Shade Tree Wisdom 44/2/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/28/15

        Here’s a bit of doggerel I picked up today, and I pass it along for the truth embedded in it:

“Dare to be a Daniel,

Dare to sand alone,

Dare to have a purpose true,

Dare to make it known.”

GPD 4/28/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/28/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/28/15

        In May of 1953 the world was electrified with the news that Mt. Everest in Nepal, the world’s highest mountain, had been successfully climbed by Sir Edmund Hillary, an English-man, and Tensing Norgay, a Nepalese Sherpa.

        That was an achievement over which the world rejoiced.

        Today climbing Mt. Everest is quite common. One day over 200 people made the ascent with a guide tour.

        The climb is so common that the mountain is become littered with torn tents, empty canisters, other discarded equipment, It has become so bad that they had begun regular clean-up attempts.

        But the news today is an earthquake in the area. The body count now is over 4000 and the country is begging the world for help. Help is being sent, but reaching the villages in the mountains is difficult.

        So I plead, and every Christian does, for prayer. For the ancient king is right, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”

        So let us be sure to include the people of the region, unknown to us, but known  to our gracious God

        And may He comfort and bless .

GPD 4/28/15

Shade Tree Wisdom,(A prayer) 4/26/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/26/15

        As we near the end of some say the wettest April on record for this area, we are grateful, Almighty God, for the bountiful rains. Rivers are running bank-full,  lakes are filled, bayous and wetlands are filled, and  there is some flooding in low areas of the city.

        But all this moisture replenishes the soil and growth of plants is engendered, growth to provide food and beauty for your creation.

        For this we are grateful, O Lord.

        So, as we enjoy the day that lies before us, let us so live as to glorify Thy Holy Name, and be ready to speak of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whom many do not yet know as the Lord who died to pay for their sin.

        Grant, O Lord, success, that Thy Word, thy saving word, May be spoken daily.

        We ask this in Jesus name, amen.

GPD 4/26/15

Shad Tree Wisdom 4/24/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/24/14

        We generally would assume that the early church was always of one mind, all believing in the  Risen Lord and depending on that fact that their sins had been paid for, and their salvation was a gift from a gracious and a loving God.

        But a closer reading shows the opposite, there were already people who said they were Christian yet depended on their own life to buy their salvation.

        John was a Pastor to one of these. So in his first letter. Look at how bluntly he speaks:

“If we walk in the light, say we have no sin,

As He I in the light, we have  fellowship

With one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ

cleanses us from all sin.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive

Ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sin, He is

Faithful and just to  forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John l, 7-9

        So Pastor John sternly reminds them of the truth and urges them to remain faithful to their God. A word that is also meant for us and we do well to heed it. May God bless us so to do.

GPD 4/24/15

        

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/23/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/23/15

        Yesterdays blog mentioned the swallows returning to  Mission at Capistrano in southern California..

And that reminded me of Pat Boone, who often sang  that song in his performances.

You may remember Pat Boone as a crooner who usually wore a white suit, with an  open collar shirt, while he performed.

“When the swallows come back to Capistrano,

That’s day you promised

You’d come back to me.

When you whispered

Farewell in Capistrano,

‘Twas the day the swallows flew out to sea.

All the mission bells will ring,

The chapel choir will sing

The happiness you’ll bring

Will live in memory.”

Do you remember?

GPD 4/23/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/22/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/22/154

        Holy Scripture tells us, Ecclesiastes 3,l:

“For everything there is a season

And a time for every matter

Under heaven.”

Chapter 3,1.

        And what happens at this time of year is return of barn swallows, returning from their winter homes in Central and South America. Usually they return to the same lace to build their nest.

        I remember we had several pairs in our barn at home. During the summer the half door was always open,  and their presence meant absence f mosquitoes,  for t his one of the insects they ate.

        Their nests were marvels of engineering, using bits of mud mixed with grass and sticks, plastered to a beam or under the eave of a house, the nest being covered with soft feathers.

        In the cities they plaster their nests on the underside of bridges and under- passes.

        Just one of God’s riches o f creation for our enjoyment. May God bless.

GPD 4/22/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/21/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/21/15

        The Holy Bible, speaking about the creation, says:

“And God saw everything that He

Had made, and behold, it was very good.

And there was evening, and there

Was morning, the sixth day.”

Genesis 1,31.

        That explain some of the mysteries of animal behavior.

One I recently read about is the Blackpoll warbler, whose normal boy weight is 11  grams. (For comparison, a half dollar weighs ll.3 grams.) For their fight they fatten up to 20 grams, and then fly non stop  over the Gulf of Mexico to their winter grounds in South America. In Spring they return to the same nesting place as far north as Alaska.

        Or take bats. In Africa, for example, thousands of straw colored fruit bats come to certain sites exactly when their fruit is available.

What is the explanation?

        There are so many mysteries that scientist are just beginning to

unravel that it leads me to believe the Scripture is right when it says,

“And God saw everything He had made,

and behold, it was very good,”

Thank God for His mercy in sending Jesus.

GPD 4/21/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/20/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/20/15

        The Christian’s walk is fraught with danger. The darkness of sin is always   around us. St. Peter says the evil one is ever prowling, “seeking whom he may devour”. (1 Peter 5,8). The Psalmist declares, off the path “on every side the wicked prowl as vileness is exalted among the children of men.” Psalm 12.8

        Our problem I sin, deeply entrenched inherited. Isaiah describes it :

“You have burdened with your sins;

You have wearied me with your iniquities;

But then he ads:

“I, I am He who blots out

Your transgression for My

Own sake,

And I will not remember your sins.”

Isaiah 43, 24.25

        The 3^rd chapter begins:

“but now says the Lord, He Who

Created you, O Jacob

He  ho formed, you O Israel.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have

Called you  by name,

You are mine,” Is. 43, 1.2.

And so we are, praise His holy name.

GPD 4/20/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/18/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/18/15

        My prayer for this day of 2015:

“Raise  up in our land honest, a

and angry leaders above self-service

and beyond bribery, dedicated

to rooting out dishonesty, and

graft, commit to

bringing justice to all,

for the good of all. We ask this”.

In Jesus name, Amen.

GPD 4/18/15 

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/16/15

Shade Tree  Wisdom 4/16/15

        Here is a bit of advice from Proverbs, also called the book of Wisdom. It is:

“Trust in the  Lord with

All you heart, and lean

Not  on your own

Understanding.”

Proverbs 3,5.

        You probably learned the verse, as I did, during catechism class. It was short, easy to remember, and just loaded with wisdom. Because it made such sense.

                The Barna Group researches, among other things, the relation of people to religion. Are they atheists, theists, faithful Christians, un-churched, why, and for what reason?

                                                                                                                Their research reveals that there are more atheists today, that college graduates do not attend church because they do not trust the church, that many others are simply indifferent.

        Trust. Our lives can’t survive without trust, can they. Take driving along a road at 70 alongside a car also going 70. We usually don’t worry that they’ll suddenly swerve into us. We drive with Trust.

        And that is what faith really is, trusting the Word of the Lord.

The 11^th chapter of the Book of Hebrews begins,

“Now faith is the evidence

Of things hoped for, for

The conviction of things

Not seen.”

        And our Lord Jesus said to the doubting Thomas,”

“Blessed are thy who have not seen,

And yet believed.”

        So, I pray your own faith will keep on growing.

GPD 4/16/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/14/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/14/15

“Casting all your anxieties

Upon Him, for He

Careth for you”

1 Peter 5,7.

        There is a truth we learned as children. “Don’t worry”, we were told, “because everything will come out all right.”

                 And quite often it happened just that way.

        But studies have shown that if one does care about what we are doing, we would take more care in the workplace.

        “How essential are people in any workplace who are accountable?” Is the question. By accountable is meant people who care, work hard to get the job done, and want it to be their best effort.

        So, when all is said and done, it really come back to the advice St. Peter gives every Christian. And that is, in sum, that we also do our very best and leave the rest in God’s hands for “He really cares for us”.

GPD 4/14/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/13/15

rafalgar Square in London,  San Marcos square in Venice  and the steps of Milan's

Cathedral  are all swarming with pigeons. But would would not expect them three stories

underground. But in Frankfort here they are, pecking away at seeds fallen from trash barrels or found along the ground. And nobody can really explain their presence there. Other stations underground in other cities do not have them. Or if they do, not very many.

    It's one of those mysteries. We can either give it some thought, or just live with it, know that the situation exists, and forget about it.

    The management has erected roosting places, so thy will not nest on nearby buildings.  and they remove eggs from the nests to keep them from hatching. They collect about 180 egg a month,

    A person who works in a juice bar likes them, "They are symbols of peace", she remarked.

    Let's leave it at that, a symbol of peace

As the hymn says it:

                                        "Because He lives,

                                         Al fear is gone

                                        Because I know He holds the future,

                                And life is worth the living just because He lives.

God bless you in such living in Him, the Loving Lord.

GPD 4/13/15

                                       

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/12/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/12/15

           Here are some selected words of wisdom from the 119^th Psalm that will prove helpful along the way. I hope you find them so as well.

“How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to Tour word.

With my whole heart I seek You,

Let me not wonder from Your command.”

Psalm 119, 9.10

GPD 4/12/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/10/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/10/15

          Moses’ father-in-law came to visit, bringing his wife and their two sons along, and he was watching Moses as he spent the day advising people and settling their problems, and his advice:

“What you are doing is not good,

You and the people with you will

Certainly wear yourself out, for the

thing is too heavy for  you”.

(Exodus 18,17),

          So Jethro’s advice was for Moses to get more leaders, teach them the laws, and let them settle minor disputes. Only bring the harder cases  to Moses. That sounded good to Moses, and he spread the leadership load. It was the right thing to do.

          Now here comes a study about church attendance that says the average attendance does not rise above 350, and the main reason for this is lack of needed,

well trained and competent, leadership.

Does that strike a spark? Maybe we often get too remiss in offering our own selves to the work that lies before us all. The work that every Christian surely enjoys so,,                      “Go and Tell, He is Risen indeed.”

May God bless you in the faith as you hare it.

GPD 4/10/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/8/15

          Festivals such as Easter for many families is a chance to get together, catch up on events, and just enjoy fellowship.

          So here comes an article from the WSJ talking about regular family game nights which can, among other things, teach this lesson: “to be happy but not gloat, and to lose and not pout.”

          Playing card games teaches math skills, and also can strengthen social skills, such  as bluffing a player to make a wrong move.  Children will be interested if they see parents enjoying the games. And playing games, having a family game  night, builds memories that brighten their lives together. Card games teach about following rules, create chances for face to face play, conversation, taking turns, and fair play.

The sale of Games, such Monopoly, have been on the increase since 1902.

          So the next time a family affair is planned, play something together and make the time more memorable.

May God bless your family richly.

GPD 4/8/15

Shade Tree Wisdom 4/1/15

"My Shepherd now receive me,
My Guardian own me Thine.
Great blessing Thou didst give me,
O Source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me
With Words of truth and love.
Thy Spirit oft hath led me,
To heavenly joys above.
 LSB 450,4