Sometimes it's tough to organize my thoughts...

I have been blessed to spend over fifty heliocentric revolutions as a member of the Human race, breathing nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and trace gases along with the rest of us, and eating McDonalds, Little Caesars, and macaroni and cheese along with the best of us.
I have learned much and I have yet much to learn; but this I know: love always trusts.

It is difficult to trust people some times. Not dogs, you're always THE most important person on the planet to your dog. But then again, dogs will make a toilet out of your bedroom rug and cause a tremendous assault on your olfactory nerves.
Cats will rub into you and around you and near you and will make cute noises like 'pritt' and 'mrrrrr' but it is only because they want you to fill their water bowl, or their food bowl, or both.
But people will hurt you, intentionally and un-intentionally, with words and deeds.

The weather in southeastern Michigan is something of a mystery, no matter how in tuned to the Weather Channel you become.
Our beloved Tigers are fun to root for but surely are not what we would describe as 'trustworthy'.
(Case in point: Phil Coke. Enough said.)
My selfish lying boss is certainly not to be trusted.
Even the wife of my youth (relatively speaking) has broken my heart not a few times over the years.

So, what are we to do?!?

Well, as a called and redeemed Child of the King, I believe I am to love. And let me list here some of the descriptors that St. Paul uses:

patient
kind
not jealous
not pompous
not inflated
not rude
does not seek its own interests
is not quick-tempered
it does not brood over injury
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth
it bears all things
believes all things
hopes all things
endures all things
It never fails.

And it's that last one I'd like to discuss. That would be fine.

"Never fails".

So, if I am patient and kind and not rude while bearing all things, I will never fail?!?

I believe that is what he means.

When someone slanders me, my patience and kindness will win the day.

When the jerk in front of me doesn't use his turn signal, not being quick tempered will win the day.

When my boss blames someone else for his inattention to detail, enduring all things will win the day.

When Phil Coke is racing in from the 'pen to face Prince Fielder with no outs and the game on the line, believing all things will win the day.

So hallelujah for love, because it never fails.

It's easy

He is not here, He is risen!

Holy Saturday

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be handed over. Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it [in] clean linen and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, 'After three days I will be raised up.' Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, 'He has been raised from the dead.' This last imposture would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "The guard is yours; go secure it as best you can." So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard.


The Gospel according to St. Matthew, Chapter 27, verses 57 - 66

Good Friday

Marvelous Monday!

Early Monday morning and I have been working on my fantasy baseball team for a couple of hours. This is my first year playing and I still have many questions heading into week 3 of our 20 week schedule. I joined a rookie league and also a league for 'Kiss Fans Only', where each team is named after a KISS song. My team is Strutter, named after the KISS song of the same name.
The benefits of fantasy baseball: it's a hobby, which for me has been a rarity of late; it gives me more to root for than just the Tigers, which in and of itself is a darn good reason to partake.

Thank You LORD, for a wonderful weekend with family. Alleluia

Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted

"Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted"
by Thomas Kelly, 1769-1854

1. Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, 'tis He! 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected Prophet,
David's Son, yet David's Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
'Tis the true and faithful Word.

2. Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.

3. Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
'Tis the WORD, the LORD'S ANOINTED,
Son of Man and Son of God.

4. Here we have a firm foundation;
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ's the Rock of our salvation,
His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #153
Text: Is. 53:3-5
Author: Thomas Kelly, 1804
Tune: "O mein Jesu, ich muss sterben"
1st Published in:_Geistliche VolksliederTown: Paderborn, 1850

http://lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh_l.htm

Glory be to Jesus

"Glory be to Jesus"
Italian, 18th Century
Translated by Edward Caswall, 1814-1878

1. Glory be to Jesus,
Who in bitter pains
Poured for me the life-blood
From His sacred veins!

2. Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion,
Infinitely kind!

3. Blest through endless ages
Be the precious stream
Which from endless torments
Did the world redeem!

4. Abel's blood for vengeance
Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus
For our pardon cries.

5. Oft as earth exulting
Wafts its praise on high,
Angel hosts rejoicing
Make their glad reply.

6. Lift we, then, our voices,
Swell the mighty flood,
Louder still and louder
Praise the precious blood!

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #158
Text: 1 Pet. 1:19
Author: Italian, 18th Century, cento
Translated by: Edward Caswall, 1857
Titled: "Viva! viva! Gesu"
Composer: Friedrich Filitz, 1847
Tune: "Wem in Leidenstagen"

http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh_l.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcWx6KrI9tM

Sunshine

The view from my second story office shows bright sunshine glaring off the vehicles making their way down Grand River Avenue in downtown Brighton. The little thermo-meter app on my desktop, however, boldly proclaims a chilly 51 degrees. I care not.
When I leave, I will not have a jacket to put on - nor would I put it on if I did - and I will probably roll several windows down in my 4 door Ford Taurus Sedan (affectionately know in our home as 'The Bull') while I drive out of the parking lot.
You see, we have been frozen for six months (not literally, like in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). We have only recently been removed from humungous piles of blackened piles of snow, ice, and trash. The temps are still getting down into the twenties in the early morning hours and the frost is still thick on the windshield of our vehicles. But twelve hours of sunlight will put you in the summer mood right quick after the winter we've been through.
Praise Jesus! Thank you for the sunshine!

Miggy the DH

Another beautiful day here in Whitmore Lake, MI. Tigers are winning 1-0 in the fifth and I have just boiled my first batch of hummingbird potion of the year. Over the winter I saw that Wal-Mart had a 'new' type of container that not only had the ant moat at the top, it had little slots for those tiny beaks in order to retard the entrance of those damnably persistent yellow jackets. For now, I will trust my colorful glass container with the precious sugar-water - none of the stinging pests have been seen yet.
It was 20 degrees out on our deck when I woke up this morning and is up to 61 now.

Warm, warm, warm, warm, yes!

Go To Dark Gethsemane

"Go to Dark Gethsemane"
by James Montgomery, 1771-1854

1. Go to dark Gethsemane,
Ye that feel the Tempter's power;
Your Redeemer's conflict see,
Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from His griefs away,
Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

2. Follow to the judgment-hall,
View the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall!
Oh, the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;
Learn of Him to bear the cross.

3. Calvary's mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at His feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God's own sacrifice complete.
"It is finished!" bear Him cry;
Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

4. Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom,--
Who hath taken Him away?
Christ is risen! He meets our eyes.
Savior, teach us so to rise.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #159
Text: Lam. 3:19
Author: James Montgomery, 1820, 1825
Composer: Richard Redhead, 1853
Tune: "Gethsemane"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmLUL8ivKsk

Oh Spring!

No frost on the windows this morning and a beautiful sun shining all the way to work - thank You, Jesus!
Tigers won their opening day game in walk-off fashion helping us forget the un-timely departure of our Mitten college teams from the Big Dance - thank You, Jesus!
Heard from my old friend Kevin whom I had lost touch with and had been wondering about recently - thank You Jesus!
Sweetie is finally back to work to-day after three months of not working - thank You, Jesus!

Lord, for these and a million zillion other reasons I praise Your Name and thank You. 

Always a Tiger

Robert Barron's Lent Day 24

I do not write as well as I'd like to, and there are a handful of people I read whom, if I wrote more, it would be like unto their style. Father Barron writes a daily meditation during Lent and to-day's, I think, he wrote for me: (reprinted here entirely without the expressed written permission of Fr. Barron or WordonFire.org)


Lent Day 24 - Christ at the Center

The massive rose windows of the medieval Gothic cathedrals were not only marvels of engineering and artistry; they were also symbols of the well-ordered soul. The pilgrim coming to the cathedral for spiritual enlightenment would be encouraged to meditate upon the rose of light and color in order to be drawn into mystical conformity with it.

What would he or she see? At the center of every rose window is a depiction of Christ (even when Mary seems to be the focus, she is carrying the Christ child on her lap), and then wheeling around him in lyrical and harmonious patterns are the hundreds of medallions, each depicting a saint or a scene from scripture.

The message of the window is clear: When one's life is centered on Christ, all the energies, aspirations, and powers of the soul fall into a beautiful and satisfying pattern. And by implication, whenever something other than Christ--money, sex, success, adulation--fills the center, the soul falls into disharmony.

Jesus expressed this same idea when he said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and the rest will be given unto you" (Mt 6:33). When the divine is consciously acknowledged as the ground and organizing center of one's existence, something like wholeness or holiness is the result.

Don't live your life on the rim of the circle, but rather at the center. Focus on that reliable, unchanging point where Christ resides.

Thank You, Lord, for this new day. Thank You for this life You have given me; thank You for the love of Jesus. Grace me to-day that I might live out this love - with every person I meet, with every thought of my mind and every word of my mouth.

Live, love, and reign in me, please

In Your holy Name I pray Amen

 

Christ, the Life of All the Living

"Christ, the Life of All the Living"
by Ernst C. Homburg, 1605-1681
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Christ, the Life of all the living,
Christ, the Death of death, our foe,
Who, Thyself for me once giving
To the darkest depths of woe,--
Through thy sufferings, death, and merit
I eternal life inherit:
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

2. Thou, ah! Thou, hast taken on Thee
Bonds and stripes, a cruel rod;
Pain and scorn were heaped upon Thee,
0 Thou sinless Son of God!
Thus didst Thou my soul deliver
From the bonds of sin forever.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

3. Thou hast borne the smiting only
That my wounds might all be whole;
Thou hast suffered, sad and lonely,
Rest to give my weary soul;
Yea, the curse of God enduring,
Blessing unto me securing.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

4. Heartless scoffers did surround Thee,
Treating Thee with shameful scorn,
And with piercing thorns they crowned Thee.
All disgrace Thou, Lord, hast borne
That as Thine Thou mightest own me
And with heavenly glory crown me.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

5. Thou hast suffered men to bruise Thee
That from pain I might be free;
Falsely did Thy foes accuse Thee,--
Thence I gain security;
Comfortless Thy soul did languish
Me to comfort in my anguish.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

6. Thou hast suffered great affliction
And hast borne it patiently,
Even death by crucifixion,
Fully to atone for me;
Thou didst choose to be tormented
That my doom should be prevented.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.

7. Then, for all that wrought my pardon,
For Thy sorrows deep and sore,
For Thine anguish in the Garden,
I will thank Thee evermore,
Thank Thee for Thy groaning, sighing,
For Thy bleeding and Thy dying,
For that last triumphant cry,
And shall praise Thee, Lord, on high.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #151
Text: Matt. 26:64-67
Author: Ernst C. Homburg, 1659, ab.
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Jesu, meines Lebens Leben"
Tune: "Jesu, meines Lebens Leben"
1st Published in: _KirchengesangbuchTown: Darmstadt, 1687

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZFMy296ULU

http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh_online.html

Just Currents, Not Jam

I move through lent, conscious of my sin, more attentive to my lack of giving and loving, more entrenched in prayer and devotion each day - praying to be more like Christ, more loving, more self-less.
The habits I have developed over the decades are hard to get rid of. I loathe how I look always first and foremost to my own interests and comfort. Dear LORD drive this out of my heart, fill my heart with a love for others, that I would seek others' comfort and interests and not mine. Please hear my prayer, in Your mercy.
Been listening to Disney's Frozen soundtrack; I really need to 'Let It Go', for real. Let me go, rather.
Tigers have had a mediocre spring except for two items: more stolen bases than all of last season already and JV has been phenomenal.
Sweet 16 games begin tonight with Wisconsin-Baylor then three more. Michigan and MSU both play tomorrow night in hopes of playing again on Sunday and (of course) the following weekend.
Sweetie and I made a little fire last night and assumed our usual evening positions: me with the remote on the couch watching various baseball games (Pirates - Twins and Reds - White Sox) and movies (The Expendables and Meet Me in St Louis), her on her chaise with the laptop. Kitty sat by the fire and Sierra was nowhere to be found (back in the colder bedroom - she's a malamute!)

Our newly arranged living room

Prayer From a Troubled Heart

"Have mercy on my, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions. Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me. For I know my transgressions; my sin is always before me. Against you, you alone have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your eyes..."

~From King David, Psalm 51


Almighty God, I confess it is so difficult for me to love my wife. I feel the need to point out how wrong she is, especially when she so damnably argues she is right.
By Your grace, allow me to give this up. Allow me to set free forever the desire to be right, and to show others wrong. Allow me to see past her words and actions into the heart of Your daughter, into her soul. Bring me down off whatever it is I still cling to, LORD; tune me into a work of holiness.
You have made it clear to me that I cannot do this by myself, and it appears that my method of asking for your help (as I have been doing for twenty years) is also lacking somehow.

I am lost.
I have no recourse but to trust You and Your infinite wisdom.
I know You are shaping me moment by moment, but when will the moment come that I can love my wife the way I am called to??  

Please deliver me from my self. Please change my into a lover of people.

I ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit Amen

Ode to Otis

This is Otis the Quat.

Otis likes to run all through the house, sleep, look longingly for hours at the birds outside, and eat.

But sometimes, Otis ends up where we least expect him.

Yestreday, it just happened to be at the very top of our Pier 1 Imports wicker armoire.

King of the castle!

Otis in the Meatloaf position with his 'yeah whatever' look.

Come to Calvary's Holy Mountain

"Come to Calvary's Holy Mountain"
by James Montgomery, 1771-1854

1. Come to Calvary's holy mountain,
Sinners, ruined by the Fall;
Here a pure and healing fountain
Flows to you, to me, to all,
In a full, perpetual tide,
Opened when our Savior died.

2. Come in poverty and meanness,
Come defiled, without, within;
From infection and uncleanness,
From the leprosy of sin,
Wash your robes and make them white;
Ye shall walk with God in light.

3. Come in sorrow and contrition,
Wounded, impotent, and blind;
Here the guilty free remission,
Here the troubled peace, may find.
Health this fountain will restore;
He that drinks shall thirst no more.

4. He that drinks shall live forever;
Tis a soul-renewing flood.
God is faithful; God will never
Break His covenant of blood,
Signed when our Redeemer died,
Sealed when He was glorified.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #149
Text: Matt. 11:28
Author: James Montgomery, 1819
Composer: Ludvig M. Lindeman, 1871
Tune: "Consolation"

Our Muffin in Cheyenne WY

Lamb of God, Pure and Holy

"Lamb of God, Pure and Holy"
by Nikolaus Decius, 1490?-1541

1. Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Have mercy on us, 0 Jesus!

2. Lamb of God, pure and holy.
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Have mercy on us, 0 Jesus!

3. Lamb of God, pure and holy,
Who on the cross didst suffer,
Ever patient and lowly,
Thyself to scorn didst offer.
All sins Thou borest for us,
Else had despair reigned o'er us:
Thy peace be with us, 0 Jesus!

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #146
Text: John 1:29
Author: Nikolaus Decius, 1531
Translated by: composite
Titled: "O Lamm Gottes
Tune: "O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig"
1st Published in: _Christl. KirchenordnungTown: Erfurt, 1542

http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh_l.htm

And the pipe organ mp3: http://www.smallchurchmusic3.com/MP3-2010/MP3-LambOfGod-OLammGottes-PipeLC-128-CAM.mp3

Act of Love

My beautiful bride hates to be photographed, so I am a room removed, while she beats the pudding for one of my favorite low-sugar treats late at night. She even added the Nestle baking coco to the graham cracker crust like I asked her to.
This, done at my request and with no strings attached, was to me a grace.
Blessed be God forever!

Sugar-free Jello brand pudding is the best!

Notes to self, during Lent ....

Jesus endured temptation to train his disciples how to overcome the devil. No one should be surprised, then, that after our own Baptism the tempter assails us more aggressively than before. Victory is assured if, like Jesus, we commit ourselves to fasting, wait upon the Lord with patience, and have no desire for things beyond our need.

~Flocknote commentary on Mark chapter 1.

O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken

"O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken"
By Johann Heermann, 1585-1647

1. O dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession, --
What dark transgression?

2. They crown Thy head with thorns, they smite, they scourge Thee;
With cruel mockings to the cross they urge Thee;
They give Thee gall to drink, they still decry Thee;
They crucify Thee.

3. Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.

4. What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.

5. The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;
The sinful child of man may live in gladness;
Man forfeited his life and is acquitted, --
God is committed.

6. There was no spot in me by sin untainted;
Sick with sin's poison, all my heart had fainted;
My heavy guilt to hell had well-nigh brought me,
Such woe it wrought me.

7. O wondrous love, whose depth no heart hath sounded,
That brought Thee here, by foes and thieves surrounded!
All worldly pleasures, heedless, I was trying
While Thou wert dying.

8. O mighty King, no time can dim Thy glory!
How shall I spread abroad Thy wondrous story?
How shall I find some worthy gifts to proffer?
What dare I offer?

9. For vainly doth our human wisdom ponder, --
Thy woes, Thy mercy, still transcend our wonder.
Oh, how should I do aught that could delight Thee!
Can I requite Thee?

10. Yet unrequited, Lord, I would not leave Thee;
I will renounce whate'er doth vex or grieve Thee
And quench with thoughts of Thee and prayers most lowly
All fires unholy.

11. But since my strength will nevermore suffice me
To crucify desires that still entice me,
To all good deeds, oh, let Thy Spirit win me
And reign within me!

12. I'll think upon Thy mercy without ceasing,
That earth's vain joys to me no more be pleasing;
To do Thy will shall be my sole endeavor
Henceforth forever.

13. Whate'er of earthly good this life may grant me,
I'll risk for Thee; no shame, no cross, shall daunt me;
I shall not fear what man can do to harm me
Nor death alarm me.

14. But worthless is my sacrifice, I own it;
Yet, Lord, for love's sake Thou wilt not disown it;
Thou wilt accept my gift in Thy great meekness
Nor shame my weakness.

15. And when, dear Lord, before Thy throne in heaven
To me the crown of joy at last is given,
Where sweetest hymns Thy saints forever raise Thee,
I, too, shall praise Thee.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #143
Text: Luke 23: 20-24
Author: Johann Heermann, 1630
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: "Herzliebster Jesu"
Composer: Johann Crueger, 1640
Tune: "Herzlebster Jesu"

http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh_l.htm

Adorable Lacey

Last night my wife and I were watching the Iowa-MSU basketball game and Dick Vitale began talking about a girl who was MSU power forward Adreian Payne's 'best friend', who had battling cancer for most of her life. The camera then went to this 8 year old and her mother, sitting right behind the bench, as Vitale told a little bit about how the relationship between Payne and Lacey Holsworth had been growing. I teared up then, and I teared up just now, as I happened upon Lacey's tweet from last night.

I hate it that kids have to suffer like this.  I'm not questioning God, ... well maybe I am really. But I just hate it. Big people (like me!!!) can be creeps and jerks and selfish and inflict pain on others. But children are so innocent. They only reflect and react; they soak up from those who influence them daily: parents, pastors, teachers, Dora The Explorer.

And why does a big college superstar athlete's sharing a bit of his life with a sick child make me cry?


Dear God, protect our children from harm, and give us the strongest desire to do the same. Change our hearts, that we would not look to our big-people desires at the expense of our children's safety and nurturing. Help us to make time for our kids; to love them, and to show them how we love You and others.
Be with every child conceived to-day - draw them near to You and protect them always.
We praise You and thank You; and we love You, too. Amen

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish that once was bright as morn!

Now from Thy cheeks has vanished their color once so fair;
From Thy red lips is banished the splendor that was there.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life;
Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.

My burden in Thy Passion, Lord, Thou hast borne for me,
For it was my transgression which brought this woe on Thee.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath were my rightful lot;
Have mercy, I implore Thee; Redeemer, spurn me not!

What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.

My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.

Here I will stand beside Thee, from Thee I will not part;
O Savior, do not chide me! When breaks Thy loving heart,
When soul and body languish in death’s cold, cruel grasp,
Then, in Thy deepest anguish, Thee in mine arms I’ll clasp.

The joy can never be spoken, above all joys beside,
When in Thy body broken I thus with safety hide.
O Lord of Life, desiring Thy glory now to see,
Beside Thy cross expiring, I’d breathe my soul to Thee.

My Savior, be Thou near me when death is at my door;
Then let Thy presence cheer me, forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, oh, leave me not alone,
But take away mine anguish by virtue of Thine own!

Be Thou my consolation, my shield when I must die;
Remind me of Thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, upon Thy cross shall dwell,
My heart by faith enfolds Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Ber­nard of Clair­vaux, 1153 (Sal­ve ca­put cru­en­ta­tum); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Ger­man by Paul Ger­hardt, 1656 (O Haupt voll Blut und Wund­en), and from La­tin to Eng­lish James W. Al­ex­and­er, 1830.
Music: Pas­sion Chor­ale, Hans L. Hass­ler, Lust­gar­ten neu­er teutsch­er Ge­säng, 1601; har­mo­ny by Jo­hann S. Bach, 1729 (MI­DI, score). Hassler originally set this tune to the secular words Mein Gmüt ist mir ver­wir­ret, das mächt ein Jung­frau zart. Al­ter­nate tune: Gerhardt, Jo­seph P. Hol­brook, 1862 (MI­DI, score)

http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/s/osacredh.htm

U of M Big Ten Champs!

... and my brother was there in Champaign, IL with his main man Joshua, showing off his maize and blue in a sea of orange ; P
Thanks for the photos, bro!

Jesus, I Will Ponder Now

"Jesus, I Will Ponder Now"
by Sigismund v. Birken
Translated by August Crull, 1845-1923

1. Jesus, I will ponder now
On Thy holy Passion;
With Thy Spirit me endow
For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
May the image cherish
Of Thy suffering, pain, and death,
That I may not perish.

2. Make me see Thy great distress,
Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Thy crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails, did wound Thee,
How for man Thou diedst, O God,
Who with thorns had crowned Thee.

3. Yet, O Lord, not thus alone
Make me see Thy Passion,
But its cause to me make known
And its termination.
Ah! I also and my sin
Wrought Thy deep affliction;
This indeed the cause hath been
Of Thy crucifixion.

4. Grant that I Thy Passion view
With repentant grieving
Nor Thee crucify anew
By unholy living.
How could I refuse to shun
Every sinful pleasure
Since for me God's only Son
Suffered without measure?

5. If my sins give me alarm
And my conscience grieve me,
Let Thy cross my fear disarm,
Peace of conscience give me.
Grant that I may trust in Thee
And Thy holy Passion.
If His Son so loveth me,
God must have compassion.

6. Grant that I may willingly
Bear with Thee my crosses,
Learning humbleness of Thee,
Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give Thee love for love!
Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heaven above
Sing Thy praise forever.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #140
Text: Luke 18: 31-34
Author: Sigismund v. Birken, 1653
Translated by: August Crull, 1923, alt.
Titled: "Jesu, deine Passion"
Composer: Melchior Vulpius, 1609
Tune: "Jesu Kreuz, Leiden und Pein"

http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/aTLH_Hymns5.htm

On Winter, and Other Things

So far, in the 810, the December-January-February snowfall total has surpassed all years since records of this sort of thing have been kept. We average 42.8 inches of snow in those three months but have topped the chart this year with 79. 2013-2014 still doesn't yet have the total yearly snowfall record but we could if we get about eight inches more.

Normal average winter temperature here is 27.1 and we've so far averaged 21.1 (14th coldest ever).

I will continue to ponder warm things, such as

Tigers Astros on 1 March 2014 in Lakeland FL

and

Whitmore Lake, MI petunias

and

Key West Best Western Pool and Cheekie Hut

A Prayer from Thomas Merton

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
And the fact that I think
that I am following your will
Does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me
By the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
And in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Amen.

Tuesday Morning Prayer

Dear LORD,

Before we start our day, we lay it - wholly - at Your feet.
We commit this day to You - may our words, thoughts, and actions all point to You; may You be glorified to-day through us.
Thank You for the warm bed we got to sleep in .
Thank You for allowing us another day on Your earth.
Thank You for the sun this morning and the blue sky.
Thank You for the jobs we have and the vehicles to get there.
Thank You for the people You have placed in our lives - we commit them to Your care and Your love.
We go to-day in Jesus' name, amen!

Recipe #188 Good Sugar Cookies

I found this recipe earlier to-day, while waiting to see how lousy our Spartans would play in Ann Arbor. I have made these and eaten about half of the 4 dozen tasty, moist treats in consolation of our loss.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
granulated sugar to roll cookie balls in

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar until no lumps.
Add egg and mix well; add vanilla and mix well.
Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and beat until just combined with a wood spoon or rubber spatula (actually, use whatever you want - the recipe I followed suggested these two!)
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for about 2 hours - don't skip this step.

Preheat oven to 325 and spoon out rough balls of dough. Roll into nice balls and place in granulated sugar before placing on cookie tray. Cook for 8 minutes, pull out of the oven and press down lightly with a (sugar laden) spoon to flatten in the middle. Back into the oven for another 3-4 minutes until done. These times may vary depending on your oven.
Remove to a wire rack to cool and enjoy with a large glass of milk.
Less time in the oven for soft, more for crispy - depending on how you like them.

Enjoy!

TLH #153

http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh-153.mid

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
'Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, 'tis He! 'tis He!
'Tis the long-expected Prophet,
David's Son, yet David's Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
'Tis the true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
'Tis the WORD, the LORD'S ANOINTED,
Son of Man and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation;
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ's the Rock of our salvation,
His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.


The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #153
Text: Is. 53:3-5
Author: Thomas Kelly, 1804
Tune: "O mein Jesu, ich muss sterben"
1st Published in:_Geistliche VolksliederTown: Paderborn, 1850
"Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted"
by Thomas Kelly, 1769-1854

God Speaks To Me - Loudly and Clearly

I remember years ago hearing Chuck Swindoll comment on how God's Word is as time-less as it is time-ly.

I've always remembered that. As times change, so do social norms and the cut of your pantaloons, but not Sacred Scripture. Timeless and timely.



Our epistle reading this morning was from the first chapter of James:

Know this, my dear brothers and sisters:
everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
for anger does not accomplish
the righteousness of God.

To-day's passage continues a bit, but holy mackeral! I didn't need any more!!

God was talking to me, and I didn't need a ton of extra instruction and Bible Commentary notes to help me see the meaning.


i) Everyone should be quick to hear...
Me?
Yes.
Me?
Yes, everyone.
I think he means here to really listen well. Not just to be quiet while I'm thinking of something to say next. Listen. Really hear what the person is saying.
Let me, from my own existence, give a recent non-example:
"Well So and so is supposed to skate tonight..."
(Distracted) "Yeah?"
"She's in the short program and I think she's seeded third"
"Ooohh" (With all of the feigned interest I can muster)
This, I think, is not what James means by 'quick to hear'.

ii) Slow to speak...
I was told once that God gave us two ears and one mouth. Therefore, the relative amounts of speaking and listening should be in relative proportion.
I taught in high- and middle-school classrooms for twenty years and I have done quite a bit of talking. Many of the kids I've worked with would say that I've done more than my fair share. But I like to tell stories, and children forced to sit in uncomfortable metal (or plastic) chairs for 50 minutes at a time are a particularly forgiving audience: they value the grade I will ultimately give them so they don't let me know that my joke was absolutely horrid and my lecture is boring them to a state of neurosis. (Extreme symptoms included counting the holes in the ceiling tiles or texting 'I love you' to their mothers.) So, I took advantage of these captive audiences often.
I'm a bit off topic, but I do need to learn to not talk every single time a thought pops into my brain.

iii) Slow to anger...
I fail here regularly; daily, it seems.
As opposed to 'quick to anger', which shows no self-control and a lot of self-ishness.

I wonder what my home life would be like if I was 'slow to anger'.
I wonder how much more my wife would trust me and open herself up to me if I was 'slow to anger'.
I wonder if my bosses opinion of me would be any better if I was 'slow to anger'.



...

Jesus, my soul laid bare before You, I am convicted once again
Thank You for loving me so much that you don't ever quit teaching me, guiding me, nurturing me.
Forgive my self-ishness; turn my heart toward others.
Let me be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Be glorified always 
And I love You, too.


 

This Day is Holy

To-day LORD, is a gift from You
(That's why we call it the present)
This day is holy, set apart
For Your purposes.

Never let me forget that
Never let me think there is some good I can do apart from You

Thank You for this day
Thank You for this gift
(That's why we call it the present)

A Prayer from Michel Quoist

I am afraid of saying 'Yes,' Lord.

Where will you take me?
I am afraid of drawing the longer straw,
I am afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement,
I am afraid of the 'yes' that entails other 'yeses.'

And yet I am not at peace.
You pursue me, Lord, you besiege me.
I seek out the din for fear of hearing you, but in a moment of silence you slip through.
I turn from the road, for I have caught sight of you, but at the end of the path you are there awaiting me.
Where shall I hide? I meet you everywhere.
Is it then impossible to escape you?

But I am afraid to say 'Yes,' Lord.
I am afraid of putting my hand in yours, for you hold on to it.
I am afraid of meeting your eyes, for you can win me.
I am afraid of your demands, for you are a jealous God.
I am hemmed in, yet I hide.
I am captured, yet I struggle, and I fight knowing that I am defeated.
For you are the stronger, Lord, you own the world and you take it from me.
When I stretch out my hand to catch hold of people and things, they vanish before my eyes.
It's no fun, Lord, I can't keep anything for myself.
The flower I pick fades in my hands.
My laugh freezes on my lips.
The waltz I dance leaves me restless and uneasy.
Everything seems empty,
Everything seems hollow,
You have made a desert around me.
I am hungry and thirsty,
And the whole world cannot satisfy me.

And yet I loved you, Lord; what have I done to you?
I worked for you; I gave myself for you.
O great and terrible God,
What more do you want?

* * *

Son, I want more for you and for the world.
Until now you have planned your actions, but I have no need of them.
You have asked for my approval, you have asked for my support, You have wanted to interest me in your work.
But don't you see, son, that you were reversing the roles?
I have watched you, I have seen your good will,
And I want more than you, now.
You will no longer do your own works, but the will of your Father in heaven.

Say 'Yes,' son.
I need your 'yes' as I needed Mary's 'yes' to come to earth,
For it is I who must do your work,
It is I who must live in your family,
It is I who must be in your neighborhood, and not you.
For it is my look that penetrates, and not yours,
My words that carry weight, and not yours,
My life that transforms, and not yours.
Give all to me, abandon all to me.
I need your 'yes' to be united with you and to come down to earth,
I need your 'yes' to continue saving the world!

* * *

O Lord, I am afraid of your demands, but who can resist you?
That your Kingdom may come and not mine,
That your will may be done and not mine,
Help me to say 'Yes.'

Our Liam Jason!

Field trip 2 aquarium!

Hi gramps!

All of five months old... and already in his Tiger gear.

And below, after a good afternoon in the walker with Grandma... he'll be five months on Tuesday.

Wore myself out gramps!!

Lessons from David

King David of Israel was chosen by God to be king when he was just a boy. His predecessor Saul had also been chosen by God to be king, when the people were disgruntled with the prophets that had been in the service of the Lord. But Saul had issues, and God had plans.

David the shepherd had the courage to fight the Philistine giant, when none of the warriors of Israel would. God provided that victory, and also provided David the kingdom. The Old Testament stories of David's glorious triumphs against all odds make you want to stand up and bellow "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT!"

But there were losses in David's life also, as there are loses in every life. During one of the times his people were away fighting, he was home putzing in the castle. He happened to see the wife of Uriah, one of his elite warriors, bathing. He was immediately smitten, summoned her, and produced a child with her. He ended up having Uriah left at the front of the battle lines, where the fighting was fiercest, so that he was killed.

David was immediately approached by one of God's prophets, who told him a story. The story was of a rich man and his poor neighbor. The rich man had multitudes of everything he needed, and lacked nothing. The poor man had a little lamb. And every where the poor man went, the lamb was sure to go. He loved the lamb, like one of his children - it brought him great joy.
One day, the rich man had guests come for dinner. He was so selfish that he took the little lamb from the neighbor to feed his guests, instead of providing dinner from his surplus. At this, David cried out "That man deserves death!". God's prophet replied, "You are the man".

David knew immediately his sin; he knew he had sinned greatly against the Lord by coveting, taking and killing that which was not his. He confessed this to Nathan, and accepted God's punishment: the life of David's firstborn son.

Another story about David's less than perfect walk comes from to-days reading (2 Samuel 24). David the king decided to take a census of the people of his kingdom. This time, no prophet was needed to let David know he had sinned. He regretted immediately doing this, and confessed it to the Lord. The Lord then sent another prophet to let David choose his punishment (which ended up being quite severe again!).

What I see from these two stories is a sinner, not un-like you and me, who acknowledged his iniquity and who confessed his sin to almighty God. I believe God has given us this history lesson to show us that we need to do the same.
None of us are without sin. Yet I believe that our heart's attitude toward our sin is very important: are we repentant or are we stubborn to the point of making excuses and blaming circumstances, others, etc.?

David is referred to as man 'after God's own heart'.
A fornicator?
A murderer?
Yes.
He knew his sin, and he acknowledged it before God.
Let us pray for the grace to daily do the same.

Pax Christi
 

Our Angel in Cheyenne WY

Playing with my new computr gramps!

Recipe #6 Super Bowl Chicken Dip

This was a hit yestreday; Peyton Manning's performance on the field notwithstanding.

2 5-oz cans of chicken
1 brick of cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup of hot sauce
4 oz crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 garlic cloves minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients and stir well. Pour into baking dish or bowl and cook for 30 minutes or until dip gets bubbly hot.
Serve with your favorite vegetables and crackers.

Recipe #57 - Wuthering Heights Chili

TCM is showing movies from 1939 - Hollywood's greatest year - and I'm watching Wuthering Heights, which I have not yet watched.

To-day's ingredients:

1.5 lb ground turkey
4 Jennie O turkey bratwursts boiled in beer and diced
4 2 oz beef round steaks, seasoned and cooked medium rare and sliced
2 small potatoes diced and boiled for about 5 - 7 minutes
1 turn of the pan extra virgin olive oil
1 green pepper diced
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis
3 diced roma tomotoes
2 sliced jalapenos
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbs worcestershire
2 cans beer
1 tbs Dijon mustard
chili seasoning - oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, hot pepper flakes, cumin, paprika

Cook ground turkey, onion, green pepper, and garlic in your favourite pan until turkey is cooked through. Add seasoning and simmer for about 15 minutes.
In slow cooker, combine turkey, steak, sausage, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, jalapenos, ketchup, Worcestershire, beer, mustard, and tomato sauce. Cook on high for 4 hours and continue on low until you go to bed. Put leftovers in the fridge and bring it back out tomorrow!

Serve with sour cream, corn chips, or shredded cheddar.

Yum

Cinema

I watched the 1962 George Axelrod screenplay version of Richard Condon's novel The Manchurian Candidate last night for the first time.
I found it tough to follow toward the beginning, not having any idea of the plot, other than what our lame ass cable provider provided (which is typically vague and repetitive: "Starring Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis leads a cast of stars in this exciting action drama full of action and excitement.", or some other such non-informative tagline).
The picture is set during and after the Korean War, and tells the story of several US Army soldiers who have spent time being indoctrinated as POW's. Raymond Shaw plays the main character Laurence Harvey, who suffers severely from the effects of the brainwashing intermittently throughout the picture.
Frank Sinatra plays the character who ends up being the hero, even though he violently attacks an innocent American, thinking him one of the  Korean enemies. Angela Lansbury does a convincing job portraying Harvey's domineering mother, intent on promoting her senator husband to the presidency whatever the cost.
I'm glad I watched this last night on TCM (unedited and without commercial interruptions!!), even though I don't usually voluntarily watch pictures from the 1950's or 60's, and even though there was enough violence for me to wish that I had watched it some other time (say, on a warm summer afternoon). As a thriller, this was pretty good.

Seasonal Silliness

Really, when it comes right down to it, at the end of the day, (the bottom line is:) the entire year can be broken down into two seasons.
I. Advent/Christmas - a time of preparation, anticipation and joy in the celebration of the Saviour's birth.
II. Countdown until pitchers and catchers report/pitchers and catchers report/spring training/162 game season/postseason/post postseason trade talk - a time of preparation,  anticipation, evening barbecues listening to Dan Dickerson, late night heroics from Seattle, and much cursing (more or less, rather, depending on who you're rooting for).

So maybe I'm combining two non-mutually exclusive genres here, but my mind sometimes dabbles thusly. (I just had to add that word to the dictionary)

Our sky as God's canvas this morning

That deep teal color really caught my eye

Our Joslin Mia

Eggs...yummm

Grandkids and Sunrises

Big sis & lil brothr !

My new hairdo!

On my way to work last week I had to pull over, take a couple photos, and praise God!

This is the day, Judah

To-day is a good day.

I believe that statement with my whole heart. I believe it because I am able to think it (and type it); thus I have capacities to be thankful for, and it is a good day. It is a day in which I am able to think (and type), smile and scream, love and watch basketball, make phone calls and listen to the boss bark....and I am thankful.

Pass It On

It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in its glowing
That's how it is with God's love, once you experience it
You spread His love to everyone, You want to pass it on.

What a wondrous time is spring
When all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing
The flowers start their blooming
That's how it is with God's love, once you experience it
You want to sing, it's fresh like spring, You want to pass it on.

I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I've found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you're bound
I'll shout it from the mountaintop, I want the world to know
The LORD of love has come to me, I want to pass it on

I'll shout it from my little 'blog, I want the world to know
The LORD of love can come to you, then you can pass it on.

~Song by Kurt Kaiser

Morning Prayer

God of mercy, justice, and love
To You we commit this day, into Your care we commit our loved ones and all the people everywhere
We pray for Your Church, heal Her, keep Her straight and right, protect those in areas where there are violent people
For those cold this morning, warm them
For those hurting this morning, comfort them
For those mourning this morning, envelop them with hope
For those scared this morning, provide Your peace
For those unable to meet their obligations this morning, meet their needs
For those angry this morning, calm them
For those lost this morning, lead them to You
For all our family and friends, protect and keep them safe; bring them closer to You
For the men on LVCCM Weekend #81, open their hearts to Your message of love
For our pastors and elected officials everywhere, give them a love for You

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world

Live and love through us this day

All praise and glory to You!
 

Winter!!!

In mid-latitudes Great Lake America, the sun stays low, and she only stays out to play briefly.

Flannel sheets and a thick comforter, snuggle weather each night.
Start the truck early and let it warm up.

Once more Scrooge, It's a Wonderful Life

The deck railing lit, the Christmas tree has been removed there and still shines!

Snow storms and snow days. Plowing and scraping.
Fat birds rest on the thin leafless dappled willow branches; the fat cat watches with supreme attentiveness....

Warm fires at night with college basketball, a movie.
Birthdays with warm pies and warm laughter.

Wind chills and white bean chicken chili
Red pullover parka and red meat chili stew
Brooks chili with sour cream and chips!

Much of the autumn color has faded to shades of grey and brown; white everywhere!
Martin Luther King and the Presidents
Valentines and Epiphany

LVCCM Weekends, retreats, funding drives

No bugs 

Christmas candy marked down, red boxed heart shaped candy fresh and ready to purchase

Winter
Cold
Frigid

Thoughts

Should slapping the basketball court with both hands when your team is up and you just scored result in a technical foul?

I blended in a banana with my powdered nutritional drink and the blender left pea sized chunks of banana in my beverage

Watched enough of Our Vines Have Tender Grapes with Ed Robinson and Margaret O'Brien to know two things: I really want to watch the whole movie and we cannot possibly pray enough for each other.

Chaps Feed Store on 5 Mile and Middlebelt sells suet for the birds for $.89 a brick.

I already miss CHRISTmas music.

I wish I could spend $50 a month to watch just the sports and movies that I want to watch.

I absolutely loathe spending $85 a month to watch some things I want to watch broken up between endless mindless adverts.

MSU is ranked #4 and beating NU in Evanston. It's good to see Alex Gauna doing more on the court than get a defensive rebound. We play U of I (The Fighting Illini) Saturday night at 8.

I have not watched Duck Dynasty.

After work tonight, I
fed the dog, fed the cat, filled the water bowl, did the dishes, heated up a container of 'Mac & Cheese Lasagna' by Omaha Steaks, washed some clothes, retrieved the dog from down the block, heated up a container of 'spaghetti' from Big Lots, decided on a birthday present for my dad, put lotion on my legs, watched a little basketball, texted a few friends, took some meat out of the freezer for dinner tomorrow, confirmed the fact that I need to eat more apples, folded clothes, read my Bible, texted my sweetie good night.

Good night

Monday Morning

Dear LORD,

Thank  You for a new day, a new week, and new warmer temperatures.
Thank You for getting me out of bed this morning, for my eyes to see your glorious sunrise, for my ears to hear the birds chattering, for my legs that walked me to take the garbage out.
Thank You for the Christ, for His time on earth, for His sacrifice for us.
Thank You for Your love, how it transforms, how it can tear down so much that is ugly.
Be with my bride as she is with her son and his family, let her be a blessing to them, let her enjoy the time with those beautiful grandbabies.
Let me shine Your love to every person I talk to, every person I see to-day; love through me, LORD!!
Praise be Your holy Name, praise be the God of Creation, the God of Love!
Praise and glory and honor to You LORD!!

Snow

Well, we got a dumping of powdery dry snow on the First; and this past Sunday's storm just added about 18 inches more to our piles. Piles and piles and piles with no where to put it! Piles at the corners of parking lots, piles next to driveways, piles on sidewalks. I broke two shovels moving piles and making piles! (Two shovels and one broom, but the broom I think was previously damaged a bit.)  And with the temperature warming up to 0 Fahrenheit as I type, the piles may be around a while!

Snowpocalypse Inches of Piles

Our Spartans were victorious in the Rose Bowl over Stanford and in the Ugly Bowl last night over Ohio State. I will not comment further on that contest: suffice it to say there was a seven minute stretch (seven minutes of college basketball = about a half hour, my wife knows) where i used foul language - and i'm not talking duck hunting, boys.
But I digress...
The Grape still would not start this morning, in spite of us employing the boldest, baddest set of jumper cables imaginable. I was able to get to work but Moni still has errands to run before she leaves tomorrow for Wyoming. Hopefully to-day's warm up will encourage that troublesome vehicle to behave normally again...

Thank You, Father, for so many gifts and blessings
Thank You for family and friends and especially for Jesus
Thank You for love - the love that You taught us
Thank You for a warm home and running water
Forgive our whinings when things don't go our way
Guide and direct us; fill us with Your Spirit, Your Wisdom
And we love You, too
Amen

Thankful for a warm bed, warm drive to work, and hot coffee

Eight below as I type here on a Friday morning in Brighton, Michigan; it went down to eleven below last night, according to our trusty deck thermo-meter.

Tuesday new years eve we tried to find New Years Eve to watch but it was not available...next year we will plan better. 
Wednesday the First we drove to my parents and Moni went to see her parents and it was snowing the entire time and the going was slowwwwwwwwwww. PLUS, the Winter Classic Hockey Event Featuring the Wings vs. the Leafs was being played in Ann Arbor; traffic on M-14 was bumper to bumper at a standstill an hour and a half before the puck drop. 
We did get home in time to make some potato salad and enjoy the Rose Bowl with a warm fire and our Omaha Steaks burgers. (And what a game it was!!!)
Thursday yestreday back to work and my beautiful bride had for us some meatballs and green been casserole ready to devour when i got home...smelled pretty darn good in there i tell you.
Friday to-day cold but the sun is shining and it's going to be a glorious day!!!

Can't remember the last time Christmas and New Years Day were both on Wednesday (when you teach, it doesn't really matter: you have two weeks off usually and go back to work on the 2nd or 3rd) and i'm not sure if i like the holiday right in the middle of the week or not. It did break up these last two work weeks somewhat though...

Eternal Father, thank You for this new day. Keep us from sin and every evil, that all our doings in life may please You. Comfort those who are hurting right now, LORD, bring Your peace to the distressed and wanting.

Amen

At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute

Are there no prisons?
~Plenty of prisons.
And the Union workhouses - are they still in operation?
~They are. I wish I could say they were not.

Alastair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge in my absolute favorite version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol (actually titled just Scrooge in this London version). In the first scene at his office, Ebenezer is solicited by two gentlemen who are raising money for the poor. His questions, and the Collectors' retorts I have copied above. Scrooge, clearly irritated by the amount of time wasted in this conversation, continues by dismissing the gentlemen without donating anything.
Immediately, his nephew shows up to wish Uncle Scrooge a Merry Christmas - to which he replies most famously: 'Humbug!'.

Let us, on the eve of another turning of the calendar, pray that we are everyday less and less like Mr. Scrooge.

Let us pray that we are less and less focused on and driven by our own busy-ness.

Let us, as the ghost of Jacob Marley reminded Scrooge, make humanity our business.

Let us slow down, enjoy the scenery, smell the (insert your olfactory organ's most enjoyable aroma-producer here).

Let us whistle while we work.

Let us greet each other well.

Let us care - really care - about each others welfare.


Here's to new beginnings, new habits, new outlooks, and new adventures!

May your 2014 be most blessed in every way!! 

 

LORD in Your mercy, hear our prayer

On Christmas Day, 2013, Pope Francis concluded his Urbi et Orbi with this beautiful prayer:

Lord of life, protect all who are persecuted for your name. Grant hope and consolation to the displaced and refugees, especially in the Horn of Africa and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Grant that migrants in search of a dignified life may find acceptance and assistance. May tragedies like those we have witnessed this year, with so many deaths at Lampedusa, never occur again!
Child of Bethlehem, touch the hearts of all those engaged in human trafficking, that they may realize the gravity of this crime against humanity. Look upon the many children who are kidnapped, wounded and killed in armed conflicts, and all those who are robbed of their childhood and forced to become soldiers.
Lord of heaven and earth, look upon our planet, frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity. Help and protect all the victims of natural disasters, especially the beloved people of the Philippines, gravely affected by the recent typhoon.

Dear brothers and sisters, today, in this world, in this humanity, is born the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Let us pause before the Child of Bethlehem. Let us allow our hearts to be touched, let us not fear this. Let us not fear that our hearts be moved. We need this! Let us allow ourselves to be warmed by the tenderness of God; we need his caress. God’s caresses do not harm us. They give us peace and strength. We need his caresses. God is full of love: to him be praise and glory forever! God is peace: let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day, in our life, in our families, in our cities and nations, in the whole world. Let us allow ourselves to be moved by God’s goodness.

CHRISTmas

LORD, how can I even begin to put into words the joy, the wonder of What we celebrate to-day??
"When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man, Thou didst humble Thyself to be born of a virgin."
Praise to You forever, eternal praise; blessing, honor, and glory are Yours!
Glory be the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit! As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!
Praise to Jesus, the God-man, the Son of God, Emmanuel, God-with-us!
Praise to the Christ-child of Bethlehem, our Redeemer!
Praise to Jesus, Who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped!
Praise to Jesus, born of the Virgin!
Praise to Jesus, because He will save His people from their sin!
Glory to God in the highest!

  

 

Son-blest We Are

Thanksgiving Thursday with my mom and dad, brother, sister and her family, and lots of friends. Way too much food even though I tried to put a dent in as many mains/sides/desserts as I could. A little football on tv, a little football outside, Apples to Apples, and songs aplenty. Great to see everyone, especially my sister-with-many-children and my brother-who-lives-out-of-state. He even made a trip out in his BA black rental Dodge Charger with mom and dad on Friday.

Saturday yestreday was college football day and too many exciting games to also try and fit in a trip to Schaffer Road, Walmart, and the Lakehouse. We got home late and put in 1951 Scrooge with Alistair Sim and lit a fire to warm us.

To-day already we took our mechanic neighbor out to the Grape (left at Walmart) to help with the transmission that had been slipping. And then UH-OH, the nation's in upheaval; no tranny fluid and God saved us from evil! Two quarts in (one with the stop-leak additive) and the diagnostic touch pad screen thingy and voila!!! Praise God no more slipping or running rough!!! My neighbor Scott rocks - he wouldn't let me give him any money (we made him accept a little) but I did buy him a White Castle Double Cheeseburger Sack Value Meal (it just doesn't get much better than that).

So, right now I'm boiling eggs for our early week salad and Moni is taking several purchases back (with receipts) to various stores in Livingston County. We are Son-blest indeed!