When Isaac Died

In our Bible story today (Genesis 46), Jacob traveled to Egypt and met the pharaoh. He said he was pretty young -- only 130 -- not nearly as old as his forefathers lived to be. This is probably tremendously unimportant, but I got to wondering about the math.

Isaac's twins were born when he was 60. He lived to be 180. That means Jacob was 120 when his dad died. That means Isaac died 10 years before the children of Israel went to live in Goshen. Since Simeon spent two years in jail before Jacob allowed the fellows to return to Egypt with Benjamin, and since there were seven years of plenty before the famine, and since Joseph spent two years in prison prior to the butler remembering about his ability to tell dreams, that means Isaac died sometime after Joseph had interpreted the dreams for the butler and the baker.

That means Isaac was still alive when Joseph disappeared and while impenitence was reigning in the brothers' hearts. (I never noticed that before because the sequence of the stories is not chronological: the Bible wraps up Isaac's life-story before delving into Joseph's.)

Free at Last!

The book is in the mail to the publisher!

Saturday morning, before heading off to work, I finished all my proofreading and editing. I couldn't believe how buoyant and free I felt. Saturday afternoon I did a lot of goofing off: chatting with online friends, paying bills, reading email, doing laundry, writing emails, and making a small dent in the long-neglected cleaning. Invigorating!

Funny how the mundane chores of life can be so refreshing and satisfying after focusing on something else for so long. As of breakfast time on Saturday, I was no longer car shopping, my kid was finally healthy, and the book (which had been hanging over our heads for four years) was no longer anything I was responsible to work on. I keep having this feeling that pretty soon something is going to explode into sucking all our attention, but for the moment, I am on a hiatus of house work and grocery shopping, with plans to get back to some "real schoolwork" right quick. And I'm loving it.

Filthy Lucre

You know it's been a slow day on the teller line when you wash your hands at lunch break and the water isn't black.

Teachers Should Be Able to Spell

Teachers and other protesters have descended upon Madison. ABC News ran a story with interviews and video of the crowds. One sign (in very neat handwriting) declared

Teacher's Rights

Arrrrrrgggghhhh!!! This is supposed to make us proud of the job our teachers do? On top of that, ABC chose to give that sign exposure on-air.



Oh, maybe I shouldn't be such a fussy....

Feminism Explained

A five-minute video that pretty much sums up the logic of feminism. In places, it's a hoot (but only if you can laugh at some stuff that's ultimately sad for the country).

Joseph Tests His Brothers

We've recently been in the Joseph stories from the end of Genesis. Joseph "tested" his brothers. I never quite understood what that meant. What did he want from them -- to prove they were finally being honest? Or what?

Pastor pointed out something in chapel that I'd never considered. Joseph did not know what had happened to the family in his absence. We know the story because we've read the end of the book. But Joseph didn't know. Last he knew, his brothers wanted him dead and consented to "merely" sell him into slavery.

When they show up in Egypt and bow before the prince, Joseph asks them about their father and if they have any more brothers. They told him. They told him the truth. But he didn't know whether it was true. He didn't know whether they'd killed Benjamin. (After all, killing Benjamin would be a reasonable next step for them as they eliminated Dad's favorites.)

And so Joseph learns eventually that, yes, they are telling the truth, and yes, they show no jealousy when Benjamin gets treated better than the rest of them, and YES, they do what they can (Judah even offering himself in Benjamin's place) so ensure that Benjamin might be free and go back to his father.

Pastor also pointed out that, as the story progressed, the brothers came to realize that they were very exposed. It was like they had no secrets from this prince. It was like God had found them out and was showing them their sin. When they realized they could not hide anything, they were broken and contrite. And that's what Joseph desired, so that he might shower love and mercy on them and not have it be rejected.

Back When I Was Young

Back when I was young, you had to lick the postage stamps.

Remember when they first came out with the peel-n-press stamps, and you had to pay extra for them? Maggie doesn't remember. She was reading a comic book today and wanted to know why anybody would lick a stamp.

Maybe this explains why stickers were such a big deal with I was little. It was always a treat to be the one who took possession of the Chiquita sticker off the bunch of bananas. When else did you see a sticker???

XO XO XO

My aunt sent Maggie a cheer-up package a few days ago: some of those fun Valentiney socks. So the sick (but improving) kid shows me her present, and the first thing I notice is "ox."

"Ox?? Why did Aunt Sue send you ox-socks?"



Oh.
The socks with the little candy-hearts-with-messages were upside-down.

Moo.

Kids' Bank Accounts

With grandparents living long distances from their grandkids, grandmas often mail checks for birthday presents and Valentine presents and Christmas presents, made out to the child. I can't remember what we used to do with those; I do remember having little kids scratch out their name to endorse checks. But what happens to kids who can't even begin to write their name?

It's hard to be the teller when someone comes in with a check made out to Someone Else. "But it's my kid's check. He's too little to sign his name." That may be, but when you come into the bank without the kid, and have no evidence for me that this isn't a check that belongs to your adult neighbor (think what happens when Mom kept her maiden name and Kid's name has no relation to Mom's), please be patient when the teller is hesitant to hand over cash to you.

Most banks offer great deals for kids to have savings accounts. They often waive the fees and the minimum balance. It's not that hard to get the kid his own bank account, with one of the parents as custodian or co-owner. That gives you a place to deposit those gift checks without putting the bank in a precarious situation, and you can even withdraw the funds after the check clears.

You Know You're Old When ...

you're talking with your co-worker about enjoying history. She agrees. She tells you that they didn't learn enough history in school. She tells you that she has been watching a mini-series documentary on the Kennedy family, and she's been loving it, and why didn't they teach her any of this in school?

And I'm thinking, they didn't teach it to me in school either. A lot of it hadn't happened yet ....

Correction

I don't like to be wrong. I don't like to be corrected. I suspect nobody does.

So maybe I get just a bit annoyed when I try to "do the right thing" so that I can avoid being corrected ... and still screw up ... and run afoul of somebody. And then I get corrected anyhow. Dang it! I wanted to avoid that whole scene. When I ask questions in hopes of doing the job right, in hopes of not being annoying, I may be told, "So, what's the problem? Why not just be corrected? Chill out. Who cares if you botched it?" Uh ... I care. That's who.

But sometimes I understand that mindset much better because I'm on the other end of the correcting. When I have to correct someone else, I just want to throw up my hands in frustration when the response is "Well, I'll just go away then" or "I'll never say anything because I don't know what is okay to say and what is offensive." It doesn't make you a bad person when someone has to say, "Please stop that." It doesn't mean a child is less loved by the parents if the parents must issue a correction. It doesn't mean an employee is in hot water if the boss gives a clearer set of instructions (which may include corrections). When God chastises, it is because He loves, not because He's ticked. Honestly now, we don't really think it would be better for the person in charge to refrain from correcting someone; do we?

Is it really that demeaning for someone to say, "That behavior is going to result in a problem"?

Vote Tuesday

You folks in Wisconsin -- mark your calendars for the 15th. Supreme Court race.

Glorifying God

After God whopped the Jewish Christians upside the head with the evidence that His grace and mercy were for the Gentiles too, we read that the Christians of the circumcision party in Jerusalem glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18)

I don't know about you, but I find it enchanting that it "glorifies God" to say that He is bringing sinners to Himself, saving people whether they're like us or not.

That's His glory.

Bad Fathers

Human fathers get their title because they are called after the true Father. It's not that we call God "Father" because He is like fathers; it's the other way around. If you were blessed with a super-duper dad, or even if you had a wretched scoundrel of a father, we need to learn that every failing (small or large) in our fathers does not show us who God is; He is different; He does no harm -- never ever; He does not love conditionally; He does protect and provide.

The Fast God Has Chosen

Sunday's [3-year] appointed Old Testament reading was from Isaiah 58:
Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens,
to let the oppressed go free,
and that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
when you see the naked, that you cover him,
and hide not yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
your healing shall spring forth speedily,
and your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am."


We hear this passage and immediately think of what God demands of us, what we are to do. We are to share our food and clothing, to help those who are captives and in need. And that's true.

But this passage is also a picture of the cross of Jesus -- not merely the fast He requires of us, but even more, the fast He chose to undertake. In His death, He loosed His people from bondage to Satan and sin. He gives His body that we might eat the Bread of Life. By His death, He gathers us poor into His mansions. He was not ashamed to be naked on the cross, but covers us with the robe of His righteousness. He cried out to the Father, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" and the Father answered, "Here I am" and raised Him up on the morning of the third day that we might have light and healing.

Today's Laugh

A woman from Wisconsin had 50-yard-line tickets for the Super Bowl. As she sat down, a man came along and asked her if anyone is sitting in the seat next to her. "No," she said, "the seat is empty."

"This is incredible," said the man. "Who in their right mind would have a seat like this for the Super Bowl, the biggest sporting event in the world, and not use it?"

Somberly, the woman says, "Well... the seat actually belongs to me. I was supposed to come here with my husband, but he passed away. This is the first Super Bowl we have not been to together since we got married in 1967."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. That's terrible. But couldn't you find someone else -- a friend or relative or even a neighbor to take the seat?"

The woman shakes her head. "No, they're all at the funeral."



Ooooh. That's from my friend Suzanne. Tsk tsk tsk! You'd be tempted to think she lives in Wisconsin, she knows cheeseheads so well ....

Upon This Your Confession

The absolution spoken on Sunday morning after the general confession sometimes begins: "Upon this your confession, I by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, ..."

Too often we think that that means God is forgiving us because we confess. We think our confession is what triggers His forgiveness.

Uh,... there'd be a theological problem with that, don't you suppose?

Maybe, instead, the pastor says "upon this your confession" not as a cause for the absolution, but as the occasion upon which the absolution is spoken. The absolution is valid because of Jesus' death on the cross, but when we confess our sin, we need to hear (again and again and again) the absolution. Nevertheless, the sinful nature prefers to twist those weekly words ("upon this your confession") into something that gives us at least a little credit before God for believing in Him.

God Will See You Through It

Scars.

When things go wrong, upbeat Christians will sometimes cheerily assure you that God will see you through the troubles. When things go wrong, people point out how God has brought you through trials in the past, and He will be faithful and bring you through these current trials too.

But some of those past trials left scars -- death of a loved one, divorce, irreversible health problems, etc. There is no assurance that these current trials will not also have their ramifications and leave their own scars.

It is true that the Lord will work for our benefits even when harm comes to us. It is true that He will preserve us in the faith and see us through these trials to bring us to our heavenly home. But sometimes the prospect of new scars is daunting.

Deep Snow

No getting out the front door this morning. It wouldn't budge. We raised the garage door, made a narrow path, and started moving snow.

Gary hurt his back shoveling yesterday. He collapsed last night; his legs just wouldn't hold him. I've called doctors' offices, but they aren't open today. He's doing better now, he can get himself to a stand. We haven't decided yet whether to try to get him to the hospital or wait till tomorrow in hopes of finding the D.O. or chiropractor or family doctor available. Just in case, Andrew and I managed to break through about 1/3 of the driveway's width, in hopes that we could squeeze the car through that passage.

After some breakfast and a rest, it's back outside to make sure the vents are clear, start roof-raking, and then try to free the front door.

Stilling of the Storm

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained to the two disciples (Luke 24) how the entire Old Testament was about Him and His work. Earlier He had told the Pharisees the same thing: "These are they which testify of Me" (John 5).

We recently studied the story from Mark 4, when Jesus stilled the storm for the fearful disciples whose boat was going down. The moral of that story is usually that God is more powerful than the storm. When Pastor teaches in Didache, his main point is that Jesus mercifully rescues those who have "no faith" and are accusing Him of not caring about them.

But there's something else too. Remember how Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth and preached from Isaiah (Luke 4) about the things the messiah would do? Remember how Jesus responded to John the Baptist (Matthew 11) about how to know whether He was the messiah? The Old Testament says thus-and-such; Jesus does thus-and-such; there's a clue that He's the one. The blind see; the deaf hear; the lame walk; the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Look at Psalm 107. Yahweh the Lord commands and raises the stormy wind which lifts up the waves of the sea. The sailors' hearts melt because of the trouble when their boat is pitching on high waves. The men in the boat are at their wits' end, declares the psalmist. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet. So He guides them to their desired haven.

What did Jesus DO?
That is precisely what Yahweh does.
He is the one whom the prophets foretold ... and He does more than just the "short list" from that passage in Isaiah.

Snow

Three dig-outs and counting.

This stuff is WAY lighter and easier to shovel than the Snow of Good Friday '08. (That was overwhelming: shovel, church, shovel, church, shovel, church, shovel. A memorable day.) I expect the light fluffiness, however, will mean we get to shovel the same snow multiple times when the winds start. ;-)

So does anybody besides us use an actual old-fashioned shovel instead of a snow blower or a plow?

A Wretched Scullery Maid

Matt Harrison writes in "A Little Book on Joy" regarding the paradox of the holiness of the Church even though Christendom is divided, full of sinners, with flawed leaders, and plagued by false doctrine:

This is at once disturbing and comforting.... It is comforting because --despite its outward appearance, despite the fact that there have been times in the history of the church when the pure teaching of the Gospel all but disappeared from the public confession of the Church and its practice-- nevertheless, the "gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The Church endures because Christ endures...." (page 164)



My pastor has an additional reason to explain the comfort found in the simultaneous aspects of the Church's holiness and her sinfulness.

I am a saint and sinner. If I expect a sinless Church, then what does it say about me who is not sinless? The holiness of the Church is an article of faith [as per the Creeds] and not something we see. As I learn to believe that, I learn to believe that my own holiness is an article of faith, a gift of God, a declaration that is true even when my experience is less-than-holy.

If God can call the Church "holy," then maybe He can call ME "holy" too.

Whatever God Pleases

The Lord is great.
Our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
in heaven and in earth,
in the seas and in all deep places. (Psalm 135:5-6)

God gets to do whatever He wants to do. He is the head honcho, the bigwig, the super guy who gets His way. Everything bends to what He wants.

If it were us, there would be maniacal, power-hungry laughter:
mwaaaa haaaa haaa haaa ha!

So ...
what does God want to do, since He can do whatever He wants?

It pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed,
He shall prolong His days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. (Isaiah 53)

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor His delight in the legs of a man;
the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
who put their hope in His mercy. (Psalm 147)

Whatever He wants to do, He can do, eh?

No wonder God said "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways."

Sick Maggie

Maggie has not been healthy since she first came down with that bad cold on December 14. The round of antibiotics seemed to have no effect on the coughing. And then she started throwing up. So we needed to get back to the doctor.

When we first moved here, two doctors came highly recommended. The one in town was not accepting new patients, so we went to the one 15 minutes away. We think he's great, but he just recently moved to a new office yet further away. So today we visited the doctor in town. Oh my goodness! He's wonderful too!

Maggie got on the scale today and my eyes about popped out. She's lost 17 pounds in the last three weeks. I guess that's what comes from not being able to keep any food down for five whole days.

Doctor first suspected asthmatic bronchitis. But when he heard her wheeze through a coughing spell, he wondered about whooping cough. So she is on antibiotics for germies, steroids for the inflammation in her lungs, an inhaler, and non-narcotic cough pearls (perles?). When the radiologist saw Mag's x-ray, he was concerned about a spot on her lung which might be pneumonia, but given the absence of fever, it's likely that the spot is from her collapsed lung following the surgery four years ago.

Things are improving. In the last several hours she has eaten a banana, a small bowl of applesauce, and two crackers! Whoo hooo! We're headed in the right direction! This is a big relief.

Sacrifices of Joy

In Psalm 27, David writes, "I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle."

What is that?

A sacrifice of joy? If it's joy, why is it a sacrifice? If it's a sacrifice, then what do we mean by the word "joy"? Why is singing a sacrifice?

Car Prices

Yesterday our mechanic suggested looking into the cost of leasing a car instead of buying. His point was that --with used-car prices so high-- it might be cheaper to lease a new & reliable vehicle than to buy used. He said with a leased vehicle, you have no maintenance costs; maintenance is the responsibility of the dealer. He said that people often object to leasing because you have nothing to keep at the end of the lease period. But he said if we buy a 10- or 12-yr-old car with 100,000 or 150,000 miles on it, we won't have anything to keep after five years either. He has a point.

I looked at our old maintenance records. Given the cost of buying our used vehicles (whether we bought gently used or very very used) it appears that we've been spending somewhere in the vicinity of $2000 per year for each car. That's the cosst of the car plus the maintenance and repairs (but not gas, oil, insurance, etc). I don't know if that's low or high compared to other people, but it gives me a guideline when I'm looking at used cars. If it's a $2000 car, can I expect to get a year out of it without maintenance costs? If it's a $4800 car, is it reasonable to expect it to hold out faithfully for another 3 years? If it's a $12,000 car, is it realistic to expect it to last a minimum of 8 years without repairs besides the necessary tires and brakes and belt-changes?

Not Much Progress

I'm nearly ready to give up on car shopping. We just can't bring ourselves to pay the going rate for a car that's 10 years old. We thought we'd found a pretty good deal on a 4-yr-old car; when our mechanic looked at it today, he said it was okay. Not good, not bad. He said we'd do much better to wait until spring when private-sale cars are more plentiful. The kind of used car that we want is a car that costs more than my parents' house did when they bought it. That just seems wrong.

Maggie is still sick. It's been six weeks now. After two weeks of confinement, she did go to church Sunday. She did go to Matt's grandpa's funeral today. The cough has lessened somewhat (especially when she's careful to keep a scarf over her face when she's in cool or cold air), but the stomach problems have worsened. She's not able to eat.

Nathan has put together the new computer parts. I need to install my old programs, figure out how to work the new operating system, make sure the old files (emails, documents, etc) are restored where I can find them and use them, learn about security measures on the new machine. Overwhelming at the moment! Easier (for the most part) to keep using Gary's machine.

Going to a Catholic funeral (where the priest commented favorably on the deceased's pride) sure does make me love my pastor all the more. Y'know, I don't think the priest believes in the resurrection of the body. He kept talking about the soul being raised to be with Jesus in heaven. Not once in the whole hour-long service was there any mention that Matt's grandpa's body would be resurrected from death to eternal life. This morning, the priest preached how grandpa's good deeds would cause God to open heaven to him. This evening, my pastor catechized on Mark 4 (the stilling of the storm) and how Jesus saved those unbelieving disciples who accused Him of not loving, not caring. My pastor spoke of a Lord who forgives those who are weak, who heals those who have no goodness of their own, who saves those who aren't "good Christians." My pastor talked about how we come to despair of ourselves and our goodness so that we cling to Jesus' goodness, His atonement, His works and worth. It is good to be a Lutheran; it is good to know that the Lord does for me what I cannot in any way do for myself; it is my only hope.

Today's Laugh

Two men have been sitting out on a lake all day long, ice fishing. One has been having no luck at all, while the other has been pulling fish after fish out of his hole in the ice. The man having no luck finally leans over and asks the other what his secrect is.

"Mmmmm mmm mm mmm mmmm mmm mmm."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The successful fisherman replied, "Mmmmm mmm mm mmm mmmm mmm mmm."

"I'm sorry, I still didn't understand you."

His companion spits something into his hand. "You've got to keep your worms warm."

Naughty Kitty

Rosie has been on a cord-chewing spree along with her let's-intimidate-Athena quest. This morning I found the answering machine dead. She chewed through the electrical cord on it. I'm not having much luck finding a replacement cord online. It's one thing to ruin the answering machine, but another thing entirely when I'm trying to make arrangements to meet people about car possibilities and car shopping. I'm about ready to banish the cat to the outdoors for the next couple of months. We can't afford to have her ruining phones and headphones and radios and computers!!

Shopping for a Used Car

Now that I have a couple of appointments lined up to see and test-drive some cars, all sorts of safety issues are running through my mind. Meeting strangers that you contact via the internet or telephone? Going for a drive in a car with a stranger? (After all, why should they let me --a stranger-- take off in their car for a test-drive?) Is their car-title clean and clear? What if the person says "cash only"? I mean, the guy may not want to risk a counterfeit bank-check, but do I want to walk around with that much cash (especially when meeting a stranger)?

I'm getting nervous. I'm even thinking about going to a dealer and paying more.

Missing Symposium

I knew I'd have to stay home from Fort Wayne this week because of my job. (I'm so glad Jane and Colin came here to visit earlier this month!) But then Pastor had to miss the week. And now Deacon is ill and cannot head to Fort Wayne either. I can't remember the last time there was no CCA booth at symposium; when Deacon couldn't go, I was always able to sub for him. Bummers.

Been Busy

Phew -- it's not pneumonia or bronchitis. Just a sinus infection. Maggie has been sick for four weeks. No fever the whole time. But it definitely took a turn for the worse this week! Saw the doctor last night, and I'm now thinking that if I'd been home to nag her into using the neti-pot multiple times daily (or if she'd been responsible about using it as I told her to) (or if I hadn't assumed that she obeyed when I did nag her) this wouldn't have developed into the sinus infection. She has plans to do better today. She also has drugs in case it's bacterial. The coughing has been unbelievable, but yesterday was a wee bit better than Wednesday, so I hope we're headed in the right direction.

My drawer has been balancing at work. Hooray! Making fewer mistakes. I still feel bad for the customers who come to me with transactions that I'm not 'smooth with' yet, so that they have a sloooow teller. Some of them are fine with it; others get a tad impatient. But I foresee a day when I will no longer be struggling. I don't know how far away that day is, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel somewhere.

Computer parts have arrived. I hope when the new computer (motherboard and processor) is put together with the old appendages (hard drive, video card, etc) we find that I haven't lost too many functional pieces and that my documents and photos are still there. I did back-up (woo hoo!) the week before the computer was fried, but it would be nice if I didn't have to go to the trouble to restore everything.

Andrew and I haven't had clashing work schedules since the car died, so he's only had to chauffeur me to work one day so far. I wonder how long we'll continue to luck into this?

Naughty kitty has been chewing through cords again. What IS it with her? She destroyed Andrew's phone charger two days ago, and she chewed through Gary's headphone cord yesterday.

On the final stretch of editing Catechist edition. I discovered yesterday (on my second pass over some devotional material) that I am not so thorough with my proofreading on my lunch breaks at work as I should be. I can't be as good a proofreader when I'm reading with my eyes alone instead of while my mouth is reading the sentences aloud. Theology is supposed to be oral/aural, isn't it?

Off to shovel snow and put supper in the crockpot before work. Looking forward to a healthy kid, a repaired computer, a car for Andrew --and thus a less hectic life-- in another couple of weeks!

OUR Father

At Didache last night, Pastor said something he's said a gazillion times before. But I never remember it until he's in the midst of bringing it up in class again.

When we pray "Our Father who art in heaven," the "our" does not refer merely to all us Christians throughout the whole world and throughout all history, joined in prayer. It refers also (and especially) to the Father being Jesus' Father and our Father.



So when we pray the Lord's Prayer, why don't I ever think of that?

Today's Laugh

Sign seen today outside a church:

Bi-lingual Pentecostal services.

(C'mon. Think about that...)

Not Much ...

Nothing has been done toward car shopping or computer replacement. That's a little stressful.

Lots of editing to cram in this week and next.

Went to the company Christmas party today so that Gary could meet the people I work with, the ones who trained me, and the people who were in training with me. Tasty brunch. Pleasant enough company. But staying for second service (with choir) would have been far more refreshing and comforting.

Maggie's EKG on Thursday (her annual cardiology check-up) showed up some quirks. She came home from the appt on the 24-hour heart monitor. Waiting to hear results. Doctor also suggested we contact our family doctor to put us in contact with an immunologist. Maggie hasn't seen an immunologist since she was about 18 months old, and the results then were inconclusive. We realized Thursday evening that her apparent improvement in immune function in her early teens was probably not actual improvement but less exposure to germs; since she joined the academy's choir in Sept 09 she has suffered more illness.

I have a long way to go to become decent at my new job, but at least I'm making headway.

Yesterday's haircut revealed that my recent bad-hair days are not due to excessive length, but due to texture changes and far too much hair loss over the last couple of months.

Back to editing ...

Failing Mechanics

The new year isn't going as happily as people were wishing me last week.

Rachel, Oz has died. Probably our biggest mistake of 2010 was trying to resurrect a 13-yr-old Corolla whose engine had cracked. Putting a different engine in a car with more than a quarter-million miles is not a good plan. I meet the junk man this afternoon to turn over her title and collect enough money from him to pay for yesterday's tow-truck.

My computer was fried yesterday. One tiny little repair/improvement resulted in a crash which means I need a new computer -- or that I at least need a new motherboard and processor and power source and operating system. My sons (of the Nerd Herd) are looking into it for me, and they think many pieces of my current [but deceased] computer can be used in the new computer. Main point of this paragraph (besides the whining) is that, if you need to contact me, you should do it via gmail instead of my usual email address if possible.

I have tons of work to do, especially editing, but right now I have very little ability to concentrate when my brain keeps drifting to "Where am I going to find a car?"

So now the question is, "What is going to happen next?"

Commas with Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives.

I know the rule to use a comma between words in a series. For example, When the child lost his marbles, his Matchbox cars, and his pet snake, the mother lost her marbles. Or Obama promised to pay for my groceries, my rent, and my utilities.

But there are adjectives that may not be equal in importance and therefore should not have commas ... because the words aren't really in a series. For example, The exuberant golden retriever chased the bone under the table. Or The lovely, fashionable Bethany picked up a Wisconsin accent this week. Or Some of the new LSB hymns we sang last year were very good. Or The decrepit, rattle-trap, slow-as-molasses computer makes me scream.

IF you can switch the order of the adjectives,
IF you can put an and between the adjectives,
THEN you use a comma. "The fashionable and lovely Bethany" or "the decrepit and rattle-trap computer."

But if you can't toss in an and, if you can't switch the order of the adjectives, then your words are not "coordinate adjectives" and ought not have the comma. The golden and exuberant retriever? The LSB and new hymns? Nope!


I usually have a good sense of how to employ the commas in these situations, but I've always been a little unsettled because I Learned The Rule in grade school and didn't learn the exceptions. So here's the qualifier for when the comma rule is and is not employed with multiple adjectives. And thus ends my grammar note to myself.

Grungy Grates on the Stovetop

Lesson #1. If you're going to bother turning on the Self-Cleaning feature on the stove, do it for the highest, most intense, longest setting available. The stove is always dirtier than you thought it was.

Lesson #2. The cast-iron grates on my gas stovetop were getting icky. I'd wiped them and washed them, but they were still icky with baked-on spill-overs. I stacked them in the oven while I was cleaning it, and the grates baked clean, quite nicely. Hot dog!

Philip and Tapco on TV

Mom, you're going to want to see this clip!

I Must Be a Grandma

I don't care if the ornaments are clustered in one spot on the tree. I don't care if there are big bare spots. That unevenness is simply evidence that Somebody was here, taking ornaments off the tree, playing with them, making Pooh and Piglet talk to the fireman and the Santa. And that's a happy thing!

Chocolate in the Socks

Lesson learned on Christmas afternoon (the very firstest Christmas in which we hung our socks by the fireplace):

If you want to start a fire for a cozy atmosphere, either
a) remove the socks from their hooks, or
b) remove the chocolate from the socks.

Yup. It's a plan that we shan't forget next year.

Post-Christmas Sale

Sign on the door of the hardware store today:

50% off all Christmas merchandise
Christmas lights
Christmas trees
inflatable snowmen
Santa heads

I giggled as I walked in.
I giggled as I requested the bill for my solar salt.
I asked about the Santa heads.
The clerk was new; I'd never seen her before; she was not amused; she explained what "Santa heads" were and where they were located; she told me these were the heads that you would stick on a light post.
And then I thought it was even more hilariously warped and sick.
When I told the family at supper about the sign at Ace Hardware, they started dreaming up Halloween scenarios of Santa heads on pikes (aka, light posts) all around the front yard. Talk about scarring little children for life... !


Now that I try looking up "Santa heads" online in various places to provide a link, I'm not finding such a thing. I'm wondering if the guys were pulling a fast one on the new clerk.

A Picture of Heaven

Sunday morning. Feast of Stephen, so the nights are still long and the days brief. 6:30, an hour before sun-up on a cloudy day, so the dark of night is not yet banished.

The world is quiet. The whole way to church at this early hour, I see only one other vehicle, and that one is a couple of blocks away on a side street. The businesses are darkened. The windows in the homes are dark; not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

I approach the church driveway and look back across the lawn and see the building lit. Light floods from the windows. The church shines, surrounded by darkness. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. In that building is the voice that absolves sinners. In that building is the altar, the mercyseat, the place of God's saving presence, where the body of the King of the Universe gives life, where the angels singing with all His saints unite.

Here is Jesus' manger. Here is heaven.




I wish I'd had my camera. I would have traipsed out to the street (even in the cold) and snapped a photo to capture that icon someplace a little more reliable than just my memory.


Yet, in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

Sweet 16

Julie arranged this awesome bow to adorn Maggie's birthday present. She took thin ribbon and threaded 8 long pieces through a store-bought bow and then stapled the ribbons to anchor them into the center of the bow. Then she tied sugar cubes onto the ends of the ribbons. Isn't that just the cutest thing you ever saw?!!!

Hugging

You're "supposed" to hug your kids and tell them you love them. I never did that as much as I should have. When we moved here, and I would see Pastor hug his wife and sons so often at church, I would sometimes feel guilty for not being more demonstrative with my affection for my family.

Then I started the job.
I wasn't home as often.

Now I am driven to hug them more. During my two weeks of training at the nearby branch, I came home from lunch and hugged the kids. When I got to church on Wednesday night for Advent services (coming straight to church from work) I would hug the kids and Gary.

When those absences from your dear ones are forced upon you, maybe that's what makes you more huggy.

Sheep and Shepherds

The last line of the Venite (Psalm 95) says that we are "the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand." I don't know about you, but I tend to think of a pasture as a place for sheep, not for people. I've been pondering on the oddness of "people of His pasture" for a few months. I think Pastor accidentally answered it for me during last Sunday's Bible class.

We were studying Luke 2. The shepherds heard from the angels. They went to Bethlehem to see this thing which had come to pass. And they blabbed it all over the place! They told! They couldn't hold in the joy of the news that the Messiah had come to save sinners! "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

But the Apostle John not only points out Jesus, the Lamb; he also is the one who records Jesus' discourse on the Good Shepherd. Jesus is both the Lamb and the Good Shepherd. Our pastors are shepherds, but they are also Jesus' lambs. Same for us: "I am Jesus' little lamb; ever glad at heart I am...." Still, we (like the shepherds) tell our children and our friends and our neighbors about the Good Shepherd. If Jesus is both Lamb and Shepherd, we who are joined to Him would also be both lambs and shepherds.

And maybe that explains the line in the Venite.


Like shepherds who have heard the angel's preaching, let us go now even unto Bethlehem (the House of Bread) and sing the [tweaked] Easter hymn:
Then let us feast this [Christmas] day
on Christ, the bread of heaven.
The Word of grace has purged away
the old and evil leaven.
Christ our Lord our souls will feed;
He is our meat and drink indeed.
Faith lives upon no other. Alleluia!

Today's Laugh

Philip was telling us today that Matt (who is a doctor) has a t-shirt that says "Trust me, I'm a doctor." We looked up a picture, and this is what we found.

(You have to be pretty geeky to get this, but some of us are highly amused!)

Today's Laugh

A man went to his dentist because he felt something wrong in his mouth. The dentist examined him and said, "That new upper plate I put in for you six months ago is eroding. What have you been eating?"

The man replied, Aall I can think of is that about four months ago my wife made some asparagus and put some stuff on it that was delicious ... Hollandaise sauce. I loved it so much I now put it on everything — meat, toast, fish, vegetables, everything."

"Well," said the dentist, "that's probably the problem. Hollandaise sauce is made with lots of lemon juice, which is highly corrosive. It's eaten away your upper plate. I'll make you a new plate, and this time I'll use chrome."

"Why chrome?" asked the patient.

The dentist replied, "It's simple. Everyone knows that there's no plate like chrome for the Hollandaise!"

Presents Under the Tree

I didn't think we'd have presents this year. But the tree is surrounded!

1. A stranger showed up last week with a large bag full of presents from an anonymous giver. We're still scratching our heads over that one.
2. Nathan's folks sent presents for Alia, Katie, and Nathan. Those currently are sitting under our tree, as the kids don't have a tree at their apartment.
3. Yee-haw for the dollar store!
4. Some of the items under the tree are not really presents. For instance, there are a few textbooks that should've been cracked a couple of weeks ago, but we wrapped them up instead and are calling them gifts.
5. Another yee-haw for sales and "here's-$10-to-spend" coupons. I bought a $30 gift today for $4.
6. And "wow!" for the gift cards available. With sale prices and a coupon and some Kohl's Cash from a friend, I bought two gifts (worth $150) for less than $10. We came out of Target with a $50 family-gift that Maggie paid $15 for. We hit up Best Buy and paid a whole dollar for $28 worth of fun stuff.
7. I'm not spending money we don't have for gifts that people don't need. But I do have stuff that I made over the summer that I can give to the older kids so that they can have something for Christmas.
8. A homeschooling friend wanted to get rid of a "5-minute toy." It looks like it will be amusing for an afternoon or a week. All we had to do was buy the batteries.

Thanks to some generous friends and last-minute shopping, we found some non-frivolous (but enjoyable and helpful) gifts so that everyone will have at least one thing to open on Christmas afternoon. That is so cool!

Doubting Thomas on the Solstice

So does anybody else find enchanting the two celebrations for this one date?

The antiphon for this day is "O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting: come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." It reminds us of Zachariah's song at the birth of his son John: "... by the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Thomas didn't see Jesus that first evening after the resurrection. Thomas was in the darkness of unbelief and doubt. The Apostle John writes at the beginning of his gospel: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.... He came to His own, but His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God." On this feast of the holy Apostle Thomas, we remember his doubts that are so like unto our doubts. We see in him our flesh's desire to trust what we see and experience instead of what we hear from our Lord. But we also see a Savior who remained faithful even when we are faithless. We see a Savior who was committed to fulfilling His word. We see because He is the light. We see because He gives sight to the blind.


Enlighten our darkness with the light of Your Christ.
May His word be a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path.
For You are merciful, and You love Your whole creation.
And we, Your creatures, glorify You,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Comfort?

Why the difference? Some people say, "I know this is hard for you," and you can feel the sympathy and the love coming through. Others say, "I know this is hard for you," and somehow it comes off as an implication that it shouldn't be hard for you, and what's the matter with you that it is?

At Home

Phone calls around here often proceed thusly:
Maggie: Hello, [last name] residence.
Caller: Hi, Susan. [blah blah blah]
Maggie: Ummmm... this is Maggie. I can go get my mom for you.
Caller: Oh. Okay. Wow, you sound just like your mom.

So yesterday I pick up the telephone.
Susan: Hello, [last name] residence.
Caller: Hi. Is your dad home? If so, may I talk to him?
Susan: Peter???
Caller: This isn't Maggie?
Susan: No, it's Susan. My dad is home, but you can't talk to him for a couple more decades. So, would you like to talk to my husband?

Y'know, that's such a comforting thing to say. He is at home.

"At home."
Beautiful words!

Today's Laugh

Raisins in Cookies

Some people like raisins in their cookies. Those people can click onto the next blog on their list right now.

Some people complain when their wives or mothers put raisins in the cookies. Big old lumpy chewy things. But sometimes that mother wants to put raisins in the cookies. Oh, y'know, because maybe she likes the raisins. Or she wants to sneak some extra nutrition into the cookies. Or other equally evil subterfuges.

When you're mixing together the cookie dough, save out about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of the flour. Put the raisins into your food processor. Sprinkle that reserved flour on top of the raisins in the food processor. Turn on the machine, and let it grind up your raisins into little pieces. (The more you have to hide them, the smaller you chop them.) Into the batter they go. If you ground them small enough, none of your raisin-haters will even notice ... except for how sweet and tasty the cookies are. "These are better than usual, Mom!" "Yes, dear, they are, aren't they?"

Hello, It's Me Again!

Six days in a row I show up at chapel in a dress and hose and nice shoes. And then on the next day, I show up at chapel in my jeans, hoodie sweatshirt, and tennies. Several people said, "Oh, you don't work today?"

And I thought ...
"Ah, I look like me again!"

Transubstantiation

Lutherans have been told that transubstantiation is bad bad bad. That's what the Catholics believe, right? On occasion, when I have mentioned bread and wine "changing into" the body and blood of Christ when joined with the Words of our Lord, I have been scolded by Lutherans. "We don't believe it changes into Jesus' body and blood," they say. "That's what Catholics believe."

I don't understand. It wasn't Jesus' body and blood. Now it is. Something changed. What's so wretched about saying "changes into"?

I have been told by some folks that Lutherans believe in consubstantiation. Other folks have said that Lutherans do not believe in consubstantiation. That one puzzled me too. We often use the prepositions "in, with, and under." "Con" means "with." So what's so wretched about that term?

Well, there's been a lot of talk about these matters during Bible classes the last couple of months. And here's what I've learned:

"Consubstantiation" has too much of a location sense to it. It's almost like saying Jesus' body is with the bread, like Bob and Joe go to the hardware store with each other. But Bob isn't Joe, and Joe isn't Bob. So "consubstantiation" isn't a good term, because the bread is Jesus' body.

So what's the deal with transubstantiation? We Lutherans do not argue with the Roman Catholics about the bread really being Jesus' body; we agree. The disagreement we have with Rome is that they don't really quite think the bread is still there; they think it just appears to be bread but is really Jesus' body. Not a huge error -- certainly not like the error which sets aside Jesus' word "This is My body" and considers the bread to be mere bread which symbolizes Jesus' body. But why do they think the bread is no longer there?

It sounds like it's just too much closeness. Too much of God condescending to us. Too much dirtying Himself with mere atoms and molecules. How could God be bread? How humiliating that would be for Him!

But if we believe that He made matter and called it good, ...

if we believe that He took on human flesh and joined Himself to our race, incarnated in the womb of the virgin so that He might be our brother and save us, ...

if we believe that He doesn't want to maintain distance between Himself and His creatures, ...

then we believe that our God's joy and delight is to be joined to us! He does not want to keep His distance! He doesn't have to change the bread so that it is no longer bread but is only His body. He chooses to come in this very concrete [even fleshy] way.

The problem with Rome's transubstantiation is NOT that they think too highly of what that bread is, or what is in that chalice. The problem, rather, is the subtle little separation: Christ's body and Christ's blood couldn't possibly be so intimately joined with the bread and wine.

But He is! And He is joined to my flesh. And your flesh. Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say 'rejoice'!

Oh, Christian heart,
whoe'er thou art,
be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee.
For God's own Child in mercy mild
joins thee to Him --
how greatly God must love thee!! (TLH 81:4)

First Week of Work

My feet hurt. No surprise there -- LOL. And last week there was a lot of sitting in the training room, with only a couple hours a day on my feet. This week will be lots of standing.

I managed not to become dehydrated. I usually do that when I get out of the house instead of living in close proximity to my stove, fridge, and kitchen sink, with occasional forays to the washer & dryer.

The disadvantage of being older is that I don't bop around the computer screen at a high rate of speed, finding links to click to give me the information I need to take care of a customer. And then there are a gazillion different user-id's and passwords to remember for work. The advantage of being older is that I have a lot more understanding of how a bank works, how the whole economy works, and what sort of products banks have available (especially ours, because I've been a customer there for a year before becoming employed there).

There were five of us being trained last week. Two had been tellers before. Three of us had never worked in a bank. It was SO comforting to know that the other two newbies were struggling as much as I was to follow directions and remember procedures. The scariest part is going to be learning to identify counterfeits. Right now, I suspect every check I see of being faked and want to examine it closely. I can just see myself with lines of 20 or 30 people, waiting impatiently to get their turn at Miss Pokey-Teller's window.

Last week was training in a meeting room. The next two weeks are training in a real bank, with real live customers depositing & withdrawing real live money. The one delight in seeing my schedule for the next two weeks is that I don't work Saturdays yet (because my mentor doesn't work Saturdays) ... so I get to go to Lessons&Carols rehearsal next week and sing and sing and sing. Singing Christmas hymns can be antidote to whatever is wrong in life.

Vintage

In a conversation last week, several people were talking about their cool "vintage purse" or "vintage sweater" or "vintage bowl" or "vintage chair." I sat there quietly, listening, not wanting to reveal that I didn't know what "vintage" meant. Silly me -- I thought "vintage" had something to do with vines (as in, grape harvests or wine) or possibly something classy and old.

Turns out that "vintage" apparently is the new word for "used." If you have a hand-me-down purse that's 3 years old, it's just "used." But if your used purse is 20 years old, then it's "vintage" and you can consider yourself classy and trendy-but-with-respect-for-recycling.

Huh. And here I thought "used" covered "antique" and "vintage" and "used." Color me cheap.

Despised and Afflicted

From Good Friday's Old Testament reading --
He is despised and rejected by men,
a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.


Try reading that once with an emphasis on the pronouns. HE is despised, and WE hid OUR faces from HIM. Surely HE has borne OUR griefs and carried OUR sorrows. Yet WE esteemed HIM stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

That's pretty warped. He took our punishment, and we hated Him for it. We deserved an eternal thumping, didn't get it, and looked down the one who endured it for us.


But now look at Psalm 22, which we hear late on Maundy Thursday, during the stripping of the altar:
He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
nor has He hidden His face from Him;
but when He cried to Him, He heard.


Jesus was afflicted so that we might be spared. We despised Him for it, but the Father did not. "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him." It pleased the Father that His Son rescued us. Jesus did not despise what He had to do. The Father did not hide His face from the ugliness of what our sin did to Jesus, but heard His prayer and raised Him up. The Father did not hide His face from the ugliness of what our sin did to Jesus, but mankind did.

Still, even with that kind of response from sinners, still He died that we might be His own.

Frontline Plus

We seldom deal with fleas here. When the cats run across a flea or two, they usually take care of it themselves and don't become infested. On occasion, I have to apply Frontline Plus. That usually only happens once or twice a year; I don't keep up with dosing them every 4-6 weeks.

Last time I needed the drugs, I ordered online instead of buying it from the local vet or pet-supply store. I'm not doing that again. I don't know what's different, but the fleas seem to be merely suppressed, and they make a return shortly before the 4-week mark. It may be cheaper per bottle to buy from Pet Meds, but it has turned out to be more expensive because I need a lot more bottles.

Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

We sing it every Advent. It's from Psalm 24:
Lift up your heads, o you gates,
and be lifted up, you everlasting doors,
and the King of Glory shall come in.

What gates?
Gates of heaven?
Gates of Jerusalem?
The doors of our hearts?
The pastors?
And where are these "heads"? On us or on the gates?
Even though I hear this often in hymns and sermons, I still don't know what it's about.

And then in Didache recently, we were discussing the Second Coming. In Mark 13, as He speaks of both the crucifixion and His coming at the Last Day, Jesus says, "When you see all these things happening, know that it is near -- at the doors!"

Doors, eh?

And then He tells them to watch: "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch." You have to lift up your head to watch for something.

Causes of the Civil War

Slavery versus abolition?
Nationalism versus states' rights?
You hear both sides.

Tonight as Andrew and I were listening to a presentation on the Civil War, I think I finally figured out something. Both issues brought on Southern secession.

Basically, the states that seceded between Lincoln's election and inauguration were the southern Southern states that wanted to protect the institution of slavery and even expand it by importing more slaves and making slaves cheaper to buy so that everybody could have one. But the northern Southern states were waffling; they were still in the USA when Lincoln became president. Virginia and the other border states bailed on the USA and joined the CSA after Fort Sumter. For them, nationalism could not overcome the thought of the federal government trampling states' rights.

This makes sense to me. That would be why you hear primary-source material which sounds, beyond a shadow of a doubt, as if the war were most certainly fought over the issue of slavery and because some Americans thought dark-skinned people weren't really people but property. And yet other primary-source material just as clearly and surely makes the case that the war was not about slavery but about political power. The viewpoint would depend on which part of the South we're talking about, and when they left the Union, and why.

Not Bored!!!!

So Maggie comments on how there aren't that many days until Christmas, but still Christmas seems So Far Away because, y'know, she doesn't really have anything to do ...

... and ...

... uh ...

"No! I didn't mean that! I'm not bored! I have things to do! Yes! I do! It's just that it seems so far to Christmas, but .... uh .... REALLY! I AM NOT BORED!"



Around here, "I'm bored" is met with plenty of suggestions. There's a bathroom to clean, dishes to wash, and a myriad of other chores. The look on Maggie's face as she realized, mid-sentence, what she was saying to her mom ... priceless!

Homeschooling: An Intellectually Stimulating Job

On Saturday I was chatting with a woman at Gary's company Christmas party. She had just started her job about five weeks earlier and had been very nervous, just as I am about my new job. She said that, the week before she started, she kept thinking of all the things that might go wrong. But after she started, she found the job to be so intellectually stimulating. She promised me I'd find the same thing after being at home with kids for so many years.

A job? Intellectually stimulating?

My job for the last couple of decades has been exceptionally varied. I have managed my own time and priorities. I have taught children with various strengths, weaknesses, skills, motivations, and learning styles. Just recently, I have played with exponents and graphed quadratic functions, read literature set during World War I, studied different economic systems, explored the causes and results of the Mexican-American War, and read about statistical analysis and how it can be abused and twisted for propaganda's sake. Over the years I have studied more about the Civil War and whales and mountains and Shakespeare than I ever dreamed anyone could know. I have repaired large and small appliances. I have delved into the intricacies of my daughter's birth defects, cardiovascular system, speech therapy, and learning disabilities. I took on gardening and canning. I have become a superb cook and bread-baker, and I know an awful lot about nutrition and a little about herbology and alternative medical care. If I'm not the Queen of Frugal, I am at least a contender for the crown, and that takes creativity and hard work. I stayed up on politics, testified at hearings at the state capitol on various pieces of legislation, and led homeschooling workshops for hundreds of parents. I have edited theology books and articles by Scaer, Korby, Bender, and Fabrizius.

And somebody thinks, in comparison to this (this just-a-housewife job), being a bank teller will be intellectually stimulating?

Seeing All Those Families

Gary's business celebrated yesterday with their annual Christmas party. I was struck again and again by how many employees said, "It's SO NICE to see all the families here, to see all the kids!" The owner, too, commented to us as well as to the whole assembly about how great it was to see all the spouses and the kids. Such a happy day!

And it is nice to see how the bosses and co-workers enjoy seeing each other's families. It is super that the company includes kids in the Christmas party and the annual zoo outing. I like it that they do this.

And yet, there's this little voice in me that says it's sad that families are separated so much of the time. It's sad that mommies and daddies are away from their children for their workday. It's sad that families are not working together in their cottage industry and the garden and the kitchen and the workshop, maintaining a home and business together.

Yes, it is a great blessing to have a job with an income, and a great blessing to be in a family-friendly work environment. But wouldn't it be lovely if families were together so that a "family-friendly work environment" seemed oxymoronic to most of us?

Scamming Yourself

No matter how much I convince myself to maintain a reasonable perspective, no matter how much I hang onto the Gospel, no matter how much I tell myself that everything's going to be all right (and think I'm believing that),

cold sores and an upset tummy show me up.


My doggone body betrays the reality of my unbelief when my mind and heart may think they are set aright.

Miscarriage and "The Necessity of Baptism"

So Wednesday morning in chapel (after Rachel called about the baby but while there was still a smidge of hope that the ultrasound might find a heartbeat), we prayed in the Great Litany for expectant mothers. And then on Thursday morning we had the story of Leah and Rachel and their children. And then during Bible class we discussed the article in the Augsburg Confession on baptism and how baptism is "necessary for salvation."

Bonnie asked about the thief on the cross. Pastor's mini-answer was that we don't know he wasn't baptized. But then the main answer: even if he wasn't, Jesus said, "Today you will be with Me in paradise." Jesus' word is what matters!! Pastor also pointed out that "without God's word, the water is plain water, but with the Word of God, it is a baptism, that is, a life-giving water." In other words, it is the Word which makes baptism what it is. It is the Word that has the power. It is the Word of God which saves, which imparts faith, which forgives sin.

I had to ask after class about little babies who die before baptism. In my intellect, I knew the answer. But I still needed to hear the answer.

Pastor re-spoke what he had said in class about the malefactor on the cross. He reminded me of God's desire to save the baby and that this child's lack of baptism would not thwart God's eternal plan. He reminded me that the baby had been hearing God's word. (And none of that "but the baby doesn't have ears yet." Go look at Romans 10:17 and all the stories where Jesus healed the deaf -- God's word creates hearing even when the person doesn't have the physical equipment to hear the gospel which is being preached to him.)

Pastor pointed out 1 Corinthians 7:14, where it says the unbelieving wife is sanctified by her Christian husband, and the unbelieving husband is sanctified by his Christian wife, and how their children are holy. He reminded me that "the Word of God is the only holy thing we have" and that is what Paul is referring to in his advice on marriage. But this also means that the Word of God spoken and sung in the lives of the parents is how the Holy Spirit is working faith in their children, "when and where He pleases, in those who hear the Gospel. And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits, but by the merits of Christ, when we believe this."

And for the sake of my small brain which needs pictures and illustrations and simple explanations, he gave me an analogy. Nutrition is necessary that the baby might grow and live physically. Babies get their nutrition by suckling at the breast. But does that mean they don't get any nutrition before birth, just because they cannot yet suckle? Of course not. How silly. Things are different before birth. God provides nutrition in a different way prior to birth. In the same way, Jesus' blood is necessary to cover sin. God's Word delivers His atonement to us. But there are some differences in how that merciful blood is delivered to us before and after birth. (Okay, it's not a perfect analogy. But it's good. And it helps.)

Jesus took on human flesh in the womb of His mother Mary. He joined Himself to us that He might save His little brothers, even the ones still in the womb. "He was little, weak, and helpless. Tears and smiles like us He knew. And He feeleth for our sadness. And He shareth in our gladness." He became man and died for our sin that our babies might have the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. For the promise IS "to you and to your children."


Okay, y'all didn't need to hear that, I suspect. But I needed to write it out.

Loss

Sometimes, when you most need to hear "I'm sorry for your loss" and comfort and sympathy, that's when you don't want to hear it. When love and support are verbally expressed, your tough perseverance flies out the window.

Children of the heavenly Father
safely in His bosom gather.
Nestling bird nor star in heaven
such a refuge e'er was given!

After a long wait, Rachel and Matt were expecting a baby mid-summer. The baby died this weekend.

Neither life nor death shall ever
from the Lord His children sever.
Unto them His grace He showeth,
and their sorrows all He knoweth.

Sometimes it's hard to go to church when you're suffering. It can be emotional. Hearing the solid truth of God's love and tender mercy may make you cry. And yet, where else is there help and rescue?

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne'er forsaketh.
His the loving purpose solely
to preserve them pure and holy.

Temples Made With Hands

Surely in temples made with hands
God the Most High is not dwelling.
High above earth His temple stands,
all earthly temples excelling.

Those lines from "Built on the Rock" have long bothered me. God does come to our churches. His preaching lays Him on our hearts. His body lies on the altar and is fed into our mouths. His blood washes over our children in baptism.

And yet, those lines from the hymn reflect Acts 7 and Isaiah 66. How can you argue with the Bible?

Pastor talked on Sunday how God had told David that his son would be the one to build the temple (2 Samuel 7:12-13). And his son Solomon did build a temple of cedar and gold. But his Son Jesus was the true Tabernacle, the true Temple, the eternal temple that could not be destroyed forever by Babylonians or by Roman soldiers. And when His body was destroyed, in three days He raised it up (John 2:19).

So God does not dwell in temples made with hands: rather, He dwells in temples made with His word. Our physical buildings are indeed His dwelling place -- but only when they are built by His word which flows forth to sanctify the place, the preacher, and the hearers.

Stephen's Sermon

In Acts 6, Saul/Paul and the other men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen stirred up the people so that Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin. They said he was preaching this Jesus who wanted to overturn the Law. They said he wanted to change the customs Moses delivered.

Pastor pointed out on Sunday that
1) they didn't really know what the Law was; they saw it as a bunch of rules that they could follow if they tried hard enough; they didn't get it that the Law showed them their sin and that atonement was necessary.
2) their fathers hadn't loved Moses even "back in the day"; the Israelites murmured constantly against Moses and even tried to overthrow him.

The point is that sinners always reject the one who comes with God's salvation. God's messengers cannot expect to be embraced and loved.

Acceptance

Andrew was accepted into the RN program he applied for. He's in the process of updating his vaccinations. His program planning meeting is middle of next week. They'll have to do a criminal background check -- I think he'll pass. Now we just have to figure out a way to buckle down to the schoolwork again after Thanksgiving, while also making adjustments to having me gone to work so much of the time.

Advent

The Spirit and Church cry out:

Come, Lord Jesus.

All those who await His appearance pray:

Come, Lord Jesus.

The whole creation pleads:

Come, Lord Jesus.

Washer Repair

Having lost a pair of jeans, I went exploring in the laundry room. Ah ha -- a load of laundry was sitting in the washer. Since Wednesday. Ick. So I pour in a little vinegar and put it on a second spin cycle. When I come back later, the machine is sitting there, full of water, unable to drain and spin. Oh no!

I love the internet! I found possible causes for the problem. I found a video that told me how to take the cabinet off the machine. (I've taken the washer apart before to do repairs, but as I blunder my way through it on my own, I end up taking apart a lot of things that don't need to be dismantled. I love the videos that tell you where to start and what to do next!) We discovered which part was broken. Gary duct-taped the lid switch in place so that the machine is usable if we treat it gently and use it as little as possible. I ordered the replacement parts online, and they should be here in a week.

This is a whole lot better than a $70 housecall fee and $50-100/hour for the repairman.

(Crossing fingers in hopes that we don't still need to call a professional to install the parts.)

Shoe Shopping

If someone were on heart medicine or depression medication or a thyroid prescription, I suspect people would understand if the person was worried about going off his medicine. How is this going to work? What's going to happen to me? How will I cope with the changes? But I don't think the person would be told that the medicine was just a crutch or that "everybody else manages without it."

We have found ways to cope with Maggie's vcfs, poverty [well, y'know, American-style poverty], depression, foot pain, and assorted health problems that came from living in The House Of Mildew. Thing is, quite a few of those coping mechanisms are out-the-window with my starting a job. That makes me nervous. We've got some problems to solve. Hopefully, having the whole family pitch in with the work and cutting back on the standards will help resolve some issues. There needs to be some serious reconsideration of Maggie's education, goals, methods, resources, support, etc. Ack -- thinking! Ack -- decisions!

But I think one problem is solved -- the shoes. I have spent between 20 and 25 hours shoe-shopping in the last week. (I hate shopping.) I buy shoes, bring 'em home, wear 'em indoors for an hour, and take 'em back. Driving home from the shoe store again on Wednesday, I was ready to phone the bank and tell them to give the job to somebody else: it was too overwhelming to consider going back to the world of that much pain in my feet and legs. But hooray hooray -- I found something online that looks like it should work. The H.R. Dept at the bank okayed the shoes for being professional enough; the shoes are nearly as flat as my tennies; they are open-toed with adjustable straps in the vicinity of my bunions; and [ta da!!] they will accommodate the orthoses I wear in my tennies all day every day. I am utterly overjoyed at the prospect of wearing something that's not going to have me in tears at the end of the day, that's not going to require pain meds and ice packs every evening.

Somehow, this is a massive relief. The other problems no longer seem insurmountable. (Lord, have mercy: I sure do hope that these shoes turn out to be what I expect them to be, and not too short.)

Today's Laugh

This is lifted off the internet; it is about neither me nor my mother.

This is more embarrassing for my mother than for me because I wasn't quite four years old when it happened. My mother taught me to read when I was 3 years old (her first mistake). One day I was in the bathroom and noticed one of the cabinet doors was ajar. I read the box in the cabinet. I then asked my mother why she was keeping napkins in the bathroom. Didn't they belong in the kitchen? Not wanting to burden me with unnecessary facts she told me that those were for special occasions.

Now fast forward a few months. It's Thanksgiving Day, and my folks are leaving to pick up the pastor and his wife for dinner. Mom had assignments for all of us while they were gone. Mine was to set the table. You guessed it! When they returned, the pastor came in first and immediately burst into laughter. Next came his wife who gasped, then began giggling. Next came my father, who roared with laughter. Then came mom, who almost died of embarrassment when she saw each place setting on the table with a "special occasion" napkin at each plate, with the fork carefully arranged on top. I had even tucked the little tails in so they didn't hang off the edge. My mother asked me why I used these and, of course, my response sent the other adults into further fits of laughter. "But Mom, you SAID they were for special occasions!!

Today's Laugh

We visited our newly married daughter, who was preparing her first Thanksgiving dinner. Her father noticed the turkey thawing in the kitchen sink with a dish drainer inverted over the bird. He asked why a drainer covered the turkey.

She looked at me and said, "Because Mom always did it that way."

"Yes," I replied, "but you don't have a cat!"

(adapted from A. C. Stokers, Jr.)

The Spread of His Glory

The chorale version of the Sanctus goes:
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth.
His glory fills the heavens and the earth.

(See also Isaiah 6.)

So, if the glory of God is seen chiefly in the love and mercy which moved Him to lay down His life and suffer for our sake,

then is His glory spread through the whole earth when Christians suffer for the sake of the Gospel? They may be martyred. They may be persecuted. They may bear the sins of others, returning love and forgiveness when they are mistreated. And that goes on through the whole earth, year after year, decade after decade, in little ways and big ways, filling up the whole earth with mercy. Granted, when we poor sinners suffer for the sake of the Gospel, it is a mere hint of Jesus' suffering, and when we show mercy we are still tainted by sin.

Remember in Acts where it says Luke's gospel was "all that Jesus began to do and teach"? It was because Jesus continued "doing and teaching" through the apostles, as recorded in Acts. Maybe the glory of His sacrificial love continues to spread through the world via His Christians.

Zion Hears the Watchmen Singing

The pastor --the watchman-- sings: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. And when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, 'Take, eat, this is My body' ...."

Zion hears the watchmen singing,
and all her heart with joy is springing.
She wakes, she rises from her gloom
for her Lord comes down all glorious,
the strong in grace, in truth victorious.
Her star is risen. Her light is come.
Now come,
Thou blessed one,
Lord Jesus,
God's own Son.
Hail, hosanna!
We enter all
the wedding hall
to eat the Supper at Thy call.

Her Lord comes down to the altar, to join Himself to us in the bread and wine.

And we sing Hosanna. (We do, don't we? That's in the communion liturgy.)



The pastors (the watchmen) are called to guard and protect us. Therefore they call to us in the sermon to awaken us that we might go forth to meet our Lord at the altar.

Now let all the heavens adore Thee,
let men and angels sing before Thee
with harp and cymbals' clearest tone.

"With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious name ...."

Today's Laugh

Two men walked into a bar, the third one ducked.



From Glenda. :-)

Interview Results

The job interview went well. I liked the manager of the branch. But what I liked most is that this is a job that appears to have no ethical dilemmas for me. I'm sorry if this is offensive, folks, but I would have a very hard time working at McDonalds, selling pop and burgers on white buns. And I would have a hard time working at Kohl's, where you have to convince a certain number of people to take credit cards if you want to be scheduled for more hours. My heart leapt when the manager was describing to me that our bank does not push credit cards and push loans; yes, they offer them, and when people want those things we'd prefer they get them from us rather than a competitor. But we don't try to sell people on a product that will not be to their best interest. The manager and personnel director also talked about the importance of family and how the job should take us away from family as little as possible. And they told me that they are closed for holidays and will never open on Sundays as some banks are beginning to do.

They offered me the job. Training week (full-time) starts December 6. After that I suppose it will seem like a vacation to go to half-time.

Luckily I found a black blazer at Goodwill with unreasonably long sleeves; they actually come down to my wrist. But finding professional-looking shoes is going to be another problem -- orthotic inserts, plus something in my bizarre size. I think the entire paycheck for the full-time week is going to go for a pair of shoes (well, that and the taxes ...).

You know what? Every time we have a major change in life, it is preceded by a van wreck. Next time there is a huge change in the wings, I think I'm going to walk everywhere.

Today's Laugh

Dragon #1 - Am I late for dinner?

Dragon #2 - Yes, everyone's eaten.



Thanks, Ruth, for letting me steal a joke!

Saying Goodbye

When people move away, they often take leave of friends with promises to keep in touch. They plan to get together at times and to remain friends. That usually doesn't happen. Distance interferes with relationships. Of course, some long-distance relationships can be maintained with much effort (phone calls, letters, pictures) and sometimes an old friendship can pick up right where you left off when there is that rare chance to visit and revel temporarily in the closeness you once shared. Nevertheless, at the time of separation, those intentions to Keep In Touch provide comfort during the transition.

I'm wondering if the same thing happens when a person begins a new life. How long do young married couples remain in close contact with their single buddies, especially after babies arrive? Do widows continue to hang out with the couple-friends they once enjoyed being with? When a person leaves one lifestyle and begins something very different, it may be wishful thinking to plan to hang onto certain aspects of the former lifestyle. But is that wishful thinking part of how we cope with change? If I begin to work outside the home and have to admit to myself right now that I will have to give up writing and bread-baking and daily chapel and online friendships, will that make the prospect too overwhelming to contemplate? Or do I need to be honest with myself about those things so that I don't beat myself to a pulp trying to do it all?

Teaching Yourself

Some people think that high-schoolers should be able to teach themselves. They say that homeschooled kids should be trained to read and study and digest information so that, by the time they are 12-16, they will have become quite adept at doing their schoolwork without involvement from Mom.

That happens for some kids. Especially when they are highly motivated to absorb that particular type of information. But what happens when they want to do their schoolwork and do it well, but aren't particularly interested in the topic for its own sake?

What's so bad about needing a teacher? Is a kid a failure because he can't set up an educational program for himself and figure out the material from a book or video? Don't a lot of homeschooled kids take college classes in their teen years? Why? Because sometimes it's just plain easier to learn to use lab equipment or to understand the causes of the Spanish-American War or to repair a lawnmower engine when you've got somebody to teach you. Isn't that why we have colleges? It's easier to master the material when a master is helping to explain it and make it clear.

I don't think it's bad (or selfish or untrusting) of a teacher to think that her students would be better off if they were taught instead of trying to figure things out on their own.

John 19:7

When Pilate told the Jews that he found no fault in Jesus, they responded,

We have a law,
and according to our law He ought to die,
because He made Himself the Son of God.

They believed in a law of works. They believed that the Torah taught them to follow the rules. One of the rules was that blasphemers must be put to death. They believed that Jesus was not the Son of God, and thus, according to their law, He ought to die.

Twisted as this is, though, there is truth in their statement. In the story of Jesus' suffering and death, it seems that unbelievers said an awful lot of true things. Problem was, they invested those true statements with screwball errant meanings.

The truth of the matter is that the Torah and the whole Old Testament did indeed require the Son of God to die. The Law could not be fulfilled by sinful man. But the Lord took on flesh so that He might die the sinners death. And all the Law (that is, the Old Testament) pointed to that death that would come in the fullness of time. As Jesus taught the Emmaus disciples, the entire Old Testament was about Him and the redemption He wrought.

Though He had done nothing deserving of death,
according to our law, He ought to die.
And He did.
Willingly.

Today's Laugh

Bryce pointed out this t-shirt to us:

May the
F=ma
be with you.

(The arrangement of the words on the t-shirt
is funnier than the way I can put it here.)

Interview

Today I was invited in for a job interview at the bank. It's not our local branch (close enough to walk or bike) but it's not too far away. Twenty hours a week -- two days 10-6:00 and Saturday mornings. The appointment is Thursday afternoon.

His Blood Be Upon Us

Pilate was trying to let Jesus go. But the people kept insisting. Finally Pilate washes his hands of it: "This ain't my fault! YOU asked for this." And the people were fine with that: "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matthew 27:25).

As Pastor says, it must be so. Salvation is found nowhere else but when His blood is upon us.

In Acts, the same Sanhedrin that murdered Jesus was facing another crew of trouble-makers. These dudes who'd been with Jesus were preaching in the temple. The Council nabbed the apostles, put 'em on trial, and then scolded them and told them to shut up and leave (Acts 4). And the Church grew.

A little time passes, and the apostles are caught preaching in the temple again (Acts 5). That same Sanhedrin rounded up the apostles again and threw them in jail to hush them. God did not approve. He let his preachers out of the jail. The next day, when it was time for the trial, the apostles weren't in their jail cell; they were preaching in the temple again. Can't you just hear the chief priests and Pharisees asking, "How many times do we have to drag those guys out of the temple anyhow?"

So they're finally questioning the men. That's when we get to the funny part. The high priest says, Didn't we tell you to shut up? And here you are filling the whole city with your teaching, and you "intend to bring this Man's blood on us."

Hello??? Annas and Caiaphas were ring-leaders early on that Friday morning when the crowds insisted to Pilate that His blood should be on them. And yet, they didn't really want His blood.

Jesus' disciples, however, did want exactly that. They intended to bring Jesus' blood on the high priest and all the Sanhedrin. NOT to make them bear the guilt and pay the price. Not to get them in trouble with the crowds or with the government. But to bring the blood of forgiveness. To wash them in the blood that bore their guilt so that they would not have to pay the price themselves.

Waxing the Floor

Sundown comes early these days. While cleaning this weekend, I ended up vacuuming the hall under lightbulbs instead of during the sunshiny hours. The direction of the light showed me something I haven't noticed before. The hall carpet really needs a good shampooing. (Okay, everybody say "Booooo! Hissssss!" with me.) What's interesting is noticing the pattern of dirt and clean along the hall floor.

Don Aslett says you only put one thin coat of wax around the edges of the floor. Put the multi-layers in the middle of the room, where you're walking all the time, spilling, smudging, dropping things, and generally wearing out the floor. You should almost never put wax near the baseboards or in the corners.

Interestingly, there has been no traffic on the 8" next to the walls on either side of the hallway. The path into the rooms shows a 6" edge of clean carpet near the door hinges, but only a 3" edge of clean carpet on the side where the doorknob is. That should give me a good guideline for other floors in the house.

Hidden in My Heart

I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly. (Psalm 40:10)

Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You!
Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes!
With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth. (Psalm 119:11-13)

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)



Not hidden?
Hidden?

Interesting to ponder that distinction...
and how the Word hidden in our hearts will result in speaking His righteous judgments, declared of us in Baptism and preached in mercy to sinners. When the Word is hidden in our hearts, we cannot help but reveal that same Word.