A Busy Week

This past week was one of those extra-busy weeks for me.  I've learned in my almost five years of serving as a parish pastor that this is just a plain busy vocation.  The old joke about pastors only working a few hours a week on Sundays stopped being funny a long time ago.  Not that I'm complaining.  I love what I do.  I don't mind the busy-ness that goes hand-in-hand with being a full-time parish pastor.  I really don't.  I actually enjoy it.  What I do find difficult is trying to find an agreeable balance between being faithful to my vocation as a pastor and to my various other vocations as a husband, father, and home maintenance dude.  Often, the busy-ness of being a pastor results in having to miss this or that event in which my children participate and in getting woefully behind around the house (can you hear my wife, Lisa, screaming a hearty "AMEN!" to that?).

Anyway, this past week, I tried to do it all.  We had VBS this week every day from 9am-Noon, after which I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then started tackling the many chores and projects around the house that have piled up on me, while also trying to get my visits in, prepare Services, and write sermons.  A busy week, indeed!  Thank God my parents were here to help around the house.  Nowhere near as much would have been accomplished without them.  We got all the landscaping done that we wanted to get done, got the pool up and running, and got much of the preparations done for the big bash (Sarah's Open House) we'll be having here next weekend.  There is still much to do, but it is much more manageable than it was a week ago, and I'm confident that we'll get everything else done.  As for my pastoral duties, I'm still catching up on those.  Still have visits to make, sermons to finish, the newsletter to get ready, etc.  So, the busy-ness will continue, but such is life.

What I have learned about myself in trying to go full-bore from early morn to late at night is that I am woefully out of shape and my body doesn't agree with physical labor like it used to.  I need to catch me a little Weedon-itis and start making myself exercise daily, 'cause the aches and pains I've experienced this week have been no fun at all.  Man, if only I had more time . . . :)

A Great Politician

Say what you will about LCMS President Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, there is one thing for certain:  He is a great politician.  You gotta give the man his props in this area.  He knows what to say and when and how to say it.  Like all great politicians, he has mastered the art of spin and has the uncanny ability to deflect criticism away from himself and back onto his critics.  Anyone who has paid even a little attention to the way in which Pres. Kieschnick has carried himself these last nine years must admit that he is a political genius.  He has been careful to maintain plausible deniability regarding many controversial happenings under his watch, always managing to keep himself out of the eye of the storm, so to speak.

So it is that in the latest "President's Leadership News" (the fancy, colorful insert included in the Reporter), we see Pres. Kieschnick's political prowess at its best, especially in the section where he answers a few questions regarding the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance, whose proposals have now been drafted into resolutions to be presented and voted upon at the LCMS National Convention next month.  All three of the answers Pres. Kieschnick provides to the three questions in this section are politically captivating, but the third Q and A is simply marvelous.  Just read for yourself:

Q:  I've heard that task force recommendations are really just an effort to concentrate power in the Office of the President of the Synod.  Is that true?

A:  No.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  For five years, task force members have addressed organizational and structural challenges in our Synod - unnecessary bureaucracy, lack of coordination, ambiguous supervisory relationships, inequitable representation, inefficient organization, insufficient accountability, etc.  They have sought and responded to feedback from convention delegates and other leaders.  Approval of the recommendations will streamline the operations of the national Synod and reduce or even eliminate the "silo" effect that currently stymies cross-pollination and necessary coordination of efforts and resources.  

Now, come on, you have to admit it - this is genius!  First of all, note the phrase in the question, "just an effort to concentrate power."  Talk about a softball!  Of course Pres. Kieshnick can adamantly respond with a resounding, "No.  Nothing could be further from the truth."  But, who in the world has ever said that the task force recommendations are "JUST an effort to concentrate power in the Presidential Office"?  To be sure, there have been a great many who have noted that the adoption of the task force proposals would, in fact, result in a further concentration of power in the office of the synodical president.  Heck, even outside consultants with no dog in this fight have noted this.  But, having the question phrased the way it is here allows for Pres. Kieschnick to cleverly avoid having to address the whole centralization of power issue at all.  Brilliant!

But, there is more here than meets the eye.  This is politics at its best, folks.  This question and answer is provided in this specific way by Pres. Kieschnick for a specific purpose, and that purpose is to convince the people in our synod, including the delegates who will be voting on these proposals, to simply ignore any talk about these proposals resulting in further concentration of power in his office.  Rather, they should direct their attention toward the fact that this task force has been working hard for five years in the attempt to address a whole host of issues which currently stymie our structure and governance.  Like a great politician, Pres. Kieschnick manages to completely avoid the heart of the question to which he is responding, which, as noted, is helped along by the phrasing of the question.  Again, brilliant!

Pres. Kieschnick is fully aware of the fact that the real question he should be responding to is:  Will the adoption of the proposals of the task force result in further concentration of power in the office of the president?  Of course, if the question was phrased in that manner, he would have no choice but to answer, "Yes."  I mean, there is no debating the fact that the adoption of the task force's proposals will result in further concentration of power in the office of the president.  That's simply an unquestionable fact.  But, a good politician knows how to avoid unquestionable facts - or, at least, to avoid having to address unquestionable facts.  And, President Kieschnick is a good politician.  This is most certainly true!         

Not So Different

One of the arguments I hear time and time again from those who abandon the historic liturgy and replace it with other forms of worship is that this is necessitated by the fact that we have so many different cultures within the boundaries of our country.  The historic liturgy may be appropriate in some places, but it simply doesn't play well in other places, or so the argument goes.  I don't buy this at all. 

I'm certainly not so naive or uninformed as to think that there are not some cultural differences from region to region here in America.  Surely there are.  But, these differences are not so great as to demand the employment of different forms of worship, as if the historic liturgy would be so utterly foreign and useless in this or that region that it simply must be abandoned.  Ba-lo-ney!  Those who make this argument are simply looking for a way to justify the use of the different forms of worship that they themselves desire.

I witnessed an example of this a couple of summers ago when I was visiting my kinfolk in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia.  I attended the nearest LCMS congregation on the Sunday I was there.  It turned out that this particular congregation (which is one of only three in the whole state of West Virginia) was currently without a pastor.  An LCMS Mission Executive was there that day to lead the Service.  I was thoroughly disappointed with what I witnessed.  I really don't even know how to describe it.  It was a hodge-podge of various liturgical elements, some familiar, others obviously made up, with several contemporary Christian "praise songs" interspersed throughout.  It was wholly informal and dependent upon a theology of worship inconsistent with our Lutheran confession of the faith.  I could have saved the gas I spent to travel the 45 minutes to this congregation and just drove a mile down the hollar to attend Lick Creek Community Church and got the same thing.

The worst part about this experience was that I learned that the decidedly un-Lutheran "style" of worship I suffered through there was completely intentional.  Rather than preaching a Law-Gospel sermon, the Mission Executive's "message" was a power-point presentation, the main purpose of which was to drive home the point that you simply cannot worship like Lutherans in West Virginia.  He repeatedly emphasized the idea that the "old ways" of doing mission and ministry do not work in places like West Virginia, which "has a completely different culture."  One of the lines still firmly entrenched into my memory bank was, "We can't come into West Virginia as Lutherans, but need to first establish ourselves as Christians."  Huh?  What in the world does that even mean?  Was he actually making the argument that Lutherans doing mission and ministry in West Virginia should refrain from being Lutherans?  Yep.  That's exactly the argument he made.  Lutheranism doesn't play in West Virginia.  Lutherans can't preach like Lutherans there.  Lutherans can't worship like Lutherans there.  Lutherans can't teach like Lutherans there.  Lutherans simply can't be Lutherans in West Virginia.  The culture is just too different for such a thing.  Lutherans have to forsake their confession of the faith and pretend to be the kind of Christians West Virginians are used to if they have any hope of being successful there.

I wanted to raise my hand and say, "Gee whiz, maybe we Lutherans should just stay the heck out of West Virginia then!"  I mean, why bother?  If the culture is so vastly different and Lutherans have to forsake their confession of the faith and alter their doctrine and practice to fit in, what's the point?  If we're not going to be bringing Lutheranism into West Virginia, we really shouldn't be doing mission work there.

But, hey, this Mission Executive had a plan.  He had recently spoken at length with the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, after all, and he was confident that he could sneak Lutheranism into West Virginia.  He would just have to pretend to be a Baptist to do so, that's all.  He was sure that Lutherans in West Virginia would be able to actually be Lutherans someday, but it would take many years (maybe even a few generations) of being Baptists before that would be possible.

I also learned during this presentation that the reason this congregation had not yet issued a call to a pastor was because they were having trouble finding a guy who would be comfortable with the approach that needed to be taken there.  The guys they had already interviewed were just too Lutheran.  They needed a guy who would be willing to forsake Lutheranism and embrace being a Baptist.  It was actually refreshing to my ears to hear that they were having trouble finding a guy like that, although I knew that they eventually would.

Anyway, back to the point.  Having been visiting my kinfolk in West Virginia since I was a baby, the one thing I am absolutely certain of is that the culture there is not so different from the culture in which I live here in Michigan.  There are differences, to be sure.  But, these differences pale greatly in comparison to the commonalities we share culturally.  And I would say that this holds true throughout our country.  From coast to coast, from our northern to our southern borders, we Americans share a common culture which far outweighs the subtle differences we find from region to region and place to place.  To claim that the culture of this or that region of our country is so vastly different from others is to deny this reality.  And, to do so for the sake of abandoning our Lutheran confession of the faith and altering our Lutheran doctrine and practice is completely absurd.  Of course, when we seek the advice of the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention and other non-Lutheran "church consultants" to guide us in our endeavors to do mission and ministry throughout our great land, it shouldn't surprise us to witness Lutherans buying into the fallacy that we just can't be Lutherans in this or that area.

The other thing I am absolutely sure of when it comes to my kinfolk in West Virginia is that what is needed in their region is the pure Gospel confessed and practiced in their midst.  Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that this is what is needed everywhere in our country and all over the world.  Lutherans should be doing Lutheran mission work wherever they go, wholly committed to presenting the pure Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in confession and practice, unwilling to compromise that in any way, for the saving of souls wherever they find themselves.  That requires a commitment to our confession of the faith, which flows from an unwavering confidence that our confession is true.  This, of course, is the hard way of doing things.  It is much easier to compromise and adapt to our surroundings in order to fit in.  But, this should not be an option for Lutherans, not if we actually believe in our confession.

Lastly, those who continue to make the argument that different cultures require us to abandon the historic liturgy and employ different worship forms would do well to remember that the historic liturgy of the Christian Church has been employed throughout the world, across actual cultural divides, for quite some time.  The theological principle employed in this regard by Christians throughout history has been that the Church has her own distinct culture which must be maintained wherever she finds herself.  Worldly cultures cannot be allowed to influence the Church's culture in such a way that her culture would be altered and no longer identifiable.  On the contrary, the Church's culture is to have an impact on the worldly culture, no matter how diverse it is from place to place, so that those who are drawn in from the world are drawn into a decidedly different culture from the one in which they live out their daily lives.  In other words, the Church must always remain distinct from the world.  That's a decidedly Biblical principle and one in which true Lutherans continue to confess to this day.

If the historic liturgy works among Lutherans in Africa and Haiti and Russia and Sweden and in many other parts of the world, where there really are vast differences between cultures, one wonders how any sane Lutheran can actually try to advance the argument that it won't play in this or that region of our own country, where we share a culture that is far more common than diverse.  The only plausible explanation for this is that such Lutherans simply don't like being Lutherans.  Or, am I missing something?      

You gotta check this out!

Okay, so I'm a day late and a dollar short on this, but I know there are still some of you who have not yet been introduced to the most excellent video presentations of my friend, Rev. Jonathan Fisk.  I met Pr. Fisk at the Brothers of John the Steadfast Conference earlier this year and had the opportunity to chat with him, get to know him a bit, and swap stories about life as a parish pastor, and about the writing assignments each of us are working on (which I'm betting that he'll complete far sooner than I ever will!).  Anyway, he uploads videos every Tuesday and Friday to his youtube channel, and not only are they wildly entertaining, but they are solidly Lutheran and very informative.  I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you check them out!

The video posted below is from a couple of weeks ago.  In it, Pr. Fisk does an awesome job of showing us what it actually looks like to change the style, but keep the substance of Lutheran worship by providing clips from our Lutheran brethren in Africa, and comparing and contrasting those clips with clips from American Lutherans whose changed style results in changed substance.  The constant argument employed by those in our midst who advocate and practice contemporary worship is that they are changing the style, but keeping the substance of our Lutheran confession of the faith.  Um, not so much, as can be clearly seen by Pr. Fisk's fine display in this video.  Again, check it out!  (I love the Sesame Street song - so on target!).   

Also in this video, Pr. Fisk presents a challenge to support the work of Pr. James May, who is a real, flesh-and-blood missionary doing wonderful work in Africa (i.e. he's not the sort of "missionary" so oft promoted in our midst today; you know, the kind of lay "missionary" who goes on a two-week vacation short-term "mission" trip to teach English as a second language and see the sights - NOPE!  He's a real missionary doing real Word and Sacrament Ministry in Africa, which is, sadly, a rather novel concept in our synod today).  Pr. May and his family need our support so that they can remain where they are and allow Pr. May to baptize, catechize, and feed the people there - you know, do what real missionaries do!  If you have the means, this is something well worth your support!  You can send donations to Pr. May's home congregation:

Bethlehem Lutheran Church

7500 State Road

Parma, Ohio 44134
(indicate "support Lutherans in Africa")

Okay, so here's the video (be sure to visit Pr. Fisk's youtube channel to see more of his great videos):

A Pleasant Suprise

Last night, in the midst of a family Texas Hold 'Em game, my sister's boyfriend, Mike, shocked everyone by returning from a trip to the bathroom with a ring and a proposal, which Brandy happily accepted.  He further announced that they would be heading to Toledo today to tie the knot in front of the Justice of the Peace, which they did and are now officially husband and wife.  They have been dating for over a year now and always appear to be far more happy than any couple should be. :)  Seriously, I am thrilled for both of them.  This will be the second marriage for both and I am confident that they are committed to remaining together for as long as they live.  Mike is a great guy and treats my sister wonderfully.  He is a lot of fun to be around and we have all enjoyed getting to know him and welcome him with open arms into our family.  They are expecting their first child in October, which is nothing short of a miracle, since it was all but certain that bearing children would not be possible for Brandy.  I am anxiously awaiting the birth of my first nephew or niece and pray that all goes well with the remainder of the pregnancy and delivery. 

Of course, part of the dilemma of having a brother who is a pastor is that they'll just have to put up with my nagging them to get their butts into a Lutheran church where they, and their child-to-be, can receive the blessings our Lord has in store for them.  Sorry guys, that's just the way it is. :)  So, congrats!  I am very happy for you, but I fervently hope and pray that you will get yourselves to Christ's church, that your marriage and your child(ren) would be blessed by God.

A pic of the happy couple in the moments following the surprise announcement last night:

 

 

All Edumicated and Gradumated

Yesterday, during Divine Service, we took time before the Prayer of the Church to recognize, pray for, and bless Sarah, my daughter, upon graduating from high school.  This is a tradition we observe every year when we have members graduating from high school; this year, Sarah is the only one.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for graciously bringing Sarah to this point of formal education.  For all the efforts of parents and teachers through these years we praise You.  We ask wisdom and guidance for Sarah as she makes decisions about her life that will have implications for years to come.  Give her a rich measure of Your Spirit as fields of study and opportunities for employment become available.  Help her accurately assess the gifts and abilities You have given and bless the choices that she makes.  May she ever grow closer to You in faith and with her life honor the name of Your only Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Sarah, the Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, be with you now and always to strengthen you with His grace unto life everlasting.  Amen.

A pic of Sarah and me after the Service:

Alma's graduation ceremony took place yesterday afternoon.  It was a nice ceremony, and much shorter than I anticipated it would be, lasting only about an hour.  Sarah had plenty of family and friends in attendance to whoop it up when her name was announced (I'm guessing that we came in about third place for loudest whooping :).  Here are a few of the hundreds of pics taken:

During the procession; Sarah is the one in the yellow stole on the end of the fifth row looking up at us (this is the best I could do with my zoom-less iphone; can't wait to get pics from those who were using real cameras)

The diploma - after Sarah's Open House, this will surely find its way into a box in the attic never to be seen again, just like all other high school diplomas :)

A proud family 

Sarah with Grandma Sally and Papa Clay (my parents)

Sarah with Grandma Maxine and Aunt Juanita (Lisa's mom and sister)

Sarah with Great-grandma Joyce (my grandma)

Sarah with her god-mother, Bernice

Sarah with Aunt Brandy and, as of today, Uncle Mike (my sister and brother-in-law)

Sarah and Jordan (that guy she's hung around with for the last couple of years :)

Sarah with friends, Jaycee and Haley, in their best "Manly Pose"

Haley, Chelsea, Janelle, and Sarah - "Jumping for Joy - Part I"

Haley, Chelsea, Janelle, and Sarah - "Jumping for Joy - Part II"

Honors Night

Last night was Honors Night at Alma High School.  It's an event that provides parents, faculty, and members of the community the opportunity to recognize students (especially graduating students) for their outstanding achievements.  Our daughter, Sarah, was one of the students recognized and honored. 

I am so very proud of Sarah and what she has accomplished during her high school career.  She has earned a 3.981 GPA (suffering only 2 A-minuses) even while taking as many AP courses as she could, has been involved in many extra-curricular activities, lettering in three different Varsity sports, leading a section of the elite Chamber Choir for three years, and serving as a choir teaching assistant during her senior year, among many other activities which could be listed.  Sarah has certainly excelled and well deserves being honored.

Sarah received the Senior Academic Achievement Award, which is given to all who have earned a 3.6 GPA or above, and the President's Award for Educational Excellence, which is accompanied by a letter from President Obama and is given to all high school graduates who have earned a 3.5 GPA or above and at least an 85% in a nationally recognized test in reading and math.  She didn't get chosen to receive any of the other scholarships and awards given out last night, which is a little disappointing, but not surprising.  Some of those certainly went to students more deserving than Sarah, others to students who excelled in very specific areas, and others to students whose achievements, while certainly honorable, fall well below Sarah's, but who are fortunate enough to have the right family ties, if you know what I mean.  I suppose a certain amount of nepotism is always to be expected, especially in small communities such as ours, but that doesn't make it right, and it is always a difficult lesson for young people to learn.  Oh well.  Such is life in this sinful world.

Anyway, again, I am so very proud of Sarah.  Her plans are to attend Michigan State University (the best school in the land - just sayin') and work toward a degree in secondary education.  Her dream is to teach high school and coach girls' basketball and she would be excellent at both.  Now, if we can just figure out how to pay for all this!  If there are any millionaires out there who want to adopt Sarah for the next four years, please let me know. :)

Some Confirmation Pics (better late than never!)

Haven't had the chance to do much blogging lately (as a few of you have been all too eager to point out :).  That is partly due to the internet connectivity issues we've been facing lately (ugh!), but also due to being a little busier than usual, and to spending some time away.

Anyhoo . . . we were blessed to include the Rite of Confirmation during Divine Service on Pentecost Sunday a couple of weeks ago (May 23).  Our sole confirmand this year was Natalie Penzien.  The Service of Public Questioning was held prior to Divine Service that Sunday and Natalie did a fabulous job making the good confession of the faith by answering all the Scriptural and Catechetical questions asked of her.  She then vowed to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it during the Rite of Confirmation.

Here are a few pics:

Is This Justice?

A friend sent me a link to the following youtube video featuring two ELCA "pastors" rejoicing over their reinstatement to the "ministry."  The two fellas are in a homosexual relationship with one another and, evidently, were both under some form of discipline which has now been lifted, since, well, the ELCA decided last summer to further ignore God's Word (which it had long ago abandoned) and allow for homosexuals in "a life-long, committed relationship" to serve as "pastors."

What struck me as I watched the video was the oft-mentioned word "justice."  For these two delusional men, justice has been served with their reinstatement to the "ministry."  Justice based on what?  Surely not God's Word.  They don't really want the kind of justice they deserve and will receive from God should they continue in their impenitence.  So, whence this justice of which they speak?  It is a worldly justice; a sinful justice - which is no justice at all!

But, this is what happens when you abandon God's Word.  You get to do as you please.  You get to make the rules.  You get to define what is right and wrong.  And, hey, when you are in charge and making all the rules, you get to define what justice is, too.

Of course, opposing homosexuality makes me a gay-bashing, homophobic, intolerant promoter of hatred and unfairness (injustice), right?  Wrong.  I don't hate these men.  I have no desire to bash them.  I don't wish violence upon them.  If they want to abandon God's Word, that's their business.  They just don't get to be Christians in the process.  They can call themselves Christians.  They can even dress up like pastors and pretend to be serving in Christ's stead and by His command.  But, it's all a facade, and nothing more.  You simply cannot be a Christian, let alone a Christian pastor, if you are an active homosexual.  Call it hatred and intolerant, if you wish.  Cry "Unjust!" all you want.  I don't make the rules.  Neither do you.  God does.  And He could not be any clearer in His Word on this subject.  This is not one of those mysteries beyond our understanding.  He tells us exactly what His position is on this many times in His Word, this example from Romans being just one occurrence:

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.  For their women exchanged natural relationships for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." (Rom. 1:26-28) 

And so, as a Christian pastor, and specifically as a Lutheran pastor, I am greatly offended by what I see in this video.  That offense does not come from seeing two homosexual men; it comes from seeing two homosexual men masquerading as Christians, which they cannot be.  And that offense is heightened by the fact that they are further masquerading as Lutheran pastors, which they cannot be.  I am offended not only by their obvious disdain for God's Word, but also by the thought of how many people they are guilty of leading astray from the truth of that Word.  They may be the most lovable guys in the world.  They may have a great love for people and may be doing great things for the poor and disenfranchised in their communities.  But, all of that is trumped by the fact that they thumb their noses at the Lord and His Holy Word, and thus remain outside of His Kingdom.

Of course, what do I know?  I'm one of those old-fashioned, crazy people who still believes the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God.  We're becoming fewer and fewer by the day, it seems.  So be it!  Here I stand.  Amen.    

Sometimes, you just gotta laugh!

Here is a story that is making the rounds through all the usual media outlets (local and national news, morning and afternoon talk shows, etc.).  "Little liars grow up to be great leaders" is the catchy headline/title of the story.  It's about the "research" done by Dr. Kang Lee, director of the Institute of Child Studies at Toronto University.  The reason the story is making news is because Dr. Lee and his team have claimed to make a breakthrough in understanding the nature of lying among children.  Basically, they have come to the conclusion that the better children are at lying, the better chance they have of becoming more productive adults and even great leaders.  The implication is obvious, of course - lying is good!  Parents should not be worried that their children lie.  Instead, they should be encouraged by that.  And, if their children are really good at lying, able to come up with grand, imaginative cover stories to conceal their lies, well, then, parents should be all the more encouraged, since that is an indication of future greatness.  I suppose I should be extremely encouraged and excited by this, since all four of my children proved to be fantastically imaginative liars from a very early age.  They should all turn out to be great leaders, indeed! 

One wonders how much time and money was wasted on this "research."  The conclusions are nothing short of laughable.  According to Dr. Lee, who, along with his team, tested 1200 children from ages 2 to 16, 20% of two-year-olds lie, 50% of three-year-olds lie, and 90% of four-year-olds lie.  By the age of 12, they claim, almost all lie.  Huh?  All this tells me is that 80% of two-year-olds, 50% of three-year-olds, and 10% of four-year-olds were extremely good liars, able to deceive Dr. Lee and his team into believing that they don't lie.  For here is the sober truth:  ALL CHILDREN LIE!  And I don't even need to receive large governmental grants to put together a research team to come to this determination.  All children lie because all children are conceived in sin.  By nature, they are liars.  By nature, they will attempt to deceive others in order to achieve self-preservation. 

And guess what - I don't even need the Bible to reveal this to me, although it does so quite clearly.  Experience is teacher enough.  I mean, show me the always honest two-, three-, or four-year-old.  You can't, 'cause none exist.  Every child will, when caught red-handed doing something they know they shouldn't be doing, try to lie themselves out of it.  That's what these little sinners know, and do, by nature.

There was only one Child in the history of mankind who never lied.  His name was/is Jesus.  He is the only hope for liars of all ages, for He lived the perfect, sinless life on behalf of all and gave His life on the cross to atone for the sin of the world - yes, even the sin of the cute, cuddly, little two-year-old who swears he didn't put the remote control in his mouth, even though you watched him do it.

It's bad enough that this ridiculous "research" is considered scientific and released to the public as some great breakthrough; what's worse is that it is accepted and reported by so many as such.  Yeah, sometimes you just gotta laugh!   

Um, that's not MY fault!

So, Samantha asked me to schedule her driving test a few weeks back.  She is itching to get her license.  So, I called and scheduled it, just as she asked me to do.  It was scheduled for this evening at 6:00.  When I scheduled it, the lady on the phone told me to call back and give her Sam's driver's license number and the eight digits which appear at the top of that license sometime before we show up for the test.  I called this morning to give the lady the numbers and she said, "Oops.  Samantha can't take the road test this evening.  Those eight digits at the top of her learner's permit reveal the date the permit was issued (11202009), and she must have her learner's for six months before she can take the test and get her operator's license.  We'll have to re-schedule, Mr. Messer."  I apologized to the lady and told her that I was unaware of that fact.  We re-scheduled Sam's test for next Monday, which was the next available time.  After school, I called Sam to inform her of this.  She went into what could only be described as a moment of mental insanity, huffing and puffing about not going tonight.  "Samantha," I said, as calmly as I could muster, "Were you aware of the fact that you had to have your learner's permit for six months before you could take the test."  (huff-puff) "Well, yeah, but . . . (silence mixed with huffing and puffing)"  "But, what?" I asked.  "But, but, I've had my permit since November and that's six months ago."  "Not quite," I said.  "It will be six months two days from now, but it ain't six months yet."  (huff-puff) "Whatever!"

So, now she'll have to wait a whole 'nother six days before taking the test.  Of course, that's a lifetime in her mind.  Whatever!  It's not MY fault.  And, methinks a "Thanks dad for rescheduling my test as soon as you could" might just be in order here.  I'm sure I'll get something like that - after all the huffing and puffing subsides, that is. :)  

TEENAGERS!!!!! 

Lunch with the Choir

What a joy to have lunch with our choir this past Sunday after Divine Service and Bible Study.  Our choir does a fabulous job of enhancing our musical confession of the faith and praise to the Lord during Divine Services throughout the festival half of the Church Year.  They are a committed group, showing up at 8:30 a.m. every Sunday to practice during that time frame, and their commitment shines through in the selections they sing.  Special thanks to Mary for leading them so wonderfully, and to all of them for their commitment and for their willingness to share their talents.  We will miss hearing them in the next few months to come as they take a much deserved break until the fall.  Here's a pic I took of the group and their spouses:

Peace Bowling Night

A bunch of us gathered at the local bowling alley this past Saturday evening for Peace Bowling Night.  We had lots of kids and several guests among us.  A good time was had by all (until the next day, for some of us, who awoke with some aching bodies and sore fingers - getting old is great, isn't it?).  Here are a few pics from the evening:

 Not THOSE kinds of issues! :)

Terry can't watch as Zane prepares to throw his ball.

Chris, our congregational president, prepares to hurl his ball down the alley at about 600 mph (whenever he hit the head pin, none of the other pins stood a chance; the problem was that he didn't hit the head pin very often :); in the background, Sierra uses some massive body English to try to prevent her ball from finding the gutter.

Charlotte (the beautiful white-haired lady a couple lanes down), who had a knee replacement recently, bowled outstandingly, rolling a 195 one game!  

Don't be fooled!  When you see Preggers Meggers posing like this, something is definitely amiss! :) 

There are two things to notice from this scorecard:  1) PM does NOT stand for Preggers Meggers, but Pastor Messer - yeah, I managed a 197, which ain't bad, considering I hadn't picked up a bowling ball for five years (that game should have been a deuce; got robbed in the 9th!); 2) Chris hit the head pin three times in this game. :) 

Preggers Meggers rolled a gutter-gutter in the 8th frame of her final game - just thought I'd share (actually, other than this frame, she bowled very well - for a pregnant gal, that is! :)  

The rest of the pics I have turned out too blurry to share (the one drawback of the iphone).  If any of you who were there have pictures, please send them to me, so that I can add them to my files. 

Again, What Weedon Said!

Pr. Weedon shares thoughts on why YOU should attend Voters' Assemblies here.  Yea, verily, and amen!  (Actually, I should mention that the VA's in our parish have been nothing but blessed gatherings the last couple of years - thanks be to God! - but salutary advice and something to always keep in mind, since we all know how uncomfortable they can be at times). 

Samantha's latest claim to fame (or, "How embarrassing, dad!")

Our daughter, Samantha, was pictured in the local paper long jumping during a recent track meet.  A lot of fun has been had with this one.  Her history teacher printed out enough copies for the class, had Sam come and sit up front and autograph copies for her classmates as they filed up one by one - I thought that was pretty cool, not to mention borderline hilarious; Samantha - not so much. :)  Lisa also printed this pic out and put it in a stand up frame right smack dab in the middle of our kitchen counter, much to Sam's delight - not! :)  Anyway, here's the pic (very appropriate pose for Ascension Day, I'd say - gazing into heaven and all): 

Alma's Sam Messer competes in the long jump during the track meet at Alma College on Wednesday. 

Sun Photograph by RYAN EVON