Unlikely Banter

Real presence

2011-01-04T15:19:00.003-06:00

Good Afternoon
After a long hiatus I am back to this underused blog with a great topic. How do Lutherans understand Christ's real presence in communion.

I am inviting comments in response to Stephan who wrote in a string at steadfastlutherans.com about decision theology about the way that Lutherans understand Christ presence in Communion and how that understanding is different tham transubstiation. Here's my response to Stephan.

Stefan
I am sure grateful to see this conversation continue. If you like we can continue on my underused blog unlikelybanter.blogspot.com or if one of the powers that be behind the Steadfast Lutheran's site is ready it might be continued here as well.
You ask if Lutheran's believe in transubtantiation. We don't; but we do believe that Jesus is present for us in the bread and wine just as he promised to be present.
I was raised as a Catholic and even attended a Catholic University for my undergraduate degree. I have always believed that Christ is present in communion, the difference between a belief in real presence and a belief in transubtation is in no small part how we accept the mystery of Jesus' presence in communion. Here's where Luther just makes more sense (at least for my simple brain) by letting the ambiguity be that others try to explain away through their doctrines of Transubstatiation. The Catholic belief in Transubstatiation, as I was taught it, is an attempt to logically explain a mystery of God coming into our midst.
Martin Luther was bold in saying yes Jesus is present; but he was equally bold in encouraging people to just let the mystery of God's presence stand

So against all reason and hairsplitting logic I hold that two diverse substances may well be, in reality and in name, one substance. These are my reasons: First, when we are dealing with the works and words of God, reason and all human wisdom must submit to being taken captive, as St. Paul teaches in II Corinthians 10[:5], must allow themselves to be blinded and led, directed, taught, and instructed, lest we presume to be God’s judges in his words, for we shall surely lose out when we try to judge him in his words as Psalm 50 [51:4] testifies.
Secondly, if we take ourselves captive to him and confess that we do not comprehend his words and works, we should be satisfied. We should speak of his works simply using his words as he has pronounced them for us and prescribed that we speak them after him, and not presume to use our own words as if they were better than his. Martin Luther, vol. 37, Luther's Works, Vol. 37 : Word and Sacrament III, ( ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan et al.;, Luther's Works Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c1961), Vol. 37, Page 296.

Thanks Stefan for this great discussion of one of the great mysteries of faith. I trust that God's Word is always fruitful and that you and I both may be strengthened in our trust of Christ through such great conversation.

Pax
John

NPR fires Juan Williams

2010-10-21T22:12:00.001-05:00

Right when Minnesota Public Radio has pladge week National Public Radio makes a major mistake: letting go of a good reporter for sharing his honest opinion while he was on a cable commentary show.
In a story in The New York Times:
"One Comment, Two Takes at NPR and Fox" you can read the details of the firing of Juan Williams.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/business/media/22williams.html

Pax, John.

U.S. National Debt

2010-10-21T21:29:00.001-05:00

The U.S. National Debt as of 10/19/2010 is $13,676,109,536,322.09!
That's $44,546.64 each! Uggh and to think neither major national party has a plan fo a balanced budget in the next 5 years.

You can track it yourself using the app National Debt, available for free from LukeWalker Apps, only on webOS!

Pax, John.

Christian Humility Luke 17:5-10

2010-09-30T15:33:00.003-05:00

Just a note,
many in our town have had some water in their basement after significant rains in excess of 6 inches last week. Folks in other towns near by have faced even greater flooding and even greater challenges in the aftermath. Truman Minnesota just to our north had over a foot of rain last week. Please keep those who have lost some property so quickly to this surprising fall flooding in your prayers.
+++++
Jesus' friends asked for help to grow in faith. But looking at the reading I don't think they knew what they were asking for when they said, "...to the Lord, "Increase our faith.""
Jesus wasn't inviting his friends to grow in faith for their own sake. He was inviting them to grow in faith for the sake of the Kingdom of God. The same thing goes for us. We are called to be God's servants. Jesus drove the point home asking

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? 8 Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ” Luke 17:7-10 NRSV.

There's no hiding our humble position compared to God's. Still the same Jesus who asks humility of his friends bowed down before them to wash their feet the night before he died.
Read Luke 17:8 in contrast to the great invitation we receive from God to His table. We come unworthy and ill-prepared. We come as sinners undeserving who meet God in flesh at the table. We come warts and all. And the maker of the universe who could sternly keep us away welcomes us. We could be pushed aside because the blood of the lamb is on our hands; but the lamb who was slain welcomes us with scared hands to eat and drink with him.
Thanks be to God that Jesus calls us to his table. AMEN.

Independent Election Thoughts for 2010

2010-09-29T23:55:00.004-05:00

I'm an independent voter. And as I contemplate who I will vote for I have some thoughts.

This fall's election ought not be about party or personality. It ought to be about tough decisions and choosing candidates who are willing to make tough decisions.

Unfortunately in this election neither major national party has the guts to go on record ready to make tough decisions. Oddly both parties have chosen George W. Bush as their scapegoat but for very different reasons. Blaming Bush is easy; but blaming him doesn't come even close to accepting responsibility for the actions of both parties that lead to our current state of affairs.

The Democrats blame Bush for cutting revenues by cutting taxes without cutting spending. They seem to get that we need more money coming in. The Peterson Institute says that we will need both growth to actually meet the current debt obligations with the current tax structure and reductions in health care costs. Unfortunately the Democrats keep growing the government showing no sign of shrinking it significantly (to the point where current receipts or current receipts plus tax increases will pay the tab) and there's no evidence that health care costs have started to decline as a result of the first round of reform.
The Tea Party folks blame Bush for spending on medicare drug benefits and the TARP plan. The concern of the now fiscally responsible GOP comes after years of endorsing Bush's plans. It's easy for Republicans to say they get that government has to shrink but they have no specific plan just like Bush had no plan to create a smaller government. The GOP may say that the debt is a problem but they insist against the most basic principles of economics that our economy will grow enough to pay the debt.

Could we please get serious as a nation? The debt is in the trillions and will not go down because of the GOP's best wishes for sky high growth or because of a little tax hike by the Democrats. Here's what I am looking for.

Someone has to pay and the sooner that repayment starts the better. That means a tax increase (ideally a progressive Value Added Tax) is in order.
The sooner health cost reform happens the better. Once costs stop increasing we'll finally see the debt stop growing.
Someone who will tell me what cuts they will make in order to make government smaller.

Maybe I am dreaming; but hey it's this kind of honest conversation that will save the republic from bankruptcy.

Why call a church?

2010-06-16T22:35:00.002-05:00

A woman asked during a parade, while I was riding in the vehicle pulling the church float, if I'd help with her wedding. I asked her to call me during the week so that we could visit for a while. We finally spoke today.
Her words were familiar. Other people have told me they wanted a pastor for their wedding but who don't want to be part of the church. "I believe in God and pray, but I don't believe in church."
She's picked a date and booked a park to get married in; now all she needs, she thinks, is a pastor. She called the congregation located a few blocks from the park. They're part of a denomination that's pretty strict about marrying members only.
Not sure who to call next she tried us. The plan is to sit down tomorrow and see what they have in mind.

Summer Time Adventures

2010-06-14T23:14:00.002-05:00

Summer rhythms are different for our family than school year life.
The thing I notice most with our kids this year is that they have more time to just be kids.
We see them on the porch drawing at the easel for an hour at a time. We see them playing with the neighbors and with each other. There's time throughout the day to read whatever, draw whatever, think about and talk about whatever.
We banter back and forth as parents about how much TV they ought to watch or how many video games they ought to play. But the truth is our girls are
Garrison Keillor in a monologue recently said that kids can just lay under a tree and look at it rather than thinking about what it is and what it's doing scientifically they can take in the beauty of the tree.
Summer's a gift the more I think about it.

Celebrating 7 Years

2010-06-11T22:54:00.003-05:00

Our older two girls turned 7 today.
It's a great moment in their lives and ours. We celebrated a little with a day built all around the joys of 7 year-olds.
Donuts for breakfast eaten on the go, sticky and oh so satisfying.
Stopping strangers to announce, "It's our birthday. We're seven." Usually met with joy by the people who heard the news and said, "That's great,"
Baking cupcakes after lunch and frosting them too.
A midday dip in the pool.
Time with each other and neighbors sharing cupcakes just before heading in for bed.
Overall a good way to turn 7 with a birthday party with friends planned next weekend.

Life has Value

2010-06-10T22:48:00.003-05:00

There are some people who like to provoke conversation. Peter Singer; who I rarely agree with in either his logic or his conclusions, has a knack for provoking conversation challenging his readers to bring out their best arguments to refute his writing. It's interesting to note that Singer doesn't always agree with the most extreme conclusions of his logic; but he does raise troubling questions for us as a culture.
Singer's most recent commentary in the New York Times called, "Should This Be the Last Generation" is a challenge to believers and humanists alike to see and name value in life. Singer's basic question, "Is life worth living?" invites two distinct response

Theological responses like comments on a discussion site frequented by Lutheran Pastors look to God as both the source and purpose of life.
Atheistic responses like those found in responses to Singer's article on n the Times website speaks of the chilling emptiness known in a life without God.

Singer's question is a worthy opening for us to bring both love and logic to our conversations about value, life, the environment, ethics, medicine and every other human endeavor. Meeting someone like Singer with logical arguments is good; but it's inadequate to the real task at hand for the church in our age. We have something better than logic; God's love made known to us in the person of Jesus crucified and risen.

One weekend two ends of life

2010-06-08T23:02:00.003-05:00

On Saturday I went to a funeral for a man named Albion who died at 91.
On Sunday my beloved, our girls, and I attended the baptism of a 2nd cousin's baby girl, Mariah.
It was wonderful to see God's place, the families place, and the churches place in each of these events and the way that God, life, family, church, death, and baptism overlap. Baptism is about death first and then about life. It's hard to admit it really works this way because we deeply care for earthly life; but we as Christians are already dead because of baptism and we are alive now because of Christ.
Seeing Albion's funeral and Mariah's baptism reassures me that these two events are really connected. The pastor at Albion's funeral told a story about the Wednesday night after worship when Albion came to him as he was gathering up the communion elements. Al was singing the final hymn of the night as a question, "How can I keep from singing." The framed copy of the Beatitudes that hangs on my wall from Al reassures me that Al had faith and hope in the power of God's love. And in faith and hope he hasn't stopped singing.
The promise of Baptism assures me that Mariah's just begun to sing and that her singing and the singing of all who trust in Christ will not end.

Saying Goodbye to Albion

2010-06-05T22:00:00.003-05:00

I went back to Kenyon today.
I've been part of Kenyon twice.
Once as a Pastor for two and a half years and again as a stay at home dad for about 8 months after our older two girls were born.
It's a tight knit town, who today said good-bye to Al Rodde. He was known in town as a man who laughed, told a lot of stories, was ready to debate, had a deep faith, and befriended lots of people including me and my family.
Albion could be found 5 days a week, except major holidays, at the grill in town having coffee at 10:15. I joined him and a group of about a dozen others to debate the issues of the day, tell old jokes, and laugh together. Today it was a blessing to watch that same group of guys serve as pallbearers for Albion.
I found out today that I'm not the only pastor who has a framed copy of the Beatitudes with a single spaced note of thanks and encouragement hanging in his office from Al.

Summer Time

2010-06-04T22:17:00.002-05:00

There's warm air in the house tonight. I was cool all day until about 6pm.
The windows are open to let the night wind come in for a minute or two.
The kids are in bed with no alarm clock required for them until September.
It's summertime.

Counting down: the last days of school

2010-06-03T23:25:00.002-05:00

Our older two are sure exited that school's going to end tomorrow.
Their excitement to learn seems to be waning, just a little, as the last day of class arrives. Our gilrs eager to be the smartest student in their class have started imagining the sort of things that await in the summer. They are talking about all the fun

sleeping late
time at the pool
no homework to be turned in
vacation Bible school
summer soccer
fishing

As excited as they are for the last day of school they were sure easy to get to bed. Wonder what tomorrow will be like.

Fighting Bed time

2010-06-02T22:26:00.003-05:00

Our beloved one year old is fighting going to bed tonight. A few minutes ago she was almost asleep on my shoulder. She drank some milk from a bottle and settled in and seemed to be on her way to sleep. A few steps up the stairs and she was wide again. I gave her a quick kiss and set her into bed. She didn't lay down. She popped up on her feet to scream. I'll give her a few minutes to see if she can calm down; I hope she does.
Sure enough she did. It took a good 5 minutes of protesting but now she's sound asleep.
Time for cleaning and then bed for me too.

What happened to Blogging

2010-06-01T22:06:00.003-05:00

I have been a blogger for just over 3 years. It's been quite fun keeping 4 different blogs going; Unlikely Conversation: a lectionary blog; Unlikely Banter: a blog about whatever; Unlikely Sermons: old sermons; and Unlikely Banter on Newsvine: a blog about news and views.
While some folks are still blogging I've begun to think that blogging is loosing popularity. Many blogs have been abandoned. Updating the links on my blog meant removing some expired links that once lead to very good blogs that have simply disappeared.
One of the best parts of blogging 3 years ago were the variety of blogs and blog-rings. A post could lead to comments from anyone in the world with a shared interest. In short there was at least the appearance that a person in one place could possibly have conversations with someone on the other side of the world, with someone they don't agree with, or with someone who isn't in your circle of friends on Facebook. I'm sure there are new bloggers; but I am not sure how many.
As Facebook reaches 400 million users it's clear that people are still sharing some on line. The difference is that many one time bloggers have chosen to leave the semi-anonymous world of Blogger and WordPress for the world of Facebook, "friends." In a time when it's becoming increasingly clear that Facebook is viewing their users more as a product to sell to advertisers than as their customers blogging looks more intriguing again.
Maybe its time to return to the vague anonymity of blogging rather than the vague privacy of Facebook. Maybe its time to see once again that blogs offers writers and readers very different opportunities to look at the world in a variety of different ways.
Just a thought.

Almost Summer Adventures: a Writing Goal Renewed

2010-05-31T21:20:00.006-05:00

The last few days our computer has been covered with drop-cloths. I know it's a laptop connected to a wireless router; but still I didn't want to disturb the work going on around the roll-top desk in our dining room / computer room.
My beloved decided that if she was on call this Memorial Day Weekend that she was going to get some work done on the house to make it look more like she lives in it. This weekend's project was painting the dining room green-briar.
This painting project is an example of the power of one woman. My only offerings to this project were bringing a ladder in from the garage, explaining where some supplies could be found, and taking the girls out for 3 days of adventures so that they'd be out of the way.
Saturday's adventures included a trip to a nearby town with an open pool. It was near 90 and we just wanted to get a chance to cool off. The pool in town won't open for the season until after the school year ends.
Sunday's adventure featured another trip in the minivan. We headed out after church and lunch. We added a neighbor and her booster seat to the van and head off. We stopped along the way, maybe 15 minutes from home to play. It was a welcome break for everyone.
We were back in the van fast headed to the Minnesota River Valley. The heat broke and it looked like rain all afternoon. The drive got a little long on the way there but a few choruses of 99 bottles of milk on the way seemed to improve everybody's mood.
We were on an adventure heading back in time and that was enough reason to keep everybody focused. We were going to Harkin's Store. Going through the door is a trip back in time to a store and post office located on rise above the Minnesota River. The store / post office lost there place as railroads and rural mail carriers replaced river-landings and country post offices. In short the store was forgotten in a River Valley with much of it's inventory let intact.
For our girls Harkin's Store is a welcome destination. They can ask questions of the staff, look at the inventory, play checkers next to the potbelly stove and if they are well behaved they can visit the gift shop.
On Monday we watched the Memorial Day Parade and headed to a town picnic complete with a petting zoo, kiddie train rides, pinata's, and face painting. It's little to stand in respect for those who've gone before us. I thought we'd go on another out of town adventure, maybe to the Petroglyphs; but the chance to play with the neighbors was too good to pass up. As the sun set on the end of the day we had our garden planted and our girls were tired after a good weekend much of it spent on the go.

Spring

2010-05-26T22:57:00.003-05:00

One prayer request. For my wife's Grandma Gerry. She's hospitalized and would sure be grateful for all prayers for her and her family.
There two springs to celebrate today.
The first spring to celebrate today is the beautiful early summer weather that's arrived after a few days of high dew-points and high temperatures. The air-conditioner was on for a couple days but hasn't been on at all today. My beloved said it so well tonight. "It's wonderful weather." It's just wonderful here tonight and the forecast over the next week looks great.
The second spring is the spring in the step of our almost 7 year old first graders. We all walked to school today and at a certain point they pulled away from their old parents and there little sister in the stroller too. We watched as they raced up hill on the last block of there walk up a maple lined street to school. We stopped to say hi to the crossing guard. He said one of them said she was a little winded. It's good to see that spring in their steps after 2 years at school.

Baby loves phones

2010-05-25T22:27:00.002-05:00

Our little girl loves our cool new Palm Pre's.
She likes the music and videos and she's already figured out how to unlock them. Not bad for 15 months.
But that could end up being dangerous.
Today my wife gave her one to keep her at peace. Now one function isn't quite right and the screen has two small cracks at the bottom.
The good news is the Pre has some built in redundancies that will help keep this one running, maybe not perfectly but still very functionally. Maybe we should have gotten the way extended warranty. Oh well; only 22.75 months left under contract. Maybe we'll upgrade earlier. Sprint says we can upgrade at 12 months on the main phone, the one that was dropped

sleepless and sleepy writing goal day 8

2010-05-24T21:29:00.004-05:00

The phone rang at home about 2 this afternoon.
One of our girls was sound asleep in class. Her teacher called the office. She just wouldn't wake up. I hustled over and was sent to the classroom. This same girl slept poorly last night. Up before 4 am playing in the toy kitchen, reading, drawing and cutting out picture and making story boards.
I walked in the class room and found her just as the school secretary described, sound asleep at her desk. The pencil was still upright in her left hand. Her head was resting on her right arm. After lots of prompting she just wouldn't get up. Her skin was cold. I tapped her arm. She barely stirred. I picked her up. She fell into my shoulders. I didn't pay much attention to her backpack or anything else. I carried her out of the classroom and stopped at the office. She barely said hi to the principal.
One the way home she perked up a little. Once we got home she walked inside. We got some some orange juice and a nutty bar in her tummy she rejuvenated. After some time with a good baby sister and a good baby sitter she rejuvenated enough to go on a play date. She's sound asleep now. Hopefully 10 hours tonight will help her catch up.

Air Conditioning--Cabin Fever in Reverse Writing Goal day 7

2010-05-23T22:25:00.004-05:00

There's some surprises that come with the year's first heatwave.

Air Conditioning works like Cabin Fever in Reverse. People huddled up together all winter rush to get outside as the temperature hits 70, then they all rush back in as the humidity rises and the temperature reaches 90.
Sunburns happen fast. I met a lady at the grocery store tonight who had bright red shoulders. She said it doesn't hurt. The clerk and I both said, "Yet" simultaneously in reply.
Our old house is way more comfortable with our big window unit cutting the heat on our main level. There's a little window unit at work upstairs.
The lake looks a whole lot more inviting at the end of the night. Our minute older girl said we should have wandered out in the canoe.
It was really more enjoyable than usual to wander around the dairy case tonight looking for milk and juice.

It's hot writing goal day 6

2010-05-22T22:23:00.003-05:00

It's hot.
There's no way to hide it. The weather forecasters were right. A heat wave has arrived full force.
The old house we bought a year ago in March hasn't got central air. Two window units help a little; but there's no way to get around the fact that it's just hot here in the summer and our three bedroom rambler was cooler than our 4 bedroom 96 year old two story.
Funny thing, I don't really want to install AC, and it's not just because I'm cheap. The one thing that I'd like to add to our house is a big shade tree in the front yard. For some reason a prior owner said it was okay to cut down a beautiful maple tree in the boulevard while the street and sewer were being rebuilt a few years ago. If I could go back in time I would ask him not to take away shade from the west side of the house. Oh well. Maybe it's time to research what the fastest growing shade tree is in the upper mid-west.

Friday with our youngest. Writing Goal Day 5

2010-05-21T23:45:00.005-05:00

There's something wonderful about each of our children. Sure our oldest two are identical twins but they are still wonderfully unique people. Today's Friday, my day off, so I got to spend most of it with our youngest.
She's 15 months old and has moxie and what our neighbor who ate next to her at the picnic table in the back yard on Monday called an infectious smile.
She has started to express strong opinions about her direction and even about food and clothes. She starts everyday with two brown and serve sausage minced into bite size morsels.
One more thing about her is that she has a very close relationship with our American Water Spaniel. I didn't grow up with dogs and until I had my own was always a little afraid. Memories of an encounter with my Godparent's dog stuck with me for a long time. I am not sure if I was afraid of dogs before I met Elfie or if it just came on because she was such a high energy lab and so independent ready to chase me away and scaring me by snapping. My uncle thought I had bothered her when she was eating.
Now I have my own dog and my own little girl tugs at his tail. We've been working to gentle him playing with his ears and mouth from 6 weeks on. He's wonderfully gentle and ever our youngest seems to know how to live with his 3 year old energy. Anytime he rushes past as he comes in looking for water after being outside she's on her feet too keeping her balance by being in motion.
Our little girls uses the dog, Teddy, as a couch, she'll make sure he's right behind her and then slide right against his dark brown fur cozy and comfortable. It's amazing to think she's 15 months old. It's even more amazing that our older two turn 7 next month.

A Kid's perspective Writing Goal Day 4

2010-05-20T22:27:00.004-05:00

The kids and the grown ups have different views on the news of the day in our house. The kids didn't like the idea that we, the grown ups in town, got to vote today to choose to either build or not build a new school for kindergarten through second grade. Their beloved school will be replaced with a brand new expansion of the other elementary school in town.

As parents we like the idea. All kids from early childhood through sixth grade will be in one place. All the current technology will be built in from the start. But our older two girls aren't in favor. As I went to register for the referendum our older two girls asked to vote too. The election judge said they needed to be 18 and have a drivers license. The girls protested politely saying, "I object." I might object to seeing a neat school closed too. The hard part for our girls is saying good by to their school. They like the people they've met and the time they've had there. The don't want to lose their school even with the leaky windows and the cramped lunch room. It's gotten to be like home.

On another note: I lost a tooth tonight. It came home in an envelope from school with one of our girls and I can't find it. She thought I should email the tooth fairy a picture to prove that it's out.

A Semi full of food writing goal day 3

2010-05-19T22:02:00.002-05:00

About 2 months ago a large food bank called to offer a semi-load of food to be distributed to those in need in our neighborhood. A group of willing churches and agencies agreed to help. The congregational church signed on and key people from their church stepped forward.

Today was the day. The first volunteers showed up and met the truck load at the Armory; they were good hosts for us. The unloading went fast. Pallet followed pallet. Unlabeled (but indentified cans) were labeled and soon more volunteers than I could count showed up.

People started showing up more than an hour before we started to share the food we had to offer. More than 300 came through; most in the first hour.

In the end we had too many of a few things; but we were blessed to share what we had.

What's the church for? Writing goal day 2

2010-05-18T22:06:00.006-05:00

What's the church for: Here are a few possibilities
-+-+ Maybe the church is where people are gathered to be told about God: I'm processing the story a man by to share with me last week. Because I was out he came back to the building where our church meets on Monday. He wants to tell people about God. Listening took effort and scripture to challenge his assertions and direct him Christ's cross and rising as the center of Christian hope. He's convinced scripture's true; but he's equally convinced that he had an experience of God that's unique. After 90 minutes I asked him if he'd ever heard of Christian mystics.

-+-+ Maybe the church is where we experience community. There's a one of a kind competition taking place on Tuesdays from 5-7 in church basements in Southern Minnesota. "The Holy Hotdish" Cook-off is a friendly, but still competitive, challenge between churches. Hotdishes are known as casseroles in other places; but in Minnesota and the Dakota's a dish that includes protein, vegetables, a starch, and commonly a canned soup is called, "Hotdish." I still think we had the best one; but I am a little prejudice after cutting 400 pieces of cake last week.

-+-+ Maybe with Pentecost coming this Sunday it's good to know that the church is whatever God wants it to be through the calling of the Holy Spirit. The people of Babel wanted to approach heaven so they built a huge tower to reach into heave as they chose. A friend says that the people of Babel built a Ziggurat to entice God to come down them. God doesn't dwell in a building, Paul says we are temples for the Spirit (1st Corinthians 6:19). Funny thing is that we miss God's presence because we confuse buildings where churches meet with the mystical body of Christ. Paul has a dual challenge when he invites us to discern Christ's body and blood. It's present both in the in the Word and the Sacraments and in the people who gather with us to meet him there. (1st Corinthians 11:29)

A writing goal

2010-05-17T23:21:00.004-05:00

After 10 years in ministry I've become a lazy writer. Lots of preachers fall into this slump; unconcerned with grammar and preoccupied with concepts.
I started thinking maybe a goal to write everyday would help. Just to write a little, even a paragraph (yes one sentence could count as a full paragraph) to improve my writing.
For some reason preachers seem unconcerned with the details of the written language; but something tells me I'll be a better speaker if I focus in again on the that I write not just the words that as I communicate the Word that gives hope, light, and life.

Signs of Spring

2010-03-31T22:19:00.005-05:00

The end of Winter and the start of Spring doesn't happen at a precise moment that any human can see and announce to the world. Spring's arrival happens in the dark just beyond our sight but we are most definitely aware that it's coming.

Spring comes to us just like the mystery of resurrection. For some reason We look for the fixed points in time that we can name as the moment when new life starts after old life has ended. Maybe we are making a mistake to look for fixed points in time like Euclid encouraged his students to imagine as they studied geometry. The trouble with beautiful mysteries like the arrival of spring or the joy of resurrection we humans can't point to one moment in time when one ends and another starts.

As the daylight last longer there's no one point where you can say that the warmer weather has started. Maybe it's the day the kids want to play on the porch. Maybe it's the day the day when the front walk is no longer icy.

The last month we've watched as a couple feet of snow disappeared from our yard. And just this week we watched as the ice has disappeared on the lake. Last night I got the canoe out to paddle along side the ice just to see what it looked like at eye level. This morning, not even 10 hours later I got out to run and saw that most of the ice had disappeared in the night.

Thoughts on Tampa

2010-01-21T22:50:00.005-06:00

A week ago my beloved, our youngest daughter, and I returned from 5 days and 5 nights in Tampa, Florida. My beloved attended a conference in Tampa while our baby and I took in the town. This wasn't my first trip the Tampa area, but it was the first time when I went to Tampa and didn't bring a car along or rent one to get around. It was a good city to walk in and people, including the homeless who we met on the streets, seemed genuinely friendly and curious about how our little girl was doing.

Monday was pretty quiet in Downtown Tampa (we learned that Downtown is usually pretty laid back) but this week was exceptionally cold, according to the natives. The headlines in the daily paper included reports of extreme record cold with 9 days below 60.

The baby and I had a great time even finding a park to relax in in the afternoon sun along the Riverwalk Downtown. It did cool off after dark, but the sun that afternoon sure was great. My great accomplishment was finding a handy grocery store and getting my bearings without a car.

Tuesday we headed across the Hillsborough River and checked out the University of Tampa. A noteworthy stop on campus is the Plant Museum in Plant Hall in the middle of the campus. This old main building was once the Tampa Hotel built by the Plant Line as a great vacation destination. It's a fantastic building noteworthy for hosting Teddy Roosevelt and other officers before the US invasion of Cuba during the Spanish American War. In the evening we hopped on the Street Car for Ybor City and supper.

Wednesday we headed towards Ybor City on the street car. We took in the Ybor City Museum operated by the Florida State Park System. The less than one block state park has been established as a museum detailing the lives of Cuban and Italian cigar makers who called this section of Tampa their home. Its a fascinating introduction into the working class life of Tampa in the early 20th century. It's not part of the usual beach and amusement park tour of Florida but it helps make sense of the area's history and industry.

My beloved joined us for supper Tuesday and Wednesday in Ybor. The Cuban sandwiches and bean soup are worth trying if you haven't had either before. Our little girl was very curious as we watched the cigar makers at work in some of the shops in Ybor as we walked through the city.

On Thursday we headed to the Florida aquarium. It was a really relaxing place during the middle of the week. It might get crowded on weekends but we had no trouble taking a couple of good long walks through from the bottom to the top taking in a shark tank, a reef, and a Mangrove. It was a very good introduction to some of the aquatic life I've seen, caught, and been stung by in prior visits to Florida.

A neat place for breakfast in Tampa is the Samaria Cafe on Tampa Avenue downtown. Its run by a married couple. They serve good food in enormous portions at great prices. I was so full I never needed to stop for lunch. I learned that this child, of all our 3, really likes eggs and potatoes too.

Yep it was a good winter break in a laid back big city. I'd go again.

Winter Thoughts on Trout Fishing again in 2010

2009-12-10T21:52:00.002-06:00

Someplace in my early 20's I started to fish, at least once a year, for trout. As a kid I joined my dad to pluck sun fish and perch out of lakes and a few streams with bobbers and worms.

In my early 20's shortly after I'd started seminary I picked up a fly rod. A true shame, looking back, is that I lived a few yards from Gilmore Creek on the West End of Winona for 3 years and I wasn't ever smart enough to pick up a fly rod once in those 3 years. A couple years later a buddy invited me along fishing with his dads old hip boots and rod at a place called Pickwick. In one trip I was hooked. I saw more fish than I could count and I wanted to know how to catch them.

Over the past dozen or so years I've lived in trout country and I've lived a couple hours drive away from the cold water spring fed streams of Winona County there in Minnesota's driftless region. I've explored some neat spots and had some luck mostly with beaded nymphs and a couple times with dry-flies. Looking back it's been pretty good, not all that remarkable but pretty good just the same. I have had one regular time to go fishing, Mother's Day Weekend. Year after year, except when my wife was very pregnant, I've kept on fishing with one buddy and a few others who tag along for the campfire and the story telling.

Tonight, living out here on the Prairie where it's just too cold to chase pheasants, it's time to start planning for 2010 and reviewing a few discoveries of the past year.

I got out trout fishing 7 days last year. That's a pretty good record for a dad with 3 daughters 6 and under who is still married to the mother of those 3 daughters. My goal for 2010 is to teach the older 2 how to fish (at least with nymphs) so they can join me some of the time.
I've had success catching fish on a light weight spinning rod with meps, worms, and rapala's but for some reason I want to catch trout on a fly rod. I think it's the challenge of always learning and always trying to add a new skill or technique for each year that keeps me turning back to the fly rod rather than the spinner.
Trout are almost always feeding. I used to think trout were just feeding on the surface or in seams in riffles; but some good reading this winter has convinced me that trout are almost always eating. The key is to figure out what they're actually eating not what's under a rock or floating on the surface.
For some reason nymphs work best for me. Maybe its my lack patience, maybe its the streams I've been fishing. Maybe it's my inability to match the hatch. I don't know yet and I guess I'll have to keep on fishing for a long time to figure out.
I learned a couple things from a wise man who used to be from Michigan this year. He now calls the prairie home just like me, but it's good to have a wise

watch the stream. The trout are there; so before you tie on a fly watch them.
use 2 or 3 nymphs at a time on the same leader, but don't fish with a nymph right on the bottom of the leader. Put a weight on the end and the nymphs end up in the right place and you don't snag one on the bottom.
be patient; but don't stand in one place for ever. If you've spooked the trout don't flog the water, either wait a while for the trout to start feeding or move on to a new spot.

Now I am just waiting for a chance to get a line in the water again and see if I've learned anything at all. Even better than that I am hopeful to see if I can teach anything about fishing to my girls.

Radical Like John the Baptist

2009-12-10T21:28:00.000-06:00

One thing I keep hearing as people talk about the emergent chuch is the radical nature of the Gospel that's been sanitized and even hidden by the church in Christendom for years. As a Lutheran I see Martin as one of the first to listen to the whole text and to let it work on him and not the other way arround.

Reading John this week has gotten me hopeful about the future church again maybe because I can see God at work through such radical preaching.

After hearing a particular story from scripture a few times I start to think I know what it's really about. And I must confess that sometimes I stop reading the story and just try to push ahead thinking I already know what the point of the Word already is supposed to be. Advent and Christmas are seasons when we are tempted to push past the story found in Scripture without spending any actual time listening to the stories. And the stories of God breaking into our lives at Christmas without our authorization are some of the best that we can share with the world.

John was never tamed or bridled. He was created by God on purpose and he came preaching a message that was so radical and so bold that people came out to the wilderness near the river Jordan to hear it. They came from Jerusalem and all over Judea to hear John's bold unrestrained message. It was a message that wasn't meant for somebody else or some other people. It was a message that was meant for the nation of Israel. And it rung in their ears so boldly they couldn't stop listening.

John spoke so boldly to them, the NRSV and NIV said he addressed the people who came out to be baptized by him in Luke 3:7, as “You brood of Vipers!” John literally calling them the γεννήματα spawn or offspring or the fruit of ἐχιδνων poisonous snakes. How's that for the opening line of a sermon. You brood of vipers. John understood that God was up to something big. He knew that Kingdom was coming and that the time had come to get ready.

Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Luke 3:8-9 NRSV

John the Baptist was and is a dangerous radical. John was the most unrestrained man of his time in all Israel until Jesus came along. John came and told the people the straight truth. He didn't bother to shave off the rough edges that make us uncomfortable. John wasn't worried about being politically correct. He wasn't worried that the prophetic word that he shared with the people on God's behalf might sort of kind of make them uncomfortable. John knew who they were and he knew that they and all of us have shame, sin, guilt,and grief that we need to lay aside.

John's radical preaching was hard to ignore in his time and it's hard to ignore today. This past week I've been reading Wild at Heart by John Eldridge and seeing in John a true man of God who was really wild and free as God had intended. Eldridge makes a pretty good case in the first chapter that men are contained and constrained by our civilization and that was never God's design or plan. Adam, Eldridge says was created out in the wilderness, but Eve was created in the Garden. Eldridge even points to Jesus and John the Baptist being lead by the Spirit out to the wilderness. John was a radical bold man of God. He had a message from God that wasn't a lullaby. Repent. Lay down you sin. Repent. Don't fake it; don't pretend God doesn't know your sin. Repent.

Who do you imagine as a faithful man of God?
Do you imagine a nice guy, a real push over, a pussy cat or do you imagine someone dangerous an untamed: someone like John. But if your part of my generation of TV watchers you've seen Christian men often portrayed as a sort of Ned Flanders. Nice and restrained.

So what does that say about all of us: are we nice or a we wild and free, like John.

Look who's coming

2009-12-06T12:35:00.000-06:00

Dateline: LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

Walking along Pearl Street yesterday we spotted white car. The girls said there was even a red hat on the front seat.

2000 words or 2 pictures

2009-10-31T18:31:00.000-05:00

Dateline: Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

Milestones: 3 Girls & 1 Teddy

2009-10-15T07:04:00.001-05:00

I haven't added to this blog in a while but I think this is a good time to reflect and share. Our family keeps on passing more milestones every week. Last spring we moved 120 miles west into the prarie. It was quite a change. Looking back its been a change that's brought us a lot of blessings.
Our big girls are full fledged 1st graders. Today it seems like they've done well making the jump into so many new parts of life: new town, new school, new friends, new activities: so much new and the seem to be doing great with it all. They are fast becoming proficient readers and their violin playing is getting a little better with practice each passing night.
They ride a bus to and from school and have only missed once. Iwalked with them really fast all the way to school;. I think that will help make sure they don't expect a car ride if they miss.
Our little girl is almost 8 months old. She's laughing and smiling like a toddler these days. I love her smile and the twinkle in her eyes. She fusses some when she's put down and is usually opposed to going to bed. As a new born she didn't complain much until her pants were full.
She's a fullfledged crawler who loves to stand up and play with the contents of any basket she can reach. She knows her toys are in a basket in the living room so its no surprise that any other basket: like 1 full of clean clothing might also be fun to explore.
Teddy, our American Water Spaniel, is 2 1/2 years old. He's a wonderful dog with our trio. He sleeps on the floor in or 6 year-olds' room most night. We never replaced the last bed that he chewed up with all his end of being a puppy energy. Now he curls up on the carpet with any stray cozy object he can find. Teddy's never been allowed on furniture or in a bed, and with our rooms hardwood he looks pretty smart crashed out on the carpet between our big girls' beds.
When we got Teddy we wanted a family dog who would be patient with kids, not shed much, and love to run, especially after birds. Teddy is all that and more.
Last week our almost toddler and I brought him to the vet for shots. 3 other dogs growled at Ted. he wasn't phased by their bad manners at all. Teddy and I went walking looking for birds to eat last weekend. I guess we'll have to keep at it.
Pax
unlikely

First Taste of Sweet Potato

2009-08-01T23:26:00.002-05:00

Our wonderful 5 month old baby girl had her first taste of sweet potato baby food tonight. She was a bit perplexed at first but really started to smile with pride as she got her first meal (beyond rice cereal). Maybe she picked up cues because all of us were so excited to watch. My beloved decided that it was best to feed her as we all settled down for supper.

The funny thing about youngest babies is that the parents aren't the only ones to share the excitement of each first. Her older sisters were excited to watch and smile with her.

Traveling Minnesota and Iowa with Twins + 1: a suspension bridge in Iowa

2009-07-27T22:47:00.004-05:00

One of the neat things about resettling this year in the prairie of southern Minnesota have been finding different places where we've never been to explore together as family.

Of note this week is a wonderful suspension bridge we found in Estherville, Iowa.

Our current home is just 3 blocks from a lake. It's great to live near a lake with two 6 year-olds and a baby. We have a great place to go on walks every morning and night. There's easy access just a short jaunt away for canoeing which is great. But there's something different between a lake and a river. Rivers rush even on calm sunny days when lakes seem still and inviting. Rivers team with unrestrained energy and even inspire a little bit of awe and wonder as we look on at the force contained within their banks.

So yesterday, when we were out exploring in a nearby town, we were pleasantly surprised to find a pedestrian suspension bridge just a few miles away from home. The bridge was shaky which made it all the more fun to cross over the small section of white water below.

Our minute younger twin, Gray for short, was definitely not going to go over that shaky bridge at first; but once we crossed one time she had to be sure to cross four times more to appreciate the full drama of the moment.

Traveling Minnesota with Twins plus 1: Harkin Store, New Ulm, Heritage Acres

2009-07-09T21:46:00.005-05:00

One of the wonderful things about the 4th of July is the chance to get little extra time with family. This year we took in 3 great sites in south central Minnesota this year.

Harkin Store: On July 3rd we headed up to the Harkin Store. The store first opened in the 1870's as settlers moved up the Minnesota River Valley to settle. The store and the surrounding Minnesota River town of West Newton were left behind as the railroads and settlement moved up to the prairie above the river. The store closed and much of the contents are still there. The Harkin family turned it into a museum and the Minnesota State Historical Society/Nicollet County Historical Societies have taken over the operation of the store as a museum together.

When we entered the store we met a man dressed as the proprietor of a 19th century country store. The girls thought the store was great right down to the authentic hats they got to wear during the tour and the bonnet and night cap they got in the gift shop next door. They came with shopping lists in hand to see what they could or couldn't by at the store that they might have wanted to take home.

New Ulm: I can't hide my love for sauer kraut, braised ribs, and dumplings when I get to New Ulm. My daughters say that the food I pick at the Kaiserhoff stinks; but hey it's dad's chance to eat comfort food. The girls enjoyed seeing Herman Heights and the show at the Glockenspiel. They also liked the trip to Target to use the gift cards from Grandpa Bruce.

Heritage Acres:
Our longest exploration of the Holiday weekend was at Heritage Acres on the west side of Lake Sisseton. Established in the 1970's as an agricultural interpretive center it was an exciting place for twin 6 year-olds and their parents. The baby slept through most of the trip in her stroller as we wondered from building to building. The rest of us were able to explore while there was blue-grass music to listen to in the "Mall of 1900." We would have enjoyed having more time up on the hill to see even more and plan to go again the next time Heritage Acres is open.

Heritage acres is a neat collection of historic buildings brought together to retell the story of rural America in a hands on way. All the parts of a old farmstead: from the house to the chicken coup, the barn to the corn-crib have been moved on site, only the barn was originally on the site. An old railway depot, a country church, a one room-school (outfitted with books and a real teacher who taught in a one room school herself), a log cabin and a collection of stores (the Mall of 1900) built in a modern machine shed are all on site.

Topping off our fourth of July weekend were church, fireworks, and rhubarb pound cake; all in all a great way to celebrate the over through of colonial rule by the English.

Raising daughters and training dogs

2009-06-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

One morning last week one of our 6 year-olds was up early. She was wide awake at a time when a dad is usually the only one awake in our house on the Prairie. I get up everyday with Teddy (our 2 year-old American Water Spaniel). Not wanting her to be left out I invited her to come along on her bike while the dog and I ran. I wasn't sure if she'd say yes; but she was excited to be asked.
The three of us headed out. It was a good run and bike, about a mile out with a couple of good hills. Our turn arround was at a large park. The idea, in my mind, was to let the dog run off leash up the hill while our daughter checked out the prairie dog exhibit at the bottom of the hill.
Tough part was Teddy spotted a doe and gave chase. It was one classic moment. I was at the top of the hill with my daughter, still in sight, while the dog was in full chase of a deer on the other side of the hill. In just a few seconds I spotted him on top of the next hill. I called to both the dog and my daughter and neither one listened.
I went to get the girl first and she came with me calling, "Come here boy." After a few anxious moments for dad and daughter our dog came back into sight. When he reached us he was panting hard while smiling a little amused with himself.
We came home just in time to get cleaned up before Vacation Bible School. Not a bad morning adventure.

New Canoe

2009-06-14T23:01:00.004-05:00

A week ago my beloved encouraged me to buy a canoe and not just look at it in the ad in the newspaper. I've been considering getting a canoe for about 2 months now. We moved to a new house and we live just a couple blocks from a chain of 5 lakes. My bride's logic seemed clear: it's the end of Spring and we'd have a chance to use the canoe for a whole season if we bought it now and not at the end of the season. The sale price was great and I jumped at it. Tonight was the maiden voyage in the new boat, a red Pelican Explorer DLX. Its a 15 foot 3 seater.

I took the canoe out for a spin at about 7:30. The lake was relatively of boats but the shore was full of people fishing. There were reports of crappies and sunny from the folks on shore. The only folks out on the water fishing were out in another canoe. I saw a few jet skis and boats full of familiyes headed towars home. and a few boats. It was a good first time out tonight. It was great to be out on the water again other than a trip with kids . It's been a good while since I've been out and it was a great hour on the water.

My goal is to get out with my daughters before to long with rods and see if they can start catching fish.

Join Kiva!

2009-06-02T23:11:00.001-05:00

Hello!

I did it again. I loaned money to people in places on the globe I will never probably go; but hey it's good to know that a little of the money I have can make a positive impact in a far way part of the world.

I made the loan tonight to someone in Peru using Kiva (www.kiva.org).

Any one with a few bucks and a computer hooked up to the internet can do it. Just go to Kiva's website. Kiva loans support small businesses and as the owners build their businesses they it turn can support their families.

I have appreciated the stories and pictures connected to each loan, that as well as the ratings of the partner lenders who work with Kiva, has been a great asset as I consider who and where to lend money. There's a unique chance to support entrepreneurs by giving them loans at rates commercial lenders would never offer.

Kiva provides brief descriptions of the business and the family who it supports. As lenders we get to decide who to support.

All Kiva loans are managed in country by local microfinance institutions. Its not big banks making the loans, its people in many countries working through agencies already on the ground.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named VIRGEN NATIVIDAD DE LARES Group in Peru. They still need another $3,700.00 to complete their loan request of $4,150.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!). Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to VIRGEN NATIVIDAD DE LARES Group too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=109305

It's easy and it invites a different world view into the way we view money.
https://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=register&_isc=1fb9bf50-4ff1-11de-911c-dc6669dc15d3&_te=inu

Traveling Minnesota with Twins: Mill City Museum

2009-06-01T22:33:00.003-05:00

Minnesota's a pretty neat place for kids to discover a little bit of history. From the battle-fields of the Dakota Conflict in the southwest to the mining and forestry sites of the Iron Range there's a lot to see. Besides, my folk's gave us a family membership to the Minnesota Historical Society for the next 2 years; so now we've got lots of good reasons to go and explore all kinds of history.

This past Saturday my older 2 daughters and I joined my folks at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. The museum's only a few years old and its definitely worth a look or two. The museum was built in the shell of the old Washburn A Mill overlooking Saint Anthony Falls. I explained in advance that the museum was build in a building that had once exploded and been very damaged by a fire. That made our girls very curious.

When they got there they found lots of surprising and wonderful things, fresh bread and chocolate cake samples in the kitchen, water wheels and turbines to play with, and a tour that takes place in a huge freight elevator in the Flour Tower. The girls favorites included a mock up of a table set for threshers, including a classic wood-fire cook stove; a chance to decorate cereal boxes, and a mock-up of the falls and several different kinds of water wheels.

Growing up in Minneapolis, but not living in the city for some time now, it's kind of neat to see that the river's been rediscovered in recent years. My girls will have become big fans of downtown. They like the children's room at the downtown library, the Nicollet Mall, and of course Kramarczuk's Sausages.

As a teenager I remember running along the river with the rest of the South High Cross Country team on both banks until the river roads ended. When I was home on breaks from college and especially in my last years at seminary I rode my bike quite a bit along the river road. It was good then to see some renewal starting in the abandoned mills. It's good to see the progress and great to introduce my family to the city that 2 of their grandparents have called home for their whole lives.

Traveling with twins in Minnesota: Jeffers Petroglyphs

2009-05-26T22:33:00.004-05:00

Memorial Day is always a good day, in my mind, to look back in history. Living a good ways from family this Memorial Day (my beloved and our baby went to California to visit her aunt for the week), meant that dad and the 2 older daughters marked the day together. The community picnic (with hot-dogs and pork burgers, chips, beans, and bars, and the subsequent trip to the county historical museum just up the street were my most celebrated ideas of the day.

After the trip to the museum and a quiet break at home, I, Dad had the bright idea of heading North West into the prairie and taking a good look around one of the true historic wonders of Minnesota. (click on the pictures to enlarge them and then start searching for the carvings).

The petroglyphs neat Jeffers are prehistoric (at least pre-European history) carvings on an outcropping of exposed red Sioux Quartzite. I first came to the spot about 11 years ago. The state historical society has made some real progress over the years. Durring my first trip signs were out and trails were marked on the rock and nearby to protect the images from people. A building was underconstruction, but not yet complete back then.

I came back a few years ago with another history buff. But this trip with our oldest girls reminded me of the wonder of this place, that like they said is, just "Out here in the middle of the wind and the prairie?" No body knows which group of people carved the images in the rock or what they mean. The symbols are easy to make out: spears, people, animals like the turtle and the buffalo. But the bigger question of meaning their remains unresolved by modern historians. The mystery of why this rock has been a place for stories over the centuries is fascinating and easily leads to great imagination about who, when, where, why, and how these images in the rock came to be.

The weather was warm and my traveling companions did their best in the late afternoon early evening memorial day sun.. Thank goodness for big enough water bottles and interpretive signs through out the area.

One story that the girls are still discussing is the legend that the rock formartion was a safe place during a great flood. The legend said that the rock turned red from the blood of those who died in the flood.

Whatever the cause of the rock or the origin of the images in the rock our girls had an unsolved mystery to talk about and a beaded bracelet and necklace to show at school during sharing time.

Fatherhood and fishing thoughts

2009-05-19T21:18:00.008-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while but I have two updates:

Fatherhood thoughts: My beloved and I took a trip back down memory lane this past weekend with our 3 girls. We went back to the city on Lake Winnebago where our older 2 girls were born just about 6 years ago. We shared meals with old friends, played with some friend's and their kids in a swimming pool with a nifty water slide. We had a chance to drive past the places we'd been so many times before.

It wasn't our first trip back and it won't be our last. Wisconsin isn't that far away after all. We've come back to relax and catch up a few times over the past 6 years. We came back this time so I could give a speech at a banquet for the church where I served a few years ago. Our first girls were pretty small when we left; but we've been back enough to introduce them to the church where they were baptized and the pastor/God-mother who baptized them.

The time in the Fox Valley included a short trip to the Hecrodt Nature Center and Light-House at Kimberly Park where the Fox River flows out of Lake Winnebago. The girls were complaining about the Lake Flies that hatched last week too much to catch the beauty of the area where they were born.

We're back in the prairie today. The air is warm and there's plenty of wind. My beloved said it's a record setting heat. It's a good old prairie heat wave. Its our home now and will be for a while, but still it was good to go back to see old friends and celebrate with them. It was good to know that there are good places to go east of here.

Trout Fishing: A week and a half ago was the annual Mother's Day Weekend on the Whitewater River. It was a great time and I will look forward to the weekend in the pasture next to the wildlife management area again next year. A new member joined the crew at the old fishing hole. Dave's a true fly-fisherman who even brought out a wonderful wet-fly called a Mother's Day Caddis for the weekend. All these years that I've been fishing on Mother's Day and I had no idea that there's a Caddis pattern for the weekend. I learned more from Dave in two days then I had in about 11 years playing with a fly rod.

The challenge for the trouter, taken from God's question to Job in Job 41:1 was, "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook?" was answered by Chad, an Iowan by way of Fargo. Chad had the biggest catch ever on the Whitewater, while fishing with a mep thrown on a spinning real. He said it had gotten snagged on a tree across the stream a good hours walk up from the rest of us up at camp.

He pulled back hard and it snapped back. At first he thought it had bounced off, but obviously it didn't.

I drove Chad to Winona so that a doctor could pull the hook out rather than risk having either of the 2 chemists or the preacher in camp try to remove it. Chad caught himself with 2 of the 3 treble hooks. The doctor was quick with the lidocaine. She snipped the 3rd hook. Next she pushed one of the hooks through to cut off the barb before pushing the 2nd one through and snipping out the barb. After about 60 seconds of pushing and pulling chad had 4 little 2 mm cuts in his cut where the barbs had pierced him.

2009 SEMN ELCA Synod Assembly

2009-05-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

As a pastor I'm obligated to attend a series of annual meetings. Today I'm at one of them.

ELCA Lutherans have a creative sort of church governence. Members of different churches gather in the spring in synod assemblies. The gathering is partially like a family reunion with friends meeting again after a time apart renewing old frienfships. It's partway a time for renewal & revival, and this year considerable time's is being spent on a discussion about complex social issues.

There's no shortage of secondary topics at these gatherings. This year's no different. We have a great deal of time dedicated to a secondary topic, notably human sexuality. The real issue in our time for the church, sharing Jesus Christ in Word & Sacrament with 2 missing generations, is easily lost.

A first lost tooth

2009-04-28T22:20:00.001-05:00

Parents know about the unique moments that tell us our little ones are getting older. Tonight, after a couple of false starts the past few nights our minute younger five and a half (almost six) year old girl lost her first tooth.

Her first tooth came in on Christmas Day 5 years ago. Tonight with just 5 weeks more to go in kindergarten she's taken another little step towards growing up. It came free after just a few seconds of tugging on the dental floss.

Motley Fool Finds the Cullprit behind the crash NCAA bracket style

2009-04-15T20:27:00.003-05:00

I've always been amazed at the ways people choose to figure out mysteries.

MotleyFool.com: Stock Madness 2009 has figured out one of the mysteries of our time, who caused the crash behind the current recession. The wise folks behind the Motley Fool gave their readers a chance to determine the answer NCAA Basketball style. Readers gave a solid answer and I think they are right.

There were lots of potential culprits behind the crash; but one act of congress stands out because of how badly it exposed the whole nation to the effects of corporate greed: the repeal of the Glass-Steagal Act. Nothing else compares in its effect on our nation.

the Great Sabbath

2009-04-11T14:19:00.002-05:00

Preachers are known to take naps around Easter. But there's an even great Sabbath. The Sabbath between Jesus cross and rising. Most Christians know one section of scripture better than any other: the Gospel accounts of the passion and the stories of the resurrection.

There's a great mystery in these accounts. What happened between the cross and Resurrection morning. The 4 canonical gospel writers offer great details about the events of Thursday night and the passover and Friday morning and the cross; but the intervening space before Easter Sunday morning is a a mystery left unresolved in the Gospels.

The early church confessed a belief that God was at work at some point between Jesus' cross and rising. The Apostle's Creed speak of Jesus' descending to the dead. Some writers have pointed to Peter's allusion in Acts 2:27 & 31 to Psalm 116:8 as an explanation

For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling... (NIV),

1 Peter 3:18-20 speaks of Jesus preaching to the dead through the Spirit. Its a moment of mystery and of Jesus as part of the Trinity was at work. Death could not hold him.

Giving thanks at the start of Holy Week

2009-04-05T22:21:00.002-05:00

Its common, among preachers, to have a sort of general discontent this time of year. Lent's home stretch takes alot out of time and prayer. But this year I don't feel the unease; rather I'm feeling some relief.
After a couple years of ministry in interim mode I'm enjoying Holy Week in a new place with new opportunities that come from being in a fully staffed team.
Taking a new call seemed pretty crazy at first; but my beloved reminded me that we don't have to worry. We learned to pray and have faith leaving things in God's hands and not our own to resolve the challenges of our move.
We both came up with plenty of reason not to move. We both needed jobs; then my beloved got a good offer a few days after I had a formal offer. Next we needed our house to sell; and it did. All this time our older 2 girls kept growing; we had a beautiful baby girl who is smiling in my lap right now. It's been pretty amazing.
This past week the last details of our move west came into place a week after we started unpacking in our new home. Our old house closed Friday a week later than scheduled. Turns out the buyers bank wasn't ready on time. But a week later it was done. We paid a extra half moth's interest on the loan and walked away.
Now's time for giving thanks: we had a good house, a new person is moving in. We worked with a great Realtor who came through right at the end and held back some of his profit for a few months to complete the sale; for all that and more we give thanks to our generous God.

Our Baby is Smiling

2009-04-01T22:36:00.006-05:00

About a week ago our newest addition started to smile. Now we have pictures to prove it. She's such a joy. She and her sisters and mom can all light up the world when they smile like this.
What a beautiful girl.
Pax, Unlikely

Settling in to the new home and call

2009-04-01T21:40:00.004-05:00

One of the real amazing things about pastoral ministry is moving to a new congregation. People my age seem to move from profession to profession and employer to employer pretty regularly.

But what about pastors?

I'm 35 and I've been a pastor for 9.5 years. I spent 2.5 years in my first call before moving to a new call to marry a bride who'd just taken a job in a new state. We moved back to the land of 10,000 lakes after the birth of our twin girls. After five years in a congregation not far from the Mayo Clinic and suburban Rochester we have picked up everything again. We've headed west into the Prairie for a fresh start in ministry and in our family's life.

The folks church we left were stunned that we'd chosen to move; most of my friends in ministry weren't surprised. 7 weeks after we announced the plan to leave I worshiped in another congregation taking a week off. 8 weeks later we were introduced as a family in a new place. 9 weeks later I'll be introducing the Passion reading to the new congregation. It's gone fast, and for that speed I give thanks.

Our fresh steps have given us a lot of opportunities for change. We've sold the rambler and we've bought a big old 2 story frame house in a prairie town. The town is beautiful built around a chain of lakes. Its a good 50 minutes drive to a bigger town; there are a few new big box stores in town and a small mall. We're settling in and getting used to things. My wife will start a new job in the summer and we're getting used to having our little one at home.

Right now I'm giving thanks for fresh starts.
Pax
Unlikely

New house

2009-03-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

We arrived today at our new house 120 miles or so west of our place on the edge of both the prairie and the Hiawatha valley. The Hiawatha Valley (and its nearby trout streams) are a good ways back now. The pheasants are closer and we're still a couple hours drive away from my folks.
We're in lake country now. The new place is just a quarter mile from the closest one. The movers (mostly Quist family members) came and helped us pack Wednesday and Thursday. I met with the banker Friday and signed a loan that will be paid off when I'm 65. The movers met us at the new place with their 53 foot truck and unloaded the contents of our old home into our new one.
It's been an amazing day to watch so much into this house in such a short time. Now we're learning the new sounds of this old house.

+++

We keep praying for friends in Fargo hoping that they are allright. Please keep them and others in the Red River Valley before Gods throne.

Pax,
unlikely.

My plan to end the recession

2009-03-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

I've been reading some about the current recession being the product of greed and regulatory indifference. So now I am wondering what would happen if we started with the opposites? Sgt C (christopher-calbat.newsvine.com) put the formula for the crisis like this
unbacked assets + immediate equity on securities - oversight + deregulation x greed - ethics = FAILURE!!

So my proposal to get out of the mess is to do the opposite thing.
real assets - equities with real value + oversight + regulation * generostiy = a stable economy

Real assets. We already have assets starting to take on relatively stable value (if you can see the difference in housing prices in 2009 vs 2005 you can see that we have more stable values today than 4 years ago). We still need to pull in short sellers and others who are undermining the value of goods and services today.

- equities with real value. Its time to limit equity markets and funds to selling shares limited in scope to actual assets or sales (real property, machinery, patents, proprietary technology, cash etc.) Yes the fast buck era is over for most on Wall Street; but real growth might actually take place now that the profiteers are all asking for bail outs.

+ oversight (the FDIC is ramping up today like it hasn't in years)

+ regulation (lets not ever get back to this type of market again

all this multiplied by generosity and altruism

= a stable national economy

tell me what you think
Unlikely

Newsvine Article: Real Estate Still Moving in Olmsted County, MN

2009-03-13T22:32:00.002-05:00

Real Estate Still Moving in Olmsted County, MN

Summary:
There's one bright spot in the toboggan slide knows as Minnesota Real Estate prices. It's Rochester and the rest of Olmsted County. As prices in the Twin Cities metro area continue to fall this one area just 90 miles southeast down US Highway 52 is surprisingly stable.

Visit the article by clicking this link:

http://unlikelybanter.newsvine.com/_news/2009/03/13/2545025-real-estate-still-moving-in-olmsted-county-mn

Moving on

2009-03-10T23:17:00.000-05:00

My bride and I are getting ready to move a new home. We have a first time home buyer coming for inspection tomorrow. It's a little to worry about; but as a seller in this market its a good reason to hope.

Our world's changing fast. My last Sunday in my current call is just a few days away; our littlest girl is sleeping in my arms and it looks like we'll be moved to a new home at the end of this month. Wow. We sure feel very blessed.

Hello!

2009-03-04T20:38:00.002-06:00

Hey Kristi
thanks for the note

I'll post it as a comment

john

the new girl in our family comes home

2009-02-19T18:38:00.003-06:00

We've been blessed again.
We had another daughter she was born at 8:33 am on Monday in Rochester, Minnesota. After three days in the hospital everyone's finally gotten home safe and sound. Now I have the chance to share some pictures and video of our newest little girl. She's been a real joy to watch and hold.

Right now she's being just a little vocal about a few things. She's learning very fast about the world around her and is getting very close to her mom. The pictures are just a few of many from the past week. If your browser doesn't support the slide show try this link out picasaweb.google.com/unlikelyconversation/ANewGirlInOurFamily

We even broke out the video camera on the day of our newest daughters birth. I get a real kick out of watching the way her big sisters responded to meeting her. The giggles are are coming from pure joy. Our minute older twin had a cold that day and had to wear a surgical mask so not to get the baby sick.

There's no question for me. We've been blessed with our two older girls and now we are blessed again as our family is continuing to grow. For all these gifts we give our thanks and praise to God.

Pax,
Unlikely

Please check out the video. It's posted on youtube and on vimeo. Please let me know if you can see any difference in quality. I like vimeo but I want to give them both a try and see how they both work.

Vimeo's first,

Our 3rd daughter's First Day from Unlikely on Vimeo.

youtube is next

Norah's been born

2009-02-16T10:19:00.000-06:00

Siri and I are proud to announce the arrival of our newest girl: Norah Kathryn. She was born at 8:33 am at Methodist Hospital. She's nursing right now. She was 8lbs 1oz, 21 inches long and is very beautifil. Siri and Norah are both doing very well. Siri thinks its funny that she doesn't look like either of her sisters.
In Christ we have our hope and give thanks today.
John & Siri.

Waiting Room

2009-02-16T08:27:00.001-06:00

Siri just headed in to the "delivery room" at Rochester Methodist Hospital. It's time for her spinal and then I'll be brought in for the delivery, by way a c-section, of our 3rd daughter. We've been listening to her strong heart beat and waiting. Now I'm the one waiting alone.

progress on 1 of the root causes of recession?

2009-02-10T22:57:00.000-06:00

Watching Nightline I finally heard the news I've been wating for, President Obama is expecting an audit of the nation's banks. As part of "taking off the bandaid" on Wall Street. (http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/story?id=6839534
Finally real progress 1 year after this recession started. We needed this last year; and now I think we're going to get it to happen.

The 2nd tooth is gone

2009-02-04T22:26:00.000-06:00

Our minute older girl wants me to put this picture on the internet tonight. She lost her second tooth tonight 35 days afterlosing he first. She's playing at sluring her words a little for fun.
Its fun to watch the girls grow up a little each day.

A new call

2009-02-01T22:12:00.000-06:00

I announced, in church this morning, that I have recieved a new call to serve as a pastor in a different church. After 5 years, the past two working with various interim pastors, it seems like a good time for us to move on to a new call. The news was a surprise for most everyone. There were lots of hugs and a lot of surprised expressions and word for both me and my beloved.
I received the formal letter extending the call 8 days ago. My beloved received an offer from a clinic in the same town just 3 days ago. It's a very exciting and hopeful time for both of us and our girls; now we just need to sell our house.
We told the kids that this move was a possibility 2 weeks ago. We told them it was a secret. They said it would be hard to keep. They surprised us by keeping it as well as they did. Tomorrow they can start sharing the news, just like I am tonight.
Pax,
unlikely

An unsolicited email irked me

2009-01-29T22:50:00.000-06:00

I received an unsolicited email that really bugged me today. It came to my church account signed by a raving Bush backer, Donald Wildmon. In it he called deficit spending proposed in HR1 immoral. I replied asking him when he'd spoken out against deficits in the past 8 years of the last administration.
He's published some of the letter at
capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=12540961.
Its time to keep the discussion going but Mr Wildmon needs to call the old administrations deficits immoral if he's going to call HR 1 immoral.

Day 1 of 100 no wall street cleanup, yet.

2009-01-21T22:37:00.000-06:00

President Obama has been in office for about 36 hours now. Some might say its too early to ask to see the meat of Obama's plans; but I'm wondering about the specifics of the wall street bailout will include.
Others are still thinking about the festivities thid week; but I'd like to hear some of the gritty details.

Lessons from FDR's first 100 days

2009-01-17T12:19:00.000-06:00

A NY TIMES blog offers details of the first 100 days of Roosevelts administration right as we prepare for Obama's first 100 days. The overview provides real insight about what we might expect as a nation on the financial brink.

Check it out http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/how-fdr-made-the-presidency-matter/?th&emc=th

Contemplating Something New

2009-01-08T22:09:00.003-06:00

The older I get the more adverse I get to taking risks. But today the risk I've been avoiding, moving, seems pretty tiny compared to the possibility of a new start in a new call in ministry.

A few regular readers of this blog know that I've been contemplating seeking a new call for many months. I haven't said much about it online. I made the decision to seek a new call in the summer and started interviewing some this fall. While I haven't said much online I have been working towards a new call in the real world.

My wife and I now are waiting for a congregational vote. It will happen in a few weeks. If we choose to move we'll have to sell our home and start over with two new jobs, a new home, new school and lots of other new and changing things. We still have much to decide: when we'll announce our decision, how long we'll stay after we announce, and what we'll do if our house won't sell.

Its been quite a year for us. Somehow realizing in the middle of all the joys of expecting our 3rd girl that it's the right time for dad to move to a new church has really given us cause to pray and to appreciate that timing isn't really ours to control.

We appreciate any prayers you might have as we ask for God's assurance that this is not our will but God's will.

thanks
unlikely

Still waiting for a bank/financial services holiday.

2009-01-02T00:14:00.003-06:00

With less than 3 weeks until the beginning of the Obama administration I renew my request, as stated in my blog unlikelybanter.blogspot.com in March and October, for a national bank holiday. Our nation would benefit immediately from an even broader bank/financial services holiday than the one FDR imposed in March of 1933.

Students of US history know that Roosevelt's dramatic action, which started the FDIC (auditing the books and insuring deposits of banks) effectively saved the banking system. Consumer banking along with the economy as a whole was teetering on collapse at the end of Hoovers administration. FDR's dramatic action arguably saved the US economy and the capitalist system.

It should be noted that the circumstances are somewhat different in 2009. The real crisis is not so much in the banks as it is in all the other financial institutions that act some what like banks; but for sake of escaping regulatory oversight aren't considered banks. Its time, with the collapse of Madoff's fund and Petter's investment scheme, that all investment funds have their books opened to a more powerful SEC. Its time for to shutter the doors, just like FDR did with banks in 1933, until regulators are clear about the basis for each fund.

published simulatneously at newsvine.

A tooth is gone

2008-12-31T21:51:00.000-06:00

Our minute older girl lost her first tooth tonight. Her first tooth came in on Christmas Night 5 years ago. Tonight on New Years Eve she came to me with dental floss in hand and asked me to pull it out. After just a few seconds of tugging it was out.

Winter nights winter lights

2008-12-11T22:07:00.000-06:00

One neat thing about winter nights is the light. Tonight with the moon over head the snow had a real glow as I was out walking the water dog. Now he's inside nawing on toys as I surf the web on my remanufactured phone. My beloved and the next baby are asleep on the couch and the 5 year olds are avoiding sleep.

Pheasants and The Brau Haus

2008-11-16T21:48:00.000-06:00

I'm toward the end of a hunting break and I've stopped at the Brau Haus in Lucan. The beer is brewed in town, the service is great, and an old friend lives nearby.

Maybe it's time for Barkley

2008-11-02T14:56:00.003-06:00

With Coleman and Franken smearing eachother maybe it's time for an indepenent

Independent voices could bring sanity about the over and above the din of two candidates and their allies smearing each other while not facing the issues.

Still Waiting for a Bank Holiday

2008-10-31T23:02:00.004-05:00

There's little doubt that the bear market of late has happened as a result of private sector conduct and the public sector's failure to oversee the private sector. The question for the next president will not be if their administration should act in response, but how it should act. I asked for a bank holiday for the whole financial services sector in this blog in March. It clearly hasn't happened yet.

My question today is what comes next. Government involvement proposed thus far hasn't amounted to any real benefit at all (beyond psychological benefit); it's just to early in the game to see if the money allocated for future spending will be spent in the right places and in the right amounts.

I'm curious as the plan to move forward takes shape if it will focus on jobs as well as the reform of financial institutions. There's no question that the New Deal had some real shortcomings; but for all its shortcomings Roosevelt's plan was more comprehensive than the current plan because it dealt with both the needs of the unemployed and and the crisis in the banking sector. If politicians learn anything from history let it be that the whole nation has been effected by the financial crisis and that its not enough just to create jobs or just to pump money into FDIC insured banks and uninsured institutions that act like banks to keep them afloat.

The New Deal drove the economy of the working class for most of Roosevelt's first term; but it wasn't enough; banking and investing needed reform. Still after all is said and done even the New Deal alone wasn't enough to rebuild the national economy. Roosevelt created his own mini depression by trying to end the New Deal in his second term. Unemployment rose because the private sector wasn't able to employ those who had earlier been employed through the New Deal. History has many lessons to teach our next president if anyone is ready to help him listen.

Published simultaneously at Unlikely Banter on Newsvine

Studs Terkel Author and Socal-Historian Dead at 96

2008-10-31T22:13:00.002-05:00

One of the great students and story tellers of American Social History died this week. Mr. Terkel's books have told the stories of working class Americans and social activists for the last half century. He never hid his politics or passion for justice and truth in his writings or in his interviews of people who might never be interviewed by the mainstream media.

Stud Terkel's books have been found on many a night stand and have allowed our nation glimpses of our diverse culture, life-styles, and experiences. His taped interviews allowed people not just to be described but to tell their own story and use their own words to make sense of the often challenging dynamics of our nation. He will surely be missed both as a literary figure and a key social commentator committed to telling untold stories in creative and interesting ways.

published simultaneously at Unlikely Banter on Newsvine.

Was it Realy a Rally in the Market

2008-10-29T23:32:00.000-05:00

In the past two weeks we've seen two major days of gains in the Dow each in the neighborhood of 900 point. It seems logical that someone might come out to buy as prices fall. It also makes sense that as stocks are sold off at loss they have to sold to a party ready and willing to buy them on the way down.
The question remains until the losses stop when will the bottom come and who will be lucky enough to buy in at the absolute bottom. One days gains can quickly disappear as confidence and the will to risk scarce capital diminish. It seems sad to watch a little money put into the market a few weeks ago shrinking; but the losses of the last week don't compare to the losses of the last month. It just leaves investors and would be first time investors with a little cash to start saving with when is the right time to start.

No pheasents 2 bluebirds & 2 eagles.

2008-10-24T16:12:00.002-05:00

Teddy, the American Water Spaniel, joined me in a long nature walk today. I went, 12-guage in hand, looking for tasty birds to eat but found none at any of our 3 stops: Spring Valley WMA, Upper Iowa WMA, and Beaver Creek WMA. We did spot a fox, several mice and gophers, 2 bald eagles, and 2 bluejays.

2 Churches then homeward bound

2008-10-19T18:43:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning on vacation is always a moment of decision for me; as an active pastor in a church. 48 Sundays a year I'm committed to be present in 1 congregation of 1 specific denomination. On Sundays when I'm on vacation there's a surprising moment of decision. Where to worship? This morning I visited 2 different churches.
I went alone to my first pick, ST JOSEPH Ukranian Catholic Church, located at 5000 N Cumberland Ave, Chicago, IL 60656. It was a quick drive from our hotel. The 8 a.m. mass was in Ukranian (sung parts) and English (spoken parts readings, prayers, sermon). The sermon was top notch and scriptural. The preacher held up Jesus' story in the gospel text about Lazarus and the rich man in Luke as an invitation to both care for the poor and to live with humility if we live in plenty.
I was greeted in Ukranian on my way in and out of church. On the way out I had a good conversation with the cantor.
We went together as a family (along with my beloved's dad and his girlfriend) to the UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST Church of Elgin located 39W830 Highland Avenue Elgin, Illinois. The order of service allowed time for sharing of joys and concerns, had adult and youth leaders, a variety of music (some prerecorded) .
Chilren were ushered out for snack and story while the adults received a presenation about "reclaiming the word god" from the minister. It was a thoughtful reflection on the nature of the divine but I couldn't help wondering throughout the presentation just how the congregation and its minister would have reacted durring the response time if the Apostle Paul had stood in their midst and delivered his same sermon that he shared on Mars Hill in Acts 17 :16-34. I'll email their minister and ask his response.

Last night in Chicago for a While

2008-10-18T23:05:00.002-05:00

We've had a great trip to Chicago this October break. In our second full day in Chicago we made it all the way to the top of the Sears Tower before heading over to the Field Museum and the Adler Planetarium. It was a good trip to the Museum Campus but we could have used another day or so at the Field Museum alone. Today the girls got dolls at the American Girl doll store after our trip to the Museum of Science and industry. I had great memories of the Museum of Science and Industry as a kid and was glad to get my own kids in too see what I still think is a great museum that helps non-scientists appreciate what's going on in science and how it effects everyday life.

This trip has been different than my last couple of trips to Chicago. I seem to remember a few St Patricks day trips that I made in my 20's that were sure different than this trip. No late night concerts at the House of Blue this time. Instead we've been finding the kid friendly parts of museums and just experiencing the city with a couple of people who are seeing something brand new at each and every turn.

Its been neat to see the city with the help of two five-year-olds who really get excited about life and even things that might be brushed aside by adults as ordinary and everyday. Riding the L all around the city was a highlight for the girls and the train-buff in me. One thing that I didn't do was take many train pictures (Sorry Dee). I did get a few pictures of the awesome HO layout in the Museum of Science and Industry.

Watching the Sun Come Up NW Chicago

2008-10-17T06:37:00.003-05:00

We had a great day all five of us on the go in the Windy City. I feel bad for our little one on the way. While present for the trip this little one can't see anything or remember anything. My parents took me to New York en utero and now we're taking our next baby to Chicago. Poor kid will be in the pictures but we can never make out a face.
We started at the Cumberland Station on the Blue Line and headed in to pick up our Go Chicago cards. Siri found the cards looking online for vacation deals in Chicago and they really fit that description. Our 3 day cards get us into most of the attractions we'd considered visiting and at a great price.

We saw quite a bit yesterday on the go in Chicago. We left the Hotel out here on the North Edge of the city (still in the city limits) about 9:20 we were at the water tower by 10:30 and looking out the windows at the Hancock observatory before noon.

The highlight for the girls was the Children's Museum at Navy Pier. The highlight for dad was getting everybody there and back and ready for bed when we were done. The blue line and red line were pretty smooth rides yesterday. Both girls were wide eyed as we started our journey. By the end of the day they were more interested in drawing pictures of the Ferris Wheel and Carousel at Navy Pier than the train on our ride home.

October Break

2008-10-15T15:07:00.001-05:00

We're on our way today for an October Break. My folk's are watching the dog and we're heading southeast towards Chicago. We'l be in Illinois for 4 nights. Tomorrow we'll head downtown and start a Chicago adventure. With one more kiddo on the way in the winter this is probably our last vacation for a little while.

The girls are in the back of our van at the moment watching DVD's. My beloved's watching the road and I'm alternating between conversation, blogging, looking at the countryside of southern Wisconsin and drawing.

The fall color has just about reached peak in our area on the Minnesota side. The oaks with their deep maroon are dominating the scenery back home; but here just 100 miles southeast there's still a lot of green with some of the bright reds (sumacs) and yellows (birch and maple) of early fall.

The girls are ready for supper with Brendan and Sabrina in Rockford even though we still have another couple hours to go til we get there. Tonight we'll stay in a hotel just a block from the blue line and tomorrow we'll be headed downtown.

October Vacation

2008-10-15T14:46:00.000-05:00

We're on our way today for an October Break. My folk's are watching the dog and we're heading southeast towards Chicago. With one more kiddo on the way in the winter its probably our last vacation for a little while.

The oaks have been very

Fall in Minnesota

2008-10-11T22:56:00.001-05:00

Fall's here in Minnesota. There are two more signs today; pheasant hunting in the fall colors and concerts in the evening.
One ironic story is that our dog got up on the counter, while I was out of the house, and pulled down a plastic container that held 2 pheasant breasts and 2 legs. I forgot to put them away in the fridge before heading out with the girls. When we got home we found the dog holding the rubbermaid container between his paws with just one pheasant leg left. Teddy looked very pleased with his meal. I sure hope it helps his hunting desire spike.

Homecoming

2008-10-03T23:55:00.001-05:00

Tonight we took our dynamic duo to their first football homecoming. After a pep-fest at school they were pumped for a parade and a football game.

The parade was great and ou minute older daudghter stayed at the game until the 4th quarter. She just loves to be social and she had plenty of friends to visit.

Signs off the times

2008-10-02T22:51:00.002-05:00

Two signs are clear these days. 1 we're on the edge of fall. 2 we're on the edge of recession or maybe even depression, at least according to this stores sign.

Twins game

2008-10-01T23:11:00.001-05:00

Fun game

Sweet Twins season ends on South Side

2008-10-01T07:15:00.001-05:00

It's been a year when everybody around here was cheering for our beloved Twins. We all needed the diversion.
With the election year promises and putdowns its been good for everyone to have a little something to celebrate.
When I told the girls, after stories, that Minnesota had lost our minute younger daughter almost cried. So thanks to the team who gave our state a good distraction.

awaiting our next child

2008-09-24T21:59:00.002-05:00

Good Evening

My beloved went in for a sonogram yesterday. The results were good. She's about 19 weeks pregnant with baby. We do think we know the gender at this time. I could tell people but hey the suspense is good. Besides come February we won't have any chance to hide the gender any longer.

It's been a really different pregnancy from the first one. Having twins was so different than just waiting for one child. We had two ultra-sounds a week for the last 10 weeks last time. This time we may not have another.

We do ask your prayers for us and all our children in the weeks and months to come.

Pax,
Unlikely

Trout Season Winds Down

2008-09-15T21:38:00.002-05:00

Trout season's winding down. It happens every year in this neck of the woods. In mid-September, right after the kids have gone back to school, Trout season comes to an end.

My last time out this year was in Trout Run just a few miles north of the famed Bucksnort Dam between Chatfield and Rushford, Minnesota. I'd fished this section a few years before with my buddy Arlo. It was slow fishing on Friday morning. The gps calendar said it was an average day. I only saw one fish jump in about 90 minutes. The fishing got even slower after Teddy, the trusty Water Spaniel, stepped on my pole and snapped off the top 14 or so inches. A wiseman at the local outdoors store said he could have it fixed in a week.

As the days grow shorter and the cold air starts to creep in at night this trout fisherman's view of the world changes. As I've started to fish more over time I've become more and more aware of the way the world changes through Spring, Summer, and first hints of Fall on the rivers and streams around here. There's still a little bit of trout season left. It's the barbless season, catch and release only, until the end of the month.

With two weddings still to go this month I might not get out again to find trout; but with a Water Spaniel at home I am sure to get out to find pheasants in just a month or so. The DNR has fair reports for numbers this year. Just a few weeks to go before I can get excited for another season and another great reason to get outside. I loaded up on shells at the local outdoor store when I went in to get the trout pole fixed. I'm planning on my best year yet.

Virus Free

2008-09-06T21:18:00.003-05:00

Good Evening,

Just wanted to say a note of thanks to the helpful folks at ElderGeek.com who helped me alleviate some malware and virus issues with the computer.

It seems that the troubles are behind me; my computer is running much faster and I have a lot more anti-malware software running. It was an interesting stretch but I think we're passed it.

unlikely

Back in Rushford 1 year later

2008-08-25T22:10:00.000-05:00

A year ago hard rains transformed normally quiet Rush Creek in Rushford, Minnesota into a muddy torrent that flooded hundreds of homes. The volunteers are starting to dry up, but there's still work ahead.
5 of us went from church today for 1 day of drywalling. We worked in 2 homes today and we drove past a few we had worked on before this year. It was heartening to see a home we'd hung windows in as a home. There are many still to finish but it was a blessing for us to see some fully restored. The homes that are in need of the most work sit empty a year after the disaster. It made us 5 wonder why its so easy to look past disasters so quickly.

Virus may have a name jo

2008-08-24T00:06:00.001-05:00

The virus may be called joke.blusod
I called tech support the local guy from charter hadn't heard of it.

the virus

2008-08-23T23:46:00.000-05:00

Found a useful discussion re the virus or malware infecting my pc. I haven't got a name yet but I hope to soon. The link is expert.com/forums/thread/379222.aspx

How the virus works

2008-08-23T22:45:00.000-05:00

good evening
I don't know the name of the virus infecting my pc but I do know
1 it blocks access from google to anti virus sites and just straight from the browser line too
2 it stopped me from updating my pc's anitivirus files @ 1 pm yesterday
3 The virus has been redirecting to google analitics durring searches
4 just running anti virus software we use f-secure hasn't stopped it yet. F-secure finds it but doesnlt remove it.
hopefully I'll know more soon
pax
unlikely

Computer virus

2008-08-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

Good evening.
My post is short tonight. I'm using the little qwerty keyboard on my phone because the pc has a virus.
The great irony of this virus is that it prevents the user from actually accessing any anti virus sites. Once I have clean pc I will publish the names of the companies who hoped to profit from my misfortunes.
Who knows if any more unsavory things have been done to our pc or us yet. Charlie Brown used to say, "Uggh" and that sums it up for me.
Pax
unlikely

Intesity and Faith

2008-08-19T23:04:00.003-05:00

I came upon a great post at Law and Gospel that answered a tough question from Dave at Here I Stand

Law and Gospel's story comes from her work as a Chaplain in an ER. She wrote about watching a doctor slowly interact with a family. She wonders why the doctor seemed so slow in coming to speak to the family and ask any questions about what had happened. Was it the racial and cultural barriers that needed to be overcome. Or was it something else; another barrier.

the story got me thinking about the barriers I and others build up as emotional defenses. The past couple weeks have taught me again that intensity is a real part of any life and death situation. People are raw. They don't know what's coming next for the person they love or what to do with themselves. The old question, "Why God" bubbles up deep inside and we have no good answer to offer beyond an answer of faith and trust.

Tonight an ICU doctor came by church for the visitation of a member who died after a week in his care. He sought me out after meeting with the widow and his parents to express his condolences. I'd watched him do everything possible to keep this man alive, and it wasn't enough. He said it was just right to be there after a week of working hoping to keep him alive knowing and telling his family all the long that it "didn't look promising."

I've seen good people build barriers around themselves. I judge they push away people in hard situations in order (unconsciously or consciously) to push off some of the deep emotions that they might otherwise encounter in other people or in themselves.

What do you think?

Olympics begin

2008-08-08T22:46:00.001-05:00

Maybe we're just corny mid-westerners, but we tried to make a night of celebrating the Olympics by going out to our local Chinese restraunt (a buffet) . One of our girls even had on her official Olympic t-shirt complete with the "blue friendly" that we picked up at the Olympic Traing center in Colorado Springs.

It's good to see the Olympics begin and realize even as they do that they still represent a dream that no nation has yet achieved, freedom for its own people and peace with all other nations.

Summer's winding down

2008-08-07T21:16:00.001-05:00

Just about this time every year I start to notice some signs that summer is starting to disappear right before my eyes. This morning I noticed the change when Teddy, the Water Spaniel, and I were running and the dew started to gather on us just after dawn.
Sure I've started to see the change every morning as the dawn comes a little later each day but this later dew is different, its the kind of thing that happens as the nights get a little cooler.

Back home

2008-07-22T20:20:00.000-05:00

We're all back home and as of today all back to work. The girls are getting up earlier after 2 weeks of staying in bed as long as they wanted and Ilm back to church. After Colorado Springs we spent a day with my Dad's oldest sister in the Nebraska panhandle.

Our last 2 free days were in Hot Springs South, Dakota. We were coming back to the hotel after the lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore when we saw a buffalo on the highway in Cave of the winds National Park. As we slowed to go passed one buffalo we saw two others silouetted by the moon on a ridge 40 feet to our east. I sure wish I'd had the presence of mind to slow down and get a great picture.

Back in Colorado Springs

2008-07-13T22:59:00.006-05:00

We're pretty regular visitors to Colorado Springs. My sister lives here so it's not unheard of for us to spend a week or two here each year.

One of our new stops in Colorado this year was at Santa's Workshop at the North Pole. It's located just west of Colorado Springs on US 24.

It's a great amusement park for families with kids under 10. There were very few rides that weren't right for our whole family.

On Thursday we left the Springs with our niece joining us for 3 nights of travel and headed to Denver and then west up I70 into the mountains.

My beloved's cousin lives in Frisco. She gave us a tour including a stop at a top notch play ground and a small mountain pond called Rainbow Lake. One really fascinating and disturbing part of our stop was all the devastation that we saw happening in the forests in Summit County and Grand County. The Pine Beetles are wrecking huge stand of timber in a matter of 5 or 6 years depending on who you ask. Some estimate that up tp 90% of the Ponderosa and Lodge Pole Pine will be gone after this infestation runs its course.

After Frisco we headed to Winter Park for a night and then to the YMCA of the Rockies and to Snow Mountain Ranch for a reunion of my wife's family.

Vacation posting

2008-07-11T10:43:00.005-05:00

We've covered some real ground this week.
We started with the prairie of Southern Minnesota, Northwest Iowa, Nebraska, and Northeastern Colorado. Most of these photos are from the arch at Kearney, Nebraska. Its a great view of travel across the prairie from the Native American hunters who followed game trails, the prospectors and pioneers who came across in covered wagons, the Pony Express. Notable to our girls were all the things left behind as people crossed to the west because they didn't want the furniture, books, or other items they had thought necessary to pack for their trip.

vacation on the road

2008-07-07T19:41:00.001-05:00

What happens when 4 people get in a van and drive west? Vacation.

we've covered a lot of miles, and a nifty wireless web device makes posting possible. We've had 2 good stops all 4 of us would recommend.
1 Wells Dairy Visitor Center in La Mars, Iowa. it's a top notch ice cream shop in the middle of Northwest Iowa. We headed downn the road next to US 20. The road winds through Nebraska's beautiful Missouri River Bluffs. Even West of Kearney the whole state has been green from this years considerable rainfall.
2. Our second notable stop was the Great Platte River Archway Museum just east of Kearney. It's a neat museum complete with life size wagons, welcoming costumed staff, audio accompaniment, and ok special effects.

Open to the Spirit

2008-06-29T14:50:00.003-05:00

Regular readers know that my partner in ministry decided to retire earlier than expected this Spring after a year of part time ministry and disability leave.

I'm getting my mobility papers/resume ready. It's to be open to the Spirit not only for the church I serve today, but all churches that might be looking for a new pastor.

I'd appreciate your prayers as.

pax,

unlikely

T Ball Season Game 1

2008-06-09T22:58:00.004-05:00

It was a beautiful blue sky and puffy white cloud evening on our edge of the prairie and the Hiawatha Valley. The local t-ball fields were hopping. Dozens of mini-vans and increasing unpopular SUV's were parked along side the soccer/t-ball fields as we arrived at 6:45 for practices before the 7:30 games.

The dog and I spend time in solitude running in this park on the edge of town almost every morning; but tonight the place was chalk full of 4 to 6 year old kids in there color coordinated team t-shirts and oversized batting helmets. There were a lot of spectators too; parents, a few grandparents, and siblings who just came along for the ride seemed to enjoy their chance to cheer.

There are 8 t-ball teams currently fielded in town. Our kids are on an as yet un-named team dressed in dark blue t-shirts. They're coached by three outstanding women who all know much more about playing ball than I can ever hope to learn. Even ushering at the Metrodome for 4 Twins seasons didn't prepare me to teach my kids how to play. My daughter said simply, "Dad you're supposed to be good at this, as I muffed a ball with a borrowed glove during practice.

The rules of t-ball are simple for a 4 or 5 year old, if your up to bat, just hit the ball, not the parent who bravely puts it on the tee, and then run to a base. If the next person in line gets a hit then run to second.

If your out in the field the game is a little more challenging. It's tough for these kids not to be distracted by the birds, clouds, weeds, mud, water, and other kids out at play. A favorite moment was watching our minute older daughter who was playing first base give a big hug to a boy who had just reached base from the other team.

pax,
Unlikely