December 28th and it’s Alvin’s birthday. A fine time. The country was clothed in white. The festivities of Christmas were ended. Boring, so the brothers and sisters and family gathered to celebrate my dad’s birthday.
No invitation went out, but everybody came. And all the aunts packed a basket of sandwiches or cakes. Several large coffee pots were put to use making coffee, and the celebration began. Visiting, some playing cards, others singing, several chess games in progress, the teenagers went to Brown Deer Park to the ice rink, aunts visiting and getting food ready for that midnight snack. It was just a time to get together, enjoy some fellowship, discuss crops, milk production, whether that new hybrid corn did better, and maybe last Sunday’s sermon, the Christmas program, the needs of church or school.
Then around ten or so food was set out, everybody ate, lots of laughing and joking, and then home to sleep and do the next morning’s chores. But the birthday was sort of an excuse to break the winter dullness and remember God’s rich blessings to them all.
Gifts were not involved at all. It was just a time to fellowship, and rejoicing together that they were there to do it.
GPD 12/28/07
Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Shade Tree Wisdom 12/27/07
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
Let earth receive her king,
Let every heart, prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing.”
We sing that with voices ringing and joy in our hearts, for Christmas is really a happy time. A time to enjoy, to relax, to visit and exchange gifts and, more important, our presence with relative and friends. We gladly endure the hassle of packing and travel to be “home for Christmas”.
Even composing the yearly Christmas letter about family happenings, brings a warm feeling of accomplishment.
Laughter is the order of the day, merriment, mirth, enjoyment. There are many kinds of laughter.
For instance, at a wedding I conducted years ago the bride and groom exchanged vows and rings, and the groom then fainted dead away. The bride did the only thing she could do, she giggled. That’s one kind.
People giggle, they guffaw, they snicker, they cackle. They roar. Some have a musical laugh that is pleasant to hear, others have more of a snort. Others again have a nasal twang that kind of grates on the ear. Some groups, in restaurants, for instance, make lots of noise when they enjoy something, others enjoy such company with a quiet chuckle.
I’m a chuckler, my laughing is more internal.
Laughter expresses enjoyment and mirth. It involves facial muscles throat, lungs, mouth and eyes. It is usually involuntary, and sometimes the impulse comes at the most inappropriate times. [Like for the man who was attending an aunts funeral and kept wondering why they kept referring to Josephine when her name was Ellie. So when he asked his neighbor sitting next to him he found he was in the wrong church.]
We can control the volume and tone of our laughter. It’s called fine-tuning.
So enjoy the season, the visits, the exchanges, the tales to tell, the news of nephews and nieces, aunts and uncles, and long-forgotten friends of times past. And do laugh. That is, finally, a gift of God, is it not. To enjoy His creation. And most of all, to the enjoy His Birth as your Savior, and mine.
GPD 12/27/07
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Shade Tree Wisdom - Christmas Day 12/25/07
Quiet this morning, and crisp. Quiet that is, till that dog stared to bark a bit. We chatted and were getting along OK till his mistress stood in the doorway and called, “Bootsie, come here”. He left quickly. No respectable dog wants you to know they call him Bootsie.
But enough. It’s Christmas.
Dr. Walter Maier spoke these words on the Lutheran Hour in 1940:
“This message may be the last God Almighty will permit you to hear. I now tell you that this Baby, born in Bethlehem, is Jesus, the Savior of the world, and your Savior. And in His Name you can stand before God. Nothing else will save you.”
That is still the message of Christmas. Jesus came, and “He shall save His people from their sins”.
We join all Christians as we sing,
In His Name I greet you, and wish for you the rich blessings of this glorious celebration. Christ is Born. A Blessed Christmas.
GPD 12/25/07
But enough. It’s Christmas.
Dr. Walter Maier spoke these words on the Lutheran Hour in 1940:
“This message may be the last God Almighty will permit you to hear. I now tell you that this Baby, born in Bethlehem, is Jesus, the Savior of the world, and your Savior. And in His Name you can stand before God. Nothing else will save you.”
That is still the message of Christmas. Jesus came, and “He shall save His people from their sins”.
We join all Christians as we sing,
“O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray,
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
The Great glad tidings tell,
Oh, come to us, abide in us,
Our Lord, Immanuel!”
“And there is room, and welcome there for me”.Descend to us, we pray,
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
The Great glad tidings tell,
Oh, come to us, abide in us,
Our Lord, Immanuel!”
In His Name I greet you, and wish for you the rich blessings of this glorious celebration. Christ is Born. A Blessed Christmas.
GPD 12/25/07
Monday, December 24, 2007
Shade Tree Wisdom 12/24/07
December 24, Christmas Eve, and the morning had a bright moon still, nice cold air, and a quiet. Only one car the entire time I was out. And I thought of the Birth.
It struck me again how ordinary it was. Shepherds in the fields. That had been going on for generations. The air calm, quiet, nothing going on. The air a bit chilled, a sparkling night, stars gleaming, the sort of night you look out of the widow to admire. But nothing unusual.
Then in this ordinary night, suddenly the brightness of an angel with a message for the shepherds. ”Do not be afraid, for the Savior is born”. Then a chorus of angels singing the glory and praising God.
And the ordinary becomes memorable.
Think. Isn’t that the way the Word works. How God comes. How his works happen. We take them for granted, yet they happen because God is there. God comes in the common, and His most powerful tools are the simplest.
So in His Blessed Name, we wish you all a most blessed Christmas. May Jesus Born make your faith stronger and fill you with the peace that comes because your sins are forgiven. God bless the day, and you, my friend.
GPD 12/24/07
It struck me again how ordinary it was. Shepherds in the fields. That had been going on for generations. The air calm, quiet, nothing going on. The air a bit chilled, a sparkling night, stars gleaming, the sort of night you look out of the widow to admire. But nothing unusual.
Then in this ordinary night, suddenly the brightness of an angel with a message for the shepherds. ”Do not be afraid, for the Savior is born”. Then a chorus of angels singing the glory and praising God.
And the ordinary becomes memorable.
Think. Isn’t that the way the Word works. How God comes. How his works happen. We take them for granted, yet they happen because God is there. God comes in the common, and His most powerful tools are the simplest.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King, before Him lowly bend.
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King, before Him lowly bend.
So in His Blessed Name, we wish you all a most blessed Christmas. May Jesus Born make your faith stronger and fill you with the peace that comes because your sins are forgiven. God bless the day, and you, my friend.
GPD 12/24/07
Friday, December 21, 2007
Shade Tree Wisdom 12/21/07
Nice walking this morning. Colder, no wind to speak of, and quiet. The quiet not even shattered by those lumbering yellow boxes so necessary to our way of life. There are no classes today.
We are nearing Christmas. People have been sending and receiving greetings, doing some shopping, deciding what to give to whom this year, and how many to invite for that party. Or facing the hassle of air travel to distant places we once called home.
Churches, too, are preparing. Choirs are practicing many hours, Pastors are preparing worship hours, members are preparing to rejoice anew over this BIRTH of their Savior.
And it brings to mind those folks who rarely are seen in Church. They come at Christmas time.
Have you ever thought what they experience there? Or indeed why they come? Is it just nostalgia, family urging, or are they grasping for an answer that eludes them, seeking help and comfort from a God they seldom recognize or worship? Are they coming because they look to heaven for help with their problems? Problems for which they see no solution?
I do know Isaiah foretold that “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light”. Is. 9,2. And that “the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Heb.4,12, [God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey”]. This is the way The Message puts that.
So they come to church and do hear the real message of the Word of God, that we are sinners, born that way, and that Jesus came to shed his blood for our sins. He made the only payment that God would accept, since “the soul that sinneth it shall die”, that Word may just penetrate, create that change that the Holy Spirit can and does make, and their worship will be unto salvation. Pray that this does happen.
I do know God created a world that is marvelous. Things in our life, the breath we take, the way we think, see, experience, are all amazing events we take for granted. We stumble along, often numb and jaded, and blind to the marvelous events that take place daily. We fail to see that these are all amazing gifts from a gracious Creator.
Just as that infant lying in the manger on that first morning remained unrecognized except by shepherds who were sent by angels. But think of it, that newborn Babe was and is the Savior of this world and brings us eternal life.
Rejoice, rejoice, and sing, and learn again the deep mystery of God in sending His Only Son to suffer, die, rise again for us “while we were yet sinners”. What an amazing event this is after all.
Let’s pray that the people who come, hear that, and will have an eternal blessing.
GPD 12/21/07
We are nearing Christmas. People have been sending and receiving greetings, doing some shopping, deciding what to give to whom this year, and how many to invite for that party. Or facing the hassle of air travel to distant places we once called home.
Churches, too, are preparing. Choirs are practicing many hours, Pastors are preparing worship hours, members are preparing to rejoice anew over this BIRTH of their Savior.
And it brings to mind those folks who rarely are seen in Church. They come at Christmas time.
Have you ever thought what they experience there? Or indeed why they come? Is it just nostalgia, family urging, or are they grasping for an answer that eludes them, seeking help and comfort from a God they seldom recognize or worship? Are they coming because they look to heaven for help with their problems? Problems for which they see no solution?
I do know Isaiah foretold that “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light”. Is. 9,2. And that “the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Heb.4,12, [God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey”]. This is the way The Message puts that.
So they come to church and do hear the real message of the Word of God, that we are sinners, born that way, and that Jesus came to shed his blood for our sins. He made the only payment that God would accept, since “the soul that sinneth it shall die”, that Word may just penetrate, create that change that the Holy Spirit can and does make, and their worship will be unto salvation. Pray that this does happen.
I do know God created a world that is marvelous. Things in our life, the breath we take, the way we think, see, experience, are all amazing events we take for granted. We stumble along, often numb and jaded, and blind to the marvelous events that take place daily. We fail to see that these are all amazing gifts from a gracious Creator.
Just as that infant lying in the manger on that first morning remained unrecognized except by shepherds who were sent by angels. But think of it, that newborn Babe was and is the Savior of this world and brings us eternal life.
Rejoice, rejoice, and sing, and learn again the deep mystery of God in sending His Only Son to suffer, die, rise again for us “while we were yet sinners”. What an amazing event this is after all.
Let’s pray that the people who come, hear that, and will have an eternal blessing.
GPD 12/21/07
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Shade Tree Wisdom 12/19/07
A bit foggy this morning, just enough to make the lighted decorations have a bit of glow. I noticed this year more people have trees as their decorations. Some of those formed from wire and already ready to be lit, others set on the porch. One house has just two flanking their front door. Kind of effective.
Reminds me, the first Christmas tree in a Church in America was at Zion Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. It was regarded as sort of heathenish.
In that sense the Woodlands is sort of unique. Here builders have to take care not to cut down more than necessary. So we have lots of trees. Recently a number of condos and apartments were built on the southeast shore of lake Woodlands, along the parkway. Then one day when I happened that way they had planted a large number of trees between the buildings and the roadway. Trees already 25 feet or more.
Trees are necessary to cities, and governments are beginning to realize that and begin planting. A large maple, for instance, helps absorb carbon dioxide, removes particulate matter from the air, prevents floods, and helps moderate temperatures. But it costs money to care for trees so newer parks replace trees with no-fuss tennis courts, and playgrounds.
About the time we were moving to Detroit, the city was losing its elms to Dutch elm disease. Crews who cut trees around the church told me they had cut nearly 1,000 in a 20 block radius. It makes a difference to climate and beauty. The city had a program to replant trees, but it will take years for them to reach size.
So The Woodlands is unique in that it does have, and cherishes, trees. And today, when large buildings are planned, they build a parking structure instead of paving 20 acres for parking.
I looked forward to sitting under a shade tree, dispensing words of wisdom to grandchildren when I retired. Turns out everybody is too busy living to sit and listen, and I am too busy learning new technology to have time to sit under that shade tree. Funny about life, isn’t it? We live what the Lord allows us to live, and enjoy it with gratitude and thankfulness. That is what the Lord blesses.
GPD 12/19/07.
Reminds me, the first Christmas tree in a Church in America was at Zion Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. It was regarded as sort of heathenish.
In that sense the Woodlands is sort of unique. Here builders have to take care not to cut down more than necessary. So we have lots of trees. Recently a number of condos and apartments were built on the southeast shore of lake Woodlands, along the parkway. Then one day when I happened that way they had planted a large number of trees between the buildings and the roadway. Trees already 25 feet or more.
Trees are necessary to cities, and governments are beginning to realize that and begin planting. A large maple, for instance, helps absorb carbon dioxide, removes particulate matter from the air, prevents floods, and helps moderate temperatures. But it costs money to care for trees so newer parks replace trees with no-fuss tennis courts, and playgrounds.
About the time we were moving to Detroit, the city was losing its elms to Dutch elm disease. Crews who cut trees around the church told me they had cut nearly 1,000 in a 20 block radius. It makes a difference to climate and beauty. The city had a program to replant trees, but it will take years for them to reach size.
So The Woodlands is unique in that it does have, and cherishes, trees. And today, when large buildings are planned, they build a parking structure instead of paving 20 acres for parking.
I looked forward to sitting under a shade tree, dispensing words of wisdom to grandchildren when I retired. Turns out everybody is too busy living to sit and listen, and I am too busy learning new technology to have time to sit under that shade tree. Funny about life, isn’t it? We live what the Lord allows us to live, and enjoy it with gratitude and thankfulness. That is what the Lord blesses.
GPD 12/19/07.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Shade Tree Wisdom 12/14/07
Peter said to Him, "Explain the parable to us." 16 Jesus said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also?" 17 "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?? 18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man." 19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." 20 "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man." This from Matthew 15,16-20.
Pretty strong language. The sad thing is the word is true. Look at the world today.
But first, some good news. The Texans won last night, pretty impressively considering they list a number of injured on the roster. But this doesn’t matter to you, and on the whole, the news is rather local after all.
But the Houston Chronicle headlines its other sports news by declaring, “A Sad Day for baseball”. A report on players' use of forbidden steroids appears, and among them are some pretty impressive names. Now comes the name-calling and the rest of what that evil heart can cast up. Sad indeed.
In the news is Disneyland. If you’ve ever visited, you rode the “It’s a Small World” ride. Nice. That ride has been closed to deepen the water channel after some boats started to get stuck under heavy passengers. They had to ask some to leave the ride, and compensated them for their trouble by giving them coupons for free food! A nice touch, don’t you think?
And Swiss watchmaker Romain Jerome unveils a new line of watches made from steel salvaged from the Titanic. They sell from $7,800 to $173,000 a pop.
C&D Distributors rake in 20 m in shipping costs when they discover a flaw in the Defense Department purchasing system. A clerk spotted it when they charged $696,000 for shipping two 19 cent washers to an army base in Texas.
The good news is that Jesus Christ came to offer a solution to this sin-riddled world. He shed His blood to pay for our sins. We get the benefit when we believe what the Spirit teaches us. God be praised for His mercy and grace.
GPD 12/14/07
Pretty strong language. The sad thing is the word is true. Look at the world today.
But first, some good news. The Texans won last night, pretty impressively considering they list a number of injured on the roster. But this doesn’t matter to you, and on the whole, the news is rather local after all.
But the Houston Chronicle headlines its other sports news by declaring, “A Sad Day for baseball”. A report on players' use of forbidden steroids appears, and among them are some pretty impressive names. Now comes the name-calling and the rest of what that evil heart can cast up. Sad indeed.
In the news is Disneyland. If you’ve ever visited, you rode the “It’s a Small World” ride. Nice. That ride has been closed to deepen the water channel after some boats started to get stuck under heavy passengers. They had to ask some to leave the ride, and compensated them for their trouble by giving them coupons for free food! A nice touch, don’t you think?
And Swiss watchmaker Romain Jerome unveils a new line of watches made from steel salvaged from the Titanic. They sell from $7,800 to $173,000 a pop.
C&D Distributors rake in 20 m in shipping costs when they discover a flaw in the Defense Department purchasing system. A clerk spotted it when they charged $696,000 for shipping two 19 cent washers to an army base in Texas.
The good news is that Jesus Christ came to offer a solution to this sin-riddled world. He shed His blood to pay for our sins. We get the benefit when we believe what the Spirit teaches us. God be praised for His mercy and grace.
GPD 12/14/07
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