Been a While . . .

Yes, I'm still here. :-)  It's been a while since I posted. The "to do" list is long, keeps getting longer, and "blog" always gets pushed down the list of priorities. So, how about just a couple of random thoughts . . .

. . . Happy Birthday to my wife! We celebrated a couple of weeks ago. Last year, a big surprise party. This year, a quieter celebration.

. . . Happy Birthday to my daughter! She turned 21. We could not be with her as she is away at school, but proud of her.

. . . Abortion - how our country is divided! The March for Life is great, but New York passes a law allowing abortion at any time, the Virginia governor speaks of infanticide just because the baby isn't wanted (sounds like ancient Rome), and yet Missouri just passed the most restrictive abortion law of all the states! What's the answer? Change hearts, not laws.

. . . Speaking of the Virginia governor . . . Blackface in a 35 year old picture? Resign! Support for infanticide? Crickets.

. . . Speaking of Virginia politics . . . Governor with blackface? Resign! Lieutenant Governor accused of sexual misconduct? Resign! Attorney General with blackface? Resign! Oh wait. The next guy in line for Governor is a Republican? Never mind. Really?

. . . Death. Of a beloved professor at Patrick Henry College, where I do campus ministry. Unexpected in the night. Rough. Always be ready. You never know.

. . . Politics. When Republicans run the House, they act all civil and proper and the Democrats attacks them. When Democrats run the House, they act all civil and proper and the Republicans attack them. Can't they see the hypocrisy? Crazy. And some of the things being said? Crazier.

. . . Long, scraggly, unkempt beards. I just don't get it.

From Last Night . . .

Our Jack-o-lantern from last night. Not bad, eh?

More Tuesday Morning Coffee . . .

Well, it's been a while again. So what's been going on?

Well, our big news, I guess, is that my son got a job! He is in his senior year at Western New England University in Springfield, MA and so beginning the whole applying and interviewing process. Last week he had an interview at BAE Systems in nearby Manassas, VA. So he took the train down on Monday, had his interview on Tuesday, and took the train back to school on Wednesday. He said the interview went well and they really liked his experience both in and out of the classroom. Well, by the end of the week, he got the job! So now he can relax and enjoy his senior year without having to worry about a job after he graduates. And we get the bonus of having him close by - at least for a few years. We'll see where his career takes him after that.

Before getting that job, my son asked us if we were interested in selling him our Honda Civic - he would need a car to go on his job interviews. Well, we weren't in the car market and I really like my Civic, but as we thought about it, it made sense. He needs a car and was willing to pay more than what we would get trading it in. We could sell it to him for less than what he could buy a similar car for in the market. And we had some money saved . . . so we went ahead and got a new car - a 2017 Toyota Corolla. We have a Toyota minivan and really like it. It's been pretty dependable. And we got a good deal on a 2017 closeout. So now we have a new car and my son has a car to go on job interviews he doesn't need to go on anymore! :-)

The third thing is that my father took a rather large step down the last few days. He is noticeably weaker and spends less time awake and alert. It happened rather suddenly. I guess that's the way things go at his age. So we're keeping a little closer eye on him now. To the right is the latest picture I have of us together. He's been doing pretty well of late - I guess he's just starting to wear out. He's having trouble even getting through a whole devotion with us now.

Finally, I have a question for anyone who has read this far: When Luther wrote in his hymn A Mighty Fortress "one little word can fell him," what is that one little word? I have heard a number of suggestions from a number of people: Jesus, Christ, grace, forgiveness, tetelestai (Greek for "it is finished"), gegraptai (Greek for "it is written"), just to name a few. As far as I know, Luther never specified in his writings what that word was for him. What do you think? What do you think it is? :-)

Have a great Tuesday - officially the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation today!

Road Trip

My wife, youngest daughter, and I are in Connecticut this weekend for a wedding. Two of my member are being married up here at his home congregation, a beautiful old church in Bristol. We left early yesterday morning to get here for the rehearsal and purposely went a little out of our way to make the drive nicer. Our choice was: (1.) I-95 and the NJ Turnpike - mostly cities, industrial, and lots of traffic, or (2.) up through the mountains in PA - country, scenic, and less traffic. We went for . . .

The only traffic we really hit was for the last 15 miles in Connecticut, which took us about an hour! But, I was to find out, driving around here was going to be like that. Well, actually, like this:

Yeah, the roads here are tough. I got a little lost going to the church for the rehearsal, coming back to the hotel to pick up my family for the rehearsal dinner, going to the rehearsal dinner place, AND coming back to the hotel! Maybe it's just my age, but I used to be good at driving and finding things! But we got everywhere we needed to be and relatively on time - thanks to my smartphone and its navigation app. Without that, I'd still be out there driving around somewhere!

Here's an interesting tidbit for you all: in New York, they don't just have Rest Stops off the highway anymore - they have:

A sign of the times, I guess.

The hotel we're staying in - Homewood Suites - is very, very nice! Not too far from the sprawling ESPN campuses. (I don't think I've ever seen more satellite dishes in one place before!) 

So, takin' it easy this morning. I'll rehearse my sermon a few times, my sister is driving up to hang out with us a little (she lives about an hour from here), and then off to the church. Should be a good day . . . as long as I can get back to the church! :-)

Easter Monday

Some Easter Monday thoughts . . .

+ The joy of Easter lives on.

+ I have not been impressed with the April Fool's offerings I've seen so far. Too obviously fake.

+ I found an old friend's blog the other day. I think about him often but had lost touch after his great fall. His writings seemed filled with a sadness. Made me sad.

+ I will go back to my tradition today of playing golf the day after Easter.  :-)  I could not last year because of school - I was in over my head with deadlines and papers. I still have much to do, but not so much this year. A nice day outside in the air is going to be nice.

+ I watched many of the Holy Week services from the Vatican this week. Gives me a break from things. I enjoy the ceremonial and how precisely and respectfully it is all done, but I will never get used to the Pope being treated like a rock star by screaming crowds. Just doesn't sit right with me.

+ Singing Easter hymns and giving the Lord's Body and Blood to a shut-in yesterday with ALS and who has lost almost all muscle function is what our Lord's resurrection is all about!

+ I hate it when I request a book through inter-library loan and I get sent the wrong book!

+ Speaking of books, my Amazon wish list is getting long. Any takers?  ;-)

+ Speaking of books, if you haven't read Bill Hecht's "Two Wars We Must Not Lose" you must read it. It is not short, but the amount of information he brings together and synthesizes will change how you look at what is happening in our world today and how you listen to the news. Eye opening.

+ A good wife is a gift from the Lord. Amen!

UPDATE: I now have a greater appreciation for Luke 15:8-10, having just looked for the last hour for my wedding ring. It fell off while I was getting ready to play golf (I thought. At least, that when I noticed). Since I usually notice that pretty quickly, I looked all around the area, but nothing. I began expanding my search, even retracing walking my daughter to the bus stop - twice. Nothing. I search everywhere. Nothing. It's only a ring. But it's more than a ring. I saw my neighbor. He said I looked "pensive." I explained to him, then continued my search. FINALLY, search again (for about the fourth time) around where I thought I lost it, there it was! I don't know why I didn't see it before, but in any case, I am so thankful to have found it. And you know what the first thing I wanted to do was (after thanking God)? Go tell my neighbor! "And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the [ring] I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

50 Miles

On Saturday, Adam (a pastor friend of mine, who is soon leaving for Concordia-Irvine and a teaching position there) and I went for a long bike ride. We rode the whole length of what is called the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, from Purcellville, VA to Reagan National Airport - 50 miles! It was a very nice ride, though I was getting a little tired at the end.  :-)  We'll miss him and his family, but he's going to enjoy his new teaching position and will be a blessing to the folks out there.

Pastor Peasant at Gravelly Point,

at the end of the main runway at Reagan National Airport.

(If you look closely, you can see a plane coming in low for a landing in the background.)

Adam at the end of the W&OD Trail.

Summarizing

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted (again). Guess I'll dump a few thoughts . . .

We had a good Christmas. Seemed to sneak up on us this year, with me busier than normal because of school. Did get to spend a couple of days visiting family, which is always nice. Seemed to go by faster than normal too. We took the tree down this weekend, now trying to get back to normal, whatever that is!

School starts up for me again tomorrow. I was quite pleased to get an A in both classes I took last semester. This semester I was told I have a difficult class which requires a lot of Latin translating. So I'll have to get back on the stick with my Latin. But I learned a lot last semester, and am looking forward to the same this time.

I have used this last week - in between the hubbub of Christmas and the start of school - to get a jump on Lent. I have most of the services and hymns planned out, just a few more things to decide on. Boy, will it be good to have all of that out of the way! I think my Lenten midweek series will be quite interesting this year . . . stay tuned.

I purchased Accordance Bible software for my Mac with some gift money I received. I have never had a Bible (Greek and Hebrew) program before. I was told coming out of seminary that it is better not to, because you can lose your language skills and become dependent on them. I think that's true, but my oh my, what a great program! It makes the exegetical work so much faster! I no longer have to pull out book upon book to look things up - just triple click on a word, mouse over references, parallel windows, and more. Just awesome. And I think in the long run, it will make my skills better.

My month's devotions in Portals of Prayer are finished (Dec 2009). I received mostly positive comments, and a few negative ones.

And finally, boy, am I thankful for forgiveness! Do I need it.