2026 March for Life

A great day at the National March for Life this year. Not too cold, and a large contingent of Lutherans. We were near the front this year so the March went faster than usual. 

Here are some pictures . . .

My daughter and friends in from Concordia University-Wisconsin.

Pastor Jonathon Bakker, Campus Pastor at CUW.

Patrick Henry College students, part of our Campus Ministry up there.

Folks from Saint Athanasius.

Deaconess Dr. Tiffany Manor, head of LCMS Life Ministries.

Rev. Dr. Aric Fenske and his wife Marie, Executive Director of Lutherans for Life.

Pastors Esget and Zimmerman.

Rev Randy Sturzenbecher, North Dakota District President

and President of Higher Things.

Rev. Dr. Greg Seltz, Executive Director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty.

Mollie Hemingway and Julia Habrecht

If you didn't come this year, make sure you come next year!

Just Hangin' Out

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal hanging out at our bird feeder.

Psalm 3

David's son Absalom wanted to be king, so he won the hearts of Israel, gathered a bunch of supporters, and ousted his father from the throne (2 Samuel 15-17).

So what did David do? Did he fret all night? Tossing and turning? Stay up late making plans to get the kingship back? Nope. V. 5: I lay down and slept! That reminded me of a quote I once read: "A good sleep is a great grace." (If you've ever had trouble sleeping, you know how true that is!)

How could David do that? V. 3: The Lord is his shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head. That is, the Lord is the one who gave him the kingship, and the one who would restore him there. 

It's easy to hear Jesus in this Psalm. Many foes against him, too, who mocked him, that God wasn't going to save him. He lay down in the sleep of death, and the Lord lifted His head back to life.

So v. 7, Arise and save me, O God! Yup, that's exactly what He did. He rose from the sleep of death and saved me. So a Psalm that began with the anguish of enemies all around, ends with a note of confidence. Maybe it can be so for us, too.

New Thread

No, not new threads, as in clothes! ;-)  A new thread. For once again my blogging has fallen by the wayside. On one hand, that is good, that I prioritize others things over this. But on the other, I would like to continue writing and posting. I had a list of things to post and either didn't bother or just didn't get to it. 

But I think I will begin a new thread here, and that is to post some thoughts on the psalms. I continue to want to know them better. I have studied them and taught them in the past, but always feel I need to know them more, better. I received two new books on the psalms for Christmas and am reading them each day to go through the psalter this year, so thought maybe I should post a few thoughts here. These will not be exhaustive! Just a few things I've learned . . .

So, Psalms 1 and 2:

The prologue to the psalter.

If I feel dried out and lifeless, it is because I have failed to drink in the Word of God. (The word translated as "law" in Psalm 1 is the word torah, which is really all the words and instructions of God in His Word.)

The words translated in 1:2 (meditates) and 2:1 (plots) is the same word in the Hebrew. In Psalm 1 it could be translated as murmur, for reading silently is really a modern invention. But what a contrast between those who are refreshed by God and His Word and those who plot against Him. Those who plot against the Lord are seeking freedom (2:3), but true freedom is only found in God and His Word.

"The man" who is blessed (1:1 and 2:12, bracketing these two psalms) is Jesus. And we are, too, when we are in Him.