Just for a Smile . . .

Yesterday in church, we heard the story of Elijah fleeing from Queen Jezebel after he had killed all the false prophets of Baal and the Queen threatened his life (1 Kings 19). After he got away, he laid down under a tree and wished to die. God fed him - twice. Gave him food and drink that sustained him for 40 days and 40 nights! 

I was talking to one of my members afterwards, who told me the meaning of this story (that he himself had heard from someone else):

When you're tired, despairing, frightened, ready to quit . . . 

"take a nap, have a snack, and get back to work!"

Now that's great advice! :-)

HT: Kyle West

Oliver

I went to visit one of my members for a pre-surgery communion service. After we visited a little bit, we started the service. Her dog, Oliver, then climbed up on the loveseat I was sitting on and curled up behind me for the duration of the service. :-)  What a good dog!

Happy Birthday

Five years ago yesterday was my Dad's birthday into heaven. Can't believe it's been five years. Still miss him . . .

Indoor Skydiving!

A couple of weeks ago, we went indoor skydiving down in Virginia Beach with my daughter who likes to skydive. Now, while I doubt you'll ever get me to jump out of an airplane willingly - I'm far too chicken for that! - this was fun to try. Not at all what I expected. 

We didn't get a lot of time. We each had two turns for just a couple minutes each. The first time you're in there, you're just trying to figure out what's going on! Then the second time you can actually try to do something and are much more comfortable. So I'd be open to going back and seeing what else I could do. 

The instructors that are in there with you are amazing. Very encouraging, and you should see the tricks they are able to do!

Some pictures . . . First a couple of me:

A couple of my younger daughter . . .

And a couple of my wife . . .

Hmmm . . .

The Old Testament reading for this morning from the Treasury of Daily Prayer spoke of Samuel going to Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king over Israel (1 Samuel 16). Jesse brings seven of his sons before Samuel, but none of them is the one whom God had selected. It was the youngest, David, who was anointed king. Okay. So far, so good. But what I had never thought about before this morning, as I was reading these words, is that David was the eighth son of Jesse. 

Why does that matter? Well, because the number 8 is significant in the Scriptures and in theology. The 8th day is the new day of eternity, ushered in with Jesus' resurrection. Little boys in Israel were circumcised on the 8th day. 8 people were saved for a new day in Noah's ark. So David is the eighth son of Jesse, and under David's kingship, Israel enjoyed the height of prosperity and peace. But even more, one of his descendants (Jesus) would be the one to usher in the new day of perfection, peace, and prosperity for all people through His death and resurrection. 

So David . . . the eighth son . . . a coincidence? I don't think so. 

Celebrate Life Conference

So the weekend before going to Higher Things was the National Celebrate Life Conference in DC. This was a gathering of pro-life groups from all over the country to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and to encourage one another to continue the work of fighting for life - all life. The LCMS was a sponsor for this conference (the only church body to do so!). I wasn't able to attend the entire conference, but did talk to lots of folks and learned about a lot of organizations doing fantastic work! Like one group that helps folks leaving employment at Planned Parenthood find a job elsewhere, and another that helps women who have received a negative pre-natal diagnosis deal with the decision making and emotions. Seven Weeks Coffee was there, as was Everylife - check them out!

I was privileged to give the Opening Devotion on Saturday morning. Click here to read.

(Photo credit: LCMS photographer Frank Kohn)

Higher Things Days 4 and 5

Sorry it took me so long to post about the final two days! 

For the final day this year, a slightly different schedule. Usually we have Matins, then a plenary session, lunch, packing time, and then the closing Divine Service in the afternoon - which means departure around 3 pm or so. This year, they did away with the final Matins and simply had the final plenary followed by the closing Divine Service and lunch. That meant we pulled out around 1 pm, which made the drive home a LOT easier! It was still a long drive - especially with a ONE HOUR back-up through Chicago! But we made it. :-)  We drove to just outside Youngstown, Ohio on Friday, and then the rest of the way home on Saturday, dropping folks off along the way.

Some pictures from the final day . . .

I didn't have any pictures of my daughter and I posted yet, so here's a picture from breakfast.

Paul Soulek, Cantor extraordinaire! I got to know Paul last year when I worked with him in San Antonio.

Deaconess student Paige and her service dog Mina. Again, I got to know Paige and Mina last year as she served as one of the chapel deaclets.

What would I do different for next year? Well, the 15 person passenger van didn't quite work out as expected. It was very difficult to hear from front to back. Depending on our numbers next year and the cost, it might be better to rent two smaller vans. Also what MIGHT help us next year is that one of the conferences is currently scheduled to be held in Massachusetts! That would be way easier for us to get to - a 7 or 8 hour drive instead of 12-14! Hopefully they will get enough registrations for that conference that they won't have to cancel it.

And the theme next year? All Things New. Conference Hymn #672, Jerusalem the Golden. Should be good!