Wild Strawberries!

From my yard, in my hand. Yummy.

Sign of the Season, from Uganda

Rural, Private, Primary School in Uganda

More pictures, description in the other 12/06/2007 post.

Pictures of a rural, private, primary school in Uganda

I've been meaning to write some essays about our trip to Uganda, but, well, you know how it goes. These pictures are of an Seventh Day Adventist primary school in rural Uganda. The pictures speak for them selves. We were at the school for about three hours.

Only a short amount of that time was spent looking at their three buildings for about 90 students.
The church building, the brick buildings, and even the one with just the boards, were classroom structures. The "kitchen" was the lean to structure.

The rest of the time, the children entertained their Dear Visitors. Their singing and dancing was extremely well done. One thing I can say about the Ugandan school system is that they train leaders.

These pictures are not of the Royal College of Kamuli. See the side bar link for that school.

Giving, Tithing

I copied this tithing thought from Lemonholm. Well, I guess he copied it too.

Christian thinker Ron Sider has figured out that if all the Christians in the USA alone were to tithe – give 10% of our income – we could provide basic nutrition and healthcare to all the poor in the world, and have about $70 billion left over each year.

How differently the Third World would see the USA if it was our priority to save life rather than to take it! The best way to store up treasure in heaven is to give our earthly treasure to people in need. As St. Augustine said, the bellies of the poor are the best storerooms for our extra grain.

Welcome Phone Call

My son called to say that he was fine and that he wasn't anywhere near the sight of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. He was intending to drive home to his apartment this evening right after he called me , and that could be a problem because he lives less than 2 miles from the bridge.

Evangelical pastor, Lutheran bishop to debate baptism on radio

A good one minute synopsis of baptism here .

Ministers launch petition to stop Bush library

Link
No comment. None implied.

Wine

Jesus turned water into wine, as we learned in the Gospel lesson for today.

Then we sang the Hymn of the Month: "Fill My Cup, Lord."

Search engine for baby boomers.

"Cranky is a specialty search engine designed to please aging baby boomers by processing every request from the perspective of someone who is at least 50 years old." Article here.

I'm trying to decide whether to be glad or insulted.

My biggest problem with web searches is that the links come up without regard to how old the info is. I'm always wondering what will happen in two years or ten? Instead of 100,000 hits, will I get 1,000,000 hits?

The actual searching doesn't bother me....I had to do so, so many research papers in high school, that I got used to the old fashioned search process. I think I did more researching in high school than most college kids do these days. They just need to sit in their dorm room, TV on in the background, and use their computer. ..... And while I'm complaining and comparing, just think how much easier it is to do a paper when you have a computer and word processor. Who remembers the old days of manual typewriters and ten page term papers? And yes, I walked to school a mile, up hill both directions. Actually, the road was flat, but it was a mile.

No Smoking

The new Speaker of the House announced that there will be no more smoking in the Speaker's Lobby off the House floor.

Hooray for HER. I guess it takes a woman to make this sensible change. And I've never understood the mentality of those who think that they can do whatever they want to, ie smoke indoors, in somebody else's air space.

Things I’ve Learned in the past year, part one.

The empty nest is wonderful. Both sleep and conversation are interrupted less often. I still worry about my kids, but whatever I don’t know about, I can’t worry about.
It is easier to let go when there is distance.

When the offspring come back to the nest, it is still too easy for them to become children and for me to become “parent” again. Need to pray on this one.

It is a shock to have to check the age range on forms that officially says that I am a senior citizen. Suddenly senior citizen doesn’t seem all that old and retirement doesn’t seem all that far away. Besides, I’m already tired; what could “re-tired” mean?

Arthritis doesn’t necessarily get worse with age, but sitting at the computer guarantees I’ll be stiffer than I am when I’m active.

Blogging is more personal than I thought it would be.
I’ve come to care about the writers of some of the blogs I read regularly, especially because they’ve shared their family situations and struggles. I have prayed for LP, LZ, LC, SO, and the other PS, for example, and some bloggers have told me that they prayed for me. Thank you.

There is a “small world” aspect to blogging. The other PS, EL and I are familiar with the same locations. LZ knows one branch of my family. I may yet get to meet SO, as she lives near several of my relatives.

Blogging about faith issues is more political than I thought it would be. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since Jesus said many things that, if followed, could upset the worldly culture (his day and ours.) I’m just surprised at how “ungraceful” some of the conservative Christian bloggers are.

Does Christ’s Church need to be defended with such meanness? Are the people who proclaim Christ as Lord, but who worship in a “new” style, really dangerous? Would it be Satan or God who defends the meanness?

Outdoor Ministry Affects on the Church

Voyageurs Lutheran Ministry reports "We give thinks to God for the number of VLM staff members who have heard God's call to ministry. A number are already serving as clergy and youth directors. Of course, many more do ministry within congregations as active lay members. However, at this time,VLM has an astonishing 14 former staff in seminary study. We give great praise to God for touching their lives and calling them to service in the church."

As a child and teen camper, I looked up to my counselors and aspired to be one of them one day. It didn't happen. I certainly didn't have the right personality and verve as a young adult to do that work. But I know so many young people who got interested in Christian service and became counselors. Or maybe it was the other way around.

It is hard to attract counselors because the camps can't provide pay that is competative to what the young people really need to finance their college education. And camps struggle with attacting enough campers due to all the competition out there for kid's attention. Camps also struggle with fund raising, since in many areas with a high concentration of Lutheran churches there is declining/aging population.

The church as a whole needs to continue to subsidize camps because of the fine Christian support and friendships developed there for the campers and because of the seeds that are planted, both in the campers and in the counselors.

Nurture these seeds. May God bless us with a big crop of pastors!

A Poetic and Biblical View of Immigrants

Papaloonspoetry tells it like it is.

Christmas Faith

I recently called my relative, the one I've mentioned helping out during health problems in the past 6 months. I said, "Will you be lonely being alone this Christmas?" She said, "It will be OK. Jesus was born."

This was both her simple and deep expression of faith.

May God bless her and you this Christmas.

Not a Happy Christmas Story

When I read a news article telling about some sexual indiscretion or alleged misconduct by a person I have no connection to, my reaction is to think in two dimensional terms: How stupid. How could he? How could this person let his urges get the best of him and ruin his career and hurt those around him?

Of course, it is easy to be judgmental. And if I’m in an honest mood, it is too easy to list any number of things that I’ve decided to not do again....for which the resolution lasted all of 15inutes.

In the context of sin in general, I believe that all sins separate us from God, and all sins are forgiven by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. So I am no better when I sin than somebody who does a “big” sin. And I am no better or worse when I am forgiven than any other person loved by the Lord.

But it is true that many sins and actions have consequences that are devastating and long lasting for the sinner and for those around him/her.

Maybe I drive drunk only one time with a horrible result. Maybe someone shoots a gun in the air for joy but the bullet hits a child.

The context of my thoughts: A respected mentor to a person I care about has admitted sexually inappropriate behavior. The news reports state that it wasn’t illegal behavior. The mentor had to resign his position.

Now the people around him have complex emotions to deal with. His institution is tainted in some people’s eyes. And other people he was a mentor to may have some of this reflected on them. All his good work is tainted by one action.

My thinking on this matter is no longer simplistic. This doesn’t mean that I excuse this behavior. But I know that God forgives.

May God work peace in the hearts of all affected by this situation.

Wal-Mart joke for subversives

Wal-Mart joke.

Christmas Decorations

I have an uncomfortable relationship with Christmas decorations and decorating. Mostly, I want, desperately, to be NOT like the world, i.e. the commercial establishments, that decorate even before Thanksgiving and then are so, so tired of these red and green do dads, that they take them down on Dec. 26. Freudian slip: I wrote "red and greed."

But decorating just before Dec. 25 so that my decorations are up until Ephiphany makes me feel like I'm just behind again and dull. Besides, if we travel for the holidays, we don't even get to enjoy our own decorations.

So I compromise by doing some Advent activites and slowly getting out the Christmas related decorations.

And what does it mean to be Christmas related? Now that is a good question. It seems that anything at all that is red, green, gold, or can hang on a tree is Christmasy.

I was looking at my ornaments, most of which I purchased, and asking myself, "What does this have to do with Christmas?" But I found one little tacky plastic ornament that actually has a Christmas message. Glory be to God for His Son!

Are Churches Replacing Altars with Stages? ,,

Pamela Jackson's new novel, On This Side of Heaven, reviewed here

Apparently this author feels that this is a problem because she has started a group called Restore: “I founded the RESTORE Group to help restore brokenness resulting from wounds created in the church, and to strengthen the body of Christ as a whole.”

The title of this book review caught my eye. Obviously, there are denominations within Christianity that haven't used altars traditionally. Since my tradition does use an altar and the speaker's platform, ie the pulpit, is off center, I feel like the "center of attention" is the altar and the cross. When I've visited in houses of worship in other traditions, I find myself wondering, "Why is my worship directed toward the pastor who is in the center of the platform?" Well, obviously, that is just a mind set. But I can see why morphing toward a "stage" with "performers" (in some people's opinion) isn't as great a change for some groups.

I've also wondered, when occassionally seeing TV "worship services" with this set up, do people who sing to God in public have to be so good looking? Do they have to dress to the nines? What about the praise, songs, and worship of the regular schmucks like me? If I were in one of these big "churches" would I be allowed to join the choir?

Working with the Victims of AIDS in Nigeria

I've just posted a new link in the side bar for the Mashia Foundation in Jos, Nigeria. This is a ministry begun in 1999 by a husband and wife who saw the needs among the people, primarily women and children, affected by AIDS. They are doing amazing work, teaching the women skills to increase their income, taking care of and educating children, helping to change the adoption laws so that the children have a chance at a "forever family."

My connection to this ministry is just that I am friends with the founder's mother, who lives in my town. Please check out the link to see what wonderful work this young couple is doing in Nigeria.

"Mashiah Foundation (Hebrew for Messiah) is a Christian, non-governmental organization that reaches out to people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The ministry began in 1999 when Mary Beth and Bayo Oyebade saw the needs brought on by the devastation of AIDS in Nigeria. They started out in a very limited way funding the programs from Mary Beth's teaching salary. This included various materials, salaries and rent. As word of the ministry spread, donations began to come in enabling them to expand in many areas."

But you O God,
do see trouble and grief;
you consider it
to take it in hand.
The victim commits
himself to you;
you are the helper
of the fatherless.
Psalm 10:14