Reservation" on land that is now owned by my aunt and uncle and many other cabin owners. That Indian Reservation was erased by the federal government in 1889 and the land opened up for white settlement. 

It's sobering to consider how many of our beloved homes and cabins are sitting on land that was, at one time, the home of Ojibwe (a.k.a. Chippewa), Dakota (a.k.a. Sioux), and other Indian people. My ancestors, white settlers all, followed traders, missionaries and explorers onto land that was already occupied by other people.

Today we don't think about those people, or this history. Or, when we do think of them, we think of Casinos and treaty rights connected with fishing. It's good for us to know a little bit more.

The period of time described in 38 Nooses (the 1860s) is a part of the historical back-story for the peaceful and privileged week that we've had here at the cabin this week. It's not a pleasant story. It's actually a story of what we would probably call terrorism if it happened today. Terror came down on both settler and native.
Here's a quick summary of the story that's told in the book:

The United States government's neglect of treaty obligations in the early to middle 1860s brought many natives to the point of starvation and despair. Some Dakota Indian men, we don't know just how many, went out to get rid of the settlers who were occupying the lands that were now closed to them--perhaps thinking they could drive other whites out with fear. Several dozen Dakota plundered, raped and murdered. Several hundred white men, women and children were killed in the area near the Minnesota River. It was horrible.

The U.S. government's response was horrible too. 38 of the the Dakota men were hung in Mankato. Some were innocent. Meanwhile, almost all the Dakota men, women and children in Minnesota were forced into concentration camps, the largest being at Fort Snelling. And then soldiers went out to get violent revenge while plans were made to push all those "evil Sioux" out of the state. Most were eventually sent west to reservations on land no one else wanted. In the end most were forced to give up their way of life.
Some on each side did what they could to prevent violence. There were some heroes. But many more, for one reason or another, joined in the killing or at least applauded those who sought revenge. Fear and hatred reigned. Sadly, some of what was done to the natives, especially in taking away their way of life, was done in the name of the Christian church.

The truth is that much of what we descendants of settlers take for granted in the United States came to be out of a history of violence, racism and revenge. It's not what white Minnesotans prefer to think about during a vacation week, but this history, and the other incomparably painful racial histories that are still with us, do mark us profoundly. Though it was a loss for whoever left their backpack and book on my bus, I'm grateful I was invited, in that way, to read 38 Nooses. Maybe even especially when we're on vacation we should be remembering the backstory of our joy.

Fortunately, there is a bigger backstory, a story that brings redemption and forgiveness to the smaller stories of our individual and family histories. Here are three paragraphs abridged from a section of The Christian Frame of Mind, a book I've been studying in depth.
The redemption of the universe is the bearing of the Cross upon the way things actually are. It represents the refusal of God to remain aloof from the disintegration in what he has made, or merely to act upon it "at a distance."

Through the incarnation of His Word and love in Jesus Christ, in his life and passion, He who is the ultimate source and power of all order has penetrated into the untouchable core of our existence in such a way as to deal with the twisted force of evil entrenched in it, and to bring about an atoning reordering of creation.

In the life and passion of Jesus Christ the order of redemption has intersected the order of creation, judging, forgiving and healing it of malevolent disorder, and making it share in the wholly benign order of divine love.

(Abridged from a section entitled "The Atonement and the 'Re-ordering' of Creation" in The Christian Frame of Mind: Reason, Order, and Openness in Theology and Natural Science, by Thomas F. Torrance. Helmers & Howard, Publishers, Colorado Springs, 1989, pages 103, 104.)
That's what we need. We need deep dive, in every way, into the "wholly benign order of divine love." Knowing Jesus and letting others know about Him is part of that--knowing Him and telling in a way that is truthful and not full of our own small opinions. We need to be studying carefully so we can speak about Jesus as clearly and completely as we can. But we also need to tell the truth about the pain of life, so we don't stay "aloof from the disintegration," but instead stand with our Lord in dealing with the "twisted force of evil."

Let's pray that God will lead us in that, bringing blessing instead of cursing to everyone, guilty and innocent alike. I hope to be a part of that in the next 40 years of my life.

God bless you all.

----------------------

P.S. - This afternoon, after the grandkids left, I saw that our daughter Naomi had posted news of a modern day racial horror. According to the Minnesota Public Radio website that posted a picture and a video taken by a dead man's girlfriend, "Philando Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday night by a police officer in suburban St. Paul, Minn." The shooting happened within 3 miles of our home in Roseville. The website says this was "the second fatal encounter between police and a black man to gain national attention this week."

O Lord, have mercy. Have mercy on all of us who need to remember the love of Jesus before we remember our own pain and fear. Overwhelm us with your Holy Spirit so we react in a way that honors You.

equalsharing.com

Vacation Joy (with Backstories)

A slightly revised form of this post can be found at this link.

The Dahlin Cabin on Durphee Lake
I last wrote (on July 2) from my uncle Glen and aunt Betty's cabin on Big Sandy Lake in Minnesota. On Saturday I drove from there to another cabin, the one I've mentioned many times before on this blog over the years. It's about 10 miles south of Hayward, Wisconsin on Durphee Lake and been in my wife Toni's family for 50 years. Toni and I have been here for a week or more every year since the 1980s.

Grandkids & Grandparents
at the Durphee Lake cabin
Our kids love this place. So does Toni's whole extended family. This week we had up to 20 people here, but now all our kids and grandkids have gone home. It's very quiet, and the quiet has a charm of its own.

I'm very thankful for this time away: playing games, relaxing in the water and on the shore, enjoying the children and one another, and lots of good food. A couple of us got out on the sailboat a bit too -- that's one of my favorite things.

As this vacation time winds down I realize, once again, what a privilege it is for us to be able to be here. Many people don't have places to get away to, and many don't have families that they really want to be away with. Once again, I thank God for this time.

One thing I thought I'd be doing during this vacation was to continue study of some of the deeper things of God so I can do some writing. When I've been out for a couple short runs in the morning, I've have managed to listened to a couple more hours of the lectures I mentioned last Saturday. But when it came to reading, I got sidetracked by a book with an extremely provocative title. 38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End.

I do like history, so that's something that would draw me to it, but it's not a book that I would have chosen on my own. I only have it because it was in a little backpack that was found on one of the buses I drove sometime in the last few weeks. I turned the backpack into lost and found, but, because no one claimed it, I had the option of taking it for myself. I did, and found the book inside.

Perhaps it was God's way of pointing me to a subject that I haven't thought about much. I made my way through the book this week, between times playing with the grandkids and helping with a few chores. And, as I read, I was reminded that vacation cabins like this have a backstory, a backstory from the time before any of them were built.

from native-languages.org/states
This cabin, and so many others, are build on land was opened up for "whites" (like me) during the late 1800s. Until around the time that is described in 38 Nooses, the land that is now the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin was the homeland of various Native American people groups (tribes).

Here's a map that shows where those tribes lived after the Europeans began to arrive, but before treaties pushed them onto reservations.

The treaties are old history, but they are really a key part of what allowed cabins like this to be built. The "1842 Treaty of La Pointe" (such a long time ago!) established many reservations in northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota--including the "Lac Courte Oreilles" reservation, so close to this cabin. That same treaty established the "Sandy Lake Indian Reservation" on land that is now owned by my aunt and uncle and many other cabin owners. That Indian Reservation was erased by the federal government in 1889 and the land opened up for white settlement. 

It's sobering to consider how many of our beloved homes and cabins are sitting on land that was, at one time, the home of Ojibwe (a.k.a. Chippewa), Dakota (a.k.a. Sioux), and other Indian people. My ancestors, white settlers all, followed traders, missionaries and explorers onto land that was already occupied by other people.

Today we don't think about those people, or this history. Or, when we do think of them, we think of Casinos and treaty rights connected with fishing. It's good for us to know a little bit more.

The period of time described in 38 Nooses (the 1860s) is a part of the historical back-story for the peaceful and privileged week that we've had here at the cabin this week. It's not a pleasant story. It's actually a story of what we would probably call terrorism if it happened today. Terror came down on both settler and native.
Here's a quick summary of the story that's told in the book:

The United States government's neglect of treaty obligations in the early to middle 1860s brought many natives to the point of starvation and despair. Some Dakota Indian men, we don't know just how many, went out to get rid of the settlers who were occupying the lands that were now closed to them--perhaps thinking they could drive other whites out with fear. Several dozen Dakota plundered, raped and murdered. Several hundred white men, women and children were killed in the area near the Minnesota River. It was horrible.

The U.S. government's response was horrible too. 38 of the the Dakota men were hung in Mankato. Some were innocent. Then, almost all the Dakota men, women and children in Minnesota were forced into concentration camps, the largest being at Fort Snelling. And then soldiers went out to get violent revenge while plans were made to push all those "evil Sioux" out of the state. Most were eventually sent west to reservations on land no one else wanted. In the end most were forced to give up their way of life.
Some on each side did what they could to prevent violence. There were some heroes. But many more, for one reason or another, joined in the killing or at least applauded those who sought revenge. Fear and hatred reigned. Sadly, some of what was done to the natives, especially in taking away their way of life, was done in the name of the Christian church.

The truth is that much of what we descendants of settlers take for granted in the United States came to be out of a history of violence, racism and revenge. It's not what white Minnesotans prefer to think about during a vacation week, but this history, and the other incomparably painful racial histories that are still with us, do mark us profoundly. Though it was a loss for whoever left their backpack and book on my bus, I'm grateful I was invited, in that way, to read 38 Nooses. Maybe even especially when we're on vacation we should be remembering the backstory of our joy.

Fortunately, there is a bigger backstory, a story that brings redemption and forgiveness to the smaller stories of our individual and family histories. In The Christian Frame of Mind, the book I've been studying in depth, Thomas F. Torrance writes this:
The redemption of the universe is... the bearing of the Cross upon the way things actually are. It represents the refusal of God to remain aloof from the disintegration... in what he has made, or merely to act upon it "at a distance."

Through the incarnation of His Word and love in Jesus Christ, in his life and passion, He who is the ultimate source and power of all order has penetrated into the untouchable core of our existence in such a way as to with the twisted force of evil entrenched in it, and to bring about an atoning reordering of creation.

In the life and passion of Jesus Christ the order of redemption has intersected the order of creation, judging, forgiving and healing it of malevolent disorder, and making it share in the wholly benign order of divine love.
That's what we need. We need deep dive, in every way, into the "wholly benign order of divine love." That's what I hope I can contribute to in the next 40 years of my life.

God bless you all.

----------------------

P.S. - This afternoon, after the grandkids left, I saw that our daughter Naomi had posted news of a modern day racial horror. According to the Minnesota Public Radio website that posted a picture and a video taken by a dead man's girlfriend, "Philando Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday night by a police officer in suburban St. Paul, Minn." The shooting happened within 3 miles of our home in Roseville. The website says this was "the second fatal encounter between police and a black man to gain national attention this week."

O Lord, have mercy. Have mercy on all of us who need to remember the love of Jesus before we remember our own pain and fear. Give us your Holy Spirit so we react in a way that honors You.

equalsharing.com