I need a good day.

I need it desperately. I know there are others out there with greater misfortunes than I. I know that. But currently I simply need a break–a day in which I can get just a little reprieve from this stuff.

The latest chapter goes like this: four feet of my chimney came toppling to the ground today. I was having some needed maintenance done and it simply crumbled. Thank God no one was injured. But now I’m looking ahead at a car that’s dying, a chimney that has to be addressed sooner than later, and…what? What’s next? God spare me from what may be next.

It’s times like this where I become just a little more understanding of God when he was ready to just consume them and start over. Sometimes a wrecking ball sounds like a good idea. And I know that in a few days I’ll be back to my senses again. Color me frustrated.

Perspective Check

Yeah. I had one of the more emotionally draining days of recent ministry. The difficult conversations (and lack of conversation where it is desperately needed) just gradually took it out of me today.

And so after this long day I got back to my office to find that someone had put an encouraging note on my chair. I don’t generally go in for such things, but somehow this one found a target.

It was anonymous. I’ll just say thanks.

Cinderella

Tonight I gave my wife Disney’s Cinderella on DVD for her birthday. We just got done watching it. Let me tell you, this DVD has a little something for everyone. Gents, it’s worth it.

One of the special features (on disc 1, in fact), is called “Cinderella Stories.” It is exactly what it sounds like. Disney got together with ESPN Classic and compiled over 30 minutes of the greatest cinderella stories in sports history. I didn’t realize it was on there when I bought it, but the surprise was quite welcome.

Just Give Up

I had a dual experience today.

The first was when I was driving this morning. The local NPR station was airing a show on illegal immigration, and of course they had guests that were for blockading the Mexican border, those for eliminating it altogether, and several perspectives in between.

Whatever you may think on the issue, the argument for making illegal immigration legal was absolutely ludicrous. Basically it goes like this: this law is just too difficult to enforce, so let’s just do away with it.

My goodness.

I guess it doesn’t really surprise me, but the lack of logic in it astounds me. Sooooo, we can’t keep illegal immigration under control; therefore instead of redoubling our efforts in order to extend benefits to citizens and those who are here through legal channels, we should simply give up. Right.

The second was a conversation with a homosexual who tapped me to tell them that the church would not have a problem with their homosexuality. It was a lengthy conversation. In a nutshell I told them the church cannot give its blessing to unrepentant sin, of which this clearly is a case. It was another instance of, “I don’t like the rules. Just make an exception for me, will you?” Just give up on this one. As if I have the authority.

It’s harder work both to maintain civil laws and to stand against sin in the face of societal permissiveness. But it is the loving thing to do, for the sake of the citizenry and for the sake of God’s people.

Good for what ails you

Given our newfound source of heat, I’ve developed a new workout and stress reliever. I now split and stack wood. One member of the congregation has a lot of timber on his property that he’s trying to clear to get rid of the fire hazard. So he’s got good solid wood that has already fallen or been felled, and has given it to us in exchange for helping him clear it. And another member is helping me redo our hearth to bring it up to code and has been dropping off a truckload of likewise seasoned logs each time he comes. So now when I have a difficult day I simply go out back, grab the maul, and start swinging. It feels so good when you hit it just right and the log splits in two.

This all has the additional benefit of a direct connection with the things that enable life. It’s something I enjoy about farmer’s markets–or better yet, home gardens. I like being as close to the raw materials as is practicable. There’s just something more enjoyable about a pumpkin pie, for example, made from bringing a pumpkin into your home, seeding it, cooking it, and then making the pie than, for another example, buying the pie from Mega-Lo-Mart or some such thing. The same goes for the wood. It’s been harvested by some friends and me, and I am putting the sweat into splitting it to bring into the house to keep us warm. It gives a first-hand perspective to the First Article ways in which God continues to provide “all that I need to support this body and life.”

St. Martin of Tours

To day we celebrate the faith of this saint, and Luther’s namesake.

Happy Birthday

522 years ago today Martin Luther was born.

230 years ago today the United States Marine Corps was born.

Go drink with a Lutheran and thank a Marine. Or thank a Lutheran and drink with a Marine. Or find a Lutheran Marine and express your gratitude by buying an enormous round of drinks.

Edited to correct fuzzy math.

Stewardship in the Home

A few months ago we became homeowners for the first time. It’s been a switch. Prior to this year the maintenance was always the responsibility of a landlord or a board of trustees. No longer. We bought a ca. 1939 home. It’s honestly more space than we’d ever had, and my wife fell in love with some of the *ahem* charm of the place. I’m less into antiques than she, but it’s a place I could live with.

Within the last month, however, we learned that the charm of the place was more charming than we’d first been given to understand. The previous owners hadn’t realized that some things, among them furnaces, fireplaces, and chimneys, require a modicum of regular maintenance. So these things have been left by the wayside.

This, together with the fact that heating costs are on the rise, prompted a decision. It’s one that Twylah, of Lutheran in a Tipi fame, I’m sure would approve. We’re putting in a new woodstove. It has been a real wrestling match in terms of making the decision. But the overall economy and ecology of it was compelling. So hopefully by the end of the month we’ll heat our home using wood as the primary heat source.

This is uncharted territory for us. We’ve not attempted such things in the past. But the overall saving is too much to pass up. It will mean that the furnace simply doesn’t need to run anymore, or if it does it will be rare. If you’re in a place where wood is readily accessible, I’d look into it. Fireplace inserts or free-standing, these little things are quite economical. The one we’re having installed comes complete with 240 sq. in. of cooking surface, for use for fun or in the event of power disruption.

The longer I live the more ecological it seems I become. This, I’d argue, is good stewardship. But no tree hugger, I. No, I burn them.

Kids are amazing

I just watched the most fantastic thing. Our boy’s just shy of a year and a half. So we’ve finished dinner, he’s approaching bedtime. He loves playing in the sink. He grabs a mug and a spoon and heads for the bathroom. He fills it up, and then stops and climbs down his stool. From there he goes to the kitchen, where he’s got a small table and a chair–his size, for eating and stuff. He drags this to the center of the room and then moves his chair over to it. Then he goes back into the bathroom, climbs the stool, grabs the full mug, brings it to the table, and begins to drink it. The whole process took about fifteen minutes. The concentration, determination, and focus were phenomenal to me.

Asterisk!!!

When I can, I enjoy watching “King of the Hill.” I always enjoyed it, but having spent some time in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area it became even funnier to me.

One episode seems to me particularly appropriate to the season: it was called “Bills are Made to be Broken.” It first aired on 24 October 1999. This was the episode in which Bill “the Billdozer” Dauterive was honored as the touchdown record-holder at Arlen High School, but his record was in jeopardy. But the kid who was vying for the title was injured and not able to play. Yet, in pursuit of the record, he was subbed into the game for a goalline play, during which the defense simply stood aside and let him limp the ball across to set the new record.

Anyone with an ounce of integrity would cry, “Foul!”

And so I return to my ongoing criticism of the NHL, and lately its American fans. Here’s an exercise I invite you to try. Google for the following players and their offensive records: Darryl Sittler; Bill Mosienko; Joe Malone; Wayne Gretzky; Paul Coffey; Mike Bossy; Gordie Howe; Brett Hull; Marcel Dionne; Phil Esposito; Mark Messier; Ron Francis. These are the pre-2005-rules-change offensive record holders. They either hold the records or are in the top five. They played the game according to the rules that have been in force as we know them since roughly 1911.

Frankly, their accomplishments aren’t going to mean a thing. This season’s rules changes have made these guys and their blood-and-guts hockey irrelevant. They’ll be forgotten relics, replaced by the “new, better, faster” NHL of the 21st Century.

“Foul!” A four-minute double minor for slashing the rules and slashing almost a century of hockey history. Two minutes for instigating lopsided offense-heavy changes to the game. Five for fighting on the side of American consumerism and it’s thirst for big bigger BIG scores. A game misconduct for changing the way the game is conducted to gain fans instead of actually marketing the pure game and thereby winning fans over (let the reader understand).

Every goal this season ought to be followed by an asterisk. Or perhaps we could cast it a different way. Any netminder with a shutout this season ought to have an asterisk that reads, “They thought they’d gotten past these, but he did it anyway.”

I’m going to do my best to bite my tongue and rein in my fingers from typing in the future. The fans are speaking. They’re getting behind these rules. They’re probably here to stay. So maybe I turn my attention more seriously toward minor leagues and Canadian major juniors…