The Future and the Past

Three weeks from this moment I should be traipsing around the airport in Chicago looking for the international flights. With any amount of luck me and the rest of my family will meet up with my dad about this time as we prepare to leave for Deutchland (Germany). I'm excited and a bit scared. First, there’s' just SOOOO much to do in preparing for the trip. Then there's the stuff that we need to take along. And, not the least of it is the language. My German is about as good as most people's Klingon. Well, maybe a bit better - but not much. That's part of the reason why I asked my dad to come along. I don't know how many more years he has that he'll be able to travel and I especially wanted him to show us where he lived as a child growing up during the war. Then there's the family.

I have most of my family still in Germany but due to the language and their lack of internet use, I'm not really communicating with them except through my dad. I'm hoping that one thing that is accomplished is a new connectedness to my roots. My mother’s side of the family never emigrated so they are all still in the Old Country. And, after she died - almost 40 years ago - nobody has been in close contact from that side. Now that my dad's brother has passed away he's the last of his family alive that have any connection to Germany.

So, I'm hoping that this trip will give him some satisfaction in seeing his family there and some happiness in seeing his family from here seeing his family from there. I'm hoping that MY family will get a greater appreciation for the family that they have never had the opportunity to meet. And, I'm hoping that the weather will be nice and we'll be able to enjoy what we see. Maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment -- but, I don't think so.

This is Mad Ludwig’s Castle in Bavaria – almost in Austria. It was the inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. We’re hoping that this we can see during the first week when we visit my cousin and her husband in Munich.

Herding Cats (aka "Normal" Life)

Normally I try to get a theme or concept behind my entries. Not today. Today is just I’m just a ranting and raving lunatic with too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. Swim banquet tomorrow for my daughter = pack and leave this evening; church planting meeting on Tuesday = put thoughts in writing first; frost likely tonight = move plants in and cover the rest; small group activity = contact the people involved and get in the loop; meeting for work on Monday = finalize notes & get materials together. . . .

Anybody else see a pattern here? So, maybe I’m due just one blog that is only about me and my problems. Einstein, why didn’t you figure out how to get more minutes in the day without having to move at the speed of light – or isn’t that self-evident?

One thought to leave, but it hasn’t gelled well in my head yet: If we’re the only species on the planet that supports the weak end of the gene pool, and God would have us love one another as He loved us, what does that say about us as a species and isn’t that self-limiting therefore without divine intervention?

Too much to do. . . . too much to do . . . . .

Brain stretching time again

Today we discussed the Spring Semester of the topics in the School for Congregational Development. I’m impressed by just how much we are already doing “right” at our church. I am equally impressed by the number of people in the group who find the information as exciting as I do.

If anyone is following, my back (after the surgery) is getting better all the time. It was worth it.

There’s a lot going on and my mind is going in sixteen directions at once so writing a cohesive blog today is asking a lot. There’s work (50-60 hours per week for the past several and next many); Metro Coalition work (getting my feet wet, trying to figure out what to do next); church planting (can we do it without any money? Explain that to me again, please); church small group (is everybody “getting it” or maybe am I not getting it?); family (to much for one set of parenthesis); and life in general (daffodil theory).

I best get off now. I need to go fix the lawnmower, cut the grass and weed the landscaping. Someone once said that life is what happens while you’re busy planning for it. How true, how true. . . . . .

busy, busy, busy!
My daughter and some friends form her college stopped by on their way from a conference in Illinois back to Kansas. We (my wife, son and I) were cleaning and then cooking to get them some homecooked food. I hope they enjoyed it. We had a great time and there's alll sorts of food left over. Mmmmm. Leftovers. Especially when the food is so good!

I stopped by at the church this morning to meet with our small group. There were only a few of us today. Taxes and trade meetings took two people away. One other is moving and another is, well, we don't know. The dicussion was good. It was kind of ad libbed. We talked about how to talk with someone about our faith - especially someone who's heard the story of Christianity and then wonders what it's about and why is it a such a big deal. There's a whole bunch of stuff to say about what we talked about. I suppose you can summarize it by saying that "faith" is exactly that. We have faith, as believers in what Christ has done and who He is. It's faith! We have faith in our leaders that they will be the type of people who we elected. We have faith that the police will be followers and enforcers of the law and not vigilanties. We have faith that the phyical laws are "real" and continue to keep in the air a peice of equipment that weighs several tons and for all sorts of practical reasons should fall out of the sky - but doesn't - for reasons we have faith in.

We're reading a book (and hopefully a few more) that may help in understanding a few issues common to "faith" as it relates to the Lutheran perspective. It's late and the subject too depp fro a good discussion in this blog.

My day is full. My nights are too short. And, my blog for the week is completed for now. Any thoughts that go beyond these will have to wait for another day.

g'night.

Surviving April Fools Day

The need to stay ahead of the "wise guys" really didn't matter last Friday. I was in over my head with the new things I was learning about the Central States Synod (ELCA). There's a bunch to learn and a lot of opportunities during my upcoming tenure as AM 10 Lay Leader/ Metro Coalition Lay Chair. I do, however want to "vocalize" some of the thoughts that occurred while driving to and from Kansas City.

Jesus tells us in Matthew:
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

Why do you suppose that the "narrow" way is the way to go? What is it about the path to destruction that makes it so "easy"? Could it be that the narrow ay requires balance. It takes very little balance to walk the wide path - you can wobble al over the place. Many do. That what makes it easy. Could it be that it is this balance that Jesus is speaking about? We, who are called by His name are people who need a center - not right or left - not isolationistic or "in your face"- not works oriented or free from obligations. We need to be that light to the World to show that there is a way and that The Way brings balance. When you place a light into a dark room, do you do so in the corner of the room or in the center? Which placement sheds more light?

Christianity does not need people to go out and bash the evil-doers but rather people to love the World. We do not need people that overlook sins for the sake of grace either but who speak in love and truth that what is wrong is wrong. We do not need to focus on only what is happening within the "Four walls" of our local churches but we must look outward - to the World around us. We cannot spend all our time in the World either - without the fellowship that is offered in church. It takes balance.

More later. Thanks for listening.