Strange Noise . . .

Ok, so I get up this morning and make my way down to my study in the basement. To do so I walk past the laundry room and hear the water running. Strange. Sounds like the washing machine, but it's early so no one up but me. The water noise is coming from the sump pump hole.

Oh no.

For those of you who do not have sump pumps, let me tell you this: there is no good scenario for what is happening at this point. None. Nada. This is bad no matter how you slice it.

So I gently move the cover to the sump hole and water starts squirting out. Okay, it just got worse. Images of my basement flooding are running through my head. So I unplug the pump and remove the cover . . . and thankfully, the water is not running out of the hole. This is probably the best case scenario! One of the couplings connecting the pump output to the output pipe had come loose and the water was squirting out of there. But what caused it to all of a sudden come loose?

I grab some buckets and bail the water out of the hole. It is as warm as bath water! Our pump must have been running quite some time. My guess is that with all of our extremely cold weather, the line has frozen somewhere and the pump just kept running and running, trying to push out the water until the coupling came apart under the pressure. Then the pump kept pumping but the water never left the hole, i.e. infinite loop.

So, I'll keep an eye on it for now and see what happens. Reminds me of another story when I heard water running in the middle of the night . . . but that's a story for another day. :-)

UPDATE: Confirmed line was clogged (and assumed frozen), so ran a new, temporary line to the waste sink in the laundry room. So now the water can get pumped out until the spring thaw, when I'll remove the temporary line and reattach the permanent one. (My wife will just have to watch her step until then!) And now I'll have the emergency line ready for it this ever happens again.

Good Quote

Adam and Eve tried to separate God's Word from the tree. God saves them and the world by making sure His Word is stuck to the tree.

~ Rev. Mark Beutow, Higher Things devotion

Rebuke the Evil Foe, O Christ!

O Lord, Who lovest good and art a God of mercy and compassion! Save me from the terrible corrupt enemy, who hourly fetters and persecutes my soul with evil and corrupt thoughts.

Ineffable is Thy strength, O Christ, for it rebuked the waves of the sea. May it rebuke him, may it render him ineffectual, and may it banish him far from me Thy servant.

Every day he renews his treachery against me and he hastens to take possession of my crippled mind and to distance me from Thee and from Thy divine commandments.

But, O Master, O most merciful Lord, quickly send Thy strength and chase from me, Thy worthless servant, this mighty serpent with all of his cunning and shameful thoughts, that I might in purity praise Thee with Thine eternal Father and Thine all-holy and good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

~ Ephrem the Syrian

Christ at the Center

Well, it's snowing pretty good here today. Supposed to warm up a bit, but so far the temperature has fallen. Supposed to change over to sleet and freezing rain, and then plain rain overnight - the question will be how much snow falls first. We'll see!

But anyway, more words from Dr. Schmauk . . .

The difference between various [Christian denominations] lies not merely in some difference of their component elements, but also in the way in which those elements are set in their relation to each other; and the large and more sweeping difference, which counts on the whole, is to be found in the latter fact.  . . . 

The Roman Confession writes the doctrine of the Church large, and makes it the visible centre on which all else revolves. The original Reformed Confession writes the doctrine of God, our Sovereign and Creator, large, and makes it the centre and goal of the faith. Many of the older sects exalted the doctrine of the individual and his freedom, as the large and controlling element of their faith  . . .  The Lutheran Confession is the one Confession that writes the doctrine of Christ large.  . . .  If Christology is thus the centre, the centre of Christology is Christ's office as Priest, and particularly that of completed redemption through his vicarious satisfaction. In Word and Sacraments it recognizes the means whereby the fruits of his satisfaction are applied.

The Confessional Principle and The Confessions of the Lutheran Church, 

p. 136-37

Yes, It's Cold Here!

When I woke up this morning, it was 2 degrees outside. 2. Two. One plus one. Don't even need a whole hand of fingers to count the degrees. Now, some of you who live in northern Minnesota may be used to that kind of weather, but down here near DC, that's cold for us! Thank you Lord for my nice warm house and furnace that works.

Faith and Confession Go Together

"As 'faith without works is dead,' so it may also be said that faith without confession is dead."

The Confessional Principle and The Confessions of the Lutheran Church, 

p. 96.

Ash Wednesday

Return to the Lord, your God,

for He is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

Do you live a double life? Think about it. You do. If you cannot figure out how, come to church tonight and I'll fill you in. Then we'll look at the One who didn't, and how He's the answer to ours.

Update: Sermon posted here.