I saw that you can do this online now. So I went and got a new photo and did the online process. It was pretty easy. They tell you to expect the process to take 6 weeks or so, but in LESS than one week after my payment cleared, I was notified that my application was successful, my new passport printed, and it is now in the mail to me! Less than one week! My wife said, "Yup. That's what happens when people go back in to work!"
I'm a little late with this, as with most things on this blog (!), but to give you all an update on the Walk-Run-Ride for Life . . .
The Lutherans were awesome!
Laid to rest the patriarch of our congregation yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. It's always impressive to go there, but even more yesterday as Roy received full honors . . . and a little more! For usually, cannon blasts are reserved for generals. But Roy got them yesterday for they were practicing at the time we were processing into the cemetery. :-)
Roy's in one of the older sections, and has an old grave marker, before they changed them to be all uniform. Rest in peace, Roy. See you soon.
At Arlington, time limitations are severe. There are so many funerals there you don't get much time. Here is the brief meditation I preached for him yesterday.
JOINT RESOLUTION
Designating the month of June as ‘‘Life Month’’.
Whereas the United States of America was founded on the principle that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including the right to life;
Whereas the right to life is a fundamental truth enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and reaffirmed throughout the history of the United States as a cornerstone of liberty and justice;
Whereas every human life is inherently precious, has equal dignity and worth, and deserves legal protection; Whereas the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022;
Whereas the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization rightfully returned to the people of the United States and their elected representatives the ability to protect innocent unborn life;
Whereas it is the responsibility of the people of the United States and their elected representatives to protect unborn life and to plead the cause of those who cannot plead for themselves; and
Whereas faith-based and community organizations, pregnancy resource centers, medical professionals, and countless families across the United States serve as champions of life, offering essential care, resources, and support to pregnant mothers and families in need:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Life Month Resolution’’.
SEC. 2. LIFE MONTH.
That the Senate and the House of Representatives—
(1) designate a ‘‘Life Month’’ annually;
(2) recognize that every human life is a sacred gift from God, possessing inherent dignity and worth;
(3) reaffirm the fundamental truth recognized in the Declaration of Independence that life is an unalienable right;
(4) commend individuals, parents, families, faith-based organizations, and communities who work to promote a culture of life; and
(5) urge policymakers to defend the sanctity of human life by enacting laws that protect the unborn and provide resources to empower women and families to choose life.
We got to take an early vacation this year. My wife is limited to two weeks off in the summer, and she uses one of those weeks to help at Higher Things, and another week to take my daughter back to school. So by taking vacation before the summer starts, she can take the time we need.
So we went to . . . Hawaii!
This trip doubled both as vacation and for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. And we got free flights! Last year, we volunteered to get bumped from an overbooked flight from Chicago to Minneapolis, and we each got $1,200 vouchers (for a $200 flight!). So thank you, American Airlines, for our free trip to Hawaii!
I'll post some pictures and mention some of the things we did. I'll start with this: part of our package at one of the resorts we stayed at was a photo session with one of their photographers. So we got an "official" 30th Anniversary picture.
Check this out! My sister sent me pictures of some new gorilla statues on Park Avenue in New York City! Three of them! Yes! Gorillas makin' it to the big time - Park Ave!
Ugh! I can't believe it's ben a month since I last posted! It's been a busy time. Since I last posted I had a trip to Saint Louis, our special Good Shepherd Seminar weekend, then our vacation to Hawaii! Then after that, catching up from being away. So I'm going to try to post about these now, especially some vacations photos.
First, we had Rev. Dr. Carl Beckwith with us for our 18th Annual Good Shepherd Seminar. I always enjoy this weekend to have a seminary professor out to present. This year, our topic was "Confessing the Faith of Our Fathers: Athanasius, Luther, and the 1,700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed." He did a great job and was well received. I learned a lot of history I did not know about events leading up to the Council. If you'd like to listen to his presentation, it is posted on our church website, along with many previous seminars. Give a listen!
Presenting Dr. Beckwith with an icon of Saint Athanasius to remember his time with us!
Next year, I believe our topic will be on free will. This year is the 500th anniversary of Luther's seminal work The Bondage of the Will, and you often hear folks say things like, "We all have free will." Is that true? If so, in what way is it true? What do the Scriptures say? I haven't firmed this up yet, but I've already spoken to Dr. Roland Ziegler who expressed verbally his openness to coming. So I hope to nail him down soon!
Haven't posted in a few weeks . . . it's been a busy Lent! And now preparing for travels the first two weeks of May. But, couple of things . . .
The book I'm currently reading is Heretics and Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton. Hard book! His philosophy is hard to slog through. A lot of references I'm not really familiar with. I'm making a first pass through now to get the big picture. Then I'll have to go back through a little more carefully. But one thing he said at the very end of Heretics, as the final sentence, got my attention:
We shall be of those who have seen and yet have believed.
Get the reference? Tomorrow in Church we'll read of "doubting Thomas" and when Jesus said: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Chesterton here has changed that. What's he getting at?
Well, that reminded me of a story by Boccaccio in The Decameron (14th c.), who wrote of
A Jew called Abraham, his curiosity being aroused [by a monk trying in various ways to convert him to Christianity], goes to the court of Rome, and when he sees the depravity of the clergy, he returns to Paris and becomes a Christian.
So what's the real miracle? Not seeing and yet believing? OR seeing and yet believing? Believing despite what we see happening in the world and in the church?
I would have used that in my sermon for tomorrow, but already had it written. But if I remember, I'll use that thought next year.
Now, it's off to get ready for our church picnic today. Hopefully the rain will hold off!
Why We March: Life. For Every Life.
Because Every Life is valuable, precious, and important to God.
Created by our Father in His image,
Redeemed by the Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ,
for sanctification by the Spirit.
Every Life.
We March for . . .
. . . the mother and father who are scared, worried, confused, or regretful.
. . . the little boy or girl waiting to be born.
. . . the little boy or girl who didn’t get a big brother or a little big sister.
. . . the grandparents who just want to love on their grandchildren.
We March for . . .
. . . our friends and neighbors
. . . for our family members
. . . for those who are hurting
. . . for those who feel trapped and that there is no way out
. . . for those who disagree with us.
We March for Every Life.
That every life be loved.
Every life be wanted.
Every life be cared for.
No matter who you are.
Every life.
And we will not stop until that’s true.
So we pray:
Dear Father in heaven, we thank You for the gift of life, every life, that You have created and redeemed to be Your own. Give us eyes to see every life as valuable and precious, and hearts to love every life as You do. Give us the courage both to speak and to have compassion. Protect all life, we pray, from the littlest to the biggest, the youngest to the oldest, the wanted and the unwanted. Thank You for all who have come here this day, and may our voices be heard and the hearts of many changed. Continue Your work in each of us, conform us to the image of Your Son, and strengthen our weak hands and feet and hearts to do Your will and walk in Your ways, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
And the Lord bless You and keep You;
the Lord make His face shine upon You and be gracious to You;
the Lord look upon You with favor, and give You peace.
AMEN
Haven't shared a gorilla picture in a little while, so . . .
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. Sorry, no wild parties for me tonight!
Today would also have been my father's 101st birthday! I remember as a child always be amazed when my father would receive a card that celebrated BOTH St. Patrick's Day and his birthday! There can't be that many people born on this day to make the manufacture of special cards like that worth it, can there? Well, apparently there are! Anyway, Happy Birthday, Dad! A look forward to seeing you again.
Check out the new tabs above for this year's Walk-Run-Ride for Life and for my Church's 40 Days for Life Social Media campaign.
Sponsor me or join our Lutherans for Life team for the Walk-Run-Ride for Life!
And use our 40 Days for Life pictures on all your Social Media platforms, emails, etc. to help us spread the word that Every Life is valuable and precious to God!
Thanks!
I'm always amazed at how often Luther sounds like he lives in the 21st century. How about this quote . . .
When the precious gospel is expounded, the world plays its little game, becoming worse than it was before, as every gets busier and busier.
Busier and busier . . . sounds like today, doesn't it?
And now a question for you: What do gorillas call a candle?
Well, I didn't post for a couple of weeks because I was sick (something going around they everyone is getting!), then I had to catch up from some days off, and then also work ahead a bit as I spent last week In Detroit visiting and helping my in-laws. So a busy couple of weeks!
So how nice it was to just sit and watch the Super Bowl last night, and especially as my Eagles completely dominated the Chiefs! Wow. It wasn't even close. Fly Eagles Fly! (And I loved rubbing that in to one of my catechumens who absolutely hates the Eagles!)
A couple of pictures . . .
We had a good day at the March for Life yesterday. We had a good sized LCMS contingent. It was cold but not too cold. Though plans got a monkey wrench thrown in when Vice President JD Vance decided to come and the Secret Service ramped up security, our voice was again heard, that ALL life is valuable and precious and important to God. So even though our District Presidents (or their representatives) didn't get onto the rally stage to close the rally with the singing of the Doxology, we did get to close the Rose Banquet afterward with that and the singing of Abide with Me.
I didn't take any pictures, but here are some that were sent to me . . .
So, we took a trip for my birthday into DC to the Museum of the Bible. I had never been, but also they had a special exhibit - the Megiddo Mosaic. A few years back, they discovered one of the earliest Christian worship spaces to date while working to expand a prison. It dates to 230 AD. But what makes it significant is it has the earliest archaeological inscriptions of Jesus as God. This is the first time this mosaic has been outside Israel.
Lots of folks keep track of how many books and pages they've read each year, so I decided to try to do that also in 2024. I don't know if I remembered to write them all down or not, but at the end of the year, I recorded that I had read 19 books and 7,268 pages, for an average of almost 400 pages/book. Is that good? I don't know. Most of my reading is not light reading, and so doesn't go very fast - and I'm not a fast reader anyway. I read mostly theology and history, and some historical novels. I also read a lot of other things, like journals and articles, and that's not included here.
My books for the year? That's hard to say. I liked my reading in medieval history and things that led up to the Reformation. I liked my readings of history (American mostly) and learning more about that. I read an historical novel about what might have happened if Abraham Lincoln had survived the assassination attempt and then been impeached! If you nailed me down and forced me to pick, I'd pick two:
And also The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman, an examination of how we got to where we are in our history as far as our morality and thinking.
So far, for 2025, I'm 500 or so pages into my next book already, a history of the United States between 1812 and 1848. I didn't know (or remember) much about this time period, so it's been quite interesting. How did the US grow and what challenges did it face after the generation of the Founding Father passed? International relations, improved transportation and communications, monetary policy, Indian removal, religious fervor, the presidencies of Andrew Jackson and Matin van Buren - lots of factors!
AND, I've got a stack of books in the queue! I already had a pile, got 7 or so more for Christmas, and then bought 3 more at the used book store. So 2025 could be a very good reading year . . .
